I guess I picked a good game to miss (Saturday). I got home, saw the score, and then came to the site, and it read as if the Dodgers were on their way to last place this year. So what is wrong with the Dodgers? Nothing that 10 runs and Tyler Glasnow can’t fix. 8.0 shutout innings from Glasnow with 10 K’s and 0 BB. Shutting down a team that was averaging 7 runs per game for the last 11 games coming into Sunday.
Number of starts with 7+ IP, 0 ER, 0 BB & 10+ K in a single season (Dodgers history)
4 – Clayton Kershaw (2015)
3 – Sandy Koufax (1965)
2 – Tim Leary (1988), Walker Buehler (2019), Tyler Glasnow (2024)It's only April @baseball_ref pic.twitter.com/37g87324xc
— Blake Harris (@BlakeHHarris) April 21, 2024
Tyler Glasnow is the first MLB pitcher this season to pitch eight scoreless while racking up double-digit strikeouts.
🎞: via Dodgers on IG https://t.co/E02lnbAROP pic.twitter.com/NBwwlyTMzU
— Dodgers Tailgate (@DodgersTailgate) April 21, 2024
Home runs by Shohei (2-run) and Andy Pages (3-run). Two doubles from Freddie Freeman, who is now 4-6 with 5 RBI his last two games, and showing signs of warming up. 2 potential SB attempts being thrown out by Will Smith. No errors.
Ohtani’s HR (176th career) was a record breaker. He broke Hideki Matsui’s record for most HR’s by a Japanese player. It took Matsui 10 years (2003-2012). This is Ohtani’s 7th season, with another 138 games to go this season.
Shohei's record-breaking 176th homer was a sight to see. pic.twitter.com/hHJEk4i9IP
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 21, 2024
On the flip side, this was Andy Pages’ 1st career HR.
The first of many home runs in the major league career of one Andy Pages. #Dodgers and their fans celebrate. And you know what, laughers are funny.
pic.twitter.com/7tddlfynjv— Howard Cole (@Howard_Cole) April 21, 2024
Pages also hit a double (2), as did Will Smith (6).
For the first 8 games of the home stand the Dodgers were 15-77 WRISP (.195) and 26-132 WRISP (.197) over last 15 games. For Sunday, the Dodgers were 5-11 WRISP (.455). Hitting WRISP does aid a team in scoring and winning game.
Most point to the LAD pitching as the vulnerable spot with this roster.
The Dodgers started ST with the following potential starters/relievers:
Starters:
- Tyler Glasnow
- Yoshinobu Yamamoto
- Bobby Miller – IL Shoulder Inflammation
- James Paxton
- Gavin Stone
- Emmet Sheehan – IL forearm Inflammation
- Landon Knack
- Kyle Hurt – IL Shoulder Inflammation
- River Ryan – MiLB 60 Day IL (Stretch to consider starter option at ST, but still another injury).
Starters beginning the season on IL:
- Walker Buehler – TJ surgery – Due back in May
- Clayton Kershaw – Shoulder surgery – Due back August”ish”
- Dustin May – Flexor tendon surgery – Due back around All Star Break – Probably as a reliever
- Tony Gonsolin – TJ surgery – Due back 2025
- Nick Frasso – Shoulder surgery – Due back 2025
Hybrid:
- Ryan Yarbrough
- Michael Grove
The team is down to five “healthy” starters, and a pair of healthy hybrids.
Walker Buehler will have his next rehab start next Wednesday, April 24, for OKC. He is going to have to pitch better on Wednesday to get a clearer picture of his MLB reinstatement date.
FWIW, per Dave Roberts, Miller will start throwing this weekend. Sheehan will start throwing next week.
Outside of AAAA players who signed MiLB contracts, there is no help in MiLB. Nabil Crismatt (back to starting at OKC) and Elieser Hernández???
Relievers:
The two relievers that started the season on the IL remain there: Brusdar Graterol and Blake Treinen. In-season acquisition Connor Brogdon pitched one game and then went on the IL (Plantar Fascitis).
