I do this (Rants & Raves) when there isn’t a single subject I want to address… but a plethora of them.
- I think I was wrong about Mookie Betts – he’s back!
- I love Dalton Rushing‘s passion. He’s a keeper. He also needs to mature… and he understands that. “I would rather rein in my lions than teach my sheep to hunt!
- If you saw the interview with Dalton after the game, he owned up to his mistakes and said he was embarrassed. I think he is learning. Dodgers.com had this to say: Roberts also acknowledged the emotional weight the young catcher has been carrying: “He wants to do really well and expects a lot of himself. … The last few games, he’s had a tough go of it and swinging through some fastballs, which is a strength of his. It’s a learning curve for everything. He’s still trying to find his way in the big leagues.”In the clubhouse after the win, a visibly frustrated Rushing did not pull any punches regarding his own performance. “I thought Shohei did a good job. I didn’t do a great job, start to finish. It was pretty embarrassing,” Rushing admitted. “Thankfully, he’s as good as he is, and he could take control of a game. … It’s a pretty tough pill as well, both sides of the ball. It was not a great show, and it hasn’t been great as of late, and I’m gonna be better.”
- Will Smith is not a big fellow. Catching is hard on him. Fill in the blanks! _________________
- After a nice start, Ryan Ward is who we thought he was. OK, he’s a (much) better outfielder in LF than I thought he was. He has had 54 ABS and struck out 17 times while walking only 5 times. Those numbers won’t play at the MLB level.
- The Dodgers are LAST in MLB in “Bullpen Innings Pitched.”
- OK, that means they have to be near the top in Starter Innings Pitched… and they are #2, behind the Mariners. However, the Dodgers’ starters have a 3.25 ERA, while Seattle’s is at 3.77.
- Can you imagine the Dodgers’ bullpen with Edwin Diaz, Tanner Scott, and Evan Phillips?
- Don’t forget Alex Vesia!
- Kyle Hurt will be a weapon soon. He has filthy stuff. Control is needed.
- It was nice to see “old friend” Anthony Banda. He gave everything he had to the cause when he was a Dodger.
- Just say NO to Tarik Skubal. The Dodgers have no need… but bid it up, Andrew!
- When the Dodgers win, Dave Roberts is a genius. When they don’t, he’s an idiot!
- Jeff Dominiques‘ Minor League Report is in a league of its own… and it’s next
Reno Aces (Dbacks) 4 – OKC Comets 3 – 10 innings
RHSP Landon Knack made his season debut. It could have gone better. He allowed 2 runs on 5 hits, 1 BB, and 2 K. In 1.2 IP, Knack allowed 2 runs on 5 hits,1 BB, 2 K. In the 1st inning, Knack gave up a leadoff triple and a 1 out double for a run.
OKC tied it up in the 2nd when CF Alek Thomas singled and DH Austin Gauthier singled. Thomas went to 3rd on a force out, and scored on a fielding error.
Knack went back out in the 2nd. He allowed 3 singles and a BB for a run, and left the bases loaded for RHRP Carlos Duran. Duran retired both batters he faced.
In the 3rd, RF Zach Ehrhard singled and scored on LF Teoscar Hernández’s 2-run HR (2).
Reno tied the game in the bottom of the 3rd. RHRP Evan Phillips relieved Duran, and he too could have had a better game. He allowed a single, followed by a 1-out BB, and a 2-out RBI single. RHRP Christian Romero relieved Phillips and got out of the 3rd with no further runs. Romero followed that up with 5.0 scoreless innings.
OKC could not score a run for the remainder of the game.
RHRP Paul Gervase pitched a scoreless 9th.
In the 10th, RHRP Wyatt Mills relieved Gervase. There was a placed runner on 2nd. Mills walked the first batter and struck out the next. A single loaded the bases and a BB scored the walkoff winning run.
- Alek Thomas 3-4, 1 run
- Teoscar Hernández – 1-4, 1 run, 2 RBI, HR (2)
Corpus Christi Hooks 10 – Tulsa Drillers 1
Not a good night for the Tulsa pitchers, with the exception of LHRP Christian Suarez. After RHSP Peter Heubeck could not get out of the 1st inning, and Suarez came in and got the final out. Suarez finished the next 3.0 IP without allowing a run on 2 hits, no BB, and 2 K.
Tulsa had 4 hits in total.
- Josue De Paula – 1-3, 2 BB, 1 run, double (22)
- Zyhir Hope – 1-2, 2 BB
- Jake Gelof – 1-3, 1 BB
- Mike Sirota – 1-5, reached base safely 60 straight games
Great Lakes Loon 6 – Lansing Lugnuts (A’s) 2
Big night for newly promoted 3B Chase Harlan. Two hits and both run producing.
In the 1st inning, SS Emil Morales hit his 6th HR for a 1-0 lead.
In the 3rd, 2B Jose D. Hernandez and CF Eduardo Quintero singled. On a WP, Hernandez moved to 3rd and scored on Chase Harlan’s 1st Great Lakes hit and RBI.
In the 4th, RF Samuel Munoz singled and moved to 3rd on C Victor Rodrigues’ single with Rodrigues moving to 2nd on the throw. 1B Chase Adkison hit a SF for the run. With Rodrigues to 3rd. Hernandez singled to score Rodrigues and a 4-0 lead.
RHSP Aidan Foeller continued with his excellent June. He completed 5.0 scoreless IP with 2 hits, 1 BB, and 3 K. He has not allowed a run in his 4 June starts. In 14.2 innings, he has allowed 4 hits, 1 BB, and 15 K.
RHRP Isaac Ayon relieved Foeller. He pitched a scoreless 6th inning, and got the first two batters in the 7th. But then he allowed a single and RBI double to break up the shutout. He retired the side in order in the 8th.
With 2 outs in the 9th, Quintero was HBP, and Morales was BB. A WP put Quintero on 3rd. Harlan slugged a 2-run double for his first XBH with GL.
RHRP Alex Makarewich entered in the 9th and had a 6-1 lead. He gave up one run and finished with a 6-2 win.
- Chase Harlan – 2-5, 3 RBI, double (1)
- Victor Rodrigues – 3-4, 1 run, double (6)
- Jose D. Hernandez – 2-3, 1 BB, 1 run, 1 RBI
- Emil Morales – 1-4, 1 BB, 2 run, 1 RBI, HR (6)
Is Aidan Foeller a prospect? Maybe. He is 24 in A+, which puts him 1.1 years older than the average Midwest League player. He cannot control where he pitches. He can only control how he pitches, and he is doing extremely well with that. They just promoted Christian Zazueta to AA. Will they pus Foeller up as well?
