The Key Word is Don t Panic!

Lots of people are believing the Giants are for real… and they may be. They have been consistent up until now, so we have to say that they are real… but will they stay real? Time will tell, but you can’t help peruse the roster and statistics and ask “They did this… how?” The fact that they are in first place does not really compute, but if we break it down to it’s simplest form, I think the reason is that because they pick each other up. When one guy doesn’t get a hit, the next guy does. It seems that with the Dodgers, everyone hits or no one hits. Consider the following:

• Kevin Gausman, who has been very good is having his best year ever, at age 30, but has not pitched this many innings since 2018.
• Anthony DeSclafani has 126 IP and is showing signs of tiring… big time!
• Alex Wood with nearly 100 IP, has seen his ERA rise as it has been 4.70 over the past 28 days… and we know his injury history.
• Also with nearly 100 IP, Johnny Cueto has not pitched this many innings in 5 years.
• Logan Webb is also approaching his most innings pitched in his young career.
• At age 34, Jake McGee is having his best year ever! EVER!
• Tyler Rogers has a 1.98 ERA, but it was 4.50 last year.
• A variety of other pitchers have pitched well out of the bullpen, but their press clippings are largely unimpressive.
• None of their outfielders would start on the Dodgers… yet go figure!

Can the Giant starters keep it up? Maybe, but the odds don’t favor them. Their infield is old and Crawford, Longoria, Posey, and Belt are playing better than they have in a long time. There are still about 2 months left in the season. Lots can happen. A couple of days ago, Jeff Dominique touched upon what I think is the problem with the Dodgers. It’s the TOTAL LACK OF HITTING SOME GAMES. Robert Van SuckSuck is the Dodgers hitting guru. . I call him that because THIS YEAR ESPECIALLY, the Dodgers score a bunch of runs or none. Initially, his hitting philosophy was modeled after the Ted Williams Method of Hitting: Hunt for pitches you can damage and keep your bat in the hitting zone as long as possible to damage them.

That’s a solid foundation, but I think the Dodgers have deviated from this plan. I think they are more focused on working the count than looking for a pitch they can damage. Of course, that method does work much of the time. Make the pitcher wear himself out and then murder him. This is not true with every player. Chris Taylor, Max Muncy, AJ Pollock, Justin Turner, and others are his disciples and have recently faired well. Andrew Friedman said this after hiring Van SuckSuck:

“We’re trying to avoid games in which we score zero, one, or two runs. Scoring three or more as consistently as we can should put us in position to win a lot of games. What we’re striving for is to individualize our offensive approach and put our guys in the best position to succeed.”

That is a worthy plan and they did it in 2020, but they haven’t done it in 2021. Technically, Robert Van Scoyoc (OK, I’ll quit calling him SuckSuck) is technically the co-head hitting coach with Brant Brown (whose title is “hitting strategist”). They are aided by assistant hitting coach Aaron Bates. So, I have to wonder: are there conflicting theories at work here? I have no idea, but I have to ask. Sometimes too many cooks can… well, you know the rest.

Many of the Dodgers have been so intent to work the count this year, that they often take the first pitch… or two… or three. Pitchers have wised up and have started throwing strikes on the first and maybe the second pitch, and then suddenly, if the hitter is 0-2, he is in a defensive mode. I have always been of the opinion that you look for a pitch in a certain zone and if you can see it, you hit it… no matter what the count. RVS evolved the game, and now other team’s pitchers have evolved to accommodate the Dodgers’ hitting style. If you want a Revolution, the only Solution is to Evolve!

It’s time for the Dodger’s hitters to evolve: See the ball, hit the ball. It ain’t complicated! It’s time to get with it. When you look at the Dodgers players OPS and the Giants players OPS, it’s hard to understand why they are in first place, but it’s all about timing. Look around the diamond and what Giant player would you take over a Dodger player?

