More Bull About the Pen
After last night s stellar outing by the much-maligned Dodger bullpen, their Bullpen ERA dropped to 4.00, which is now the 9th best in all of baseball, just behind the often-praised bullpen of the New York Yankees. If you just consider the National League, the Dodgers are now ranked #4, just behind San Francisco, St. Louis and Atlanta. Without making ANY changes, I can see the Dodgers taking the #1 spot
After last night’s stellar outing by the much-maligned Dodger bullpen, their Bullpen ERA dropped to 4.00, which is now the 9th best in all of baseball, just behind the often-praised bullpen of the New York Yankees. If you just consider the National League, the Dodgers are now ranked #4, just behind San Francisco, St. Louis and Atlanta. Without making ANY changes, I can see the Dodgers taking the #1 spot by the end of the season (in the NL). Actually, I am willing to bet that they will be in the TOP THREE in all of MLB in bullpen ERA by the end of the year.
So, while we would all like to see the bullpen get even better, the fact of the matter is this: All teams and MOST closers are having issues right about now. I know that the Dodgers under Robert Van Socyoc are really focusing on their hitting against relievers. They are focused more than ever on location, hitting in certain zones only, pitch recognition with Virtual Reality headsets, and many other nuances. Relief pitching will likely never dominate the way it used to as hitters have a better idea of what is coming and what their strengths are.
Of course, if a pitcher executes his pitch, there is a much smaller likelihood that any hitter can hit it. However, I was listening to a “round table discussion” about pitchers executing their pitches. The consensus seems to be that if a pitcher executes his pitch (location, spin rate, deception, arm slot, release point) 2 out of 10 times, he is average, 3 out of 10 times, he is good and 4 out of 10 times, he is great! That still leaves hitter a lot of pitches to exploit.
Some of you need to immediately start searching for your minds, because you have lost them over this bullpen. Like I mentioned, it’s not perfect and of course, it can get better, but it’s a common problem throughout MLB. The Mets went out and got the best closer of 2018, but in 2019, they lead MLB is Blown Saves! The Nats spent big on the bullpen in the off-season and they are dead last in Reliever ERA. Colorado’s high-paid bullpen is a disaster and the Cubs who spent big on Craig Kimbrel are still waiting for his 6.75 ERA to come down.
Andrew Friedman is working his contacts, searching for ways to improve the bullpen. I am sure he feels the same as I do: “The Bullpen can never be too good!” But he also is not going to overpay. I still think Will Smith is the Dodgers best bet and I would also bet that Andrew and Farhan have a “handshake agreement” that the Dodgers can have the last chance to strike a deal if the Giants decide to trade him. I think they will be sellers, but I also believe it will be at the deadline. I think it is likely there will be a flurry of trade activity the last 24 hours before the deadline. It might be a Wild Ride.
Remember this: It seldom comes down to ONE PLAYER being the difference maker! This is a team game and the Dodgers success and failure will hinge on who steps up when the game is on the line.
Rants and Raves
- Dave Roberts was very stern in what he said to Kenley Jansen who stayed in the game when he should have came out. Basically, Doc said “I’m honest with you, you have to be honest with me and I am disappointed you weren’t.”
- Quick! Cody Bellinger leads the Dodgers with 77 RBI, Max Muncy is 2nd with 65. Who’s 3rd? Not J.T., not Joc, not Alex. It’s the guy so many fans want traded, DFA’ed or strung-up: Kike Hernandez has 47 in a lot fewer AB’s. Speaking of Kike, he is starting to feel more comfortable in the batters box. In the last 30 games he is hitting .250 with a .347 OB%. In the last 15, it’s .283 with a .377 OB% and in the past 7 games, he is hitting .318 with a .464 OB%. So, when you say, “He can’t hit” I say you have no clue. This has been a public service announcement.
- Max Muncy is not a guy who can move all over the diamond. He’s not as good at 3B, so in my opinion, when JT is out of the lineup, Kike should play 3B. Max will adapt, if you leave him there, but he is above average at 2B and 1B. Matt Beaty has played 3B in the minors 154 games. I wonder is he ids an option next year? J.T. may go to 1B next year.
- Today’s game is on YouTube… Early!
MT’s Minor League Lowdown
OKC -0 Gavin Lux hit 2 more HR and drove in all 5 runs as the Dodgers lost 7-5 to the Cubs.
Tulsa – McKinstry went 3-3 and the Drillers won 7-6 with only 2 extra base hits. Sheffield got his 5th save.
