There is No Reason to be Upset!
Well, the Dodgers lost last night for the first time in 10 games and of course, someone must be blamed. Dave Roberts should have never started Trevor Bauer is a theme that seems popular today. Second-guessers are never wrong! However, I guarantee the decision to start Bauer was done by committee. The Dodgers front office sends Dave Roberts all types of data about everything related to the game
Well, the Dodgers lost last night – for the first time in 10 games – and of course, someone must be blamed. “Dave Roberts should have never started Trevor Bauer” is a theme that seems popular today. Second-guessers are never wrong! However, I guarantee the decision to start Bauer was done by “committee.” The Dodgers front office sends Dave Roberts all types of data about everything related to the game and they also talk about it, so it you want to blame someone, blame the Dodgers Front Office and avbe Roberts.
Then I hear that this team is “just a bunch of AAA players“. OK, what’s the point? The Dodgers are 30-19 with one of the best records in baseball while they have a dozen or more players on the Injured List. To top it all, their Superstar, Mookie Betts has played like a AAA player and yet here they are… near the top of the heap! If someone had told me that the Dodgers would lose Bellinger, McKinstry, Seager, May, Graterol, Price, Gonsolin, Alexander, Cleavinger, Nelson, Price, Pollock, Knebel, and Rios for the season, or for months or weeks, I would have said: “Just wait until next year.” But, here we are, in the thick of the pennant race with Mookie Betts hitting .247.
The Dodgers performance this season has been nothing short of “extraordinary.” You aren’t going to like to hear this, but it is the Dodgers’ “depth” that has kept them in this thing. Now, maybe you were expecting Sheldon Neuse to be the next Babe Ruth or Mitch White to pitch like Dennis Eckersley. Maybe you believed Edwin Uceta should have been a young Trevor Hoffman or that Alex Vesia would be a lockdown reliever. You probably thought that anything short of greatness for these rookies would be a big “fail.” What you fail to consider is that while their stats may not look the greatest… collectively, they have had their moments and contributed. That’s why the Dodgers are 30-19, not 19-30!
“Depth” does not mean that a minor league player comes in and in the MLB player of the week. Usually, he is there to put his thumb in the Dyke to help keep the water at bay. They have done that, Luke Raley, Sheldon Noisy, DJ Peters, Mitch White, Garrett Cleavinger, Alex Vesia, Edwin Useta, and Keibert Ruiz may not have “eye-popping” stats, but they have had a hand in keeping the ship from sinking. Even Albert Pujols, who has done little to make us think he can still play, was part of a 9-game winning streak. Maybe just his presence is inspiring to some.
These rookies were “rushed” to the Show, and their cup of coffee will likely help shape what they are and will become. Progress is not linear, but right about now, as Dodger fans, we have to be pretty happy with how the team has performed after being devastated by injuries. Help in on the way, Bellinger, McKinstry, and the Bazooka could be back this weekend or early next week. Gonsolin is healthy and being built up as a starter. Joe Kelly is learning how to pitch without a mass in his shoulder, Gavin Lux is starting to get the hang of MLB pitching, and David Price is learning how to pitch out of the bullpen.
Right about now, Dodgers fans should not be bitching – they should be grateful at how well this team has performed under adversity. Then, considering that Mookie Betts is hitting closer to the Mendoza line than he is his career average makes the 30-19 record even more remarkable. Hopefully, Mookie can come out of whatever funk he is in. Most likely, it is an injury, but we don’t know for sure and the Dodgers aren’t about to tip anyone off. Some of the rookies that fans think have “underperformed” will use this opportunity as a stepping stone to something better.
Kudos to Max Muncy and CT3, who are playing at All-Star Levels. Max Muncy leads all of baseball in OB% at .455. and Chris Taylor is 6th at .408. It would be nice i the Dodgers could extend him, but the reality of the situation is that someone will likely give him 5 years at $75 million or something close, if he keeps up this pace. We will enjoy him while we can.
Dodgers Minor League Report
OKC did not play yesterday, but the other three teams won.
- Tulsa Boxscore
- GL Boxscore
- RC Boxscore – The Diego Cartya Era has begun. He was 3-5 with a double and a HR in his second game at RC.
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Discussion (66)
Disagree, not disagreeable
The thing about starting Bauer yesterday. We all know what a shrinking violet Bauer is, and he was probably near tears when he was told he was starting. And that an overbearing Doc had to browbeat Bauer into taking the assignment. You’re in the big leagues now, kid!
I know Turner’s going to come out of his slump. I know Mookie is going to come out of his slump. It’s just that we’ve seen Turner do it a few times. With Mookie it’s kind of like ,oh my god he’s in a slump! Will he EVER come out of it????
Not only Betts but Turner has been in a slump during this latest run. It’s pretty amazing considering all the missing pieces. Starting rotation has been just phenomenal! And the back end of the pen has been awesome as well. Can’t wait till all the pieces get healthy and productive, then look out!
In The Athletic, Mookie Betts says he is not injured and that health is not to blame. He ended by saying:
“Sometimes you may just get hot for two weeks and we’re not having this conversation,” Betts said. “It’s not making a lack of effort or anything. I’m putting in my work, doing everything I can to work on my game. So we’ll just see.”
This team is absolutely better than last year’s team. It’s outstanding that we are where we are in the standings with all the injuries and a World Series hangover. The team has played without many players for most of the season including Gonsolin, Bellinger, McKinstry and Graterol.
