I am always looking for subjects for new posts. And I remember how well Max Muncy has done against the Giants. And I tried to remember when I have seen a Dodger player dominate a team like that before.
In the winter of 1990, the Dodgers went out and signed Darryl Strawberry to a free-agent contract. Fans were excited to get the Met slugger into Dodger blue.
The team would finish second to the Braves, missing out on the title by one game. Well actually two if they were to have won.
They got there with the help of Strawberry virtually going off the last three months of the season. He had been a disappointment through the first half, hitting 8 homers and hitting just .220.
But he hit .290 over the last 81 games and hit 20 homers. It would end up being his only good season as a Dodger. But let’s get back to dominating a team.
The Dodgers themselves beat the Astros 10 times in 18 meetings. But Strawberry? He owned Astro pitching. He hit .299 against them with 10 homers, 5 doubles and 27 RBIs. 15 of his 20 hits were for extra bases. His OPS was 1.223. His OPS+, 242. The only other team he came close to those numbers against was the Padres. .324/8/19 with 4 doubles and a triple. 1.125 OPS and an OPS+ of 212.
Against the rest of the league, he had 10 total homers, and 53 RBIs. His OPS+ for the year was 139. He played in 139 games that season. He would play in 75 for LA over the next two years. The Dodgers paid his salary until 1995.
Drugs and other problems derailed what might have been a Hall of Fame career. And in my estimation, you could put his contract down as one of the Dodgers worst free agent decisions. But for one year, he was more than worthy of his deal.
Muncy in his six years as a Dodger, has hit 25 homers against the Giants. His best year against them was 2021. He hit 8 homers, but only drove in 12 runs. Never one to hit for a high average, he hit .284 against them that year. He also had 2 doubles against them.
His next best would be 2023. Despite a down year average wise, Max hit .310 in 8 games against SF with 4 homers and 12 driven in. In 22, while recovering over his bad elbow, he managed 5 homers off of SF pitching and drove in 13.
I remember when I was young how amazed I was that a guy like Larry Jaster could dominate my Dodgers one year. But those things happen in this game. Some teams you own, and others own you.
The Dodgers with so many losing seasons, have made up ground on some of their NL rivals who owned them over the years.
They are now only 10 games under .500 with the Giants 1270-1280. They are 6 to the good over the Cardinals, 1044-1038. The Giants are the only NL team they have a losing record against. In the AL they are down to the Yankees, 9-10, A’s, 19-23. Angels, 71-73 and the White Sox, 15-16.
They own the Rockies. They have won almost 60 percent of their games with Colorado. Willie McCovey owned Don Drysdale. Mays had decent success against Koufax. Koufax on the other hand, owned McCovey.
McCovey hit .336 against Big D with 12 dingers. Duke Snider owned the Reds, he hit .315/72/222 against them lifetime. But Duke did very well against the better teams. His BA against teams over .500 was .310. It was .279 against the weaker teams. He clubbed 243 of his homers against the better teams.
The year he hit .393, Babe Herman hit over .400 against 4 of the 8 teams in the NL. He hit .517 against the Phillies. Zack Wheat owned the Phillies over his career hitting .331 against them.
Koufax over his career had a losing record to one team, the Reds. He was 19-20 against them. He dominated Houston and the Mets. He had 20 plus wins against the Phillies, Cardinals and Cubs.
Kershaw does not have a losing record against any team in regular season play except the Phillies. He is 4-6 against them. Of teams he has 10 decisions or more against, he is 11-0 against the Mets.
An interesting stat. Kersh made exactly one start when the Mets were at Shea, and it did not go well. But he is 4-0 at Citi-Field.
He has not fared well at Chase in Arizona nor in St. Louis at the new Busch Stadium. He has a winning record at Coors but a high ERA over 4. His best ERA is at AT&T in SF.
Your Senatorial candidate, Steve Garvey did his best work against the Reds, Giants, Braves and Phillies. Steve was almost even against teams over .500 and below.
I have researched a lot, but it is hard to find any Dodger who in one season had the kind of year against a single team as good as Strawberry did in 91 against the Astros.
