It’s August, and time for Dodger Baseball. Traditionally, August has been a good month for LAD.
- 2017 – 17-10
- 2018 – 14-13
- 2019 – 17-11
- 2020 – 21-7
- 2021 – 21-6
- 2022 – 22-6
- 2023 – 24-5
- 2024 – 19-8
That is a 155-66 record for the month of August for the last 8 years, or a .701 winning percentage. That is good baseball.
We are never going to see vintage Clayton again, but this new Clayton is not bad. 13 games started, 65.2 IP, 4 quality starts, 3.29 ERA, 18 BB, 42 K. On Friday, 6.0 scoreless innings, 5 hits, zero walks, 3 K.
Justin Wrobleski followed Kersh, and was brilliant again in relief. 3.0 scoreless innings, 1 hit, zero walks, 5 K. Since Wrobo became a fulltime reliever, he has appeared in 8 games and 34.0 IP. He has a 2.12 ERA and 0.969 WHIP. As a reliever he has 5 BB and 37 K. That is 7.4 K/BB. That is elite.
There are no more pitchers like Luis Garcia, Matt Sauer, Lou Trevino, Will Klein, Noah Davis, Yoendrys Gómez, Landon Knack, Chris Stratton, Ryan Loutos, José Ureña.
Which reliever goes when Blake Snell is activated? Anthony Banda, Ben Casparius, Alexis Diaz, Jack Dreyer, Paul Gervase, Brock Stewart, Blake Treinen, Justin Wrobleski, Alex Vesia. Michael Kopech will be back, Tanner Scott will be back, and Brusdar Graterol might be back. But a potential difference maker is a starter on the IL that could be headed for late inning relief…Roki Sasaki. Just heard that was a possibility. They can manage his innings. He is throwing and will be facing batters this weekend. How he does will determine when he goes on a rehab. Will he go as a starter, or will they put him in the pen.
Freddie is showing signs of getting out of his 2 month slump, with a double and HR. That is back to back games with a HR.
Shohei Ohtani reached base 3 times with 2 hits and a BB. Alex Freeland had a multi-hit game and his first MLB RBI. Michael Conforto has an oppo double.
Mookie hit the ball hard a couple of times, but got nothing to show for it. One 104+ ground ball, one 90+ ground ball, and two 90+ fly balls. It is not Mookie, but there were no pop outs to the right side.
This was a good start to August for the Dodgers.
MiLB GAME SUMMARY REPORTS
Salt Lake City Bees (LAA) 4 – OKC Comets 2
This was another bullpen game for OKC, which is becoming all too regular. Thursday, they brought up a pitcher from Great Lakes, Christian Ruebeck, and Friday OKC started Julian Fernández. Fernández pitched 2.0 perfect innings with 4 Ks. Bobby Miller followed and had his second consecutive very good relief appearance. This was a 2.0 scoreless IP, no hits, 1 BB, and 2 K.
Garrett McDaniels (3 runs) and Edgardo Henriquez (1 run) allowed the 4 runs, although Henriquez struck out 4 in his 1.2 IP.
Nick Frasso pitched a perfect 9th.
OKC had 5 singles on the night, with Nick Senzel having 2 of them.
Box Score
Tulsa Drillers 7 – Midland RockHounds (A’s) 3
Chris Campos pitched a brilliant 7.0 innings, 2 runs (1 earned), 6 BB, 0 BB, 8 K. He threw 94 pitches. Robinson Ortiz allowed 1 run in his 1.0 inning, and Antonio Knowles pitched a scoreless 9th.
John Rhodes slugged a 3-run HR (7) in the 2nd inning. Kyle Nevin reached base 4 times with 2 singles and 2 BB. Yeiner Fernandez reach 3 times with 2 singles and a BB. Chris Newell had a 2-hit game as well.
Taylor Young hit his 16th double.
Box Score
Great Lakes Loons 9 – Fort Wayne TinCaps (SD) 2
Payton Martin was another of the Top 30 prospect pitcher who pitched well on Friday. He pitched 5.0 IP, 4 hits, 0 BB, 4 K, 79 pitches. No BB, no runs. Martin has now pitched 62.1 innings and has compiled a very respectable 3.72 ERA.
OTOH, Reynaldo Yean pitched 0.2 IP, allowing 2 runs, with 4 BB, and just 1 hit.
Joseilyn Gonzalez (1.1 IP) and Jorge Gonzalez (2.0 IP) finished the game without allowing a run, and only 1 BB between the 2.
Great Lakes had 5 doubles in the game: Eduardo Quintero (2), Joe Vetrano 2 (15_, Logan Wagner (18), and Elijah Hainline (3).
Elijah Hainline was 3-3, with a BB and sac fly for a perfect night.
Kendall George was 2-3 with 2 BB and 5 SB. That is 63 on the year.
Logan Wagner and Joe Vetrano each had a pair of hits.
Box Score
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 5 – Fresno Grizzlies (Colorado) 3
RC was down 3-2 in the 9th with 2 outs when Eduardo Guerrero and Emil Morales each drew a BB. That was followed by a 3-run HR by Jaron Elkins, his 9th. Elkins also had a single for a 2-hit night.
Oswaldo Osorio hit a solo HR in the 2nd.
Emil Morales was 2-4 with a double (3). Chase Harlan hit his 1st double with RC.
