Tonight is the Biggest Game of the Year

Dodger 40 man roster is at 39 as of today. A move is coming from AF. Maybe Davidson or Sousa from Oklahoma City to add a much needed right handed bat and to spell Bellinger against left handed pitchers. We will face two lefties in Kim and Happ in the Cardinal series this week.

The ump stunk both ways.

Belli still stinks, automatic out except maybe against AA pitchers

Poor CT3 is begging to have a few games off, but no can do (Pollock out)

Giants deserve the credit- bullpen v Buehler. David v Goliath, and David won again.

Walker Buehler with his worst outing of the year in the most important game of the year. He was so bad that you have to wonder if he is injured. The Giants won the season series 9-8, and with the Dodgers chasing them, the Giants have beaten the Dodgers in three straight series. They have won 7 of the last 10 games against the Dodgers. The Giants have less talent but they are the better team head to head and deserve the division.

The Giants were able to beat the Cy Young favorite with a mix of average pitchers including two released from the pitiful Angels staff.

The Dodgers seem to lack the effort and desire of the Giants. Maybe after winning a championship, the team just doesn’t have the same edge. The giants seem much more willing to do whatever it takes to win including bunting for hits, shortening up and emphasizing opposite field contact, and pitching multiple innings or back to back games.

A very disappointing game and series, but have to hand it to the Giants for somehow finding a way to win 2 of 3.

It took Kemp almost a year and a half before he was hitting with authority again. A=gone was solid after about the same length of time, but was never a 40 HR guy again. Bellinger had his surgery about 10 months ago. SO l think he will be a better hitter come next season. Especially if he gets a full spring training to work with the coaches. A couple of other things, first off, I would love to see them re-sign Seager, but i see a couple of problems, one, he is a Boras client and Boras wants his players to go after the money. Second, they also have to make decisions on Scherzer, Kershaw, Taylor, and Jansen. Third, no one knows what the threshold is going to be. But, you can bet the MLBPA is not going to allow the owners to drop the threshold. They want to make it 180 million, and that is not going to happen. The MLBPA is not going to take a step back. Everyone keeps saying JT will be the DH next season, but that has not even been discussed yet, Personally, the first thing I want enacted is the electronic strike zone. As bad as so many of these calls have been the last week, something needs to be done. Limiting the shift. That also should be on the agenda. I hate it when Machado is playing out there in short right like they do in softball. This stuff has got to end. I want to see the DH simply because I am tired of pitchers killing rally’s. And Buehler made my case when he struck out in the second inning. The Dodgers were a great team last year because they had the DH, and they did a great job coming back in games. This year, not so much.

The game was lost before the 9th but still a frustrating 9th inning after the HR. McGee was rattled so I just don’t get TT swinging 2-0 when they need a runner on base anyways.

Yes, the Dodgers hitters had a couple of close calls go their way but until the 9th inning thats how the ump had called the zone. For Mookie two balls were called strikes that weren’t even close. That’s the frustrating part. They weren’t borderline calls on Mookie. Please bring in the electronic K zone already.

Time to get Seager in the two hole where he belongs.

Agon , and Kemp to some degree, kept hitting however. They just lost a lot of power, especially Agon.

Bellinger get blown away by mediocre fastballs.

Agon and Kemp has long histories of being top echelon hitters, especially Agon.

I don’t think I would even somewhat put Bellinger in that category, even with an MVP two years ago.

If Bellinger has a bum shoulder, and I really do wonder if that is just cover for a shit player right now, then swinging like that isn’t helping. I have a torn labrum right now that needs repair and it hurts just watching him swing. Why on earth the brass isn’t telling him shorten up, drop some bunts, etc. and let use your speed on the bases!!!

THIS team doesn’t need him to hit HRs to win. It used to be sad to watch. Then it was frustrating. Now it’s just laughable. He will surely run into a few over the next few weeks, and the Cody is Back guys will appear.

He is lost and every pitcher knows that he can’t hit a decent fastball. Throw it a little up and he is toast. Just about every single time.

