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
This would be my team in a few years:
LF Verdugo
SS Lindor
CF Bellinger
1B Hoese
3B Seager
RF Peters
2B Lux
C Smith
SP:
1 Buehler
2 Snell
3 Urias
4 May
5 Gray
LET THE KIDS PLAY
If you were the Indians GM, do you send a back door message to AF letting him know that you would accept that same package for Lindor and Clevinger if the Dodgers would add Jeter Downs, and Tony Gonsolin?
59, I know we’d have to give up a lot more to Cleveland but there is no comparison between Price and Clevenger in salary and stuff! The Cleveland deal makes us the best team in baseball but long term it would be tough to give up both Lux and May and others!
You have to trust AF as a judge of talent and if he says Lux is untouchable then he is. But I like the Cleveland deal better. Can’t see AF giving Price 100 mil on the downside of his career. I think it’s a ploy to get Cleveland to be more reasonable
I love it when folks just move existing players around like they are chess pieces. Oh, we’ll just move Seager to third. Does anyone know if Seager wants to move to 3rd? It takes tremendous ability and pride to be a professional shortstop. Starting as a kid the best player is at short. Many move for various reasons to other positions as they move through pro ball but mostly because they can’t cut it at short. Mickey Mantle was an error machine before moving to center. Many move because they don’t have the arm strength or the feet for the Show. But Seager is a bonafide big league shortstop and am sure he takes great pride in that fact. Maybe he would consider a move to help the team for a Frankie Lindor. But maybe not. It seems to me like its Seager’s job. If he wants to continue there then he should be given the opportunity to play there or be traded to another team if the Dodgers think they can improve at shortstop. Pride in your skills at the most difficult position on the field means a lot and is not easily given up.
Cleveland is less likely to deal lindor with 2 years left. They still think they can win. The Cleveland possibility of a deal would cost much more in personnel.
I actually like the possibility in dealing with Boston. Betts gives us exactly what we need a great player on defense and offense with speed and right handed who is playing for a contract. Price may not have anything left but he might give us some innings and who knows maybe more if he can stay healthy. I think we need a starting pitcher who can keep the innings down for the others. No way AF is going to pay his whole salary without some fairness in the deal. But, if we overpay somewhat with money I would rather that than players
The Athletic’s Sickels has 5 prospects from the Dodgers in his Top 100.
4) Gavin Lux
14) Dustin May
31) Keibert Ruiz
84) Josiah Gray
95) Jeter Downs
A proposal
Betts to Dodgers
Price to Angels
Boston gives Angels $10M
Dodgers gives Angels $10M
Ruiz, Grove, Verdugo to Boston
Betts or Lindor? Since these are both superstar players who I haven’t had the chance to watch on an everyday basis, at this time I have no preference. Since the Dodgers have scouted both players extensively, I will leave my trust in the hands of the professionals. As much as I like Verdugo, and as much as I would like to hold onto Ruiz, I don’t think this is a deal that the Dodgers could easily pass up.
And as for the Dodgers ability to sign any player long term, I trust that AF has a strong grip on that issue. Also, a large part of any deal involves the Dodgers’ confidence that their deep farm system can absorb the loss of talent that they have to surrender.
But let’s see if any of this stuff actually reaches fruition. For example, it seems that I was reading recently that Betts was unlikely to be dealt anywhere, and now all of a sudden a deal could be imminent. Frankly I don’t know what to believe.
And although it adds to the debt structure, it also appears to me that the $100 million being spent this off-season on renovations is aimed at generating significant long term revenues that will enable the Dodgers to commit to long term player costs.
That’s all for tonight folks!
Tomorrow there will be a big announcement.
See.. I don’t suffer fools very long… so something has to change… and it ain’t me.
See you tomorrow with the news.