Box Score
That announcer is not my cup of tea
First appearance. They’ll figure it out.
You know who hasn’t? Devers. 1 for 5 with 4 K’s yesterday. He’s hitting .2ohsh*twhathavewedone since going to San Francisco. It’s working out just as Dodger fans planned it.
Excellent game by Clayton and Wrobocop.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here we are in August and I still wonder who might need a few days off.
Yep, Plaschke went off on Friedman and I just hope he’s wrong. We’ll see.
In looking at the box scores of our AAA and AA teams there is one hitter OPS’n over .900 – Ward. And I think it’s safe to say he won’t be of any help the rest of the way. Hopefully the Dodgers won’t need any offensive help in the stretch run.
Bobby Miller for one inning is starting to make sense.Slick fielding Noah Miller apparently can’t hit a lick so he’s stuck where he is.
I’m looking forward to what Stewart and Gervase bring to the bullpen.
In 198 at bats Alex Call has 1.1 WAR. That’s a 3 WAR outfielder on the bench. Not a lot of pop but decent OBP. He’s not Kwan but with Conforto finally coming around (.827 in July) maybe the two of them add up to Kwan. We’ll see.
Mookie. Muncy. Sasaki. Yates. Scott. There’s a lot of we’ll see hanging in the August air.
Good post Badger. But, not as witty as your post below!
Plaschke is a tool. He would get thrown off LADT for being a moron. I didn’t read the article. What was his beef with AF? I thought AF did what I kind of expected. With so many talented players on the IL it would have been difficult for him to justify spending a lot of prospect capital for closer type relievers when he might not even need them. It was a tough situation.
I would be surprised if we see Gervase this season with the Dodgers. He has trouble throwing strikes right now. More of a project. Big guy though.
I think Call could be a sneaky good trade for the team. He seems to be a perfect platoon player with Conforto. Conforto is playing well currently and having to face only RH pitching should help him continue to be productive. Call has to be thrilled to be a Dodger. The team appears to be slowly adding players that less power oriented and more make contact, get on base, and good defense.
Hopefully, Yates stays on the IL until he is DFA’d by the Dodgers and Scott can get his shit together for the final couple of months. Maybe, the arm discomfort was the reason for his ineffectiveness.
I like Muncy as is
You have to give some credit to Conforto for how he’s handled himself during what has to be the toughest stretch of his career. He’s kept his head down, played hard, never complained, and stayed classy through it all. I for one am happy to see him playing better and better. That sweet swing had to come through sooner or later.
Don’t you want to keep your head up.I think so, I we know what you mean.
I have a lot of admiration for the guy. Can’t be easy going out there every day and seeing that .196 up on the board.
That’s what the fans see. What he and Roberts are looking at are his July splits – .273/.342/.485/.827
Yup, if he’s woken up, it adds a lot to the lower part of the lineup!
Freeland is a ballplayer.
Indeed he is. It’s too bad he couldn’t have called up earlier with the Muncy injury.
Looks confidant when hitting. I hope he stays for the rest of the season.
I haven’t heard much on the Kiki injury situation. It must be more serious than originally thought.
I really like what I’ve seen so far. Diving for ground balls, switch hitter. He can play.
Now dump the mullet and mustache
Dude, check out his girl in the stands. He ain’t suffering cuz of that look.
i read a post yesterday and I thought “what a messed up psycho”.
Then I hit Post Comment.
I resemble that
I am that! 🤑
Lo and behold…..all of a sudden I see we may now have TOO MANY arms throwing from the bullpen.
If you add those injured guys (Scott, Kopech, Graterol) with Wrobo, Sasaki, and now Miller…then we clearly have a surplus, assuming all will be healthy come September.
So who goes? Who stays?
Who is this Gervase guy? Is he any good? I guess I will have to look him up and see for myself…..
Maybe our smart people knew what they were doing when they only re-acquired one dude-BROCK STEWART- to get out RHBs in the clutch.
Be patient Tennis with the too many arms in the BP. AF will use his favorite tool in roster management…the IL. A hamstring pull here, shoulder discomfort there, and a possible blister and presto there’s room for everyone!
Gervase looks like another project acquisition for the coaching staff in OKC. Like many Dodger pitching prospects, he walks a lot of people. He’s MLB strikeout to walk ratio is 1. But, he has thrown only six innings. He probably won’t pitch on LA until next at the earliest. At 6’10” there are a lot of moving parts.
“What was his beef with AF?”
The fact multiple high end closers were on the market and he didn’t get any of them, he got a retread in Stewart.
Well, we have no idea what the asking price was for those high end closers. Hard to bash AF when we don’t have all the information.
Thanks Ted…I’m working on developing more patience…
but this paraphrase from an article I was reading on Gervase might surprise you…
The 6’ 10” dude- Gervase- Striking out 40% of batters faced with the best walk rate (7.5%) in AA and AAA sounds most impressive. He has only pitched 6 innings in the bigs this year. I would be concerned about throwing a rookie into the September crunch time.
It sounds like he didn’t have a walk problem for two years in AA and AAA. Maybe in his 6 innings in the bigs nerves got to him. He can overcome that, I’m sure.
Gervase has upside.
