In 1988, the Dodgers surprised the baseball world and won the World Series. They did it with a banged-up team, and some scrubs in the starting lineup. Their heart and soul, Kirk Gibson, was injured in the NLCS against the Mets. They had defied the odds to win that series against a team who owned them in the regular season with a 10-1 record. Then they beat the A’s Bash Brothers team in a 5-game World Series behind the pitching of Orel Hershiser, and a dramatic walk-off homer by Gibson in game one.
So, one would think the 89 team was set up for a repeat. It didn’t happen. The 89-team finished in 4th place, 14 games behind the Giants. One reason was that the core players on the team were all in their 30’s. Kirk Gibson was hurt most of the year and only played in 71 games. They brought in Eddie Murray to play first, and the future Hall of Famer had a mediocre year, hitting only .247, He did lead the team with 20 homers and 88 driven in. The pitching fell off of a cliff too. Hershiser, who won 23 games in 88, was only a .500 pitcher in 89 15-15. The starters only won 52 games.
As they headed into the new decade, you could guess there would be some changes coming. In December, their first trade sent OF Mike Marshall and P Alejandro Pena to the Mets for Juan Samuel. They signed Mike Maddux and Hubie Brooks as free agents. In April, they traded Franklin Stubbs to the Astros for Terry Wells, and in May they sent Willie Randolph to the A’s for Stan Javier.
1990: The 1990 team improved to a 86-76 record and a 2nd place finish in the West. Eddie Murray had a bounce back season hitting .330 with 26 homers. Gibson was hurt again and played in 89 games. Kal Daniels led the team with 27 homers. He, Murray and Brooks, all drove in more than 90 runs. Lenny Harris and Javier both hit .304 in reserve roles. Hershiser was injured and missed the entire year. Ramon Martinez won 20 games. Mike Morgan came over in a trade and won 11. Valenzuela was the only other starter with more than 10 wins, he had 13. Howell had 16 saves. Dave Hansen in his debut played in a handful of games.
1991: In November of 1990, they signed Daryll Strawberry as a free agent. In December, they signed Kevin Gross. Brett Butler also signed in December. At the winter meetings, they traded Hubie Brooks to the Mets for Greg Hansell and Bobby Ojeda. They signed Gary Carter as a free agent in March. In June, Todd Hollandsworth was drafted. They went 93-69 to finish 2nd to the Braves, who were just beginning their run of division titles in the 90’s. They had a pretty strong lineup. Strawberry led the team with 28 homers. Amazingly, 10 of them came against Houston. Martinez led the team with 17 wins. Morgan had 14. Hershiser returned from injury and went 7-2. Eric Karros played in a handful of games. He would take over for Murray at first in 92.
Eric Karros # 23
1992: The 1992 Dodgers would post the worst record in LA Dodger history. The went 63-99. With the talent they had on the team, one would not expect that. But several things contributed to the massive fall-off from 1991. Daryll Strawberry only played in 43 games before he admitted he had a drug problem and went into re-hab. Eric Karros would win the ROY and lead the team in HRs and RBI’s. 35-year-old Brett Butler, hit .309. But other than that, there just was not much offensive firepower. Karros was the only player in double digits in homers. Hershiser and Candiotti were the only pitchers with double digit wins. All of the starters had losing records except Pedro Astacio who was 5-5 They batted .248 as a team, and only scored, 548 runs. 
Mike Piazza # 31
1993: Some changes were due for 93. First, they traded for Jody Reed to be their full-time second baseman. They lost three players to the Rockies in the expansion draft. They signed, Cory Snyder, Eric Davis, Mitch Webster, and Roger McDowell as free agents. In late December they traded for Tim Wallach. The June draft would bring Darren Dreifort and Paul LoDuca. The team improved a little, getting to .500 and finishing 4th in the West. Mike Piazza cruised to the ROY with the best season by a rookie in Dodger history. He hit .318/35/112. He was a 7 WAR player. Karros hit 23 and drove in 88. The offense improved greatly hitting .261 and scoring 675 runs. Hershiser was 12-14, Candiotti, 8-10, Martinez,10-12, Gross, 13-13, and Astacio, 14-9. Jim Gott had 25 saves.
Raul Mondesi #43
1994: The season was shortened to 114 games as the players went on strike in August. No settlement could be reached, and the rest of the season was cancelled, including the playoffs. The Dodgers finished first in the NL West with a 58-56 record. They had made several moves over the winter of 93, including the now infamous trade of Pedro Martinez to the Expos for Delino DeShields. They also signed Chan Ho Park from Korea. In May, Darryl Strawberry, who was still having problems was released. The June draft netted one player of note, Paul Konerko. And in July they signed a young kid as a amateur free agent, Adrian Beltre. Piazza hit .319 and had 24 homers. Brett Butler, now 37 also had a very good year, .314. The surprise was the play of Raul Mondesi. The RF, who had a cannon for an arm, hit .306/16/56 to earn the ROY. Martinez was the only pitcher with double digit wins, 12, and Worrell, in his first season as the closer saved 11 games.
Hideo Nomo # 10
1995: The Owners and players had been negotiating an end to the strike that shortened the 94 season, but no agreement had been reached. So, the owners began formulating a plan that would use replacement players. Once that was known, the players became more serious about the negotiations. The negotiations pushed the start of the season to late April, 18 games into the season. They would play a 144-game schedule. In 1995, the playoffs were expanded to include a division series. So now, to win the pennant, you had to win two series. The Dodgers big move in the winter had been to sign Japanese pitcher, Hideo Nomo to a contract. Then with the season about a month old, they traded Jeff Treadway and Henry Rodriguez to the Expos for Joey Eischen and Roberto Kelly. None of the June draftees who signed made the team. At the deadline they traded three players to the Twins for reliever Mark Guthrie and starter, Kevin Tapani. In August they traded two minor leaguers to the Mets for Brett Butler, who had left as a free agent. With Piazza leading the way, the team finished first in the West and went to the playoffs for the first time since 1988. Piazza, .346/32/93 and Karros .298/32/105, were the big guns. Mondesi contributed 26 homers and 88 runs driven in. Ramon Martinez won 17 to lead the team, Nomo went 13-6 with a 2.54 ERA and earned the ROY. Todd Worrell had 32 saves. The team was swept out of the playoffs by the Reds who had won the newly formed Central Division.
Todd Hollandsworth #28
1996: A few players were free agents after the season and were no resigned. They did bring back Butler, and Candiotti. They signed SS, Greg Gagne as a free agent and traded for 3rd baseman, Mike Blowers. The June draft brought Alex Cora, Damien Rolls, Peter Bergeron and Ted Lilly to the system. They would eventually finish second to the Padres. 76 games into the season, Tommy Lasorda suffered a heart attack and was replaced by Bill Russell. The team went 49-37 under Bill. Piazza and Karros once again were the big guns with Piazza, .336/36/105 and Karros, .260/34/111 leading the way. Mondesi hit .297/24/88. Young outfielder Todd Hollandsworth became the starting left fielder and hit .291/12/59 and won the ROY. That gave the Dodgers five ROY’s in a row. Nomo, Ismael Valdez and Ramon Martinez paced the pitching staff. Todd Worrell saved 44 games. They did not fare any better in the NLDS losing to the Atlanta Braves, 3-0.
1997: The team was hoping to improve its finish and win a playoff series. They brought back Brett Butler and signed 3B, Todd Zeile as a free agent. Lasorda had officially retired, and Bill Russell was the manager. Other than the two free agents, Fred Claire did not add much to the team. They drafted Chase Utley in June, but he did not sign. The team did not play well, and they were under .500 by the end of June. In July and August, they went 39-18 to get back into the race. Then a 10-14 September derailed them, and they finished 2 games back of the Giants. Piazza had a dream year, .362/40/124. He finished second in the MVP voting for the second year in a row. The Dodgers, for the second time in their history, had four players with 30 or more homers, Zeile, Piazza, Karros and Mondesi. The pitching was ok, but nothing special. Nomo and Park had 14 wins each, Worrell saved 35 games. The team did not know it, but a major change was coming in 1998.
