I woke up this morning. put on my Clayton Kershaw jersey, something I have done for the last 10 home openers.
This was the true Opening Day, and it was perfect. The pre-game ceremonies were first class. Introduction of the Dodgers on blue carpet. Bryan Cranston was outstanding in his introduction of the LAD starting lineup. IMO, there has never been a better singing of the national anthem than Whitney Houston at the 1991 Super Bowl, but Josh Groban was pretty terrific. I did not hear Bear sing the national anthem at Dodger Stadium, so I cannot compare. And the flyover was perfectly timed. Adrian Beltre throws out the ceremonial 1st pitch with Clayton Kershaw catching. All this on comfortable 66 degree afternoon in front of 52,667 attendees.
Tyler Glasnow got to live out his childhood dream by pitching in the LAD Home Opener at Dodger Stadium for his Dodgers. His curve was still not dominant, and yet he went 6 innings and only allowed an end of the bat single and HR, both by Paul Goldschmidt. 81 total pitches. He had 5 strikeouts against 1 walk. Without the dominating curve, and without his normal command of his fastball, Glasnow still dominates. His slider was outstanding.
With improved command, he is going to generate more than a few more swings and misses.
The Dodgers did their own version of the piggyback, with LHP Ryan Yarbrough relieving Glasnow and throwing 3.0 scoreless innings, allowing only a single to that man, Paul Goldschmidt. Yarbs was efficient with 44 pitches in his 3.0 IP. He relies on soft contact, and got it. His 3.0 innings in relief gives Yarbrough his first save in 2024. At the end of the day, Paul Goldschmidt was 3-4, and the other Cardinals were 0-27.
As good as the pitching was, it was the offense that was special. Much has been written about the three MVPs at the top of the order, and they did not disappoint. They reached base on 9 of their 12 PA with a combined 5-8 and 4 BB. 2 HR, 6 runs, and 4 RBI. Max Muncy and James Outman had run scoring singles, and Max added a sac fly for his first 2024 RBI.
Mookie – 1-2, HR, 2 BB, 3 runs, 1 RBI
Ohtani – 2-3, double, 1 BB, 1 run
Freddie – 2-3, HR, 1 BB, 2 runs, 3 RBI
Through three games, Betts is a convenient 7-for-11 and has reached base 11 times in his 15 trips to the plate, with two home runs and eight RBI.
Mookie Betts is the most impressive baseball player of his generation & he is seemingly only getting better by the day 📈pic.twitter.com/EDc6V9isWg
Yes, Max struck out twice, but he did have that run-scoring single and sac fly. I will take the strikeouts when he can come through as he did on this day.
James Outman did strike out, but he had two hits, including that run scoring single.
Teoscar Hernández doubled in his Dodger Stadium debut. No need to bring up the three K’s. I guess I just did. Oh well.
The only two LAD hitters not to reach base were Jason Heyward and Gavin Lux. Heyward did have a diving catch in RF.
The Dodgers were even able to bring up three right handed PH in the 8th to hit against the LHRP Matthew Liberatore. Chris Taylor for Outman, Kiké Hernández for J-Hey, and Miguel Rojas for Gavin Lux. Although, none of the three reached base.
For the game, the Dodgers were 3-6 WRISP, plus a sac fly.
I guess the Checkbook Dodgers beat Miles Mikolas and his hardest working Midwestern farmers in this one.
Tyler Glasnow’s LAD effort was excellent, but it was not as good as the Orioles new Ace, Corbin Burnes. Burnes also went 6.0 innings, allowing only an HR to Mike Trout, and no other base runner. He also had 11 K in his Orioles debut.
Frankie Montas also had 6.0 shutout IP for the Reds in their win over the Nationals. Tarik Skubal went 6.0 three hit shutout IP for Detroit in their 1-0 win over Garrett Crochet and the Chicago White Sox. Skubal struck out 6. Crochet was very effective himself in his 6.0 IP. He allowed 1 run on 5 hits and registered 8 Ks.
