Welcome to Planet Reality!

The Dodgers' bats have gotten better... but let's not forget where they are playing: Coors Field and the Rockies have the worst ERA in MLB... so there is that. Still, it all counts, and Teoscar and Tucker participated. It could be a step in the right direction... or it could just prove that "even blind squirrels find some nuts." Time will tell.

Now, to the task at hand

It’s funny. Actually, it’s hilarious that I’m now being accused by some of being a “whiner.”

I used to be accused of being a "Homer" or of wearing "Dodger Blue Shades." Suddenly, I have morphed into something else... according to some.

Apparently, pointing out problems with the Dodgers means I’ve suddenly become some sort of baseball Eeyore.

That’s especially amusing considering that when Andrew Friedman was hired, I was one of the very few people championing him while others mocked him, ridiculed his moves, and called him “FriedBrains.”

How did that work out?

Pretty well.

The Dodgers have won three World Championships during this era and probably should have four, except, of course, for that little trash-can-assisted inconvenience in Houston.

In 2024, I was riding the bandwagon while some of you were standing by the road, screaming that the wheels were coming off. Same thing in 2025. I remained confident.

I still watch every game. I still root for the Dodgers with everything I have.

But apparently fandom now requires checking your eyesight at the door.

There are parents who love their children so much that they become incapable of seeing their faults.

“Little Johnny would never do that!”

Meanwhile, Little Johnny is standing there holding the broken lamp, a baseball bat, and a handwritten confession.

That isn’t loyalty. It’s denial.

I’m a realist.

I see the Dodgers, warts and all.

And yes, this team has some warts. A few of them may require dermatological intervention.

They have multiple bad contracts to deal with. They have important players underperforming, with no obvious solution in sight. And increasingly, other playoff-caliber teams appear to have figured out ways to neutralize what has always been the Dodgers’ greatest offensive weapon: slugging.

If that doesn’t concern you, congratulations on your blood pressure.

Before the All-Star Game, the Dodgers were #1 in baseball with a .777 OPS.

Since then?

#13, with a .723 OPS. Below the Rockies.

Before the All-Star Game, they were #2 in slugging, one point away from being #1.

Now?

20th.

Twentieth!

But sure, perhaps if we all think happy thoughts hard enough, the baseball will start traveling 420 feet again.

Positive thinking by fans isn’t going to fix this.

It may make you feel better, and you absolutely have the right to feel that way.

I also have the right to look at the evidence and say, “Houston, we have a problem.”

The Dodgers are probably the most prolific users of analytics and statistics in Major League Baseball. They make billion-dollar decisions based upon data.

So forgive me if I also occasionally glance at the numbers.

Your optimism may be based upon faith.

Mine is based upon evidence.

Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and “everything will be fine because we’re the Dodgers” all occupy roughly the same statistical model.

Can the Dodgers win the World Series?

Yes. Absolutely.

Do they have bigger problems this year than they’ve had in recent championship runs?

Goddamn right they do.

Can the hitting come back?

Some of it can.

All of it?

I wouldn’t bet the vineyard.

Can the pitching carry them to a championship?

That, increasingly, looks like the roadmap.

And yes, I watch with my eyes too. What I’m seeing isn’t particularly pretty.

The Dodgers have some significant problems.

You can ignore them if you want.

I don’t.

I consider the possibilities. All of them.

That approach has frequently kept me a step ahead of people who simply wish for success.

I don’t wish for success.

I plan for it.

It's predictable. Andrew Freeman understands it!

As the old saying goes:

“If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.”

But don’t worry. Everyone is welcome at Planet Reality.

I serve wine and cheese.

Sharp cheese, naturally.

P.S. Parting Shot

I took a lot of flak for saying that I thought Miggy Vargas would be an above-average MLB Player. Tonight, I was looking at some "former Dodgers," and Miggy leads the White Sox in RBI and has 28 HR to go with 28 doubles, with a .831 OPS. Subtly, I say, "In your face!" I wish him well...

OKC Comets 6 – Sugar Land Space Cowboys (Houston) 3 

The Comets took a 2-0 lead in the 1st inning.  RF Zach Ehrhard singled to open the inning.  One out later, LF James Tibbs III hit a 2-run HR (25). 

RHSP Landon Knack gave up a solo HR in the 3rd inning, but nothing else for 6.0 IP.  He gave up 3 hits, 1 BB, and registered 6 K. Outstanding effort by the RHP. 

