Justin Wrobleski (who is on a hard pitch count… and rightfully so) pitched an excellent 5.2 innings. Then, Evan Phillips came in, and in typical baseball fashion, when a guy is struggling, the Baseball Gods let the hitters kill him with a thousand cuts. No one hit him hard, but they just dinked and dunked him to death. Daniel Hudson experienced the same fate, and then Blake Treinen gave up the game-winning blast (and it was a blast). Dodger fans are going to freak out like they always do and say, “We need a closer – let’s gut the farm and get Mason Miller.“ Uh… no! “Fire Dave Roberts. It is his fault!” Silly… borderline psychotic!
There was some good last night:
- Justin Wrobleski – I am not trading the guy… PERIOD!
- Shohei Ohtani remains the MVP.
- Cavan Biggio showed out on offense and defense.
- James Outman showed that he is a damn good CF’er. If he could only hit!
- Gavin Lux continues to improve.
The truth is: The Dodgers will make the playoffs if they stand pat! They will! I am OK with a trade or two, but I am not OK with dope-fiend moves. I am OK with trading James Outman, Miguel Vargas, Andre Lipcius, Austin Gauthier, and Deigo Cartaya for Luis Robert, Jr. I am not OK with including any of our Big Arms in that deal.
Let’s not forget that Max Muncy and Mookie Betts will likely return in August. That adds two All-Stars to the team. A bunch of pitchers (you know who they are) are also due back. Sometimes, the best trades are the ones you don’t make! The sky is not falling. Last night was just one loss… not 12! Steady as she goes…
Discussion (36)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Rangers getting C Carson Kelly from Detroit. Pads lose, LA wins, lead back to 6.5.
Manager Dave Roberts said Sunday that Muncy’s rehab progress from a strained right oblique has been “stagnant,” Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.
“Muncy was shut down from swinging for much of mid-July due to lingering soreness, and the third baseman is again feeling discomfort despite recent medical imaging coming back clean. The 33-year-old remains without a clear timeline for his return, but it seems as though he won’t be rejoining the Dodgers in the near future”.
Wow. You guys call Roberts and Friedman morons? Seriously! Chill a little and enjoy the ride. What do you think the Rangers fans were thinking this time last year? The Phillies are way better than the Dodgers? What does that have to do with playoff baseball in October. Exactly. Nothing. When the Series arrives, the hottest team will win. Period. I hope it’s the Dodgers.
Get Robert
Book em
Good: Well we won 1 game in Houston, could’ve should’ve won 2. Was 1 more that I was expecting. I hate the Astros and Minute Maid Park if it’s still called that.
All 3 rookie pitchers being exposed to a hostile playoff environment. Stone has pitched well all year, Wroblewski and Ryan are keepers and pitched their asses off. All 3 are keepers. Lux looks like he has turned the corner offensively and is playing great defense. Barnes with a 13 game hit streak. Now we need Will Smith to heat back up but he is probably worn out catching, hope they can move him out of that position down the road.
Head-Scratchers: Doc running to the bullpen on Saturday, admits he pulled Wroblewski too soon and turns around and does it on Sunday with Vesia but with a different result. Watch the game and don’t follow the pregame computer script print out. Eerily similar to many of the playoff defeats over the last 8 years. Seems like he really struggles managing the bullpen. No wonder they are gassed come October.
Ugly: 42 Strikeouts in 3 games setting a franchise record. That is not going to get it done in October.
Trade deadline: Who the hell knows what Friedman and Gomes are going to do.
My thoughts and opinions and .02 cents is all which mean nothing.
Off to San Diego for 2 and Oakland for 3.
We have a 6.5 division lead. We had two of the best five players in baseball gone this past series. We won one, blew another one. These young arms coming in and dominating should be a bright light to all Dodger fans. They are on a pitch count so our bullpen is getting gassed but we have found two guys that three years ago nobody knew Banda and Brasier. Come the first of September our bull pen is going to be great. Grove will be back etc. It’s a great time to be a Dodger fan.
