Quick Pitches & Hits

Kershaw has a right to be ticked off at the Dodgers. He has defined the term pitcher this year. Great competitor. Could he be a Ranger next year? I hope not. Would love to see him pitch his entire career in LA. Seager is having a good year in Texas after being injured. Let’s stop the Doc bashing. In my opinion, he is the second greatest manager in Dodger history behind Walter Alston, even though I’m still ticked at Alston for not letting Drysdale get the last three outs in the 1962 playoff against the Giants!! Roberts’ winning pct. is right up there with the best at this point in his career.

Bobby Miller is the real deal, and he KNOWS it! Stone not ready. Grove is a little better, still iffy. Mookie needs to cut back on strikeouts in my opinion. Wish his BA was as high as it was in Boston. I think he could steal more. Don’t get me wrong. Mookie, Freddy, and Will are the most valuable Dodgers. And, Mookie being able to play three positions shows what a superstar he is. I agree; no way will Friedman give Ohtani $500 million. To be honest I hope he stays with the Angels, though I doubt it. This is my first time on this site. It is outstanding, by the way. I go way back to 1955 when I stayed home from school and watched Johnny Podres in his rookie year beat the Yankees in game seven. Podres was one of the greatest big game pitchers in Dodger history.

Pretty sure the Unabomber was a Giants fan.

Pretty cool stat re Miller, found on mlb.com:

“… Miller is the only pitcher in AL/NL history to go 3-0 with a sub-1.00 ERA while compiling at least 23 strikeouts and allowing fewer than 15 hits in his first four games. Sure, that’s a bit of a mouthful, but put a simpler way: no pitcher has ever started his career quite like Miller. ”

I say we keep him. Sure hope Julio comes back strong.

To me, May and Buhler are big question marks. If AF & Associates feel the same way, I think Dodgers will target proven SPs and RPs in the trade season.

The Unabomber died today at a medical facility in NC. He had been in Super-Max prison here in Colorado about 8 miles from me in Florence. He was transferred to the medical center in 2021. He was 81. Don’t hear much complaining about Peralta lately, nor Heyward.

trueblue.la is a fun blog to read. This year they are doing flashbacks of the 1963 season. Below is a piece of one of the articles.

The never-ending hot seat

Dodgers manager Walt Alston has been rumored to be on the hot seat this year, at which he expressed frustration earlier in the season. To start this week with the loss, the Dodgers’ fifth straight, the Dodgers fell to 27-23, four games out in the National League standings, in third place.

Red Smith in a syndicated column wrote that Alston is not properly appreciated. From the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, New York:

Perhaps there have been other managers who got as little credit for winning and as much blame for losing as Walter Alston does, but their names do not come to mind.

In his nine full seasons — now the longes unbroken term in the majors — Alston’s teams have won two World Series and three pennants and tied for a fourth. They were second three times and missed the first division only once. That single sickening plunge had a sequel that would have raised any other manager to a permanent place in history beside miracle man George Stallings, for the very next year Alston steered that seventh-place club through a pennant playoff to the championship of the universe.

The only permanent place for reserved for Walter is on the griddle.

Don’t worry about this guy just throw strikes…… Ha, ha, ha ha ha ha

Good outing once more by the kid.

If guys learn from adversity, then I guess next stop for Thor and Caleb is Hall of Fame!!

All my love to Mets World. Polar Bear out – adios offense.

Bobby 2Chains: Drippiest

Ferguson should not pitch in high leverage situations for some time. His confidence seems damaged. Rather would have V-Gone in close games as the primary lefthanded reliever.

Grove has very good stuff but he is not consistent enough yet.

Stone got hammered again yesterday at OKC. He is sinking faster than a Stone (sorry, could not resist).

The low averages of too many hitters are finally creeping up on the Dodgers. Against good pitching all those low averages are exposed and it is costing us games lately.

Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Transactions

Triple-A: Left-handed pitcher Mike Montgomery assigned to Oklahoma City

Friday scores

Oklahoma City 14, El Paso 10

Tulsa 5, Arkansas 4

Great Lakes 5, Lake County 0

Modesto 6, Rancho Cucamonga 4

Saturday schedule

4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Maddux Bruns) vs. Lake County (Rodney Boone)

5:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Landon Knack) vs. Arkansas (Ethan Lindow)

5:35 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Mike Montgomery) at El Paso (Matt Waldron)

6:05 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (TBD) at Modesto (TBD)

4:05 PM ET

Dodgers (36-28)

Phillies (31-32)

SP Bobby Miller R

2-0 1.06 ERA

SP Aaron Nola R

5-4 4.30 ERA

Confirmed Lineup

2B Mookie Betts R

1B F. Freeman L

C Will Smith R

3B Max Muncy L

DH J. Martinez R

LF D. Peralta L

RF J. Heyward L

SS Chris Taylor R

CF James Outman L

Partly-cloudy-day

9% Precipitation

81° Wind 8 mph L-R

I’m being honest here when I say this…..Guys like Thor or Grove should possibly have to pitch the entire 8 innings no matter how many runs they give up. That way we give our BP and much needed day off. Here is the scenario I’m laying out for that to happen.

Why should these bums pitch 4 innings, give up a ton of runs, and then go to the shower while needlessly stressing out the BP? If we’re down by 4 or more runs after their initial 4 innings, keep them in and let them finish. If they allow 15 runs, so what? Thor for instance is making about 15 million, right? Well, let him pitch to earn it. If we’re down by 3 or less, I suppose you could think of still trying to win the game and bring the BP in.

Agree Bear. Nobody standing out in bullpen except Phillips. Robertson could sure be a better option

It is over and nothing will change that. The team has not played well on the road all year. Maybe the bullpen arms are stressed because they have been used so much. At this rate, this BP could be gassed by the end of July. Starters not going at least 6 really hurts the staff and right now, there are two MLB class starters on this roster, Kershaw and Gonsolin. Miller has looked good so far, and lets hope he keeps it going with a nice performance today. If the Yankees did not scare him, the Phillies sure won’t. But they need good starting pitching and they need it yesterday. And right now there is no help coming from AAA. Stone got lit up again yesterday. They can either try and trade for help, or hope May and Urias get back sooner than later. Andriese and Erlin are the only two starters at AAA with any real experience in the majors. I do not believe Grove is a viable option in the rotation permanently. He sure has not looked the part his last two starts. Oh, I hate the opener theory. Let the starter face the guys he needs to get out.

Rookie? Looked good against the reds!

Martinez lead off double in 8th, no conscious effort to move him over. Roberts game when he played was small ball and speed, guess those days and philosophy are gone. Looks like Friedman needs to go yardsaling and find a couple reliable relievers. Wouldn’t Robertson made sense in the ninth?

I think this is all part of Caleb’s lesson plan (sarcasm intended). We were told to sit and watch his development and that the blow up in Cincy was a one-off and all part of a grand scheme to develop him for pressure situations. Hard lesson and a failure in round #1.

Meanwhile…

Weren’t the Dodgers and Mets supposed to have all this great pitching?

Another AF crap show.

The definition of insanity: Allowing Ferguson to pitch to anybody in the 9th inning of a close game and expecting a different result.

It turns out Ferguson is not a situational lefty, either.

Schwarber was totally gassed after hitting that triple. Looked like he needed oxygen.

Deluca looks like he belongs out there.

Let this dude play against everybody and see how he does!