Around The League
Corey Knebel signed a minor league deal with the Angels. The former Dodger reliever is trying to make it back to the major leagues for the first time since 2022. He was released from his minor league deal with the White Sox earlier this month. Nick Nelson was outrighted to AAA by the Phillies. He went unclaimed after being placed on waivers.
A’s announced they are moving former Dodger, Ross Stripling to the bullpen. In a corresponding move, they called up 6’7″ RH, Joe Boyle to make todays start. Yankees will place Jazz Chisholm on the IL with a UCL injury in his left elbow. Chisholm has been excellent since he joined the Yankees. In his 14 games he has crushed 7 homers to hit the 20 mark for the first time in his career. He also is 5-5 in stolen bases for the Yanks. He has played 13 of his games at third base, which has been a black hole offensively for the Yankees.
Red Sox re-signed Brad Keller to a minor league deal. He chose free agency earlier today, but quickly re-signed with Boston. Marlins sent RHP Shaun Anderson outright to AAA. He cleared waivers after having been DFAd last week. Rockies outrighted RHP John Curtiss to AAA. He had cleared waivers after being DFAd.
Tigers re-instated outfielder Kerry Carpenter from the 60-day IL. Outfielder Ryan Vilade was optioned to AAA Toledo. LHP James Paxton was diagnosed with a partially torn calf muscle. It is doubtful he will return this season. The Nationals DFAd two players today, infielder, Harold Ramirez and RHP, Jordan Weems. Ramirez slashed .306/.348/.432 in 849 at bats with the Rays in 22-23. But he stumbled badly this year, he had a .268 BA, but his OBP was just .285 and his slug, .305. He was released by the Rays and signed a minor league deal with the Nats. Weems has piled up 136 innings since 2022, but his ERA is 5.03.
Angels claimed former Dodger, Nick Robertson off of waivers from the Cardinals and Brock Burke off waivers from the Texas Rangers. Both pitchers showed promise last year but have struggled this season. Robertson was part of the Cardinals return in the Tyler O’Neil trade. The A’s DFAd Kyle Muller. The Rays recalled Junior Caminero and optioned Curtis Mead to AAA.
Dodgers Re-cap
The Dodgers stretched their winning streak to five with a 7-2 win over the Brewers. The hit four homers, Ohtani, Smith, Lux and Pages. Smith and Ohtani’s were solo shots that gave LA a 2-0 lead. They scored 5 runs in the top of the fourth inning. Teo singled and Lux hit a shot into the second deck in right. Smith singled and Rojas doubled him to third. Kike hit a sac-fly scoring Smith. Pages then hit a shot down the left field line that hit off of the bottom of the foul pole for a 2-run homer. His first since May. That ended the Dodger scoring for the game. Brewers got one on a homer by Contreras, then scored another against Knack in the bottom of the seventh. Stone got his 10th win with 5 innings of work. Knack went the last four for his first major league save.
Minor League Report
Tulsa 3 Midland 2: Drillers won a close one today over Midland. The Drillers opened the scoring with 2 outs in the bottom of the second when Taylor Young singled. He then stole second and then third for his 37th and 38th steals. Jose Ramos then singled him home. They scored again in the bottom of the sixth. Chris Newell walked and the stole second, #2. Kieth struck out, but the catcher dropped the ball and had to throw him out at first, Newell went to third on the play. Lockwood-Powell then hit a sac-fly. Midland came back to tie the score in the top of the eighth. In the bottom of the ninth, Lockwood-Powell singled. Davis hit an infield single moving Powell to second. Young was hit by a pitch loading the bases. After Ramos struck out and then Casey reached on an error by the SS for the 3-2 final score. Wepf got the win, Campos went 4 innings allowing only 1 hit 1 walk and striking out 2. Morillo went 2 innings allowing just 1 hit and 1 walk. He struck out 3. Kopp went 1 inning, giving up 2 hits and a walk and he struck out 1. Sublette blew the save as he allowed 2 solo home runs.
Lake County 4 Great Lakes 3: Lake County walked off the Loons in the bottom of the 10th inning. The Captains struck first in the bottom of the first on a sacrifice fly. The Loons tied it in the top of the second on Jake Gelof’s 7th homer. The Captains scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the fourth, and then in the bottom of the fifth on a Burgos homer. Great Lakes tied it with 2 in the top of the seventh. Mongelli walked and Gelof slugged his second homer of the game. The game remained tied until the bottom of the tenth when with the ghost runner on second, Ramirez walked the leadoff hitter. A passed ball by Galiz moved both runners over and Burgos hit a sac fly to Vogel for the win. Copen and Cabrera went the first 5 innings and gave up the three runs. The rest of the pen pitched well.
