The Good, the Bad the Ugly

In case you are less than about 55 years old, you probably never heard of this movie with Clint Eastwood. It was called “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.” That’s kind of an appropriate way of describing Sundays’ game.

Rants & Raves:

• The Dodgers had 10 hits and 8 walks. That’s good, in and of itself and 3 of the hits were for extra bases. What is worse is that those 18 baserunners only scored 2 runs… no that’s worse than bad. In fact, it’s ugly!
• If you are capable of determining that Noisy and Raley should be back at AAA with less than 50 AB’s, some MLB team will likely pay you a few hundred thousand dollars a year to advise them. Put in your application and attach your resume of past successes.
• “Corey Seager is not a star and probably never will be.” Mookie Betts has a .892 career OPS and a 134 OPS+to go with a .299 BA and .373 OB%. Is Mookie a star? I think we all know the answer, even if he is having a rough start. Corey Seager has a .857 OPS and 128 OPS+ to go with a .293 BA and .362 OB%. If Corey is not a star, then Mookie is not a star, either. Oh, yeah, Mookie is a defensive wizard and Corey isn’t and everyone knows you can’t win a World Series and be a World Series MVP unless you are an Outstanding shortstop. Er, Oh, wait… and by the way, if you use the hitting metrics used to define stars, Seager comes as close as anyone… actually closer.
• To think that getting hit with a pitch on your wrist makes you injury prone is as silly as thinking that getting hit by a drunk driver somehow makes you a bad driver. It may make you unlucky, but to think it means you are injury-prone is kind of (really) silly.
• I was actually encouraged by what I saw from the bullpen, notwithstanding the HR Edwin Uceta gave up to Adam Duval. Uceta went on to pitch 3 innings and now after 7.1 IP in the majors, has a 2.45 ERA. This is something to build on. Jimmy Nelson, Alex Vesia, Dennis Santana, Joe Kelly, and Mitch White all did their jobs. Simply put, the hitters did not!
• Old Friend, Yimi Garcia (who allegedly cannot pitch in high-leverage situations according to many) got his 7th Save in 8 opportunities. His ERA is 1.62 and a 0.92 WHIP.
• It is troubling that a team can get 10 hits, 8 BB, and yet only get 2 runs! “Well, they probably hit into several double plays.” Wrong! No twin-killings! I think the answer is simple: The baseball is “tuned” so that it is much harder to hit a ball out of the park (look how many fly balls at the warning track or within there are) and some games the Dodgers hitters adjust and other games, they every back to trying to hit the home run. Max Muncy thought he had a couple of homers yesterday, but with the new baseball, you have to hit it dead-on or it is going to die in the air. I get it. It’s hard to switch it on and off, but the Dodgers need to realize that station-to-station baseball can… and does work! Again, why mess with it. Stay pure to the game. It’s like changing the laces on the pigskin or making a basketball more “bouncy.” I have only two problems with Rob Manfred: (1) Everything he says; and (2) Everything he does! I hope Tony Clark comes to the bargaining table this offseason and says “The MLBPA refuses to negotiate with the owners as long as Rob Manfred is Commissioner.” He gets up and walks out! That would be the start of a very good day!
• I think the “unjuiced” baseball is hurting Mookie more than most.

How Many Baseballs Can You Hold in One Hand

Yesterday we saw Clayton Kershaw hold six baseballs in one hand. Someone asked, I wonder how many Sandy Koufax could have held? You don’t have to wander, the answer is not 8, or even 7. It is 6 as well!

But, alas, that is not the record. The record is 7… by Johnny Bench:

Are we certain no Superglue was involved?

By the way, I am back to feeling great. That was BOTH my COVID-19 Shots. Thanks for the well wishes.

Dodgers Minor League Report

• Oklahoma City Dodgers – OKC actually won a game! They beat the River Kittens 7-5. Be still my heart! Here is the good news: Darien Nunez when 4 innings allowing 0 hits and striking out 7. Phil Bickford pitched a scoreless inning with 2 K’s. Quackenbush closed it out with a scoreless 9th. Zach Reks (.316) continues to look good as he hit hits 3rd HR and scored 3 runs. Rangel Ravelo (.382) is at least an AAAA player as he had 2 more hits. Steven Souza, Jr. saw his first action of the year and hit a 2-run HR. We could definitely see him soon as the Dodgers need RH OF help. BOXSCORE
• Tulsa Drillers – They evened their record at 6-6 with a 6-4 win over the Naturals in 10 innings. Jacob Amaya was 3-6, as was Mike Busch (.277 BA/1.031 OPS) who also hit his 5th HR. Carlos Rincon was 3-5 including his 4th HR in the 10th inning (a 2-run shot). Andre Jackson started and gave up 3 ER in 4 IP, while striking out 6 (walked 3). Justin Bruihl fooled him with 2 scoreless innings. Nate Robertson then pitched a scoreless inning, followed by .2 scoreless by Hunter Speer. Then Guillermo Zuniga gave up a run in 1.2 IP to tie the game and Zach Willeman recorded the final two outs to save the game. BOXSCORE
• Great Lakes Loons – GL beat the Whitecaps 7-4, behind Logan Boyer (1 IP/0 Runs), and Robinson Ortiz (4 IP/0 Runs). Jack Little gave up 2 runs in 1.1 IP and Morgan Cooper gave up 3 hits and 2 runs in 2.2 IP. He’s pitching like he hasn’t pitched in 4 years! Miguel Vargas (.267/.871) was 1-4. Andy Pages I.152/.508) is starting to break out was a 2-5 day. Deacon Liput was also 2-5. The Loons also stole 6 bases! BOXSCORE
• Rancho Cucamonga Quakes – RC was Quaked 8-7. There weren’t many highlights here. Every RC pitcher gave up runs and Alex De Jesus was the only bright spot, going 2-3 with 2 BB. BOXSCORE

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