Trea Turner is a Very Gifted Player and I Would Trade Him
Before I talk about Trea Turner, I have never been one to give up, but in a 12-round prizefight, you don’t have to win every round. You can win by decision or knockout. A few days ago, I suggested that the Dodgers should change their focus from winning the division to winning…
Before I talk about Trea Turner, I have never been one to give up, but in a 12-round prizefight, you don’t have to win every round. You can win by decision or knockout. A few days ago, I suggested that the Dodgers should change their focus from winning the division to winning the World Series to which I was booed off the stage. Well, it wasn’t reasonable to still try and win the NL Championship then and it is even more unlikely now. I am not saying that I would not like to win the NL West or that the Dodgers won’t. I am just saying “Focus on the Ultimate Goal,” and if skipping a start (or just allowing them to pitch a couple of innings) for Urias and Buehler will help them in the playoffs, then do it.
If JT and CT3 and Smith need to sit a couple of games to get their second wind, then do it! It is not that you are no longer trying to win every game… it’s just a smart allocation of resources. Back in the day when I used to box a bit, we did not have weight classes, so it might be me at 6′ 4″ and 225 pounds fighting a guy who was 5′ 10″ and 180 pounds. That sounds great… except sometimes they were lightning quick and one well-placed punch could put you to sleep. So, sometimes, I would cover up a lot in the early rounds and let them punch themselves out. After throwing a flurry of punches at my gloves, their arms would magically drop and there was my opening… and they went to sleep.
Right about now, the NL West is the Giants to lose, not the Dodgers to win. Yeah, they should not have had that 5-15 streak. Yeah, they should have won the series with the Giants, Yeah, but… It is what it is. The Dodgers cannot win the NL West. Only the Giants can lose it. So, play hard, try to win every game, but rest players who need it and take your chances with a rested team and Max Scherzer in the Wild Card game. We should also probably realize that Clayton Kershaw ain’t what he used to be.
Big Play Trea
On any given day or any given play, Trea Turner can wreak havoc on another team with his bat and his legs. He is at the top of the National League in hitting and stolen bases and is so fast that he can turn the light switch off and be in bed before the lights go out. He is also a huge defensive liability, not just by acts of commission but by acts of omission. You may love Trea Turner and he can play for you any day – he can’t play for me. Trea Turner is a cowboy with a cavalier attitude. I did not notice it when he was with the Nats, but watching him, play-after-play, inning-after-inning, day-after-day, I am convinced that he would be best packaged in a blockbuster deal after the season is over.
His play does not inspire confidence in winning a World Series. Some people might say he is a selfish player and only concerned about himself. To me, that goes too far. I don’t know him. I don’t know what he is all about. I just know that while I like a lot of what I see, I do not like his defensive lapses and even his base-running lapses. I do not like his too-cool-for-school nonchalance. Last night he hit two HR, that meant nothing! His lapses overshadow his ability, in my opinion.
I am willing to live and die with Corey Seager as my shortstop… and in my mind, it is never too early to start thinking off-season moves (it also takes my mind off the frustration of last night). The Dodgers will be faced with many changes. Here are a few:
- Clayton Kershaw – I still believe Clayton Kershaw will retire… he should and I think he will. If he stays with the Dodgers, he will likely be a #5 next season… unless he really needs Tommy John, which I believe he does.
- Trevor Bauer – This is the 800 pound gorilla in the room. My prediction is that he will not be indicted or suspended. Those of you who believe otherwise do not comprehend how problematic either would be. Guilty or innocent, I do not want him back, but some teams would love to have him.
- Kenley Jansen – The Dodgers would welcome him back… but only on a two-year deal, for maybe $22 Million. If he is smart, he will stay.
- Joe Kelly – Same kind of deal.
- Cody Bellinger – A lot of fans like to parrot that Cody’s batting average is about the worst in the history of baseball. I say: “How many of those players had shoulder surgery, a broken leg, torn hamstring, and a broken rib?” I am confident that Cody will come back healthy (he has never been injury-prone) and be an elite player.
- Chris Taylor – I love Chris Taylor… just like I loved Kike Hernandez, but it is time for CT3 to move on. Someone will give him a 5 year/$60-70 Million deal and it won’t be the Dodgers.
- Corey Seager – I sign him for anything south of $275 million, and if you want to keep the Yankees from signing him, trade Trea Turner and Trevor Bauer in a blockbuster package to the Yankees for Gleyber Torres and prospects… early in the offseason.
- Albert Pujols – I hope Albert returns to St. Louis, hits his 700th HR there and the retires with Molina and Wainwright. He has been a joy to have on the team.
