The Best is Yet to Come
This year, it is different! The NL West is the best division in baseball. Every team, except for the Colorado Rock Heads, are above .500, and the Top Three teams all have legitimate shots at the postseason. The Dodgers have had a plethora of injuries that have stalled their…
This year, it is different! The NL West is the best division in baseball. Every team, except for the Colorado Rock Heads, are above .500, and the Top Three teams all have legitimate shots at the postseason. The Dodgers have had a plethora of injuries that have stalled their ability to run away with the division, and they are going to have to play meaningful games in September. This is a good thing. They are not going to go into the playoffs on cruise control. I can’t wait… but I have to!
The Dodgers have now evidently decided that the shortstop position is the most important defensive position on the field – this is especially true when you have a healthy Miguel Rojas and Nick Ahmed (or is it “Nick Amed?” No, that is the other Amed… Rosario! I am so confused!). At any rate, it looks like Jason Heyward is the odd man out. Mookie Betts is now headed to RF! There is no doubt that Miggy Rojas is an elite SS, and (for now) it appears that Nick Ahmed, who is also a defense-first SS, will be the backup… for now!
Some fans thought there would be no way that Betts would go back to RF, but the stars just aligned that way. Jason Heyward can give him a blow in a blowout game, and while Jason has had some key hits, his bat is still nothing to write home about. Gavin Lux was dead and buried by many Dodger fans, only to pull a “Lasserus” and rise from the grave. Gavin Lux is now one of the hottest hitters in baseball! It is evidently all because of swinging harder. Fabian Ardaya wrote this in the Atheltic:
For months, he subconsciously worried about the state of his surgically repaired right knee; healthy as it was, he could never fully trust it. His front leg, the center of his swing, wouldn’t drive into the ground consistently to generate force. But for the past few weeks, he’s been letting it fly with abandon. It has been years since he’s taken hacks like this, even dating back to the best season of his major-league career.
During an All-Star break trip back to Wisconsin, he took batting practice with his uncle, Augie Schmidt, a former prep star and longtime Carthage College coach. Together, they looked back at his best swings. They were violent, looking to generate slug more than just putting the ball in play.
“He’s like, ‘Screw it. If I’m going down, I’m going down aggressive,’” hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc said. “I think there’s some freedom in that.”
So, Lux is entrenched at 2B, at least against RHP, with Amed Rosario (a lefty killer) available on days Lux rests. Kike Hernandez is also playing much better, and Max Muncy is starting a rehab assignment that could bring him back in ten days or thereabouts. It’s possible that Kike plays 3B against LHP. Tommy Edman is also starting a rehab assignment, and as a switch hitter, he seems destined to play CF. He has been mostly “league average.” However, Katie Woo, who covers the Cardinals, thinks this is a great pickup. Here’s an interview with her:
So, Edman has another year of control and can play several spots. He’s another player who could benefit from the Dodgers hitting coaches. It’s likely that he will patrol CF for the Dodgers for the rest of this season. Harold Reynolds breaks down Edman’s role with the Dodgers:
At the time of that interview, Mookie was scheduled to play SS, but now he is headed to RF. That leaves Teoscar in LF and Edman in CF. What is the average year for Edman? .265 with a .726 OPS and 29 SB’s while playing a very good CF. His OPS+ is League Average, and I’ll take it! Suddenly, the outfield looks way better!
Here’s who Tommy Edman is… and you will see that he has a very good arm:
Last night, both Edman and Max Muncy started their rehab assignments for OKC. Edman was 1-3, and Max was 1-2 with a double and a walk. Mookie is not far behind. Walker Buehler will return this week, and I would not be surprised if Justin Wrobleski skips his start today to take River Ryan’s place, but so far, it appears that Landon Knack is the guy. I hate to say it, but this looks like another Tommy John. I hope I am wrong. Glasnow goes today… let’s see what he has. At any rate, Ryan Brasier is close to ready, and I would not automatically count out Bobby Miller. Frequently, a player learns most when undergoing adversity. Things can turn in a blink of an eye. I think by the end of this month, this will be the lineup:
- Ohtani DH
- Betts RF
- Freeman 1B
- Hernandez LF
- Muncy/Kike 3B
- Smith C
- Lux/Rosario 2B
- Rojas SS
- Edman CF (2nd leadoff)
Rotation: Glasnow, Flaherty, Yamamoto, Kershaw, Buehler, Stone, Wrobleski, Knack, or Miller.
