What Makes a Championship Caliber Team?
I keep hearing that it’s not the Dodgers, and I am also convinced that most fans would not be happy unless there was a first-team All-Star in every position. Early in the season, just about everyone was saying to get rid of Alex Vesia and Michael Grove. Well, how did that work…
I keep hearing that it’s not the Dodgers, and I am also convinced that most fans would not be happy unless there was a first-team All-Star in every position. Early in the season, just about everyone was saying to get rid of Alex Vesia and Michael Grove. Well, how did that work out? Eat that crow, Baby! Many of you wanted to get rid of Evan Phillips, who had his first bad outing in a blowout game yesterday. Now, it’s “Rag on Teoscar Time” as it is being said that he cannot hit RHP. Well, he is not going to platoon because that would be stupid!
It’s true he mashes LHP – he has a career .889 OPS against them, but he also has a.770 OPS against RHP. Yet, some have argued that Outman’s .665 OPS against LHP was pretty good last year! If the All-Star Game were held tomorrow (as bad of a slump as Teo has been in), he would be in the outfield. Every day, you guys bitch about something. Man, you must be miserable humans. Do your wives beat you? Life is too short for me to walk about in misery all the time. But I digress.
What makes a championship team… say, like the Rangers of 2023? The Braves and the Dodgers scored more runs, hit more home runs, had a higher OPS, had a much better ERA, had a dramatically better bullpen ERA, and won more games, but got bounced in the first round of the playoffs. The World Champion Rangers sit at 30-32 right now, while the Dodgers are 39-25. This time last year, the Rangers were 40-21 and looked great… maybe Championship Caliber. Then they stumbled at the end of the season, losing four of their last six games, including the last game, which would have clinched their division. They lost that game 1-0 after only getting four hits, and two were by rookie Evan Carter, who was called up in September and played a big role in their championship.
World Series Bullpen Hero Josh Sborz had a 5.50 ERA, and during the season, the team blew as many saves as they recorded! How does a Championship team look? The Phillies also finished 90-72 with a bullpen that blew 26 of 71 saves. Do you think the Dodgers strike out too much? They were 20th in MLB last year. The Phillies were #8. The Rangers were #14. What does a Championship Caliber Team look like? I am going to politely suggest that if you think you know in early June, you should be institutionalized. Have you ever watched the game of baseball? It’s a marathon… not a sprint. It’s a game of streaks and adjustments, and the way you start out or even what you are in mid-season does not define you. If you think otherwise, if the mortician gave you an enema, they could bury you in a shoebox! You have no clue.
I have clamored to get rid of CT3, but even he is redeemable. It’s a long season, and one little tweak can change everything. Walker has not looked great.. or good at times, but sometimes it is just changing your grip or changing where you stand on the rubber.
Yesterday, The Athletic gave their opinion on the Dodgers All-Stars (not including the pitchers) and it was as follows:
Starting SS:
Mookie Betts, Dodgers (starter)
(3.5 WAR, 8 HR, 42 R, 9 SB, 164 OPS+)
Betts has made the transition to shortstop look easy, although he’s said how hard it really is. He leads the NL in bWAR and can beat you in every way possible — with his glove, arm, speed, base running, hitting for average or power. In fact, I’m not sure there is anything he can’t beat everyone in, from bowling to golf to pool to video games.
Starting DH:
Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers (starter)
(3.1 WAR, 14 HR, 38 RBI, 14 SB, 179 OPS+)
Ohtani has a chance to be the first designated hitter to ever win an MVP Award as he’s batting .321/.390/.590 with 41 runs scored, 14 homers and 38 RBIs while swiping 14 bases in 15 attempts. He leads the NL with 138 total bases.
Betts and Ohtani were the only starters, but here are the three others on the team:
Freddie Freeman, Dodgers
(2.1 WAR, 7 HR, 35 RBI, 150 OPS+)
Freeman leads all NL first basemen with a .401 on-base percentage. He is a plus defender, for my money the most consistent first baseman in the game, and plays every day. (He leads all first basemen in games played this season.)
