That’s what Dodger fans always do. Anytime the boys in blue lose a game, we see so many knee-jerk reactions that one would think knee-jerking is an Olympic Sport; right up there with jumping to conclusions! I guess that one of the silliest things I have heard is to criticize the bullpen, which happens to be #3 in all of MLB. Cleveland is #1 with a 2.38 ERA. The Yankees are #2 with a 2.97 ERA, and the Dodgers are #3 at 3.03.
James Paxton was horrible and got no help from the defense. Paul Skenes was as advertised – filthy. Enjoy him while you can. He is a TJ waiting to happen. Arms can’t withstand that kind of power displays. I look for Paxton to get traded at the deadline… or be on the IL. With Miller and Kershaw coming back, he will be the odd man out, but he needs to have a few more good outings. Last night was not one…
Friday is a big day. Three more pitchers are taking steps forward.
The Dodgers are just going through the motions right about now. There’s no urgency or intensity… and there is absolutely no reason to manufacture any. They are seven games ahead of the Padres and (right about now), only the Yankees and Phillies are doing better. Now is not the time to go to the whip. You cannot play 162 games with playoff intensity. I want to see them turn it on in the second half. This is just the audition for the playoffs. I am not talking about tanking or anything like that. Let’s try something different this year.
Many Dodger fans wrote off Andy Pages after he struggled:
James Outman is knocking on the Door:
Don’t lose your mind. This, too, shall pass. Andrew Friedman is working on what to do at the trade deadline. They have invested $312 Million in the team this year and they haven’t come this far, just to come this far! Patience Grasshoppers. Just play Miguel Vargas!
Down on the Farm
Discussion (33)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Complain all you want but Mookie is still right at the top defensively of shortstops with 5 runs saved. His throwing will improve the more reps he gets. He’ll be even better by October. The issue for me is can Lux, Pages and Vargas develop as offensive threats by October and give us some production at the bottom of the order?
There’s a chance we may not see Juan Soto this weekend:
Soto (forearm) will undergo imaging Friday after experiencing forearm soreness during Thursday’s game against the Twins, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.
Soto didn’t return to Thursday’s game after a lengthy rain delay. The move was framed as a precautionary measure by manager Aaron Boone, though he also disclosed that Soto has been bothered by forearm discomfort for the past week. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Yankees be cautious with Soto in the short term, though the team has not announced any official plans.
TeoH crushes lefties but strikes out on sliders-away against righties.
The Dodgers will never do this because (at minimum) they have a hand-shake agreement with Teo to play him every game against all pitchers …however…
TeoH and JHey would make IDEAL platoon partners in RF.
A dark horse!! Chris Owens. Owens got off to a horrible start at OKC but about a month ago he has turned it around at the plate. He is currently at .298. He has an abundance of MLB experience and though normally a middle infielder the OKC team (whatever they. Call themselves now) have him playing all over. It’s no secret that the Dodgers like veterans. Not saying he is the solution but it won’t be a surprise if he gets the call.
Good to see some offense.
Make some changes after this upcoming Yankees series.
Mookie comes off short, and the hottest hitter in the lineup (Miggy) goes back to short.
Taylor and Kike out.
Lipicus and Gautier up and on the 40.
Glad they have a rested Banda and Ramirez in the bullpen to face the Yankees tm
I know the 4 bullpen studs needed work. Use 2 of them in the blowout yesterday and 2 today. So at least 2 are rested enough because there are gonna be allot of 20 pitch innings coming up against the Yankees this weekend.
Go Dodgers!!
Love Mookie, great Dodger, first ballot HOF, but he is not a very good defensive ML everyday SS. Dodger brass has to find a way to either get him back in the OF or 2B. A very good SS easily makes that play in the 8th inning up the middle and slightly shaded to 2B. Failure to make the play (even though it was scored as a hit as it should have been) forced Phillips to pitch 30 pitches and eventually give up a three-run HR.
Our all or nothing blue crew. Save something for the Yankees!
Buehler should have been out of the second inning with 22 pitches. Instead he had to throw 15 more pitches due to 2 Dodger errors. Then 35 in the 3rd inning in part due to another error called a hit. The velocity says 96-98 but the life on his pitches just not there.
