- Well, I am back!
- The Dodgers are 50 games over .500.
- They are indisputably the best team in baseball.
- Their farm system is as good as any – better than most.
- The Dodgers have scored more runs than any other team.
- The Dodgers have given up fewer runs than any team in baseball.
- Freddie Freeman, Trea Turner, and Mookie Betts are all TOP 10 in the MVP Voting (Maybe top 5)
- As I write this, Blake Treinen, Victor Gonzalez, Danny Duffy, and Tommy Kahnle are ready to come off the IL, and Yency Almonte (who might be the best of all) might not be far behind.
There are just not enough words to describe how great this team is. A World Series Championship is the only acceptable ending to the 2022 season… and yet it is a crapshoot because anyone can get hot for a couple of weeks. After 162 games, the Dodgers will have to prove themselves all over again.
I really hate it when I read things to the effect that Price, Bruihl, Jackson, Reed, and others could all just be DFA’ed! That is a very silly thing to say. Some (even just one?) of these pitchers will be very good (in all likelihood). Relievers are up and down… depending upon the year. Example: Phil Bickford: 2.81 ERA in 2021 and 5.25 ERA in 2022. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. They all play roles in the Dodgers organization, and it galls me when people just dismissively say, “get rid of the bum.” Most people have no idea how difficult this game of baseball is. Players are more than stats. Never forget that. They are people, and people are unpredictable. People are not perfect, but they are people. They deserve to be treated with respect.
I have been critical of Craig Kimbrel, but he pitched exceptionally well in his last outing. Hopefully, Mark Prior can “fix” him. He looked outstanding in his last outing. If he can keep that up… no other team has a chance!
Dodger News & Notes
- Miguel Vargas hit his 17th HR yesterday and has 82 RBI. He is hitting .304 with a .913 OPS. The only question is, “where will he play?” LF or 3B. He is a star in waiting.
- The longer I think about it, the more I think Mike Busch will be traded. This is guaranteed if Trea Turner signs.
- If the Dodgers win the World Series, I think the following players will retire: Justin Turner, Clayton Kershaw, and Craig Kimbrel.
- I really like Damian Keith.
Oh, There Was a Wedding…
It was a whirlwind week. Last Monday, I headed to Las Vegas to do the Cannabis Conference. I got back in Indy Thursday night. My oldest son and daughter arrived in town Friday Morning, and I spent the day with them (it’s been a while). Then on Friday night, we had the Wedding Rehearsal. Saturday was all about the wedding, and it did not go off without a hitch (Badda Bing). We partied until the wee hours of the morning, and then yesterday, we had about 40 of the family assemble at my stepdaughter’s house for a pool party.
As you may know, I performed the wedding for my youngest son on Saturday and was asked by about a dozen other people to do their weddings. I politely declined. This was a “one and done!” I will respectfully say, “I was damn good!“
It was an amazing weekend, and one of the highlights was that my daughter urged me to finish my book. So it is coming. I will be conspicuous by my absence here for a while. I am sooooooooooooooo blessed!
Discussion (35)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Winning the final game of the series was the least Dodgers could do after boring us to near death. what a long game. But it did put us back on track for a historic season. I really don’t have much else to say about it. Now on up to Queens for a barometer check. I hope with less experimentalism and put the tested lineup on the field.
Congrats on umping the nuptials. Seems like nobody booed.
Assuming that Gonsolin’s injury is minor, and that Kershaw comes back healthy, Dodgers are in fine shape for finishing the regular season.
When rosters expand to 28, who gets called up? Rios, Outman and Vargas all seem like candidates. (Some fans are agitating for Outman over Belli! But not me… yet.) At any rate, Jason Martin, who has played great at OKC all season, including 28 HRs, must find it frustrating that he never seems to be in the conversation.
I also see Busch more as a trade chip than a future Dodgers… unless Lux really does end up sliding over to SS.
Via Molly Knight:
The Dodgers are 89-38. Their franchise record for wins is 106. They need to go 18-17 over this season’s final 35 games to break that mark.
I really like Rick Monday. Reminds me of my kid, teen, young adult years when I lived in California. Also as a former DJ (Me), Rick Monday has a great voice for what he does.
Hope Gonsolin is OK.
Even PBickford pitched a good inning.
