The Cream Always Rises to the Top
Three Under .500 Three Outta First. That s part of what you should know but there s a whole lot more than that. The cream always rises to the top! Yes, up until the past couple of weeks, the Dodgers have played poorly for a variety of reasons, some valid, some problematic. The cream always rises to the top! So far, the Season of 2018 will be known as the Season
Three Under .500 – Three Outta’ First. That’s part of what you should know… but there’s a whole lot more than that.
The cream always rises to the top!
Yes, up until the past couple of weeks, the Dodgers have played poorly… for a variety of reasons, some valid, some problematic.
The cream always rises to the top!
So far, the Season of 2018 will be known as the Season of Bad Luck – If you look at the teams above the Dodgers in the NL West standings, you will see the following “run differentials” for each team:
- Rockies – 20
- D-Bags +19
- Giants – 45
- Dodgers +26
On runs scored verses runs allowed, the Dodgers have been extremely unlucky, while the Rockies have been extremely lucky. The Dodgers have also been extremely unlucky in losing Corey Seager for the season, Justin Turner for about 45 games, Logan Forsythe for 30 games and the early and/or current slumps of Puig, Taylor and Bellinger. It’s also bad luck to lose 80% of your starting rotation to the DL and have a body snatcher occupy the body of your closer for about a month.
The cream always rises to the top!
Walker Buehler and Ross Stripling have risen to the occasion. Boy, have they! Kenley is back, Kemp is great, JT is getting it together, Puig and Taylor are on the move and Cody is showing signs of life. Last night we saw that Dennis Santana has some stuff that will play well in the pen… maybe not in Colorado and maybe as as starter…. just not yet. Since the clock has already started on Santana, they will probably keep him in the OKC shuffle. They might try him in the rotation, but I happen to believe he will be very good in the pen.
The biggest worry is Clayton Kershaw, who has landed back on the DL with back problems for the 4th time in 3 years. At some point… and it could be right now, he is going to probably have to try and get that disk surgically repaired. I say go ahead and do it now so that he will be ready in 2019, but his agent and his opt out clause will likely take precedence. So, we know we won’t see him back until at least July… maybe longer. Don’t bet that he still won’t opt out. I think he will. Someone will have to fill his shoes in the meantime. The candidates are Buehler, Wood and Stripling. My money is on Strip!
The cream always rises to the top!
I still think the Dodgers need another bat and an arm or two. Jose Abreu is making more sense. Would the ChiSox take Pederson and Toles for him? Platoon Muncy and Forsythe at 2B and put Abreu at 1B. Bellinger is stuck in CF, but the offense will improve. Insofar as more arms, Tom Koehler, Urias, Hill and Ryu should all be back by July. The Dodgers just need to play a game or three above .500 until then. Andrew Toles could play a role too…
The cream always rises to the top!
It’s a long season – there’s a long way to go. Yesterday, Bluto posted a quote from another team’s unnamed executive: “The Dodgers are going to win that Division by 7 games!” They will win the NL West, but the World Series will be more difficult without Corey Seager and Clayton Kershaw – although they have been unable to win it with them. They will give it a try and who knows what could happen? The last time they won the World Series, they did it with a Bulldog and without their best player. You never know in baseball. That’s what makes it so confounding, frustrating, fascinating and fun!
The cream usually rises to the top!
- Ariel Hernandez threw 2 scoreless innings for Tulsa last night, with no hits and no walks. After being demoted back to Tulsa from OKC he has 15.2 IP with only 3 walks (he had 7 walks in 4.1 innings at OKC). If he can keep that up (0.89 WHIP/2.30 ERA) he will be in LA in a blink of an eye. He can be Brandon Morrow 2018!
- I’ll bet Zach Reks can hit in the majors right now.
The cream generally rises to the top!
