May Day, May Day!
So, maybe you are of the mindset that when Dustin May got into a little trouble in the 7th inning Doc should have taken him out? That’s silliness! It’s true that Dustin May was cruising after six innings, and he got two quick outs in the top of the 7th inning. I think he had…
So, maybe you are of the mindset that when Dustin May got into a little trouble in the 7th inning Doc should have taken him out? That’s silliness! It’s true that Dustin May was cruising after six innings, and he got two quick outs in the top of the 7th inning. I think he had only allowed two hits at the time. Dustin was under 90 pitchers at the time, and if you want your starters to pitch into the 7th and 8th innings, you have to give them opportunities to succeed (or fail) by occasionally pitching out of jams. Are you just going to take May out when he meets a little resistance? No lessons are learned there. Dustin has a 2.68 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP.
The Dodgers need Dustin May to go seven innings… maybe eight at times. A manager’s job is to maximize each player’s ability over a full season. If you think Dustin May is going to be a workhorse but that Dave Roberts should take him out at the first sign of trouble, you are not thinking very well. The key thing last night was that the Dodgers won, but I would also like to know, “Did Dustin May learn anything? What would he do differently next time?” Dustin May is becoming a workhorse, as in his last two outings, he went at least six innings. The Dodgers are hoping for more… seven innings would have been optimal! To get there, he is going to have to struggle a bit.
It’s just like with your kids; sometimes, you have to let them struggle to grow… you can’t pick them up every time they stumble. They have to know how to do that and the satisfaction that comes with doing so. So, considering where we are in the season, I think it was a brilliant move by Doc to let Dustin May try and pitch out of trouble. If he did that in the playoffs, it would be a bonehead move! Timing is everything!
What is Andrew Friedman Thinking?
Last night Michael Busch was the DH for OKC. Why is he not playing 3B or LF? What is AF thinking? Well, I guarantee he is thinking! What? I do not know, but if I had to guess, he is leaving Busch play 2B and 3B and trying not to confuse the situation by adding another position, effectively making Michael a “utilityman.” I think Friedman has several teams that are interested in Busch (as well as other prospects). Now, I am not saying that he will trade or should trade Busch, but it is an option. Busch is young and controllable, and lots of teams want that. I have no idea who, where, or when, but that is my guess… and Friedman is going to make them overpay.
Dodger News & Notes
- Looking at the Dodger’s Top Four Starters, Julio Urias, who goes today, has the worst ERA (and coming down quickly) at 3.77; next is Dustin May at 2.68, then Clayton at 2.36, followed by Tony Gonsolin at 1.93. The Dodgers have been very “unDodgerlike” with their pitching this year. Change is in the air. Thor is on thin ice. It appears that Evan Phillips is currently the closer, but other pitchers are going to be available soon. The Dodgers are currently 14th in MLB in team ERA!
- The clock is ticking on Trayce Thompson… Tick… Tick…
- The Dodgers are 4th in runs, and 2nd in HR but have a lot of work to do in OB% and OPS.
- It was observed that I was wrong a lot. Whoever said that is very adept at perceiving the obvious immediately! I make dramatically more predictions than anyone else. Duuuuuuhhhhh! So, there is that.
Minor League News
- Alex Vesia pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning for OKC last night. He threw 16 pitches, 9 for strikes, and struck out 1.
- Andy Pages was 3-4 last night for Tulsa as he singled, doubled, and tripled… missing the cycle by only a HR! Dodgerram guaranteed he is ready! Print the tickets!
- Truth be Known, Landon Knack may be the most MLB-ready starter for the Dodgers in the minors. He commands at least four pitches, and I would not be the least bit surprised to see him pitching in the #5 spot come August!
- Diego Cartaya hit his 3rd HR (a 3-run shot) and drove in four runs last night. I still think he is concealing an injury!
