What Do You See?

“What we do see depends mainly on what we look for. … In the same field the farmer will notice the crop, the geologists the fossils, botanists the flowers, artists the colouring, sportmen the cover for the game. Though we may all look at the same things, it does not all follow that we should see them.” ― John Lubbock, The Beauties of Nature and the Wonders of the World We Live in

As humans, we always see what we focus on… and with life being what it is, we will almost certainly find what we are focusing on. “Ah-ha! I told you that ____________________” (fill in the blanks). Let me illustrate by listing a few players:

WHAT DO YOU SEE?

Kike Hernandez – “He loses concentration and makes a lot of mistakes and he strikes out trying to pull everything.” I see a player who has a high baseball IQ, plays exceptional defense wherever he is and is 5th on the team in RBI with some very key hits. I see Kike as an important cog in a championship machine.

Jedd Gyorko – “Why is he even on the team?” I see a guy who has been injured most of the season and is working himself back into shape, who is a lefty killer (he showed a glimpse against Robbie Ray last night), and plays multiple positions. He is a long-shot to make the playoff roster (depending upon whom the Dodgers play), unless David Freese can’t make it, then he’s a lock.

Clayton Kershaw – “He’s nowhere near what he used to be and is not an Ace.” I think he’s still the Dodgers’ Ace and one of the Top Aces in baseball. He has given up 23 HR (one every 6.7 AB’s, but Verlander is at every 5 AB’s). You have to look at the totality of the circumstances. There are more HR being hit this year than at any time in history. The ball is juiced. Maybe it will stay that way in the future… or not. However, you make a grave mistake in discounting Clayton. He is healthy, consistent and still in Cy Young contention.

Yimi Garcia – “Close game and Doc sends in Yimi. Give me a break.” Yimi Garcia will likely be on the playoff roster. I see a reliever who throws strikes and has allowed just 34 hits in his 55 innings of work. Of those 34 hits, 14 have been HR and YET (GET THIS): He doesn’t walk hitters and the league is hitting .172 against him. Add in a 0.83 WHIP and I’m actually thinking this guy is not a bad reliever… he’s a special reliever. OK, I would like to see a drop in HR’s allowed, but that is fixable. He allows a HR every 4 innings (Verlander is every 5). On Friday night, he gave up 1 hit and got the loss. In doing so, he struck out 4 of the 6 batters he faced and threw 19 pitches – ALL STRIKES!

Kenley Jansen – “The Dodgers will never win with him as a closer.” Maybe… maybe not. Maybe he fixes his problems. Maybe he doesn’t. Maybe he’s not the closer. Dodgerpatch made a good point the other day: “Why use a single closer?” Yesterday it was suggested that the Dodgers should have gone after one of the big-name closers last off-season: Diaz, Kimbrel, Holland? Yeah right!

In 2017, when the Dodgers won 104 games they had a skid when they lost 17 of 18. I have repeatedly said that there will be some bad stretches this season as well, where everything the Dodgers do is wrong. It happens. This too shall pass. Baseball is different in 2019:

• The ball is juiced;
• Coaches are teaching the hitters to look for certain pitches in certain zones; and
• Launch angle adjustments and staying in the zone are also resulting in more home runs.

It means that both teams hit more home runs. Today, the rosters expand. David Freese, Dylan Floro, and Ross Stripling will be back. All of them have the ability to impact the games immediately. Alex Verdugo, Rich Hill, and Max Muncy will be back in the next 10 days. This blip in the road will pass.

The Dodgers still have the best pitching in baseball… by a considerable margin. Take a photo of the team today and it will look much different in October. It just blows me away that a couple of losses and people are losing their minds… like they have never watched the ups and downs of baseball because they are from another planet?

And then I hear things like “The Dodgers won’t spend the money.” Who has spent the most money on payroll in baseball the past 5 years? Who has spent the most money on payroll and stadium renovations the past 5 years? The answer to both questions is the Dodgers! It’s absurd to say they won’t spend the money. Maybe absurd is not the right word – maybe the right word is delusional.

Additionally, spending excessive amounts on payroll seldom correlates with winning. Actually, it’s the opposite. Spending stupid amounts of money seldom leads to winning. The connection is not there. Stop with the fiction already!

The Dodgers may get sweeped today or maybe this begins a new winning streak. Do I have concerns? Sure, but I don’t worry. 97% of what we worry about never happens anyway. I worry most about Kenley Jansen, but things seldom end up how we think. This will play out and something we never envisioned could happen. Let me remind you that the Red Sox Bullpen was #17 in baseball last year and we all know “You can’t win a Championship with that kind of bullpen.”

By the way, did you see a duck or a rabbit in the picture… or both? It might depend upon what you are looking for…

I also see a team that is in the middle of a rough patch. Before the Yankees played the Dodgers, they were swept by the A’s. But I also see the team I believe will win the World Series, ups and downs of baseball notwithstanding.

Minor League Lowdown

• The OKC Dodgers managed just 4 hits last night as they were shutout, but Gavin Lux had 3 of them in what could have been his last game at AAA. Mitch White pitched 3 very strong innings, allowing just 1 hit and striking out 4 while walking ZERO. Watch him in the AFL. I really hope they make him a reliever.
• Tulsa won 6-4 and lots of good things happened:
  • Drew Avans went 3-6
  • Cody Thomas was 2-4
  • ‘Conner Wong went 3-4 with 3 RBI and his 24th HR (he is hitting .349 at AA)
  • Carlos Rincon blasted his 15th HR – a 2-run shot
  • Leo Crawford went 5.1 innings and allowed 2 runs, striking out 5 (his ERA at AA is 2.37)
  • Shea Spitzbarth pitched 2 shutout innings allowing just 1 hit and striking out 4 (2.05 ERA)
• Jeren Kendall only struck out once at RC – that was the lone highlight as they lost 5-1
• Great Lakes shut out Lake County 6-0 as Zach Willeman allowed just 1 hit over 6 innings. Edward Cuello pitching the final 3 shutout innings.
  • Brandon Lewis hit a 2-run home run and drove in 3 runs to do the most damage
• Ogden won 18-5 and are 49-20 and 18-year-old Andy Pages hit his 16th HR. Everybody else hit too.
• Diego Cartya is hitting .296 in the Rookie League at age 17. One can’t help compare what a 17-year-old Keibert Ruiz at the same age – .374 in a 100 more AB’s. With Ruiz, Wong and Cartya, the Dodgers have a line of sight at the catcher position.