This team is off to a very good start. One through four is about the best first four this team has had since they were in Brooklyn. Oh you can bring up the 1977 team which had four thirty home run hitters, first time in history. But the batting order was very balanced with Lopes leading off.
The 1953 Dodgers were a pretty powerful team. Pee Wee led off, then he would be followed by Jackie, Duke, Gil, Campy, Furillo, Cox, Gilliam and then the pitcher. Pretty much the only weak link. That team won 105 games, which was the most until 2019 and 21 teams won 106.
Of the 13 position players on this team, five players, Lux, Taylor, Barnes, Outman and Kike, are hitting below .231. Miguel Rojas, who was down around .230 last year, is hitting .273. Pages has not hit well the last couple of games, but he is still over .300. Freeman is under .300, but Freddie hasn’t gone on one of his hot streaks yet. Mookie has cooled off some, and hasn’t hit a homer since the 12th of April.
On the 53 Dodgers, the regular with the lowest BA was Pee Wee, who hit .271 for the year. Snider and Campanella hit 42 and 41 home runs respectively, and Hodges added 31. All the regulars were in double figures except for Gilliam who hit six. Five of the starting eight hit .300 or better with Furillo winning the batting title with a .344 mark.
The difference of course is the fact that the Dodgers did not platoon players back then. Now, it is a very common occurrence. The most games played by any of the scrubeenies was 96 by outfielder, Don Thompson. All of the starters played 130 or more games except Billy Cox, who played in exactly 100 games.
It was a different era for sure. The thing about this team is that except for guys like Rojas, Barnes, Lux and Kike, most of them have very good power. Taylor, when he was right, has hit double figures in homers every full season he has played, with 20 or more twice. Kike also has hit 20 or more twice.
The 1953 Dodgers had five players who would eventually be elected to the Hall of Fame. Hodges, Reese, Robinson, Snider and Campanella. This team has at least three players with enough time to add to their already impressive resumes, Ohtani, Freeman and Betts, and most likely a first ballot Hall of Famer in Kershaw.
We can only sit and watch right now as this 24 season plays out. But this team is on pace for at least 100 wins. Will they make it to the Series and bring a Championship home? Remains to be seen. The 53 team ended up losing to the Yankees in the series. The four winningest teams in Dodger history all failed to win the big one.
MiLB GAME SUMMARY REPORTS
OKC Baseball Club 8 – Sugar Land Space Cowboys (Houston) 6
OKC jumped out to an 8-1 lead going into the bottom of the 7th, and had to hold on for an 8-6 victory.
Starting pitcher Elieser Hernández lasted a season-high 5.2 innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk while earning his team-leading fourth win of the season. He also notched a season-high eight strikeouts, which is tied for the most by an Oklahoma City pitcher this season…Over his last five outings, Hernández has allowed seven earned runs across 25.2 innings (2.45 ERA) while recording 29 strikeouts against five walks.
The game was tied, 1-1, through four innings before OKC scored five runs on five hits in the fifth inning. Drew Avans, Trey Sweeney and Andre Lipcius all had run-scoring doubles during the rally, putting Oklahoma City in front, 6-1.
Jonathan Araúz singled home two runs with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh inning to stretch the lead to 8-1.
Luke Berryhill hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning, and Sugar Land still trailed, 8-4, into the ninth inning. Berryhill picked up a RBI double, and later a two-out throwing error by Trey Sweeney scored Berryhill and brought the tying run to the plate before Michael Petersen struck out Jesús Bastidas to end the game.
- Drew Avans – 2-3, 2 BB, 2 runs, 1 RBI, double (10)
- Miguel Vargas – 3-5, 1 run, double (11)
- Andre Lipcius – 2-5, 2 runs, 2 RBI, double (4)
- Austin Gauthier – 2-5, 1 run, double (1)
Wednesday marked Avans’ fifth multi-hit outing in his last seven games.
Andre Lipcius has nine multi-hit games in his last 14 games overall and 14 multi-hit game overall this season, which ranks second on the team.
OKC tallied a season-high 26 at-bats with runners in scoring position, going 6-for-26. The team went 5-for-8 in the fifth inning, but just 1-for-18 in all other innings.
Midland RockHounds (A’s) 10 – Tulsa Drillers 4
Five Drillers pitchers allowed 10 runs on 17 hits, and none of them pitched very well. We can leave it at that.
