The Dodgers have been to the World Series 21 times. They won 7 of them. It wasn’t until 1955 that the MVP award for the World Series was given. And like the first ROY, it was a Dodger who earned it. But how about the series they lost? Yes, they lost as a team, but did any player’s performance stand out?
I thought I would look back at each one and see if one of the player’s played exceptionally well even though they lost. And we will look at the wins too. Besides the MVP’s, who had a good series.
1916
In 1916, the Robins as they were known then, took on the Red Sox. The Red Sox had won 91 games, to Brooklyn’s 94. The Sox were loaded with young guys. Their oldest position player was third baseman Larry Gardner, he was also their best hitter.
The pitching staff was led by 21-year-old, George Herman Ruth, yep, the Babe. He won 23 games and lost 12. He was joined by 18 game winners, Carl Mays and Dutch Leonard.
Brooklyn on the other hand, had four starters in the lineup who were 30 or older. Their pitching staff was led by Jeff Pfeffer who won 25 games. Larry Cheney won 18 and Sherry Smith 14.
First baseman Jake Daubert, .316 and left fielder, Zack Wheat, .312 led the offense. Wheat had a team high 9 homers and 73 runs driven in.
The Red Sox would win the series 4-1. Brooklyn won only game 3, 4-3. Notable was Babe Ruth’s start in game two. Ruth gave up a run in the first on a home run by Hi Myers, an inside the park homer. Babe would then begin what became a 29.2 inning scoreless streak in World Series play. It is a record that would stand until Whitey Ford broke it in 1961. He still holds the record, 33.2 scoreless innings.
The hitting star for Brooklyn? Casey Stengel who hit .372 for the series. Daubert hit .176 and Wheat .211. Boston’s pitching and defense just shut them down. They hit .200 as a team.
1920
The 1920 series was scheduled for 9 games, so a team needed 5 wins to earn the title. The 1920 Robins won 93 games. But they were an old team. Only one of their starters was under 30. Second baseman Pete Kilduff. Their best player by a large margin was left fielder Zack Wheat, who hit .328 with 9 homers and 73 driven in. Hi Myers led the team with 80 RBIs.
Their pitching staff was led by spitball pitcher, Burleigh Grimes. He won 23 games. Leon Cadore added 15 and Pfeiffer, 16. They faced the AL Champion Cleveland Indians, 98 game winners.
The Indians were led by center fielder, Tris Speaker, .388. Outfielder Elmer Smith led the team with 12 homers and former Red Sox 3rd baseman, Larry Gardner, hit .310 and drove in 118.
Their pitching staff was led by Jim Bagby, 31-12, Stan Coveleski, 24-14 and Ray Caldwell, 20-10. Brooklyn would go up 2-1 after three games, and then not win again. The series was highlighted by second baseman, Bill Wambsganss unassisted triple play in the fifth inning of game 5. With 2 runners on base, Clarence Mitchell hit a line drive that he caught, and he stepped on second to retire Pete Kilduff then tagged Otto Miller coming from first.
The game also featured the first Grand Slam in World Series history, hit by Elmer Smith off of Grimes. Ivy Olsen and Zack Wheat were the only Robins who hit over .300 for the series. Wheat had 9 hits and drove in 2 runs. The team hit .205 with no homers. It would be 21 years before a Brooklyn team would make it back to the World Series. Then they would play the mighty Yankees.
1941
The 1941 Dodgers were managed by Babe Ruth’s former teammate, Leo, the Lip, Durocher. The 41 Dodgers won 100 games, the 41 Yanks, 101. It looked even going in. First baseman Dolph Camilli was the MVP of the league with 34 homers and 120 RBIs. But the best hitter on the team was center fielder, Pete Reiser, .343. Outfielders Dixie Walker and Joe Medwick also hit over .300.
The pitching staff was led by 22 game winners, Kirby Higbe, and Whit Wyatt. 37-year-old Curt Davis added 13. Hugh Casey was the workhorse out of the pen.
The Yankees were led by Joe DiMaggio and Charlie Keller. Keller hit 33 homers and drove in 122. DiMaggio had 30 and 125. Tommy Henrich added 31 and 85. DiMaggio hit .357 to lead the team by a large margin.
