The Dodgers opened a weekend series against the San Diego Padres tonight. The big question on everyone’s mind wasn’t “How will the Dodgers’ offense do?” Nope, we were all wondering what ridiculous getup the Padres would try to push-off as a baseball uniform.
A: They threw us all for a loop and wore legitimate friar brown and gold.
We”ll jump right to the action.
2nd inning
Padres
Scott Kazmir in trouble. Bases loaded, but two out.
Kazmir was not looking like he was in control.
Base hit Padres. Score San Diego pitcher Christian Freidrich’s first two career RBIs. 2-0
It was only the second inning, but the Dodgers were seriously looking at the bullpen phone.
On the 36th pitch of the inning, Kazmir walked the bases loaded again.
He struck out the Padres’ big-bearded catcher to end the inning.
3rd inning Padres 2-0 (and dang lucky it’s not 4-0)
Dodgers
Leadoff Dodgers Double from Enrique Hernandez.
Corey Seager hit a double over the head of the scarecrow the Padres propped up in RF to replace Matt Kemp.
Score Kiké. Dodgers down 2-1
4th inning Padres 2-1
Dodgers
Leadoff single Yasiel Puig.
Yasmani Grandal punched a double to left center…
And then Puig happened!
Puig turned on the jets and went all the way home in no time flat, beating the throw by a mile. 2-2
A.J. Ellis got a base hit to move Grandal to third.
Kiké walked to load the bases for Justin Turner.
They brought in a new pitcher, Villanueva, for JT.
Nothing but nothing happened for the Dodgers.
Padres
Meanwhile Kazmir gave up his fifth walk in only three innings.
No runs, no hits.
5th inning Score tied 2-2
Dodgers
Trayce Thompson leadoff single.
And then Puig went BOOM!
2-run blast. Dodgers 4-2
Padres
Kazmir would have none of this Dodgers’ lead business.
He immediately gave up a homer to Norris. 4-3
6th inning Dodgers 4-3
Padres
Like I said, Kazmir wanted nothing to do with a lead. He gave up a two-run homer. Padres 5-4
8th inning Padres 5-4
Dodgers
JT with a two-run, get off the floor homer! Dodgers retook the lead! 6-5
8th inning Dodgers 6-5
Padres
Pedro Baez in.
Kenley Jansen warming up, just in case.
The Padres brought in Matt Kemp to pinch hit. Baez got him!
With a man on second and two out, the skipper went to Kenley.
Jansen threw a masterful three-pitch strike out.
9th inning Dodgers 6-5
Padres
Chase Utley waved off Joc Pederson on a bloop fly, only to fall backward and miss it.
Then Melvin upton Jr. let loose with a two run, walk off, home run to beat the Dodgers 7-6.
Dodgers lose 7-6
The box score will show a blown save for Kenley Jansen, but that in no way tells the story of this game. What happened was Scott Kazmir suffered from “Stripling-itis”. No matter how many runs the Dodgers gave him in support, he kept giving them right back to San Diego.
The positives were the Dodgers just kept battling. They did not deflate no matter how many times Kazmir gave runs back. The game’s heroes were almost two of the Dodgers I have most maligned over the past week. Carl Crawford and JT combined to form those go ahead runs on Turner’s home run.
That said, the Dodgers are starting to look snakebit, and one win here and one win there are not going to change things if they keep losing series’, and start to really drop in the standings.
Scott Kazmir went 5 2/3 innings with 3 hits, 5 runs, 7 walks, 5 Ks and 2 home runs. ERA 5.23
Home runs: Puig, Turner
Doubles: Hernandez, Seager, Grandal
Team with RISP 2 for 8 SOS
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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Per True Blue LA, “Kazmir was the first Dodgers pitcher to walk seven batters in a game since Zack Greinke on July 3, 2013.”
Dodger rick
Kazmir has walked six batters, six times in his career. One of the seven you mentioned was as intentional
Walk. And the last time he did this, was in September of 2010. And I was thinking he was on the Angels that year, but I think it was the year later.
Kazmir has given up 12 HR’s in 9 starts. What a rotation we have! And, the cherry on top for today’s game, Kenley. Infection is moving fast.
