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
Nice Girl’s moments!!
True Mark. You have the courage(?) to make all these predictions, so of course you will have more wrong (right) than anyone else.
So certainly lo OBP and RISP is a problem. You can’t count on hitting 3 home runs every game in the playoffs against the better starters and relievers.
DODGERS MINOR LEAGUE NEWS
Good night for Dodger affiliates:
OKC shutout, Tulsa and Rancho Cucamonga score big and Great Lakes wins in 10 innings
Friday scores
Oklahoma City 6, Round Rock 0
Tulsa 10, Springfield 5
Great Lakes 8, Lake County 4
Rancho Cucamonga 11, Stockton 1
Saturday schedule
3:35 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Ben Casparius) at Lake County (Ethan Hankins)
5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Robbie Erlin) at Round Rock (James Marvel)
5:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Kyle Hurt) vs. Springfield (Brandon Komar)
6:30 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Peter Heubeck) vs. Stockton (James Gonzalez)
All 4 Dodger Minor League Teams are in First Place in their respective divisions!!!
I say we trade for a real SS and put Taylor in LF.
We could really take off.
Still think our best option for ss is in rf! Pick up a
Red Sox have a plaque & ceremony for Kenley before Friday’s game. Big Guy smiling. Good stuff.
KJ gets pounded later for three and blows the game.
Life going Hard.
Don’t look now but Muncy is hovering above .200 again. I love his occasional power bursts, but not a fan of his inconsistency at the plate. Walks are great and all, but his role is to drive in runs.
I agree with Johnny above, prefer a trade for a solid SS.
Time to move off Trace Thompson, painful to watch.
Okay Mark, I’ll bite. I understand your point here on leaving May on the mound in the 7th until the 2/out double finally forced Doc’s hand. I see your point that May will learn lessons from this adversity. I just think using the word “silliness” for wanting Roberts to give May the hook just one batter earlier is a tiny-bit too “toxic.” 🙂 And if it’s really all about Dustin’s growth, why yank him after the game-tying double, instead of leaving him in to “pitch out of trouble” ..get that last out and complete the 7th inning?
Fearless Prediction:
First Manager to be fired: Bob Melvin
Was great to be at Crypto last night to watch LA knock the Bay Area out of the playoffs, AGAIN! Go Dodgers, Go Rams, Go Lakers!
Of course, I watched Mookie/Freddie go back to back on my phone. Excellent!!
I’ll be at the 4pm game today vs the Pads, if anyone is going? Be great to cheers to this blog !
* Nice win. The top of the order carried the mail. Freddie is such a stud.
* The HPU, Jeremy Riggs had a great balls and strikes game behind the dish. Refreshing to see.
* Did you see it? May threw his Bigfoot chance-up for a whiff and screwed the hitter into the ground. If he gets that thing going, and trust it, look out.
* Vargas is starting to double tap at 2nd too much on routine plays. Bad habit that he can get away with at 2nd but not so much if he moves to 3rd. Drop the extra tap and throw the ball to first, please.
* Joe and Orel were analyzing Snell. He is an enigma. He has an odd tendency to be sailing along and then can just lose the strike zone. That was in the 3rd inning last night. He walked Thompson out of no where. An inexcusable sin considering Trayce’s last hit was April 17th and he’s batting .061 versus lefties. He’s 0 for 25. Snell followed that up with a walk to Mookie. That set up a 2 run inning. He got it back the next inning and had a decent line for his 6 innings pitched. Very compatible to May’s line except for the walks. Anybody can have a temporary brain cramp but Snell has a history of it.
I saw him in a High School state tournament game when he was a Senior at Shorewood Wa. He dominated with a low pitch count for 5 innings. He entered the 6th and tossed ball 4, ball 8 and ball 12, to load the bases. He was pulled and a relief pitcher came in who promptly hit the next batter. That ended up the only run of the game and Shorewood lost 1 to 0. Still stands out to me for how rapidly Snell fell of a cliff and apparently still has that tendency.
* If you get a chance, watch Tampa Bay second stacker, Anthony Lowe, turn a double play on throws from 3rd. He has a great turn. His cross-over pivot is like the old guys did it when you had to close on the throw and get out of the way.
Another nail biter with the Padres, who woulda thunk? Snell can be either dominating, like he did the last time out, or you knock him out early. Offense still is not hitting on all cylinders. And all you guys knocking Muncy, open your ears and listen to the announcers, he has been playing while sick for almost 10 days. Hard to be at your best when you are battling a bug of some sort. Trayce Thompson’s expected demise will happen sooner than later. I doubt the Dodgers trade for a SS.
Mark, unable to post tonight’s lineup.
Didn’t see this recent LAT ($$$$$) article on the Dodger’s nascent Ugandan baseball academy:
Open on www.latimes.comhttps://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2023-05-04/dodgers-secret-mlb-baseball-academy-ugandaMark, where did I pronounce Pages ready for The Show ?
I know my memory is not as good as it once was so you might be right but I do not remember. 🙂
But happy Pages is turning it on again after a little slump.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111
Ha Ha – great post Mark – loved the movie – you really know how to excite an old man – baseball wise I would like to see them leave Mookie and short – then plan around that. Hope Busch stays a Dodger.
The Dodgers can’t keep bouncing Mookie back and forth between RF to SS. They need continuity in the infield.
Since Outman was left on the bench yesterday against lefty Snell, I’m very curious to see if Roberts chooses Outman to start tomorrow against LHP Weathers. If he doesn’t, the implications would be interesting.
Tonight is our best lineup against righties. We still need a right handed bat with Taylor to fill in for Heyward and Peralta against lefties. It sure isn’t TT. Can’t get picked off there Vargas!
Urias bailing out Muncy. Julio forced to waste fuel overcoming his shaky infielders.
I guess bringing Phillips in now let’s you know who Roberts thinks is Padres biggest threat! Wonder if he lets him pitch the 9th seeing it was a quick inning?
Hold your breath, it’s Brusdar.
Yup, one bad pitch and Doc doesn’t trust the bazooka either.
The Friars officially struggling to score this year. ..holes in their bullpen ..the implosion draws nearer.