Yep, I believe it is time for the Dodgers to surprise us all again, and this time exceed fans expectations and win the NL West and then defeat the Braves in the playoffs. Why?
Gut feeling I think. This team has had to overcome a lot of injuries and adversity. They are struggling because the payroll took a huge hit and in my eyes, limited a great deal of what they could do in the off season.
Now, no doubt, AF made some astute, and not so astute moves. Heyward and Peralta are finally paying off. The jury is still out on Thor except it looks pretty bad so far.
The team has been hot coming out of the All-Star break. They have won five of seven on the road trip. And it was not an easy landing place coming out of the break. NY, the O’s and the Rangers are all pretty decent offensive teams.
I have no clue what they plan on doing at the deadline. I still believe they need at least one good innings eating pitcher. Otherwise the bullpen is going to be shot by playoff time.
But I believe even as constructed, they are going to be a handful for any team to handle, especially the closer it gets to playoff time.
Dodgers On A Roll At The Right Time? Part 2 (Jeff Dominique)
The Dodgers are indeed on a roll. The Dodgers are at the tail end of what was considered to be a difficult 3 city, 9 road game stretch. Eight games in, the Dodgers are 6-2. They have scored 60 runs with a run differential of +34 in those 8 games. That is an average of 7.5 runs per game.
But it isn’t just these 8 games Since the embarrassing loss to KC on Sunday July 2, the Dodgers are 11-3, scoring 104 runs with a run differential of 52. They have scored twice as many runs as they have allowed. For those 14 games, they are averaging 7.4 runs per game.
On July 9, the Dodgers were 0.5 games behind Arizona in 2nd place. They were ahead of San Francisco by 3 games and San Diego by 9.0 games. Going into today’s finale, the Dodgers are 4.0 games ahead of both Arizona and San Francisco and 10.0 games ahead of San Diego.
Things are a little different now than they were on July 1 when they were 3.0 games behind Arizona. First, I am not advocating this. But I do believe that the Dodgers will be less involved in the trade market than is being suggested. I think they will end up with 1 SP and 1 RP, and no RH bat. Right or wrong, the Dodgers are loyal, and I do believe they are going to hitch up their wagon to the horses that they started the season with.
First the RH bat. The Dodgers are fiercely loyal to their players, and probably to a fault. Trayce Thompson is the player they wanted as their starting CF when the season began. As we all painfully recall, from April 19, TT went 21 games, 47 PA and 39 hitless AB before going 3-3 with a walk on May 28.
Thompson went 1-3 his next game and 0-1 in his last game, June 3 He went on the IL with an oblique strain. On Friday night, Thompson was in Arizona on a rehab assignment. He went 2-5 with an RBI and NO STRIKEOUTS. Yes it is rookie league, so I am not going to get overly excited (or even remotely excited). But I also have no doubt that Trayce Thompson is a RH bat and one that the Dodgers’ management trusts. More than Tyler O’Neill or Dylan Carlson or Mark Canha or Tommy Pham. Pham may in fact be a better hitter (and he is), but is he a better teammate? Thompson has another week before the deadline to show if he is healthy. He will probably get some game time at OKC. If he is, I am convinced AF/BG consider him their RH bat.
Miguel Vargas and Jonny DeLuca are also readily available. Also, Devin Mann and Hunter Feduccia are RH bats that could be utilized. I do not see the Dodgers going big for a rental RH bat.
Starting pitcher:
Again not advocating it, but another player who started the season with LAD and was counted on by management is Noah Syndergaard. Syndergaard pitched a good five innings at OKC in his second rehab assignment. He will undoubtedly get another start (or two) at AAA to see if he can get past 5.0 IP. He still has problems with holding runners on, and I think that was a mistake by management to not consider, especially with the new rules. Also one that will not be remedied this year. But Syndergaard is a better option than Gavin Stone and Ryan Pepiot (right now). He is a better option than Jack Flaherty. I think the Dodgers go for one playoff caliber starter and hope that Syndergaard can be productive. Or will they go for two?
Bobby Miller pitched very well against a top offensive team, Texas, and deserves consideration for a playoff rotation spot. Emmet Sheehan and Michael Grove are good relief possibilities. I do not think the Dodgers can take the chance that all will stay healthy, and they are going to need pitching.
07-220-2023 – MiLB Game Summary Report
OKC Dodgers 2 – El Paso Chihuahuas (San Diego) 1
Matt Andriese pitched 5.0 shutout innings on 1 hit, Two relievers pitched 2.0 innings each with Justin Hagenman surrendering a solo HR for El Paso’s one run.
