Listening to fans, there does not seem to be much hope that this team will turn things around over the next three weeks. Fans see no fire from the players. No sense of urgency. That this team has underachieved is a given. There is also the fact that since July 4th, they have been on a pretty consistent downhill path. If the ship isn’t sinking, it has definitely taken on a lot of water. So, where does the blame fall?
I know most fans seem to blame the front office for not improving the team more than they did at the deadline especially with the Padres going out and adding seven new players, one of whom, Ramon Laureano, has been very impactful. LA’s two additions have not been that productive. Brock Stewart laned on the IL after four appearances, none of which was outstanding, and Alex Call is not exactly tearing the cover off of the ball. Despite all that, LA is still in first place.
I am of the belief and opinion that performance is always on the players. A manager and his coaching staff can only do so much to inspire or instruct, especially during the season. One issue we have all noticed is a breakdown when it comes to fundamental baseball. One of the posters the other day mentioned Al Campanis’s book, The Dodger Way to Play Baseball. I had that book as a kid and I referred to it a lot. The style of play now is so much different, but the basics should be the same. Throw to the cutoff man, know the strike zone and don’t chase out of the zone. Swing at strikes, and for us old school guys, try to hit line drives. Do that and the homers will come.
For whatever reason, this team has regressed defensively. Miggy Ro is by far the best defender off of the bench. Mookie has become an outstanding SS. Pages is ok in center but still makes rookie mistakes out there. Teo and Conforto have had moments where their defense was ok, but far too many times they can’t make plays that other outfielders would make easily. They have missed Edman’s defense. Kim is also a very good defender. Freeman is steady at first and saves a lot of bad throws from becoming errors.
Even though the starting pitching has improved from what it was just a month ago, they pitchers are still giving up way too many walks and then those walks are becoming runs. On the other side, the Dodgers are not cashing in the walks they are receiving and for some reason, they have all of a sudden become impotent with the bases loaded. Not scoring a single run when you load the bases with no outs, that is not good baseball. Case in point, Andy Pages striking out on a pitch that was obviously ball four.
Ohtani is not innocent in all of this either. In last night’s game with the Orioles, he twice swung at the first pitch of the at bat and hit weak grounders. The first time it resulted in a double-play erasing Rojas who got on base on an error. And this with a new pitcher in the game. Instead of seeing a pitch or two, he swings at the first thing he sees. And neither of those pitches was in his kill zone. Both were low and away and he rolled over on them.
The situational hitting on this team is atrocious. It is as bad as I have ever seen it, and those years were with much less talented rosters. It is like they have forgotten what won them games last year. It is disheartening and frustrating more than ever. Especially since it is against teams they should dominate. I was all for the signings that AF made last winter. I thought they brought more depth to the pen, some solid offensive players and at least one starting pitcher, Snell, who could be a difference maker in the playoffs. Now, I wonder if they will turn things around before it is too late.
LA facing a tough lefty today in Trevor Rogers who is 8-2 with an outstanding 1.39 ERA. No Dodger has had more than 8 at bats off of him. Freddie is hitting .250 in those 8 ABs. Ohtani is 2-3 off of him. Baltimore has not seen Yoshi. LA calling up a catcher since Rushing will have a scan today. Smith could catch on Sunday but Roberts most likely not playing him until they play the Rockies on Monday. Rockies having a bullpen day vs the Padres tonight. LA is in control of their own fate. They need some wins badly.
They are reaping what AF Roberts have sown. Ks poor fundamentals, abhorent defense, broken down pitching etc. they may make the playoffs but imo have a quick exit. Glad football is back.
pm
The personality of this team and the depth of the lineup will change dramatically with addition of Tommy, Max, Kim and the subtraction of Conforto.
The one factor that would help that I am not sure would happen is getting the clutch bat that we had last year in Teo Hernandez.
But who knows if he will rise to the occasion when everything is on the line.
I am still hopeful and somewhat confident that we will play well in October.
Teo has not been close to the same player he was prior to his injury. First half: .256/14/57 .751OPS. Second half .219/7/21 .675OPS. His clutch stats are not very good.
Recently Bumstrap said “Bench the players that are non productive and it would look like the King and his Court softball team without the King”
Actually Fred, Eddie Feigner’s players on his 4 man fast pitch softball team, The King and His Court, were much better than the “non-productive” bench players for the Dodgers.
