Matt Sauer was not the answer. He was certainly the sacrificial lamb. It did not matter how many runs he gave up, and nobody was concerned about protecting his arm (111 pitches?!?!). Everything he threw up was very hittable and was hit; 9 runs and 13 hits. He did not fool any Padres hitters. Matt Sauer is a AAAA pitcher.
Some were saying that Bobby Miller should have been called up instead of Sauer. However, on the night that Sauer was battered around, Miller pitched perhaps the worst game of his career. Miller lasted 3.1 innings in Albuquerque giving up 10 runs on 11 hits, 3 BB, and just 1 K. He allowed a 2-run HR in the first.
The Dodgers had another pitcher logging innings last night in a rehab assignment, Edgardo Henriquez. He struggled just as bad as Miller did. He allowed 5 runs in 1 IP, on 5 hits, 1 BB, and a grand slam HR.
Yes, Albuquerque is a launching pad, but only 1 of the 11 hits and 2 of the 10 runs came via the HR against Miller.
Matt Sauer? Nope! Bobby Miller? Nope! Edgardo Henriquez? Not yet!
Who does that leave at AAA. Landon Knack cannot come back until June 16. He is the only potential starter that might help LAD. Nick Frasso? Jose E. Hernandez? Jose Rodriguez? None of them are ready for MLB and only Frasso is on the 40 man. Could Jack Little or Ryan Sublette become another Jack Dreyer? They would have to be given a chance.
Jackson Ferris is the one pitcher at AA who is closest to MLB ready, but he is not there yet. Ferris started Tuesday, and it did not go as well as hoped for. 75 pitches in three innings. It was a 37 pitch 1st inning, and a pair of HRs that put the Loons behind the Cardinals in a game they never caught up. He needs to get promoted to AAA to increase his level of competition. That would leave Peter Heubeck, Patrick Copen, and Chris Campos joining Jared Karros at the AA rotation. None of the four have a chance at pitching with LAD this year, unless there is a disaster. So leave them in AA and watch them blossom.
Outside of Alex Freeland, Hunter Feduccia, and James Outman, there are no true MLB ready players in AAA or AA. I would include Ryan Ward, but apparently AF/BG do not agree. Michael Chavis can and has played MLB, but he turns 30 in August. Esteury Ruiz is a AAAA player who can run. But as we watch the MLB team, running is not a big part of their game. Neither is holding runners.
AA? Outside of pitching, there’s little to get excited about.
Something to think about? Option Dalton Rushing and promote Hunter Feduccia to be a true backup catcher to Will Smith. Dalton is batting .194/.237/.306/.543, with 20 Ks against just 2 BB in 38 PA. The team is 3-6 in Rushing’s 9 starts. It is tough to be a parttime player, and maybe Rushing is not ready for that role.
James Outman is a better option than Michael Conforto because of his defense, and his offense cannoMiLB t be worse. But the Dodgers are not going to cut Conforto loose until closer to the deadline. Maybe he catches fire, probably not.
We learned Tuesday that both Snell and Glasnow had very good bullpen sessions, and Ohtani had a good sim game against live batting. Mark Prior talked about the swing and miss Ohtani displayed. Yes it was against MiLB batters, but Prior was impressed with the movement none the less. But none of the three look to be available before the All Star Break. So where will the pitching come from? I see a lot of bullpen games in the Dodgers future.
Justin Wrobleski gets the start in Game 3 of the series on Wednesday afternoon.
Outman and Miller are prime change of scenery deadline trade candidates. While I would like to see Ryan Ward get a chance, unless a trading team has a plan on putting him on the 40 man (he would deserve it), no team will give anything back in a trade for him as he will be a MiLB free agent 5 days after the WS.
All four affiliates lost.
Tough day in Dodger land . Hard to find anything positive, be it on the big league club or in the minors. Well, the ACL Dodgers did not play and so they did not lose.😀
Bobby Miller with a huge clunker. Could it be he was disappointed he wasn´t called up and Sauer taking the bulk innings ?
Or is he just that bad ? The stuff is still there.
Henriquez proably needs some more time to rehab. Kopech looked horrible at the start of his rehab stint at AAA too but has been good so far after being called up. We will find out.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!