I am the one who has brought up Kemp and Agon with respect their struggles after their shoulder problems. I am not going to do any research or look anything up with respect to either of them. In the case of Agon, I believe it occurred while he was with Boston, and I wasn’t following him at the time. In Matt Kemp’s case, I believe his injury occurred in August 2012, when he crashed into the outfield wall in Colorado. If memory serves, I believe he ended that season going about 1 for 50, and it took him a several more years to recover.

Hopefully with advances in knowledge and medical technology the recovery time will be quicker for Bellinger.

Noname, I coached Little League 50 years ago so what do I know, but I hear people say how much Belli is working on his swing.

Maybe he is, no doubt he is but I just don’t see much of any adjustments. Same old swing every time, with mostly the same results every time. Maybe it’s his shoulder but if it is, I doubt his shoulder is going to get better with that violent swing. To me Belli has no control of his swing and no confidence that he can it a ball.

I just don’t understand why he doesn’t try another approach. Sad to watch!

The pitch to Betts and the many other miscalls in this game are emblematic of the mediocre pitch calling that we have been seeing all year. The Commissioner and MLB are surely aware of this problem and need to address it this winter. It simply cannot continue.

I know Bellinger isn’t the reason we lost this game. But just to make a point. People want to compare him to Matt Kemp and Agon.

But neither of those guys went anywhere close to tanking like Belli has

He just refuses to cut his swing down. Maybe Roberts needs to call his dad, maybe he can get through to him

Maybe I’m being naïve

I do think Roberts has to share the blame for this one. He should have pulled Buehler in the second inning before the game got out of hand, knowing the offense would struggle to catch up. It does nothing for team morale or Buehler’s confidence to let him flail/fail.

Looks like an offensive team schneid. This was an important late season game and the giants seemed much more up for it than we were.

If Muncy, Taylor, Turner and Mookie all finish like this we could have have trouble winning the Division and we won’t go far in the playoffs. I don’t expect much from Bellinger, Seager should be ok but right now we have too many easy outs in this lineup. I expect them to snap out of it of course, and I’d rather see them all go ape in October, but the look we had tonight is concerning to me. We should have won this game and frankly we sucked.

Well at least our bullpen held it together. It’s sad our bullpen is our only strength at this stage.

TT helped McGee too. He swing a Bad pitch with 2 balls and no Strikes

Dodgers got a run from shit calls earlier too but still, that call to Mookie really killed the momentum and the pressure on McGee.

Terrible game.

Giants come on with a bullpen game, no Posey against Bueller and get lit up. Completely looked flat.

Can someone PLEASE show Bellinger the bunt that Crawford laid down over and over and over and over on the plane to St. L? Did I hear that right on the ESPN broadcast that Bellinger is hitting like 138 on fastballs? Jeez. I saw him on his knees on swings, falling sideways on others. Dude is so far off and STILL swinging for the 5 run homer no matter the count, pitch or situation. Losing Pollack is really going to hurt with Bellinger being just flat out awful.

Taylor may be sucking the last few days but I would still rather watch his ABs. At least they are somewhat competitive. Bellinger’s are not even close. Just about automatic as watching Rich Hill bat.

I am not a Roberts fan at all but can’t really lay any of this sorry game on him. Bueller laid an egg. Offense sucked. Pretty much sums it up.

I have to admit that I like the ways the Giants play to win. Not afraid to change out pitchers at any time, drop a bunt, even Crawford getting caught stealing I was thinking that I wished LA did that more often .

LA just looks so predictable on offense. ADOUCHE made a good point on the broadcast that I think people who think like me will agree with. I am sure other coaches tell their guys that LA will NOT bunt so no need to worry about that. It shows. With T Turner, Betts, Belli, Lux (when up), Pollack having good to great speed, I still can’t see why they don’t………..especially Bellinger since he obviously can’t hit his way on.

This was a big loss after the Brave sweep and a big series loss but still a lot left to play. Hopefuly Taylor and Muncy can get it going. Bellinger is a lost cause at this point. If he was going to adjust, he would have by now. Still the same approach that hasn’t worked in over a year.

