THE MID-SEASON REPORT CARD ON THE DODGERS

Here we are(this is being written Saturday morning), almost half-way through the season.   Where has the time gone?   It seems like the season just started.  In any event, I thought I would take a shot at handing out some mid-season grades for the Dodgers.   Some of the grades might seem a little harsh, but I didn’t grade on a curve.  Nor did I hand out participation awards. 

TEAM – B

Despite the fact the Dodgers don’t always “look” that good, they are in first place, with the best record in baseball (at least at the time this was written).   They’ve been able to get where they are without the consistent aid of three of their top hitters.  Their projected starting catcher is on the IL.   A pitcher projected to be in the starting rotation made one, less than mediocre start, and went on the IL and hasn’t been seen since.  The projected Rookie of the Year and starting second baseman, has yet to escape from the alternative camp site at USC.   No Dodger hitter is in the top 30 in Batting Average.   Only two players are in the top 30 in hits (Betts and Turner); only Bellinger is in the top 30 in runs scored; Only Mookie is in the top 30 in doubles; JT has the only triple; the Dodgers do lead the league in homeruns and have 4 hitters in the top 30; they have 3 hitters in the top 30 in RBI (Betts, Seager and Turner); no player is in the top 30 in on base percentage; Mookie and Seager are the only hitters in the top 30 in slugging and OPS; and Betts leads baseball in WAR.   Pitching, on the other hand has been, for the most part, stellar (more on that later); defensively, none of the position players, other than Betts in right field, Bellinger in center and, surprisingly, Muncy at 2^nd base, rank among the statistical leaders.   A couple of the fielders, namely Hernandez, have regressed.   Yet here they are in first place, with the most wins in baseball.   I’m grading them a solid B, primarily because I think there is room for more with the talent they have.  

MANAGER – B

●          For the bitching and moaning that is extended towards Roberts, I think he has done a solid, if not spectacular job.   He seems to have learned about the use of the bullpen, and for the most part has done so flawlessly.   Whether or not he should have taken Rios out of the game is something, we’ll probably never know.  For all I know, Rios could have told Roberts and the medical guy with him that it was only a cramp.  It’s information that I’m not going to claim to have greater knowledge from my perch on the recliner.   I’m sure there are some other mistakes he’s made, but non jump out at me as being the result of stupidity.   Doc is a motivational manager and he’s exercising his skills to a tee.  He does not have one batter hitting over .300, 3 of his starters are under the Mendoza line, with a 4^th just getting over it in the last game.  I give him a B, because he’s kept the team moving forward, but like the team, there’s room for some growth.

COACHES – B+

●          I have little to base my grade on the coaches other than I have found no reason to complain about them.   Therefore, I give them a B+.  From what I observe about Prior and the rest of the pitching coaches, it appears that they have the pitchers prepared.   I’ve also read that they have made a few tweaks with McGee and Treinen that have brought them back to more consistent effectiveness.   Dino Ebel and George Lombard have not made and glaring mistakes and Ebel gets a higher grade just for his enthusiasm and he’s got a great sense of humor.  Moreover, I don’t lay Bellinger, Muncy and Pederson’s hitting woes at the feet of the batting coaches.   They’re not the ones flailing away at sliders out of the zone.  

FIRST BASE – C-

●          Max Muncy –  – not much to be said here.   Max is having a horrible year offensively.  There has been some power, but he seems totally out of sync in most at bats.   He has done a decent job defensively, but, let’s be honest, we need him to be an offensive force.  He gets a solid D-

            Edwin Rios – – Kind of a break out season for Rios.   He’s played well defensively, and boy does he ever have some power.  He needs to cut down on the strikeouts, but when he returns from the IL, I believe he should get some more at-bats.  He gets graded up for playing well at 3^rd base the few times he’s been there.  C+

            Matt Beatty – – He’s had a slow start, but is rounding into form.  He’s a solid bench piece and has played that way.   He gets a C

SECOND BASE – C

●          Kike Hernandez – – For me, Kike is one of the most frustrating players on the team.  He’s clearly very popular and he’s talented.   I always look forward to him succeeding to the level of his talent.   But alas, he always seems to disappoint.   He’s the type of player, you would think would be a .280 – .300 hitter.   Instead, he falls in love with his power, which doesn’t come through enough and he strikes out a ton.  He gets a C-  

            Chris Taylor – – CT3 has been solid.  I’m putting him here at 2^nd base, even though he gets graded up for his defense at short and in the outfield.  Taylor has been very good defensively and his offense is rounding into form.  As a super utility player, he gets a strong B.  He would get an A if graded on his defense alone. 

SHORTSTOP – A-

●          Corey Seager – – Other than getting injured.   Seager has been solid.   He’s a steady presence in the line-up, typically giving you strong at-bats.  Defensively there have been a few lapses, but over all he’s been strong.   He gets an A- 

THIRD BASE – B

●          Justin Turner – – JT has been JT.  He’s had a few lapses on defense, but remains a steady performer on offense.  He also gets some bonus points as a team leader.  A solid B

LEFT FIELD – C+

●          AJ Pollock – – He’s been a very pleasant surprise, showing some of the offense we expected he would bring to the table and being fairly solid defensively.  He gets a sold B 

            Joc Pederson – – for every positive Pollock has brought to the team, Pederson has been the opposite.   He has been flat out disappointing.   Moreover, while I know it’s not fair to judge a players attitude from the recliner, his overall appearance is that he doesn’t care.  He simply is not good enough to be lackadaisical.   He gets an F 

CENTER FIELD – D

●          Cody Bellinger – – Belli’s defense remains spectacular, but his struggles at the plate bring his grade way down.  There was a glimmer of hope in the 1^st game against the Rockies.  Let’s hope he keeps it up.   For now he gets a D

