One thing I have learned is that no two knee replacement patients are alike. I have had a lot of commentary from those that have gone through the process as to what I might expect, and none have been what I have experienced. I have had three arthroscopic knee surgeries, and yes I knew the process would be more intrusive, but not at the level it has been at.
Thursday (Day 16) was the first time I have felt like sitting up and trying to type something out. My shin and calf were like on fire and the one concern was blood clots. So I have had my leg raised and iced for most of the past two weeks. The rehab exercises are painful, but that is something that I really work on pushing through. My progress is at least where I should be, and maybe a bit ahead in some areas. My final in home rehab physical therapy session is on Friday, and on Monday, the next level begins.
I have to thank Bear for what he has done for the last few weeks, and I am going to have to lean on him for a bit more. I do not know when I will be able to consistently publish again. Believe me, I want to be able to sit up and write, lying around for two weeks takes its toll physically as well as mentally. I know that I will get there but I have to power through new territory.
My wife has kept me away from my computer while I have been on the pain meds, so unfortunately I have been able to read most of Bear’s posts from my phone, I have not had much of an opportunity to read the comments. Thus, much of what I write below has undoubtedly been covered multiple times. But I thought that I would add my comments as well.
While rehabbing, my TV was on the Olympics non-stop. There were a couple of team outcomes that I want to delve into, but I am still working on that one.
I went under the knife on the final day of the trade deadline and missed making my comments on the changes. I think most recognize that I am passionate about defense, especially up the middle. I was very encouraged with the addition of Kevin Kiermaier. I do remember that some complained about another non offensive addition, but the cost was Ryan Yarbrough. Why would we complain about a Kiermaier for Yarbrough trade? In the two weeks since the acquisition, I have seen multiple outstanding defensive plays. The team is so much better with Kiermaier in CF over Andy Pages. I am not blaming Pages, he is just not a CF.
Amed Rosario did not last long with the team, and I felt for him when he was released. The Dodgers chose their own utility player, Kiké Hernández, over Rosario. Rosario is a better offensive option, but Hernández’s defense is a lot better. Tough decisions needed to be made, and IMO, the Dodgers made the correct one.
Michael Kopech is a reliever the Dodgers were admittedly after for some time. He has proven to be an excellent addition and showed his best Andrew Miller in the 6th inning of Thursday’s loss. It was not late inning, but facing the 2-3-4 batters in the 6th, was certainly high leverage, something Andrew Miller was asked to do a lot. With the continued p*** poor results from the bullpen, Kopech is going to get a lot more late inning high leverage opportunities.
Jack Flaherty was the best pitcher acquired at the deadline as neither Garrett Crochet nor Tarik Skubal were traded. He is a rental, but someone I think the Dodgers will at least consider making a FA offer to at the end of the season. He is a lot like Tyler Glasnow in that he has a lot of swing and miss and can dominate, but too many times leaves that hanger sitting over the plate for a HR. In his three starts, he has allowed 7 runs, all courtesy of the HR. I am still confident that he can dominate a good hitting team, and if he can corral his HR ball, he will be a very good #1 or #2 SP in the playoffs.
Tommy Edman will join the Dodgers next week, and will undoubtedly be the everyday CF. Edman hit his 1st OKC HR on Thursday. I have no clue as to what the changes will be once Edman and Muncy return to LAD. I suspect that Andy Pages is a potential option candidate so he can play every day rather than sit on a bench. A decision would then be made between Pages and Jason Heyward for the playoffs.
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Gavin Lux has been on a tear since he went home for the All-Star Break and relearned how to hit under the guidance of his uncle Augie Schmidt. IMO, another failed attempt by RVS who could not recommend an adjustment during the season, but Schmidt was able to discern an adjustment in a couple of days. Since the All-Star Break, Gavin is hitting .364/.623/.438/1.062.
Mookie Betts is a game changer (well duh). The team missed him for the 45 games he was out. He came back and picked up where he left off, without any MiLB rehab games. He is a difference maker, and one who I believe was embarrassed by his 2023 playoffs, and ready to lead for 2024.
Teoscar Hernández – When is he going to get an extension offer. He wants to be a LAD, and let’s face it, the affiliates are not going to produce a OF for a few years.
Clayton Kershaw and Gavin Stone both had excellent starts in their last starts. Walker Buehler? Not so much. But he should have another 7-8 starts to turn it around or be left off the playoffs roster.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto could be nearing a MiLB rehab start. He is scheduled to throw live batting practice while the team is in St. Louis. If all goes well, he could head out for MiLB rehab games. He is going to be a critical need for LAD for the playoffs.
