Over the years, several players whom the Dodgers have traded for, signed as free agents, or even picked up off of the waiver wire, have done well with the team and become huge parts of the Dodgers winning. Probably the most talked about, and maybe one of the favorites is Justin Turner. Signed as a free agent in February of 2014, Turner had just been granted free agency by the Mets about three years after they had claimed him off of waivers from the Orioles.
Turner was brought to Dodger camp as a non-roster player. Turner got into 19 games that spring. He hit.389 with 5 doubles among his 14 hits. He made the team out of spring training and was assigned #10. He would spend the next 9 seasons as a Dodger. That first season, 2014, Turner had his highest ever BA at .340 as a part time player for the Dodgers. He played in 109 games, 59 of them at third base. He hit 7 homers and drove in 43 runs. His OPS was .897. The highest of his career. He was 29 years old and getting his first real extended look.
In 2015 he would become the Dodgers starting 3rd baseman. He played 100 games there and 126 overall. In his first season as a Dodger regular, he hit .296 and more than doubled his previous high for homers in a season with 16. He drove in 60 runs, did not strike out much and his OPS was .861. Over the winter, he had adjusted his swing and now was looking to launch more. He showed the kind of clutch player he could be with a .526 BA in the playoff series against the Mets. He went 10-19 with 4 RBIs. He wasn’t the best third baseman, but he did ok.
In 2016, he provided more power and played in 151 games. His BA dipped to .275. He might have worn down a bit since that was the most games he had ever played. He had 60 extra base hits, 27 of them were homers. He also drove in 90 runs, all career highs. JT did a great job in the NLDS against DC. He hit .400, had a homer, his first playoff HR, a triple and drove in 5 as the Dodgers beat DC to advance to the LCS against the Cubs. He only hit .200 against the Cubs, but one of his four hits was a homer and he drove in 3.
In 2017, he had what I think was his best and most complete season. He batted .322, had 21 homers and drove in 71. He played in 130 games, and in 457 at bats he only struck out 56 times, he walked 59 times. He was excellent in the NLDS and was the MVP of the NLCS against the Cubs. He hit 1 homer against Az and then hit 2 against Chicago. He did not have a very good World Series against Houston, .160. He had 4 hits in the entire series, but 3 of them were for extra bases. Two doubles and a homer.
In 2018, he only played in 109 games. Injuries caused him to miss a lot of action. He still hit .312/14/52 for the year. He had a nice series against the Braves, was ok against Milwaukee and was one of the few Dodgers to have any success in the World Series against the Red Sox. He was healthy in 2019 and played in 135 games. .290 BA, 27 homers and 67 driven in. He had 2 homers and 5 batted in against DC in the series loss.
2020 was an off year. Spring training started and then the pandemic shut the whole thing down. Just prior to spring training, Freidman traded for superstar RF, Mookie Betts and P David Price. Only one of the players he traded in that deal is still with Boston, Conner Wong. Price decided not to play when MLB said players could opt out of the shortened season. Turned out the Dodgers did not need him.
Turner played 42 of the 60 games and did Turner like things. He hit.307. 14 of his 46 hits went for extra bases. 4 homers and 23 driven in. Dodgers cruised to first place. They dispatch the Padres rather easily in three games. JT only hit .200, but he drove in 3. In the 7-game series with the Braves, he hit .288 but only drove in 1 run. Seager was the hitting star in that series. Then against the Rays in the World Series, he hit .320 with 2 homers and 2 RBI’s. He was pulled from game 6 early because he tested positive for the virus. He still joined his teammates on the field for the celebration after the win.
2021 and things were almost back to normal. The attendance was limited to 25% of capacity. But JT went back to being JT. He played in 151 games, tying his career high, he hit .278 and had 27 homers again, driving in 87 runs. The 21-team had to beat St. Louis to advance to the LDS. JT hit his 13th post season homer in that game. He and Seager now hold the Dodger record for the most postseason homers. But Duke Snider hit all 11 of his in the World Series. So far, that is JT’s last postseason homer. He was 1-20 against the Giants in the LDS, then he was 2-10 in 4 games against the Braves. Very un-Turner like.