Try to keep your sanity and perspective – nothing is as constant as change, and most knee-jerk reactions are simply wrong. Enjoy the run. Also, there should be no question about who should lead off. You want your best hitter there because, statistically speaking, he will get more ABs in that spot, and more ABs mean “more opportunities to impact a game.” Welcome to analytics.
I Told You So…
On Friday, Garrett Crochet went 2.1 innings and allowed seven hits and 7 ER while giving up four home runs. His ERA is now at 3.65. He was the “Flavor of the Week,” for which many Dodger fans pined. He may ultimately be a stud starter, but he was not going to do it this year. Yet, many of you wanted to gut the farm for Crochet. To me, it was pretty clear that he had too many innings on his arm this year without any history of that whatsoever. Tarik Skubal is still doing very well, but he was never going to be traded.
Indiana State Fair
We went to the Indiana State Fair yesterday with three of my granddaughters, and the nine-year-old finished second in a talent show that involved about 40 contestants from all over the State (she was the youngest by far but has a set of pipes). She will be famous someday. Remember the name Tallulah Salimeno. Actually, she says her “stage name is “Tallulah Jane.”
She sang “Shallow” and knocked it out of the park. I have to get it to YouTube, and then I can post it.
Carry On….
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Discussion (93)
Disagree, not disagreeable
By the way, I am not implying that Rosario is a bad guy. Maybe immature?
I thought Elvira retired. Check out the Brewers official scorer sitting behind home plate wearing the blue shirt. Beautiful eyes she has watching CK dealing. Welcome back MB! Nice oppo SO!!! 40/40 looking good.
VIVA AZUL!!!!!
You know, some posters are just too stupid to post here.
I have determined who they are. If your post evaporates, you will know that you are dumber than a doorknob!
Deal with it!
Welcome home Mookie, Damn did we miss you.
Kiké Hernández this year:
.191 avg, 45 Ks, 15 RBIs in the first half
.278 avg, 18 Ks, 11 RBIs in 20 games since
A big difference: The glasses he started wearing after learning he had astigmatism
“Once he put the glasses on, he’s seeing it a lot better.”
Dodgers RF Mookie Betts, for the second straight year, declined to stay with the team in the supposedly haunted Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee. He’s at an Air BnB. He doesn’t like ghosts.
I can tell you for a 100% certainty why Rosario was DFA’ed:
Attitude!
“I’m a .300 hitter – I should play every day.”
Just like Torres of the Yankees: A Selfish “Head Case” and a cancer in the clubhouse.
The Yankees tolerate it. The Dodgers don’t!
Seems that Andrew’s plan includes having the best defense possible. Leads me to believe that our bench will be Hayward, Ahmed,KIke and Kiemaier. I would have kept Rosario also for the platoon at second base but what do I know. I hope that Lux can take advantage of this opportunity to become a full time player. I think going into the playoffs we will have 8 everyday starters with no platoons. With the bench providing the “regulars “ with rest and late inning defense. Sounds like a plan to me.
CORRECTED LINEUP
8:10 PM ET
Dodgers (69-49)
Brewers (67-50)
SP Clayton Kershaw L
0-2 4.38 ERA
SP Freddy Peralta R
7-6 4.02 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
RF Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
LF T. Hernandez R
2B Gavin Lux L
C Will Smith R
SS Miguel Rojas R
3B E. Hernandez R
CF K. Kiermaier L
In Domed Stadium
agree AVF! Teo should Not be hitting below Smith. love Will , but the way he’s been performing, could be a first inning rally killer! just got that update Bear. that’s better
8:10 PM ET
Dodgers (69-49)
Brewers (67-50)
SP Clayton Kershaw L
0-2 4.38 ERA
SP Freddy Peralta R
7-6 4.02 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
RF Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
LF T. Hernandez R
2B Gavin Lux L
SS Miguel Rojas R
3B E. Hernandez R
CF Andy Pages R
In Domed Stadium
Teo should be batting 4th,Lux 5th and Smith 6th
one thing from an earlier post. Rosario might be a better hitter than Chris Taylor , but there’s no comparison to Taylor’s defense with Rosario.