OKC: There is a slugfest of sorts going on in Las Vegas right now. OKC leads the Aviators 8-5 in the bottom of the 5th inning. Gamboa started and went 4 innings giving up 5 runs, 4 of them earned. Outman’s fielding error accounted for the unearned run. Freeland and Trejo hit homers to lead off innings. Freeland in the first and Trejo in the second. Edman is playing CF and is 0-2 with a run scored. He also hit into a double play to Las Vegas SS, Max Muncy. Our Max is 1-3 with a single, a run scored and two strikeouts. So far Lipcius, Hoese and Cartaya have doubled Cartaya has 3 driven in and Lipcius 2. Former Dodger Ryan Noda is playing 1B and is 2-3. A’s Muncy is 3-3. Little is now pitching for OKC.
Rancho: Quakes are up 5-2 over Visalia in the bottom of the 8th. Decker is 2-3 with his 7th homer and 2 driven in. Hope is 2-3 with his 7th homer and 1 driven in. Meza also hit his 7th homer and is 1-3. Patick, Makarewich and Gonzalez have gone 7 plus and allowed 2 runs, 1 earned on 7 hits. Makarewich walked 6. They have 10 strikeouts between them.
Late Updates
Dodgers got no help from Colorado as they blew a 3-2 lead in the 9th D-Backs loaded the bases and won on a 2 out single by McCarthy. D-Backs remain 3.5 back. Padres beat the Pirates 3-0 to keep pace with the D-Backs. Braves up 4-3 in the 10th at SF with 1 out. OKC up 10-7 now in the 7th. Edman got his first hit. Rancho won their game,5-2. Braves beat the Giants 4-3 in 10. Giants now at .500. Wild card hopes sinking fast. Juan Soto had his first career three homer game giving him 33 on the year. Skubal won his 14th game in the Tigers 15-1 romp over the Mariners and the Marlins shut out the Phillies, putting them 1.5 games behind the Dodgers for the best record in the league, the Yankees won their 71st also, but have 1 more loss than the Dodgers who lead them by .5 games. Muncy went 1-5 with 2 K’s and was pulled from the game in the 7th. Edman was 1-4 and pulled at the same time.
Born June 14th, 1948, in Los Angeles California. AKA The Bear
I thought it was an odd move to start Pages in CF against a righty but Pages seized the moment. Not sure what his role will be when Edman comes back and Mookie in RF. He could be headed back to OKC. They could keep him around and play him in RF and Mookie at 2B against lefties.
Dodgers celebrated Nick Ahmed getting 10 years service time with champagne.
maybe that’s why they kept him on roster?
Former MLB player Mike Cubbage has passed away. He was battling cancer. He was 74 years old. He was an infielder and a coach. He started his career with the Texas Rangers. He was drafted by them when they were still the second incarnation of the Washington Senators. He was traded to the Twins when they traded for Bert Blyleven. He ended his career with the Mets in 1981. He would then manage in the Mets system for several years.
A couple months back, I thought the Lux might be packaged in a blockbuster… or maybe just dealt for prospects to make room for Mookie’s return to 2B. Lux, who entered Spring training at the top of the SS depth chart, had devolved into a platoon second baseman hitting near the Mendoza Line. He was one of the weak links at the bottom of the
Such a disappointment.
Then he spent the all-star break getting more lessons from his uncle, the batting coach. Then Lux caught fire.
Over the past 30 days, Lux has led the Dodgers with .347 BA, a.425 OBP and a 1.026 OPS. Today in Milwaukee, playing in front of family and friends, he launched an Ohtani-esque drive into the second deck. (Has Lux ever hit a ball that far?)
While Max Muncy should be back soon, I hope Lux will keep his promotion in the lineup. I also think he should get out of a platoon. If he starts to struggle, that’s an easy fix.
If I had my druthers….