Home unpire helped Dodgers some times . Saved Saeager for a strikeout…and the same for Smith with the Load bases….I agree the pitch to Betts was a balls with Any dude…but unpire Made mistakes both sides

The Dodgers cleared a 40-man roster spot by outrighting right-hander Ryan Meisinger to Triple-A. Los Angeles claimed Meisinger off waivers from the Cubs on Tuesday and only briefly kept him on the big league roster before assigning him to the minors. Meisinger has tossed 31 innings over parts of three MLB seasons, including 7 1/3 frames with Chicago this season that saw the righty post a 12.27 ERA. The results have been much better for Meisinger at Triple-A over his career, as he has a 3.18 ERA and 31.25% strikeout rate over 93 1/3 frames at the top minor league level.

Unbelieveable! Top of the 9th, 2-2 pitch to Mookie and the umpire takes the bat out of his hands with a called 3rd strike that was clearly a ball. The Giants have indeed got every close call their way. Don’t forget the non-called check swing 3rd strike to Ruff in LA when KJ was having a meltdown. If he had been rung up the game is over but the 1st base um said no swing and Ruff walked only to see Wade get a hit next and the Dodgers lose.

The freaking umpires are being paid good money to get it right. Bring on the electronic strike zone. This BS is too much.

The home plate umpire taking the bat away from Betts needs to be fired. That’s just wrong!

wow! kill the punk umpire.

That pitch to Betts is a microcosm of the Giants and Dodgers games.

The Giants are just getting everything their way this year.

Minor League Report:

Mike Busch is raking like a lunatic – 2-4 tonight. BA up to .260.

Mike Grove went 4 innings, allowed 2 hits, 1 ER, walked 0, and K’ed 4. The Dodgers have been unusually patient with him. It’s starting to pay off.

V-Gon pitched one shutout inning for OKC tonight.

Lux played CF and was 0 for 4.

Brandon Lewis hit his 30th HR today.

Rancho put up 19 runs on Lake Elsinore on 20 hits.

Rally round the machine boys! Be a good rascal and join in the band.

Put Pujols allá the time!!!!

Henry Ramos got a hit in his first MLB at-bat!

Way to go!

Last 15 Games:

Max Muncy – .109

Cody Bellinger – .125

Billy McKinney – .125

Chris Taylor – .160

Albert Pujols – .190

Justin Turner – .212

Mookie Betts – .245

Any questions?

Only TT, Saeager and some how Smith have hit…no Muncy, no Betts and no Turner

Giants kept dodgers alive in the 6th

Good scene showing both Taylor and Corey in dogout. I feld sorry for both……but I remmebered both are rich and young. They must produce as professional

No proof but I’m guessing this one is probably Dave Roberts fault. Who else could it be? Not fun watching the biggest game of the year.

I had given up too early. Now I have the feeling dodgers will win this game tonight. Only need 5 runs. We got this. lay the money down!

Munch hasn’t looked good since his wife gave birth to their baby. Maybe no sleep for him.

Bellinger is so lost. He’s becoming an automatic out.

CT3 is in a major funk.

When your ace decides not to be an ace, bad things will happen.

You can talk bad about Bellinger all you like, but one of the main reasons the Dodgers offense is struggling is Taylor. Two K’s today, 5 runners stranded. 151 K’s this season. The whole team looks a little lethargic. Muncy has not looked good all series. Right now I would take Beaty’s bat over both of them.

Ampayer is dodgers’s fun..many Strikes no call

WTF is wrong with CT3, that strike out from Quintana was never a strike from the moment it left his hand. Is he just guessing or is he reading and reacting? CT3 and Cody are not in a good spot right now, almost a sure out every AB

We need to chip away, but unfortunately we don’t have the team philosophy to do that. Hope I’m wrong, and the boys bail out Buelher, The way he bailed out the offense all year

I care less about Buehler winning the Cy Young. I care about an anemic offense, over use of the bullpen, and them having no real answer so far for the offense being as bad as it has been. Muncy ofer the series. Buehler is just getting an old fashioned ass whipping.

