The Dodgers had one of their superstars at the plate with the game on the line, and Mookie could not get it done a second time. Is there a more impactful superstar than Aaron Judge? I do not think so.
NYY wins the final game of the series in a game the Dodgers did not play well at all. There are no rewards for close but not quite enough. There is nobody to blame. NYY is a great team, and they beat the Dodgers. That is allowed. With better defense, this could have been a different game. But it wasn’t better defense, and the Dodgers could not break through.
It was a successful 3 game series. After his third HR, Teoscar Hernández had a phenomenal series. He should be in the thick of NL Player of the Week (whatever that is worth). Yoshinobu Yamamoto was outstanding. Gavin Stone was outstanding. Relief pitching was very good, except they cannot seem to get Aaron Judge out.
Gavin Lux had three hits in the finale.
Trent Grisham seems to get up for the Dodgers. To me he is still a Padre, which makes him unbearable. And remember it was his error against the Nats in the 2019 Wild Card that got the Nats into the NLDS where they beat LAD.
Some may have some negative comments on why the Dodgers lost. While never totally satisfied, one cannot be upset winning 2 of 3 against the best team in MLB in their own yard.
The Dodgers can hold their heads high as they fly home to face Texas and KC at home for 6, Colorado on the road for 4, and LAA at home for 2, beginning Tuesday. Then LAD will go on the road for 3 with CWS and 3 with SF to end the month.
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I know we have talked a lot about potential deals in the last week or two. And I understand that July 30 is still 50 days from today. For any out there who are math challenged, that is 7 weeks and 1 day.
A LOT can transpire in the next 50 days, and a lot can change…multiple times.
Right now, as of this post, there are only 5 teams that are definitely out of the WC race.
In the NL, Colorado is 8.5 games behind Wild Card and Miami is 9.5 games behind. The Braves are 4.5 games ahead in WC race, and San Diego is 0.5 games ahead. San Francisco, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati, and St. Louis are all tied for the third WC team. Pittsburgh is 0.5 games behind, Arizona is 1.0 games behind, the National are 1.5 games behind, and NYM is 3.0 games behind. That is 13 teams in the NL that are clearly looking to land a playoff spot.
San Diego has already made a move, and I do not think will be shy about making another. It will probably not be minor either.
In the AL, there are three teams that appear to be out of the WC hunt. CWS is 17.5 games behind a WC, Oakland and LAA are in 9.0 games behind. No other team is more than 4.5 games behind (Houston). Right now the 6 AL playoff teams are NYY, Cleveland, and Seattle (Division Winners) with Baltimore (+8.5 games), KC (+4.5 games) and Minnesota the three wild card teams. Boston is 1.5 games behind Minnesota, Toronto and Detroit 2.0 games behind, Tampa Bay and Texas 3.0 games behind, and Houston is 4.5 games behind. Are you going to tell Houston they are out of the Wild Card?
That is 25 teams that are still very much involved in the Playoffs run.
But many (if not most) of those teams are very uncertain if they are going to be sellers or buyers, meaning that sure buyers can reach out to the definite sellers (CWS, LAA, Oakland, Miami, Colorado), and the number of competitors is not as many as it will be in 6 weeks. That is why San Diego was able to grab Luis Arráez, and why Luis Robert Jr, Garrett Crochet, Tanner Scott, Jesús Luzardo, Paul Blackburn, Taylor Ward, and Jo Adell could all be potential targets early on.
Philadelphia and Atlanta will both be looking for an OF, and could very well make an offer CWS cannot turn down. Or San Diego making a solid offer for Crochet. None will be afraid of making an early trade, and if the Dodgers are not willing to play at that time, they could be on the outside looking in.
For many of you, the Dodgers not making a trade will be just fine. They will get to the playoffs with their present team, and anything after that is just lucky and icing. But to them, not going past the NLDS will certainly not be necessary to call the team successful. I do not have an argument for those people. If they are happy just making the playoffs, then be happy.
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The big MiLB news for the Dodgers…
No need to hang our heads at all. They won an extra inning game, then piled on runs in Saturday’s tiff. They got excellent starting pitching and solid work from the pen. Glasnow got some support and gave up 5 runs. 3 on a homer to a guy with a batting average below .100 at the time. Grisham has 5 hits all year! 3 of them are homers. In his other starts Glasnow got no support and pitched like an ace. Today he was merely mortal despite striking out 12 Yankees. Outman would have caught the ball Pages missed in the third inning. Despite being in a stadium with a short porch in right, none of the Dodgers power hitting lefties went yard.
