You’ve probably heard the news by now. The Dodgers placed all-star rookie slugger Cody Bellinger on the disabled list with a swollen ankle. They also placed southpaw starting pitcher Alex Wood on the disabled list as well. Right hander Josh Ravin and Brock Stewart were recalled from Oklahoma City. Stewart is pitching tonight against the Pirates in the second game of the three game series in steel town.
Today, the #Dodgers recalled Brock Stewart from Triple-A and placed Alex Wood on the 10-day DL with left SC joint inflammation.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 22, 2017
#Dodgers also recalled Josh Ravin from Triple-A and placed Cody Bellinger on 10-day DL with a sprained right ankle (retroactive to 8/20).
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 22, 2017
Of course the Dodgers said that Bellinger’s ankle injury was not serious and he would only be out a few days at most. It’s not surprising to see him land on the disabled list considering the Dodgers have a 70 game lead in the division. There’s no reason to not rest him right now. It’s the prudent thing to do. Adrian Gonzalez has taken back over his position at first base and the boys in blue have a slew of guys to cover the outfield, such as Yasiel Puig, newly acquired Curtis Granderson, Chris Taylor, and Kike Hernandez. Bellinger rolled his ankle going after a fly ball while playing in right field in the series against the Tigers. Bellinger is batting .274/.356/.612 with 34 home runs and 79 runs batted in. He’s just one home run shy of tying Mike Piazza’s all-time Dodger rookie home run record.
As for Wood, he just pitched six innings against the Pirates on Monday evening’s 6-5 win in extra innings. He looked shaky early on allowing three home runs in the first three frames, but was able to settle in after that. He was not involved in the decision and has battled arm fatigue earlier in the season. The SC inflammation is something he suffered from last season as well. It seems as though he gets tired at the end of the season. Wood is 14-1 with a 2.33 ERA in 20 starts in 2017. With Clayton Kershaw, and Yu Darvish still on the disabled list, the Dodger rotation now consists entirely of the fifth inning strugglers such as Kenta Maeda, Hyun-jin Ryu, Rich Hill, and Brock Stewart.
Most of the players get tired around this time of the year. It’s a long season and exhaustion sets in. Of course the Dodgers get hurt a lot. They normally have hoards of injuries throughout the season. I would expect most of the roster to be on the disabled list by Labor Day.
The Dodgers continue to win despite all of the injuries. Right now they still have the best record in baseball with an 88-35 record and have a 20.5 game lead in the National League West. Their magic number is now at 19.
Cody Bellinger’s ankle sprain is retroactive to August 20.
Well Roberts and Honeycutt were masterful in using our bullpen today. Watson and Cingrani did well against a tough lineup. But this means we will see Baez tomorrow and Jansen should not pitch under any circumstances tomorrow.
And Seager with another two out RBI today. He is really something. Totally under the radar. He, Turner and AGon are excellent in those situations. We need to give Turner and Seager some rest when the roster expands.
In the meantime, I think the last 18 months have shown up scouts vs GMs who are willing to trade top prospects. Swanson seems just mediocre so maybe the Shelby Miller deal still gets done even with a do-over. Our own Joc is in AAA. Gerrit Cole is good not great, certainly does not look like an ace to me. The vaunted 2014 Mets juggernaut of a starting rotation are on DL, as is our own Urias, and both Stewart and Alvarez have taken a big step back from the overhyped days of yore. And how is the “Cardinal Way” working for them now?
I’m pointing this out, as more and more blogs are claiming genius of FAZ for “unloading” De Leon, Cotton, De Jong, etc. First of all I think, in general, the Big Blue Dodger in the Sky says “Thou shalt not speak ill of Dodgers picks” and secondly look around the league and take off the homer glasses. Stewart looks good now for unloading Swanson, but this could change in a year, or not. Just like our Joc and our Puig. It’s hypocritical to lambast other FOs for bad deals ex ante and praise you own FOs for good deals ex post.