Ontario Tower Buzzers 13 – Visalia Rawhide (Dbacks) 9
RHSP Cam Leiter got through 4.0 innings. This was his longest outing for his MiLB career. He pitched 3.0 scoreless innings. In the 4th, Leiter struck out the 1st batter, back to back singles and a SF.
Leiter went back out in the 5th with a 5-1 lead. He allowed a double, a bunt single and his throwing error scored 1. A WP moved the runner to 2nd and got the 2nd out. RHRP Jholbran Herder relieved Leiter and gave up a run scoring double with the run charged to Leiter. The inning ended with Ontario up 5-3.
Ontario started the scoring in the 3rd when 2B Javier Herrera hit his 1st HR.
In the 4th, LF Ching-Hsien Ko hit his 11th HR. 3B Easton Shelton walked, stole 2nd, and scored when DH Brendan Tunink doubled (12).
In the 5th, with 1 out, Ko walked and Shelton singled. With 2 outs, Tunink hit his 2nd double (13) of the game scoring both Ko and Shelton.
Visalia scored in the 6th with a HR off Herder.
In the 7th, with 2 outs, Tunink drew a BB. 1B Mairo Martinus singled. C Bryan Gonzalez Garcia walked to load the bases. Tunink scored on a PB. Herrera walked to load bases again. Martinus scored on a WP. Oswaldo Osorio PH for CF Kendall George and walked. RF Jaron Elkins and Ko each walked to plate 2 more runs and a 9-4 lead.
RHRP Ricardo Montero relieved Herder in the bottom of the 7th. He issued a BB, gave up a double, and another BB to load the bases. RHRP Javier Bartolozzi relieved Montero and a run scored on a WP.
In the 8th, SS Joendry Vargas drew a walk and was forced out at 2B on a Tunink ground ball. Tunink steals 2B and scores on a Martinus double (18). Herrera drew a 2-out BB and Osorio slugged a 3-run HR.
Visalia scored 4 off Bartolozzi (3 earned) in the bottom of the 8th.
RHRP Jecsua Liborius pitched a scoreless 9th for the win.
- Jaron Elkins – 3-5, 1 BB, 1 RBI, double 14, triple (4)
- Brendan Tunink – 2-5, 1 BB, 2 runs, 3 RBI, 2 doubles (13)
- Mairo Martinus – 2-4, 1 BB, 2 runs, 1 RBI, double (18)
- Javier Herrera – 1-1, 4 BB, 3 runs, 1 RBI, HR (1)
- Ching-Hsien Ko – 1-4, 2 BB, 2 RUNS, 2 RBI, HR (11)
- Oswaldo Osorio – 1-1, 2 BB, 1 run, 3 RBI, HR (2)
- Kendall George went 0-3with 2 K in his first game back.
Discussion (105)
Disagree, not disagreeable
I. wonder if Yamamoto and our other Asian pitcher needed a break for innings pitch while playing in Japan. I’ve seen in these comments that a couple of our pitchers need to have a time out by missing a couple of starts to be fresh for the playoffs. I don’t have the stats in front of me but Yamamoto seemed pretty strong in the post season last season. I could see giving our starters a trip IR. With a six man rotation I believe the innings pitch should determine whether they get a brief vacation.
Teo is an all star finalist. We need voter ID!
I have just watched 5.0 brilliant innings from RHSP Christian Zazueta in his AA debut. No runs, 1 broken bat soft line drive, ht, no BB, 2 HBP, 8 K.. Thank you NYY. He’s a keeper.
BTW, Rick Honeycutt was in the Tulsa dugout for tonights game. I would like to guess he was sent there to watch Zazueta. The reports will be good.
That fastball was poppin’.
https://share.google/4H4M3cjgh3g1nt00d
A humorous bit on Rushing
As soon as Rushing gets his OPS back up to .850, he’ll go back to being just really intense!
Good Bear,
Glad to see some compassion out here. Rushing will calm down when Smitty gets back and the pressure eased up. Doc handled it well. I don’t see Ohtani holding a grudge but If we see Chuckie catching him next start, the rumor mill will start again.
From BA:
5 MLB Farm Systems Trending Up In 2026
Los Angeles Dodgers
Preseason Farm System Rank: 13
Current Top 100 Prospects: 6
Coming into the season, the Dodgers had four Top 100 Prospects, but they were seen as a position player-heavy system with a lot of prospects coming off injuries with questions to answer. In fact, Josh Norris wrote an entire story explaining why the Dodgers had dropped out of the top 10 of our preseason system rankings.
Over the first few months, though, LA has had players on both sides take a major step forward, starting with Josue De Paula, who has moved into the top five prospects in the game, and Mike Sirota, who’s currently riding a 59-game on-base streak and has moved into the top 20 overall.
Shortstop Emil Morales impressed in Low-A and was recently promoted to High-A after moving inside the top 50. Moving further down, outfielder Charles Davalan has moved into the Top 100 in his first full season, while outfielder James Tibbs (.291/.415/.585, 20 home runs) and third baseman Chase Harlan (.329/.438/.571, 10 home runs) have shown significant offensive upside and seen their stock rise.
On the pitching side, though the Dodgers don’t have a Top 100 arm right now, they do have several who are in the discussion. Lefthander Zach Root has impressed in High-A, allowing zero runs in six of his 10 starts. Righthanders Christian Zazueta and River Ryan have also taken a step forward. Zazueta has one of the most interesting fastballs in the system and was recently promoted to Double-A after striking out 66 in 48.2 innings with only 12 walks. Ryan, meanwhile, has returned from Tommy John surgery without missing a beat and has struck out 43 in 36.1 innings while only walking eight.
With all these players taking a step forward, the Dodgers are well-positioned to make any move they want at the trade deadline.
Well, they’re not all gonna play in Dodger Stadium. Some guys in AAA have to be in play for another reliever. Tibbs? And Hope at Tulsa seems to be odd man out.
Hope sent packing?
MLB has put forth the following as part of their negotiations with the players Union
A free agent moving teams this upcoming offseason could sign a maximum contract of 5 years, $202 million. A team retaining its own free agent could sign him for 6 years at $265 million. Maximum contract length applies to free agent years only. For example, a player with less than a year of service can sign with his own team for up to 12 years — the six before free agency and the six after. If the contract began in 2027, he could sign for 12 years, $500 million.
Look like the owners don’t want to be on the hook for the latter years of a player’s career.