It is beginning to look as if Ryu is headed back to Korea. He is in talks with the KBOs Hanwha Eagles, The Eagles were his original team. Looks like David Peralta has a new home, the Chicago Cubs. Deal is not official yet. In his first live BP, Shohei launched one out of the park off of Feyereisen. On this date in 1984, Pedro Guererro became the highest paid Dodger in history when he signed a five year seven-million-dollar contract. How times have changed.
Great piece. In 2004 Adrian Beltre went off on a lot of teams but not to the extent of what Strawberry did. Daryl Strawberry speaks regularly at a church in our neighborhood. I have threatened to go a few times but have never made it.
In another vein: Did anyone mention what Dylan Hernandez wrote about Mookie Betts last week, and what do you think about it?
It should be noted that Mookie says he “does not consider himself a right fielder –
I’m a middle infielder playing RF.” Dave Roberts said that Mookie would be much happier playing 2B. I think the fact that he has a negative -1.1 dWar comes into play as well. Heyward was 1.4 dWar.
All is not perfect in Dodgertown when Mookie’s teammates are questioning his leadership.
Don’t trust the media, the vast majority of what we read is totally FAKE NEWS. Writers are looking for clicks, never let the facts get in the way of a click.
I am shocked! When did this happen?
(Sarcasm Alert!)
Dewey defeats Truman
You sure??? LOL
I agree in that there is too much media. Too many bereft of talent and experiences.
There are great outlets and writers writing news that is accurate, timely and thoughtful.
Seek them out. Ignore the mediocre.
Where is evidence of “FAKE NEWS”? I’ve heard that nonsense in other arenas before and that pronouncement is what is to be ignored
“All is not perfect in Dodgertown when Mookie’s teammates are questioning his leadership”
I don’t believe that for a second. Every player slumps, but a player who puts up 8.3 WAR is a player who showed up and led the way for 162 games. He’s a leader. If any think otherwise they are dead wrong and need to be confronted.
Both Freddie and Mookie know they swallowed olives in the 3 game series last year. I trust it won’t happen again.
Totally agree with you on Mookie but I vehemently oppose your negativity on olives.
Valid point.
My apologies to all the olive gourmands who may have offended.
“Where is evidence of “FAKE NEWS”? I’ve heard that nonsense in other arenas before and that pronouncement is what is to be ignored
“All is not perfect in Dodgertown when Mookie’s teammates are questioning his leadership”
I don’t believe that for a second”
You just cited the evidence yourself. … to use but one example.
People, including journalists, have agendas. Welcome to how the world works.
It’s pretty silly that a sports story that relies on a vague source with no direct quotes will trigger broadsides on the profession of journalism, but it calls for a response.
Agendas? Of course.
A lot of journalists have this agenda: to report the FACTS– “without fear or favor” as the NYT puts it. Some also like the adage that the role of a journalist is “to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.”
Yes, there’s certainly an agenda in there.
Many journalists have been killed in their pursuit of truths that powerful forces prefer to hide. (Feel free to google the Committee to Protect Journalists. Right now, a WSJ reporter is imprisoned by Russia.)
The MSM makes mistakes, and complaints about a lefty “agenda” abound, often among people who pretend to have no agenda at all.
All of which is fine and dandy under the First Amendment.
Partisan agendas in the media are protected by the Constitution. But the First Amendment is not a license to engage in defamation, libel and slander, which involve a malicious disregard for the truth.
That is why Fox News, known for its right-wing agenda, had to cough up a $780-million defamation judgment because of its FALSE reports about Dominion Voting Systems. The Smartmatic lawsuit is pending, and the total bill for Fox’s journalistic malpractice could reach $2 billion.
It’s worth noting that the usual suspects of the so-called MSM, or “Lame Stream Media”–like the NYT, Washington Post, TV networks not named Fox– really haven’t had much trouble lately with defamation and libel litigation.
When mistakes are made, publishing corrections demonstrates a good-faith agenda.
