Life Isn t Fair

We all know that life isn’t fair and it especially is not fair that Joc has to sit against four straight lefties simply because he can’t hit them. However, it’s unfair to the rest of the team to have Joc hitting against the lefty. So, Joc loses… while the team wins. Simple math…

It’s way too early to pronounce that Robert Van Socyoc’s new age hitting direction a resounding success, but I am leaning that way. Even Ray Charles can see the direction this is trending. On the MLB.com weekly power ratings, of which the Dodgers are #1, they wrote:

“If we’re basing this on short-term results and long-term projections, there is no reason for any team to top the defending National League champs. Logic tells us the offensive tear the Dodgers have been on since Opening Day can’t continue forever, but hasn’t it been fun to watch? Even before their high-scoring affair with the Rockies on Sunday night, Los Angeles led the NL in on-base percentage, slugging and home runs. Through nine games last year, they had four home runs and ended up setting a franchise record with 235. This year, through nine games, they have 22, and they added two more on Sunday, including Cody Bellinger’s seventh of the season.”

Of course, they can’t keep it up, no way! Can they? Can they….? Well, I doubt it, but we are in completely unchartered territory. The Dodgers have never hit with RISP they way they have been. They have not been going to the opposite field the way they are now. They have not been bunting the way they are now. They have not been shortening up, with two strikes, they way they are now. They have never scored runs like they are now without the long ball.

The long ball is still who this team is, but it is no longer all they are. They move runners and their situational hitting has changed 180 degrees… except for Joc. He will evolve or he will be gone. It’t that simple. CT3 is also having issues. The rope is not short with either one, but in a few weeks we will have the answer. It’s hard to imagine a Dodger team without Pederson and/or Taylor, but evolution as a hitter is what they both have to do.

Alex Verdugo is evolving… showing he can hit in the clutch and showing that he has power to play a corner outfield position. No excuses… just show up, step up and shut up! Alex has! I am rooting for CT3 and Joc to do the same, but the Dodgers have resources “In house” to replace them both.

This is a long season and if you are concerned about the bullpen, well that is a valid concern, although I happen to think the bullpen will ultimately be a strength, not a weakness… but it obviously has been a problem up until now. Denver is not a good place to fix your bullpen woes. It was no surprise to see Julio Urias struggle in Coors or even Kelly or Santana. It’s tough to pitch there – ask Clayton Kershaw (who makes his final rehab start for Tulsa on Tuesday).

Kelly did look better even though his line was not good and it was good to see Kenley get back on that horse that threw him off and get a four out save to close out the game. Yimi is even starting to show flashes of greatness. This is a process. Let it play out.

You can have concerns about certain aspects of the team. I was concerned as to whether Corey Seager would make it back 100%. AC was sure… and he was right. He has concerns about the bullpen, and right about now, so does everyone… except me. It’s going to be fine! You are not a moron if you have concerns about the bullpen. However, if you have a laundry list of 20 things that can be wrong with the Dodgers, like:

1. “How are we going to replace Grandal? Martin and Barnes are horrible.”
2. “How will we replace Puig and Kemp’s production?”
3. “How we replace Alex Wood in the rotation?”
4. “We have seen the best of Cody Bellinger.”
5. “Max Muncy is a candidate for regression.”
6. Blah, Blah, blah

If you have twenty things you are worried about, I am suggesting that you may be neurotic, delusional, a “Negative Nellie” or a moron. There is hope for morons – I have often been one, but to have a negative opinion of this entire team is downright moronic. I will need to see them keep up their “good hitting habits” for a while longer… and this is baseball: this is a peak, but there will be valleys. Be prepared. Now, let’s kill us some bird!

Minor League Report by DC

Loons 6 – Lake County Captains  0 (Indians)

The Loons won their first game of the season after having scored only a total of four runs in their first three games. They struck early scoring a run in the first inning on a lead off single by Drew Evans followed by a double by Jacob Amaya. In the third inning they scored one of those, we’ll take it runs,  with Romar Cuadrado scoring on a double play.