Sorry Zak, but Martin was a steal
Wow Chris Martin just gave me another level of confidence in him
Kimbrel looking better. Glad he wasn’t DFA’d.
Muncy too.
Will there be a hitting Guru that Taylor fixes before October? I hope they don’t take it as a complaint, much less annoy someone in the group.
I think Grove thought it was catchable. He looked miffed coming of the mound. Price’s fastball is back down to 90 and that’s not gonna cut it in October.
Do not sweat things you cannot control. It is what it is. Kersh coming back, May looks good, they will be fine. Will Smith is simply the best catcher in the major leagues.
Just got the update on Gonso in the pre-game show. Only expected to miss the next two starts. He played catch after the bullpen and it was coming out really good.
Not that this is real news, but at least everyone thinks he’ll be back when eligible to return.
Dodgerram, regarding a DFA from the 60-day. The Dodgers optioned Rios straight from the 60-day, so I’ll assume that a DFA is also possible.
Clemens says:
Think of it this way — let’s say there’s a 50% chance it’s a phantom injury, 40% it’s a tiny injury and the team is taking no chances given his innings and their division lead, and 10% it’s actually bad….
That’s still more worrisome to hear than it was yesterday, even if you’re not tremendously concerned
Gonsolin will not qualify for the Cy Young award with an extended stint on the IL. The minimum requirement is 162 innings and as of today he has 128.1 innings pitched.
6:40 PM ET
Dodgers (88-38)
Marlins (55-72)
SP Michael Grove R
0-0 5.79 ERA 4.2P 4BB 3 K
SP Pablo Lopez R
8-8 3.66 ERA 140IP 42BB 136K
Confirmed Lineup
SS Trea Turner R
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
DH Max Muncy L
3B J. Turner R
RF Joey Gallo L
LF Chris Taylor R
CF C. Bellinger L
2B H. Alberto R
In Domed Stadium
NO Mookie
Let’s hope it’s just the Dodgers giving him a bit of rest and nothing else.
I sense the Dodgers are very much aware of Tony’s innings this year and want to back off the accelerator in preparation for the post season.
I guess the first thing that pops into my mind is, are the Dodgers just “resting” Gonsolin?
The Dodgers backdated his IL stint 3 days, which is the maximum you can backdate an IL stint. I’m not sure this means too much.
The Dodgers chose Grove over Pepiot. I think the Dodgers have already optioned Pepiot the maximum number of times a player can be optioned before having to put him through waivers. The next time they call him up, they would have to keep him on the roster until the end of the season. They obviously think Tony will be back this year, otherwise they would have called up Pepiot.
Gonsolin has pitched 128+ innings this season and has done so in dominating fashion. In his last start, he was pulled in the 5th at 77 pitches with a huge lead. It sure looks like they’re trying to limit his innings. He allowed just one run in his last start. No runs in his start before that in 7 innings on 95 pitches. One run total in the previous two starts going 98 and 85 pitches. In total, 4 starts, averaging .5 ER, just under 6 innings on 89 pitches per start. He sure doesn’t look hurt based on those numbers. But, you never know.
Looking ahead on the schedule. Tony will be eligible to come off the IL on Saturday, September 10 on the road in SD. There’s a day off right before that series serving as an extra day of rest for most of the rotation. Maybe this is nothing more than rest for Tony while also giving the Dodgers an extra reliever for the Mets series once Grove is sent back down after making his start.
Gonsolin put on the DL (whatever it’s called) with a forearm strain
If in case SD and Milwaukee finish tied at the end of the season, and since SD has the dominance advantage over Milwaukee, they technically have a 2.5 games lead.
But Milwaukee doesn’t deserve to qualify either, by not being able to beat the Cubs I think they lost that right to the playoffs.
Congratulations Mark. Busy time for you. Great pictures and the wedding looked beautiful.
I want to know more about the cannabis conference.
You look marvelous.
Being the proud grandfather of 21 grand kids and having been married to the same woman forever, I appreciate family and make it the center of my life with the Dodgers coming in a close second.
