Sleepwalking & Old Age

Mookie – everyone who knows me knows what my position on him moving to the most demanding position facing home plate at age 32 was. He won’t last 6 years there. He may not last the season there. Not with an oblique. He could be out several weeks depending on the severity and playing shortstop that injury could be tender all year. Oblique strains are known to be tricky and nagging. The point being the Dodgers need to be younger at that key position. On Roki. It appears he may be auditioning for a relief role. He’s still young, 24, so I believe the Dodgers will be patient with him. Same can be said for Sheehan. Those two have ERA’s of 7 and 8, but as mentioned numbers this early don’t necessarily mean much. Like Freeland and his .900 OPS. After a few minutes that OPS is now .641, where I suspect it will remain for a while. Hope I’m wrong about that. And Espinal with a big hit, raising his average to .167. I doubt it matters much as Edman and Kiké are coming. I wonder who plays short now? Freeland, Rojas or Kim.

Mark on Mookie: “At 5-9 and 180 pounds, his body takes a toll.” I’ve seen this type of physical profiling many times before on LADT– including references to Will Smith–but I’ve never seen evidence to support the notion that a relatively small stature results in reduced durability in baseball. This isn’t boxing, football or rugby. Baseball is rarely a contact sport. I don’t see a correlation at all and, in fact, sometimes see the opposite argument. Why is Glasnow injury-prone? Must be his height and long limbs! I assume there are studies and data out there in baseball land that try to find a relationship between body type and durability. But I can certainly point to anecdotal evidence that undermines the thesis. Mookie’s contemporary Mike Trout is about five inches taller and 50 pounds heavier–built like a fullback. But he’s the one who has suffered from chronic injuries. Perhaps the best example is Yogi Berra, who was smaller than Mookie and played the most physically demanding position on the field. He was an iron man who often caught both ends of the doubleheader. I remember how a lot of us were infatuated with Diego Cartaya, in part because his size inspired comparisons to Salvador Perez. But it turned out that his talent or resilience or whatever didn’t measure up to his size–and fortunately Will Smith just got bettter and getter. As far as Mookie lasting several years at SS goes, well, a few seasons back we didn’t expect him to play SS. We expected him to move to 2B. Turns out he’s a damn good SS and I expect him to play there for the foreseeable future–and eventually shift to 2B. For the time being, I just read that the plan is more Rojas and Kim to platoon at SS and for Freeland to get that “runway” stuff at 2B. Roki will be getting more runway as a starter. There’s no rush or urgency on the mighty deep Dodgers.

Mark on Mookie: “At 5-9 and 180 pounds, his body takes a toll.” I’ve seen this type of physical profiling many times before on LADT– including references to Will Smith–but I’ve never seen evidence to support the notion that a relatively small stature results in reduced durability in baseball. This isn’t boxing, football or rugby. Baseball is rarely a contact sport. I don’t see a correlation at all and, in fact, sometimes see the opposite argument. Why is Glasnow injury-prone? Must be his height and long limbs! I assume there are studies and data out there in baseball land that try to find a relationship between body type and durability. But I can certainly point to anecdotal evidence that undermines the thesis. Mookie’s contemporary Mike Trout is about five inches taller and 50 pounds heavier–built like a fullback. But he’s the one who has suffered from chronic injuries. Perhaps the best example is Yogi Berra, who was smaller than Mookie and played the most physically demanding position on the field. He was an iron man who often caught both ends of the doubleheader. I remember how a lot of us were infatuated with Diego Cartaya, in part because his size inspired comparisons to Salvador Perez. But it turned out that his talent or resilience or whatever didn’t measure up to his size–and fortunately Will Smith just got bettter and getter. As far as Mookie lasting several years at SS goes, well, a few seasons back we didn’t expect him to play SS. We expected him to move to 2B. Turns out he’s a damn good SS and I expect him to play there for the foreseeable future–and eventually shift to 2B. For the time being, I just read that the plan is more Rojas and Kim to platoon at SS and for Freeland to get that “runway” stuff at 2B. Roki will be getting more runway as a starter. There’s no rush or urgency on the mighty deep Dodgers.

You can say that again… Yogi was shorter than Mookie, but he outweighed him. Mike Trout has a bulky body. It was also a different time… I think with the advent of super refined foods and chemicals, bodies are breaking down quicker. Microplastics, PFAS, THM, Glosophate, and a plethora of other chemicals in the water all contribute. Veggies no longer contain the nutrients they use to due to overfarming.