My use of the single word, “agenda,” shouldn’t have been that triggering. Unfortunately, we live in a time where extreme fundamentalism of the religious kind has been replaced with extreme fundamentalism of the political kind, and it prevents people from thinking clearly. At least the religious fundamentalism was easier to identify and sequester. This new kind is insidious.
I’ve just seen too much to accept the assumption of a “good-faith agenda.”
Thanks for the recap of the Dylan Hernández article. His columns are usually too painful to read. Surprised that Mookie has a negative defensive ranking in RF. I checked outs above average and he was only the 20th ranked RF in 2023, and had a negative score two of last three years. In 2023 he was the 21st rated second baseman with -1 OAA. From watching games he still seems like a good outfielder, but I don’t watch him that closely. Mookie seems to have regressed from the 6 time gold glove winner to a below average defender pretty quickly according to the analytics.
Hopefully he bounces back this year on defense.
Even if there is a thread of truth to players discontent with Mookie, I’m not sure WTF difference it makes. Last I checked he’s still on the payroll for 9 more years.
“have made even some of his teammates question his commitment”
This is a pretty important piece of information to insert almost parenthetically into the story without any further explanation or attribution.
The entire thesis of his story is completely dependent on this one phrase.
I have not heard a whisper of this before in any other article that I’m aware of.
It’s simply inserted in there as if it’s just commonly accepted knowledge – almost like he tried to sneak it in there without anyone noticing.
Journalism, not that long ago, was a respected institution. It had standards of integrity and professionalism. The degree and rapidity to which it has debased itself is actually sad.
Yeah, it’s lame journalism in a lot of ways.
But it’s just Dylan Hernandez here. He deserves the criticism.
But the LAT recently won a Pulitzer for exposing the racism that ended the career of a city council member, I still think the Boston Globe did a great public serviceexposing the Catholic Church’s systematic protection of pedo priests. I still appreciate the reporters who risk their lives on the frontlines in Ukraine and other war zones.
Et cetera.
There’s still good investigative journalism, and it is needed more than ever. Unfortunately it is more and more corrupted by the politics that Bluto accurately described here as sadly binary. I feel like I have to fact check everything I read.
Responsible media outlets–like the ususal MSM suspects–correct their mistakes.
As the Dominion lawsuit showed, Fox News rarely bothered and sometimes doubled down on bizarre conspiracy theories.
Something to note: Fox once won a lawsuit because its own lawyers successfully argued that Tucker Carlson was an entertainer, not a journalist, and thus people should know better than to take his statements seriously.
https://www.npr.org/2020/09/29/917747123/you-literally-cant-believe-the-facts-tucker-carlson-tells-you-so-say-fox-s-lawye
Beltre’s best was against the Rockies, 400 average, 7 bombs and 23 driven in. He hit ,356/25/65 against teams over .500.
In 2002, Shawn Green had a great season against the Brewers, in one game! Don’t know what his seasonal stats overall were tho
In 2001 and 002, Green hit 91 homers. In 2002 he hit 7 against the Brewers, four in one game. But he only drove in 11 runs, most of them coming in the one game. He also hit 7 bombs against the D-Backs and drove in 15 in 18 games. The numbers against the Brewers came in 6 games. 15 was the most runs he drove in against any team. He had 15 against the Rockies also with 4 homers. Those were the only three teams he was over double figures against. In 2001, when he hit 49 bombs, the most he had against any team was 6 against the D-Backs. He hit 5 against the Rockies and drove in 18. He drove in double figures against the Rocks, D-backs, Padres Giants and Expos. He hit 4 homers against the last three teams. He also hit 4 against the Brewers and drove in 4 runs. He hit .298 against lefties with 10 bombs. He hit more homers on the road, 30, than he did at Dodger Stadium. The record for a season is 27 by Cody Bellinger in 2019.
Peralta’s deal with the Cubs is a minor league deal. Zack Reks signs with the Padres on a minor league deal. Ryu and the Eagles are in agreement on a deal. It should be announced in the next day or two.
New city connect uni’s will not have Los Dodgers on the front or the caps.