You want more patience, become a doctor! 😂
Speaking of doctors:
This moth goes into a podiatrist office and the podiatrist says “how can I help you today”
And the moth says “well doc, I’ve got this awful job that I just hate and my boss, Mr Crocket, is always on my ass about something, and my wife Georgia wants nothing to do with me, she complains constantly and at night just turns over in bed and goes immediately to sleep, my daughter McKinley is failing all her classes in school, has no friends and her teacher says she blames me for everything, my youngest son William is now in a gang and getting in fights off campus and the principal said one more incident on campus and William will be expelled, my oldest son Mark is already in prison for robbery and assault, so I have this loaded gun on my nightstand and I think I just might…”
and the podiatrist stops him and says “whoa wait, you’ve got serious issues, you need to see a psychiatrist, I’m a podiatrist, what are you doing here?”
And the moth says “well the light was on”
Norm MacDonald for the win
yep!
The ending was well worth the long setup.
Thanks Jeff. Great outing by Kershaw!
Solid relief from Justin. Dodgers have gotten more out of Clayton this year than expected already. Love to see the HOF pitcher battle to contribute to his team.
When pitchers throw a shutout, tough to lose a game!
Very early game today, 10.10 Pacific time.
Snell activated, Gervase optioned to AAA OKC.
I guess management agrees….don’t throw the rookie into the frying pan…..be patient.
This is why I love Mookie. He bought the diner he used to eat at on credit when in high school. The lady who ran it, Elena, let him run a tab for two years. 15 years later, he tracked Elena down and found out she was closing the diner. He quietly bought the place. Instead of reopening it for business, he asked Elena to cook again, this time for 120 homeless people from the area every day. The man definitely pays back the community.
Typical rich guy
Seriously? Seek help. Oh, I forgot. You can’t fix stupid.
What? He is helping people less fortunate than he is, not all rich people do that.
Not typical at all.
Some prefer to wave chainsaws and put people out of work.
You live in a very different world than I do.
I’ve committed a few times about the bus being loaded and getting everyone in the right seat was better than trading for more pitching. I even mentioned Sasaki as a potential closer.
Swapping May for Stewart gets rid of a lot of negative body language May made us watch.
I think we should be promoting Smith for MVP. That would put 5 MVP’s on this team.
I agree with you about Smith. I was ridiculed for saying so. But like I care what someone thinks. Smith has been far more valuable to the Dodgers with his consistent performance over the entire season, not just in spurts.
Careful Bums, Bluto loves watching May pitch! I want to love watching Snell pitch
no worries! Still very easy to watch May pitch.
I want to love watching Mookie hit again
Same here. He hit some balls hard, but they were atem balls.
Can the Dodgers downsize the crew that they use on broadcasts for next year? I vote were trade Mendoza, the D-Train and Karros to the highest bidder. We’ll take a couple of bags of peanuts for the whole crew! 😁
i don’t mind Mendoza, what is your gripe with her?
Her laugh for one thing, she sounds like a donkey, and she giggles way too much. Matching her with Nelson is a bad pairing since Nelly thinks he is a comedian more than a play-by-play guy. She is just simply annoying. I feel the same way about Orel. He never shuts up.
yes! Great observations. I do like that. She’s very stats and analytics forward, but too much of American sports commentating feels they have to always be saying something.
I like Orel and Joe together.
Totally agree
Most do, I am not one of them. Actually, I prefer Neverett as a play-by-play guy over Davis who veers of subject too much when he is with Orel. They go off subject a lot. I still think Nomar is the most polished analyst on their broadcast team, and the one who gets least technical and sticks to basics. He even does that on the pre-game show.
I love Neverett because he focuses on what’s going on in the game. No fluff talk. He describes the action on the field. Would love to see him do more games on tv.
Same here.
Good call
I like all 3 of those announcers. They bring a different spin to the game.
I get that, but Mendoza is annoying to many of us. D-Train uses a lot of terms that he thinks are funny but really are not. Karros to me is a bit better than Orel, but I prefer Nomar over both of them. Bobby, I am seriously beginning to question your taste in color analysts! 😂
I get that we as Dodger fans were spoiled. No one can ever hold a candle to Scully. He was the best right up until the day he retired. I dislike Davis because he is a Joe Buck clone. The same type of delivery. Not my cup of tea.
I read that Mookie’s daughter is battling a life threatening disease. Has anyone else seen that. Could be why he is struggling.
https://www.fcsports.online/bN2147mlF
holy hell. how horrible
I am not sure that it is real. I hope it is false.
There is as much chance of this being true, as Orel Hersheiser becoming the Dodgers pitching coach.
I think it is false. Pretty shitty gag someone is pulling.
I also hope it is false; the same site said a bunch of stuff about Crow-Armstrong.
Well if Freeland keeps on hitting like he has the last two games guess what happens ĥe will be a shortstop when Muncy comes back and then where do you put Betts hello back in right field and Teoscar goes back to left field becaue Freeland is a better fielder and groom him to be the shortstop so this off-season we can go get a legit third baseman.becsuee I think Mincu leaves this year and goes on to be a DH and first baseman some where. Just saying Freeman hits they finnally will get production out of the shortstop ppstion. And you put miggy Rojas at secondbase and that does make the defense better on the infield and improves the outfield for the playoffs with conforto on the bench.
When Muncy is activated, Freeland is going to be sent back to OKC. Betts is not moving back to right. No Mincu on this roster. Muncy has a 10-million-dollar option for next year. Very affordable, he will be back. Rojas is not an everyday player anymore. If anything, Edman will play there most days.