Is Bobby Miller going to get the ball in St. Louis?
The Dodgers primary problem continue to be that the SP do not go deep enough into the game and then need to rely on an overworked and overvalued bullpen. Ryan Brasier will be back very soon, and he is needed. The team has gotten about as much as they can expect out of Anthony Banda and Brent Honeywell…both good pickups. I have no clue as to who leaves when Brasier and Treinen are reactivated. I do believe that the Dodgers missed an opportunity to acquire a “closer”, something they do need. I do not have the time to research it, but one comment that I heard on one of the broadcasts was that since June 1, the LAD bullpen has been the worst in MLB, I am assuming with ERA as the metric. In that time, they have more blown saves than any other MLB team. That does not give confidence for a championship recipe. But they have time to figure it out.
River Ryan – What a shame. He was pitching himself into the playoff rotation discussion before he blew out his UCL. Something has to be done in the industry. Yes, max velo and max spin are at the forefront of the injuries (throughout MLB, not just LAD). There seems to be more pitchers complaining about the time clock. Are they wrong? Is it the combination of maxing out every pitch without “sufficient” recovery time between pitches? Maybe more time and study need to be made on this count. One other component that I have been wondering is the tac on the baseballs that appear to be insufficient, had pitchers add their own tac that has now been disallowed. To get the same spin, don’t the pitchers have to hold onto the ball tighter and torque their elbow a bit more? Again, I do not have an answer, but it seems to me that before teams make $200MM+++ commitments to SP, they should understand the problem more.
This looks like a winter topic, but it does deserve to be studied and monitored.
I recognize that the lead has disappeared except for 2 games, and I do not expect to see the Padres or the Dbacks continue as they have. It is hard to believe that the Dodgers will end up like the Braves fighting for the final WC team. By that time the Dodgers will have their team back, and ready to fight for the playoffs. Will they be good enough? Yes, they are good enough, but we have learned that is not enough. I like to define MLB success as winning the WS, not simply putting up an enjoyable season. A sobering thought, since 1989, the Dodgers have won the same number of WS championships as the Oakland A’s. Also, Cincinnati, Arizona, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, KC, Washington, Minnesota. Florida/Miami has won more than LAD.
The Dodgers have 40 more games to reestablish some level of dominance.
I apologize if I am rehashing material, but I have not been coherent for a couple of weeks. I will be back down for a few days. But I am getting closer.
Terrific post Jeff. So glad to have you back. No offense to Bear who does an outstanding job.
So sorry to hear that your knee has been a bigger problem than you’d hoped. Not to be redundant, but my last knee replacement was a bitch, as I mentioned before. It was so roached, that the surgery was more extensive than planned. Rehab center for 11 days post hospital and big time pain. After extensive rehab, it’s now great. It just took time and effort and now I couldn’t be more pleased. It’s the best of my 4 replaced joints. So keep the faith and work hard.
Regarding yesterday’s game:
I want to take back my criticism of Doc for pulling Kershaw with 2 outs in Monday’s game. I now have a better understanding of why he didn’t want him to pitch to Contreras. He left that up to Kelly. Dude can hit.
What the hell is it with this ballpark. It looks like they forgot to pay the light bill. And stop cooking Brats and smoking up the joint.
The Brewers have a nice team and I think Pat Murphy does a nice job. They do a lot of little things to win games.
If Hudson could field his position and not follow through in a position to make heel stops, we might have won. What did they score 2 runs with balls never leaving the infield? Look at it as bad luck, I guess. Or put a glove on your shoe as we used to say back in the day. That’s baseball.
Good game. They played better. Move on and play better on Friday.
I am fine Jeff, and I can handle the load for you as long as you need me. I have one I will publish Friday night late as I am heading for the lake and camping this weekend. So, I won’t be home until Sunday night, when I will watch the re-caps of the games I have missed. OKC lost 9-2. Edman’s 2 run shot in the first were their only runs. Jose Hernandez took the loss. Edman played center again and Muncy did not play. Midland beat Tulsa 3-0. Duran took the loss. Great Lakes took a pair of wins from Lake County. The second game was a makeup game. They won the opener 4-2 and the nightcap, 4-1. Neeck won the opener with 3 innings of relief allowing 1 run. DePaula went 2-4 and scored a run. McDaniel’s was the winner in relief in the nightcap. Campbell hit a 2-run homer in the top of the 7th to seal the win. Rancho beat Visalia 6-3. Ruen got his 3rd win with 2.2 scoreless innings of relief. Cabrera got his 2nd save. Munoz hit his 4th homer; a three-run shot in the second inning. Rich Hill is about to sign a minor league deal with the Red Sox.