OKC got the run back in the 4th when 1B Matt Gorski hit a solo HR (2). 

In the 5th, 3B Alex Freeland and JTIII stroked 2-out singles.  Both runners scored on CF Alek Thomas’ triple (3). 

RHRP Griff McGarry relieved Knack in the 7th.  He surrendered a one out 2-run HR. 

In the 8th, JTIII hit his 2nd HR (26) of the game. 

RHRP Blake Treinen made his 1st OKC rehab assignment.  He allowed a hit and BB, and struck out 1.  He threw 24 pitches to get 2 outs.  

RHRP Seth Halvorsen got a 4 out save of his own, striking out 2. 

This was the Landon Knack and James Tibbs III show. 

·      James Tibbs III – 4-4, 1 BB, 3 runs, 3 RBI, 2 HR (26)

·      Alex Freeland – 2-5, 1 run

·      Matt Gorski – 1-3, 1 BB, 1 run, 1 RBI, HR (2)

·      Triple – Alex Thomas (3) 

Box Score 

Tulsa Drillers 4 – Amarillo Sod Poodles (Arizona) 3 

Before the game, we learned that CF Mike Sirota was placed on the 7-day IL.  Sirota took an 86-mph breaking pitch off his left elbow in the sixth inning of Tulsa's Aug. 14 game. Sirota was able to jog down to first base after talking with team staffers and later exited the contest in the eighth. Sirota has remained out since. 

LHSP Adam Serwinowski pitched the first 2.0 scoreless innings. But he scuffled in the 3rd.  2 BB, sac bunt, 2 run single, and doubled scored 3 runs. 

With 2 outs in the Tulsa 3rd, RF Kole Myers doubled (6) and scored on 2B Taylor Young’s RBI single. 

In the 5th, CF Chris Newell led off with a solo HR (19).  With 1-out, 1B Joe Vetrano drew a BB and scored on Myers’ 2-run HR blast (5), giving Tulsa the lead 4-3. 

After getting 2 more scoreless innings, Serwinowski came back out for the 6th.  He walked the first batter and was relieved by RHRP Cam Day.  Day balked the runner to 2nd and then gave up a game tying double.  Day got through the rest of the inning.  

The Drillers took the lead in the 7th.  DH Nelson Quiroz and Vetrano led off with BB.  One out later, Young walked to load the bases.  LF Josue De Paula hit a SF giving Tulsa a 5-4 lead. 

In the 9th, RHRP Lucas Wepf struck out the 1st two batters.  The next batter singled and continued to 2nd on an error.  Wepf then gave up a game tying single. 

RHRP Kelvin Ramirez got two outs but could not get the third out before a run scoring 1B in the 10th. 

In the bottom of the 10th, Myers was the placed runner and Young walked bringing up JDP.  JDP hit the walkoff 3-run HR for the Tulsa win. 

·      Josue De Paula – 2-4, 1 run, 4 RBI, HR (23)

·      Kole Myers – 2-4, 2 runs, 3 RBI, double (6), HR (5)

·      Chris Newell – 1-4, 1 run, 1 RBI, HR (19) 

Box Score

Fort Wayne TinCaps (San Diego) 6 – Great Lakes Loons 5 – Game 1 – 7 innings 

This was the resumption of the suspended August 2 game whereby Fort Wayne led after 4.0 innings 6-2.  LHRP Justin Chambers and RHRP Reynaldo Yean pitched 3.0 scoreless innings.  Neither reliever allowed a hit but did combine for 6 BB.  Chambers did strike out 3. 

Great Lakes made a game of it in the 7th.  DH Eduardo Quintero led off with a HBP.  3B Mairo Martinus slugged a 2-run HR (1).  RF Jaron Elkins was HBP and stole 2nd.  1B Eduardo Guerrero singled to score Elkins.  LF Samuel Munoz lined out to LF to end the game.  

Guerrero was the only Loons hitter with 2 hits.  Quintero hit his 22nd double, and Martinus’ 1st HR were the only XBH for Great Lakes. 

Box Score 

Fort Wayne TinCaps (San Diego) 7 – Great Lakes Loons 4 – Game 2 – 7 innings 

LHSP Jacob Frost had a forgettable start.  The first three batters he faced were single, single, double for 2 runs.  Frost then struck out the side following the double.  