White Sox should go all in and sign Bellinger, Snell, Montgomery, and Chapman to one year deals That would surely make them the favorites in the AL Central. I know those guys are all looking for long term deals, but, time is running out. Who will blink?
Not Borass!
Keith Law (The Athletic) is out with his Top 20 prospect list for each team.
Has positive things to say about DePaula (his Dodgers #1), River Ryan, Payton Martin, Joendry Vargas and Quintero, among others, but not thrilled with Kendall George or Jake Gelof.
Maybe Bluto will post his always welcome synopsis at some point in the next day or two.
Trade Gelof for Gelof.
Oh Brother Where Art Though?
His big brother’s success is a good sign!
Remember, Corey Seager had a big brother who was a good ballplayer too. So did Pedro Martinez.
I am not a man of constant sorrow…
I’m somewhat reticent to post ($$$) content, but Law does write this wonderful sentence in evaluating Joendry Vargas:
We all knew Law’s top 6 (from his top 100 list) but Pages, Martin, wrobleski and Ferris round out the top 10.
On the enigma that is Maddux Bruns, he writes:
“Right now” does a lot of work in that sentence, no?
I agree with him that Bruns has the raw materials to be a #1. He has multiple plus pitches. Jeff commented the other day that he only saw him as a #3. I just don’t think Jeff was ever really high on him from the get-go.
The human brain is oftentimes a mosaic of biases.
It is true, I have never been high on Bruns as a starter. OTOH, I have been high on him as a reliever. Yes, the human brain is oftentimes of mosaic of biases.
Bruns is still so young…
Starter or reliever?
Or trade piece? Certainly the arrival of Jackson Ferris and the rise of Wrobleski, both southpaws, could influence what the Dodgers do with Bruns.
The competition for the Dodgers rotation should be pretty fierce for the next few years.
On Vargas – You needed to finish the sentence – DSL stats are only slightly more predictive than tarot cards, so I don’t want to get too excited, but I am still excited.
That is exactly how I feel, and while I am not nearly as quotable as Keith is, have said the same thing about DSL stats. But there are a couple of players last year that have stuck out and can follow De Paula up the charts, that I think you can get excited about.
With Bruns, I wonder how much longer the Dodgers go with him as a starter. There is no rush, and he can surprise many of us in the next two to three years and something will click. But with the diminished number of MiLB players allowed for each of the organizations, these prospects are going to have to show something more than promise before roles are changed.
I have some comments on Keith’s list, not only on his 20, but also for the Others Of Note. I like Keith because he does not just provide positive hype and spin for the players. He points out all of the players’ warts as well. I prefer not to be spoon fed hype and then get disappointed when those warts are all that are left. Of course we all have our favorites and we tend to ignore the negative comments. But even when we point them out, that does not mean that we do not believe the players are capable of overcoming those negatives. It does not mean we do not like the players. Even when Law writes this about Zyhir Hope – . He was the Cubs’ 2023 11th-round pick, a lottery ticket pick given the near-unanimous sense among amateur scouts that he couldn’t hit. Should Dodgers fans quit on Zyhir? I am not. He is far too athletic to quit on.
I find Keith Law very interesting. He’s not only an expert on baseball (by his own standards and those of a number of others in the baseball community), but also on music, literature, board games, cooking and dining and does regular reviews on all of those topics.
Then, of course, his political commentary which pleases some and infuriates others. I get the idea that he always considers himself the smartest person in any room, but that doesn’t stop me from reading most everything he puts out there.
So true!
He’s a great resource for board games (and/or their iPad variations) and good restaurants!
Equally true about the politics, it’s sad that topic is so binary.
