I initially said the Dodgers should stick with Michael Conforto, but I’ve changed my mind. Sometimes, you have to make an example of someone, and Conforto is the scapegoat, but very deserving! It didn’t work, it’s over. Move on… there’s nothing to see here, folks. The pitching situation will fix itself, with Scott, Kopech, Graterol, Hurt, Stewart, Miller, et al due back… and if it doesn’t, then it was never meant to be. Of course, someone will say that Friedman should have traded for Mason Miller. WITH WHO? Do you really think the A’s would have passed on the Padres #4 in all of baseball prospect?
Shoot, put Rushing out there in LF if you have to (won’t happen). Call up Ward (he’s not the answer, but give him a shot). Or, call up Senzel. Play Dean in CF. Just get rid of Conforto. This shows that if you don’t produce, you are gone! Edman, Kim, maybe Kike will be back. Just clear the Conforto stink out of the clubhouse. I also never thought I would say this, but maybe it’s time to move on from Robert Van Socyoc. It at least has to be on the table, as it appears the league may be adjusting to his methods. Either that or maybe he has to change… It won’t happen this year, but I have an idea for the next hitting coach: Justin Turner or JD Martinez!
Play Dean in CF until Edman is back. Get healthy and play a little small ball with Kim and Edman as well. You will see a lot of roster moves between now and October – that’s when the season starts. The Dodgers are tied with the Padres. The season starts now. BTW, I think Blake Treinen will be fine if he is healthy. He just needs reps. Alex Vesia is just overworked. This will end soon.
Dodgers are the #1 Farm System in Baseball
It should be noted that MLB.com’s Jim Callis, Sam Dykstra, and Jonathan Mayo just ranked the Dodgers as the #1 Farm System in all of baseball! NUMBER ONE! Here’s what they said:
Top 100 Prospects: Josue De Paula, OF (No. 12); Zyhir Hope, OF (No. 19); Alex Freeland, SS/3B (No. 43); Eduardo Quintero, OF (No. 55); Mike Sirota, OF (No. 66)
–MLB.com
The Dodgers just keep winning (two World Series titles in the last five seasons, 12 straight postseason appearances) and keep developing talent. They have the best collection of outfield prospects in baseball, highlighted by the four Top 100 Prospects above as well as Trade Deadline acquisition James Tibbs and Ching-Hsien Ko. Even though competing for championships is always the primary focus, four of their top five pitching prospects (Jackson Ferris, River Ryan, Adam Serwinowski, Christian Zazueta) arrived via trades — as did Hope, Sirota and Tibbs.
It is always darkest right before the dawn. This is still the best team in baseball, but right now, the Baseball Gods are taxing us fans. We have all seen a lot worse. The Dodgers will weather the storm, and we will laugh about this in a few weeks. Keep the faith!
Discussion (30)
Disagree, not disagreeable
maybe they take the white box off the screen. By doing that we wouldn’t have to see how terrible most of these umpires are! It’s one thing to lose a game because the other team played much much better, but to be called out on third strikes with balls 6 to 7 inches out of the strike zone is pathetic! It makes you wonder if some of the hitters throughout baseball are striking out more because they’re afraid of taking pitches. If that’s the case, Theo must be scared to death! Love the guy and I realize he’s probably not 100%, but man he swings at some bad pitches. Still haven’t heard anything on Max, but if Max goes down, the Dodgers are in a lot of trouble! How many of us ever thought we’d be saying that back in April?…. Like the guys on the broadcast said last night I think it was Karros. The Dodgers just can’t buy a break right now. And the bullpen isn’t helping at all! To be honest, did any of you guys think the Dodgers were going to win the game with the one run lead going into the eighth inning? I know I didn’t. … Dave Roberts, maybe close to a coronary! But it’s not his fault, really doesn’t have anybody on the bench. He’s got Jack dryer, and Ben Casparius, who is leaned on very hard and they’ve done an admirable job. The rest of the bullpen just like being on the wheel of Fortune, it’s a shame he keeps spinning the bankrupt.
