Hey everybody,
Join Scott and Oscar on the ZCast network for a podcast wrapping up this incredible road trip, and previewing the upcoming series against the Marlins. You can also live chat with us during the broadcast.
There’s a lot to cover, from Heroes and Goats of the road trip, to Scott playing the role of Dodgers G.M. and dealing with the starting pitching staff, and talking about the return of old friends Don Mattingly and Dee Gordon, along with old enemy Barry Bonds, to Chavez Ravine.
Listen in on your phone with the free ZCast app, or online at the Zcast website. See you in 30 minutes!
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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Nice to see that the boys were capable of coming back and beating the Blind Squirrels, primarily, and beating the Rockies, secondarily. I do have a good idea on how to take advantage of the Blind Squirrels, have them throw all the BP to our batters (so far I don’t like seeing the BP they are throwing to the other team’s batters during the game).
There is a case that can be made that Cory and Joc are beginning to be the offensive force that is going to drive the Dodgers to a championship. Wait you say. What about Utley and Agon?
Agon and Utley are the leaders and are leading through the way they play and how they handle themselves off the field. Agon is walking the talk by going the opposite way with most at bats and putting a mental arm around the young players. Utley is hustling and showing everybody what 100% focus can do for them. He along with Kershaw and Ellis are dialed in and everybody can see it.
So, why would I say Cory and Joc are going to be the driving force behind the offense? Look at their stats. They are in the top 3 of runs and RBIs. I think they will own those two categories by June. Agon is always consistent with RBIs and he will continue to do his part but he will be third in that category this year and that is a good thing.
By mid June I think this will be the lineup:
Utley
Puig
Pederson
Seager
Agon
Grandal
Turner
Left Field
I agree with Badger. First of all the season has just begun. Everyone is fresh but that won’t be the case long and if the 37 y/o is the best candidate to lead off that does not bode well.
Definitely drink the Joc kool-aid and have a very short memory. Give it a few more months and we’ll see if Joc is close to his current numbers.
If Pederson and Seager drive in more runs than Agon then this team is not finishing first.
I just hope we aren’t burning Utley up. He’s W’s age, and though I think W is in decent shape, I don’t see him playing every day. Utley is supposed to be a backup – right? We have 40 leventeen second basemen we can put out there. Utley is only projected to play 103 games. He may be “on pace” for a mid summer trip to the ER.
Puig, Pederson, Seager. They all hit all year, we can win 90.
I was thinking the same thing, Badger. Utley is at the point where a ” crash and burn it to the ground” issue is a real possibility for him. I love to see him play and hustle, he has to be a driving force in the clubhouse before and after games and a tremendous presence on the bench during games. Interesting how Utley has totally dislodged Kendrick from playing second base on a regular basis. It will take an injury to get Kendrick much time at second. I actually like Kendrick in LF, I wonder who was the genius behind that decision.
The opportunity to have both Kendrick and Utley’s bats in the line up on a daily basis is a plus for the Dodgers. Who would have thought at the beginning of the season that Kendrick would be the everyday LF? And another Crawford injury would be the catalyst for get things gelling for this line-up?
Did I mention lately that I am so damn glad that Donnie is no longer our manager? Just checking
I agree with you Bum. Pederson and Seager look very good to me. I would like to see Thompson in left. He is not setting the world on fire, but he does contribute every time he starts. He usually gets one hit. He made a mistake in fielding yesterday, but I think he is learning and will become a better player. He has speed. I just do not see any need for CC anymore. Kike and Thompson certainly are better options right now.
Two players will have to go down today. Lee will probably be one of them. Avilan could be the other. When SVS comes back, it will probably be Thompson who goes down. OKC is loaded with young players ready to come up and contribute.
I felt bad for Thompson yesterday. He has been sitting and watching lately and when he gets into a game it it really windy. I wonder what he was thinking when he turns his back to the ball and runs to a spot, looks up and the ball isn’t there. To add pain to that experience, the ball falls at his feet.
He also had a double but ran himself into an out at third. He did make a great diving catch.
I like Thompson and I think he is a very good defensive outfielder. Kike’ can catch the ball but doesn’t get great jumps or take direct routes. Crawford, like Puig, can’t hit the cutoff man but for opposite reasons. Puig throws the ball past the cutoff man and Crawford can’t get it to the cutoff man.
