The Dodgers rebounded from the tough loss on Friday night to get the victory last night. So tonight on ESPN the Dodgers concluded the free-way series at the Big A. Andrew Heaney took on Alex Wood. A couple of frustrating things transpired in this game in a series the Dodgers should’ve swept. The Dodgers started off on the right foot in the top of the 2nd. Matt Kemp and Logan Forsythe walked. Yasiel Puig then hit a three run shot to make the score 3-0.
Prior to the game Matt Kemp and Kenley Jansen made the NL All-star team. In the bottom of the third, Justin Upton hit a single to score two runs to make the score 3-2. Cody Bellinger had three at bats tonight where he grounded out to the right side of the infield falling on one leg. On two occasions he almost beat out the throw to first. He was called out. He also grounded out to end the game. Yasiel Puig left the game at some point and it was because of this.
#Dodgers RF Yasiel Puig left the game because of a right intercostal oblique strain. I'm no doc but that sounds like a DL injury.
— Mike DiGiovanna (@MikeDiGiovanna) July 9, 2018
The Dodgers didn’t hit at all the rest of the day and not much during this series. In the bottom of the 6th, Albert Pujols hit a solo shot to tie the score 3-3. On a side note the Angels stadium crowd is boring. The snakes lost today so a Dodger win would’ve put the Dodgers in a tie for first place. All the Dodger hitters need to stop trying to hit home-runs. In the bottom of the 7th, J.T. Chargois came in. Shoehi Ohtani came in to pinch hit and hit a home run and the Angels took the lead.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is "almost certain" Yasiel Puig will need to go on the DL, but he will get an MRI in LA tomorrow.
— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) July 9, 2018
The Dodgers got shut down the rest of the way by the Angels bullpen. The Dodgers should’ve swept the series. The Dodgers will play the next four against the Padres. Then next weekend against the Angels again. With Puig going on the DL, who will the Dodgers call up? Could it be Andrew Toles time? Dodgers need to pull the trigger on Manny Machado.
James Moya
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Team did not do well with men on base,,,Bellinger hits 2 weak grounders to end scoring chances….Contrary to prior posts on here, the Dodgers have not announced any roster moves vis a vis the Puig injury and as of right now Verdugo is still in OKC. They will make the decision tomorrow. Per Jim Bowden, Dodgers have offered Verdugo and Alvarez for Machado.
I think it’s a safe bet there will be DL time. And like I just mentioned the other day….. who’s next? Looks like it’s him. But, he won’t be the last.
And think about it, what kind of message does it send if we don’t bring up Verdugo? Toles will get his chance after Verdugo is traded.
You’re right. But that’s a little incentive to go ahead and pull the trigger on the deal. Verdugo is gone, Manny is here, we call up Toles for Puig. I think I’d go ahead and DFA Forsythe, apparently they’ve not been able to trade him for anything, even another bad contract. Ditto Utley. Call up Will Smith and send Barnes back to OKC to relearn how to hit. And try to find time to talk to Kike, Taylor, Bellinger, and anyone else who seems to be pressing too hard, trying to hit homers. Point out to them how Joc has changed his approach and had good results. Using Joc as a good example helps him and encourages him to keep trying. Psychology can be a useful tool.
Verdugo would be brought up because he’s the better outfielder. He has the strongest most accurate outfield arm so right (or center) makes sense.
It’s possible Toles could be traded for bullpen help. Verdugo would be used for Machado, but I don’t see him being used for bullpen help. That’s just my opinion of course. As Michael has mentioned, nobody knows what the FAZ will do. They surprise every year. If they land Machado, I would call that the biggest surprise yet.
Might as well give Smith a look. Barnes appears lost. Forsythe and Utley are proving to be bad calls by FAZ. I don’t see the need to keep them around either Jonah. A lot of guys can do what they do. Utley has coaching value. Maybe he’d be interested in that.
Badger
I am not looking for a trade to obtain Manny but I think he would be someone that the Dodger could use for many years. I don’t want Manny if he is just a rental. We shall see.
I agree with that premise pack.
But…….. does this team have enough without that move? Even with it I think they still need more better pitching.
Floro? Rhymes with Morrow. Got 5 outs with 12 pitches. Good start for him.
Badger
Verdugo is a better rightfielder, and has a really good arm.
