This was the most disappointing loss of the year. This is a game the Dodgers used to put away. It started with Tony Gonsolin. He was staked to a 3-run lead. Gonsolin gave up back to back singles to Jake Fraley and Matt McLain. He had Fraley 0-2 and could not put him away. McLain attacked 1st pitch for a single.
Perhaps the most important PA of the night, for whatever reason, Gonsolin chose not to challenge 21 year old rookie Elly De La Cruz in his first MLB PA. Gonsolin threw a curve on the 1st pitch and got De La Cruz to chase. He would throw three more curves and a slider for balls, and De La Cruz drew a BB. I highly respect the abilities of De La Cruz, but to not challenge him in his 1st PA gives in too much, especially when your fastball is supposedly your best pitch.
Gonsolin gets strike 1 to Spencer Steer and then hits him to bring in a run. A center cut slider his smacked for a 2-run single to tie the score. It took 26 pitches to get out of the inning from a second division team with three rookies and three 3rd year players as the first six in the lineup.
The two Reds rookies, Matt McLain and Spencer Steer, are thus far outplaying the Dodgers two rookies. Corbin Carroll and Spencer Steer are the top two NL rookies and McLain will get to that level very soon.
Gonsolin pitches by inning were 26, 16, 18, 13, 19 for 92 pitches in 5.0 innings. Five relievers would follow and combined they would allow 5 runs on 9 hits, 3 walks, 1 HBP, and 1 strikeout in 3.1 innings. Yency Almonte and Brusdar Graterol allowed 2 runs on 7 hits and 1 BB in just 2.0 IP. This was not Tampa Bay, Texas, or Atlanta offenses they were facing.
Then again, the current LAD bullpen is not a championship bullpen. The only bullpens that the Dodgers have a better ERA are Washington, Chicago White Sox, KC Royals, and Oakland. This is the worst bullpen I can remember the Dodgers having.
IMO opinion, the genesis of this porous bullpen started in the offseason when AF/BG curiously said they did not need a closer. How wrong could they have been. After Tuesday’s debacle, here is how the vaunted LAD bullpen looks individually.
Over the last 6 games, the bullpen numbers:
19.1 IP, 19 runs (15 earned), 24 hits, 11 BB, 18 K, 5 HBP – That is 40 base runners over 19.1 IP. That is not a championship bullpen.
On the bright side, the offense had a good night. They scored 8 runs, and that should be (used to be) enough for the Dodgers to win. Not lose to Cincinnati. JDM hit his 10th HR in his last 15 games and Freddie hit a grand slam. It was the Dodgers 7th grand slam this year. They had 2 all of last year. Every LAD starter except Will Smith had a hit. Nobody more than 1, but did I say they had 8 runs?
The Dodgers dug deep into the bullpen (5 relievers), and Noah Syndergaard gets the start on Wednesday. Just how deep can he go in Wednesday’s game?
- Wednesday Noah Syndergaard against Brandon Williamson (Rookie LHSP).
- Thursday Clayton Kershaw against Graham Ashcraft (2nd year RHSP).
Other Notes of Interest:
This has to be the singularly worst plate umpiring I can recall. I doubt that Carlos Torres will be pleased with his scorecard on this one.
Elly De La Cruz is going to be a superstar. During the game we learned that De La Cruz has:
- The hardest throw in the field this year (99.9).
- The hardest hit ball this year (119+). He also had two 117+ MPH HRs the same game.
- The fastest runner from home to third for a triple.
His two batted balls on his MLB debut were 112 MPH double and 108.7 MPH ground out to 2nd.
After the game, Doc was visibly very upset. He blamed Gonsolin and the bullpen (save Evan Phillips) for this one. “They have to pitch better”. I am not sure what he could say, but DUH.
Okay turn the page on this stinker. Oh yeah, find a closer!!! Might as well find a bullpen while you are at it.