1998: In the winter, rumors began to circulate that Peter O’Malley was considering selling the Dodgers. I and many other fans were somewhat stunned by this. The Dodgers over the years had become a family of sorts and that was how they treated their players. There were subtle signs though. The Dodgers made no major moves during the winter other than allowing some free agents to leave. The Dodgers also were negotiating a new contract with Mike Piazza, who would be a free agent after the 98 season. But they were at an impasse. After a winter of wondering, on March 18th, 1998, the hammer fell. O’Malley sold the Dodgers to Ruppert Murdoch and his Fox Corporation for about 350 million, which was at the time, the largest price ever paid for a sports franchise. O’Malley would explain later that one of the contributing factors to the sale, was the lack of desire by his children to run the franchise. Another was the monster estate taxes they would have to pay in the state of California.
A little under 2 months later, with the season already underway, the Fox execs running the team, immediately alienated Dodger fans when they traded their best player, Mike Piazza, and Todd Zeile, to the Marlins for Gary Sheffield, Charles Johnson, Bobby Bonilla, Manuel Barrios and Jim Eisenreich. The fans were stunned. Fox explained that Piazza was being unreasonable in contract talks and wanted more than 100 million dollars. Mike disputed that later. But the one person who was really stunned was Fred Claire. He did not even know a thing about the trade until it had actually happened. Claire would leave the Dodgers in June and Lasorda would be named the interim GM.
The team itself played uninspired baseball. Russell was fired after 74 games and third base coach, Glenn Hoffman took over. They played a little better under Hoffman, but still finished in 3rd place, 15 games back of the Padres. Piazza was traded again by the Marlins to the Mets about a week after they traded for him. They were breaking up their 97 Championship team. Probably because of finances. Lasorda’s only trade as GM would become infamous as he sent Paul Konerko to the Reds for closer, Jeff Shaw. They traded Nomo in June to the Mets with Brad Klontz for Gene McMichael and Dave Mlicki.
Johnson, a good defensive catcher, but a so so hitter, hit .217. Mondesi led the team with 30 homers and Karros added 23. Sheffield hit .316 and had 16 homers in his 90 games with the team. Neither Eisenreich nor Bonilla played very well. Lasorda called up 19-year-old Adrian Beltre to take over at third base. Park led the staff with 15 wins, and Shaw had 25 saves. Konerko would eventually be traded by the Reds to the White Sox. He would be their starting first baseman for 16 years and he would slug 432 homers for the Sox. To date, no Dodger has had 400 homers while playing for the Dodgers Duke Snider’s, 389 is the closest any player has come. Hodges had 371. Karros leads all LA Dodgers with 270.
1999: Fox moved into their second year of ownership with a few changes in the front office and on the field. The new GM was Kevin Malone, the so called, new sheriff in town. He hired Davey Johnson to manage the team, and Ed Creech took over as the scouting director from Terry Reynolds. Devon White was signed as a free agent, and they unloaded Bonilla to the Mets. Ramon Martinez left as a free agent, and they decided one year of Charles Johnson was one too many and traded him to the Mets along with Roger Cedeno for Todd Hundley. Kevin Brown came aboard in December as a free agent with a long-term deal. They signed Mike Maddux in April for the bullpen. Jason Repko, Shane Victorino, Joe Thurston and Shane Vance were drafted in June. They traded for Craig Counsell in June. They made no more major trades.
They would finish 77-85 under Johnson. 23 games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks. Kevin Brown went 18-9, Shaw would have 34 saves, but the rest of the staff was mediocre at best. The team was 7th in the league in ERA at 4.45. They hit .260 as a team and crushed 187 homers while scoring 793 runs. Hundley hit 24 homers, but only drove in 55 while hitting .207. Karros was their best hitter with one of his best seasons, .304/34/112. Sheffield went .301/34/101. Mark Grudzielanek hit .326 in his 123 games. Beltre started showing what he was capable of, with a .275 mark. Mondesi hit 33 homers, and drove in 99 runs, but he hit only .258 and struck out a lot. For whatever reason, they just never played as a team.
Overview
The decade of the 90’s showed that even though you might have a ton of talent in your system, that does not mean you are going to be successful all the time. No other team has had as many Rookies of the Year as the Dodgers, who right now, have had 18. The had four in a row from 1979-82. Then five in a row, 92-96. The closest teams to them are the Yankees and Braves with 9. Why were they not more successful? Up until his heart attack, they had one of the better managers around in Tom Lasorda. They had a great owner, and a very good farm system. But I think there were some misjudgments by those in charge that allowed some really good players to leave the team.
For whatever reason, and some say it is because Lasorda felt he was too small to be a starting pitcher in the majors, they traded Pedro Martinez, who as we all know went on to have a Hall of Fame career. He had one full season in LA and went 10-5, mostly out of the pen and had a 2.61 ERA. Because they felt the need for a second baseman after Jody Reed left via free agency, they traded him to the Expos for DeShields. Many now look on that deal as one of the worst in Dodger history. You also have to believe that Fox miscalculated just how much Mike Piazza meant to the fan base and the offense. Considering what he did with the Mets, they would have been better served to have paid him what he wanted. Corporate had no business making baseball decisions. They circumvented the GM and made the trade. Because of that, a very good baseball man left the team. Then Lasorda, who was never really GM material, made another trade of need sending a very talented, but untried player away. Konerko may have not had a Hall of Fame career like Piazza and Martinez, but he was an offensive force for most of his career and would have been a perfect replacement for Karros.
I was driving long haul for much of the later part of the 90’s, so I missed going to Dodger Stadium a lot. But I had Sirrus radio in my truck and listened to every game. I dislike losing. And there were some years where I expected better, and it did not happen.
Minor League Report
OKC 10 Tacoma 1: After Tacoma scored 1 in the top of the first, OKC scored 3 in the bottom of the inning and never looked back. After Avans made an out, Outman singled. Lipcius flied out and then Ward hit his 18th double to score Outman. Sweeney singled to right scoring Ward. Hoese walked, then Feduccia gets aboard on a fielding error, and Sweeney scored. They scored 1 in the bottom of the second, 2 in the bottom of the 4th. In the bottom of the 6th, they would score 4. Hoese and Feduccia made outs. Trejo, Owings and Avans had consecutive singles, Trejo scoring on Avans single. Outman was safe on a fielding error and Owings scored. Lipcius walked and then Ward singled to drive in the final two runs. Outman was 2-3 and scored 4 runs. Ward was 3-5 with 4 RBIs. Choi went 5 innings for the win, and the bullpen pitched 4 scoreless innings.
Tulsa 4 Frisco 5: Tulsa fell behind 5-1 by the bottom of the 5th. They got 1 in the top of the 6th and 2 in the top of the 9th to make it tight. Rushing hit his 11th homer in the 4th inning. Davis and Lockwood-Powell were the only Drillers with more than one hit. Ortiz-Mayr went the first 5 innings and gave up all the runs. The bullpen threw three scoreless.
Great Lakes 5 Lake County 6: The Loons dropped a close decision to the division leading Captains. The Captains scored all 6 of their runs in the first four innings. Martin gave up two homers, one in the first and another in the 4 run second. The Loons got 4 back in the bottom of the fifth. Nevin walked and Gelof popped out. Mongelli singled and so did Quiroz driving in Nevin. Vogel struck out and the DePaula hit his second homer, a 3-run shot, to make it 6-4. In the eighth, Miller walked, Liranzo got aboard on a fielding error that allowed Miller to get to third. Nevin then singled driving in the 5th run. Martin went 4 innings and got the loss. The bullpen was nails shutting down the Captains over the last 5 innings.
Rancho 4 Inland Empire 3: Rancho fell behind 2-0, then rallied for 3 in the top of the fifth. Inland tied the score in the bottom of the sixth and then Rancho scored the game winner in the top of the eighth. McLain went 3-4 with a run scored. George had 2 hits, including a run scoring triple. The Quakes hit 3 triples, besides George, Diaz and McLain also tripled. Ruen would get the win, and Wallace the save. Munoz drove in the game winner with a sac-fly. George stole his 27th base. His BA is up to .268.
Bad loss. But it happens. Ahmed with his first hit as a Dodger, he also did a good job at SS. Looks like Taylor may be out a while. Kershaw back tomorrow in a day game at 1:10. Barnes with a 10-game hit streak, and you can bet he is starting tomorrow.
Total collapse, both pitching and hitting. The Dodgers can be the most boring team to watch and also the most exciting when they are smacking HRs into the seats.