Tulsa jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the 1st. Taylor young led off with a double. With one out, José Ramos drew a BB. Both runners moved up on an errant catcher pickoff attempt. Young scored on a Griffin Lockwood-Powell SF. With 2 outs, Brandon Davis doubled home Ramos.
GLP led off with a single, followed by Alex Freeland’s single for his first AA hit. GLP scored on a single by Diego Cartaya with Freeland moving to 3rd. Freeland scored on an Austin Beck SF.
Tulsa really did not threaten after the 4th inning.
- Griffin Lockwood-Powell – 2-3, 1 SF, 1 run, 1 RBI
- Alex Freeland – 1-3, 1 BB, 1 run
- Austin Beck – 1-2, 1 SF, 1 BB, 1 RBI
- Taylor Young double (6), Brendon Davis double (5), Yeiner Fernandez double (7)
Lansing Lugnuts (A’s) 4 – Great Lakes Loons 3
With RHP Peter Heubeck on the hill, Lansing scored a pair in the first inning. A double, BB, WP, BB loaded the bases. A sacrifice fly scored one run, and the runner on 2nd moved to 3rd. The two Lugnuts runners pulled off a double steal, with one stealing home and a 2-0 lead.
Great Lakes took the lead in the 4th. With one out, Kyle Nevin doubled and Thayron Liranzo walked. Noah Miller singled driving home Nevin. Liranzo and Miller moved up on a throwing error. Chris Newell reached on a fielder’s choice with Liranzo scoring and Miller moving to 3B. Jake Gelof drove home Miller with a sacrifice fly.
Heubeck went the first 4.0 innings. He allowed the 2 runs, on hit, 2 BB, and 6 K. Livan Reinoso followed Heubeck and pitched a clean 1.0 inning with 3 Ks.
Christian Romero followed Reinoso. His first two innings were very good. No hits or runs with 2 BB. But he came back out in the 8th for his 3rd inning. A walk and 2 singles loaded the bases. The first run scored on a force out at 2nd. The second run scored on a fielding error by Jake Gelof.
Kelvin Ramirez pitched a clean 9th inning, but Great Lakes could not get the tying run across even though they loaded the bases with 1 out.
Lansing got 4 runs, but only 3 hits, 5 BB, and 1 error.
- Noah Miller – 3-4, 1 run
- Kyle Nevin double (7)
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 5 – Visalia Rawhide (Arizona) 0
Patrick Copen (starter 5.0 IP), Joseilyn Gonzalez (2.0 IP), Noah Ruen (2.0 IP) combined for a 5 hit shutout. Copen allowed 2 hits, 2 BB, and 6 Ks. Gonzalez allowed 3 hits, 1 BB, and 1 K. Ruen did not allow a hit, issued 1 walk, and registered 4 Ks.
The Quakes scored their first run in the 4th. Josue De Paula opened with a single, and Jerel Perez followed with a BB. After a double play left De Paula at 3rd, he scored on a Joe Vetrano single.
In the 6th, it started just as the 4th with a De Paula single and Perez BB. An errant pickoff attempt moved both runners up. Vetrano singled home De Paula again.
In the 7th, Carlos Rojas opened with a BB, that was followed by a Wilman Diaz single. Both runners moved up on a groundout, and both scored on a Perez single.
In the 8th, Sean McLain drew a one out BB. Carlos Rojas reached on an error. Wilman Diaz and Kendall George each walked to force in the 5th and final run.
- Josue De Paula – 2-4, 1 BB, 2 runs
- Jerel Perez – 2-3, 2 BB, 2 RBI
- Joe Vetrano – 3-5, 2 RBI, double (1)
We have plenty of season ahead to judge just how this edition of the Dodgers compares to its predecessors.
Best ever? Seems possible.
Right now, the record is 26-13, for a .667 winning percentage. At this pace, these Dodgers would win 108 games.
With 39 games played, we are 1.5 games shy of the 1/4 mark of the regular season. So it’s easy for some fun and (slightly) conservative projections.
Shohei: a .355 BA with 216 hits, 128 runs scored, 44 HRs, 56 doubles, 108 RBI, 36 steals. Not bad for the MVP runnerup to….
Mookie: the new SS would finish with a .343 BA with 212 hits, 128 runs scored, 24 HRs, 32 steals–and, remarkably, 116 walks against 68 Ks.