But Toles is a better centerfielder, because he has much more speed then Verdugo does.
Actually Verdugo doesn’t profile well, as a major league centerfielder, because of his lack of speed, but he will do a decent job, if he is put in center.
And although Verdugo has a better arm, Toles does have a very good arm too.
It is to bad Puig hurt himself like he did, when it looked like he was heating up.
Jonah,
You might not have noticed but Joc has been slumping along with others. 3-4 hits per game is not going to do it for the Dodgers. How in the world does a team hit 7 HR’s and then can’t get more than 5-6 hits in a game?
Smith is at AA. He is not getting that call. Gale is the best hitting catcher right now and he is pretty much OKCs starter with Farmer getting some starts too. Ruiz is struggling again. And this is not last years Dodgers. I do not see a miracle streak in the offing and them running away with the division like last year. Hell, they did not stay in first place for more than a day and they continually lose games they should have won. They easily could have won and swept this series. If they are indeed serious about Machado, make the deal and make it now so he is settled in before the deadline gets here. They crush the Pirates, can’t score against the Rockies or Angels, whose pitching staffs have been lousy, so how do you expect them to beat a team with good pitching? They insist on throwing Forsythe into games, and Utley has not had an important hit since April. Time to cut bait. I bring up Toles to replace Puig for the simple reason that he has shown he can handle MLB pitching better than Verdugo at this point. He is more than adequate as an outfielder and adds speed to a team that has none. They also need to make some hard decisions on this bullpen. And even Roberts said the other day they were overworked.
OK, send Barnes and a couple of minor prospects for Realmuto, Give them another prospect if they’ll take Forshyte off our hands as well. They can DFA him or trade him for peanuts. The Luxury Tax doesn’t exist for them.
c. Realmuto
1b. Grandal
2b. Muncy
3b. Turner
ss. Taylor
lf. Kemp
cf. Bellinger
rf.
bench. Joc-Kike-Toles-Farmer-Locastro
Grandal is a LOUSY 1st baseman. You think he is bad behind the plate? Please, I am not sticking that slug in an upright position anywhere on the field. No range and hands like steel.
Michael
Thanks!
I read that somewhere else, and I thought it was right.
I can see a reason why Verdugo would be called up, because maybe the front office wants to really see what they got with Verdugo, because they know what Toles can do.
And they also could be show casing Verdugo to other teams, but if he doesn’t do well, the can also bring his value down, so this could go either way.
IMHO, Jim Bowden is almost as awful as Nightengale.
He may be awful, but the man knows the game and has something none of us do, contacts in the front offices.
I meant awful only in terms of rumors and postulating trades. Wouldn’t deny his past as a GM, although there are some questions there.
Yeah, there probably are. But you can say that about most any former GM. As many as hated Colletti, he did a pretty bang up job considering who he worked for and what assets he had to work with.
Badger
I read somewhere last year that some have felt that Manny could turn out to be the best player of all time. I could not see it but it was interesting. He does seem to be getting better and better.
If, they were going to go for Machado, which I don’t think they are serious about but are in it just to see what it would actually take, I would include Puig. I like Puig, but he has some real issues with injuries. For a guy built like him, he has far too many injuries every year that keep him out of games. He was on his way up since the last DL, and now another. These kinds of things have to concern FAZ the amount of PT that he is missing. This will be the perfect chance to see what our ‘depth’ really is in the outfield. Verdugo or Toles.
Puig won’t be traded , especially if he goes on the DL, which is most likely.
Logically, I agree, Michael. But the bigger picture is Puig can play and he is a more than average piece in a trade that could bring a major piece to the Dodgers. But FAZ seem shy to make any big change as they like what they’ve got on the cheap.
Do you think Joc has reached his peak this season? He seems headed south to me except for the occasional HR.
Everyone will have some setbacks, especially when they are using something new. But I think you can expect some occasional power and a close to .250 average from Joc the rest of the way. Kemp does need a blow now and then, and Joc has done nothing to not merit playing time. About Puig, here is the bottom line. Injured, his value is low. You are not going to get a premier piece for an injured player. Especially not one in the last year of his contract. It is hard for players to be consistent unless they are out there a majority of the time. I would be more concerned about Taylors high level of strikeouts and the fact that Bellinger is not driving the ball and making good contact. Especially the last week or so. 89 games under his belt and Taylor is over 100 K’s for the year. For a player of his type, that is way too many. He keeps trying to hit the ball out of the park instead of taking what the pitcher gives him. Most of them are guilty of that.
