The Solution to the Bullpen Dilution
The talent in the Dodger’s bullpen has gone from being the best team in baseball to literally being the worst team in baseball (or very close to it). What is the solution to the bullpen dilution? I think I have it figured out, and it involves Mark Prior. Before you lose your…
The talent in the Dodger’s bullpen has gone from being the best team in baseball to literally being the worst team in baseball (or very close to it). What is the solution to the bullpen dilution? I think I have it figured out, and it involves Mark Prior. Before you lose your mind and think, I want to fire Mark Prior… I don’t. Let’s establish that first, but when you cannot fire the whole pitching staff, you fire the Pitching Coach. That is not needed right at this moment. What is needed is change.
Before I go on, let me ask a question first: Does it seem odd that many of the pitchers are having bad years… especially in the bullpen?
- Last year, Julio Urias had a 2.16 ER – this year, it is 4.39
- Last year Michael Grove had a 4.60 ERA – this year, it sits at 8.28
- Last year Noah Syndergaard had a 3.94 ERA and came to LA for Mark Prior to “fix him.” His ERA is 7.16
- Phil Bickford had a 4.72 ERA last year – now it is 7.33
- Andre Jackson had a 1.86 ERA last year, and now it is 6.62
- Justin Bruihl went from 3.80 to 4.41
- Alex Vesia was at 2.15 last year -this year, he is helpless at 7.13
- Yency Almonte had a 1.02 ERA in 2022 and now is horrid at 6.52
Gonsolin, Kershaw, Miller & Miller, May, and even Graterol have different stuff and seem unaffected. Some are blaming Andrew Friedman, which is moronic. Who could anticipate that two-thirds of the Dodgers pitchers would regress? No one, that’s who? But things do not happen in a vacuum. There is “cause and effect.” Mark Prior is the “cause.” He has a plan for the pitchers. He has many of them start with a high fastball or a low slider; then, he likes to change the eye level of the batter. Some pitchers throw the “sweeper” to do that. The fact is that it usually involves throwing the pitches in certain areas.
I think the opposition has developed a highly predictive algorithm of the way each Dodger pitcher throws. The Dodgers are not the only team with a large analytics department. Every team does it, and these guys are smart! In 1988, Kirk Gibson knew that Dodger Scout Mel Didier told the team that EVERY TIME Dennis Eckersley had a 3-2 count on a LH batter, he threw a backdoor slider, and Gibby was ready for it.
If MLB hitters know what and even where a pitch will be, they can hit it probably over half of the time. That elevates a .250 hitter to a .500 hitter, and .500 hitters destroy a pitching staff! I believe that is what is happening to the Dodgers. It’s time for Mark Prior to throw the other team a curve – not literally! Baseball is a great game of adjustments. The opposition has adjusted – now it’s time for Mark Prior and Company to re-adjust. If that seems too simplistic, remember that sometimes the simplest methods work the best.
The entire pitching staff did not simply “lose it” this year. The competition just has a better idea of what is coming, and they are waiting for that. Change your pitching sequence, and you will change your results, Mark Prior. If it works, I’ll tell you where to send the checks! 😉
This needs to be done immediately… if not sooner!
Dodger News and Notes
- To say that Emmet Sheehan was good last night would be like saying that the Queen Mary was a boat. He did not get a ton of “swing and miss,” and luck was involved, but still… 6 hitless innings? He will stick around for another start or three.
- James Outman is showing signs of adjusting – he is not swinging out of his shoes at every pitch. I like the progress.
- OTOH, Miguel Vargas needs to sit a couple of games and clear his head. It will do no good for Vargas out Outman to go back to OKC at this moment!
- Gavin Stone got beaten like a rented mule last night – 3.1 IP/11 H/10 ER/2 BB/8 K – How on earth can you even do that?
- Andre Jackson followed up with 4.2 IP/5 H/4 ER/1 BB/8 K
- Zack Burdi struck out 2 in his 1 IP.
- Nick Frasso threw 4 IP at Tulsa with 0 Runs and 3 K’s
- Rooney and Leasure looked good.
- It is always darkest, just before dawn.