Notes from Internet:
A MUST READ (IMHO)
The ProspectsLive site is new to me, but this is just a great piece on Pitch Tunneling. In it, they reveal the stat to follow, the “miracle pitch”, and how the Dodgers remain elite.
https://www.prospectslive.com/prospects-live/2022/8/23/the-mystic-art-of-pitch-tunneling
John Thomas takes a look at the past week in prospects:
http://dodgersdigest.com/2022/08/29/dodgers-prospects-weekly-best-outman-stellar-miller-improves-nastrini-ascends-harris-streak-rushing-crushing-ortiz-mayr-has-the-stuff-more/
Great Q&A interview (redundant?) with Emmet Sheehan
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-dodgers-emmet-sheehan-is-a-fast-rising-pitching-prospect/
Eric Stephens at True Blue looks at the impending 40 man crush and reliever return
https://www.truebluela.com/2022/8/28/23324760/dodgers-relief-pitchers-rehab-assignments-roster-decisions-deptember
“Alvarez, easy DFA. Reed, easy DFA. Jackson and Bruihl are non-prospects having bad years, DFA candidates…Almonte might not make it back, 60-day candidate”
Kyle Glaser on the Dodgers Yunior Garcia ($$$)
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/cal-league-prospect-notes-dodgers-yunior-garcia-scorching-hot-for-rancho-cucamonga/
“Few prospects have been hotter than Dodgers first baseman Yunior Garcia the last five weeks. Garcia, 21, has hit .430/.504/.730 for Low-A Rancho Cucamonga since July 16, the highest batting average and fifth-highest OPS in the minors during that time…”
The great Effectively Wild podcast does a nice segment on the Dodgers:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/effectively-wild-episode-1894-the-indomitable-dodgers/
Dodgers top prospect Diego Cartaya and breakthrough performer Gavin Stone are the Branch Rickey Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year.
https://dodgers.mlblogs.com/cartaya-stone-selected-branch-rickey-minor-league-players-of-the-year-186972c74bca
Mike M: Brighter future: LAD or ATL?
Jay Jaffe: Dodgers because they’re better able to outspend their competition AND have a great farm system
Two fun trades from the Trade Simulator:
The price to acquire Pittsburgh CF Bryan Reynolds will be much lower this offseason than in previous trading seasons. With that in mind, the Dodgers could look to replace Cody Bellinger with Reynolds — that is, if a package like this one, as proposed by beerhunter3000, makes sense to the Pirates.
To Pitt:
Vagas and Pages
To Dodgers
Reynolds
Will a potential ownership change mean that Shohei Ohtani is on the block? If so, what would a team like the Yankees have to give up to get him (albeit for only one year)? LaserShark proposes this haul:
To Yanks
Ohtani
To Angels:
Pereira, Volpe, Vasquez, and Wells
Minor League Moves:
RHP Nick Frasso, acquired from Toronto in the Mitch White trade, has been promoted to Double-A Tulsa. He made two starts for Great Lakes—allowed one earned run in 5.2 innings with 9/0 K/BB. Has an 0.85 ERA overall this year across both A-ball levels in 42.1 IP, with 66/10 K/BB.
RHP Reinaldo De Paula, with a 2.89 ERA and 29/9 K/BB for Rancho this year, moves up to Great Lakes in Frasso’s spot. RHP Jacob Meador, the Dodgers’ 12th round pick, moves up from the ACL to Rancho after a couple of one-inning outings in Arizona.
KEEP your eye on:
JEFF BELGE. He put together another great outing for the Loons. Belge struck out 2 of the 3 outs he recorded and has 16 strikeouts in his last 18 outs. He has 19 K’s this month to just 2 walks and hasn’t given up a run in his last 5 outings.
Ben Clemens answers a question I never asked, ‘Why don’t soft liners get any respect’
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/why-dont-soft-liners-get-any-respect/
The ludicrously good FutureDodgers Twitter account on the end of the ACL/DSL
All stats will be 100+ PA for hitters, 20+ IP for pitchers unless otherwise noted. A lot of these stats have age context too, which will be noted.
Same Dodgers only list, Samuel Muñoz (146 wRC+), Oswaldo Osorio (146), & Alexander Albertus (143) are now 4-6 on that list respectively. Jeral Perez (131) is 11th. Others in that range: ’18 Andy Pages (3rd), ’16 Oneil Cruz (7th), ’21 Rayne Doncon (8th) & ’18 Eddys Leonard (9th).