We can’t give up Hope…
Just for fun, I thought I would look at one of the greatest home run hitters in their best season to see if they had a dominance over a team as good as Straw did. Ruth hit 11 homers, drove in 30 and hit .391 against the Red Sox in 1927. In 1920, he hit 10 homers against three different teams and drove in 25 against the Red Sox and White Sox and 26 against the Tigers. He hit over .300 against the Tigers and Red Sox and .424 against Chicago. In 21 he drove in 22 or more runs against every team in the league, hitting 10 homers off of Boston and Detroit. The last time he hit 50 or more, 1928, he had 23 or more RBIs against every team except Boston and St. Louis. He drove in 15 against both. He only hit .233 against the pitiful Browns. He had 10 homers against the Tigers and Senators, and 11 against Chicago. He hit .280 against teams under .500 and .341 against teams over .500. Ruth hit 90 or more homers against 4 teams, St. Louis, Boston, Chicago and Cleveland. He hit 123 against the Tigers, 108 against the A’s and 89 against the Senators. He drove in 300 or more runs against St. Louis Chicago, Detroit and the A’s. He drove in 273 or more against Boston, Cleveland and Washington. Conversely, in 2001, when he hit 73 homers to set the MLB record. Barry Bonds hit 10 or more against 2 teams, San Diego and Colorado. He hit 6 against the Dodgers, but only drove in 8 and hit just .200 against LA in 19 games. Mark McGwire, when he hit 70 in 98, did not hit more than 7 against any team.
Amed Rosario has a new home. He signed with the Rays for one year, 1.5 million. JD Martinez still looking for a home.
I think the Rays got a bargain there, although I don’t know how much Rosario will play.
Boras should start a barnstorming team with all his guys who aren’t getting signed. Some of them, maybe all 5 of the big guys, are running out of options and will have to settle for a lot less than they’d hoped for.
Based on what $ estimates were, this may be one of the rare years that Boras comes out second best, although he’ll manage to spin it into a win.
Boras definitely misread the room, he should have gotten a couple of these guys signed earlier while there were more teams with money to spend, now he has five guys all competing against each other for the few spendable dollars that are left. I’m very interested to see how this turns out.
My guess is they will all get multi million dollar contracts.
Good guess.
So you are saying the minimum will be $2MM?
A month.
I could handle that
Sure seems that way.
I wonder if the Dodgers’ monster deals for Shohei and Yamamoto contributed to a backlash against exorbitant salaries.
Shohei is the proverbial unicorn, and Yoshi was the SP with the most suitors. Their deals may represent the crest of a wave that in recent years produced a slew of $200m- and $300m-plus deal
Right now, the Angels seem to be in good position to land one or two of these FAs.
How about JD Martinez and Snell?
Halos really need to do something.
As much as the Dodgers paid for Yamamoto, per John Middleton, the Phillies principal owner, they offered more.
And the Yankees reportedly offered more in AAV terms too.
It’s all pretty amazing.
This leaves me wondering why the Phils don’t pivot to Snell or Montgomery as a consolation prize, especially as their prices could be coming down. It’s also been suggested that they might consider Belli for CF
I wonder if Tim Anderson turned down such an offer. He needs a small “pillow” to help him rebuild his value.
As per David Vassegh:
Hard not to notice the improved physical condition of Max Muncy this spring. Both Dave Roberts and Brandon Gomes gave credit to Muncy for taking on the challenge to improve himself this winter. Gomes added “Our hitting guys are raving about him.”
And as Josh Thomas points out, this is officially the first “Best Shape of His Life” statement of the Dodgers 2024 Spring Training.
I assume that Joc is reading all of this on Twitter while indulging in his third bag of Doritos today. Some guys can have very successful MLB careers while emulating the Pillsbury Doughboy.
And then there are the before and after shots of Pablo Sandoval. He looks about half the size he was when he last played in the majors about 3 years ago.
BSOHL!
Good for Max. Giancarlo and Manoah have also slimmed down a lot.
Where is the trend story we need?
Is Buhler’s extra weight a problem?
I talked to someone of interest today who says Buehler looks fantastic but that he and the Dodgers are intent on starting him later so that he can be strong in October. He said that Striker could still be The Ace!
He also told me that Max looks fantastic at bat and that he appears to be moving better. Also, he said that Lux looks better than ever.
Juan Toribio reported this today:
Exactly what I predicted! I took a lot of heat for saying that. Now it’s coming true.
