It's Only One Game…
However, the 2023 Version of the LA Dodgers should at least stifle the “Wild Imaginings” of “ the Lunatic Fringe ” part of the Dodgers’ fanbase who feel that Andrew Friedman should have an All-Star at every position and another All-Star as a backup, or the team is doomed to lose…
However, the 2023 Version of the LA Dodgers should at least stifle the “Wild Imaginings” of “the Lunatic Fringe” part of the Dodgers’ fanbase who feel that Andrew Friedman should have an All-Star at every position and another All-Star as a backup, or the team is doomed to lose every game. Yes, it’s only one game, but the Dodgers made a statement. One game is a microcosm, and pretending it is a macrocosm is silly!
We already hear the Muncy-Bashers saying, “Max struck out five times – Get rid of the bum!” This is the part where Badger predicted I would call some fans “idiots.” Max strikes out a lot, but tonight he might hit three bombs. It’s a long season – in case you do not know, there are 161 more games left in it! Mookie and Max look out of sync, while Smith, Freeman, Outman, Peralta, and even Rojas look in mid-season form. We also saw that Miguel Vargas is not swinging at baseballs unless you put them in the strike zone.
Julio Urias struggled early as he was only throwing strikes and getting too much of the zone, but he settled down and pitched six strong innings. Phil Bickford, Shelby Miller, and Yency Almonte each pitched a scoreless inning as the bullpen did exactly what they were supposed to do. I usually don’t do game re-caps here – you can find them all over the web, but since this is the first game, I am a little more excited.
Last season, the bottom of the lineup was a “black hole.” It was mostly famine, with an occasional feast! Even Gavin Lux struck out at an alarming rate for someone who hit a few HRs. Then there were Cody Bellinger, Trayce Thompson, Joey Gallo, and others who kept Dodger Stadium well-ventilated! Miguel Rojas is a hitter who does not walk much and also does not strike out much. He puts the bat on the ball, and the ball is in play. He also has a knack for getting the big hit. I cannot for the life of me figure out why so many fans want to trade for another SS… probably because they play too much Fantasy Baseball and have no regard for defense!
I saw Jason Heyward hug James Outman when he hit the HR. Maybe that’s his role. David Peralta is a professional hitter, as is JDM – we saw JD shorten up and just place the ball to RF when it was essential to drive in another run to break the D-Backs spirit! This could be contagious. Correction: It will be contagious! There will be changes (there always are), such as Mike Busch and maybe Andy Pages at some point, but this has to play out.
Gavin Stone will be up soon enough, but tonight it’s the Dustin May Show. I shall be watching intently. I think this is his year to bloom. One final note: we saw what Will Smith can do if he stays fresh. He is going to have to DH occasionally (when a tough LHP is on the bump), and JDM will have to play LF. JD like that anyway!
Down on the Farm
The Oklahoma City Dodgers start their season tomorrow vs. the Tacoma Rainiers at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, with Gavin Stone given the starting assignment. I doubt that he will be at AAA long. Mike Busch is joining him there, as is Devin Mann, Yonny Hernandez, Hunter Feduccia, Drew Avans, Luke Williams, Steven Duggar, Bradley Zimmer, Jahmai Jones, Justin Yurchak, Ryan Ward, and Michael Reed. The Rosters are not finalized, so I will not speculate who plays where. Currently, Bobby Miller is on the OKC Roster as well.
Tulsa, Great Lakes, and Rancho Cucamonga all start their season on April 6th. I will have the final rosters in the upcoming days. Remember that if you have the MLB Package, you also get the Minor League Games as well, and I will be watching Gavin Stone. Gametime is at 7:05 CDT or 8:05 EDT.
Cover Photo Credit: MLB/LA Dodgers
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Discussion (99)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Notes from Internet:
Borg: Any interest in Michael Grove while he’s the 5th starter?
Dan Szymborski: Not personally, but Dodgers are creepy good at finding performance. I have that problem with the Astros and Dodgers. I don’t want them to make the playoff but also they have some fun and good players that I don’t want to root against.
The Athletic’s Keith Law on the Cactus League ($$$$$)
Open on theathletic.comhttps://theathletic.com/4367417/2023/03/31/cactus-league-scouting-dodgers-cubs/On River Ryan, “…If what I saw from him in a minor league start on Tuesday is any indication, though, he’ll be a top 25 prospect before the year is out.”
On Nastrini, “He threw just two innings but was 93-96 mph with a plus-plus slider, coming from a 3/4 slot and working very online to the plate, with a little head-jerk at release but otherwise no delivery concerns.”
On Alex Freeland “…I saw a lot of swing and miss from him in the two days I was on the Dodgers’ back fields, with bat speed but poor adjustments to pitchers changing speeds on him, although he did smoke one fastball to the warning track in dead center.”
Baseball America’s Josh Norris says keep an eye on Thayron Liranzo
trueblueLA took a look at Drew Avans:
Open on www.truebluela.comhttps://www.truebluela.com/2023/3/31/23659423/drew-avans-spring-training-dodgersBen Clemens Chat:
Mr. Burrito: Hey, am I crazy for liking the Dodgers strategy this year? All I seem to hear is they’re taking too big a gamble by infusing the lineup with various doses of Outman and Vargas and probably Pepiot. But, at some point, don’t you have to see what the farm really has?
