Some Dodger fans here think the sun rises and sets in James Outman’s …. eyes! When he burst on the scene last year, he was “otherworldly.” In his four games in 2022, he hit .462, with a 1.409 OPS. Again, he got off to a hot start in 2023. Eric, who vehemently takes exception to me calling James Outman a 4th or 5th outfielder (that is what I have said for a year, and I would be an idiot if I let 20 games change my mind.). Eric wrote this yesterday:
“The bottom of the lineup is a black hole besides Outman. That’s why they’re not scoring runs:
Martinez .246/.294/.475/.769
Vargas .222/.431/.333/.764
Taylor .135/.214/.459/.673
Heyward .182/.269/.591/.860
Peralta .200/.226/.233/.459
Rojas .143/.200/.179/.379
3 guys below .200 BA and 2 barely above and 1 below .250. 3 guys below .700 OPS, 2 of them way below. 2 below .800 and 1 above .800 and then there’s Barnes.“
Well, I have news for you Eric. It’s not just the bottom of the lineup. It’s the top and middle too, and your boy James Outman is right there with the rest of the problems. While he has shown in 2022 and 2023 that he is an exceptionally fast starter, he also shows that he slows down after the first few games.. by a lot!
After a fast start this season, he is now hitting .233 in the last 15 games, and in the last 7 games, he is hitting .174! One has to conclude that James Outman is a fast starter and streaky. Eric, in his silliness, likes to compare “his” player to “my” player (Miguel Vargas, who is not really my player – I just think he will be a better player than Outman), who is not doing well either. Vargas is hitting .222 with a .431 OB% – that is the only stat where he is going better than Outman.
However, I believe it is exceptionally dumb to try and compare players after 16 games. STOP THE INSANITY! Right about now, this team is in a funk. Either they score ten runs, or they score 1 or 2 runs. James Outman is not doing his part. Neither are Miguel Vargas, Austin Barnes, Jason Heyward, David Peralta (one walk-off notwithstanding), Freddie Freeman, JD Martinez, and Mookie Betts (and others).
Right about now, this team sucks! I don’t pretend to know how to fix it, but I will say, “This too shall pass!” Just shut up already with the childish rhetoric about “my player is better than your player!” Miguel Vargas is not “my player,” either. I have formed my opinion about him over hundreds of games. The same with Outman. Great, you like James Outman. Well, right about now, James Outman sucks, and so does Miguel Vargas! I like both players and hope they do well. Somehow, Eric is angry that I have rated Vargas over Outman.
This, too, shall pass. I just wish it would hurry up! The Dodgers are 8-8. The Padres are 8-9 while Arizona leads the Division at 9-7, but they have a -2 run differential… as do the Padres. The Dodgers have a +18 run differential. This is “fixable”; however, some of the players may change (give it time). Only a moron would draw a conclusion after 16 games! Play on.
Minor League Notes
- Gavin Stone did not fare well yesterday… again. 3.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K.
- Mike Busch played 3B again. Could this be his permanent spot?
- Emmett Sheehan did about the same as Stone.
- Jose Ramos is off to a fast start – .379/.993 OPS. He is playing RF while Pages is in Center.
- Jon Rooney is doing well after converting to the bullpen.
- Rushing and Cartaya are both struggling after jumping up a level this season.
- Jake Vogel can’t hit water if he jumped out of a boat at GL.
Discussion (34)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Just watched the game highlights and just a couple of observations. No, I’m not looking to get “called out” or “labeled” an idiot, but just a few observations….
1. The Dodger BP is not the best in MLB, as proclaimed by some.
2. JDM looks very old, with a slow bat.
3. Rojas was acquired to be a utility guy and might have flourished in that role, but an everyday SS….not so much offensively.
4. KT3 is an abject failure. He’ll pop one out once in awhile, but his AB’s are a black hole with a K the most likely outcome. After a 4 K performance FF comes back the next day and is the offensive star with 2 HRs. That’s a professional. Night after night we see the same KT3. He has no answer and is futile nearly everyday he’s in the line-up. Dodger coaches couldn’t fix Bellinger, not sure they can fix KT3. The bright side is after this year he has two years remaining on his contract at $15 million AAV. Could that $15 million used on KT3 been allocated toward re-signing Corey Seager.
