The Dodgers had one of their superstars at the plate with the game on the line, and Mookie could not get it done a second time. Is there a more impactful superstar than Aaron Judge? I do not think so.
NYY wins the final game of the series in a game the Dodgers did not play well at all. There are no rewards for close but not quite enough. There is nobody to blame. NYY is a great team, and they beat the Dodgers. That is allowed. With better defense, this could have been a different game. But it wasn’t better defense, and the Dodgers could not break through.
It was a successful 3 game series. After his third HR, Teoscar Hernández had a phenomenal series. He should be in the thick of NL Player of the Week (whatever that is worth). Yoshinobu Yamamoto was outstanding. Gavin Stone was outstanding. Relief pitching was very good, except they cannot seem to get Aaron Judge out.
Gavin Lux had three hits in the finale.
Trent Grisham seems to get up for the Dodgers. To me he is still a Padre, which makes him unbearable. And remember it was his error against the Nats in the 2019 Wild Card that got the Nats into the NLDS where they beat LAD.
Some may have some negative comments on why the Dodgers lost. While never totally satisfied, one cannot be upset winning 2 of 3 against the best team in MLB in their own yard.
The Dodgers can hold their heads high as they fly home to face Texas and KC at home for 6, Colorado on the road for 4, and LAA at home for 2, beginning Tuesday. Then LAD will go on the road for 3 with CWS and 3 with SF to end the month.
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I know we have talked a lot about potential deals in the last week or two. And I understand that July 30 is still 50 days from today. For any out there who are math challenged, that is 7 weeks and 1 day.
A LOT can transpire in the next 50 days, and a lot can change…multiple times.
Right now, as of this post, there are only 5 teams that are definitely out of the WC race.
In the NL, Colorado is 8.5 games behind Wild Card and Miami is 9.5 games behind. The Braves are 4.5 games ahead in WC race, and San Diego is 0.5 games ahead. San Francisco, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati, and St. Louis are all tied for the third WC team. Pittsburgh is 0.5 games behind, Arizona is 1.0 games behind, the National are 1.5 games behind, and NYM is 3.0 games behind. That is 13 teams in the NL that are clearly looking to land a playoff spot.
San Diego has already made a move, and I do not think will be shy about making another. It will probably not be minor either.
In the AL, there are three teams that appear to be out of the WC hunt. CWS is 17.5 games behind a WC, Oakland and LAA are in 9.0 games behind. No other team is more than 4.5 games behind (Houston). Right now the 6 AL playoff teams are NYY, Cleveland, and Seattle (Division Winners) with Baltimore (+8.5 games), KC (+4.5 games) and Minnesota the three wild card teams. Boston is 1.5 games behind Minnesota, Toronto and Detroit 2.0 games behind, Tampa Bay and Texas 3.0 games behind, and Houston is 4.5 games behind. Are you going to tell Houston they are out of the Wild Card?
That is 25 teams that are still very much involved in the Playoffs run.
But many (if not most) of those teams are very uncertain if they are going to be sellers or buyers, meaning that sure buyers can reach out to the definite sellers (CWS, LAA, Oakland, Miami, Colorado), and the number of competitors is not as many as it will be in 6 weeks. That is why San Diego was able to grab Luis Arráez, and why Luis Robert Jr, Garrett Crochet, Tanner Scott, Jesús Luzardo, Paul Blackburn, Taylor Ward, and Jo Adell could all be potential targets early on.
Philadelphia and Atlanta will both be looking for an OF, and could very well make an offer CWS cannot turn down. Or San Diego making a solid offer for Crochet. None will be afraid of making an early trade, and if the Dodgers are not willing to play at that time, they could be on the outside looking in.
For many of you, the Dodgers not making a trade will be just fine. They will get to the playoffs with their present team, and anything after that is just lucky and icing. But to them, not going past the NLDS will certainly not be necessary to call the team successful. I do not have an argument for those people. If they are happy just making the playoffs, then be happy.
