As most of us old guys remember, Paul Harvey was an American radio broadcaster for ABC News Radio. From 1951 to 2008, his programs reached as many as 24 million people per week. He broadcast News and Comments each morning and mid-days on weekdays and at noon on Saturdays. His famous “The Rest of the Story” segments were amazing! Here’s one in case you don’t remember:
Well, now I am going to tell you the “rest of the story” about Miguel Vargas.
Miguel Vargas’ father is Cuban baseball legend, Lazaro Vargas. Miguel never emulated Lazaro’s batting stance or dragged his bat through the dirt from the dugout to the batter’s box as his father was known to do. He avoided wearing No. 20, the number Lazaro made famous during his playing days for Industriales in Cuba. They were small things, but purposeful, as he tried to differentiate himself from the legacy his father created. Still, father and son are very close and Lazaro acted as much as a batting coach for Miguel as a father.
1n 2019, Miguel hit .284 for Rancho Cucamonga and was promoted to Great Lakes, where he hit .325. Of course, the season was lost in 2020 to COVID-19, but Vargas started again in Great Lakes, where he hit .314 and then a couple of months into the season, he was promoted to Tulsa where he hit .321. In 2022, he started the season at AAA OKC and hit .304 with a .404 OB% and a .915 OPS. If you watched him at all you would have thought he was a man among boys due to his insane bat-to-ball skills. He also hit 17 HR and struck out less than 15% of the time.
Anyone who thought he was not ready for the Show is a moron! There was nothing more for him to prove at AAA! At the end of the 2022 season he was called up to the Dodgers where he hit .170, but his skills were apparent.
The Dodgers proclaimed that he would be on the Big Club in 2023. Miguel arrived at Dodger Stadium in January, 2023 and begin working out with Miguel Rojas, Dino Ebel, Jason Heyward, and others. Due to losing Justin and Trea Turner, they put Miguel at 2B where he worked extremely hard to learn a new position, but then right before Spring Training games started, he fractured his pinky causing him to not be able to swing a bat for almost three weeks. He played in games, but he was a statue with his bat on his shoulder.
That might not have been such a bad thing… except for two other ensuing situations. Number 1 – In early April, Vargas was hit by a 92 MPH Fastball on his right thumb.
He missed but a few games and tried to play through it, most likely causing him to develop some bad habits; and Number 2 – Someone with the Dodgers (I can guess who) suggested that Vargas should try and “pull” more pitches. Miguel was a guy who hits the ball to all fields and thinking of pulling was a “foreign feeling” to him, but being eager to please the team, he tried.
The pinkie and thumb injuries were enough to throw him off track, but trying to be a hitter he wasn’t did him in. Changing the way he hit even caused some issues between him and his father for a time. It is best that Miguel go back to AAA and hit the way he hits. He has excellent power anyway and it may only require a few weeks for him to recapture his old hitting ways. RVS needs to just let him hit the way he has always hit. As he matures, the “light tower power” will come. But right about now, he is a player who can easily hit .280 to .300 with 15+ HR. Let him alone and he will be back up by the first of August… maybe sooner.
If you happened to watch the Home Run Derby, you would have heard a conversation between JD Martinez and Mookie Betts whereby JD was giving Mookie advice on how to hit more home runs during a timeout by Mookie. JDM told him to “pull the ball more,” to which Mookie said “I don’t know how to pull the ball.” Some people just do not pull the ball. I never tried to – I always went with the pitch and most of the Home Runs I hit were to RCF. Now, of course I never played at a high level. I just played at “City Leagues” and the like, but no one ever told me to pull the ball and it never occurred to me to try. Miguel Vargas is a guy who hits all over the field and that is what he needs to do. Do not overthink it or do something new. His hitting to all fields is what makes him special. Now, just let him play!