This was a bad day for the Dodger organization. But it was no surprise really. The 3rd best organization in baseball has run dry of MLB ready pitching prospects. And what to do about it? We talked about this already. We wait. Yamamoto, Kershaw, May, Wrobleski, Knack, bullpen game, That’s the rotation and we live it until Snell, Glasnow and Ohtani are ready. And make no mistake, the West smells blood in the water.
Let’s say the unthinkable happens (at least for Dodger fans) and the team’s lack of pitching causes them to miss the playoffs. Maybe that’s what it would take for the organization to finally dismount from their high horse and really accept that the Dodger Way in terms of pitching ain’t working. This includes re-evaluating everything from how they draft, scouts, their pitching philosophy, training staff methods, etc. A good place to start might be to lure the Mariner’s pitching coach away from Seattle—that team seems to know how to keep a pitching staff on the field.
Wally,
Let’s say a more thinkable unthinkable happens. Let’s say the Dodger WIN ANOTHER World Series. Via luck, again. With just a couple of starters and some bullpen games.
Say instead of Flahrety it’s Yamamoto. Instead of last year’s Knack it’s Glasnow. And that’s it! But they win it all.
They did it last year.
Let’s say that happens (it’s much, much, much, much more likely than missing the playoffs). Do you think it will cause any acceptance that the “Dodger Way ain’t working”? That $$ shouldn’t be spent on starters? That drafting isn’t working?
I think the answer is “of course not” but I wonder what you think.
Do I think LA will miss the playoffs? It’s hard to feel confident about them right now, but in all likelihood they won’t . Per your scenario about the Dodgers winning the WS again similar to last year, I highly doubt that anything systematic would change. But to me that doesn’t mean the way they go about handling pitchers is a longterm winning formula. More to the point, the team is so flush with cash that they can keep on signing pitcher after pitcher even when a pitchers track record includes multiple injuries. Most organizations can’t do that. IMO, I don’t see this as a viable longterm option.
Whether most organization can do it is irrelevant.
As for longterm winning, they’ve won for a decade with this front office and with their philosophy.
The Dodgers whole manner of building a team. Something I would summarize as: “pursue superstars from elsewhere, seek value everywhere else” is predicated on the club’s ludicrous revenue.
However, obviously they spent more the last two seasons.
In that regard I’m with you. That type of spending won’t continue.
To your point, yes, Seattle has had relatively good fortune with pitcher injuries. However two of the 5-man rotation is on the IL, and their 2020 1st round pick (#6 overall) Emerson Hancock has been placed on the IL multiple times. Hancock is now in the rotation, but is probably their #6. No team is immune. I am also not convinced that this is a Mark Prior/Connor McGuiness issue as much as it is an overall organizational issue. I am not sure that Prior/McGuiness even knows who Maddux Bruns is, a former #1 who cannot stay healthy.
Interesting take Wally. Can’t say I disagree with any of it. But in all honesty I don’t think this team won’t make the playoffs. Snell, Glasnow and Ohtani will all be pitching in the second half. Yes, it is possible none of them will finish the year still pitching but I’d bet against that scenario.
You didn’t mention Emmett Sheehan. He pitched 4 innings in his most recent outing.
Supposedly, Sheehan is going to throw a 4-inning sim game at some point this week. Reportedly Doc said they want to see how he comes out after 4 innings. They have (again reportedly) said if he can come through 4 innings, he could be ready to be reinstated him from the IL.
He will not pitch against SD or SF in the next 8 games. Maybe the Nats??? Or maybe one more start in MiLB before they bring him back??? I do not think he has anything left to prove in MiLB, but what he needs is innings to ramp up. I thought they would take the full 30 days of rehab that would take him to June 25.
Ayup
Good point Sam. 3 games. 8 innings Is he now ready to go 5 against ML hitters?
The next 8 games are against the Padres and the giants. Sheehan’s first start since ‘23 against one of those teams? Yeah, sure. Go get ‘em kid.
Let’s go Wrobo today!!
This pitching situation is becoming embarrassing. With spending over a half a billion dollars and having a top rated MiLB system they can’t even put together a shitty rotation let alone a somewhat reliable one.
