It's Time For a Change… or Two!
Yesterday was the first game of the year that I did not watch an inning, but I did go back and watch the condensed debacle. It was about as bad as the Pacers-Celtics game I went to last night. My son-in-law is a a Celtics fan, so it made things even worse. He is also a Red Sox…
Yesterday was the first game of the year that I did not watch an inning, but I did go back and watch the condensed debacle. It was about as bad as the Pacers-Celtics game I went to last night. My son-in-law is a a Celtics fan, so it made things even worse. He is also a Red Sox fan and is envious of the fact that the Dodgers are good every year while the Red Sox are not, but win an occasional World Series. It is his opinion that winning every year is better than winning a World Series every eight or ten years. His exact words are, “It sucks to be a Red Sox fan.” But, I digress.
The Dodgers had five hits yesterday. Each of the top 5 batters had one, and the bottom four had zero, zilch, nada. It’s too early to see if Heyward is going to repeat what he did last year, but Chris Taylor, Kike Hernandez, and Gavin Lux are pathetic! Some fans blame it on Robert Van Scoyoc and Aaron Bates, the hitting coaches. RVS is reputed to be a hitting guru, and for some hitters, he is all of that… and more. JDM signed with the Dodgers last year for less money than he was offered elsewhere in order to be reunited with RVS. Shohei Ohtani has hit better than ever under RVS, as has Max Muncy, Freddie Freeman, and even Teoscar. But, sometimes, what works for one player does not work for another.
If RVS is the problem, then get rid of him! I’m just not convinced that he is the issue. If the Dodgers fired him, he would be employed within 10 minutes anyway. The problem, as I see it, is that too many of the Dodger hitters “sell out” on every pitch. CT3 and Kike are swinging out of their shoes on every swing. The same is true with Max Muncy, but Freddie, Mookie, and Shohei don’t do that! They pick their situations. The answer, I believe, is to start by getting rid of Chris Taylor. He has been a great Dodger and a great teammate, but that ship has sailed. Who do you get then? What should the Dodgers do?
Play Miguel Vargas, You Morons!
Maybe there is a good reason why Miguel Vargas is not playing. I am not privy to everything about the Dodgers, but Miguel Vargas has excellent bat-to-ball skills and, in my opinion, has the makings of a professional hitter. The only way we can find out is to let him play. Even Ray Charles can see that! I will guarantee one thing: He won’t hit, if you don’t play him! Well, Duhhh… The Dodgers already have one player who can’t hit, and they will keep Austin Barnes because of what he brings to the pitching staff. Lux and Kike are hitting over .200, so they will get some time to fix their swings, but Chris Taylor is totally lost… and I don’t think I will live long enough to see him come back.
The Dodgers do not need three Swiss-Army Knives. CT3, Kike, and Rojas have similar skills; although Rojas doesn’t play the outfield, however, I bet he could in an emergency. The best thing the Dodgers can do for the team and Chris Taylor is to cut him loose. He evidently has not volunteered to go to the Minors to work on his swing, so, bye-bye, Chris! Who takes his place?
Call up Andre Lipcuis!
I do not know if he is a suspect or a prospect, but there is only one way to find out: Call him up and let him play while Max Muncy is on the IL. He’s 26. Can play 3B and is a RH hitter. After going 0-4 last night, he is still hitting .328 with a .394 OB%, and a 1.006 OPS. He has 13 HR (his career high in just 183 ABs) and has nine doubles and two triples. He has struck out 25% of the time. With all of the offensive struggles from the bottom of the lineup, he needs to have a chance. Don’t be a moron, Andrew – Call him up!
What’s wrong with this lineup?
- Betts SS
- Ohtani DH
- Freeman 1B
- Smith C
- Teoscar RF
- Pages/Heyward CF
- Lux/Rojas 2B
- Vargas LF
- Lipcuis 3B
It’s worth a try, before the trade deadline approaches.
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Discussion (54)
Disagree, not disagreeable
I like it.
Give Vargas a full opportunity, and let’s see what Lipcius can do.
Maybe Vargas is finally read.
Did the Dodgers coaching unlock Lipcius power? Or maybe Lipcius is just a late bloomer–another Max or JT or Chris Taylor, three players who did not come close to developing their potential before joining the Dodgers.
This plan pushes Taylor to the end of the bench, or maybe off the bench altogether.
Whether to give ABs to Vargas or Taylor is a real dilemma, but this plan could help resolve it. If Miguelito succeeds, whither Taylor? If he doesn’t, whither Miguelito?
