That is what James Outman has: “IT!” With his arm, last night, he threw out a runner at the plate, and both of his home runs were “key” to the Dodger’s victory over the Cubs… especially his Grand Slam. “IT” is something that is not definable, and yet it is something that allows the person to see things in slow motion, slow their heartbeat, and seize the moment. It appears to me that no stage is too big for JO. It’s still a small sampling, but you cannot argue with the results. Major League Pitchers will be trying to figure out his weaknesses and he will have to compensate, but right about now, he has to play every day!
When he was called up last year and hit a HR in his first at-bat, we took notice, but after four games, he was sent back down. Some people wondered why he was not called back up later in the season. Well, this is baseball. Some players get “lucky” and then fade away like “Super Joe” Carboneau, who was the Rookie of the Year in 1980, hitting .289 with 23 HR, only to face into oblivion the next year, and he was gone a year later. Novices are impressed with instant success, but baseball people are more calculated. It takes time to show you have “it” and maybe I am jumping the gun, but I have seen James Outman rise to the occasion on at least 6-8 times already.
I see a pattern, and it leads me to believe that he is “Big Games James.” James has had very few at-bats against LHP in the MLB, but is hitting .429 against them (.260 vs. RHP) this season. James has earned a spot to play every day, whether that be in CF or RF (if Mookie goes to SS). This changes everything and then add in that David Peralta is warming up and Miguel Vargas Thumb is looking better and this team may be a force to be reckoned with. Patience Grasshoppers!
Mookie Betts – SS
Those of you who don’t think Mookie can play SS forget that when he was drafted, he was a SS. Last night, he was able to show off his skills, and there is no doubt in my mind that he can play the position… at an All-Star Level.
Discussion (42)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Just noticed that this dismal day for the Dodgers was also a dismal day for the Padres. They were similarly stomped by the D-backs, on a two-hitter by Zac Gallen.
Could the D-backs be for real?
That future Dodger is now 3-0 with a 0.64 ERA. He’s struck out 38 batters in 28 innings.
Oh, found more good Dodger-ish news today!
Tim Wallach’s son Chad homered for the Angels, while future Dodger dominated in a 2-0 win.
All considered, I really wish this had been a perfect game.
Any silver linings for the Dodgers?
I guess Williams threw a perfect inning.
Right now, today, this is the worst dodger team I’ve seen in several years! That could change, but there’s a lot of work to do!
Missed this stinker. Went to see The Covenant. Good movie. Tonight I am heading out to Chatsworth to play some tunes.
Well I had the bottom of the order wrong. 0 for 8 with a walk and 5 Ks. Top of the order 0 for 10 with only 3 Ks and a walk. So clearly the top of the order was just as worse.
What an ugly game.
Rear view mirror. Moving on.
Discusting
Proud to say I may have just watched the worst played game in Dodger history. Now that I think about it I’m embarressed to say that I watched this entire game. I need to step up my retirement game!
I’ve got zip nada nothing with no passion.
I like this Williams kid. 1-2-3 inning.
Dodgers showing their character by fighting to ensure we don’t get no hit
Mark, following todays title, may I suggest the title for tomorrows article, “Sh”.
I hope Smyly gets his perfecto. Maybe that will wake us up.Although he has thrown 93 pitches with 2 innings to go.
They have 12 runs. We don’t have a hit yet. I’m sure I can find something else to do.
Was that an iceberg we just hit?
I thought that loss yesterday might take the starch out of the Cubs for a game or two. Wow was I wrong. Now I wonder what this drubbing will do to Dodger conference.
Reeds delivery is kinda odd looking. What does he get with that hand shaking at the end?
Well I’ll give you this Bradley. The way we look today, I might sign Bumgarner for his bat but not his arm. And who knew the cure for Bellinger was to face the Dodger pitching staff!
I was annoyed about the early start. Especially on a Friday.
Now? Well, at least so far I’m quite glad I haven’t been watching this game.
