Thursday, March 28, 2024
Home > Dodgers > McCarthy Returns Strong, Completes Weekend Sweep. Dodgers Win 4-1

McCarthy Returns Strong, Completes Weekend Sweep. Dodgers Win 4-1

This afternoon’s game brought us the grand return of Brandon McCarthy to Chavez Ravine. In addition to that, the Dodgers were hoping to pull off the victory and sweep the Rockies.

Will pick up the action in the second…

2nd inning 
Dodgers
Trayce Thompson went deep to center field for a solo home run. 1-0


Howie Kendrick HBP
Yasiel Puig walked.
Yasmani Grandal walked to load the bases with no out.
Up came McCarthy with huge chance to improve his lot.
Another walk! 2-0
With two out, Justin Turner got a base hit to center. He scored Puig, but third base coach, Chris Woodward made a ridiculous decision to send a lumbering catcher home. Grandal  was thrown out by two miles.

4th inning  Dodgers 3-0
Rockies
McCarthy cruising. No real threats yet.

5th inning  Dodgers 3-0
Rockies
McCarthy struck out the side to make it 8 Ks total on 72 pitches. He was done.

6th inning  Dodgers 3-0
Adam Liberatore in. Job done.
Dodgers
Offense quiet since the second.

7th inning  Dodgers 3-0
Casey Fien in.  Rockies home run. 3-1
Dodgers
Yasmani Grandal got the run back with a solo blast to CF. 4-1

8th inning  Dodgers 4-1
Joe Blanton in. Job done.

9th inning
Kenley Jansen vs Rockies
LeMaehue: K
Carlos Gonzalez: Bloop fly ball that dropped in front of Puig. Catchable? Hmmm…
Nolan Arenado:
Suddenly about ten people ran on the field, some carrying black flags that seemed to read “Dodgers”.  After the rhubarb, Arenado struck out. Twitter later reported it was some kind of “Free the Animals” protest.
Daniel Descalso: K

Dodgers win! 4-1

Corey Seager continued his hitting streak and is leading everyone in the majors with Sweet 16.

This was a great weekend series. As I mentioned last night, it was just what the doctor ordered for the Boys in Blue. The three starting pitchers over the series delivered 17 shut out innings and 26 strikeouts. Add in the bullpens’ work, and you get 38 Ks over the three games.

The offense found its home run power again, and that came from Grandal and Thompson, two guys who have been waiting and hoping to start hitting again with power.

The bullpen put in another good outing. They only gave up one run over the last four innings, and Jansen looked sharp in closing the game out.

Brandon McCarthy (W 1-0) went five innings with 2 hits, 1 walk, 8 Ks.  ERA 0.00

Home runs: Thompson, Grandal

Double: Puig

Team with RISP: 1 for 4

Oscar Martinez

I was born in the shadow of Dodger Stadium and immediately drenched in Dodger Blue. Chavez Ravine is my baseball cathedral, Vin Scully was the golden voice of summer all my life, and Tommy Lasorda remains the greatest Dodgers manager ever. My favorite things are coffee, beer, and the Dodgers beating the Giants. I also blog about my baseball card hobby at All Trade Bait, All the Time.

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Oscar Martinez
I was born in the shadow of Dodger Stadium and immediately drenched in Dodger Blue. Chavez Ravine is my baseball cathedral, Vin Scully was the golden voice of summer all my life, and Tommy Lasorda remains the greatest Dodgers manager ever. My favorite things are coffee, beer, and the Dodgers beating the Giants. I also blog about my baseball card hobby at All Trade Bait, All the Time.
http://alltradebait.blogspot.com/

131 thoughts on “McCarthy Returns Strong, Completes Weekend Sweep. Dodgers Win 4-1

  1. Nice 5 innings. Thought he could have gone 1 more. Descalso sure likes hitting at Dodger Stadium. 3 of his 7 career homers hit there………Corey stays hot, Grandal finds another bone……..still well below the Mendoza line…

  2. That was the best I have ever saw MCCarthy pitch.

    Maybe he wants to prove something, after not playing for the first year and half, of his contract.