Key Performers:
- David Dahl – 3-3, 1 RBI, 2 doubles (13)
- Kole Calhoun – 2-4, double (10)
- Miguel Vargas – double (2)
- David Dahl finished with a game-high three hits, going 3-for-3 with two doubles and a RBI. He has hit safely in seven of his last eight games, going 10-for-29 with five doubles and a homer.
- Kole Calhoun went 2-for-4 with a double, triple and run scored. He has hit safely in five straight games, going 7-for-21 (.333) with four extra-base hits.
NW Arkansas Naturals (KC) 5 – Tulsa Drillers 1
Tulsa was shutout for 7.2 innings before José Ramos singled home Brandon Lewis who had doubled (8) and moved to 3rd on a ground out.
River Ryan started and allowed 3 runs in his 4.0 IP, 5 hits, 2 BB, 3 K.
Key Performers:
- Eddys Leonard – 2-4
Lansing Lugnuts (A’s) 2 – Great Lakes Loons 1
Two unearned runs by Lansing held up as Great Lakes was able to score only one run. No Tulsa hitter had more than 1 hit, and only Chris Newell had an XBH, double (8).
Lake Elsinore Storm (San Diego) 22 – Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 4
Two nights after losing 18-0, RC was destroyed by 18 again. RC actually closed the score to 5-4 after 4 innings. However, Lake Elsinore score an unanswered 17 runs to put an exclamation point on the rout. RC pitchers gave up 16 hits, 10 BB, 2 HBP, and an error.
Jorge Puerta had 2 of the RC 4 hits. Dayton Dooney hit his 2nd triple.
NICK FRASSO
On Friday night, Frasso completed 5.0 IP for the first game since April 25. He allowed 1 run on 4 hits, 0 BB, and 6 K. Looking forward to Nick finishing the season strong.
Jeff, Feduccia hits from the left side. Otherwise pretty good analysis. I think they will get another starting pitcher and maybe 2 arms for the pen. I am probably wrong, but that is the feeling I get. I still think Giolitto is their main target. Bringing a Cali boy home makes a lot of sense. Thor has been giving up some runs, but he also is not walking as many batters as he had. I think his main problem is between his ears. He is not listening to his body telling him he is not capable of throwing 99 anymore. Once he grasps that and decides to be a pitcher instead of a thrower, he could be effective. I agree with you on Thompson. He cuts down those K’s and makes contact, he can hit the ball a long way and there is no doubt he is an excellent fielder. I like him better than Marisnick,
You covered all the bases but you slid past a couple!
1.Regarding a sp they need a pitcher capable of winning in the post season. Not just an inning eater. Will there be anyone besides Giolito or Stroman that fit?
2. The in house rh bats you mentioned are not proven at the major league level. I think they need to trade for one.
3. Adding a good reliever is always smart.
4. Re Thompson his splits have always been backward,I can’t see expecting to start raking against lefties.
5. I still would prefer letting Mookie play 2nd which leaves Vargas to play left or 3rd, positions he js not currently prepared to play, or get traded.
I slide well. I covered what I felt was important. We just look at things differently
I would like to see Deluca get more playing time. I have little to no faith that either Thompson or Marisnick are the answer to our right handed hitting needs.
Any roll is a good roll, but if I could choose I’d rather be 11-3 in late September, and even better in October.
RHB. We have Mookie, Smith, JD, Vargas, Taylor, Rojas, DeLuca…and Barnes. And as you mentioned Thompson may be coming back. I still believe we are ok offensively. We need to spend assets on pitching. I agree with Bear the likely target is Giolito. If we got another RHB, where would you put him?
Is it DeLuca or Deluca. I’ve read it both ways.
Kershaw, Urias, Gonsolin, Miller, Grove, Sheehan and Pepiot and Buehler will be coming back–if they get another pitcher where are you going to put him?
Depends on who it is, but probably at #3-4.
Can’t make decisions on whether to add any starting pitchers based on the fact that Buehler MIGHT be back in September or that Pepiot will pitch well since he hasn’t pitched all year.
STB is right. I do expect both to be back, but I expect neither to be on the post season roster, unless it’s a bullpen role.
And I thought maybe Bum was talking about next year.
Snell, Giolito, Stroman, and the Cardinals pitcher whose name escapes are the most talked about as Dodgers targets.
Snell and Stroman are currently the best of the 5. Both are short term rentals.
Betts has made clear he wants to play middle infield. I like him at short.
Muncy is participating again
Deluca. When he was drafted it was reported as DeLuca. Somewhere along the lines somebody obviously asked him the proper spelling, because now it is reported as Deluca. But I am guilty of spelling it DeLuca at times. My spell checker has it both ways. Old habits? Or maybe just old?