I’ve said this in the past and I’ll say it now, the Dodger player development is highly overrated by the “experts”. And we buy into it hook in and sinker. Year after year the Dodgers have a highly ranked system. And, yet the FO has little to show for it. A good example is the recently released Diego Cartaya. A few of years ago he’s the #1 Dodger prospect. Now, I don’t think is even on a professional team in the US. WHERE ARE THE RESULTS????
How can you have a system that develops one position player every 5-7 years be considered a success? How can you have a system that fails to develop pitchers that can survive pitching for the Dodgers for more than a few starts because they’re either not ready for MLB or become injured and call that a success?
It will interesting to see how this plays out. AF is in a tough situation with the huge unknowns with all the injuries. I guess he knows who has a realistic chance of returning this season. And, he certainly isn’t going to reveal anything to the fans or media. Will he really go out and spend more money or top end prospects for more pitching? He has a few more weeks to sort it all out.
Cary on
You’re forgetting that the Dodgers have used their minor league capital to secure players at the trade deadline. Sweeney was part of the deal that got the Dodgers Flattery. Kiebert Ruiz helped the Dodgers get Scherzer and Turner. There are other numerous examples.
It All comes down to organizational philosophy. You can bring up players and not spend money or you can spend money and bring up very select players.
using quotes with “experts” can only mean one thing…
the silliness is back!
Noted.
You’re correct. The silliness is back….that be you Bluto. So, reading the comment this is what bothers you? Amazing.
Everyone knows (except in your mind) experts in quotes can mean than one thing.
Yeah, I shouldn’t have been so bothered. Apologies. Should have internalized.
The sole purpose of this blog is to post opinions. Right?
To prove how silly I AM (and I am quite silly) I cannot understand your last sentence at all. But I’m not going to worry, as it’s just an opinion.
I’ll take a shot at answering these questions Ted…….
Nope. I got nothing.
Patience. Pitching will arrive in the second half. In the meantime…
Gotta score 8. Or maybe 12.
How long before Kiki is considered a two way player?
You’re right. Patience is all we have left at this point in the season.
Kiké is a second half/post season player.
At least he has been. Is he still? Not if he’s a has been.
I think Kike is our new relief pitcher!
Very disappointing game last night. Sauer crapped himself. Offense can’t do anything against Cease who came into the game with a 4.72 ERA and 1 win.
I actually think Sauer accredited himself quite well.
He knows he doesn’t have the stuff for long stints.
He knew he was going to be DFA’d in the near future.
He knew this wasn’t going to be good for his stat line.
And he still did the dirty deed.
are you performing Bluto?……😉
No, but a video is performance.
Is that what you are trying to make a joke about?
Sauer still has an option, so he will not be DFA’d. But your point that he took one for the team is evident. As I said in my post, Matt Sauer is a AAAA pitcher. Good enough to get there, not good enough to stick. Sauer is the 2025 version of Brent Honeywell.
What concerns me more than the overuse of Matt Sauer’s right arm is that top pitching prospects have failed to materialize. What has happened to Bobby Miller? Why can’t Landon Knack be consistent? While both Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin have been afforded multiple opportunities, neither pitcher has grabbed the torch to run with.
The outstanding depth that the Dodgers talked about in the beginning of the season has never materialized. AF told us what he truly thought of his young stable of pitchers: he signed Yamamoto, traded for and extended Glasnow, signed Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki.
Thus, I am in the camp; you have come this far, finish it. Trade prospects for either Framber Valdez or Chris Sale.
I just don’t see any room for any starter. Especially one of that level.
As I wrote above, last year the Dodgers won it all with what? Flahrety, Knack and Buehler (kinda.)
Again, you need four (4) pitchers for the post-season, there will be many more than that even after discounting Gonsolin, Frasso, Sheehan and May (who are not ideal options.) The Dodgers are going to have:
YY, Sasaki, Snell, Glasnow, Kershaw and Ohtani.
You can say they may not all come back healthy. Sure. But you also have to account for the possibility they all WILL come back healthy.
