This year’s trade deadline came and went with the Dodgers doing little to nothing to improve their roster for the postseason stretch. The only moves the Dodgers made was acquiring a utility infielder who is currently on the injured list (Jedd Gyorko) who batted .196 in 62 plate appearances in an injury marred campaign for the Cardinals and a 30-year old journeyman left handed reliever (Adam Kolarek) from the Tampa Bay Rays. The Dodgers did not trade for Felipe Vazquez or any other reliever. They did not acquire any other player or pitcher of quality. They did not acquire any other player or pitcher period.
It’s a somewhat frustrating result. Understandably the Dodgers needed very little improvements for a team that has the best record in baseball and a 15 game lead in the NL West. The lineup is elite. The starting rotation is very good. The bench is solid. The lone area of need was the bullpen, specifically middle relief and the Dodgers were unable to plug the gaping hole in their middle relief corp.
I understand that holding onto top prospects is a good thing. The Dodgers were unwilling to part with Gavin Lux, Dustin May or Tony Gonsolin. Lux may have gotten them Vazquez, but it’s possible the Pirates may have wanted more. Before you start to talk about Andrew Friedman not wanting to trade prospects understand that that’s not entirely accurate. Friedman has traded many prospects over the last several seasons for guys like Alex Wood, Manny Machado and Yu Darvish among others.
That’s not the issue. The issue is that the front office and ownership are simply not willing to make serious win now type moves in order to help solidify a championship. Machado was only acquired because Corey Seager was out and the only other win-now move you can point to is the Darvish deal which did not work out for the Dodgers. Look, I understand that it’s a tough predicament. If you trade Lux for Vazquez and he goes onto become an all-star with Pittsburgh and the Dodgers don’t win a World Series then the Dodgers look horrible. If the Dodgers don’t trade Lux and Yimi Garcia serves up several home runs in the late innings of the fall classic then the Dodgers look even worse. It’s a scenario where there are no guarantees.
That doesn’t mean the Dodgers shouldn’t take the risk. Look at the Astros. They’ve already gotten their ring and are vying for another championship. They’ve already rolled the dice getting Justin Verlander and acquiring Zack Greinke. They’ve had to trade away a big haul of prospects to do it, and it worked out fantastically for them. Greinke should work out well for them too, giving them a formidable rotation in October.
Do you think the Astros regret trading away prospects for Verlander? I would guess no. The Dodgers don’t need rotation help, they do however need a lot of bullpen help. Their bullpen is below average at best and Jansen is not what he used to be. Can the Dodgers win a World Series with a below average bullpen? Is Yimi Garcia or Baez the answer to Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa? Is Caleb Ferguson or Adam Kolarek able to retire Aaron Judge in the World Series? Is Dylan Floro the answer to Ronald Acuna Jr.? I’m going to guess no.
The Dodgers have a poor bullpen and without a lockdown or reliable reliever then it’s going to be difficult for them to hold late inning leads in October. Certainly Vasquez doesn’t guarantee a championship but having a shutdown reliever greatly improves their chances.
Sometimes you have to roll the dice if you want to take home a title. This isn’t all on Friedman either. Guggenheim has to take responsibility as well. Either you play it safe and rely on internal options, which aren’t very good, or you take a risk and flip a top prospect or two for an elite reliever that can shore up the glaring need on your roster. If the Dodgers want to win a championship now before their foundational players such as Clayton Kershaw, Justin Turner, and Kenley Jansen get too old, (they’re already getting old) then bold moves have to be made.
Lux and May are great, but championships are forever. If the Dodgers don’t win the World Series because of a poorly built bullpen then it’s squarely on the shoulders of Friedman, Stan Kasten and Mark Walter. Surely they can still win the World Series this year, but it’s going to be an uphill climb with a lackluster bullpen. If the Dodgers want to win a championship then they’re going to have to stop playing it safe and take some risks.
I don’t know.
Part of me is ok with this. Friedman has a lousy track record at big trades and big FA signings. He is very good at fringe signings.