It’s still going to be about a month before we’re full strength as Seager has been out less than two weeks with 6 weeks recovery time.
Right about now, I’m thinking that TsuTsoGo and Big Al have as much chance of being on the late season or post season roster as DJ Peters. I just don’t see them going more than a month or so with their current production.
Grateral, Belli and ZMack are due back soon with Gonsolin and Pollock right behind them. Then, we’re going to get a glimpse of what this team really looks like.
Be patient, there’s still about two months to evaluate this team before the deadline.
Long season. So far so good. Bellinger back Saturday, McKinstry Sunday. Others soon to follow. Thinking Mookie breaks out soon. Three out of four against the Giants would be a good thing.
On the move:
Ryan Pepiot struck out a career-high eight in 3⅓ scoreless innings, and in four starts this season has a 38-percent strikeout rate to go with a 1.17 ERA. He will be moving to Tulsa soon. He is on a fast track.
Andy Pages (youngest player in the league) who skipped Low-A took a while to adjust, but he is on a roll now. He hit a monster 422-foot blast last night. He will end up at Tulsa soon.
Diego Cartaya’s swing looks like a mirror image of Cody Bellinger. He swings that bat like a whip and while I could not find his HR last night, I did see his double. He will be in GL soon enough.
Miguel Vargas is looking like a man among boys at GL.
25-year-old Cameron Gibbens, a 6’8 right-hander from Australia with a 56-percent strikeout rate and an 0.87 ERA in seven relief appearances with Rancho Cucamonga, was promoted to Great Lakes.
Roberts, AF, and the rest of management should also be held responsible for the Padres winning day after day, after day, etc., etc., etc. Time for everyone to accept the fact that the Padres are for real, and that they are likely to remain at or near the top for the remainder of 2021.
100% agree with Mark’s post.
It seems half the posters here have never been thru a 162 game baseball season before. This isn’t the NFL and 16 games! The negative bitching is actually quite comical to read, but then I do question if this is is how they react to anything negative in life as well.
If the entire team were 100% healthy all year, and we were 30-19, a .612 winning %, and on pace for 100 wins, I’d be happy. But we’re 30-19, a .612 winning %, and on pace for 100 wins while suffering thru tons of injuries AND with Mookie playing well below his standards all year??? This is an unbelievable record!!
“Usually, he is there to put his thumb in the Dyke…”
What?! What kind of blog is this?
I think the issue here is that the minor leaguers who were supposed to fill in just haven’t performed. Rios, Neuse, Raley, and Peters have all had prominent roles and they’ve just been really bad. It’s nobody’s fault. It’s just the way it turned out, and I had high hopes for Neuse being a really versatile player I thought would step into that role of playing multiple positions and hitting maybe .230-.250 with some pop.. His numbers from his last year with the A’s AAA were promising.
Every good team has to have guys that step into those roles in the course of successful season. It’s essential, because over a long season injuries to starters are inevitable. It’s just part of the game. In 1988, Alfredo Griffin had an extended period on the DL (back when it was called that) and Dave Anderson played solid defense and put up respectable offensive numbers. Anderson was an unsung hero of that season and The Stunt Men were a key feature of that team. One notable feature of that team is that they never lost more than three games in a row. That was a testament to role players effectively plugging leaks.
Even recent fill ins like Kyle Garlick or Kyle Farmer were decent enough to fill a role temporarily. The Dodgers have had a confluence of multiple injuries to starters and fill ins who have performed badly. ZMack and Beatty are pleasant surprises, and they will be the key subs going forward – along with CT3 as the Zobrist supersub who plays almost every game.
AF has done a great job keeping the farm system competitive and stocked with a pipeline of players, but, although there are some impact guys in the pipeline, and it still is a top 10-15 system, it’s getting a little thin. There’s only so much a GM can do when your draft position is close to last every year for a decade – and you’re dealing pieces to build a WS winner. They fact that there is nobody who can play 1rst base temporarily while Bellinger and Rios are out means AF had to take a flyer on Pujols. Now the Dodgers are kind of stuck with him.
The Dodgers have done well to be in the position they are, but if there are some weaknesses on this team it is the depth once you get past ZMack and Beatty. I don’t fault anyone for the bullpen. Good bullpens are more about everything going right.
Cartaya only 19 years old and looking very , very good . Could make Ruiz a huge chip if the right trade comes along at the deadline.
Lets take 3 out of 4 from the midges over the weekend.
Padres still playing at a frightening level and pace.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The dodgers are definitely playing better. The starting rotation is at the top. The bullpen games hurt us. Doc holds back on relievers the day before and the day after seemingly. Bellinger and McKinstry coming back should help. We need a 5th starter badly. Not having one hurts our already weak bullpen. In the long run Urias innings are probably going to cut back so starting pitching could be an issue later.
I don’t know why they don’t build up price as a starter. I suppose there is a reason. We are an injury away from being in big trouble with the starters.
As Mark said we should be happy we are in the position we are in. I am but with Betts bad on offense and defense right now it is very disturbing with that long term contract. We r not going to get May, Rios, and who knows back this year. Pollock you can never count on. Seager back? Hopefully but will he be productive? I believe our pitching is very thin. Sp is great but slim. Good position now but caution ahead.
I think what others might be thinking is that this team isn’t as good as last year’s team. I don’t like to speak for others so I might be wrong.
But would this team be as good or better than last year’s team if everyone was healthy? What about if most were healthy, but not all?
I’m not a good writer so this may not make sense.
Who you calling a Dyke?