Not only that (and this is in a larger post which is “unreleased”):
BREAKING: In its next CBA, the league is proposing a max contract length of 5 yrs for free agent players switching teams, 6 years to retain their own players. No deferred contracts. Qualifying offer is gone too. Also, 5 years to free agency for players 30 or older.
What’s the next proposal from the owners? Only amateur players allowed?
I’ll sum it up this way;
Players ability to earn maximum money by playing baseball will be capped in every way possible or that owners can imagine.
Owners ability to earn maximum money by selling teams will be forever uncapped.
Just another reason to NOT book your reservations to Florida or Arizona for the 2027 Spring Training.
Exactly. Players will almost choke on this one. No deferred money? They have been doing that since the late 70’s.
This is a short one, work is pretty busy RN:
Per JEsse Rogers:
https://x.com/JesseRogersESPN/status/2070212648570892627
BREAKING: In its next CBA, the league is proposing a max contract length of 5 yrs for free agent players switching teams, 6 years to retain their own players. No deferred contracts. Qualifying offer is gone too. Also, 5 years to free agency for players 30 or older.
Brandon Gawlowski Chat:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/brendan-gawlowski-prospects-chat-6-23-26/
apeloton: How do you weigh age to level vs results? This is mostly a Mike Sirota question but guys like Ayers and O’Dowd have also been making it interesting recently
Brendan Gawlowski: It’s a factor but it’s not a case where you can make a formulaic age-level adjustment that works for every player.
InsertWittyNameHere: Which ready prospects are currently blocked by the big club and should be traded to get their opportunity?
12:31
Brendan Gawlowski: River Ryan.
Person: higher number: current Dodgers prospect OFs traded this summer, or in the 2028 opening day lineup?
Brendan Gawlowski: Hmmm that’s a good question. I’ll say traded this summer.
Fangraphs Man: if you’re a team doing a selloff and far from contention, would River Ryan’s age concern you? Even with the full 6 years of team control, you might be looking at a guy that will be in his 30s by the time you’re in a contention window. Does it make sense for him to be in a prospect-for-prospect trade (or 3 team trade) with him going to a team closer to contention?
Brendan Gawlowski: No, I’d happily take the ready made starter and deal with the decline phase as it happens
Baseball America’s Ian Cundill takes a look at the ascending farm systems:
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/5-mlb-farm-systems-that-are-trending-up-in-2026/
Los Angeles Dodgers
Preseason Farm System Rank: 13
Current Top 100 Prospects: 6
“Lefthander Zach Root has impressed in High-A, allowing zero runs in six of his 10 starts. Righthanders Christian Zazueta and River Ryan have also taken a step forward. Zazueta has one of the most interesting fastballs in the system and was recently promoted to Double-A after striking out 66 in 48.2 innings with only 12 walks.”
Jay Jaffe writes that Kyle Tucker needs a reset:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/kyle-tucker-needs-a-reset/
“Tucker is swinging at 48.6% of all pitches, just an eyelash above his career mark but his highest rate since 2022; he was at 45.1% last year. Meanwhile, he’s chasing 25.6% of pitches outside the zone, 2.7 points above his career mark and again his highest since 2022, well above last year’s 17.5%. His 64.2% first-pitch strike rate is a career high and 8.3 points above last year’s rate”
Baseball America’s Hot Sheet looks at hot prospects:
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/ranking-the-20-hottest-mlb-prospects-hot-sheet-6-22-26/
13. Zazueta
“Overall, Zazueta now has 66 strikeouts compared to only 12 walks in 48.2 innings. His fastball has been dominant, sitting in the mid 90s and touching 99 mph with a whiff rate above 30% and strike rate around 70%. “
There is something curious with River Ryan. He has not pitched since that forgettable game June 17. He would normally have pitched yesterday, but Landon Knack had the start. Okay, they did not want him to be a bulk reliever? They were fine with Lauer doing it. But forget about that, he is not starting today. They are pushing Charlie Barnes up a day. If he starts tomorrow, that will be 9 days between starts. Did they uncover an injury that led to that June 17 game’s outcome? Did they uncover a mechanical issue that Ryan is working on this week? Are they holding him back until Sunday so that he is on the same schedule as Sheehan?
No speculation, just curious.
Maybe they’re just saving his bullets. If he has x number of innings left to pitch this season, might as well save them for when he can help the big league team.
Good possibility, but defeats the purpose of bringing him up and putting him in the rotation in place of Sheehan now.
“Blake Snell will throw a 15-pitch bullpen session on Friday at Dodger Stadium, limited to fastballs only, per Dodgers manager Dave Roberts as reported by Dodger Blue. Snell is expected to throw four bullpen sessions total before advancing to the next phase of his rehab progression”.
Which is to get injured again!
Cassidy, quit being such a negative Nellie. It gets old really fast.
I was thinking the same thing Jeff. The way Sheehan has been pitching in June, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ryan replaces him in the rotation for Sunday’s game against the Padres.
I use AI a lot. Here’s the chat I just had:
Why are the Dodgers holding River Ryan back? Is he injured or something going on?
This has become one of the more interesting decisions the Dodgers have made this season. The short answer is:
No, River Ryan is not currently believed to be injured. The Dodgers are intentionally holding him back as part of his post-surgery development plan rather than because of a new physical setback.
Here’s what’s going on.
1. They are treating 2026 as a “foundation year”
Ryan is only months removed from missing an entire season following Tommy John surgery.
The Dodgers have repeatedly said they don’t simply want him healthy enough to pitch in the majors. They want him to build enough innings and workload that he’ll be a reliable starter for years, not just a few weeks. GM Brandon Gomes specifically said they want to “build a nice foundation” before bringing him back.
2. They are increasing his workload very slowly
This spring and early summer they have gradually increased:
innings
pitch count
recovery between starts
When he recently threw six innings, it was actually the first time in his professional career he’d reached that workload. That’s a milestone the Dodgers wanted before even discussing a call-up.
3. They chose roster depth over rushing Ryan
When injuries hit the rotation, many fans expected Ryan to be the obvious replacement.
Instead the Dodgers:
acquired Eric Lauer
shuffled other pitchers
continued Ryan’s Triple-A schedule
Manager Dave Roberts said earlier that if accelerating Ryan’s schedule risked compromising his recovery, it simply wasn’t going to happen.
4. His performance isn’t the issue
Since returning to Triple-A, Ryan has looked very much like himself.
He’s shown:
upper-90s velocity
swing-and-miss fastball
excellent breaking ball
good command
Most reports indicate the stuff has returned. The Dodgers simply aren’t judging him by ERA or strikeouts right now. They’re judging him by durability and recovery from start to start.