- Then there was this, and Jon Miller called it correctly:
Unfortuneatly, this is what Dodger Baseball is about
This is a huge double standard, and if you think it is not a part of Dodger Baseball, you would be wrong… and devoid of common sense! The Dodgers just ignored (selectively) their own code of conduct and caved to the Woke Mob! Shamefully! I do not ignore this bullshit! I call like I see it! It should not be lost on anyone that the Dodgers honored the anti-Catholic drag ‘nuns’ more than an hour before the first pitch inside a nearly empty stadium. They are a bunch of Chickenshit Cowards!
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Discussion (147)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Tonites lineup the first five batters yeah the last four batters yawn that’s when you go and make dinner because it will go like this.,strikeout or popup to the infield the 6,7,,8,9, batters tonite. Geezzzzzz. Yet it’s Dodgers vs Giants so you watch it and you root for the guys in Blue. And wonder why did we let Pederson go just being in the clubhouse him an kiki made games fun.
Per Dave Roberts, Peralta is feeling better and could be used as a PH tonight but will probably not play the outfield for a few days, Taylor is getting a cortisone shot, and they will wait before making an IL decision. Urias threw a bullpen and threw 40 pitches. He will need at least to throw to hitters before a re-hab assignment.
Wood coming off of the IL to start. Dodgers called up Bryan Hudson and DFA”D Scott. Hudson is a lefty.
9:10 PM ET
Giants (37-32)
Dodgers (39-31)
SP Alex Wood L
1-1 4.80 ERA
SP Bobby Miller R
3-0 .78 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
RF Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
DH Will Smith R
LF J. Martinez R
CF Jonny DeLuca R
2B M. Vargas R
SS Miguel Rojas R
3B M. Busch L
C A. Barnes R
Clear-day
0% rain
71° Wind 9 mph Out
Scott has been dfa’d and replaced on the roster by Bryan Hudson.
Infielder Yonny Hernandez is in the clubhouse but may only be here in case Taylor needs to go to the IL, so possibly taxi squad for now.
Yeah, let’s start by trading Bobby Miller and Sheehan.
Or we could trade Barnes, Rojas, Vesia and Scott for Ohtani.
Bradley, what do you expect to get back for the guys who are playing so badly that we don’t want them on our team?
Doc is far from the best manager in MLB but he’s not responsible for all the injuries we’ve had and the players who aren’t performing up to their capabilities.
Theres only five players to keep right now I would say Freeman Betts Smith JD Martinez and Kershaw every one else trade them. And get players that are better. Have you watched a Diamondbacks game there cheering hustling and I don’t know a dam player but they play together and hard. And it could be the number one batter one nite hitting a homee or the number nine batter. Baseball is a game that you when when your whole team plays together. And right now the Dodgers aren’t playing well. Shoot they lost two games to the Whitesoxs and now the Giants. What happens when they play the good teams well they get up for those games. But not for the bad teams. And it’s been that way for years just play okay ball. That comes all on the manager how a team plays just okay not great. Right now the manager of the year is the guy in Arizona not Roberts or Melvin or the Mets manager but the Diamondbacks manager. Because the team is young and they built it over the years an splayed together. The Dodgers okay like a company softball team great one nite then suck the other three nites because it’s all about the manager. Look at him during the games Roberts looks like he is sleeping in there. Then watch a Rangers game with Bochy and he is in to the game that’s why Bochy win close games. And his teams get in to the playoffs. Right now the Rays Diamondbacks Braves Orioles Brewers Rangers are all playing better then the Dodgers.
Okay, the relievers, as a group, are a disaster. But that tends to change from season to season. Is it pitch selection? Possibly. Maybe part of it is execution, missing location. Maybe it’s a little of both. But one way or the other the bullpen is a total mess.
It was certainly a mess both inside and outside the stadium. Thousands of protesters of all Faith’s.
The Dodgers should offer a public apology. Why would you want to alienate your fan base? No one protested previous pride events. This one was different because of the so-called Nun’s trying to offend people by making a mockery out of Christianity.
Sorry, but their act is disgusting.
Even Clayton Kershaw spoke out. The face of the Dodgers. How totally embarrassing.
It was an (expletive deletive) show.
No one should have to put up with this crap at a baseball game
That’s one of the reasons to go to baseball games is to get away from this nonsense.
Whoever thought the Nuns were a good idea should be fired.