The pitching staff was led by Red Ruffing and Lefty Gomez, both of whom won 15 games. Tiny Bonham was the workhorse out of the pen.
The first three games were all decided by one run. Brooklyn won game 2 behind Whit Wyatt, 3-2. After losing game 3, 2-1, the Dodgers held a 4-3 lead going into the 9th inning. Hugh Casey, who had relieved Johnny Allen in with 2 outs in the fourth, went back out to pitch the 9th.
He got two quick outs, and Tommy Henrich stepped up to the plate. Casey worked him into a two-strike count. He then threw a low pitch out of the zone that Henrich swung at and missed. But catcher Mickey Owen did not catch the ball and it got behind him allowing Henrich to reach base. An unnerved Casey then imploded, allowing a single to DiMaggio, a double by Keller to give the Yankees the lead, a walk to Bill Dickey and then another double to Joe Gordon for what would be a 7-4 final. With the wind out of their sails, the Dodgers lost the next day, 3-1 and the Yankees were champions.
The Dodgers hit .167 for the series, a mark that would stand until the 1966 team hit .142 against the Orioles. No Dodger hitter hit very well, and the only homer came off of the bat of Pete Reiser.
1947
The Jackie Robinson era started in Brooklyn. Jackie hit .250 in his first World Series. The hitting leader was Carl Furillo who hit .353 for the series. But the most important hit came off of the bat of Cookie Lavagetto. In game 4, the Dodgers were down 2-1 in games, and by the score. Bill Bevens, the Yankees starter, was tossing a no-hitter going into the 9th.
Bevens had been wild all game long. He had walked 8 batters and struck out 5. The Dodgers had scored one run in the 5th on a Pee Wee Reese fielder’s choice after two walks and a sacrifice that scored Spider Jorgensen.
Now in the bottom of the 9th, Bevens went to work again. Bruce Edwards flew out, and then Furillo walked. Jorgensen fouled out and then Gionfriddo ran for Furillo. Pete Reiser came up to hit for the pitcher, Hugh Casey. Gionfriddo stole second. Reiser walked, and Eddie Miksis ran for Reiser. The Dodgers then sent Lavagetto up to hit for Eddie Stanky.
Lavagetto lined a 1-0 pitch to right field that took a weird bounce off of the wall and hit Tommy Henrich in the shoulder. Gionfriddo and Miksis raced around the bases and scored. Winning the game for the Dodgers and breaking up the no hitter.
The double turned out to be Lavagetto’s last big league hit. The series additionally was the last time Bevens, or Gionfriddo would play in the majors. The Yanks won game 5, 2-1, then Brooklyn took game 6 in the Bronx. This game was highlighted by Al Gionfriddo’s spectacular catch of a Joe DiMaggio blast in the 6th inning. One of the few times anyone ever saw DiMaggio display emotion on the field as he kicked the dirt when approaching second base. The Yanks claimed the title with a 5-2 win that the Dodgers led 2-0 after the top of the second. The Dodgers hit one homer in the series, Dixie Walker had it. The Yankees hit four.
1949
After taking the Yankees to 7 games in 47, this time the Dodgers were gone in 5. The lone bright spot was Preacher Roe’s game three 1-0 shutout. Only Reese and Hermanski hit over .300 for the series. Brooklyn actually out homered the Yanks, 4-2.
1952
Back in the series after missing out just barely twice, the Dodgers met the Yankees again for the 4th straight time. Once again the two teams would battle for 7 games. Duke Snider and Pee Wee led the way offensively with both of them getting 10 hits in 29 AB;s. .345 average. Snider hit 4 homers in the series. The Dodgers hit six, one each by Robinson and Reese. Robinson had a bad series batting only .174. But this series was known for the futility at bat by Gil Hodges.
Hodges went 0-21 with 6 strikeouts and 5 walks. A Catholic priest famously said on a very warm Sunday, it is too hot for a sermon, go home and say a prayer for Gil Hodges. Brooklyn won game 1 behind Joe Black, 4-2, game 3 behind Preacher Roe, 5-3 and game 5 in 11 innings for Carl Erskine, 6-5. A complete game. He shut the Yankees out over the final 6 innings.