Shohei DH
Mookie RF
Freddie 1B
Teo LF
Lux 2B
Smith C
Max/Kike 3B
Edman CF
Rojas SS
Who’s going to be Lux’s platoon partner? Because they’re not going to let him start against LHP. Don’t be surprised if Kiermaier and Ahmed get DFA’d when Edman and Muncy are activated and don’t be surprised if Betts comes in to play 2B against LHP and you see Pages in RF against LHP.
I see OhioDodger beat me to it about Betts at 2B against LHP and Pages in RF against LHP. Good call to you Ohio.
In the 8th and 9th inning, when protecting a lead, I’m sure our relievers would very much appreciate a strong defense behind them. Get the lead with offense, protect the lead with defense. That’s how it was done yesteryear.
But many things are different now. All players could bunt and hit and run back then. Even Mickey Mantle could bunt. In ‘56 he beat out over a dozen bunts by the end of July. He won a batting title doing it. He was so good at it he would do with two strikes.
There are no Mickey Mantle’s in today’s game. None. 20 time All Star, GG, double digit steals 6 times when stealing bases wasn’t really emphasized. Bellinger could have won a batting title against the shift if he knew how to bunt. He didn’t. But I digress.
Defense is obviously important. It’s apparently less important to those teams that emphasize slug. That said, I think the Dodgers value up the middle defense. Acquiring Ahmed, Kiermaier, Edman and Kopech strongly support that premise.
Pads and dbacks keep winning. Both 9-1. Can they keep that up? Common sense says no,of course not. There are no .900 teams in baseball.
*The Brewers ballpark looks like a challenge for outfielders. The lighting looks dim on TV and the ball seems hard to pick up. Teoscar had trouble on about 3 fly balls and had had trouble picking the ball up, leading to interesting routes. The one that fell in front is just a tough read. Big ass swing and the ball right at him off the bat, but 70 mph. Very tough read.
*Pages gets a lot of grief for his sub par defense in center, but he’s really had a nice rookie season. I think he’s going to be a good MLB player. He’s a right fielder for now and maybe could develop into a centerfielder with time. So, does he have a future with the Dodgers next season? It seems we’re in pretty good shape in right for a while. He might find a home elsewhere this winter but I think he’s destined for a good career with another organization.
*Mookie’s return seems to have inspired the bats.
*I’d like to see Tommy Edman actually play. He’s sort of anointed as the centerfielder, and a backup at short, like Rojas, Ahmed, Mookie and Kike aren’t enough insurance. But he’s the heir apparent in center and I hope he delivers.
*Stone’s homer to Contreras was on a pretty good pitch, I thought. It looked down and in to me with one look and was a nice piece of hitting. It didn’t seem like one of the center-cut jobs he’s been trying to avoid. Contreras gets paid too.
*I liked the ump camera. It takes a few pitches to get oriented but once you do you get a feel for how fast the game is. You have to pick up the ball, read spin out of hand, recognize location and track the pitch all in .03 seconds. Oh yeah, and hit it with a stick. It’s an amazing skill, hitting a baseball.
I give Roberts and Mookie a lot of credit for putting him back in right field. Everything just seems to flow with that lineup.
Lux now a fixture and an offensive weapon at 2B and that has been so fun to watch.
Does anyone else love watching a ground ball going to the left side when Rojas is at short? He is AUTO-matic and a great teammate. Please start him regularly.
With Kike’s resurgence there is no need to rush Muncy back, if not platoon with him as he gets back into a groove.
Things are looking up! It will be interesting to see how quickly Edman settles into center field. But with Mookie in right it just isn’t that big of a deal. There are many options.
Nerd stuff:
I present for your perusal, an article from Fangraphs which attempts to calculate how much potential WAR all of the MLB teams have lost this year to the IL.
Not surprisingly, the Dodgers are at the top of the list. What did surprise me is that they were 40% worse off than the next team (Atlanta).
The article’s author explains how he calculated the numbers. All in all, if you’re into numbers, this is a worthwhile read.
Turns out that KC, Detroit and Toronto have been the most fortunate teams with regard to lost WAR this season. That should make Tiger and Blue Jay fans even more upset with the fact that neither team will make the playoffs.
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/river-ryan-jazz-chisholm-and-baseballs-most-injured-teams/
Meanwhile, what else is new:
AZ up 4-0 after 1 vs Colorado
SD up 3-0 after 1 vs Pitt
I like it. It keeps us on our toes and forces us into playing meaningful games!!
If enjoying the Dodgers team and line-up seemingly rounding into form isn’t enough good news for you.