In 2022, JT was in his walk year. Injuries limited his time to 128 games. He hit .278 again and drove in 81. But his power dropped off to just 13 homers. Only 66 of his games came at 3rd base. He was the DH in 62. In the playoff loss to the Padres, JT had 2 hits in 13 at bats. Like the rest of the team, he was not very good. The Dodgers let him leave via free agency and he signed with the Red Sox. Max Muncy took over at third. JT had a resurgent year with the Sox and hit .276 with 23 homers and 91 RBIs. He also struck out 110 times, the most ever in his career. JT is now with the Mariners after being trade by the Blue Jays at the deadline.
Chris Taylor
Chris Taylor was acquired for a former first round pick, Zach Lee. He was expendable in Seattle. He had played a total of 86 games for the Mariners over parts of three seasons. Mostly, he was the SS. He also played a little second base. The Dodgers made the trade on June 19th, 2016. Taylor got into 34 games for the Dodgers and only hit .204. But one of those hits was a grand slam homer in Arizona that helped them beat the D-Backs. That was his only homer and he drove in 7. He did not appear in any post-season games in 2016.
Over that winter, Chris worked hard on re-tooling his swing. He used the new idea of getting a good launch angle and that would increase your hit total and keep one from grounding out a lot. It also increases your chances of striking out. In 2017, Taylor had what at this point in his career, was his career year. He batted .288, he had 60 extra base hits, 21 of which were homers. He drove in 71 runs, stole 17 bases, all while playing a new position for him, the outfield, and he learned it on the fly. He played 49 games in center and 48 in left. He only made 2 errors in the outfield. He was truly, the Dodgers Swiss Army knife as he also played 44 games in the infield at SS, 2nd and 3rd base. But the downside, he struck out 141 times.
He played in three games against Arizona in the LDS and 5 games against the Cubs in the LCS hitting .316 with 2 homers and 3 driven in. Good enough to be named MVP of the LCS. He played all 7 games against Houston; he went 6-27 with a homer and 3 driven in during the loss.
In 2018, he played in the most games of his career so far, 155. He struck out 178 times and led the league in Ks. His BA dropped to .254 and he had 17 homers and drove in 63. Again, he played multiple positions. Most of his starts came as the SS because of the injury sustained by Corey Seager. He moved to being the utility guy after the team traded for Machado. He had a homer and 3 driven in in 3 games against the Braves in the LDS. He went 8-22 against Milwaukee in the LCS, but his biggest contribution there came in a game saving catch in left field. He drove in one and had a double and a triple. he scored 4 runs. In the World Series against the Sox, he went 2-14 with 4 walks as they lost the Series to Boston in five.
2019: Chris played in only 124 games. He had some injury issues. His BA climbed a bit to .262. He struck out 115 times, and had 12 homers and 52 driven in. He was not used much in the 5-game series with the Nats. He was 1-8 with 3 walks. 2020: The pandemic year. Chris played in 56 of the 60 games. 24 in the outfield, 20 at SS and 13 as the second baseman. He hit .270, with 8 homers and 32 driven in. He struck out 55 times in 185 at bats. He walked 26 times. In the playoffs, he went 3-6 against the Brewers, 0-11 against the Padres, 4-18 against the Braves. In the World Series against the Rays, he was 5-23 with a homer and 3 driven in.
2021: Chris played in 148 games, batting.254/20/73. He stole 13 bases and struck out 167 times. After the season he would sign a 4-year deal for about 60 million dollars. He hit a 2-run game winning homer in the wild card game against the Cardinals. He followed that with a 2-14 performance against the Giants in the LDS. He shined against Atlanta, going 10-21 with 3 homers, all in one game and 9 RBIs, 7 in the 3-homer game.
2022: Injuries again limited his playing time. He played in 118 games hitting.221/10/43 and had his lowest OPS since 2016. Like the rest of the team, he nothing against the Padres in the playoff, going 0-7 in two games. 2023: Injuries again limited his playing time; this time he appeared in 117 games. His line improved some to .237/15/56. He cut his Ks to 125 from 160 the year before. Most of his work came in the outfield, but he played almost 60 games at SS and 3rd base. Again, like the rest of the team, he did nothing in the playoff against Arizona. He got 1 hit in 6 at bats and drove in a run. We all know how badly he has played this year. He had just seemed to be getting his mojo back when he injured himself again. Should the Dodgers to just cut Chris loose. He will be a little easier to trade after this season with only his 13 million salary and a 2 million dollar buy out of his option year left. LA has cheaper options available after this season, which may be his last in Dodger blue.