Going back to Ebbets Field for games 6 and 7, they lost game 6 3-2. Loes took the loss, and lost game 7, 4-2, with Black getting the loss. The Dodgers loaded the bases in the 7th with one out, Stengel brought in Bob Kuzva who got Snider, Robinson then hit a pop-up with the runners going, Kuzva hesitated, but Billy Martin made a mad dash from second and caught the ball just before it would hit the ground. The Dodgers went down meekly in the 8th and 9th.
1953
The Dodgers were back in the series after the best season in team history. A 105 win year. The Yankees were back in for the fifth straight season with 99 wins. This time the Yanks would prevail in 6 games, winning their fifth straight title. Five Dodgers had 8 hits in the series, Furillo, Gilliam, Hodges, Robinson and Snider. They hit 8 homers to the Yankees 9. Mantle, Martin and McDougald hit 2 apiece, Gilliam hit 2 for the Dodgers.
The Dodgers lost games 1&2, won 3&4 and then lost 5&6. Erskine and Loes got the wins. Labine lost 2 and saved 1.
1955
With a new manager in his second year, Walter Alston, Brooklyn got off to a hot start and led the NL all the way with 98 wins. And for the sixth straight time, they faced the Yankees.
The hitting star of the series was Duke Snider. For the second time in his career, and the first time in MLB history, he hit 4 homers in the series and drove in 7 runs. Reese and Furillo also had 8 hits in the series. The Dodgers turned the tables on the powerful Yanks and out homered them 9-8. Campy hit 2.
They lost games 1&2, then swept the Yankees in Brooklyn. They lost game 6 at Yankee Stadium and young lefty Johnny Podres got the start in game 7. Podres had been the winning pitcher in game3 in Brooklyn. One of the reasons he got the start was because Dodger ace, Don Newcombe, had arm trouble and had only pitched 5.2 innings in his lone start and was lit up for 6 runs.
He was pitching against Tommy Byrne. The Dodgers got single runs in the 4th and 6th innings. Gil Hodges drove in both, one with a single and the other off of Grim in the 4th with a sac-fly.
In the bottom of the 6th, Alston sent Sandy Amoros out to left field as a replacement and moved Gilliam to second. Podres immediately got into trouble walking Martin and giving up a single to McDougald. Up comes Yogi Berra.
Berra hit a slicing fly ball to left field, racing to the line from medium left center, Amoros stuck his glove out and made a fantastic catch just in front of the wall, he turned and fired the ball to Pee Wee Reese, who relayed it to Hodges for a double play. Podres then got Bauer to ground out. That DP set a major league record for the most DP’s by one team in a series, 12.
Podres still had to bear down as the Dodgers were not mustering much offense. The Yanks had threats in the 7th and 8th. He then retired the Yankees in order in the 9th, and Reese’s throw to Hodges on a grounder by Elston Howard ended the game and gave the Dodgers their first and only World Series win in Brooklyn. Podres won the first ever MVP award in the World Series and Brooklyn went nuts.
1956
This is getting monotonous. For the seventh straight time, the Dodgers met the Yankees in the World Series. Don Newcombe was coming off the year of his life. Winning the inaugural Cy Young award, Newk went 27-7. But once again, he flamed out in the World Series pitching only 4.2 innings and giving up 11 runs. Hodges and Snider each hit .304 for the series, and both had a homer. It was the 10th series homer for Duke. Jackie Robinson, who had been on the bench when the Dodgers clinched in 55, played in his last 7 games in the majors and hit .250 for the series. He hit the only other homer the team had in the series.
The Yankees on the other hand hit 12. Berra and Mantle both hit 3 and Billy Martin added 2. Unlike 55, the Dodgers won the first two in Brooklyn, the Yankees won 3-4-5. Game 5 was historic as journeyman pitcher, Don Larsen, baffled Brooklyn with his no-windup motion and pitched a perfect game. Mantle made a couple of really good catches in center field to keep the perfecto going. Dale Mitchell struck out for the final out.