Eddie pitched for a great 9-man team in 1948-49, JA Terteling Construction Co, while also dabbling with the 4 man team, startied on a dare in 1946. While pitching in Pendleton Ore. for his 9-man team, the opposing team kept heckling Eddie, calling him “Hot Shot”. Eddie responded by claiming he could beat their team by himself. The challenge started.
It soon dawned on Eddie that he needed 4 guys for a batting order. So Eddie took his catcher, Meade Kinzer, his shortstop Mike Meilicke, first baseman Kenny White and one bench player, Jerry Jones, all of whom were great hitters and defenders including Eddie who could hit with a little tiny bat, and formed The King and His Court. On the dare they returned to Pendleton a week later with the 4-man team and smoked the local, mouthy team. Eddie tossed a perfect game striking out 19 in a 7 inning game. The 2 non K’s were a ground out to short and one to first.
Terteling lost its construction contract after 1949 on the Hanford (former Manhattan) Project and Eddie took the Court and the 4-man team concept on the road full time.
On February 18, 1967, Feigner appeared in a celebrity charity softball game against many MLB players. In the game, Feigner struck out Wille Mays, Willie McCovey, Brooks Robinson, Roberto Clemente, Maury Wills and Harmon Killebrew, IN A ROW.
I actually hit a double off him in an exhibition game, my first at bat. The next 2 at bats, I never saw the ball. Just the vapor trail.
Walking to the dugout, I remember the famous line, “The Pitch Sounded Outside”.
Great follow up.
I said yesterday who they should keep and add to the team. But agian Bear disagrees with who I said to add. Which is to add better players then what they have they need ball players. That both play defense and hit regularly thats what they need to find in the off-season. And are those players at the triple A level. no there not! Every player that comes up cant hit major league pitching. That’s a franchise problem or hitting coach problem. But, you see the As or Indians call up a players and they can hit the ball. So, why do we have this problem. When the players get called up can defend great but can’t hit. Rushing can’t hit Freeland cat hit Call cant hit Dean can’t hit and apparently I guess Ward can crush the ball in the minors but can’t hit major league stuff just like Outman. So they need about 5 new players added to this team with the core guys they have. Trade Glasnow and maybe trade Snell and get a closer. I heard Diaz from the Mets will be a freeagent wouldn’t that be great to have.
Snell and Glasnow have large contracts that are not that easy to move. With his injury history, just which team do you think will want him and what would LA get back? To get Laureano, the Dodgers would have had to have taken O’Hearn. They did not want to do that. You are talking about old news. They had their chances to add at the deadline and made the choice to just add Call, who is by the way, not that bad of a player. His career average is .242, which is higher than Kike’s career .236. He is a contact hitter and a very good outfielder, so you have no clue what you are talking about.
The Indians are no more, they are the Guardians now, and not every player they call up instantly performs. The A’s are at the bottom of the league and trade almost every good player they get to replenish their system. The Dodgers don’t draft that high, so their prospects are not always at the top of the charts. Rushing and Freeland are rookies trying to learn on the fly. I do not know why the team has not brought up Ward, but obviously, people who know a lot more about them than you or I do not think highly enough of him to bring him up. Injuries have played a huge part in the problems this team has.
Diaz has 2 huge player options left, I doubt seriously if he leaves the Mets. Scott has 3 years left on his deal.
You talk about the team getting younger but all of the guys you suggested going after are over 30 except Grisham. No one is going to take Teo’s contract unless LA pays a huge portion of it. Especially not the Mariners who had Teo before LA signed him as a free agent, and especially not for Arozarena who has better stats and is younger.
I disagreed with you because not one of the players you said they should add is a difference maker. They are fringe guys. The Dodgers will not stand pat this winter. But what moves they make will depend on how this season pans out. One thing is certain. Every one of the players on long-term deals will be back. Freeman, Ohtani, Betts, Smith, Teo, Yamamoto, Snell, Glasnow, Kim, Sasaki, all will return. After that, it is a crapshoot.
Dean has not had a chance to show what he can do with a bat. He has two at bats since he was called up. He has mostly been used as a defensive replacement. If Doc was smart, he would give the kid a shot for at least a game. He can’t be any worse than Conforto.