Those saber guys say pitches are basically responsible for walks, k’s, and HR’s. If they truly believe that stuff then it’s pretty clear Kazmir isn’t a good pitcher. Yet they keep sending him out there. Oh well!
Woke up to read result. Surprised? A little. Only because it was Jansen that joined the suck parade.
I see Mark re-joined the party in his typical patronizing way. What an ego. From a guy who has been so wrong over the years nothing he says should be taken seriously. That said, he did say one thing I agree with – it’s a long season. Which means this sh*t could go on for a long time. I look for more of the same from the pitching staff, which means I expect to see more games with over 10 runs scored. Hopefully we win more than we lose. It’s a throw up whether that will happen.
Wish me luck today. I’m gonna need it. Mark thinks we’re morons? You should see the people who work in our prison systems. Actually, no, you shouldn’t.
Jansen was unlucky. That little bloop fly should have been caught. Then Upton’s homer would not have been a walkoff…..but the Dodgers blew a lot of chances to make that game a blowout, so it is not all on Jansen.
Hang in there Badger!
Badger
Puig finally drove the ball to right. And he watched it at first, like he does, and he was right this time, and it was a HR.
Good luck Badger!
Open letter to Andrew Friedman and his pal Zaidi. Dear Bargain Bin Boys: What ever you are doing it is not working. This pitching staff is not the staff of a contending team and forcing your manager to play with a short bench because you mis evaluated the so called big league pitchers you have acquired has left the true fans of this franchise frustrated and frankly, pissed off. This team is supposed to be contending for a championship. Instead it is contending to be the third or fourth place team in it’s own division. You have no protection for the best hitter in your lineup, A-Gone, and no true #2 behind the best pitcher on the planet, Kershaw. Your bullpen is a certified disaster, and your so called great farm system has yet to send any help to the big squad. So we the fans would appreciate it if you and your compadre would throw in the towel and either get some serious help for this team or just resign. We would all love to see you and your saber metrics out of town like Mattingly….leave soon please, and let someone who actually can obtain MLB caliber players take over……
And the ‘smart’ people say….’AMEN’
It is going to take some years to re-build this team. Unless they just want to give money away and go up to $400 million. Years. These AA and A players that have a world of promise are still years away from solid producing major league results.
By then, Kershaw and AGon will be gone-0.
Michael Norris, I agree with you, it is hard to watch this present team play baseball. Now under .500 again.
Mark, thanks for the weekly lecture yesterday. Speaking down to us fans with such wisdom and insight.
Of course it’s a long season, the problem is, this team is not good. A long season with this team is a scary concept. It’s not like a good team trying to get over the hump. If we are playing the long season card, I would have to think one is not accepting of the reality of the situation.
Our players? The majority are really bad.
Badger, how is Pueblo? Small town, I was there a few months ago, ate at the Red Lobster right off the highway, send my regards. That was back during the off season when 99% of the blog was praising the soon to be World Series Champion Dodgers after a failed and exposed 2015 season, remember those good times?
Now let us be fully honest.
This present team, with the known a bit changes coming in the few weeks and months — of the re-hab-boys — could be the Miracle Mets of ’16. They could.
Kershaw goes 29-4.
Kazmir, now 3-3 could win 18 or 19 games if he gets it together.
Maeda, now 3-3 could win 14 or 15 games if he gets it together.
The middle pen, could have inning after inning of scoreless relief, holding others teams at bay.
Hitters could find their batting eye and have 3 or 4 or 5 guys over .300.
Thompson, Seager, Pederson, Turner could all hit over 30 HRs
It all could happen. But can the Bum’s do it?
But right now, The San Diego Padres are king of the hill and the Dodgers are looking up to them.
And Roger, you could sign that pact with the nice man with the goatee and play centerfield.
You left out the last line, Roger: I could win the PowerBall!
I don’t know how Kazmir managed to pitch in the American League last year, because he doesn’t pitch like a veteran pitcher. When he pitches, he looks like he doesn’t even want to be out there. He constantly looses his concentration, and throws his pitches, up in the strike zone. And this allows hitters, to hit easy HRs off of him.