The others? Outside of Evan Phillips, they’re just not very good right now. ERA for those relievers with more than 8.0 IP:
- Evan Phillips – 1.04 ERA
- Alex Vesia – 2.45 ERA
- Daniel Hudson – 2.70 ERA
- Ryan Yarbrough – 3.86 ERA
- Ryan Brasier – 6.23 ERA
- Michael Grove – 6.43 ERA
- Joe Kelly – 7.00 ERA
Nick Ramirez is now with the MLB team and is promising considering what the other options are. 4 games, 5.0 IP, 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 BB, 1 K. Those numbers would indicate that Nick pitches to contact, and Sunday’s game provided the exclamation point.
The others on the 40 man – J. P. Feyereisen, Ricky Vanasco, Gus Varland, and Eduardo Salazar. Feyereisen and Varland have not pitched well, and Salazar never got into a game.
Bottom line, the Dodgers are going to need the pitchers on the IL to get healthy. There is no real help down in MiLB like there has been the last couple of years (Pepiot, Miller, Sheehan, Stone, Grove, Hurt (relief)).
I am not as worried about Yoshinobu Yamamoto as many others. Yamamoto has always been a command and control pitcher. The strike zone in Japan is smaller than MLB. Balls that were at the top of the zone in Japan are probably in a sweet spot for MLB hitters that feast on high fastballs. He is going to have to learn to elevate that-seamer more and get it above the MLB zone.
Yamamoto basically throws 3 pitches: 4-seamer (37%), curve (28.6%), splitter (27.3%). The only pitch that is being hit has been the 4-seamer:
- 4-seamer – .355 BA, .371 XBA, .710 SLG, .665 XSLG
- Curve – .208 BA, .212 XBA, .375 SLG, .304 XSLG
- Splitter – .115 BA, .163 XBA, .192 SLG, .226 XSLG
Better command placement of that 4-seamer, and Yoshi will be the pitcher they saw in Japan. Yoshi is 25 and throwing with a smaller ball. I predicted he would be ROY, and I have no reason to back off that prediction. I think we will see a completely different (better) pitcher beginning in June than we saw in the beginning of the year.
He is still 5 years younger than Shōta Imanaga and 6 years younger than Kodai Senga. I am okay that he is starting a bit slower than Imanaga, who has been excellent. In the longer run, Yamamoto will be difference maker.
The bottom of the order may have got a glimmer of a good look with Andy Pages. Make no mistake, it is still a problem. More on the hitting woes are coming up in a soon to be published post.
While the Dodgers have had mediocre to poor pitching results, they really are not all that different from the Atlanta Braves, tie with best record in NL.
Using ERA as the comparative metric:
- Dodgers – 4.13 (Overall – #17), 3.91 (Starter – #14), 4.35 (Reliever – #20).
- Braves – 4.17 (Overall – #18), 4.74 (Starter – #24), 3.42 (Reliever – #10).
The LAD starters’ ERA got a big boost after Glasnow’s gem. The Dodgers relievers have thrown more innings (103.1) than any other team. That is 8.9 innings more than the next team with the highest relief innings pitched. More games like Glasnow’s and that metric will be reduced. More games like Stone’s, not so much.
The Dodgers are 13-11 after Sunday’s game. This is not the first time a Dodgers’ team has had similar starts, and I believe each year, the fans were convinced the team was not any good.
- 2023 – Started 13-11 – Final record 100-62
- 2022 – Started 17-7 – Final record 111-51
- 2021 – Started 15-9 – Final record 106-56
- 2019 – Started 15-9 – Final record 106-56
- 2018 – Started 11-13 – Final record 92-71 – 18-26 on 05/19 (Game 44); 4th place 6.0 GB
- 2017 – Started 12-12 – Final record 104-58
- 2016 – Started 12-12 – Final record 91-71 – 21-23 on 05/21 (Game 44); 3rd place 4.5 GB
- 2015 – Started 16-8 – Final record 92-70
- 2014 – Started 13-11 – Final record 94-68
- 2013 – Started 12-12 – Final record 92-70 – 30-42 on 06/21 (Game 72); 5th place 9.5 GB
So after a 13-11 start, I am not about to give up on this team. Holes? To be sure! Can they be fixed? I guess we will find out.
MiLB GAME SUMMARY REPORTS
OKC Baseball Club 5 – Sacramento River Cats (Giants) 4
OKC jumped out to a 5-0 lead. Drew Avans led off with a single and Miguel Vargas drew a BB. Trey Sweeney singled home Avans, and when the CF had a fielding error, Vargas scored, and Sweeney moved to third. Sweeney scored on a ground ball.
