All Aboard! Get on the Dodger train for the ride of your life! Yes, that is what we fans have done for years. Some of us for a whole lot of years. There have been many ups and downs, but through it all, we remain loyal fans. Oh, we gripe and complain when they lose. If a player is in a slump and not helping the team, we suggest all sorts of solutions to the problem, and we are usually wrong. The owners and the front office operate with a lot more information than we do.
I started riding the train in 1955 when I saw my first baseball game on TV during the World Series. It was black and white, so I had no idea what a real ballpark looked and smelled like until my uncle took me to a game at Wrigley Field in LA to see the Angels of the PCL play. It was pretty cool. When the Dodgers moved to LA, I, like so many other kids seeing big league baseball for the first time, became much more seriously into the game.
It has been a fun ride most of the time because for most of their history in Los Angeles, the Dodgers have been pretty successful. The last 11 years have been the best stretch of Dodger baseball in the team’s history as far as winning the division goes. Only one second place finish, and they won 106 games that year. Of course, they had to play game 163 in 2018 against the Rockies. But Walker Buehler pitched a great game, and they were the division champ again.
We have been fortunate to have so many great memories after a long period of frustration and dealing with two ownership groups that were not the best. O’Malley’s ownership featured a team that was almost like family. Managers stayed for many years; prices were family friendly. They kept many of their homegrown players which many of the fans loved. Fans loved going to Dodger Stadium as a family and it was very affordable.
Things changed when Fox bought the team, and almost immediately alienated the fan base by trading the Dodgers best player, Mike Piazza. Prices began rising too. The team not winning had a lot to do with fan discontent. In 2000, Dodger attendance slipped under 3 million for the first time in many years. They were over 3 million by just 11,000 in 2001. By 2004, the team had another new owner, Frank McCourt. They did make the playoffs but were knocked out in four games by the Cardinals.
The team would reach the playoffs under McCourt’s reign four times, never getting past the LCS. Behind the scenes, the divorce and McCourt having cash flow problems, plus him raising ticket prices almost every year, were causing some fan discontent. But we still had moments like Finley’s walk off grand slam to win the division. Manny Ramirez’s arrival caused a lot of excitement. But MLB stepped in and took over control of the team, forcing McCourt to sell, and virtually ending all his money problems when the Guggenheim Group bought the team.
Lucky for them, because even with the mismanagement McCourt brought, he did have some very baseball savvy people on the payroll. Not the least of whom was Logan White who was the scouting director from 2002-06, then again from 2010-14. Many of the homegrown players Guggenheim inherited, were his draft picks. Of course, sooner or later, Guggenheim would want their own people in place. Ned Colletti stuck around as GM until after the 2014 season when Andrew Freidman was brought in as President of Baseball Operations and Farhan Zaidi became the GM.
I must admit, I was not a huge fan of Freidman when he first came on board. That was probably due to the fact that he traded one of my favorite players, Matt Kemp, for a known PED user, Yasmani Grandal. He then traded another favorite, Dee Gordon, for a bunch of guys. Two of them are on the team now, Barnes and Kike. Rojas went to Miami with Gordon in that trade. To me, Gordon was the only guy on the Dodgers with any speed.
Yet, his decisions changed the face of the franchise. The best part was they were winning, not the big prize, but they were winning. There have been numerous comparisons to the Braves of the early 90’s and beginning of the 2000’s. All those division titles and just 1 World Series win. Much like LA, they lost 3 of the 4 they played in. Freidman’s Dodgers are 2-2. Winning a World Series in this day and age takes a lot more than it used to, but we all know that. The Dodgers first four came with just the World Series to be played.
As a fan in this era of Dodger baseball, I have learned to temper my expectations. The season is long, and too many things can affect the outcome, among them, injuries to key players. We are going through another stretch of that this season. Just look at the names of the guys on the IL and you will see that this team is missing some major contributors. It has been that way for the last several years. How the Dodgers manage those losses will be key to how they end up.
I have to trust their judgement on these things because like so many fans, I sometimes think with my heart rather than my brain. Many fans want the kids brought up to see what they can do. The Dodger brass has opted so far to keep the kids on the farm developing and hopefully improving their skills. We will know soon enough how it works out. It is now May. Bu July, we should have some idea of how this team is going to perform.