Nice win for the Dodgers. A positive way to start August. Kershaw looked very good. It’s satisfying to watch a pitcher with low velo be very effective by actually pitching to a hitters weaknesses.
The strikeouts by the Dodgers was, again, troubling. If this continues it certainly could be a problem when facing much better pitching in the playoffs. Ohtani is really struggling to make contact with competitive pitches.
I’m watching the game now and Snell looks very good. He’s given up a couple of home runs to Diaz. But, they were hit to the short right field stands. They would have been outs in almost all other ball parks.
Two more K’s for Ohtani today. Mookie continues to look fatigued. Freddie seems to have return to his normal, productive self. The young Rays sure are free swingers.
Carry on.
This team strikes out WAY TOO MUCH, and Ohtani is the worst culprit of all.
It’s horrible to watch. Yet MiggyRo’s bunt was beautiful to watch!
Yes, it is. And playing in this ballpark is a travesty. Two homers that would have been outs anywhere else. Now Dreyer is getting lit up too.
Plaschke is a hack. He is just an angry writer who gets his kicks writing venomous articles about the Dodgers and USC in particular. I will not read Plaschke or Dylan Hernandez.
So Plaschke wanted the Dodgers to go out and spend elite prospect capital for a closer. I know Badger, and others, did as well. There are many of us who did not want AF to spend the prospect capital. But more importantly than me, or Plaschke, the guy who is making millions making the roster decisions, and has won more than anyone since he became POBO for LAD, believes he has enough back end high leverage relievers, he did not need a “closer” at the deadline.
What did AF say he wanted before the deadline? He wanted a RH high leverage reliever who can get RH batters out.
· Bednar – 79 PA against RH batters – .284/.316/.459/.776, 3 BB, 30 K
· Duran – 98 PA against RH batters – .256/.306/.267/.573, 7 BB, 26 K
· Miller – 84 PA against RH batters – .141/.202/.192/.395, 6 BB, 39 K
· Stewart – 73 PA against RH batters – .104/.178/.149/.327, 3 BB, 29 K
Stewart fits more into what AF was looking than the three closers.
Who was the closer for the 2024 playoffs? Who was the closer for the 2020 playoffs?
2024 playoffs – Treinen 3 saves, Buehler 1, Vesia 1
2020 playoffs – Jansen 2, Treinen 1, Graterol 1, Kelly 1, Urías 1
It was bullpen by committee in both WS years’ playoffs.
For 2020, Urías was the most effective reliever in playoff high leverage situations, when he wasn’t starting. Perhaps the most critical AB in the WS was Dylan Floro against Randy Arozarena. It is tough to call the 2nd inning a high leverage situation, but with 2 on and 2 out, Doc brought in Dylan Floro to face a very hot playoff batter, Arozarena. Floro struck him out on 3 pitches, all changeups.
The last time the Dodgers had a closer with 30+ saves was 2021.
2021 – KJ (38), Treinen (7), 10 relievers with saves
2022 – Kimbrel (12), Hudson (5), 12 relievers with saves
2023 – Phillips (24), Graterol (7), 11 relievers with saves
2024 – Phillips (18), Hudson (10), 14 relievers with saves
2025 – Scott (19), Vesia (4), 10 relievers with saves
AF tried for the first dominant “closer” this year since KJ in 2021. In AF’s mind, Scott is still the closer. However, AF is more comfortable collecting high leverage relievers who can come into any situation.
I think I will trust AF on roster construction waaaaayyyyy more than Plaschke.
Mason Miller is young with team control through ’28 or ’29. The Pads may try to move him back to the rotation next season. His velo has reached 104.
Looks like a smart gamble by Preller to me.
The people who say he paid too much also like to say every prospect is a suspect until they prove otherwise.
Does anyone read the LA Times?
Can’t read them unless I subscribe online.
I obviously don’t know who was offered for Kwan but I would definitely have included Pages and more.
Not necessarily. Some speculation focused on Rushing and pitching prospects.
Kwan is one batter. He can’t make up for an entire lineup that has gone on a 2 month slump. Then again, is it a slump?
No closer helps that offense.
Interesting. Why?
I trust Kwan to produce and I don’t with Pages. Gut feeling.
Roger.
Teo not clutch there. Padres playing the Cardinals today, who seem to have thrown in the towel. 3-7 in their last 10 games. They come to Dodger Stadium for 3 next week. Vazquez pitching for the Padres and McGreevy for the Redbirds.
Noda claimed off of waivers by the Orioles.
Well, Diaz looking pretty good. Would be a huge boost for our bullpen if the Dodgers have fixed him.
July Dodgers are back. How long will they stay? Got a good look at the guy who should have been our new closer.
Is it the closer or is it the LAD bats? Since it was said that Rays bullpen has been one of the worst for over a month, I am going with it is the holes in the LAD swings.
Fairbanks for July – 8.1 IP, 4 runs (all earned), 8 hits, 1 BB, 7 K, 4.32 ERA, 4.90 FIP. His line against RH batters: .250/.310/.388/.698, 7 BB, 13 K.
Still looks like the Dodgers got the best reliever against RH batters available.
I’ll take Fairbanks over Stewart all day every day.
Doc said after the game that they were not taking quality at bats. Fairbanks had an ERA over 4 for July, so he had not been pitching well lately. But he did look sharp today. I also think the weather played a part since it is so humid there. That is why they built a dome in Tampa.
