Shakeup in the NL West
Some people will say Wow. The Dodgers have only won one of their last two games and they are six games under .500. OMG! The sky is falling. The world is ending. The Dodgers suck! I say: The Dodgers have won five out of their last six games and are now only 4.5 games behind the first place Rockies. I can t tell you how to feel. I just know that
Some people will say “Wow. The Dodgers have only won one of their last two games and they are six games under .500. OMG! The sky is falling. The world is ending. The Dodgers suck!”
I say: “The Dodgers have won five out of their last six games and are now only 4.5 games behind the first place Rockies.” I can’t tell you how to feel. I just know that a couple of weeks ago, the Dodgers were 9 games out behind the D-Bags and now the D-Bags have hit the skids and the Dodgers are playing better.
Five out of six games – four and half out of first. Nice progress… unless you like wallowing in the negative, If that’s the case, pick a new team, because these guys are winning the NL West. Book it!
That said, there are a few changes that I think need to be make. I think there are still wrong players are certain positions, Max Muncy has proven he has a nice bat, but he’s no Cody Bellinger at 1B… maybe nobody is. Cody is one of the elite defensive 1B in baseball. Period! Cody is the second best centerfielder on the Dodgers, behind Chris Taylor, who happens to be a very good shortstop too.
I just think it’s a mistake to play one of the best 1B in baseball and one of the best CF in baseball at other positions. I think CT3 should go back to CF and Cody should go back to 1B. That means Muncy goes to the bench and someone else has to play SS. Kike has already shown he can handle the position. Maybe not as good as CT3, but why weaken two other spot at the expense of another position? It doesn’t compute for me.
Donovan Solano is hitting .370 at OKC and has lots of experience at SS. From 2012 to 2016 he amassed over 1,000 major league at-bats… a few as a shortstop. He has a .256 career BA in the majors and could be a late-bloomer. He can be a backup at SS, but I believe the Dodgers are much better defensive team with Taylor in CF and Bellinger at 1B. Moving them weakens the team in my opinion.
Other Thoughts
- The Dodgers bullpen ERA is dropping – they are up to 19th. Believe it or not, the starters are up to 6th in MLB and Kershaw will be back in the next couple of weeks. To me, Ryu looks ahead of schedule – he was jumping and moving very well, in addition to throwing freely off of flat ground.
- Grandal (down to .255) needs to hit at #5 or #6, Matt Kemp needs to hit 3rd (.331). I would love to see Puig (who is heating up) hit higher in the lineup, but I am not sure his psyche can handle that.
- I’d like to see the Dodgers get a SS who can leadoff (Andrus?).
- Brock Stewart would flourish in the bullpen. His fastball is 2-3 MPH faster as a reliever. Just do it!
- Chase Utley suddenly looks old and feeble. Just my opinion.
- OK, the Dodgers need to win this series and cut the lead to 3.5 today.
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Discussion (83)
Disagree, not disagreeable
I hope Joc succeeds, but this is what ticks me off about him. For three years he swung for the fences. It was either a HR or a strike out. He absolutely refused to adjust. He has to be the most stubborn person I know. He had an uppercut swing and never did adjust. This year it is starting to look like he may have figured it out. His swing is more level. He is trying to use all the field. This may actually help him hit left handlers. However, it does tell me a little about him. I think he is awfully self centered. I am not convinced he is what the Dodgers need. I think we can do better. However, there is something Joc and Baez must have on Doc and FAZ . Most clubs would of sent them back to AAA or traded them by now. I just cannot believe how many opportunities those two are getting.
Santana didn’t have his best stuff, but after giving up 3 runs in the first inning, he pitched 4 more without giving up a run. He will likely get another start or two, but he gutted it out for 5 innings. That’s not a bad thing.
Santana not off to a good first inning
I would love to have machado but I would not offer much in a deadline deal. Sign him as a free agent for sure. I hope Santana has a huge game tonight. If so, I would give him a major league start soon. If it goes well tonight I would start him instead of Stewart the next time around. Dodgerrick I would start Kiké because we don’t know what he would do if he had everyday action. I just prefer him over Muncy.