I don’t know what you think, but if you think Doc took out River Ryan for Alex Vesia because he just wanted to, you are a moron or just have an irrational hatred of Doc for whatever reason.
Ryan, like Wrobleski, is on a pitch count, and you are a dumbass if you think the Dodgers are going to tell you that!
Red Sox claim Yohan Ramírez off waivers from Dodgers
“Ramírez was the most-used reliever in his 2-plus months with the Dodgers, pitching in half the team’s games, before getting designated for assignment on Thursday. He joins James Paxton in Boston”.
I think the pitch count at 91 was the reason. It is evidently 14 or 15 pitches more than Ryan has ever thrown as a professional. Ryan started the year with shoulder soreness. The way he is pitching, they will need him healthy. I understand that bringing in a lefty to face a right hander might be a concern but I get him removing Ryan at that point.
Though the bullpen now looks in need of an acquisition, they should be adding Graterol, Brasier, and Grove soon. Add those three to Hudson, Treinen, Kelly, Vesia, Banda, Yarbrough, Honeywell, and Phillips – using prospects to acquire a reliever seems like a luxury. They can rest some of these overworked bullpen arms using an IL stint and be set up for October. If they can’t get a Flaherty or Eovaldi or a starter like that then pivot to a reliever.
I would like to see them get a legitimate center fielder like Lane Thomas. He has started to hit better of late though he still is hitting in low .200s vs. righties. A pseudo platoon of Heyward and Pages in right with Thomas in center and Teoscar in left would be an improvement. If the cost for Robert is not too crazy I get acquiring him but there are some serious questions (injury history and current performance) that make me hesitate on Robert.
One of the difficult things that teams face at deadline is what to make of slumping or resurgent players. If we can expect a player like Lux to be slightly above league average the rest of the way, that is huge. I am not counting on Muncy and was hoping for Isaac Paredes. Mark’s explanation about the guys that AF won’t trade makes more sense when you consider the price for Eflin, Arozarena, and Paredes. Seems like the Dodgers could have made better offers.
Where would this team be without these rookies who have carried this rotation? Stone, Knack, Wrobleski, and Ryan have been beyond expectation. If they are real confident that Yamamoto returns, maybe they don’t feel the need to add a starter like Fedde , Kikuchi, etc.. They seem to be in the tier below Flaherty and Eovaldi.
Roberts is a F”n MORON for bringing in a lefthander to face a right hand batter with Ryan having the game under control.
What the freak goes on in “pea brained “ Doc’s head?
Ryan gets Alvarez out and then gets lifted for Vesia to pitch to a RH hitter. It defies logic, common sense, being in touch with where the team is at, building confidence in a young pitcher etc.
Makes no sense and I’m now on the it’s WS championship or bust for Doc to stay. Might be time for some new blood in the Dodger managerial ranks.
More bonehead moves like this and he will lose the team for certain.
lol Doc gonna Doc. Can’t wait to hear the excuses for him this time.
well , lux ain’t going nowhere!! I’ll be happy to eat crow!
And Outman homers to break up the no-hitter!
Nice to see.
Ryan sure has been impressive.
I am certain that Andrew Friedman would like to have many of the players fans have propounded. There is one problem:
I do not think he will trade the following players:
1. River Ryan
2. Justin Wrobleski
3. Jackson Ferris
4. Josue DePaula
5. Dalton Rushing
6. Joendry Vargas
7. Zyhir Hope
I think they would trade any other prospect including Miguel Vargas. The problem is that the TOP 7 are who the other teams are asking for.
Battle of Aces today!!
they are going to waive biggio, then resign him! big move baby!!
7 K’s in 3 innings
Another offensive player option lost to another team. Parades to the Cubs.
Wow , anxious to see what AF/BG do at the deadline. Is Joey Gallo available?