Moving over to the pitching side, Mexican lefty Luis Valdez earned a promotion from the DSL to ACL after ten scoreless innings, and his 37/1 K/BB in the ACL was the highest for any pitcher age eighteen or younger in Arizona since 2010, and third highest for any age since 2006. Valdez’s 11.8 K/9 in the ACL is the highest for a Dodger pitcher (18 yrs old or younger) in Arizona since ’06, just beating out ’18 Robinson Ortiz’s mark of 11.7 Valdez’s 0.3 BB/9 is also the lowest for a similarly aged Dodger, moving him ahead of ’16 Dustin May (1.2 BB/9)
Removing the age parameters, 20 year old Dominican righty Carlos Martinez also earned a midseason promotion from the DSL to ACL, and his 14.5 K/9 in the ACL is the third highest for a Dodger since ’06, behind ’21 Octavio Becerra (18.6) and ’19 Daniel Cruz (14.9). Down to the DSL again, Accimias Morales had the second highest K/BB (8.0) for a Dodger pitcher 17 years old or younger since ’06, behind only ’18 Carlos Duran. Spanish lefty Peter Bonilla had the third highest K/9 for a Dodger pitcher 17 or younger, at 10.3, behind only ’08 José Dominguez and ’16 Melvin Jimenez. RHP Reynaldo Yean, who was also promoted midseason from the DSL to the ACL, had the highest K/9 for a Dodger of any age with 20+ IP in the DSL since ’06, at 15.2.
Dan Szymborski looks at POST MVP Bellinger. WARNING: it’s very ugly.
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-bellinger-tolls-for-the-2019-nl-mvp/
Ben Clemens Chat:
Farhandrew Zaidman: Joey Gallo – unironically comeback player of the (second half of the) year?
Ben Clemens: oh yeah let’s go, all aboard the Joey Gallo bandwagon! I’m soooooo in on it. It was just so obvious that this would happen. Not to the extent that it has, he’s not gonna keep babiping this much or even slugging this much, but it was just so predictable
Dodgers Fan: Same as Benjamin’s NYY question, playoff rotation for LAD?
Ben Clemens: I’d go Urias/Kershaw/Gonsolin/May, but not really care too much about the ordering. I thikn it’s a BIT too soon to say May is unhittable now but his first start was certainly very encouraging
Porcho Villa: While it has been only a month, have the recent struggles of Bo Bichette and Brandon Lowe changed your perspective on them at all since the trade value series? Bichette perhaps just in an extended slump, albeit bad enough to get him dropped in the order. Lowe’s post-IL stint performance is more worrisome and it seems likely he is playing through injuries.
Ben Clemens: Yeah, I’m not changing my opinion on Lowe too much because I agree, I’m pretty sure he’s hurt. I was worried I had him too high in the ranking, but I was more making a statement about how I think good-bat second basemen have value. I’m definitely very worried about Bichette! That’s the one I lose the most sleep over (to be fair, it’s a many-way tie with 0 sleep lost)
Guest: 3/90 for deGrom seems a little light, considering Scherzer got 3/130 and Bauer got 3/102. deGrom has obviously had more injury issues, but then, he’s also considerably younger than Scherzer and considerably better than Bauer.
Ben Clemens: Yeah… the injuries are definitely worrisome, though. Like, he’s been a LOT less healthy than Scherzer
The Dodgers are playing games with their upcoming schedule against the Mets.
Tuesday TBD v Walker – 4:10 PM PT
Wednesday TBD v deGrom – 4:10 PM PT
Thursday TBD v Bassitt – 1:10 PM PT
Back at home on Friday to face the Padres.
Since we currently have 5 starting pitchers on the roster and Clayton will return either on Thursday, normal rest after a sim game on Saturday, or on Friday with extra rest we can assume that the current rotation will follow, at least until Thursday…
Gonsolin is going today against the Marlins, so
Heaney v Walker – 4:10 PM PT
Anderson v deGrom – 4:10 PM PT
Kershaw v Bassitt – 1:10 PM PT Unless they decide to keep May on regular rest and give Kershaw an extra day.
May, Urias and Gonsolin will pitch against the Padres.
The Mets have the 4th best OPS against right-handed pitching, while the Padres are tied for 14th.
The Mets have the 18th best OPS against left-handed pitching, while the Padres are 17th.
The Dodgers are going to face all right-handers against the Mets. In fact, the Mets have just 2 left-handed pitchers on their current 13-man staff.