The other part of me is thinking, but will the Dodgers let the kids pitch in October? If Gonsolin and May catches fire in September, perhaps they could be like what Kelly and Wacha brought to the Cardinals back in 2013? But we have not been pitching our kids, although I think this could be changing fast with how they’ve been handling May, Gonsolin and Urias in the last two weeks.
We have a huge lead on August 1. Give our kids a chance to face the pressure.
Without knowing what teams were asking for I can’t criticize the FO. I heard what the ask by Arizona from the Yankees was for Ray (Clint Frazier plus 3 more players). At one point I saw on twitter that the Dodgers and Pirates were having a stare down over Lux. What we don’t know is who else the Pirates wanted in the deal. Were they asking for K-bear or May as well? I wonder if we are seeing younger players get more of a chance this year because Zaidi is gone.
I am fine with leaving things as is. I think our “big 3” Ryu, Buehler, Kershaw matches up well with anyone even including the Astros. I put Urias and Maeda in the bullpen with Jansen, Kelly, Baez. If we add one or two youngsters, fine. But we did not need to make changes.
I really don’t know about the whole asking and staring thing. The best FOs get it done. Ours is good, just not the best. When I know I don’t have the best, I like them to just go what they do best and don’t take big risks.
You want to see the best? Look at the Astros. And why weren’t we dealing with the Blue Jays? That FO is a joke. We seriously could have landed Stroman and Sanchez for guys like Connor Wong and DJ Peters …..
Freidman does some explaining as to what happened. He said they were very aggressive going after the players they had targeted. Everyone knows that Vazquez was at the top of the list. The Pirates asking price was just more than the Dodgers were willing to pay. They never backed off of wanting Lux and at least 1 other of the Dodgers top 4 guys, and that was not going to happen. You can read about it on MLBtraderumors.com. As far as some of the other relievers available, Giles, because of his elbow issues was off the table. The Yankees basically had the same problem. They never really lined up prospect wise with another team. I think Friedman did what the ownership wanted and what they all felt was best for the Dodgers in both the present and the future. No single move guarantees a World Series championship. How many thought when Boston made a seemingly insignificant trade for a RH bat, Steve Pearce, that he would be the WS MVP? Guys can and do suddenly out of no where get a lot better than they were thought to be. Garcia could suddenly start striking out a lot of hitters. It has happened before. Greinke makes the Astro’s deeper and a lot better, but he does not automatically mean they win it all. And check the record. Over the last few years, the Dodgers have owned Greinke. They killed him on opening day. So I am not panicking simply because they did not trade their future away for a maybe. I want to see Lux and May and Gonsolin in LA for a long time. And next year our catching tag team could be Smith and Ruiz. How about that?
Michael, correct on no single move guarantees a WS. Getting Vasquez would have been fine but even with him and or another top reliever, we cannot compete with the offenses that the Astros or Yankees have.
Maybe not, but the Dodgers have more homers and a bigger plus run differential than both of them. They can outpitch the Yankees starters easily because their rotation sucks. The Dodger offense is pretty good and what’s more, pretty efficient. Yanks try to bludgeon you to death. As for the Astros, they got stronger, but the Dodgers do pretty good offensively against Greinke. They have beaten Verlander in the series. And worrying about the Yankees and Astros is a little premature since they and the Dodgers have to get there first. Teams that are on a roll that time of year usually they The Dodgers need to take care of their own business. Then take them on one opponent at a time. Looking ahead like that does not do anyone any good. The Dodgers are concentrating on the Padres right now.
Still, Michael, the Dodgers will be facing much better elite pitching in the PS and WS. Correct, we must get there first. As for this deadline, let me say that many are questioning why the Pirates went to extremes in their demands while keeping a bonafied reliever on a lst place team like theirs. Pirates could have gotten a good haul of prospects from the Dodgers not named lux, May or Smith. Heck I might have parted with Ruiz at this time but it’s not my call. i also would have considered moving Joc or Beaty if that helped get a deal done, but now it’s too late.
