What's With All the Shortstops?
Unless you wear “blinders,” I am sure you already know where this is going and it pisses you off to no end. They say “ The Truth Hurts.” But, THEY say a lot, don’t they ? OK, just the facts ma’am, OK: This offseason, the Dodgers have added three shortstops to their systems…
Unless you wear “blinders,” I am sure you already know where this is going and it pisses you off to no end. They say “The Truth Hurts.” But, THEY say a lot, don’t they? OK, just the facts ma’am, OK: This offseason, the Dodgers have added three shortstops to their systems, namely Trey Sweeney, Noah Miller, and most recently Andre Lipcius. Add in Joendry Vargas, who is now a SS, but at 6’4″ his future may not be at SS (they said the same about Seager, and he is a Seager Clone… well except that he is RH). We likely won’t see him until 2026 or 2027… at the earliest. I currently have no opinion as to whether he can stay at SS or not. He has the arm… but that arm will also play at 3B.
The plethora of SS that have been added by Andrew Friedman and Company are because they do not believe Gavin Lux is the answer at the position. Gavin Lux has one position he can play on this team and it is already manned by the best second-baseman in baseball, so he is hoping against hope that Lux has the ability to not look too bad at the position. He also has contingencies. The biggest one is Willy Adames. I know some of you are tiring of hearing this, but I have found that what irritates people the most is when you are getting close to the truth. Then they really get pissed off… especially if you are talking about something or someone they really like.
Gavin Lux has played SS – he has no experience in the outfield, but I think he could learn it and be very good there. The problems is that the Dodgers have a handfull of better options for the outfield than Lux… and you can rest assured that Mookie Betts is not moving off of 2B… shoot he did not even bring an Outfielders’ glove with him to Spring Training. I would not be surprised if Mookie does not see an inning in the outfield this year.
One fan put it this way:
“I keep seeing all over this sub & on other social media that we don’t need to sign a premium SS as we can just slide Gavin over, and it’s just very confusing to me. He has enough trouble making the throws from 2B after overcoming a borderline yips case and now people think it’s a good idea to place him at a position where the throws will be even harder ??? Not to mention his very poor arm strength (avg velo of 79.4 mph) which would rank 47th of 51 qualified shortstops. The last time we tried him there in 2021 he managed -4 OAA in 59 games…Please stop this madness. GAVIN LUX IS NOT A SHORTSTOP.“
— Annonymous
Yet, you read in The LA Times, The Athletic, Dodger Blue, and Sports Illustrated (R.I.P.) that Gavin Lux will do “just fine” at SS. Many call Lux a “Bat First SS.” That is what Seager was/is. He is not the greatest SS ever, but even though his range is limited, his bat plays way up. I call bullshit on Lux being a bat first SS. There is no comparison of Lux to Seager’s bat. Gavin Lux has a “nice bat” but it will not make up for his YIPS. There I said it: Lux has the YIPS. What are the YIPS? Well, first of all, you have to acknowledge that there is such a thing. Mayo Clinic defines the Yips as:
“The yips are involuntary wrist spasms that occur most commonly when golfers are trying to putt. However, the yips also can affect people who play other sports — such as cricket, darts and baseball.
— Mayo Clinic
It was once thought that the yips were always associated with performance anxiety. However, it now appears that some people have the yips due to a neurological condition affecting specific muscles. This condition is known as focal dystonia.
Changing the way you perform the affected task might help you find relief from the yips. For example, a right-handed golfer might try putting left-handed.”
Gavin Lux has (in the past) and in the current had several episodes, In 2020, he had a pretty good Spring Training. He showed off his speed, had good at-bats, and was the favorite to win the second base job. As we know, spring was cut short, and when they returned for “Summer Camp,” he came in a week late, and everything good that we saw at spring training was out the window. He struggled mightily, and it shook his confidence, and it showed. He struck out a lot and even committed unacceptable errors on easy throws.
Those errors would return when he came back up. He has had cases of the YIPS on several occasions going back to (at least) his minor league days. I have talked to players who has had the YIPS and it is terrifying. Most never fully get over it and they are just waiting for the next episode to read it’s ugly head. I am sure that some players have beaten it, but I don’t know who. Lux needs to go to 2B where the YIPS can more easily be hidden. Now, I know that Steve Sax and Chuck Knoblach had the YIPS and somewhat surrmounted it, but not at SS. Lux just needs to go to 2B and stay there. The YIPS might go away entirely if he can just focus on his hitting.
I think Lux is a .300 hitter who will OPS in the mid .800’s and hit 15-20 HR, if he can just focus on that. I know some of you are tired of reading this and are asking “why do you keep bringing this up?” It’s very simple: This is what will prevent this team from winning a championship! You can have a “bat first SS” but you cannot have a SS with YIPS and win a Championship. End of story.