Bear you really want to see Teo, Conforto, Kike, Muncy, Rojas Freeland, Call, Dean and Rushing next year? I would say those guys need to be moved or they sign free agents so sorry I didn’t look at who is free agents and you just know all who are but yes, I thought Teo doe Randy Arozarena would be a fair trade that’s my opinion just to get a leftfielder
Thought Seattle would like Teo for a outfielder and DH. Maybe the Rangers have someone for Teoscar and to answer your queries yes, I do think this is Kershaw’s last year. Sheehan should be in starting rotation next year and a free agent starting pitcher. You know who a free agent Jack Flaherty is go get him at least he gave the team a little bit of fire in there gut.
Kike, Rojas and Conforto are free agents after the season. Dean will be a minor league free agent. Call is under team control until 2030. Rushing and Freeland are rookies. You are judging them on their performance so far, which is fair, but you forget that all players are rookies at some point, and not all perform at a high level out of the gate. You also forget that Freeland would not even be on the roster if Edman, Kim and Muncy had not gotten hurt. Rushing is learning on the fly and while Smith was healthy, the kid was playing maybe two times a week. It is hard to do that and hit consistently. He will be better when he has a full spring training behind him. Muncy has a 10-million-dollar team option for next year. It is up to the team, not me, whether they want Max back or not. But at 10 million for his kind of offensive production, he is a bargain. The Dodgers have gotten more from him than they have from Conforto and his 17 mil.
The Mariners would never trade Arozarena for Teo, and it is simple math. They had Teo in 23 and let him walk as a free agent. Arozarena is 3 years younger than Teo, having a better season, and he is a better defender. He also is making 9 million less and is arbitration eligible. Teo is owed 41 million over the next TWO years. Seattle would not want that contract. No one would want Teo unless LA eats a large portion of his deal, not even Texas. Aroldis Garcia is their oldest outfielder, and he is younger than Teo. Teo could get traded only if another team wants him and LA can strike a deal that makes sense.
Jack Flaherty has a 7-13 record with an ERA approaching 5. LA let him walk because they did not think he made the rotation better. He is not a free agent, he can opt out of his contract, but that is doubtful considering his poor performance.
Kershaw has pitched very well this year. 9-2 3.28 ERA. The only starter with better stats is Yamamoto. I think he might have retired if LA were to win the World Series again, right now just making it to the playoffs is in question, but like he has each of the last several years, he will make his decision during the off-season. The Dodgers will leave that decision up to him. As well as he has pitched at age 37, better than Verlander or Scherzer, who are both in their 40’s, he might well be back and pitch well again simply because he is a pitcher and knows how to get hitters out with a less than 90MPH fastball.
As for Sheehan, he may well be in the starting rotation, but the front end will be Ohtani, Yoshi, Snell, Glasnow. Then you have Sheehan, Gonsolin, Stone, Ryan, and possibly Kershaw. Then whoever they might add this winter or subtract. But right now, all of that is months away. They have to play and win or lose with what they have.
“He can’t be any worse than Conforto”
But Conforto has a really sweet looking swing.
“I am of the belief and opinion that performance is always on the players.”
Yep.
Guys with “sweet swings” don’t hit .190 all season.
Apparently, they do. Guys like Freddie usually do not hit below .200 for extended periods of time either, but that happened. Its baseball, nothing is chiseled in stone.
So, you expect it to go up?
Lolz, what do you think?
Well, if it were me, I’d let it stay right where it is by benching him. For a while anyway.
Kirsten Watson reporting that Rushing will head to the IL. Chuckie Robinson will be called up. Smith will be back at C probably Monday. Vesia will rejoin the team Monday as most likely will Muncy and Edman. Padres lost Cortes to the IL>
Kirsten Watson can report on deez nutz
Actually, yes, she can, and she has never been wrong when posting those moves on X.
How has SD done since trade deadline with all their quality additions???
That’s a great looking ship. Nice choice!
Freeman has two more years left what happens then does he just become a DH and go play dome where else since we have Ohtani and what first baseman comes in to play for the Dodgers hmmm something to start thinking about.
Not even close. He won’t be the DH period. In three years they will start thinking about 1st base.
I think we are just thinking about the next 20 games right now
Maybe this will make some of you feel better:
The last MLB team to repeat as WS champs (the 2000 Yankees, who actually won three in a row), only won 87 games that year and lost 15 of 18 down the stretch.
And in 2017, when the Astros stole the championship from us, we lost 16 of 17 at pretty much exactly this same time frame.