Other Dodger News
- It’s no surprise that Austin Barnes has the weakest arm of any catcher in baseball. Clayton doesn’t care because he doesn’t let many runners get in 1B. Will Smith also has a arm that is not powerful, which is one reason he is not in the running to play 3B, but I do think he will be moved to another position… eventually! Which bring us to who is the Dodgers catcher of the future. Cartaya has a better arm than Smith, but it is not a cannon. Rushing is closer to MLB in hitting and has a better arm but is wildly inaccurate and needs a lot of work behind the plate. The work continues…
- JD Martinez acquitted himself well with 2 hits in the All-Star Game. In fact, the All-Star Game was quite good… in my opinion.
- Craig Kimbrel? What the…..?
- Here’s the complete list of who the Dodgers took in the 2023 Amateur Draft: https://www.mlb.com/draft/tracker/2023/all/team/dodgers These players and their projections are so wildly inaccurate and volatile that (at this juncture) I have very little to say… except “Hummmmmmm!”
Discussion (22)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Well so you want me to predict the LA Dodgers Roster for the 2025 season. That’s in two more years.
1b Freeman
2b Lux
SS Rosario
3b Arenado
LF Pages
CF Outman
RF Betts
C Rushing
DH Smith
Starting pitching
Buehler
Bieber
Miller
Sheehan
Ryan
Closer
Josh Hader
There you go. And the manager will be. Kevin Cash. After he wants more money from the Rays. They let him go and the Dodgers go and get him. A great clubhouse manager and game manager. How is that grammar police do you understand me. Was this written clearer for you to read.
So now it’s not just the players who swing and miss.
Keith Law (The Athletic) on the Dodger’s Draft Class:
“I am flabbergasted by the Dodgers’ 2023 draft. I usually love their drafts, and their track record in the draft under director Billy Gasparino is among the best in the industry. This year’s draft I did not get. Kendall George (1A) didn’t make my top 100, as he’s an undersized high school speedster who might be an 80 runner and 70 defender in center, but the bat is very light and I don’t love the swing from either side of the plate. Third baseman Jake Gelof (2) was the highest-ranked player on my Big Board that the Dodgers took; he holds the UVA career home run record and it’s 70 power, but he is very vulnerable to fastballs up in the zone and probably has to move to an outfield corner.
Tennessee high school right-hander Brady Smith (3) was overused this spring, going 125 pitches in one outing, and his velocity dropped off later in the season from 90-94 mph early to 87-91 mph late. He’s a good athlete with projection and good feel to spin the ball, so there’s something to work with if the velo drop was just fatigue. Florida State lefty Wyatt Crowell (4) had Tommy John surgery after some wildly irresponsible usage by FSU, moving him from the pen to starting with almost no ramp-up. He has an out-pitch in his slider, coming from a lower 3/4 slot that gets more tilt on the pitch, and his 89-92 mph fastball gets a little boost from the arm slot as well. Some scouts thought he could start in pro ball, but he has to improve his changeup and come back 100 percent from the surgery first.
Texas outfielder Dylan Campbell (4A) just turned 21 in early July and was the Longhorns’ best hitter this year, even with a bunch of older players in the lineup. It’s a pretty quiet and simple swing, and while he’s maxed out at maybe 5-11 and 205 pounds, he’s strong enough to drive the ball the other way for 45 power. He’s probably an extra outfielder, having mostly played the corners in Austin, although if he either shows he can play center despite average speed or shows more power than expected in pro ball, he could be a regular. Eriq Swan (4A) sits 98-99 mph and has been up to 101 mph with a very hard-breaking slider at 85-89 mph, but the fastball is very true and he walked 15.6 percent of batters he faced this spring for Middle Tennessee State. His arm is also incredibly late relative to his strike foot, which isn’t a great sign for healthy or long-term command improvements.
Boston College first baseman Joe Vetrano (5) hit 22 bombs for the Eagles this year, and the slugging left-handed hitter has a good swing that definitely uses his hips and legs to generate that power, with some going the other way. He strikes out too often for this profile, even after cutting his K-rate from 25 percent to about 22 percent from his sophomore to junior years, expanding the zone substantially with two strikes. It’s real power, though, and college first basemen with good swings and at least some idea of the strike zone are often good targets after the third round (Paul Goldschmidt, Rhys Hoskins). Marshall right-hander Patrick Copen (7) is a real enigma — he throws his low-90s fastball more than 70 percent of the time, and his delivery is OK, but he walked 54 guys in 72 2/3 innings while playing in a mid-major conference. The fastball does miss bats with some obvious carry up in the zone, but if you can’t even throw your fastball for strikes, you’ve got a long road to hoe.