All is well. Don’t believe the evidence of your own eyes or the scoreboard. This is the best of all possible worlds after all.
One ugly game, from the umping to the pathetic hitting and back end relief. One for nine with bases loaded recently ,another lead blown. This is not Dodgers baseball.
Not sure the guys coming back off the IL will be enough. Certainly not the offense unless Tommy and Kim give us a much needed spark. That will be the end of Conforto.
Was that 6 or 7 missed pitches by Buckner? 1st inning
Madres already clobbered the Midgets. We are officially in 2nd place as of right now.
New Dodgers Lineup vs Angels
Shohei Ohtani, DH
Mookie Betts, SS
Freddie Freeman, 1B
Will Smith, C
Teoscar Hernandez, RF
Andy Pages, CF
Alex Call, LF
Alex Freeland, 3B
Miguel Rojas, 2B
Max Muncy out of the original lineup and Mookie Betts in playing shortstop
Why is Max Muncy Out for Dodgers vs Angels?
Manager Dave Roberts revealed that Muncy has some pain on his right side. Roberts said he’s day to day.
9:38 PM ET
Dodgers (68-52)
Angels (58-62)
SP Shohei Ohtoni R
0-0 2.37ERA
SP Kyle Hendricks R
6-8 4.63 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
C Will Smith R
1B F. Freeman L
RF T. Hernandez R
3B Max Muncy L
CF Andy Pages R
LF Alex Call R
2B A. Freeland S
SS Miguel Rojas R
78° Wind 8 mph Out
Justin Wrobleski 4-3 3.88 ERA to follow Ohtoni with bulk innings. Like to see Ohtoni go 5 innings and atleast 75 pitches
NO Conforto against a right handed pitcher
The starters are going once a week. They should be able to pitch deeper into games.
when this team is pounding the ball they are exciting.!! And then the times they can’t fall out of aboat and hit water!!! They can be difficult to watch. But THEY are the team i love!!! Good with the bad. hot and the cold. Starting pitching is coming fast! Offense? you never know what to expect. look, they can make a sub 500 pitcher look like cy young! but doesn’t it make sense that the dodgers bring out the best in every team. AF should not gut the farm system. But! i’m pretty sure sure that most of those prospects won’t be in the show. now i am not a scout , but that’s my opinion. It’s a shame They didn’t believe Michael Bush could play second, ok. that bat looks pretty good though. .. Bottom line, they aren’t very good, right now. They can be very good at any moment. (please!!!). … i haven’t seen the lineup for tonight, but i would imagine Conforto is in it. Like Dave Roberts a lot. But he’s not willing to change it up. Hopefully he makes me eat my words tonight.
The Dodgers relased Chris Taylor after hitting .200/.286/.305 with a 67 OPS+ over the last 2 seasons
They released Austin Barnes after he hit .214 in 24 at-bats this season.
They dumped Jason Heyward after he hit .208 with a .682 OPS despite re-signing him for $9MM
Yet they still employ Conforto, who is statistically worse than everyone I just mentioned (.187/.299/.327, 81 wRC+) and continue to play him every day. — Cody Snavely
Lets rejoice we got Shohei Flipping Ohtani on the mound tonight.
Win tonight and then we go!!!!
Might Dodger fans such as myself be in the belly of the dreaded “recency bias ” golem, that cognitively distorting bad actor favoring recent occurrences over historic ones? Just a thought but didn’t the squad kick some serious tush earlier in the season and aren’t they presently the World Series Champs? Oh, I do agree that there certainly is cause for tweaks in the lineup such as sitting or DFAing Conforto. Yep, some of the more dependable bullpen arms are overused and not performing as they had been. Aren’t a few of the stalwarts of lasts year’s juggernaut and some of the new spark plugs at this moment marinating on the IL? Indeed they are. Reinforcements will be on the way in due time though and will be in fine form by the time the playoffs start…hopefully. A thought bubble suddenly appears of my long departed Uncle Steve, well into his second six pack of Schlitz who once said to me when I got squirrely when the fish weren’t biting: “Patience Jackass.” In calmer moments I remind myself that this is just the strum and drang of another season of Dodger baseball. How flippin’ juicy it is! Here’s hoping for the best outcome for our team. GO DODGERS!!!