Mookie’s OBP of .451 leads the majors. With both Shohei and Freddie batting behind him, is Mookie now emphasizing his on-base skills over his power? Shohei and Freddie are getting on base too. The “big three” are now first, third and fourth in OBP, with Juan Soto second.
This helps explain why Will Smith, batting 4th, is one of five Dodgers on pace for more than 100 RBIs–even though he would sit out 27 games.
Meanwhile, Teoscar is trending toward 40 HRs and a team-leading 116 RBIs. And Max is on pace for yet another 36 HR season.
As for the pitching, Glasnow is on pace for a 24-4 season, with 252 Ks in 200 innings. (Please stay healthy!)
I think it’s reasonable to assume that some stars will cool off a bit, and some will miss time with injuries.
But do any of these projections seem truly crazy and outlandish? Not to me.
Anyone know the rotation order for RC?
Guessing from bed:
Payton, Henriquez, Coppen, Fernandez and either Duran or Emmett?
not sure what’s going on with the final duo.
Er, it’s Rodriguez not Fernandez isn’t it.
hee hee
Bluto, I wrote this yesterday.
The Dodgers have made some additional MiLB promotions.
Henriquez is pitching for Great Lakes.
If you are talking about Jose Rodriguez, he has never started a game in his professional career (2021). He will be a multi inning reliever, as will Roque Gutierrez, Cam Day, Callum Wallace, Joseilyn Gonzalez.
Unless someone gets called up (or someone sent down), the most logical five are Payton Martin, Patrick Copen, Carlos Duran, Garrett McDaniels, Gabe Emmett. It is a 6 game series, so there might be a 6th.
I look forward to seeing how many innings Robinson Ortiz will get this week.
One caveat…it is possible for any of those multi-inning relievers to be an opener for a bullpen game.
Thanks Jeff. Was just guessing.
BTW: Video and nuggets of news on Coppen:
Coppen is a good prospect. Legit long term prospect??? Casey Porter is as knowledgeable about LAD prospects as anyone. My only problem with Casey is, there isn’t a Dodger prospect who he doesn’t believe will be in the HOF.
Copen isn’t on any LAD top prospect list, including Fangraphs Top 49 or ESPN’s Top 39. That figures to change after this year. He was a 7th round pick out of Marshall in last year’s draft, so his baseball pedigree does not scream prospect.
Here is Baseball America’s Prospect Draft Report:
Draft Prospects
Copen is a perfect prospect for the Dodgers to mold. He has caught the Dodgers eye as he was included on the 2024 Spring Breakout Roster. I think it is a long shot he starts at MLB level. But he has a projectable fastball and at least one swing and miss potential secondary. The Dodgers love power arms and love to help develop sliders. Seems like an ideal reliever for the Dodgers.
I had no idea anyone was high on Coppen.
Nobody really is. I am not high on him. But he does not make the Spring Breakout roster unless the Dodgers see something they like. So there is reason to at least monitor his development. He was a 7th round choice from a University out of the Sun Belt Conference. Nothing to get excited about. He has good size, and the Dodgers like his fastball and believe they can build something…like they did with Outman???? He would not be the first 7th round choice to get to The Show.
Thx
Thinking about M. Vargas. AAA insurance/depth right now in case of injury to OF. Potential bench/postseason bat from right side. Guaranteed starting LF job opening day in LA 2025.
Probable LF starter in 25. Nothing is guaranteed. He still has to prove he can hit MLB pitching. Hasn’t done that yet.
At some pt they will have these pitchers to choose from;
Glasnow,Yamamoto,Kershaw,Paxton, Miller,Stone, Buehler. That 1st 3 could be epic and Paxton and Buehler are former aces as well.
That’s a pretty good stable for a playoff run!
I purposely left May off that list, and Catman.
Naext year they could have Glasnow, Yamamoto, Kershaw, Miller, Stone, Knack, Sheehan without using May, Gonsolin or Ohtani-son ,Buehler or Paxton. WOW!
Don’t forget about May.
May won’t be a starter this year. He won’t have sufficient time to ramp up to five innings or more.
I am not sure that the Dodgers want him to start. I am not convinced that they will keep him as a starter for 2025. May has no idea to slow the pace/adrenalin. He goes all out from the first pitch to his last. He has starter stuff (even elite starter stuff) but a reliever mentality. Can the Dodgers coaches curb that?