My guess
Knowing how the Dodgers have handled pitchers like Walker Buehler, Tony Gonsolin, and others returning from major elbow surgery, I don’t think they’re being overly cautious because something is secretly wrong.
I think they’re following a plan that was probably established months ago:
Build innings.
Build strength.
Avoid setbacks.
Have Ryan available and healthy for August, September, and ideally October.
That approach has frustrated fans, especially since Ryan probably looks like one of the Dodgers’ six best starters already, but it is consistent with how the organization has handled pitchers returning from Tommy John surgery in the past.
As someone who follows the Dodgers closely, I’d add one baseball observation: River Ryan is starting to look “too good” for Triple-A. If he continues making six to seven inning starts over the next couple of outings without any recovery issues, it will become increasingly difficult for the Dodgers to justify leaving him in Oklahoma City, particularly if the major league rotation has another injury or struggles.
But he skipped his last start and is not scheduled for one. I say, “Trust but Verify AI”. It is not infllable as you will soon see.
You’re right to flag that. I checked the latest reports, and this is a new development.
River Ryan did not make his scheduled Triple-A start, and at least one report now says he has been placed on the Oklahoma City injured list.
What’s notable is that:
The Dodgers have not publicly announced what the injury is.
There has been no official statement from the club explaining why he missed the start.
The MiLB transactions page has not yet reflected a new injury designation beyond his earlier hamstring issue, suggesting this may be very recent or pending official paperwork.
Given his history, there are a few possibilities:
Routine caution after Tommy John, where they noticed something during recovery and shut him down briefly.
A minor physical issue, such as shoulder fatigue, back tightness, or another hamstring problem.
Something more concerning, though there is currently no evidence that it’s related to his elbow or UCL.
As someone who has watched how the Dodgers operate with pitchers, I would be surprised if they simply skipped his turn without some physical reason. They are usually transparent about workload management. An unexplained missed start followed by no next scheduled outing generally points to the club evaluating something medically rather than just rearranging the rotation.
I’m watching this closely because it could explain why they haven’t promoted him despite all the rotation issues.
If you’re writing for LADodgerTalk, I’d hold off on speculating beyond this:
“River Ryan missed his scheduled start for Oklahoma City and currently isn’t listed for another. The Dodgers have not yet announced a reason, so his status bears watching.”
That’s factual and avoids getting ahead of the information we have.
I can also dig through the Oklahoma City beat writers (David Vassegh, Fabian Ardaya, Jack Harris, Oklahoma City Comets reports, etc.) to see if anyone has uncovered what the actual injury is, if you’d like.
OK. Do it!
I dug through the latest reports, beat writers, transaction logs, and available sources. Here’s what I found.
The biggest clue
River Ryan was scheduled to start, but he never took the mound. Since then:
He has not been listed for another start.
Multiple Dodgers observers have reported that he is on the Oklahoma City injured list.
There has been no official announcement from the Dodgers or Oklahoma City explaining what the injury is.
What the beat writers are saying
Surprisingly, Fabian Ardaya, Jack Harris, David Vassegh, and Bill Plunkett have not (as of this afternoon) reported a diagnosis or even acknowledged what caused the missed start.
Normally, if it were simply workload management, one of them would have mentioned it. The silence makes me think this wasn’t a planned skip.
Could it be the hamstring again?
That’s certainly possible.
Ryan missed over a month earlier this season with a right hamstring strain before returning in mid-May. Since then he’d steadily built back up to six innings and looked excellent.
A recurrence would make more sense than an elbow issue because:
there have been no reports of elbow soreness,
his velocity had returned to 98 to 100 mph,
he had shown no obvious signs of diminished stuff in his recent outings.
Could the Dodgers simply be hiding him?
I don’t think so.
Some fans have wondered if they’re keeping him lined up for a major league call-up, but that doesn’t fit the facts. If that were the case, he’d usually throw a bullpen session or remain on schedule rather than disappear from the rotation entirely.
One thing that bothers me
The Dodgers have had every reason to promote him.
They’ve dealt with injuries all season, yet Ryan has stayed in Triple-A despite dominating hitters and completing his workload buildup. Then, just when he looked completely ready, he suddenly vanishes from the rotation.
That sequence makes me think this is more likely a physical issue than a roster decision.
My current confidence level
Based on everything available today:
20%: Dodgers are rearranging his schedule for organizational reasons.
65%: Minor injury or physical issue (hamstring, back tightness, shoulder fatigue, illness, etc.).
15%: Something more significant.
There simply isn’t evidence yet to conclude it’s an elbow problem.
For LADodgerTalk, I’d keep a close eye on the Oklahoma City transaction log tonight and tomorrow. If he’s been placed on the 7-day IL, the reason is often revealed a day or two later.
One thing I can do that might uncover more is dig into the Oklahoma City Comets radio broadcasts, local Oklahoma reporters, and MiLB transaction records, which sometimes report injuries before the Dodgers’ beat writers do. That’s probably the best chance of finding out exactly what happened before the national media picks it up.
The beat writers know… but they can’t say… Common!
That’s a lot of words.
I’ll limit mine.
Elbow problem.
Lots of entertaining takes in here today. You would think we just came off a 3 game road losing streak instead of a 3 game road winning streak.
We are officially at the halfway point of the regular season and sit at 52-29. Our record in series against other teams sits at 16 Wins, 7 loses and 3 ties.
Day off today before 3 at Padres who just swept the Braves. Won’t get to see Friday nights game since it’s on Shitty Apple TV. Guess I will watch the Cubs/Mets tonight.
This is literally the best time ever to be a Dodger fan. I’m going to Fenway tonight and expect to hear chants of “Sell the Team.”
I’m not right about everything, but signing Friedman was the key to everything. Deep owner pockets don’t hurt either.
Ohtani was visibly upset with Dalton. There were at least 3-4 times that he must have wanted Dalton to challenge the pitch. Dalton has missed a couple of challenges in prior games,so maybe he was a little gun shy. I’m not sure. But he had a very poor day yesterday on both sides of the ball. Though I give him credit, the play that mookie tripped over the bag? The throw was an absolute dart! He would have been out easily. Talent is there. The mentality needs some work. Of course some will say that we would hate him if he was on the opposite side. Probably. But he’s a Dodger. He’s not Milton Bradley. He’s not Alex Verdugo. At least I don’t believe he is. He’s got the right guy in the dugout to help him get right. Just hope he takes advantage of it. If he doesn’t, he might end up in Colorado!!!