Max Muncy
Max Muncy had been released by the A’s on the 31st of March in 2017. He was at home when the Dodgers called and signed as a free agent on the 28th of April. He went to the Dodgers AAA affiliate at OKC. He played 1st, 2nd, 3rd, the outfield and even pitched in three games. He slashed.309/12/44. His OPS was .905. If there was a weakness, it was his K rate, which a tad over 25%. But that performance earned him a shot in spring training the following year. He did not have an overly successful spring. He played 9 games at AAA and was recalled after hitting .313 in 9 games.
He played 84 games at first base, 38 at 3rd and 13 at second, 6 in the outfield and 1 as the DH. He hit .263 with 35 homers, a total surprise to the league and the team, and drove in 71. He struck out 131 times in 395 at bats. He was 2-11 in the LDS against the Braves, both hits were homers. He was 4-22 in the LCS against Milwaukee. He drove in 1 run. In the World Series with Boston, he had 4 hits in 17 at bats. His lone homer was a walk off winner in the 18-inning marathon game three. It was the Dodgers only win.
2019: Max played in 141 games. Mostly as the second baseman, 70, 2nd, 65, and 3rd, 35. He hit .251, slugged 35 homers again, and drove in 98. He was shaky defensively at second and third. First base was his best position. He struck out 149 times in 487 at bats. He went 5-19 against DC in the LDS and hit 3 homers, driving in 7 runs. 2020: The pandemic season was tough on Muncy. He hit only .192. He did have 12 homers and 27 driven in. He was ofer against Milwaukee. Then he went 3-11 in the sweep of San Diego. He drove in 2 runs. Against the Braves, he went 5-22 with 2 homers, one a grand slam, and 6 driven in. He did well in the World Series with a 7-22 performance with a homer and six driven in.
2021: Max got back to being Max, he hit.,249, with 36 homers and 94 driven in in 144 games. He cut his Ks from 149 in 19, to 120. Unfortunately for Muncy, and the Dodgers, on the last day of the season, he collided with a runner at first base and injured his elbow. It took him out of the post-season, and the Dodgers missed his big bat a lot. None of his replacements, Matt Beatty et all, could replace his production.
2022: Max returned from the injury and played in 136 games. Unfortunately for Max, it seemed his mechanics at the plate had changed and his average sank to .196. He struck out 141 times. He had 21 homers and 69 driven in, but his OPS dipped below .800 in a full season for the first time since he joined the Dodgers. He did hit a homer in the series loss to the Padres and knocked in 2 runs. 2023: With his injury more than a year behind him, the hope was that Max would rebound to at least the .250 range as a hitter. He would play in 135 games, one less than the year before. He struck out 155 times. But the power production was back, he hit 36 homers and drove in 105 runs. His OBP was back over .800 because of his walks. He was only 2-11 in the series with the Diamondbacks.
2024: We all had high hopes that Max would improve as a third baseman with Freddie being the primary first baseman since he signed as a free agent in 22. And Max was indeed doing a lot better defensively. Not great by any standards, but good enough. In March and April, he did well, batting .242 with 5 homers and 18 driven in. But in May, he slumped, batting only .175 in 11 games. He did homer 4 times and drove in 10 runs, but it was obvious something was amiss. Then he had an oblique injury. Those are notoriously hard to predict when the player will return. We are now in August, and Max is still down and out. And just gave the first encouraging report in months. Seems after a visit with a chiropractor, he feels much better. We will have to wait and see how it all plays out. His bat is really missed and his replacements. Well, they have been collectively awful.
These are just three of the players who changed the direction of their careers after becoming Dodgers. I am sure there are a few more I have forgotten. Pitchers seem to be rejuvenated coming to the Dodgers as they have some of the best pitching gurus in the majors.
Minor League Report
OKC 5 Round Rock 3: Landon Knack got the start for OKC. He went 5.2 innings, giving up 3 runs, 1 earned. He struck out 8, walked 3 and allowed 2 homers. Both of them to Justin Harris. OKC scored in the bottom of the first. Avans walked and Rushing, in his first AAA at bat, singled. Avans went to third. He scored on a double-play grounder by Lipcius. In the bottom of the second, Hoese tripled. Feduccia walked and there was a wild pitch on the play, Hoese scored and Feduccia took second. Cartaya walked and then Gauthier grounded into a double play. Feduccia went to third. Avans singled and Feduccia scored. The Express scored 2 on Harris’s homer in the top of the third. 3-2 OKC. In the bottom of the third, with 2 outs, Freeland and Hoese walked. Feduccia singled to score Freeland. In the top of the 5th, Harris hit his second homer. In the bottom of the fifth, Lipcius singled. After a ground out moved him to second, Hoese singled to center scoring Lipcius. That ended the scoring. Ove the last 3.1 innings, Hernandez, Hahn and Dreyer shut down the Express on 1 hit. Dreyer got his 1st AAA save.