Good to know.
There is a very nice Italian restaurant in Sedona called Dahl and DeLuca.
AL is soft.
Atlanta is the major roadblock and bring them the fuck on.
(Also, Milwaukee’s bullpen is wicked.)
Someone asked why the Dodgers are so loyal to Trayce Thompson. The explanation is easy. Trayce returned to the Dodgers last season and played very well. He hit 13 homers and hit .268 in limited action. Now, he did not hit lefties as he had in AAA that year, as a matter of fact, he had reverse splits. But 13 bombs in 205 at bats is a pretty good ratio. The Dodgers gave him a one-year deal based on that performance. They looked like genius’s when early in the year, Trayce hit three homers in one game. What came after was pretty bad. Trayce never really found his stroke again and then he got hurt. If there is a knock on Trayce, it is the reverse splits and being injury prone. Injuries ended his first tenure in LA. There is no doubt he can hit with power and he is a very good defender. He earned that contract, and the Dodgers who sometimes are loyal to a fault, will give him every opportunity to justify their loyalty.
They are definitely on a roll right now Bear. But, the only important time to be on a roll is in the playoffs. Do what it takes to get there and then play your best baseball and win a championship.
This offense is on fire right now. At the beginning of last year I continually commented on the awesomeness of Freddie Freeman. And it continues. He has to be one of AF’s best acquisitions. He is the total package that the Dodger organization and fans can be proud. It seems like he never stops hitting. His slumps are at worst 2-3 games. Along with his defense and leadership Freddie is surely a strong candidate for MVP.
It was nice for Miller to get such great run support. I think it gave him an opportunity to relax and give the staff some innings. Miller has taken advantage of and benefited from all the injuries the starting staff. He is becoming more of a pitcher than just trying to throw 100 MPH. Hopefully, another successful transition of a rookie to a permanent spot on the team. So far, Outman and Miller. Grove? Sheehan? Vargas? Who is going to be the next to check the boxes necessary to become an everyday MLB player? It’s fun to watch.
To have all these prospects playing for the Dodgers this year and for the team to succeed the way they have done is really remarkable. I believe the veteran leadership has allowed this to happen.
It should be a wild next nine days. AF, one starter please! But, preferably two!! That would strengthen the BP with the addition of any excess from the rotation.
Carry on.
Excerpts from Dodger Nation (Noah Camras Follow on Twitter
07/23/2023)
Giolito is from Los Angeles, went to Harvard-Westlake High School and grew up rooting for the Dodgers, so the non-baseball fits are obviously there.
On the mound, though, Giolito was an All-Star in 2019, and finished top-11 in AL Cy Young voting three times.
This year, Giolito has had an up and down year, and got rocked in his most recent start, raising his ERA to 3.96. However, he has a great 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings and an impressive 3.13 strikeout to walk ratio, and would definitely benefit from playing for a contending team.
Giolito isn’t exactly an ace, but he would be a solid No. 2 in the rotation, and would be trusted to make a postseason start. And for what it’s worth, LA is currently considered the co-favorite to land him this deadline.
Flaherty is from Los Angeles and went to Harvard-Westlake High School. While he hasn’t made an All-Star team in his career, he finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting in 2019 after sporting a 2.75 ERA in 33 starts.
Since then, Flaherty has had an up and down career, and has struggled with some injuries. However, he’s been healthy this season, and has been pitching much better after struggling early in the year.
After seeing his ERA balloon to 6.29 in early May, he’s brought it all the way down to 4.39 after his most recent start on Friday against the Cubs where he allowed four earned runs across six innings of work.
Flaherty is also a free agent at the end of the year and would come cheaper than Giolito.
If Snell becomes available, he would be the best starting pitcher on the trade market.
After struggling early in the year, Snell has been lights out as of late. He won the NL Pitcher of the Month Award in June, and has lowered his ERA all the way down to 2.67 after allowing one run in five innings on Thursday.
If Snell is available for LA, the Dodgers would be adding a Cy Young candidate who could potentially start a Game 1 in the postseason.
Those are not my words. I just selected some words from the Dodger Nation article.
Would the Dodgers try to re-sign any of those three?
Snell won’t be traded. In my opinion, any team within 5 games of a wild card spot won’t be sellers. One might walk the line between adding and SD subtracting but a straight trade weakening the big league club I don’t see.
I also can’t see them trading Snell to us unless we overpay with like a Bobby Miller.
We all saw Snell in 2020; he was absurdly good, and man I’d love to have him now!
Totally agree that the Pads won’t be trading Snell. They might get rid of some peripheral guys but not their best starter, especially since they might very well want to re-sign him themselves.