Exactly. But I guarantee he isn’t going to start this year. Kershaw will get the first crack at it.
Ture, unless he does become a starter
The ‘53 team had a win % of .682. Didn’t win the World Series. The ‘22 team even a better win percentage, .685, also didn’t win a championship. Does the ‘20 team count? .712 win % and did win a championship. Honestly 5 Hall of Fame players would be tough to beat but this team has a chance to do it.
Smith has a chance to be a HOFer. Also the mid-season player they trade for.
I do not think his offensive number will be good enough to make it to the hall. He is 29 and will barely go over 100 career homers this year. And most think he will be moved from catcher in a few years.
I was talking about the teams with the highest win totals. Although the 20 season counts, they only played teams in the West. Not a true test.
Definitely going to try and enjoy the season and not get ahead, but….
I am Still worried about the randomness of the post season.
Namely, what is the best way to prepare / position yourself for success.
If anything/anyway.
Yeah, that’s the goal isn’t it. Winning the West is an apparent given so what needs to be done is somehow keep the staff healthy enough to compete and hope there is no offensive failure like last year’s?
Out of curiosity, when was the last time a favorite won the Championship?
2016 Cubs?
2018 Red Sox?
As a devout Red Sox fan, we were decidedly not the favorite in 2018. It was, if memory serves Houston and the Dodgers. Maybe Cleveland too, as they were in the middle of the Chernoff thing.
If I remember correctly (and that is not a given), going into the playoffs, the betting lines had the Dodgers as the NL favorite, and Boston as the AL favorite. Boston won 108 games (that I checked). It is hard to not think that a 108 win team is not a favorite.
Houston was still very good. I am not sure why the Dodgers were favored over Milwaukee or Cubs. But they were.
So the favorites in both leagues made the WS in 2018, and Boston was clearly the better team. The two best teams made it in 2017. Cubs and Cleveland in 2016. Two favorites.
NL favorites are not making it to the WS since the Dodgers started stinking up the playoffs, especially in this trash playoff tournament era. They went out in the NLDS in 2019, 2022, and 2023. They got beat in the 2021 NLCS by a 88 win Atlanta team.
Since 2010, there have been 7 Wild Card teams to make the WS, but the two worst were Philadelphia in 2022, and Arizona in 2023. Both were #6 seeds.
Since 2010, 6 teams with sub 90 wins got into the WS. No way should an 84 win team be in the WS. 3 of the 7 Wild Card teams came in the last two years. For those who think that an 84 or 87 win team belongs in the WS or think it is good for the game that 3 of the 4 teams in the last 2 WS were wild card, we are going to disagree.
There has to be a clear advantage for “winners” of the regular season. But the owners will do nothing about it. They want the expanded playoffs for the TV money. That is why winning the WS for Stan Kasten is secondary to getting to the playoffs.
“But the owners will do nothing about it. They want the expanded playoffs for the TV money. That is why winning the WS for Stan Kasten is secondary to getting to the playoffs.”
Excellent points.
Makes me wonder if maybe the playoffs are for the owners and winning championships is for the fans. Players are about the money, until they have generations worth of it anyway.
In July or August of 2017, Sports Illustrated asked “Best Team Ever”?? I think after that, we lost like 17-18 games, but then went and won 17-18 games and proceeded to get screwed over by the Trash from Houston.
I went to yesterday’s game; I don’t recall ever going to a game that barely lasted 2 hours. Gavin Stone was great, and I’m really happy he was given a chance to come out for the 7th, AND finish the 7th. Huge for his confidence and our future.
*Gavin Stone looked great and hats off to Doc for allowing him to pitch the 7th, as his pitch count was very economical.
*They played this one like everybody had a dinner date and a cab waiting. I love fast games (1:55). Once upon a time, many moons ago, I had arranged a date with the best looking girl in a minor league town and she waved goodbye at me as she exited the ballpark at the top of the 13th. Next day was getaway day so we never hooked up. That might be why I have no problems with the “Ghost Runner” or as I like to call it “Manfred’s Man”
*Mookie had a tough day defensively with 2 hard plays. A liberal scoring kept him from an error or two on plays that could go either way. I love the shots of Miggy Ro coaching Mookie up in the dugout. Good on Miggy and good on Mookie for being a sponge.