In the 2nd, 2B Nico Perez doubled (15).  RF Jaron Elkins singled Perez to 3rd.  One out later, 3B Mairo Martinus singled to score Perez. 

The hitting continued for the TinCaps in the 2nd.  A double, BB, and sac bunt put runners in scoring position.  The next batter singled to score 2.  The runner stole 2nd and scored on a 2-out single.  

Frost allowed a BB in the 3rd, but nothing else, and he was done for the night. 

RHRP Nicolas Cruz relieved Frost in the 4th.  He retired the side without a run in the 4th, including 2 K. He then struck out the 1st batters in the 5th, before RHRP Seamus Barrett relieved Cruz and got the final out. 

With one out in the 6th, Elkins and 1B Jose Meza singled. Martinus followed with a 3-run HR (3), tightening the score to 5-4. 

With Barrett back on the mound, a single and 2-out BB, was followed by a 2-run double. 

Great Lakes did not score in the 7th, and Fort Wayne won a pair. 

·      Mairo Martinus – 3-3, 1 run, 4 RBI, HR (3)

·      Nico Perez – 2-3, 1 run, double (15)

·      Jaron Elkins – 2-3, 1 run

·      Jose Meza – 2-3, 1 run, double (12) 

Box Score 

Inland Empire 66ers (Seattle) 10 – Ontario Tower Buzzers 7

The most meaningful event of the night came when: 

“The Ontario Tower Buzzers, the Single-A Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, today announced that the team’s clubhouse at ONT Field has been permanently named in honor of John Shoemaker, the Tower Buzzers’ inaugural manager and one of the most enduring figures in Dodgers player development.” 

“Shoemaker is currently managing the Tower Buzzers during the club’s inaugural season in Ontario. Drafted by the Dodgers in 1977, he played four seasons in the organization before beginning his coaching career in 1981. He received his first managerial assignment with the Vero Beach Dodgers in 1987 and has since managed throughout the Dodgers’ Minor League system.”

 This is Shoemaker's 50th year in the LAD organization.  This was a very deserving honor for a LAD player development icon. 

https://www.milb.com/ontario/news/ontario-tower-buzzers-name-clubhouse-in-honor-of-dodgers-player-development-legend-john-shoemaker 

For the game, RHSP Luis Gamez allowed solo HR in the 1st. 

Ontario tied the game in the bottom of the 1st when 3B Joendry Vargas hit a solo HR (11) of his own.

Gamez would give up a 2nd solo HR in the 3rd.  

In the Ontario 4th, 1B Easton Shelton led off with a solo HR (34) to tie the game.  After one out, DH Oswaldo Osorio doubled (5) and scored on SS Caleb Johnson 2-run HR (2). 

Gamez completed 5.0 IP, allowing just the two solo HRs.  He allowed 2 other singles, 2 BB, and 3 K.  He left with Ontario leading 4-2.  He is starting to look like a prospect to follow. 

RHRP Luis Carias relieved Gamez in the 6th. He gave up a leadoff double, and 2 groundouts brought home a run. 

In the bottom of the 6th, RF Ching-Hsien Ko led off with a triple (4) and scored on a WP. 

In the 7th, Carias lost total control.  He got the 1st two outs but then allowed a single and 4 consecutive BB for two runs to tie the score.  UDFA RHRP Brady Pendley relieved Carias with 2 outs in the 7th and got the final out. 

Ontario retook the lead in the bottom of the frame.  CF Abel Lorenzo led off with a double (3) and scored on Vargas’ double (32). 

Pendley returned to the mound in the 8th.  He got two outs and then gave up a double.  The runner was balked to 3rd and scored on a WP to again tie the score. 

Ontario scored an unearned run in the 8th to take a 7-6 lead into the 9th.  

RHRP Jecsua Liborius relieved Pendley to try and preserve the win. The first four batters he faced singled, singled, doubled, and hit a 3-run HR for the eventual 10-7 win. 

·      Joendry Vargas – 2-5, 1 run, 2 RBI, double (32), HR (11)

·      Caleb Johnson – 2-4, 1 run, 2 RBI, HR (2)

·      Brendan Tunink – 2-4, 1 run, double (17)

·      Easton Shelton – 1-5, 1 run, 1 RBI, HR (34)

·      Doubles – Oswaldo Osorio (5), Abel Lorenzo (3)

·      Triple – Ching-Hsien Ko (4) 

Box Score