In the 2nd inning, Hunter Feduccia drew a BB and moved to 3rd on a Jonathan Araúz double. Both runners scored on a Drew Avans single and a 5-0 lead.
Eduardo Salazar was the starting pitcher for OKC and pitched the first three scoreless innings even while navigating traffic. In the 4th, a BB and 2 singles scored a River Cat’s run.
John Rooney, Gus Varland, and Jesse Hahn each pitched a scoreless inning.
Ricky Vanasco relieved Hahn. Sacramento opened the inning with three straight singles and a BB scored a run. A sacrifice fly scored a 2nd run and left runners on 1st and 3rd. Michael Petersen relieved Vanasco, and immediately surrendered a run scoring single. Sacramento creeped within 1. Petersen got out of the inning and Kevin Gowdy came in to close the game.
Gowdy retired the side in order with 2 Ks to record his 4th save.
Jonathan Araúz went 2-for-4 with a double and scored a run. He extended his hitting streak to 11 games and he is 13-for-44 during the stretch with five doubles and a home run. His hitting streak is the longest in the PCL to start the season.
Drew Avans went 3-for-5 with two RBI, scored a run and recorded two stolen bases. It was his second three-hit game of the season, while his two stolen bases and two RBI were season highs…Avans moved into a tie for second place on OKC’s all-time career leaders list for stolen bases during the Bricktown era (since 1998) as he now has 87. He also moved into sole possession of seventh place on OKC’s career hits list with 339 total hits.
Trey Sweeney went 1-for-4 with a RBI and scored a run and has now reached base safely in each of his first 20 Triple-A games. He owns the longest on-base streak in the PCL to start the season.
Miguel Vargas (6) and Hunter Feduccia (3) each hit doubles.
Wichita Wind Surge (Twins) 6 – Tulsa Drillers 2
With 2 outs in the 2nd, Taylor Young singled, stole 2B (5) and scored on a Brandon Lewis single.
Hyun-il Choi drew the start for Tulsa. After two scoreless innings, he issued a BB who scored on a double to tie the score. With a BB and 2 HBP, the 2nd run scored.
In the 4th, the Drillers tied it up with 2 BB, a F-9, and a sacrifice fly.
In the bottom of the 4th, Choi issued a 1 out walk, and Juan Morillo came in to relieve. The first two batters Morillo faced each drew BB to load the bases. Morillo balked in a run, and after a 2nd out, Morillo offered up a 3-run HR, and a 6-2 lead.
Michael Hobbs (2.0 IP), Logan Boyer (1.0 IP), and Braydon Fisher (1.0 IP) finished the game without allowing an additional run.
- Chris Alleyne – 2-4
- José Ramos – 1-4, double (2)
- Brandon Lewis – 1-3, sac fly, 2 RBI
West Michigan Whitecaps (Detroit) 8 – Great Lakes Loons 4
The Great Lakes Loons left 13 runners on base, and the West Michigan Whitecaps accumulated 14 hits to grab the series finale.
Up 4-2, the Whitecaps scored three runs in the seventh inning. After Michael Martinez induced two groundouts, a walk, and two 0-2 pitches were singles, one by Roberto Compos and a two-run single from Izzac Pacheco. Both runs on Pacheco’s single scored on a throw up the line, it also allowed him to get to third. Peyton Graham singled to plate Pacheco.
In the middle innings, the Loons stranded six runners on base. Whitecaps starter Carlos Marcano worked around an error and walked in the fourth, forcing a popup. In the fifth, Liranzo hit a ball 109 miles per hour right into a 4-6 double play lineout.
In the 6th, the Loons got a run on a wild pitch, but with bases loaded, Dylan Campbell was robbed of an extra-base hit by a diving catch by Roberto Campos on the warning track in center field.
The Loons had a response in the bottom of the seventh but left more on base. Thayron Liranzo walked on six pitches with one out to set up Yunior Garcia’s second two-run home run in as many days. Hit 417 feet, the longest blast for Great Lakes this season. Now down 7-4, Nick Biddison doubled with two outs, but a flyball left him aboard.
