My Beef With the Dodgers

Some people think that I believe everything Andrew Friedman does is wonderful and that I worship at the Church of St. Andrew. Of course, that’s not true because he is Jewish and I am not. I do happen to think he is very astute and has a plan which he executes. However, I do have one major issue with him and the Dodgers Organization.

That issue is I believe they stick with pitchers as starters too long… and I am not talking about “game level” but rather “career level.” Case-in-point: Brock Stewart should have been converted to a reliever three years ago. Since then he has lost 3 or 4 MPH on his fastball and has no future as a starter and now also has no future as a reliever.

Yadier Alvarez is another name that comes to mind, although he just may be a headcase, as he has been rarely seen this season. I also thought that Tony Gonsolin would make a great reliever with his gas and curve. He started out as one, and this is a guy who just might be able to be a two-way player as he can hit. I mean he can REALLY hit.

Dennis Santana is another pitcher whose stuff should play well in relief. We live in a world of video games, short attention spans, instant gratification, and ADHD. It may be that the mental skills to be a starting pitcher are more important than the physical skills. Some pitchers are more capable of long attention spans than others. Clayton Kershaw is a classic case of someone who has the mental makeup to start. The same is true with Hyun-jin Ryu. Kenta Maeda sometimes loses focus and focus is something that Walker Striker Buehler needs to find consistently.

To their credit, the Dodgers did convert Jordon Sheffield to a relief role this year, and they have Marshall Kasowski in that role as well at AA. It would seen that both are possibilities next year. The thing is, the Dodgers are looking for relief NOW.

Some pitchers can ride an adrenaline rush 9 innings while others may lose it after 1 inning. Anyone who has played any sport at a high level can testify to the existence of that rush. I’m sure the adrenaline rush played a strong role in the success a hobbled Kirk Gibson had is his only at bat in the 1988 World Series.

I bring this up right now, because the trade deadline, which is just over one day away, the Dodgers have to decide who (if any) Top Prospects they have to give up to get relief help, when the answer could be in their own system.

Everyone wants Felipe Vasquez and Dodger fans are foolishly offering up Kiebert Ruiz (because they have no idea how good he will be), when the Pirates want Lux and May. Personally, I would not give up any of those players and I have seen enough of Will D. Smith, Jeter Downs, DJ Peters and Josiah Gray (” Josiah Gray, RHP (No. 5) — 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K (Double-A Tulsa) – That’s back-to-back starts without an earned run for Gray, who threw 54 of his 82 pitches for strikes and has a 1.56 ERA through 17 1/3 innings (three starts for Tulsa). The 21-year-old, whom the Dodgers acquired in the offseason Yasiel Puig trade, began the year with Class A Great Lake, where he went 1-0 over five starts, before moving up to Class A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga, where he went 7-0 over 12 starts. Gray has a solid fastball-slider combo and has used it to amass 119 strikeouts through 108 innings this season that I would not give them up either.) I could go either way on Tony Gonsolin, and I would be down with trading Estevez, Grove, Amaya, White, both Santanas, Rios, Carrillo, Uceta, Wong and others.

It would seem to me that the Dodgers could have offered more than the Mets for Marcus Stroman, but we have no idea who the Mets targeted or how they valued the Dodgers’ prospects. Getting Stroman would have sent Maeda to the pen and I think he would excel there. I still think the Dodgers pen can be fine in the playoffs and there is no guarantee that any reliver you acquire will live up to his press clippings.

I have no idea what Friedman will do, but I do not believe he will trade any of the Top 8 or 10 Prospects. We shall wait with baited breath.

Last Night’s Game

Move on, there’s nothing to see here folks! Is the Joc Pederson experiment nearing it’s end? Maybe, I think they were “showcasing” Joc for a team who wanted to see him at 1B. I doubt they have been convinced. On August 1, Max Muncy should go to 1B and Gavin Lux should go to 2B. What do they have to lose? Tonight may mark the end of Julio Urias in the bullpen