Happy Birthday Jeff! Hope you’ve had a great day being celebrated and loved by family and friends! I also that this coming year is filled with blessings beyond measure! Thank you for all you do to keep this blog active. For those, like me, who spend far too much time, involved with all things Dodgers, you provide a wonderful forum for us to get our fix.
This was a fun series. I’ll take 2 out of 3 against the Yankees any day of the week. Particularly in their own yard.
Great debut from River Ryan. Good chance we’ll see him in LA this season.
Unless he gets put into a big trade, that is.
While Teoscar had a big series, I’m more encouraged by Yamamoto’s ace-like performance. This was his first dominant game–and we’re supposed to expect many more through 2035.
The Yankees looked good playing without Soto. They are a frontrunner for October, ahead of the Orioles.
From the National League, the Phillies have the edge now. Certainly the Dodgers are in good position, but the team seems to be missing something.
A true shortstop? (But who?) An upgrade in the OF? (Some names come to mind.)
Another big arm?
True SS? Well, we had Seager and we let him walk. He is a better SS than Mookie and he’s developed into a major slugger. We need a defensive SS and Mookie just ain’t that.
CF? We had Bellinger who seems to thrive better in Chicago than with us. Is Bellinger better than Pages and Outman? Bellinger was on his way to stardom. Do you think the Dodger coaching de-railed him? Would you choose Bellinger over Pages or Outman?
You say the Dodgers let him walk. No they didn’t. Should they have paid him $350MM?…$375MM?…$400MM? Seager was (is) my favorite player, but he will not age well. He cannot get through a season without being injured. And before you bring up Ohtani and Yamamoto, Seager has nowhere near the global marketing appeal that the two Japanese stars have.
With regards to Bellinger, his market is VERY shallow. His hard hit rate is nowhere close to being league average. Most teams shied away from him. NYY did not want him. SF would rather pay pay Jung Hoo Lee. Lee will be guaranteed $113 million over six years. The Giants will pay an additional posting fee of $18.825 million to the Kiwoom Heroes. The Giants were also willing to pay a 15 percent tax to Kiwoom on the $41 million that they might never end up paying Lee if he opts out after 2027.
Bellinger’s bWAR is 0.8 with a 113 OPS+. Pages’ bWAR is 0.7 with a 105 OPS+. At $30MM vs MLB minimum, I am going with Pages.
The two Statcast pages: The first one is Bellinger, the second is Pages. Again $30MM vs MLB minimum??? No brainer.
The only no brainer here is debating with hindsight. Bellinger showed elite batting and fielding and then collapsed. Pages shows neither but seems to be a decent player but not on the level that Bellinger was.
Seager was homegrown and loved here. His injury history is unfortunate and I wasn’t implying it didn’t have anything to do with the Dodgers letting him walk.
My point is after having 2 star players at CF and SS, the Dodgers settle for a gold glove RF who is awkward at SS, and no one to replace the star at CF. The Dodgers are making a strategic mistake with Mookie and they refuse to deepen their outfield depth in the trade or FA market. I applaud their choice of Teoscar, but is he here for the long term? They need to buy their way to a championship because they can’t home grow them.
The hindsight is you bringing up Bellinger’s 2023 with the Cubs. He collapsed from 2020 – 2022 and the Dodgers made a choice not to offer him a contract for 2023, making him a free agent. I will not speak for anyone else, but IMO that was the correct choice, even though Belli was a favorite. It is hindsight believing the Dodgers made a mistake in doing so because of what he did in 2023. BTW, I still wear his LAD jersey (and Seager’s). I know, I feed into the corporate mentality of professional sports.
Of course Pages is not the player Bellinger was in 2019. But neither is Bellinger. You choose to ignore his statcast numbers compared to Pages. I choose to believe them, and so do MLB teams which is why Bellinger is not a NYY or SFG or Assterisk.
Yes, Seager was homegrown and a fan favorite. Your words…“True SS? Well, we had Seager and we let him walk. He is a better SS than Mookie and he’s developed into a major slugger. We need a defensive SS and Mookie just ain’t that.” Maybe you did not think you implied that the Dodgers just let him walk irrespective of his injury history, but you did not qualify your statement. Right or wrong, I read your statement to be that the Dodgers just let him go. Seager’s injury history did play into the Dodgers decision not to re-sign him for what Texas did. Good for Corey, but the Dodgers made the right choice (IMO), and so did Corey.
