Mid-August. 40 games left for the three contenders for the National League West division crown. Who will be the lead horse on September 29th? Pitching most certainly will be a key component. The Dodgers currently are 7th in the majors with a team ERA of 3.75, tied with Cleveland. San Diego is 14th at 3.93. Arizona is 24th at 4.44. Four NL teams have a better ERA than the Dodgers, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Chicago and Atlanta.
Uncharacteristically, this Dodger team gives up too many homers. Last season they allowed 200. So far this year, 147. Last season was the first and only time in Dodger history that their pitching staff allowed 200 home runs. On average since 2013 when this run began, LA pitchers have given up 162 homers a year. In 2013 and 14, they gave up 127 and 142. By comparison, Arizona pitchers have allowed just 124 and the Padres 132. Obviously, LA needs to keep the ball in the ballpark. Homers were Flaherty’s bugaboo on Thursday.
Batters are hitting .233 against the Dodgers, .240 against the Padres, and .259 against Arizona. But as we all know, the numbers might add up to be in your favor, and you still lose. Padres for the first time in a while, will win the season series against LA. Best the Dodgers can do is win 6 of 13 if they sweep the Pads at the end of September. In the wrap-around series the Dodgers will play at the end of this month in Arizona, the Dodgers can flip the script on Az, if they take 3 of the 4 games. Which right now it seems to be something they need to do.
Going into Friday night’s game with the Cardinals, their one-time big lead is down to 2 over both teams. It is natural this time of year to watch the scoreboard, but the best thing for the Dodgers to do is ignore the scoreboard and take care of their own business. As long as they win, Az and the Padres cannot gain any ground. Both those teams have been scorching hot for a while. Can that continue? Doubtful. Teams have hot and cold streaks. The Dodgers have been lukewarm for almost three months. It is time for them to heat up some, and the burden is on the pitching staff to keep the offense in games.
Team hitting, the Dodgers are rated third in the majors. They do not have the highest BA, but teams are rated on overall performance, BA, OPS, SLUG. Arizona is ranked 10th, and San Diego, 13th. As I was researching this, the news came down that Glasnow went on the IL with tendonitis in his elbow. Not good news. The starting staff is very thin as it is. Bobby Miller will be activated tomorrow. Ryan Brasier is due to be activated also, helping the bullpen with a fresh arm. Two roster moves will be needed.
Judging on his performance in this evening’s game, Michael Grove could be headed back to AAA. Wrobleski went 5 innings tonight. He gave up 4 runs on 4 hits, but three of those hits were homers. Then after the Dodgers scored 5 in the top of the sixth, the bullpen, Grove-Banda, almost gave the game away. Grove walked Pham and Arenado lined out. Goldschmidt walked and Banda replaced Grove. Donovan, a lefty, took an outside pitch down the left field line to score Pham. Walker struck out for the second out. Pages then singled to left scoring Goldschmidt with Donovan taking third. The next hitter, Scott, hit a shot to center that Kiermaier raced back and caught for the final out. Kelly, Phillips and Kopech then shut the Cardinals down the last 3 innings allowing only a couple of walks.
Five Dodgers accounted for 10 of LA’s 12 hits. Betts, Lux and Kiermaier all had two hits including a homer. Kiermaier’s was a 3-run shot that made the score, 7-4. He drove in another run with a single earlier. Freeman and Rojas were the other hitters with 2 hits. One of Rojas’s went for a double, Mookie also doubled. Ohtani, who is now 5 for his last 43, had no hits as did Teo. Arizona lost to Tampa, and Colorado beat the Padres, so LA gained a game on both of them.
OKC was pounding Las Vegas in the bottom of the 7th inning, 10-1. Rushing, Hoese, Cartaya and Ward (2), have all homered. It was Rushing’s 2nd, Cartaya’s 6th, Hoese’s 14th and Ward is now at 28. Jon Duplantier started the game; he was signed by the Dodgers on the 6th of August. He went 5.2 innings before he was replaced by Henriquez. Chris Taylor started at second base and went 1-4 with an RBI. Tommy Edman did not start tonight. Muncy played 3rd and was 0-5 with 2 K’s. OKC has more strikeouts than hits tonight. 12-11.