I’ve been watching Ohtani for a good while now and I’m realizing he strikes out a lot. He goes chasing balls that he should never swing at, yet he is capable of smashing HRs that are center cut. How can a player of his quality be fooled so badly by pitches? I really don’t know. His is truly the all or nothing approach. I absolutely hate his leading off. The management of this team just doesn’t make sense to me any longer.
Who would you have leading off with Betts not there? Ohtani has the most experience there, and if he does happen to run into one, you are up a run. He is not a three-outcome hitter. Guys like that do not walk, and they can’t get many singles. He has 122 hits. 60 of those are for extra bases. Yes, he strikes out a lot. Most power hitters do. He has struck out 105 times. Hernandez leads the team with 117. He has walked 55 times. Only Freeman has walked more. I see players fooled by pitches all the time, even Freeman. Ohtani’s Kryptonite seems to be the high fastball, which he has a hard time laying off of. Just like Belli used to chase that low outside pitch. He did better for a while after Roberts talked to him. And give Ray some credit. The guy kept the hitters off balance. They had a chance to make him pay and missed it. They really miss Mookie and Muncy.
Maybe let Lux play some leadoff until Mookie comes back . That way he would see better pitches with all the protectin behind him.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lux’s career OBP as a leadoff hitter is .265. He doesn’t walk enough. Next.
The fact he chases a lot of pitches surprises me too Jeff. Imagine what his OPS would be if he had a better eye for the strike zone.
Get your best hitters the most ABs.
It’s pretty simple.
These days, for better or worse, OPS defines best hitters.
Regarding Glasnow, he really is starting to remind me of Lance Lynn. Both can be prolific SO pitchers. Both are eminently hittable. He lacked command and control and doesn’t seem to have the endurance that a body like his should have. His history of injury is significant at such a young age. He was supposed to be our Ace and looked it for several weeks, but he is sinking steadily. Our pitching staff will need another overhaul for next season at this rate. Injuries, surgeries, lack of conditioning, endurance, and very little domination. Our bats have probably won more games than our pitching. We need a change in the FO as this has gone on long enough. I am quickly running out of patience with this group. The corporate Dodgers continue…………..
Dodgers need another top of the rotation starter. Glasnow is showing some cracks after a fantastic start to his Dodgers career. Maybe too many innings, maybe the back. Who knows. With the uncertainty around Yamamoto Dodgers have to go big at the deadline and hopefully can get either Crochet or Skubal.
Ramirez probably and hopefully has pitched his last game for the men in blue.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, at this point it looks certain the Dodgers need an ace pitcher like Crotchet or Skubal, but don’t count on AF shelling out the required massive overpay to get those guys. The only realistic pitcher he can acquire that might be “the guy” in the playoffs would be Flaherty. But again, even he may require a king’s ransom that AF will simply not do.
The only big deal about Crochet is his SOs. He’s got a losing record. Another Lance Lynn we do not need on this team.
Tell me you are not judging a pitcher on wins and losses, especially from a pitcher on the losingest team in MLB, 10 games worse than #29, Miami. Here are some other stats for Crochet:
0.97 WHIP – #6 MLB
12.69 SO/9 – #1 MLB
2.30 FIP – #2 MLB
2.36 xFIP – #1 MLB
4.1 fWAR – #1 MLB for pitchers
6.28 K/BB – #7 MLB
I am not advocating trading for Crochet this deadline. I have already stated that I prefer LAD trade for Jack Flaherty. However, please do not dismiss Crochet as a Lance Lynn because of his wins/losses. There cannot be a more meaningless metric in MLB.
Kershaw on the bump today!
It might be too much to ask for him to be “another top of the rotation starter,” but he has been pretty effective in recent years despite the loss of velocity. We’ll at least get a better idea if he can be a solid contributor this season.
Certainly seems that the brass agrees that another front-line starter is a priority. They’ll come up with somebody, but the Orioles have a greater need and more ML-ready prospects to deal.
I wouldn’t go after Crochet. Screwball is a different matter. This guy looks fabulous, so far, but why would Detroit deal him? Teams that leave themselves without stars suffer, and their fans will suffer even more.
Guy hadn’t pitched since July 5th. Cut him some slack. He said he never felt in rhythm out there. Even with all of that, he only allowed 2 runs. BP lost the game. Lack of conditioning? Where the hell did that come from? They don’t train pitchers to go nine anymore.
The cracks with TG flared up even before he went on the IL. Look at his numbers since late May.Others are worried about TG too.
(around the 17 minute mark)
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey, I get it, easy to kick a guy when he is struggling. I was against the trade when it happened because of his history. Dodgers think he is past all that. Who am I to argue with the experts and his training staff and coaches. There wasn’t anything wrong with his stuff. What was missing was control and rhythm. And he only gave up 2 runs. Bats didn’t hit, and the bullpen gave up way too many runs. I would like to see how you would fare against MLB hitters if you had not pitched in 3 weeks. Ray on the other hand has pitched 10 re-hab games. It took him an inning to get his rhythm, but once he had it, he made them look pretty inept. Glasnow will be fine. Is he an ace? Probably not. But they are not going to over work him. He is four innings away from his career high. You want the Dodgers to trade for two pitchers who A. Have never pitched an inning of playoff baseball and B. Crochet has surpassed the most innings he has ever pitched, and Skubal is 26 innings away from the most he has pitched. You prefer they trade for an outfielder with a injury history who has played one full season in his entire career. I get it, he is talented and can mash…….when he is right and healthy, which hasn’t been very often. Others are worried. WHO??? I haven’t read that anywhere but from fans, who don’t know their ass from a bass fiddle. They have no inside information. All they do is guess and bitch. Every pitcher I have ever seen in the over 67 years I have been following this game goes through a stretch like this. And every time fans go bat shit crazy and woe is me, we won’t win with this guy. I see all the arguments about Kershaw too. Well, a lot of questions are going to be answered about him this afternoon. I am not saying no one is not entitled to their opinion, of course they are. I am just saying that most of their opinions are not based on any sort of facts. Or inside information.
Great post Bear.
Thanks Phil. This woe is me crap gets real old real fast.
You’ve gotten old, Bear. It’s not the fans saying ‘woe is me’. It’s the fans voicing their displeasure at the way the team and some players in particular are playing. Do you really think this team is playing optimally? You know you don’t, so you’ll have to grin and bear the fan criticisms. Many of them are valid.
Yep, I am old, and I own it. No, I do not think this team is playing at its best level. But I also am a realist and I understand the reasons why they are not playing all that well. No, I do not have to grin and bear it. It gets old and it gets old fast. Voicing displeasure is one thing, going bat shit nuts after a single loss following a 5-game winning streak is just a little bit much. And it happens because Dodger fans are expecting more. You do not see them advocating for really good players who would make this team better. No, they want the other team’s superstars, and they are willing to pay huge prices for those guys no matter what. Not all of them to be sure, but I have seen some really out there trade proposals. The writers and analysts are not immune to this either. Yes, it is fun to speculate, and make up trade scenarios. But I prefer reality. I have been to Disneyland, and it was expensive. I want them to make it to the playoffs, be totally healthy with all hands-on deck, and then see what happens. I do not expect perfection, and I do not lose my mind over every error or misplay. I have seen worse.
I agree….great post Bear or Michael, whichever you prefer. -TM
I’m easy, many call me Bear, others use Michael or Mike.
Just don’t call me late for dinner.
He’s been on a decline for quite some time before his injury. Teams have scouted him by now and have adjusted. He’s not a lock down pitcher as many thought here. He’s capable, but not yet an Ace. A 5 inning work horse.
Glasnow didn’t lose that game. Ramirez did. His ERA is up to 5.52. He’s got to go.
I think last night will probably be his last, and we should know by noon with the game a day game. Still 7.5 up on the Pads and 8 on the Dirtbags. Talked to some Giant fans and they acted like they won the World Series.
1 out of 3 against their rivals is a win for giants fans.
The bullpen appears to be wearing down to me. There’s still a long way to go. No starter on our staff looks likely to go 7 innings so to prepare for 4 innings a night feels like a very tough ask for this current group. Will Graterol, Brasier, Kelly, Phillips, Honeywell, Grove et al step up?
Bummer about Taylor. Another replacement player is now needed. Who might that be?