An already pretty darn good OKC Dodgers roster gets even better today, as Matt Beaty and Edwin Rios join the team. Both had been down with injuries to start the season.
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Beaty was the 2017 Texas League MVP after slashing .326/.378./.505 with Tulsa last season. He’s a .311 career hitter.
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Rios combined to slash .309/.362/.533 between Tulsa and OKC last year, hitting 24 home runs with 91 RBI.
An already pretty darn good OKC Dodgers roster gets even better today, as Matt Beaty and Edwin Rios join the team. Both had been down with injuries to start the season.
The really interesting reliever as starter experiment in Tampa continues:
In this upcoming series the Rays are going with relievers to start all 3 games vs. Orioles:
Romo
Stanek
Romo
Mark, the other day you mentioned you were meeting with some Dodgers brass. Any scoops you can tell us?
I have a 2 hour layover in Denver so here I am.
I am in favor of getting a ss but not at that price.
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Elvis Andrus will allegedly play when the Dodgers play the Rangers in early June. He has 4 years left making his deal less appealing. How about Forsythe ( for luxury tax purposes) and a couple of lower tier prospects for him?
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Not a classic lead off hitter, but not bad.
Maeda san showing much dedication to Dodger bushido. At least in the last 2 games. But 2 in a row nicely pitched games is a good start for him. Dodger pitching seems to be perking up…and with it the Dodgers chances to get lucky.
The way Santana is pitching he is a possible # 2. Verdugo will be very good too. No way the Dodgers do that.
I would not make that trade, it seems too much for half a season….
Open on lasportshub.comhttps://lasportshub.com/2018/05/23/dodgers-continue-win-manny-machado-trade/CK allegedly had a great bullpen session yesterday. 54 pitches. I also hear Santana may be up sooner than later. I think he’s ready.
Darn! Wasn’t just a week or so ago that the ship was listing and the band moved to the upper deck..
Everyone is pitching in and the results are making me happy.
Come on in Kersh when you’re ready and join the fun.
It seems to be popular to downgrade Pederson, but following tonight’s game He has the 3rd highest average of all Dodgers that played in tonight’s game! Only Kemp & Turner have a higher average. Taylor, Barnes, Bellinger, Hernandez, Forsythe, Puig & Muncy all have averages lower than Joc.
Maeda pitched a gem.
Pen looking better.
Rox flailing at everything.
Az spiralling downwards.
SF average.
SD making up the numbers.
The West is there to be won.
Big win tonight to get us back in the thick of things, BUT we still aren’t hitting like we should be. Only 6 hits, it would be nice to have a blowout once in a while.
OK, I have to get up at 3 AM to catch an early flight back to Indy. Great start of the game. The Dodgers should be 3.5 games back after tonight… if this holds.
Anyone still want to put Maeda in the bullpen?
Man, what a great start by Kenta vs. this lineup!
Apparently Roberts has chosen Muncy over kike, Locastro, and others. While I think Muncy could be a bench player I don’t think he should be a regular. Without seager now is the time to give kike 500 at bats. His strikeout rate is high but Muncy has 25 strikeouts in 75 at bats. For some reason Roberts continues to say how valuable kike is but doesn’t play him. He has power, he seems to make great plays on defense when he is in there. Is he not capable defensively? The wrap is he can’t hit right handers but his minors history doesn’t really determine that. Afterwhat he did in the playoffs last year he deserves a shot. He may prove mediocre but why not find out. We don’t have anyone with his ceiling. I like this lineup: Barnes c, Turner 3b, kemp lf, bellinger 1b, Taylor ss, Puig rf, kike cf, Forsyth 2b, when Barnes is out I would have Taylor 1 and Grandal 6 with Puig 5.
Holy heavens, AZ lost again. Now they know how we felt when we went like 1-17 last year.
If we can win this series today, we’ll be 3.5 out. 2 game swing on this game, so let’s get it!
A’s DFA’d Wilmer.