I have brought up how important the pitcher/catcher relationship is on countless occasions. We saw an example last night as to what happens when there is no such relationship. I do not know if Ohtani hates Rushing, as I do not believe Ohtani hates anybody. But I do not think Ohtani respects Rushing as a catcher. Last night does not happen with Smith or Chuckie.
There was a comment on the game last night where one of the announcers mentioned that Ohtani’s ERA with Smith behind the plate was miniscule compared to Rushing. I do not have supercomputer so I had to do the research the only fashioned way and looked at every box score where Ohtani pitched this year. 13 games. Not that many.
Smith caught Ohtani the first 10 games. Ohtani allowed a total of 7 runs, 5 earned, and had an ERA of 0.74. Rushing has been the catcher for Ohtani’s last 3. Ohtani has allowed 11 runs, 9 earned, and an ERA of 4.34.
If Smith is not ready when Ohtani starts next, I see Chuckie behind the plate, and I will not care if he strikes out every time. Just manage the game with Ohtani.
Ohtani also dealing with injuries
Just let Ohtani call his own pitches and all should be right with those two.
It worked out that way.
“I do not know if Ohtani hates Rushing, as I do not believe Ohtani hates anybody. But I do not think Ohtani respects Rushing as a catcher. Last night does not happen with Smith or Chuckie.”
This is probably correct, more so than me saying Ohtani “hates” Rushing.
Now that I’m thinking about it, Ohtani is likely a guy who has very high expectations – for himself and his teammates. If you don’t rise to those expectations, he’s going to lose respect for you. He won’t get in your face about it, but he will be less likely to listen to you.
Salary’s for pro athletes are simply ridiculous. Austin Reeves gets a 4-year 165-million-dollar deal from the Lakers. The good news is that hopefully this leads to LeBoring James being dealt in a sign and trade.
Supply and demand, Bear. The invisible hand of the market. I never count another man’s wallet. Live and let earn.
Bear,
Have you seen what truck drivers make today?
Have you guys seen the TESLA Semi?
It’s quite righteous.
MIddle of the front cabin seating is kinda super-coool.
Piece of junk. Never match a diesel for pulling power. 500 miles max range on a charge, then you need to charge for 2 hours to get back to max power again. Great for short hauls. Middle of the cabin seating would take a lot of getting used to. I cannot imagine driving an electric semi over Wolf Creek Pass with a 40,000-pound load.
Yes. short load
65-90,000 a year, with more experienced drivers making upwards of 100 grand. But: That does not take into account the owner-operators who foot their own bills for fuel and truck maintenance. No way local drivers are making 100 grand. Most I ever made was when I was driving a cement truck and was getting paid by the hour with pretty hefty overtime. It does also not take into account the expenses a driver incurs if he is driving over the road. They pay for their own meals, showers and things like that, and there is no per-diem. Also, most companies who have cross country business still pay their drivers by the mile. JB Hunt, who I used to work for in the early 2000’s, is paying between 58-88 cents a mile. Figure it out, if you drive 600 miles a day, you make between 348-528 dollars a day. BUT; There are short haulers and long haulers. You have dedicated routes and you have guys who average about 2000 miles a week. They are not getting rich that is for sure, and considering how much the cost of living has increased since I last worked for those guys, they are making less over all when you consider higher taxes and cost of living.
I wasn’t really paying attention, so I missed the Rushing-Ohtani stuff. I just know after that 3-run inning, Ohtani took control and mowed the Twinkies down. Rushing is a talented catcher who puts way too much pressure on himself and acts like how he is, immature. But I am not going to judge the kid. How many of us at age 25 were catching a 700-million-dollar superstar pitcher? At the beginning of the year when he got off to his hot start, many were calling for him to be the #1 since he was outhitting Smith at the time. He needs to learn some stuff, and most likely he will. Mets traded LH starting pitcher, Dave Peterson to the Cubs for 1B prospect Cole Mathis.
Good Bear,
Glad to see some compassion out here. Rushing will calm down when Smitty gets back and the pressure eased up. Doc handled it well. I don’t see Ohtani holding a grudge but If we see Chuckie catching him next start, the rumor mill will start again.
Hopefully Tucker gives us a season 2 like Scott.
Hopefully Tucker.
According to sportswriter Jake Elman, Kyle Tucker’s 2025 stats the 2nd half of 2025 should have been a warning to the Dodgers.
“given his inconsistency in Chicago last season. Tucker hasn’t looked right for nearly a calendar year. His OPS dropped nearly 150 points in the second half, and he hasn’t even been worth 1.0 bWAR with the Dodgers. During Tucker’s final seasons in Houston, he finished in the 78th, 70th, and 68th percentile in barrel rate. He’s in the 24th percentile so far this season. Meanwhile, his barrel rate went from 10.8% (already quite low) in 2025 to just under six percent this season.”
About half of the MLB shied away from drafting Tucker in the fit 1st place, being suspicious of his “odd” swing which I have attempted to break down here. Maybe that swing has finally started to catch up with Kyle as he ages? Maybe unlike a fine wine he doesn’t age well. We have about 3 and a 1/2 expensive years to find out.
Tucker was injured the second half of last year. He had a hairline fracture in his right hand in June and a severe calf strain in September. His swing never bothered me as he had a career OPS+ of near 140 when the Dodgers signed him. 4 straight years an All Star. I don’t know what’s been wrong so far with him, maybe his back has been bothering him a while from carrying all that money around.
Ever just have one of those days? Kinda like Dalton Rushing’s yesterday.
3 strikeouts, 3 passed balls and a throw to 2nd on a steal that ended up in centerfield when Mookie tripped over the bag and fell down. I seriously don’t remember ever seeing that before.
I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall to listen to the discord in the Dodger dugout after the bottom of the second with Rushing. Ohtani, who was uncharacteristically running hot all night, seemed displeased with the passed ball and a couple of cross-ups the first 2 innings. Rushing is wound pretty tight, is very competitive and wears his emotions on his sleeve, which led to conversations first with the Team Shrink, than Freddie Freeman, then Doc made a house call with an extended conversation to talk Dalton off the ledge.
Rushing looked like a kid given Caster Oil. Finally Mark Prior was safe to go over pitching matters.
As I have said before, I’d rather have a guy who runs hot than somebody who doesn’t give a shit. (Reading Mark’s post this morning was perfect “I would rather rein in my lions than teach my sheep to hunt!”
Dalton has a short fuse and a long burn. I thought he might give himself another concession by pounding himself on the head, giving Chuckie more starts.
Somehow, Dalton has made it to the Bigs in a game that is all about dealing with failure while being so hard on himself. This isn’t new and tells me he can’t stand looking bad and feels under pressure trying to prove himself.