Arkansas 2 Tulsa 0: The Drillers were shut out on 5 hits. Jerming Rosario went 5 innings giving up 2 hits, 2 runs, both earned, striking out 7 and walking 3. Kopp and Hobbs pitched the final 3 giving up a walk and a hit between them, Kopp struck out 3. No Driller had more than 1 hit.
Great Lakes 3 Lansing 2: Great Lakes eked out a win over Lansing. Payton Martin went 2/3rds of an inning allowing a run on 2 hits and 2 walks. Brandon Neeck relieved him and went 2.1 innings and would end up being credited with the win. Lansing scored their first run on a balk in the first inning. In the Bottom of the second, the Loons answered back with 2. Quiroz walked. With 2 outs, McLain singled. Vogel singled scoring Quiroz and sending McLain to second. Campbell singled scoring McLain. In the bottom of the 3rd, Mongelli and Quiroz singled. With one out, Galiz singled to right scoring Mongelli. That ended the scoring. Reinoso, McDaniel’s and Hobbs shut down Lansing the rest of the way.
Rancho 9 Fresno 3. As I get ready to post this, Rancho is leading Fresno 9-3. Meza has 2 homers and 3 driven in Decker is 1-4 with 3 RBIs. Hope is 1-3 and Diaz is 2-5 with 2 driven in. Four Quakes pitchers have given up 3 runs on 5 hits and 5 walks. They have also struck out 11. UPDATE: Rancho won the game, 9-3. Makarewich got the win. A 6 run sixth inning sealed the deal for the Quakes. Each team made 3 errors.
A couple of questions/comments I have the game today. Why would you remove Kershaw after 4.2 innings? He had 5 SOs, gave up 1 run. His pitch count was a little high. I notice this is a thing with Roberts, replacing pitchers with 2 outs.
With Lux hitting so well, why would you hold him out of the starting lineup?
Pages has been hitting well and played RF, a more natural position for him. Will we see him get the bulk of his games in RF? Of course, if Mookie returns to RF, Pages will return to CF, the only player who seems to be able to hit there. Next season, a CF should be high on the list.
A shame about Graterol.
Smith dying on the vine. Can’t seem to wake up. With Muncy returning, will we see Kike moved to CF?
Just my 2cents I think Roberts would say Kershaw had pitched well to that point and wanted to get him out before he struggled anymore.
I think it was probably just a day off for Lux to get Rosario a start.
I think Pages in center only lasts a short time as bodies return from the IL.
It is a shame about Graterol.
Smith needs a breather. Once Betts is back it would make sense to give him an IL stint and bring up Feduccia. Let Barnes and Feduccia handle the catching.
I think the plan is to have Edman in center when he comes back.
Best offense would be Ohtani, Betts (ss), Freddie, Teo, Muncy, Smith, Lux (2b), Pages/Heyward, rf platoon, kiermayr
If Mookie can play average ss this would be a good, solid defense too.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Roberts has made this much clear:
Ohtani will remain in the leadoff spot, and Mookie will bat second and return at SS.
What isn’t clear is whether Mookie again shift over to 2B against lefties, with Rojas taking over SS? That worked earlier in the season and seems likely to me.
Keirmaier is at CF now, but he’s never been a force on offense–and he’s worse now. Tommy Edman, a switch hitter with a great UT glove, could take over CF when he’s activated.
Big question to me is how well Edman, Max and Rojas hit after their layoffs. The brass will have a lot of options, and injuries could force some decisions.
Good idea Ron, on giving Will a 10 day IL rest to rejuvenate for the stretch and give Fedduca some MLB, PT.
I fact that is exactly what I suggested yesterday.
2nd game in a row, Doc removes the starting pitcher with 4.2 innings played. Both games the team lost and they were in the lead. Both games, the pitcher had more in the tank. The nervous ticking of Doc Roberts.
All good questions.
The brass loves platooning, and unfortunately Lux took a long time to get hot. Rosario is hitting over .300, so there is that.