We shouldn’t need to see Ryan in LA this year. Hoping he begins 2025 as our #1 prospect and ready to make an imalpact when called on.
Agree. If we need to see Ryan we’ve had too many injuries to our pitchers. Don’t rush him.
On the other hand, if AF is going to make a big trade, Ryan will almost certainly be asked for by the other team.
I’m thinking about Pages’ two gaffs and the 2 for 11 stat. But, we’ve seen these games before and we’ll see them again.
If it were me I’d pitch to Stanton with Judge on first.
I still say the Dodgers are not a good defensive club.
What’s wrong with Ohtani? The last 28 days he’s OPS’n .713. .594 in June. That sucks. The team needs him in big games like these.
The Dodgers aren’t showcasing Vargas and one has to wonder why. Are they keeping him under wraps until after Pages and/or Outman are traded? Do they already have interest in him and don’t want him to get hurt? Why is he riding pine? He needs at bats and he just sits there. Maybe he goes down when Outman comes back, which has to be any minute, right? And then there’s Taylor.
“And then there’s Taylor.”
That is the Dodgers biggest question. It needs to be addressed and soon. A wasted roster spot whether he is DFA’d or plays.
Phantom DL him and bring up Lipcius.
All strategic blunders staining the FO’s shirt.
Why can’t a trade help both teams reach the post season? That way there is no reason to wait.
The problem therein is that the teams who hold the cards at the deadline aren’t planning on a post season this year. And we don’t yet know all the teams that will sell. Some we do yes, but some we don’t, and those that do would be wise not to rush into the market too soon.
Something that has been bugging me for some time and that is the Dodgers seeming inability to play fundamentally sound baseball, especially in those moments when what it is they do best, slug, abandons them. Sound baseball isn’t that difficult. Play good heads up defense, which includes hustle, back up bases, hit your cutoff etc, know how to slide, know how and when to bunt, work the hit and run, run the bases efficiently, have a two strike approach, all those little things you learn early on before you realized you could become a millionaire by slugging. I look at playing sound fundamentals as Championship Mortar. If the Dodgers knew how to play that way they would know how to win games like yesterday’s game. If they had done those things they would’ve won yesterday’s game.
I don’t know who the Dodgers may have their eyes on come late July but I hope it’s someone who knows how to play the game of baseball. I have to assume the young guys in the stable don’t know these things as it doesn’t appear the Dodgers teach these things. I hope whoever they bring in already knows all of which is mentioned here and will bring an element of championship mortar to this team.
Players poll at The Athletic:
($$$)
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5529966/2024/06/10/mlb-player-poll-overrated-underrated-worst-organization?source=user-shared-article
Ohtani best player.
Betts Best vibes.
Lots more good stuff
Good read. A few surprises there.
That was a great read, and the answers came from the players. Players are divided on subjects of interest just as we fans are. A couple of areas that I really found interesting:
What is the most irritating criticism of the current game coming from former players?
Overlooking the current game’s degree of difficulty
“You have to understand that players today are so damn good. … The length of the lineups and the length of pitching staffs has changed, even in the last seven, eight years.”
“The lack of respect for difference in pitching quality.”
“I feel like they’re too far removed to understand how hard this game is.”
“Just throw strikes — their strike zone was three times the size.”
“‘Too many strikeouts’ — they had three guys in the league who threw 95, and now the first guy in from the bullpen throws 100.”
“That it’s the same game. I don’t think that’s true. I think, unfortunately for us, the talent is just way better across the board. There’s not an at-bat you have off or where you’re like, ‘Finally, this guy.’ It’s always a new arm that’s just nasty — splitters, sweepers. They’re reinventing the wheel. Everyone’s throwing 97-plus now. It’s the same game but played at a much higher level.”
Have analytics helped your career, hurt your career, or made no difference to your career?
Those who said Analytics Hurt:
“I’m not a power guy. I like to put it in play and analytics say you need to hit for power.”
First off, Happy Birthday to you Jeff D! I was in Couer d’Alene this past week to see my youngest brother and celebrate his birthday. So many June BD’s. I have a longtime friend having her 75th on the 14th. And, of course, Bear will be partying hard the same day for his 76!