Tulsa beat Midland, 5-4 at home. Ramos was 2-4 with a homer and 2 RBIs. Davis also had 2 hits and scored 2 runs. After giving up four runs in 4.2 innings, the Drillers pen shut Midland out the rest of the way for the win. Knowles, 3-4, was the winning pitcher.
Great Lakes beat Lake County, 5-2. The Loons had 10 hits, but only one was for extra bases, a double by Thompson. DePaula was 1-3 with a run scored, an RBI and 2 walks. Campbell was 2-3 with 2 runs scored. Nevin was 2-4 and drove in 2. Meador went 6 innings, allowed 1 run, unearned, 5 hits, 1 walk and he struck out 5. Michael Martinez got his first save.
Rancho lost to Visalia, 6-3. All of the scoring was done by the 5-8 hitters for the Quakes. Diaz and Munoz had 2 hits apiece and Munoz drove in 2 of the 3 runs. Linan went 6 innings allowing 3 runs, 10 hits, he walked none and struck out 4. One of the 10 hits was a homer. Corcho worked 1/3rd of an inning, walking four, allowing one hit and three runs. He took the loss.
I am heading to the lake to camp early in the morning, I will be back Sunday evening and there will be a new post on Monday. Just feel free to put all of your comments on this post. Hope you all enjoy the next two days.
*they’re
Yep, fixed it.
IMHO “and down the stretch they come” would be more fitting.
😎
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You write the stuff, then you can name it.
Thankfully the Dodgers had Kiermaier in CF tonight and not Pages.
I agree with that. Kiermaier earned his pay tonight.
yeah baby, up a game over the Pads & the Dbacks. It has been a while since I could say that.
If it comes down to him or Jhey I’ve got to pick KK. Doc said that this was going to be all performance-based as to who stays new goes.
I now see how KK should be picked over not only Pages but also JHey. His defense is so phenomenal and he showed last night, he might still be able to contribute something with the bat.-TM
Ohtani is not just slumping. He is sleepwalking. Dude is 5-43. Nelson and Orel tried to paint it rosy by saying but 3 of those 5 hits were homers. Wow. And how many runners have been stranded while he strikes out or grounds out in those 43 at bats? In his last 5 games, he is 4-23. 2 of the hits were HR’s. You add in his 0-5 tonight, he is 4-28. While he WAS having a career year, he now is just 27 at bats away from how many he had last year, and his production is down.
I pointed this out a long time ago. Ohtani is not a leadoff batter and most of his problems started when Mookie got hurt and he was moved to the top of the order. He was batting around .322 and starting with the Giants series of 6/29, he’s plummeted in his production except for HRs, 11 I believe. And while he is nose diving, Smith batting at #2 also nose dived. Who is worse? Flip a coin. At least Smith is not at #2 any longer.
An easy fix for this is Lux leading off. Can the Dodgers think out of the box? We were very lucky to escape with a win tonight. Our bottom dwellers really came through. Our pitching is really cause for concern. No lead is safe. I’m happy to gain a game on our backscratchers chasing us.
Big win tonight. But now with Glasnow on the IL the starting pitching is a glaring weakness. Bullpen shaky too, giving up 3 more runs again. Thankfully Kelly,phillipps and Kopech shut the Cards down late.
But way too many weak links in the rotation and pen.
I have seen enough of Grove. He should be optioned today when Miller will come back to make the start. Lets hope he has a good game.
Wrobleski with 3 more dingers given up. Not a sustainable pace he is on.
Where would the Dodgers be without Lux !?
I would move Mookie back to leadoff. Ohtani should bat cleanup.
Would DFA Heyward when MM and Edman come up . Do not need both him and KK. Rather have Pages on the roster.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Time for a shake-up?
I wanted a lineup of Mookie-Freddie-Shohei from the start, to give Shohei more RBI opportunities. Mookie-Freddie was the dynamic duo last season. Why break up a good thing? Maybe a tweak to the lineup could help Shohei get out of his slump.
Sure is nice to have Mookie back. And if Kiermaier keeps this up, maybe he’ll change his mind about retiring. Should Edman play SS and Rojas move to the UT role? Optioning Pages seems increasingly likely.