- Max Scherzer – Three year/$95 Million. You figure one of those years will be a bust, but it makes sense.
There will likely be a DH in the NL next year, but the Dodgers ‘ hitting prospects are maybe two years away, namely Mike Busch, Andy Pages, and Miguel Vargas. Maybe this is the Dodgers’ lineup in 2022:
- Betts RF
- Lux CF
- Seager SS
- Muncy 3B
- Turner DH
- Bellinger 1B
- Pollock LF
- Smith C
- Torres 2B
That would be a devastating lineup.
Starters:
- Scherzer
- Buehler
- Urias
- Gonsolin
- May (by mid-season)
- White
- Pepiot
- Miller
- Knack
There will be a lot of arms available for the pen: Kahnle, Ferguson, V-Gon, Nelson?, et al…. but here we are in a Championship Seeking Mode. Maybe the Giants fall flat on their face in these last seven games, but it sure doesn’t look that way. It’s not been a perfect season. Our Opening Day Ace is now our number four and would be number five if Trevor Bauer were with the team. We hoped for more, but 100 wins ain’t chopped liver.
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Discussion (71)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Rams 2 TDs up on Brady and the Bucs 3rd quarter.
Love silly predictions!
Mine: (from most confident to least)
Bauer suspended
Seager leaves
Scherzer stays
Taylor leaves
Jansen leaves
Kris Bryant signed
Archie Bradley signed
I also expect:
Lockout
DH for NL
Pitch clock
Even though we’re up I don’t like the way this offense is playing.
Don’t think it’ll get it done against the Cardinals or the Giants
100 wins and they might play a one game playin game. System is flawed and needs to be addressed. Dumbest move in my mind, The Rays wanting to play 1/2 of their games in Montreal and actually thinking that it would work and be good for the franchise. Get a decent ball park where you do play. Same with the A’s. That situation needs to be addressed soon. Outside of the 3 HR’s, they did not score. That is not going to cut it against playoff teams.
So, our magic number is 8 at this point, huh? Giants is at 6. 6 games left and there is still some hope but not a lot. It could happen easily if the Giants would lose 4 of their remaining games and Dodgers losing 2. I don’t have a lot of confidence that will be the case but is isn’t that far fetched. Actually what’s come to past was further far fetched that Giants would over achieve this much. Got to tip the hat to them on that AND their fans haven’t been their usual obnoxious selves this season……..well at least not so much. So weirder things happen all the time.
So I’m clearly not the only one in a pessimistic, premature wait-til-next-year mode….
But for the near term, Roberts could have an interesting decision to make regarding Urias’s next scheduled outing.
Not 100% sure, but I think Urias would be slated to start in the Dodgers 161st game of the season, with a chance to get his 20th win.
But if the Dodgers are already locked into the do-or-die wild card game against the Cardinals, I think Julio either sits or is very limited–say no more than 50 pitches.
He is clearly the best lefty option club right now–ahead of Kershaw, Vesia, VGon, Price, etc. ….
Now as to wait-til-next-year mode and Mark’s unflagging infatuation with Seager. (Is it a big guy thing? Do 6- oot, 4-inch guys have a bias for their oversized kind?)
I’d have more faith in Seager if he was a bit more like another big guy–Cal Ripken. Now, Cal was an indestructible freak, but I assume that “injury prone” is not just matter of chance (and, sadly, it applies to Cody as well.) Why invest $275 million in a SS who seems like to miss 30-40 games a season over the course of a contract? To me that is the biggest minus on Seager’s record, followed by the mediocre fielding and lack of versatility.
So Trea > Corey for a few reasons. I’ll rate them as equal with the glove at SS–but Trea can also play 2nd or CF. Trea has superior bat-to-ball skills, with roughly the same HR power. Trea will win 4-5 games per season with his speed alone,. If you trade him, you better get a mammoth haul. I don’t expect AF to commit monster bucks to Seager precisely because Trea is under contract for 2022.
Plus, we’ve seen this year how a bargain SS like Willy Adames can have a big impact on a team. Some folks here dis Brandon Crawford–now have a career year in his mid-30s. He’s the Giants’ version of Justin Turner: always underestimated, but very reliable.
My two cents about Trea Turner. I believe the criticism of his play is a bit over the top. Yes, there have been a few lapses defensively and on the base paths. They are magnified due to the pennant stretch. Overall though, in my view his contributions have been positive.
