- The Giants just keep rolling along. They may never lose again. Don’t worry: it’s an “odd” year – they only win the World Series in “even” years. I think…. hope… pray! This is just a magical year for them so far. They have lost Jake McGee for the rest of the season, but Dominic Leone stepped in and saved last night’s game. They just can do no wrong (right now).
- Do you remember earlier in the year when Dave Roberts ran out of position players and many of you branded him as an “idiot” for doing that? Well, Friday night that happened to Gabe Kapler. He had to use Kevin Gausman as a pinch hitter in the 11th inning because he was out of position players. Gausman hit a sac fly to win the game and Kapler is s genius! It’s all preception and execution. Most moves that are called “bonehead” moves by Dave Roberts are simply a lack of execution and false perception. You can always twist the facts to suit your worldview.
- The Giants have four players in their late 30’s (Ruf, Belt, Longoria, and Crawford) who are OPS’ing .900 or above, for the first time for a full season in their entire career. This is simply “lightning in a bottle.” Sometimes the baseball gods do this. The other player who has OPS’ed .900 is Posey and he is at .892. There is no questin that this has been a magical season for them, but sometimes luck runs out…. doesn’t it? Huh?
- Max Muncy is the only Dodger player with an OPS over .900 (.909).
- Cy Scherzer? 15-4/2.08 ERA/0.81 WHIP. Yeah, barring an implosion, the award is his. Buehler and Urias should both finish in the Top 5. Actually, Kenley “Back From the Dead-and-Buried” might be in the Top 10. I said “MIGHT.”
- I hated to give up Keibert Ruiz, but that was one hell of a trade. You have to give Andrew Friedman credit. There are no excuses for not winning it all this year. Do you hear me, Doc?
- Jo Jo Gary is not ready for primetime as yet – 6.15 ERA/1.434 WHIP. I still think he will be a solid #3 or #4 starter… just not yet!
- It’s hard to have any confidence in a national writer who think Cody Bellinger will be non-tendered. Crack is bad! That said, this has been a horrid year for him.
- I like Gavin Lux in LF. With an entire offseason to prepare, he will be a great defensive LF’er with a great arm. Let him not worry about the “yips” and just focus on hitting. I am gaining confidence in him. Next year could be the breakout year. An outfield of Lux, Bellinger, and Betts would be the best defensive outfield in baseball.
- If the NL adopts the DH in the offseason, Pollock and Justin Turner could play part time and alternate at DH. Pollock seems best at around 400 AB’s anyway.
- Vargas and Busch are probably callups next September... Pages might be another year after that.
- The Dodgers have “retooled” Kody Hoese’s swing, but the results have not translated to the barrell. Next year will be critical for him nor he could drop out of the Top 30.
- I predict that BOTH Joe Kelly and Kenley Jansen will both be back with the Dodgers in 2022. Or not… 😉
- I would like to see Albert Pujols finish his career in St. Louis next year!
- David Price will not be on the playoff roster. Even Ronnie Milsap can see that.
- The Dodger’s minor league system is full of interesting players. It will be interesting how they are ranked in the offseason. It’s hard to keep a high ranking when you trade for All-Stars and draft at the bottom.
- What has happened to the Driveline guys? Kyle Boddy, President of Driveline Baseball, hired as the Cincinnati Reds’ minor-league pitching coordinator after the 2019 season, has parted ways with the organization after two seasons, and Rob Hill has been out of the spotlight in LA.
- I think after the season is over, the Dodgers need to re-evaluate their “all-or-nothing” offense. I am not saying heads need to roll, but I am saying it needs to be tweaked.
- I still haven’t decided if I want to drive to Ciny today. It’s been a long week with the drive to Yankton, SD and back. The best sight I saw was Yankton in the rear-view mirror.