Ball State righty Ryan Brown (9) has a plus changeup but he’s walked 60 guys in 74 innings in college, missing the second half of this spring with a knee injury. His changeup has huge tumble and very often finishes below the strike zone, which is a big reason for the walks and also may mean professional hitters will lay off it. The Dodgers did take an extremely wild Nick Nastrini in the fourth round a few years ago and have developed him into a viable big-league pitcher, so they may be hoping guys like Swan, Copen and Brown can follow that path, but I feel like the Dodgers’ player development people might all go grey by the end of this fall’s instructional league.”
Gotta believe that if Dodgers don’t bring up Busch and give him a shot at full time second base then he’s getting traded at the deadline. It’s time to see what he can do as an everyday starter at the big league level.
I’m sure everyone noticed that Shohei said that the player he most admires is Mookie.
He must think about pitching with Mookie behind him at SS or 2B. Or coming up to bat with Mookie on base.
DODGERS TO OPEN 2024 SEASON IN SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
Dodgers and Padres to play the first regular season games on Korean soil as part of a home-and-home series on March 20 and 21, 2024
LOS ANGELES – Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association announced today that the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres will open the 2024 regular season with two games in Seoul, South Korea on March 20 and 21, 2024. The two-game set will be a home-and home series and the contests will represent the first ever regular season games in Korea.
“We can’t wait to play meaningful Major League games for the very first time in front of the outstanding baseball fans of South Korea next season,” said Dodger President and CEO Stan Kasten. “The Dodgers have a long and proud history of helping to grow the game abroad, highlighted by our trips to Mexico, China and Australia. It’s very exciting to add Korea to the list. I know our players are thrilled to put their talents on display in a country so rich with baseball tradition and talent, including former Dodgers Chan Ho Park, Hee-Seop Choi and Hyun-Jin Ryu.”
For the Dodgers, this will mark their first international trip since playing the Padres in Monterrey, Mexico in 2018. Los Angeles has also played in the 2014 Sydney opener vs. the Diamondbacks, the 2010 exhibition games in Taiwan against the Chinese Professional Baseball League All-Stars, the 2008 exhibition games against the Padres in Beijing, China, the 2003 exhibition games against the Mets in Mexico City and the 1988 exhibition games against the Montreal Expos in San Juan and Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Over the years, the Dodgers have also played additional exhibition games and done barnstorming tours in Japan, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
Los Angeles has had four South Korean-born players wear Dodger Blue, starting with Chan Ho Park (1994-2001, 2008), who was the first native of Korea to play in the Majors in 1994. Since then, Hee-Seop Choi (2004-05), Jae-Wong Seo (2006) and Hyun-Jin Ryu (2013-19) have played for the Dodgers. Park (2001) and Ryu (2019) both made All-Star teams and are two of four Korean-born players to appear in the Midsummer Classic, joining Byung-Hyun Kim (2002) and Shin-Soo Choo (2018).
The Opening Series in South Korea will mark the ninth international opener outside the 50 United States and Canada in Major League history, following the 1999 Opening Game in Monterrey, Mexico between the Rockies and Padres; the 2000 Opening Game in Tokyo, Japan between the Mets and Chicago Cubs; the 2001 Opening Game in San Juan, Puerto Rico between the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays; the 2004 Opening Series in Tokyo between the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and New York Yankees; the 2008 Opening Series in Tokyo between the Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics; the 2012 Opening Series in Tokyo between the Athletics and the Seattle Mariners; the 2014 Opening Series in Sydney, Australia between the Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks; and the 2019 Opening Series in Tokyo between the Athletics and Mariners.
Today, MLB and the MLBPA also announced games next year in Mexico City (Astros vs. Rockies, April 27-28) and the Dominican Republic (Rays vs. Red Sox, March 9-10) in addition to the previously announced London Series (Mets vs. Phillies, June 8-9).