*Speaking of advice, I suspect the pitchers like Mark Prior. When I see him talking with pitchers, it’s typically 40% Prior talking and 60% Prior listening to his pitcher. That’s about a perfect ratio.
*Ohtani had a bad day, swinging at stuff off the plate and taking hittable pitches.
*Pages is a pure hitter. I’ve seen enough to appreciate his maturity and knowledge of his swing at such a young age. He may slump but I don’t think for long, if he’s healthy, he’s going to hit.
*I hope the Dodgers don’t try to make him more patient hitter nd taking close pitches, that we do too much in my opinion. Pages is a great bad ball hitter and just leave that alone and put up with the occasional flail.
*Plenty of great hitters were bad ball hitters because they had a knack for bat to ball, even out of the zone. Tony Gwynn , Ichiro, Pablo Sandoval, Albert Pujols, Yogi Berra and the King, Vlad Guerrero, all had a nice careers expanding the strike zone. Don’t get this kid over-thinking stuff at the plate.
*Have a nice day off and get ready for the Padres and Giants, some great division foes.
Do you think his lack of walks could be an issue? There’s bad ball hitters and then there’s expanding the strike zone to much.
On the flip side, when he got the game winning hit in extra innings he was swinging at everything way outside. He may have just been fouling off pitches but the defensive alignment was such a ground ball hit to the right side would easily have gone for a game winning hit
I see Pages lack of walks less about expanding the strike zone too much ..but more about pitch recognition. If or when he improves the latter, he’ll take his hitting to another level.
Interesting thoughts, boys. I’m not talking about mindlessly hacking away at the rosin bag, rather close pitches that Pages can hit. I saw Ichiro hit a single on a 1 hopper. It’s kind of like the advice you got as a kid, “too close to take” and “if it’s close enough to call a strike, get your hack”. But that was when striking out was a sin.
Regarding pitch recognition, that’s definitely more difficult than ever with so many pitch shapes that start out looking like strikes and end up not. Why else would MLB hitters swing at shit that ends up in the other batter’s box. And velo gives a hitter less time to decide as you can’t read spin as readily. I don’t see Pages having anymore difficulty than the next guy recognizing pitches. I don’t think he’s fooled on pitches, he’s just confident he can hit them. And I wouldn’t discourage that to raise his OPS with more walks. Let him swing; he’s good at it.
I agree with you Phil. I hope the Dodgers don’t overload Pages mind with too much “thinking” on his hitting approach.
“Do you think his lack of walks could be an issue?”
I was wondering the same thing. His OPS, and subsequent Free Agent contract, would take a giant leap if he only swung at strikes. But then, in this league, what’s a strike?
The Big Red Machine is another team I like to compare lineups with. They didn’t have the starting pitching the current Dodger team has or the depth of pitching the Dodgers have. What separates this Dodger team from their past teams or the Big Red Machine is pitching. I give an edge to Alston over Roberts though.
Roberts just said there is no talk of Outman being sent down. Now if he would just keep him in the lineup full time.
Ohtani bails against lefties but his long arms seem to still allow him to cover the strike zone. I don’t trust his swing to produce contact wrisp in a very close game. Same with Teo and Max. Outman needs to more often go the other way with outside pitches.
Who is going to call out Doc when Outman is sent down. They are not sending Pages down. So that would mean the Dodgers are going to eat the remainder of Chris Taylor’s contract? What other choice is there?
Who is going to call out Doc when Outman is sent down.
You and I?
KT3 should go away before Outman.
Call me naive, but I think there is a greater chance of Taylor being released that the public thinks
I wouldn’t call in naive. It is a realistic option. Maybe they are trying to find the best lottery ticket in a possible trade knowing they will be paying his full salary except the pro rata share of MLB minimum.
Isn’t there a bad contract reclamation project out there they could pursue to unload KT3.
You know, I am sure there is, but the Dodgers need lottery tickets. If they are willing to pay all of the salary (which they have already committed to) the lottery ticket could be decent.
It seems like it is time to move on. He is not going to get better with limited playing time with the big club. His only hope is to go to OKC and work things out. If his ego won’t allow it, Crawford him. Just eat it and move on.
As I said in response to Bluto. He is not Carl Crawford. He has been a huge integral part of the Dodgers success since 2017. You just do not s*** on players like that. He is not Trevor Bauer…Yasiel Puig.