I am of the mind that having pressure put on them by the teams behind them is going to be beneficial to the Dodgers. Except for 21, when they finished a game behind, and 18, when they tied the Rockies, the Dodgers won the division by 11 games in 13, 6 games in 14, 8 games in 15, 4 games in 16, 11 games in 17, 1 game in 18 because of the tie, 21 games in 19, 6 games in a 60-game season in 20, 22 games in 22, and 16 last year. Add that up and they are 106 games better than their division since 2013. This will let us see what kind of a team they really are.
Good to see you writing again, Jeff. Best wishes to you for a succesful rehab.Sorry to read you are so much in pain. 😦 Hope it will get better soon.
As for the Dodgers; Bullpen is unreliable late in games. If I heard it right it was the 30th (!) save already this season. 30! I wanted them to pick up a closer at the deadline but hey, Friedman does not like to pick up relievers at the deadline and so that is that. Maybe he should reconsider his approach. Is it coincidence the Padres and D-Backs have gone on a tear since the deadline when both teams picked up lock down, late inning relievers ?
Maybe it is time to move Kopech into the closer role. He is the only guy who consistently shuts down the other team.
When Muncy and Edman come back the Dodgers IMHO should decide between Heyward and Kiermayr. We do not need both (excellent glove but limited offense both) and Pages has been hitting really well lately.
Maybe sent one of them to the IL and bring him back when rosters expand but I would definetely keep Pages while he is hot.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Best of luck with the rehab, Jeff. It’s certainly no fun and it will test your endurance and strength. Go easy on yourself.
This is not a prediction, but by the time you make it back, we may be in 3rd place in the West. This is going to be a dog fight and the fans are likely to go nuts.
No analytics says start Kiermaier over Pages. None, zilch, nada. If you want more offense Friedman is your guy. If you want more defense Doc is your guy. Some of you miss that when reading Friedman and Doc. Read below.
At the trade deadline the prices for impact players are always ridiculous, and that’s why you build your team in the offseason as best as you can to avoid having to pay a steep steep price at the deadline. What position players did Friedman get in the offseason? Ohtani and Teo, who are both offensive forces. Friedman got Heyward, who came off a good season last year, and Friedman was thinking Heyward would only regress a little, and that was bad judgement there. Friedman picked up Kike, at the end of the offseason after no team wanted Kike, and he picked up Kike for 1 million for 1 year as a utility player, and I’ve already talked about Doc’s stupid decision, as a veteran lover, to platoon Outman with Kike right off the bat this season, which led to a hole in CF.
After looking around for impact players at the deadline and how much they cost, Friedman pivoted and got cheap position players to fill holes temporarily, because he knew the regulars would be back from injury, but there was still a hole in the outfield and thanks to Lux starting to hit, there isn’t a hole at 2B anymore.
Friedman needed to get an impact outfielder, and hypothetically Brent Rooker who can play LF would have been a huge shot in the arm for the offense, but I’m assuming the price for Rooker was way too high, but a brent Rooker acquisition would have moved Teo to RF and kept Betts at SS and then there’s Muncy returning to 3B. There would only be one hole, and that would be CF, until you discuss this: With that monster offense, most wouldn’t be worried about a Heyward/Pages platoon in CF. Remember, LHP (that Pages would play against) make up around 25% of pitchers, 30% the high number I’ve read and 20% the low number I’ve read and most of what I’ve read says 25%. Which means you would have Pages in CF about 25% of the time. Now in the playoffs it’s probably different. But late in the game you can always put your better defense guy in there, and take Pages out. By the way, I know there are reports the Dodgers have been wanting Edman for quite awhile, but I’ve never read anything like that, until the Dodgers got him a half month ago, maybe I missed something. But there’s your guy you bring in late in the game to take Pages place in CF. in this hypothetical example. Who knows, with that monster offense, you probably wouldn’t need Edman late in the game very much, but you could still use Edman in that spot anyways.
Good to hear from you Jeff. Hang in there.
Keep at it with the rehab, Jeff! You’ll thank yourself later for going hard now.
Pads and AZ are crazy hot right now, which is fine. We know how the law of averages work. It’s highly highly likely that they both won’t continue winning 9 of 10 games.