Ben Clemens: I like it a little bit less since they didn’t manage to reset cap penalties, but I think people are overrating how bad it is to just be excellent instead of unstoppable for a year. I like the idea of concentrating a lot of it at once, I think the Miguels are both underrated and that Rojas will be a perfectly acceptable shortstop stopgap, and I’m obviously Team Vargas. Change is scary, and this isn’t quite the Dodgers of recent vintage, but I think it’s a cleverly managed transition. The real question is whether they are willing to pivot depending on how the year starts
MattyP: Healthy Miguel Vargas looks ready to outperform FG’s 2023 projections. Dodgers have babied his wrist through the Spring. NL ROY material?
Ben Clemens: I’m totally team Vargas, as I said
Jon Heyman, who I am decidedly uncertain on, has a bit about how close the Dodgers came to getting Volpe.
Open on nypost.comhttps://nypost.com/2023/03/30/dodgers-dropped-ball-on-anthony-volpe/Passan:
BREAKING: A deal is in place between the minor league players in the MLBPA and Major League Baseball on the historic first collective-bargaining agreement for minor leaguers, union officials tell ESPN. Deal is five years and includes at least 2x pay at all levels of the minors.
Baseball America ($$$$$) breaks it down further:
Open on www.baseballamerica.comhttps://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/mlb-minor-league-players-reach-deal-on-first-milb-cba/Nice look at some under-the-radar prospects at the excellent DodgersDigest:
Open on dodgersdigest.comhttps://dodgersdigest.com/2023/03/29/helium-justin-wrobleski-is-a-dodgers-prospect-on-the-rise-while-osorio-martinus-pinales-yean-are-fomo-picks/Eric Longenhagen has also been bullish on Yean, of whome Thomas writes “the 6’4 Yean possesses a fastball that routinely reached 100 miles per hour in 2022 as an 18-year-old, topping out at 101. He also has a slider that has picked up some nods as a potential 60-grade offering, and that combo led to a strikeout rate of 40.2% in his debut campaign.”
Jay Jaffe Chat
Jesse: What do you make of the Dodgers’ plan to play Mookie 20-30 games at 2b? Is this preparing Mookie for a late-career move to a less demanding position or a function of their lack of up the middle depth?
Jay Jaffe: They like their moving parts, and Mookie seems to like playing second base. With Lux out of the picture and Taylor more likely to be needed at shortstop, they want to maximize their options. I doubt we end up with 20-30 games of him there if they struggle with outfield production, though.
Dan the Man McGRAWWWW: Does Goldy or Freeman get into the Hall?
Jay Jaffe: Particularly after last year’s MVP season, I think Goldy’s in good shape, and Freeman is so good and so steady that I think he’ll get there as well.
Bill Plunkett @Baseball America looks at a new changeup grip for Gavin Stone ($$$$$)
Open on www.baseballamerica.comhttps://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/dodgers-gavin-stone-came-to-grips-with-his-changeup-and-has-excelled/“The modified split-changeup that Stone used to record a minor league-leading 1.48 ERA last year—while striking out 12.4 per nine innings—at three different levels wasn’t created until his first spring training in the Dodgers’ organization.”
Okay, it’s just a game, but Max Muncy looked totally lost.
Maybe tonight, he’ll be found.
But hey, it’s time to celebrate. The Dodgers won the season opener and they looked pretty good doing it.
It didn’t take long, but both the LA Times and Daily News referenced Julio Urias free agency after this year and wondered if the Dodgers would sign him, big contract and all. Even quoted Scott Boras, who was holding court before the game.
Not sure the Dodgers can allow him to walk away. They have a large Hispanic fan base, which means Julio won’t be the normal free agent. I think they sign him.
But the new blend of veterans and youth will make for an exciting year. Yes, it’s a long season, no doubt Mark will continue to remind everybody of that fact as the Dodgers work their way through the ups and downs that are baseball.
Coldest opener in 25 years.
A fun game to watch. I think Outman has an awesome swing. Rojas was told to swing harder and he has been doing that. Tagged the umpire with a 105 mph hooking bouncer. Umpire pretended it didn’t hurt. It did.
Regarding Muncy–He showed super class especially on #5. Hard not to get mad. Many have taken a bat to the water cooler. He kept his cool. I agree Badger. He didn’t sleep well last night but then neither did I.
All the griping here about the Dodgers. How about becoming a Diamondback fan. Your October dreams are over after game one and the next time you see a .500 record may very well be opening day 2024!
Vargas is looking confortable good @ 2b.
Keith Law in The Athletic:
Right-hander River Ryan was my No. 9 Dodgers prospect coming into 2023 and got some support from scouts and analysts for the top 100, missing out mostly because he’s barely pitched, with just 47.2 innings last year in his pro debut on the mound. If what I saw from him in a minor league start on Tuesday is any indication, though, he’ll be a top 25 prospect before the year is out.
Zac Gallen is a pretty good pitcher, and as the game went along, we started putting good at bats against him. Great sign.
Giants lose, Dodgers win. A good day
UPDATED PHOTO ABOVE!
Some things that stood out for me:
Urias still doesn’t warm up for the first inning.
JD with a nice stroke on a two strike swing. Then he runs into the third out at third. Did I say run? I meant jogged. He looks like he’s running at the beach. Think Bowie JD! Station to Station.
An umpire down the line hit by a fair ball. Should never happen. He knows it.
Muncy. Yoiks. Bet he didn’t sleep well.
Wake up Lil Mookie, wake up. Your stat line wasn’t so hot. A walk is all you got. The game is over, you had an 0fer, your reputation might be shot. (some might recognize that tune)
Bullpen rocks.
The dbacks suck. The Dodgers did what they should do to a team predicted to win 70 some odd games. Can they do it twice in a row?
Too bad Pepiot is out . Tough break for the kid.
I do not see Bobby Miller on the OKC roster. Why is he left out ?
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!