Great Lakes’ bullpen was strained this week. Jacob Meador, who started Tuesday pitched today, allowing a run through three innings. Christian Romero, who was touched up for two in the fourth throwing 36 pitches, was extended into the fifth and sixth responsible for three runs.
- Nick Biddison – 2-3, 1 BB, double (2)
- Kyle Nevin – 1-2, 2 BB, 1 RBI, double (5)
- Yunior Garcia – 1-5, 1 run, 1 RBI, HR (2)
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 9 – Inland Empire 66ers (LAA) 4
The Quakes finished off a great week on the road, blasting the Inland Empire 66ers by a final of 9-4 on Sunday.
Jose Rodriguez (3-0) came out of the Rancho bullpen and dominated over 4.2 scoreless innings, striking out a career-high 11 batters, while allowing just two hits, helping Rancho to a fourth straight win overall and five of six in the series.
The Quakes broke a scoreless tie in the fourth, putting five on the board. Josue De Paula opened the inning with a triple. He remained at 3B on an infield single by Jake Gelof. De Paula scored on a WP, and Gelof scored on a Joe Vetrano RBI triple. Cameron Decker drew a BB, and Vetrano scored on a Carlos Rojas single. Wilman Diaz doubled home Decker.
In the 5th. De Paula led off with a double. Jake Gelof singled De Paula to 3B. De Paula scored on a fielder’s choice ground out.
In the 8th, back to back 2-out doubles by Jordan Thompson and De Paula gave the Quakes their 7th run.
Quake pitchers pitched 7 shutout innings. Christian Ruebeck came in to relieve in the 8th and gave up a grand slam to Cristian Garcia to make it 7-4 in the eighth.
In the 9th, Juan Alonso hit a 1-out triple and scored on a balk. Three more singles plates the 9th and final run.
Reynaldo Yean put the 66ers down in order to finish it off.
The Quakes had 14 hits and 7 were XBH. Josue De Paula had 3 of them.
- Josue De Paula – 3-4, HBP, 2 runs, 1 RBI, 2 doubles (3), triple (2)
- Joe Vetrano – 2-5, 1 run, 2 RBI, triple (1)
- Jake Gelof – 2-4, 1 BB, 1 run
- Carlos Rojas – 2-4, 1 BB, 1 run
- Wilman Diaz – 1-3, 2 BB, 2 RBI, double (2)
- Juan Alonso – triple (1)
- Jordan Thompson – double (1)
Jeff or anyone,
Any clue what, beyond further instruction/focused development, is the reason for a pitcher going to extended spring training?
Kopp, Bruns and Payton Martin are all thusly assigned.
MiLB is very tight lipped when it comes to this. Kopp and Bruns have elite “stuff” but garbage control. I have to believe the development gurus are going to tweak something in the delivery that will get better command results. Kopp is already in the pen, and Bruns is pitching himself there.
With Martin, he is so raw, that he may need additional one on one help to fine tune what elite skills he does have. Martin turns 20 next month and they may want to wait for the warmer weather to get to Great Lakes.
It could be a lot of things, but it is not because they are being demoted. I know that was not your intention, but too many read it that way. IMO, all three are highly thought of in the LAD organization and all three have high ceilings. It would not shock me to see Jackson Ferris find his way back to Camelback.
Is Jose Rodriguez anyone to follow?
Would enjoy a milb piece about what prospects have stood out early on. Hope, Karros, Gelof, etc.
Thanks
It is coming
Rodriguez’ start is kinda mind-blowing:
Last Start:
Struck out 11 in 4.2 scoreless innings.
That comes with 27 whiffs (!!!!!).
Over his last two outings:
1 Run in 9+ innings.
19 strikeouts with 50 swing-and-misses…. FIFTY!!! I
I’m going to list players that have come from our farm system. Some were traded or became free agents. I’m not saying we should have kept them all or that they are better than our current players. And even with this list there are always reasons to sign other free agents. And I have probably missed some players. This is just for fun as a “what if”.
C Smith
1b Mann
2b. Lux
3rd. Vargas
SS. Seager
Of, Outman, Pages, Verdugo
DH Alvarez
Utility Farmer
SP Kershaw,Buehler,Miller,Stone,Sheehan,
Pepiot, Gonsolin, May, Knack
Not a bad lineup! Batting order to be determined.Not expensive. Would still need healthy pitchers.
Busch at first? Or too soon?
