Most of you have bitched and bitched and bitched the past three years, as the Dodgers have not won enough (or sometimes at all) in October. You have said that it only counts how they play in October. OK, I’ll buy that! But then you go and lose your freaking minds when they lose some games in June and July. Here’some Dodger fan losing his mind:
Hello, I detect a propensity that you just love to BITCH! Elton John was evidently talking about you when he sang at Dodger Stadium.
I find what many of you say hilarious, and that is all the time I am going to waste on it. Yes, it only counts how you play in October, so can you just STFU? OK, now that I have that out of the way, how about something with substance?
Oh, BTW, the Dodgers have the 2nd best record in the NL… so there is that! The world is not ending. The sky is not falling, and you have no clue how the Dodgers will play in October. Ok… here we go:
What’s Wrong With Bobby Miller?
- It could be his arm;
- It could be his head: or
- It could be his mechanics.
Of course, Dodger fans are going to go with #1 or #2… because they think ‘Jumping to Conclusions” is an Olympic Sport, but #3 is the most likely, especially if you like to study video. This is timeless video from 10 years ago that illustrates how a pitcher should reach their perfect release point:
Now watch Bobby in the game on Tuesday and you will see that he is flying open way too early which causes two problems: (1) You lose control and (2) you use velocity:
Now, I do not know if Miller is injured (I suspect he is not), and I do not know if he is a “head case,” but I do know that his release point is entirely out of whack! So, due to the All-Star Break he did need to go back to OKC and work on that release point for a couple of weeks. I have a feeling that Mark Prior and Conner McGinnis will be there for his next start. That’s all I have to say about it.
Do The Dodgers Need an Infielder, an Outfielder, and a Pitcher?
I mean, you could go out and trade for a whole new rotation. After all, you can never have enough pitching. However, with the pitchers the Dodgers have on the IL who are allegedly coming back, there is not enough room unless you think Glasnow, Yamamoto, Kershaw, Miller, May, and Hurt are all toast. If they are, the Dodgers are so screwed that even trading for several pitchers will not help. River Ryan will also get a “look see.”
You have to assume that some of the pitchers on the IL and in the minors will return successfully. You can’t replace the whole team. Do the Dodgers need an infielder? They need to lose Cavan Biggio and get someone who can play SS or 3B… or both. That is a given. I also think they have to expect Max Muncy to be back in September, so I would think that someone like Bo Bichette would be high on their list, but they could “settle” for DeJong.
In the outfield, Jason Heyward has been injured a lot but has not been as good as last year. James Outman may be useful against LHP, and I could make a case to platoon Vargas and Outman in LF. Teoscar Hernandez has to play every day in RF, so that leaves CF open. I am coming back to the idea of Luis Robert, Jr. if the price is not too high. Pages can go back to AAA and play every day, and maybe AF can get the ChiSox to take CT3 and Heyward (paying part of their salary) in a deal for DeJong and Robert, Jr. I would rather have Bichette, but I have no clue if Toronto will deal him.
How about the Dodgers trade DePaula, Rushing, Ferris, Lux, and Taylor, along with $10 Million Dollars for Robert, Jr. and DeJong? DeJong can fill in at 3B, 2B, and SS, and Robert becomes the CF’er. I would include Outman or Pages in the deal if necessary.
Here’s what I think about acquiring more pitching: NO! End of story! This is the horse I am riding.
Discussion (34)
Disagree, not disagreeable
What did I just read
We didn’t need any of this.
The proposed trade with the White Sox is a serious overpay. AF would never come close to that payment.
Pham and DeJong are possibles. They might try and get Fedde instead of Crochet. Angels are not trading with the Dodgers period. Jays want to unload their players who are free agents after the season. Gausman does not fit that category. As for Justin Turner, he is nothing more than a DH now. He rarely plays third and he has not been hitting well. Why would the Jays want Biggio? They just got rid of him. Taylor’s contract makes him almost untradeable. Teams are not going to just take the Dodgers garbage for their players. Pages might be enticing to some team, but I am not trading DePaula. You just tried to trade three of their outfielders. They might get rid of two, but not three. Kike has little trade value either. Bradley, Baez is having the worst year of his career. He is hitting .191 with 1 homer. JT is not going to help this team. There are plenty of good clubhouse guys on this team, including Teo, Mookie, Freddie and Heyward.
Bradley. you is something else!
Cassidy,
Would you like to wager on the National West Division. I’ll take the Dodgers you can have the field. You decide the Wager I think I’ll be able to cover it.
Don’t mean to be this way but I don’t care for negative vibes. That being said do we have a deal. If this illegal then I’m out. I don’t gamble so I’m not up to what you can and cannot bet on
The All Star break is coming at a good time. Everyone can relax catch their breath. Sometimes a break is the best medicine.
I like AF’s strategy this year of being a wild card team. Certainly being a division champ with a bye hasn’t worked. Outman living proof that what happens in OKC, stays in OKC.