I would include Puig too if Baltimore wanted him. I kinda doubt they do.
MJ you may be right about Toles/Verdugo in centerfield, but as far as I can tell you are the only one singing Toles praises. Maybe he’s still as fast as we was 4 years ago but he isn’t really showing it. Not yet anyway. 2 SB, no triples. Maybe he’s protecting his injured wheel. They both have been playing centerfield in Oklahoma, but so has Ramos and Locastro. It appears nobody is the every day centerfielder there.
Honestly can anyone say what the team’s plans for Toles are? He’s 26 and he’s in the minor leagues. Verdugo is 22 and it looks like he’s probably coming up.
Badger
Check Toles defensive metrics in center last year.
I think they were purposing taking it slow with Toles, and that is why he wasn’t thrust immediately, into center.
He has been running fine now, and you know sabers don’t emphasize stealing bases.
Remember he has only been back, for a little more then a month, or even less, and they have given him, a lot of days off.
And he had to play catch up, to catch up to the other players, that have been playing since spring training, and he is doing a pretty good job, of catching up.
He was out a lot longer then Forsythe was, and Forsythe has still not caught up.
He has more speed and power then Verdugo, and he is a better RBI guy too.
Look at both Taylor and Muncy, they are older then Toles is, and Joc is not exactly far along, after three plus years, and he is the same age as Toles.
I am not saying Verdugo is not a good hitter, but he still hasn’t done it, at the major league level yet.
I think Toles and Verdugo, might be better hitters, then Puig and Joc.
But we won’t know that, until they do it at the major league level.
And Toles has done that, in two different seasons, when he was given the chance, at the major league level.
I think both Verdugo and Toles, will be challenging each other, all season long.
Last week Toles was hitting 350, and Verdugo was hitting 322, and now Verdugo is hitting 350, and Toles is hitting 325.
Jeff
If a team has really good scouting, as you know, they have the info to help their pitchers to make the right adjustments, to try to stop different hitters.
And I think the Angels have pretty good scouting, because they stopped most of our hitters
Most of our hitters, hit mistakes that go right down the middle of the plate, or a little in.
And most of our hitters, are good fastball hitters.
And the Angels didn’t throw a bunch of fastballs over the plate, like the Pirates did.
Most their pitchers, throw a lot of off speed pitches in this series, to different hitters.
Turner is the best off speed hitter on this team, when he is healthy, but we don’t have a lot of players on this team, that are good off speed hitters.
And when we play Series like this, that is why we need more then one way to score, because HRs are not easy to hit, against good pitching, and when pitchers make adjustments down the line, when we meet them.
The Pirates had a bunch of young pitchers, and that is why we looked so good against them, because young pitcher tend to make more mistakes, and they threw a lot of fastballs, that were over the plate.
At OKC yesterday they got CRUSHED 18-8. Toles and Ramos hit HR’s and all the pitchers gave up runs. Verdugo did not play, which is probably why people thought he was being called up. Solano leads the team in BA at .370 with Verdugo next at .350. Toles hitting .326. Garlick leads the team in HR’s with 11. Locastro leads in SB’s with 10. Gale is hitting .306.
Package
Right now, Machado looks to be a much better player then Harper is.
I am very impressed with Machado’s strike out to walk ratio, because not to many players that hit with power like Machado does, have the same strike out to walk ratio, that Machado does.
He actually seems like the perfect piece we need for this team, because we definitely need right hand power, and Machado is also a 300 hitter, and that is a big plus.
I don’t think it is a coincidence, that we have trouble getting hits, when runners are in scoring position, because the team batting average is pretty low, as compared, to our other numbers.
We also have pretty high strike out rates, as compared to the other top seven teams, in baseball.
The only top seven team, that has a higher strike out percentage, then us, are the Yankees, but the Yankees also have a much higher slugging percentage, then we do, so that tells me, we are striking out, way to much.
And I don’t expect the Padres to make it easy on us, in this next series.
I think the Padres have much better pitching then the Pirates have, and maybe better then the Angels have right now, too.
MJ
Very good overview of what is upcoming and current. I think the next 2 series before the all star game are critical. They need these wins very much. I think Manny would be a good addition also. You are correct, this team strikes out way too much.