I was catching up with the past couple of days trade comments. I have stated that I have no issue with trading prospects that will never play for the Dodgers for proven vets. I don’t understand the fascination with Robert Jr. As Badger said yesterday, he’s had one good season which was last year. His K rate before ’23 was around 20%. But, with the huge increase in power numbers came a K rate of 30%. We have enough of those type of players. As far as injuries, he may have a possible chronic hip problem. He was on the IL in ’21 for three months and this year for two months. He’s had several other minor injuries as well with his eye, wrist, and knee. With him playing over 100 games in a season only once (’23) in five years, his 30% K rate, and the prospects that may be required to trade for him it’s a pass for me. Between Outman, Pages, and Vargas one of them has got to be a solid major league player. If not, then it is a major fail for AF in position prospect development.
I would still like to see AF use some of this minor league depth to get either Tucker or Ward. If not, then pass and go to the playoffs with what they have currently. It could work and there is still plenty of time for Pages to improve. Or, the return of Outman with him exceling in OKC. Or, even letting Vargas play in place of CT3. Maybe, all three can be traded as part of obtaining an vet OF and/or pitching.
Jeff D mentioned he would like to trade for Crochet in order to have another LHSP. I agree that would be ideal, but looking at his injury history I say no way. Especially, with the depth the Dodgers will have with the returning injured pitchers.
Of course, with the Dodgers, soon to be returning players could mean in the next few weeks to never. Crochet had TJ surgery in ’22 and was out until May of ’23. A month after his return he return to the IL for three months with shoulder problems. I noticed he has 103 K’s in 76 innings and is leading baseball in strikeouts. And not looking it up, I guess he is a hard thrower. So, he continues to throw hard after one TJ surgery which leads me to think another TJ surgery is in his future. Add in a shoulder issue and I don’t think he’s worth the prospects to trade for him.
Again, it would nice to add another LHSP, but I think Kershaw could fill that role this year. And, the deep pitching prospects may be able to do it in the future.
So, trade for Tucker or Ward if they think Outman, Pages, or Vargas can’t fill the OF spots long term. The pitching is plenty deep with returning players. Just my opinion. It will be interesting to see what AF will do.
I wonder if Dodger prospects see what Lipcius is doing at OKC and is getting no love from the FO? What does he need to get a call up? Especially, when there is a spot at 3B for him. And with CT3 still failing when he is given playing time. Absolute BS.
Carry on.
Well said Ted. I’m with you on all of it. I say trade 2 of the 3 for Tucker. Think he can play center?
I don’t see why not. He’s very athletic. Probably no more adventurous than we have out there right now. If either Outman or Pages isn’t included then CF is covered. Teoscar in LF and Tucker in RF.
Just Do It!
Great post Ted. I too would shy away from the injury plagued Roberts Jr. and Crochet.
I would love to get Taylor Ward. Not a free agent until 2027. Would the A’s make a deal with the Dodgers? And what do you think it would take to get him?
Tucker would also be a good option. Free agent in 2026. What would it take to get him?
I like the fact that both are not rentals. I know that increases the cost.
Injury prone players are right up Friedman’s alley. They come cheaper. I think a player like Luis Robert Jr. is a perfect target for us. Anyone who had a year like he did is no fly by nighter. He’s got the goods so a savvy trade makes sense to me.
Would you take Gerrit Cole? Eury Perez? Sandy Alcantara? Max Fried? Tarik Skubal? Heck I wanted Skubal when he was injured. How do you feel about Emmet Sheehan? Nick Frasso? River Ryan? Kyle Hurt? Bobby Miller? I won’t even bring up Dustin May and Tony Gonsoling (I guess I did). Should the Dodgers keep pitching Walker Buehler or should they trade him? Should they trade Tyler Glasnow before he gets hurt again?
Garret Crochet is too hurt but Clayton Kershaw is not? If you only want pitchers that have not had an inury, I doubt that you could find 13 MLB arms. Paul Skenes is a TJ surgery waiting to happen, and I would take him.
LAD LHSP -3 – 1 at AA (Justin Wrobleski), 1 at Great Lakes (Maddux Bruns), and 1 at Rancho (Jackson Ferris). And Maddux Bruns is hurt again and not pitching. Not one of those projects to be a certainty in the rotation.
Pitchers are a significant risk. You only hope you have enough on your depth chart to fill in when the regulars are hurt, because they will get hurt.