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The big MiLB news for the Dodgers…
No need to hang our heads at all. They won an extra inning game, then piled on runs in Saturday’s tiff. They got excellent starting pitching and solid work from the pen. Glasnow got some support and gave up 5 runs. 3 on a homer to a guy with a batting average below .100 at the time. Grisham has 5 hits all year! 3 of them are homers. In his other starts Glasnow got no support and pitched like an ace. Today he was merely mortal despite striking out 12 Yankees. Outman would have caught the ball Pages missed in the third inning. Despite being in a stadium with a short porch in right, none of the Dodgers power hitting lefties went yard.
Happy Birthday Jeff! Hope you’ve had a great day being celebrated and loved by family and friends! I also that this coming year is filled with blessings beyond measure! Thank you for all you do to keep this blog active. For those, like me, who spend far too much time, involved with all things Dodgers, you provide a wonderful forum for us to get our fix.
This was a fun series. I’ll take 2 out of 3 against the Yankees any day of the week. Particularly in their own yard.
Great debut from River Ryan. Good chance we’ll see him in LA this season.
Unless he gets put into a big trade, that is.
While Teoscar had a big series, I’m more encouraged by Yamamoto’s ace-like performance. This was his first dominant game–and we’re supposed to expect many more through 2035.
The Yankees looked good playing without Soto. They are a frontrunner for October, ahead of the Orioles.
From the National League, the Phillies have the edge now. Certainly the Dodgers are in good position, but the team seems to be missing something.
A true shortstop? (But who?) An upgrade in the OF? (Some names come to mind.)
Another big arm?
I’m thinking about Pages’ two gaffs and the 2 for 11 stat. But, we’ve seen these games before and we’ll see them again.
If it were me I’d pitch to Stanton with Judge on first.
I still say the Dodgers are not a good defensive club.
What’s wrong with Ohtani? The last 28 days he’s OPS’n .713. .594 in June. That sucks. The team needs him in big games like these.
The Dodgers aren’t showcasing Vargas and one has to wonder why. Are they keeping him under wraps until after Pages and/or Outman are traded? Do they already have interest in him and don’t want him to get hurt? Why is he riding pine? He needs at bats and he just sits there. Maybe he goes down when Outman comes back, which has to be any minute, right? And then there’s Taylor.
Why can’t a trade help both teams reach the post season? That way there is no reason to wait.
Players poll at The Athletic:
($$$)
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5529966/2024/06/10/mlb-player-poll-overrated-underrated-worst-organization?source=user-shared-article
Ohtani best player.
Betts Best vibes.
Lots more good stuff
First off, Happy Birthday to you Jeff D! I was in Couer d’Alene this past week to see my youngest brother and celebrate his birthday. So many June BD’s. I have a longtime friend having her 75th on the 14th. And, of course, Bear will be partying hard the same day for his 76!
I was catching up with the past couple of days trade comments. I have stated that I have no issue with trading prospects that will never play for the Dodgers for proven vets. I don’t understand the fascination with Robert Jr. As Badger said yesterday, he’s had one good season which was last year. His K rate before ’23 was around 20%. But, with the huge increase in power numbers came a K rate of 30%. We have enough of those type of players. As far as injuries, he may have a possible chronic hip problem. He was on the IL in ’21 for three months and this year for two months. He’s had several other minor injuries as well with his eye, wrist, and knee. With him playing over 100 games in a season only once (’23) in five years, his 30% K rate, and the prospects that may be required to trade for him it’s a pass for me. Between Outman, Pages, and Vargas one of them has got to be a solid major league player. If not, then it is a major fail for AF in position prospect development.
I would still like to see AF use some of this minor league depth to get either Tucker or Ward. If not, then pass and go to the playoffs with what they have currently. It could work and there is still plenty of time for Pages to improve. Or, the return of Outman with him exceling in OKC. Or, even letting Vargas play in place of CT3. Maybe, all three can be traded as part of obtaining an vet OF and/or pitching.
Jeff D mentioned he would like to trade for Crochet in order to have another LHSP. I agree that would be ideal, but looking at his injury history I say no way. Especially, with the depth the Dodgers will have with the returning injured pitchers.
