The Best is Yet to Come

Click your heals 3 times and say “there’s no place like home’ and beat the snot outta mad bum! Bout time for a sweep to recharge the batteries and put these Dodgers in a killer mentality. Enough of getting lackadaisical following small rally bursts. Go for the throat and do it again! Simply god is not good enough. Time to be great. Is that too much to ask for or expect? It wasn’t in 88! Show us!

I am not sure how you have an organizational philosophy to not extend your pitchers late in games and limit innings at every turn and then not value relief help more.

AC’s assessment of the FAZ era relievers is spot on, why they did not take a 7 million dollar flyer on Watson is beyond me. I realize they thought they had a duplicate in Cingrani but with volitility of all relievers they should have signed him, the money was there at the time.

For all that FAZ has done well, they have done only average in the relief area. In fact in some areas of pen building they have failed miserably, AC addressed it and that is carrying bums too long( Hatchet and El Gasolino come to mind. They should have been taking out of Robert’s hands much earlier.

Mark solid post above but I disagree about Kemp. I have little confidence he will break out of his slump. I think he should be put on the dl for 10 days to reset and Verdugo brought up, he is better offensively and defensively right now. The timing could not be better with the amount of lefties we are facing this week. Bring back Kemp in 10 days and hope he can find his swing again, if not provide minimal at bats when the rosters expand and DFA him in the fall. Even when he was carrying us there were troubling signs, an unsustainable BABIP, an abysmal walk rate, and an inability to hit sliders consistently. Finally, on Kemp, has he put on weight again or is that just the camera adding 10 pounds?

We need to get hot and Roberts needs to get into these guys a bit. If I have to hear another “the intent” is there postgame speech from Roberts I am going to throw up. I don’t like Roberts but I realize he is likely towing the company line most of the time. Mark or AC can you confirm how much of his moves are his own and how many are completely FAZ influenced? Is the matchup game regardless of how a hitter is hitting completely FAZ or more Roberts or both? I hate to see hot hitters rested as I believe hitters need rhythm and thrive when they are in rhythm. However this team has won a lot of games doing it there way so who am I to criticize,, I do wonder if players really like the organizational philosophy of matchups and rest,Mark or AC?

My final rant, which has already been talked about, is the bull shit about not extending Ferguson one more inning on Saturday to protect him. What a joke. He could have been run out there another inning without consequence. How did kid gloves work with Urias? There has to be some ability for Roberts to divert from these pre determined pitcihing plans based on need and the eye test.

Also, one final note on Saturday, if Roberts was mixing and matching based solely on numbers, Chargois should have been lifted when McMahon came up as he has been pounded by lefties in 2018. Rosscup or Axford should have been in.

Well go blue, need to get rolling, and no better series or team to do it against. This is the first game I actually agree batting Kike’ in the four hole against lefties, please continue to own Bumgarner my friend.

I got nothing. Let’s beat SF tonight

Fun article about Dozier in The Athletic:

I respectfully disagree with your assessment that FAZ values relievers. Paying Kenley Jansen who was the ONLY pitcher in the Dodgers organization who could close, was simply recognizing that they needed a closer. Every contending team needs a competent closer. Jansen was the best.

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Chris Hatcher, Juan Nicasio, Joel Peralta, Yimi Garcia, Pedro Baez, JP Howell, Jim Johnson, Adam Liberatore, Ian Thomas, Luis Avilan, Sergio Santos, Bud Norris, Louis Coleman, Casey Fien, Nick Tepesch, Grant Dayton, Jesse Chavez, Josh Fields, Josh Ravin, Tony Cingrani, Wilmer Font, Erik Goeddel, Daniel Hudson, JT Chargois, Dylan Floro, John Axford, Zac Rosscup, Pat Venditte. These are the relievers that have trotted out to the mound as members of the Dodgers during the FAZ era. Which one of these are competent late inning high leverage relievers? Middle relief? Sure, but certainly not late inning high leverage. The bullpen was so good in 2017 that they had to go out and trade for Tony Watson and Tony Cingrani who were used extensively down the stretch.

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I excluded Brandon Morrow and Tony Watson, two good late inning high leverage relievers the Dodgers chose not to sign. Not signing Morrow was somewhat understandable as he wanted to close and got a 2 year $21MM contract. That understanding was countered when Logan Forsythe’s option at $9M was exercised. Losing Tony Watson because of a 2 year $7MM contract tells me how they value late inning high leverage relievers. Farhan made it quite clear that he believed that the loss of Morrow and Watson would be more than offset by Garcia and Cingrani. How did that work out? Value good relief? Then why is Baez still on the roster (and I am talking about the 40 man)? Why did it take so long to move Hatcher?

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FAZ values competent late inning high leverage relief so much that they have to p___ off two starters to move into relief and hope that a 22 year old with major shoulder surgery who has not pitched in 15 months can come back and be a difference maker in a pennant race. Maeda and Strip will make the transition, but please do not expect them to be happy about it. It is probably going to cost Maeda $1.5MM. They value relief so much that their best reliever is a 22 year old starter who is one year removed from the California League. I am still hoping that Alexander will be a good late inning guy, but how is his confidence now after being pulled in his first real closing effort to be replaced with a waiver wire pitcher? Even Baez doesn’t get that treatment.

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I do not think they value relievers. I think they want to surround Kenley Jansen with 20 middle relievers between LA and OKC and hope one will emerge. Joe Blanton did 2 years ago. Brandon Morrow bailed them out last year, but only because he had an opt out if he was not recalled by June 1. They had no idea what they had. As good as Strip has been as a starter, just how good is he going to be in a late inning role on back to back days? Maeda was good last post season, but will he be able to back to back days. Or back to back to back as Jensen has had to do?

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It may work out, but it will not be because FAZ values relief. It will be because they needed starters to replace the relievers they did have.

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When Ryu comes back this week, someone will need to be removed from the 40 man. I expect Rob Segedin to get his release.

We must gave been looking at a different pitcher. Axford did hit 99, and was consistently in the mid to upper 90’s. But I didn’t see the movement you’re talking about, and towards the end of his outing there were some hard hit outs. Hope I’m wrong, but Axford is not someone I am counting on.

Thank you M.T. attempting to produce a calming effect!!! I never like to enter the fray when the villagers are wandering thru the streets with torches in hand…

Machado is and never was a mistake… He’s in a slump…

My guess is Doc is back in 2019… Adding Honeycutt to any of the whining and gnashing of teeth was plain stupid…

Maeda n Strip, maythe baseball gods be with you and lets get something rolling…