If the Dodgers having a (the?) top record in baseball also isn’t enough.
MLB Pipeline just released a podcast about the Top 100 list (reranked post draft) and towards the end there’s something of an ode to the Dodgers.
““I’ll round out the top five real quickly by mentioning the Dodgers.. but since the season has started, they’ve added Josue DiPaola, River Ryan, who unfortunately is Tommy John surgery now, Alex Freeland and Jackson Ferris are all guys who jumped on to the top 100 list. They’ve added four top 100 prospects, none of them via the draft because they don’t ever pick high either. The Dodgers are working on their magic again.
I bet a year from now that they might rank even higher than five because they have an incredible group of teenage talent, hitters Joandre Vargas, Emil Morales, Eduardo Quintero, Lindsey, this year’s first-round pick, and Zaheer Hope, who are all on the rise, and all those guys could push for top 100 prospect status once they get going in full season ball. So the Dodgers are up to their usual tricks.”
From MLB Pipeline: Breaking Down The New Top 100, Aug 14, 2024
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/breaking-down-the-new-top-100/id906717198?i=1000665342724
This material may be protected by copyright.
Wow, Buehler’s stuff looked soo much better than before.
It’s so terrible that Kiermaier is on this team sarcasm alert. I knew he was a good outfielder but I didn’t know his arm was that good.
Kiermaier is starting to pay dividends. Whoever says defense doesn’t matter needed to c that last play. Could have turned the game and Buehlers outing.
Boy, the Dodgers are starting to turn things around. So is Gavin Lux. He sure is proving me wrong, and I am very happy to be proven wrong here. I hope he can keep this up and show us for once what the scouts were talking about when they deemed him to be the greatest prospect of all time. It’s only taken 5 years.
I think it’s possible the Dodgers are going to be ok, at least for the rest of the regular season, but they are going to have to win the head to head games with SD and AZ.
If the Dodgers can advance to the NLCS (assuming they win the division) and show us all that they can win a playoffs series, which they haven’t done in 3 years, then I will stop my calls for an organizational shakeup and wanting everyone fired. If they can show they can adjust. If they get to the NLCS, I’ll shut my mouth. (boy wouldn’t Bluto be happy lolz). Kidding Bluto.
on a separate note, don’t understand why they had to dump Rosario, a .300 hitter. Hilarious to me that they claim they have no playing time for a .300 hitter, but have wasted hundreds upon hundreds of at-bats on Mendoza line hitters the entire season. What logic. Only the Dodgers.
I hope everyone is doing well over here.
Hey Phil Jones what does your book on David Rackley say. So far he’s been horrible behind the plate.
They brought Buehler back too soon.
Well a lot of people had a bad game tonight. 5 0fers, 4 unearned, and home plate ump that didn’t know his ass from his elbows. Buehler was kinda awful but he deserved better.
Put this butt ugly in the rear view and move on.
I hate to say it we better look for two outfielders and a shortstop in the off season either by trade or free agents. Because the year Teoscar is having he is going to go where they will pay him either New York San Diego Boston or LA who needs a leftfielder that plays every day. I don’t think they keep both Outman and Pages they could keep Pages and Rollings and DePaula. Now that Betts will be in rightfield keep him there and Lux at second base. So at shortstop go and get free agent from the Brewers that will be checked off. And go and get free agent outfielder Tyler O’Neil if the Red Sox don’t resign him the Dodgers need to grab him to play left field and one of those three outfielders wil platoon in left with him probable Pages. Now centerfield there’s a nuce centerfielder named Dylan Carlson played with the Cardinals got traded at some time to the Devil Rays he will be a free agent so the dodgers pick him up good glove a decent bat. They then have Heyward retire so will have a outfield group of Betts. Pages, O’Neil, Carlson, Rollings. Okay an in Addames Muncy Lux Freeman Smith and dh Ohtani utility Rojas, Taylor. Just how I see the Dodgers look like next year with Teoscar walking and they get better cibtat hitters and a more every day outfield andmaybelike one platoon outfielder based on how well they hit lefties or righties. I put Taylor as with the team. Because they will keep him for one more year plus he can play anywhere. Mostly they need a centerfielder that can hit and play defense and maybe they use Pages and Outman to trade them for a centerfielder like Buxton with the Twins. And the guy Rollings I think next year will be his year plus they can have him catch and play the outfield too.