Well, replacing a replacement level player like Taylor should not be hard.
Got someone in mind?
Taylor has been OPSn over .800 the last 6 weeks. And THAT might be hard to find.
Replacing his versatility is not that easy either.
Did I say he lost it? Ramirez doesn’t even belong on this team. Thank the FO.
wut
Good write up Bear. The 90’s were some very lea ugly baseball for Dodger fans.
Thankfully I was busy with life, in my late 20’s early 30’s working 2 jobs, going to college and playing lots of local softball and didn’t follow the Team day-to-day as I do now and there was no internet to rag on them continually.
Exactly, I was driving long haul from 1994 on. So, I missed a lot. I did go to games when I got the chance. Like 9-11, I was on the road when Piazza got traded. Read it in USA Today at a truck stop. Followed them as best I could on Sirrus radio.
The 90s started bad for me, but ended well as I bought a home in Napa. Should have never left that home. The Dodgers? Don’t remember much beyond Piazza, Martinez and Mondesi.
If you could afford Napa, why would you move back to Socal?
Another awesome write up Bear. Thanks. Brings back a lot of memories. Some good but for the most part mostly disappointing. It seems it was a decade of great change for the Dodgers. From family owned to corporate. They never had the same feeling once Fox took over. Letting Beltre walk was a huge mistake. Trading Piazza infuriated me. Probably why I can’t stand Sheffield. Trading Pedro will live as one of the worst decisions in Dodger and baseball lore. My favorite player from that era was Brett Butler. He was a bright spot in what I remember as a rather mundane stretch of Dodger history. Perhaps we would have faired better if the Braves had not emerged as a juggernaut in the National League.
I lost what little respect I did have for Sheffield after he gave an interview where he said he did not try hard all of the time. To me, he disrespected the fans who paid for and deserved his best performance every game. Charles Johnson was a slug. Never could stand him or Bonilla.
So Bear, how did you feel about the Adrian Gonzales trade with Boston? I was not on board.
Perhaps you could do a write about that.
The Trade. Yes, I could do that.
At the time I was very surprised. I did not like Gonzalez when he was a Padre. But I understood why they did it. I just did not get why they needed the other three guys in the trade. I did warm up some to Nick Punto though. He was a gamer.
Josh Beckett was a decent pitcher for LAD who even had a no-hitter. May 25, 2014. It was my 40th wedding anniversary and we were driving home from San Luis Obispo that day. It was also 10 years to the day that Andy had his MLB debut with Boston. Carl Crawford was required due to his salary. He was a salary dump pure and simple. AGon and Manny were excellent Dodgers. Beckett and Punto served a purpose. I do not believe the Dodgers missed any of Ivan De Jesus, James Loney, Allen Webster, Rubby De La Rosa, and Jerry Sands. This was the trade that changed the attitude of LAD ownership.
Nice rundown of those 12 years, Bear!
1988: Dodgers win the World Series in Game 5 on my birthday. Best present I’ve ever received, and likely best present I ever will receive.
1989: Actually, though Hershiser was 15-15, that’s because the team didn’t score for him. He was actually pitching great all year, and lost a bunch of low scoring games.
1991: Very frustrating, as it seemed every team in the NL West was lying down for games vs the upstart Atlanta Braves and trying hard to ensure we didn’t win the division.
1993: last day of the season, I drove down from Fresno St on a Sunday morning to go watch the Dodgers beat the Giants 12-1 or whatever, to knock them out of the playoffs. Might be the most fun I’ve ever had at Dodger Stadium (till the 2022 HR contest).
In my opinion, the 3 biggest things we did wrong in the 90’s, that may have cost us at least 3 rings (in no order):
1) trade Pedro
2) trade Piazza
2) NOT sign free agent Barry Bonds, who to come home to LA after the 1992 season. That 90’s lineup which would have included Piazza, Bonds, Karros, Mondesi, Hollandsworth, etc. would’ve been electric.
If anyone here is going to the 1pm game today to welcome back Kersh, let’s link up for a drink!
I ordered a set of 1993 Studio Dodger cards. 8 cards in the set. Karros, Reed, Martinez, Wallach, Butler, Piazza, Strawberry, and Jose Offerman. Nice looking cards, no white borders, the picture and autograph take up the whole card. I get them today. Just got the 2024 Topps second series Dodger set too. Has Ohtani and Yamamoto, and Glasnow.
Why is Ohtani all of a sudden a strike out machine?
Swinging at bad pitches. He is not being patient like he was when Mookie first went down, and I have to think he is pressing just a bit trying to do too much.
I’m with you bear, the Dodgers were going through a rough patch before the AS break, and Ohtani is trying to hard to pick up the slack
I have no idea where this “all of a sudden strike out machine” talk is coming from. Shohei Ohtani has ALWAYS been a big strikeout risk. ALWAYS!! However, this year is his lowest strikeout % of his career at 23%. His career strikeout % is 25.9. MLB average is 22.7%. So Ohtani is just a bit north of MLB average. I think his OBP, SLG, OPS, HR, RBI make up for his strikeouts.
This guy can play for me anytime.
I don’t think anyone is asking to replace him Jeff, and for me it’s not about his strike out rate. As you say, big hitters seem to strike out a lot. What we’re asking is, why does he chase bad pitches so often?
My point is that he has always chased and whiffed. Always. This is not “all of a sudden”. There is not a ball that he does not think he cannot get to and he will swing at. It is nothing new, and it is not going to change.
2021 – Chase 54th percentile, Whiff 3rd percentile, K 7th percentile
2022 – Chase 57th percentile, Whiff 26th percentile, K 30th percentile
2023 – Chase 40th percentile, Whiff 12th percentile, K 35th paercentile
2024 – Chase 54th percentile, Whiff 17th percentile, K 39th percentile
Yes, the strikeouts are frustrating. But here is his statcast page with most every other batting percentile in the 91st and above percentile with most at 99-100. I have also included a copy of his spray chart showing he can hit anywhere on the field. There is a lot to complain about this LAD team, but Shohei Ohtani is not one of them no matter how many times he strikes out.
So, you’re ok with him chasing pitches out of the strike zone. Got it.
Still bugs me.
I don’t think I said that. Would I prefer him not to whiff? Of course. I am just surprised that those complaining about Shohei striking out did not acknowledge that is who he is. The wild ass K has always been there. I would also like it if every LAD hitter struck out 10% of the time. That ship has sailed. Different era, different game.
However, yes I will accept the strikeouts with all of his other accomplishments.
Ohtani has struck out 860 times in his career. The most was 189 in 2021. His OPS that year??? .965
I can live with that.
So, could I. He hit 40 homers that year. His BA was in the .250’s. Right now, he is a much better player.
Another excellent article Bear. The turmoil after the sale to Fox was annoying and confusing to say the least. “They traded who?”
Fox’s pencil pushers came in and showed their ignorance by trading one of the Dodgers iconic players without the knowledge of the GM. Unfortunately, Beltre was a free agency the offseason that Fox took over and he left for Seattle. I’m sure the Fox people didn’t even know he was a free agent at the time. What a shame. And, then to lose Piazza. Both these HOF players were lost because of corporate greed. Right from the get go. To make matters worse, the next offseason they sign the ever so pleasant Kevin Brown to a mere $100M+ contract. What a shit show that was. Brown never lived up to that contract. But, the Yankees helped the Dodgers by trading for him a couple of years later. A Fox failure, again, in trying to make up for the blunders with Piazza and Beltre.
The Dodger roster is really going through the major turnover right now. More players added to the IL as other come off that list. They probably should have a team meeting just to introduce the players to each other. Right now I would hope for health and continued development to the pitching staff and not make any moves. Arozarena is the only position player that I would pursue. But, is he going to be available? Like I have been saying, the trade deadline is going to be a difficult time for the Dodger front office.
Carry on.