Kopech and Flaherty are proving themselves. Soon it will be Edman’s turn…
So maybe…
Mookie RF
Freddie 1B
Shohei DH
Teo LF
Lux 2B (he’s hot–let him cook)
Smith C
Max 3D (ease him back in)
Edman or Rojas SS
Kiermaier or Edman CF
Bench: Barnes, Rojas. Heyward, Kike… Perhaps Kike can platoon with Max, and Rojas could platoon with Lux
BTW, it’s been reported that Dodgers refused to include Rushing in deal for Crochet. Good call, I think. I could see Rushing in a deal for Skubal, but not Crochet alone. If it was a deal for Crochet + Robert, that could be another matter, depending on other pieces.
Today, the lowly White Sox beat the Astros with Robert hitting 2 HRs and a single, and Crochet striking out 9 in four innings after three poor starts following the all-star game.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers are trying to find out whether Rushing can be a viable left fielder.
I agree 100% with your lineup Duke. I might keep Taylor on the IL until the call up date, then when playoffs start, I’d DFA Heyward and keep Taylor. Taylor/Lux and Max/Kike platoons.
Do not bat FF and Ohtani back to back. Makes it easier for the opposing team deploying their relievers.Keep the Right-Lefty balance and switch Teo and Ohtani..
Go Dodgers!!!!!
Ohtani is in a 61 PA slump slashing .161/.213/.429. He still leads the league in several important offensive stats including runs scored and OPS+ but hopefully he snaps out of this current schneid soon.
As for where to hit him I’ve always thought third was where I would put him. On this particular team I’m not as sold on L/R as I might typically be. I would have no problem hitting Ohtani and Freddie back to back but Freddie is having more trouble than usual this year with LHP. That said, what right hand hitter would I rather have in the two hole than Freddie in the first few innings? Nobody at this time. I would like to keep it Betts, Ohtani, Freeman, Smith but Smith is in a prolonged slump, so get Lux and Teo back to back in the middle. I would also ask to picture Lux, Betts, Freeman, Ohtani coming up back to back from the 5th inning on. That could be accomplished by putting Lux where he was a few years ago – in the 9 hole. Games are not won or lost in the first inning, they are won or lost in the second half of the game.
That said I probably drop Smith and move Lux and Teo up. But I still have Betts, Ohtani and Freeman up in the first. I don’t care in what order.
When it was Betts-Ohtani-Freeman, they were 8 games in front of the second-place team. That L-R-L does not matter with good hitters. Freeman is a career .273 hitter against LHP. Ohtani at .256.
I could live with that lineup.
I also agree with your lineup, Duke.
But it’s now starting pitching I’m worried about. I don’t trust Miller and Buehler until they show me the money and show me they still have it. Bullpen appears to be back on an upswing thanks to Kopech, Phillips rising back up, and Brasier coming back.
Once again, Rojas gets no respect. Seems everybody wants someone else to play shortstop, except me. The guy was 2 for 4 again last night with a double, RBI and a stolen base. He’s hitting .276 and he makes all the plays.
Yes, he needs an occasional day off, I guess. I hear that a lot but I don’t really see any evidence of that need except he’s 35.
Just put him at shortstop, and leave him along.
Phil, you are not alone.
Ditto!
It’s not just the runners Ohtani is stranding, it’s also the RBI opportunities he’s denying Betts and Freeman behind him.
You know what’s funny though? Imagine all of the above but he is 11-4 on the mound with a 3.00 ERA. We aren’t even seeing the real Ohtani right now.
That is next year, we are speaking in the present. And except for last season, he is about a .277 hitter. Still very good, but not elite.
Henriquez with 1.1 IP scoreless at OKC with 4 Ks. Hit 102mph on the gun.
Looks more and more like an option for the stretch run and playoffs.
Imagine him and Kopeck and maybe the Bazooka (outside chance he comes back) at the end of the bullpen.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Line up sucks whoever is making it. Dont here much Lux bashing lately since he is best hitter since all star break. Watch when Muncy comes back. He will bat higher than Lux with this management group. The kid pitchers are keeping us alive nice to gain ground finally
More Dodgers weirdness
https://x.com/FabianArdaya/status/1824653272596025756
Billy Martin told a story about when he was managing the Yanks. The team was loaded w good hitters and they were complaining about where they were hitting in the batting order. So to shut them up he made the lineup by pulling names out of a hat. They continued to win no matter who batted where. He made his point. Just saying.
