The Giants are Junkyard Dogs!

As I wrote that, I threw up in my mouth because it is true. The Dodgers shut out the Padres who have crashed and burned while the Giants won handily 6-1 in a bullpen game. What if on April 1st I told you the following:

• Dustin May would miss the seaon;
• Tony Gonsolin would miss over 3 months;
• Corey Seager would miss three months;
• Clayton Kershaw would miss over 2 months;
• Jimmy Nelson would miss the season;
• Corey Knebel would miss three months;
• AJ Pollock would miss September;
• Mookie Betts would be injured all season and try and play through it;
• Cody Bellinger would miss two months and come back and hit .150;
• Victor Gonzalez would miss substantial portions of the season and be mostly ineffcetive;
• Gavin Lux would not hit;
• Albert Pujols (who) would be a part of the hitter rotation;
• Luke Raley, DJ Peters, Steven Souza, Jr., Zach Reks, Billy McKinney, et al could not jump out of a boat and hit water;
• Chris Taylor would be an All-Star and then hit .178 in his last 30 games to challenge Belli for Champion of Futility; and
• Trevor Bauer would be suspended from baseball for most of the season?

If I would have told you all that, I think most of you would have not bothered to tune in to watch or listen to most games. But, all of that did happen, and what also happened is what I predicted before the season started: “Never underestimate the ability of AJ Preller to screw something up.” The Padres went from the Darlings of baseball to the Damned of baseball. Hot dogs are best served hot with relish and the vaunted Padres are playing Ketsup!

Who saw old, broken-down, retreads, unknown, and fading players on the San Francisco Giants like Brandon Belt, Buster Posey, Evan Longoria, Brandon Crawford, LaMonte Wade, Jr. (who?), and Darin Ruf all OPS’ing near .900 and above? Who saw a pitching staff of castoffs, wannabes, and never were’s to be nearly the equal of the Dodgers? The only explanation is that Doctrine of Junkyarddogism! All season long, they have only done what is necessary to win – nothing more, nothing less! While the Dodgers sometimes go out and put up 15 to 20 runs, the Giants will 4-3, 6-5, 2-1. Some of it can only be explained by the Baseball Gods and Junkyarddogism.

It is certainly not over. The Mets owned the Dodgers in 1988 only to get smoked by the team that underachieved all year (or was it “overachieved?”). The Dodgers are 36 games about .500 and on track to win 100 games even with all the injuries. The Dodgers bullpen just pulled past the Rays pen for the #2 ERA in all of MLB and they now trail the Giants Bullpen by 0.10 points… and I would not be surprised if the Dodgers bullpen is #1 by and of the year. The Dodgers do have the best pitching in all of baseball… by a large margin… and that is what gives me hope.

Julio Urias (17-3/2.98 ERA is now in the Cy Young discussion, along with Max Scherzer (13-4/2.28 ERA), and Striker Buehler (13-3/2.31 ERA). Kenley Jansen is #3 in saves and Blake Treinen, Corey Knebel, Phil Bickford, Alex Vesia, Joes Kelly, and Justin Bruihl make up the best bullpen in baseball right about now.

Now, if they could only hit! Cody Bellinger, Chris Taylor, Gavin Lux, Justin Turner, and Max Muncy (until last night) are all hitting under .200 in the past 30 games… some WAY below. Max Muncy showed signs of breaking out last night. Baseball is a game of streaks and I smell a hot streak for the hitters coming on (yes, I know it is wishful thinking, but it is wishful thinking based upon what frequently happens in baseball). Players can be ice-cold one day and then red-hot the next three weeks.

This ain’t over! I believe there is some Junkyarddogism in the Boys in Blue. We may be shocked… one way or the other.

Dodgers Minor League News

• Ryan Ward hit his 26th HR last night while Andy Pages hit his 27th.
• Jesus Vargas pitched 6 innings and allowed 3 hits while striking out 3 for GL.
• Michael Grove went 5 innings, allowing 3 hits and 2 runs while possibly returning to prospect status… from suspect status.
• Mike Busch was 2-3 (including a triple) and is nearing .900 OPS.
• Miguel Vargas was 2-4 (.321 BA) and Noda hit his 27th HR for Tulsa.
• Luke Raley was 3-5 with his 15th HR (.306 BA/.998 OPS)

I Encountered a Bear…

While I was in Denver, I met up with a Bear (Grizzley, I Think), aka/Michael Norris. We talked and had a great dinner at Russel’s Smokehouse. He gave me a Cody Bellinger and Steve Garvey Bobblehead. What a great night to finally meet the bear!

Finally, Never Forget!

Epic Sounds!