More to come…
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Discussion (86)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Bullpen and defense costly again. I think the Dodgers had about 5 outs at the wall too. It would have been nice had Barnes got his bunt down and the umps wouldn’t have bailed out the Phillies with that transfer call.
Alright, not a horrible road trip as we finish on the right side of 500. It should have been a sweep with a couple of better bullpen pieces. I’m sure the Phillies are feeling a lot better about themselves splitting at home against the best team in baseball.
Now we get to go back home to beat down the Marlins and Angels and enjoy a couple of off days in the schedule before we hit the DC / Denver road trip closing out July for our last roadie to CO this year.
Trades coming! Matt Beaty is doing his best trade bait impression. We’re going to see him a lot in the coming years playing 3rd base for the Giants. Farhan loves him!
Speaking of trade bait. Why do you think Stripling is in the rotation instead of Urias?
M.T. as POTUS??? Hmmm, would his red baseball cap be emblazoned with M.A.W.G.A ???
O.K. I’ll go back to Ireland…
Not saying that Farhan doesn’t love Beaty. Not saying we won’t trade him to SF. But Longoria’s contract has about 150 years remaining and he’s going to be their third baseman. Luckily for Farhan, Beaty can play first or left also. I’d rather move Joc to SF and keep Beaty. He’s not nearly as streaky and he’s a very good pinch hitter. I don’t have the stats to back it up, but my feeling is that Joc is not a good pinch hitter.
I forgot about Longoria, Belt is their first basement for a few more years. Beaty can stand out there in left field, but I wouldn’t call it “playing” left field.
From Pedro Moura:
Max Muncy said Héctor Neris screamed “Fuck you!” toward the Dodgers’ dugout after the last out. “He’s blown about eight saves against us over the last two years,” Muncy said. “I guess he was finally excited he got one.”
The Dodgers did not appreciate Héctor Neris staring into their dugout after securing the save. Dave Roberts brought up Neris’ suspension and suggested he look into his own dugout instead. “To look in our dugout and to taunt in any way, I think it’s unacceptable,” Roberts said.
Get DeGrom or Grienke. The Dodgers are willing to take on payroll. Most likely won’t cost our top 5 prospects because of the big money contract and it also helps the starting rotation in the future.
Leave Urias in the pen this year.
Try to get Giles without trading any of our top 5 prospects.
Move Kershaw to the #4 starter in the playoffs. With a starting rotation of Ryu, Buehler, DeGrom/Grienke, Kershaw not necessarily in that order besides Kershaw 4th, and an awesome offense we have, you won’t need much of a bullpen.
Bullpen in the playoffs 7th, 8th, 9th innings. You play your best every game in the playoffs.
Jansen
Urias
Baez
Giles
Game over we win.
If anything, the sloppy play lately might serve to make the Dodgers more aware of the things they need to work on.
Is Hector Neris our new villain? (see link below) Too bad we don’t play the Phillies anymore this year. What are the chances that the Dodgers pull off a deadline deal for Neris? 🙂
And kudos to Max Muncy for his reply.
Open on bleacherreport.comhttps://bleacherreport.com/los-angeles-dodgersExcept for Urias, who isn’t a traditional bullpen piece, there is nobody consistently good. That means if you need 2-3-4 innings of relief somebody is bound to screw up and today it was Ferguson! Got to believe AF will come through with a big deadline addition. It would be a shame to see this bullpen take us down in the playoffs! We have all the other pieces!
Taking on Greinke’s contract would be insanity, even if the D-Backs gave him to us for nothing, and threw in an extra player or two.
I wouldn’t surrender our top prospects even if the Mets ate a big part of deGrom’s contract. The more I think of it, the more I’m opposed to surrendering multiple top young players for a single piece that may or may not make the difference this year. Justin Turner may be good for another year or two, but it won’t be long before we have a vacancy at 3B. And the same can be said for our rotation. Ultimately the best path to a world championship is a fertile farm system that supplies fresh talent year in and year out. In fact, after watching some video the other day of Gavin Lux, I am convinced that he should remain virtually untouchable.
And don’t think players like deGrom don’t come with risks. Below are deGrom’s salaries for the years to come. The second column is for age. So deGrom, who is a former TJ patient, will be 32 next year, and will be making huge dollars through at least 2023. (team has option for 2024).
