Maybe I See It Differently
Last night, many Dodger fans saw a pitcher who they felt was ineffective and not in control of the game. Of course, they were right. Rich Hill walked more than Lebron James in the NBA Finals. They felt he should be moved out of the rotation, to the minors, hung in effigy, DFA ed or moved to the bullpen. Last night, I saw Rich Hill have excellent movement, but he did
Last night, many Dodger fans saw a pitcher who they felt was ineffective and not in control of the game. Of course, they were right. Rich Hill walked more than Lebron James in the NBA Finals. They felt he should be moved out of the rotation, to the minors, hung in effigy, DFA’ed or moved to the bullpen. Last night, I saw Rich Hill have excellent movement, but he did not have a good feel for it. That’s what happens with curve-ballers. That’s why Rich Hill is horrible in Spring Training. This, right here, right now, is not much different than Spring Training for Rich Hill who is just trying to get a feel for all his curve balls. His blisters are evidently behind him and now he is just trying to regain his “feel.” It takes time…
Feel free to lose your minds over last night’s outing by Rich Hill, but I prefer the big picture and the big picture is that he is close to getting a grip and being dominant again. Maybe the next start or the one after that. With no blisters Rich Hill just needs to pitch. He’s close – the Dodgers will stick with him… and they should. As horrible as it seems he has been, his ERA sits at 4.76. Jake Arrieta and John Lackey of the Cubs have worse ERA’s.
As it sits right now, the rotation looks to be pretty set – the most set it has been all year.
- Kershaw
- Wood
- Hill
- Maeda
- McCarthy
… in no particular order. Urias will stay at AAA until he gets his control back – it might be a month and Ryu is the odd-man-out. It has been reported that he might go to the pen, but I can’t see that working long term. They almost have to let him pitch to showcase him for a trade. There are many teams who need starters. With Urias and Stewart nearing ready, Ryu has no place to pitch, but they can’t trade him if he can’t pitch. Are they hiding something?
Minor League Highlights
- Kyle Farmer was 2-4 with a HR but the game was at Albaquacky, so the HR does not count! Farmer has a nice bat but not much power.
- O’Koyea Dickson hit 2 HR!
- Verdugo was 2-5 and is hitting .321 while OPS’ing only .788. Alex has 45 hits, 7 for extra bases and the rest are singles. There is a disturbing lack of power in his game this year and in the times I have watched him play this year, he appears slower than last.
- BTW, Willie Calhoun has upped his upped a tick!
- Oaks pitched 6 strong innings and only allowed 2 ER, which is excellent for Albq!
- Rios was 3-5 with his 8th HR. He is hitting .361 and OPS’ing .986 in a “Pitcher’s League.”
- Scott Barlow went 6 allowing 2 ER (2.66 ERA).
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Discussion (63)
Disagree, not disagreeable
On Leake:
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He is 7-2 with a 1.91 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. Last year , he was 9-12 with a 4.69 ERA.
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Who is the real Mike Leake?
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Career wise, he has a 3.90 ERA and 1.26 WHIP. Sometimes, guys just put it all together later in their careers (Rich Hill, Justin Turner) and sometimes they get lucky for a while. He has been lights out, but the exit velocity on his hits are 3 MPH above the MLB average. We shall see…
I look forward to a healthy lineup:
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However, I do think a change has to come. We really need a Lorenzo Cain in CF this year. Joc and Ryu? Maybe Joc, Stewart and Ryu?
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It’s has to be done.
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1. Cain CF
2. Seager SS
3. Turner 3B
4. Bellinger LF
5. Forsythe 2B
6. A-Gon 1B
7. Grandal C
8. Puig RF
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I think that is the ticket. Either that of trade the Top 15 Prospects for Trout! 😉
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I still feel good about this team. We are 7 games above .500. The Cubs are 3! We have issues – they have as many… maybe more. It happens – Kyle Schwarber is hitting .186, Rizzo is at .238, Russell is hitting .214, Contreras is at .240 and Hayward still sucks. Most of them will get going… and so will ours!
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Even if you don’t like the methods, the pitching is still #1 in baseball. We are 10th in BA and 7th in Runs scored. Arizona and Colorado will fade. Write that down! The Dodgers are still looking good!
I see Hill’s talent and it is tantalizing. The guy is 37 but in late May it’s still like ST for him. He should have come in with his finger already calloused and worked out his command issues more than a month ago. Had the Dodgers known that Wood, McCarthy and Ryu were going to be healthy and Hill was going to fart around after getting a big payday I think they don’t sign him. But they did so now the rotation is being shuffled around. I understand Ryu to the bullpen and even endorse it-for now. I understand Urias to AAA and see the benefit-for now. I don’t get a grizzled vet struggling with location, getting upset with the umpire, and walking 7 including the pitcher in a home game when your team has been having trouble scoring runs, against a pitcher who now leads the league in ERA.
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Watching Lynn and Leake look like Koufax and Drysdale is a statement about the Dodgers offense, or lack of it. Yes, they pitched well and had a plan and the Cards have played well on the road lately yada yada. It is almost painful to watch guys just walk up and get themselves out but that is what they are doing. I know it’s early and a long season, I’m saying the Dodgers are not an exciting team to watch right now. How about bunting to beat the shift (like Carpenter), putting guys in motion, some hit and run plays? How about some 2 strike hits the other way and hits WRISP? It can’t always be a 3 run HR to win the game with one swing.
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Turner is hurt, Puig is hurting, Forsythe and AGon are getting their timing back, Bellinger is being challenged and the weight is on Seager and Grandal. I get it, but with the talent they have should be able to put up 3 or 4 runs a night and give their pitching a chance to win. Not quite ready to demand a shake things up trade but ready for some consistent offensive production.
Baez would be a great addition, but he does not address the Dodger hitting woes.
Puig continues to struggle with the bat (maddening to watch because of his talent), Joc is a no show at the plate (worse than maddening because he refuses to adjust), Utley takes up space on the roster but continues to play a lot, Turner is missed, guys who are hitting at OKC stay there, the Dodgers are still searching for a legitimate #2 starter, and like Utley, Romo & Hatcher just use up a roster spot. All is ok though, there is a plan, I just think the plan is 2018 and beyond.
They can win the division, but with these holes, the margin of error in the playoffs is very, very small.
Yeah Mark, I saw a pitcher who is unhittable when he throws strikes. The pitch moves so much even the umpires have a hard time getting it right. I can see why FAZ signed him, now he just needs to get it together.
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Following is an article on a topic previously debated here. Ian Happ/Javier Baez for a pitcher trade.
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Open on www.espn.comhttp://www.espn.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/44315/is-it-time-for-the-cubs-to-put-javier-baez-on-the-trade-blockI am more concerned about a pathetic offense with no apparent fix.
What I see in Hill is a pitcher who will be a roller coaster ride for the next three seasons. And I hate roller coasters.