Who are the Buyers or Sellers?

We are going to talk about a couple of my favorite sayings today:

• “Relievers are fickle;” and
• “What you see today, ain’t what you will see tomorrow!”

Who is buying and selling? It’s not entirely clear right about now, but the Giants are the hottest team in baseball. MadBum says this is the best run he has ever been on. I’m sure Farhan hates it, but he may have to buy… not sell. The next 7 days will tell the tale. There are so many teams still in or almost in that it is hard to predict who will sell.

Fickle Relievers

It’s no secret that today’s best relievers may have been on the scrap heap yesterday and/or may be back there in the near future. Three of the most sought after relievers at the trade deadline are Kirby Yates, Shane Greene, and Ken Giles. Their respective teams will most certainly have them for sale. Let’s look at their past records:

Kirby Yates

• 2014 – 3.75 ERA
• 2015 – 7.97 ERA
• 2016 – 5.23 ERA
• 2017 – 3.97 ERA
• 2018 – 2.14 ERA
• 2019 – 1.05 ERA

That’s pretty sick now, but it was a long road to where he is now and pitching on a lower echelon team begs the question “How will he do with pressure?”

Shane Greene

• 2014 – 3.78 ERA
• 2015 – 6.88 ERA
• 2016 – 5.28 ERA
• 2017 – 2.66 ERA
• 2018 – 5.12 ERA
• 2019 – 1.22 ERA

Who really, really is Shane Greene?

Ken Giles

• 2014 – 1.18 ERA
• 2015 – 1.80 ERA
• 2016 – 4.11 ERA
• 2017 – 2.30 ERA*
• 2018 – 4.65 ERA
• 2019 – 1.59 ERA

*Imploded in the playoffs with 11.74 ERA

So tell me how confident you are in acquiring any of those three relievers. They have been hot and cold and one has just totally imploded on the big stage. It should be noted that his team (the Astros) won the 2017 World Series anyway. Kenley Jansen looks like Marino Rivera in the playoffs compared to him.

Building a World Championship Bullpen is PURE FICTION! It’s not science… more like VooDoo! Sometimes pure, blind luck. Most of the time, it really means very little.

What You see Today, May not be What you see Tomorrow!

Will the Dodgers make any trades?

I think so, but I don’t think there will be many prospects traded and probably only 1 Top 10 Prospect. Lux, Ruiz, Smith, May, Downs, Gray, Gonsolin, and Peters are pretty much untouchable. I do think that Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling are at the top of the trading list, along with some prospects. I can’t predict who the Dodgers will acquire, but I do think that Gavin Lux will play a big part in the playoff run and the playoffs. Yes, Gavin Lux will be called up in the next week.

Joc Pederson has been playing 1B to showcase him to any team that needs a 1B. He’s going to cost a lot next year and he’s LH. To top it all off, he can’t hit LHP. Lux can, Muncy can, Verdugo can, Bellinger can, Seager can. Within the next two weeks, Gavin Lux will be the starting 2B for the Dodgers. Book it!

Lineup:

1. Verdugo LF
2. Seager SS
3. Turner 3B
4. Bellinger RF
5. Muncy 1B
6. Pollock CF
7. Lux 2B
8. Catcher

The catcher may be Will Smith with Beaty, Martin, Barnes, Hernandez and Taylor as the stuntmen. Of course, Taylor is on the IL and it’s possible that Kike ends up there as well. Hopefully, Striplings’ neck is fine.

To those of you who think the Dodgers really need Chicken Strip to start, I submit that the Dodgers can make do with about anyone in that spot. They just need for the offense to be more potent and Lux and Will Smith can help do that.

For those of you who think Cody has regressed, I call that “high comedy.” He goes one game without a hit and he has “regressed?” Players go through peaks and valleys. Cody is still hitting .331 while Mike Trout is at .296 and yet everyone is calling Trout the MVP. Cody is pressing a little because teams are not pitching to him and last night’s umpire was putrid. Actually, the entire team is in a malaise.

The Dodgers and Yankees are running neck-and-neck for the best record in baseball, but the Dodgers have a 14.5 game lead and it is easy to lose focus. Sometimes the manager just has to let that happen for a while to get over the mental grind. I would like to see Dave Roberts be more “old school” with the umpires and opposing teams, but maybe last night was not the time. With this kind of lead, sometimes it is best to let the team off the hook… mentally for a spell. The team is kind of on cruise control right now. In a few days, it’s time to flip the switch… Here come’s Smith & Lux. If Kike goes on the IL, I think they will go with three catchers for a while.

MT’s Minor League Report

OKC Dodger’s – The Dodgers pounded the Nashville Sounds 10-6 as Rios and Peters each hit their 20th HR. Peters went 3-5 and Lux went 2-4 with 2 walks. Zach Reks was also 2-5 with a double. Brock Stewart started and ent 5 innings, allowing 5 hits and 2 ER. Sborz and Quackenbush closed out the game with 2 no-hot innings.

Tulsa Drillers – Josiah Gray pitched 7 innings and allowed ZERO earned runs but is 0-2 with a 2.19 ERAS at AA because the Drillers only scored 1 run as they lost 2-1 on two errors. Estevez went 2-4 and that was about it. I can see Gray getting a call to AAA before the season is over. He is a man among men.