Rant & Rave Sunday
The Giants just keep rolling along. They may never lose again. Don’t worry: it’s an “odd” year – they only win the World Series in “even” years. I think…. hope… pray! This is just a magical year for them so far. They have lost Jake McGee for the rest of the season, but Dominic…
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Discussion (27)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Lux has looked like a different player and I am impressed. His approach at the plate has been more aggressive and the results have been positive. He is sitting just below the .240 mark after being in the low .220’s when he first returned to the team. And he has been decent as defender in left field. With Pollock due back after the Rockies series when they are in Arizona next weekend, the bench and offense will get a positive boost. I watched the Braves-Giants game and Rosario hit for the cycle. Those are always fun to watch. Urias, Buehler and Scherzer set to pitch Tues, Wed and Thursday in Colorado.
The seasons for Tulsa, Great Lakes, And Rancho Cucamonga are over. I will be curious to see if any AA players get moved to AAA for the final two weeks of the AAA season. I would not mind seeing James Outman, Michael Busch, and Miguel Vargas get a shot. The Dodgers have been VERY conservative with their pitchers, especially the 2020 draftees, so it would be a stretch to see if Miller or Knack get moved up.
Zach McKinstry hit a walk off homer with two outs in the 9th inning today for OKC.
The last OKC walk-off homer was in August, 2018………………………………….by Andrew Toles.
Well, it has been a satisfying day. No game tomorrow, Dodger game on Tuesday in Colorado will be under way by the time the Padres meet the Giants. NCIS new season begins Monday night. Moved to a new time slot.
Way to go Braves, now Padres need to do some business.
Sign everyone! Kersh looks pretty good for a dead man walking!
Dodgers gained 1.5 games for SF in this week. SF was 4 of 3 in the week…they can lose. The men in blue need win all this week and hope SD win one at least
Atlanta necesita ganar, tiene encima a Filadelfia que juega más tarde contra NY Mets.
How classy is Mookie? He trades one of his bats for the Home run ball hit by Friedl. It was the kids first big league dinger. D-Backs have 100 losses.
Atl. up 3-0 in SF
The Dodgers can tender a contract to Belli at about $18M or complete with other teams and try to sign him for less as a free agent. No?
Or, they could try to extend him now if he were to accept a 5 year contract at a salary somewhere between below replacement level and All Star.
Kudos to Kershaw. Pitched very well in a hitter friendly park against a pretty good offensive line up
Time to get a bigger TV
This is my view today:
Here’s all the homers you were asking about…
Dare I say “game over” already?
Remember when everyone thought Lux sucked?
Lefty pitchers beware.
Id let Jansen walk and Seager as well unless he has a reasonable contract value demand. Otherwise, lock up Turner instead.
Bellinger….I’d assume he will want a raise in arbitration from his 16.1 million this year to be the leagues worst hitter. You can get a lot of bullpen for that cheese. I agree that the non-tender is unrealistic BUT I would be it’s at least crossed AF’s mind. If Cody is going to get up to 18, that’s a tough call and I would think, humans being human, could stir some unpleasant whispers among the other players on the team.
On the bus alone on this one, but unless Bauer is arrested and convicted of actually something, I hope that LA eats his deal if they are high and mighty enough for him not to play for them ever again.
It’s a shame that this man is being completely destroyed for his consensual sexual preferences.
It would make me happy to see him sue the shit out of MLB and the Dodgers one day. For what, hell I don’t know but as a man that has gone through bullshit sexual harassment accusations, it is infuriating when you are innocent but you can never restore your reputation, and the accuser has zero consequences for being a PROVEN liar.
I agree with the above comment that if LA goes in as the wildcard, SF earned it. They are playing incredible. Some of us can STILL keep on with the “lucky” rational to describe the Giants season but since its just about over, it’s getting more and more “standing on the street corner with a sign yelling at people” that its all luck.
Catching lightning in a bottle isn’t luck and guys like Posey and Crawford have always been very good to great players…..with a few down years here and there.
It is amusing to watch the naysayers to the Giants and that they are all luck still profess that Bellinger is “in a slump”. Since the ASB of 2019 apparently.