Here are a few things:
1. It’s hard to focus 100% of your energy and attention when you are the World Champs and you know you have the best team in baseball (on paper).
2. Other teams, like the Angels, are laser-focused because these are the World Champs and this is their World Series.
3. The Dodgers have not yet “gone to the whip,” but it is coming… most likely when most of the walking wounded return.
4. Some of you have difficulty understanding the value of a TOP 5 Prospect in baseball. If a Top 5 Prospect is worth $500, you must believe that a Top 30 Prospect is worth $100. Not true. Top five prospects are almost always certainly stars. Top 30? It’s a crapshoot. The top 30 players are worth $20 if a Top 5 Prospect is worth $500. You can’t trade 10 Top 30 Prospects for 1 Top 5 Prospect. You wanted to get Mason Miller for $150, but the A’s got $500. Math is not your strong suit, and there is no evidence that Lux was ever offered or requested for Lindor. You are just making stuff up to suit your narrative.
Right now only Max is ‘hot’. If I had to predict I would say that neither Smith nor Freddie will lead the league in BA. And would think that neither will bat over .300.
I hope I have underestimated. Don’t know what to say about Ohtani. home runs and Ks
With a strong 6 man rotation and an overworked and hurt bull pen, it’s time to extend the starters by encouraging them to challenge hitters with every pitch. There’s too many 3-2 counts! Maybe Sandy can have a talk with them about going for an out with every pitch!
You’re saying the Dodgers, with the “NUMBER ONE!” farm system in baseball, somehow lacked the “necessary player collateral” because (apparently) the A’s had such a boner for DeVries….
Maybe that’s true. Maybe the Dodgers offered, say, De Paula + Morales + River Ryan–but the Pads said no thanks, we’d rather put our eggs in the De Vries basket.
Hey, why diversify when you can De Vries?
You know, a lot of top prospects really don’t live up to the hype. Maybe DeVries is the next ARod, or the hottest prospect since Wander Franco….and looked what happened to him. And a late Dodgers draft pick like Zach McKinstry winds up becoming an all-star while top prospect Diego Cartaya flames out…
Years ago, I was reading articles about how the Dodgers had a strong interest in Francisco Lindor… but Cleveland insisted on top prospect Gavin Lux and so AF said no. And so the Mets landed Lindor. Seems credible. We know that AF had so much (misplaced) faith in Lux that he penciled him in at SS… until Lux proved he really wasn’t up to the task.
Oh well. Maybe the Dodgers will destroy Mason Miller and the Pads.
One thing I wonder about right now is team morale.
The streaking Pads, I suspect, are pretty stoked about their new teammates and the “go for it!” mentality of the front office.
Are the stumbling Dodgers really that stoked about Alex Call and Brock Stewart?
This team is old and boring. Just not a fun brand of baseball to watch.
We are currently 5-2 against the Padres and technically not tied for first in the Western Division as we have the current tie breaker in a head to head matchup. Six more games against them in the next 10 days ,3 at home and 3 on the road will probably be a factor in who wins the West.
The best thing Conforto did last night was strike out the first time. After that he struck out with the bases loaded and hit into a double play. Doubt Ward would be any worse in left field and will probably hit a little better.
Agree with Kim and Edmon back, we add speed and versitility, having 2 switch hitters on the roster and multi position guy to move around s huge.
Will it be enough to win the division? Not sure, the Pods scare the shit out of me. The six games with them may determine who wins the division.
Per Aiden Gonzalez, ESPN.com
“Kopech (right knee) took part in a simulated game Monday, and he is on track to return before the end of the month, but he has made eight appearances all year. Scott (left elbow) and Yates (lower back) also are expected to face hitters this week and could return right around when Kopech does, but Scott and Yates have combined for a 4.21 ERA in 2025.”