I blame Doc. He has all the stats and the stats say Ferguson has problems getting right handed batters out. He had two right handers in the pen. Ferguson had absolutely no business being out there in the 9th to close the game. Sloppy fielding by Max Muncy and a boneheaded decision to throw out the runner at first when all he had to do was run to third and step on the base were factors too. But this Reds team is feisty and does not give up. What they lack in talent, they make up for with a don’t quit attitude.
It could have been worse. That last ball landed at the fence with the bases loaded.
Hairston said the offense needs to win 12-10 games. Dontrelle said the staff knows it’s on them. They’re both right.
What now?
Pick up you’re teeth and get back in the fight.
The good news? We’re only one game out of first place.
Unacceptable.
Glad Vargas stole a base, but he is sliding, at least a step or two, to soon. He loses all his momentum with his early slide. He should’ve sliding through the base not to the edge.
For those of you who are Zack Greinke fans and also subscribe to The Athletic, here’s another great article on him.
I really wish there were more personalities like Greinke and Joey Votto in the game. They really make things so much more enjoyable.
https://theathletic.com/4571774/2023/06/07/zack-greinke-royals-strikeout-milestone/
Since ‘20, Bieber’s average fastball velocity has dropped from 94.1 to 91.2 mph, and his strikeout rate has fallen from 41.1 percent to 16.3. Per Statcast, the hard-hit rate against him this season ranks among the highest in the league
News from Internet:
RIP Iron Shiek:
https://twitter.com/the_ironsheik/status/1502035980634759180
LOTS of great stuff in this Jay Jaffe chat:
Farhandrew Zaidman: DeGrom is the modern day Dwight Gooden? Absurd peak, unquestionably the best in his day, not a HOF.
Jay Jaffe: He’s closer to the modern-day Koufax, but Johan Santana or Cliff Lee are more apt comparisons. Gooden had a lengthy back end to his career and did reach 194 wins and 2,800 innings. deGrom is 35 and has 84 wins and 1,356 innings, which is closer to Santana and Lee.
Chip: Is Father Time finally catching up to Justin Verlander?
Jay Jaffe: maybe. He’s had three good starts, one so-so one, and two bad ones, one of which was at Coors, but beyond that the velo and strikeout rate are down, xERA is up. Stuff+ sees serious declines in both his fastball and changeup.
I wouldn’t count him out just yet. A few weeks ago I started raking the dirt for a spot to begin the burial proceedings for Scherzer and he’s really gotten it together.
Brian C.: In the event that Judge’s stubbed toe requires the full amputation of his leg, will our insurance policy require that we seek compensation from the Dodgers for their malicious failure to Judge-proof their stadium infrastructure?
Jay Jaffe: it’s been 10 years since Bryce Harper concussed himself by running into the outfield wall in Dodger Stadium. It is more than goddamn time for the Dodgers to make it safer…
ee_rumbah: Favorite rookie pitcher thus far? I didn’t catch the Abbot start but Bobby Miller has the looks of a frontliner.
Jay Jaffe: I can’t claim anything close to a comprehensive view of all the folks people might name but I’ve been very impressed by Bobby Miller and Yennier Cano
Guest: As HOF guru, help me get past two travesties. Pete Rose was one of the greatest players of all time. His gambling came well after he retired as a player. The hypocrisy of MLB now embracing gambling sites should be the tipping point for Rose to get in. On the flip side, I can’t get past the Harold Baines induction. There must be 50 guys more deserving that got left out. How can you help prevent that from happening again?
Jay Jaffe: Rose was found to have gambled as a player. Players have been prohibited from gambling on baseball, with knowledge that the would be banned for life for doing so, since Landis handed down his ban on the Black Sox more than a century ago. Nothing MLB does with regards to getting into bed with gambling companies mitigates that one iota.
Farhandrew Zaidman: Is “WAR/GS” a stat that currently exists for SP, and if not, would it be helpful at all for the future of SP in the HOF (in the context of declining innings pitched)?
Jay Jaffe: I sometimes poke around with a WAR/200 (innings) as a cross-era comparative device. It’s worth keeping an eye on…
Remember him?