Yeah. Point made. I played on a regional champion slow pitch team where the lineup was made by who got to the park first. When we arrived we signed in on the scorebook and away we went.
Good idea Badger. I think Doc may have use up the pull names out of a hat method for a lineup, so this is a fresh twist.
I played shortstop in a Nationals Slo-pitch tournament in York Pa, on an all Astroturf field. The old turf, right on top of cement. We lost to the Armed Forces All-Stars. Just great big mashers. If they did hit a ground ball my way, it was an overspin bullet. I played short left field, as deep as I could still get a throw to first in time. It was less defense and more survival.
Like Dick Allen said, and I’m paraphrasing – if cows don’t eat it and I can’t smoke it. I don’t want to play on it
.
Here’s my MLB All-Slo pitch team, minus pitchers.
Rowdie Tallez
Alejandro Kirk
Vogelbach
Glad jr
Josh Bell
Riley Adams
Gary Sanchez
Jon Singleton
Salvador Perez
Miguel Sano
Jose Abreu
Aaron Judge
Sal Perez
Manager – David Wells, Coaches – CC Sabathia and Bartolo Colon
(okay I did have to include old pitchers) I played slo-pitch with Billy Harris and old Dodger who played in Montreal and he was a great slo-pitch player.
Early on in my slow pitch career we played on many open fields and baseball diamonds. I played a lot of left and left center and was a blast running down long fly balls hit by gorillas who played little defense. Things changed when more slow pitch parks started being built. First fields in Redding were 275’ and the big guys reached that rather easily so eventually they were moved to 300’, where they remained for the rest of my playing time. RF balls equalized things a bit but Nationally ranked teams wouldn’t play with them. Most teams became all sluggers with a decent strong armed shortstop, where I played at the end of my career. I sure loved playing that game. Lots of action.
Softball fields at Bliss were about 310 to center, but down the lines it was 275.
The Cubs manager once went:
8675319
in honor of a memorable pop song
“Batting 3rd, #1981, Left Fielder, Jenny”
Isn’t it 867-5309?
That’s Jenny’s number btw.
There is no position zero, Scott.
Manager.
Yes I know that.
The Dodgers 5 billion terabyte analytics computer exploded after you posted this.
Can’t wait for Muncy coming back and going 0 for 4 with 2 k’s 3 out of every 5 games. He is not much of an answer for us. Way too many watched 3rd strikes. He will be in a race with Kike for a great .220 batting avg.
Is Lux batting 9th a joke how about batting him 1 ?
Nope. Better choices available.
Lux does not walk enough to be a leadoff hitter. Betts does.
He might warm up by playoff time. Might.
I’m not looking forward to the return of Max.
I’m interested in Edmonds at 3rd and Kiermaier in CF.
I’ll second that.
Heck at least let the guy get back on the team before you start putting him down
I guarantee you opposing pitchers are not excited about Muncy returning.
Muncy is what he is, but I will tell you right now, what they want is his plus .800 OPS. The guy has played only 40 games, meaning he hasn’t played in 2 1/2 months. He is not going to go out on a re-hab assignment and just start slugging the ball.
I agree: The way this went down with Glasnow is worrysome. IMHO this is not a phantom IL stand.
(Glasnow talk starts around 0.45)
Should Glasnow be out for the season it could be the kiss of death to the Dodgers chances for a WS title in 2024,
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“They are not putting him on the IL for a rest, they are putting him on the IL because he is hurt”
Tendonitis. It’s of course a thing and it can be serious. It’s inflammation. It needs rest. If he does come back in 15 days it better be as a 5 inning 75 pitch starter in a 6 man rotation.
Can’t say much for the Cardinals City Connect Uniforms.
I thought “The Lou” was a British Bathroom.
Too many called third strikes. Swing the bat.
Too many walks. Throw strikes.
For being a Dead Man Walking, Kiermeier is making his execution difficult.
Nice last line
British bathroom. Good one.
That would be the Loo, not Lou
I took some journalistic liberty. I actually knew that but it was an attempt at humor.
