What, Me Worry?
When the season started, many fans worried where the offense would come from. Some worried that Heyward, Peralta, Martinez, and Muncy were past their prime and could not deliver. They worried there were too many rookies in the lineup. They worried about the bullpen and the…
When the season started, many fans worried where the offense would come from. Some worried that Heyward, Peralta, Martinez, and Muncy were past their prime and could not deliver. They worried there were too many rookies in the lineup. They worried about the bullpen and the starters, and after last night’s bullpen meltdown, they worry again, even though this Dodger Bullpen has been the best in baseball since June 20th. Many worry about Miguel Rojas and whether he will hit enough – the fact that his defensive wizardry is often overlooked.
Every fan worried that at the trade deadline, the Dodgers did not do enough. You can worry yourself sick, and it does not change a thing. This is why I love baseball: You NEVER, EVER know what is going to happen. Due to all the blowouts, Evan Phillips has not been used as much as he should. That should change.
See, I don’t worry – I enjoy the ride. Even though this team will not win as many games as last year’s team, I feel they are better. They have more options with matchups, and they don’t have last year’s Bellinger and Joey Gallo. This is a closer team, and they play as one. Mookie and Freddie have elevated their games. It would have been great to have this year’s Cody Bellinger on the team, but would he have made the changes here that he has in Chicago? Maybe the jolt of being non-tendered woke him up. We will never know, so I will stop thinking about it.
Remember this: The best team does not always win… or even usually win! The hottest and the most resourceful team often does! The Dodgers have that youthful energy with James Outman, but not just James; the entire team has that vibe! Mookie and Freddie lead the charge and are animated and enthusiastic. Even stoic Will Smith gets excited at times. Mercurial Max Muncy, who is becoming a platoon player, is also an excitable guy. David Peralta has bought in, as has the rest of the gang. Of course, the most excitable guy is none other than Enrique Hernandez… older and more mature, and I think he understands he is not a regular.
The starting pitching will work itself out. So will the bullpen. The vibe is great and the Dodgers have pitchers and hitters at AAA should injury require it. Just because Vargas and Bush did not light it up earlier in the season does not mean one or both won’t next time. This is baseball. That is the beauty of baseball. Who could have predicted that James Outmn would come out of nowhere and be hitting .258 with nearly an .800 OPS and still is at or near the top of the league in strikeouts? Mookie Betts has a .283 BABIP.
BABIP measures a player’s batting average exclusively on balls hit into the field of play, removing outcomes not affected by the opposing defense (namely home runs and strikeouts). For example, a hitter who goes 2-for-5 with a home run and a strikeout would have a .333 BABIP. He’s 1-for-3 on the balls he put in play. Freddie Freeman, one of the elite bat-to-ball guys in all of baseball, leads the Dodgers with a .383 BABIP. JDM has a .307 BABIP. James Outman has a .367 BABIP! James leads the team in SO% at 32%, but he has cut it down from almost 35%. If he can get to the mid-20s”, he might hit 300! He is currently not a HR hitter, as he averages a HR every 25 ABs. Max, Mookie, and JDM average a HR every 11-13 ABs, but that power may come. James Outman is a testament to the Dodger’s Organizational instruction.
In fact, this entire team has been molded together in a fashion that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. I am intent on enjoying the ride. You can worry all you want – it changes nothing! Worrying is a form of thinking about the future, defined as thinking about future events in a way that leaves you feeling anxious or apprehensive. Clinically, excessive worry is the primary symptom of generalized anxiety disorder. I refuse to buy into that. Que Sera, Sera! What, me worry?
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Discussion (101)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Here I go again – I agree with Bear on how bad Adrian Johnson was behind the plate. Here was my book on him “Adrian Johnson – Ball caller. Just misses true strikes. Dinky plate. You have to throw it in the dryer”
He actually called a couple of strikes, off the plate but then called the same location a ball, the next time. That’s called inconsistency, last I checked.In fact, the Umpires Scorecard has is accuracy at 29% and his consistency is 37%. So, I have to ask, how does he keep his job? Do the reviews and the reports to the umpires post game, have any legs at all?
So he has been in the league for 14 years. Yup….. 14 years and he still stinks. In addition, he’s a CREW CHIEF. He’s the leader of a brutal crew including Manny Gonzales, who’s on the worst list, Junior Valentine who has way too many random misses and their only star, Quinn Walcott, who’s on the best list. He has to wonder what he did to get on this crew?
* I wonder what the value is on the open market is for Vesia and CT3? Vesia is making the minimum and that’s what we’re getting. What a perfect example of how relief pitchers are; Cy Young to sayonara from one year to the next.
And poor CT3 has me wondering how did he ever justify 15 million a year? I love the guy but he can’t hit.
Even Evan Phillips tripped over the gas can. Thanks Mookie for the “insurance” run.
Today is another opportunity to play better.
Tuesday scores
Tacoma 12, Oklahoma City 9
Tulsa 7, Amarillo 4
West Michigan 6, Great Lakes 4
Inland Empire 6, Rancho Cucamonga 5
Wednesday schedule
4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Maddux Bruns) vs. West Michigan (Wilkel Hernandez)
5:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Nick Frasso) vs. Amarillo (TBD)
6:30 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Roque Gutierrez) vs. Inland Empire (Chris Clark)
7:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Matt Andriese) at Tacoma (Adam Oller)
John Doll. I have my surgery on my eye on the 25th of September. I will tell Mark to give you my email address and then I will email you my phone number. The surgery is outpatient so I will be ok by the time the Dodgers head to Denver. It would be great to meet you then. September usually is not that cold.