Oh and you hear this often, but the Nuns of Perpetual use their stunts to raise money to help people.
I’m guessing Justin Turner raised more money to help people in LA than these painted faces ever will. I miss Turner.
But Emmett Sheehan was fun to watch. Beyond impressive debut.
Well I live 2000 miles away now amongst Asstro fans and up till yesterday wore my dodger gear proudly always defending the Dodgers and calling them out as cheater’s. I can’t defend the wrong and stupidity of honoring a hate group as it’s been rubbed in my face quite a bit. Not only did I put my dodger gear away probably for good, it’s hurts my heart
Friday scores
Salt Lake 14, Oklahoma City 2
Tulsa 3, Springfield 0
Wisconsin 8, Great Lakes 7 (10)
Rancho Cucamonga 2, San Jose 1
Saturday schedule
4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Kendall Williams) vs. Wisconsin (Tyler Woessner)
4:35 p.m.: Tulsa (Kyle Hurt) at Springfield (Edgar Escobar)
5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Landon Knack) vs. Salt Lake (John Swanda)
6:00 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Peter Heubeck) at San Jose (Nomar Medina)
It never crossed my mind in 55 years of loyalty the day would come I’d be ashamed to be a dodger fan as I was yesterday
Does anybody here have an actual number that attended last night’s game? It sure appears that there was quite a loss ticket wise. There could be a reduction of the cost of Dodgerdogs in the next couple games. I’m certain owners got the message.
Clown Show last night, both pregame and during the game. It was actually quite fitting to end the night with a “who’s on third” comedy routine. I’m sure the SF fans found it funny as hell, to F up that badly, only to be outdone by the Dodgers. Absolutely Humiliating.
Jacob Amaya just promoted from AAA by the Marlins. He was hitting .278 with 9 bombs at AAA Jacksonville. Another problem the Dodgers have pitching wise. They have 6 starters and 5 relievers on the IL. Not many teams can take a hit like that and stay in contention. Somebody is going to have to step up. The bullpen needs to get better as a group. And the starters need to keep going deeper into games. Kersh is the only one who has made it to seven innings all year. This BP will be toast by the end of July.
Hell, hanser Alberto better than 75% of this bullpen!
A couple of things to note and maybe consider. First, I think the pitch clock has gotten into some of the pitchers heads. And even though they have had plenty of time to adjust, some have not. Vesia is especially affected by it because it has thrown him completely off of his game. You watch the guy on the mound, he is like a nervous cat. Pacing all over the place. He had time to do that pre pitch clock, not now. Graterol has his moments, and he grooved one last night that cost them a couple of runs. But then Gonzalez, Vesia and Scott gave it all up. Gonzalez is clearly not the same guy, and he was not part of last years pen. Scott is a journeyman trying to hang on and Vesia is trying to re-discover his magic. But all the onus is not on the pen for last night. They had plenty of chances to win that game. Mookie made two bad decisions on the bases. One, he was already in scoring position, there was one out and no reason to try and steal third. Second, he never looked at Ebel when he rounded second on the error to see if he had stopped Busch. He had his head down and was running full steam. Busch did not try to score because the third base coach saw that they already had the ball. He would have been out at home. And they were two runs down, so scoring would not have tied the score. Finally, all the crying about bunting the guy over, this team has zero sacrifice bunts this season. Not one. None of these players except maybe Rojas, are very good at bunting.
Meanwhile on the baseball side of things. Our team has been able to carry on thanks to 4 or 5 guys hitting and NOT getting injured. So only a matter of time before that luck runs out on our 30+year old players. So now Muncy joined by Peralta and Taylor. What if Mookie or Freddie goes down next????
Even if Taylor and Peralta not ‘seriously’ injured and play—well we know how injured players somehow go into slumps
Why the Dodgers chose to inject themselves in to hot topic religion/politics by embracing an organization that claims to promote tolerance by mocking and disrespecting the religious belief/practices of others is puzzling to say the least.
Message to the LAD, stick to baseball! If I want to hear or witness divisiveness I can simply dial into CNN, Fox News, CNBC, etc.
I stopped watching football, in part because of politics getting dragged into game and will not hesitate to do the same to MLB if this persists.