Different guys are motivated by different things. Some are wound up like a 2 dollar watch (think Vesia), some play best happy (Mookie) some play best pissed off (Randy Johnson) and some are motivated not to embarrass themselves (Rushing)
Doc has a great way of identifying who’s, who. He’s the master at player relations and that’s what draws player’s respect for him. Rushing is a good project for him. I suspect other Skippers wouldn’t be so patient.
Ward struggles with the four-seemed up in the zone, big time. Rushing did too.
Back in my generation, what separated the men from the boys to scouts, was the ability to hit a high fastball. If you couldn’t handle that pitch, they weren’t interested. And the strike zone was about 3 balls higher than today’s zone.
Kyle Hurt just walked the wire. He pitched behind in every count and got away with it.
Same with Vesia, who’s is a different cat. He has a little Joe Kelly in there. He doesn’t seem to get interested until he digs his own hole, only to see it he can fill it up.
I love the final out of a great game. It’s Our Guy against Their Guy to see who wins. Scott won that one.
Thursday’s Dodger Affiliates’ Schedule
4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Jakob Wright) at Lansing (Samuel Dutton)
5:00 p.m. PT: Tulsa (Christian Zazueta) vs. Corpus Christi (James Hicks)
6:35 p.m. PT: Oklahoma City (Charlie Barnes) vs. Reno (TBD)
6:35 p.m. PT: Ontario (TBD) at Visalia (Connor Foley)
Rushing is a petulant, attention seeking jackass! He won’t last long in Dodger Blue, every week it’s something different with this guy.
Wrong.
He’s a talented young buck.
Let him cook.
I like Rushing’s intensity. He’s NOT going anywhere.
Would you trade Rushing and a Prospect for Carter Jensen?
People just love to fake outrage and intolerance. I can’t understand it for the life of me.
The Dodgers are
24-14 / .635 / When Rushing plays in 2026.
24-14 / .635 / When Rushing plays in 2026.
24-14 /.635 / When Smith plays
4-1 /.809 / When Robinson plays
Robinson is the man.
LOL! Bluto walked into that one.
Um, I think he proved my point. No?
I read it differently. You were using the overall winning % of the team – with all of its complex variables – to make a case that an individual player is both directly responsible for that winning % and also immune to criticism regarding his performance, which is incredibly silly. Musher recognized that absurdity and used it as an opportunity to post a really funny follow up.
That’s my take, anyway. I could be wrong.
Ah. That’s possible.
I thought it was reaffirming that Rushing is highly thought of (high usage) by the team and the team does well when he’s used?
I like the joke about Robinson’s small sample size. Robinson’s great for what he is.
Haha
Great article in The Athletic on “How the veteran Dodgers crafted one of baseball’s best defenses.”
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7388484/2026/06/24/dodgers-defense-age-mookie-betts/?source=dailyemail&campaign=601983&userId=147501&source=dailyemail
From SI:
Finally, as the trade deadline approaches and the Dodgers continue to look for ways to improve their team, a familiar reliever has been linked to LA in Kenley Jansen of the Detroit Tigers. The veteran closer who spent the first 12 years of his MLB life as a Dodger was predicted to land with the defending champions by a pair of key insiders. “He could be an inexpensive lottery ticket for the Dodgers, who could use a couple of extra arms in the bullpen,” they wrote. “The Tigers would probably be content with just unloading what remains of Jansen’s one-year, $11 million deal.” It’s unknown how much longer Jansen will play in the major leagues, especially since he is 38 years old. But this would be a special story for the four-time All-Star to have the chance to finish his career in the place where it all started.
We don’t want or need Jansen.SI just makes up Shit.
Take the camera’s off the kid and give him a break for heavens sake.
He needs time to grow and surrounded by superstars isn’t as easy as some think! Like his desire and has his hands full with Smith out and handling this pitching staff. And you saw how the Dodgers handled things first hand and what makes them so successful! It’s all good kid.
Amen
Thank You for an intelligent post.
Since both Yamamoto and Ohtani now dont seem to be in the hunt for a Cy Young, there may be some shoulder soreness in their future when Snell and Glasnow come back in second half. And we’ll see Ryan as well. Just a shame about Stone. I really like him.
I remember Mark posted something here about a conversation he had with a minor league bus driver. The driver was describing some of the players and the personalities. My memory could be hazy – I’m middle aged and had concussion recently, so I’m not trusting my recall – but the bus driver had insight about some notable players. I think he was glowing about Freeland. He described Rushing as an angry guy.
I’m probably in a minority here, but I don’t care for him – even before he started butting heads with Ohtani behind the plate last night – and unless he suddenly progresses to superstardom with his bat, I hope the Dodgers eventually trade him and get another competent back up catcher.
He’s just an a-hole. I know the type: arrogant, quick to get in your face about something stupid, thinks they know everything, quick to put people down and insult them, dirty and dishonest. In modern parlance, we call these people douchebags.
No, there is a difference between Rushing plowing into a second basemen trying to turn a double play and Chase Utley doing it. Utley had a quiet intensity. He wasn’t out there looking for a confrontation or looking to hurt people. If Utley got down and dirty, it was to help the team. He was smart about it. Utley was respected throughout the league because of this. Rushing already has a really bad reputation in the league – for things like walking away from an injured opposing player laying on the ground while muttering “yeah, fuck him.”
I can tell Ohtani hates him. Last night wasn’t the first time there have been issues between the two. Ohtani is probably the nicest, most respected player in baseball – and most respectful players in baseball. I mean, he tips his cap to the opposing dugout before each game (except the Padres, LOL). If Ohtani hates you, you’re probably a POS.
That’s’ my rant.
Good rant. And I’m inclined to agree with you on a lot of it.
It appears Rushing has a linebacker’s mentality. I don’t fault him for that as I was a linebacker too. But there are boundaries that must be observed.
On the surface it seems he’s not yet able to observe those boundaries. Can he learn them? He’s 25, not a kid anymore, but I believe he still has time to mature. He’s a potential .800 OPS catcher so if the team wanted to get rid of him, and I think that would be the proper terminology, there would be suitors. But with the questions surrounding Smith, I don’t believe a trade is on the radar screen. What is on that screen? Anger management therapy.
And a catcher really can’t have a linebacker’s mentality. A catcher needs to be a little cerebral and sensitive – to pay attention to small details and understand at an intuitive level the mindset of his pitcher and how to get the best out of that pitcher in any situation. They have to be a little zen master. Former catchers often make good future coaches because of this ability.
