Rowan and Martin

Abbreviated Spring Time Random Thoughts – by 2Demeter2 (aka/Rowan)

I was hoping to finish my article on Alanna Rizzo this week, but I have been down and out with the flu and a cold for the past 4 days, feeling rather punkish.  So that article will have to wait for another day.   On the other hand, one of the “benefits” of being down and out was that I got to watch a couple of the Dodger’s spring training games and have come away with some abbreviated random thoughts on what I’ve seen.   I apologize to you for the short post.   You all deserve better.  

•      I don’t know if you noticed, but Mookie Betts is playing for the Dodgers.   When did that happen?    Mookie Betts!!!   It is fun just to say his name and see him wearing Dodger Blue.  Mookie Betts!!!

•      It has been mentioned by some that Mookie has already taken a significant leadership role with the team.   It appears that he and JT will operate as unofficial co-captains.   Perfect!!!!   Apparently they have started a “Kangaroo Court” to deal with missed signs, missed plays, failure to advance runners, that type of thing.   Let’s hope it brings the same sense of determination to the Dodgers as was present in 1988! 

•      Springtime statistics are so very misleading.   The other day minor leaguer Markus Solbach came in to pitch for the Dodgers in the 8^th inning.   I’m not particularly familiar with him other than he is from Germany and did well in Australia.   This was the first time I saw him pitch.   I have to tell you I was really impressed.   He struck out the first two hitters with ease, as he had good movement and placement with his pitches.   The third batter was fooled and hit a little “excuse me” grounder to third base.   Devin Mann didn’t get a great jump on the ball and the batter beat it out by a step.   The next batter hit a routine grounder to second, albeit a sharp one.  Due to the shift, Estevez was positioned closer to the bag and could only keep the ball in the infield.  He just couldn’t make the play at first.   Up until now, Solbach had been making great pitches, looked very confidant and had good command.  However, he missed with his second pitch to the next hitter and put in the only spot that Enrique Soto could hit it.  And hit it he did as he smacked a 3-run HR to right field.   It should have been a 1-2-3 inning for Solbach, but baseball, it’s a game of inches and his final line read: 1 inning, 3, hits, 3 runs, 2Ks and a 27.00 era.  Those who didn’t see the game will quickly assume that he must have “sucked” and write him off.  I don’t know if this young man will ever make it to the show, but I’m here to tell you, he didn’t suck, and I know he doesn’t have the same ceiling as Jo Jo Gray, but on this particular day, he looked every bit the equal to him.  The stats just don’t bear it out. 

•      A few years back, I thought that Jake Peter was a better player than Max Muncy.  Peter was having a great spring, he showed some pop and defensive versatility.  I thought Muncy was okay, but he just didn’t impress me as much as Peter.  Well, guess what, I was wrong!!!  Big-time wrong.  This reminds me of why I’m not working in a baseball front-office and how much smarter the front office, coaching staff, and development personnel are than me.  

•      Cody Thomas is quickly becoming the ice cream flavor of this spring.   As Vin Scully would say:   “He has prodigious power!!”   The same can be said for DJ Peters.   I’m amazed at how athletic these young men are.   They are both very big men, and yet have good speed and mobility for their size.   As an aside, DJ Peters is 6′ 5″ and weighs 245 lbs.   I’m 6′ 4″ and weigh 245 lbs.   I don’t understand it, but my body looks nothing remotely close to DJs.   Must be something wrong with the numbers.   

•      McKinstry, Reks, and Raley are also representing themselves well this spring.   Again, I’m impressed with their athleticism and how confidant they appear.   They are players who look and act as if though they belong.  

•       I’m writing this on Saturday afternoon, while the Dodgers are playing the Rockies and D-backs in split-squad games.   At the moment, the Dodgers are winning handily in both games.   That makes it especially nice because it allows many of the younger, young pups to have a chance to play.   Deacon Liput, Edwin Uceta, Dillon Paulson, Miguel Vargas, Romer Cuadrado, Justin Yurchak, Steve Berman, Matt Lipka ( I have no idea who he is), and Jacob Amaya, among others.   

•      I’m not ready to hand the National League crown to the Dodgers yet.   They have to go out and earn it.   But, my oh my, this is a very deep team. Let’s hope we can avoid any serious injuries to key players.  

•      If you had to trade one position player and one pitcher before the end of spring training, who would they be?  Why would you trade them? And, what would you expect in return?   I’m interested in your thoughts.  