This was the Dodgers 6th consecutive home opener victory, and 8 out of the last 10 years.
Friday’s game will allow the Dodgers to show what they can do against a LHSP, 26 year old Zack Thompson. The Dodgers will counter with RHP Bobby Miller. The game will be broadcast on Apple TV with the announcing crew of, Wayne Randazzo, Dontrelle Willis, and Heidi Watney. The game is scheduled to start at 7:10PM.
OKC BAseball Club opens their 2024 season on Friday in Tacoma (Seattle Mariners). Landon Knack deservingly draws the opening day start. The game starts at 7:05PM in Tacoma. As I am writing this, the rosters have not yet been finalized. I will write something on the team and the 1st game tomorrow for Saturday.
I don’t think he qualified the feat with the same pitcher, although Fernando Tatis Sr., did hit his two off the same Chan Ho Park. Both have been done by only one person. But I guess I will go with the five consecutive opening day HRs. Countless players have had that opportunity to homer in an opening day game, and most will play the next year.
How many players are afforded the opportunity of a two grand slams in the same inning? Some historian indicated that it has only happened only once in 9 times that a player hit a grand slam and came up the same inning to have a chance for a 2nd. Tatis Sr. was the only player to do it.
Here are the nine:
Raúl Ibañez (Mariners): Aug. 4, 2008 (7th) vs. Twins (single)
Bobby Abreu (Phillies): July 24, 2003 (6th) at Cubs (sac fly)
Fernando Tatis (Cardinals): April 23, 1999 (3rd) at Dodgers (grand slam)
Rick Reichardt (Angels): Aug. 23, 1967 (4th) at Indians (flyout)
Bill White (Cardinals): May 9, 1963 (5th) vs. Dodgers (strikeout)
Carl Furillo (Dodgers): May 14, 1955 (7th) at Reds (flyout)
Carl Furillo (Dodgers): June 8, 1952 (8th) at Reds (strikeout)
Joe Astroth (A’s): Sept. 23, 1950 (6th) at Senators (single)
Nick Etten (Yankees): May 2, 1946 (4th) vs. Indians (double play)
So the one in nine success for a player to hit two grand slams in one inning is still better than 1 in how many MLB players have played in 5 consecutive opening days.
Per the latest AccuWeather report, the rain could hold off for tonight’s game. But it looks very doubtful for Saturday, and Sunday is not looking good.
Oldbear48
1 month ago
Got to watch the first few innings before I had to head to Trinidad and pick up my sis for the trip back to LA. Saw the homers and Ohtani’s baseball journey on the bases. D-Backs showed just how pitiful the Rockies are with a 16-1 shellacking. They scored 14 runs in the third inning. Kyle Freeland’s ERA is 38.57 as he allowed 10 of the runs. The guy who pitched next, Molina, gave up the other 6 in 1/3rd of an inning. 16 of the D-Backs 18 hits were given up by those two. Molina’s ERA is 162.00 Rockies only fanned 6 times though.
In my opinion the Trinidad in California is much nicer than the one in Colorado. I’ve been to both, used to live up in Eureka. Never been to the Trinidad in the Caribbean but I’m sure it’s nice too.
I spent a weekend in Trinidad California. It is a must see venue that heartily recommend. I have never been to Trinidad, Colorado, or to Trinidad in the Caribbeans for comparisons.
Typical small cattle town here in Colorado. Some folks like that small town life.
tedraymond
1 month ago
A nice start to the season. It was fun and enjoyable game to watch. It moved along and was completed in less than 2 1/2 hours. I really enjoyed watching Glasnow pitch. Bummer about the weather for tonight and especially Saturday.
Badger
1 month ago
Glasnow, Yarbrough and the top of the lineup did very well. Ohtani didn’t pick up his third base coach, he should know better, and Mookie with two more errors, though the home official scorer only gave him one. The 10 Ks didn’t hurt. Good start.