I do not know that he will not get better. At 33? Maybe yes, maybe no, but I certainly am not prepared to say he is done. Taylor is the epitome of a streaky hitter. I am a CT3 fan. I will judge him more on his 2017-2023 play more than his first 40 games in 2024.
Yeah, the Dodgers are paying him $13M this year and on the hook for $13M next year plus a $4M buyout. If that is getting shit on, I want a piece of that.
If he didn’t have that ill advised contract, he would have been gone long ago despite what he has done in the past.
Good grief.
I don’t think they are getting bubkes for Taylor, if it happens I’d be shocked if it’s anything but a DFA.
Maybe they can get back the pitcher they traded to get him.😊
You mean no team will want him? Teams like Miami, Oakland, CWS, Colorado, St. Louis, Pittsburgh couldn’t use s player like him…for free (relatively so)? You think he isn’t worth a rookie league lottery ticket? His defensive versatility and accumen make him worth a lottery ticket. He was a 1.7 and 1.3 fWAR player the last two years. Not worth his salary, but… Do you really believe he is an .071 hitter? I don’t.
I’d be thrilled with IFA $$$ or a million to one lottery ticket, but I don’t think any of those teams will give anything, no I don’t.
Everyone can see the roster and game-day crunch the Dodgers are in. If I were those teams I would wait for DFA day.
That said, I’m not those teams and I know nothing.
I think it gets down to, would Taylor choose to come to our team if he had a choice of multiple teams? I view him as a useful utility player who is capable of going on one of his hitting streaks for ML minimum. Would he choose to play for Oakland? I think not. But could Oakland use him at MLB minimum? I think so.
If the Dodgers could get some IFA $$$ that would be ideal. Good point. I will still be shocked if he is DFA’d. He is not Carl Crawford.
Doc has no good way to go, they love Hayward’s leadership, don’t think the FO is going to eat CTs contract, or lose his utility on defense. That leaves Outman or Pages going down, Doc will be vilified either way. I’m glad I don’t have to make that decision, although if Outman doesn’t start getting a few hits soon he may make the decision for Roberts.
Keith, it is not Doc’s decision. That is an organizational decision. Doc may have some input, but the FO is ultimately the decision maker. Doc will catch all the flak no matter what decision is made.
And that is the rub. If KT3 doesn’t agree to go to OKC or Camelback, I don’t think they are ready to eat the rest of his contract. That means Outman will be the odd man out when Heyward comes back. To be honest, Outman might benefit from a trip to OKC to reboot. I believe KT3 would benefit most by a trip to OKC or Camelback. I was amazed when AF gave KT3 that contract. One of the worst in Dodger lore.
Respectfully, it’s nowhere near the worst of Dodgers lore nor of Dodger’s history.
What is? I can’t think of many worse.
Remember Jason Schmidt? Darren Dreifort? Yasiel Sierra? Hector Olivera? I know I can come up with more. Plus, these players who have re-signed with their team are being compensated in part for what they have done in the past, and hope they can continue. He is not Carl Crawford. CT3 has been a fantastic Dodger. The ultimate team player. Big playoff performer. He is only 33.
It is clear his bat is not helping the Dodgers, but he is not hurting the Dodgers either. His value was about $6MM south of his contract for his first two years in total. That pales in comparison to what he gave the Dodgers from 2017-2021. He has been an asset for the Dodgers. I know it is business, but a team like the Dodgers do not s*** on players who have been a big part of their success. That is not who they are. You release Trevor Bauer. I would be very disappointed if they in fact DFA CT3.
Thinking outside the box, maybe AF has gone to CT3 and asked if he would prefer to be released so he is free to pick any team (say Nationals – close to his Virginia home).
I still think Outman gets optioned. It is a LH hitter coming back, so it is logical for a LH batter to go back down. Either way, it is going to be a tough decision.
That is all you have. Yeah, you need to come up with more. KT3 contract has been a disaster. So far, 1.5 WAR since 2022. -0.6 WAR this year. I don’t give a damn about what he has done in the past. It is 2024 and we are chasing a championship.
I don’t need to come up with more. That is the difference between you and me. I do care how well he has played as a Dodger since 2017. I am not about to go back and talk about all the good he has done for this team, but knowing the good he has done you just want to throw him away like garbage. That’s a great way to build team comradery. After a month? No. If the team was losing because of him, that would be different. But they aren’t. You apparently do not see the value in his defense or his versatility allowing Roberts to play with his lineup changes. You may not like it, but the Dodgers prefer the versatility.