    1. Seen him better when he was a Yankee, but that was easily his best performance as a Dodger, and by the way, he is undefeated in a Dodger uni.

  3. Remember Mark’s Kershawshank Redemption? Maybe this is Kershawshank support. Keep it up? I am optimistic. Cautious but optimistic. It happened when Puig came up. Can they do it again? I am on the hope side.

  4. That was the Brandon McCarthy I thought we were getting last year. I watched him the previous season when he pitched for the Yanks and that’s how he looked then. I think he injured his elbow last Spring and tried to pitch through it. 15 months later, he might be THAT guy again. He was really sharp today – that’s unusual after such a long layoff. I’m sure he could have went another inning, but they want to bring him along slowly so as not to re-injure anything. It was the right move to let him pitch 5 innings and take him out.

    This could be a game changer. I listened to Tony Gwynn Jr. after the game and he said that the team looks different and that maybe Kershaw’s injury has brought them together. He said that it looks like the team is getting it together. That’s what I see too. Ryu will be back soon. Anderson probably by August.

    Boston needs starters, like a #4 or #5. How about Kazmir? Or maybe we hoard starters? If KAZ has another good outing or two, maybe he could be moved to Boston for an offensive player… not Ramirez! Another prospect or maybe he’s the key.

    People this is called Depth! Just when you thought we didn’t have it, we have it out the wazzooo!

    Grandal with another HR, Don’t let him get hot!

    1. Mark
      Not that have have seen many, but MCCarthy had the best control for someone just coming back, from TJ surgery.

      Remember Beachy, who I know had two TJ surgeries, but his main problem was control, let alone command.

      1. MJ,

        McCarthy did a Bud Norris in that he re-invented himself with the Yankees in 2014, He changed his arms slot and pitches and was outstanding. Everyone ragged on FAZ for signing him and then his elbow blow out so they really piled on – he may yet be an outstanding addition.

        Most of the FAZ bashers are speechless! I love it. These guys aren’t perfect but the team is just coming together. It’s not how you start – It’s how you end!

        They didn’t improve the penYES THEY DID!
        They didn’t improve the rotation YES THEY DID!
        This team is terrible NO IT ISN’T

        1. I am not speechless, and I am not dancing in the street over 1 game either. Still taxing the BP too much, and this team is not a championship team. Depth or no, there are still holes starting with the Grand Canyon that is the catching…….Grandal sucks….period, HR or no, the guy is a lousy hitter.

    2. How are you Mark? Dodgers are coming together like I knew they would. As much as people talk about our FO. Take a look on the other side of town, the Angels are in shambles. I know the FO has made some mistakes but overall things are looking up. I read a report Dodgers are inquiring about Tampas Archer. What do you think about him. Take care my friend. I miss your website and all the guys. Go BLUE!!!!

    3. Grandal get hot? That’s a joke. I have no faith and no love for the guy. And not because we traded Kemp to get him. I just have never thought he was all that great anyway, and he is way below his career average. Strikes out too much, and is Mr. Rally Killer….

  5. Badger
    You didn’t come through! I asked for a come back win, in the bottom of the ninth.

    But the Dbacks, couldn’t even get a runner on third home, with less then two outs, and tie the game again!

  6. Nice team win. McCarthy looked good. He did have really good control, but I will wait for a couple more games to jump on the McCarthy bandwagon.

    Puig should be benched at least one game for his stupid base running gaffe (just like Grandal should have gotten benched when he tagged from first a few days ago). I will take Trayce over him YP any day of the week. Puig might have the better physical tools but Trayce is the better ball player.

    I also read about Archer. According to some baseball nerd site archer should cost more than Fernandez in a trade due to his success and contract status. Hmm. I wonder what it would take to get him without the untouchables?