They might get tonight’s game in, but I won’t see it. Tomorrow looks like rain all day and all night. Sunday looks unlikely. Sunny SoCal has a lot of soft ground everywhere.
We were middle of the pack defensively last year. Every team in the West was better defensively and it didn’t make a difference. I imagine it will be the same this year.
tedraymond
1 month ago
I was reading about the Will Smith signing in the Athletic. It got me to thinking about what Kershaw signed for. It’s only $5MM with a player option for another $5MM in 2025. No incentives involved. So, while there I checked out what the total estimated competitive balance plus the tax amount is going to be for 2024. It’s approximately $382MM right now! That’s a staggering amount of money. The tax alone is $62MM. Of course, the actual cash payout is much less because of the deferrals. Talk about making a commitment!
The Mets’ Steve Cohen thought he could buy his way to a WS and failed miserably. Watch and learn Steve. Watch and learn.
The Dodgers clearly don’t care about taxes. And as long as the Ohtani ship sails the global money will pour in. I wonder what the Dodgers FCI figure sits at now? I’ll have to take a look.
I did notice there were a lot of empty seats in the stadium yesterday. The most obvious were those behind home plate. It was a sellout but many didn’t make it. I wonder why those who own the seats behind home plate couldn’t give them away.
Now is the time to start looking at potential trade deadline players. Just start to watch. No reason to get serious. But there are always players that intrigue me in the early season that interest me. I have always been enamored with Tarik Skubal, but I think Detroit could be in the race for AL Central all year, and then Skubal is not going anywhere.
Frankie Montas looked to be back in good health, but just like Detroit, I see Cincinnati staying in the NL Central all year. Heck, I picked them to win the NL Central.
But I do not think that CWS will be anywhere close to competing this year, and LHP Garrett Crochet could be available. I have brought his name up a time or two or ten. I know he is starting right now (CWS does not have a choice), but he could be the lock down LHRP the Dodgers fancy. Prior to his TJ surgery, Crochet was a very good reliever. He was a late inning reliever as well as an Andrew Miller type to come in when needed. CWS had another closer at the time…somebody with the name of Liam Hendriks?
A 6’6” lefty who throws 96+ with great extension. What is not to like? He has 2 years of control after 2024.
Interesting contrast on their views of what the Dodgers have done, between the Cubs Kyle Hendricks and the Cards Miles Mikolas.
“It’s going to be a show all year. It’s just a super-exciting team, man, seeing all of those players over there … Just as a baseball fan, it’s super-cool to see how good they are. It’s going to be interesting to see how they go about their business, to see how they perform for a full 162-game season. It’s something we all love to see.”
What Mikolos was quoted saying sounded childish to me. I would think many might not admit it publicly but most would love to be a part of it.
I checked ticket prices at GoTickets and Stub Hub, with Stub Hub looking more reasonable. Tickets behind the plate were around $640, tickets with the seagulls were as low as $40. Average is said to be between $170 and $197 depending where you look, which would drive the FCI to an insane number. Jeff, can you tell me how the FCI is actually determined? It must be based on season ticket prices, which I assume would be considerably lower than StubHub. But if you don’t own season tickets and you want to take your family to a game, eat hot dogs, have some drinks, buy programs and cheap hats, be prepared to bring binoculars or pay close to $800.
I got that problem totally licked, I watch on TV. Food is good, view is good, no parking problems, easy access to the bathroom plus less chance of an altercation in the parking lot.
To the best of my knowledge, the calculation has been consistently calculated as follows:
· Four tickets (calculated with average ticket prices for that venue)
· Four small soft drinks
· Two small beers
· Four hot dogs
· Two game programs
· Parking
· Two adult-size caps (the least expensive)
Average ticket price represents a weighted average of season ticket prices for general seating categories, determined by factoring the tickets in each price range as a percentage of the total number of seats in each ballpark. Luxury suites are also excluded from the survey. Season-ticket pricing is used for any team that offers some or all tickets at lower prices for customers who buy season tickets.