MiLB GAME SUMMARIES
Albuquerque Isotopes (Colorado) 6 – OKC Comets 3
Clayton Kershaw started for OKC and pitched well for the first 3 innings. He allowed 0 hits 1 walk, and 1 HBP. In the 4th, he allowed a walk, single, a 6-4-3 DP, and 2-run HR. He threw an efficient 57 pitches/35 strikes. He does not get his 4-seamer to 90, so if anyone is expecting Kersh to dominate, they will be disappointed. I see no reason why he should make another rehab start. He should be in a position to start one of the games against LAA. He is going to need to rely on his pitchability and hitting edges and corners to induce weak ground balls.
#Dodgers Clayton Kershaw showing the kids his glove still plays. Nice play #22!!! @DodgersBeat pic.twitter.com/E49YxV7gxP
— 🇺🇸 DooM_Sal (@msalas24) May 11, 2025
OKC had a 3-0 lead going into the 4th. In the 1st, Esteury Ruiz drew a leadoff BB, moved to 2nd on a WP, to 3rd on a PB, and scored on a Ryan Ward double. In the 2nd inning, Nick Senzel drew a BB and scored on a Justin Dean triple. Dean scored the Comets 3rd run after a throwing error on an Alex Freeland ground ball.
Kershaw turned it over to Michael Kopech in the 5th. This was a different Kopech. He did not walk anyone, but did allow a double and register 2 K in 1.0 IP.
Michael Kopech (@Dodgers) is back on track in his latest rehab outing with the @OKC_comets:
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) May 11, 2025
1 IP
1 H
0 R
0 BB
2 K
14 pitches; 10 strikes pic.twitter.com/7VCbcl9xHb
Noah Davis followed Kopech, and could not have pitched any better. He retired all 7 batters he faced. He threw 25 pitches and after getting the first out in the 8th inning, Davis was replaced by Jose Rodriguez. Rodriguez allowed 4 runs, on 3 hits, and a HBP in 0.2 IP. The runs were scored on a solo HR and a 3-run HR. Contrary to some, Jose Rodriguez is not ready to take over for Tanner Scott or Kirby Yates.
With the score 6-3 in favor of the Isotopes, that is how the game ended.
- Ryan Ward – 2-4, double (7)
- Justin Dean – 2-4, 1 run, 1 RBI, triple (4)
Amarillo Sod Poodles (Arizona) 6 – Tulsa Drillers 1
With the loss, the Drillers finished 2-4 for the week and have now lost all three road series played this season.
The afternoon began with each team scoring a run in the second inning. Tulsa used three singles to load the bases with one out and scored the run when Ezequiel Pagan beat out a 4-6-3 double play attempt.
A double, a sacrifice bunt and an RBI groundout in the bottom half produced Amarillo’s first run to tie the game at 1-1.
After allowing the one run, Tulsa starting pitcher Jackson Ferris was working on an impressive start until he ran into trouble in the fifth inning. To that point, Ferris had allowed just two hits, one run and had not issued a walk to go with four strikeouts.
In the fifth, Ferris surrendered five hits and one walk that led to four Amarillo runs, ending his afternoon as Tulsa trailed 5-1.
Amarillo added its sixth run in the seventh inning on two singles and an error.
Similar to the game before, the Drillers could not string anything together at the hitter friendly HODGETOWN. Tulsa’s offense finished 1-7 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine baserunners. The second was the only inning that Tulsa earned more than one hit in an inning.
- Taylor Young – 2-4, 1 BB
- Griffin Lockwood-Powell – 2-4, 1 run
- John Rhodes – 2-3. 1 BB
Great Lakes Loons 7 – Dayton Dragons (Reds) 2
The Great Lakes Loons for the second straight game did damage against a rehabbing pitcher, today scoring five against Dayton Dragons starter Rhett Lowder in a 7-2 win.
Kendall George accounted for the first three runs. George reached on an error in the first inning. He stole two bases, his second forcing a bad throw and an easy trot home. In the third, George ripped a 0-2 pitch 112 mph to right field, a two-run single. George reached three times out of the leadoff spot this afternoon.
Sean Linan made his Loons debut and was impeccable, throwing four scoreless innings. The 20-year-old right-hander struck out three and would strand two Dragons in the second.
@greatlakesloons Sean Linan's day is done. Linan pitched a solid four scoreless innings for the Loons. His line 66P / 43S / 4IP / 2H / 0R / 1BB / 3K pic.twitter.com/BNsuf9kp77
— 🇺🇸 DooM_Sal (@msalas24) May 11, 2025
Kole Myers gave Great Lakes a 5-0 lead in the third. He plated both Jordan Thompson and Joe Vetrano, who both singled, with a single of his own. The Loons grabbed five hits in three innings facing Lowder.
