When I am wrong, well sometimes I am really wrong. This is one of those times. The kid from Cuba has changed my mind about a lot of things these last couple of months. I still believe he is more suited for a corner outfield position, but he has played center well enough to belay that kind of change for this season at least. Pages was bad the first few weeks of the season. There was a lot of talk about him being sent to AAA. Mostly by us fans. He was not playing great defensively, his routes in CF were an adventure to say the least.
But all of a sudden, something clicked. It probably had a lot to do with his mentor, Teo. For whatever reason, he began getting hits in clutch situations, and he also was making great plays on defense. His cannon of an arm was keeping runners from taking extra bases. He is among the top outfielders in defensive runs saved. A total turn around for the 24-year-old. He batted .292 in March/April with 6 homers and 14 driven in. 
In May his BA dropped into the .250’s, but he drove in 22 runs. So far in June, he is hitting over .300, he has 10 RBI’s and 3 homers. He is hitting .391 with runners in scoring position and his OPS in those situations is .972. In yesterday’s game against the Giants, he had 4 of the 5 Dodger runs batted in. The other came on a homer by Tommy Edman. Pages has matched last season’s total of 13 homers in just 68 games. He is becoming a legitimate star. He also has exactly the same number of RBIs that he had last season, 46. He currently has a 2.7 WAR, twice as high as all of last year.
The bulk of his damage has come batting 5th or 6th in the order. His worst spot is 7th where he is batting under the Mendoza line, and shades of Corey Seager, he is hitting .312 on the first pitch with 8 homers and 29 driven in. He is hitting .286 against RHP, and .268 against LHP. When he plays left field, he is hitting .433. He hits .260 in center and .263 playing right. With yesterday’s performance, he got his OPS up to exactly .800. His OPS + is 125. 
He is .40 points better at home than on the road. When I am wrong, I admit it, this time I was really wrong. The kid has shown he is a more than capable center fielder. He may or may not stay there going forward. He has as many outfield assists this year as he had all of last season. While he has made 3 errors this year, he has not made one playing right field. While it is my belief that he would be much better suited for right, with Teo here for 2 years after this season, he might be staying right where he is.
Then again, how much longer will LA stick with Conforto as the primary left fielder? While Michael has done some nice things with the bat the last couple of weeks, his BA is still hovering in the .170 range. It seems he cannot string together multi-hit games. With Freeman in a power slump, Pages and Ohtani have been the only two consistent power hitters. While most of us fans feel LA needs to target pitching at the deadline, a power bat could also become a target. And definitely a little more production out of their bench players. 
Rojas has not been hitting close to what he did last year. Kike has never been a consistent hitter during the regular season, and he is also slumping. Rushing is still getting his feet wet, and anything you get from him offensively is a plus. Kim is the only bench player with a decent BA. So, Pages offense becomes even more crucial to the success of the team. Since their 8-0 start, the Dodgers are 35-29, just 6 games over .500. Despite all of that, the front office has not panicked at all. No knee-jerk trades so far.
There has been a lot of movement on the roster where pitching is concerned. AF and Gomes have been active adding DFAd arms, and waiver claims looking for healthy arms to add to the mix. Just yesterday, a rule-5 pick was returned to them from the Angels. And the perception is that they will add a starter at the deadline. Just who is anyone’s guess. Right now, the offense is keeping this team in first place. The starting pitching needs to pick up more innings, so the bullpen is not burned out by the All-Star break.
The offense, led by Ohtani, Freeman, Betts, Teo, Smith and Pages, has to keep doing what they are doing. A prolonged slump by these guys, and the picture gets blurred a lot. The bench is going to have to do their job too. Usually when those six guys are in the lineup together, the Dodgers are going to score. Andy Pages has become a huge part of that. I hope he continues to develop as one of the Dodger offensive center pieces.
Pages has improved a lot in CF. I would consider putting Kim there, Pages in RF and Teo in LF. Use Kike in CF to give Kim a break on occasion. Pages is clearly better in CF than Kim but we have to let Conforto go and get Kim more time. Pages is becoming my favorite player.
