The Audacity to Doubt the Veracity of a Man of my Capacity

Do you have the audacity to doubt my veracity? 
Or even to insinuate that I would prevaricate? 
While I’ll thrust my phalanges into your physiognomy with such intensity, 
That it will horizontalize your purpendicularity.

I like the sound of that. It just rolls off the tongue… That was fun!

So, Revisionist Historians like to believe that the acquisition of Aroldis Chapman won the World Series for them in 2016. Well, it’s true that he helped them to get to the Series as he had a 1.01 ERA with the Cubs during the regular season, but he TRIPLED his ERA in the Post-Season to 3.45.

In the 7th game of the 2016 World Series, Aroldis Chapman came in to protect the lead and coughed up two runs, to give the lead back to the Indians. However, the game went 10 innings and the Cubs offense pulled it out. Chapman had no hand in that win… except to allow someone else to get it.

The Cubs had a 3.94 Bullpen ERA is 2016. The offense won it! Chapman was not the reason they won! They won because they hit their way out of a deficit.

Houston won the 2017 World Series with a 5.40 Bullpen ERA. 5.40! I said their Bullpen ERA was 5.40! In case you forgot, they hit when they had to and that’s why they won.

The Dodgers had a 2.78 Bullpen ERA in the 2018 post-season. Boston had a 2.71 ERA. However, they were both tied with a 3.72 Bullpen ERA during the regular season. Both bullpens stepped up in the playoffs, but Boston brought out their bats when they needed to.

Here’s the fact of the matter: The Cubs could have picked up John Q. Bullpen (any average bullpen guy) and won the World Series… although they may not have gotten there without Chapman who was “otherworldly” during the regular season. You can’t go back in history, but right about now, the Cubs are trying to trade for someone like Gleyber Torres.

Now, is it worth it to be just “average” for 3 years (or longer) after winning the World Series? Of course, the answer is YES! However, maybe you don’t have to play that game. What a bullpen does during the regular season is no indication of what they will do in the post-Season.

The Dodgers front office is also working feverishly trying to get players (mostly pitchers) to help them. We realize that this is a special team, poised to win it all for an unprecedented third time in a row. We all know that adding pieces will possibly help to achieve that goal. Andrew Friedman knows that too, but the bigger issue is that other GM’s also know it and are going to make the Dodgers pay dearly for the alleged “missing pieces.”

Lots of teams are still in this thing. Who will be sellers? Not Cleveland, so they won’t give the Dodgers a Hand. I think Vasquez will cost too much. Andrew Friedman has his untouchables, although we don’t know exactly who those are. I do hear that multiple teams have asked for Will Smith in exchange. This shall be an interesting 8 days. I still think Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson are targeted and would not require relinquishing top prospects. In my opinion, those are low risk, high reward moves. I also hear that Castellanos and Greene are on AF’s list.

I still say that a Playoff Rotation of Ryu, Kershaw, Buehler, and Hill (providing he makes it back) would be outstanding. That puts Maeda and Urias in the pen with Baez, Jansen, and Kelly. Two more relievers would be nice and one of them could be acquired by trading Ross Stripling, who is better suited for a starter’s role. Maeda and Urias could be filthy as multi-inning relievers for the Dodgers in the playoffs. Urias is a Top-of-the-Rotation Starter, but I would keep him in the pen the rest of this season. He could be the Dodgers “Secret Weapon.”

We are seeing some sloppy play out of the Dodgers as they have such an insurmountable lead, it is easy to lose focus. It happens, but Corey Seager is getting his stroke and glove back. You are going to see a lot of resting of Justin Turner down the stretch. Joc Pederson is looking more comfortable at 1B and AJ Pollock has shown why the Dodgers signed him. These are Dog Daze!

MT’s Minor League Lowdown

Oklahoma City Dodgers – Dustin May went six lockdown innings last night, allowing just 3 hits and zero runs (his AAA ERA is now 2.53, which is amazing in a league where balls have wings). There is an outside chance he could see the mound in the Majors before the season is over. The OKC Dodgers are now loaded offensively and they did not disappoint. Dig this:

• Gavin Lux when 2-5 with his 8th HR and 3 RBI (.481 BA/1.511 OPS)
• Will Smith scored 3 runs as he went 1-4 with his 23rd HR.
• Rios was 1-3 with a HR and 2 RBI.
• DJ Peters was 2-4 with 2 RBI.
• Kyle Garlick was 4-6 with his 18th HR and 3 RBI.
• Zach Reks was 2-5 with a Grand Salami.
• Conner Joe was 3-6.
• Jake Peter was3-5.

The OKC Dodgers are simply now a Powerhouse!

The Tulsa Drillers were not scheduled.

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes – Donovan Casey and Jeter Downs hit back-to-back HR in the bottom of the fifth inning to break a 2-2 tie and they went on to beat the Inland Empire 66’ers 4-3. Casey’s homer now gives him 18 long balls, while Downs’ gave him the team lead with 61 RBI (to go with 16 HR). John Rooney got his first win by going 5 innings and allowing 2 runs. After the Quakes took the lead, Melvin Jiminez tried to give it back as he gave up 3 hits and 3 walks in 1.2 innings of work, but Darien Nunez got a 4 out save to end the game. Deacon Liput had a triple and Jeren Kendall went 1-4. His batting average is an embarrassing .173. He has struck out 103 times in 225 at-bats… which is nearly a 50% strikeout rate. Even Ray Charles can see that is not good. Kendall may want to look for another line of work… It’s sad to see.

The Great Lakes Loons were idle.

Ogden Raptors – Won 11-4 over the Grand Junction Rockies, as Brandon Lewis went 4-5 with 2 HR and 4 RBI. Andy Pages went 2-4 and Sam McWilliams also had two hits. Additionally, Andrew Shaps, Jimmy Titus, and Sauryn Lao also homered. Kevin Malisheski continued his success pitching 6 innings, striking out 8 while allowing 3 runs. He is now 5-2 with a 3.00 ERA. The 6′ 3″ RH from Illinois is starting to put it all together after being drafted in the 38th round of the 2016 draft.

A Couple of Videos

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