Brooklyn staved off elimination with a 1-0 gem from emergency starter, Clem Labine. But Newcombe got bombed in game 7, 9-0 and the Yanks reclaimed their title. It would be the last World Series in Brooklyn for the Dodgers. In two years, they would be in Los Angeles.
1959
Coming off of a 7th place finish in their first year in L.A., the Dodgers, loaded with Brooklyn vets, and some fresh faces, and a huge trade piece in Wally Moon, battled the defending NL Champion Braves right down to the wire.
The oldest starter on the team was Gil Hodges. Reese had retired after the 58 season and was now a coach. Zimmer had taken over for Reese and would play in 97 games, but he never got going. He hit .165. Gilliam was at third, and Neal was the second baseman. Roseboro the primary catcher with Joe Pignatano backing him up.
Furillo was injured most of the year, so Snider played the majority of the games in RF with Don Demeter playing center and new acquisition Wally Moon in left. Hodges led the team with 25 homers and Snider had 23. Mostly because the RF fence at the coliseum was a long cab ride away.
They used a five man starting staff and Drysdale was the only starter with more than 40 starts. He led the team with a 17-13 record. Podres won 14, Craig 11, and McDevitt, 10. Koufax finally started to show some of his real potential and struck out 18 Giants in a game at the coliseum on August 31st. He went 8-6.
Labine was the workhorse out of the pen with 56 games, he had 8 saves. Seven bullpen pitchers ended up with wins, led by Larry Sherry’s 7.
They used 23 different position players during the season. Norm Larker and rookie Ron Fairly played in over 100 games off of the bench. But one in-season call-up made a huge difference as he solidified the infield, injected speed into a very slow lineup and provided a spark. Maury Wills. a career minor leaguer to that point, came up and played in 83 games. He hit .260 and stole 7 bases.
The Dodgers kept close, and when the season ended, they and the Braves both had 86-68 records. So the Dodgers headed to Milwaukee for the first game of a three game playoff, the third time to that point that they had been involved in a post season playoff. They had lost the previous two to the Cardinals and the Giants.
They won game one, 3-2, Sherry getting the win in relief. They came back to LA for the second game. The Brave were up 4-2 by the 5th inning. They added another in the 8th, and the Dodgers came to bat in the bottom of the 9th trailing by 3.
With World Series hero Lou Burdette on the mound, the Dodgers got three consecutive singles in the bottom of the 9th by Moon, Snider and Hodges. Don McMahon relieved Burdette. Larker then lined a single to left, scoring Moon and Snider. Warren Spahn came on in relief and Furillo pinch hit for Roseboro. Furillo hit a deep drive to right, and Hodges scored the tying run.
The score held through the top of the 12th inning with both teams missing chances to end it. Stan Williams had come in to pitch in the 10th and got out of several jams.
Bob Rush was pitching for the Braves, he set down the first two hitters in the bottom of the 12th. Hodges then walked and advanced to second on a single by Joe Pignatano. Up comes Furillo. The veteran star had been battling injuries all season long and ended up playing in only 50 games.
Furillo hit a hard grounder up the middle that was fielded by SS, Felix Mantilla, who had come into the game for the injured Johnny Logan, Mantilla, with no chance for a force at second, fired the ball to first, but it hit the dirt in front of Frank Torre, and was ruled an error, meanwhile Hodges scampered around third and scored the winning run and LA had it’s first pennant.
They went to Chicago to play the first two series games against the Go-go ChiSox, Led by Luis Aparicio and Nellie Fox, with Big Ted Kluzewski their slugging first baseman.
Craig started game one and was hammered. They lost 11-0 as Kluzewski hit two homers and drove in 5. Future Hall of Famer, Early Wynn shut them down on 8 hits.
Game two was started by Johnny Podres against Bob Shaw of the Sox. The Sox jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first. The Dodgers got one back in the 5th on a Neal homer. Then in the top of the seventh, Chuck Essegian, pinch hitting, hit a homer off of Shaw to make it 2-2. Gilliam singled, and then Neal hit his second homer of the game to make it 4-2 LA.
