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
Nobody had to tell Stripling to hit Stanton. He knew what to do!
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There should be no suspension!
Strip just earned some major respect from the guys.
Now hopefully that’s that and there’s no more crap this weekend
Stripling missed him, evidently!
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The coolest thing that could happen now would be for Hatcher to drill him!
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That would be awesome!
That was better than drilling him.
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Chris Freaking Hatchet!
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You love him and you hate him!
Mattingly upset that Seager was swing 3-0 with a 5run lead in the 5th. I didn’t know there was a mercy rule in MLB.