I too think it is a shame that Lipcius is still in OKC. Makes absolute zero sense. Send Vargas back down where he will get regular ABs, and let Lipcious play 3B until Muncy gets back. They can put Ryan Brasier or Joe Kelly on the 60 day IL to make space for Lipcius on the 40 man.
Garrett Crochet Statcast:
My reasoning is based on what it would take to get him. I believe you said it would have to be an overpay because of the probable high demand from other teams. I agree. He’s had a couple of months of success this season in an injury riddled career. It doesn’t seem to be the type of trade AF would make right now. But, to predict what AF might do is a losing game. He’s made several trades for players we never had a clue would happen.
I understand the risk with today’s pitchers and certainly not naïve enough to think there aren’t any guarantees from injuries. Hell, just look at the list of Dodger pitchers on the IL and in their farm system.
If was me I wouldn’t do the trade.
Well, we finally attempted a very timely and necessary sac bunt with Kike, to get the tying runners to 2nd and 3rd, in the 7th. Kike hasn’t been asked to do that since King Kong was a chimp (actually 2018). but moving 2 runners into scoring position with your #9 hitter, hitting .207, seemed like a perfect time to put it on.
On his 2nd attempt, Kike executed a mediocre bunt back to the pitcher but it should have been good enough.
But we still found a way to NOT execute a basic sac bunt. Pages made an absolutely horseshit slide and was out at 3rd. Betts hits into a double play to end a potentially game tying inning.
I can see why critics distain the sac bunt when players are so inept at basic fundamentals.
There are some things that are just a lost art in today’s game. Granted, the players are bigger, stronger and faster. But they are not fundamentally better players in many areas. Sliding and pivots at second base are two, that come to mind. The Posey Rule at home and the Utley Rule at second have been largely responsible.
Second basemen can plant their feet right in the baseline without needing any skill at turning a DP and getting up and out of the way. A “take-out” slide is not taught anymore where the slider upends the infielder shin to shin. I love the old photos of a middle infielder up in the air over a sliding runner after releasing his throw to first. That is no longer necessary.
Back in the day, if an infielder dropped a knee to block a bag, he got a leg full of spikes. We didn’t need a rule.
And sliding, feet first, is a lost art. (Except for Trea Turner. I miss his slides where he seemed to glide over the dirt)
Way back before the head-first slide became a thing (I remember Pete Rose being the first player I saw to use it exclusively) we needed various slides; straight in with an extended lead leg hitting the base, was basic (the one that Pages failed to master). This one was best getting your numbers dirty so you couldn’t get tagged in the helmet on a poor throw, Next, a pop-up slide, a take-out slide, a hook slide to either side of the bag away from the tag, and a roll slide at home to avoid a catcher blocking the plate and reaching back to the plate with a hand. Pages would have been better served to slide head first with a footlong oven mitt.
Also, if you remember, the base itself wasn’t a solid heavy rubber thing the dropped securely into the ground with a post. Bags were bags with a strap with a buckle that fastened through a couple of metal hooks driven into the ground. And dust blocked the view of plays. No dust anymore with the field surface material.
I don’t recall doing the drill at spring training but I remember old video of players wearing baggy overall type pants and practicing in a sliding pit. Can you imagine now days asking Ohtani to slipping into a pair of baggy canvas pants and practicing sliding in a pit of sawdust? I’ve spent time at Camelback Ranch and I’ve yet to find the sliding pit.
I grew up around baseball and fast pitch softball. With pitcher dominated softball, it was a necessity to be able to bunt after a walk or base hit to move the runner in hopes of another hit or error. Runs were hard to come by and if you couldn’t bunt, you didn’t play.
I hear folks excuse players for struggling to bunt today’s velocity. Try bunting a fast pitch rise ball at hyper speed.
I learned to hook slide on either hip. That way I could slide away from any throw to avoid tags and also not get hit in the face by an arrant throw. It also distributed strawberries to the hips and knees.
And I learned this on a “Slip n Slide” in the yard in the summer. We’d played games with a tennis ball and slide all day long. I never ever slid head first except to get back on a pickoff attempt.
I also never played a game without wearing a pair of sliding pads shorts under my pants. I bet you could search every single clubhouse on the planet and never see a pair of sliding pads.
Executing the small things matters. How would have the game last night been different if Pages would have been safe and Mookie came through with a base hit to tie the game?
Maybe next time I will go off on the lost art of playing “Pepper”. Real Pepper and not “flip”. To wet your appetite, when was the last time you were at a ballpark that had signs on the backstop that said “No Pepper”?