    Did anybody read how Yasiel Sierra got outright/kicked off the 40 man roster? Is it the name? The FO doled out 30 mil for that dude who was supposed to be mlb ready and he is getting hammered in A ball. Hopefully it’s an adjustment year for that kid.

    1. 7.16 ERA at RC. Getting lit up is right, be he actually got a promotion out of it because he was sent to OKC. He is 25 years old. So not so much a kid. Has pitched in Cuba for quite a while.

  7. Was that on-field demonstration late in the game by a group called “Free The Dodgers, Fire The FAZ”?

  8. I drove to see by daughter yesterday which is a 3 hour drive and pretty much listened to MLB all the way there and back. Jim Bowden was saying that the Cubs signed Jason Heyward because they thought the could “fix” his swing and make him a power hitter. He said the Cards thought the same thing when they traded for him. He went on to say that is dangerous because it’s hard to “Fix” someone. He cited JD Martinez as a case where it worked, but that usually “a player is what he is.”

    I mention that because that’s what I think FAZ did with Sierra. Usually, that is a mistake. Maybe they intend to try him as a reliever. So far, the Cuban Player Crisis is a problem. There’s still time, but… many of them have been less than expected. Often it takes several years to play out, but do the Dodgers have ANY Cubans who are realizing their potential?

    1. These Cubans are bad, because you have to pay some of them, like they are free agents, without really knowing what they are.

  9. Interesting game at Chase. We saw a lot of backups from both teams. The gints guys, Brown, Williamson, Parker, Green all look like the play for the 49ers. Relievers Osich and Strickland were throwing 99 mph. They are a good team. Lamb for Arizona is a stud. 25 years old and can flat out rake. Both the snakes and the midgets are hit with injuries, just like we are. For a while, it might be whose jr varsity is better.

    McCarthy? 5 innings 72 pitches. It might take a while to get up to speed. 4 out of the bullpen again. The guy you thought he was? Well, it’s about time. I don’t know what to think. He’s made of glass. But, on the Dodgers, 5 innings is what we’ve come to expect, so, he might fit right in.

    1. What I would not give to see some guys go 8…is that too much to ask????? Probably. These modern pitchers are just not built that way, and they make 100 times what Sandy and Don got. Kersh is a throwback, but all pitchers get injured at some time or another, the rotator cuff injury that ended Big D’s career would have been fixed by surgery today. My only wish is that the FO would quit shopping at the bargain bin and the waiver wire basement store, and get a couple of real major league players. But doubt that will happen with the FAZ master.

  10. Heading to California tomorrow. Will be there about a month. Plan to take in a couple of Dodger games and to go see the Quakes too. So I will not be on here much since my laptop does not have this site programed in yet…..that ought to make Mark happy. Me not here to bitch about his fair haired boy Grandal and FAZ> No biggie. I shall return sometime in full force. In 30 days we should have a pretty good idea what we have for the stretch run……have fun guys, and be kind to Mark while I am gone.

    1. If they were kind to me, I would feel slighted.

      Hey, I was ready to fire Grandal last week, but I might give him another week.

      1. I can live with that Mark. But something obviously needs to be done at the position. We have Barnes at AAA, but he is not an upgrade. Most of the better prospects, Farmer, Leon are at the lower levels. AJ is not an every day guy anymore and we all know that. But Grandal just has not lived up to what the FAZ meister thought he would be. But another week, I can live with that. After the all star break, they need to make a decision.

    2. Michael
      Have a safe trip and a good time, and pick up an In and Out burger, when you are here!

      The weather hasn’t been that hot for July, the high is only 86 today.