And he constantly does this, after his team gets a lead. This pitcher should have never been given a multi year contract. I don’t care how cheap this front office, got Kazmir, and MCCarthy by baseball standards today. They are still wasting money, that could be used to get a couple of good arms for the pen, or get one really good starting pitcher.
If the front office is going to take these kind of risks, with these kind of pitchers, at least make it a risky pitcher, that really has a really good upside. A pitcher that was at least, a good quality pitcher, when they did pitch, not these risky pitchers, that were never anything special.
The only thing special about these pitchers they signed, is that any major league player, can hit an easy HR off of of them, just like batting practice, they have each day!
I understand why Mark commented the way he did. It was only 3 years ago that the Dodgers started off under .500, in last place, and went 42-8 and won the division. The difference is that that team received a transfusion of talent (Hanley Ramirez off of the DL, Puig called up from the minors) and that turned the tide.
This year’s crew may receive a transfusion in the form of pitchers coming off of the DL (McCarthy, Ryu, Anderson, Montas) or from the minors (Urias, DeLeon) and this could help. In fact, Urias could be a major difference maker and give the Dodgers a true #2 starter. (I disagree with those who say that a healthy Ryu is a #2, but he is a strong #3 – also, a big help.)
It is unlikely in the extreme that the Braintrust would allow an infusion of talent from the outside – they don’t want to trade prospects and don’t want to spend money.
None of these scenarios are a sure thing.
The team’s shortcomings are well-documented by now: 4 starters (after Kershaw) that are inconsistent at best, a weak bullpen (even the Braintrust lovers at Dodgers Digest had this to say about one of their favorites, Chris Hatcher: ” He’s at the point where he’s unpitchable in the majors until he figures out his issues. He doesn’t have any options, meaning the only way he’d get to the minors is through the DFA process. A team would almost certainly claim him, but at this point, he’d be more valuable to the Dodgers if he weren’t on the team. Perhaps a phantom disabled list trip is in order.”), and poor hitting outside of the Youth Brigade (Seager, Pederson and Thompson).
I still think that the Dodgers are an 85+ win team based on talent; I never thought that they were a 90+ win team given the changes to the roster and the improvement of other teams in the division.
The Dodgers are 21-22 on the season. To win 90 games they would have to go 69-50 the rest of the way (.580). To win 95 (like Mark has suggested) they would have to go 74-45 (.622). This seams unlikely.
I think they’ll have to bring Urias up whether they like it or not. The problem is not whether he has the talent, but whether he can adjust to pitching in relief, or if they put him in the starting rotation, whether he can pitch deep enough into games to get past the Dodgers’ shaky middle relief. Either way they run a risk of stunting his development.
Apparently DeLeon was “conditioned” onto the DL by our World-Class training staff, so there goes that. Montas hasn’t pitched this year so is probably at least six weeks away. Is this any way to build a pitching staff?
Montas is already throwing 100 MPH so he should be here by June. Too early to tell about DeLeon but you can jump to conclusions if you want.
That take is as good as any and is realistic. Its a future as history thing. The young players haven’t had a full year of success yet so they are still a mystery. But I like that Urias might start 5 games or a few more, that Ryu should replace someone in the current rotation, that McCarthy and Anderson may as well.
Kendrick and Turner do have track records and the Dodgers have been a .500 team with them hurting the team so the Dodgers should a better than .500 team with them helping the team. One could say that Seager hurt the team in April before turning it around and started helping the team in May. Conversely, one could say that Agon helped the team in April and hurt the team in May. Crawford hurt the team in May.
Seager and Pederson and maybe Thompson and Henderson should continue to progress and help the Dodgers more than they have so far.
Montas and DeLeon could improve the bullpen by June / mid-June.
The Dodgers already have the pieces to be a better team and don’t have to make a lucky trade to get to the playoffs, but with Ryu, McCarthy, Anderson, Wood, Kazmir, Maeda, Kershaw, Bolsinger, Lee, Stripling, Urias, and DeLeon capable of making starts, the Dodgers can offer two or three for one players to get a better person in the rotation. The White Sox for example need a couple of pitchers to improve the back end of their rotation.