Yes yes and yes. I talked about many of the same things in my post above.
Major League Baseball is different than the baseball we grew up with. These guys are huge and strong. A few are fast, and a few take defensive strategies seriously, though I’ve yet to see any outfielder move properly on balls in play. Every player has somewhere to be on every ball in play and that somewhere is not standing out there watching. The idea of never giving up a base is lost.
These things are not going to change. It’s been going on long enough to know that. The Dodgers will win by the slug and die by the lack of it. If our billion+ dollar lineup doesn’t average 6 runs in the playoffs I believe their goose may be cooked. Between now and then look for misplays, bad base running and horseshit two strike approaches. That’s just how it is.
And I think that is my conern. This is how LAD management believes is the best way to win. Why? Because they do in the regular season. This is an AF strategical flaw and not a Doc flaw. Doc can only play the players he has. I have no way of knowing for sure, but I would bet that AF/BG tell Doc to keep throwing CT3 out there. The same with not playing Vargas.
When you continue to play the all or nothing game, and that is the players you go after, that is an organizational philosophy. So when they all fail in the playoffs, is that Doc’s fault?
100% agree that today’s players are bigger, faster, and stronger…but they are not better baseball players. I think most of us grew up loving the game of baseball and not with today’s HR Derby mentality. But it is what we have.
I was at a game watching my son in Piedmont. I was sitting directly behind Ed Wade (Phillies GM) who was watching his A level team. My son was HBP, and everyone in the stadium knew he was thrown at as he hit a monstrous 3-run shot 2 innings earlier. The umpire and catcher went out in front of the plate as a just in case. Andy simply trotted down to 1B. The next batter hit a ground ball to 2B who threw the ball to the SS at second and Andy blew him up with a clean slide. Ed Wade leaned over to one of his assistants and said…”Now that is how you answer being thrown at. Great slide to take out the fielder.”
Andy would have loved to have been in the current HR or bust era. He came up with strikeouts mattered. When making contact mattered. He was a good HR hitter, but did not strikeout much. In 3,825 MiLB ABs he had HR% of 3.1 and a K% of 15.9%, BB% of 10%.
Last time I saw a “No Pepper” sign at the ballpark it was sitting next to a salt shaker at the concession stand.
For those who think Andrew will never care about fundamentals and small ball and continue to draft and sign slug first players, I think he’ll only do that until “old fashioned” teams start winning the WS on a regular basis. When that might happen, I don’t have a clue. It might never happen.
STB, I hate it when the concession stand is out of pepper. What I hate more are those little plastic impossible to open packets of mustard and relish that replaced those great mustard and relish dispensers during covid. I can miss 2 innings trying to open those little bastards with my teeth. I usually get more on my shirt then on my hot dog.
Since it’s a copy cat league, I was hoping that with the rule changes and Arizona’s success with speed, contact and base running might catch on elsewhere. Like Cincinnati.
It’s early, but Arizona is 4 games under .500, Cinci is 2 games under.
They need to stop stealing bases and sign more sluggers.
I believe, my friend, that our problems at the concession stands are what is commonly referred to as a first world problem.
Phil, to be fair to Pages, if you carefully watched the replay, the 3B had his foot blocking the bag where Pages sliding foot was trying to land. No way for Pages to touch that bag before he was tagged out. Great play for the Yanks.
Phil,
why does Mookie continue to try to throw sidearm on every play? It seems that he is just making this way to complicated. Been playing baseball his whole life and can’t make a simple throw to first. Idk just wanted your take from an instructional standpoint. Thanks
Crochet’s value on the trade simulator is very high. That tool always puts premium value on cost control:
I like this fake trade:
PADRES GET
Luis Robert 36.4
Garrett Crochet 56.5
Total Value 92.9
CWS GET:
Robby Snelling 25.7
Ethan Salas 66.1
Graham Pauley 3.9
Yuki Matsui 0.2
Total Value 95.90
And this one, if only because the dodgers get a SP they don’t need AND it is made “fair” by the Marlins sending the Dodgers $$$
Marlins Get
Thayron Liranzo
Mairoshendrick Martinus
Reynaldo Yean
Dodgers Get
Trevor Rogers
Tanner Scott
Cash
Why would you like the Padres getting two players that could hurt the Dodgers this year, for prospects?