Teoscar Hernández, Dodgers
(1.3 WAR, 12 HR, 38 RBI, 124 OPS+)
Hernández was one of the most underrated free-agent signings of the offseason, as the Dodgers scooped him up with a one-year, $23.5 million deal. He leads all NL right fielders in doubles, home runs and RBIs.
Will Smith, Dodgers
(1.8 WAR, 9 HR, 37 RBI, 145 OPS+)
Smith is slashing .296/.363/.515 and leads all NL catchers with 16 doubles and nine home runs. He leads the majors in caught stealing rate (44 percent) and ranks in the 77th percentile in pop time.”
There are also several pitchers who are worthy of All-Star Status, so when I hear that this team is not Championship Caliber, I pay it no mind because my eyes tell me otherwise. It’s a long season, and a lot can happen. CT3 is not hitting, but Rojas, at 35, is benefiting from the rest of not starting every day. Will Pages keep it up? He slumped and adjusted. I think he will. Outman will be back and hopefully duplicate what he did last year or maybe even improve. Vargas has done nothing wrong and will be fine in LF. He is pressing in what little time he has been given, and his patience at the plate and working counts gives him a .868 OPS in a very short sample.
Now, it is on to the Yankees – this should be interesting! Personally, it is my belief that the Dodgers are much better than either the Yankees or the Phillies, and just like I predicted, Arizona would finish below .500, I am predicting that the Dodgers are a better team than either the Phillies or Yankees. The only thing that worries me is that Dave Dombrowski will gut the farm for Mason Miller. AF will bid that up… however!
I think this team is where they need to be, and all I can say is that there will be bumps in the road, but I am enjoying the ride. You should too… it’s a choice! BTW: A Championship Caliber Team is the one who wins it all… and if we could predict what will happen, we would be billionaires and take all that Vegas Sports Book Money. I don’t bet and there is a reason why!
X-CITES
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Discussion (70)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Anyone know if we HAVE to watch on Apple TV tonight.
I know Sporstnet LA will have a broadcast but they may just be for Local.
I dont have Apple TV and I did the free trial last year….UGH
That HR robbery by Outman is damn impressive.
How soon will we see him back in LA?
Or will he be dealt?
Certainly seems like AF will be making a few moves in that quest for a championship, because the Dodgers don’t seem to be there yet.
Right now, with the season about 40% done, the Yankees lead the majors in both team ERA and OPS. The Dodgers are second in OPS and 5th in ERA, while the Phillies are second in ERA and fifth in OPS. The Orioles are 3rd in both ERA and OPS.
But who knows which team will finish strong?
Looking over the Dodgers’ offensive stats, a couple of things jumped out: The Dodgers could field a lineup with every player at a .790 OPS or better. To be fair, one is Vargas with his small sample. Replace him with Pages and the lineup has everybody above .727. (This assumes that Max returns.)
Notably, Mookie has 42 walks against 28 Ks, which is remarkable for an 11-year veteran who has never finished a season with more BBs than Ks. His .411 OBP (so far) is second to his phenomenal MVP year of 2018, when his OBP was .438..
Not bad for a guy who had been slumping before the latest game
All of these rosters have professional players. There will be highs and lows during the season and in the playoffs. Any player on a team can be up at any point in time. The playoffs are a different animal with more intensity and less need for depth. Most teams can’t churn the roster through the course of the year like the Dodgers. So the Dodgers have the talent and resources to win the division. The Phillies and Yankees are playing great due to great pitching and timely hitting plus I think the Phillies have a fiercely competitive group.
In the playoffs great pitching is paramount. If pitchers do their job as Arizona did last year they can advance. LA had no pitching and Arizona did. I hate to say it but the Giants with Bumgardner? Proved what can happen with one hot pitcher. The Dodgers have done it with Koufax and Hershiser.
Offensively Mookie Betts gives u a good ab most every time. Right now Ohtani swinging wildly at everything, Freddie looking better but a lot of k and rolling over. Smith not as good as Mookie but close. The rest , well as I said they are professional so they have an upside but will it be then. In the playoffs when needed the most I can c Ohtani, Muncy, lux, teo,pages, taylor, Kiki, kkkkkk but mb it will be their time. But, as Mark has said our lineup stacks up favorably with any. I just think we are going to need a bat or 2 that can put it in play. I also thing the pitching staff is going to rebel against Vargas in left.