Dumb, arrogant hot heads don’t make good catchers.
I disagree with you about Rushing. Does he need to mature? yes. He hasn’t even caught 100 games yet. He’s been accountable which tells me he isn’t arrogant like you think. I think Freddie talking to him is a good thing. Less peaks and valleys will come. Freddie is a good example.
Let’s not forget. The Dodgers have preached saving challenges for late in the game. If it weren’t Ohtani less would be made of this.
When Smith gets healthy the Dodgers have the best duo in baseball.
You make some good points, especially about saving challenges for late in games. Still, though, Rushing in that case needs to discuss it after they get back to the dugout rather than gesticulate wildly while behind the plate. It looked bad.
Rushing has not been very good with ABS challenges this year. Well behind Will, who is one of the best in the league. Rushing needs to earn Ohtani’s trust and respect before he tries to impose his will on the best player in baseball and an intelligent and experienced veteran.
He has a chance to do that if he matures. Hopefully he does. Personalities have a way of being innate, however.
The interesting thing about Ohtani is that his greetings to the opposition and umpires is a carry over from his high school days. In order to become the number one pick in Japan’s draft, he put together a list of goals to make himself better. Included in that list was good karma. Under that heading, he listed showing respect to umpires and the like and picking up litter. Maybe Rushing needs to fill out the same list.
The bus driver said Dalton had “anger control issues.” Breaking bats, throwing things. I remember Paul O’Neill having anger issues early in his career… and he grew up. I hope Dalton does too.
I plan to be in Ft. Wayne next week when the Loons play 6 games there. I would like to interview the bus driver. I just put in a call to Chris Mundhenk, the Loons President and General Manager, to get Press Passes at Ft. Wayne. They have always been very accommodating and welcoming.
Who else?
Zach Root – Check
Logan Wagner – Check
Chase Harlan – Check
Charles Davalan – Check
Emit Morales – Check (he speaks English)
Eduardo Quintero – Check (If he speaks English)
Ft. Wayne is a quick 2-hour drive and I can stay with my daughter or at the Marriott which is next door to Parkview Field.
Can’t wait for those interviews
Will Smith is the Dodgers’ starting catcher. He happens to be injured right now.
He’s not a small, fragile creature who can’t take the rigors of catching. At 5-10 and a muscular 190, give or take, he’s much bigger than HOF great Yogi Berra and similar in size to many other catchers. Smith has been the Dodgers’ starting catcher for years and has established himself as one of the best in the game. (Weird that some here get fixated on Smith’s physical stature more than his stature as a player.)
Smith is simply a better player than Rushing, who still has a lot to learn. There’s a reason why Doc has used Smith in the middle of the lineup for years.
Smith to 3B? Not now, given that Max is having an all-star season. Smith to 1B? Not with vintage Freddie still cooking and adding to his HOF credentials. Plus, Smith’s size at 1B would be more of liability than his size at catcher.
I get that Rushing, built like a tank, passes the eye test. He’s built for power. He looks durable–but that doesn’t mean he is durable. Smith, meanwhile, stills looks more like a choirboy. He works the count and earns a lot of walks. Rushing still strikes out too often.
As spoiled Dodger fans, I think we sometimes see problems that don’t really exist. This isn’t the first time that Mark has expressed misgivings about Mookie, only to realize that perhaps such sentiments are premature. Heck, I remember some people here anxious for young Diego Cartaya, so big and strong , to grow up and turn Smith into a backup. I remember wishing the Dodgers would sign Realmuto because I thought Smith looked like a backup catcher to me.
Should the Dodgers replenish their catching forces? Sure! About 1/3 of the team’s Top 30 prospects are outfielders–and I can’t think of a single catcher in the farm system that seems likely to start in The Show. The braintrust should work on that.
The Dodgers not only do not have a catcher in their top 30, they do not have anyone knocking at the door. I am not sure they have anyone in the same zip code. The closest was #36 for Fangraphs, 19 year old Eduardo Rojas from Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela. He spent 2 years in DSL and is now playing for the Dodgers ACL team. He has had some good moments this year. In 77 PA, he has slashed .344/.481/.475/.956. He has tremendous plate knowledge and discipline. This year he has walked 15 times and struck out 13. For his career it is 82 BB and 62 K.
This is what Fangraphs says about young Rojas:
“Rojas is a switch-hitting catcher who slashed .278/.450/.348 in his second DSL season, with twice as many walks as strikeouts. He’s a fluid-in-the-hips rotator with a lovely swing and precocious feel for contact, but Rojas lacks big bat speed and physical projection, as he’s already fairly physically mature. The risk and time horizon for teenage catchers dilutes Rojas’ FV grade a good bit here, but he has the skills to not only stick back there, but to add value as a defender via pitch framing and throwing. He’s more of a slow-burning, skills-over-projection type who’ll be challenged by the caliber of stuff he faces in Arizona next year.”
Now that Cleveland has traded for Patrick Bailey, maybe they are willing to move Cooper Ingle in the right deal. Or maybe Tampa Bay could be persuaded to trade Caden Bodine. I know he was on the LAD shortlist last year, but picking at 40, had no chance. Bodine went #30, exactly where LAD would have been.
That’d be a really interesting interview. I have to say, though, are you going to keep him anonymous? I don’t if the organization finding out that their bus driver is spilling the tea about the players is something that’s going to go over well.
The Loons locker room: “Hey! I heard bus driver’s talking shit about us!!”
And Paul O’Neill wasn’t a catcher. Catchers need to be grownups.
I love fans writing stuff like this:
“I can tell Ohtani hates him. “
I’m really glad you love it, Bluto! I hope my insight brought a little joy to your day. That’s why I’m here – to bring you joy.
….
Yes, I am intuiting things from another video of an interaction between the two of them, in addition to last night. In the aforementioned video, both players were in the dugout and Rushing approached Ohtani as if he wanted some sort of engagement. Ohtani turned his back and walked away without acknowledging him. If one were to interpret body language from this encounter, one could reasonably deduce that Ohtani wasn’t keen on Rushing.
I know, it’s not scientific at all. There’s no sabr data we can parse to determine the percentage likelihood of Ohtani thinking Rushing is a douche, but body language and intuition is still a thing, albeit imprecise.
I still think Ohtani doesn’t much care for Rushing because if I were Ohtani – with Ohtani’s personality type and outlook – I wouldn’t care for Rushing, either.
When you’ve been around a while you get to understand people and personalities.
Oh! So you intuit it based on a video?!? You no longer “know” it?