Well, in a game where our starter got blowed up we still win. Feels like it is written. But no World Series Championship is written in August.
What the team is doing is amazing. Who isn’t enjoying this ride? But again, this will be our 5th straight Division Title. We’ve been here a long time.
I agree about Cole. He has ace talent, but has only pitched like an ace one year. And I still remember the slurs some unconscious cretin posters threw at Stewart after that trade. As a fan of baseball I hope Shelby Miller can heal up and pitch again, though it appears he may be as fragile as McBlistermir.
Right now the Cubs and Nationals are playing well. Dbacks and Rockies aren’t. Hey, Miami is 8-2, which falls into the “so what” file. Until further notice I don’t see any team better than us in an extended series. There is still a long way to go. It isn’t Fall for another month or so. Hope the team holds up.
You’re a military man Badger. Hopeful WARY confidence before everything gets blown up and shot to hell. My best friend is a military field med who was deployed in Iraq. His dad was an air traffic controller who once had to work during a total blackout. SoCal Mexicans, so die hard Dodger fans without question. They are just like you.
I’m a 60’s SoCal kid that went to high school in the OC. Orange County was different then. It was John Birch of course, but it wasn’t nearly as snooty as it is today. I joined the Marines right after turning 18 and I did it to fight communism. I was lied to. We were all lied to. The communist menace wasnt real. The lies continue today. We continue to spend our national treasure on phantom menaces. And combat fucks young minds up sometimes to a degree they never come back. I hope that doesn’t happen to your best friend. If he saw combat, I would advise you to encourage him to seek help now, before the nightmares rip his reality apart.
Yeah, SoCal Mexicans and I have much in common. Funny you should bring that up. I lived in Canoga Park until I was 15. There was a lot of tension between the whites (hodads/greasers) and the Mexicans. There were a few gang fights as groups of each would occasionally cross Sherman Way looking for confrontation. But it could have been worse. I was considered a greaser (flat top with fenders) but me, and many of my white friends, had no problem with Mexicans. Why? They all played baseball. We were teammates. The Morales brothers, Dave Garcia, Stevie Castro were my best friends. We all loved the Dodgers and listened to Vin Scully. We celebrated those Dodgers and a few championships together. We knew our Dodger team then. We had a few rookies making the team now and then but we knew who was going to be on the field every year. In a very palpable way, baseball kept that neighborhood from blowing up.
That was decades ago. I sure don’t feel that togetherness anymore. Haven’t for years. People are divided now. Even those who may be teammates are divided. The Dodgers are made up of 40 millionaires whose names change like weather. I do hope the Dodgers win it all. Of course I do. We all do. But in all honesty, it just isn’t as important to me as it used to be. I’m not nearly as connected to these Dodgers as I was to the Dodgers of my youth.
All that said – hopefully I’ll be here when we finally do win another one.
When we win one I think you will see some togetherness again, and hope, but keep that wariness. The tree of liberty needs to be defended against the military-industrial-financial complex. It’s weird but with more and more technology, humanity has become more fragile. My kids are getting into baseball and the Dodgers, and the history of the Dodgers, with Jackie and Fernando and Nomo, and Hong Chi Kuo who’s Taiwanese like I am, makes an impact.
My friend is a family doctor now, after he left the military. We’re not young anymore. He was in Iraq after 9/11. Thanks for caring. I’m sure he appreciates it.
Well said YF.
This is a very challenging time. After last night my wife asks me “what are we doing in Arizona?” We don’t know where we belong.
It’s up your generation to fix this. How to use technology for peace and prosperity. My generation doesn’t have a freakin clue. We’re the ones that f’d it up. Good luck.
I don’t understand why Arizona is so different from California.
I guess it is that old Wild West, mentality.
But most of the people in that place that was supported that appearance, were people that are older, not younger, so maybe there is more hope, then we think.