The Curious Cases of Logan Forsythe and Austin Barnes

The Dodgers have lost two in a row, but the sky is not falling. They will stay the course and they will win the NL West.  Nobody is dead. This too shall pass!  Must I keep reminding you? Of greater concern to me at this juncture is… WHAT IN THE HELL HAPPENED TO LOGAN FORSYTHE AND AUSTIN BARNES? 

I must say that it irks me when people who have never played the game of baseball, criticize, demean and totally denigrate a player who they don’t like, despise or who is simply doing very poorly… like Logan Forsythe and Austin Barnes. These guys work so long and so hard to try and get to the majors and many fans attitudes are so cavalier towards them.  It is curious that both are doing very poorly at the bat this year but what is the most curious is that no one asks that Barnes be cut while almost everyone asks that Forsythe be executed… or worse!  Maybe it’s because of the fact that Forsythe makes about $8.5 million more than Barnes.  The facts are that both players are very bad according to Bill James OPS classifications:

Category	Classification	OPS Range
A	Great	.9000 and Higher
B	Very Good	.8334 to .8999
C	Above Average	.7667 to .8333
D	Average	.7000 to .7666
E	Below Average	.6334 to .6999
F	Poor	.5667 to .6333
G	Very Poor	.5666 and Lower

Barnes has a .585 OPS while Forsythe have  .577 OPS… both are rated as “Poor.”

I am sure that it is just a matter of time until Logan Forsythe is released.  He can’t be traded – there is no market for him, however, I understand why the Dodgers acquired him and even re-signed him.  He is much better than he has shown.  I can speculate why he is not flourishing, but it is what it is.  He is a great teammate, hard worker and student of the game, who just has not had any success in LA.

Austin Barnes seems to slip by without much criticism because he hit well last year.  In 2017, he hit .289 with a .408 OB% and a .895 OPS, which is almost “great.” He has fallen off the face of the earth and maybe needs a few weeks at OKC of playing everyday to get his stroke back.  Yasmani Grandal has been extremely hot of late, and Barnes can’t get in a groove on this team, right about now.

Kyle Farmer cannot be a catcher… maybe an emergency catcher, so what about Will Smith?  He’s not on the 40-man roster, but that’s easy enough.  I think  where there’s a Will, there’s a way. Why not call him up?  Austin Barnes is a fine catcher – his catcher ERA  (CERA) is 3.45, just about the same as Yasmani Grandal (3.48).  BTW, Kyle Farmer’s CERA is 13.50… just sayin….  They could call up Rocky Gale, but can he hit any better than Barnes?  I doubt it. I still like AB a lot, he just needs reps to get his stroke.

Rants & Raves

• The Dodgers are now tied for 2nd with the Yankees for Team ERA.  The Stros’ are #1.
• El Gasolino is back – this is his last chance!  Book it!
• Striker Buehler will be fine.  This knocks the rust off and in a game or two he will flourish!
• Let Alex Verdugo play – hit him #1!
• Tom Koehler never threw a pitch as a Dodger… and maybe he never will unless he re-signs on a minor league deal, but I still like the idea.  It just didn’t work – low risk, no reward!
• I wonder if  Marshall Kasowski’s stuff could play in MLB right now?  I think it might…
• Rich takes the Hill tonight.
• Puig will likely be back tonight… barring any setbacks.  Who goes?  Logan?
• It has occurred to me that Chase Utley may step away after his trip to Philly…
• The Dodgers have been linked to Shawn Greene of the Tigers.  He might be in their price range.
• Has any team ever had such a huge stable of relievers at their beck and call than the 2018 Dodgers?
• Has Brock Stewart been abducted by aliens?  Man, has his stock dropped.