That is the half-full version of the 2016 Dodgers.
Bum
you can’t say that Agone hurt the team. When you didn’t mention, the players who bat behind Agone, and in front of him.
Both Puig and Turner, have not hit most of the season. They did hit last night.
And I am glad! But Turner and Puig, has been the team’s worse offensive players.
And you didn’t mention them. And because they aren’t hitting, Agone was pitched to, much differently, because those two, were such easy outs. And Turner is probably the second most important offensive player, on the Dodgers. And Cory missed most of spring training, and he is now on his way. He didn’t get to play an entire season, like Joc did.
Dodger rick
Agone is a good hitter, and if he had anyone in the line up protecting him, he would have better numbers, like he did, when Hanley was batting in front of him, and Kemp was batting in back of him. And he is the most consistent player the Dodgers have. And Chase Utley is also playing well.
The young kids are doing well, especially Cory. Cory is a very old soul, and very talented, and that is why he is such a good player. And both Joc and Trayce, are still learning how to hit, but they are doing really well. The rest of the Dodgers players, are having trouble hitting.
But I hope with Turner and Puig doing better last night, that they will start hitting again. I do have more faith in Turner, but I would love them both, to start hitting.
Saber metrics, over values some numbers, and under values some other numbers, that is why war, ops and other quotients, are not the only way to value players, or always the best way to measure players. And I do think that a player’s batting average, is still important.
I haven’t mentioned specific players here or their statistics – but the fact is that the Dodgers are 21-22. Even if they play better they are not a playoff team – at least right now.
Memo to Dodger Ownership:
Because a man can keep a rowboat afloat doesn’t mean he can captain a battleship. Get rid of your junior grade FO, your stinking bad team reflects badly on your whole organization.
GAME ON everybody. Who has the glass half-full with me? Let’s kick ass on those glass half-empty people here. We can hit that soft toss they keep throwing up to the plate. GAME ON!
What frustrates everybody here is:
1 – The Braintrust told the fans that the team was trying to win now and later but a careful examination of moves that it has made since taking control belies the fact that they are not really trying to win now. They are, as Badger has put it, marking time until the kids arrive in a couple of years. The team is trying to be generally competitive while dumping payroll and waiting for the kids;
2 – The players obtained by the Braintrust while marking time have not, generally speaking, been successful. The starting pitchers (Latos, Wood, Kazmir, Maeda, Beachy, McCarthy, Anderson, et al) have largely been uninspiring – many injured, more ineffective. The same is true of the bullpen (Hatcher, Johnson, Nicascio, etc.).
The position players obtained have been a little better – Thompson, Grandal (although losing Matt Kemp), Utley have been partially sucessful – others (Rollins, Kendrick, others) not so much;
3 – The Braintrust has an unaccountable fascination with Cubans – they have signed every Cuban player in sight – no one has helped yet, and others (Olivera) have been busts.
In short, while the Dodgers have the talent to be competitive, the moves made by the management do not inspire confidence. The fact that they will not spend money or trade prospects to improve the team this year tells the fans that they are willing to win 85 games but not to do more to win more this year, hoping for better in a few years.
The Dodgers will play better this year than they are playing right now but will not be good enough to win the Division.
I read an article at LA Times.com, and it didn’t sound like Urias would be coming up , until the September call ups. Even a veteran player, was asking when Urias was coming up. And this same veteran player, said that Urias would be there only viable arm, to become the eighth inning set up guy. So the players are not happy with the bullpen the Dodgers have either.
This argument, among many here, is just fundamentally flawed. That’s my frustration…in addition to the team underachieving. If they were merely marking time, or just had a single minded focus on some mythic 2018, the very first move they would have made was to trade Agon for prospects. If, as you and Badger constantly suggest, it is a foregone conclusion that Kershaw will be gone after 2018 and pitching in Texas, the contract shedding and prospect accumulating impulse of the front office would dictate that you trade him now for maximum value. In fact, a few of the more unhinged of the cynically team destroying posters here have suggested that very thing.