Yes, poor choice. Too busy.
I feel for our bullpen right now, and honestly wasn’t upset at Hudson the night before when he blew the save. Dude should not have pitched that night. The guys need some ace type to step up and give us a complete game. We just don’t have that right now, so the overworked bullpen is faltering.
HOWEVER, Michael Grove just came back to the team, and he was likely needed to go 2 innings last night. Instead, he lasted 2 batters and walked 2 guys for no reason, thus bringing in Banda early, and the rest of the train early. Grove did NOT do his job, and Doc looked pissed when he took him out last night.
Hopefully he bounces back today and does his job. No one should expect 7 from Bobby Miller today, but 5ip has to be the minimum.
Sent Grove and Wroblesik down for Brasier and Miller.
Need fresh arms. I do not expect much from Miller but who knows. He got the stuff and stranger things have happened.
Maybe he just needs a good game to overcome those mental problems.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!
It’d be an absolute godsend if he figured things out.
I keep saying it because I strongly believe it’s true. This staff is getting worn out and opposing teams know it. Ohtani, Smith, Freddie, Betts, Teo and Muncy need to show up the rest of the way.
Max not getting much love. Career .823 OPS. I’m happy to have him back at third.
I think they keep Kiermeier and Edman as there two centerfielders and send Pages down until the roster expands then DFA Heyward he won’t get playing time with Betts in right and Kiermeier an Edman make the defense batter so that will make room by doing that to add Muncy and Edman and keep Kiermeier then when roster expand bring Pages up..
If these decisions were made strictly on what each player brings to the ball club, I would DFA Ahmed and Heyward to make room for Muncy and Edman. But we can be fairly certain that they will not DFA Heyward because of his clubhouse presence and the blowback from the clubhouse. (Seems to be the consensus from reporters close to the team). In that case, I can see Pages being sent down only because he has options or Heyward comes down with back stiffness or hamstring tightness and goes to IL. I would slow play Taylor’s return from rehab as much as possible. The presence of Hernandez, Taylor, and Edman seems redundant. Don’t think they will DFA Taylor so, barring an injury, Pages and Ahmed seem sure to get sent down and Kiermaier may be DFA when Taylor returns. In which case their September roster of 14 position players may include two veterans who are kept for either their contract obligation (Taylor) or their off-field contributions (Heyward). Roberts did say the best players will play but he did not say the best players will be on the roster in September.
Hopefully next year the Dodgers don’t find themselves carrying Barnes, Heyward, and Taylor as three of their four depth pieces during the regular season – each of whom is being kept this year for reasons beyond their on the field contributions. It may be part of the reason why this team struggled so much to fill out a credible bottom three in the order.
I agree that it’s extremely unlikely that JHey gets DFA. Not only would it piss him off, which they could probably live with, but it would piss off Freddie, and that’s something they don’t want to do.
When Doc says guys will play based on merit, the system for figuring merit is based on total production in a Dodger uniform and you also get to add in stats from your best bud on the team.
We dumped AJ Ellis one year, and Kershaw wound up being fine.
Heyward at .200 is not providing enough value to remain, and Freddie will be fine as well.
I don’t think CK was fine, but, as usual, he was the consummate pro about it.
No doubt about it, at this point KK deserves to be here more than JHey, but I’m going on record as saying I’ll be surprised if they remove Heyward from the roster.
Good example bobby
Team is old and they are playing favorits. Not a good recipe to win a WS title.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So oh, swami of I know best, what is the right recipe? There is no recipe. Teams with no clue have won, great teams have lost. It is who is hot at the time.
It’s a business! Unless JHey goes on a tear at the end of the year, he shouldn’t make the playoff roster, if the Dodgers even make the playoffs. The Dodgers should DFA Ahmed when Edman is activated and send Pages to AAA when Muncy is activated. For now, just delay Taylor’s activation until after the roster can be expanded in 2 weeks.
That is the best post I’ve ever read. Correct on every single point.
Well done.
I was at the game. Really great atmosphere. The Cards have struggled so the Dodgers in town was a good crowd. Man, the Dodgers travel so well. They showed up and it was palpable.