Thanks Ted. When they traded Pedro, I was somewhat incredulous. I knew they needed a second baseman; they had gone through a few since Sax left, But Pedro had been one of their best pitchers, and he just had wicked stuff even then. They had Willie Randolph, Juan Samuel, Lenny Harris, and Jody Reed before DeShields came along. He only lasted 4 years. Trading Piazza infuriated me, and I vowed to not attend a game as long as FOX owned the team. Since I was on the road so much, that was easy for me to do. I never understood why they let Beltre walk. But they really ran the show more than the baseball people. Malone was a disaster; Johnson was the wrong manager at the wrong time. Another thing that was lost with O’Malley selling the team was the continuity in the franchise. The minor league managers had been with the organization for years. They knew the prospects better than most anyone. Prices went up at the ballpark right after Fox bought the team. The O’Malley’s kept the prices fan friendly for years. I remember getting box and Loge seats for just 12 bucks. The pavilion was 2.50. Fred Claire, to his credit, never said anything bad about Fox, but man I despised those guys. Wasn’t too keen on McCourt either. But he did allow Colletti to trade for Manny, who generated so much excitement that year.
Good take Ted.
They did indeed give the surly Brown exactly what Piazza was asking for. That felt like seriously bad ju ju to me.
Agree that at this point what the team needs is another nightly baller, and Arozarena might be that guy.
Brown was another of those guys I just never warmed up to. Mike Marshall, the pitcher, was another one. I want Arozarena because of his outstanding post season numbers. I like that experience and the guy is a fireplug.
Dodgers signed Jordan Lyles to a minor league contract. He was DFAed in April,
Don’t want the contract people to get rusty.
Nope.
I’m available. But I am pretty much done by 10 a.m. so gotta get me in early
We need ballers the rest of the way. Ahmed usta be one, but there’s a lot of usta was’s out there. We need a guy who can do what Lipcius is doing at AAA; playing all over the field and OPSn .860, only we need that guy to do it at the ML level, not AAA, so, I guess Lipcius is out.
Come on Andy, show us some of that magic dust GM sh*t.
Certainly not a way to motivate Lipcius. Again, why would any team want our position prospects when the Dodgers obviously don’t have much regard for them? The Dodgers keep dipping into the DFA bucket and completely disregard their “highly ranked system”. IMHO the Dodger system is highly overrated. It’s difficult to have an interest in following their development when the chance of ever playing for the Dodgers is damn near zero.
The reason they do this is because if they did select Lipcius, once Rojas came back they would have to option Lipcius, leaving him on the 40 man, knowing they need 40 man space. With Biggio and Ahmed they can DFA them not impacting the 40 man. The 40 man roster is hugely important in managing the roster. Once prospects are brought to MLB they have to stay on the 40 man or be released. The Dodgers do not want to lose them via the waiver wire.
I wanted to respond this way, Jeff just said it way better.
I think all of you guys that are talking about Arozarena’s post season numbers, are not looking at ALL of his post season numbers. He’s been in the playoffs for 5 different seasons, he has 11 HRs, and 17RBIs. The problem is that 10 of his HRs, and 14 of his RBIs all came in the 2019 season the season we were all watching him launch HRs during the world series against the Dodgers. The other four years of his playoffs he has 1HR, and 3RBIs total.
after saying all of that I’m ok if AF decides Arozarena is his man, but personally I think Roberts is a much more dangerous hitter. He is the type of hitter that can carry a team when he is right, Arozarena is more of a supporting piece.
His post season BA is .336. That is more than good enough for me. He hit 3 of those bombs against LA, including the one that gave the Rays the lead in game 6.
..and..
..and unlike Arozarena, Roberts fills a pressing need at CF, and at minimum would provide stability there for the next 2 yrs, assuming the Dodgers trainers know how to manage his health better than Chicago has so far.
And he would cost a mint. He is having a lousy year. Never assume. He is injury prone. LA does not need another fragile outfielder. I would rather have Bellinger with his superior defense than Robert. But I know neither is going to happen. If it did, I would be totally shocked.
Well, before they got him this past off-season, Glasnow had an injury plagued career, but the Dodgers did “assume” they could keep him healthy, ..and they have…so far. ..but I get your point.
Btw, I don’t buy an Outman/Pages CF platoon working out well in the playoffs, no matter how well you or anyone else tries to sell it to me.
Injury prone everyday players are different. There are a ton of pitchers out there. As we have seen, they have used 17 different starting pitchers this season. You trade for an elite CF, he keeps getting injured, you cannot just go to the minors and replace that guy.
You know Michael – Glasnow wasn’t acquired just to be any other SP pitcher who eats innings in the regular season. He (along with Yamamoto) were acquired to be elite, playoff-grade SP’s for the post season. So like an elite CF, you cannot trade for an elite SP–like Glasnow & Yammy supposedly are–if you think they’ll keep getting injured, because like an elite CF, you can neither easily replace elite, playoff-grade SP’s from the minors.
See how that works.
I know how it works; I have seen enough baseball in my life. No one expected Yamamoto’s injury. He has never had any problems before. I also would rather have playoff tested pitchers. Yamamoto has pitched in high pressure games, Japanese playoffs, finals of the WBC. Glasnow has experience in that scenario, but not much success. Flaherty has one playoff win. But a decent ERA and K ratio in his post season resume. Crochet has 3 innings pitched in 4 games. Skubal has zero post season experience. I prefer experienced guys. My go to guy in a must win game. Buehler. 101 Ks in 75 plus innings. ERA under 3. Plenty of experience in high pressure games. So, I totally get it, I just do not gut the farm for one player since one player does not guarantee a thing.
Trades are never made to “guarantee” anything, ..only at IMPROVING one’s chances of obtaining a goal(s). If guaranteeing an outcome were the goal, no trades would ever be made.
Only reason I ever say that is because some fans, not you of course, are of the mind that trading for this guy or that guy instantly means they are going to the World Series.
I think where Bear was coming from is that when you trade 7 players for 1, you should come as close to a guarantee as you can. San Diego traded 6 for Soto, and we now know the only guarantee was that Washington was quickly able to turn the corner to being competitive. That was also the year that San Diego traded 4 more for Josh Hader, although that one has not turned out quite as well for Milwaukee, but not bad at all. Robert Gasser showed great promise this year before ending his rookie season with TJ surgery. Esteury Ruiz brought them William Contreras and RHRP Joel Payamps.
I agree with Bear that there is no way AF spends all three of his top 100 prospects (Rushing, De Paula, and Freeland), top pitching prospect (Ryan), two MLB players (Pages and Vargas), and a future top 100 OF propsect (Quintero), for Tarik Skubal. That leaves very little to deal for an OF bat, or a 3B bat, and/or backend high leverage reliever.
Skubal is in the middle of his breakout career year at 27, with two more years control. He is a Scott Boras client, so he is not a candidate for extension. I prefer his teammate, Jack Flaherty, who will come at a far less cost, leaving assets for the team’s other needs.
And as of now, you haven’t given me a convincing reason(s) why you know the Dodgers could never hope to fix Roberts past injury issues.
But it’s irrelevant at this point because – IF the W/Sox are inclined to trade him now ..and IF the Dodgers believe their trainers would make a difference in keeping him healthy, the Dodgers WILL attempt (and I’m betting are now attempting) to acquire Roberts as I type this.
And this is happening whether you, or I, or anyone else likes it or not. End Of.
I really don’t care one way or another. It is simply my opinion that spending that much prospect talent on a player who has that much negative history is a waste of assets. AF will target whomever he feels improves the team’s chances. I don’t see that other than defensively, that Robert Jr is an upgrade. So far, he still is striking out too much and not hitting for power.
Okay, I can accept your opposition to acquiring Roberts based on his performance history. But I’m simply not convinced the Dodgers are dissuaded to get Roberts based on his injury history – which was our point of disagreement earlier when you replied to me with this — “Never assume. He is injury prone. LA does not need another fragile outfielder.”
So I’m done, time to move on.
Of course they did. Very risky of the Dodgers to wait so long to sign him. But, that’s why they make the big bucks! This could be that player that will be the subject of one of Bear’s articles in ten years or so. “The pitcher who solidified the Dodger staff”. This is written with complete sarcasm (except the part about Bear).
Depending on how long CT3 will be out and how long Max will be out and how desperate we are, we could talk to the Angels about Brandon Drury.
He’s having a horrendous year so the Angels would probably give him away for nothing since he’s going to be a free agent. Only problem is he’s got about 3 mil left on his contract for this year.
He can play 2B, 3B and OF and maybe a change of scenery…………………
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
First go after Paredes, Hoerner, Bishette, etc, but if all that fails………..
I bet this is one player that Arte would be willing to trade to us, Bear.