Pages is leading the team in RBI. He sort of snuck up on us regarding that stat. Outman also started out well in his rookie year so let’s see if pages can finish strong.
This is Pages sophomore season.
Kim is more of a natural infielder. His few forays into center this year have not been pretty. It is my humble opinion that they would need a natural CF going forward. Or just leave Pages out there. He has improved enough to make the position his own.
I agree, but he needs to play every day. He has great speed. I think he could see Pages like improvement if he played there every day.
How about a most-of-the-time outfield of (left-to-right): Teo, Edman, Pages and a most-of the time infield of (left-to-right): Muncy, Mookie, Kim, Freddie?
That would work, Edman is better out there than Kim and he has some pop in his bat, at this point, more than Conforto. Tommy Tanks has 10 bombs right now and is sure to pass his career high of 13. He also has 35 driven in, only 22 short of his career high. Kim is an excellent defender, and his bat has been a lot better than advertised. But we all know Roberts loves his left-right thing.
Kim, Rojas and Kike is a bit of redundancy on the roster. Conforto is plain just not getting it done. Baseball or most anything is a produce or go business. A thought to throw out, is DFA Conforto and either Rojas or Kike. Kim becomes more involved as the utility player with either Kike or Rojas. Bring up Ward and Ruiz to man left field. You will open up two spots on the 40 man with Ward taking one of the spots. Ruiz is already on the 40 man. Why not give it a shot? It’s been stated by a number of people to give Ward a shot. I’m in that camp.
I am all in on that John. Dump Conforto and Rojas. Bring up Ward and Ruiz.
I don’t get this interest in Ward, much less in Ruiz.
Is there any reason to believe they are anything but AAAA players.
Not to demean AAAA players, but the name (when evaluated correctly) conveys usage.
This kind of serves several purposes. 1. It will give Kim more at bats. 2. It gives players in the system an opportunity to see if they have what it takes to be an MLB player. Ruiz has spent time in the Majors and wasn’t bad. His speed would be an asset. 3. It opens up a spot in the 40 man roster and finally it allows movement throughout the system. Our high A outfielders need to move up
We won’t know unless we give them a shot and see what they’ve got. We know what we’ve got (or don’t have) with Conforto.
Right but all the evidence, and it’s pretty substantial, is that neither player is relevant. Unless there’s a lot of development that has happened behind the scenes.
They could be a Muncy or Taylor.
Again, we won’t know unless we give them a look. We know Conforto isn’t getting it done.
There are 29 other teams that could easily trade for either.
Markets prove value.
I get Ruiz, but the only reason that Ward is a AAAA player is because the Dodgers have said he is not a MLB player. He has not had a chance to fail or succeed. I do not claim to be smarter when it comes to player potential than any of the LAD front office petrrsonnel; however, it is not as if AF/BG are infallible.
Agree that markets prove value through trades. You are assuming that LAD wanted to trade Ward but found no takers. Maybe, maybe not. Ward will become a FA 5 days after the WS, and I think he will have more than 1 suitor.
I am in the camp that believes Conforto is not going anywhere before the deadline.
i have a hard time believing (but am unable to prove) that the Dodgers would turn down any reasonable offer for Ward.
and if another team really thought Ward was something perhaps they would offer something above reasonable?
Devers introduction and presser for the Giants this afternoon. While I believe he adds some power to that lineup, I don’t really believe he is going to make them that much better. He surely will be their DH because he is not close to being as good as Chapman on defense. Chapman probably not back for a month or so.
So Devers should get a shot at third while Chapman is on the IL. I think the Giants needed a big name and finally got one. They tried to get one through the free agency route but other than Adames, couldn’t get someone to sign with them.
The Giants are better as a team and a better draw. Their fans should be happier. Hopefully Devers will be happier as well.
Yeah, I think Bear is underselling the impact of a super-quality bat to a lineup that has been leaky.