It is no surprise to me that fans would love for Freidman to trade for some big-name stars. I have seen many suggest players like Witt, Robert Jr., Tucker, Bichette. They think the Dodgers should move Mookie Betts back to RF, even though it has been stated several times that Mookie likes being on the infield. He feels it is better for him in the long run and he feels closer to the game. What most fans forget is that the other team has to be willing and want to trade the player you are talking about. Now, the White Sox are pretty amiable to moving everyone on their roster. But that would the cost be? A player like Robert Jr, with at least 2 1/2 years of control, would not come cheap. But he is also injury prone. And he is just off of the IL and has only played in 10 games this season. He is hitting .200 with 3 homers and 5 driven in. How much would AF be willing to give up for an injury prone player? I do not think an awful lot. Plus, there are several teams besides the Dodgers with outfield problems, one being the Braves. Bobby Witt? KC is second in their division with a 3.5 game lead in the wild card race. Witt is their most bankable star. The kid is having a great year on a contending team. no way they trade him. Toronto’s GM says trading Bichette or Guererro makes no sense for his team. GM speak for maybe, but you have to believe that the price for one of those guys would be very high. Guererro has turned it on lately and is almost at .300. Bichette is below .240 and has not shown much power. His fielding has been adequate, but not spectacular. He only has 3 less errors than Mookie. As for Kyle Tucker, he is an excellent fielder, he is a career 272 hitter, and his OPS is over .900 right now. He would be a great addition……..BUT> He has 2.5 years of control left; his career post season stats are not great. He hit under .200 in last year’s World Series and has a .239 avg with an OPS below .800 in World Series play. He would cost a lot of talent. Finally, there is this, If the Dodgers had stars at every position with high dollar deals, how many home-grown players would get a chance? I have seen more than one fan on this site complaining that the Dodgers do not have enough home grown kids on the roster. Signing or trading for the stars would mean less Andy Pages and James Outman, or Vargas.
Couldnt have said it better myself.
There is a reason I always come to this blog. Well done.
Enjoy this weekend series. If we sweep or get swept, it doesnt mean a doggone thing come October so just enjoy it…
There will be a LOT of blue in the stands this weekend.
Quite possibly just a fluke however the two teams that made the World Series last year were ranked number one and number two in the fewest errors allowed during the entire season. I’ve watched a number of games this year where a simple error early or midway through the inning has turned into a huge run that shouldn’t been if the error did not occur. As much as Home runs and offense are important having critical defense can certainly win a number of games. Reason why I’m hoping Outman turns it around and gets back into the lineup because his defense in the field is superior.
Dodgers are ranked 9th presently, oddly the exact spot they ended the year in 23. That’s not bad but it’s a statistic that I’m watching throughout the season and hoping as it progresses the Dodgers are able to shore up that a little better and reduce the number of errors during the games.
Yankees were near the bottom last year and have really turned it around as they are 10th overall in fewest allowed so fay this year.
Friday schedule
2:05 p.m. PT: Tulsa (Orlando Ortiz-Mayr & Kendall Williams) at Amarillo (Dillon Larsen & Yilber Diaz)
4:05 p.m.: Great Lakes (Christian Romero) vs. Cedar Rapids (lJeremy Lee)
5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Bobby Miller) vs. Round Rock (Owen White)
6:30 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (TBA) vs. Visalia (Denny Larrondo)
Low-A: Right-hander Payton Martin was promoted to Great Lakes. The 20-year-old had a 4.82 ERA with 22 strikeouts and 17 walks in 18⅔ innings for Rancho Cucamonga, including allowing one run in four innings on Tuesday.
There’s a chance we may not see Juan Soto this weekend:
Soto (forearm) will undergo imaging Friday after experiencing forearm soreness during Thursday’s game against the Twins, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.
Soto didn’t return to Thursday’s game after a lengthy rain delay. The move was framed as a precautionary measure by manager Aaron Boone, though he also disclosed that Soto has been bothered by forearm discomfort for the past week. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Yankees be cautious with Soto in the short term, though the team has not announced any official plans.