It has been an interesting Tuesday. Found out from a friend that a 4.4 earthquake hit L.A yesterday. Also trying to understand the roster move the Dodgers made prior to yesterday’s game with the Brewers. I wasn’t the only one questioning why the Dodgers would DFA a player they traded for just 13 days ago. Dave Roberts explained on Google news that they just did not see much playing time for Rosario with the players they have returning as soon as next week.
Muncy and Edman are supposed to be activated the next homestand. There were no games in the minors yesterday, so Edman and Max have to wait until this evening to continue their re-hab in Las Vegas, against the Aviators, an A’s affiliate. I was also evaluating what I saw in yesterday’s game with Milwaukee.
In my eyes, Kershaw pitched a very efficient game. I knew he would probably not go longer than 5 innings, but he got 2 outs in the 6th before Roberts pulled him with a runner on and two outs. Kelly gave up a 2-run homer, but in all fairness, the ump missed a strike three call on Contreras. Kelly gave up two more hits before he got out of the inning. But the rest of the game the pen was nails.
I was also interested in how Mookie would do after missing 45 games. His first at-bat, he struck out, but he looked pretty comfortable at the plate. Peralta sailed through the first inning. If you look at the box score, you will see that the 3-4-5 hitters were 0-12 with 5 K’s. Will Smith was 0-2 but he walked twice. Mookie and Ohtani drove in all five runs, but the game would have been a lot closer had not Kike, in the third, and Kiermaier, in the 5th, gotten key singles. Kiermaier had his 7th sacrifice of the year in the third moving Kike to second. Ohtani made an out, but then Mookie then hit a homer over the left field wall. 2-0. In the fifth, Kiermaier singled up the middle and Ohtani went yard to left center. Then Ohtani and Mookie combined with 2-outs to get an insurance run in the 7th. Ohtani walked, stole second, his 33rd, and Mookie hit a single to right that scored Ohtani.
Kershaw was charged with 1 of the 2 runs, Kelly the other. Kersh struck out 6, Kelly 1, Vesia, 3, Kopech, 2. Hudson got his 9th save. They face Colin Rea. The 34-year-old righty is 10-3 this year with a 3.38 ERA. The Dodgers will counter with Gavin Stone. They really need a good outing from Stone who has struggled his last several starts. His ERA over his last seven games is 5.20. He has given up 21 earned runs in 36.1 innings.
No pitchers yet announced for the Dodgers for games 3 or 4. Padres and Arizona won their games, so the lead is still 3.5. Dodgers need to take care of their own business and do not watch the scoreboard. Dodgers’ games will be over or near over by the time Az and the Padres start theirs.
43 games left for the Dodgers. SD and Az have 42 remaining. Kershaw’s win was # 211 of his career. Doubtful he will pitch long enough to catch Sutton at 233. But he is closing in on 3000 K’s. He is now just 39 away from joining that club. He could with a little luck reach it this year.
I have to say I’m a little shocked that Rosario was DFA’d. I can understand that there is a bit of bottle neck at SS, but wouldn’t it have been more understandable to send Pages back to the farm and keep Rosario who can both hit and field? Someone mentioned attitude but I can find no news or mention of this as a factor. This is the 2nd time Rosario was traded for and not really used much. Strange.
Why does Doc always pull the starter with 2 outs left? Is this kind of a signature tick that he has or is there some unseen strategy that I’m missing? And, sure enough, Kelly blows his assignment. Was Kershaw incapable of getting one more out? This is even worse when the starter has a chance to win and is pulled with 4.2 innings and the BP blows the lead.
Nice game from Kershaw and great to see Mookie back in the lineup. Wham Bam, 4 runs scored on 2 HRs from #1 and 2. Even the bottom of the order is starting to make some noise. It’s a whole different feeling if they can play like this consistently. We may not be getting any help from SD and AZ like they gave us in the first half of the season. They’re our best friends, so far.