I have to trust AF’s judgement on this. He knows what the price was and we do not. I do not care for a lot of the moves he has made since he got here. But in this case I kind of agree if the price was high. Huntington, the Buc’s GM, said before the deadline was even close that it would take a huge deal for them to even consider moving him and he fully expected Vazquez to be pitching in the playoffs for the Pirates in the future. That alone leaves me to believe he was never serious about trading him in the first place. With the Dodgers not really targeting guys like Dyson and some of the other pieces moved, it left AF with a narrower window for a chance at a player who would be a real difference maker. They were linked with Vazquez, Greene, and Diaz. From what I gathered the talks on Greene were not ever that serious and the other 2 were too expensive in AF’s mind. So, I for now will wait and see how we finish and only then can any of us make a judgement on whether he did the right thing or not.. Remember this, our staff is not chopped liver. There are some good arms on this team. Kelly has been better, Floro looked like he did earlier in the year last night. Yimi got out of a jam. Our starters are every bit as good as the Astros and Braves and Nats, they are better than the Yankees for sure. And remember also, they have owned Greinke since he went to Arizona. The clobbered him on opening day and in his only WS decision against the Dodgers, Verlander lost…Joc took him deep. Moving Joc was never an option. You do not trade the 3rd best power hitter on your team for a reliever. I have never seen that done. They can still make trades. They just have to be players on a minor league contract. You can get a gem that way sometimes. Twins made that kind of trade today.
This is cool:
https://twitter.com/Feinsand/status/1156719454375596034
Since AF failed to make a decent trade before the deadline, and the end of the “Pederson Experiment”, tonight we see the debut of the latest in a series of low budget acquisitions…. Dodger Fans, tonight we are showcasing the “Andy Friedman Trade Deadline Dumpster All-Stars”.
Who knows, it just might work! I’m game for anything, at this point.
Poor Pederson will again be relegated to being a spectator against lefties, and maybe righties too. We cannot say the Dodgers did not give him every opportunity to play.
Kershaw gives up another HR. This time to Renfroe. Pederson as stated will no longer see time at 1st. Belli will be there against RHP. I would think Joc may be trade fodder this winter. His lack od versatility is going to over shadow his power bat,
Kersh continues to give up the dingers. Sad to see him struggle… he was so dominant before. His efforts to reinvent himself are not paying dividends. Way too much money tied into him now. This will hurt the team, in the long run.
I think Pederson will end up being traded. Too bad his stock has dwindled… Dodgers waited too long, and probably will not get much in return for him now.
Come on Blue….the guy is 9-2. He has a ERA in the mid 2’s. Yeah, he still gives up some home runs and he is not as dominant as he was, but he is still a lot better than most pitchers in the league. He also is 1 K behind Koufax on the career Dodger K list.
And the Dodgers keep rolling along. Kersh gets 10th win, and passes Koufax in K’s. Kersh was not dominating, and gave up a dinger and 5 walks, but prevailed.
The kids continue to contribute, topped by the Fresh Prince’s Grand Salami! Beaty adds two hits and a RBI.
Offensively, Belli and Seager looking better, and Pollock continues to impress. Negrón so far proving to be a worthwhile dumpster find, offensively and defensively.
Crazy lineup tonight, but a win is a win, I guess. They have to take each game, one at a time…. take care of their own destiny.
Looking forward to seeing May, tomorrow.
As far as Smith, I do not think he will be eligible for ROY next season…. he might have too many days in the bigs, or too many at-bats rhis season. I think he might be eligible this season, but probably has no chance, because he came up too late. Anybody know for sure?
I think Kershaw is doing fine. 16 quality starts, and also getting in at least 6 innings in every start this season, is great production.
I hope he keeps this up all through the post season.
Hmmm…has everyone seen the number of HRs Verlander has given up? And no one talks smack about him like they do about Kershaw….
I, personally do not care about what Verlander is doing. I’m sure his fans are feeling the same pain as we do. My main concern is what our Dodgers’ Pitchers are doing, not only Kershaw. Including Maeda, including the Dodger Bullpen, including Jansen.
I think we are not really accustomed to seeing Kershaw with no command. He was so dominate…. once he got ahead of the batters, it was usually lights out. Now, he gives up dingers with two strikes on the batter, last night he walked 5 in 6 innings. Kershaw set the bar high for himself, and now he must try and get creative to regain his dominance.