You forgot Yamamoto. Last year both Stone and Glasnow were pitching at the deadline, Kershaw was back and they still went after Flaherty
You do not get a do over after the deadline. If you can get a Framber Valdez or Chris Sale, you make room.
That’s very accurate, but not quite complete.
When the Flaherty trade was made:
Gonsolin and May were done.
Buehler was struggling in rehab coming off 2 TJs
Yamamoto was still out.
Kershaw was off shoulder surgery and struggling.
Glasnow was coming up to the highest # of innings he had piched in his career (it was like 5 innings away IIRC)
Other than that it was Stone and Ryan.
My question is:
If at the deadline this year YY, Snell, Glasnow Ohtani and Sasaki are all (or all but 1) healthy, what does “make room” mean? If a top end starter is acquired? Which of those pitchers are you not going to start in a playoff if healthy?
And what are you going to say to those who aren’t starting?
Going into my least favorite territory “chemistry”. How will it play in the bullpen if Kershaw doesn’t even make the playoff roster? If Glasnow or Snell work really hard at rehab and don’t.
Yes the pitching staff is an embarassment this year. The results are not surprising. But in terms of the “depth” go watch that interview Mark did with Friedman. When asked about the minor league “depth” he talks about 18-20 year olds. Something along the lines of “this crop of 18-20 year olds is the best I have ever seen” he doesn’t mention anyone, not Knack, or Miller, or Wrobleski, just 18 year olds. Or so I remember. If I remember correctly, That’s telling. That’s because that’s all they have. I agree with Jeff, that if they had a Paul Skenes in the organization, or any respectable pitching prospects, they would not have signed all of Glasnow, Snell, Sasaki, etc.
the fact that they did not have one pitcher in the organization to come up and start a game against a division rival that they are fighting for the division with tells you all you need to know about the “depth” of the pitching, and state of the minor leagues. Friedman has never drafted pitchers well, and I’m not trying to be all “anti-Friedman”, I’m just stating what I have noticed.
So another opener and bullpen game against a tough team. I would expect another pathetic embarassing loss, unless the club goes all Badger on them and scores 12 runs.
I saw on another site, (don’t remember where exactyl), that the Dodgers pitching staff had a 4.66 FIP coming into yesterday’s game, which is the second worst in the National League behind only the feckless Colorado Rockies. Your Los Angeles Dodgers 2025 Pitching staff folks.
All player personnel front office people miss more than they hit. I do not think he missed on Buehler. Sheehan and Stone are TBD but I like their chances. Gonsolin has been an All Star, and was discussed in the CY race (2022). Whether he will be again is doubtful, but it was not a bad 9th round draft pick. May was a good 3rd round pick. I am happy being a Dodgers fan even with the pitching staff as it is, than be happy with the Pirates with Paul Skenes, Bubba Chandler, Jared Jones…
Well there have been a lot of misses over the last decade Jeff. I love the Dodgers too, win or lose. I’ve been die hard, even when they sucked. During the fox years, even when they lost 99 games in 92. Guess who was there rooting on that awful team that year….yours truly.
But wish they had better pitching, or any kind of pitching this year.
I like both of those ideas, but I would go after Sale if he is available. Dude is a stud.
In the 2nd inning. He did take one for the team.
When a team is down by 8 or more runs, they are allowed to use a position player. In last nights game, Hernandez pitched several innings. What I would have happened if the Dodgers had at some point cut the lead down to 7? Would they have had to use a regular pitcher?
AI answered this way:
“No, the position player does not have to come out of the game, even if they score more runs after pitching. The rule allows position players to pitch if the team is down by at least eight runs. If the team scores more runs and the position player remains on the field in a defensive position, they can continue to play.”
So if the Dodgers had cut the lead to 7, it sounds like Hernandez could play first base but not pitch until the lead went back to 8.
Turned the game off as soon as Sauer gave up the first three runs. Saw the writing on the wall when Teo left 3 men on base.
Great minds think alike.
Matt Chapman will miss the series with the Dodgers. Giants placed him on the 10-day IL today. Scott Alexander, recently cut loose by the Rockies, signed a minor league deal with the Giants.