In his professional MiLB debut on April 5, 2026, Zach Root (the Dodgers’ No. 12 prospect) pitched 3.0 innings, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) and taking the loss in the Great Lakes Loons’ 4-1 defeat to the Fort Wayne TinCaps. Zach Root Pitching Line (April 5, 2026) Innings Pitched (IP) 3.0 Hits (H) 4 Runs (R) 4 Earned Runs (ER) 3 Base on Balls (BB)2 Strikeouts (K) 5 Home Runs Allowed (HR)1 Result Loss (0-1)

Concerning the discussion on Betts and aging, let’s look back to 2020. From an SI article at the time: “Before the Dodgers traded for Mookie Betts, their analytics staff and pro personnel department conducted a study to gauge the aging curve of such small outfielders with power. Betts is listed at 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds. His career slugging percentage is .519. They found nobody like him, not unless you count Mel Ott, who debuted 94 years ago and needed to hit baseballs just 259 feet to clear the Polo Grounds wall in the right field corner”. https://www.si.com/mlb/2020/07/23/mookie-betts-contracts-la-dodgers

Great stuff, Mark. LADT is back at full power. Tibbs might break every AAA record this year but he is still young enough to.learn some things about himself as a player. Next year he force a Teo trade. As for the vets, just keep developing in-house options and try to trend toward adding younger pieces.

Do you have any solution for Mookie about his water?

Big fit guys lol like Garvey Freddie and Mike Schmidt playing corner infield slots last longer with less injuries. SS/2B are normally smaller (Kent being the exception) and do much more athletic moves which contribute to more injury. As we get older, the muscle lose elasticity, leading to more injury and longer recovery periods. Bottom line: Freddie could make it to 40 (in LA or somewhere), but don’t expect Mookie to be effective for more than two more years. Also, if you can’t turn on a 97 mph fastball anymore, you ain’t gonna live in the Show. When Schmidt was in his last year, he couldn’t and Philly fans booed him, a freaking future HOFer. But then they booed Santa Claus. Injuries and slowed reaction time are both part of the aging process and this team is aging.

Mookie hurt himself on a checked swing not in the field. His bat, not his glove is the future liability.

Big fit guys like Garvey, Freddie and Mike Schmidt playing corner infield slots last longer with less injuries. SS/2Bs are normally smaller (Kent being an exception) and have to do much more athletic moves which contribute to more injury. As we get older, the muscle lose elasticity, leading to more injury and longer recovery periods. Bottom line: Freddie could make it to 40 (in LA or somewhere), but don’t expect Mookie to be effective for more than two more years. Also, if you can’t turn on a 97 mph fastball anymore, you ain’t gonna live in the Show. When Schmidt was in his last year, he couldn’t and Philly fans booed him, a freaking future HOFer. But then they booed Santa Claus. Injuries and slowed reaction time are both part of the aging process and this team is aging.

Don’t know what I took this morning but I keep seeing double on this blog.

Seems like management is going all out to find a spot for Freeland, now 2B, and sliding Kim to SS. Actually makes sense since Freeland has more power potential. Hopefully, he picks up his game. Then who knows what happens when the IL clears up.

I’ve noticed when I post from my iPad it doesn’t show up immediately there, but does on my iPhone. Weird, but I’m used to it now. Good takes in here this morning. There is a lot to consider for so early in the season.

So for the short term, Kim and Rojas will platoon at SS, and Freeland will play 2B. I think it’s a good idea to try Kim at SS. He is not supposed to be as accomplished there as 2B…. but we shall see.

position facing home plate?

“in fact, sometimes see the opposite argument.” Agree…. I can remember a few years ago on here some were commenting that Seager was a bit large for a SS and that it made him prone to injury diving all over the place. Maybe you have to be exactly the right size?? 🙂

He’s been taking fungoes at three different positions for months. It might take some time to settle in at short. He has more range than anyone on the team, so hopefully that will translate to more OAA.

Read an article this morning on yahoo sports about Sasaki not having a feel for what used to be his best pitch, his forkball. His sliders were ho hum, his fastball is straight as an arrow, and his changeup was usually down in the zone. He grunts louder than Nolan Ryan when he throws the ball. You could hear him all over the ballpark noise. Right now, I do not have much confidence in him when he starts. Same with Sheehan. Bullpen did a great job again. Rojas made a couple of great plays. Congrats to the UCLA Women’s basketball team on winning the NCAA title.

Hey I clearly saw a third pitch so that’s a start. When I watch him–and also Sheehan–I feel like screaming, “Throw the fastball!” It’s become a breaking ball league. I think over half the postseason pitches were offspeed.

I like this post! This isn’t football or hockey which are very physical sports (physical as defined by person to person contact.) Why would size have any impact on injuries in baseball? Worth investigation, me thinks.

Joe Davis mentioned yesterday on the broadcast that fastball usage across the league is way down. Dodgers hit the breaking pitch pretty good yesterday. Nats bullpen is a disaster waiting to happen. Clayton Beeter, the former Dodger prospect pitched 1,2 innings and got the blown save. 3 exe Dodgers appeared in the game, Vivas, Ruiz and Beeter. DC has 4 on their roster, the other is Varland. Dodgers are the only team in the west with a plus on the run differential, having outscored their opponents by 20 runs.

Yeah. Only the catcher faces the outfield. But, I think you knew that.

A simple grip change can increase movement on his fastball. Get some instruction from Hershiser on it. He had the best two seamers in baseball for several years. Why more pitchers don’t use that pitch is a mystery to me.