Vargas showed why we want him in there and why they are hesitant to play him. Defensively we r just going to have to live with some of his inexperience.
Teo just got a homer to put us ahead. First rbi in 3 weeks.
Barnes finally bunts but our best hitter can’t put it in play. So small ball has issues when u can’t put it in play. Kike tries to bunt but can’t . Kike then gets a double against a righty. A bunt mb a good call but other than Barnes and Taylor forget about it.
I really like Roberts letting Buelher battle through!
Why the f not?
This is what happens when players are playing out of position lf, 3rd, ss
And here we go again!
But don’t worry, this is a championship-caliber team..
Wow, tough crowd. When the dust settles come the end of July, the 26 men on the roster right now, will not be the same 26 then. There will be changes. You might like them, you might not. But they will happen. I don’t care about losing streaks or bad stretches in June. But they bother the hell out of me come August. The next 9 games are against the Yankees, Rangers and Royals. All of them, tough teams. They go 5-4 it will be good. They lose say six of nine, then fans will really be upset. You have to play the good teams well and beat the crap out of the bad ones. Right now, the Dodgers are having a hard time with the bad ones. After the Royals series, they play the Rockies for four in Colorado, then two with the Angels at Dodger Stadium. Angels just swept SD, then they go on the road again and play the awful White Sox for three and then three in SF. Time to play better is now.
This is a tough crowd.
What outfielder leads the NL in RBIs?
Teoscar and he is 4th in all of MLB.
So, unless you are going to get Soto, Judge or Tucker, you will be getting someone who is not Teo’s equal.
Platoon him? Ha!
He is slumping (like a lot of the team) right about now. In the last 7 games he is hitting .103! He is OPSing .838 against LHP and .739 against RHP. WTF
Now, I know why Bluto called you morons on another site!
Did someone associate platoons and Dodgers?? Is you crazy??? Vargas will be lucky to play 2 times a week!! Outman. needs to come back up ? OK, who goes down ? Taylor?? Don’t think they cut him loose! Kiki? Doc loves him some Kiki!! Vargas?? Who the heck knows!! Does Lipcius get a shot? Who goes down?? Vargas?? I would almost bet you It’s Vargas! I sure hope not! At the end oof the day, There will be no Luis Robert. No Bichette. No Adames. No Lindor. Probably a lower tier outfielder (i know Mark,Vargas), and they ride Taylor,Kiki, Rojas,and good ole Barnsie. into the playoffs!! oh well, you never know! Right now Freddy, Will, and Andy only people hitting like professional hitters should!! Rest of you Dodger hitters, come join the show!!
Alene’s has already proven that he will be a great pitcher. However usually a pitcher has to be a little more seasoned to get the exaggerated strike zone!
06/04/24 Chicago White Sox placed CF Tommy Pham on the 10-day injured list retroactive to June 3, 2024. Left ankle sprain.
6:40 PM ET
Dodgers (38-25)
Pirates (29-32)
SP Walker Buehler R
1-3 4.32 ERA
SP Bailey Falter L
3-2 3.22 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
SS Mookie Betts R
DH S. Ohtani L
1B F. Freeman L
RF T. Hernandez R
CF Andy Pages R
2B Miguel Rojas R
3B E. Hernandez R
LF M. Vargas R
C A. Barnes R
77° Wind 11 mph R-L
Some random thoughts:
The Dodgers showed some fortitude last night in their attempted comeback.
(Still can’t hit in the clutch with any consistency)
This will again be the downfall as playoff time comes).
I really only trust freeman and smith with runners in scoring position in close, playoff caliber games. My gut tells me Pages is going to be a very good mlb player, hopefully for the Dodgers . He is hungry and committed.
To keep Mookie at his ultimate best both physically and mentally he needs to come off shortstop. 2nd base will be the best position for him and that will hopefully keep him invigorate during the playoff run.
Unless there is a trade Rojas can more then adequately play the SS position for the rest of the year with time off throughout the year to stay strong.
We can win the whole thing this year. Will be fine with the pitching .
We must strengthen the bench dramatically.
Try a couple of the AAAA infield Guys for the next 6 weeks.