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Discussion (61)
Disagree, not disagreeable
25-15. It’s linear up right now!Tomorrow, can we review some of the doom and gloom comments when we were 13-13 and heading into the tough part of our schedule?
How many times is John Smoltz going to make excuses for Joe Musgrove…..the Padre centerfielder lost the game in the first inning when the score was 0-0….poor Joe!
I am so glad I rooted against the Braves in the 1990s….
Thankfully JDM is back, initial plate appearances look good. Just stay healthy!
Ballers
Open on www.tiktok.comhttps://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRKCTfVV/?t=1Dodgers are indeed rolling with 40 games done. The Padres fans may gloat about bouncing the Dodgers last year, but now they’re 19-21 while the hated Dodgers are 25-15–even though Lux was lost for the season, other key players have been sideline with injuries.. The crude projections after nearly 1/4 of the season down would have Max finishing with 48 HRs and 116 RBIs, and Mookie and Outman with 32 HRs, and Freddie ith 28. Kershaw finishes 24-8 and Julio goes 20-12…. And so on.
Must suck to be a Padres fan. So much talent–Tatis, Soto, Machado–but most aren’t delivering on the hype.
And now JDM is back and he has followed the lead of veteran stars Mookie and Freddie with a big blast. Julio and the bullpen delivered the goods too.
I wasn’t following the game live, but monitoring Gameday updates on mlb.com. Thought that Graterol got the save but then the Pads won that challenge.
In my nervous imagination Muncy had maybe bobbled the ball–but the highlight I saw later showed a damn fine barehanded play and a quick but not-quite-strong-enough throw. Game of milliseconds.
Could Busch have made that play? I don’t think.
But Matt Chapman would have had Bogaerts by a half-step.
Also, Freddie is on pace for 132 runs scored—and Outman for, yikes, 192 strikeouts.
How bad is Outman’s propensity for strikeouts?
Kinda bad…. but let’s take a closer look.
He’s tied for 8th in the MLB with 48 Ks–which is two more than the big fish. Trout has 46. Our ROY candidate trails some pretty prominent names: Matt Olson with 58, Teoscar Hernandez with 56, Jazz Chisholm 52, fellow rookie sensation Josh Jung at 49, also Schwarber at 49.
So Outman isn’t really n outlier these days. We certainly hope he reduces the K rate, but here’s another fact when you scan down the stats. Among the top 20 on the K list, Outman has the second-highest OPS at .929, behind only Patrick Wisdom’s .925, a number fueled by his 12 HRs. Trout is now at .877 and Olson at .885. Most of the rest of these K leaders below .800 OPS. Old friend Trea Turner has piled 45 Ks and an OPS of .709. But he sure signed a nice contract!
Something else I noticed.
Matt Chapman has struck out 42 times–but his OPS is .963.
As long as they keep winning, I have nothing to bitch about. I do not care about Thompson’s lack of hits, Outman’s K’s, or Betts low BA. As long as those W’s keep coming, I am down with it.
KJansen was called last night for 3 time violations leading to another blown save.
Saturday scores
Oklahoma City 2, Round Rock 1
Tulsa 8, Springfield 3 (5 innings)
Great Lakes 6, Lake County 5
Rancho Cucamonga 7, Stockton 5
Sunday schedule
10 a.m. PT: Great Lakes (Justin Wrobleski) at Lake County (Ryan Webb)
11:05 a.m.: Oklahoma City (Gavin Stone?*) at Round Rock (Cody Bradford)
11:05 a.m.: Tulsa (Nick Nastrini) vs. Springfield (Wilfredo Pereia)
2 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Jeisson Cabrera) vs. Stockton (Dheygler Gimenez)
*Noah Syndergaard completed a full bullpen session Saturday with a covered right index finger without issue. The Dodgers are expected to determine Sunday whether he will be able to make his start on Monday. If not, Stone could step in, though at the moment he’s listed as Sunday’s starter for Oklahoma City.
All 4 Dodger Minor League Teams are in first place in their respective divisions