      1. Sorry, I am a Carl’s Jr guy. In and Out has never been one of my favorites. As a 30 plus year over the road trucker, I am always safe. Watch out for the other guy, who is usually the one who causes the wreck. The entire trip is 1053 miles to my sisters front door. 16 hours actual driving time, and my dog Red is coming with. So we will have doggie potty breaks. Going out Highway 50 from Canon City to Grand Junction, then 70 to the 15 down to the 91 and to the 110 to my sisters house. Some beautiful country, and a 110 mile stretch in Utah where there is NOTHING. Not in a big hurry so no speeding involved. Truck has been serviced, tires and brakes are good, tank is full, all I need to do now is load the damn thing! Also will get to play some music while I am home. Sitting in with the Chad Watson Band at the Cowboy Palace in Chatsworth. Works for me! Have a good time fellers! And Dodgers……..win one for the Gipper…….

          1. He is a Chiweeny. Part chihuahua and part wiener dog. He is all red in color, and a great pet……

        1. I heard part of the Rockies broadcast on Saturday,. And in that broadcast, they gave all of the credit, on how well the Dodger’s pitchers, had handled the Rockies hitters, to AJ.

          And really AJ and Grandal, work together, before every game, on a game plan. So even when Grandal is catching, he uses the same game plan, that both he and AJ worked on, before the game.

    1. Morons……all of them morons…I was watching the Rockies feed here in Colorado and they would not give them TV time.

    2. They were an animal rights group they say, because there banners said, something like animal liberation, but I don’t think they were really that group.

      I think they were more, just looking for attention, trying to get there five minutes of fame.

  11. It was obvious McCarthy could have continued at least 6, maybe 7, but this was the guys first game back and Roberts wants to win the war, not the battle. So, it’s silly to say he’s another 5 inning pitcher. THAT WAS HIS FIRST GAME in 15 months. I think 5 spectacular innings is a great start!

    He didn’t just pitch well, he pitched great!

    1. Mark
      I agree that that is dumb to say he will only be a five inning pitcher, from one start.

      But will he be on some type of pitch count, after just coming back, from being injured?

  12. Someone asked about Chris Archer.

    My position is that with the plethora of starters we have accumulated, we should not be buyers of pitching…. maybe sellers.

    Even if Kershaw doesn’t come back, you can’t replace him…

    Meada
    Kazmir
    Norris
    Ryu
    Stewart
    Urias
    De Leon
    Cotton
    Anderson
    Stripling
    Oaks

    Someone will step up. If Kershaw is healthy, I wouldn’t be adverse to trading the right starter(s) for Chapman (Stripling, Cotton).

        1. I, too, would love to have Miller but that’s only a dream. Earlier this morning the Yankees informed Miller that he will NOT be traded. Chapman is more likely to go.
          Also, Miller has stated many times in the past that he wants to stay on the East Coast.

          1. Oh phooey…….damn, I would love to have that guy, Chapman is an ass……………blazing stuff, but an ass…..

    1. Isn’t Archer injured? That would fit right into the plan. I know Moore is coming back from TJ surgery. Right now, we have a plethora of starters coming along, I hope someone steps up, but if they do not, a solid #2 would be nice, but I prefer Gray or Terhan.

  13. I missed the protesters. What was it about?

    “It was obvious he could have continued at least 6, maybe 7” – I didn’t even see the game but I know that isn’t true. He was on a pitch count and 5 innings on 72 was good, but he clearly was not ready to go 6, and certainly not 7. I read somewhere he’s the one who told the Dodgers he was ready, and though they wanted at least one more minor league start, management acquiesced, which begs the question- who’s in charge here? Against Colorado? They suck, so, ok. I doubt they do something like that against a good team. Maybe. Desperate times, desperate measures. We are lucky we got 4 more good innings out of the bullpen. Can they hold up for a rotation of 5 inning pitchers? I guess we will find out.

    No moves. Not yet anyway. Wait a few weeks.

    Enjoy the Southland Michael. Things are happnin there now. I heard on Bill Maher California is now in the black. Way to go Jerry. We won’t talk about how he did it, but it’s done.