Tomorrow was supposed have Giants firmly planted in the rear view mirror for us to not look back at the rest of this season.

Wow, one of the biggest games of the year and Walker lays an egg. Will the Giants will beat us having used five pitchers through 3 IP?

Tere is the possibility for Walker to lose the Cy Young

I predict a Dodger win today.

Something tells me they’re pulling a Houston astrik on us.

September 5, 2021

Gonsolin (shoulder) felt good after Saturday’s rehab start and could be activated soon, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Game over!!!

Mmmmmm Dogers lost two very good opportunities

These friggin pesky Giants….don’t they know their place? Don’t they know who is pitching for us? Don’t they know how many superstars we have out there? Don’t they know it’s their time to roll over like a good puppy dog?

Hasn’t anyone given them the script to read? Sigh….

Butane getting lit up today.

I don’t know if we will know for sure with Peters, but Tut Tut asked to be released – probably knew the Pirates wanted him. I suspect Peters asked out too. Neither player had any value and AF is known to let players go if they have no future with the Dodgers. Chris Woodward and AF go back, so that may be the reason for Peters.

Davidson, Souza, Reks, Riley, and others will likely move on this offseason.

Taylor and Bellinger what a disaster!!!

Chris Taylor was the key batter there, and he totally failed.

It was predictable that Bellinger would strike out, and then the pitcher.

Fucking Bell!!!. Now, Dodgers have yo hit..that is a Big problem

Actually, Tim, I never said Giants were ranked No. 3 in defense.

I quoted Charlie Steiner as making two interesting points:

–That the Giants’ pitching staff had allowed the fewest number of walks in the MLB.

–And that only two teams in the MLB have committed fewer errors.

As Charlie summed up, the Giants just don’t make as many mistakes as most teams. They are fundamentally sound. Total errors, like fielding %, don’t come close to quantifying defensive quality. Remember Sheldon Neuse failing to stretch for a throw on that force play at 2nd Base? (Roberts certainly does–and all but called him out in the postgame.) Neuse didn’t make an error–and frankly I thought the throw from SS (Taylor, I think) could have been firmer. At any rate, a bad play that wasn’t an error.

Looks like Bobby Miller is being moved up to Tulsa.

I remember how impressive he was in a game that was televised from the alternate site last year.

Maybe we’ll see him next year, but if not, I would think 2023 for sure.

https://theathletic.com/2807837/2021/09/04/the-margins-between-the-dodgers-and-giants-are-slim-as-friday-painfully-showed/

Good piece in The Athletic by Fabian Ardaya about how close the Dodgers-Giants games have been this, often turning on a single play (or so it appears.)

Somehow I’d forgotten about Belli airmailing that throw from first to third. Certainly remember Kenley getting screwed on a “””check swing that wasn’t.

And Fabian didn’t even mention Trautman robbing Pujols of a HR… OK, that wasn’t really a great robbery–unlike Pollock’s recent Play of the Week–but Pujols just missed by inches.

And by the way, Trea Turner needs to make that throw. But wasn’t it possible to play Smith at 3rd and move JT to 1st?

September 5, 2021

Danny Duffy (forearm) completed a bullpen session Sunday and is expected to throw another in the near future, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Just found the perfect right handed hitting outfielder to replace AJ. Young kid named DJ Peters who plays for the Rangers. He’s hit two homers so far today and the game is only in the 5th inning.

Or, if we want another lefty hitting outfielder, there’s a guy named Tsutsugo who hit his 7th homer for the Pirates today in his 19th game with the team.

09/05/21 Los Angeles Dodgers recalled RHP Mitch White from Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.

09/05/21 Los Angeles Dodgers placed CF AJ Pollock on the 10-day injured list. Right hamstring strain.