After the season, okay. Let Taylor go like Cody Bellinger was let go. He deserves to be treated the same.
Was it a good contract? No, and I doubt the Dodgers would say different. But it is done. The $$$ are committed and guaranteed. It does no good to just release him because you do not like the way he has hit. I am sorry, but this is not fantasy baseball.
Plus I am not counting the -.6 WAR for 54 AB. When it comes to contract value, I think it is best to wait for the full year, not 25%. Seasons are fluid.
Also is it that you just do not like the contract that cannot be changed, or his -0.6 WAR? James Outman has a -0.3 WAR. Really not a whole lot of difference.
If it weren’t for his contract, he would have already been DFA’d. Regardless of what he did from 2017 to 2021. I hardly think releasing him and paying his salary is throwing him away like garbage. Comparing his situation with Outman is ludicrous. Outman also needs to go down to OKC. He has options and the Dodgers can work with him. If KT3 does not consent to go down, he is forcing the Dodgers hand.
Like I said, you have your way as to how to treat MLB players, and I have mine. I am not saying you are wrong, I just disagree with that approach.
They will find a proper way of handling Taylor, and if (when) he is gone, you can be glad that the Dodgers dumped Taylor even though it will not be a factor at all in whether the Dodgers succeed or fail. But at least you can be happy that he is no longer with the team.
“Seasons are fluid”
And progress isn’t linear.
sorry. I’ll go to my room now.
First, I like your mark to market theory, and it’s one of the reasons I think Taylor could be cut loose.
That said, there’s no way you think his contract is worse than Dreifort’s, Uribe’s? than Schmidt’s, or Puig’s.
Jesus Brandon League’s deal is legendary by your WAR standards, he had zero or negative WAR for every year of the contract.
And that’s just the Colletti years.
Dodgers have sure had their share of bad signings. That is for sure. KT3 is right in there.
I am not sure how you can talk about the Greatest Dodgers teams ever without including 1963 Dodgers. They were 99-63 and swept the Yankees in the World Series. Koufax was CY winner, MVP, and won the pitcher’s triple crown. A Big Three of Koufax, Drysdale, and Podres, and Perranoski in the Pen. Tommy Davis, Maury Wills, Frank Howard, Junior Gilliam. Not a lot of power, but with their pitching, they did not have to have the big HR bat. They beat St. Louis by 6.0 games, and San Francisco by 11 games. They stayed in 1st place from July 2 through end of season.
1963 will always be my favorite LA Dodgers team. Maybe this year’s team will make me change my mind. But I do not think so. Here’s why:
John Roseboro, Ron Fairly, Junior Gilliam, Maury Wills, Ken McMullen, Tommy Davis, Willie Davis, Frank Howard, Dick Tracewski, Nate Oliver, Doug Camili, Al Ferrara, Dick Nen, Derrell Griffith, Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Johnny Podres, Larry Sherry, Ed Roebuck, Dick Calmus, Ken Rowe, Nick Wilhite, Pete Richert…were all home grown originally signed by Brooklyn or LA Dodgers.
Even Perranoski was traded to the Dodgers before he made MLB. He was traded to LAD in 1960 for Don Zimmer, and did not pitch in MLB until 1961. And Don Zimmer who was originally signed by Brooklyn came back to the Dodgers in 1963.
I was born in 62 so I didn’t get to see any of those guys play, but I wish I could have seen Koufax pitch, man that would have been a dream come true
I saw him pitch when he was not so good, and when he was great. At a game I went to in the coliseum and he got lit up by the Braves. Then I saw him pitch at Dodger Stadium in 62, and he was nails. I was watching TV the day Marichal went ape on Roseboro. Only time I ever saw Koufax lose his composure on the mound. He was pretty upset after the incident and gave up what became the game winning homer to Willie Mays.
Hey bear, did you realize at the time, you were watching a pitcher that would be considered one of the best of all time. Could you tell he was that special?
As a teenager? Never really had any thoughts about it. But after he retired and the Dodgers stunk for several years, yeah, then I knew he had been a special player. I was listening to the game the night he struck out 18 Giants. Tying Bob Feller for the most ever in a game. I knew that was some sort of fantastic feat.