    1. Just read about the protesters. Not morons. As a 47 year vegetarian, I support their cause. Wrong venue, in my opinion.

      1. Badger
        They said they were an animal rights group, but I don’t think they were the animal rights group, we all know.

        And that is because it was the wrong venue like you said.

        But did you read something further then just that?

      2. Well animal rights has more to do with furs, and testing drugs and stuff on animals which I totally disdain entirely. But as for eating meat, man has done that since the beginning of time. They probably dislike the way the steers are killed before being butchered. There is no easy way to do it. But like you said Badger, Dodger Stadium is not the correct place to air your grievances. I am more against animal cruelty, which we all know is people abusing their pets. Some of those people should be skinned.

        1. “man has done that since the beginning of time”.

          That’s not accurate Michael. Man has hunted for survival. But there numerous studies that show human ancestors were nearly all vegetarian. I don’t wish to debate this here, but if you care to do any research on this topic you WILL discover there is a lot of cruelty in how we go about growing and harvesting animals for consumption. I think these protesters have a legitimate cause, but to break laws to protest is not the right way to go about it.

          1. Do not have to tell me about that. I worked for National Carriers hauling beef out of Liberal Kansas. I watched the process a couple of times. It is cruel, and it is gross. And I remember my dad butchering a lamb when we lived on a ranch in Nevada. I have never eaten lamb since. You are probably right about early man eating his veggies. Personally, green veggies are my least favorite thing, starting with spinach. Popeye missed the boat on that one. I also abhor steak. Do not ask me why, but I cannot eat meat with a lot of fat on it, or undercooked. No prime rib for me. Mostly like burgers, used to love hot dogs. But Ham and bacon, well that’s the cats meow to me. I have no problem with people protesting, that is why I served, to protect their rights, but you are right, they did it the wrong way……..I research baseball and history and that is about it. Do not have time right now for most other stuff…be well Badger, will chat with you after I get settled in.

    2. He might have the state in the black, but I will never come back home to live. No way I am giving up my gun rights to a bunch of politico’s who need armed guards. My guns are for self protection only, I do not hunt, and the chance of me using them in anger where I live is pretty slim, but at least the bad guys know I will use it and that I know how.

      1. Unless you are on a terrorist watch list, nobody wants to take away your guns. I don’t believe you need assault rifles, armor piercing bullets and high capacity magazines to protect yourself against home invasions. And if the police show up you’re f’d no matter what you might have in your armory. Have you read what Homeland Security is doing buying ammo? Billions of rounds of anything sold on any market anywhere globally. They are buying up everything. Why?

        Maybe we shouldn’t go down this road in here?

        1. Well I do not have assault weapons. Just a shotgun, a couple of 22 rifles, a 9mm carbine, and a 357 and 9mm pistol……..and yeah, Hillary and Obummer are trying to take our guns. Hillary went as far as saying Veterans should not have guns as they are mentally unstable…….but you are right…discussion better left for another venue……Homeland is run by morons…

  14. Yea, we may be in the black now but they’re spending money like drunken sailors,
    or like FAZ on Cubans

    1. Always thought that FAZ was drunk. Them out righting Sierra proves the point. That’s a 30 million dollar waste. So was Olivera. What behooved them to sign that guy is beyond me.

        1. Peraza was 1/3rd of that deal, the other 2 were our guys. Most of what we got back was junk. And in actuality, Frazier came to the Dodgers, then he was traded to the Sox for Montas, Thompson and Johnson. Peraza, Schebler, and Dixon got us Frazier..

    2. Montas and Thompson for two good prospects AND $30 million? Yeah. Great move.

      Money only benefits society when it is spent. Money is like manure, it needs to be spread out for it to create growth. Does no good piled up. Rejoice. Let it flow. Most people, I read over 50%, feel the California economy is heading in the right direction. That number was 10% when the Terminator was in office.