I think Edman will be playing before Max gets back, and he’ll probably take over CF. Getting Edman was a priority, while Keirmaier was more of afterthought. He’d been DFA’d and the Dodgers got him for the DFA’d Yarbrough.
But I still think shifting Mookie to CF and playing Rojas at SS and Lux/Rosario at 2B would provide the best balance of offense and defense up the middle.
It will be interesting to see how this all shakes out.
Just read that Graterol is likely out for the season.
Got him out of there before a very promising outing became a bad outing. Better to take a possible L than to take away the positive mental affect a good outing had on Kersh.
One thing that has bothered me over the years with this staff is games like this where there is zero intensity. Once every 5 games they look plain uninterested.
This team needs Betts so bad right now to continue to bump players out of the lineup that just don’t belong. It’s so hard to watch.
If Smith or any other player is 3 for 44 they do not belong in the top half of the lineup. I don’t understand why The Dodger brass is obsessed with going against the grain.
“Better to take a possible L than to take away the positive mental affect a good outing had on Kersh.”
I totally disagree with this. The guy is a future hall of famer and 17-year veteran. He’s used to taking tough losses. Nobody is worried about his mental state.
I would argue that winning that game was more important, especially with the Dodgers division lead cratering and the club fielding triple-A lineups every night.
The neglect and lack of urgency placed on winning baseball games by Dodgers management is apparent and glaring. Frankly their cavalier attitude towards winning is infuriating to me. And others.
How do you keep putting out lineups like this every night, not have any other backup plans, and not care?
Kersh may be a HOFer but it’s the tail end. He has pitched a handful of innings this year. I don’t care how much someone has accomplished in the past. Baseball is a “What have you done for me lately” environment. You are never too old to feel good about a good outing. He did indeed have a good outing. And he needed one. He is not at full strength.
Just my opinion.
I share your concern–but I also think this might be Kersh at “full strength” at this point in his career.
He’s evolved from a hard-throwing ace into the proverbial crafty southpaw, relying on control and guile. If he stays healthy, I think he’ll make the playoff roster.
And if he makes a start in the playoffs, Dodger fans will be holding their collective breath.
“Better to take a possible L than to take away the positive mental affect a good outing had on Kersh.” That is a poor judgement call, imo.
Trea Turner was the next hitter. In his second at bat Turner had scorched one up the middle. He was already at 81 pitches, about the most he has thrown. The game was a building block for him. Kike will not be the centerfielder. Lux is 6-33 against LHP this year, Rosario is hitting over .300 against them. That is why Lux sat. Pages will most likely platoon with Heyward, and Edman will get significant time in center. Roberts said yesterday that when Mookie returns, the bulk of his work will be at SS. Batting order is going to be Ohtani, Betts, Freeman, Hernandez and take your pick. Smith has been bothered by a sore ankle for quite a while. They are trying to adjust his swing.
Do you really believe they have a chance at the World Series with a take your pick batting order this year?
Not to speak for Bear but I think take your pick refers to the order of the next five hitters in the line up.
Certainly they have a chance to win the World Series with those top four followed by some order of Smith, Muncy, Edman, Pages/Heyward, Lux/Rosario. With all that has gone on this year with injuries the Dodgers are 1.5 games behind the Phillies for the best record.
Perhaps I misunderstood what he meant by that.
Depends on who they are. Smith, Muncy, Lux, Edman and Heyward against RHP. Not bad. Against lefties, Rosario and Pages replace Lux and Heyward. Not perfect, but ok.
I agree that Roberts’ decision to remove Kershaw was the right move. Being a future HOFer is irrelevant. He’s coming off his first arm surgery and his skills are reduced as well. I would think it would take more than a few BP sessions and a couple of rehab starts to build up arm strength. Like Bear says, building blocks. Let’s see where he is at the end of the month before making a knee jerk reaction with his pitching. Scott may be right. But, lets let it play out.
Doc just did the same thing to Stone……and they lost again. Sometimes these automatic responses that Doc has are not the best calls.
Lux has really struggled against left handed pitching. His OPS is .410 versus lefties. It sure looks as if Rosario will be the right handed portion of the second base platoon, at least until Betts and Rojas return.
Thanks for the article Bear!
I also loved your piece on WW2 yesterday. Great work from you and greatly appreciated!
Kershaw had a solid outing today with only a bloop hit preventing 5 shutout innings against the Phillies. He pitched well enough to win today. He may not make the playoff rotation, but he should get another start or two. I will enjoy each of his starts as we never know when the hall of fame career could end.