Casparius is going to start today’s game as the opener, then Wrobo comes in. Starting lineup. Ohtani DH, Betts SS, Freeman 1B, Smith C, Teo RF, Muncy 3B, Pages CF, Conforto LF, Kim 2B, Casparius P.
Glad to see Kim is actually in the lineup but the guy is hitting .400 and they’ve got him batting 8th? I would move him to lead off and move everyone back one spot. I would also move Conforto to the bench but apparently Roberts is going to keep beating that dead horse.
Since Kim bats 9th and has been getting on base, Ohtani follows. Not a bad choice at all.
I’ve always said Ohtani should not be batting lead off.
He is hitting 9th. The pitcher does not hit remember? Conforto knocked in the only run yesterday. They could stick Edman in the lineup, but he is not a left fielder. Conforto will keep getting chances until they decide they need to make a change. The Bryan Reynolds rumors are back. Outman at this point is not an option.
Right. To me, he’s the ultimate leadoff guy. Will he keep hitting at a .400 pace? Highly doubtful, but he can set the table for Ohtani, Betts, etc. starting in the first inning. I’ve never been a fan of Ohtani as a leadoff guy.
He kind of is a leadoff hitter. It just happens after the first inning.
Neither have I. The natural leadoff hitter? Betts. He does his best work in the leadoff spot. Kim has the speed, but not the experience. No way they stick him at leadoff. Ohtani should be hitting third and to hell with the left-right-left bull Doc is so proud of.
I’d give Kim a shot at leadoff. He’s proving himself capable of it. You were kind of against him coming up to the big club but now you see how well he’s done. This guy is a baseball player, for sure. Look at the way he’s poured into that uniform.
They won’t. They love Ohtani in the leadoff role. Kim’s job when hitting down in the lineup is to get on base for Ohtani. Leadoff men only hit leadoff once.
I think Roberts obsession with the L-R thing is ridiculous.
Not only that, but don’t get me started! 😀
Interesting.
Why?
Because unless the splits are extreme for a particular hitter, it doesn’t translate to better results.
Thank You.
Joke?
The decision, which most of the major league follows, to use it has nothing to do with batter splits.
Here is a nice summation from the Padres (who do it) themselves:
Manager Shildt on alternating left and right-handed hitters:
“It’s really important because, from a very basic standpoint, it doesn’t allow a lot of favorable matchups from the other side,” said Shildt. “The best thing about the lineup is that part of our continued emphasis is making sure we don’t have anybody in our lineup that has a matchup on the same side. If you look at the game and how the game is managed, when you have right, left, right, left, right, left that creates a little bit of imbalance for the pitcher who is facing those guys.”
“They can’t get comfortable facing guys from the same side back-to-back. Also, the strategy. Makes it hard to bring in a lefty to face a lefty, knowing a righty is next. And against right-handers, our right-handed hitters did a good job last year. That was important. There were some opportunities to bring righties into games and I didn’t feel it was an advantage or an issue for us.”
“I love the tough decision of building it. I love the fact that we can have conversations about our lineups. I really enjoy it, because it means we have options. There’s really nothing worse from my seat than ‘Wow, can we find somebody to hit here?’ as opposed to ‘Man, there are a lot of options in these different areas.’”
“I like using the left, right, left, right. I like it a lot. It creates some problems for other teams, which is why we’re here.”
He likes it a lot. I like guys who can hit no matter who is on the mound.
Good to know. I like oreos with milk, my stereo system, medium rare steaks and beaches.
Thanks for sharing.
I like ginger snaps with vanilla lattes. I don’t have a stereo system anymore. Don’t miss it. Have Pandora and earbuds. Am a vegetarian so I don’t eat dead animal carcasses. No judgment of course. Still like to swim in the ocean but the beaches I grew up on, Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, The Wedge, Newport and Laguna are all just too damn crowded for me. I’m old now. Ew, people.
I grew up in OC. Used to go to the Wedge— to watch the surfers try to kill themselves, not try it myself. Dick Dale lived there— his house still stands.
Where’d you grow up Wally?
My buddies and I were there when Surfer Magazine was there doing a shoot. A few photos were printed. I tell all my friends “that’s me” at the top of a 12’ wave, but there’s no way of knowing. We were among the first to start wearing 1 fin out there. Needed one bare foot to push off the bottom, the fin to kick out of trouble. Loved that place.