How about Pham and DeJong from whitesoxs anf taylor ward and Anderson from from angels and Guasman and JT from the Bluejays. now to get those guys send players like Kiki away taylor biggio Heyward outman DePaul Pages Lux and some pitchers and rushing. Okay taylor Ward can play CF every day and Pham he can play LF or RF even cf AND then you have Teo Hernandez on lf or Rf DeJong can play third Rojas at ss and yiu still need to trade and get a secjnd baseman becaue yiu traded away taylor keke and Lux maybe yiu do get a Baez and Flarethy then yiu get Betts and Muncy come back but those guys righgvthere would improve the dodgers then what they have now. Ward gives you good play in cf and Pham gives you good play every nite and just get JT back because of his presence in the clubhouse and you get rid of the blackhole guys he could pinch hit or maybe play a little third base or second base until Betts gets back.
I think Nola must have some pictures of this umpire doing something he shouldn’t. Some of the calls he’s getting are ridiculous.
“But then you go and lose your freaking minds when they lose some games in June and July.”
They should be beating th3 ahit out of teams like the dbacks, Padres, and royals. They lost all those series. Don’t give me that shit.
In a game of slug versus small ball it appears slug is winning
Wow, just wow
The Cubs placed Bellinger on the 10-day injured list Thursday due to a fracture in his left middle finger, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.
“Bellinger had to be taken out of Wednesday’s game after he was hit in the hand by a pitch in the seventh inning, and imaging confirmed Thursday that the incident resulted in a fractured finger. He’ll be sidelined through at least July 21, though the Cubs haven’t yet provided a timeline for his return. Alexander Canario will come up from Triple-A Iowa in order to replenish Chicago’s outfield depth”.
T.Robb
Adding to what Mark just said
Prior and the Dodger organization’s pitching department is considered one of the top groups in baseball
at developing both young prospects and reclamation projects.
Their record is undeniable.
Injuries maybe not so much.
Is it the type of players they go after, one’s with high spin rate and big velocity?
Is their some deficiencies in their Training Dept ?
Don’t know the answer to that. But they are usually at the top of league each year with players losing time to the IR.
I did see something today that caught
My eye and it could mean nothing or maybe it’s just a frustrated player who is trying to find the answer of how to become a new pitcher with diminished skills.
I’m talking about Walker Buehler.
In an article today it said:
Walker Buehler Working On Pitching ‘Issues’ Away From Dodgers.
Right-hander Walker Buehler is trying to correct his own issues by working out at Cressey Sports Performance in Florida. According to Roberts, Buehler has been communicating with the Dodgers’ pitching coaches and is throwing bullpen sessions there.
While players don’t usually train and practice away from the club’s coaches during the season, the Dodgers have backed up Buehler’s decision:
The idea of working at a facility outside the Dodgers’ organization was Buehler’s “and we’re supporting it,” Roberts said.
There is still no timetable for when Buehler will be ready to return to a Major League mound.
If Taylor Ward and another outfielder and Anderson are available with the Angels. Why wouldn’t the dodgers go and get them. Is it just the owner won’t deal with the dodgers when they Dodgers would have better prospects then say the Pirates. If the Dodgers got Anderson and Evoaldi that would give them a one two punch until Glasgow and Kershaw and maybe Yosemoto come back and then they have Stone so do that go get those two pitchers
Thursday schedule
2:35 p.m. PT (doubleheader): Great Lakes (Patrick Copen & Payton Martin) vs. Fort Wayne (Jagger Haynes & Sam Whiting)
5 p.m.: Tulsa (Carlos Duran) vs. Corpus Christi (James Hicks)
5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Alec Gamboa) vs. El Paso (Jhony Brito)
7:05 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Cam Day) at Stockton (Tzu-Chen Sha)
6:05 PM ET
Dodgers (55-38)
Phillies (60-32)
SP Landon Knack R
1-2 2.86 ERA PRIM
SP Aaron Nola R
10-4 3.48 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
C Will Smith R
1B F. Freeman L
LF T. Hernandez R
RF Andy Pages R
SS Miguel Rojas R
CF James Outman L
3B Chris Taylor R
2B Gavin Lux L
88° Wind 9 mph Out
Seems like every year we as fans think the Dodgers have enough pitching. Then every year we see injury after injury. Which makes me wonder, is there an issue with their pitching philosophy? Is Mark Prior actually an expert? Is there a need to change both. Or is it just what every team has to deal with? By no means am I calling for Prior to lose his job, I would just really like to hear others opinions.
Maybe Lux and a infielder prospect could get it done.
He’s not a left handed hitter but I believe he’s hitting around .270. I know the Reds were trying to move him this past winner but Johnathan (sp) India might be available and I bet his price range isn’t bad. I don’t know much about him other than his main position is 2b. Maybe some of you could expand on rather that would be a good get.