Gauthier
Lipcius
Hoese – what heck (late bloomer had a good year and had a great spring training
Ferducci up Barnes who goes on IR for something. See if he can be your backup next year or come up in case of an injury this year.
He can probably play some 2nd base if needed in a crunch.
Needs to be Barnes last year
Send down Lux, goodbye to Chris Taylor, goodbye to Kike
Try this for 6 weeks if they don’t perform make the trades you need to overhaul the bench
And freakin play Vargas everyday for the next month. I think he and pages could be keepers.
No platoons. With these 2 for the next month.
Platoon Hayward and Teoscar , who by the way leads the league in leaving runners on base who are in scoring position
Go Dodgers!!
Glass half full look at last night. Pages has reversed his two week slide something that neither Vargas or Outman could do (for different reasons). Johan Ramirez continues to impress. Maybe LA can do for him what they did for Yency Almonte for a year.
Like many have said Paxton was out pitching the peripherals. A correction to the mean last night. Still think he is the odd man out when Miller is healthy and back.
I would not trade for Luis Robert. The injury history would worry me given the cost of acquisition. I would swing big on Kyle Tucker but given the unlikelihood of that trade, I would look for a cheaper alternative. But first, give Vargas a chance against lefties and then a day or two a week to spell Hernandez or Pages. By trade deadline I would want to know what I have in Vargas.
Roberts conceded the game in the 2nd inning by leaving in the starter who didn’t have it yesterday. Should have pulled him much sooner to leave the Dodgers a chance to win.
I also think leaving the pitcher in when he doesn’t have it reinforces whatever is causing the failure with each pitch.
He should have pulled Yarborough also.
Not that the Dodgers would have won but Roberts took away almost any chance.
Teo is leading MLB in most men left on base with 140. Second is Adolis Garcia with 122. He gets up over and over again with men on base. So he’s knocked in 38 out of 140. And he has 12 HR, so he’s actually knocked in 26 of the 140 men that were on base when he got up. A horrible percentage.
Barring injuries, the Dodgers would suffer ZERO repercussions if Lipcius gets brought up and then gets sent back because he doesn’t perform well enough with the parent club. He’s not on the radar among MLB prospects, so he really can’t hurt the Dodgers trade status at the deadline no matter what he does with the big club. So considering the ongoing injury to Max, and Lipcius excellent performance in OKC, what is the downside to calling him up and seeing what he can do?
I don’t expect to see Teoscar platooned bc I’m guessing that part of his agreement coming to the Dodgers on a 1-yr deal was a verbal commitment that he won’t be platooned.
The Dodgers seem to be playing without much urgency. Probably the main reason why is there isn’t a lot of urgency. They are playing poorly and still have a seven game lead. Players aren’t machines, they understand the situation. I believe what Mark stated that once it’s turned off sometimes it hard to restart. My point is, it’s June!! The Dodgers have a little less than two months to makes changes (trades) to improve their club. Just like a pitchers arm, one can’t go 162 games then the playoffs in full speed throttle. It’s not mentally or physically possible. Before we give away three or four prospects let’s see if 1. Robert’s stays healthy for a month and 2. Make sure this prospect doesn’t turn out to be a Yordan Alvarez. Patience is a virtue.
I wish half out current pen pitched for the opposing teams
T Hernandez is very pedestrian against RH pitching. OPS .739, a hundred points less than against lefties. He just can’t lay off the low and away slider.
Thursday schedule
2:35 p.m. PT (doubleheader): Oklahoma City (Ben Casparius & TBA) vs. Round Rock (Jack Leiter & Johnny Cueto)
4:05 p.m.: Great Lakes (Jerming Rosario) vs. Cedar Rapids (Darren Bowen)
5:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Orlando Ortiz-Mayr) at Amarillo (Yilber Diaz)
6:30 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Patrick Copen) vs. Visalia (Jacob Steinmetz)
Just saw a stat that Teo Hernandez of our beloved Dodgers leads all of MLB with Men Left in Scoring Position with 40 which includes 2 last night.
Was it a lack of intensity for the last two October failures or just the crapshoot of having your stars not performing in a small sample size. The pressure to deliver this October will certainly be ramped up.