There is an inherent trade off when it comes to winning now versus building a sustained and sustainable winning culture for the future. That means you can’t sacrifice that future winning template by going all in and trading for a rental at the deadline, or signing a big multiyear back loaded contract. You can’t eat your cake and have it. Does that mean forfeiting a legitimate chance to content now? Nope. It just means a front office has to be more prudent than foolhardy.
I keep asking this question ad nauseum, but if you’re not happy with what has been done, than point to specific examples of you would do differently. It’s very easy to speak in generalities. “They didn’t fix the bullpen.” “The hitting sucks.” “The starting pitching sucks.” Fine. Do you really want the risk of a headcase like Chapman on the team? That is, partially, why the team moved away from Hanley and Kemp. I believe there is a focus on a team first winning culture. I wouldn’t want Chapman on the team, even though I really do covet his arm right now.
Would you have really outbid the Dbacks for Greinke? I wouldn’t have. Free agent hitter? Bum already shot down the Cespedes scenario. If you look at the lineup, the problem isn’t that the front office didn’t attempt to put together a deep and solid order, it’s that personnel we would expect to be hitting much better: Turner, Puig, Agon…I even expected more from Kike…aren’t. You can’t fault the front office for that. Kendrick hit about .290 – in line with his career average – for the team last year and was one of the best players WRISP. THAT’S why he was signed for 10/year.
It is very easy to speak in these generalities: that the FO didn’t do this or that, instead of speaking with insight as to what a front office really SHOULD do. The only real answers I’ve gotten to this question have been related to just blowing up the team and throwing in the rookies. If you’re willing to tank if you’re playing front office guy, you really have no business complaining that the team is now mediocre. Again, instead of complaining about what the FO did or didn’t do, what SHOULD they have done?…..using the best available information AT THE TIME. The same repetitive “moneyball bullshit” rants are just tedious and don’t add much to the discussion. At least your arguments have some measure of analytical rigor, although I still think they are needlessly pessimistic.
Dodger patch don’t be a stranger.
Our pitchers seem to be using these games as practice. Like spring training. Working on a few things. Like my golf game. Someone should tell them, maybe Honeycutt, that these games count in the standings, and if they can’t get it right, someone will take their job. Probably not the best way to talk to this fragile group, but 7 walks in less than half a game! I know we have contracts, etc, but can Zack Lee be any worse? Or Urias? Or DeLeon? or half our starters in AA or AAA? These starters were fringe major leaguers to begin with, and they are proving that point. Go Cubs. I don’t like the Cubs, but this weekend, I do.
MLB’s competition committee has agreed to changes in the strike zone and the intentional walk that could go into effect next season, reports ESPN’s Jayson Stark. The changes would raise the strike zone slightly, from the bottom of the hitter’s knees to the top, thus creating a smaller zone for hitters and likely increasing offense. Also as a result of the proposed changes, a team could immediately issue an intentional walk without throwing the requisite four pitches. The changes must next be approved by MLB’s playing rules committee, which is led by Mets GM Sandy Alderson. Here are more quick notes from around the game.
Wondering where would the top of the strike zone be? And about the intentional walks, they are doing that, to speed up games.
And I don’t think that hitters are really intentionally walked that often, to make a difference in the speed of the game.
The problem I see with this team is there are a bunch of #5 starting pitchers and the BEST pitcher in the world, nothing in between. It also seems to me that the front office Is set on making a lot of these players into a Ben Zobrist type. example, Kendrick a second baseman his hole career, now he plays third , second and outfield , some games he sits, Kike same thing. Trayce plays two games sits one. In my opinion its hard for these players to get in a groove like that. If it was that easy there would be 50 Ben Zobrists in the MLB. This front office went bargain shopping for starting pitching and its showing!!!!!! I get the hole #1 farm system and I love it , but what about trying to make the LA Dodgers a little more competitive for the 40+ thousand that fill the stadium every homestand. Just my opinion thanks!
San Jose giants beat RC last night at RC. What’s new? And RC is our best minor league team. The heat goes on.
Ryu started and gave up 2 HRs.
But he felt good…come on, all you half-glass people!