More from Dodger Talk
Dodgers Food Trailer
I did this interview a couple of weeks ago with Chef Mike, who runs the Dodgers Food Trailer for the Great Lakes Loons. They are there for every home and road regular season and playoff game. They prepare three meals a day for approximately 50 people (players and coaches). Since games end late most evenings, they do not prepare breakfast. Many of their hotels have a complimentary breakfast anyway. However,…
Meet LAD 2026 Draft Picks 1-12
3 picks were High School players (2 SS and 1 OF). There was a college OF, college catcher, college SS, and 10 college pitchers. Of all the talk for a need for a catcher, the only catcher the Dodgers selected was Luke Bard, son of LAD bullpen coach Josh Bard. Bard was a 4th year senior from Houston Christian University. He is not a prospect, so the Dodgers are still…
Interview with Paul Beachy – Team Bus Driver For The Great Lakes Loons (LA Dodgers Minor League Team)
It’s been a few days since I did this interview. We have evidently been working my son-in-law (the video guy) like a rented mule at US Water Systems. However, I am taking him to London with me in a few days, so maybe Watford will buy him a pint as a tip, but he’s a dang Red Sox fan, so there is that! I thought that it would be interesting…
Thanks for Your Service: Chris Taylor
I was going to do this post when Chris announced he was retiring, then he changed his mind, but since the chances of him ever playing for the Dodgers again are slim and non-existent, I will go ahead with this post. He unretired, went on the IL, then decided to call it quits on May 24th. Taylor was born in Virginia Beach VA on August 29th, 1990. He attended Great…
Discussion (64)
Disagree, not disagreeable
I think Santana did pretty good considering the situation he was in, because he did get himself together, and didn’t have to leave the game, after that initial inning.
I wasn’t concerned about Puig as much as some, because he really didn’t start hitting until June last year, and he proved to me, he could stick with his program that got him to hit better last year.
So it was good to see him have a good night at the plate, and I would keep him in the eighth position, especially against lefties, because he has hit righties much better then lefties, in the last couple years.
It was nice to see more hitting from the team too yesterday, because we have not always hit like we should, in Colorado.
Why don’t they bring up Solano to play 2nd base? I know he isn’t on the 40 man roster but that is easy enough to fix. They could remove Segedin. I can’t see how Solano would be any worse than what they have been throwing out there. Muncy is not the answer.
It’s June 2 and our starting rotation is Wood, Beuhler, Stripling, Stewart, and Santana. And there is still some optimism on this board. Wow. Got to love this game. (I am one who thinks we win the division going away).
If you can’t get Abreu for 1B they need to try like heck to improve the offensive production at 2B. I like Muncy but he’s not an everyday 2B and I would love to see a team take on what’s remaining of Forsythe’s contract so we can put those $$ into another position player, preferably an upgrade at 2B. Josh Harrison, Gennett, Whitfield, Lowrie or Starlin Castro might be options.
Dodgers need to continue to play good ball over the next 20-25 games and then we can get Ryu, Hill, Maeda back and take off. Any update on Urias? I’ve read about some side BP work but that was a couple of weeks ago. Is it realistic to think he might contribute this year?
Santana looked OK but it will interesting to see him pitch in a real MLB ballpark not the band box that is Coors.
The cream always rises to the top!
Hope you are right about Kershaw still opting out at the end of the season, guess it will depend on when he comes back and how he pitches.
Rather have Bellinger back at first and Verdugo in center field.
I think either see what Muncy can do at second or bring up Locastro and give him a chance.
I think it’s time to move on from Forsythe who has had enough chances and has shown little results.
The Dodgers could use another arm in the rotation but trading for one will cost them and they could be giving up more value then they get in return,
Maybe Santana isn’t ready at this point, but I hope the Dodgers give him another start and see what he can do.
Give em time M.T.!!!
I too was impressed with Santana… He could have folded after the first but instead he grinded… His first MLB hit was great to see..
We have four staters on the DL. Kershaw, Ryu. Hill and Maeda. How many teams can absorb these many injuries to their starters? You now have Wood, Beuhler, Stripling, Stewart, and Santana. I believe Santana has to start until someone comes off the DL. I thought he looked pretty good last night. He looked nervous in the first inning to me. He has pretty good stuff. He also looked like he was enjoying the moment. Especially after he hit the double.
–
I find it hard to believe we are only three games out of first. The hitting is starting to come around. The bull pen is starting to improve. We could very easily be 10-15 games down. You can say what you want about FAZ, the depth has kept us in the race.
–
Something else has happened. Doc is staying with his starters longer. This needs to continue. This probably has happened because the bull pen was a mess in April.