That’s okay, we disagree. BTW, how does Fairbanks help the Dodgers hitters?
How does Stewart? You can’t do anything at the deadline to fix our underperforming stars. You can fix the 9th inning with a closer. You’re really rolling the dice with Scott
Because he fit the narrative for what AF was looking for. The best RHRP who can get RH batters out. He has done that better than any of the names that have been mentioned. Plus the cost for him was James Outman. I am not certain, but I am guessing that the Rays would not have traded Fairbanks for Outman straight up. Fairbanks was a rental with a price tag AF was not comfortable with. Stewart is making $870K and has 2 more years of arbitration before he is a FA in 2028.
The Outman for Stewart trade gets an A+.
Especially with Outman back in AAA for the Twinkie’s. So far SF is losing again today. Giants have TANKED big time.
How important is a closer if Dodgers don’t have the lead?
I have more confidence in Mookie, Freddie, Shohei and Teo returning to form over Scott and Yates. Therefore I wanted a closer. If they don’t then the deadline is a moot point.
I think Scott will figure it out. He is too good not too. And it hasn’t been his velo that is the problem. It has been his location. That seems more like a mechanical problem. Yates on the other hand has simply gotten old and lost his stuff and his mojo.
Disappointing loss. Ohtani has struck out 23 times in the last 11 games, bringing his season total to 135. Just 33 short of last year’s total. The positive was that the two homers Snell allowed, would not have been homers in LA. He looked very sharp. Teo not getting a clutch hit that would have at least scored a run when they loaded the bases with one out also hurt. Game tomorrow is another early game. No walks today for either team. Yoshi gets the start tomorrow.
Not just LA. One of the HRs is only a HR in that ballpark. The other was only a HR in that ballpark, Yankee Stadium, and Houson’s Daikin Park.
Absolutely true. I thought it might have been Fenway, but that is only if you wrap it around the Pesky pole.
Well, that sucked.
Pathetic, utterly pathetic offensive performance by the Dodgers. Mookie looks uninspired.
Way too many strikeouts. Bluto’s head will explode when I mention once again, but RVS has to go. It won’t happen this season, but once the season is over AF has to go in search of a new offensive approach/philosophy. The Dodgers have one position player who is offensively playing well and that is Will Smith.
Regression by Mookie, Ohtani, FF, Teo, Edman and a season-long terrible offensive performance by Conforto. Big league pitching seems too formidable for Rushing right now.
If the Padres win tonight the division lead will be two games.
My head won’t explode.
I mean I’m pretty sure this team will be on a better place end of the regular season than last year’s team. and will probably be better in the playoffs, but they probably won’t win the world series and maybe that will be cause for some change.
Maybe it’s Prior or RVS, but I’d be very surprised if there was a major change in philosophy
Your head exploding is not a pretty picture.
Muncy should be back in the lineup at OKC tonight. Freeland will get a ticket back to OKC when he is activated. I think Ruiz may go when Kim gets healthy.
Or Freeland stays and Kim retreats to OK.
Doubtful. Kim is more versatile and much faster on the bases. Freeland is strictly left side of the infield.
I was in favor of acquiring Steven Kwan at the right price. But Kwan was not traded probably because they made the return totally out of the realm of a possibility. Boston said early on nearing the trade deadline, Jarren Duran was not going to be traded. Regardless they would be just one player inserted into a very weak offense. Since July 1:
Dodgers have the highest strikeout % in MLB – 25.6%
26th in runs scored
27th in wRC+
17th in HR
The metric wRC+ measures the runs created by a player. It weighs them based on other players in the league and the benefits and drawbacks of ball fields. Simply stated, wRC+ takes the runs created stat and levels it out across multiple factors. This makes comparing players in different leagues, ballparks, and eras easier.
Per Blake Harris, Mookie’s OPS is down to .667, which ranks 137th among 156 qualified hitters. .498 OPS since being moved to the leadoff spot.
How does Mason Miller or Jhoan Duran help with that?
Since July 1, the Dodgers have not scored 8 runs in a game. They have scored 7 three times and 6 twice. The last game they scored 8 was June 25 in Colorado. The last time they scored in double digits was June 22 at home vs Washington.
I cannot believe that Casey Porter said what he said below, but this is exactly what I have been saying, just not as articulate as Casey has.
Just when I was starting to feel a little hopeful the Dodgers turn in another clunker. Needless to say this team Has not been able to string together wins since April. Hard to imagine that changing with just 50 games left. I suppose it’s possible.
In regards to Kwan, he’s 27 years old, All-Star and 3 gold gloves. How is he not worth a top prospect? One could argue he’s worth two prospects. It depends on what the other team is willing to give up.
Here’s a legitimate question: how long do you think Will Smith has to be a full time catcher? He is what 29, 30 years old? He’s been relatively healthy, he’s athletic, healthy knees. Etc. It’s possible Smith catches full time until age 35-36 at the least. That means Rushing is a backup catcher for the next 5 years. Those are his prime years! Rushing is 24. Why not include Rushing in a deal and instead keep Fedducia as a backup?
Hard to learn how to hit MLB pitching playing once per week. Unless Something happens to Smith, I don’t see the point of holding onto Rushing unless he’s going to be playing every day.