You are welcome. I enjoy the history.
The stories of JT, Max and Taylor always have me thinking the Dodgers will find some other unpolished gem out there and turn them into star. It’s remarkable that Turner had his breakout season at age 29.
Tough break for Graterol. And then Honeywell was just kind of sacrificed for the long-term interests of the team. Oh well….
Nice to see a decent outing from the soft-tossing lefty, another dinger from Teo, and Pages showing why he belongs in RF.
They have done it a few times. Prior and his guys work miracles with pitchers who seemingly are not that good. Found this picture and thought of you. Yogi and his Yogism’s,
Tough break for Bazooka and the Dodgers. Yesterday there was talk about the logjam in the bullpen with all those arms returning and just a few hours later one of our most trusted arms likely is out for the season. 😑
Grove about to be activated.
The way they worked Honeywell you get the feeling they are not counting on him to be part of the postseason roster.
Clayton looked a lot better than in his previous outings.
Lead down to 4 games.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If Honeywell makes the postseason roster, the Dodgers would be in trouble.
Losing Graterol hurts. Losing Hurt also hurt.
But the postseason BP can be fortified by guys like River Ryan and Knack. And we might see Henriquez too.
Brasier expected back soon.
Good take on our top prospects.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for this! Listening as I (attempt to) work.
Good one Bear. Turner was my favorite. What a gamer and great playoff hitter until he wasn’t!! He still has a very low strikeout rate but in the last 2 playoffs he couldn’t catch up to the high fastball.
so sad to c Graterol go down. I tell u the Dodgers may consider Henriquez as a pen option. He is in triple a now throwing over 100 mph with a good slider. Depends on how he is holding up after surgery. If he has the makeup he may be ready. I hope he gets a shot.
The dbacks are playing the Guardians for two today, then four against the Phillies before their August schedule softens up. The Padres have a fairly easy go of it for the entire month. Both teams are 8-2 while it feels like we’ve been 4-6 for a while. Obviously the Dodgers have not got it going yet after a good start.
It kinda feels like they could get caught this month.
As for guessing who might stay my guess is whoever is contributing to the offense for the next week. It would appear our own system players aren’t good enough. We got rid of Busch and Vargas, Outman and Pages aren’t all that and it doesn’t look like anyone else is coming until rosters expand.
Kershaw still doesn’t look strong enough to complete 6. Will that change going forward? I wouldn’t count on it but as long as he is willing he will get starts.
Graterol 8 pitches, a hit and a walk, and he’s gone? What was that?
I’ll say it again. This team needs its starters and top relievers back and functioning at 100% by September. Playing castoffs and .600 OPS guys ain’t gonna cut it.
Lead is 4 over the Pads and 4.5 over Az. That could change a lot just today. It would be a challenge for this team to have to learn how to play from behind in the standings. I would bet you would see some urgency then. Because the Padres have the season series edge on them, they would lose the tiebreaker. They are 4-5 against Arizona. That makes the 4-game wrap around series at the end of the month in Arizona a must win situation. They need at least 3 of the 4 wins. Going 2-2 loses them the season series. The Dodgers are 14-14 in one run games, they are 20-12 against the AL. They need to continue that with 14 of their remaining games against AL opponents. Three of those teams are contenders or in first place, Cleveland, Baltimore and Seattle.
The Dodgers are 10-7 since the All Star break. The Padres are 12-3. And the Padres have a much softer schedule through August. I can easily see them catching the Dodgers.
Someone brought up the great Ted Williams yesterday, here’s an interesting fact that I read from Mike Petriello alluding to how much harder the game is now:
We also don’t talk nearly enough about how many different pitchers hitters must know.
In 1941: Ted Williams faced 74 pitchers.
In 2023: Mookie Betts faced *297* pitchers.
Back then there were no relief specialists. Yes, they do face bigger and better athletes. They throw harder, and they rarely see a pitcher more than once in a game. But I believe Williams was the kind of hitter who could hit anybody. And he did it.
The Nerds have made it more difficult.
Bluto, great stat
The game is a lot tougher now. So much specialization lefty on lefty everyone throwing a hundred, don’t c starters a 3rd time through the lineup. Having said that Ted Williams plays in any era.
Good read Bear.
My friends in Seattle have already warmed up to JT. They commented on his positive presence, just as we all appreciated. I wish him the best there until he’s done. Then I hope he returns to the Dodgers and eventually becomes a Manager.