The contract is way toooo long, and won’t age well. But for 2-4 years it’ll pay off big time, IMO.
Not really Bluto. I know what kind of player Devers is, I also know the bats around him are not that great. Only All-Star caliber player so far has been Ramos. None of those guys put a scare in you. Just don’t let Devers beat you.
It’s gonna end really ugly!
I think so too.
TennisMenace
2 hours ago
I confess….I was in the camp of only playing Pages against LHP and only playing LF. It now appears I spoke too hastily and the young man is actually maturing with all this playing time.
I do not believe Conforto will mature anymore seeing he he is over 30, so if he hasn’t figured it all out by now, he won’t.
So, here is my wish today-
Teoscar in LF,
Edman in CF,
Pages in RF and
Kim at 2B.
This looks to me to be our best lineup. Kim replacing Conforto seems like a no brainer to me….but I suppose the Dodgers don’t want to give up on Conforto’s 17 million dollar contract yet. Makes AF look bad.
CFers run a lot. Can Edman do that given his nagging leg?
Put me in the totally wrong category on Pages. I love it when he goes to right on the outside pitch. He’s not just a swinging slugger. And his defense is improving and his arm is world class!
Conforto makes AF look bad every time he starts.
Read an article yesterday indicating Kershaw was annoyed with Roberts talking about his injuries after he had asked him not to. As ive said before you cant fix Roberts mouth he likes the limelight. Will never give up on left right etc. Pages looks special hope it continues imo Devers will help Giants
Help them, yes, but he could also end up toppling the apple cart. It makes them a little more flexible, but who outside of Devers scares you in that lineup or on that roster? Adames? Please, he is ok, but not that great. Neither does Chapman, who has a ton of swing and miss in his game.
Conforto is the only Dodger who has homered off of Vazquez who is pitching for the Padres tonight. LA has not announced a starting pitcher yet. I would love a sweep of these arrogant Padres just to throw mud on their fans.
I suspect the Dodgers will keep giving Conforto at bats until the trade deadline. Once that passes, assuming nothing has changed, he will be DFA.
At this point I think I’ve seen enough. But we were all wrong about Pages and Muncy.
I may have blown it on Pages…..but I won’t take the credit for blowing it on Marvelous Max Muncy. I’ve never given up on him.
It is really frustrating to see an established player with his credentials struggle this much. He was much better during spring and the first couple of weeks. It seems he has totally lost it. I really don’t think that they can wait until the deadline to make a decision. It has to end sometime. He needs a 4-4 day badly.
Bear, you know as well as anybody that every player reaches the end. Nobody lasts forever at this game. And I think that’s what we’re seeing in Conforto.
I could be wrong and I would love to be: but I don’t think I am. He’s not been very good since he missed all of 2022.
So since 2022, Michael has hit .226 with a 28% strikeout rate and spiraling downward. That is in over 1000 at bats so I’m not thinking things are about to suddenly change. While only 33, he’s a .170/.600 player now.
By the way, Sam Oyed, “WE” were NOT all wrong about Pages.
Seems a little young to be deteriorating that fast, but you are right, it happens to all of them.
On Yahoo sports there was a story about Machado warning the Dodgers after last night’s little tiff when Pages got hit. He said if SD wanted to hit a player, they would go after one of their superstars, not Pages. Strong words from a confirmed punk.
That’s exactly what Drysdale said if he were thrown at.
He has matured some so why rag on him in his absence?
Different era. That was part of the game in those days. I can’t stand Machado period, and it is a fans prerogative to rag on players. Machado may have matured, but he still acts like a punk.
Once a punk always a punk.
Exactly. He has played six years plus in SD after playing 6 plus in Baltimore. When he was traded to the Dodgers, he was hitting .315. He hit .273 in LA. He was absent during the 2018 World Series with just 4 hits, all singles. And he struck out to end the series. Never would have been a Dodger at all had Seager not been injured.
Machado is a jackass. Sour grapes because Dodgers did not want him after his 2018 failed tryout.
