Right now, Dodger fans are not very happy. Oh the result Sunday was good, but what about going forward. I have seen many blame the manager. Not sure there is much Old Dave can do about the inconsistency of this team. They score runs in bunches one day, and couldn’t beat your local little league team the next.
There are obviously some very visual reasons for this. One being they are playing without a full deck. Smith has been out for close to 10 days, so one of their better run producers has been absent. The 13-0 game was embarrassing to say the least, but I give a lot of credit to the excellent pitching of Cubs pitcher Drew Smyly. He pitched his game plan, and there was not much that the team could do to right the ship.
I think some sort of shakeup in the lineup is needed. Freeman should be hitting 3rd. He is the most consistent and best hitter on the team. I think they would benefit with Outman in the leadoff spot. He has been getting on base and also provides early power. Mookie might benefit from having a speedy runner in front of him.
Muncy is beginning to look like the Muncy we came to love early in his career. If you follow those four with Martinez, Smith and Vargas, the front seven could be a very productive group. The bottom two, no matter who they might be, will need to be able to step up and provide much more than they are right now.
But back to the blame part. I place very little on Roberts, after all, he did not assemble the players he has to use. That is on the front office people. Gomes is the GM, but on this team, I think the personnel decisions are a cumulative effort with AF very involved with Gomes as to their targets in trades and free agency.
And if you go further up the chain, ownership decides how much money is going to be allotted for salaries. We all know the Dodgers are one of the richest organizations in baseball. Guggenheim is loaded. But they also have shareholders they have to satisfy. So that means they are in the game to make a profit.
What the fans wanted, and did not get, was another spending spree on at least one or two big name players. Judge was pretty much assured of returning to the Yankees. So not shot there. What about their own, Trea Turner. I have to believe that Turner never really felt at home in LA. He played well, but something was obviously missing for him and his east coast roots kicked in and he is a Phillie.
Many felt the Dodgers kicked JT to the curb. I think his age had more to do with letting him walk than his performance. He is not the same player he was a couple of years ago, and no way they were going to pay him the 20 million he is getting in Boston.
So they went the cheap route. Low cost high reward retread reclamation projects that they are hoping pay big dividends in the long run. They also opened up spots for a couple of their own prospects. So far the results have been mixed. Arizona, a team they have owned the last several years, has a 4-3 record against them. They are also losing close games.
They have been one of the best in the majors for run differential the last few years. But after the 13-0 loss, that number is only at +19 right now. They are also in the lower half of the majors in pitching. That is not the Dodger way. The bullpen so far has not been very good. The starting staff was dealt a blow before the season when both Gonsolin and Pepiot were injured forcing Michael Grove to step in.
Gonsolin should be back within a week or so and that will help a lot. But like in many seasons before, a lot will depend on how they go about plugging the holes they have.
Overall though, the blame for the slow start falls on the shoulders of the players. They are paid a lot of money for their talent. Playing up to that level of talent is always on their shoulders.
But any failure on the field also trickles down the organization. Each level of the organization is responsible for some part of the overall production and success of the team. Ownership provides the capital.
It is up to the baseball minds who run the team to acquire the best talent they can to stock the system with players who will give the organization depth and flexibility. The coaches in the system then take over and are there to nurture and guide those players through the system developing that talent to a level where they can be productive in the major leagues.
Many are called, few succeed. I only wish I would have had the talent to succeed as a major league player.
I am comfortable that there is no blame to assess. The team was built on the current regime’s strategy of power and strikeouts be da***d. The Dodgers have always relied upon pitching to support that level of offense. This year, going into the offseason and into ST, the Dodgers believed they had the rotation and sufficient depth to overcome injuries. However two of those potential starters, Tony Gonsolin and Ryan Pepiot hit the IL before the season started. Pepiot is on the 60 day IL with an oblique strain. The earliest he will be back is June.
Michael Grove the #7 starter is now on the IL, and Gonsolin is coming back, perhaps too early. Bobby Miller still has not pitched in a game. Is he throwing in extending ST at Camelback?