Roque Guiterrez earned his second win of the week. He went four innings, striking out five. Roque did surrender two runs on three hits in the fifth but would only have two reach through the next three innings.
The Loons would leave 10 on base in the final five innings but padded their lead with two runs. Zyhir Hope added his 27th RBI, second-best in the Midwest League, with an RBI single in the sixth inning. Hope drove in six runs in the series.
Robinson Ortiz gained the final three outs, punching out two.
- Joe Vetrano – 3-4, 1 BB, 2 runs, 2 doubles (10)
- Kendall George – 2-5, 1 BB, 1 run, 2 RBI
- Kole Myers – 2-3, 2 BB, 1 run, 2 RBI
- Zyhir Hope – 1-3, 2 BB, 1 RBI
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 14 – Visalia Rawhide (Arizona) 3
The Quakes blew out the Visalia Rawhide yet again on Sunday, taking a 14-3 win to give them four of six in the series.
Mike Sirota went deep twice and drove in five runs, as the Quakes moved their lead in the division to a season-best eight games over Visalia and Lake Elsinore.
Mike Sirota 2 HR game(and every dodger fan posted it) pic.twitter.com/9Ac7Ev2lZd
— Soo-Min (@Min_6822) May 12, 2025
Sirota’s first-inning blast put the Quakes ahead to stay against Visalia starter Grayson Hitt, as his sixth of the year made it 2-0.
A Jaron Elkins two-run single in the second gave Rancho everything they’d need, moving the lead to 4-0.
In the 4th, RC loaded the bases on a single and 2 walks with no outs. The run scored on a 5-4-3 DP.
In the 5th, Jose Meza led off by being HBP. He stole 2nd, and with two outs he scored on a Roger Lasso single. Victor Rodriguez drew a BB. Eduardo Guerrero slugged a two-run triple and scored on an Eduardo Quintero single.
The Quakes scored an unearned run in the 6th. On Leading 10-3 in the seventh, Sirota struck again. His third hit of the day was a three-run shot, giving him a league-best seven round-trippers on the year, as the Quakes took a 13-3 lead.
Jaron Elkins and Jose Meza hit one out doubles for the final run in the 9th.
Offensively, Rancho posted a series-high 16 hits and scored in seven of the nine innings.
On the hill, Logan Tabeling fired three scoreless, hitless innings in his first career start. Nicolas Cruz was credited with the win, after he worked 2.2 innings of relief.
Jakob Wright is scheduled to throw for Rancho, while Inland Empire will counter with Peyton Olejnik. Game time for the series-opener is 6:30pm.
- Mike Sirota – 3-6, 2 runs, 5 RBI, 2 HR (7)
- Jaron Elkins – 2-6, 2 runs, 2 RBI, double (5)
- Mairo Martinus – 3-6, double (2)
- Jose Meza – 2-3, 1 BB, 2 HBP, double (3)
- Roger Lasso – 2-4, 2 runs, 1RBI, double (1)
- Eduardo Guerrero – 2-4, 1 BB, 2 runs, 2 RBI, triple (1)
- Eduardo Quintero – 1-3, 3 BB, 2 runs, 1 RBI
Born June 14th, 1948, in Los Angeles California. AKA The Bear
Minor leagues starting to cook. We got some outfielders in the system. Let’s push ’em. We 100% have an opening next year and a couple years after that too. Come one, come all.
Snell shut down again, still feeling discomfort in his shoulder. He and Glasnow will see teams doctor on Monday. Not good news.
Please promote Sirota already. Has nothing left to prove in low A ball.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wish I was out in California so I could see Sirota play. LA back in first as Colorado wins their first game under their new manager.
I may literally ride the train down to San Diego’s Petco Park this summer if the schedule lines up. Back in the ’80s, I worked in downtown SD and I hear that Petco is a great place to watch a game….
I do enjoy these reports from the farm. Great news about Linan after his promotion. I hope Sirota joins him in Great Lakes soon. Nice to see progress from Kendall George too.
Also great to read about Kopech bouncing back with decent control in his rehab stint. With Treinen and Phillips out, it would be great to have Kopech back. He can follow Kershaw with an extra 10 mph of velocity.
Old friend Ryan Yarbrough started today’s game for the Yankees, who’ve gotten a big boost this season from old Dodgers nemesis Trent Grisham, a candidate for Comeback Player of the Year.