Could not agree more. I get that baseball is a game that rewards patience but when does patience became indecision or timidity. Chris Taylor has been struggling for the better part of two years. Heyward and Peralta were signed last year as progress stoppers for DeLuca and Busch. They need to find out what they have internally before looking outside the organization. Find out if Vargas can help them this year. Determine if Lipcius can help at the Major League level. I think we know what Taylor, Hernandez, Barnes, and Heyward will be. They were not good enough last year to help a bottom of the line up when Betts, Freeman, and Smith stopped hitting.
The roster construction this year did not make much sense – clearly, Rojas, Taylor, and Hernandez are fairly redundant. Versatile with below average major league production as hitters. Why do we need three of them?
This is a frustrating team to watch. And, for the first time in ten years, I really wonder what the front office is thinking. Last year we heard about the priority of giving talented young minor leaguers a runway to succeed at the major league level. So we sign Peralta and Heyward. Seems to me they are not willing to give young players time at the major league level to develop. See DeLuca, Raley, and Busch who have been given those opportunities elsewhere.
Every Sunday i can’t wait for Dodger baseball! And then the lineup is posted!! No Vargas again? I really don’t understand it! I wouldn’t be surprised to see Barnsie, Taylor , and kiki in the outfield soon!! lol
Play Miguel Vargas, You Morons! If not, why is he here? The Dodgers’ handling of his injury last year didn’t make much sense. Who sends a batter to the plate with broken fingers and tells him to not to swing? How is that helpful? I guess the Dodgers. I like Vargas’s swing and he is adequate in LF. Now is the time to give him a legit opportunity to be a successful MLB player.
Call up Andre Lipcuis! Speaking of now is the time, now is the time for Andre with Muncy sidelined and CT3 continuing to be a non factor. The minor league depth the Dodgers have created apparently is deep enough because they rarely use it when needed. With a strong top 5-6 in the lineup and a weak bottom of the order now is the time to bring up and play some of these prospects. Why the hesitation? Mark, I love the Lipcuis call up lineup. It’s a WS winning lineup even without Max included!
It is sad to witness the continuing and complete decline of CT3. He a good person and teammate. He has provided several memorable clutch moments for the team and fans in the past few years. But, it’s business. Baseball business. Even with his 2024 and 2025 salaries and buyouts of approximately $30M, it’s time to cut Chris. You can’t commit over a billion dollars in free agency in the offseason and keep a player who has been awful for more than a year. And getting worse. For the ownership, the $30M is a rounding error. It’s not easy to be so flippant about releasing him. As frustrating as he has been, CT3 has made some great plays wherever he plays in the field and hit some exciting HRs in his Dodger career. It’s time to give someone else a chance. Andre Lipcuis, come on down!
Many seem to focus on Walker Buehler’s velocity. But, WB knows it’s his location that is the key to his comeback. His FB at 95-96 MPH is more than adequate to be effective. That’s why he was so happy after his last start. It’s the difference in the speed with his other pitches and their location that will make him successful. As competitive as Walker is I think he will continue to get sharper as the season progresses. He’s not only talented physically, but he is very smart on how to “pitch”. Not just throw hard.
Batting averages for the bottom of the lineup and bench:
Rojas, .250
Pages, .238
Lux, 210
Kike,206
Heyward,194
Barnes, -189
Vargas, .143
CT3, .101
And if you factor in MM and Outman who are currently not on the team you have two more silent bats at .223 and .147 respectively.
Championship caliber hitting ? No way if this continues. Not even if you 4-5 players like that on your roster unless your top hitters never fall into a slump.
Case closed.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
12:10 PM ET EARLY GAME
Dodgers (33-21)
Reds (22-30)
SP Y. Yamamoto R
5-1 3.17 ERA
SP Nick Martinez R Bullpen Game
1-3 4.81 ERA PRIM
Confirmed Lineup
SS Mookie Betts R
DH S. Ohtani L
1B F. Freeman L
LF T. Hernandez R
CF Andy Pages R
2B Gavin Lux L
RF J. Heyward L
3B E. Hernandez R
C A. Barnes R
80° Wind 9 mph In
Saturday scores
Reno 13, Oklahoma City 7
Springfield 8, Tulsa 7
Great Lakes 9, Beloit 8 (10 innings)
Modesto 8, Rancho Cucamonga 5
Sunday schedule
10:05 a.m. PT: Great Lakes (Peter Heubeck) vs. Beloit (Alex Williams)
12:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Ben Casparius) vs. Reno (Blake Walston)
2 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Bobby Miller) vs. Modesto (Elijah Dale)
4:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Kendall Williams) at Springfield (Trent Baker)
Bobby Miller makes the first of what is expected to be two or three minor league rehab starts, and is expected to pitch about three innings Sunday for the Quakes. Evan Phillips is also expected to pitch for Rancho Cucamonga.