When Turner runs the bases or steals a bag, we don’t have to worry about him pulling a hammy, or sliding too late and suffering a game altering contusion, or breaking a bone in his ankle. The man knows HOW TO SLIDE! A fundamental skill that has been lacking in the Dodger org. Let’s face facts, Dodger vets are putrid when it comes to sliding and base running. For three years now Justin Turner is forced to run gingerly out of concern for his hamstrings. Now the same can be said for Pollock, Bellinger and perhaps Muncy.
Tell me who else could score from first on a single (perhaps Lux, come to think of it)? Who else will beat out a routine grounder to second base to salvage a run?
The bonehead play where Blackman caught Trea off second base the other day was a big goof, but overall the contributions of Turner on the base paths have been game changing and season altering in the positive.
He came over and accepted playing out of position at second base. Not an easy feat. No complaint at all on his part. He just accepted his new role. We are talking different angles, the pivot, all the awkward locations to play on the field due to these ridiculous shifts and honestly, it was a tough chore to take on. But he did it without complaint and has made some decent plays. The loss in SF where Smith failed to catch his throw to first was because we had a catcher playing 1B. Pin that on Robert’s who probably could have kept Smith behind the plate and move Barnes to the infield. You can’t pin that error on Trea Turner.
Switch things around. Could Seager could have made the adjustment and performed better at 2B?
As much as there is a lot of angst about losing Seager, we probably have to face that sad reality. He was a Yankee fan growing up. The Yanks are in desperate need of a shortstop and they have gobs of money. Add to that the Scot Boras factor and it is quite likely that we are seeing Corey play his last days as a Dodger. Trea Turner will likely be our shortstop next year, and that is a pretty good option to have.
I’m not going to make off-season suggestions. Too many variables. But I’m too intrigued with the speed potential the Dodgers have with Trea Turner, Gavin Lux, Cody Bellinger, and Mookie Betts, especially the first three. An outfield of Lux, Bellinger and Betts would cover an enormous amount of ground. And they can all throw. What pitching staff would not want to have that outfield behind them?
Unless there’s stuff I’m unaware of, I am almost certain that the Dodgers are determined to cut ties with Trevor Bauer. And I doubt that they would be willing to sign Kershaw for anything near what he is making now. Kershaw may not be what he was, but is still certainly an effective pitcher. And I am also confident that he could make the adjustments necessary to become even more effective.
There isn’t a single player I wouldn’t trade for the right price. But given that AF knows a lot more about a lot more players than I do, I’ll leave what trades to make up to him and the Dodgers’ front office.
I’m not going to make off-season suggestions. Too many variables. But I’m too intrigued with the speed potential the Dodgers have with Trea Turner, Gavin Lux, Cody Bellinger, and Mookie Betts, especially the first three. An outfield of Lux, Bellinger and Betts would cover an enormous amount of ground. And they can all throw. What pitching staff would not want to have that outfield behind them?
Unless there’s stuff I’m unaware of, I am almost certain that the Dodgers are determined to cut ties with Trevor Bauer. And I doubt that they would be willing to sign Kershaw for anything near what he is making now. Kershaw may not be what he was, but is still certainly an effective pitcher. And I am also confident that he could make the adjustments necessary to become even more effective.
There isn’t a single player I wouldn’t trade for the right price. But given that AF knows a lot more about a lot more players than I do, I’ll leave what trades to make up to him and the Dodgers’ front office.
I completely forgot about Pollock. In that case I have no problems with Cody at 1B and Muncy at 3B, although Muncy at 3B is not as nearly effective as he is at 1B. But the unexpected could happen. Maybe AF could work out a package that includes Muncy bringing back the solution to that problem.
As I noted in my opening, just too many variables.
I don’t know about you guys, but I feel very dissatisfied with this team, I already know that they will win more than 100 games and that is fantastic, but the way I see them playing does not inspire me, they do not motivate me to follow them , Even for a few moments I get bored to watch games, score some runs in one inning and then just stand in line to hit nothing the next innings. the absolute inability to come from behind and win the games to fight. The last season they saw the fire, the desire to win but this one I only perceive some robots that come out to play, without soul, without passion. We are supposed to have a super team with super stars but that has not been fun or exciting at all.
I hope to see that passion in the playoffs but reviewing this regular season, I feel that way, empty as a fan, there were no emotions, there were no extraordinary reactions. empty.
The gist of the season: this is the midgets’ magical year, just as last year was ours. That coming from behind late in games thing. I doubt that it’s a lack of effort on our part, but it’s kind of spooky when all our starters start to wobble at the end of the season. And many other things throughout the year. Chalk it up to the supernatural.