Game was a little nerve wracking at the end. I caught a lot of flak for my comment about Ohtani being one-dimensional. I get it. Many of you think he is the best thing since cream cheese. And he does pitch for a pretty disorganized and dysfunctional team. To me, the best player needs to play defense and be good in all aspects of the game. Why do I believe Acuna is better? One, he is a better hitter. Ohtani has a lot of power, but he also strikes out a lot. Acuna does not K much and he walks almost as often as he strikes out. Ohtani as a pitcher does strike a lot of players out. His K to walk ratio is good, 3-1. And he does field his position well. Acuna is an excellent outfielder and has a cannon for an arm. He steals a ton of bases. Ohtani except when he is pitching, does not play defense. While Acuna can impact the game on the field at any time, Ohtani is in the tunnel working on his swing. He has usually four chances per game when he is DHing to impact the game. When he is a DH, he is very one-dimensional. He is a hitter nothing else. I think you have to excel in all aspects of the game to be the best. Would I take Acuna over Ohtani, damn right I would. He is four years younger; he will get more hits, score more runs and steal more bases than Ohtani. He might not hit 50 bombs, but he is more than capable of 30 plus. Add that to his speed and defense. Yep, I want that guy. How long can Ohtani do both pitch and hit at a high level like he is now? Ohtani’s biggest asset is his being able to pitch and hit well. Signing a player who is turning 30 the first year of a lengthy deal is risky to say the least. Guaranteeing a player that age 40 mil plus? Extremely risky. Pujols signed his 10-year deal with the Angels when he was 31. And at the time, he was probably the best hitter in baseball. He never reached the numbers he did in St. Louis. Hitting 40 bombs while playing 81 games at Dodger Stadium is not that common. Bellinger was the last one to do it. Giving that much money to a guy who is a pure DH most of the time, just seems even more risky. I worry more about his ability to pitch over the course of the contract than his hitting. You all have your opinions of the guy and hold him in high regard. I look at the hype he gets, and I try to separate the reality from the fantasy. No one player is going to make the Dodgers winners in multiple years. It is and always has been a team game. Would he help? Obviously, he can impact your lineup and make it longer. Is he worth the long-term risk salary wise? That is the question that can only be answered by those spending the money.
I didn’t know and still don’t know that Dodgers will win the division but I claimed such as fact and still do. I even tried to entice the naysayers with offering them the the field against my Dodgers even money $200 bet. No takers, even though they spoke like Dodgers couldn’t make even a wildcard in before a pitch was thrown for the season. Either they didn’t believe their own words or are fans that wouldn’t bet against the Dodgers. I hope the latter as I’m still in good company. but please quit with all so much naysaying. A quote from the late, great Tommy Lasorda ” YOU GOT TO BELIEVE “. And Tommy……I do!
It seems that Taylor is one of the two least reliable players this season (Barnes is the other) and his numbers do not help to think otherwise, but for some reason, he is one of the players I trust the most in the playoffs. This year I see stronger, more depth on the bench, but the bullpen still hasn’t convinced me
Great win last night. Freddie was so smooth on that DP ball.
Great start from Urias.
Before the season I thought the Dodgers would go as far as their pitching will take them. I thought the O was middle of the pack at best.
Funny that it is just the other way around at this stage of the season.
I still regret the Dodgers did not bring in one more shut down reliever at the deadline.
Cartaya hit his 3rd bomb in the last three games, going 2-4 . Good to see him fight out of his season long slump.
That dinger he hit was Mt-16 of the season, a monster shot almost out of the stadium.
Kid will be fine. Just a bump in his road to Dodger Stadium.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’d still prefer someone else besides Taylor. He’s easily the most negative link among position players.
Hopefully either Busch or Vargas gets called up in September.
Honestly, the bullpen doesn’t make me feel all warm and cozy, weakest link and all. Last night was a little bit of an adventure.
After last year, I’m no longer sure coming in 1st has an advantage over being a wild card entry.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder, otherwise known as life.
Dodgers have 50 games to play and have a six game lead in the loss column over the Giants. D-Backs and Padres are not a threat to win the division and with seven games to play the Giants head-to-head I would love to see the Dodgers eliminate them from any post season consideration.
Surprised Hudson was sent down for V-Gone after just one appearance, but lets hope V-Gone went to the minors and found his groove. The BP will need him to get some big outs since Caleb shits the bed too often. Interesting that Doc put Almonte back on the bump the day after his Petco implosion but Caleb hasn’t been used.
Hernandez just might have played his way to a new contract for the Dodgers next year as the super utility guy supplanting CT3 who might be on the trading block. The infusion of young talent (Outman, Miller and Sheehan) who have contributed positively bodes well. Next year we should continue to see young talent graduate to be big club with the likes of Vargas, Busch, Knack, Pepiot, Stone, DeLuca and Pages. Or, perhaps some will be used in a big offseason blockbuster trade to acquire more pitching since Urias, CK and Lynn are free agents next year and Tony G. is a question mark if he is healthy or not.
It is indeed a good time to be a Dodger fan.