Either way, it makes us play harder, which is only a good thing.
Looks like Bobby Miller is coming up and will pitch this weekend, maybe even tonight. Until Sept hits, when rosters expand, we may need 1-2 less position players and 1-2 more arms for the bullpen!!
Welcome back Jeff.
Healing takes a bit longer at our age, but you’ll get there.
Just read a piece in The Athletic that said the Dodgers made an offer on Crochet but Rushing wasn’t included so the White Sox turned it down. Now Crochet and the Sox are stuck with each other as they sink out of site.
Also mentioned in that column was the fact deadline deals are often costly. The Dodgers got what they needed, a starter, a reliever and defensive help in center field. Now it’s up to those that were already here to play to their ability. When they do the Dodgers will be fine.
Great to hear from you Jeff!
Hang in there with the rehab and hope to have you back full time soon.
I may or may not be in the minority here, but I think RVS leaves much to be desired as hitting coach. I do not have actual numbers to back up my opinion, but Gavin Lux is just the latest example of a player getting screwed up mechanical instruction or lack of instruction and getting straightened out elsewhere. I think RVS really screwed up Vargas and less so Outman. Vargas had his father and Lux had his uncle to help save them. Outman may be too screwed up to save.
Elias Diaz is being released by the Rockies. Tough, wow, one year after being the MVP of the 2023 All-Star game. The guy is hitting .270 with 5 homers. He is batting higher than he was last year.
Interesting article on ABS
https://www.minnpost.com/sports/2024/08/automated-ball-strike-system-that-could-soon-come-to-mlb-major-league-baseball/
If they keep Teoscar and in Leftfield and Betts in Rightfield all they need in free agency in off season is a centerfielder and shortstop. Or trade for a centerfield. My suggestion trade with the Twins for Byron Buxton and centergield will be solves then you have Pages as platoon guy and Chris Taylor outfield covered. Then for shortstop go get Willey Addames and I think a closer and a starting pitcher. That’s the Dudgers off season beceue I don’t see any replacements in the minors for next season.
Dodgers announced Wrobleski will be starting today. No word who is going down yet.
I guess it will be Grove.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!1
Yamamoto threw to live hitters in St. Louis today. He threw 17 pitches and got 5 outs in his 1.2 simulated innings. He looked very good.
Wrobleski being called up to start today’s game.
Wrobleski-Glasnow-Kershaw the Dodger pitchers this series with the Red Birds.
Meanwhile in Low-A:
Hyun-Seok Jang (RHP) is showing things. After his debut last week for the Quakes, his last outing saw him with 7K in 3IP. Only one hit.
He’s still being formed (7.85ERA across ACL and Low-A), but I mean he has 59 strikeouts in 29 innings.
The Dodgers placed Tyler Glasnow on the 15-day injured list shortly before tonight’s matchup with the Cardinals. It’s the second IL stint of the season for the lanky right-hander, who is dealing with elbow tendinitis. Rookie southpaw Justin Wrobleski was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City and will make his fifth big league start this evening.
Speculation is this is just precautionary to give him rest for the stretch run. Geez, I sure hope so.
Another one bites the dust, just announced on telecast: Glasnow going on the IL with elbow tendonitis. The hits keep on rolling
So this weekend we will throw Wrobo, Miller, and Kersh.
There is a legit chance that our bullpen pitches more innings this series than our starters do, which is really bad news.
We need Badger’s 8+ runs a game all 3 games.
Chris Taylor is starting tonight at OKC playing second base. Muncy is at third. Edman is not playing. New pitcher who they signed the other day is Jon Duplantier who they signed on the 6th of August.
Great game tonight!! Cards are in my backyard so love beating them!! Kopech has been awesome!!
they need to sit Ohtani he is sinking fast. AF is running out of options but if we are fortunate enough to get in the playoffs the bullpen is scary. Phillips is trending up. It’s early but Kopech is looking good, treinen might be ok with the rest he is getting. No Grove.
Well, it wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win, and with both the Padres and D-Backs losing, it was an important win. Wrobleski needs to throw more first pitch strikes. He got his first MLB win tonight because his offense scored 5 runs in the top of the sixth. Then his bullpen nearly threw away another one. But Kelly, Phillips and Kopech, were nails the last three innings allowing only a couple of walks. And who saved their bacon tonight? Kevin Kiermaier. His first Dodger homer drove in the winning run making it 7-4, and then he made a spectacular catch in the bottom of the inning to keep it at 7-6.