Then the FCI is way out of whack. Last year the FCI for Dodgers games was $345. The average for a Dodgers ticket was somewhere around $200. It’s going to be a lot higher this year. Good luck getting 4 tickets and all that other stuff for $345.
I just signed up for Apple TV. It was time. There’s a lot of good stuff there.
Per the OKC Transaction Page – The Dodgers have signed LHP Drew Pomeranz to a MiLB contract and assigned him to OKC. My guess is that he will be monitored for a LHRP position.
Scott Boras figured a way not to have a Qualifying Offer attached to Jordan Montgomery. By signing a day after the opening day, Montgomery then could not be under contract for the entire year, and only players under contract for the entire season are eligible for the QO. Boras will get another shot at pushing Montgomery next winter without the threat of a QO. Since he was traded at the deadline last year, he was not eligible for a QO this offseason.
I truly do not understand the lineup. James Outman and Gavin Lux are out while Max Muncy remains in the lineup.
Muncy against LHP (2023) – .155/.263/.378/.642 – 11 HR
Outman against LHP (2023) – .254/.357/.308/.665 – 1 HR
Lux against LHP (2022) – .263/.330/.354/.684 – 1 HR
I understand why Jason Heyward is not playing, but not Outman and Lux? You want Rojas, Hernández, and CT3 in, okay, but why not one of them for Muncy? The difference between Muncy and Outman/Lux? HRs. You want to know why the Dodgers swing for the fences? Hit HRs, you play. Doesn’t matter about BA or OBP. Actually Outman and Lux had higher OPS than Muncy against LHP. Muncy is certainly not in due to his defense?
Taylor against LHP 2023 – .210/.317/.478/.795 – Again it is the HRs (10)
Kiké against LHP 2023 – .239/.304/.338/.642 – 3 HR
CT3 in ST – 41 PA and 20 K. That is just a click below 50% K rate.There is no reason to cut down on that swing of # of Ks.
Betts is not a utility player. I agree that Mookie is a better 2B, but how is he going to get better at SS if he keeps getting moved around?
I know…early in the season. Need to get every one in.
OhioDodger
1 month ago
And people are worried about Rojas. He carries his weight. I would be more concerned with Kike and Taylor.
Last edited 1 month ago by OhioDodger
OhioDodger
1 month ago
Good win with Ohtani and Freeman going O-fer and Kike and Taylor doing nothing.
Boston OF Tyler O’Neil broke an MLB record by hitting a HR in his fifth consecutive opening day game.
Will this or the two-grand slams in one inning record be harder to break?
Not sure how one would be able to hit 3 grand slams in 1 inning off the same pitcher
I don’t think he qualified the feat with the same pitcher, although Fernando Tatis Sr., did hit his two off the same Chan Ho Park. Both have been done by only one person. But I guess I will go with the five consecutive opening day HRs. Countless players have had that opportunity to homer in an opening day game, and most will play the next year.
How many players are afforded the opportunity of a two grand slams in the same inning? Some historian indicated that it has only happened only once in 9 times that a player hit a grand slam and came up the same inning to have a chance for a 2nd. Tatis Sr. was the only player to do it.
Here are the nine:
So the one in nine success for a player to hit two grand slams in one inning is still better than 1 in how many MLB players have played in 5 consecutive opening days.
It is amazing that Furillo had two shots at it
We’re expecting a fair amount of rain tomorrow (Friday) and last I checked it was supposed to arrive right around game time.
Saturday is supposed to be worse.
Things could always change, but I don’t expect us to play until Sunday and that one might be interrupted as well.
Welcome to sunny SoCal.
Per the latest AccuWeather report, the rain could hold off for tonight’s game. But it looks very doubtful for Saturday, and Sunday is not looking good.