Some fans don’t want to trade Lux for Adames who only has one season of control. Yes, Adames strikes out a lot, but he also has great power and may improve under RVS and Company. At any rate, his defense is on par with Rojas and with Adames, Rojas would be redundant. Pages or Vargas power bat would play well here. The Dodgers still have Muncy, Freeman, Heyward, and Outman as LH threats. I would trade Lux for Adames and a Championship in a heartbeat. Yes, there are no guarantees, but I like the odds a lot better. Hell, I’d trade Lux and Vargas for him if forced to... and you know I like Vargas’ bat. That would be a huge overpay, but I’m trying to make a point.
BTW, the one year of Adames could turn out to be more. You all know the Dodgers could re-sign him… don’t you? OK, hate on me! This ain’t going away…
Z
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Discussion (75)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Austin Barnes should be forced to bunt every ab!
Perfect timing! Just trying to inspire him!
I was just checking today’s box score and noticed that Pages was 2 for 2 – I thought he was sent down the other day.
Am I missing something?
Also, no errors buy Lux:) – did he have any chances?
There’s one shortstop that would be good to get that is on a low market team. I don’t think if we can get him this year. But like people say Dodgers have players to trade and this player is going to be a good shortstop. And what is it that the dodgers and Yankees do they steal talented players from teams that can’t afford them. That would be Bobby Witt Jr. From the Royals if they could get him and trade so players that would be a good plan. Or the shortstop from the Bluejays oh his dad was a good player Bichette Jr both good genes either one of those guys are up and coming players. Thats if they get on a team like the Dodgers or Yankees they will be stars.
After what’s transpired so far on the field in ST, I’m leaning much closer to Mark on his evaluation of Lux.
9:05 PM ET vs Giants away in Scottsdale
Dodgers ( 10-3-1)
Giants (3-6)
SP James Paxton L
0-0 4.50 ERA 2IP 4K
SP Kyle Harrison L
1-0 2.08 ERA 4.1IP 6K
Confirmed Lineup
SS E. Hernandez R
2B Miguel Rojas R
C Will Smith R
LF T. Hernandez R
CF James Outman L
DH M. Vargas R
RF J. Heyward L
1B Kevin Padlo R
3B A. Lipcius R
58° Wind 3 mph Out
Well this is a very pleasant discovery and it ups my quality of life being able to join this community again, at least for the time being. My right shoulder ain’t working too well today so I’m just gonna say thanks Mark for your restart. Got some reading to catch up on. Again thanks.
Trevor Bauer Joins Independent Team, Will Pitch Against Dodgers This Weekend
Free agent right-handed pitcher Trevor Bauer will face his former team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, on Sunday, March 10.The Asian Breeze, an independent team, announced on Thursday that Bauer will participate in their upcoming game against the Dodgers this weekend.
What Is the Asian Breeze?
The Asian Breeze is a travel team whose sole purpose is to get undiscovered players in front of scouts as they take on minor leaguers in MLB organizations.
Players typically pay a fee to participate, but among those who are hoping to make the team in 2024 are former US and Japanese professionals.
In three days, they are set to take on the Dodgers at the Camelback Ranch backfields, and there will be at least one “discovered” player on display, as Bauer is joining to face his former team.
Thanks for posting this Andrew. Should be very interesting. Ironically, the last team to see him pitch in this game and decide to sign him would be the Dodgers, but I assume there will be other scouts in attendance as well.
If I’m correct that you’ve just taken this verbatim from some place and these are not your own words, it might be nice to give credit to whomever you took it from. If I’m wrong and you’ve re-written the post, please just ignore my comment.
Interesting stuff out of Dodgers camp today:
1. Buehler threw today, and looked either sharp or locked in. Depending on which synonym you prefer. He struck out four batters (he was facing a few minor-leaguers in the org) missing bats.
2. ALERT! Roberts changed tack today, noticeably. He is not longer committing to Gavin Lux being the Dodgers opening day shortstop. While the team is still confident in Lux’s defense, he also reiterated that “performance matters” & that the club will do what is best for team.
3. Rosters for the Spring Breakout game have been released. For the LAD, some prospect names:
P: Ferris, Henriquez, Karros, Kopp, Rooney, Wrobleski
IF: Albertus, Gauthier, Sweeney
OF: DePaula, George, Munoz
C: Yeiner, Lirazano, Rushing
Dave sure did not give Lux a vote of confidence. Several sites have reported that Lux might not be the opening day SS. Well that makes sense, gives him time to work on his issues. Rojas, Taylor or Kike could very well be there against the Padres. We will just have to wait and see. Tonight’s game was postponed, then cancelled because of the rain. Paxton looked pretty good, but that Harrison kid on the Giants has some nasty stuff.
Finally got an appointment to meet with an orthopedist. My knees have been bothering me for years. Bone on bone down there. I do not care who plays SS, I just want this team to win. However, I really dislike trading for rentals. That is my biggest beef against trading for Adames. But I do believe, if they decide to trade for a SS, it won’t be before the All-Star break.