This is something new that I am going to try to stimulate conversation, but that only takes me a few minutes.
Subject: Noah Syndergaard
Ever since Noah (THOR) burst on the scene, he was a manacing physical specimen. He threw 200 MPH and was built like the Hulk. After he blew out his arm and need TJ, he can only throw about 93 MPH now. In his latest interview, which was very painful.. .he admitted that he is the weakest link on the team and that he sucks.
He says he is trying to get back his velocity… but we all know that will never happen. I don’t think he can wrap his head around anything except that he has to be a power pitcher. He signed with the Dodgers because he was desperate for a miracle. It ain’t happening…
What now?
Discussion (54)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Bear ,would you be so kind to post Saturday’s lineup? I’m heading to Scarsdale New York to watch two of my grandkids participate in baseball and softball. I will be back posting for Sunday’s lineup.
David Vassegh
@THEREAL_DV
#Dodgers hit their 100th HR tonight, they didn’t hit 100 HR’s last season until 4th of July.
David Vassegh
@THEREAL_DV
Clayton Kershaw has beaten every team (27) he has faced in the regular season during his illustrious career
with tonight’s win over #Yankees.
Bear ,would you be so kind to post Saturday’s lineup? I’m heading to Scarsdale New York to watch two of my grandkids participate in baseball and softball. I will be back posting for Sunday’s lineup.
With the surges by Mookie and JDM, the Dodgers now have four front-line starters with an OPS over .900.
Nice!
The others are Freddie and Will. Max, who leads the team with 18 HRs and 42 RBIs, is at .866. Not shabby. And Heyward is filling a platoon role nicely, with .838 OPS and strong defense.
So the veterans with the best track records are really delivering the goods. We didn’t expect much offense from Rojas, but his defense has been excellent. This creates room for the rookies to have their growing pains.
At heart the Yanks feel the best to defeat above any other team. CK is a stud and don’t you forger it!
Good team.
Great organization
Yankees gonna roll up on Grove tomm.
We just need 3 innings. Big ask? Well, he wants the Big Stage? Here it comes.
Severino was gettin pimped on a couple shows all week. Jinxed?
Cmon Freddie, get a hit. !! JD is da man and ol Mook is waking up
Dodgers win it in the first inning.
DeLuca is hitting .324 at OKC. He could be the next big thing, or he could be a flash in the pan. Only time will tell.
Alden Gonzalez answers what the negative Nancies our midst (joke) have been asking ($$$$)
How is L.A. still doing this? 5 reasons Dodgers keep winning
https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/insider/story/_/id/37773464/los-angeles-dodgers-winning-5-reasons
This, essentially, was supposed to be the Dodgers’ gap year. A year when they’d bring their payroll back down to a relatively reasonable level. A year when they’d give some of their promising young prospects a real opportunity. A year when they’d contend but not necessarily dominate…. One reason: Their best players have been their best players
There have 47 individual months in which a Dodger player with over 100 AB hit .400 or better. (Freddie is the latest.)
Cherry picking some of the stats, 5 of the months were Babe Herman in 1929-1930, including July 1929, when he hit .449/.504./.780 (the highest BA for a single month), 4 belonged to Zach Wheat between 1918-1925. The highest OPS for a month belongs to Cody Bellinger who hit .431/.508/.890 (OPS 1.398!) in April 2019. He also had 14 HR.
Lefty O’Doul did it 3 times, Jackie, Campy and Furillo did it twice from the Boys of Summer. Guerrero did it twice and Piazza did it 3 times in the LA era. Oh, and Brett Butler did it and stole 18 bases in 1992.
Thursday scores
Oklahoma City 7, Reno 5
Tulsa 5, Wichita 4
Inland Empire 8, Rancho Cucamonga 6
Friday schedule
2:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Justin Wrobleski and TBD) at Beloit (Cade Gibson and TBD)
4:45 p.m.: Tulsa (Nick Frasso) at Wichita (Travis Adams)
5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Andre Jackson, after an opener) vs. Reno (Blake Walston)
6:30 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (TBD) vs. Inland Empire (Jake Madden)
10:10 PM ET
Yankees (34-24) 3rd place AL East 6GB
Dodgers (34-23) 1st place tie NL West with Arizona
SP Luis Severino R
0-0 1.59 ERA 11.1IP 10K
SP Clayton Kershaw L
6-4 3.32 ERA 62.1IP 75K
Confirmed Lineup
RF Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
3B Max Muncy L
DH J. Martinez R
LF J. Heyward L
2B M. Vargas R
CF James Outman L
SS Miguel Rojas R
Partly-cloudy-day
0%
66° Wind 9 mph Out
Freddie Freeman named NL player of the month for May
1. Dodger’s options to replace Syndergaard from within are slim. I think he will get two more starts or until Urias is ready. Can’t imagine Miller and Grove won’t be better options as starters. Could see an IL stint with some soreness or tightness as a reason for a mental reset. From his comments, he seems lost. Feel badly for him as a competitor. But other guys have figured out how to pitch with reduced velocity. Hope he can get there but his opportunities are going to dry up soon.