Not sure I agree with the premise that the Dodger relief corps has become too predictable in their pitch sequence and location. Relief pitching varies more from year to year than almost any other performance in baseball. It is why bullpen construction is such a hit or miss proposition. Throw in the new rules on defensive shifts and just the randomness of sampling variability and that seems to be a more logical explanation. Just off the top of my head, the Reds game that Caleb Ferguson gave away was a function of a lack of command, last night Victor Gonzalez could not throw a strike and gave up three soft hits that found a hole (random chance) , Brusdar has had two throwing errors that cost them games or leads. Plus, Graterol gives up a lot of soft contact hits because he can’t put hitters away. I think the Dodgers should look at some of these power arms in the minor leagues to fill in a hole or two in that pen. I know that these pitchers have more value when they are developed as starters but we can’t possibly use them all as starters. Rather than trade these young AA and AAA starters for relief pitching, use Grove, Pepiot, Frasso, and/or Ryan to shore up the pen. Mark has an interesting hypothesis but I trust that the Dodgers have studied the data and if it was as simple as pitch sequence they would have discovered it.
I agree with their approach to Vargas and Outman. This is part of that runway that young players need to develop and succeed at the Major League level. Anthony Volpe was under .200 for the Yankees as their starting shortstop two weeks ago and he was a top 10 prospect last year. Nolan Gorman was sent back to minors by Cardinals last year because he struggled hitting high fast balls and he is back this year with a bang. As fans, me definitely included, we are not the most patient when it comes to player development.
This had all the makings of a “gap year”, as someone called it, for the Dodgers. It sure looks that way. I would be much more frustrated as a Padres fan with the money they have spent and the star power on that roster. Dodgers are going through a difficult stretch with injuries and poor pitching but they have key pieces like Urias and Hudson set to return within two weeks, a deep farm system, and the trade deadline ahead. They are still as good a bet as Diamondbacks, Giants, or Padres to win this division, in my opinion.
I usually agree with Mark’s articles, but putting all of the blame on Prior for the bullpen problems is wrong.
Accountability starts with the players. These relievers with the exception of Phillips have underperformed this year. It is primarily bad execution by the relievers combined with lack of talent and experience. But the players have to perform when given a chance.
Secondly, Dave Roberts is the manager not Mark Prior. He is responsible for all of the coaches including the pitching coach. Roberts makes the pitching changes and he makes many questionable moves. This Tuesday he used Evan Phillips in the 8th inning of a 5-0 game after an off day. The next day Dodgers lost a 4-2 lead in the 8th inning when Dave pitched Almonte in the 8th inning instead of Phillips. Last night Phillips was unavailable again to help hold a 4-0 lead and instead Dave removed Sheehan after 6 no hit innings, knowing his bullpen was thin. Roberts is part of the bullpen problem also.
MT exempts Friedman from any criticism of the bullpen. AF put together a bullpen that pays Treinen, Hudson, Reyes, Nelson $25 million and none have pitched this year. He also paid Kimbrel $16 million last year and Treinen $10 million last year for minimal production. His bullpen roster decisions are part of the problem.
Maybe Prior and the catchers can improve their pitch sequencing, but to think that will solve all of the bullpen problems is silly. Start with the players, the GM and the manager before singling out the pitching coach.
Just curious, I don’t know anything about this “anti catholic/Christian” group so I haven’t made one comment, but this makes me wonder…..do you think the Dodgers would have allowed an “anti Muslim” group to be represented?
Funny how we’ve have decades of movies and TV shows that have made parodies of nuns and there was not a peep of protesting… Until the drag group does it. Let’s not pretend this is anything more than LGBTQ hate disguised as religious protesting. Stop giving in to the right wing hate mongers. They are playing you for suckers so that they can win an election.
Funny how we’ve have decades of movies and TV shows that have made parodies of nuns and there was not a peep of protesting… Until the drag group does it. Let’s not pretend this is anything more than LGBTQ hate disguised as religious protesting. Stop giving in to the right wing hate mongers. They are playing you for suckers.
Tip of the hat to Mark for getting as much mileage as he can.
2K people protesting in the lot before the game. That’s sizable and makes sense to me.
Last night was KARMA for the Dodgers!
The Big Dodger in the Sky (Tommy was lobbying him) called BS!