Rant Rave Sunday
I am headed to LA at 6:00 AM Sunday. I will be staying at the Sheraton in San Gabriel until Thursday. I ll be at the Ravine Monday and Tuesday. The Dodgers are giving the wife and I the Grand Tour Monday at 4 PM. I am very much looking forward to it. I ll be looking for you E-mail me. mark@uswatersystems.com The lead in the NL West is shrinking! Rich Hill

I am headed to LA at 6:00 AM Sunday. I will be staying at the Sheraton in San Gabriel until Thursday.
I’ll be at the Ravine Monday and Tuesday. The Dodgers are giving the wife and I the Grand Tour Monday at 4 PM. I am very much looking forward to it.
I’ll be looking for you… E-mail me. mark@uswatersystems.com
- The lead in the NL West is shrinking!
- Rich Hill will likely be out 4-6 weeks – Hopefully Clayton will be back soon.
- Ross Stripling is truly a starter. Very nice job!
- Cingrani looks like he is still hurt.
- Give El Gasolino some props.
- Anyone still want to disrespect Max Muncy now?
- Matt “Freaking” Kemp! What did I tell you?
- Ginger Jesus has changed everything!
- Any questions as to why Forsythe is playing? Watch and learn.
- Kenley Jansen is truly back! Two saves in one day!
- This team has come back to life! A come from behind win and a doubleheader sweep.
- Shut up you Negative Nellies! 😉
- Will Dennis Santana take Rich Hill’s place? His AAA debut was outstanding: 6 shutout innings 11 K’s. I’m saying yes! You will see him next week!
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Discussion (49)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Mark, if I could somehow get this Kemp jersey to you in the time you’re in town you think you could get Kemp to sign it then send it back to me? Well ya can’t blame me for trying. lol
Wow – the Dodgers win 3 games. 7 under .500, 4th place, 4th worst record in the NL. Everything is WONDERFUL!
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Great wins tonight, especially in game 2. But really, aren’t you just a little early with the jubilation?
I’ll be “all in” when they reel off 9 wins out of ten or 12 out of 15, but with 3/5’s of your starting pitchers on the DL it is probably too much to ask. Having said that I do like the fight they’re showing……maybe JT is the catalyst for great things to happen.
Great wins today but let’s temper things like NorCal said, we need to put together a streak like the ones mentioned above to really be back in this thing.
We are still only a couple of games out of dead last in NL.
The pen scares me to death, only 2 reliable arms and Kenley and Alexander are still not as good as they were last year. We need to improve somehow with internal moves what can be done??
I’m driving this bandwagon – feel free to jump on when you want!
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Are Tommy and I the last True Believers?
Two very nice wins and a great game by Stripling, now if Wood can get his first win today that could be the start.
I’m on the train. I think the dodgers had hit rock bottom so the only way is up! Generally speaking no major league team is going to continue at a .400 win percentage for the year and certainly not the dodgers. Analyze it anyway you want but Turner is the glue. Taylor and Puig are starting to snap out of it, kemp loves la, bellinger heating up, strip just what we needed, bring Stewart or Santana up. Our bullpen did a fantastic job and will end up a strength I predict. A doubleheader sweep in Washington appeared almost impossible 3 days ago. We need to get to .500 quickly, get Kershaw back, and yeah the worm has turned.
It’s necessary to be 9 deep in starters and while it is early to lose two (Hill and Ryu) and maybe three (Kershaw), I like a rotation of Buehler, Wood, Stripling, Maeda, and Stewart.
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I would leave Santana at AAA for two more starts before deciding to bring him up.
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Alexander looks like he has found his control and that combined with his stuff makes him a very capable set up guy.
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Bellinger hasn’t yet adjusted to the way pitchers are pitching to him which is more high fastballs. Its not that he can’t hit them and more that he is swinging at ones above the strike zone. He will fix that.
I wouldn’t count Santana out. He seems to rise to the occasion whether that is pitching in minor league playoffs or stepping up to triple a. He seems to want the challenge. He must have dominating stuff when he is at his best.
Hill will go on the DL today and Stewart will be re-called. I think…
Connor and Reks are playing really good ball at Tulsa.
Lets not forget that Turner did not start the second game and was not involved in the win. Like Vegas just said, the Dodgers have been a 25 man team for several years now and it works for them. But every team needs a glue guy or the straw that stirs the drink and Turner is again that guy.
I think Hill will go on the DL for quite some time. I hear that it is an ugly tear.