It’s entirely possible that the ’25 Series could be a rematch of ’24–and the Yankees will want payback.
What’s happening with Freeland.
Phil, read your last post late. Solid takes. Mookie. Agree. Seager. I was one who figured eventually he would move to third, though I wasn’t calling for it. I didn’t think he was a particular good fielding shortstop but he proved me wrong. Wish we still had him.
Ferris. His numbers look bad. Is there something to report with him?
Kershaw. His fastball may be gone at this point but his guile might get him through. Time to bring him up.
Are bullpen games “obvious”. Can we expect them to happen the rest of the year? Is every team employing that strategy now? I still believe they stress the bullpen but I have no evidence of that. Admittedly I haven’t really looked for it either. Openers? Yeah I get that. Have guys like Knack and Wrobleski face the top of the lineup once. But bullpen games? I don’t like them.
Ohtani still chasing, but getting hits. He has a lot of games like that. I believe he could hit .350 if he laid off pitches out of the strike zone. If it were me, I would try breaking stuff outside the edges on ever at bat. He’ll swing. If you walk him, so what. With this Dodgers offense I think the strategy would be get to the Muncy part of the lineup as quickly as possible. The bottom of that lineup will leave men on base.
Day off is a good thing. Knack tomorrow. Then Yamamoto Sasaki. A’s at .513. But they have a -38 run differential. 2 out 3?
philjones, like Badger, I read your post from yesterday this morning. I never understood the logic of Mookie being the everyday SS. Initially, it was stated that it was to put less stress on his legs as he ages. What? Common sense tells me standing in the outfield is less stressful physically than playing SS. It seemed Mookie was driving the narrative that he wanted to play SS and was not a front office move. But, who knows? The bottom line is that it appears playing SS has effected Mookie’s offensive performance. And, as Bumsrap mentioned, the beginning of the season illness certainly didn’t help. Maybe, with Kim on the team, some days off might be helpful with Mookie’s conditioning and an opportunity to regain some strength.
I agree with those that think Ohtani should be moved down to third in the order with Mookie leading off and Freeman hitting second. A lineup as follows might be in order:
Mookie SS, Freeman 1B, Ohtani DH, Teoscar LF, Smith C, Pages RF, Edman CF,
Muncy 3B, and Kim 2B.
Freddie Freeman is a marvel. He’s the Dodger MVP so far this season and is a league MVP candidate as well.
I think Bear mentioned Ohtani’s poor pitch recognition. It’s amazing to me how such a talented player can look so bad hitting several times a game. It’s like he has already made up his mind to swing at a pitch before the pitch is thrown. Could you imagine the stats he could put up if he was more disciplined? Regardless, he’s still a must watch AB each and every game.
Carry on.
Betts is doing just fine offensively and defensively.
Edman might not be a 150+ game regular.
Kim has holes, big holes in his swing.
Outman probably has only a few more at bats to hit with the pitch before he plays in OK.
Conforto looking better.
Kershaw pain free and yet can’t hit 89 mph.
Great to see Gonzo pitch well. Nothing fancy. Pitch to contact with well placed pitches and nice sequencing. His stuff doesn’t knock your sox off but he just gets outs. I love it. Exactly what many of us have lobbied to see more of. Location as opposed to max velocity. It would be nice to see this continue for Cat-Man even more so if Snell and Glasnow are unavailable.
I really hope this was a springboard for Conforto’s confidence. We could sure use him to not be one of two automatic outs in the lineup.
Enjoy the day off.
After reading the report of Kershaw’s success for 3 innings in AAA, without his 4-seam velocity, I had a thought that might get me banned to the White Sox blog.
When he comes back, what about a role in the bullpen? Another LHRP?
That would be less taxing on his body, add pitch and innings management and effectively get through an inning or 2. His slider and curveball can still be out pitches with well located fastballs serving as a change-up.
I have no idea if that role would interest him but it might be worth a conversation.
News from Internet:
MLB Pipeline updated their top 100:
https://www.mlb.com/milb/prospects
15. C/1B/OF Dalton Rushing
33. OF Josue De Paula
45. OF Zyhir Hope
48. INF Alex Freeland
63. LHP Jackson Ferris
Baseball America’s 3rd mock draft ($$$$)
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2025-mlb-mock-draft-3-0-first-round-pick-predictions-for-every-team/
40. Dodgers — Patrick Forbes, RHP, Louisville
…but the Dodgers might be a team that’s happy to scoop up his arm talent and help him find the zone more consistently….