      I was just reading several takes on what the Lakers are doing. It sounds, to me anyway, they are on a similar timeline as the Dodgers. And the Rams, though improving, aren’t going to be good for a while so – I’m making a Los Angeles Supremacy Proclamation – Dodgers, Lakers, Rams ~ LA – Moving Forward – Playoff Scene All Year in ’18. (needs some work – any ideas?)

      1. Durant going to the Warriors. Lakers giving 64 million to Mozgov borders on insanity…

      2. Jimmy B. has promised that if his plan doesn’t get the Lakers back to the playoffs in three years he will step down. Might as well go now.

  15. I do believe that FAZ got swindled on the Cubans, but you have to give it more time… even Sierra.

    At least they didn’t give $300 million dollars in contracts to two aging players.

    OK, they gave it to 10 young Cubans.

    😉

    1. You must forgive FAZ for his Cuban signings, their medical records were not available, so he didn’t get his usual results….

  16. Billy Bean just signed a Cuban. It’s spreading. I don’t know why. The Rockies looked hopeless this series. They are the most professional hitters in the game, in my opinion, but they sucked in LA. How many strikeouts? A zillion? Now they face the giants. I hope they snap out of it today. Orioles got swept in Seattle. Dangerous? It is a HR team so I hope the air is heavy. Pray for smog. I’ve read that the brains in medicine say that a team shouldn’t increase the workload of a pitcher more than 20% year to year. Urias will soon be there. So what do they do with him? Put him on the fake DL? I hate the way these pitchers are brought along. If you need them, LET THEM PITCH.

    1. Bobbie 17
      The high for today is going to be only 86, and the game doesn’t start until six, so the balls, shouldn’t be flying out, that easy.

      I am more worried about our bullpen facing the Orioles.

      But Urias will be facing a tough line up, of big power right handed bats, in this game.

    2. Those “brains” are descendants of the same “brains” who advocated “bleeding” sick people to cure their ills. Not really knocking doctors, they know a thousand times more than I do, but medicine has been in transition for thousands of years and it always will be. Medical knowledge is never written in stone.

        1. There are always possibilities… There is one thing “bleeding” or using leeches would do and that would be to lower blood pressure. I’ve mentioned that to several doctors and they don’t understand it, they’ve forgotten the simple science they learned in High School.

    3. That Cuban he signed is considered maybe the best one yet. Only 17 years old. The Dodgers were very high on him, but they are over the international limit

    1. It’s a safe move. The Dodgers don;t lose him because as bad as he is, no one was going to take him.

        1. The move of Sierra is safe because the other team would have to absorb the rest of the signing money which is many millions.

  17. Sborz with RC is a good chucker. It looks like they are counting pitches with him too. Pulled him after 4 yesterday. Kyle Garlick might be figuring out AA with Tulsa. His average is inching up after lighting up high A.

    1. Sborz has a shot at being a #4 or #5.

      Garlick could be our 1B in 2018. Bellinger could move to the outfield.

      I have never seen so many prospects for the Dodgers progress so fast: A, AA and AAA in a year.

  18. Has anyone here ever played competitive fast pitch? I was in several tournaments in Northern California and played against, and on, nationally ranked teams. There were many pitchers who pitched in several games all weekend. The good ones were pitching as many 30+ inning weekends. It wasn’t until Sunday afternoon they admitted they were tired. Under hand pitching. Submarine. Eventually we will see more of it. The human arm isn’t really designed to pitch overhand. Maybe if we were born in trees and grew up like Tarzan did. But, we didn’t.

    1. Actually in the beginning baseball pitchers all threw underhanded. I played fast pitch in the army, and pitched a few games myself. Was better at hitting than pitching.

    2. Badger
      I played fast pitch, and I was a pitcher.

      I would pitch in every game we played.

      And I would sometimes pitch twice in one day,
      in those two game elimination, tournaments.