I apparently don’t spend enough time watching Giant’s game to critique their manager as to feel better about Roberts as a manager. I also don’t really know if Kapler is a better manager than Roberts. I do know that the Giants have done more with less. Isn’t that really what it’s all about?
I just watch the games when I can, celebrate the good, bitch about the bad. Like a fan.
Just to echo earlier sentiments, I agree that the squeeze was a welcomed sight! I am pretty sure the team that makes it all the way through the many rounds of playoffs is going to have to win some low-scoring close games. Big innings are great, but in this age of the strike out, there are many, many times when innings die with nothing to show for it; and I would like the Dodgers shift their scoring paradigm as we transition from whole-season, long-term thinking to post-season, short-term thinking.
Also to echo: Scherzer = WOW. He is incredible! It is so fun to watch him and try to guess along with what he will do next. I must confess he frequently surprises me, especially deep in the count. I guess that happens when a pitcher has four, legit, put-away pitches. Cheers!
In my opinion the trade looks great now, it’s exciting having those two on the team. But if we don’t win and both those guys leave we’re left with some holes to fill.
I’m undecided on Seager. I still don’t think he’s that good at short and I just can’t trust he won’t break again. Is there a better fit at short? At the moment I don’t know. I thought it was Turner, but he may be worse defensively than Seager and we sure don’t need that. There’s plenty of time to figure that out.
I keep Kelly and Graterol. I think Bazooka’s arm is terrific but I believe he needs his head examined in the off season. Kelly has looked good.
I’ve already stated my position on our offensive approach. All or nothing is not what I prefer but the results are there. My adjustment would be a retool of the two strike approach. Sure, go nuts on strikes 1 and 2 but dammit, do not strike out. I just don’t buy all outs are the same. Whatever it takes, put a barrel on strike 3.
This is fun! Last 2 weeks! We’re goons have to take it from Giants. They won’t give it away. Will the bats wake up and lead the way? Superstars or stuporstars?
Fried against Desclafani in SF today. Fried has actually done well against the SF hitters. Desclafani has had trouble with Atlanta hitters. Pederson has a .500 avg against him and 3 homers. Dodgers have won all 9 of Scherzer’s starts.
Loved hearing Scherzer answering questions. Not only can he pitch he can think. And so respectful to give his battery partner credit.
Yes, Cy Scherzer and a class act guy all the way.
If St. Louis keeps playing the way they are, they are going to be the 2nd wild card. This off season is going to be frantic. The CBA expires on Dec 1. You know MLB would love to have the new one in place by then, but I do not believe that is going to happen. There are going to be some rule changes, most likely the universal DH, and maybe limiting the shift to two players on each side of second, and no infielders on the grass. My hope is that the electronic strike zone gets here sooner than later. Game is a little over an hour from starting. I like that lineup they are running out there today. Pujols has 2 homers off of Miley. Reports coming out of San Diego say that neither Snell nor Paddack likely to start again this season unless SD gets into the playoffs.
Today’s 1PM EST Lineup:
RF Mookie Betts R
2B Trea Turner R
3B J. Turner R
1B A. Pujols R
SS Corey Seager L
C Will Smith R
CF Chris Taylor R
LF Gavin Lux L
P C. Kershaw L
Speed at the top Mookie leading off Trea in the 2 hole
I can only hope that Gavin is being groomed for left field because they plan on resigning Seager, but I don’t think Pollock meets the conditions of his opt out this year and they aren’t going to have a true split IF there’s a DH next year. I would be willing to bet the DH is used to rotate players giving them a semi-off day.
Gavin’s “yips” are no longer a thing. So, that isn’t the reason to have him play LF. He’ll be CT3 next year.
K-Bear and Jojo for Scherzer and TT – looks more and more lopsided by the day. Jojo and Keibert will be solid players, but not All Stars especially with Will Smith and Diego Cartaya in the NL.