Got to watch the first few innings before I had to head to Trinidad and pick up my sis for the trip back to LA. Saw the homers and Ohtani’s baseball journey on the bases. D-Backs showed just how pitiful the Rockies are with a 16-1 shellacking. They scored 14 runs in the third inning. Kyle Freeland’s ERA is 38.57 as he allowed 10 of the runs. The guy who pitched next, Molina, gave up the other 6 in 1/3rd of an inning. 16 of the D-Backs 18 hits were given up by those two. Molina’s ERA is 162.00 Rockies only fanned 6 times though.
Trinidad is gorgeous.
Not as nice as Tobago.
🙂
In my opinion the Trinidad in California is much nicer than the one in Colorado. I’ve been to both, used to live up in Eureka. Never been to the Trinidad in the Caribbean but I’m sure it’s nice too.
I spent a weekend in Trinidad California. It is a must see venue that heartily recommend. I have never been to Trinidad, Colorado, or to Trinidad in the Caribbeans for comparisons.
Just past Raton on I-25. Small town even has cobblestone streets.
The one in Colorado ain’t all that.
Typical small cattle town here in Colorado. Some folks like that small town life.
A nice start to the season. It was fun and enjoyable game to watch. It moved along and was completed in less than 2 1/2 hours. I really enjoyed watching Glasnow pitch. Bummer about the weather for tonight and especially Saturday.
Glasnow, Yarbrough and the top of the lineup did very well. Ohtani didn’t pick up his third base coach, he should know better, and Mookie with two more errors, though the home official scorer only gave him one. The 10 Ks didn’t hurt. Good start.
They might get tonight’s game in, but I won’t see it. Tomorrow looks like rain all day and all night. Sunday looks unlikely. Sunny SoCal has a lot of soft ground everywhere.
That questionable defense will survive the season, possibly, but come the playoffs YIKES. As the saying goes “that’s gonna leave a mark!”
We were middle of the pack defensively last year. Every team in the West was better defensively and it didn’t make a difference. I imagine it will be the same this year.
I was reading about the Will Smith signing in the Athletic. It got me to thinking about what Kershaw signed for. It’s only $5MM with a player option for another $5MM in 2025. No incentives involved. So, while there I checked out what the total estimated competitive balance plus the tax amount is going to be for 2024. It’s approximately $382MM right now! That’s a staggering amount of money. The tax alone is $62MM. Of course, the actual cash payout is much less because of the deferrals. Talk about making a commitment!
The Mets’ Steve Cohen thought he could buy his way to a WS and failed miserably. Watch and learn Steve. Watch and learn.
Sorry for irrelevant post.
The Dodgers clearly don’t care about taxes. And as long as the Ohtani ship sails the global money will pour in. I wonder what the Dodgers FCI figure sits at now? I’ll have to take a look.
I did notice there were a lot of empty seats in the stadium yesterday. The most obvious were those behind home plate. It was a sellout but many didn’t make it. I wonder why those who own the seats behind home plate couldn’t give them away.
Now is the time to start looking at potential trade deadline players. Just start to watch. No reason to get serious. But there are always players that intrigue me in the early season that interest me. I have always been enamored with Tarik Skubal, but I think Detroit could be in the race for AL Central all year, and then Skubal is not going anywhere.
Frankie Montas looked to be back in good health, but just like Detroit, I see Cincinnati staying in the NL Central all year. Heck, I picked them to win the NL Central.
But I do not think that CWS will be anywhere close to competing this year, and LHP Garrett Crochet could be available. I have brought his name up a time or two or ten. I know he is starting right now (CWS does not have a choice), but he could be the lock down LHRP the Dodgers fancy. Prior to his TJ surgery, Crochet was a very good reliever. He was a late inning reliever as well as an Andrew Miller type to come in when needed. CWS had another closer at the time…somebody with the name of Liam Hendriks?
A 6’6” lefty who throws 96+ with great extension. What is not to like? He has 2 years of control after 2024.
A lefty out of the bullpen would be my first choice to improve the team. Crochet sounds like he would fit the bill.