Just saw that we might have interest in Ian Happ (sorry, can’t remember where I saw that). I have interest in Happ. Anyone else here have interest in Happ?
I first wrote about Happ when he was with the Iowa Cubs in 2017. I was watching OKC playing their 1st series of the year after Cody Bellinger just was sent down after his great ST. I came away very impressed with Happ who was a 2B at the time. I have continually brought his name up over the years. I believe he has been on Bums watch list as well. At $20MM annually AAV for the next two years he might be a tad too expensive. Randy Arozarena is a much better RH bat for LF.
From the Cubs, I would rather have Nico Hoerner.
Bichette is on the IL, no reason to go after him with Ahmed at SS. Bichette can’t carry his glove. And if he hit’s around .250 for LA, that is just fine.
The Chicago sports talk guys are discussing Crochet and had this note from John (not Paul) Heyman:
Interestingly, Heyman also adds that Crochet would request a contract extension from the team that acquires him in order to agree to pitch in October. Crochet has already thrown 111.1 innings in 2024, which is 26 more than he had thrown in his entire pro career coming into the season.
I’d extend him. A deferred extension into his late 30’s.
And I have interest in Happ Jefe. He’s hitting .280 and OPSn .860. Oh wait. I think that’s Lipcius. But Happ can do what Taylor does, right? He shouldn’t be too expensive.
Happ has a 2.2 bWAR so far this year as opposed to CT’s -0.8, although he’s about 50% more expensive, salary wise.
So Crochet would insist on an extension in order to pitch in October. Let me get this straight, Doc says “you’re starting Game 1” and Crochet says “I’m staying home because you didn’t extend me”?
I just read a proposed trade in the Athletic where the Dodgers get Crochet and the WS get Stone, Pages, Rushing, and Ferris. Bowden completely disregards the fact that Crochet is reaching the issue of career innings limit as is Stone. HE also calls Crochet a Cy Young candidate. And then to throw Pages, Rushing, AND Ferris into the deal seems to me to be an extreme overpay. But, again, it’s Jim Bowden and his nonsensical proposals.
Rushing and Ferris, OK. Add Stone and Pages, uh no.
Bowden, in all his years as an analyst, has never gotten one single trade right.
He didn’t get many right as a GM either, but his trade scenarios are always fun to pick apart, including this one. Putting Stone in there is a non starter.
Do not be surprised if AF does not come away with Garrett Crochet or Tarik Skubal at the deadline. The GMs for both CWS and Detroit are not stupid, and know that they hold the cards for an extreme overpay for their CY candidates. Jim Bowden’s proposal may not be that far off what Chris Getz is expecting for Crochet. He does not have to trade Crochet, and as Ken Rosenthal explains below, the number of teams that could actually be interested in Crochet next winter will dwarf the number of negotiating teams this deadline. Pay the Bowden price or walk away.
Per Ken Rosenthal’s Notebook:
Totally agree. Plus Crochet’s pending usage (going to pen first) is not ideal.
per Skubal, I think some here (and elsewhere) are envisioning this to be a second coming of Sale/Moncada.
iMHO, that’s wishful.
While your point is valid, Crotchet getting injured again between now and the end of the season would destroy that long-term plan. ..if indeed the Sox play the waiting game with him.
*Orel had interesting advice for Ramirez. Orel was referring to natural movement. I tool it differently. Since his control is so shitty, just aim down the middle and it will never end up there.
That’s great advice for bad pitchers.
*I have always like Nick Ahmed. I love veteran players with pride in his game. Ahmed shows up, out of nowhere, knowing he’s filling in until Rojas gets back and he goes out and busts his ass to make plays. That’s just an inspiration to me.
*So there’s a built in dilemma with “innings and pitch management”. A catch 22.
The fear of over-work and arm injuries has made a quality start one where the starter goes 5 or 6 innings and 85 – 100 pitches.
Obviously, that leaves 3 or 4 innings for the bullpen, every single night. And soon there’s another concern about over-working the 8 guys in the bullpen, having to cover 28 innings a week +/-. The equivalent of 3 full games per week. The computer analytics decide pitchers use for specific matchups, using more arms.
I don’t see a solution to “fix” this dilemma that’s been created, short of expanding the rosters two more pitchers or reducing the number of games, which won’t happen.
As a side note – I saw a stat about “innings management” for pitcher’s arm health. The suggestion was a pitcher should not exceed his previous season’s innings total by more than 30%.
Glasnow has only started 107 games in 9 seasons. Only 2 seasons has he exceeded 100 innings; last year was one of them at 120 innings.
Glasnow and others are drawing attention with an innings ceiling being the new hot topic. I’m no math major, but a 30% increase from his high of 120, puts him at a ceiling of 156 innings. He currently has 114 innings so he has 42 more innings until his arm falls off. At 5 innings per outing he has 8.5 games left this season for his $27 million.
(sarcasm alert)
I’m all for expanding the rosters to 28 during the regular season and they could even stipulate 15 have to be pitchers.
I’m sure the players’ union would agree to it in a minute and the owners would say no way because they don’t want to pay two more salaries. That’s just stupid thinking because it might save some pitchers they have under contract from missing a year for TJ surgery.
I think they need a taxi squad. Why would the owners say no? They pay injured players full salaries all the time. And if a couple of those guys are at minimum wage, it is not going to hurt their pocket books.
If neither side would object how come this wasn’t done a long time ago?
Who knows, sometimes the game moves at a snails pace.
Sometimes??? Why are they dragging their feet on the Robo Umps? A taxi squad of pitchers would be a good idea.
Long term injuries are sometimes paid with insurance money
They still have to pay huge amounts of money for that insurance.
I don’t understand the desire for Hoerner. He doesn’t move the needle. He is another 250 hitter with no power. He runs a little and might be a tad more versatile than lux. But he fits right into Kiké, lux, Taylor, Rojas. At best mb a slight upgrade. At worst mb not as good as what we have. In my humble opinion Taylor was trending the best of our bench players n now hurt. I would rather bring up Gauthier.
Gauthier has played a little over 140 games at AAA. He has played a majority of his games at SS. He is at best, a mediocre defender at SS. He is best at 2b and the outfield, mostly left. He is terrible at third. Lipcius is a little older, has had a cup of coffee in the majors and plays first, second third and the outfield. He also brings a power bat. Gauthier does not.
Ok bring up Lucius then. Just don’t c any need to waste prospect capital for someone who looks like what we have.
Seriously? You would rather have an unproven MiLB utility player who is not a plus defender anywhere, over a GG 2B? Hoerner is only 2 years older than Gauthier and is already a 4-5 year MLB player. He is a SS who moved to 2B for Dansby Swanson. He has no power, but he does not strike out much at all. He is striking out at a 10.5% rate at MLB. Gauthier is also a good bat to ball player, but he is striking out at 15.8% rate at AAA. His AAA numbers – .271/.395/.381/.776.
Gauthier has a great eye and a great story, but is not a MLB infielder now.
Hoerner’s career MLB hitting – .275/.338/.377/.715 + GG defense.
I am just not in favor of going after Hoerner. I know Gauthier has not proven himself but I don’t want to spend our capitol on Hoerner when I figure he is not a difference maker. I mean we have gone with guys like Kiké, Biggio, Ramirez, etc and was told we have a 7-8 game lead so no urgency. Like Hoerner but I would rather c a different play. I would be willing to live with Gauthier until we can do better. He can’t be any worse than Biggio etc.
I agree with Jeff on this one. It’s hard to compare a player who has never played in the majors to a veteran Major leaguer who has nearly 2k PA. Hoerner hasn’t been more than an average hitter, but he’s a contact hitter with a ton of speed and a good glove. I would take him over Gauthier, not that I wouldnt want to see what Gauthier has.
I know Hoerner is better than Gauthier. He is solid and slightly above average. I just wanted the Dodgers to reach higher. While they are looking Gauthier might help them tread water. He would be a regular but at what cost. We already have guys similar. I would rather c Gauthier gain experience over Biggio but I realize they wanted a lefty hitter. Look how that has turned out.
Totally agree about Gauthier over Biggio.