Wro wasn’t that bad IMO. The Goldy shot was a 100% humidity homer. That thing had no business going over the fence. The air was thick!
just read that Kopech is under team control next season. He is the real deal. Great trade. Go Dodgers.
I would bring Henriquez up at some point to c if he could be on the playoff relief pitcher roster. That electric arm has to be considered. Heyward has done nothing to win a playoff roster spot. When Edman and Muncy are activated Amed will be dfa and pages optioned probably. Pages brought back up in September along with Taylor.
I’m On board with not bringing CT3 up until September 1. The FO can get Edman and Muncy back on the roster in a couple of different ways, but putting Taylor back on before rosters expand will be a very deep cut.
Didn’t Tyler just get off the disabled list. After two games he has a sore arm. How did these pitchers like Orel and Madison Baumgartner or Nolan Ryan throw so many innings and not go on the disabled list now these guys do it after two games. I wish I could have that at work. Say my tetanitious is acting up boss in my knee. Can i have 15 days off then I will be back to work. Is it something that only dodgers pitching staff isnt doing right to have all these arm injuries or is it happening to other teams. I just dont follow other teams but of the starting five pitchers mentioned in spring training. Have they all been on the active roster at the same time at any point during the year all together. And what the last two weeks of the season they all will show up as. GLASNOW Ohnimoto Flarethy Kershaw and Buehler. So there all injured until the last two weeks is that the plan. To trick other teams and then go oh there all fine now.
The answer to your question Bradley, is the $64,000,000 dollar question.
Grove and Wrobleski sent down, Miller and Brasier up.
As I expected.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Teoscar is getting a day off today Pages is in left. Ohtani needs a day or two off to clear his head.
Agree
Yes. Ohtani should be moved down in the batting order also.
Your right Ohio but dont see it happening at least sit him down for a game or two
I wish we still had Pepiot.
How’s he doing this season
6-5 3.89 ERA. Only pitched in 18 games, about the same Yamamoto. Has been hurt and on the IL a couple of times. 3-1 K rate has allowed 11 homers in 93 innings.
My line up would be as follows.
Mookie
Freeman
Teo
Ohtani
Lux
Rojas
Max
Will
Edman
I like Rojas at SS, don’t see any reason to be in a rush to move him or sit him. His batting work with Mookie has completely raised his game at the plate. In clutch situations he has become one of our best hitters. In the field, he is quick and accurate, not to mention really being the Quarterback of that infield. Just watch the respect he gets from the other players and the pitcher when there is a meeting on the mound. Leave Miggy alone, in fact time to get on his bandwagon.
Totally agree. Rojas is the least of the Dodger problems.
👍
Not advocating for Ohtani to b lead off but that first inning is what a lead off guy should do. He walked which we aren’t necessarily expecting. But he stayed in the k zone which is what we r expecting. Then, stole a base which he has a very high sb percentage. Then, tagged on a fly ball to left which is rare to do. Because of his great speed he was able to do it. So, he brings a lot to the spot when he is not striking out, swinging at bad pitches etc. we still need his slug. But, we also need somebody with a good obp ahead of him. That is not kike.
As far as Doc goes, he is the lamest of ducks. AF, Gomes, and Ohtani are calling the shots.
Miller still looks like a pitcher at the beginning of spring training. Be better, dude!
All the dingbats calling for Ohtani to move in the lineup should be watching this game very closely.
The silliest of narratives, IMO.
As Will Smith would say, you’re not relevant! (Just kidding)
Yeah, just look at his one game and forget about the last 25 games. Good approach.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The stats say different. Mookie is a .296 hitter in the leadoff spot. Ohtani, .265. Mookie has 228 bombs leading off, his walk rate is better, and he also steals bases. Ohtani is a .300 hitter in the 2-hole. I rest my case. Those are career stats. Your leadoff batter is hitting .200 in the last four weeks. Not a good thing for a leadoff hitter. In the last 14 days, he is hitting .148. One game doesn’t mean a thing.
Fall behind in count with multiple non-competitive pitches (maybe mix in a wild pitch) and then have your fastball mashed. Rinse and repeat. Not at all encouraging. Feels/looks eerily like Buehler.
I dunno, I think Miller’s pretty close. He’s just struggling a little with the curve. The rest of the stuff is pretty awesome.