This season feels like the girl you have a crush on, would always be nice to you, but would never go on a date with you. So close, but so far away.
Andy Pages is playing High-A this year. It’s going to be a little while, but I’m excited to see him rise. 31 bombs 25 doubles in 119 games as a 20 year old. He should shoot up those prospect rankings.
Vargas would look really close for another team. But, I agree that a September callup would be most likely. It will take a lot of injuries to start his clock before then with Eddie Rios coming back next year.
I doubt that Kelly and Jansen both return. But, I don’t think it’s out of the question for a couple of reasons. The Dodgers were very patient with him when he’s struggled and he only knows the Dodgers. Joe Kelly is a local boy and the Dodgers have been very patient with him as well. Both players might be willing to give the Dodgers a hometown discount.
I agree that the all or nothing approach needs to be tweaked a bit. Especially with a couple of burners at the top of the lineup. For the life of me, I can’t understand why they don’t let Mookie and TT bat 1 and 2. Let Seags, Muncy and Turner round out 3-5 and drive them in.
You’d better drive to Cincy today and give the boys in blue some support and much needed juju. Go and see Clayton one more time. Do it! 112 miles is nothing and you have plenty of daylight for the drive home.
Scherzer has been unbelievable. What a great run and a great pickup. I sure hope they find a way to bring him back next year.
Lux got the big hit yesterday with that two run triple. Another smart play was scoring on the contact play on a Barnes groundout to the pitcher. Even though there was nobody out before the play, he was aware enough to know that 0-fer the season was on deck.
Vesia pitched the ninth for a pretend save with a 5 run lead and couldn’t get the job done. Good idea, but bad execution. Kenley said “Hold my beer” and threw 3 cutters and and 3 sliders to secure the win with a K.
11 AM start so you better start driving, MT.
I like CT3 but if you want to cut down on strikeouts you let him go. With Lux looking like he’s on track, he becomes Mr. Utility. Alternatively if the Dodgers don’t sign Seager, he stays.
It is definitely an odd year.
Never been to Yankton.
Cody Bellinger is simply a great athlete with a powerful swing when right. Expect him to very good in 2022, all the injuries behind him. Lot of dumb people writing these days on various blogs etc. thinking he will be traded in the off-season.
The DH will solve the issue of running out of hitters. It will help produce more runs too.
I agree the Dodgers need to change their approach to hitting and offense. Too many strikeouts and pop-ups with runners on base, not putting the ball in play. Tend to be hot or cold.
Maybe Kelly returns. I’m guessing Kenley moves on. They need to save money somewhere. Actually they probably don’t, but I’m thinking they will. Season tickets went up again. For our seats, which are really good, the cost of two is $281 with parking. Back in 2016, the same package cost $212.
Just curious Mark, but what are your thoughts on the Dodgers re-signing Corey Seager? One of the Times beat writers thinks he moves on with Turner moving to short. Some thinking they will pass because of the size of the contract. But he’s a really good hitter and that would definitely hurt them moving forward. I can’t imagine Seager wanting to play elsewhere. Not sure who would offer a massive contract? The Yankees? Are they for sale? Mixed messages coming out of New York these days.
I think this off-season will be very interesting for the Dodgers. Lots of decisions. Thinking the payroll will be reduced. Not sure where the labor issue goes.
Yes, Gavin Lux has turned the corner. Where he plays, not sure. Maybe infield and outfield. If they don’t sign Seager, he returns to second, maybe plays a little outfield. Lot of balls up in the air.
After watching Friday’s loss, it brings home the reality that one game playoff games can be scary.
Good write-up today, Mark.
1). I did not realize that Scherzer is now at 37 scoreless innings. Wow.
2). If we win this series on the road, and yet lose a game in the standings, so be it. We did our job.
3). If anyone is here in Chicago, I”ll be at Soldier Field today for the Bears game. We suck, but hoping to see Justin Fields.
4). How about my Fresno State Bulldogs win the win at UCLA last night??