2020 32 New York Mets $25,000,000
2021 33 New York Mets $35,500,000
2022 34 New York Mets $35,500,000 may opt out after 2022 season
2023 35 New York Mets $32,500,000
2024 36 New York Mets *$32,500,000 $32.5M Team Opt
When you consider that the Dodgers are going to have to start paying Seager, Buehler, etc. in the coming years, I’m not sure adding deGrom makes much sense. And even if the Dodgers gave the Mets a kings ransom (not likely, or advisable) for deGrom, it’s highly unlikely that the cheap Mets would eat enough of his contract to make it worth while.
In the last 5 games we have committed 2 errors in each game, resulting in a total of 8 unearned runs. That doesn’t even count several plays that should have been made but weren’t, resulting in “earned runs” that shouldn’t have been.
Our bullpen is a mess, but our defense isn’t helping them at all. Versatility is a good thing, but I think it has its down side. When players have a position to play every day they get settled in and practice that position all the time. Some of our guys have to practice 2-3 positions and they can’t be as prepared as they should be.
Different subject– Just before Verdugo’s HR, Freese was called out on a pitch that was inside (I believe it was a 3-2 pitch) and if he were on it would have been tie game. I am more and more in favor of electronic pitch calling.
Just saw that Gavin Lux went 5 for 6 tonight with a HR and 3 RBIs. He was only batting .313 in AA so he got promoted to AAA and is batting .577 after 15 games. Unreal.
Make American Water Great Again……….
That’s the ticket…
As an addendum to the reliever concerns, below are the pitching stats for starters and relievers coming out of the break.
Starters (5) – 36.2 IP, 29 H, 16 R (11 E), 9 BB, 42, K, 2.7 ERA — Record 2-1
Maeda – 2 G, 7.2 IP, 3 Runs — 1 Loss
Strip – 2 G, 10 IP, 4 Runs (3 earned) – 1 Win
Ryu – 1 G, 7 IP, 2 Runs
Kershaw – 1 G, 6 IP, 1 Run — 1 Win
Buehler – 1 G, 6.0 IP, 6 Runs (2 earned)
Both Ryu and Strip lost wins because of blown saves.
Relievers (10) – 26.2 IP, 25 H, 18 R (16 E), 14 BB, 29 K, 5.4 ERA — Record 2-2, 1 S, 3 BS
Baez – 4 G, 4.1 IP, 5 Runs — 1 win and 1 Blown Save
Chargois – 3 G , 2.2 IP, 2 Runs
Rosscup – 2 G, 1.0 IP, 0 Runs
Kelly – 4 G, 3.1 IP, 2 Runs — 1 Save and 1 Blown Save
Urias – 2 G, 4.2 IP, 2 Runs (0 earned)
Garcia – 4 G, 3.1 IP, 0 Runs
Jansen – 2 G, 2.0 IP, 3 Runs — 1 Loss and 1 Blown Save
Floro – 3 G, 2.2 IP, 1 Run — 1 Win and 1 Loss
Sadler – 2 G, 2.2 IP, 1 Run
Ferguson – 1 G , 0.0 IP, 2 Runs
Garcia lost a win due to a blown save
As Hawkeye mentioned, Beaty is on fire and could be playing himself into the 1B position for next season. He seems to be a better all around player than Joc, hits in all situations, and has the power to stress opposing pitchers. He’s really made an impression with his clutch hitting and professionalism.
If there is a trade out there for Joc, I would do it if it brings a need back for the team. Otherwise, you don’t trade a 30HR player.
Ferguson is a band aid on a cut that doesn’t exist. This concern to put another LHR in the BP is blown out of proportion. Ferguson has been nothing but trouble sinice ST. He’s lost his command and probably a lot of his confidence. Why weaken the team with his presence? Not necessary.
Poor Joe Kelly, 1 step forward, 2 steps back. Red sox jinxed him. I think he needs exorcism somewhere else. Anyone can make a mistake including the FO.
Wouldn’t mind seeing Stripling on another team. Maybe some trade bait?
I don’t see versatility as being a cause for the recent defensive lapses. If that were the case, those lapses would have shown up long ago. My best guess is that this is just a bad stretch. It’s a long season, and things like this happen. If it’s anything more fundamental, I’m certain that it will be addressed. Today Muncy dropped a popup that was totally weather related, and Bellinger’s error was just one of those things from a player who plays right field everyday.
I am totally in favor of an electronic strike zone because I have observed pitch after pitch outside the K-Zone on TV being called for strikes, both for and against the Dodgers. It’s possible that if Freese had got on that Verdugo would have hit a 2-run HR. However, a different situation may well have changed the outcome for Verdugo. There is no guarantee that in a different situation Verdugo would have seen exactly the same sequence of pitches, and maybe he, or the pitcher, would have treated his at bat differently. We’ll never know.