Much, much much more like pre-2nd TJ Buehler to me. Just putting it together.
I did not think he looked like a major league pitcher . When he tried to throw his fastball early in the count, there were multiple times when he yanked it and missed by a foot and a half (!!) ball side and Smith had to jump out to prevent more wild pitches. I did see better curveballs at the end of the outing, but they were all up. He looked to me like someone who is lost in the wilderness — not even close. He still wants to throw 100 (which I think were the yanked pitches). Send him back down and give him more time (in the minors) for the rest of this year learning how to become a 95 mph pitcher with secondary pitches he can control for strikes.
To be clear — I am rooting for Miller. I want him to play better. I just think he is a long ways away from being able to help the team, and more time spent in a lower league is going to improve his chances of being a part of the plans next year.
He might be close, hard for me to tell. He does look like he should be working this out in the minors, but the Dodgers are short on starting pitching so he and his 8 ERA are necessary. And in situations like this the Dodgers need to score and score big. 2 runs is a weak effort.
Tips for Bobby Miller
don’t express you frustrations on mound and cit out the outbreaks at yourself even after an okay inning. If if isn’t an emasculate inning, Millers pissed at himself.so take a little off the fastball and slow down. his body out runs his arms and the ball goes everywhere. As Wainwright said he needs to find a consistent breaking ball. And the wring finger change could make his career.
He wants to throw that change with a crab grip and not a circle change. That’s fine . He wants the same action; a ball off speed that runs away arm side.
That is a grip variation for Paul Skene’s devastating “splinters”. Skenes just has a slightly different grip. He holds his like a slipper, and he turns over. Same dive arm side, side-topside spin. But you gotta land it.
Based on what evidence? His 8 ERA? He had one strikeout today. Am I wrong here?
I don’t know what’s wrong with him, but it’s not looking like the Dodgers can rely on him.
The Dodgers continue to play uninspiring baseball.
Once again, their hottest hitter Teo is not in the lineup for what reason exactly? He needed a “breather”. And they scored 2 runs and lost. I would argue that he does not need a breather. The Dodgers keep using the failed load management strategy and keep on losing. How has load management been working out for the Dodgers this year? It’s kept so many players healthy right?….NOT.
Stop coddling the players. You want to win a title, suck it up and play.
Suck it up and play.
8.02 era with that stuff. Right now Millers biggest problem is between his ears. He just projects constant negative energy
I don’t know what’s wrong with him and I don’t think the Dodgers do either.
It’s not just between the ears, his “stuff” right now doesn’t seem that impressive either. He’s a shell of what he was last year.
Hear Hear!
Teoscar is actually 2 for his last 20 with 8 strike outs. If my recollection is correct he has started every game but one. So he is not their hottest hitter and he arguably could use a rest.
Exactly.
This team is just not going to get it done with subpar pitching and paltry hitting. They have to change the batting order. Shake it up a bit. It’s the only thing that they have control over because our pitching is out of control and we can’t expect them to win games for us. We are giving up too many HRs.
Ben Casparius is being called up for tomorrow’s (Sunday’s) game. No word yet on what roster moves will be made to accommodate him on the 40 or 26 man rosters.
Ryan can be moved to the 60-day IL to make room on the 40-man and I’m just guessing here, but I think Mr. Miller may have earned himself a plane trip back to OKC to make room on the 26-man.
Another guess here, but I would think that Knack will take Miller’s next start.
The good : Miller apparently has his velo back. Was reaching 100 mph, which he did not have in his last outings.
The bad: Still got no command .
The ugly: I do not believe he will be much help the rest of this season. The guy is mentally shot. Needs a reset in the offseason.
Casparius is a fast riser. Will be interesting to see how he does in MLB. Miller certainly will go down.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Casparius. Yet another rookie starter. How many is that? 37 different pitchers used this year. The term grasping at straws comes to mind. “trying unusual or extreme ideas or methods because other ideas or methods have failed. Yes. I believe that does indeed fit.
And somehow we are still in first place. What a truly amazing team this must be.
It’s such a long, grueling season. Will this team run out of gas? Or will there be a miraculous finish. 38 games to go. Will they need all of them?
The plan is to use him out of the pen.