There’s a slight difference between giving Outman days off throughout a long season, especially against tough left-handers and, “Outman is nothing more than a 5th outfielder who has to be platooned at all costs and is just a skinnier Joc Pederson.”
“There’s a slight difference between giving Outman days off throughout a long season, especially against tough left-handers and, “Outman is nothing more than a 5th outfielder who has to be platooned at all costs and is just a skinnier Joc Pederson.”
👍 👍 👍 👍 👍
Let’s finish the statement.
“Let’s finish the statement.”
👍 👍 👍 👍 👍
Ha! Ha! Interesting that this was omitted. Context is everything.
“Exactly what I predicted! I took a lot of heat for saying that. Now it’s coming true.”
👎 👎 👎 👎 👎
Nice Try.
Pretty funny.
I recall some guy also predicting that Outman would be platooned with Kike, Taylor and Marisnick, who we barely got to know before he was injured.
Remarkably, Outman didn’t sit that much during his prolonged slump last season, when some guy was likened to the loser in Aesop’s “The Tortoise and the Hare.” The Dodgers stuck with him during is long slump last season, and it paid off.
The question is whether he’ll be able to raise his game against lefties.
Great to hear that Max and Lux are looking good in Spring training. This lineup should be epic.
And there have been raves for Yoshi, Glasnow and Treinen too.
No shyte, you nailed it Eric. Timmons is one of those guys that spins every damn thing he touches. He is never at a loss to claim that he is right and everyone else that doesn’t agree is a “moron”. Just spreads his shyte wherever he lands, so now it is here polluting this blog.
Be nice.
In my somewhat objective opinion, your tone here might be the source of the pollution, not Timmons. I haven’t read any insults from him. From you? Yes.
The extent to which Timmon’s mere existence on this blog sends some people into such paroxysms of unhinged rage is almost worthy of study. I think I’ll call it TDS – Timmons Derangement Syndrome. Maybe it’ll make to the next edition of the DSM.
96% of morons dislike being called morons.
That whine would go with some cheddar
I like Mark and I don’t want to bring up the subject I no longer want to talk about. I’ve taken a lot of stuff from Mark, but I still like him. But I hear you.
Nice to hear from you too, Hondo. Why did you change your name? Don’t you know who you are?
Good news!
Thanks for the insight!
Well Blue, since I was unable to trade Muncy I am glad to hear at least not all of him will be back for 2024, at least to start the season. When you poke Joc you risk him poking back in the Playoffs.
Is he worth less in trade now that he weighs less?
Or are you saying he’s worthless in trade?
According to The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya, the Dodgers and Will Smith have not discussed a potential contract extension at this time. Ardaya does mention that it would make sense for them to do so, but so far, it hasn’t come to fruition.
“There still have been no talks between the two sides on an extension, Smith told me this week. Would it make sense? Absolutely. Are the Dodgers uniquely positioned to pivot if needed? Yes.”
Per Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic
Just thought we should hear from someone who is closer to the situation than any of us.
Gracias.
Just want to be sure everybody saw this Dodgers programming note courtesy of from mlb.com, regarding Outman and Margot …
“I want him out there,” Roberts said of Outman. “He’s shown he can take good at-bats against left-handed pitching, so it’s definitely not a platoon situation. It’s more of how can I keep Manny involved situation.”
With all the free agents still unsigned–not just big names–and the trade possibilities, I keep thinking AF will tinker a bit more with this lineup. I still think Kike makes more sense than Margot because of the extra versatility.
Did you really expect Doc to say, “James can’t hit lefties, so I am going to give Margot some at-bats against LHP?” So, you get to choose the words you like?
“Did you really expect Doc to say, “James can’t hit lefties”
Nope. You’re the only one I’ve seen say that.
The Dodgers are creating a 26 (and a 40) that will give everyone days off during the year. This is a deliberate attempt to avoid the October lethargy seen in previous years. Hope it works.
”Nope. You’re the only one I’ve seen say that.”
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Nailed it, Badger!