The perfectionist he is, you can see the frustration on his face, because he knows he is better than what he is delivering. This frustration only fuels the Fan’s frustration.
AZ has been considering moving to Henderson Nevada. Negotiations on hold right now. AZ can leave Chase in 2022. Belli slams # 35 to tie the game.
Wow… Henderson? Hope it is a covered stadium. Gonna’ be hot out there, just like AZ. They probably will have to build a new stadium.
Freidman was just on the TV broadcast explaining what happened at the deadline. I understand more now why he did not pull the trigger on a trade. Kershaw just tied Koufax on the all time K list.
Can you paraphrase for those of us who missed it?
I’ll try Bluto. What it came down to was this, they had targeted about 6 players. He said they were very aggressive in their pursuit of those guys. He did not name who they were, but he said that the Dodgers offers were what they deemed to be the value of the player. The asking price of these guys was higher than what the Dodgers felt they were worth. In his words, you paid 1.40$ for a 1.00$ value. They were working so hard on these players, that the other’s that were not on their radar were never really an option, guys that did get moved like Dyson and Martin. He also said that at the end of the year they might look back and be very glad they did not trade this guy or that guy. Made a lot of sense. It also gives them a chance to evaluate what they really have. They are going to do it or die with the players they have available, majors and minors right now. They asked specifically about Gyorko. AF said because of no August deadline, he was the kind of depth player they would normally have picked up then. With Freese out, it was more of a need now. By the way, Gyorko was in the dugout talking to Roberts during the game. What it boiled down to was who ever they were talking to wanted a lot more than they were willing to give up.
Thanks!
No problem Bluto. Also, someone asked about Smith and winning the Rookie of the year award. The rules state that he would no longer be a rookie next year if he spends 45 days on the major league roster, gets 130 at bats or pitches 45 innings. Smith could conceivably win the award this year. But he would have to pretty much keep up the pace he is on and surpass those who have been in the league all year and are performing at a high level. As much as he is playing now, he will easily surpass those limits to keeping his rookie status for next year. One rookie I know of got a mid season call up and won the award. Steve Howe was called up from AA and won in 1980…so anything is possible.
Michael,
Thanks for validating my assumptions on Smith’s eligibility for ROC, either next year or this year. He would really have to go on a terror, just to beat out Verdugo or Tatis.
Not good news on Barnes’ struggles in OKC. He just put way too much pressure on himself. I don’t think he has any value left in the trade market, either. Although Pederson has been relegated back to original role as part-time pinch hitting outfielder and starter against righties, I do not think he will be traded, because his trade value is probably really low right now. Nobody really would want a one-dimensional, part time player…. maybe just a very slim chance at being a DH against righties, but he has been even struggling against righties too, recently.
I hope May has a successful debut, tonight.
Pederson has one more year of team control and is an unusual player in modern baseball, a true one-skill specialist — power against right-handed pitching. But that’s very valuable!
Very.
And he’s fine in left field, so I don’t see the need to move him while he remains under control.
I call BS on Friedman. It was the kind of trade season like others, despite the format change. Other teams were able to get deals done. Friedman clearly was not prepared for the change and focused on too few targets. That’s how I feel. We have a good but not great FO. In this case I’d rather them stick to the fringe approach and I’d respect them more if they just admit this instead of feeding us BS.
Barnes is 3-16 down at OKC. Not very encouraging. They have another guy on the roster down there, Ben Moore who is a catcher. He is on what they call the temporary inactive list. Another question right now is who gets sent down today when they activate May. My guess is JT Chargois. Everyone else is essential unless they put someone on the IL. By the way, they can still acquire players in trade. As long as they are on minor league deals and have not been on the roster this year. Twins did that today.
Blue, yes, he would really need to tear it up, but remember, Alonso is in that mix with Tatis, as is Riley of the Braves. Right now I would say Tatis and Alonso are the front runners with Alonso because of his awesome power and the Mets belated run at a wild card spot is ahead of Tatis since the Pads are totally out of contention. If Verdugo had kept up what he started out doing, he might have had a shot. Right now he is way behind those other guys.