The Athletic has their Preliminary All-Star Teams:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5540868/2024/06/05/mlb-all-star-team-predictions-2024/?campaign=5888993&source=dailyemail&userId=147501
In the NL:
Starting SS:
Mookie Betts, Dodgers (starter)
(3.5 WAR, 8 HR, 42 R, 9 SB, 164 OPS+)
Betts has made the transition to shortstop look easy, although he’s said how hard it really is. He leads the NL in bWAR and can beat you in every way possible — with his glove, arm, speed, base running, hitting for average or power. In fact, I’m not sure there is anything he can’t beat everyone in, from bowling to golf to pool to video games.
Starting DH:
Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers (starter)
(3.1 WAR, 14 HR, 38 RBI, 14 SB, 179 OPS+)
Ohtani has a chance to be the first designated hitter to ever win an MVP Award as he’s batting .321/.390/.590 with 41 runs scored, 14 homers and 38 RBIs while swiping 14 bases in 15 attempts. He leads the NL with 138 total bases.
Betts and Ohtani were the only starters, but here are the three others on the team:
Freddie Freeman, Dodgers
(2.1 WAR, 7 HR, 35 RBI, 150 OPS+)
Freeman leads all NL first basemen with a .401 on-base percentage. He is a plus defender, for my money the most consistent first baseman in the game, and plays every day. (He leads all first basemen in games played this season.)
Teoscar Hernández, Dodgers
(1.3 WAR, 12 HR, 38 RBI, 124 OPS+)
Hernández was one of the most underrated free-agent signings of the offseason, as the Dodgers scooped him up with a one-year, $23.5 million deal. He leads all NL right fielders in doubles, home runs and RBIs.
Will Smith, Dodgers
(1.8 WAR, 9 HR, 37 RBI, 145 OPS+)
Smith is slashing .296/.363/.515 and leads all NL catchers with 16 doubles and nine home runs. He leads the majors in caught stealing rate (44 percent) and ranks in the 77th percentile in pop time.
Good stuff Mark. Agree with just about everything.
We haven’t hit on all cylinders just yet and I’m ok with that. They are playing the long game here.
On CT3, I feel for the guy, baseball is a fricking hard game. He is a great teammate, works his AZZ off and can play anywhere on the diamond.
My son went 2-31 to open his Sophomore season. He grinded and turned it around and eventually winded up around .300. I can sympathize what CT3 is going thru. I’m not ready to hang this guy just yet.
It is weird on Vargas, my guess is he starts today. Lets get this one and then onto the Bronx, that is going to look like Dodger Stadium East.
Outman now batting .380 with an OPS of over 1200 at AAA. Almost have to recall him . Or trade him. Numbers will not get any better at OKC. With Liranzo coming on strong at A ball and Cartaya showing some signs of life at AA Rushing plus Outman plus Knack should be a good offer to haul in Robert jun. from the WS. If necessary throw in another lower level pitcher. We are so deep in pitching we can afford it.
Bruns went on the IL at GL. Anybody know what is wrong with him ? Looked terrific his last couple starts.
Very disappointing game last night from various standpoints. But good to see Pages get it going after his intial slump.
And Lux continues to ever so slowly improve his average too.
CT3? It has gotten to a point where he almost has to remove himself off the roster. If he is such a good teammate he should see he is hurting the team s success . Amazing that Vargas again did not get into the game.
Paxton finally ran out of luck. His underlying stats hinted that he was overdue for an outing like that. Lets see how he looks next time out. Prime candidate to get removed from the rotation when Miller comes back.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
From yesterday’s comments. BS Old Bear 48. Knack probably won’t even be around. We got Glasnow, Yamamoto, Stone, Miller, Ohtani confirmed in next year’s rotation with Gonsolin, May and possibly Kershaw coming back. And don’t forget Sheehan, recovering from TJ surgery. Then up and comers River Ryan and Nick Frasso to consider. Let alone the Kasaki signing rumors. Landon Knack has pitched beautifully this year. Bring him up use him like Yarbrough. I’m betting Knack would love the experience. But, first and foremost give Lipcuis a chance. Right about now, I like JayHey, Pages and Teo in the OF. But spell all three with some Miguel. As many pitches as Teo was fouling off and missing last night, I say he could use a night off. We have guys in the minors that deserve chances to prove themselves.