The Stuntmen
In 1988, the Dodgers won the World Series with a rag-tag bunch of bench players, junkyard dogs, and stuntmen, including Mickey Hatcher, Rick Dempsey, Mike Davis, Danny Heep, and Dave Anderson. The bench was important to the last world championship and I believe that this year s bench is immensely better. Hey, these guys aren t starters, but many of them would be starters on other teams. Due to arbitration and the
In 1988, the Dodgers won the World Series with a rag-tag bunch of bench players, junkyard dogs, and stuntmen, including Mickey Hatcher, Rick Dempsey, Mike Davis, Danny Heep, and Dave Anderson. The bench was important to the last world championship and I believe that this year’s bench is immensely better.
Hey, these guys aren’t starters, but many of them would be starters on other teams. Due to arbitration and the like, this could be the last season these guys are together. They are “all in” wanting to get a World Championship. They know their roles and I am assuming that this will be the starting eight:
- C – Will Smith
- 1B – Max Muncy
- 2B – Gavin Lux
- SS – Corey Seager
- 3B – Justin Turner
- LF – Joc Pederson
- CF – Cody Bellinger
- RF – Alex Verdugo
Those are the likely starters, so let’s look at the Dodgers bench options:
- Austin Barnes (C) – AB is an elite defensive catcher and very highly ranked in pitch framing. His hitting has been atrocious the past two years – maybe he has had difficulty in adjusting to playing so little. He does have a potential offensive upside but will need to display it. In 2017, he hit .289 with a .408 OB%. I think he is a better hitter than he has shown the past two years, but he has to do it. He can also play 2B and 3B in a pinch. He qualifies as a “stuntman.” He’s also a great teammate… and that means a lot. Currently, he is being pushed by Keibert Ruiz.
- Kike Hernandez (IF, OF) – Enrique plays every position (including C and P). He is both hated and loved as a Dodger backup. He is a plus defender at just about any position and has a rocket arm. He is adored by his teammates and frustrating to the average fan. At age 28, I think we will see a better version of Kike… or he will regress to the mean. He has hit 21 and 17 HR the past two seasons and hits lefties much better than righties. This guy is an awesome backup. I had higher hopes for him, but he has not delivered. He does have a flair for the dramatic and that is something!
- Chris Taylor – (2B, SS, LF, CF, RF) – CT3 is a good defender at SS and in the outfield. He is a career .262 batter with a .331 OB%, which is pretty much what you can expect. His career .772 OPS is great for such a role player. CT3 is a guy you want to go to war with.
- AJ Pollock (LF, CF) – AJ is 32 and on the downhill slide of his career, he is essentially the Dodger’s 4th outfielder, although he will platoon with Joc Pederson in LF. If healthy, he’s capable of putting up some good numbers and while he can play CF in a pinch, he’s no longer an everyday CF. Until I see otherwise, AJ is a blunder by the Dodgers’ Front Office. $18 Million doesn’t buy what it used to. I hope he makes me eat big-time crow.
- Matt Beaty (3B, 1B, LF) – Matt is the only LH hitter of the bunch, but it’s a strongly LH lineup with Muncy, Lux, Seager, Pederson, Bellinger, and Verdugo being lefty hitters. I expect to see Matt log a lot of time at 3B in the Spring. Matt is a professional hitter… he’s our Dave Hansen.
It’s likely that the Dodgers will just carry 5 stuntmen, but it is possible that they will carry another LH bat and just 12 pitchers. That bat could be Edwin Rios or Zach McKinstry and I have left off Tyler White who could be a reclamation project like Turner, Taylor, and Muncy but the fact that he is RH goes against him… or not! Maybe since he’s RH, he is a lock to make the team… what do I know?
I also think that these stuntmen (at least some of them) will benefit from another year under Robert Van Scoyoc. That same basic lineup (minus Freese, plus Lux) is intact and they led the NL in Runs and Home Runs in 2019. It would not surprise me if they are even better in 2020. As much as some hate analytics, they are scientifically proven and sustainable. Incremental growth is part of the science.
Here’s the thing: You never know who gets hot in Spring Training or who gets injured. That’s why depth is so important. The Dodgers are in the catbird seat, but so many fans see it differently. If you want to revel in negativity and swill, let me know and I will send you to a website where you will right at home” “Friedman is an idiot and should be fired!” “The Dodgers won’t spend because they don’t want to win.” “We are doomed.” “The sky is falling.” If you eat that stuff up, I have a prepaid one-way ticket for you. It’s easy to get there. Just take
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Discussion (81)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Moya,
1) it should be “there” not “their” at the fanfest.
2) AF may not be perfect, but over the past 8 years, he’s been a helluva lot better GM than anyone one else in baseball.
3) FYI, I would suggest not getting into a battle of wits with MT. Your chance of success is somewhere between nil and none so quit making yourself look like an idiot on the most knowledgeable Dodger site on the internet.
JP Morosi is saying the odds are now at about 50/50 that Arenado will be traded. I assume he means before the start of the season. Says Dodgers have shown interest but aren’t the front runners.
He has a full no trade so that might eliminate some teams and everyone knows the Rox would not be anxious to trade him in division so that makes it less likely he comes here.
OK, I’m opening the bidding – what would you give up to get Arenado, and let’s assume the Rockies give a team a window to negotiate with Arenado in order to remove the opt out he has after 2021. If that opt out isn’t there you have him for 6 years at 34.5 mil AAV plus whatever you do to eliminate the opt out.
I read somewhere that Guggenheim will sell the Dodgers at some point over 3 billion, Who could be next in line to buy our beloved Dodgers.
Dodgers Should sign Will Harris or other Experienced arm like Hudson still on market. Also should get either Wood or Walker or both for depth and possible bargain starting pitching.
Dodgers are the regular season champs in a weak division.
Read this morning that the Dodgers are still one of the teams in the mix for Josh Donaldson. Given that he’s reported to have 4 year offers and is tied to draft pick compensation, I wonder if that’s something the Dodgers would even consider.
Jamey, Jamey, Jamey!!! The Merriam Webster of LADT
M.T. – Mickey and the the Stuntmen… Be still oh heart of mine… That crew brought a lot of joy to the Ravine…
To me, there’s either still some work to do before the Spring begins, or things aren’t going to plan. With Chargois in Japan, the 40 man stands at 39. This includes Tyler White, who is out of options and would make for an all right handed bench if no other moves are made.
Looking at your list of starters and bench players, I can anticipate unnecessary platooning in order to get ABs for Taylor, Kike and to split ABs among 4 outfielders that all deserve to start.
After seeing a 13 man pitching staff for the better part of as long as I can remember, I doubt they would be willing to go with a 12 man staff with so many young pitchers projected to be there. Especially when they’re already going to have an extra position player that they aren’t used to having.
Fanfest is upon us. Mr burns shouldn’t talk er gollum. Pressure should be on to make moves before the event. A lot of frustrated fans will be their. Showing up empty handed is not a good look and will feed into the narrative that the dodgers are cheap and never pull the trigger.
Which dodgers will get shafted in arbitration. We know the dodgers want to the luxury tax champions.