Let’s look at it and you decide:

• Catcher – Will Smith or Buster Posey ?
• First Base – Brandon Belt or Max Muncy?
• Second Base – Chris Taylor or Donovan Solano?
• Shortstop – Corey Seager or Bradon Crawford?
• Third Base – Justin Turner or Evan Longoria?
• Left Field – Alex Dickerson or AJ Pollock?
• Centerfield – Cody Bellinger or Steven Duggar?
• Right Field – Mookie Betts or Mike Yastrezemski?

If you were building a team for today and the future, you would likely not take one Giant Player over a Dodger Player, even though a couple are having great years (Posey and Crawford). Yet they are ahead of the Dodgers in the standings! The whole is greater than the sum of the parts! The Dodgers are better position-by-position, but the Giants are a better team… at least right about now. It’s like the men’s 4 X 100 race. The American sprinters were all faster than their opponents, yet they finished sixth! Why? They did not work together as a team. Simple as that.

It’s gut-check time! Are you a team or are you just trying t pad your stats? This story is heading into the final chapters. The history is yet to be written. Will the 2021 Dodgers be Champs or Chumps? The stretch run starts TODAY! What will be this teams’ historical record? Will they pull together and pick each other up or will they just keep on doing the same thing they have done all season. The Giants have been consistent bu playing .600 or better baseball EVERY month! The Dodgers have had one month when they played over .600 baseball, but they are capable of so much more. With the team Andrew Friedman has assembled, they can run off two months of .700 ball. They are that good, but they have to play like it… and they haven’t… until now.

WHAT FOLOWS IS STRICTLY MY OPINION: They have traded for Max Scherzer and Danny Duffy. They have signed Cole Hamels. Why? I think the signs are that Clayton Kershaw is going to need Tommy John Surgery. They are holding him out to see if his elbow can hold on by a thread and hope he can be a factor in September and October, but deep down, they know he is finished. Sherzer, Duffy, and Hamels are insurance. It would be a shame to lose Clayton, but the Dodgers are prepared, Clayton will be in the Dugout and will not get surgery, but will rather, retire as the greatest Dodger Pitcher of All-Time. I hope I am wrong about most of this, but I have a feeling I am not!

Sometimes You Have To Act the Part to be it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnXgVcrcyWM

Tt’s Time for You to Wake up, Cody Bellinger. Let’s Ride!

From Bluto on the Last Thread:

Cartaya and Pepiot made Kiley M’s new top 50 Prospect list:
https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/31958336/kiley-mcdaniel-midseason-top-50-mlb-prospects

The great Eric Longenhagen has this to say about Dodgers righty Hyun-il Choi

He’s experienced a little bit of a velo bump (more 92-95 than 88-92, where he was in 2019) and shown remarkable strike-throwing ability; he’s only run three 3-0 counts all year. A plus splitter, at least plus command, and viable fastball velocity makes him a high-probability big league starter.

Longenhagen also put former Dodger prospects at #1 and #3 in terms of those traded at the deadline:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/ranking-the-prospects-traded-during-the-2021-deadline/

Don’t look now #1, but Andy Pages has been on a tear since mid-July, slashing .380/.494/.761 in his last 20 games. Despite his occasional strike zone deficiencies, he hit his 22nd homer for Great Lakes, 101 mph off the bat, 396 feet, and he went 2/3 with 2 walks tonight overall.

Dodgers signed an undrafted player, Jack @Dreyer from Iowa. Lw-90’s fastball with a curveball, slider, and a changeup. In college he struck out 23 batters in 21.2 innings, limiting them to a .171 batting average.

Don’t look now, #2, but Cameron Gibbens’ 4is promoted and still rocking! Now in AA Tulsa, he had a perfect 2.0 IP debut. Ascending from Low A to AA in a single minor league season is always noteworthy!

Don’t look now, #3, but from FutureDodgers:
The move is not official yet (should be tomorrow), but SS Eddys Leonard is heading to High-A Great Lakes.

He’s been arguably Rancho’s best hitter all year, hitting .295/.399/.544 (146 wRC+) with 14 HR. 11 BB%, 24 K%, 11.6 SwStr%.

Still 20 years old, won’t turn 21 until December