5. Excited for Peralta getting the game winning hit the other night but with Outman establishing himself as the bona fide ML player, could the $6 million spent on Peralta been used for some RP or a better offensive bat?
6. Heyward will not end the season as a Dodger. I can see a DFA on the horizon.
7. This team doesn’t have the SP and RP to go 42-8 and looks to be a .500 team.
8. Who is the tall bespectacled gray haired guy in the dugout? Perhaps a new addition to the coaching staff (hitting) to replace Brant Brown. Listing of Dodger coaches does not include any new names but I’ve seen that guy on many dugout shots since opening day.
It’s a long season and a lot can happen, but right now the team plays uninspired baseball with some serious flaws to the roster. Redundant players who do the same thing to underperforming clutch players. Frustrating indeed!
Taylor is dealing with a side issue. He might be heading for the IL> Smith is planning on traveling with the team on Wednesday when they fly to Chicago after the game. Wynns will most likely be cut loose when Smith is activated. He has zero minor league options left.
If Taylor goes on the IL, Luke Williams is likely to be called up. He’s been playing SS and hitting well. Busch is just now learning 3B and hasn’t played ss.
At any rate, the injury shows the imbalance of the Dodgers current roster in the aftermath of Lux’s injury Taylor is the only alternative to Rojas at SS. I seriously think Mookie could be the “emergency” SS. I guess Vargas or Muncy could try it, but that’s far from ideal .
A team that values versatility just isn’t all that versatile right now.
The Angels did a smart thing in getting Gio Urshela, who has played all over the diamond. Luke Williams could be the answer both short-term and long-term.
Sure glad Doc had CT3 batting cleanup today!
Nobody saw that coming, so iI was a genius move which will surely restore Taylor’s confidence and get him back into All-Star form. Never mind that he went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts. That’s irrelevant. The fact that he lowered his batting average to .125 only means he is due to break out of his slump. Ray Charles can see that.
The fact that Outman came in as a sub and doubled , raising his OPS to 1.031, is also irrelevant. Small sample size, people. He’s a flash in the pan and needs to get back to the bench to make sure Taylor get his mojo back..
CT3 just needs a few more weeks in the cleanup spot.
Go Dodgers!
#4 Outman continues to impress (small sample size). JD continues to struggle. Steady Freddy quickly back to all-star form. Muncy healthy, confident and crushing it. Smitty needs to clear the cobwebs and get back behind the plate pronto . Doc needs to spend more time with his grandkids.
Given the fact that he throws consistently at or near triple digits, I would like to read some sort of explanation as to why Dustin May was relying so heavily on his breaking pitches tonight.
I’m pretty ambivalent when it comes to Doc but I gotta give credit where credits due, in his trusting in Muncy
Joe Davis commented that was Freddie’s first two home run game as a dodger.
I could swear that Freddie had two home runs in a game last year
Anybody know off hand?
And now this Wynns guy is throwing out runners trying to steal. What is AF thinking signing a guy like this!
May sure isn’t missing many bats
To anyone wondering why the Dodgers signed Austin Wynns over calling up Hunter Feduccia, I say: “Well, now you know!” I told you yesterday that he could hit a little bit.
Does Wynns know what team he’s playing for? Driving in runners in scoring position. He won’t last long hitting like that!
Bauer spring training debut.
https://youtu.be/GndTbjbzdTY
Wow!
“Anyone could have managed these Dodgers teams to the same records and a real manager would have won more games.”
Do you have anything at all to support that?
Can any of you name a Tampa Bay Ray? How can that team look so good and high-five going around the dugout into the game. Watch the Dodger their manager sets there with a blank stare on his face. The players aren’t up watching the game. There like oh no biggie we will win this. There’s no fire in this team and that comes from your manager. They better do something fast and bringing guys up from AAA ain’t the answer.