RC is not our best minor league team. Tulsa is
Two home runs? He’s ready. Bring him up.
Watching Kazmir try and bunt last night was like, like, like —- I do not know what, but any major league pitchers should be able to approach that situation and at least bunt the ball. Kaz had no clue.
I am following the significant growth this year of Brock Stewart. 24, promoted to Tulsa with ERA of 1.15 and NO HRs after 8 games. Not sure if he will translate to MLB but looking forward to a good season with a summer promotion to AAA.
Why is Frias being wasted in AA?
Chris Anderson is the worst pitcher at Tulsa. Who has been hyping him?
I think it is good that if Kenley is going to give up a game, it is easier to handle losing a game, at the begining of the season. So Kenley can make the adjustments he needs to make, to make sure that doesn’t happen in the rest of the season.
He has been so dominate, he might not be being as exact, as he should be, with hitters, especially with two strikes. I remember he use to have trouble in his mechanics, that would cause his cutter, to straighten up, at times.
I didn’t like that Kenley didn’t stay and take questions, after the game. I just think he should be there after the game, especially with the way that game ended.
I would have liked for FAZ to have signed Scherzer and Zimmerman last year and this year respectively. They could have front loaded the contracts and given them opt out clauses with the plan that they would be gone after the 2017 season.
I have no regrets that FAZ didn’t trade for pitcher in July last year. Miller wanted to play for a team on the East Coast so FAZ would have had to out bid the Yankees by a wide margin to sign him.
Last year the Dodgers would have looked pretty good in the playoffs with Kershaw, Greinke, and Scherzer in the rotation. They would be looking much better this year with Scherzer and Zimmerman in the rotation.
I think desperate teams do a Greinke type contract and the Dodgers are not desperate with Urias, De Leon, Holmes, Buehler, Alvarez, and Montas in the wings if not blocked from moving up due to huge long term contracts to players that will be aging into the last half of their contracts.
Cespedes wanted to play for the Mets. They gave him what he wanted. The Dodgers would have had to over pay him and that might not have been enough to get him. Who else did you guys want?
So, FAZ didn’t make moves we wanted them to make. They didn’t make the moves I wanted them to make. So now what? Do we just pound out gripes the rest of the season? Not me. I am going to root for players i like such as Joc, Cory, Trace, Kike, Puig, Kershaw, hope Urias and DeLeon get called up in june even if it is a cup of coffee thing, and appreciate the contributions of Utley, Kendrick, Agon if they make them.
And if Turner trims up his hair like he did his beard, I will add him to my list of young guys I especially enjoy.
Fans of a club that have not seen a World Series in almost 30 years can’t gripe? Well, I will.
Some of us stated that the team after the 2015 season was not very good, which would most likely carry over into 2016. That has proved to be true so far, met with much criticism by the likes of yourself and many others. It amazes me more did not have the vision, or common sense, to read the stats and see this coming. Who else did you guys want? No one, I would rather go full rebuild which I have stated for months, while others bought into the whole concept of “reloading” while still trying to win which has been nothing but comical, especially the way this season has started.
You can jump up and down for your 21-22 Dodgers, I won’t, I want a World Series, something this club is very far from winning. You enjoy players that are hitting .234 (Turner), I don’t.
Bum what would be the difference of Greinke’s and Scherzer’s contract? I wish they would have gotten Zimmerman too. He wanted to sign with the Tigers. Zimmerman left a lot of money behind, when he signed with the Tigers.
I think he is a much better pitcher then Cueto. And think Cue to is going to have arm issues, while he is still with the Giants. And like most people, I don’t like the starting pitchers they signed, except Maeda. And I don’t like that they didn’t fix the bullpen, but I still want the Dodgers to win.
And I do like watching the young players, and Utley and Agone. And I want the team to do well, in spite of what the front office has done. I much rather have Puig learn how to hit, then get Cespedes. Cespedes doesn’t always hustle like Puig. And Cespedes does things, like not moving an inch, to back up his fellow outfielders. And he claimed he had a bad arm, or shoulder, during the post season, and he played golf, before one of his World Series games.