In the bottom of the 8th, Larry Sherry was facing the heart of the Sox order. He had come in to relieve Podres in the7th. Kluszewski singled, and Lollar got aboard when his ball bounced off of Gilliams glove. Earl Torgeson ran for Klu. Al Smith came up to the plate. With orders to bunt, he fouled off a pitch, then took strike two before watching three pitches out of the zone.
He then hit a long drive to left that went over Moon’s head. Torgeson came around to score, but the slow footed Lollar, deeked by Moon acting like he caught the ball, slowed down coming around second, with the third base coach yelling for him to run, he headed home, but Moon quickly recovered the ball and fired to Wills who threw to Roseboro, and Lollar was out by ten feet.
Sherry shut the Sox down in the 9th and the teams headed to LA tied at a game apiece. The games in LA would set attendance records for a World Series that still stands today.
Game one drew 92,394. Game two, 92,650, game three, 92,706 for a total of 277,750. Still records. The Dodgers won game 3, 3-1 behind Drysdale, then won game 4, 5-4 on the strength of a Gil Hodges homer off reliever Gerry Staley in the bottom of the 8th. Sherry got the win in relief of Craig. LA was up 3-1.
Koufax pitched the game of his life in game five, but was out pitched by Bob Shaw, who despite giving up 9 hits, did not allow a run in a 1-0 White Sox win.
The teams headed back to Chicago for the last two games. Podres got the start against game one winner, Early Wynn. But in a reversal of game one, this time LA jumped all over Wynn and had a 8-0 lead by the top of the 4th inning. Snider’s two-run shot in the top of the third started the scoring. It was his 11th World Series homer, and like Hodges earlier blast, it would be his last. At the time, that 11th homer put him second on the All-time list, and his two RBI’s made him the leader of all NL players in that category.
In the top of the 4th, Wynn, who was pitching on two-days’ rest, imploded. Larker singled, Demeter pinch ran and went to second on a sacrifice by Roseboro. Wills singled and Podres hit a 2-run double. Donovan relieved Wynn. Gilliam walked and Neal doubled to make it 6-0. Moon then followed with a homer to right and it was 8-0.
Podres got the first out in the bottom of the inning, but then hit Landis in the head and walked Lollar. Kluszewski, playing in his first World Series, then slammed his third homer of the series to make it 8-3.
Sherry came into relieve Podres and shut the Sox down the rest of the game. The final would be 9-3 when Chuck Essegian hit his second pinch hit homer of the series off of Ray Moore. LA was the champion for the first time in their history.
Sherry won the MVP award and a new Corvette with 2 wins and 2 saves in the series. When he and his brother Norm, moved into new houses on Ave 66 in Highland Park, I saw the Corvette sitting in his garage many times.
It would be the last World Series for several of the Dodger players, and the first of a few for others. Hodges, Snider, Furillo, Craig and Zimmer would all be gone soon. Furillo was released during the 1960 season while injured and ended up suing baseball and never was involved in the game again. Zim was traded to the Cubs in a deal that brought Ron Perranoski to LA. Hodges and Craig left in the expansion draft to the Mets, and Snider was sold to the Mets after the 1962 season, when they lost a heartbreaking playoff to the Giants.
Hodges hit .391 in his swan song series; Neal hit .370. The Dodgers slugged 7 homers and the Sox, 4. Three by Kluszewski. I remember those games well. We would listen on our transistor radios whenever we could fool the teacher into thinking we were just leaning on our hands when the earpiece was covered by our hands.
This is the first of a two-part story. I have posted a photo of Furillo, It was his last contribution of a very good career. I always felt he did not get enough credit for being a good ballplayer.
Wait ’til this year…
We are all biased here, of course, but I think part of the appeal of the Dodgers is that they came so close so often only to be denied by those damn Yankees. The Dodgers of yore played second fiddle to the Yankees much as Brooklyn played second fiddle to Manhattan and NYC at large.
Then Branch Rickey brilliantly kicked the Dodgers and baseball itself into another level by bringing in Jackie Robinson, an incomparable talent with incomparable character, to integrate the game and help defeat Jim Crow.
The Dodgers were winning and the haters were losing. How many millions of fan and admirers did the Dodgers attract. Of course the Boys of Summer were easy to root for… even after the O’Malleys took the team to LA, ushering in another era of the game and yet more lore with personalities like Koufax and Wills and Big D and Fernando and Lasorda and Orel and so many others.