RIP The great Shelley Duvall, owner of this ode to Bluto:
https://youtu.be/cRUa_E1CugU
Last 11 games our staff has given up 79 runs. Combine that with our “black hole gang” and it’s hard to believe we don’t have an 11 game losing streak. Vargas is hitless since we made him the “de facto” starting LF’er. Wonder what it will finally take to move arboretum jr?
I agree. We have 12 pitchers on the IL plus Betts and Muncy. The Phillies have a total of 6 players on the IL. How would the Phillies look if they were missing Wheeler and 1 of Harper, Turner or Schwarber. The team we have this week should be vastly different than the one we see come playoff time. Last year, the hitting disappeared with the layoff.
Interesting that Roberts had Roberts pinch hit with Outman and then had Lux come in for defense. Says a lot about what Roberts thinks of Lux’s hitting.
Who here still believes the 2024 Dodgers will win 100 games and why? I don’t!!!
Dave Roberts said today River Ryan is “certainly a possibility” to replace Bobby Miller in the Dodgers rotation after the All-Star break
Alex Freedman
@azfreedman
River Ryan completed five innings for the first time this season. Made one mistake, but other than that, looked good again with a bunch of soft contact and six strikeouts.
“Bo Bichette was pulled from the club’s win over the Giants due to soreness in his right calf. That’s the same calf that required a stint on the IL last month. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet relayed after the game that Bichette was undergoing an MRI.
The 26-year-old Bichette has struggled to a bleak .222/.275/.321 slash line this season, but a club that has fallen 8.5 games out of the AL Wild Card race and has begun to consider selling at the deadline can ill afford to lose one of its most talented players. Bichette’s combination of injuries, underperformance and remaining season of contractual control make him an unlikely trade candidate, especially if the Blue Jays hope to return to contention in 2025”.
Yeah we are banged up (Max, Mookie and all the pitchers) and will probably get swept by the Phillies tonight.
It was good exposure for Vargas, Pages, Stone and Knack to play in playoff type games in July to prepare them for October.
Hope all the guys on the IL can make it back soon and can produce. Better to have these injuries now than in September/October like we experienced in 2021 with Max tearing up his elbow. Make it through this month, make some acquisitions and subtractions and hopefully make a deep run.
I see nothing AF can do–outside of a miracle– to remedy all the dead bats in their line-up this season.
You can’t change that many players. Most of those already here just have to do better. Good luck with that.
Stone did pitch okay. Those two runs in the 5th should not have scored , Pages must make that catch and the inning ends scoreless.
Dodgers showed some fight and resiliency . Phillies proabably are the team to beat in the NL. Got a deep and capable lineup, 4 very good/excellent starters and a hard throwing bullpen from both sides.
For the Dodgers:
The good; Lead is still 7.5 games. Barnes starting to hit. One less bat to worry about going forward.
The Bad: Bottom of the lineup constructed out of Lux, CT, Kike, Biggio simply is not sustainable for a WS run. Too many dead bats who get an occasional hit but then go hitless for a week again.
The Ugly; Rotation gets decimated by the day.
the Future; In contrast to Mark I think the Dodgers probably need two starters at the deadline. If Yamamoto is out for good (Dodgers must know that by the deadline) they need another ace at the top of the rotation. It will take an overpay to get Crochet who is the only one who fits that bill.
Another starter should be considered with Miller totally lost, Buehler an uncertainty and Kershaw not a sure thing as well . maybe a rental like Flaherty or as someone mentioned our old friend Scherzer, maybe Eovaldi or deGrom. Rangers probably will be sellers so there should be a shot at one of those guys.
The Yamamoto situation will decide which direction the Dodgers will go at the deadline.
With a numbers crunch on our 40men roster coming up in the offseason the Dodgers have the ability and the urgency to deal some of their youngsters. Ryan, Wrobleski, Knack on the pitching side and Cartaya, Liranzo and Rushing as catchers give us some trade potential and value. Can not protect and keep them all. Better to use them now to bring in proven quality for the stretch run and postseason with the next wave of young pitchers already on the horizon ( Bruns, Ferris, Kopp, Campos for example)
Another bat is an absolute must too. Arozarena or Pham are my two prime targets. Robert jun. would be my dream scenario but he proably will cost too much .
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Oh and that guy is a Typical Long Island tool! Oh and he is a Yankees fan too…..classy.
Seen too many of those guys in my life. Just chill out man.
The Dodgers pitching coaches (esp. Prior) will recognize almost immediately–within 3 innings–when a pitchers mechanics are way-out-of-whack. So assuming it’s defective mechanics, they knew very early in Miller’s last game that he would struggle horribly and left him long into that game to fall apart.
That call on Rojas was BS. He was pushed off the bag. Could have been the difference in the game.
We battled with half our squad.
I like where we are at.
Hope we win tonight but not the end of the world if we dont. Treinen is nasty!!!