Nice try, again Timmons. You can’t get away with your bullshit spin, you better go back and open up LADT where you have totally control of the bullshit that comes out of you. Will you ever learn (highly unlikely)
This type of comment belongs back at LADT
The guy doesn’t believe Outman can hit left handed pitching. So what! So far there hasn’t been much evidence to dispute his claim. Let’s just wait and see what he does this year. He’ll be given a chance against lefties
“The guy doesn’t believe Outman can hit left handed pitching. So what! So far there hasn’t been much evidence to dispute his claim.”
Career against LHP .252 BA and .359 OBP disputes it.
Power, I cannot dispute. But we’ll see if the power comes next season.
And as I said above, I like Mark.
Not necessary. Don’t agree with Mark, say so and move on. No need to get personal here.
Totally agree. Dodger Chronicles is a totally different site. No need for any personal attacks or snide comments on what is now defunct. Mark has an opinion and whether you agree or not, that is his right.
Be nice.
Such hostility. Did someone pee in your post Toasties?
RIP Don Gullett
Read that yesterday. Saw him pitch a couple of times. Okay, about James Outman, his BA against lefties was higher than his BA against RHP .254-.247. He did not show much power against LHP 1 homer and 4 doubles, and he struck out almost 33% of the time against them. But his OBP against them was also higher than his OBP against RHP .357-.351. So, while he does not hit for power against LHP, he still manages to get on base a lot. Along with his improving defense in center field, he got better as the season progressed, he has proved to be a valuable asset as a mostly everyday outfielder. 135 of his starts came in center field. Weird news on yahoo today. A Colorado man died from a bite by his pet Gila monster. First fatal bite since 1930.
Max looks better against lefties but lately was not more productive.
It may have taken an injury, but I suspect the Giants will be back looking at the elite FA pitchers, Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery. Doubting that Montgomery wants to come all the way to the west coast with his wife being a resident in a Boston hospital, I am guessing that it will be Blake Snell. The projected #4 starter for SFG, Keaton Winn, has come down with a sore elbow. He is being shutdown for a few days to determine the next step.
Yankees are still trying to sign him, but it seems like there is a huge gap in what they want to pay, and what he wants. Good news out of Dodger camp, May is throwing 90 feet already and could be back by August. Me, I put that guy in the bullpen.
Eric Hosmer announced his retirement.
Jamai Jones DFAd by the Brewers. Looks like tomorrow’s starter is going to be Gavin Stone vs. Joe Musgrove.
News from Internet:
Keith Law Chat
gach zreinke: Thoughts and timetable on Dodgers’ Hyun-Seok Jang?
Keith Law: Hasn’t thrown a pitch yet. I imagine we’ll all see him in spring training.
Brian: Who was your biggest disappointment when doing the rankings? Was there one player going in you thought would have had a bigger impact in 2023 and would be a star that just didn’t materialize?
Keith Law: Cartaya was originally on the list in the 70s or so, but as I circulated it to sources & also considered him further I realized I had no argument to put him on the list except that he was on it last year.
Brian: Do you ever discuss your sources with other prospect writers? I’m curious how secretive the world is/isn’t when you all know the same people (and most say they cross reference lists with scouts), and how that plays into the differential product of the lists.
Keith Law: Not names, necessarily, but I might say “the Mets told me” something when talking to Eric or Jonathan.
Joe: The Dodgers gave up two players with some value for Trey Sweeney, so I was surprised that he didn’t get a mention in the LA write up. Do you think they did the trade because they needed the roster spots, or do they see something you don’t?
Keith Law: Maybe they see something they can do with the swing, but I just don’t think he’s anything but an up-and-down guy. He would have made a lot of top 20s, just not the Dodgers’.
