A lot of LAD envy from NYY sympathizers. First Nestor Cortes says that it was NYY that was the better team. You know, the LHP that was on the WS roster for one thing: to get Ohtani and Freeman out with the game on the line. Cortes failed miserably in that role. Cortes will forever be known as the pitcher giving up the walk off slam to Freddie in Game 1. Just like Dennis Eckersley will always be reminded that he was the pitcher to give up the Kirk Gibson HR in 1988 WS Game 1 and turned that Series around.
In a recent interview with The Athletic’s Tyler Kepner, Cortes had this astute observation:
“We had done enough to win that game. They can talk whatever they want to talk, but we win Game 1 — which we should have — we lost 2 and 3, we win Game 4 and we should have won Game 5. Then we go back to L.A. up 3 to 2. So people can say it slipped away from us, people can say we made a lot of mistakes, which we did. But at the end of the day, we were the better team. I see it that way, and I’m sure everybody in that clubhouse sees it that way.”
Woulda, coulda, shoulda. Someone should remind Nestor that it takes 27 outs (or 30 outs in Game1), to actually win a game. It takes 4 WS victories to win a WS Championship, and It takes a full 26 man roster to all play their roles to win a WS Championship. LAD did those tasks and NYY did not. LAD was 4-1 and NYY was 1-4. Who was the better team?
An argument that 1988 NYM and 1988 Oakland were better teams than the 1988 LAD team has more legs than Cortes’ argument. Nestor, get Freddie out, then maybe you can pop off.
The second LAD envy comment from a NYY sympathizer came from a longtime NYY broadcaster, Michael Kay. Recently MLB.com released its annual Top 100 Players Right Now list. And to the shock of Kay, Shohei Ohtani was listed #1, ahead of #2 Aaron Judge. Kay has a radio show and did not mince words about his belief that Judge is a superior baseball player compared to Ohtani.
“On what planet can you say that Ohtani is better than Judge?” Kay wondered. “I don’t understand it. Are you projecting in 2025 that you think Ohtani is going to go back to being a dominant pitcher?”
“I just think, and I hate to admit it, that there is an anti-Yankee bias,” Kay said. “And I think everyone in Major League Baseball is absolutely in awe at the skills sets exhibited by Ohtani. And they should be — he’s one of the best baseball players ever. And so is Judge. So when they’re that close, you have to look at the statistics … Judge’s statistics are far superior to Ohtani’s.”
Hey Michael…WHO CARES about a list that has no meaning or significance. This was MLB.com’s list. It is one publication’s list of their top 100 players. Come up with your own and publish it.
FWIW, the Dodgers had 3 of the top 8 players on the list. NYM had 2. NYY? Just 1. Does that have any meaningful significance? Hardly!
More than a half dozen publications come up with their top 100 MLB prospects. None of them agree. Many not even on the #1 prospect. BA and MLB Pipeline have their top draft prospects and top international prospects lists. They are meaningless as well. They are fun to read, and I admit I get into the details. I just received my BA Prospect Handbook for 2025, and I will read it and study it…for my pleasure, not to be critical of their rankings.
Okay, now we can all go back and remind everyone who we believe will make the LAD roster.
I have yet to see Freeland play. Does anyone know how he is doing?
Cortes isn’t entirely wrong. They were close to winning Game 1 and Game 5. But they didn’t. That happens every series.
If we go back from 2023 playoffs to 2013 playoffs, we can find games we should’ve won (well maybe not 2023 as we got spanked by AZ). 2022 we should’ve beaten SD in Game 4. 2019 we should’ve beaten Wash in Game 5. 2017 we were cheated. 2015 we should’ve won Game 1 and 5 vs NYM. 2014 we should’ve won Game 4 in StL. It happens.
Vast majority of playoff series aren’t blowouts so the losing team is usually very close to winning a game or 2, and maybe could’ve /should’ve won. We know that better than anybody.
Who’s the better baseball player, Ohtani or Judge?
Well, looking at their average WAR per year its Judge by 1.5 or so. And if he was an average center fielder, which he is not according to the metrics, it would be a wider margin.
Who would you rather have on your team? Depends on the fan. I’d rather have Ohtani. He’s younger and he can pitch. Hopefully.
Did LA jump the gun trading Lux? Kim has struggled so far in spring training adjusting to MLB pitching. Is he overmatched?
Another spring loss, even with Betts, Freeman, Conforto and Edman in the lineup. No offense to speak of. Karros had a nice inning. Yates tagged with the loss. As one former Dodger leaves the Pirates, Brett de Gues, another is officially signed, Andrew Heaney. de Gues was then picked up today after being placed on waivers by the Marlins.
Lots of opinions about who’s going to make the roster and talk about who stays and who goes.
Here’s what we know after 13 at bats which leads the club at this point.
Nothing. Or very little.
Kim – 1 for 12. .083, 2 BB, 5 K’s
CT3 – 3-11, .273, 1 BB, 6 K’s (his K rate the last 3 years is like 35%)
Rosario – 3 for 11, .200, 1 walk, 4 K’s
Outman – 2 for 10, .200, 1 BB, 6 K’s ( he hits LHP vs RHP, forget about it)
Edman – 1 for 9, .111, 0 BB, 2 K’s
Pages 2 for 9, .222, 2 BB 4 K’s
Conforto – 0 for 7, .000, 1 BB, 3 K’s
Kike – 1 for 7, .143, 2 BB, 3 K’s
Not counting Hope and DePaula who are at least a year away.
So based on performance so far, the bench should be Hoese, Bote, Feducca and Miggy Ro.
The point is it’s way too early to decide on the younger players. Not so much for me, for the older guys like Taylor who has a poor track record the past 3 years and shows no improvement. It’s Kike or CT3 for me and I’d take Kike.
I’d like to see something from Conforto before he’s penciled in a lineup.
What I do see that disturbs me, even this early, is for the 8 guys listed above there is a total of 32 strikeouts in 80 at bats. I know that the pitching is usually ahead of the hitting this early, but a 40% K-rate for guys vying for a position is ridiculous. An emphasis on contact might be a place to start.
Plunkett takes a look at the mechanical changes Glasnow is working with:
“I think having that happen it was time to say, ‘Alright, I need to change something,’” Glasnow said… A look at the biomechanics of his throwing motion offered him something to focus on – the angle of his spine as his front foot lands on the downslope of the mound sometimes gets too extreme, causing his arm to drag behind in the kinetic chain. That puts added stress on the elbow ligaments.
And David Adler of MLB takes a cool look at the different split-finger fastballs of Dodger starters:
https://x.com/_dadler/status/1880421957386289595