The Dodgers now have the fourth best record in the NL, but they are still the heavy betting favorites to win the World Series. Their goals still are right in front of them and they are almost certain to make the playoffs. But to date the team has been disappointing this year and both the players and front office should be held accountable.
Glasnow has been a favorite of fans for his great stuff and potential. But he is now 32 and as brittle as ever. Even when he pitches well he seems to have a bad inning or loss of focus. He is 1-3 this year and 40-36 in his career. Ryan Pepiot was traded to the Rays for Glasnow along with DeLuca. Pepiot has been more productive since the trade with 11 wins this year and 293 IP the last two years. And Pepiot makes $800,000 compared to the Glasnow contract of $150 million.
The front office decisions this year have been questionable including Snell, Scott, Yates, Conforto, Teo, and Stewart.
Even a lesser move like letting Hunter Feduccia go seems like an unwise move now.
Despite the subpar regular season, the success of the team will come down to the playoff results. And they certainly have the talent to run the table in the playoffs.
That was the most pathetic loss I’ve seen in a long long time
This game ranks up there with losing to SF in 1962
If you made that up, no one would believe it.
There is some kinda bad juju at work here.
Rock bottom. Hindsight is 20/20 but why when you need a win in the worst way would Doc take Yamamoto out worth two outs.
This team is done. No heart, no clutch, old talent, no athleticism. Rock effing bottom!
I’ve been a Dodger fan since 1959. This is the most embarrassing loss I’ve ever seen.
Well at least we still have all of our young outfielders. Congrats AF
A micro and macrocosm.
Didn’t see the game but it was a devastating loss. I think it’s time to use someone other than Treinen or Scott in critical situations. Let’s see what Dryer/Casperious can do.
Casparius pitched the night before and got touched up for a run. Dreyer had a clean inning in the same game. They are missing Vesia who will rejoin the team Monday.
There are no more that needs to be said about this 2025 Dodger.
For the first time since 2012 I don’t have anymore.time to waste on Dodger baseball.
Interesting to what goes on in the off-season.
Later friends.
Go Rams!
USC won convincingly. Michigan lost to Oklahoma.
I can’t imagine a more disheartening loss but I am sure that could change tomorrow. I understand DR taking him out. If Treinen and Scott can’t get you one out before they put five hitters on then it is not on Roberts.
Starting Monday, I am sitting Teoscar most nights. Smith catching, Freeman, Kim/Rojas, Betts, and Muncy on the infield, Kike, Edman, and Pages in the outfield.
Scott should go to lower leverage spots for the time being. Probably change for change’s sake but if Dodger fans are frustrated, I can’t imagine how frustrated the organization must be. I would give Kyle Hurt an audition in the pen before the year is up. Hopefully, there is some truth to the adage that it is always darkest before the dawn.
Tanner Scott should be immediately released. As I type this.
Try something different. At this point Ohtani should be closing games. Vesia, Dreyer, maybe Casperius 7th and 8th innings. Treinen looks old and cooked.
Once again you ask for the impossible. Release Scott and eat the rest of his contract. You are nuts.
Not impossible. Bear, players get released all the time in MLB. Even players with big contracts. The Dodgers earlier this year released Chris Taylor who had a big contract. T.Scott sucks, and this bullpen is one of the most atrocious in recent memory.
And Conforto batting cleanup today! The Dodgers management is pathetic. No more excuses.
#FireFriedman
#FireGomes
#FireKasten
Release Scott when they’ve yet done it w/Conforto?? hee-hee-hee
I think we may be seeing the difference in pitching high leverage innings for the Marlins and high leverage innings for the Dodgers. Scott looks “spooked” mentally.
I agree with you
Pathetic loss on a great nite your pitcher gave you. And the Giants keep on winning is this possible there 4 games out and even there fans thought they were done.
Want to feel worse?–just watch the replay of Pages on the HR, stopping short on the edge of the warning track and staring up at the ball for almost a FULL 3 seconds, instead of drifting back to the wall and elevating which would have given him, at least, a ‘fighter’s chance’ of making a tough catch to preserve the no hitter and win the game. He was too focused on positioning himself for a carom, even though the ball barely cleared the short wall in right-center field.
Less than one-eighth of the season still left, but last off-season may have been a total F for AF/Gomes. The worst they’ve ever had.
I was watching but didn’t notice. Pages is a dunce. One dumb… play after another whether hitting, baserunning, or defense. At the conclusion of this year I would clear the outfield.
where was Roberts? Scott was barely warmed up. Why bring him in against the righty. He was asleep at the wheel. He either gives up and quits in a game or assume a win before it happens. Scott should have pitched against the lefty. It was obvious treinen didn’t have it.