The Dodger’s offense has killed right-handed pitching this season to the tune of a lead-leading 803 OPS. The next best team is the Brewers with a 757.
Mookie’s getting a day off today because 4 straight on turf is no good. Or, he’s just too hot.
Here’s my lineup for today’s game…
Trea SS R
Lux 2B L
Freddie 1B L
Smith C R
Muncy DH L
JT 3B R
Gallo RF L
Thompson LF R
Belli CF L
I officiated at a friend’s wedding many years ago. Would never do that again. Mostly I would sing at them. A Mickey Mantle 1952 Topps rookie card just sold for 12.6 million dollars. Far eclipsing the previous record.
MT, so a quick one and done as a preacher man? Probably a good call. Not that you don’t have enough on your plate these days. I had been meaning to ask how the book was coming. So, it sounds like the final chapters will be finished soon. Good to hear. You and others on this site have lead some interesting lives and it’s been fun to hear some of those stories.
The Dodgers look almost unstoppable these days. What I’ve enjoyed most is the huge run production without the team relying on the home run. Hit after hit after hit with the occasional HR. I have been surprised too about the lack of aggressiveness on the base paths. They have all this speed that’s not being taken advantage of most of the time. I assume the front office doesn’t feel it’s a tool that is needed with this team. But, come playoff time and with the projected strong pitching they will face I think it’s a tool that will be necessary. Runs will be hard to come by as is usually the case in the postseason. It will be interesting to see if there is a change in attitude with the stolen base. Bunts? Not even a consideration these days. In the playoffs it might make sense. Then again, with their best lineup who would you ask to bunt?
Headed to San Diego tomorrow for a few days to visit my brother. It will be nice to avoid some 100+ degree days here in Santa Clarita. Speaking of San Diego they got rocked by unstoppable Kansas City Royals powerhouse 15-7 yesterday. Hader got pounded again. I can’t see Preller making past the 2023 season if the Padres aren’t a strong playoff team next year. Especially, if they fail to get into the postseason this year. They are currently only 1.5 games up on Milwaukee.
I see from yesterday’s post that Eric and B&P are still in the Chafin debate. It’s hard to believe that Chafin has received any more commentary than on this site. And, he’s not even on the team! As Vin used to say “the Andrew Chafin marching and chowder society” to which Eric is the sole member. Lol. With a quick scan it looks like the dialog between the two has become less aggressive which is good to see.
One more in Miami with Gonsolin on the mound and then off to NY to face the Mets. With me being out of town I’ll miss the games but, I’m sure the Dodgers will be successful without my support.
Carry on.
I think the finest things in life are having children, watching them marry ,and then having grandchildren
Congratulations Mark, you have a beautiful family.
You are truly blessed.
Good job Rev. Timmons. Congratulations to the bride and groom.
Congrats Mark. Do all your children work with you in the business?
Congratulations Mark! Long life and much happiness to the newlyweds. Looks like it was a fun time. No wedding goes off without a hitch. The preacher at my second wedding said ” do you take this woman for your awful wedded wife…..boy was he right! Watched the game, and then watched OKC and El Paso. OKC hit 5 homers, Rios, Mann, Amaya, Martin, Outman, and Vargas, excuse me, 6 homers. Duplantier pitched and got out of a couple jams, but was gone after 4. Matt Beaty played for the other side. I always liked him. Dodgers rolled. Betts is hot again. Scary moment when Turner got hit in the head, but he just went out and stole second on the first pitch. Alcantara is the only Marlin who could crack our roster. Kersh is supposed to be back this week. SO another roster move is coming. Dodgerram, Nelson is on the 60 day IL, so he is not a DFA candidate.
I hope your daughter knows in our lingo the term ‘beast’ is a compliment. Congrats Mark! I know you are pleased with your life with good cause to be.
Mazel tov
Let me add my congrats Mark. Looks like it was a very memorable event.
No matter what goes wrong in one’s life, strong family ties can overcome most anything. You have a lot to be grateful for.
That’s not exactly what I meant Mark. I meant if room had to be made on the 40 man roster those are the guys I would cut. I do have bad wording sometimes.
Wow, Outman currently has a 1.021 OPS in AAA. And .279 average, so he’s making good contact just like he did in AA.
Congratulations and welcome back! Everybody is looking good. You are a proud Papi! Keep up the good work.