And the other (#8 or #9) Gavin Stone has had a rough start to the 2023 season.
The bullpen has been underwhelming. Daniel Hudson was supposed be ready right about opening day. Now he is on the 60 day and not expected before June. Jimmy Nelson still is not ready. Two relief additions were never expected to be ready until August at the earliest (Alex Reyes and JP Feyereisen). I do not believe anyone thought Blake Treinen would pitch before 2024. The bullpen is always a wild ride, and this year it really has started out in a rough patch. Almost all of the relievers have had prior success, so there is little reason to believe that most if not all will be able to recover from the rough start.
I may not agree with the offensive makeup, but I am not responsible for the $250MM payroll either. As I have said, stay relevant as long as they can and make adjustments at the trade deadline. Pitching or offense.
“I am comfortable that there is no blame to assess.”
Me too.
I am still a bit flummoxed on the payroll questions, but nobody is talking about it so apparently 50% on overage is ok with the pocket people.
It does feel like some players are taking their time taking their jobs seriously. Betts and Freeman aren’t really warmed up yet, though Betts is OPSn .860. Martinez looks like a real hitter, some of the time. Vargas. Peralta. Taylor. Barnes. Rojas. Bullpen. Would we be at .500 without Muncy and Outman playing over their heads?
I look to things improving when the weather warms up. Which isn’t going to happen in Pittsburgh. Freeze warning this morning and tomorrow. Not at game time. Game time will be a balmy 55 but dropping, which contributes to my unease about Gonsolin starting. I can’t help it, I don’t trust his elbow.
Syndergaard tonight. 8.5 O/U. Dodgers favored. I’ll take the Dodgers and the over. Not sure why. Gut feeling I suppose.
I blame AF and the front office for their indecision on getting under the CBT. Either go with the youth and get under it or spend some money on proven major league talent. It looked like they were going to get under the tax and halfway thru the process, they panic and sign Peralta and then trade for Rojas. AF trying to build a bullpen with duct tape and chicken wire is ridiculous.
I will give them a little reprieve because of injuries.
Well, I guess we can stop hearing about trading for Bryan Reynolds.
https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/prospect-watch-two-dodgers-rookies-james-outman-and-miguel-vargas-are-helping-l-a-back-into-first-place/
Very small point:
Guggenheim Baseball Management is an LLC, not a public company with shareholders.
They have no real reason not to spend a fortune.
News from Internet:
Fangraphs’ Sunday Notes has a couple of Dodgers items
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/sunday-notes-mark-gubicza-built-a-bridge-and-had-two-saves/
1. A quiz:
Earlier this week, Clayton Kershaw became the third modern-era pitcher whose last name begins with the letter K to log 200 or more big-league wins. Who are the other two?
The answer can be found below.
2. Ronan Kopp has 17 strikeouts and has allowed just six hits and one earned run in 10 innings for the High-A Great Lakes Loons. The 20-year-old left-hander is No. 32 on their Los Angeles Dodgers Top Prospects list.
The ludicrously great Jeff Paternostro takes a look at some Dodger Prospects in his ($$$$$) Monday Morning Notes:
https://www.baseballprospectus.com/prospects/article/82151/monday-morning-ten-pack-jett-williams-is-taking-off/
Newsflash, the Dodgers are elite at developing pitching… including Indy ball signee, Jake Pilarski who is going to be a fast mover in the organization.Sheehan, Pilarski, Vivas and Frasso.
Jay Jaffe on Max Muncy’s return to MAX power.
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/muncy-is-back-to-showing-maximum-power/
“The only thing I have to worry about is just getting my foot down on time instead of thinking about so many other things. It was just simplifying it, really, even though it’s more movement.””
Baseball America’s Prospect Report of April 21 ($$$$)
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/prospect-report-gavin-williams-pitches-five-no-hit-innings/
Dalton Rushing: “An early season addition to the Top 100 Prospects list, Rushing went 2-for-4 with a home run and a walk on Thursday. His combination of feel to hit, power and approach….”