* I think Kershaw is a one-time through, bullpen piece down the road, should he choose to accept that.
*I don’t really understand last night’s pitching. I’m way good with Kershaw being pulled when he was. He left with some success and good on Kelly for stranding CK’s inherited runners and really saving his evening.
*But then the mystery began for me. If Doc is saving the bullpen, why pitch Kelly 5 pitches only? Give him another inning and keep Graterol’s debut for the 7th.
Staying with Honeywell, who I really like, for 3.2 innings, was very UN-DOC like. A head scratcher for me. I’m not blowing a clot, it just seemed a departure from the norm.
*I feel bad for Graterol whose whole season seems down the drain. It looked like he pulled that hammie, when he rushed off the mound on the foul ball, swinging bunt. His next pitch sailed to the backstop and that was it.
*Wendelstedt lived up to my advanced warning. He missed Honeywell’s very first pitch. And many more. This crew stinks.
*I see some folks liked my idea of giving Smith a 10 day IL visit to reboot and give Feduccia some MLB, PT.
*Pages had a day and showed that he is way better in RF. That throw to third was a rifle. I think a platoon with he and Heyward makes sense.
*I really enjoyed another Phillie broadcast. First, they used the time as the starting pitcher warms up on the mound to give the starting batting order, defensive alignment and Umpire Crew. All information we never get on SNLA except the visitor’s batting order.
*During the game, I got a great Chavez Ravine history lesson from their broadcasters. They were very complimentary about Dodger Stadium. They talked about how well kept the place is especially given it opened in 1962. They gave details I didn’t know.
Probably no-brainers for Bear and Dodger Stadium historians but I did not know or remember some stuff.
They showed the 76 sign on top of the scoreboard in center and then they showed the spinning ball 76 pole in the parking lot. They said there was an actual 76 gas station there in the lot when it opened. I had no knowledge of that.
They said the 76 company (part of Phillips 66) helped fund the Dodgers more from NY.
There are 16,000 parking spaces in that lot. No wonder the exit traffic is a bitch.
They complimented the infield grass.
They also said the Dodger sound system is aggressive. No shit, Sherlock. Dieter likes his music loud. In fact the visitors broadcast is not drowned out like the Dodger booth is sometimes. But I guess drowning out Jess Mendoza would be a good thing.
Yep, there was a Union 76 gas station there for years. Almost directly behind the left-field pavilion. I used to go in there and get those Nick Volpe pics the Dodgers used to give-away through Union 76, just like the player books they had in the early 60’s. They also at one time gave away hat pins. Frances Friedman, the famous garlic lady who used to be at every game in the same seat in the pavilion, had her hat covered with those pins. Honeywell took one for the team. Doc did not want to blow up the pen in a game it looked like they were definitely going to lose. Especially after stranding two runners in the 7th with one out.
Yeah, this game had a weird vibe. The fans were never into it and I thought the game was still winnable after the 8th when it was 4 -2. Geez, we’ve blow a couple of 5 run leads recently, Why couldn’t the Phillies?
Running Honeywell out there for the 9th at 4 -2 was odd to me. Is Doc really tossing in the towel not wanting to burn a fresh arm for one inning?
His choice was a self-fulfilling prophesy. We weren’t going to win that game. I think he decided that too early.
Phil,
great points. I started to comment but didn’t want it to appear negative. Teams like the Giants seemingly have comebacks like this frequently. Roberts has done this a number of times. To me it tells your team u r beat. I just don’t understand. If u don’t have enough pitchers to try to win every night what is the point. If the players are ok with this then that says a lot about why we hardly ever have a comeback win. Never any urgency.
if they are trying to win the division then each game counts. Arizona is about to sweep Cleveland today in a dh. A loss tonight and they would be 2.5 out.
They’re coming. So are the Padres. We need to do better than 4-6.
Pads score in 9th to tie their game. I guess they didn’t quit before the game was over. Must have had a rested bullpen lol
Orange antenna balls
The Dodgers reinstated Rojas (forearm) from the 10-day injured list Wednesday.
James Outman was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City in a corresponding move.
Graterol was placed on the IL and Grove was activated.
Tonight’s lineup, Ohtani DH, Hernandez, LF, Freeman, 1B, Kike, 3B, Lux 2B, Rojas, SS, Heyward, RF, Barnes, C, Kiermaier, CF Stone, P.