Ben Clemens had a chat:
Lord Thunder: LAD’s Muncy has had bad starts before, but usually heats up by now. How much of leash does he have to stay in the lineup?
Ben Clemens: Muncy, I’m pretty worried here, he’s 34, and the way he’s failing is the way you’d expect Max Muncy to fail. I’m sure teh Dodgers have more visibility into this than me but this looks bad! the skills that don’t seem likely to age, his plate discipline, are’nt aging
Tacoby Bellsbury: I’m loving the back-and-forth years of Judge and Ohtani. What’s Shohei going to do to one-up this in 2027?
Ben Clemens: what about a 50-homer, 150 IP season
Recent Dodger Farm promotions:
-RHP Jose Rodriguez —> AAA
-RHP Livan Reynoso —> AA
-RHP Shawndrick Oduber —> A
-IF Mairoshendrick Martinus —> A
-RHP prospects Sean Linan and Alex Makarewich have been promoted from Single-A to High-A
Note Bene: Linan had a 1.21 ERA, 44.2% strikeout rate and .146 AVG this year for RC, while Makarewich had an 0.68 ERA and 49.1% K in relief
From Future Projection: Episode 124: May Top 100 Prospect Update—The Up/Down Names To Know, May 9, 2025
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-124-may-top-100-prospect-update-the-up-down/id1555299031?i=1000706945464&r=3312
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“the two Dodgers, outfielders that they have right now in the Midwest League with Zyhir Hope and Josue De Paula. I would have both of these guys juiced even more than we do right now. We have De Paula 38, we have Zyhir Hope 40.
I think these are two elite young hitting prospects.”
Jerry Espinoza has a new sleeper prospect:
“For all you prospect watchers, Dodgers RHP Yoryi Simarra Arizona Complex League. Dodgers find them, this one is from Cartagena Columbia.””
Jay Jaffe had a chat:
12 to 6: will smith’s career ops is 74 points lower in the second half. he’s hammering the ball so far this year – given feduccia and rushing on the cusp, and knowing how the dodgers run smith into the ground during regular season, can we *please* get the fresh prince an “il” blow every once in a while to keep him fresh(er)?
Jay Jaffe: I tend to agree. I think once Ohtani is pitching and takes the occasional day off from DHing there will be a lane for Smith to get a bit of DH time and maybe take a look at Rushing, but I think his future as a receiver might lie in another organization.
Sirota was also acknowledged as a top performer by MLB Pipeline:
https://www.mlb.com/milb/news/top-prospect-performers-for-may-11-2025?t=mlb-pipeline-coverage
“…his first career multihomer game as part of a three-hit, five-RBI performance, cranking a two-run shot in the first and a three-run shot in the seventh.”
Brendan Tunink, DePaula, Hope, Eduardo Quintero and Sirota (OFs) make the Baseball America Hotsheet ($$$$)
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/ranking-the-20-hottest-mlb-prospects-hot-sheet-5-12-25/
“Tunink was an overslot signing for $412,500 at 250th overall and was an athletic testing standout.”
“…on Thursday night when he went deep twice, showcasing his power to both the opposite field and his pull side. The 19-year-old also swiped three bases, flashing his 60-grade speed. ”
“It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Sirota may have already outgrown Low-A.”
“One scout described De Paula as having a Ken Griffey Jr.-esque swing. That kind of comparison brings some Bigfoot-sized shoes to fill, but so far, De Paula is backing it up..”
“The Dodgers have worked closely with Hope to better recognize and attack hittable pitches…”
DodgersDaily interviewed Dalton Rushing:
Good stuff about his progression as a catcher and a little bit on him as a left fielder.
Thomas Nestico breaks down Casparius:
https://x.com/TJStats/status/1917957188561052050
“Landon Knack – 9 BB in 20.1 IP – And he came to the Dodgers with a rep of throwing strikes, and being a control pitcher”.
He does have the best walks/9 innings pitched of all the pitchers listed in AAA. So from that standpoint he’s meeting expectations.
Is it too early to start thinking about what might be available at the trade deadline that could improve the Dodgers?
Right now I only see the White Sox, Angels, Rockies, Nationals, Pirates and Marlins as sellers. The Reds and Orioles are borderline.
And don’t even mention Luis Robert Jr.
Dodgers just acquired OF Steward Berroa from the Blue Jays for cash.