Well, May Day in August did not materialize. Maybe it was nerves, maybe it was lack of offensive support, maybe it was lack of defensive support. … maybe “All of the above”!
May was a bit wild, threw way too many pitches, but made it to 5 innings, before the wheels fell off the wagon in the sixth. He did work himself out of a couple of jams, by inducing two easy DP’s.
I was a bit thrown by the lineup and positional assignments tonight. The Dodgers decided to go with a “Lottery Lineup”…Players playing out of position. You would think that DR would give the Kid a solid defensive lineup to back him up. Why did he play Negrón in Center? Why did he play White at 1B, and Leadoff? Why did he play Muncy at 2B? I knew DR was probably seeing what options he has with his team, but May deserved a stronger lineup of regulars, playing their best positions. It was the wrong time to be experimenting, DR!
Result, was defensive miscues… two misplays by Negrón in CF, and one costly error at 1B by White, and a flat offense who managed only 4 hits, and 8 KO’s. Only 0-1 RISP, because they could only manage to get one runner beyond 2nd base. Belli hit his 36th, a two-run Belli Bomb, but that was basically all the offense they could muster.
Well, all in all, not too bad of a debut for May, but really too bad that his teammates could not back him up.
Yeah. A very interesting lineup. If I had been told that lineup would be used in game 111,I would have guessed the Dodgers were in last place and the season had been a disaster.
? I think May would have preferred his OKC lineup…. Dodgers should have called up the whole team!
Or that the Dodgers are so far ahead that they’re experimenting with the kids.
I think we continue to throw things out there in August and especially the young pitchers plenty of chances to pitch their way out of trouble. I like how DR handled Dustin May last night and also giving Buehler a long leash tonight after he gave up the HR in the 8th.
White and Negron are far from being kids, and I believe Doc left May in for a couple hitters too long. I was impressed with May’s stuff and most of all his poise out there. He did not get rattled when the error was made, or when Negron failed to run down that long double. He has some good stuff. But Dave should have pulled him. I like his nickname too, Code Red. I like it a lot better than the one that was going around on Twitter, Gingergaard.
Hey all you Old-Timers….
Remember the 25-cents programs, and the vendor barking out, “Scorecards here! You won’t know the players without a scorecard!”
I think Dodger Stadium is going to have to bring those scorecards back. How the heck are we supposed to keep up with all these roster changes?
Well Bluefan, I miss those too. But now when you come into the park, at the parking toll booth, they give you a little booklet with a scorecard in the middle. Also these days they wear their names on the back….Unless you can’t read, pretty hard to miss. Other things I miss…..1$ Frozen Malts, 50 cent peanuts, 1.50$ Dodger dogs, and picture packs that were 50 cents and Dodger yearbooks which were the same. Now the yearbooks are 10 bucks. Which is kinda high.
Michael, I started going to Dodger games as a kid back in 1966. and I am fortunate to have those storied Dodger yearbooks they had for very little $$ back then. Starting with the 1965 Yearbook. they are individually wrapped now for safe keeping , along with a few Dodger vinyl LP’s !! One of which is the 1981 Highlights which included the WS win.
I am a little older than you. My first one was in 1958 at the Coliseum. Cardinals-Dodgers. Big D was pitching. I have a 1958 that I bought a few years ago. I also have a 1963 World Series program and one from 1965. Over the years with all the moves and such a lot of my older ones have disappeared. I now and then find one I want on eBay. I bought a 1983 the other day. In great shape too. I also collect baseball cards and Dodger Media guides. The newest I have is last years. But I also have some from the late 70’s and early 80’s. I love the yearbooks, but the media guides have a ton of info in them that I like. Listing all of their trades and such. You can find the same info on the internet nowadays, but back then you could not. The pride an joy of my collection for me anyway is a complete team set of the 1959 World Champion Dodgers. The high number’s were hard to find, but I got them. The most expensive was Koufax. The hardest to find was Art Fowler. I just a few months ago, realized I did not have a Johnny Klippstein. I found one on eBay for about 5 bucks and now I have all of the Topp’s 1959 Dodgers. I also have a original Fleer card of Zack Wheat from 1960 when they made a great players set.