Interesting contrast on their views of what the Dodgers have done, between the Cubs Kyle Hendricks and the Cards Miles Mikolas.
— Kyle Hendricks, via USA Today’s Bob Nightengale
It might be fun to have a poll of the players.
Moneybags 1 Midwest farmers, 0
What Mikolos was quoted saying sounded childish to me. I would think many might not admit it publicly but most would love to be a part of it.
I checked ticket prices at GoTickets and Stub Hub, with Stub Hub looking more reasonable. Tickets behind the plate were around $640, tickets with the seagulls were as low as $40. Average is said to be between $170 and $197 depending where you look, which would drive the FCI to an insane number. Jeff, can you tell me how the FCI is actually determined? It must be based on season ticket prices, which I assume would be considerably lower than StubHub. But if you don’t own season tickets and you want to take your family to a game, eat hot dogs, have some drinks, buy programs and cheap hats, be prepared to bring binoculars or pay close to $800.
I got that problem totally licked, I watch on TV. Food is good, view is good, no parking problems, easy access to the bathroom plus less chance of an altercation in the parking lot.
I don’t know, MMB, the last time I parked in your lot it looked kinda dangerous to me.
To the best of my knowledge, the calculation has been consistently calculated as follows:
· Four tickets (calculated with average ticket prices for that venue)
· Four small soft drinks
· Two small beers
· Four hot dogs
· Two game programs
· Parking
· Two adult-size caps (the least expensive)
Average ticket price represents a weighted average of season ticket prices for general seating categories, determined by factoring the tickets in each price range as a percentage of the total number of seats in each ballpark. Luxury suites are also excluded from the survey. Season-ticket pricing is used for any team that offers some or all tickets at lower prices for customers who buy season tickets.
Then the FCI is way out of whack. Last year the FCI for Dodgers games was $345. The average for a Dodgers ticket was somewhere around $200. It’s going to be a lot higher this year. Good luck getting 4 tickets and all that other stuff for $345.
I just signed up for Apple TV. It was time. There’s a lot of good stuff there.
Per the OKC Transaction Page – The Dodgers have signed LHP Drew Pomeranz to a MiLB contract and assigned him to OKC. My guess is that he will be monitored for a LHRP position.
Scott Boras figured a way not to have a Qualifying Offer attached to Jordan Montgomery. By signing a day after the opening day, Montgomery then could not be under contract for the entire year, and only players under contract for the entire season are eligible for the QO. Boras will get another shot at pushing Montgomery next winter without the threat of a QO. Since he was traded at the deadline last year, he was not eligible for a QO this offseason.
I truly do not understand the lineup. James Outman and Gavin Lux are out while Max Muncy remains in the lineup.
Muncy against LHP (2023) – .155/.263/.378/.642 – 11 HR
Outman against LHP (2023) – .254/.357/.308/.665 – 1 HR
Lux against LHP (2022) – .263/.330/.354/.684 – 1 HR
I understand why Jason Heyward is not playing, but not Outman and Lux? You want Rojas, Hernández, and CT3 in, okay, but why not one of them for Muncy? The difference between Muncy and Outman/Lux? HRs. You want to know why the Dodgers swing for the fences? Hit HRs, you play. Doesn’t matter about BA or OBP. Actually Outman and Lux had higher OPS than Muncy against LHP. Muncy is certainly not in due to his defense?
Taylor against LHP 2023 – .210/.317/.478/.795 – Again it is the HRs (10)
Kiké against LHP 2023 – .239/.304/.338/.642 – 3 HR
CT3 in ST – 41 PA and 20 K. That is just a click below 50% K rate.There is no reason to cut down on that swing of # of Ks.
Betts is not a utility player. I agree that Mookie is a better 2B, but how is he going to get better at SS if he keeps getting moved around?
I know…early in the season. Need to get every one in.
And people are worried about Rojas. He carries his weight. I would be more concerned with Kike and Taylor.
Good win with Ohtani and Freeman going O-fer and Kike and Taylor doing nothing.