      1. I had a rare treat one time, we played Eddie Feigner, the King and his court…..I was happy he did not strike me out, and I got a hit off him, but that guy could pitch.

    3. Badger
      A softball is so much bigger then a baseball.

      I can only imagine what kind of stuff, a under handing pitcher, pitching with a baseball, could do get on a ball.

  19. Grandal is a clown and looks like he has another slight knee injury. However, his last 2 HRs have been to CF and that alone gives hope to the thought that he might not try to pull EVERY FREAKIN PITCH for the rest of the season, thus maybe playing above the Mendoza Line.

    McCarthy looks slightly thinner than last year. Hopefully that means that he concentrated on flexibility instead of weights during his rehab. If so, then he may have a very good second half.

    I remember, just a few short years ago, when a quality start was 3 runs or less in 7 innings. The PC Police had to change the definition to 3 or less runs in 6 innings cause most SP can’t even go 6 much less 7 innings these days. So Sad. That is what Cult Leaders do – redefine words.

    Norris – Stay away from Lands End unless you get your brakes repaired within 10 hours before you go down that road!

  20. Who do the LAD really need?

    Pitching
    Staff – 4th in MLB – 3.37
    SP – 4th – 3.56
    RP – 2nd 3.01

    Maybe just move 1-2 SP to the pen and DFA Coleman and Hatcher on 7/31, unless a #1 or #2 can be obtained for a fair price in a trade.

    Position Players
    C – 29th – .181 Turn your head and Cough
    1B – 10th – .274 OK
    2B – 23rd – .264 Time for a platoon
    SS – 2nd – .310 All-Star
    3B – 23rd – .249 Improving
    LF – 29th – .205 Cough Again
    CF – 23rd – .237
    RF – 23rd – .252
    2 above average Position Players? Really? Have a Plan and Do Not Suck

    1. Coleman is pretty solid..I get rid of the 2 home run guys, Baez and Hatcher, and Howell too.

  21. I heard this about Mattingly’s Marlins.

    The Marlins have five starting players, batting 300 or above, but they are still having trouble, scoring runs.

    Doesn’t that, sound so familar, and I am not talking about the batting averages?

    1. I did not know Jimmy Durante played basketball!! Oh, you meant Kevin Durant…….sorry, my bad….

  22. Dodgers “sniffing” on Chris Archer of Tampa, but so far have been told no

    He could be that real #2 for us

  23. Jerry builds winners. I honestly think that the LAL won because of the remnants that JW left in place.

  24. I thought that no one posts after a Dodgers’ win, especially after a sweep. So much for that lame, ridiculous argument, eh?

  25. It was true for a while – now I think the excitement is coming back. People see that this team is capable of winning. That always puts butts in blogs.

  26. Speaking of Cubans, did you see the BoSox did the same to Rusney Castillo? He was owed over $50 million!

  27. Here’s what I think has happened the past two years with Cubans:

    GM’s saw a modicum of success with Puig, Cespedes and Abreu which started a feeding frenzy with each trying to outbid the other. Maybe Cubans take longer to develop… or maybe they were just snookered!

    History will tell – I can’t say.

    Player development takes time. Some players are phonemes at 23 and others don’t get it until age 30. It’s an inexact science but I would not make fun of anyone yet.

    It’s just like the Olivera signing. That now looks bad, but we got Peraza out of it (in a few years we will know if he will be good or not). We also got Luis Avilan, who is languishing in the minors but has nice stuff. Maybe next year he gets it together… or maybe he never does. But he is still young.

    Then Peraza was part of a deal that netted us Montas (who could be a bust or a #2, or a closer), Trayce Thompson (who looks to me to be a solid player) and Micah Johnson (a project who may or may not pan out).

    FAZ passed on Todd Frazier who is currently hitting .204 with 23 HR for the Sox. Frazier might have 15 HR in LA, but a lot of people pine for him. I’ll take Trayce, Frankie and Micah and roll the dice. It may take years to sort this all out.

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