May was doing ok. Too many pitches, but Roberts did what he does best. He waited too long to pull him. After that second ball was hard hit and since the kid is a rookie and you do not really know what you are going to get from him, he had Baez warming. He should have pulled him after the second hit. The offense has not solved Lauer yet. The guy after last night is 4-0 against LA>
DR either pulls them too soon, or leaves them in too long.
Yup, those old days are long gone. Do those scorecards have the full, current 40-man team roster? The way the Dodgers keep shuffling guys around, I don’t know how they can keep it current!?
Take your Ipad with you and check the Dodgers web site. The roster listed is the current 25 man active roster. Those pages are inserts usually.
The Dodgers need 49K fans per game to reach 4,000,000! Up to today they average 48,608, that’s close.
Very doable. They have 26 home games left. 8 on this homestand. with the Cardinals, and the Dirt Bags coming in the attendance should be good. They also have a bobble head giveaway when they play St Louis. Those usually draw sell out crowds. This time it is Kenley. A lot of players being claimed on waivers, so even though the deadline has come and gone, teams are updating their rosters. Ty Blach, who had some pretty decent outings against the Dodgers was claimed off of SF’s roster by the Orioles, and Justin Garneau, who was waived by the Angels when they claimed C Max Stassi, was claimed by the A’s. Lots of relievers out there. The one who intrigues me some is Tony Sipp. Sipp is a lefty who despite a sub 2 ERA this year was released by the Astros. I remember the guy from when he was a D-Back. Pretty good at getting lefty’s out.
Michael, I was thinking along those lines that although no trades can be made now, Dodgers certainly can search the waiver wire and claim a player who may come along an d be of service this year and next.
I have a feeling that AF does that almost everyday. When you think about it, he got some of his players that way, including Chargois.
Does anybody know if a player acquired after the deadline can be added to the playoff roster if they are replacing an injured player?
I was at Roy Campanella Night, at the Colosseum. I will never forget holding up that match, when the lights dimmed. I wish I still had that ticket stub.
Blue….any player who is on the roster before September 1st is eligible to be on the playoff roster. Same goes for if they are replacing an injured player.
Needed to give myself something to do today, so I decided to look back over the years and find players who were pretty decent who came to the Dodgers at the end of their careers. Some very interesting players on the list. This is just the LA era. Bill Skowron power hitting 1st baseman of the Yankees came to LA in 63. He was part of the team that swept the Yanks in 63. He had a homer in the series. But his regular season was not very good. Rocky Colovito in 68, Jim Bunning, Dick Stuart, Marquis Grissom, Garret Anderson, Bill Madlock, Willie Randolph, Gary Carter, Bobby Abreu, Hank Aguirre, Camilio Pascual, Dick Farrell, Hubie Brooks, Enos Cabell, Robin Ventura, Wes Covington, Mark Belanger, strictly a glove guy, Tim Wallach, Bobby Bonilla, one of the worst trade returns in LA history. Ricky Henderson, Jim Thome, Todd Zeile, Hoyt Wilhelm, Eric Davis, David Wells, Frank Robinson, Alston really disliked this guy, one reason he was only a Dodger for a year. Juan Marichal, yep, for about 2 months he was a Dodger. Greg Maddux, Colletti actually got him twice. Al Oliver, only Dodger to ever wear #0. Boog Powell for 50 games. Neither he nor Thome hit a HR as a Dodger. Unusual since they were both huge power guys. Tommy Agee, 69 Mets WS hero, Billy North, Otis Nixon, Mike Young, he retired after that one stint in LA. Jimmy Rollins, started off like a house on fire and wilted allowing Corey Seager to make his MLB debut. Bronson Arroyo, never even threw a pitch for LA, Carlos Ruiz, traded AJ Ellis for him because of his playoff experience, and finally, Curtis Granderson obtained for the same reason. Total disaster in the playoffs and the WS.