I prefer Busch to Mann, and Farmer is a better choice than Mann as a Utility. I like Zach McKinstry at 3B over Vargas, and Vargas in the OF over Verdugo. Verdugo is a better hitter/OF, but he is also considered a problem in the clubhouse.
Alvarez was never technically in the Dodgers farm system. He never played for any LAD affiliate or rookie team (not even DSL). The only two teams that were “bidding” for Alvarez were the Dodgers and Houston, and it almost seems as if the Dodgers outbid Houston so they could flip him once they decided who for. Turned out to be Josh Fields. In 2.5 years for LAD, he pitched 117.1 innings with a 2.61 ERA. A very good middle reliever. Today’s team would love to have a Josh Fields.
That is a good group of homegrown pitchers, but right now, only 3 are healthy.
Good exercise. I am going to need to give this more thought.
I thought about putting Farmer at 3rd or left or utility. The names you bring up certainly make enough players we have some platoons and bench players.
I meant Busch at 1st
It’s no secret that our pitching is why our hitting must carry this team. What the offense did yesterday is what I hope to see 60% of the time down the stretch.
From an article on comparisons of baseballs:
“The NPB specimens, though made by different suppliers separated by nearly three decades, have remained remarkably similar. Some recent articles have stated circumferences for NPB baseballs as small as 8⅞ inches. If it can be taken that the NPB balls illustrated here represent the upper limits within their rules, they fall well within MLB tolerances. Even the minimum NPB standards would differ very little from MLB. It should be noted that baseballs used in the World Baseball Classic tournaments have all been manufactured by Rawlings, and have used MLB standards for size and weight. Japanese players have thus certainly been familiar with the use of the MLB baseball in elite contests.
One readily visible difference is in the seams, I’d go so far as to say that difference is more significant than the size difference. The NPB seams are definitely smaller, and thus make a wider distance at points where they are closest together (the so-called “sweet spots”). Both baseballs use 108 pairs of stitches. 108 pairs has been standard in MLB since 1919, previously the number was 116, and the earliest baseballs even more.
The conventional wisdom is that the smaller seams make for a better grip overall. A personal tactile inspection also confirms that the surface of the NPB baseballs is “tackier” than MLB, whose fresh-from-the-factory product has always been noted for slickness. Both leagues use pregame treatments intended to increase finger grip.”
My take is – it isn’t the ball, it’s where Yamamoto is placing it in the ML strike zone.
I noted in The Times this morning Paxton is pitching on 8 days rest, which is good, and Yamamoto is pitching on 5 days rest which should be ok for him. I agree that Yamamoto will figure it out.
Rule changes I mentioned: if the plate was bigger, the mound was taller and the rule book strike zone was actually called (by ABS), would that prevent young pitchers from throwing their arms out in an effort to get rich? My conclusion? Nope. But it could help professionals to become pitchers instead of throwers.
60% wins of our remaining games puts us below 100 wins.
“Down the stretch”. Keeps us in first place. 60% in the post season brings us a championship.
Actually a team can sweep the LDS, LCS and get swept in the WS and have a 60% winning percentage.
Geez. I should’ve said 60% COULD win a championship.
Ok. Then never mind winning at 60%.
I agree that it is where Yamamoto is placing his 4-seamer that is the problem. It is the smaller strike zone in Japan that Yamamoto has not figured out yet. 95 MPH 4 seamers at the top of the zone get crushed in MLB and not so much in Japan. He needs to get the ball above the zone for more chase or pop up. He gets too much of the MLB strike zone. He is 25 and largely regarded as one of the best if not the best pitcher to come out of Japan.
Or he needs to pitch to LAD hitters who love to swing and miss at that high fastball. 😃
IMO it is very similar to pitchers like Julio Urías and Tony Gonsolin who would get MiLB hitters to swing at pitches outside the edges. But MLB hitters spit on those pitches and generated a lot of BB when they first came up. It forced the pitchers to stop nibbling as much. Either their stuff is good enough to get the outs or it isn’t. WIth Urías and Gonsolin they were. I suspect they will be with Yamamoto as well. But can we give him more than 5 starts before calling him a bust. Badger, I know you didn’t, but others have.
I wonder how hittable Maddux and Glavine would have been if the umpires did not give them the pitch outside the zone. Both owned that 6 inch off the plate strike.