2. Vargas is definitely struggling to make hard contact. He seems to take some good pitches early in the count and gets stuck swinging at a pitcher’s pitch down in the count.
3. The top 5 hitters in that line up have been very good but the depth of the line up is in question. They are 5th in MLB in strikeouts and the bottom of that line up with Outman and Taylor have contributed more than their share. Reminiscent of last year when contact was an issue with the bottom of their line up.
4. Diamondbacks have played a pretty easy part of their schedule already, especially in May. They have some nice young players and have a legit chance to be a wild card team this year.
5. DeLuca has performed really well at AAA. Not out of the question that he could help the Dodgers within a month or two.
6. The Quakes have two 19 year olds (Doncon and Liranzo) and an 18 year old (DePaula) in their line up now at Low A. Dodger system has incredible depth.
I actually liked Houston Mitchell’s article. Look, I’m no fan of “The Sisters” and their irreverent behavior but, according to Mitchell, they have done some good things in their community. Should they be feted at a Dodger baseball game? I wouldn’t vote for it but what do I know? Will they lose some fans? Yeah, maybe but not me. As Houston says, this is the same team that brought the first black player into the major leagues. Talk about controversy! How many fans do you think the Dodgers lost by that move? Now, 75 years later most Dodger fans (myself included) look at that as one of the bravest and most enduring actions taken by any professional team in history and it is celebrated by all of Major League baseball every year. It puts our Dodgers in a class by themselves and gives all of us yet another reason to love our team and “Bleed Dodger Blue”.
Sure, these two actions are not totally comparable. I get that. And I don’t think Major League Baseball will be celebrating this “milestone” every year, at least not in our lifetime. But it shows the Dodgers commitment to the entire community and our nation just as their action 75 years ago.
Chill out. Relax. It’s a wonderful organization that puts it on the line to treat every player and fan with respect and fairness.
Pathetic piece by Houston Mitchell. Yeah he should stay away from politics and religion especially if he knows nothing about them. He claims to know what Christianity is about, implying tolerance as the main thing. Jesus was not so tolerant as Houston would like to think. He did not sweep sin under the rug, he called people to repentance.
According to Houston raising money for certain causes justified mocking and degrading others. And I’d like to know how he knows what others have given.
He doesn’t, he can only speak for himself on his giving and his affections. And he has.
Dodgers vs Yankees my favorite time of the year.
Yankees getting Stanton, Kahnle and Donaldson back off the IL just in time for this series.
Here come those Damn Yankees.
A really good bullpen piece has just come on to the market.
White Sox have dfa’d Hanser Alberto.
Rosario is just a Rojas clone. Why bother? You’re trading only for Bieber, and those 3 are a total overpay. When healthy I think Pepiot can develop into Gonsolin light.
On the Baseball America podcast, a favorite of mine Eno Sarris speculated (i.e. wasn’t reporting) on the Guardians this off-season.
He could envision that team both buying and selling, and selling to the Dodgers.
Bieber and Rosario (Rosario a pure rental, I believe) for…
Well, he doesn’t think the Dodgers would offer Vargas (nor do I), and Cartaya may be too much. But maybe Busch plus?
For sure this is Kersh’s last year in LA. We can watch him in Texas next year.
My father is almost 90 years old, and every night or evening, he watches the Dodgers, his most beloved event of the day. I don’t want him to watch the game on the night of the sisters, because I know that this is going to bother him a lot. What a pity that something like this can damage the spirit of an great old fan like my father. Pity.
Another article in The Athletic about the Sisters and Houston Mitchell’s Newsletter today was also about the sisters. He stated what I also suggested: This issue could be enough to drive Clayton to finish his career in Texas! The simple solution is to just drop all the “group nights” that aren’t related to baseball. Duhhhh! or maybe we just create new ones, like
1. Dodger Stadium Elephant Night
2. Bring a Crocodile to the Game Night
3. Bring a Convicted Felon to the Game Night
4. Dodger Stadium Lice Night
5. Dodger Stadium Anti-Vaxxers Night
6. Skydive into the Stadium Night
… I am sure I am offending someone by leaving them out. They could do all kinds of stupid shit… or maybe just play baseball.