At Fangraphs amongst Longenhagen’s Picks to Click: Who we expect to make the 2025 top 100 list
Eduardo Quintero, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers (EL)
Justin Wrobleski, LHP, Los Angeles Dodgers (EL)
Ronan Kopp, LHP, Los Angeles Dodgers (TT)
Alexander Albertus, 3B, Los Angeles Dodgers (TT)
Ben Clemens Chat:
Dodger Blue: is the river ryan hype legit (sorry forgot name last time i submitted)
12:51
Ben Clemens: I’m not really sure, if I’m being honest
Baseball America article on Gavin Stone and his struggles last year ($$$$$)
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/dodgers-gavin-stone-makes-adjustments-after-rough-mlb-debut/
About how Stone’s rough 31 MLB innings led to him reworking his pitch ix. Adding in a 2-seamer and a cutter.
Peter Gammons on Buehler:
After Walker Buehler threw Wednesday, one longtime Buehler watcher expressed positive surprise at how easy, how lively he looked. “It’s been a long rehab,” he said. “It shouldn’t be a surprise.” Indeed, the surgery was 5/23/22, after his 16-4 ’22 season, and expects a May return.
Both the Rays–after Dr Keith Meister’s final work–and Dodgers absolutely believe Tyler Glasnow will be healthy for the long term, as in 5 yr. contract. That is scary. In ’23 the staff averaged 4.9 IP a start; only Giants, Rockies were worse. Clayton Kershaw led in IP, 131.2, now they should have Yamamoto, Glasnow, Miller, Buehler, Sheehan for at least 5 months, Kershaw back by August, <there’s> positive feel on Gonsolin, May <late in the season>, Paxton…
Longenhagen Chat:
Jon Kay: I like to think about your ratings for FV as functional normal distributions for outcomes and assume that the value you settle on is the most likely. Is there a way that you could add SD on your evalus as a way of measuring floor and celling? This guy plays great CF defense so it limits is floor and therefore I put a 55 FV on it but the SD has more skewness? Or is this just dressing up what is a qualitative process with opinion values to turn it quantitive?
Eric A Longenhagen: One of the former prospect writers at the site tried to do a version of this and people felt it was super confusing to have floor/likely/ceiling grades. Grade+Variance is a little easier and doesn’t feel like you’re abdicating making an actual call
guest: How do you reconcile traditional scouting versus newer advanced metrics approaches like Stuff+? take Sawyer Gibson-Long for example. he was never a high pedigree prospect and his fastball according to Fangraphs scouting is a 40 grade. But according to stuff+, his change-up and sinker are two of the highest rated pitches in the model, and his fast is above average. His FIP and xERA seem to back up his limited results. Thank you for the feedback!
Eric A Longenhagen: Stuff+ overvalues guys whose stuff has lateral action
Reggie: the dodgers seem to have really done well with their most recent DSL team. Who do you like best joendry vargas. Quintero or someone else?
Eric A Longenhagen: well one of them was on the top 100 and one was a pick to click
J: This is both a real-life and fantasy-driven question. With the evolution of the SP role, I find it increasingly difficult to gauge value. Just in terms of how you approach rankings, both value/slotting, has it affected you and Tess’ valuations? If so, what has it modified?
Eric A Longenhagen: For sure. I’ve flattened their curve, so to speak. Fewer workhorse SPs generating WAR value via innings volume, more innings to go around means more 40/40+ types who work in bulk relief, or who you need to get key outs in the middle innings. For fantasy I do not envy you because it’s more about counting stats than talent and you’re also gauging team situation. In the one league I’m in (dynasty sim) I really only draft sexy arms when the value feels too good to pass up, I’m more on stable performers and paths to opportunity than upside most of the time
John: Roki Sasaki would rank top 3 if he were on the list?
Eric A Longenhagen: 2-4 range, yeah
Cy Young odds
Yamamoto 15-1
Glasnow 17-1
Miller 35-1
Buehler 120-1
Kershaw 200-1
According to Tread Athletics, a athletic development company they worked with Hyun-il Choi on his delivery. FB has gone up from 90-91 to 94+ MPH
Some good stuff there Bluto, thanks.
Strawberry is why I am a Dodgers fan. I started watching baseball in 1985 and became a fan of his. When he went to LA so did my fandom. I don’t know how or why but I remember Kal Daniels getting ejected late in the 91 season while the Dodgers were trying to catch the Braves.