And most of the players, on the team, we’re not brought to the team, from this front office. So if the Dodgers do well, it would be in spite of what the front office has done. I am also happy that Mattingly is gone. And I think Roberts is doing ok, with what he has. I understood why he kept Kazmir in the game that long, because his bullpen, has been over used. Because some of the starting pitchers, are not pitching deep into games.
I don’t understand why some here, don’t like to hear from people, who have different opinions. I like to hear different opinions. And I don’t think anyone should give Bum a hard time, because he feels different then some. Everyone here, have one main thing in common. Everybody loves the Dodgers, and wants the best for the Dodger’s organization. They just don’t agree what is the best for the Dodgers. And Bum Turner is never going to trim
his hair, because he is going bald on top. That was a tough game, but it just wasn’t in the cards.
Maybe the team will come out and play to night, with a bunch of energy, because they are tired of getting beat, especially from teams like the Padres. I love Vinny, but it is also good, to hear Orel and Nomar talk baseball. I like Nomar, because he really likes to tell it, like it is. It is hard for him to gloss things over. And even Orel can’t say to much about Kazmir, at this point. The worse part about losing last night, was that the Giants lost. And about Ryu, he is just trying his different pitches, and not even throwing max yet, so the HRs he gave up, isn’t that bad.
MJ, for me, the difference between Greinke’s and Scherzer’s contract is that the Dodgers would have had Scherzer in 2015 to pitch along side Kershaw and Greinke and he would have been protection at the time should Greinke not re-sign with the Dodgers, which happened.
He got a long back-ended contract from the Nationals. The Dodgers could have reversed that and probably signed him and he would want to opt out after 2016 or 2017 because the back end of his contract would be much less than what he could earn as a free agent. He would not block the prospects. The Dodgers would have gotten a great pitcher for only 2 or 3 years.
They could have aggressively gone after Zimmerman early and that would have put pressure on Greinke to sign with the Dodgers instead of dragging things out until eventually AZ jumped in.
Good points Bum, and thanks!
The Dodgers are keeping an eye on Frankie Montas, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register writes. Montas, who’s recovering after having surgery on his rib in February, pitched two scoreless innings in extended spring training on Thursday and threw 100 MPH with what manager Dave Roberts describes as good command. Montas is expected to begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Tulsa this weekend. As Plunkett notes, Montas isn’t eligible to come off the 60-day DL until June 3. Montas, one of the keys to the Dodgers’ end of the Todd Frazier deal last winter, could turn out to be a significant asset for the Dodgers, given his velocity (his average fastball last year in a brief trial with the White Sox was 96.7 MPH) and the instability of the Dodgers’ bullpen beyond Kenley Jansen.
Long day. I’ll spare you the details.
Good takes in here today. Many things I’d like to respond to but Im beat so I’ll keep it simple if I can.
I agree with most all of your points. Urias. I thought the plan was to stretch him out this year. We have had, and still have plenty of bullpen arms to churn through. We signed two new starters and got another through the QO process. I hate to admit it but Brett Anderson would be a welcomed addition to this group. Urias coming up is, in my opinion, a sign the plan ain’t working. I thought we might see him for a few innings (starts) later in the season, but not this early.
Somebody asked who was it we wanted. I wanted Heyward, Cueto/Price/Samardzija and Greinke, and I wanted O’Day and Joe Beimel. Just kidding. I wasn’t that high on Price.
I brought up Chris Anderson. Only because he was a first round $2 million draft choice that at one time was “arguably the most pure power pitcher – with the best pure stuff in the system and the build to be a rotation workhorse” (TBLA January 2015) He is destined for the bullpen now and all he needed was to learn control & command. Apparently he’s learned neither.
I still think the glass is half full. I believe we can hit better. I also believe Urias and Montas would make the bullpen deeper. And by that I mean better. But as Rick so eloquently put it “ain’t no f’n garontees the kids would do any f’n better” I may have misquoted him but you get the idea. The fact is – until further notice, we are a .500 club.
Badger
I know your not visiting someone in the hospital, but I think it is kinda the same thing. People who visit people in the hospital are always more tired then the patient. So I imagine you feel about the same way. Hang in there!