Are you then willing to DFA Gauthier once Muncy comes back? Being optioned will not be enough to get Muncy back on the roster. Someone is going to need to be DFA. Gauthier will have a very valuable 40 man spot that will be needed. The non pitchers on the 40 man and not on the IL or 26 man…Diego Cartaya and Hunter Feduccia. Biggio is clearly a DFA candidate. So if you had Gauthier instead of Biggio sitting on a bench, and Muncy returns this year, which of the three are you releasing? Also, by the end of the season, I believe you will have the same negative comments about Gauthier that you have had for Lux, Vargas, Outman, and all LAD prospects who cannot make it right away at the MLB level. Gauthier has a .767 OPS at OKC while Outman has a .930 OPS. BTW Badger, Lipcius has a .852 OPS.
if you’re asking me which of the three between Gauthier, Cartaya, and Feduccia I would be DFAing to clear 40-man room? That’s hard to answer. None of them have played in the majors, and two of the three at least are considered top prospects and could be used in trades.
I’m assuming they could just DFA Biggio, or there are a couple of other bums that have been generally useless they could dump from the 40-man.
Do you really need Nick Ramirez on the 40?
“that you have had for Lux, Vargas, Outman, and all LAD prospects who cannot make it right away at the MLB level. Gauthier has a .767 OPS at OKC while Outman has a .930 OPS. BTW Badger, Lipcius has a .852 OPS.”
To answer this question, I wouldn’t say Lux sucks, if he didn’t suck. He’s been a below average hitter with almost no power for 1300 PA and 5 years in the majors. yet people are still claiming that he’s great. The performance and results don’t match with reality. How much longer does he get? 7 years? 10?
As for the other guys, theyve gotten considerably less playing time than Lux, but have produced very little. Vargas has been horrible. Pages has been servicable at the plate, poor on defense. Outman had a good year in 2023, but this year has been a disaster. IMO, none of them are very good, and the Dodgers could upgrade. I think 2-3 years is accetapble timeframe for guys to figure it out. Lux is way past that timeline.
MLBTR reporting that the Dodgers and Yankees have an interest in Rich Hill. Seriously? Dick Mountain is way over the HILL. 44 years old had a ERA over 5 last year. No decision on Taylor yet, but Outman is supposed to be at the ballpark by game time. And according to someone on X, Yohan Ramirez no longer has a locker in the Dodger clubhouse.
They’ve DFA’d Yohan, but have told him he can take his locker with him.
Dick Mountain may be over the HILL, but he’d cost a lot less in prospects than Skubal or Crochet. Maybe we should sign him and save the prospects. Waddya think, Bear?
Game 1 of the World Series, Skubal or Crochet or Hill?
Just realized Pages has Rich’s old number so if we sign him we have to trade Andy.
We just dropped Paxton. No to Hill.
Ramirez DFAed, Kershaw activated. No word on Taylor yet.
Freddie Freeman‘s evening at the ballpark Wednesday turned into a night at a local hospital … as his wife says the MLB star raced from Dodger Stadium to a nearby emergency room to be with their sick son.
Chelsea Freeman said in a post on her Instagram page — just before Freddie and the Dodgers took on the Giants in L.A. — that Maximus, the couple’s youngest boy, needed a prayer after he had come down with what doctors believed was transient synovitis.
Freddie joined them immediately after L.A. lost 8-3 … and the couple stayed with their son in a hospital room until around 3:30 AM PT.
Thankfully, Chelsea said Maximus’ prognosis now looks good.
For those who did not see it, here is a Josue De Paula HR. This is his 1st at Dow Diamond, Great Lakes home stadium.
Looks like the first half Dodgers are back…baby! 8-1 defeat, 2 hits. Another Yohan Ramirez disaster. Thankfully he is gone. I’m sure if Kershaw wasn’t being activated Ramirez would still be on the team and still be pitching high leverage innings. The Dodgers loved his terrible pitching. And please tell me we don’t have to watch Nick Ahmed start at shortstop for the next several weeks. We’ve sufferred enough with having to watch so many other replacement level drivel. it still amazes me how little management cares for winning baseball games. processes, data and favortisim, that’s more important for them.
I feel bad for Glasnow. They never score runs for him. Keeping with Bear’s 90’s theme here, I remember as a teenager watching Ismael valdez pitch and it seemed as if the Dodgers never gave him run support either. I have noticed that Glasnow either seems to be running out of gas, or maybe the injury, but he has not been as effective as he was in April and May. He’s a good pitcher, but this is what happens when health and innings are not considered when acquiring starting pitchers.
I’m not expecting Friedman to get Crochett, or anyone impactful. But one guy the Dodgers should take a look at re-acquiriing is Zach Eflin. I think a couple of guys over here brought up his name, and he’s had a pretty solid run over the last couple of years. He’s not flashy, but would give them a solid option in the rotation.
Let’s hope we see vintage Kerahaw tonight.
Get your facts straight Scott. The score was 8-3 and they had 5 hits. Ahmed will be fine, he is a great defensive SS, and there is really not a better SS available for trade yet. And he hits enough, he is damn sure better than Lux was. The loss is on Ramirez, and he is gone. They really didn’t have anyone else. The pen is gassed. But they win 5 in a row, lose one, and you start ranting? Man, quit with the doom and gloom crap.
He’s just looking for reactions like yours, Bear.
I know, his spiel is old. All he does is complain and says the powers that be do not want to win. Pure bullshit. Winning makes them more money. Ramirez did ok until he didn’t. They had no other options last night per Roberts. Mason Miller to the IL with a broken pinky finger. Correction, broken hand. No way he gets traded.
My bad yes 8-3., and 5 hits.
My spiel is old and gets under your skin sometimes because you know there is truth to it. At least a little.
Im sorry Bear, but Ramirez was pretty terrible, 5.52 ERA and 9.8 Hits per nine. Is that good? I find it hard to believe they had no other options last night, but if that were true, who’s fault is that? Wouldnt that be management’s fault for running the bullpen into the ground every night and not getting enough innings out of the starters?
Are we now hyping up Nick Ahmed, of the .234 career avg and 75 OPS+?
Do you not see the warts with manegement?
Just exactly who should the Dodgers have acquired to replace Miggy Ro? I do not remember seeing Frankie Lindor’s name out there. Willie Adames? Dansby Swanson? I was surprised that Ahmed was actually available as he is a quality backup SS. The Dodgers could certainly have paid a prospect price for Paul DeJong, but he is not better than Ahmed defensively. And that is why Ahmed is there, for his defense. Any offense is icing.
Trey Sweeney – Maybe a MLB SS someday, but not this year.
Austin Gauthier – Maybe a MLB utility player, but not this year.
Chris Owings – He is no longer a MLB infielder
Andre Lipcius – He is not a SS
Alex Freeland – He is still trying to navigate AA
If any of the infielders at OKC/Tulsa can play at the MLB level this year, they would be. AF/BG are not holding them back. There are no SS being mentioned as legit trade targets. They are paying Ahmed MLB minimum. A 2-time GG SS at MLB minimum? Why are you complaining?
I’ve seen you complain about this topic many times in your posts, about there being no quality shortstops in the organization behind Mookie, and Rojas, and the pipeline being dry as a bone. I’ve agreed with you.
But that’s my point. The complaint isn’t specifically about Ahmed. I understand he’s just a temporary stopgap until Rojas or Mookie return. The complaint is about management relying on Lux to be the shortstop before the season started (even though he’s been very bad) and not having anyone else to replace him and being forced to move Mookie there.
Because why would they need a SS when Lux is a superstar, and Mookie and Rojas never get hurt.
Yes, I have been critical of management not having a top SS they can call on, or even a serviceable SS. That is different than being critical of who they sign to be backup SS. I do not think it is easy drafting an elite SS where they have drafted. They still could have drafted an IFA, but thus far they have not. I do not want to hear about Trea Turner or Corey Seager. The Dodgers were not going to pay either player $350MM+++, and neither player ever gave an inkling that they wanted to stay with LAD.
I have been critical of the Dodgers not drafting Gunnar Henderson countless times. So did 28 other teams. That was 2019. It is time to move on. But other than Henderson, there are not any who have been available for LAD to draft. Wait for Alex Freeland, Joendry Vargas, or Emil Morales – or trade for one or sign a FA. Of course complaining also works.
One reason I believe that if they trade for Bichette at all, it will be this winter, but only if they can see that his calf problem is over. They do not need another fragile player.