Package
Your right, because when we come back after the Allstar break, our schedule is going to be tough, especially in August.
Just read this:
“Verdugo continues his torrid season at Triple-A, and he has hit a ridiculous .563/.588/.813 in the month of July. That comes after hitting .347 in June, and the 22-year-old outfielder is showing more pop than he did in 2017 as seen in his slugging percentage. Yasiel Puig is almost assuredly going to be placed on the disabled list soon, and there’s a good chance — although not a lock — that Verdugo could replace him. Be ready.”
It was written by a guy who follows baseball and then writes about it so I guess that makes it more valid than hosers on blogs.
O’s want Ruiz and May. They might settle for less.
MJ I believe if our strikeout rate was lower, we may be one of those 7 better teams you referenced. Put the ball in play.
Echoing Badger, from the reasonably reliable (IMO, again) Morosi:
`
Orioles have mentioned Keibert Ruiz and Dustin May in talks with the Dodgers on a Manny Machado trade. L.A. is not likely to trade Ruiz for a rental.
Is Britton worth adding to Machado and increasing our commitment? If there is a controllable player in the package it might be easier for us to give up some of the better prospects. I don’t follow the Orioles so I have no idea what Britton might be worth…
Jonah
I read Britton has not been that effective this year, since coming back off the DL, and he makes 10 million dollars a year.
Badger
Like I said, we have to see what Verdugo can do at the major league level, but that can also be a double edged sword, if he doesn’t do well, because he will lose value.
Remember I was the first one here, that said Verdugo was coming up, so maybe
my source was right.
But we are playing the Padres next, so I don’t know if that will tell us much, so I would have to see more, and remember, Verdugo was up, when we played the Padres, in Mexico.
The problem with this roster, is that we have both Forsythe and Chase on the roster, although I like Chase.
Asking is not getting. We have seen this game played before aka Hamels. Phils asked for the moon and got moonbeams instead and not from the Dodgers. If the Haney we saw yesterday is what the Halos can expect from him in the future, the Kendrick’s trade was a huge win for them.
For those of you with long term radar:
Dodgers 19-year-old Mexican righty Gerardo Carrillo, who was 91-96 with a plus curveball. I saw Carrillo pitch in relief of Yadier Alvarez on the AZL’s opening night, during which he was 94-97. He’s small, and my knee-jerk reaction was to bucket him as a reliever, but there’s enough athleticism to try things out in a rotation and see if it sticks.
Rosenthal in another splendid article, reinforces a lot of what we all thought:
Funny story: The salary-swapping extravaganza between the Dodgers and Atlanta Braves last off-season — a deal driven solely by money — actually did turn into something of an old-fashioned baseball trade.
Outfielder Matt Kemp, whom the Dodgers wanted to dump from the moment the trade was announced, shockingly became an All-Star starter, while pitcher Brandon McCarthy and infielder Charlie Culberson made lesser, but not insignificant, contributions, to the Braves.
Alex Anthowhatever is a good GM and doesn’t get ripped off too often. We should have kept him and sent the Arab to Atlanta, maybe he would have taken his pal Forshyte with him…
Please cut it with the Arab stuff.
Just for me?
Anthopoulos.
Are Greeks Arabs?
I believe you Badger and Bluto.
Because I can’t see any team waiting to make a move, until the next day, when an another outfielder is needed in San Diego today.
I guess my source was right last night, like I said on here last night, too
By the way, thanks for warning me, I appreciate that, so thanks again!
This is putting the cart before the horse but… Assuming Kemp is not traded this off season and Kershaw does not opt out, and FAZ being FAZ, how much, maximum, would we offer Manny? Would we run our payroll up as high as $190MM which would not be Luxury Tax territory?
Did a little research. under conditions I set above, the projected payroll would be just under $132MM. By the way, did you know we will still be paying that scoundrel Kazmir $8MM next year?
Jonah
Sounds like we could fit him in without much of a problem, just like we could have had Stanton.
Jonah,
There is no problem to go over the tax, it’s to invoke repeater penalties…
Time to slam the FAZ again. He should spend less time telling Dummy how to manage the team and more time planning next year. One thought: Grandal will be a free agent in November. Would you rather he panic and sign Grandal to, say, 3 years @ $14MM, or plan ahead and trade some prospect that we’ll never use for one reason or another to the Marlins for Realmuto? I think something similar to that is why we now have Forshyte at 3 times what he’s worth.