You have to give up talent to get talent. Saying the price was too high for a major league All-star and gold glove winner is odd to me. If the ask is 4 or 5 prospects, ok that’s a bit rich sure. But 1 or 2 for him doesn’t sound unreasonable IMO. Either you are willing to part with a couple of the prospects to make the deal or you’re not.
This is what the trade deadline is all about, plugging holes, or improving the club for the stretch drive and playoffs. Teams selling are looking to unload for long term pieces.
It doesnt make sense to me to hold onto prospects that will likely never see the light of day in a Dodger uniform or at best become bench players, or depth.
51 games left there Scott.
They worked all day on a deal for Kwan. Do you think the Dodgers were only willing to give up Maddux Bruns and Peter Huebeck? The only player we know who was asked for by Cleveland was Leo De Vries. Just because the Dodger fans thought that AF should have traded for Kwan does not mean that Cleveland wanted to trade Kwan to LAD or any other team. He is controlled for 2 more years at a reasonable price even for Cleveland. They were not looking to tear it down and start all over, just to satisfy LAD fans. If Cleveland did not insist on Rushing they would be derelict in their jobs.
Lets say that AF was able to get Kwan for De Paula/Hope/Ryan. Those who do not value prospects would find that amenable. Now Kwan is ine lineup for Conforto, who by the way was the 2nd best hitter for LAD in July. How does that fix Mookie/Shohei/Freddie/Teo/Edman? It doesn’t. This team will not win with or without Kwan unless those guys start to hit. They will win if they begin to hit. So exactly how does Kwan fix the obvious LAD hitting concerns.
Why does everyone want to blame AF because the other team did not want to trade their star player? If Kwan was traded, we would know the cost. Cleveland asked for the moon (and why not). Dodgers said no.
I have no idea what Cleveland wanted, and neither do you. Just because they asked SD for their best prospect doesnt necessarily mean they asked the Dodgers for Rushing. Maybe they did. That’s not the point. The point is what’s the value of these prospects that are blocked at the major league level for the next several years or more?
Is a backup catcher more valuable then an all-star gold glove outfielder? Im going to say no, but that’s my opinion. Maybe Cleveland did want to keep Kwan after all and said no thanks. Maybe they wanted Rushing and a couple of the pitching prospects. We’ll never really know. But the team traded prospects last year for 3 MLB players and it worked. Do they win the World Series last year without Edman or Kopech? Im going to say no. Would you rather have a World series ring? Or would you rather have those prospects back? I can tell you my answer.
It just seems weird to me that they made the moves last year, but this year were very conservative. How valuable are these other prospects? Do you think the Dodgers could acquire or draft more young players?
I just don’t think they did enough. Brock Stewart and Alex Call are decent pickups, but I don’t think they are enough.
Im not blaming Friedman for anything. No offense intended Jeff, but the club is considerably weaker this year. So far. They could have used another bat in the lineup. Kwan would have been a great addition.
That is just BS. The 2025 team is better than the team that beat NYY in the World Series.
Last Year SP – Yamamoto/Flaherty/Buehler
2025 SP – Yamamoto, Snell, Glasnow, Ohtani, Kershaw
Huge Improvement
Last year RP – Banda, Brasier, Casparius, Graterol, Honeywell, Hudson, Knack, Kopech, Treinen, Vesia
2025 RP – Banda, Casparius, Diaz, Dreyer, Stewart, Treinen, Vesia, Wrobo… others, Graterol, Kopech, Sasaki, Sheehan
Counting Kopech and Graterol, 6 of the 10 RP from last year are on the 2025 roster. You cannot convince that Stewart, Diaz, Dreyer, Wrobo, Sheehan, Sasaki and whatever SP goes to the pen, are not better than Brasier, Honeywell, Hudson, and Knack.
Either 9 or 10 of the 13 position players will be back. The three not back are Barnes, Lux, and CT. Rushing, Call, and Conforto is an improvement. Kiké is an unknown. Everyone keeps saying that Kiké was signed for October. Let’s assume he will be back, but if not, he would be replaced by Kim or Freeland.
I agree the 2025 team is not playing better, but the three additions to the 2025 roster is better than the three players lost from 2024 team.
Last year the Dodgers traded for an injured Edman, that nobody knew would play the way he did, a not very good Kopech RP, and SP Flaherty. Call is every bit the player that Edman is, Stewart was a better acquisition than Kopech was at the time of the trade, and the Dodgers did not need another SP.
Kopech at the time of the trade – 43 games, 43.2 IP, 4.74 ERA, 24 BB, 59 K, 9 saves, 5 blown saves, 1 hold.
Stewart at the time of the trade – 39 games, 34.0 IP, 2.38 ERA, 11 BB, 41 K, 0 saves, 1 blown save, 14 holds
Instead of just saying that this team is not as good as the 2024 team tell us where you believe they are better.
“The 2025 team is better than the team that beat NYY in the World Series.”
Theoretically, yes. But we’re now just 50 games from the finish, and so far, in practice, this 2025 team–as you also wrote–“is NOT playing better.” And right now, the improvement needed to actually BE better than year’s team is a very steep mountain to climb.
Not just the “stars,” but almost the entire line-up (except Smith) must be much better offensively, and Ohtani, Glasnow, and Snell must yet PROVE they’re the ace pitchers the Dodgers EXPECT & NEED them to be for this team to win another title. And NOW is the time we must see these changes happen.