Shucks. If I just needed a short video to learn things definitively I was about to solve nuclear fission
I also like how you concluded Rushing was “dumb” in a different post later on! Was that also based on a few short videos? Maybe an interview or two?!??!?
Fusion, Somebody already beat you to fission
And I was only a video away!
Sigh, wrong again.
Thanks for the correction, appreciate it.
Glad you like this one, too. I must be doing something right.
Although I admit it’s hardly a precise science, in my experience I find a pattern of dumb decisions and dumb judgement tends to correlate highly with general dumbness.
wut
Interesting and honest post Patch. You do have a point about Rushing. Time will tell.
I do find your thoughts on Rushings slide awhile back, which was perplexing. I didn’t appreciate Utley’s slide at the time (as an old infielder) but “take-out slides” were legal back then. I thought Utley’s was very questionable and it changed the rule of baseball.
Maybe you’re right about Rushing. I’ve given him the benefit of a doubt due to his youth. But I will say that I have seen the faces of teammates sort of look at each other and roll their eyes when Rushing is having a tantrum in the dugout.
You could say Utley’s slide was dirty. It wasn’t malicious, though. It was meant to break up a double play in a key situation. I think if you interviewed the players who played with and against Utley, there would be a general respect for him and the way he played.
Rushing has taken out second basemen by running out of the lane twice this year already, and it was just because he was angry about something.
You could say Utley’s slide was dirty. It wasn’t malicious, though. It was meant to break up a double play in a key situation. I think if you interviewed the players who played with and against Utley, there would be a general respect for him and the way he played.
Rushing has taken out second basemen by running out of the lane twice this year already, and it was just because he was angry about something.
Now you are deducing he’s angry by his running and slides!
THis is great stuff.
You enjoy this one, too? Man, I’m on a roll today!
So, for the one slide I’m thinking of, Rushing was one first base after getting hit by a pitch by Logan Webb. This was following the previous game where Rushing was overheard saying “fuck him” as he was walking off the field, referring to Jung Hoo Lee as he was laying injured on the field after a home plate collision.
You’re right. Maybe it was a bit rash to assume that Rushing was angry after getting hit by a possible retaliatory pitch by the opposing team. Maybe we should just call it “potentially mild irritation.” Better yet, probably better to just assume that running completely outside the base path to hit and knock over an infielder by a person with a pattern of angry outbursts was simple clumsiness and not intentional at all.
Maybe you shouldn’t assume or presume anything based on running and sliding!
Just a thought!
It’s definitely a thought
Nice rant. Rushing will get it together and Doc showed why the players love him. Spent the whole half inning with Rushing calming him down, as did the coaches. So classy.
Smitty to 1B or 3B and we bring up a backup to Rushing. With the offense we have, Rushing doesn’t need to because star, just a big bulky catcher with some pop. Convincing Smitty to move might take some finesse.
Mookie played defense like an all star last night, Ohtani left it all in the field and Pages is stressing. We got this AF, just follow the advice you read on this blog and “forgetaboutit.”
With Dryer’s inconsistency, I could see the Dodgers trading for Chapman.
“Mookie is back!”
We’ll see. He certainly was last night.
“No to Skubal.” Probably. We’ll see about that too. Glasnow and Snell are ghosts, Ohtani, Wrobleski and Yamamoto are working damn hard early. I still believe all will need R&R sometime during this long extremely hot summer. The season is half over. The easy half is behind them.
Eventually there will be some ranting and raving about what is going on with the new CBA. and how it will affect each club. Another championship run by the Los Angeles Dodgers will undoubtedly cause rival owners to become even more immovable in their demands for a hard salary cap. League insiders and baseball executives widely agree that the Dodgers’ unprecedented spending is the primary catalyst driving the owners’ aggressive stance in the current CBA. Team leadership’, including Friedman, Freddie and Roberts argument that their back-to-back (and maybe back again) championships are a product of elite scouting, player development, and organizational depth, rather than purely buying wins on the open market will fall on deaf ears. Make no mistake, they are doing it all with money.
In the meantime, life is good in Dodgerland. They are winning without their first team on the field. You can bet that contributes to the shared angst among the other MLB collectives.
Never trust a billionaire when he says he can’t afford something.
Nice win last night! Again one bad inning for Ohtani. Was it Dalton’s pitch calling or just another case of Ohtani not executing his pitches? In either case, Ohtani sure corrected it after that inning.
The bullpen was good, even though Hurt was a little shaky at times. Vesia was much better. And Scott looks locked in!
Mookie has his confidence back! I hope Doc leaves him where he’s at in the lineup!
On the other hand, he should move Pages down as soon as possible! Heck, the way Freeland’s swinging the bat, move him to the 2 spot!
Dalton absolutely had a meltdown last night. Doc handled it perfectly. Even grown men can lose it like a 10 year old sometimes. Hopefully he learns from this and is better than what we saw from him last night!
Lineup looked stable last 2 games. Maybe a few games off will give Tucker a reset. They need him to be the “Tucker” we saw in Houston!
Skubal didn’t help his trade value last night, giving up 3 homers to the Yankees. Doesn’t appear he will be a Dodger this season. But a smaller acquisition is still possible. A lot of could depend on how Sheehan pitches this coming weekend. He needs to right the ship in order to remain in the mix.
I’m going out on a limb here and predicting the Brewers acquire Skubal. Just a hunch. Miseroski, Harris , and Skubal? Lethal!!
Ohtani started calling his own pitches in the 3rd inning.
Ohtani definitely didn’t look like he was too happy with Rushing before then.
Dodgerdad.your boyJoe Ryan didn’t look trade worthy either after last night’s performance. Pitching against crappy teams in the American League is different from facing quality teams in October. Another guy the Dodgers don’t need or want and wouldn’t want to waste any prospects on.
Struck out 9 dodgers. Coming off being sick. So yeah I would still take him. Besides, if he pitched for the Dodgers he wouldn’t have to face them! It’s probably not going to happen.
No excuse. He lost the game.
Chances LA trades for a starting pitcher at this point are slim be it Ryan or anyone else.
It’s funny how the other owners aren’t pissed at the Mets high payroll. Selective envy. Any, and I mean any owner could spend to the Max. No pun intended. If you have a great and entertaining product, they will come. The small market excuse is old. All owners and cities have the resources to copy the Dodger model. But they just wallow in their collective greed. They can eat their sour grapes and we’ll drink champagne.
Book em
Ok AVF! I get your point!
Emil crushed that.
Thanks for Foeller response, Jeff 🙂
Leiter might be our highest ceiling SP prospect.
Christian Zazueta.