My Thoughts on Trades – by Mark Timmons aka/Martin

Last year, Andrew Fredman traded Alex Wood, Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was: none would have been offered the Qualifying Offer and rather than losing them for nothing, it’s better to trade them for SOMETHING. That SOMETHING turned out to be two very, very good prospects. The Dodgers still have one and the other was used to get Mookie Betts and David Price.

If you believe that we can “watch and learn” then learn this: Kike Hernandez and Joc Pederson will be Free Agents in 2021. Neither will get the QO. Joc is making $7.7 million as a platoon player and there is no way the Dodgers will hand him $18 Million… because he would take it! The same with Kike.

It’s time for them to move on to play on a team where they can play a lot more. Andrew Friedman understands the plan and he is even eager to let players grow. That means that we could look for a trade sometime in the near future. The Dodgers have no discernable needs, so I look for prospects in return. Zach Reks and Edwin Rios could also be part of any deal.

Some fans thought there was some kind of conspiracy in not playing Joc Pederson. Dumb! He can’t be traded unless he shows he is healthy. I really look for Joc and Kike to be traded this spring. They will be replaced with McKinstry and Raley. How much can Friedman get in return? Who wants them? It might have to be a 3 or 4 team deal… and it might be that AF doesn’t want two rookies on the squad right about now. I get that as well!

I won’t even try and predict who the Dodgers could get. Odds are, they might be prospects 2 years away. The Dodgers could trade a number of players and still not miss them… they are so deep. Could Cody Thomas handle LF is Joc was traded?

Let the trades begin… OR NOT!

Dodger News

• When Andrew Friedman screws up, he ends up with a guy making $60 million, like AJ Pollock. When Brian Cashman and Theo Epstein screw up, they end up with Stanton making $290 Million and Heyward making $184 Million. I like Friedman’s screw-ups better… and I was never on the AJP Bandwagon… everyone makes mistakes. AJ can still prove useful.
• I think this is the year where Striker “Never Call a Pitcher Walker” Buehler becomes a Cy Young Contender.
• You never really know, but for years I have heard that Yadier Alvarez has “mental health issues.” We can talk bad about him, but imagine being in a strange country and having issues such as that. We don’t know what they are, but we can only wish him the best. “Goodbye Yadi. we hardly knew ‘ya.” It’s possible he stays in the organization, although I don’t see it.
• We still have nothing on Andrew Toles…
• The Dodgers Pitching Coaches and Rob Hill are working with David Price on simplifying his delivery and he is going to pitch exclusively out of the stretch this year. He has also done that in times past.
• Keibert Ruiz looked impressive behind the plate. He was in charge and controlled the game. Now, as to the bat thing…
• For those of you who question whether Kenta Maeda asked for a trade, here it is from MLB TRade Rumors.com:

As if there weren’t enough drama surrounding the Dodgers’ three-way deal for Mookie Betts, departed Dodger Kenta Maeda revealed on his YouTube channel that he had requested a trade out of Los Angeles, per Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.

Neither the trade nor the revelation of Maeda’s request are particularly shocking as Maeda had made clear in the past his desire to be in the rotation. With Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler providing one of the better 1-2 punches in the league, the Dodgers preferred using Maeda as a roving power arm, especially come playoff time. The Dodgers used Maeda as a starter in 2016’s playoffs, but he didn’t make it out of the fifth inning in any of his three playoff starts. In the three postseasons hence, the Dodgers made Maeda into a relief weapon and saw him post a 1.64 ERA in 22 innings in the playoffs from 2017 to 2019.

While 2019’s postseason run was shorter than expected, Maeda was dominant in the NLDS agains the Nationals. He appeared in four of the five games, surrendering just one hit and no walks to seven strikeouts.
The Dodgers had begun to utilize their postseason strategy with Maeda more during the regular season. Now with the Twins, Maeda should be back in the rotation on a full-time basis as he prefers. Maeda has a personal goal of reaching 200 career wins, per Hernandez, which would mean accruing 14 wins per season for the next for years. That’s a tall order for anyone. Only ten pitchers posted so many wins over the past four years. That said, the Twins offense should help in providing an environment conducive to win collection.

In his first four seasons stateside, Maeda has gone 47-35 with a 3.87 ERA/3.71 FIP, and that’s with starting approximately 26 games per season. If he stays healthy, Maeda could potentially garner another 4 to 6 starts per season, putting him in range to hit his target. While Wins aren’t the tell-all stat of years past, it’s safe to assume the relationship between Maeda and Minnesota will have gone quite well if he does indeed achieve the 200-win mark.

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