Grew up in Orange and went to El Modena High. I was the first player drafted from that school— by the Padres as an outfielder in ‘72. It’s the same school that Freddy Freeman went to. I didn’t sign and went to Santa Ana College. Was drafted by the Angels but didn’t sign. In those days there wasn’t much bonus money and no guaranteed minor league contracts so I finished school and ended up in advertising. Life is funny.
El Modena. Wasn’t there when I was in high school. Milo Ventimiglia went to school there. I know his parents. Haven’t met him yet but probably will eventually. My wife knows him. He and her son played together as kids.
Yeah, life is funny. The Dodgers showed interest in me. They had tryouts back then. I joined the Marines instead. Odd move. Long story. I went back to school in my mid 20s, got a teaching credential, and I too ended up in advertising. Not exactly Don Draper but did ok. Ever wonder how different your life might have been if you played pro baseball? I sure used to. Not anymore.
Badger- For awhile I had to fend off the “ why didn’t you sign?” questions from my friends. It was depressing for awhile. Years later my brother signed with the Reds and spent the next 9 years beating the bushes for various organizations. Made it to AAA for about a month. It kind of messed up his life. If you don’t make the Show you’re nothing more than a 30 year old with few marketable skills. Funny fact— George Brett and I share the same birthday and we were both drafted in the same year. He went on to the Hall of Fame and I went on to writing ads for things like computer components. But I was always the best player on the company softball team…
They used to call that “playing the percentages” percentages being the key word here as it only works a percentage of the time.
In my opinion if you are a major league pitcher, it should not matter and you should be able to get out any hitter whether they bat right handed or left handed. Same with a hitter. As a MLB hitter, playing professional, you should be able to hit any pitcher, regardless of hand they use to throw. They should be able to hit, righties, lefties, middlies. I don’t care.
And if you can’t, you probably don’t belong in the majors making more money than Doctors.
I agree that the Dodgers should send Rushing down and bring up Feduccia who is used to not catching every day. Rushing right now is overmatched.
While that may currently be the case, I think he will catch up to Major League pitching. I keep him here.
I disagree. Rushing is being set up for failure by only playing a couple of times a week. The more lack of success he has the more he’ll start pressing. He’s basically becoming another James Outman on offense.
One of the guys on the broadcast last night actually mentioned that he spoke with Rushing, who said that his batting success was based on finding a groove and just staying with it, and that he was a bit concerned that he couldn’t do that in his current situation (I’m paraphrasing here).
Not really sure what the answer is. He definitely doesn’t need to go back to AAA. They don’t want to play him in the outfield and they already have 4 outfielders without him.
Earlier in the year I suggested they try him at third base, but if they had any intention of doing that I’m sure they’d wait until the off-season.
I’m surprised you would make that comparison Jefe. Outman has had 766 plate appearances, Rushing 38. Barnes is gone. Rushing is the heir apparent. Patience.
If the best we can say about Rushing is that he’s the heir apparent to Barnes…………………………….
You indicate that it’s not fair to compare Rushing (38 PA) to Outman (766 PA). At the rate he’s getting plate appearances Rushing will need 3 years to reach that number.
If Smith and Rushing have the skills most of us think they do, it’s up to management to find at least one other position for each of them so they can both play 4-5 games a week.
“If the best we can say about Rushing is that he’s the heir apparent to Barnes…………………………….”
That’s not the best we can say. The best we can say he’s our top prospect and will eventually be a much better back up than Barnes.
I would not be surprised to see Smith eventually change positions. But for now, backing up and learning the Major League game is vitally important for Rushing. Instead of judging him after 36 at bats, let’s give him some time to figure this out.
I believe Smith will need time off this summer. He has faded late season in the past. Having Rushing there in July and August, after having been there for May and June, just might work out well for everyone.
We might just have to disagree on this one buddy.
Hitting MLB pitching is hard enough. I do not think you get better playing twice a week.
JMO, but I think that you not only don’t get better, but you get a lot worse only playing twice a week.