All will be well – just wait for the injured guys to return.
But they are 15-20 since 7/1. So this assumes that they will not continue to put up a .429 W-L for the rest of the way.
I looked at the standings this AM – Dodgers behind Cubs, Phillies and Brewers at .567. 7.5 games behind the Crew. Tied with Pads for 2nd wild card.
Not where they should be.
Oh, and the offense is in the bottom 5 in R/G since 7/1 too.
my bad! Dean. had football brain for a second!
once again i am wondering why casparius wasn’t used in the ninth? with vesia running on fumes right now, wouldn’t it have made sense? oh well, another tough loss . still have hope for a full recovery! but that begins with conforto being sent packing. we don’t know if Fields can hit, he hasn’t had but one opportunity. Call hasn’t impressed, but he could be pressing trying to make a good impression. kinda makes me wonder if a guy who has wanted to be a dodger for years would be a guy taking a chance on. No i’m not crazy! Tommy Pham has always been a good pickup for teams in a pennant race. And don’t give me the “ not a good teammate “ excuse. . Maybe this team needs a little attitude! …. Emmit struggled through 5 stressful innings last night. i still think he has a bright future, but don’t see him on the postseason roster. …. Wouldn’t Taylor Ward look good in left field in Dodger Blue?
I’m not concerned.
will Vesia be next with inflamed shoulder?
Tough one last night. Boys batted back, stick with em.
Best is yet to come.
Agree on Conforto, its time…..
Enough with the fear of that shitty team. I’ve read enough about them. It’s just a losing streak. Let them feel the pressure to win, and Conforto isn’t going anywhere. He’ll stay even in the playoffs, where I have faith he’ll hit a couple of clutch hits. Remember, even in a tie, I think the Dodgers have the better record against them, right?
And please…. Destroy those sons of bitches’ heads!
My wife and I are currently at the airport headed to Appleton Wisconsin to watch the lions. Excited to watch Hope, disappointed that we will miss DePaula and Sorota. I believe the dodgers are fine. The playoff roster will be constructed differently than the regular season.
So the Angels are the Dodgers’ kryptonite.
And the Padres are far superior to the Angels.
One reason: The Pads added Mason Miller, arguably the top closer in the game–and the Dodgers did not. Preller also added Sears, O’Hearn, and Laureano. Yes, Preller was swinging for the fences.
Meanwhile, AF decided to play small ball, swapping Outman for Brock Stewart and a couple of prospects for Alex Call. He also made some nice additions to the farm system by dealing Dustin May and Hunter Feduccia.
Since the deadline passed, the Dodgers have struggled and the Padres have thrived. Now the teams are tied for first…and the Padres have the momentum, for whatever that may be worth.
The good news is the Dodgers reportedly have the number one farm system in baseball, which is apparently just thrilling to prospect huggers. I’ll quote one here:
“NUMBER ONE!”
Well, zippity-doo-dah.
Maybe AF made a strong offer for Mason Miller–who, remember, isn’t a “rental” but is now under Padres control for a few more seasons. We don’t know what AF may have offered. But if he did, it wasn’t strong enough.
But let’s imagine an alternative scenario:
AF takes a big swing (DePaula + Morales + ?? + ??) and succeeds in keeping Mason Miller out of the Padres’ clutches. The Dodgers add a true closer, hitting 103 mph. Imagine him in today’s game, instead of Vesia or Caparius.
And instead of the Dodgers having the “NUMBER ONE!” farm system, it slides down to, oh, maybe just the third or fourth best. (These ratings, of course, are highly subjective.)
Count me in the camp that prefers parades to prospects.
To be eligible for post season, does a player have to be on the 40 man roster by August 31st? If so, I expect Conforto to be DFA’d on September 1st.
…Padres have 5 bullpen arms who touch 100 MPH and can throw at Ohtani’s head…
These guys must literally have a lower IQ than me. The umpire crew should put the teams on notice before the game starts…any ‘head hunting’ will result in mass ejections.