So it should be no surprise that the Dodgers are at the leading edge in the global expansion of baseball, opening the season in Korea, with Japanese stars Shohei and Yamamoto front and center. I’ve read that Chan Ho Park might throw out the first pitch. Of course it was the Dodgers who imported the first Korean star to the MLB.
It’s hard to know where all this leads, but I just read the Dodgers will open next season in Japan. The Koreans are already going pretty nuts over the upcoming series. Hell, if all goes well, the Dodgers could open next season in Tokyo with Ohtani on the bump….
I waiting til this year and already anticipating the next.
Some quick impressions from the 31-man roster for Korea…
Some of these guys are on the taxi squad and will mostly play in exhibition games, but it’s great to see that Feduccia and Knack are heading to Seoul. Pretty sure these are the only two on the list who haven’t played in the majors yet.
Unless somebody gets hurt, they are unlikely to make the 26-man roster for the games against the Pads. Miguel Vargas and Kyle Hurt are also going to Seoul but also seem unlikely to make the 26-man roster. I’m guessing Gus Varland will be also held off. (Brusdar is nursing an injury that we hope is minor, and the Dodgers decided to keep Paxton in LA to prepare for the season.) While it’s good for Miguelito that the travel roster, I still suspect he’s fallen behind Pages on the depth chart.
For what it’s worth, the 31-man travel roster reported on mlb.com lists Hurt as a starter, not a reliever. I approve. While Hurt has closer potential, Dodgers have a lot of strong RP options and it would be great to have another power arm groomed for the rotation. If it doesn’t work out, Hurt can always shift back to the bullpen.
FWIW, the roster also lists the Kike as an infielder and Taylor as an outfielder. Maybe this reflects how Roberts views their primary utility roles. It seems that the plan is for Taylor to play LF and Teoscar to shift to RF whenever Heyward sits. While somebody reading this is pining for Kike to platoon with Outman, that will probably be an occasional gig as Kike can also be a righty-hitting alternative for Lux or Max. Freddie likes to play every, but last season Roberts replaced him wiht Kike when games were out of reach.
Meanwhile, in alumni news, JD Martinez is reportedly unhappy with the low-ball offers he’s been receiving.
It’s been reported that after JDM turned down a one-year $14-15 million offer from the Giants, Farhan decided to offer more money and more years to the younger Jorge Soler, who can at least play some OF. JDM is another Boras client and it seems that Boras again misread the market badly.
JDM would be a great fit for the Mets, but he may have to swallow his pride a bit and “settle” for millions less than he thinks he is worth. A $10 million contract (like the “pillow” deal he took with the Dodgers at age 35) would effectively cost the Mets $20 million because of the luxury tax.
Cue the tiny, sad violin.
Astros, who have several starting pitchers out with ailments, now in hot pursuit of Snell.
You hit the nail right on the head. Not one of his big clients have signed for anything close to what he was asking. And his two biggest clients are still out there with only 2 weeks to go in spring training.
There are still rumors out there on some streams suggesting that the Dodgers are still considering trading for Adames. I have voiced my opinion on this several times. But it is like beating a dead horse. It just keeps coming back up. There was also a story on Google news, that Adames could be getting a contract north of 125 million dollars. I just can’t see LA extending him for that kind of money.
I still don’t believe Betts is the answer at short so it doesn’t surprise me that rumors are still appearing.
“Wait til this year”. Good line.
Vegas has Dodgers opening with 104.5 wins. I got the over.
Bauer still working on his image. He did a pretty good job of it on the back fields the other day. A lot of fans showed up to see it. It would appear many would like to see him be given another chance. I’m among that group.
I will pay some attention to the games in Korea but I am anxious to see the team back on the mainland. I do not like this schedule with 2 regular season games off continent and sandwiched between 5 exhibition games. I’m curious how both teams will approach those two games. They have to play to win of course, but I’m thinking they could treat those games like exhibition games. Put in the work, smile for the cameras and get out of there safely. Don’t want a repeat of what happened in Australia.
I’m with “over” for 104.5 too.