A fun game to watch. Love Pages so far. He has a nice swing and outstanding defensive skills.
Glasnow is the true ace for the Dodgers. I’m looking forward to Buehler’s return and further improvement from Yamamoto. The BP still has a lot of work to get back on track. The return of Graterol and Treinen will surely help.
Pages has hit at every level. From a scouting report:
“A terror against pitches low in the zone, he can be fooled and chase pitches up high above his belt; Those pitches look tempting, but they are tough to reach.”
If true, ML pitchers will try to blow high fastballs by him.
He’s actually shorter than he looks to me in the batters box. He’s listed at 6’ 212 pounds.
I agree about the bullpen. Brasier has to be better and getting back to full strength is a must. Question: is Ramirez as good as he has looked?
If Nick Ramirez is not used in high leverage situations, he should be okay. He had a good ERA with NYY in 40+ IP in 2023. But he was bad with inherited runners. He has not had any inherited runners with LAD thus far. I think he will be used as is Alex Vesia. Vesia relies on his 4-seamer at the top of the zone to get swing and miss. Ramirez relies on soft contact. I imagine that Vesia’s ceiling is higher than Ramirez’s.
Its amazing what a quality start will do for an offense.
Glasgow is a stud.
Nice game for Pages. Good for him. Get a little confidence and let it eat.
It is apparent with this team that different hitting approaches are necessary to the lineup. One size does not fit all.
6-9 need to be far less selective with 2 strikes. The old “anything close” approach is best at the bottom of our lineup. Do not take called third strikes. Pull the ball in play and make the defense make plays. Also, sac bunts in the 9 hole, be it Barnes, Lux or whomever is a solid idea to move runners for the top of the order.
Outman needs to relax and play.
Lux is always just a tick slow to first on double play attempts. Needs a little more arm.
Agree with you Phil. I think Lux takes way too many pitches. He lets the pitch right in the sweet spot go by and then swings at something barely in the zone. At least yesterday they cut down on the strikeouts.
From an article in The Athletic about the numbers:
102 1/3 – That’s how many innings the Dodgers bullpen had logged this season entering Sunday, by far the most in baseball. The Dodgers aren’t getting enough length from their starting pitchers. And when you’re running essentially a six-man rotation with a bullpen game plugged in, that’s a problem. Especially when Dodgers starters entered Sunday having faced just 68 batters a third time through the order, the third-fewest in baseball.
221 – That’s how many times Dodgers hitters had struck out this year entering Sunday, most in baseball. Their overall strikeout rate is more palatable (24.6 percent, ninth-worst in baseball), but it has reared its ugly head, especially after the top of the order. Beyond the top four spots in the lineup, the Dodgers have struck out 30.7 percent of the time, the most frequent in baseball within that split.
rick re: 102 1/3 – the overuse of the bullpen was part of my criticism of Doc/The Wizard, yesterday. In the 4th on Saturday, Stone gave up a single, stolen base and groundout, moving the runner to 3rd with one out. Out pops Doc to hook Stone after 72 pitches.
What’s the urgency? Is his arm going to fall off if he completes the inning on 80 pitches? Doc burned Grove, who took 16 pitchers to get out of the inning.
It isn’t unusual to follow the prescription but at the same time there’s all kinds of conversations about overuse of the bullpen. Pretty simple to me; let the hitters tell you when a guy is done and not a computer prediction. Leaving guys in for a few extra pitches isn’t such a bad thing to me. Obviously the Dodger brass think differently.
Also Badger – you wrote “A personal tactile inspection also confirms that the surface of the NPB baseballs is “tackier” than MLB, whose fresh-from-the-factory product has always been noted for slickness. Both leagues use pregame treatments intended to increase finger grip.” Interesting.
I don’t know squat about the Japanese baseball but I had heard that they come individually wrapped. That preserves the tackified surface of their baseballs and there is no need to rub them up with Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud. What do know about that?
You’ve hit on my main problem with Doc. He isn’t good at letting the game tell him how to react. He has his plan going into the game and that’s what he follows, come hell or high water.
He probably planned on having Stone go about 70 pitches so pulled him after 72. I’m surprised he didn’t replace him in the middle of the at bat, when the pitch count reached exactly 70.