It is strike outs, walks, and HRs, stupid?
That is slowing the game, because there is only some action in every game, in about every three minutes, because there are not a lot of hitters, putting the ball in play.
And then you add all the pitching changes , and all of this an above, is the reason, some people find baseball much to slow, on action.
And Badger, not only do we need to get more contact, we also need hitters that also hit for a good average, so we can get hits, when runners are in scoring position.
Because usually 300 hitters not only get hits more often, they also tend to know how to use their at bats better, and use different approaches, in different situations, in games.
MJ, do the math. Assume the season is 600 at bats. A .250 hitter gets 150 hits; a .300 hitter gets 180. That is only 30 more hits over a full season, a tiny bit more than ONE per WEEK! I just did the math, I don’t have a dog in this fight…
Jonah
I believe you, but remember how difficult hitting is, because if a hitter is considered a really good hitter, when they are only getting hits 30 percent of the time, there is actually a bigger difference, then we think, even if it is only a few more hits, then other hitters.
And I do think 300 hitters, change their approach more often, in different situations in games, then other hitters, because they know how to handle a bat better.
And they tend to put the ball in play more, instead of striking out.
But your right, the key is to not only hit for a good average, you got to make those hits count, and hit with enough power, too.
And those type of hitters, tend to make a team’s offense more productive, then power hitters, that strike out to much, that is why you don’t want a line up, of a bunch of power hitters, that strike out to much.
You need balance throughout the line up.
But like I told Bluto, why settle, when there are players that not only hit with power, they hit 300 too.
Leave me out of this silly argument MJ, I found your reasoning then and now to be lacking.
Bluto
I didn’t say you agreed with me, about anything, I just said I told you the same, so get over yourself!
And stop acting like you are the only one here, that is all knowing, and then in the next breath, act demure, because that is just an act!
Just leave me out and away from your Batting Average silliness. You don’t need to mention me.
Please.
BA WRISP Bluto.
Not at all silly.
@jonmorosi
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Source: #Orioles have mentioned Keibert Ruiz and Dustin May in talks with #Dodgers on a Manny Machado trade. (@BNightengale was first to link May and Baltimore.) L.A. is not likely to trade Ruiz for a rental.
Buehler is also not in play.
Dodgers haven’t yet put Puig on DL or called his replacement. Reason for that is that the possible replacement names are being bandied about around the trading table. Hmmm… Verdugo to Baltimore or San Diego.. Tough call.
Interesting trade from the other blog. (Some of the people here don’t read the other blog. I believe in cross-pollination, Bluto) I like it, I’d trade Forsythe for a hole in the roster.
What would the Yankees part with for Wood? Would they give up 2 of their 3-8 prospects and 1 of their 10-15 prospects? Oh, by the way, this is a 4-way deal in which Joc Pederson goes to Seattle for 2 prospects as well. Manny Machado goes to the Dodgers along with Britton and Logan Forsythe goes to Baltimore to balance the $$$$. All the prospects go to Baltimore.
Cross pollination? The guy threaten to sue you, and shoot the rest of us. He can go pollinate himself.
Trade Forshyte for a hole in the roster has already been suggested. Just release him.
I think trading Wood for prospects is a signal we are throwing in the towel. He leads the team in games started and innings pitched. Where we gonna find a replacement for that? Not sure about the rest of that 4 way nor am I sure the Os want to carry the $9 million Forsythe anchor the rest of the year. Maybe, if the prospects are good enough.
Badger
What did you think of Heaney last night?
He didn’t have a high velocity fastball, like Ray does, but did he have late life on his fastball, because it looked like he was throwing harder, then the velocity said last night at 93?
And I still think we need to plant a bug, to see what is said.
The Dodgers made Heaney look better than he is. He had them off balance all 7 innings. And he does have something nobody on the Dodgers has, or will have – a complete game shutout.
Badger
Thanks!