I don’t know exactly what’s going on with the discussion here the last few days, but it’s weird. It hasn’t exactly been a high level discussion with insightful observations, if I may put it charitably.
Eric. Mark considered Outman a 4th or 5th outfielder. You don’t agree. Why is this dragging on non-stop for days?
Let it go. … not that Mark hasn’t been egging this all on, too.
Remember the going outside and touching some grass suggestion I made to you a while back?
Doesn’t seem very healthy, IMO
10:10 PM ET
Mets (10-6)
Dodgers (8-8)
SP David Peterson L
0-2 4.91 ERA 14.2IP 16K
SP Dustin May R
1-1 1.47 ERA 18.1IP 12K
Confirmed Lineup
RF Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
DH J. Martinez R
LF Chris Taylor R
3B Max Muncy L
2B M. Vargas R
CF T. Thompson R
SS Miguel Rojas R
C Austin Wynns R
Partly-cloudy-day
0% Rain
59° Wind 14 mph Out
NO Dodger minor league games scheduled today
The articles at this site (except for Old Bear) seems like they were written by some little kid in his mom’s basement. The attacks are juvenile.
Go Outman! Go Dodgers!
Note to Dodgers FO: Effective immediately, please release every player you signed this off-season. What were you thinking?! As you do this, please keep in mind, the owners are not pitifully poor and this is not the small market you were used to prior to being employed by the Dodgers.
Outman is not in the lineup against a LHP. Don’t tell Eric, because that would make him at least a 4th outfielder.
PRESS RELEASE
DODGERS RECALL JUSTIN BRUIHL
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers recalled left-handed pitcher Justin Bruihl and optioned right-handed pitcher Andre Jackson.
Bruihl, 25, is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA (0 ER/6.0 IP) over five appearances with Triple-A Oklahoma City this season. He has nine strikeouts while allowing three base runners (two hits and one walk). In 45 games (two starts) for the Dodgers, he is 1-1 with a 3.40 ERA (16 ER/42.1 IP) and 24 strikeouts while limiting left-handed hitters to a .195 (17-for-87) batting average against with 14 strikeouts. The southpaw was originally signed as non-drafted free agent on July 15, 2017 after finishing his collegiate career at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
Jackson, 26, appeared in four games for the Dodgers, allowing eight runs in 8.1 innings with seven strikeouts and a save. In his career, he is 0-1 with a 3.94 ERA (13 ER/29.1 IP) and 26 strikeouts in 11 games for the Dodgers. He was drafted by the Dodgers in the 12th round of the 2017 First Year Player Draft out of the University of Utah.
OK GUYS ,LETS PLAY NICE! I REALLY LIKE VARGAS. I REALLY LIKE OUTMAN TOO. IM NOT SURE ONE OR BOTH OF THEM PROVIDE THE AMOUNT OF OFFENSE THIS TEAM NEEDS THIS YEAR! PAGES STARTING OFF LIKE A KEG OF DYNAMITE! BRING HIM UP? NO, IT WONT HAPPEN NOW. HARD TO SAY UMPIRE COST DODGERS THE WIN YESTERDAY, BUT IT DAMN SURE DID NOT HELP! TOP MIDDLE BOTTOM, NOBODY GOT IT DONE OVER THE WEEKEND! THE VARGAS ERROR WAS THE BALL GAME PLAIN AND SIMPLE. JULIO WAS NOT THE SAME AFTER THAT. EVEREYONE CHILL FOR A FEW DAYS. IF THE HITTING DOESNT IMPROVE THEN WE WORRY! TAYLOR 5 HITS, 4 OF THEM HR, WHATS THAT TELL YOU? TRACE THOMPSON NOT RUNNING AFTER 3RD STRIKE PROBALY INEXCUSABLE. FREDDIE 0 FER EVER WITH RUNNERS IN SCORING POSITION, JD NOT LOOKING JD LIKE, MOOKIE NOT DRIVING THE BALL, WII ON THE SHELF, BARNES IS BARNES WHATEVER. MAYBE IF HEYWARD PLAYED 3-4 GAMES IN A ROW? COULDNT HURT! LOSING WAY TOO MANY HOME GAMES!