Seems like every time they get 20 games over .500 they have to lose a few.
Funny to see this posting by you a couple of years ago:
Sort of reminds me where we’re at now.
Posted By Mark Timmons on June 18, 2022
The Oklahoma City Dodgers’ 4A Affiliate, the Los Angeles Dodgers, continued to be unable to get a clutch hit, even on a night when Cody Bellinger got two hits, including a 2-Run HR, again leading us to wonder for the 37th time this year “Is Cody Getting his MojoBack?” I would rather not say! The Dodgers combined to strand 26 runners on base on a night when the hitting was worse than the TV announcing (which was atrocious).
Max Muncy looked good in his first game back and went from Mad Max to Bad Max. Justin Turner has become JustCan’t TurnonaFastball, and Eddy Alvarez can’t hit his weight. Bellinger is not doing well, but Muncy and JT are pure boat anchors right about now. I would call up Martin, Vargas, and Lamb from OKC. Turner and Muncy have to stop pulling the will over our eyes. JT should retire and Max should run with scissors. Enough already!
Lineup
T. Turner SS
Freeman 1B
Vargas 3B
Bellinger CF
Smith C
Lamb/Taylor LF
Betts RF
Martin DH
Lux 2B
It can’t be any worse than what they have now. Unless Muncy has an injury, the Dodgers may have to DFA him and Justin Turner. It’s Time! Bellinger is OPS’ing almost 100 points higher than them and is a Plus Defender. There is still hope for Belli. Mookie has been either hot or frozen and Freddie is not Freddie… yet! The good news is that the pitching is fine. THat no one can jump out of a boat and ht water is maddening. Andrew Friedman may be forced to trade the Farm for a RH Hitter. Shoot, I’d take a lefty like Andrew Benintendi! He can hot lefties as well.
In case you have forgotten, it was I who recommended that the Dodgers sign Joc Pederson in the offseason. Right about now, Andrew needs to do something… even if it is wrong! Call up Lamb, Vargas, and Martin with a haste!
Sunday schedule
10:05 a.m. PT: Great Lakes (Jacob Meador) vs. Lake County (Trenton Denholm)
4:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Ben Casparius) vs. Tacoma (Michael Mariot)
4:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Kendall Williams) at Frisco (Winston Santos)
5:35 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Cam Day) at Inland Empire (Riley Bauman)
6 p.m.: ACL Dodgers vs. ACL D-backs , Game 1
Not sure what to say. Uncertain of the next move. Need another bullpen arm, maybe a starter. Could use another hitter. But no question and Cassidy said it, the key to winning it all is to get hot in October. I’m sure the Dodgers have a wish list, but no easy path forward. Can you really count on Muncy? Will Yamamoto return? He says he will. Buehler? Who knows.
They do have relievers returning. Part of the problem is they’ve ridden the relievers hard because the starters don’t go deep into games.
I’m sure the Dodgers won’t give up top prospects. They’ll work around the fringe to add here and there.
I like Flaherty.
Maybe they make a deal no one sees coming.
2:10 PM ET
Dodgers (62-44)
Astros (55-49)
SP River Ryan R
0-0 .00 ERA
SP S. Arrighetti R
4-8 5.65 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
LF T. Hernandez R
2B Gavin Lux L
RF J. Heyward L
3B E. Hernandez R
1B Cavan Biggio L
CF James Outman L
C A. Barnes R
SS Nick Ahmed R
In Domed Stadium
Do not look at our lineup for todays game if you do not want to throw up in your mouth. That is THE worst lineup I have EVER seen for the Dodgers. At least on paper. A 300 million plus payroll. Freakin unbelievalble.
Poor River Ryan. Probably has to pitch a shutout to have any chance of winning .
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just to many holes to fill.
And to try to fill those holes with top tier replacements would decimate the top prospects we have.
And we honesty don’t have enough top tier talent to replace all the holes.