This.
Not to mention the 25 team’s pitching staff ranks in the bottom of MLB, 24 team’s bullpen ranked top 5.
Pitching was better last year. Yes there have been injuries, I know. Also agree about the speed with Ohtani stealing and going for 50/50. This year they are station to station. And also Conforto is not better than anyone.
Only AF and Gomes know what the Guardians wanted, but what we do know is that it was more than what the Dodgers were willing to pay. End of story.
Yeah, because AF is smarter than all of us (genius) and his pay grade is higher than all of us! That should end the story. Because of those, he hasn’t made mistakes.
He has made mistakes, not a single person who runs a baseball team hasn’t. They were not going to give Cleveland the players they wanted for Kwan. That truly ends the story. If it is a mistake, only time will tell.
Isn’t this just the most frustrating part of being a fan?
We have no idea what is being worked on behind the scenes, what Betts is comfortable with, what the analytics and computers say.
For all we know, Betts has been trying to move his hands (is that the crux here? I’m obviously out of my depth with batting swings)
We just have to offer ideas and guess? And presume things get better.
I’m not a hitting guru but I’ve commented twice that Mookie’s right shoulder dip in an attempt to get loft is really noticeable. Porter is right on.
Lead down to 2.5 games pending the outcome of tonight’s Padres-Cardinal’s tiff. Hope Cards go on a short 2-game win streak. Then start a 3-game losing streak on Monday in LA.
Forget the trade deadline. The players have to perform. They are not for some reason not named AF. I have been a Dodger fan my entire life and have never been more frustrated with this underachieving team. They are pretty much unwatchable. It is very very hard to repeat. This team does not seem hungry or motivated to repeat. 2consecutive months of pathetic baseball. The talent is there but the execution, discipline, and desire are not evident.
It amazes me why so many want to blame AF for not trading for a player that wasn’t traded to anybody, and not holding Mookie/Freddie/Shohei/Teo/Edman accountable for their play. I will write again: “Per Blake Harris, Mookie’s OPS is down to .667, which ranks 137th among 156 qualified hitters. .498 OPS since being moved to the leadoff spot.” When does he get moved out of the leadoff spot? We know the Dodgers do not score in the 1st inning. Do we really wonder why? If this was not Mookie, how long would he have stayed in the lineup, much less stayed at the front of the lineup?
I am not advocating removing Mookie from the lineup or from the leadoff spot. AF went out and traded for Mookie in 2020, and they have won 2 WS since. But AF should be blamed for not trading for a player hitting .285/.348/.404/.752, 9 HR, 38, 30 XBH? Kwan has a wRC+ of 114 which is behind Pages, Muncy, Freeman, Ohtani, and Smith.Just ahead of Hyeseong Kim (110).
I am done pounding my head against a wall for those who just do not like Andrew Friedman.
Don’t take offense by this Jeff but weren’t you the one who wanted Kwan just last week. I would have to look for the comment but I believe you said
“Get Steven Kwan” ~ Jeff D.
So now he’s not good? He’s a bum? Kind of odd. That’s the same type of logic I hear from some people. The prospects that are blocked are considered to valuable to part with (even though they’re blocked and will never play for the Dodgers) until Friedman trades them and then suddenly they are bums.
“Dustin May wasn’t good anyways” or insert any prospect that Friedman did trade.
Let’s just say Kwan would have been a great pickup, and if the Dodgers really wanted him, they could have made it work.
But it’s not just about Kwan, I belive they also needed 2 or 3 additional relievers as well. Not just Brock Stewart. I agree with Cassidy, they do need a closer.
We’ll see how the next couple of weeks play out. 6 games versus SD coming up.
There is a difference of wanting Steven Kwan, which I did, and overpaying for him. You may not trust AF, but I do, and if he thought that the price was too much then it was. I wanted MacKenzie Gore, Paul Skenes, James Wood, Ketel Marte, Jacob Wilson, Kyle Stowers, CJ Abrams, José Ramírez…That damn AF, why couldn’t he get one of them?
Do we even know what overpaying is in this situation? How many prospects is Kwan worth? And which ones? Is 2 prospects overpaying? 1 top prospect and 2 lower level prospects? Dalton Rushing? Hope, de Paula?
Even if the Dodgers “overpaid” for Kwan and we still don’t know what that involves,…so what. The Dodgers can acquire or draft more prospects. Can’t they?
I trust Friedman to build a competitive team which he has, but I’ve read several people over here including you saying the following…
“The outfield defense is horrendous” Kwan helps with that.
“The Dodgers are too reliant on slug” Kwan’s contact skills help there too.
” The Dodgers need more speed in their lineup” Kwan helps with this too.
It seems like Kwan would have been a great fit. Im the one who wanted pitching more than Kwan.
Btw Friedman and the Dodgers have the resources and influence to acquire almost any player. If they really want them. I said almost any player.
It just would have been nice to get more than Brock Stewart, Alex Call and a few prospects who might never play for the Dodgers.
I don’t believe Cleveland really wanted to trade Kwan. He is controllable for another 2 years after 2025. Not a free agent until 2028. And, they are still in the Wild Card hunt. Any team acquiring him would have had to overpay drastically to pry him away.
It is time to move on. The deadline has come and gone. It is time for the players we have to perform.