Ugh
It seems the Cubs fixed Bellinger just another reason RVS should be sent packing.
This is a very hard watch.
Well crap.
Hey Mark looks like Dodgers might need Mad Bum as a fifth starter wouldn’t be a bad idea having Syndeguard Kershaw and Bumgarner with Urias and I say Jackson you laughed in preseason when I said that but now he is out there and rumor is Mets Dodgers and Yankees looking at him he knows how to pitch out west so why not.
04/21/23 Los Angeles Dodgers transferred RHP Ryan Pepiot from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day injured list. Left oblique strain.
04/21/23 Los Angeles Dodgers placed RHP Michael Grove on the 15-day injured list. Right groin strain.
04/21/23 Los Angeles Dodgers selected the contract of RHP Jake Reed from Oklahoma City Dodgers.
UGH, you HAD to bring up the possibility of Mookie getting injured huh? Well, it could already have happened with he and Heyward colliding.
BUT, I think it’s unrealistic to expect Mookie to play SS and not make some ugly mistakes (along with some impressive plays) in his desire to excell like he does everywhere else. But if he’s allowed continue doing it I would expect his on-the-job learning curve to be tremendous with his athleticism.
Pretty balsy of Roberts to put Mookie at SS. I like it. I don’t know if it’s a good idea to make this permanent, but it does open some intriguing possibilities. –
– It would cement Outman as the permanent starting CF/RF. He’s earned it. He already has 3 Defensive Runs Saved, so defensively he’s more than capable of anchoring RF. It’s hard to say how far his offense will come down. Right now he’s striking out at about 30% of the time and his BABIP is .371, which is well above the .300 that is considered typical, so you could say he’s getting a little lucky and that lofty strikeout rate is a harbinger of an eventual decline in his offensive output.
But not so fast.
Throughout is minor league career, his BABIP has remained pretty consistently well above that .300 threshold, and his strikeout rate has remained within a range of about 25% to 30%. His batting average has remained pretty consistent, too, hovering around .290, so you can make a pretty good argument that his current performance at the MLB level is right in line with what he’s done consistently throughout is minor league career. He might be one of those rare minor league players who successful make the jump to the MLB pretty seamlessly. It’s going better for him that is has for Vargas so far.
Missing from Mark’s article is his eating crow for saying things such as Outman was lucky, or that the MLB now has the book on how to exploit the holes in his swing, etc. Although I don’t think it healthy that Eric constantly belabor the point about Outman, I will admit he was right.
With Mookie at SS, however, it exposes some question marks in the outfield. I was never really thrilled with the Peralta signing for 6 mil, but he’s going to keep playing in LF for the foreseeable future against RHP. Not much to do about that for now. He’s terrible, and probably isn’t going to exceed what he’s done the last few years, which is barely replacement level at this stage in his career.
Which leaves Trayce. He’s question mark. He was great last year, although his BABIP was .374. This year it’s .200, but he’s also striking out 37% of the time. It’s hard to predict if he’ll completely crater, but if the Dodgers could get an average among his largest sample size years – 2016, 2022 – that’s about 25 home runs, a 120 wRC+ and about 3-4 WAR, I’d take that.
If Mookie got injured playing SS that would be an absolute disaster.
Thursday scores
Oklahoma City 8, Albuquerque 6
Tulsa 3, Wichita 0
Great Lakes 5, South Bend 2
Fresno 6, Rancho Cucamonga 1
Friday schedule
3:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Justin Wrobleski) vs. South Bend (Brandon Birdsell)
5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Dylan Covey) at Albuquerque (Phillips Valdez)
5:35 p.m.: Tulsa (River Ryan) vs. Wichita (Aaron Rozek)
6:30 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Jerming Rosario) vs. Fresno (Jordy Vargas)
2:20 PM ET
Dodgers (10-10)
Cubs (11-7)
SP Julio Urias L
3-1 1.90 ERA 23.2IP 26K
SP Drew Smyly L
1-1 4.70 ERA 15.1IP 13K
Confirmed Lineup
RF Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
DH J. Martinez R
3B Max Muncy L
2B M. Vargas R
LF James Outman L
CF T. Thompson R
SS L. Williams R
C Austin Wynns R
Partly-cloudy-day
0%
56° Wind 11 mph Out
A worthy and Worthy nickname: Big Game James!
