Next Man Up!
There are no excuses. It s all about just getting the job done. When Kershaw went down last year, it was Next Man Up! There s nothing different about that with Justin Turner. Justin is a very good player, but this team is deep and Chris Taylor or Logan Forsythe can play third base. For that matter, the much-maligned Kike Hernandez can too. While I am thinking about it, I haven t heard
There are no excuses. It’s all about just getting the job done. When Kershaw went down last year, it was “Next Man Up!” There’s nothing different about that with Justin Turner. Justin is a very good player, but this team is deep and Chris Taylor or Logan Forsythe can play third base. For that matter, the much-maligned Kike Hernandez can too. While I am thinking about it, I haven’t heard too many fans moaning for Dee Gordon (.245 BA /.605 OPS) lately. Austin Barnes is looking solid as a backup catcher and Kike Hernandez is the most versatile player in baseball whom almost everyone wants to send to AAA. It’s ain’t happening.
Yes, Kike is only hitting .233, but he is OPS’ing .798. Joc Pederson and his .211 BA and .620 OPS is a candidate. Do you know how rare it is to have a guy who can play anywhere and do a credible job at it? Oh, you will say that he’s not that good defensively. PROVE IT! Kike is not “smooth,” but he is effective. He’s kind of a “herky-jerky” guy, but he gets the job done. He’s better than you think defensively.
Dee Gordon is finding out how hard it is to play with No Juice! Boy, did the FAZ-Bashers pile on after Dee was traded and he sure tricked the Marlins into giving him a $50 million contract. The fact is: I would not trade Barnes or Hernandez for Dee. FAZ won that trade big time. The best part is that the FAZ bashers get to shutup!
As soon as Turner rounded third base, I knew what he did. If you have ever pulled a hammy, you know the feeling. I have only injured a hamstring once and it happened when I was 51 in a softball tournament. My wife kept telling me to “suck it up,” but I could barely walk. The next day, the back of my leg had a 14″ black and blue area. The doctor said it was a Grade 3 strain and put me on crutches for two weeks… I did use them for a day, but hammys hurt! It was a month before I could run again. That’s probably how long Justin will be out. Just a guess…
So, Ryu looked encouraging… but the rotation is as murky as ever… and I’m OK with that. Chris Hatcher pitched in a “high leverage” situation and delivered… oh, he’s another one we got for Dee. People: we have to look at the big picture and it is showing at a Ravine near you right about now.
This team is built for the long haul!
Rants and Raves
- Chase Utley is shot. Yeah, right! He will not play a ton, but he will deliver when he does. Whatever was wrong with his swing is fixed!
- Rios was 3-5 at Tulsa yesterday. He has 8 HR and is hitting .361 with .986 OPS. He’s not a great 3B… they wouldn’t call him up… would they?
- Ahmed is hitting .323 for Tulsa at SS.
- Chase De Jong was optioned back to AAA by the M’s. He was 0-3 with a 7.40 ERA.
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Discussion (83)
Disagree, not disagreeable
I think most of us speculate on who might be moved when there is a roster crunch and we all have our favorites. Sometimes it’s not what we would do but predicting what management will do. JT’s injury settles any Taylor vs Kike debate (for now) which has been going on since ST. Maybe Joc does need to go down for awhile, I just don’t think they will do that. A lot of people don’t like Puig, but I see a change in him this year and a player about to break out. Kike will never have Puig’s talent but is a useful guy to have around and very scrappy.
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Good to see last night:
Utley 2 hits leading off-Maybe I was wrong about him leading off
Ryu pitching well-maybe I was wrong to rank him the #7 starter
Hatcher with 2 K’s (5 in a row now) in a high leverage situation-wrong again
Puig with a clutch HR to drive in 2-Maybe I was right? Leads team in HR’s, RBI’s, SB and hard hit outs (and GIDP)
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I sure know a lot less than the brain trust and support whatever they do, and root for this team no matter what. This is like last year when Kershaw went down, and the team needs to pull together as this is a winnable stretch of games for the team to make a move.
How about Joc for Cain?
AlwaysCompete: “I also know that Lorenzo Cain is available as a rental, and could be combined in a package with Kelvin Herrera. If you take Cain and Herrera, do you also have to take on Ian Kennedy and his contract? I have no idea what it would cost for Ozuna, Yelich, or Cain. As I hinted at yesterday, I think Rios would look good as the new Royals Kendrys Morales. Maybe Rios and Sopko?”
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If Turner is out for very long, we will need reinforcements, especially adding in the Toles loss. Kennedy is owed $49M/3yrs after 2017, right in FAZ territory. Cain would look awfully good in center right about now. Pederson looked horrible on that strikeout last night, swinging at ball three and four.
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Herrera would also be nice, but we have internal options, how about adding Moustakas instead of Herrera? Rios, Sopko, Calhoun and absorbing Kennedy’s contract seems good to me, but probably pipe. Gotta believe FAZ has KC on speed dial right about now!!
Next man up. We do have replacements. I bitched about Utley and Hatcher and they both looked good last night. Joc just looks lost. He is not seeing the pitches. He swung at some pitches that were not even close. I really think he needs to go down to get his swing back. Where is Segedin? He is a third baseman. I have not head anything on him.
Yes, the starting rotation has not been solved. Can Maeda and Ryu go to the pen? I think those two are the two that will be eliminated from the starters. You may want to trade one, but not both. Hill is just not that reliable because of the blister.
Yep, Turner injury hurts for sure, but you’re right ‘next man up’!!
Now this will cause a stir for sure!!! I still think Seager will eventually move to 3B someday !!! Why not give him a few reps and see see how he doe does there… Do I think he can play 3B, darn right or I wouldnt bring it up…
Anxious to hear additional takes from AC on our MILB possibilities…