BTW, I remember hearing Paul Harvey on the Armed Forces network when I was in Vietnam.
Just like the players in the ’60’s, I took the All-Star games seriously. I was and still am, NL all the way. I saw a list of all-star MVP’s in today’s paper. I saw in 1966, the great Brooks Robinson was the MVP and his team lost! Maury drove in Tim McCarver with a base hit to right in the bottom of the 10th in a sweltering Busch Stadium to drive in the winning run for a 2-1 NL win…Maury should have been MVP. Rest in Peace, Maury.
Buster Posey, Johnny Bench, Joe Torre, Yogi Berra all played different positions. Will is still young. Leave him at catcher. Barnes can give him a day off once or more a week.
Vargas is messed up mentally. Hopefully, he can get it back. If I was the Dodgers, I would not push it. Vargas is young and he has a ton of talent.
My opinion: the All-Star uniforms were butt ugly. All about $$$. Cool to see a 34 year old first time all-star win the game and be the MVP. I have always rooted for the underdog. Big series with the Mets; Dodgers will take 2 out of 3. Is Showalter in trouble? C
2025:
1. Betts SS
2. Smith 2B
3. Freeman DH
4. Cartaya 1B
5. Vargas 3B
6. Rushing C
7. Outman CF
8. Pages RF
9. Lux LF
So, I did a little research, and Craig Biggio was a guy who was about the size of Will Smith. He came into the league as a catcher in 1988 and caught a high number of games. By 1991, Biggio was a .295 hitter who had made his first All-Star team. And quickly, there was talk about moving him from behind the plate in order to lengthen his career. He did play a few games in the outfield, but in 1992, he moved to 2B and played 161 games there. In 2003 he moved to CF for a few years before moving back to 2B.
Moving to 2B enabled him to play 20 years in the Majors, getting 3060 hits and making the HOF. Maybe 2B is Wills’ spot too!
DODGERS ACQUIRE TYSON MILLER
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired right-handed pitcher Tyson Miller from the Milwaukee Brewers for cash considerations. In order to make room on the 40-man roster, the Dodgers placed right-handed pitcher Daniel Hudson on the 60-day injured list (right knee MCL sprain).
Miller, 27, was designated for assignment on July 8 after appearing in seven games for the Brewers. He posted a 5.79 ERA (6 ER/9.1 IP) and seven strikeouts this season. He has been in the Majors parts of three seasons with Chicago (2020), Texas (2022) and Milwaukee (2023), posting a 1-2 mark with a 7.92 ERA (22 ER/25.0 IP) and 15 strikeouts against 14 walks. In his minor league career, he has appeared in 152 games (100 starts), recording a 4.04 ERA (265 ER/589.2 IP) and 571 strikeouts against 198 walks. He was originally drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the fourth round of the 2016 First Year Player Draft out of California Baptist University.
Only one rookie has a higher wRC+ than Corbin Carroll right now (min 50 PA) and that rookie (yes, he still qualifies) is old friend Luke Raley.
We had him twice and got rid of him twice. The front office saw potential in him but each time they brought him up, they basically used him as a bench player and didn’t say, we’re putting you out there until further notice. You don’t need to get 2 hits every day to stay in the lineup.
We did that with Vargas and he didn’t come through, so now he’s back at OKC. We did that with Outman and after a great start and a total nosedive, it looks as though he’s adjusting and coming back to life.
We didn’t do that with Jonny DeLuca and I think we’re wasting whatever talent he has. Might as well just trade for a veteran right-hand bat who can play left field without killing himself and will hit .240 against southpaws. That way DeLuca can go back to OKC and refine his game and, if he’s lucky, be traded to a team that will allow him to thrive.
Something Dodgers VP of amateur scouting Billy Gasparino noted tweaked draft strategy some: the minor league roster limits that will limit orgs to 165 players in 2024: “(They have) squeezed us in a lot of ways. We’re disappointed obviously. We think we don’t think it’s enough.”