Some of you may recall a couple of years back that I was pulling hard for Henry Ramos to get called up by LAD. He has had some very productive MiLB campaigns (including with LAD), but has never made it to ML…until now. The DBacks have selected Ramos to be on the ML roster. I could not be happier for the young man. Below is the MLBTR article on his selection.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/09/diamondbacks-select-henry-ramos.html

A couple of notes about Taylor. His next K will be number 150 for the season! In 129 games. He has struck out 43 times in his last 30 games. Over the last month he is hitting .228. He has struck out 11 times in the last 7 games. So gripe all you want about Bellinger, But Taylor and Muncy are slumping big time. Muncy has struck out 34 times in the last 30 games and is hitting .202. He has hit 8 HR’s over that time. He also drew 13 walks. Bellinger has struck out 30 times in the last 30 games. Hitting a paltry .190. He does have 4 homers. JT is hitting .225 over the last 30 with 20 K’s, That is 127 K’s in the last 30 games by some of your best hitters, except Cody of course. He has not been himself all year.

The best way to beat the Dodgers is to throw off speed! Max has been especially flailing away the last week or so. Can’t blame Roberts for not putting out our best lineup today!

This afternoons lineup. Turner 2B, Muncy 1b, Betts RF, Turner 3B, Seager SS, Smith C, Taylor LF, Bellinger CF, Buehler, P. No roster moves announced yet.

With the minor league schedule going through September it makes me wonder if they challenge Leonard with one more promotion. It also seems strange to me that Cartaya has been shut down for the rest of the year. There has to be more to the story than the injury that was reported.

A couple of notes. Former Dodger Henry Ramos, how many remember him? He has been called up by the Diamondbacks. He was raking at AAA hitting way over .300. Raley will not get the call. He is on the IL. Tanner Roarke was declared a free agent. Congrats to UCLA on their upset win over LSU.

There is no reason to worry about an offence that has T. Turner, Seager, Betts, Muncy, J. Turner, and Smith.

Defense is important, it is not the only key to winning, but of course it is important. Isn’t defense the main reason you put Cody in the outfield? Mark makes that argument only because the Dodgers defense is not good. in tight games and with good opposing pitching you can avoid losing with good defense or losing with mediocre one

TM wrote, “I think the league knows, if you want to beat the Dodgers, pitch a lefty against them.” I am certain that is a common thought because I keep reading it. But the facts say different. LAD has 40 games against LHP and 96 games against RHP. Against LHP, the Dodgers have a .650 winning percentage and against RHP they have a .625 winning percentage. So percentage wise, they have a better chance of victory against LHP. The Braves started two LHP against LAD and lost both games (Smyly and Fried). No team has a better winning percentage against LHP than do the Dodgers. No team is really that close. The next best team has a .622 winning percentage (White Sox). Against LHP, 18 teams have a winning percentage and 12 teams do not.

Fans can certainly justify their beliefs that the best way to beat LAD is to pitch a lefty, but the numbers do not bear that out. Small sample size? Perhaps. Maybe they just got lucky and only faced bad LHP.

Yasiel Puig is HATED (that may be an understatement) by many Dodger players and coaches. I know it for a fact!

If the Dodgers brought him back (and they would not even consider it), there might be a revolt.

You can believe what you want about Trevor Bauer, but nothing has been proven, except that he had rough sex with that woman. How rough is up for conjecture?

Some of you have acquitted him in your minds and some of you have convicted him. Both of you are mistaken. I learned Evidentiary Law from the best: Edward J. Imwinkelried, and what you may think is “evidence’ is not.

https://law.ucdavis.edu/faculty/imwinkelried/

I have read that book at least 5 times… and to me, he bears a resemblance to Jeff Dominique. Edward is a handsome man, Jeff! 😉

I would guess there’s about 20 guys in the Dodger locker room that don’t want Puig back! Probably more of a chance that Mark would be our new closer. Even without a curve! A big Striker performance tonight would go a long way towards a Cy Young

Great great win for our boys. I went to bed with the score 3-1 and surprisingly woke up to see 6-1. I just figured the Giants would make a late push and make it a very close game. I guess Trienen, and of all people, Graterol, had something else in mind.