Tend to agree. Rushing doesn’t need more minor league at bats. Feduccia doesn’t need major league at bats.
Rushing needs to play every day. Riding the pine is not helping him one damn bit.
He was never brought up to play every day, he never thought he would play every day, Roberts never wanted to play him every day, he was never going to play every day.
Simply my opinion Bluto. Playing twice a week is not helping his consistency. At least at AAA he was getting into around 4-5 games a week.
Big difference between every day and what they’re giving him.
i think the plan was one start a week, have they been close to that?
No catcher plays every day. Even at OKC he split time with Feduccia.
Edman sits and Conforto starts. Idiocy.
MLB: Umpire Steals Spotlight with Brutal Night in Dodgers vs. Padres Blowout
Laz should be fired. He sucks so bad.
Yep. He’s one of the worst.
Nice throw by Pages and great tag by Smith!… and then Casparius walks the 8 and 9 hitters to walk in a run — not good. Our offense looks pretty sleepy — was not happy with Conforto’s AB — looked he was just trying to make contact — no slug–yuck. Feels like nobody is “hot” right now — wake up, dudes, this is an important game!
That was a better AB by Conforto — Yay!
Nice to see Teo tee off on one. Dreyer has not been as sharp his last couple of outings.
Kim is slumping down to .391.
His defense is also not quite what I expected (in a negative way.)
All of his errors have been at second base, now has 3.
Yeah, I could be rash and wrong. Again.
That was a low and away throw by Muncy and Kim tried to make a spectabulous play on it. Maybe should’ve just ate it.
Woo-Hoo!! Big win!!
.500 road trip. Win 3 of the last 4. Nice win today. Feel good for Conforto and Teo who were both struggling.
With our dearth of starters, Casparius looks like he should get another start.
Most definitely, Casparius should indeed continue to get starts. Hoping the positive news about both Snell and Glasnow progressing to bullpens continues to trend upward as they work to get a full staff.
Love the enthusiasm from Vesia after he got the save. Go Dodgers
Casparius was reaching 98-99 today. He has to be in starting rotation right now, especially with Kopech, Yates and Treinen coming back. So Rushing’s runway is 38 AB’s? Ouch. He’s not going back to OKC anytime soon.
I thought Wrobo was going today. It’s Yamamoto, Kershaw, May against SF then TBD the rest of the year.
Knack got hit today. 4 earned in 5.1. 8 Ks, 3 BB. 94 pitches. Gave up 1 home run. Miller got smoked yesterday. Sheehan went 3 on the 1st and 3 again on the 7th. Does he keep going every 6th day? Yes, Casparius is in the mix. Who else? Bullpen games. There will be more.
Nice win. Good to see Scott and Vesia shutting the door with clean innings respectively.
Kopech got really squeezed by the HP umpire . Unbelievably bad calls.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yep, two nights in a row. Laz Diaz should be fired. He is one of the worst in the league.
And this is nothing new— he has sucked for years.
The latest news is that Casparius is moving to the rotation. Certainly he’s earned the opportunity.
Maybe he’s the man for the moment. Maybe he’ll run with it.
Let’s be optimistic and remember that both Bob Welch and Dave Stewart started in the pen before they became stud starters.
This season, Yamamoto, May and Casparius should in due course be joined by Sheehan and Shohei.
Who am I forgetting?
While Jackson Ferris has struggled this season, Patrick Copen has become a guy to watch. Perhaps he’ll join Ferris as a contender next season….
Or maybe there’s just too much competition.
We know that Snell, Glasnow, Yamamoto, Sasaki, Sheehan are certain to be back, and that River Ryan and Gavin Stone will return from injuries. While I would love to see The Full Ohtani from Opening Day, I suspect the Dodgers will slow-play him, even if he’s fully healthy.
This list assumes, perhaps wrongly, that Kershaw will retire, and the Dodgers will not re-sign May and Gonsolin. I think Knack and Wrobleski will still be under contract–but, like Bobby Miller, may be more useful as trade chips. Oh, Grove should also be back–but probably as a reliever.
I’m still hoping that the Dodgers and Orioles work out a win-win trade.
According to MLBTR< the Dodgers are going to move Casparius into the starting rotation.