I see no benefit in getting Trevor Rogers. I see no benefit in trading Liranzo and Yean with Scott the primary return.
I don’t like that fake trade either but I figure Bluto just meant he thinks it might could happen.
I like Outman and Pages but do I like them in the playoffs more than I like Tucker? Nope. I don’t know from Crochet but I am hoping our own pitching will round into form by late September.
Bluto is actually a Padres fan.
Me and that George guy from the other board!
Ahh, Jorge, he always shows his love for all things brown and gold.
I like the Padres one because it perfectly represents Preller’s insane propensity for trades of that ilk. None have worked for the Padres, but I kinda hope one does. He deserves to be rewarded once for his aggressiveness. Let him get to the WS if the Dodgers don’t.
I like the Marlins trade only because it has cash flowing the other way. Agree 100% about Trevor Rogers.
@Badger, neither will happen. Bank on it. @all, it’s been reported in many places that the Padres won’t trade Salas.
Agreed. Salas is as much of an untouchable as anyone.
Even Preller has no real interest in Luis Robert Jr. Who would he replace? Jurickson Profar? Jackson Merrill? Fernando Tatis Jr.? I don’t think even Preller would trade for Robert Jr., It is more likely that Robert Jr. will end up in Seattle or Philadelphia or Atlanta.
I still cannot see AF/BG trading for Robert Jr.
I tend to agree. Robert Jr. won’t be undervalued, he’s not a superstar. The only real upside is his scouted upside and the two options remaining on his contract.
I mean there are four or five teams over .500 in the NL alone. Whether this means more teams will think they have a chance at the post-season, or more teams will think they suck remains to be seen.
Hopefully the latter, which would increase the player pool.
Thank you Bluto, for recognizing that brilliant Padres/White Sox trade. It happens to be one that I posted. I think we all agree that we wouldn’t want the Padres to pull that one off.
I also think the White Sox might actually be able to do better than that from someone if they included both Robert Jr and Crochet.
Correction – maybe none of us but you want that trade to happen.
So are the White Sox really looking to trade Luis Robert Jr.?
Per Bob Nightengale, the White Sox would want a package that’s “greater than what the Padres gave up for Juan Soto at the 2022 deadline.”
In my best John McEnroe, “They cannot be serious”. There is absolutely no comparison between Robert Jr., and Soto.
As a reminder, here is what San Diego gave up (and yes it included Josh Bell):
There is no way any team in their right mind would make a similar offer (much less greater) for Luis Robert Jr. Plus Soto was 23 at the time of the trade, and Robert Jr., is 26 (27 August 3).
Couple of things:
ONE: It’s Nightengale.
TWO: The only GM willing to give up that package, Preller, basically cannot.
Never underestimate what Preller can or cannot do, might or might not do in a trade.
Hope you had a great birthday Jeff. I am right behind you as mine is this Friday. We are getting hammered by a hail and rainstorm right now. Hail is small enough where it should not be causing a lot of damage. Night off for the boys in blue. Here come the Rangers. Paxton, Buehler and Yamamoto scheduled to pitch the three games.
Flag Day. That is a good birthday for you!
Yeah, I was 14 before I realized they were not putting up the flag just because it was my birthday! I love my country, respect my flag, and I also love my Dodgers. One of my favorite bobbleheads is Rick Monday saving the flag.
Dodgers with 27 AB, or more, OPS, last 15 Days –
1.085 / 44 AB / Freeman
1.017 / 27 AB / Heyward
.953 / 51 AB / T. Hernandez
.944 / 39 AB / Pages
.895 / 27 AB / Rojas
.861 / 40 AB / Smith
.703 / 30 AB / K. Hernandez
.662 / 50 AB / Betts
.646 / 30 AB / Lux
.595 / 47 AB / Ohtani
Others, less than 27 AB –
1.092 / 13 AB / Vargas
.781 / 11 AB / Barnes
.210 / 19 AB / Taylor
Betts, Ohtani, and Lux need to get with the program.
Very telling. And so is the fact the Dodgers are still 8 games in front pending tonight’s results.
Imagine how good this team would be if this lineup hit as a team.
Well deserved, Teo earns player of the week honors in the NL> Judge gets the nod in the AL>
Betts 3 for 12, Ohtani 2 for 13.
Betts, ”Sometimes you just have to get things done.”
You mean like last year in the playoffs?
Ohtani on his current slump. Crickets.