From all the interviews I’ve seen and articles I’ve read, part of the “it” factor is his coachability, focus and work ethic. . Robert talks about his “heartbeat”, about how he remains calm in tense situations. I used to think that maybe AF should put him in a deal for Reynolds. Now I think, no way–he’s a keeper.
He is bound to have a slump before long, but the Dodgers need to stick with him. Right now, he might be the ROY frontrunner, even ahead of the young slugger Jordan Walker with the Cards.
BTW, I thought it was kind of nice that Outman had his big game on a day that Belli homered. I still want Belli to succeed….but I also want him overshadowed against the Dodgers.
Coming post-recovery lineup:
Mookie SS
Freddie 1B
Smith C
Max 3B
JDM DH
Outman CF
Peralta/Trayce LF
Vargas 2B
Heyward RF
Bench: Barnes, Taylor, Rojas….Feduccia?? Williams??
I
Interesting lineup today. 7-9 looks like maybe 3 innings of outs. Maybe not. I’ll say 2-9. Outman back to the middle. 6th. Not crazy about JD hitting so high, 3rd. I find him to be a suspect base runner, but him there gives the top 2/3 the R/L approach so many seem to like. I like a lineup that doesn’t care which side the ball comes from.
Why don’t they lab test a pitcher’s ‘sticky stuff’? Get away from all the whining/screaming. Easy fix.
Outman reminds me LOTS of Freddie Lynn.
Let him in
I keep going to my front door. Somebody is pounding on one so loudly that it seems like it is mine.
Oh, it’s Feduccia.
Jose Iglesias opted out of his minor league deal with the Marlins yesterday. He started for Rockies last year at SS and hit 292 with 701 OPS.
He is 33 and did not make the Marlins roster in spring training. But he may be an option until others get healthy.
Great win and huge game for Outman! The bullpen effort was also key with 6 shutout innings. And solid ABs by Peralta, Vargas and Heyward to set up Outman heroics.
Mookie turned an important DP and looked like a natural at SS. His versatility is a big plus for Dodgers but I still prefer him in RF except in emergencies. And I disagree that he would be an All star SS ahead of Lindor, Trea Turner and Boegaerts. Experience matters and shortstop is a demanding position. It would be entertaining to play Betts at SS full time but big mistake IMO.
With the day off on Monday, they could avoid the need for a #5 starter for one turn. That would give Gonsolin 1 more minor league rehab start. He could then be called up and slot in with probably a 75 (or so) pitch limit. In other words, finish his rehab with the big club. That could work and be the best solution.
On base plus slugging. Single, single, walk, home run.
Heyward at bat crucial in that sequence. He often chases below the knees, and did in that at bat. But he didn’t chase ball 4.
Contributions from several players. Definitely a team effect. Bullpen looked better. Maybe that was the directional step this team needed.
Mookie can play anywhere. Going forward, what’s best for him and the team?
Ugh. Groin. Those can last a long time. I had one for my junior year of football. I played, but it didn’t really heal until the season was over.
A pitcher move is likely today with Grove going on the IL with a right groin injury. Time to bring up Lefty Gonzalez who on the 40 man roster and is on assignment at Oklahoma City.
Don’t look now but could Graterol finally be blossoming into the pitcher we all thought he could be? Small sample size for sure but 10K’s and only 1 BB in 8.2 IP. He’s always pounded the strike zone but if he can continue to miss bats at a reasonable rate we could have a real backend weapon on our hands.
The Cubs were” Outmanned” at Wrigley Field and Sham Diego beat the Snakes in the desert and the Boys in Blue inch closer to first place.
Good win, lets do it again today….