They are 6 back in the Wild Card race. I’m sure they believe they aren’t out of it yet.
That’s outside of Dionysus’ 5 games so….
Haha
I don’t see San Diego going anywhere this year. They’ve played very poorly the entire season. They would have to go on a tear, they’re under .500 and reportedly have problems in the clubhouse. Blake Snell please.
It sure looks like Sheehan isn’t quite prepared for this gig.
I’m m totally spitballing here…
His FB heavy arsenal is problematic, like today, when he doesn’t get the high strike call.
Maybe. This ump has missed a lot of calls. But 8 hits and 5 walks in 3.2 is just an awful outing. He needs to go. And who comes up? Stone or Knack? Gulp.
If Kershaw is coming back in August is a really worth it to start Knack’s clock? Bring up Stone for one start?
I would just give Sheehan one more start. Especially with a lighter schedule ahead
Landon Knack is 26 years old. He’s in his prime. Sheehan is 23. In 6 starts he’s been hit hard and is walking over 9 per 9. But yeah, I’m ok with another start. Better score 8.
He’s fine. Just up a year too early.
Well, good news is SD, SF, and AZ all lost.
i really don’t pay attention to Colorado, so no idea what they did/are doing
If Mendoza line is .200. What the hell is .100?
It should be DFA..
100 is damm hot. 113 in Palm Springs.
You realize you are not remotely clever, right?
The blogosphere seems pretty remote.
I think this guy believes he IS Dionysus.
Mike Ivie passed away today at the age of 70. Former Padre. RIP
Will Muncy stay hot for more than three days?
Will Rojas ever hit a homer?
Maybe. But who cares. He’s good defender and comes through now and then. Somebody has to hit 9th when Barnes isn’t playing.
I care, obviously. He was billed as an occasional homer guy and he’s not. Fail.
Rojas is the least of the Dodger problems.
What is an occasional HR guy? He has hit 39 in 10 years. He has never been described with HR in the description. He is and always has been a field first and contact hitter for occasional average SS. He was acquired to be the backup to Lux. He is taking a larger role than was anticipated. As Ohio said, he is not a problem for the Dodgers.
That don’t make no sense.
Fail.
I’ve noticed that when Barnes plays, the Dodgers have a losing record overall in those game. Check it and see.
Is there anything more fun than using a fake name to post 3-team trades before the trade deadline?
Comicon maybe, but other than that….
Dodgers GET:
Civale SP 25.9
Renfroe OF 0.6
Juan Brito 2B 8.7
Jake Madden 2.7
Angels Get:
Busch 2B 18.3
Frasso SP 9.3
Guardians
Grove SP 10.6
Ward OF 24.6
How is Ward 24.6?
Sometimes you can only shrug.
Was this actually proposed on the Trade Simulator? It works. Dodgers get a SP, RH hitting OF, a AA middle infielder, and a lottery ticket RHSP. Brito is #13 prospect for Cleveland, and Madden is #10 prospect for LAA.
It is a lot to give up for a SP that is hurt a lot, and a RH hitting OF who is not having a good year with LAA. Brito is a 21 year old AA 2B who has an OPS north of .800 every year. Madden is 21 in his first season in professional ball. Very low risk high reward RHSP with Command problems. Sound familiar?
Civale does have 2 more years after 2023 of control. That should take the sting away from losing Frasso. Especially if Madden emerges.
Interesting take. I give it about 0.005% chance of happening.
There are some interesting trade scenarios that were proposed. It looks like the Cardinals fans want to dump Paul DeJong onto the Dodgers.
You are about .005 too high! I’m just trying to point in the direction I think the team could go clearing some of the upcoming rule 5 roster issues and getting a more than serviceable armI and cheap RHB
Is Civale the post season starter we’re looking for? Seems like a lot of work to get him, and we don’t need those other guys. Why not just use a couple of those assets for Giolito? He’s only 14.9.
Civale has 2+ years while Giolito is a pure rental. That is why the cost is higher. I think Bluto was trying to get the Dodgers a RH bat and a AA middle infielder. Giolito will not require 2 top 100 prospects. Maybe three top LAD top 20 that are not top 100. Just guessing. Nothing to base it on.
I’m guessing Giolito will stay with the Dodgers.
Yes. If Uriah’s is tough to sign Civale offers a hedge, but he’s had fatigue and decreased velocity in past starts.
could be a red flag.
Giolito is a mixed bag. Throws 100 pitches a lot, but that could be because they just leave him in there. FIP is 4.46. I think he could continue to throw 100 pitches but if he gives up close to 4 every outing is he the playoff push horse we want? Maybe we could do better.