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 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.

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