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
I thought Mark brought up a great point about the salary cap. A some point and time we have to get under the luxury tax to reset the penalizes. This year was maybe the year to do it being able to get a player like Heyward on minimum salary and how that has worked out is amazing. I believe management is going to have to determine if the juice is worth the squeeze on players whose contracts are coming to an end. Of course Kershaw stays as long as he wants too, that isn’t even in the equation. Muncy and his $10 million contract, if he can’t hit left handed pitching that might be looked at (baseball is a tough business, Muncy has been a huge contributor to the Dodgers for a while.) Martinez at the DH another ten million, he has certainly earned it. There one must decide can he produce those numbers again, Father Time is undefeated. David Peralta $6.5 million. He’s having a good year, he might be wanting more money, if so will the Dodgers cut bait. We are a bit hamstrung with Barnes and Taylor’s contracts. I’ll be the first to admit when they made those deals I thought they were great moves, turns out they didn’t age well. Dodgers fans expect and rightly so to be in the playoffs every year. With our front office and farm system to go along with the veterans we have coming back, the front office are going to have to make some tough decisions that may hurt peoples feelings because of the name players they let walk. In the mean time we need to enjoy the ride that we have been on and are continuing. Hope we get a few more World Championship’s out of this run.
The maturation of a future ace!
Bickford gets save for Mets tonite.
Bobby Miller is coming of age tonight!
He is learning on the job… and prospering!
1. Appears as if the gamble to not put JD Martinez on the IL in hopes that he would return before ten days did not pay off. He has started two of the last nine games (though he did pinch hit in one other.). Meanwhile, Michael Busch hit another homer tonight and would have been a logical replacement for Martinez. That decision does not make a lot of sense in hindsight.
2. In that same light, Martinez not being available tonight puts Taylor in the line up versus a right hander. With the acquisition of Hernandez (and to a lesser degree, Rosario) there is some redundancy to having Taylor on this roster. With Busch performing like he has at AAA (and even Vargas hitting .300) I would think either or both would be a serious consideration for a post season spot, especially Busch. Taylor may be the odd man out.
3. A lot of games left before post season play but Bobby Miller could very well start a play off game in a NLDS. He has looked much better during his time as a starter this season than Tony Gonsolin in the same time. Gonsolin seems like a candidate to be an opener for Ryan Yarbrough with Kershaw, Urias, Lynn and Miller occupying the other four spots in the rotation.
Gonsolin’s stuff may play up in a two to three inning stint as an opener.
Fegurson Will be the next 3th base!!!!ha, ha, ha
David Peralta is the man!
I just might have to bring back the “Machine Gun Kelly” moniker!
Interesting injury news today on Buehler and Treinen. Both pitched to batters Buehler was hitting 92-93. Treinen touched 97. Could there be help in September and October.
Six Games up on the Giants
11 Games up on the D-Backs (and they are now officially a “sub .500 team)
12.5 Games up on the Clowns!
Bear, you mentioned above that Vin never used a color guy or analyst.
What would you call Jerry Doggett? They worked together in the booth for over 30 years.
LATEST NEWS
Aug. 9: RHP Walker Buehler (Tommy John surgery) faces hitters
Buehler threw a 15-20 pitch session to hitters from the Dodgers’ Arizona Complex League, clocking in at 92-93 mph at Chase Field ahead of the Dodgers’ series finale vs. the D-backs. According to manager Dave Roberts, “It went really well, much better than I expected.”
When asked if he feels his recovery process is almost complete, Buehler said, “I think there’s a bunch of checkpoints, right? So when we start throwing, and when you start throwing bullpens, and now hitters and then games, and so you can kind of take little chunks at a time, and it’s kind of what you got to do.”
Buehler added that he’ll need four or five throwing sessions to hitters before doing anything in-game. He targeted Sept. 1 as his return date but says he’ll likely still need more rehab.
“I’m pretty proud of where I am right now,” Buehler said. “I don’t think Sept. 1 is a reality, but I’m hoping sometime soon.”