I loved the 63 team. Dandy Sandy and Big D. The Three-Dog and Hondo. Their first baseman that year was Moose Skowron. They only used the bullpen for 2/3rd of an inning in the World Series. Definitely a very good team. But they won by only 6 games over the Cardinals. The 53-team won by 13 games, and the 55 Dodgers won by 13.5 while winning only 98 games, plus, they are the only Dodger team who won a full season by spending every day after their third game in first place. The only reason they were behind the first two games was because they had not played when the season opened. They would be in the conversation too, and they won the series in 7. That team though, had only 3 regulars hit over .300, Snider, Furillo and Campanella. Robinson was 36 and had a down year. They were relying on their bench players a lot more. 3 players drove in 100 or more runs, Snider, Campy and Hodges. No player on the 63 team drove in more than Davis’s 88, and Davis and Wills were the only .300 hitters with TD winning the batting title with a .326 mark. Koufax was the Cy Young and MVP winner…a kid named Rose was the ROY.
25 year old RHP Ben Casparius makes his AAA debut tonight against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (Houston). Casparius will face off against a 24 year old RHP who has 37 AAA games (28 starts) for Sugar Land over three seasons.
Bobby -honest answer – did you prefer the 2 hour game?
I’m not so sure about it. I kinda liked the pedestrian nature of Baseball. Not sure I’m enjoying this microwave game as much.
Did you feel you got value for money?
That’s actually a great question, and one I asked myself at 1:07pm yesterday, when I realized the game had started 57 min ago and was already in the 5th inning.
I iked how I’d miss traffic (or how I anticipated I’d miss traffic). I am also VERY different in that, despite being a season ticket holder, I rarely go to regular season games due to the time commitment of leaving home by 5:30pm, paying to park, and getting home at 11pm.
I was happy with the quick game, but I had already planned on leaving by 3pm regardless of score to avoid traffic.
To be honest, I was never this way, until Game 7 2017 vs Houston. Watching my team lose the World Series changed me for the worse (and that includes being a Laker season holder as well).
I just don’t seem to care anymore about regular reason individual games or results. I care more for how we’re playing, how we’re trending, how the kids are playing, and then playoff time. Part of that really is I know the Dodgers will be in October regardless.
Wat, if you can, come to LA July 27. Man U vs. Arsenol at Sofi Stadium!!!
I know Watford didn’t ask me directly but my opinion is simple about speedy baseball and fan value. Some people probably like 3 hour + games. Some people also enjoy eel as a main course, body piercings, and Trevor Bauer type sex with their partners. I just don’t happen to be one of them.
It seems to me that speedier games have been very good for most people and MLB.
LOL. Two to two and a half hour games are good. Eel is an appetizer if not at a Sushi Bar. Piercings are for ears on girls.
Greatest team of all time. 1949 to 1953 Yankees. 5 straight WS titles.
A. You can’t name them the greatest team ever since the roster changed each year. B. They barely beat the Red Sox for the title in 49, one game. 50 they led by 3 games over Detroit, 51, 5 games over Cleveland, 52, 2 games over Cleveland, and in 53, they had their biggest lead, 8.5 over Cleveland. None of those teams won 100 or more games. The 1906 Cubs won 116 games, and had the highest winning percentage every, .763. But they lost the World Series to the cross-town White Sox who only won 93 games in their sixth year of existence. The 27 Yankees have long been considered the greatest team ever assembled. 110-44-1, won the pennant by 19 games, and swept Pittsburgh in the World Series.
KT3 would be better served going to OKC and playing everyday. If he is a true team player and can swallow his pride, he would come to the same conclusion. He is not going to get better playing a couple of games a week as he is now. If he doesn’t realize this, as Timmons would say, he is a moron.
So far we have got 1.5 WAR for KT3 since he signed the ill advised deal in 2022. His OPS+ this year is -15. How is that possible.
He wouldn’t play every day. Best for him to go to Arizona and play every day there.
I will write about it later, but Ben Casparius pitched arguably the best game of his career in his AAA debut. He had a lot of run support. It was 7-0 after two, on thier way to 20-0 after 7 1/2.
Very niice!
For the Oakland fireballer give them Vargas, Knack & Cartaya.
It would take more than that simply because there will be a bidding war for his services. Several teams have already contacted the A’s per MLBTR.
He’s had both shoulder and arm problems in the past. Nothing that’s resulted in surgery yet but with the stress he puts on those two areas I’m not sure if he’s worth the risk.