Remember, AF is playing Chess, we’re playing checkers. don’t understand it either! but that’s why i’m sitting in my kitchen , and AF is sitting in his office at dodger stadium! maybe his defense? maybe they might let Lux play more against lefties? They just cut a .300 hitter! They kept 5 .200 hitters! Who knows! lol! Excuse me 6 .200 hitters, Max will be back soon! But thank goodness Mookie is back!!
Don’t like this move:
Dodgers Designate Amed Rosario For Assignment, Activate Mookie Betts
hope so. pretty much like Will lately. You might be right about him being MVP. But it’s quite possible he’s not the. MVP on his own team!!
Looks like Brook and Dirk Dingler. The team is shaping up nicely for the playoffs. No more injuries please.
Go Dodgers
yeah, i ain’t the smartest guy in the room, but personally i believe Doc pulls guys a little early. not criticizing, just my opinion. …. So in a week or two Edman is ready. Mookie is in right. Teo is in left. Edman is in center. Does Pages go down? Now Doc ain’t gonna want Heyward gone! And i think Jason should stay over Pages. But what about Kevin K.? His defense is way better in center field compared to Pages! So if Edman goes to the infield to give Max or Rojas a breather, who you want in center field? Heyward, KK, or Pages? I’ve said earlier, Pages never looks engaged to me. Doesn’t mean i think he’s lazy on defense, just not a center fielder. I thought earlier in the season Kiki might be in jeopardy of being shipped out. Now with Taylor not a sure thing , i believe he goes nowhere. And if it comes down to Ahmed , Roario , Kiki, and KK, who stays? Is it a possibility Heyward could. be gone? like i said earlier, if it’s up to Doc(probably isn’t) heyward won’t go anywhere. … Everyone was bitching earlier about the bottom of the lineup (me included). And lately there has been traffic on the bases at the bottom. BUT, Ohthani isn’t bringing them in! Maybe Teo should lead off! lol! i don’t know about everyone else, but give me Mookie at the plate with runners on! He’s not trying to hit everything 500 feet!
President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said Sunday in an interview with Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM that he expects Muncy (oblique) to be reinstated from the 60-day injured list at some point during the Dodgers’ next homestand, which begins Aug. 19.
“Out since mid-May due to a significant right oblique strain, Muncy finally reached the last stage of his recovery program by kicking off a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Saturday. He started at third base and played six innings in the field while going 1-for-2 with a double, a walk and an RBI. Though Muncy is back in the lineup Sunday at designated hitter for Oklahoma City, he’ll presumably get in a few more games at third base and potentially even at first base during the upcoming week as he works to regain his timing at the plate. Assuming he avoids any setbacks with his oblique during the rehab assignment, Muncy should step back into an everyday role in the infield right away once the Dodgers activate him.”.
no way Mark!! come on, how did you pull that off? she was beautiful in her younger days! You probably call your pool the Blue Lagoon! …. Teo does it again! But lost in all the excitement, Banda blows a win for Glasnow. But, it shouldn’t have come to that! Ohthani left “50” men on base yesterday. seriously, they need him to drive in runs somehow. a lot of swing and miss lately. The dodgers as a whole are leaving a lot of men on base, too many! For my money , i’ll take Freddie or Teo in rbi situations every time! Kiki was big yesterday! Just a little shaky at 3rd. …. Don’t understand removing Kevin K. and pinch hitting. Ahmed just to bunt. KK laid down a nice bunt earlier. Also, things worked out, but wasn’t it kind of early to jerk Rosario? I know , left-right matchups, but sometimes shouldn’t you wait a little longer to start yanking players? that left-right matchup usually comes back around. Oh well, i’m not getting paid to make those decisions anyway. Just my 2 cents worth. 3 out of 4 would be great in Milwaukee. Too bad the “Meatloaf “ song wasn’t 3 out of 4 ain’t bad! RIP “Meatloaf “!!!
Dont look now but the Dodgers are tied for the best record in the NL…….
Earlier, some were talking about “supermodels.” I have never dated a upermodel and have been married for 27 years, but this was taken 29 years ago and I have no more to say:
where’s that hit with all the runners on?
Forearm tightness—Usually means end of season for pitcher. So next announcement probably Tommy John for Ryan. And back in 2026
make the man an offer!!!
not defending knight. just saying he was better than big percentage of coaches he coached against. more of an x & o’s guy than most. Managers today don’t have to do as much coaching as say 20 years ago.