Dodgers and D-Backs now tied atop the NL West. We get the Yankees while they play the Braves. They travel to DC next week while LA is playing the Reds in the Queen City. Dodgers then go to Philly while Az visits Detroit. They come home to play the Phils and Guardians while the Dodgers host the Sox and the Giants. Tomorrow is Lou Gehrig day. All teams will fete celebrations for the Yankee great and host ALS benefits.
Cartaya hit his seventh homer tonight. Might be turning his season around.
DODGERS ACQUIRE RICKY VANASCO
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers have acquired right-handed pitcher Ricky Vanasco from the Texas Rangers in exchange for minor league left-handed pitcher Luis Valdez. In order to make room on the 40-man roster, the Dodgers designated right-handed pitcher Zack Burdi for assignment.
Vanasco, 24, pitched in two games for Double-A Frisco since being activated from the injured list and allowed six runs in 2.1 innings with two strikeouts. The right-hander posted a 4.68 ERA (48 ER/92.1 IP) with 118 strikeouts in 23 starts last season between High-A Hickory and Double-A Frisco. He has been in the Rangers farm system since being drafted in the 15th round of the 2017 First Year Player Draft out of Williston High Schoool (FL) and he is a combined 9-10 with a 3.84 ERA and 236 strikeouts in 178.0 innings. He was designated for assignment on May 29.
Valdez, 19, appeared in eight games for Low-A Rancho Cucamonga, posting an 0-2 record with a 3.12 ERA (6 ER/17.1 IP) and 24 strikeouts. The southpaw was in his third season with the organization and was a combined 3-3 with a 2.70 ERA (20 ER/66.2 IP) and 84 strikeouts in 24 games (21 starts). He was originally signed as a minor league free agent on November 4, 2019 out of Navojoa, Sonora, Mexico.
The Dodgers are now tied with the same exact record as the Snakes for 1st place as they just swept Colorado in a 4 game series.
The Marlins have a 26 y.o. Left fielder who won’t be eligible for free agency until 2028 he has been really solid since 2021 he bats right handed. His name is Byron De La Cruz. Would he be someone the Dodgers would be interested in at the deadline?
Please know that I am not one of the media sycophants who want to silence dissenting opinions because they are conflicted by cognitive dissonance.
I hate to say this but I always thought Vargas was brought up to early. I figured he would need another half year in AAA and then go from there. The half year point is in a month.
To me the Dodgers just don’t have enough good relievers. Phillips, Gonzalez, Ferguson (Even though he looks like a deer in headlights), and a surprise to me S Miller are about all there is. Almonte and Vesia were one of the best last year so I’m hoping they return to last year’s performance. Yes there are 3 guys in my opinion on the IL that are good, but will they be back this year. But as of right now there’s not enough good relievers.
Everyone has talked about the starting pitching so I won’t go there.
The outfield platoon situation is still there. Nobody that can platoon against LHP.
With all that said the Dodgers record is 34-23. To me that is thanks to the top 5 in the batting order plus in April Outman.
I agree with a lot of the takes today:
1) Thor is done, at least on the MLB level. And from a human perspective, it’s sad that he’s mentally going thru all this, and that he’s questioning himself and his career. Perhaps being amicable to go down to AAA and figure it out would be best for him, without flat out waiving him and telling him we don’t want him anymore. If he truly does want to reclaim what he had, or find a new version of himself, then he’ll understand it’s best to do that in AAA and not in LA.
2) I”m not happy with Miguel Vargas at bats lately. He’s failed a lot of times lately, when I would’ve hoped his bat to ball skills would come into play. Last night’s pathetic, weak foul out with bases loaded and 1 out was a perfect example. Weak, pathetic, useless at bat by someone who I expect results from . And I say that with confidence in him, while I have no expectations from CT3, who struck out, or Rojas, or Barnes (and currently Outman). I expected Vargas to come thru in these situations, because I expect him to hit 6 or higher for us for years.
3) I think I’m going to the 4p game Saturday, to watch the Yanks’ Ace vs. our 18th rookie, Grove. Anyone going? I’d love to grab a drink with anyone on this blog (already had drinks with Mark and his son Steven a few years ago)
4) I expect Denver to cakewalk over Miami in the NBA finals in 5 games MAX. I also expect Vegas to beat Florida in the Stanley Cup.