Of course, with the Dodgers, soon to be returning players could mean in the next few weeks to never. Crochet had TJ surgery in ’22 and was out until May of ’23. A month after his return he return to the IL for three months with shoulder problems. I noticed he has 103 K’s in 76 innings and is leading baseball in strikeouts. And not looking it up, I guess he is a hard thrower. So, he continues to throw hard after one TJ surgery which leads me to think another TJ surgery is in his future. Add in a shoulder issue and I don’t think he’s worth the prospects to trade for him.
Again, it would nice to add another LHSP, but I think Kershaw could fill that role this year. And, the deep pitching prospects may be able to do it in the future.
So, trade for Tucker or Ward if they think Outman, Pages, or Vargas can’t fill the OF spots long term. The pitching is plenty deep with returning players. Just my opinion. It will be interesting to see what AF will do.
I wonder if Dodger prospects see what Lipcius is doing at OKC and is getting no love from the FO? What does he need to get a call up? Especially, when there is a spot at 3B for him. And with CT3 still failing when he is given playing time. Absolute BS.
Carry on.
Well, we finally attempted a very timely and necessary sac bunt with Kike, to get the tying runners to 2nd and 3rd, in the 7th. Kike hasn’t been asked to do that since King Kong was a chimp (actually 2018). but moving 2 runners into scoring position with your #9 hitter, hitting .207, seemed like a perfect time to put it on.
On his 2nd attempt, Kike executed a mediocre bunt back to the pitcher but it should have been good enough.
But we still found a way to NOT execute a basic sac bunt. Pages made an absolutely horseshit slide and was out at 3rd. Betts hits into a double play to end a potentially game tying inning.
I can see why critics distain the sac bunt when players are so inept at basic fundamentals.
There are some things that are just a lost art in today’s game. Granted, the players are bigger, stronger and faster. But they are not fundamentally better players in many areas. Sliding and pivots at second base are two, that come to mind. The Posey Rule at home and the Utley Rule at second have been largely responsible.
Second basemen can plant their feet right in the baseline without needing any skill at turning a DP and getting up and out of the way. A “take-out” slide is not taught anymore where the slider upends the infielder shin to shin. I love the old photos of a middle infielder up in the air over a sliding runner after releasing his throw to first. That is no longer necessary.
Back in the day, if an infielder dropped a knee to block a bag, he got a leg full of spikes. We didn’t need a rule.
And sliding, feet first, is a lost art. (Except for Trea Turner. I miss his slides where he seemed to glide over the dirt)
Way back before the head-first slide became a thing (I remember Pete Rose being the first player I saw to use it exclusively) we needed various slides; straight in with an extended lead leg hitting the base, was basic (the one that Pages failed to master). This one was best getting your numbers dirty so you couldn’t get tagged in the helmet on a poor throw, Next, a pop-up slide, a take-out slide, a hook slide to either side of the bag away from the tag, and a roll slide at home to avoid a catcher blocking the plate and reaching back to the plate with a hand. Pages would have been better served to slide head first with a footlong oven mitt.
Also, if you remember, the base itself wasn’t a solid heavy rubber thing the dropped securely into the ground with a post. Bags were bags with a strap with a buckle that fastened through a couple of metal hooks driven into the ground. And dust blocked the view of plays. No dust anymore with the field surface material.
I don’t recall doing the drill at spring training but I remember old video of players wearing baggy overall type pants and practicing in a sliding pit. Can you imagine now days asking Ohtani to slipping into a pair of baggy canvas pants and practicing sliding in a pit of sawdust? I’ve spent time at Camelback Ranch and I’ve yet to find the sliding pit.
I grew up around baseball and fast pitch softball. With pitcher dominated softball, it was a necessity to be able to bunt after a walk or base hit to move the runner in hopes of another hit or error. Runs were hard to come by and if you couldn’t bunt, you didn’t play.
I hear folks excuse players for struggling to bunt today’s velocity. Try bunting a fast pitch rise ball at hyper speed.
I learned to hook slide on either hip. That way I could slide away from any throw to avoid tags and also not get hit in the face by an arrant throw. It also distributed strawberries to the hips and knees.
And I learned this on a “Slip n Slide” in the yard in the summer. We’d played games with a tennis ball and slide all day long. I never ever slid head first except to get back on a pickoff attempt.
I also never played a game without wearing a pair of sliding pads shorts under my pants. I bet you could search every single clubhouse on the planet and never see a pair of sliding pads.