Losing Pollock really hurts, not only because he is doing so well, but because he is RHB. I think the league knows, if you want to beat the Dodgers, pitch a lefty against them. Fortunately for us, Max and Seager hit lefties pretty well. Too bad Max doesn’t also play the OF. We could play Pujols at 1B and Max in LF if he did.

I guess the Giants do another bullpen game tonight seeing they have no rested starters. Them playing on Thursday while we rested really did benefit us. They had to use Logan Webb instead of using him to open up on Friday. Sorry….. But they do have a very good bullpen so we may see some of them go 2 innings instead of 1 inning tonight. Guys like Rogers, Leone, McGee, and Littell. Good luck with that SF….. Not really!

One last point….I know some of you here are excited seeing Cody hit the ball hard (for an out) and I can understand that- baby steps, right? But, without Pollock, I cringe at the thought of Cody batting against LHP. He is the closest thing to an automatic out when facing a lefty….a decent lefty for sure. It boggles my mind to know we don’t even have one RHB (outfielder) in the minors who can come up and at least platoon with Cody. Oh well…it is what it is. Go Blue…first place tomorrow morning looks good!

TM

Clayton Kershaw To Begin Rehab Assignment

By Darragh McDonald | September 5, 2021 at 8:11am CDT

Clayton Kershaw will begin a rehab assignment on Tuesday, per Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says the plan is for Kershaw to throw three innings for their Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City. The star lefty has been out for more than 60 days, meaning he’s eligible to come off the 60-day IL at any time. Castillo also relays that another Dodgers starter, Tony Gonsolin, began a rehab assignment of his own yesterday. Both pitchers could potentially be activated soon if they don’t experience any setbacks.

If this all goes according to plan, it would be great news for the Dodgers and a rotation that has had to improvise for a lot of the season because of injuries. In addition to Kershaw and Gonsolin missing significant time, they lost Dustin May to Tommy John surgery. To cover for these losses, the club made the deadline additions of Max Scherzer and Danny Duffy, the latter of whom was also injured at the time and has yet to throw for his new team. They also signed Cole Hamels, only for him to suffer a season-ending injury before getting into a game.

Before going on the injured list, Kershaw was having another excellent season, throwing 106 1/3 innings with an ERA of 3.39 and excellent strikeout and walk rates of 30.1% and 4.5%, respectively. Gonsolin has also been effective when healthy this year, throwing 35 2/3 innings with a 2.78 ERA and solid 26.6% strikeout rate, although his walk rate of 16.5% is well above the 8.7% league average. Getting one or both of those hurlers back would be a tremendous help for a team that, despite the injuries, is locked into baseball’s tightest and most exciting pennant race, with the Dodgers and Giants sharing both the top spot in the NL West and the best record in baseball. (The Rays are also tied for the latter distinction.)

Kershaw’s return is also important for him personally as the 33-year-old is a few months away from reaching free agency for the first time in his career. Assuming he can stay healthy and pitch up to his usual standard, he’d be sure to receive and reject a qualifying offer at season’s end, before hitting the open market.

It was a great win last night, knotting things up again for the top spot in the league. But, it came with a great cost. Let’s hope that AJ’s injury looks a lot worse than it actually was. With our luck this year, that scenario seems unlikely.

Not as unlikely as Puig coming home for a reunion. That’s just not going to happen. They aren’t going to move Betts off right field, and there’s probably no way Puig is going to be happy playing left field. He’s a square peg in a round hole. Sure, it would be a great story, but it is firmly grounded in fiction.

Defense vs. Offense? You have to have both. I still like the old school way of building a team with strong defense up the middle and power on the corners. If you can add defense to the corners without sacrificing power, you gain competitive advantage. If you can add power up the middle without sacrificing defense, the same is true.

Kike is an enigma and like Eric, I don’t put a lot of stock into defensive stats. The crazy thing about Kike’s defense is that DRS loves him, but UZR hates him. That’s a big red flag for me. He’s having a good year with the bat, but we’ve seen that before. He will regress as he’s done in the past.