Funny we were kind of discussing this at our house the other day. Quite an impressive list of ballplayers. Dodgers were somewhat a Heaven’s Gate for the MLB Retirement Home.
Micheal, you are true fan of Baseball, with a lot of knowledge of the game, and it’s history.
Great game by Buehler tonight. Complete game and 15 K’s. He made sure the 4 runs held up, and avoided the call to the bullpen. Offense still struggled with 3-11 RISP.
Thanks Blue. That’s one of the reasons I buy the media guides. Kind of fun to see who has been a Dodger and they also list the numbers players have worn in LA. Did you know that it is 30 years since anyone was issued # 34? That’s right, 1990 was Fernando’s last year as a Dodger. Well 29, but I doubt it gets issued again for a while. They may as well retire it. No one has worn it in so long. Boog Powell wore # 22 as a Dodger. Some players ended up with their favorite numbers and others did not. Robinson did get his familiar # 36 in LA. I left Richie Allen off of that list because he was not at the end of his career. But he also only lasted one year in blue. Alston despised him from everything I have read. While Allen had a decent year, 23 homers, 90 ribbies and a .295 average, it was not the kind of year the Dodgers expected and he did not get along well with Alston. We all know he was traded to the White Sox for Tommy John. He played 6 more years after leaving LA.
Michael, I remember the deals that got Richie Allen and a catcher by the name of Dike Sims for the 1971 Season. The reason was that believe it or not, the Dodgers were dead last in all of MLB in 1970 in HR’s with only 87 !!! Sims never did much but 1971 was before the Dodgers completed their next adjustments to the OF dimensions. CF was at 400 FT. that year and the fences were about 2 FT. taller than they are today and 5 FT further back and I think that made a difference.
I am glad #34 has not been issued, and the Dodgers have honored him by doing so. It will be hard to find anyone who could wear that number as well as Fernando did. I think they did the same for #30, until Wills was asked, and gave Roberts the OK to wear it.
Does Fernando still have a chance to get into the HOF? Don’t they have a veterans committee selection? I was shocked when he was bypassed. He certainly deserves it.
Correction, I think…
Darrel Thomas was the first to use Wills’ #30, after the Dodgers stopped issuing it. Thomas asked Wills if he could use it. I think Thomas was Wills’ protege at the time.
I think DR asked Wills for permission, as well.
Cleo James wore number 30 in 1968. When Wills came back to the Dodgers he got the number back. Then Derrel Thomas wore it. They did not need permission from Maury. Since then it has been worn a lot. Tudor, Offerman, among many others. As for Fernando, the only way he gets elected is by the Veteran’s committee. And here is where the arguments start. Although he was very good over his first 6 seasons, he was very mediocre over the last 11. He just was no where near the same pitcher. His last 4 years as a Dodger he had 2 seasons where he was at .500 and 2 losing years. His ERA over that time was close to 4.00. He finished a career 173-153. That’s really not hall worthy. Up until 1987, he was a complete game machine. Reaching double figures 6 times and leading the league 3 times. Fernando finished with very respectable career stats. But he only won 20 once. He won the Cy Young in his rookie year and never won another. As for the voting itself, he was off of the ballot after 2 years and never got more than 6 % of the vote. Go to Baseball reference . com and at the bottom of they page they do a HOF comparison. Pitchers he was most like. All of them were good, but not great. The guys he is compared to are Holtzman, Pascual, Langston, Zito, Steib, Viola, Sutcliffe, Leiter, Buhl, and A.J. Burnett. Granted, Fernando was and is an icon in L.A. He did some great things in that uni. But over all, if you really look at the stats and compare him to pitchers in the hall, he falls way short. I think if his number gets retired it will be along the lines of why they retired Gilliam’s. Long service to the team. The Dodgers have a thing now called the Legends of Dodger baseball and Fernando was just inducted into that. There will be plaques in the new CF entrance with those guys on them. SO far that’s Garvey, Newk and El Toro.
Makes sense, Michael. But Fernando, like Wills, had done so much for Baseball. Wills was one of the pioneers in the running game that brought excitement to the game. Fernando did so much for the popularity of the sport. He brought hordes of fans to the game, especially in LA. And also was one of the pioneers that helped open the doors for the international player pool.