Thor’s situation isn’t unique. Tim Lincecum had a similar career trajectory. 3-4 years of dominance followed by several years of decline and ultimately became unserviceable by his early 30s.
It’s sad to see.
The article that Bluto posted by Passan provides another example of the impact of the new playoff structure. With so many teams remaining in the playoff run, the number of teams in sell mode will drop. Maybe that was one of MLB’s intentions. To keep two or three teams from blowing up their roster every trade deadline. But it also results in the better teams having difficulty improving going into the post season. That will result in a bit of a feedback loop where the good teams will be under less pressure to go out and land a impact player at the deadline because they know the other top teams are unlikely to land one either. The end result will be making the modern MLB playoffs even more of a crap shoot.
The one name I thought was interesting was Bellinger. He’s on a one year deal and (assuming he continues to hit when he comes off the IL) will likely get a big raise and a multi year contract. It may be very unlikely, but how strange would it be if the Dodgers make a run for Bellinger at the deadline?
I think it would make sense, at this point. Again, assuming he plays well post IL.
I think Sindy’s issues can be fixed but he needs to adopt a new mentality. He needs to work on command, pitch mix and tunneling his slider. Maybe a change up or screw ball could be added to give him another option. He is a big leaguer and relatively young. Can’t give up now.
Apologize for being chatty. Love to talk and discuss baseball. In most games whatever type, there are normally two or three plays that play a huge role in the outcome. Tuesday night that play is when Heyward went from first to third on a potential double play ball. The Nats shortstop was given an error but it was still a tough play. Most base runners would have sled into second base. When Heyward saw the ball trickling to the outfield he didn’t break stride and went to third. Extending the inning and help the Dodgers get momentum and have huge inning. One never knows what play will turn a game.
* Is there an avenue for both Corbin and Syndergaard to pitch in the Home Run Derby?
On second thought, they don’t throw enough strikes.
* I actually have sympathy for both Corbin and Syndergaard. Patch talked about realizing Noah’s mortality and having a struggle learning how to get guys out without velocity. And he was hurt last night with some poor defense.
But while I have sympathy for them as individuals struggling to save their careers, this isn’t Boys Town. They keep score in this league. It’s a production business. You are paid to perform. I’m with AVForte about Noah’s time being up. But until some reinforcements arrive, we’re stuck.
* Will Smith took a shot to his inner thigh that had to leave a mark. I don’t think it rang the bell. He was on that knee, exposing that thigh. He he been on his feet, it may have been all shine guard. I hate how they are catching. Maybe the ABS will make framing obsolete and they can again catch with 2 feet on the ground.
Passan takes a look at the upcoming trade ($$$$) market:
https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/insider/story/_/id/37768660/jeff-passan-early-mlb-trade-deadline-preview
Dylan Cease, Bieber, Bednar and maybe Aaron Nola!?!?!?!?
Poor Thor. Cashin checks he doesn’t deserve. But he’s hardly the only issue. Urias and Kersh both struggling. And the bottom of our lineup is a black hole. And our two prized rookies are a lot closer to OKC than ROY. Top of our lineup has us in first but they need some help to keep us there.
The Dodgers lost a very winnable game yesterday, and certainly Thor was a big part of the loss. But other players were also instrumental in the loss including Graterol and Vargas. As John Doll pointed out, if not for the errant throw by Vargas, Thor would have finished the game with 5 IP, 3 ER and in line for the win. We wouldn’t even be having this conversation yet regarding releasing Noah. Vargas also went 0-5 and popped out with the bases loaded and one out in the third inning right after Taylor struck out with no outs and bases loaded. The Dodgers had a chance to build a big lead in the 3rd and three batters in a row failed to produce even one run. Overall, a very poor game for Vargas.
And Graterol was solely responsible for giving up 3 runs in a tied game in the 8th inning. The box score will show zero earned runs, but he was the only reason those runs scored. He hit the lead off batter on the first pitch which is already a huge mistake, then committed a costly error, and then hung an 0-2, two out slider for a HR. Graterol was more responsible for this loss than Noah in my opinion. And there are always numerous plays and players that contribute to a loss.
Noah will probably exit the starting rotation going forward, but since Dodgers are already paying him either a move to the IL, to AAA or into the bullpen makes sense to me before just releasing him. At least he is taking personal responsibility for his poor performance and willing to try options to improve.