Maybe past experience has taught him that his spur of the moment decisions usually don’t work out well and that’s why he goes by the book, but as others have pointed out, this strategy also makes it easy for the opposition to make moves against him since he’s so predictable.
STB, I have mentioned that myself about Doc’s predictability. Simply bring in a LHRP early on and Doc will typically pinch hit Kike, CT3 and any righty platoon guy. He has exhausted his bench early with this tactic and runs out of options way too early. Sometimes reverse splits be damned.
I hate that tendency.
When’s the last time we had a switch hitter who could play everyday?
Hah! A switch hitter would confuse the hell out of Doc. He wouldn’t know how to get him out of the game.
2015, Yasmani Grandal was the last switch-hitting player who was a regular on the team. Yonny Hernandez who was on the roster last year, was the last switch hitter on the team. Keibert Ruiz was also a switch hitter and he got 6 at bats in LA before he was traded to the Nats.
👍
It is Buehler watch. He will be making his 5th rehab start on Wednesday in Albuquerque with the full ABS. That is a launching pad and he is going to have to throw strikes. Buehler did not fare very well with the ABS his last outing. He is going to need to get some length in this one if he wants to rejoin LAD for his next start. The Dodgers are hoping for 5 up and 5 down in this one. If it all works out and he gets through the game as planned, he could rejoin LAD and start against Arizona in Arizona (where he has pitched very well) in Landon Knack’s spot. I do not think it is a coincidence that Buehler is starting the same day that Knack is.
Just spit-balling, but I thought I would play with the rotation through the next homestand against Atlanta and Miami. Yamamoto is tentatively scheduled to pitch on Thursday.
23 – Nats – Paxton – 04-23-24 – Last pitched 04-14-24 (8 days rest)
24 – Nats – Knack – 04-24-24 – Last pitched 04-17-24 (6 days rest)
25 – Nats – Yamamoto – 04-25-24 – Last pitched 04-19-2024 (5 days rest)
26 – Toronto – Stone
27 – Toronto – Glasnow
28 – Toronto – Yarbrough (bullpen)
29 – Arizona – Paxton
30 – Arizona – Buehler – Takes Knack’s spot in the rotation
1 – Arizona – Yamamoto
2 – open
3 – Atlanta – Glasnow (Switch with Stone keeping Glasnow on the routine he prefers)
4 – Atlanta – Stone (7 days rest)
5 – Atlanta – Paxton – 6 man Rotation routine
6 – Miami – Buehler – 6 man Rotation routine
7 – Miami – Yamamoto – 6 man Rotation routine
8 – Miami – Glasnow – 5 man Rotation routine
9 – Open
I have no doubt that I will not be close on this, but it was a fun exercise for me.
If Knack has another good start (after the beginning, his last one wasn’t bad at all) and Stone has another mediocre start, it’s not altogether impossible that Buehler would be put into Stone’s spot.
That’s assuming they like what they see this Wednesday from Walker.
I agree that it could be Knack over Stone, but I don’t think that is what the Dodgers are thinking. They have a tendency to stick to their plans. Roberts isn’t the only stubborn LAD employee.
The best laid plans………………………………..
Aft gang astray?
Pull that thought back out from the ether STB. I like Stone.
Me too. Not trying to jinx him.
Actually, I think Buehler should be given a little more time while keeping both Stone and Knack in the rotation.
Great effort Jeff.
Stone vs Atlanta scares me. I had assumed, from listening to an early podcast, that Buehler would be back some time in mid to late May, giving him enough time for 20-25 starts. In the mean time 3 inning starts in the minors just to work on stuff. But back then the starting pitching looked to be deeper than it’s turning out to be. The team needs Buehler now.
Ridiculous having Paxton on 8 days rest. He walked 8 guys last time out. I’m sure a lack of work is a part of that. They have chosen to go to great lengths to protect the starters but to heck with the pen. How much does it really help? How many pitchers on the injured list? It seems they are trying to work everything around Yamamoto but is it helping? I guess he is healthy but too much rest for some. How will this work in the playoffs? A bullpen game every other day. Sheesh what a joke.Most players are about routines so can u change in the playoffs?
Were there complaints that the baseballs didn’t carry last year, at least not as far as they did the prior year? Is anybody saying the balls carry more this year than last year?
D-Backs will place Kelly on the IL.