Blogs are nothing but wasting time, if you don’t like that, don’t let the door slam you in the a** on your way out. Of course they would have done those deals pre-season if they could have. Now Forsythe is only half as much of a salary dump as he was then. I didn’t conceive that trade but I can see the merits of it. For Baltimore, they would receive FIVE, count them, FIVE high level prospects along with Forsythe and about $4.5MM of his salary. They could trade him or release him. Blogs are all about conjecture and speculation, if you can’t see that, and allow other people to entertain themselves with them, I suggest you find more suitable playmates elsewhere.
Yeah, blogs are supposed to be fun. Being threatened ain’t much fun. Go there if you must.
Good point about $4.5 million. The O’s would likely pay that if the return was good enough. Since Machado is leaving anyway, getting that many prospects for $4.5 XL is a good deal for them. Nobody would do that except the Dodgers – right?
Jonah
You are right, this is just baseball, and no one should take anything to seriously, including oneself, when to comes to this stuff!
I don’t care what you say Badger, you are doing the pushups!!!HA
The Manny Machado rumors are starting to finally have specificity (May/Ruiz from LA, Phillips from MIL) hopefully this mean things are heating up and there actually may be fire.
For more on Phillips, I add this from Crasnick: Brett Phillips could be one piece in a Brewers trade package, sources said. His path is blocked in Milwaukee, and Adam Jones will be moving off CF regardless of whether he stays with the Orioles or goes. Phillips brings lots of energy, and is still just 24.
Nightengale, who I find of as little value as 4 way trade dreams, sez Orioles may be willing to add Britton. I think that’s bad for the Dodgers, as I don’t see how the salaries and threshold would work.
One line of thinking I found on Twitter:
via JP Breen.
Back in December, Ken Rosenthal wrote about how teams were hesitant to meet Orioles asking price on Machado. It was two young pitchers. Obviously, no one met that price b/c Machado wasn’t traded…
One has to surmise that the Orioles recognize that any return in July would be lower than what they’d be able to get back then. No one met their price in December. Now they’ll offer less b/c Machado is less valuable. The Orioles have no leverage. They essentially have to trade him — which teams know.
What’s the price on Realmuto?
1. He’s not a rental
2. He has affordable control remaining plus he might be open to an LA extension
3. He steps into Grandal’s spot, no other player has to change position
All in all, I’d much rather trade the players rumored in the Machado deal to Miami for Realmuto.
For all those reasons I would think he’d cost a lot more than Machado.
I like Realmuto, and as you know, the Marlins also have young controllable relief pitchers, too.
I think Britton and Machado might be to much, to stay under the luxury tax for us.
I’ve wondered this too. Only because realmuto is so great. But Grandal is nowhere near as bad as you guys make him out to be and he’s still 10,000 times better than Barnes.
Grandal is what he is and what he is is inconsistent and a lousy defender. Barnes was injured out of the gate and has not really been able to perform. That’s fact not fiction, but when he was healthy, Barnes made Grandal look like a block of wood behind the dish. And he out hit him by 40 points with some power.
Sorry but I disagree. Sure Barnes hit higher for average last year and had a good year, but Grandal still hit 22 home runs last year in what was a down year for him. For the record Grandal has had twice the amount of injuries than Barnes and is still outperforming him at the plate. Look at the numbers. Grandal has hit 12 home runs and driven in 46 runs. He’s posted an OPS+ of 114. Barnes is hitting .211 and has driven in five runs this year with an OPS+ of 66. Barnes has hit one home run this year. ONE. It’s not even close. The year before that (2016) Grandal hit 27 home runs and Barnes was 5 for 32. There is no question that Grandal is a better more productive hitter. Again, it’s not even close. If we’re talking about defense, Grandal has only four passed balls this year, and still rates as one of the better pitch-framers in MLB. If you think that Grandal can’t hit in the clutch, think again because the numbers say otherwise. Grandal has a .375 OBP and an .860 OPS with runners in scoring position. Barnes is hitting .133 (4 for 20) with RISP. I don’t know what happened to Barnes this year. Whether it’s injuries or something else, I don’t know. But Barnes sucks this year and that’s not going to change anytime soon. Hopefully Barnes can find his stroke again which might not happen until next season. But until then, Grandal is the better hitter. Give him a break.
I agree fully with Scott. To compare Barnes with Grandal is madness. He and Kemp held us together at the start of this season when we declined so dreadfully. Grandal has power. This is something you want on your team. He drives in runs and is improving each year. I used to be down on him but I have seen his worth. Barnes is nowhere near the player that Grandal is. He is on the verge of flunking out.