It is a shame that they will never make it to the Hall. It is nice that the Dodgers have the Legends of Dodger Baseball.
What Fernando did benefited the Dodgers more than baseball. He was the first Latino superstar. He was their first hero. Much like when the Dodgers traded for Adrian Gonzalez. As good as he was as a hitter, Gonzalez brought the Latino’s back to the ballpark. That’s the bottom line. Up until Fernando debuting in 1980, the Dodgers never really had a star quite like him. He had charisma, he was fun to watch and he did some amazing things that rookie year. Had he kept that kind of thing up for even 10 years instead of six, he would have been a shoo-in for the hall. The years after he left the Dodgers were not that good. As for Wills, he definitely brought something back to the Dodger way of baseball, but he was a couple of years behind a guy named Aparicio. The 59 Sox had the nickname of the Go-Go Sox. He stole more than 50 3 years in a row. Wills never did that. What brought Maury into the spotlight was 1962. He stole 104 bases. No one, not even Ty Cobb had done that ever. In the nine years after 1965, he only passed 50 once. He had 94 in 1965. Unlike Fernando, he spent 15 years on the HOF ballot, the way it used to be, now it is 10. He never got more than 40% of the vote. Aparicio had a higher career WAR than Maury, 55.8 to 39.7. Aparicio is in the hall. Another guy fans cannot understand why he is not in is Garvey. Garvey spent 15 years on the ballot and never received more than 42% of the vote. He also has a lower career WAR than Wills. By comparison, Gil Hodges, who in my book has been royally screwed in HOF elections, was on 15 years and his highest vote was 63%. Gil should have been in a long time ago. He was pretty much the best 1st baseman of his era. He was also a huge influence on the clubhouse and a gold glove first baseman many times. He also won a WS as a manager and died way too soon. He has been considered by the Vets committee and fallen short. But the next time his name comes up he should make it. He was a classy ballplayer, and very good. Tony Perez, who is in the hall had similar stats.
Where the duck is everyone?
Best team in majors! Great young players!
And we have three people posting (myself not included)
Bluto
I am here but just letting AF have his day. Lots of positive thoughts for him. I just hope he delivers.
Don’t be so scarce there Pack….Martin getting hot now, another homer and he doubles his output for the year.
It’s no different than any other year in that regard Pack!
Make yourself be heard
Dodger pitchers today cannot hold a lead. Maeda had a 3 run cushion and gave up 5. Urias was given a 1 run lead when Pollock homered and proceeded to make and error, walk a batter and give up a game tying single to Machado. Hosmer flied out for a sac fly, and Kelly came in and struck out Renfroe and got Myers to pop out. Pads lead now 10-7 as Chargois has given up 3 in the 8th. Offense has been ok, but the pitching today has been pitiful. And that includes Urias. I do not trust Maeda in that roll anymore. He does not attack the zone. He did the first two innings today and then when the leadoff hitter got on in the 3rd, he got out of his game and started nibbling. He really came unglued when the ump did not call a pitch at the bottom of the zone a strike and the guy walked. He then threw a pitch right down the pipe and Hosmer hit a grand slam. Stripling will be back this week and Ryu is only missing one start. Maeda should go to the pen. He is much more effective down there.
Wow….did not see that one coming. They beat Yates. Pederson doubled. Verdugo hit a groundball to the right that should have got Pederson to 3rd, but he was thrown out by Hosmer. Seager hit into what looked like a easy double play. Urias bobbled the ball and he was safe. 1st and 2nd, and Muncy hit a double down the RF line, his 4th hit of the day and both Verdugo and Seager scored….11-10 Dodgers. Baez with the win, and Yates is now 0-3.
74-40!
I remember discussing if 90 wins was being overly optimistic
They can reach 100 this year. They have 48 games left. They play the Cardinals this week. Cardinals have been in a funk the last week, but they have gotten a one of their key players back in Carpenter. Wednesday’s game is on YouTube. Lead over the Giants is now 17 games.