As far as Nick Castellanos goes, that dude was always supposed to be a tremendous hitter and he’s gradually improved over time with the bat. Unfortunately, he hasn’t with the glove. He’s still a horrible outfielder with no range and he’s probably right at his peak at age 29 this year. Sorry, but I’m going to have to pass again. I’m not going to give him a 5 year deal and pay him for horrible defense and diminishing offense in those last couple of years. MT was pretty quiet about Casty last year when he OPS’d .784. He’s putting up big numbers in a small ballpark, that won’t translate to Chavez Ravine. Don’t believe me? Look at his home/road splits. He looks like he plays for the Rockies.

There’s no magic pill to replace Pollock. We aren’t going to pick up a waiver claim on a hitter as capable as he is. Our best bet is to just keep rolling out CT3 and Belli and hope they manage to break out of their slumps. It’s crazy to hear everyone so upset about Pollock when everyone is trading him away every offseason.

That WAR list is pretty crazy. Is Cedric Mullins the next Mookie Betts at 5’8″, he’s sure doing a great Mookie impression for the O’s. Carlos Correa is going to paid! I wonder how all those back injuries in recent years will affect him.

It doesn’t surprise me that Will Smith is the top catcher on that list.

With Bryan Reynolds and Ke’Bryan Hayes, the Pirates have a couple of stars to build around.

Throw in Jake Cronenworth in the Tommy Pham trade is looking like the heist of the century.

Bryce Harper is fifth in WAR. I guess for every Nick Castellanos, there’s a Bryce Harper. Don’t pat yourself on the back too hard. K-Bear so far with the Nats .150/.150/.150/.300, but a very small sample size for the 22 year old. We kept the right catcher.

Yoan Moncada is the guy the Dodgers passed on in order to blow their International Money load all over Yasiel Sierra and Company. You win some, you lose some.

Doc and company are handling Julio just right. At around 95 pitches, it was a good time to pull him. Keep him under 100 pitches each outing and keep him fresh. I’m not going to complain about Urias’ physique, he’s in great shape. Like Ryu once said, round is a shape.

I really wish Belli would pull his head out. A little less hitch and lot more swinging at strikes would go a long way. He looks like he’s pressing again. He needs to focus on the process, not on the results.

I love Seager and hope he comes back. There isn’t another shortstop in the league I would rather have. He’ll make an unbelievable third baseman in a few years when Eddys Leonard is ready to take over.

Bueller on the hill tonight with those shadows helping him out. I would say the win probability is pretty good.

The best defense is a good offense. And baseball differs from all other sports because defense has control of the ball and pitchers attack batters.

The fact that Kike Hernandez is in the top 30 in WAR is yet ANOTHER example why WAR is a flawed stat.

I’m glad Mark touched on the fact that defense is overrated. Defense is also what makes WAR a flawed stat.

Don’t get me wrong, I do value defense, but I don’t value it first or over value it like some people do.

Mark, I agree with you that Castellanos would be a good addition for any team, but where would you play him? You have three outfielders already signed for 2022 and JT is probably going to be the DH next year so you can’t put Casty there either.

He’s going to get a major contract so you can’t just sign him and say wait until 2023 and we’ll have room for you.

They’re saying AJ might be back in about 3 weeks but you can never tell with hamstring injuries. The player is often out longer than expected.

The problem this creates is that we have all kinds of potential replacements who bat left handed and don’t hit southpaws very well and the cupboard is bare with regard to a right handed hitting replacement.

The OKC roster isn’t of much help. Neuse is on the 60 day IL, Davidson is a corner infielder and the list goes on. I wonder if they would consider trying Souza again, although that would create the need to lop someone off the 40-man roster.

Maybe AF will use his magical talents to scoop someone off the waiver wire that none of us had ever considered. There must be another Muncy or Taylor out there who is just waiting to be discovered. Do your stuff Andrew!