Yup, Roberts is cracking under pressure.
It’s the players. It’s always the players.
The Dodgers have taken a brutal beating throughout the late rounds of this season, culminating with a knock-down from a right haymaker to the chin. Now they must get up and continue on.
We’ll see how much fight they have left in them.
Courtesy of Dodger Blue, stats we already know, but remain telling about this year’s team:
Since July 1, the Dodgers’ offense is hitting just .235./.314/.397, and they’ve only scored 233 runs in 55 games, which places them 27th of 30 teams in MLB.They rank 26th in batting average, 16th in on-base percentage, 21st in slugging, 20th in wRC+, 21st in on-base plus slugging, and have the sixth-worst strikeout rate in MLB.
This is not a small sample size. Following play on July 1, the Dodgers were 54-32 with an eight-game lead in the National League West. Since then, the Dodgers have gone 24-31 to put themselves in position to play in the Wild Card Series while also fighting for the division title.
In addition, the Dodgers are just 6-13 against teams under .500 since July 28.
Can this talented team turn it around? Of course. Will they? Is it time, past time, to shake it up? Sit Conforto and bring up Ward. Bat Ohtani 3rd behind Betts and Freeman, Will Smith cleanup followed by Muncy. After that pull names out of a hat.
I would leave Kim in the lineup. He’s been in and out and up and down but he looks to me like the only electric player we have. And pitching? Who is there to replace Treinen and Scott? All they can do is keep throwing who they have out there and hope they figure it out.
This is more than a team slump. Slumps last days and at most a couple of weeks. This has gone on for months. This is who we have become. Shake it up.
If Kim and Rojas nor others can get on base batting 8th or ninth, Ohtani can have plenty of opportunities to knock in runs. Yesterday in third inning–2nd and 3rd with one out. He grounded out to short. A hit knocks in 2 runs. Instead 1 run and 2 out s in inning. In fifth inning. Same situation. He strikes out, Seventh inning. Man on first no outs. He lines out on first pitch
Just looking at ways to change lineup chemistry.
Ohtani’s BA with RISP is .241. That is ok for your average player, but a guy like Ohtani? He consistently is not patient enough. In the first game he grounded out weakly on first pitches twice, once into a DP. Reminds me a lot of Grandal who was a groundout machine in clutch situations. He also has reverse splits, hitting lefties better than righties. And he still strikes out WAY TOO MUCH.
Hang a sign on him – Gone Fishing
This FO seems too paralyzed from the hot-mess they’ve created to try a shake-up at this point in the season.
Explain to me how they can shake up anything at this point in the season. The only way they can add players is on waiver claims. And if a player is on waivers, he is usually not that good.
Line-up changes like Badger suggested, and quit on Conforto, and stop using a pitcher who specializes in giving up HR’s in high leverage, late innings.
The blame for the loss falls on Treinen. He only had to get one out and failed miserably.
True. But the same can be said about Scott. One out. Come on. One out?
Scott came in with the sacks juiced and just one hitter to work with. Treinen came in with no one on and created a formula for loss.
It’s a bummer that Treinen’s perfect outside corner pitch on his first batter (that should have been strike three) was called a ball. So there was some bad luck that combined with the bad pitching. Some sort of karmic equalizing for all the things that went right for the Dodgers in last year’s post-season. I am trying to laugh at the absurdity rather than gnash my teeth. It’s crazy they are still in first place — hard to wrap my head around that.
weak division. Remember how SD ‘locked’ it up with trade deadline deals
If Vesia had been on the team n not in rehab he would have been the option. If u r going with Vesia, Muncy, Edman get them on the team. They r major leaguers they have been facing live pitching. Quit rehabbing to death n put them in the game. Vesia probably saves last nights game but no throw him at okc. They have no urgency!!!
All should rejoin the team tomorrow vs the Rockies. What also made this a bad loss was the Padres beating the Rockies, so the Dodgers lead is down to 1. Both are 3-7 over their last 10 games, and look out for the Giants, who the Dodgers have seven games remaining with, they are just 6 back and only 4 back in the wild card and playing well.
Definitely going to sweat out these last 20games. And HOPE the returnees will hit the ground running. Trienen certainly has not so far. Or Kike