I have been saying for two years that Stewart is not a starter but could be a high leverage reliever. I stand by that. I thought Santana could go either way but he has really improved this year. I think he’s ready to be rushed.
Hill may have to go to the pen for the blister. If Kershaw comes back soon, I think the Starting staff is ok but they still need another bat. I have 2 ideas but don’t know how to fit them in under the Luxury Tax: Jose Abreu and Adrian Beltre.
Abreu would play 1B with Cody playing CF. Next to CT3, he’s the best CF on the team. Or…. J.T. goes to 1B and Adrian Beltre ends his career as a Dodger if he would concent to a trade!
DODGERS PLACE RICH HILL ON DISABLED LIST
RECALL PAT VENDITTE
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers today placed left-handed starter Rich Hill on the 10-day disabled list with a blister on his left middle finger and recalled ambidextrous reliever Pat Venditte from Triple-A Oklahoma City. The Dodgers also optioned right-handed reliever Yimi Garcia to Triple-A Oklahoma City following last night’s game, after being added as the 26th man prior to game two of yesterday’s doubleheader.
Hill, who made his sixth start of the season in the night cap of yesterday’s doubleheader, left the game after throwing two pitches due to the blister. The veteran southpaw, who will be making his second stint on the disabled list this year, has gone 1-2 with a 6.20 ERA (17 ER/24.2 IP) and has struck out 25 batters in 24.2 innings.
Venditte, 32, returns to the big league club for his second stint after being optioned to Triple-A OKC prior to yesterday’s contests. The switch-handed pitcher has allowed two runs in 2.2 innings (6.75 ERA) and struck out two without issuing a walk in three relief appearances with Los Angeles.
Garcia, 27, threw in the second game of the doubleheader last night, allowing one run on one hit with one strikeout in 1.1 innings of relief. In five appearances with the Dodgers, he has gone 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA (4 ER/4.2 IP) and has struck out three against one walk.
Well Maeda pitched very well, and so did Stripling, and I can see Wood doing the same today, and we need that today, after the bullpen game in that second game, yesterday.
And Wood is a fighter, so I think Wood will pitch another good game today, like our other starters have, lately.
Our next three series, besides the Rockie series, is a good time to make up some more games, because we will be playing the Padres and the Phillies, after this Colorado Series.
But our guys must try to just win one game at a time.
Non of the other teams in the Western division, has took charge in this division, so we are still in this, but like I already said, we must try to just win one game at a time, and make sure we win these next three series, but today’s focus, must be on winning this game today.
About Bellinger, he only had one strike out in that second game, and he took that fastball up the middle over the centerfield wall, so I think Bellinger is turning the corner, already.
Like Colletti said, Bellinger knows how to adjust better then any player he has seen, so don’t assume he hasn’t adjusted, because that could be a big mistake.
And Barnes had a couple hits to the right side, and a very gusty at bat in the top of the ninth, so I think he is turning the corner now too.
But it is hard to do, when a player isn’t getting consistent at bats, like Barnes isn’t, but I wouldn’t count him out, either.
FAZ is not listening to me. They are bringing up Stewart to take Hills spot.
1) Muncy…1B
2) Cody…….CF
3) JT………….3B
4) Yas………..C
5) Kemp…..LF
6) Puig……..RF
7) Logan….2B
8) Kike…….SS
9) Wood….P
Muncy forcing his way into the lineup. Kike gives CT3 a blow and hits 8th. JT, Yas and Kemp have hit Strasberg in the past, Joc has struggled so he sits. Meanwhile Buchholtz called up from AAA to face Syndegaard for the Snakes and Ty Blach faces Tyler Anderson for the Rocks. This NL West race is tightening up in a hurry.
I thought the team was back a couple of times already this season. Think I’ll just wait for more evidence. Good wins lately though. See if Woody responds today.
Kike!!! I’m telling you put the guy in the lineup he would hit 20 homers. He can’t hit right handers don’t tell Strasburg. He just needs a fair shot to play.
I they hold on, they are 5 back
4 game sweep by the Reds, now about to sweep the Nationals
Why do they do this to us?
What?? did we just manufacture a run there????
Great series!!! Hopefully pitching can hold up and hopefully Wood is not out? Was fields actually hitting 97 on the radar? I was watching on iPad and that was what it was showing.
Great series win against a very decent team, and CK not far away from returning.
Things are looking up.
Check out the box score today, alot of different guys with 1 hit, or a couple of walks. This is how we are going to do this, a team thing, not just one or two guys.