No games until Friday. damn. Guess I will go on my MLB.TV and stream some from the last two seasons. Can still watch the Sept 12, 2021 shutout that Scherzer got his 3000th K in.
* Is Lazaro stuck in Cuba? Maybe he needs to hang out in OKC for awhile.
* Hitting philosophy and instruction is always evolving. Babe Ruth and the baseball changed the hitting game entirely. As has a strike zone that has moved up and down. The National League, with the HPU with an “inside” chest protector had a lower zone than the American League where the HPU had an “outside” balloon chest protector and set up taller over the catcher’s head. Each league with a distinctly different strike zone. When all the umpires went to the “inside” protector and moved to the inside of the plate, the zone got way lower.
* In my time Ted William’s book “The Science of Hitting”, with 77 baseballs, all color-code in a superimposed strike zone like today’s K-Zone, became the hitting Bible for my generation. It was the American League strike zone. Interestingly about the top 4 rows of baseballs in that graphic would be high and out of today’s strike zone with 2 or 3 rows added to the bottom.
We went through the “stride and glide” techniques with A-Rod. Hreniak and Lau guys spooning everything to rightfield. The super low strike zone of the day brought on the steroid bombers with Soto and Big Mac. Bonds was a pure “rotational” hitter. And this generation of lifting everything with an uppercut swing that would have gotten your name scratched off a scout’s list, 60 years ago. The high knee kick came into vogue. The style fathered by Sadahari Oh, who was using that style years before in Japan, well before it became in vogue in MLB. I think the next trend will be back to more contact with an emphasis on speed. More like 60 years ago. But we’ll see.
The technology now will have the major influence. My fear is we increasing turn players into robots. (like they did w/ Vargas?)
* Will Smith could play third without a cannon arm. Move your feet correctly and get the ball in the air works for 90% of the plays at 3rd base. I think his arm is as strong as Muncy’s. I know that’s not saying much but I’d still like to see Will move from behind the dish for the sake of his knees but mostly his brain.
* So the 2 All-Star closers where Kimbrel and Jansen. One of the things I don’t miss about this season is worrying about our closer tripping over the gas can on the way outta there. Kenley was a basket case for about 2 or 3 years. Was is cutter cutting that day? Was his velocity at the perfect level? Was he pouting about losing the closer job? Could he be effective 2 days in a row? He was a pain in the ass. And Kimbrel was just basically shitty.
* I’m happy to not have to put up with all the drama. Evan Phillips can quietly get the job done in high leverage situations without all the baggage.
Did not watch the game until the late innings as I had a doctor’s appointment in Colorado Springs for my consult on my eye surgery. Which they will do on August 28th. Then I went to see the new Indiana Jones movie. I loved it. Being a huge fan of the series, I would. I did see Diaz’s homer and Kimbrel close out the 9th. But I am waiting for Friday. Want to watch, but not sure I want to subscribe to Apple.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and predict that Vargas will NOT win the ROY this year.
Sometimes the prospects just don’t work out. I think he was given a 50 FV prospect rating the last time I looked at his Fangraphs page. That’s not exactly an 80 FV like Wander Franco was. He’s not can’t miss, so there’s a risk that he’s just a miss. It happens.
How many games has Davis actually called for us this year?
It seems like its less and less each year. Im not fan of all the rotating announcers we have. I get it Davis is popular on a national scene but seems like he is only calling a couple games a week for us…
First world problems I know.
Paul Harvey was entertaining. Appreciate the link.
And hopefully they let Vargas hit to all fields.
Vargas and the Terminator share one famous saying together
Good game last night! Kimbrell still scares the crap out of me! I like joe Davis calling games, but sometimes he reminds me of Jessica Mendoza. That look I’m on tv smile! Maybe rsv helped JD butt maybe he hurts other hitters . Freddie and Mookie don’t need his help, or will smith. Could he be a big part of Muncy s problem? Agree mark, maybe Vargas needs a new voice, or maybe an old one! He’s too good to be this. Bad.
I think it’s the “M”oron word that really gets them going dude.
Hahaha