Executing the small things matters. How would have the game last night been different if Pages would have been safe and Mookie came through with a base hit to tie the game?
Maybe next time I will go off on the lost art of playing “Pepper”. Real Pepper and not “flip”. To wet your appetite, when was the last time you were at a ballpark that had signs on the backstop that said “No Pepper”?
Crochet’s value on the trade simulator is very high. That tool always puts premium value on cost control:
I like this fake trade:
PADRES GET
Luis Robert 36.4
Garrett Crochet 56.5
Total Value 92.9
CWS GET:
Robby Snelling 25.7
Ethan Salas 66.1
Graham Pauley 3.9
Yuki Matsui 0.2
Total Value 95.90
And this one, if only because the dodgers get a SP they don’t need AND it is made “fair” by the Marlins sending the Dodgers $$$
Marlins Get
Thayron Liranzo
Mairoshendrick Martinus
Reynaldo Yean
Dodgers Get
Trevor Rogers
Tanner Scott
Cash
So are the White Sox really looking to trade Luis Robert Jr.?
Per Bob Nightengale, the White Sox would want a package that’s “greater than what the Padres gave up for Juan Soto at the 2022 deadline.”
In my best John McEnroe, “They cannot be serious”. There is absolutely no comparison between Robert Jr., and Soto.
As a reminder, here is what San Diego gave up (and yes it included Josh Bell):
There is no way any team in their right mind would make a similar offer (much less greater) for Luis Robert Jr. Plus Soto was 23 at the time of the trade, and Robert Jr., is 26 (27 August 3).
Hope you had a great birthday Jeff. I am right behind you as mine is this Friday. We are getting hammered by a hail and rainstorm right now. Hail is small enough where it should not be causing a lot of damage. Night off for the boys in blue. Here come the Rangers. Paxton, Buehler and Yamamoto scheduled to pitch the three games.
Dodgers with 27 AB, or more, OPS, last 15 Days –
1.085 / 44 AB / Freeman
1.017 / 27 AB / Heyward
.953 / 51 AB / T. Hernandez
.944 / 39 AB / Pages
.895 / 27 AB / Rojas
.861 / 40 AB / Smith
.703 / 30 AB / K. Hernandez
.662 / 50 AB / Betts
.646 / 30 AB / Lux
.595 / 47 AB / Ohtani
Others, less than 27 AB –
1.092 / 13 AB / Vargas
.781 / 11 AB / Barnes
.210 / 19 AB / Taylor
Betts, Ohtani, and Lux need to get with the program.
Well deserved, Teo earns player of the week honors in the NL> Judge gets the nod in the AL>
Betts 3 for 12, Ohtani 2 for 13.
Betts, ”Sometimes you just have to get things done.”
You mean like last year in the playoffs?
Ohtani on his current slump. Crickets.
Pages on his junior varsity slide at third, ”Every day you learn something” So at this point in your career you have to learn how to slide? Those of us who weren’t good enough to make it as far as you have learned that skill in our early teens. He also dropped a third out right before Judge doubled in two.
Game 3 in that series was a chance to send a strong message. The opportunities were there and the Dodgers coughed up a hairball. Their weaknesses were exposed. Clutch hitting, lack of fundamentals in big moments. Will it again be that way. They have three months to get it figured out.
https://twitter.com/FoulTerritoryTV/status/1800590595087581541
What a great start to 2024 for Royce Lewis. He is 7-21, with 1 double and 4 HRs. As often he has been injured, he was not a mistake taken overall #1 in 2017 over Hunter Greene. Knowing Lewis is not going anywhere until he is a free agent (2029), that does not stop many of us thinking what if…
Let’s hope that Doc commenting on the health of one of the injured players is not the “kiss of death”. Too many times we have read similar comments only to later learn they will be headed for surgery.
https://twitter.com/billplunkettocr/status/1799934353423647159
Wow, the Braves are struggling. I look for them to be very aggressive at the trade deadline.
The Dodgers are putting on a show. Yes Bluto it is fun to watch this team slug. I am selfish. I want them to excel in situational hitting as well WRISP.
But what a night.