They weren’t going to trade him. That is my point. But Scott seems to think AF could have traded for him. Why would’t Cleveland just accept what AF was offering?
The bad news for them is that Clase has not been reinstated yet, and the investigation into the gambling is continuing.
Agreed
I too have been a Dodger fan my entire life. They are a banged-up team, Teo has not been right since his return from the IL. Neither has Edman. Mookie started the season off ill, then broke his toe and has never been Mookie like. Ohtani on the other hand, has forgotten what the strike zone looks like and is swinging at pitches he has no chance of hitting. There are multiple reasons this team is playing this bad for this long. But I doubt seriously that lack of desire is one of them. Discipline, having a plan and executing it, yeah, I buy that.
FWIW on the Dodgers quest for Steven Kwan. They apparently spent most of their time on Thursday trying to make a deal. See article highlighted below:
If hitting isn’t getting the job done then go with pitching and defense. They have the pitchers but lack comparable defense.
Reportedly the Dodgers made a strong push for Kwan, but obviously didn’t push hard enough.
There is speculation that the Guardians wanted Rushing. My speculation is that the Dodgers prefered to offer DePaula or Hope, and maybe Freeland.
Kwan would have solved LF for the foreseeable future. We’re hopeful that Rushing will be more than a backup catcher. Does the brass have a grand plan to fit Smith and Rushing into the same lineup?
There are a couple of new reasons for the Dodgers to put a top OF prospect on the market. One is James Tibbs III, a first-round talent that the Dodgers just acquired, and also their recent draft pick, Charles Davalan, a strong hitter out of Arkansas. (Seems like a Kwan type: a contact machine with good speed and limited power.) Tibbs is off to a slow pro start, but we need to add him and Davalan to the minor league OF prospect chart, which also includes, Quintero, Sirota, George, Elkins, that big kid from Taiwan and a couple names that slip my mind.
The surplus is also another reason to train DePaula to play 1B.
I guess Ryan Ward will be a free agent after this season. I still wish AF had tossed him into one of these deals….
“ Does the brass have a grand plan to fit Smith and Rushing into the same lineup?”
I have no idea what the plan is but the answer to your question is yes.
Unless they plan to trade him this winter.
Trading Rushing would be like having your 1st and 2nd string centers go down with injuries in the first quarter. I’m mostly talking football.
Actually, LA was not willing to pay what Cleveland wanted. We all knew the price would be high.
The Angels released first baseman LaMonte Wade
Last season we kicked on after the TD. The new players all seemed to produce.
However I believe it was something else that kick started the Dodgers. Something that is missing this season.
Shohei’s stealing and running game. It ignited everything. It meant we were no longer Long Ball reliant. We became more of a collective – everyone just doing their job, and passing the baton. We have had none of that this season and it is showing. We need a spark.
Hit the nail on the head.
Dodgers +250 to win the World Series
Followed by Phillies (+800), Yankees and Tigers (+900)
I’d still take the field, but I’m not sure you can make that bet. So I’ll bet the Dodgers.
I believe in the players they have simply because I know each and every one of them knows they have to play better. And they can’t take any team lightly, especially the weaker teams. They all still want to win.
I have to look at the situation this way, if they win the division even by one game, that is ok. If they lose, and that is a very real possibility, then that is on the players. They are the ones who have to produce. But you can bet the house, many fans will be calling for someone’s head.
I am truly perplexed. I have no idea what the “situation” is. Nor do I have any idea what people are even talking about. The only one who makes sense is Cassidy, who simply states that he thought the team should’ve acquired a closer. thus the Brock Stewart deal was inadequate.
To me, it doesn’t compute, but it’s rational.
Other than that, everyone is in a major huff because of Stephen Kwan? That cannot be right.
They shouldn’t have to acquire anybody. The guys he already acquired just need to play to their abilities. AF has provided the talent. Over 400 million in and close to healthy the players need to perform. Ohtani, Betts, teo,Edman, and Freeman were horrible for 2 months. It looks like Freeman is heading in the right direction. Muncy was also bad for 2 months just not the same 2. Conforto was never going to be more than complementary.
The pitching should continue to improve but it won’t matter if the offense is where they r now. One said give the pitcher credit. We could do that if we didn’t have to everyday. Even the White Sox scored a couple on him in recent days. The players we have need to perform like the back of their baseball card. If they don’t do it quickly the pads will win the division. Then, we will be out first round. If players step up we have a good chance.
This is what everyone is skipping over Preller had to wheel and deal like a mad man because of flaws the Padres had. Their catching, left field, starting pitching and designated hitter production was below average. He made moves to improve those issues will they work. Only time will tell.
AF has the talent and the depth to be the best team in the league. They haven’t lived up to that talent. The Dodgers apparently don’t believe in a closer according to the stats Jeff posted they believe in using your leverage relief pitchers in the inning they are needed not just waiting for the last 3 outs. At the deadline AF cleaned up the edges with a leverage right hand reliever and an upgrade at the 4th outfield position.
Where Preller could upgrade with trades It’s a whole different story when AF has to upgrade with the roster performing to their normal level. If the team plays to the back of their baseball cards they should win the division going away, If they continue to play as they have the last 2 months it’s going to be a hard team to watch and maybe looking up at the Padres at the end of the season. AF could have traded for 2 or 3 closers but that would not have fixed the offense.
St.Louis beat San Diego 8-5
Cards over pads 8-5. Agree