I’m with TennisMenace of the Dodger line up. I think it basically comes down to who would you prefer to see in the lineup; Conforto or Kim?
It’s definitely Kim, for me. Kim brings way more game.
Put Kim in center and Edman at 2nd and go play. (or visa-versa)
Take your pick at the corners with Teo (who seems to prefer right) and Pages.
That is our best lineup, in my opinion.
Was there something going on previously between Pages and Freddie Mercury? I’ve never seen Pages have that reaction before on a HBP. He seemed the think Freddie dotted him up on purpose. And of course Machado had to open his pie hole as usual.
So Ohtani threw a pitch over a 100 mph and hit a ball with an exit velocity over 100 mph. Babe Ruth never did that.
Was Doc taking a nap or was he just offing some good theater in the 6th? It was pretty obvious Casparius was about done after the Machado dinger and Sheets double. It was obvious that Bogaerts would be Casparius’ last hitter with 2 LHB in Cronenworth and Brooks coming up up.
But Vesia wasn’t even warming up yet. It was like a red alert suddenly to get Vesia ready that included a players mound visit and a slow stall-walk by Doc to give Vesia time. Why wasn’t Vesia just up and ready without the 5 minutes of wasted time?
I think Doc’s choice of closing with Yates instead of Scott was a bit of psychology as much as it was about where the Padres were in the lineup. Yates has an axe to grind with the Padres and it took him all of 10 pitches to make his case.
Machado is who he is. I lost all respect for that guy when while with the Dodgers he deliberately spiked their first baseman, Jesus Aguilar during a game. No cause to do something like that. He is just one of those guys you love to hate.
He certainly makes it easy to hate him. Interesting fact. Since 2019 Machado has a WAR of 25.9 and Muncy has a WAR of 21.4.
And Muncy is according to all reports and excellent teammate.
Jeff
really enjoyed reading about your son. Thst takes a whole load of determination to come back from
where he was to where he is now. Inspirational stuff.
Thank you!
Game between Dodgers and the Padres set a record for the most viewers on MLB.TV ever.
I forgot earlier to mention Gage Wood and the Arkansas Razorbacks at the CWS. Gage threw a no-hitter against Murray State and missed a perfect game by one hit batsman in the 8th. Gage used an electric, rising fastball at 97 – 98, all day long, and a snappy tight slider to record 19 strike outs; a record for the CWS for a 9 inning game.
I’m sure his 119 pitch total will have some filing with Child Protective Services but there was no way this kid was leaving the bump with a no-no still on the table.
The kid made himself some $$$$.
There have been some great pitching in this CWS.
Bear do you think he’s average is much lower when he’s hitting seventh in the batting order is because whose hitting behind him? When he’s hitting up in the order he’s going to see better pitches plus he can be more selective. Batting 7th with a man or two on with Conforto batting next what manager in there right mind would throw Pages a good pitch? There is much more to consider than he just batting seventh. Not only Muncy getting glasses but Pages heating up both play a part in Muncy resurgence. I don’t believe that is consedence. Maybe getting Conforto glasses is the answer it worked for Kike last year and Muncy this season.
There could be many factors. It is a fact, that over his career, Mookie has been better as a leadoff man than he is batting second, 12 points better. He hits lefties and righties about the same, .292 against RHP< .295 against left. He also hits better when playing second base. .309-.286 as a SS. Mookie is having a less than typical Mookie year except for one thing, his BA each month is climbing. He is hitting .291 in June after being in the .260 range the first two months. His power and OPS are down.
Appreciate the honesty
My mea culpa is Muncy. I was totally wrong believing he had lost it at the plate. Now he’s completely turning it around as the season progresses, and looks a lot like the 2021 Muncy. Barring something unforeseen, he’s going to end up OPS-ing well over 800 by season’s end.
Right there with you, Wayne
Perhaps the Pads did hit the best Dodger hitter last night and not tonight. Maybe that’s what Roberts was arguing about with the umpires.
Hey, we did score 8.
Pages, En Fuego.