The Loons broke the game open in the sixth inning  on a double by Miguel Vargas to drive in Jacob Amaya who had walked.  Cuadrado finished off the scoring with  a two-run single. Of interest, Amaya has three consecutive games in which he has had a double and a walk.

Guillermo Zuniga started the game and pitched 2.2 innings before reaching his pitch count. He gave up three hits and walked four but allowed no runs. He escaped when Jose Chacin came in with the bases loaned and two out in the third inning.  He quickly induced a ground ball stranding all three runners. On the game Chacin pitched 5.1 innings giving up two hits, no runs or walks and striking out five. Joel Inoa finished the game with two strikeouts and a ground ball.

The biggest news for the day was that John Shoemaker notched his 200th win as a Loons manager. He now trails only Juan Bustabad who had 225 wins with the Loons over  three seasons from 2009-11.

Quakes  – Stockton Ports  2(A’s)

The Quakes downed the Ports for the third time in four games with a 5-2 win after spotting Stockton two runs in the first inning.  They came back with one run in the second inning when Carlos Rincon scored on a Devin Mann bases loaded walk. Rancho Cucamonga scored four more in the fourth inning. Marcus Chiu, after a walk, scored on Donovan Casey’s home run  to left-center field. Mann scored on a ground out and Jeter Downs finished the scoring with a double that drove in Jeren Kendall.  Both Casey and Downs had two hits.

Geraldo Carrillo started for the Quakes and after a shaky first inning finished with a four inning start in which he gave up three hits and two runs along with three walks and three strikeouts. Sven Schueller, Logan Salow and Ryan Moseley took over from there and pitched five innings of scoreless ball on two hits, four walks and eight strikeouts.

Quakes relievers have now pitched 20.2 innings over the four games and allowed but one run.

Drillers 3 – Arkansas Travelers 2 (Mariners)

The Drillers also won their first game of the season after losing three to the Travelers. They also started quickly scoring a run in the first inning on an Omar Estevez single and a Christian Santana double. They had only seven hits in the game but strung them together in the sixth inning with a Zach McKinstry triple, a Logan Landon single and and an Omar Estevez double resulting in two more runs to take a 3-0 lead.

Estevez has started the season with four straight multi-hit games. He leads the team with nine hits and a .529 batting average.

Mitchell White started for the Drillers and threw three hitless innings. He walked one and struck out three. He was followed  by Louis Head and Luis Vasquez who pitched a combined 4.1 inning allowing only two hits, one run and striking out five. Michael Boyle made it close giving up  a two-run home run in the eight inning with one of those runs charged to Vasquez. He finished off the ninth inning, not without incident, but preserved the win.

OKC Dodgers 1- San Antonio Missions 4 (Brewers)

The Dodgers at home, tried to even the five game series at two apiece with the Missions. They were not able to generate much offense. They did have seven hits but struck out 11 times and left 15 runners on base. Daniel Castro and Will Smith both had two hits, each with an extra base hit. They scored their lone run in the fourth innings on a Smith triple and a Rios single.

Tony Gonsolin started and had two strong innings before running into trouble in the third inning walking two and giving up  a double and a triple resulting in three runs. He was following by Joe Broussard who pitched a scoreless inning. Kevin Quackenbush pitched the sixth  and seventh innings giving up a fourth run to the Missions on a home run by Tyler Saladino. Josh Sborz pitched the last two innings giving up two hits, no runs with no walks and five strikeouts. Former Dodger Josh Fields recorded his second save for the Missions in their four games with the Dodgers. Dodgers pitchers recorded 14 strikeouts in the game. Tony Gonsolin recorded eight strikeouts in his Triple-A debut, including five straight – two strikeouts to end the first inning before striking out the side in the second inning. It marked the fourth straight game  that Dodger pitchers have recorded double-digit strikeouts.