The Dodgers need both Vargas and Outman to do well.
Grove could be a stud when he pitches without strep throat. Syndergaard could get squeezed by Grove, Pepiot, and Gonsolin. I hope Stone gets his mojo back real soon.
Tatis owns AAA baseball.
Mark you were hyping up Vargas as the next Babe Ruth and dismissing Outman as a 4th or 5th outfielder. A HUGE gap between the two. I don’t believe there is that gap at all. And I believed and still do that Outman is more ready right now than Vargas.
What I wrote yesterday was about the Dodgers not scoring much runs this whole season and I gave the biggest sample size there is right now, not a small sample.
Mark, feeling a little like Rodney Dangerfield today?
On these disappointing days of defeat I sometimes find solace in the minors.
Pages is off to a great start in Tulsa. Perhaps he’ll be the fast riser this season, moving up from Tulsa to OKC to The Show. Outman did that last season. But if Pages winds up with a debut like Outman’s, I bet he won’t get quickly sent down. The brass should know better now.
Jorbit Vivas is also off to a good start. He’s a contact guy who has been walking more than he Ks. He has played mostly 2B but also 3B. I wonder how his defense at 3B compares to Busch. The brass obviously thinks highly of Vivas ; he’s been on the 40-man roster for a while.
The Angels just promoted their 2022 first round pick, SS Zack Neto, from Double A to the majors. I doubt the Dodgers would ever be so bold with a hitter. Grove was promoted from Tulsa because they needed a spot starter and he was on schedule. Worked out well. If the circumstances are right, perhaps Pages could hop past OKC.
Losing Lux for the season had a huge impact on this team, I think he was poised to really contribute offensively. Losing Smith for just a week shows how he is now indispensable to the Dodgers aspirations.
The consistent inconsistency is consistently driving me inssne!
A few years back the Dodgers were average at best and then won something like 32 of 40 games and didn’t look back. They could do it again or will it be the Padres this time.
Mark, what the hell is your thing with Eric all about. Geeze, give it a rest.
Dodger defense is still not a strength.
16 games or 10% of the season in the books and the Dodgers are at .500.
I expected them to be between 88 -92 wins and so far I see no reason to change my outlook. MOF so far the schedule (on paper) was not diffcult.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If Bellinger keeps it up all year, we can sign him to a $200 million contract next year. I kinda doubt it he will, but, it’s possible his shoulder is finally healed.
Martinez .246? It’s actually worse. He was given a hit on an error by Swanson. Homer scoring. He’s actually hitting .230.
Unless used in trade for a bonafide Major League player, none of those minor leaguers mentioned are going to help win a Division title.
Yeah we’re +18. We are also .500, which at this time in this Division is actually competitive. But it would appear we may have difficulty against better pitching. Maybe we’re a summer club.
I would rather have Julio and Will than Shoei. 2 is better than 1.
I expect Outman and Vargas to have some growing pains, but Mookie and JDM have not been impressive to say the least.
59 ABs, 16 hits, 6 RBI, 9 BB, 8 K’s and 1 HR w/ .271 BA, .389 OBP, .390 SLG, .779 OPS and 112 OPS+—-Justin Turner
61 ABs, 15 hits, 9 RBI, 3 BB, 23 K’s and 1 HR w/ .246 BA, .294 OBP, .475 SLG, .770 OPS and 101 OPS+–JD Martinez
If things don’t improve much you have to wonder if JT would have given the Dodgers a home team discount and signed for one year at $10 million to be our DH?
Our lineup will look a lot better when Will Smith returns from his concussion. Freddie Freeman got 1 hit the entire weekend as the Cubs were pitching around him giving him nothing to actually hit. The ump didn’t help the situation in his last at bat to end the game. The Dodgers have to sign Will to a contract extension this year.
It was good to see Belli looking better at the plate during this series but it does raise questions about why that didn’t happen last year under Dodger hitting coaches….