The Orioles have always had trouble letting go, of their players.
They won’t be as easy as the Tigers were, with the Dbacks last year.
I love Machados numbers though, because he seems to be a very
effective hitter, that doesn’t give many of his at bats, away.
But understanding, our front office is not fond of dealing good young prospects, for rentals.
Toles is in SD and taking BP with the team. So no Verdugo….Per Ken Gurnick
Thanks Michael, and I do mean it!
I am sorry Puig got hurt, just when he was heating up.
That was the best I have seen Puig hit a leftie this year.
He hit that ball hard!
And injuries happen to almost all players, so we can’t assume any player is going to stay healthy, all the time.
There is also a report that Verdugo is hurt, not verified. But he has been out of the lineup the last few days. Toles is hitting 8th and starting in CF.
Michael
They have been giving both Verdugo and Toles, a lot of days off, lately.
One guy sat out a double header, and then Toles would sit out, after only playing three or four days.
We probably won’t hear any time period for Puig, because that is how this front office is.
I have just looked up Puig’s injury, and like any injury, it always depends how badly a person is injured.
But the way Puig left that game, I knew it had to be pretty bad, because Puig has out lasted plenty of smashes, off the wall.
Time period on Puig is 4 to 6 weeks..minimum..
Badger
Just 147 more Kemp ABs and you do the pushups. Scott has promised to get you some pop ups for the occasion. I hope his popups are you doing pushups. Yeah!! Why do you think I get angry when Dummy takes out Kemp or doesn’t play him? I don’t need him coming up short.
Badger
Here comes another 4 abs your way!! YES!!! Kemp is in the lineup.
Are you really that afraid of pushups? 50 is nothing!
I hope you win the bet. We need that RH bat now more than before.
Badger
Maybe you want to increase the bet? Glad to hear that you want Kemp in the lineup.
I never not wanted him in the lineup. I just want him healthy in September and October. We will need him then even more than we need him now.
Baseball America’s updated top 100 prospects:
The rebuilders have the most volume:
Padres (9)
Rays (7)
Blue Jays/White Sox (6)
Twins, Angels and Braves (5)
For non-rebuilders in the West:
Dodgers (5)
D-Backs (1)
The Dodgers top five are:
Alex Verdugo – #25
Keibert Ruiz – #26
Yusniel Diaz – #51
Will Smith – #80
Gavin Lux – #81
From the great Jeff Passan:
The Dodgers have stepped up pursuit of a position player and are looking beyond Manny Machado. Have had conversations with Reds about Scooter Gennett, Twins about Brian Dozier and Mets about Asdrubal Cabrera. Dodgers’ depth and versatility allows them to pursue a number of positions.
Trying to get leverage? Contingency planning?
It would appear they aren’t looking for defensive replacements.
I’d take Gennett and disappear Forsythe. The other two I’m not interested in. I hope it’s a bluff.
Badger
I don’t think they will give a good young prospect for a rental, that is not something Friedman and this front office do.
Of course it would be nice to get Machado on a package like the Dbacks gave last year, because I heard the Dbacks, didn’t give much up.
But with the luxury tax, I only see a couple of arms, for the pen.
And with Heaney pitching last night, he was the move that Friedman had reservations about, and I am sure that came to Friedman’s mind last night too.
But Badger, you already know all of this.
All of which is why I expect them to do what they have a history of doing. “Past is prelude.” “The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.” ”If this then that.” Pick your favorite prosaicism. I don’t expect bold, I expect the same old.
How about using “writers” to spread propaganda, hoping to push Baltimore into a decision?
Know any?
That’s what I meant by leverage!
And what I meant by a bluff.
Yes.
I wonder if this is it. Past two seasons, one big move each. I can’t envision $$ space for another move. Maybe more Cingrani level moves for the pen.
That’s my guess. As much as I’d like to add a .300 hitting .940 OPs’n shortstop, I don’t see the Dodgers bettering other, more needy teams. I could be wrong about that. I was wrong about Verdugo being brought up. Speaking of that, the PCL is on their All Star break so I checked to see which OKC players made the team. Apparently Toles didn’t and Verdugo isn’t starting. Nobody else from OKC mentioned.
I also heard Muncy will be in the HR contest? If so, I think that is a very bad idea.