Pages on his junior varsity slide at third, ”Every day you learn something” So at this point in your career you have to learn how to slide? Those of us who weren’t good enough to make it as far as you have learned that skill in our early teens. He also dropped a third out right before Judge doubled in two.
Game 3 in that series was a chance to send a strong message. The opportunities were there and the Dodgers coughed up a hairball. Their weaknesses were exposed. Clutch hitting, lack of fundamentals in big moments. Will it again be that way. They have three months to get it figured out.
I remember the guys most into baseball and softball in the 5th grade sliding right.
My first sliding pits were for my Little League All Star team. Sand pits. Most of the time we practiced on outfield grass. The dirt practice fields back then didn’t have highly maintained surfaces. The playing fields were only slightly better. There were a lot of strawberries early on, but at about age 13-14 I got my first pair of sliding pads, big help, but I needed protection for my knees too so I rigged something. In my softball years, I used a neoprene sleeve. A lot of issues are magnified by the field. What kind of dirt is it.
All that said we continue to see horrible slides from professional players.
Maybe we just need to teach today’s MLB players (and coaches, managers and front office people) the meaning of the word “finesse.” They certainly know the term “brute force.”
Can we negotiate this or should we send in the troops. So far Friedman likes to send in the troops.
We don’t get to define baseball. Just because we think proper sliding is integral, or moving the back runner over is important. It’s just not in the current game of baseball.
I do gaming, and there’s the idea of the “meta”. The represents basically the latest trend of how game is played.. The meta of baseball 40 years ago may have had sliding, it may have had bunting. It had Whitey Herzog in the Cardinals. That’s not the meta of baseball now.
The thing is, most of todays front office nerds don’t remember baseball 10 years ago much less 40.
The meta of baseball?
meta: 1. pertaining to or noting a story, conversation, character etc that consciously references or comments on its own subject or features 2. pertaining to or noting an abstract, high level analysis or commentary, especially one that consciously references something of its own type
Are you attempting to tell us the fundamentals of baseball, dating back to when Abner was a minnow, are no longer germane to the story of baseball?
I’m not buying it.
Proper fundamentals must be taught from an early age and reinforced at all levels. I’ll never waver from that opinion.
No, Meta as in:
“The Most Effective Tactic Available”,not really an acronym for that, but it’s a great way to think of it.
How it’s used really depends on the game and how it functions, to some degree it’s an opinion, to some degree it’s hard fact.
In a game like StarCraft for example, it’s the best way to build bases.
In HellDivers its the best combination of tactics and weapons to kill bugs or robots.
It’s a combination of the rules of a game, with trends and strategies.
In baseball, it’s now highly numeric with the accent on avoiding making outs and on defense preventing runs.
Ok. I understood and agree with the last line of that. But I did learn something. Thanks for that.
A coach’s job is to teach the right way to play baseball. Did you just see Ohtani’s slide into second base? That’s the correct way to do it. Pages slides like that he’s safe. Details count
Interesting. I’ve never heard this explained.
I’m not a gamer, but did happen across this YT channel and intuitively understood he was riffing on the gamer space – using all the lingo, etc.
I thought it was a very funny and creative spin on the natural world.
BTW, there’s also another concept to consider when assessing the meta of this site – grumpy old guys yelling at clouds.
Roberts and Friedman might love the three run home run but that doesn’t mean they don’t hate to see a bad slide or repeated failures to score a single run wrisp.
The part I don’t like about Pages’ comment is that the exact thing happened to him a few weeks ago at second base against San Diego: lead-leg sticking up in the air right above the bag — I remember thinking to myself: you get to make that mistake once, so he won’t do that again. I was wrong!
Link:https://www.mlb.com/dodgers/video/replay-confirms-andy-pages-steals-his-first-base
What a great start to 2024 for Royce Lewis. He is 7-21, with 1 double and 4 HRs. As often he has been injured, he was not a mistake taken overall #1 in 2017 over Hunter Greene. Knowing Lewis is not going anywhere until he is a free agent (2029), that does not stop many of us thinking what if…
Let’s hope that Doc commenting on the health of one of the injured players is not the “kiss of death”. Too many times we have read similar comments only to later learn they will be headed for surgery.
Wow, the Braves are struggling. I look for them to be very aggressive at the trade deadline.
The Dodgers are putting on a show. Yes Bluto it is fun to watch this team slug. I am selfish. I want them to excel in situational hitting as well WRISP.
But what a night.