Fangraphs’ Leo Morganstern looks at Mookie Betts, the SS:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/mookie-betts-is-a-shortstop/
…All fault-finding aside, Betts doesn’t actually need to be an excellent defensive shortstop. He doesn’t even need to be good. As fun as it would be to watch him master a new position, that’s not what the Dodgers are asking him to do. Instead, they just need him to be good enough that he’s a better option than Luke Williams and his .237/.295/.310 career slashline.
Andy Pages made Baseball America’s 20 hottest prospects ($$$$)
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/hot-sheet-baseballs-20-hottest-prospects-from-the-past-week-41823/
10. Andy Pages, OF, Double-A Tulsa (Texas) Age: 22
Why He’s Here: .444/.655/.889 (8-for-18), 8 R, 4 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 5 RBIs, 6 BB, 5 SO, 1-for-1 SB
Twitter must-follow (for Dodger fans) @FutureDodgers makes note of the following:
When he makes his debut (tomorrow?), Michael Busch will become the second player from the Dodgers’ 2019 draft class to reach the major leagues, joining Ryan Pepiot.The Dodgers have had two players each from the 2019, 2018, and 2017 draft classes make it to the majors with the team––the 2017 class has an additional four who’ve made the majors with other orgs.Compare that with the vaunted 2016 draft class, which has had eight players reach the majors with the Dodgers, and another seven with other orgs (nine if you count Bailey Ober & Cal Stevenson, who didn’t sign).
QUIZ ANSWER:
The answer is Jim Kaat with 283 wins, and Jerry Koosman with 222 wins. If you guessed Jimmy Key or Sandy Koufax, they had 186 and 165 wins respectively.
Interesting thing to note in Ben Clemens’ weekly column
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/five-things-i-liked-or-didnt-like-this-week-april-21/
How Andrew Heaney is easy to steal on. We know this is true about current Dodger pitchers (BTW, what happened to Urias’ pickoff move??!?!?!?) it also extends to recently rehabbed friends.
On Twitter, Lance Brodowski noted changes in Dustin May’s CB:
https://twitter.com/LanceBroz/status/1650192107955449856
7″ of vertical move vs. 4″ from last year….
Jay Jaffe Chat:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/jay-jaffe-fangraphs-chat-4-18-23/
Anthony: It’s November ’23 and we are looking back at the Dodgers saves by reliever breakdown. What does that look like?
Jay Jaffe: Woof, I just looked and they’ve got three saves so far, two from Evan Phillips and one three-inning job from Andre Jackson. I’d guess they wind up with Phillips and Graterol in double digits and Miller with a few. Not gonna be a lot because 90 wins ain’t happening and I’m starting to wonder about 81.
Tungsten Arm Ohtani: If Ohtani’s overriding goal in free agency is to win a World Series (assume the money is essentially equal and geography is not a consideration), which team should he pick?
Jay Jaffe: Might be the Dodgers… or the Braves. Good lord is the latter bursting with young talent and unlike the Dodgers they’ve locked those guys up with ridiculously low contracts (which I don’t love but must point out).
Minor League News to note:
Newly promoted Braydon Fisher closed this one out for Tulsa with a two-inning save. He’s up to six scoreless innings across five appearances so far this season, with 9/0 K/BB between High-A & Double-A. The Dodgers’ 2018 4th round pick is the youngest pitcher on Tulsa’s roster (22).
Also in Tulsa, prospect Nick Nastrini has been added to the roster. The RHP was held back in extended spring training to build up arm strength. Nastrini made six starts for Tulsa in 2022, posting a 4.15 ERA with 42 K in 30 1/3 IP.
I do assess primary blame. The blame I assess is on the asses in the front office for their constant dumpster diving. They knew we had major holes and chose to cross their fingers with the players they pulled off the scrap heap. It angers me, my family, and my friends. Our interest in the Dodgers this season is the lowest in many years, and it started before the season began. Sad.
First inning – Thor getting way too much of the plate.
Peralta and Thor suck. Nice job AF.
I wrote this Jefe…sheesh a little credit please. LOL