RIGHT FIELD – A

●          Mookie Betts – – Enough said.  He’s as good as advertised and more.   He gets an A

CATCHER – C

●          Will Smith – – has struggled offensively, and unfortunately got hurt.  Remains solid defensively.   Because of the offense he gets a D

            Austin Barnes – – the enigma that is Austin Barnes.  We were all ready to ship him out for some free Dodger dogs and all of a sudden, Mookie whispers in his ear, and he starts hitting like Mike Piazza (well maybe slightly different).   His offense has been solid of late and he remains a strong defensive catcher.  He gets a C+

            Keibert Ruiz – – He’s been much better than I expected defensively, and anyone that hits a home run in their first MLB at-bat you have to be happy for.  Not enough to go on yet, so I give him a C

STARTING ROTATION – B+

●          Clayton Kershaw – – Don’t know if it was Driveline, but CK, with the exception of one game has looked very good.   All of his pitches seem to be more effective than in the past couple of years.   I give him an A-

            Walker Buehler – – Until last night, Buehler hasn’t looked as dominant as last year.  Certainly not the ace we expected.  Still, he has been steady.   I give him a B

            Ross Stripling – – Chicken Strip was the hardest one for me to grade.   His pitches look crisp, but he gives up hits at inopportune times.   Most everyone would agree that Dustin May is having a solid year, and place him strongly in the plus column, while not so much for Stripling.   However, if you compare Strips statistics to May’s, they are virtually identical, with the exception that Strip has given up more homeruns and allowed more runs.  Is that the product of bad luck, or a lack of execution?    3 of the home runs allowed came in last Monday’s game against the Mariners, when the ball was flying out of the yard.   That said, you still have to execute, and Stripling hasn’t done that consistently.  I give him a C-

            Dustin May – – May has exhibited some of the most electric stuff of a starter.  At times he’s looked unhittable, other times he seems to be the recipient of some bad luck.  Like Strip, he also needs to be more effective when he is ahead of the count.  He gets a C+

            Julio Urias  – – I can pretty much repeat here what I said for May.  At times, he looks like an ace.  Other times not so much.  Overall he has been solid, though at times he nibbles too much.   He gets a B-

            Tony Gonsolin – – The surprise of the starting rotation.   He’s given the Dodgers everything you could ask for from a starter with excellent results.   He gets an A

            Alex Wood – – Because he’s on the IL, he gets an incomplete.  

BULL PEN – A- 

●          Kenley Jansen – – Some of the old mojo has returned.  His cutter is cutting, and his slider is more effective.  The results have been solid.  He gets an A

            Blake Treinen – – very nice pick-up by the Dodgers.   Really not much to complain about other than he walks a few too many batters.   He gets a solid B+

            Caleb Ferguson – – One slightly tough outing, but otherwise he’s been money.   I give him an A-

            Dylan Floro – – has done a very good job getting out of trouble and Doc has used him well.  He’s been one of the pleasant surprises in the pen.   He too gets a B+

            Jake McGee – – He has been a very nice addition to the pen.   Like Ferguson, a lefty with heat.  He gets an A-

            Brusdar Graterol – – On pure stuff alone, he would get an A.   However, you don’t win on stuff alone, you have to harness it.   Nevertheless, he’s fun to watch and with a little more experience, I think he will be exceptional.  I grade him a B

            Scott Alexander – – Despite not having “lock-down” stuff, he’s been effective.  Several of the hits off of him have been of the seeing eye and dying quail variety, otherwise his statistics would be better than they are.   Still he gets a B

            Pedro Baez – – Pedro hasn’t looked as strong as the last two years, perhaps because of whatever injury that has placed him on the IL.   He’s been solid, but not uh-lah, lah.  He gets a C+

            Adam Kolarek – – AK has shown that he can handle the 3 batter minimum all-right and he’s kept batters off the bases better than I thought he would.   He gets a solid B

            Victor Gonzalez – – There’s a lot to like about Gonzalez’ future.  In limited action, he has shown that he can pitch at the major league level.  I give him a C+

            Dennis Santana – – Santana has the stuff by which you would think he could get major league hitters out on a more regular basis.  But, alas, he doesn’t.  He’s one that could benefit from a solid strikeout pitch.  I give him a C-

            Joe Kelley – – He’s a pitcher whose results belie how he’s looked, and a poster child for the argument that ERA is everything.   His 0.00 ERA is not enough for me to give him a high grade.  

There you have it.   To steal from Drew Carey, “Welcome to LADT, where the grades don’t matter, that’s right the grades are just like 4 of the Jackson 5.”   Let me know what you think and how you would grade differently.   

My hurriedly written song parody for today, is one of my favorite country songs, “Remember When” with sincerest apologies to Alan Jackson. 

Remember when we’d hit everything they threw

Seemed time stood still and wins were all we knew

You would do it first and then would I

We hit homeruns and made them cry

Remember when

Remember when Gibson homered though he could barely walk

Our hearts were glad, the A’s were sad

We played and learned, we’d hit their curves

There was joy, and there was nerves

Remember when

Remember when we thought the wins would always come

But the team was changed, disassembled, rearranged

Although they tried they usually fell apart

For 30 years they broke our hearts

Remember when

Remember when the sound of Vinny’s voice 

Was the music we danced to week to week

Brought back the hope, we were sure they would win this year

The players vowed they’d give their all  

Remember when

Remember when thirty years seemed so far away

Now lookin’ back, it seems like 50 if a day

But here we are, knowing this year will be the year

when we win it all again

Remember when

Remember when we first loved the Dodgers very day

Players have come and some then move away

It’s been so long, but we won’t be sad, we’ll still be glad

For all the joy we’ve had

Being Dodger fans for all these years, remember when

Remember when