RHP Chris Campos made it through a career-high 8 scoreless innings on 89 pitches in AA. Bettter news? He has a career-best 9 strikeouts, 19 swinging strikes
Campos has allowed zero ER in 4 of his 7 starts since getting promoted to Double-A
Plunkett has a ton of news:
Yamamoto is growing in confidence that he will be back soon.
“Overall with the rehab program, everything feels good,” the Dodgers right-hander said through his interpreter. “Every time I throw a ’pen, it feels better than last time, which means it’s all getting better. My shoulder is feeling good, and I’m getting closer to the highest volume when I throw and I’m not really concerned with the injury itself.”
Reliever Brusdar Graterol was placed on the injured list as expected on Wednesday. But an MRI indicated the strained right hamstring he suffered Tuesday night was not as severe as first feared. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said it was a Grade 1 strain, not a Grade 3.
“I think early on obviously you could see with his emotion that he probably felt that was going to be the season for him,” Roberts said. “But with what we’ve gathered, the information, there is a sense of relief and some optimism.”
Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, Tommy Edman and Chris Taylor are all expected to be at the stadium to take live at-bats against minor-league pitchers in coming days.
Betts is expected to continue taking live at-bats through the weekend and then come off the IL during the series in Milwaukee next week. He is not scheduled to go on a rehab assignment.
Muncy and Edman, however, are expected to join Triple-A Oklahoma City and start rehab assignments over the weekend.
Another starter can’t get out of the 5th! Frustrating. Stone needs a break
MLB Umpires. Yet another horrible call.
And yes, another less than 5 inning outing. How many is that?
Hunter Wendelstedt is a poster child for a legacy hire. Poor umpire with a notoriously short fuse. And he runs an umpiring school to boot. Horrible call from a bad umpire.
Really hard to understand Roberts sometimes.
He pulls the pitchers quickly, then laments a tired bullpen.
This team will b in third place soon.
Maybe, anything can happen in baseball. Play well against the Pirates and they can turn the homestand around. But it isn’t looking good for tonight’s game. Skenes is pitching Saturday against Ryan. Mookie will be back next road trip. But they had Phillips on the hook and let him off.
How soon?
Very soon.
How soon???!?!?!?
Well admittedly I am not nostradamus, but probably within a couple of weeks.
K.
Bad call by the ump on the play at third. Game lost right there.
Ok turn out the lights. Wild Joe Kelly to the rescue. The Dodgers pay 9 million for that! First off he walks the 9 hitter. Should never have pitched to schwarber with base open. Terrible umpiring call but this team is just a mediocre team.
Miguel Vargas‘s stats since going to the White Sox. .100/.206/.233/.439 lol
Between 2022 and 2023 my comment “I think Vargas needs at least another half year in AAA” caused Mark to viciously attack me and it never really stopped.
He’ll be fine Eric, he can DH there.
I hate to say this, but the Dodgers are going to fall out of first place soon. The padres and dbacks smell blood in the water and they are hungry.
This team has little fight this year, and there is a huge void in leadership. Can anyone tell me who the leader of this team is?
I would never want to say this but perhaps missing the playoffs may make guggenheim finally make some changes. And it’s coming. They will have to sit Ohtani down and explain that the changes in the front office and management are for thr good of the franchise and that they are moving into a new direction. If he doesn’t like it then he can leave and go play in New York.
The Dodgers need to get back to preaching and teaching fundamentals. There is very little with this club. They need situational hitting, contact hitting and base-running (outside of Ohtani).
They need to stop burning the bullpen Into the ground and get length from the starting pitchers. Innings and health are important and management has ignored those purposely.
They also need to stop relying on the walking wounded. Waiting around for injury riddled players who are unreliable is a very poor strategy. That seems like their only strategy this year.
There is no urgency with this club. Friedman had a good trade deadline and picked up a few decent players, but it’s not enough to make a difference this season. Management’s overall neglect of the roster this year is mindblowing to me. I’ve never seen a team so unconcerned with winning games before. It’s a new low, and ugly to watch.
The Dodgers are getting worse and in Ohtanis first season it is a bad look. It’s time for a change, and I think it’s time to bring in some new voices. I would love to see what Theo Epstein or Dave dombrowski could do with Guggenheims vast resources.
Sorry guys but they’ve been below average and fielding triple-A lineups since May. I just call it like I see it. Feel free to disagree.
Total BS. He did not impede the runner.
The 9th might be fun after Lux getting HBP.
Dodgers got hosed.