I think they offerred Seager a contract but they lowballed him, and looks like he just wanted to leave for Texas, but Trea absolutely wanted to stay,
Phillies’ Trea Turner might’ve stayed with Dodgers if they’d offered. Now, a void remains | FOX Sports
“But I would love to be here. That’s step one, is wanting to be here, and I definitely could see myself playing here.”
“Turner said. “But I definitely would’ve considered it, would’ve entertained it. I thought they would be in on me. They weren’t.”
“From the conversations I had, they told me they would be there in free agency and have conversations and stuff,” Turner said. “But then, once free agency opened, didn’t have too much contact with them. We didn’t talk to them very much; I think it might have been one or two phone calls in two months or so.”
“You’re like, ‘Man, I just played there. Did they not want me?'” Turner said. “
“I entertained one West Coast team,” Turner said. “I definitely would’ve entertained another, especially one that I enjoyed playing for and was familiar with. It didn’t work out.”
And……
Trea Turner ‘would’ve considered’ staying with the Dodgers, who now need a shortstop – The Athletic (nytimes.com)
Turner- ““one of the best uniforms to put on””
There is no question that Turner was at least open to returning to the Dodgers, IMO, if you can pay 700M to Ohtani, you probably can afford another 350 to keep Turner around.
But that’s all in the past. Sorry Jeff, I’m just telling it like I see it. I know I complain a lot, its just in my nature I guess.
I thought it was a great acquisition. No risk. If we are counting on our back up SS to provide offense, then we are in big trouble and the big guns are not getting it done.
I think you totally misunderstand just how much this ownership wants to win. I also think that if the injury bug had not hit this team this hard, you would never have seen either Ramirez they have used this season. Every team has warts Scott. You have an unhealthy disdain for Freidman. I know he has made some bad decisions, but he has found some gems too. You put Brasier, Graterol in the pen, and it is a different group. Grove was pitching great before he went down. The reason they had no other options is because their starting staff is so decimated that they have had to use four rookies as starters in the last 5 games. If you can’t see that as a reason, well, I am sorry for you. The guys on the roster today, will not be the 26 on the roster come playoff time. They will add a bat, and an arm or two. Might not be Crochet or Skubal. But they will add someone. By the way, Ahmed is a gold glove caliber defender, and today, the guy hit the go-ahead homer in the bottom of the eighth. He hit/s .250 the rest of the way, with his defense, they can put Mookie back at second, or back in the outfield, Team gets stronger.
I understand injuries play a huge role in this Bear. I know. Also though, there has been a lot of mismanagement on both sides of the ball, and in roster construction. A lot of ego, and relying on injured and underperforming players, or just general neglect. and it’s been a huge factor in the playoffs.
A lot of other posters have seen this and pointed it out, inlcuding Jeff D.
But how funny is it that I complain about Ahmed, and he goes 2 for 4 and hits a home run. Every time I complain about something, the Dodgers win, or the guy homers.
at this rate, I would think you guys would love my complaininig by now.
From the other Jeff, on this post….
“Regarding Glasnow, he really is starting to remind me of Lance Lynn. Both can be prolific SO pitchers. Both are eminently hittable. He lacked command and control and doesn’t seem to have the endurance that a body like his should have. His history of injury is significant at such a young age. He was supposed to be our Ace and looked it for several weeks, but he is sinking steadily. Our pitching staff will need another overhaul for next season at this rate. Injuries, surgeries, lack of conditioning, endurance, and very little domination. Our bats have probably won more games than our pitching. We need a change in the FO as this has gone on long enough. I am quickly running out of patience with this group. The corporate Dodgers continue…………..”
It’s not just me Bear.
BTW, I agree about Glasnow, he’s a good pitcher, but doesnt seem like he can make it through October.
Hey, I get it, I just disagree. Glasnow is going to be fine. He just never got into a rhythm.
Would be nice if the offense gave Glasnow some support.
Yes it would. It is tough to pitch perfect.
Cease no-hits the Nats, 3-0
Taylor placed on 10-IL and James Outman activated.
For all those who do not see value in defense, just ask Kershaw how he feels about Pages, Lux (twice), and Teoscar.
Hope Lux’ defense normalizes, because the bat plays!
.225/.276/.335 73 OPS+
That bat plays?
Thanks for the reply!
.225/.276/.335 73 OPS+
Career line .246/.317/371 89 OPS+ 1297 PA
You cannot stop Barnes you can only hope to contain him!! Mb Barnes should b the starting catcher(sarcasm)
Keith Law updated his top 60 prospects ($$$$)
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5656143/2024/07/25/mlb-top-prospects-2024-jackson-holliday/
DePaula at 14
Rushing at 31
Rushing is at 31.
And Law expects him to be traded by the deadline. I hope we get something good for him.
I’ve been thinking about that Yoan Moncada deal.
Lots of people thought Moncada was a magnificent prospect.
Sale was exceptional that year. Moncada hasn’t amounted to much. Kopech has been okay.
It just reiterates that a lot of time prospects are over-valued by their teams’ fanbase and by experts alike.
Then again, look at what the Nats got for 1.5 years of Soto.
ya, both sides of the argument there. Overall, what happens more, the team getting the prospects wins, or the team getting the star wins?
I’d guess it’s the team acquiring the star, (aside from a James Shields/Tatis deal or a Jeff Bagwell/Doyle Alexander deal)
With all of the criticism about the LAD lack of an elite SS, I thought that I would look at Keith Law’s top 60. There were 13 SS included.
• Jackson Holliday
• Marcelo Mayer
• Jordan Lawler
• Colt Emerson
• JJ Wetherholt
• Carson Williams
• Felnin Celesten (Dominican)
• Jett Williams
• Leodalis De Vries (Dominican)
• Michael Arroyo (Colombia)
• Kevin McGonigle
• Cole Young
• Arjun Nimmala
Of that group, the Dodgers had a chance at only one…Kevin McGonigle. McGonigle was drafted by Detroit, one pick after Kendall George. Carson Williams was drafted one pick before LAD drafted Maddux Bruns. So not a miss.
I would love to know how much position and positional depth (through the Dodgers system) impacts drafting.
Maybe there’s a preference for catchers? But those are mostly signings (Ruiz, Cartaya, Liranzo, Galiz, Yeiner F), not draft picks (except Rushing and Wong, but that doesn’t seem to be a preference)
I am quietly excited (ok not excited but maybe) about this Ahmed signing.
I’m old school so I think a Gold Glove SS is invaluable. Maybe it’s a bad comp, but to me it’s like having a Dennis Rodman, or a Ben Wallace. Any offense is a bonus but the defense is elite and can change games.
Admit it, Bobby, you got slightly more excited after the homer.
I did.
The payback to the team who just dumped him was fantastic.
Mason Miller out with a broken left hand.
I read it was his left pinky finger
I’m sure he will be out for a while
Arizona has just acquired LHRP AJ Puk from Miami for prospects. One of the prospects is corner infielder Deyvison De Los Santos (#14 prospect). The second is OF Andrew Pintar (#30 prospect). On paper this is a steal for Arizona.
The other player is Andrew Pintar, their #30.
We could have had him and I think you and I were both on his case earlier in the week. Why don’t they listen to us?
I do not know. My phone has been open all day.
I like this deal.
Trading for a reliever worked for Arizona last year, why not try it again.
Miami gets two prospects for a reliever, FanGraphs liked them better at #12 and #22.
A.J. Puk: Since moving back to the bullpen after starting the season in the rotation, he has a 2.08 ERA over 30.1 innings with 33 strikeouts and opponents are slashing .159/.204/.252.
Per Kiley:
Deyvison De Los Santos has had a fascinating 8 months
– Nov 2023: not added to ARZ 40-man roster
– Dec 2023: Rule 5 pick by CLE
– Mar 2024: returned to ARZ (cleared waivers)
– June 2024: turned 21 while in AAA
he’s hitting .325/.376/.635 with 28 HR in 87 games in AA/AAA this yr
So there is a line of thought that if the Giants become seller’s they could trade Snell. Given the Dodgers had interest in Snell as a free agent would the Giants trade to a division rival?
They might for the right return, but Snell has one of those opt out situations where he leaves if he’s good and you’re stuck with him if he’s not. No thanks.
I have no way of knowing this, but my gut feeling is no way do the Giants trade with us.
Last trade with SF was almost 20 years ago, and it did not involve a major player.
Nae chance