It’s sad to see, but it’s time to move on from Thor if the Dodgers have any aspirations of holding on to first place in the West. The experiment has lasted long enough. Hopefully Urias will be back soon to fill the void.
Thor needs to go to Camelback or OKC and work on his craft. Better location, more deceptiveness is needed. And who knows maybe the velo ticks up a bit then too. No place on the big league roster for him when he is going like that.Not even for mop up duty. Bickford is the better mopper.:-)
Cartaya is heating up. Another dinger last night at AA.
Good to see.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday scores
Reno 6, Oklahoma City 5
Wichita 7, Tulsa 2
Great Lakes 4, Beloit 3
Rancho Cucamonga 8, Inland Empire 7 (12 innings)
Thursday schedule
4:35 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Ronan Kopp) at Beloit (Edgar Sanchez)
5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (William Cuevas) vs. Reno (Brandon Pfaadt)
5:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Nick Nastrini) at Wichita (Aaron Rozek)
6:30 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Joel Ibarra) vs. Inland Empire (Jorge Marcheco)
All 4 Dodger Minor League Teams are in 1st place in their respective divisions
Not to be contrary but Yogi said 90%mental. On a previous comment I stated that Roberts said Betts was totally tuned in. I meant to say according to Roberts Mookie wasn’t always tuned in.
Simply put, ‘ships don’t sail on yesterday’s wind’. His glory level was high and it’s clear that makes the fall deeper with pain, but at least he he has the memory of glory. I don’t think he is able to make the best out of the situation he now has to face. t’s too late to start from scratch and that is where he is at.
Since Mark is stirring up conversation, I thought it was interesting that right after Roberts suggested that Mookie was totally tuned in, Roberts played him at short and second. By taking Betts out of his confront zone (right field) Betts just by his nature of waiting to excel had to really dial in. May have not been the reason but as Yogi stated 90% of the game is mental…
Thor had another tough day no doubt. Remember that two runs scored after the Dodgers botched a double play on the line drive to Vargas. Vargas had all day to throw to Rojas. You can’t flip a throw in baseball, pitchout in football, or pass in football with your weight on your back foot, the ball will float and take off high. Getting out of that inning without giving anything up would have been a confidence booster. Thor still needs to find a new occupation, time is up on this job.
He is young enough to learn how to ‘pitch’. It’s just will he be able to move on form what he used to be.
Thor is going through that time of his life that we all go through. He’s realized his mortality. I’m not old, but I also have realized that I’m not the athlete that I was even up until my late 40s, which wasn’t that long ago. I can’t run with the kids anymore. I can’t ride with the fast guys. It’s sobering. You realize the clock is ticking on your life. Noah has to face it just like everyone does. It’s a pity he couldn’t stretch that period of greatness out a little longer, and normally if you’re relatively young and come back from Tommy John, you’re as good or even better than you were before. It’s probably also frustrating to him that the doctors probably can’t give him a definitive answer as to why he hasn’t regained his previous velo. He just has to face his mortality with dignity, which is all any of us can do.
So I’m not going to dump on him and call him a bum and complain that the Dodgers are putting him out there. I think the Dodgers, as an organization, are pretty loyal to its players, and they will give him as long a runway as possible to turn things around, and if they don’t, they will release him. Besides, as depleted as the current rotation is, he has to stay for at least a while.
There’s going to be no one to trade for. I can’t remember a time were there such a seller’s market … if there are actually sellers. It seems like there’s only 3-4 genuinely out-of-it teams that would be sellers. With the expanded playoffs and the fact that nearly every team has either a winning record, a break even record, or are just a few games under .500, nearly everyone has a chance to sneak into the playoff bracket and has a chance. And the As are just so historically bad that there’s not a single player that anyone would want.
I also think the phantom injury makes sense. He is injured, in the head. His psyche is definitely bruised. He still has good stuff, but his location on his pitches is awful.
Noah needs to learn how to pitch. The velocity may come back over time but his situation reminds me a bit of Verlander a few years back. As in the case of most aging pitchers, including our own Clayton Kershaw, there is a time when you have to become deceptive to keep hitters off balance rather than just being a thrower.
I don’t see AF DFA’ing Thor but I do see a phantom injury or a DFA for Bickford and moving Syndergaard to the BP. Mop up relief or much like Bickford is used a long stint when the BP is taxed, but simply put Syndergaard cannot stay in the rotation and get a start every five days.