(other than a pitcher or 2, there really are no top tier players available at this point).
The best talent available is what we currently have on the IR
If some return and come back strong, great.
Maybe get a different fringe guy or 2 if you don’t like your current fringe guys
Flaherty would be the pitcher I would look at as a rental:
Who could easily be your #1 or 2 starter.
No to moving Ferris/ Wrobleski/ Ryan or Depaula .
Use the 300 plus million you invested in players and coaches this year and make it work.
Start mixing and matching some of the AAA players , maybe a player or 2 thats worth a look at AA and the returning injured players and put a competitive, aggressive and fundamentally sound team out there
Go Dodgers !!
PS
In the off-season go find your CF / SS /3B for the next 5 yrs through FA or Trade.
Nightengale and MLB news claiming on X that the Dodgers and Yankees are in a bidding war for Parades. Since the Yanks are in the same division as the Rays, one would think they would prefer to deal with the Dodgers. We shall see. This seems to be heating up. Padres sent 3 prospects to the Rays for Adam.
I am a diehard dodger fan… Their weak
Bullpen scares me. Gave up 7 run the other night…. Is this the group they’re gonna go all the way with???. The bullpen continues to be a disappointment!!
Can’t blame Roberts, front office or players not performing can only blame bad luck which is the perfect excuse for losers
Only thing that matters in a crap shoot is luck so what’s everyone worried about about. Either we get luckiest or we don’t
We should not look for a 3rd baseman, we already have a perfectly good .223 hitting, 30% striking out, mediocre fielding one now. He and Mookie and a whole list of pitchers we all HOPE will come back healthy will save the day. Sorry, our chess playing AF has set up Roberts with a crappy roster which only magnifies his bad decisions in crucial times. Luckily it is a crapshoot in the playoffs and Cadaveran Biggio, and some of these other junk heap players will get hot and save us.
Lot of holes to fill, I agree with Bear wait until the deadline is passed to see how this plays out. We will soon see what moves Andrew and Gomes come up with. To quote the great Tom Petty “The waiting is the hardest part.”
Two very flawed teams made the WS last year. Its all about getting hot in October.
Brasher, Graterol and Grove are do back soon. Who do you get rid of in the bullpen? Banda, a LHP, has been steady and gives the Dodgers another option besides Vesia. Yarbrough can pitch multiple inning but has been inconsistent as of late.
Honeywell has been very good but small sample size. Kelly has been ok and has a big contract. Hudson, aside from yesterday has been very good. Trienen has had some issues lately as has Phillips but are probably not going anywhere.
Graterol struck out the side in his appearance for OKC last night. Hope was 4-5 with 5 driven in during Rancho’s win. Miller gave up all six runs in OKC’s 7-6 comeback win in 3.2 innings. Bullpen shut down Tacoma the rest of the way. Just a bad loss last night, veteran bullpen coughed up a fur ball. Wasted a good night by Wrobleski and Ohtani. Biggio drove in 2. I will reserve judgement until I see what moves they make on Tuesday. They cannot stand pat.
i still don’t understand taking lux out . he’s been on a hot streak. even against lefties. vargas ain’t hitting. outman ain’t hitting. heyward ain’t hitting. smith is in a slump. biggio finally got a couple of hits. freddie is out(godbless him and his family). taking out your #3 hitter and leaving a. bunch of .180 hitter’s in there? JW didn’t look good against the first 2 hitters in the sixth inning. i just thought honeywell would have been a better option. phillips looks like a beaten pitcher. i’m not smart enough to be in Friedman shoes, but we need an outfielder (maybe 2) and some bullpen help. I bet you Mark, Flaherrty( spell check) ends up a dodger. does look like miller is going to be any help this season!
NO guarantees that Muncy returns and how either Betts or Muncy will perform at a playoff level. Too many holes for AF and BG to fill to make this a championship team. As the saying goes “Wait till next year”. I’m not drinking the Kool Aid.