The schedule is weird, but both the MBL and Dodgers are emphasizing the international market. The LAT’s Jack Harris has a good piece on how “the Ohtani mystique” is having a bigger impact than the Dodger front office expected: https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2024-03-13/how-shohei-ohtanis-mystique-is-transforming-the-dodgers-future
Anyway, it’s better to do all this travel now and not have it disrupt other parts of the schedule. Dodgers don’t have to field their A team against the Angels.
Besides, this schedule could benefit the Dodgers, as Glasnow and Yamamoto could wind up starting the first four games of the “regular” season.
I think Bauer will get a chance at some point, but not with the Dodgers.
As for the rumors that Dodgers are still angling for Adames….
The latest report I heard is that the Dodgers first want to see how Mookie works out at SS. Best case is that Mookie will prove competent and both he and Lux will thrive.
If not, the Dodgers can turn to Rojas and maybe go shortstop shopping at midseason. But I would not be surprised if Mookie delivers.
Agree, give Mookie a decent shot. Dude has excelled at everything he has attempted in athletics, even fn bowling. He actually like amaze us as he gets more time at SS. I believe Mookie will do better at SS than Lux will do at 2B. The real test is, even with defensive short-comings can it be overcome by an offense that will just kick ass. I’m betting on an offense that can overcome and put Ws on the sheet. Also, Rojas is a great insurance policy for both SS and 2B.
Glad to see Treinin (?) made the trip to Korea, that’s a good sign.
Damn, I love korean food, kimchi rocks but the salt levels can hospitalize ya
I spent 13 months in Korea. Kimchi? No thanks, the smell of that stuff would stop a charging Rhino!
I don’t see Yamamoto and Glasnow going more than 75 pitches in Korea. I could be wrong.
Mookie will be adequate if not good at short. I just don’t believe the Dodgers want him there permanently.
Agree about throwing a rope around the Asian market. It’s import. Like I said, smile for the cameras then get out of there.
I understand that MLB wants global attention enhanced by trips like this one to Korea. But is it really necessary? The disruption of pre-season preparation, travel, travel to games that count before returning to the freeway series of non-counters, hiring “sleep consultants” is all a bother to me. I can do without all the bother, personally.
We agree.
These should be off season moves. It’s an indoor stadium, they can go at any time. But this feels awkwardly planned. Season Openers off continent? No!
Me too. Daily. It’s like a bad penny.
Not worried about anything Dodger-related. Let it play out. Maybe Rojas ends up a hero this year. Throwback to 1988.
Dodgers still looking to acquire Willy Adames is click bait. People checking in to see if anyone has anything to offer that is anywhere close to news. They do not. But they keep getting headlines and top Google search. So why stop?
Now that “news” is branching out to Blake Snell. These bloggers read something into anything they want. A cryptic Instagram??? That means the Dodgers are going to sign Blake Snell? Even Jon Heyman did not pooh-pooh the notion of the Dodgers signing Blake Snell. He believes it will come down to LAA or San Francisco, but would not rule out the Dodgers.
Dylan Cease being traded to the Padres and the Dodgers are all worried that they now need Blake Snell???
Anyone who is not in favor of Mookie playing SS is not doing so because they do not believe he cannot play SS. Of course he can, but not at the elite level. He is 31 and has never been an everyday SS at the professional level. Most 31 year old SS are looking to make a change to save their legs.
Not the Dodgers. IMO, the FO was so invested in Gavin Lux that they did not due their due diligence for an established everyday SS who can play elite defense (for the last few years). The Dodgers do believe that Miguel Rojas is an elite defensive SS, but at 35, just how many games can he realistically start at SS? Or is he more valuable as a part time SS and defensive replacement.
So because the front office did not have the foresight to see that they needed an everyday SS, they are putting together a makeshift infield where three infield positions could very well all generate a negative dWAR. With their offense, they can get by the regular season with this infield, but is it good enough to win in October? Will their pitchers pitch to stay away from the ground ball?
I can see no other way for the Dodgers to enter October other than with Mookie at SS and Lux at 2B. The Dodgers are not going to trade a MLB ready (or near ready) mid to top rotation SP prospect with 6 years of control for Willy Adames and his one year of control. Some have conjectured the Dodgers trade River Ryan. Not happening.