Not sure Kike’ can hit righties and I just can’t get warmed up to Kendrick. SVS might be out another month.
Wood is doing better than what the results are showing. After Thompson didn’t catch the third out popup, the next batter hit a slow roller through the right side of the infield. Lots of extra pitches had to be made after Thompson’s mistake and Agon also made an error that innning.
Something else to consider, we have a 24 year old Cuban flame thrower we paid $30 million to in the minors. For some reason he’s in A ball. I see no reason why he can’t be in the bullpen some time soon. He can take Hatcher’s place tomorrow as far as I’m concerned.
Sierra just left Arizona extended camp for high A. i would guess they want him to ease into games doing what he worked on in AZ. He should jump to AA quickly if he keeps his mechanics consistent and shows command. I can see him on the Dodgers by July if I am guessing correctly at the plan the Dodgers have for him.
Badger – you know that the Dodgers like to have guy learning their trade on the main squad. So the Cuban flame thrower would fit in nicely.
He can take Hatcher’s place yesterday as far as I am concerned.
Hatcher really is a nightmare waiting to happen. I cringe when I see him getting up to come into the game. We have to have someone better down in the minors to take a look at, we know what we have and don’t have in Hatcher.
The Blind Squirrels, as a group, are felon-ness in their actions. The front office really needs to make a move or two and get some help in here, pronto! BTW, Jansen’s stuff must be so amazing since he really blows a game and yet has never hit the target more than 25% in any game that he appears.
Watched the highlight reel of yesterday’s game and it looked a classic. Couple of great defensive plays plus some good hitting and the usual “watch through the fingers” innings from the Pen.
To come away from the road trip with 2 winning series having lost both opening games, is s great achievement.
So Donnie in the house tonight.
Wonder what sort of reception he will get?
On Saturday the entire London Police force descended upon my local golf course, about 300 yards from my house.
Helicopters circled overhead and traffic was stopped.
Something was afoot.
Then a huge cavalcade of 15 blacked out SUVs drove past.
Yep, The President was playing golf at my local course.
Interestingly, it’s not a Trump course…..
Hatcher is an enigma. Why he won’t take a foot off that 96 mph heater and work the edges of the strike zone is unfathomable to me. Give me that arm and I have a 1 inning career at $5 million a year for the next decade. I think I can still throw strikes better than that guy can. Yeah, it’s only 68 mph but I can spot it.
Donnie in town. You know he is going to do anything and everything he can to embarrass us. We should blow those guys away, they suck, but nothing would surprise me with this group. A lefty going for them, so look for a different lineup. Utley will get a rest. AGon might sit. Thompson will play. Hernandez. Kendrick.
Crawford should be ready by tomorrow. I know we all look forward to having his thunder back in the lineup.
Notta to worry TrueBlue. There will moves o’plenty by this capricious office every week of every month from here until they are canned. It’s what they do. It’s who they are. This will be the most elastic Blue roster in history of Blue rosters. I don’t know how it’s going to work, but it’s going to be entertaining. It already has been and we are only a few weeks in.
And we get Vin back tonight. Doesn’t feel like he’s been on much yet.
It seems like everytime Joe Davis says something Vin like, Orel and Nomar jump in immediately and fill the air with jabber. Three in the booth is too many. I wonder how well Joe can do by himself.
Why Joe Davis? He’s from Michigan. What does he know about the Dodgers. He wasn’t even 1 year old the last time the Dodgers were in a World Series. He’s also formerly the voice of the Montgomery Biscuits. Quite a leap from the Biscuits to the Dodgers. Why not Daron Sutton? At least he has Dodgers roots. And he was really good here with Arizona.
For some reason his father Don never seemed connected with the Dodgers after he left. I wonder if Daron feels any connection to the Dodgers. He is more of a Milwaukee guy now.
Yeah well there is retired #20 hanging around Dodger Stadium so there sure as hell is a connection. There are only 10 of them and Sutton’s is one. The Dodgers should do everything they can to reach out to ALL former Dodgers, especially those whose number has been retired. I’m sure Daron must have some memories of hanging around Chavez Ravine. Last I heard he lives in Scottsdale. I listened to his broadcasts here for a few years. He and Mark Grace were very good.
Joe Davis may very well take Vin’s place!
I thought that was the plan, thus the question “why Joe Davis?” Are you saying the team hasn’t selected Vin’s replacement yet?
Yes