Hyun-il Choi, who missed most of the 2022 season with forearm inflammation, allowed one run on just one hit for Great Lakes today as he tossed 5.0 IP for the first time since September of 2021
Remember him, part deux
Michael Busch played his first game with AAA OKC since May 30th and made an immediate impact. 2 doubles in his first 2 at bats.
Baseball America has updated their top 100 ($$$$) Dodgers have 8 of the top 70.
https://www.baseballamerica.com/rankings/2023-top-100-prospects/
Take a guess at who they are (no cheating!)
Geoff Pontes ($$$$) takes a look at 10 young hitting prospects to get to know.
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/ten-young-hitting-prospects-with-good-underlying-data/
Chris Newell, of the eye-popping wRC #s gets a mention.
FutureDodgers takes a look at Nick Robertson’s stuff:
https://twitter.com/FutureDodgers/status/1666311487185453057
Ken Rosenthal has a lovely piece with a few tidbits about the Dodgers, but I’m calling out this about JD Martinez’ return to batting prominence and the role of Van Scoyoc therein ($$$$$)
https://theathletic.com/4587934/2023/06/07/mlb-trade-deadline-phillies-astros-guardians/
So when Martinez’s former instructor and best friend, Dodgers hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc, said the slugger fell into “a bunch of bad habits” in his final season with the Red Sox, I wondered how that was even possible for a hitter who pays such attention to detail.
“It’s one of those things when you keep looking at something over and over again and you just don’t see it,” Martinez said. “There were things I was kind of clueless to. (Van Scoyoc) was like, ‘no, dude, this is happening because of this.’ I had never thought of it like that. Just having a different set of eyes on it has helped a lot.”
Paul Hembekides notes:
Best ERA+ in MLB history
(min. 200 starts):
Clayton Kershaw (156)
Jacob deGrom (155)
Pedro Martínez (154)
Lefty Grove (148)
Walter Johnson (147)
Ed Walsh (146)
Addie Joss (143)
Roger Clemens (143)
The Athletic’s Prospect Intel ($$$$) mentions several Dodgers:
https://theathletic.com/4582858/2023/06/06/mlb-prospects-noelvi-marte-cade-horton-minors/
Austin Gauthier, DeLuca and an extended bit on Thayron Liranzo:
This is an interesting kid. He’s only 19, and he wasn’t a big bonus guy when they signed him. He’s 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds and looks durable enough to stay behind the plate.
James Anderson calls out some breakout hitters at Rookie Level in the minors
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/article/breakout-rookie-level-hitters-72695
Here’s an interview on hitting with Joey Votto, the only competition that Greinke has for most off-the-wall character in the game:
Joey Votto Talks Hitting | FanGraphs Baseball
Second night in a row they blow a big lead. Syndergaard experiment should end period.
OK guys, let’s ignore the fact that we’ve lost 4 straight and are now 2 games behind the Dbacks. And don’t worry about the fact that both the Giants and Padres are starting to sneak up on us as well. This is just a blip in the season. We’ll be fine.
Yes, we lost tonight but we accomplished three things:
1) Thor has cemented his position as a former member of the starting staff. Just a matter of whether he’ll be put on the IL, sent to the bullpen or DFA’d and whether it will happen tomorrow or do they wait for Grove’s next start.
2) Jonny D. looks to be for real. Every at bat he had tonight was a good one. Two line drive outs and then he worked a walk on a very good at bat.
3) Nick Robertson may currently be our best bullpen piece. Kind of reminds me of Chris Martin from last year. He should definitely stick around for awhile and could be the closer we’ve been looking for.
See, it was actually a very positive evening, and by the way, Hudson has started a rehab assignment in Arizona. Worked a perfect inning, including a strike out.
Tomorrow’s game starts at 9:30 L.A. time, so we’ve already got a built in excuse if we should happen to lose again. Ballplayers can’t function at that time of day, especially across multiple time zones.
As Ken Minyard used to say, “EGBOK” (Everything’s gonna be OK).
Taylors at bats are hard to watch. He sucks.