So outside of pitching, who can the Dodgers offer this year to make teams want to make a deal with them? The Dodgers were able to get Glasnow because they were willing to trade Ryan Pepiot. All the other acquisitions were via FA. Ohtani, Yamamoto, Hernández, Hernández, Paxton, Heyward. AF/BG is not AJ Preller.
The Brewers would not trade Brice Turang (nor Adames) straight up for Lux. Miguel Vargas has very little trade value. The Dodgers are not trading Andy Pages or Josue De Paula.
Baltimore is not trading Gunnar Henderson (LAD had their chance in 2019) or Jackson Holliday. Cincinnati is not trading Elly De La Cruz or Matt McLain. NYY is not trading Anthony Volpe. KC is not trading Witt. NYM is not trading Lindor, The Dodgers do not want anything to do with Javy Baez or Trevor Story. They chose not to sign Nick Ahmed (???). I have no problem with them not re-signing Amed Rosario or signing Tim Anderson. So it is Mookie at SS and Lux at 2B. Hopefully they can at least develop into an average keystone combo, and that Mookie’s offense does not suffer, and that Lux can make up for his miscues with his bat.
This team was built to win in October. Someone forgot to identify perhaps the most important defensive position on the field to solidify the chances. We know what happens when teams that are built to win with an offense that score runs in bundles DON’T in October.
I agree that Lux gets every chance to make it at SS here. It’s what the team wants and clearly through TONS of examples, we know that the team well preferences bat ability over fielding proficency at almost every position.
But this post gives me the chance to use the trade value simulator!
I could see the Orioles looking to move Westburg to make it easier for Mateo, Mayo, Holliday and Henderson to more easily co-exist across 2B, SS and 3B.
Jokingly, Sheehan for Westburg works really well for the trade simulator.
Westburg was on the LAD short list for the 2020 draft. He might have been a Dodger had Bobby Miller not been available. Jordan went the very next pick to Baltimore. But Westburg is a 2B and will not solve the LAD dilemma of Mookie at SS. Lux cannot defend with Westburg, but I do believe he will outhit him.
And Sheehan for Westburg? I think AF hangs up the phone on that one. And I understand that it was stated jokingly, but that is who the Dodgers are going to have to trade to get a ML SS.
“Sheehan for Westburg, that is who the Dodgers are going to have to trade to get a ML SS.”
Forget a SS. Sheehan is at the top of my never trade list for prospect pitchers (Yeah he’s not a prospect anymore, but still).
I don’t have any worries about Betts and Lux on defense. They are both very athletic. Glasnow and Yamamoto are way above league average strikeout pitchers. Buehler and Kershaw are a good amount above average. The offense has a high percentage chance of scoring a lot of runs even in the playoffs. The stars are aligned.
Nyah, I think Westburg would be more than adequate at SS. But it’s not gonna happen.
I’d definitely trade Sheehan for a top SS, but it’s not gonna happen.
Another reason the Dodgers may not want to overpay for Adames is that it is almost a certainty that Ha-Seong Kim will decline his $7MM mutual option with San Diego and will become a FA. After playing against the Dodgers for 4 years, maybe he will want to play for them. If I were AF/BG, Kim would be my #1 target. #2? Try again to see what it would take to get Bo Bichette.
Kim would be my target as well.
There was some discussion that Hernandez was having problems at SS due to his injuries. If that’s the case, the Dodgers could go with a Taylor/Hernandez/Rojas/Betts combo at SS. Where that leaves Lux? I have no idea.
Yes, they could go with that combo. But is that what a championship team does for the SS position? Maybe, I guess. But I would think not.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Lux over there for a few games mid-summer. I hope so anyway. I still believe he’s a shortstop.
Kim would be my target
Well that was short and sweet. LA DFAd Lipcius, activated Hudson and assigned Vargas to AAA.
This Spring Breakout game is fun to watch, early on
Wrobelski looks great with 4k in 2ip. Kendall George is faster than anyone else and he’s jogging out there it seems. DePaula has a really nice swing.
I thought Albertus looked athletic.