The Mookster is BAAAAACKKK!
Good win with Clayton dealing.
I do not understand Roberts however. Clayton was mowing them down, pitch count okay and he takes him out. Kelly promptly gives up the 2 run HR though as Bear said the previous pitch nicked the outside corner and should have been strike 3.
But that is not the point. Point is once again Roberts showed poor instincts with his pitching changes.
It feels like every time Kelly is in or Grove we give up runs instantly. Orel said Kelly has allowed 8 of 14 inhertited runners to score. Why then bring him in with men on base ?
Overall Kelly and Grove for me are the two weakest links in the current bullpen.
At some time this season I would give Henriquez and Dreyer a look.
Wrobleski IMHO could also be a great weapon out of the pen. And maybe Bobby Miller too if he can get his mental problems solved.
Roberts said they would not have much playing time for Rosario with MM and Edman soon back and therefore they DFAed him. Sure, if you do not play a guy and instead trot out a legion of .200 hitters instead there is no playing time for him.
Rosario with his flexibility and his high batting average vs RHP and LHP would have been an ideal bench player. But hey, if the Dodgers think Kike, Ahmed, Kirmayr and probably CT3 when he is back give them a better shot at winning , so be it.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nice to see them playing up to their capabilities. Muncy to 3b, Edman to CF, Pages can spell Edman occasionally when Rojas sits and Edman moves to SS. Postseason bullpen needs to be locked in by end of next month.
The Dodgers aren’t bothered one iota over releasing Rosario.
Still seems like a wasted trade.
There won’t be an explanation why the Dodgers would release an inexpensive .300 hitting utility man. Why trade for him? Because, that’s why.
Interesting read in the Times this morning focusing on Gomes. For some reason it triggered a thought about payroll. Many teams spend hundreds of millions on payroll only to see teams like Arizona slide into the World Series. Last year only 1 Top 10 payroll team made it. Texas at #4. I would not be surprised if it happens again, and again. A young healthy, athletic team, like the dbacks, could get hot at the end of the year while those older expensive players fade after being hot at the beginning of the year. There may be no data to support that hypothesis, it’s just a thought.
Stone. To me he looks like a kid who could use some R&R. I took mine in Sydney. 7 days of lying around beautiful beaches, eating real food, meeting and partying with interesting people. Don’t know where Stone might go but he should go.
So Captain hook did it again.
There was absolutely no reason to pop up out of the dugout to pull Kershaw with 2 outs and a 4 run lead. Sorry Bear. I’m not buying the imaginary crisis to justify the move. The 83 pitches could have been 85 to get out of the inning nor Kelly getting squeezed as justification. I dislike pitching moves based on what might happen as opposed to what’s actually happening.
Dammit Doc, Just sit down and trust your future HOF’er to finish the inning. No Red Alert. Just trust your guy. He just has to over manage. He wants to be a participant. Nobody from upstairs is choreography that change. No way is that scripted. This is all on Doc.
*So he goes to Kelly to face will Contreras, right on right. As per my explanation yesterday, I will refer to Kelly’s personalities; Joseph or Joe.
Well, this time he was Joe. Two nights ago, it was Joesph.
Kershaw gets an extra earned run and the Brewers closed the gap. That’s on Doc.
*Kershaw has now been charged with 3 earned runs that were failures of the relievers to retire inherited runners.
*On the positive side, I loved the sac bunt in the 9 hole by Kiermaier and the stolen bases by Ohtani and Mookie. Just good, fun baseball.
*The lineup is just better with Mookie back in RF.
*Kopech has that nasty, hyperactive demeanor of a classic closer. He brings that Mojo. Hudson is so different. I can see a role reversal down the road despite Hudson doing nothing wrong in the closer role.
*I like Kiermeier all ready. Great D in center, hustles, solid sac bunt and a knock. Just looks like a confident veteran that just wants to help the team win. If he can hit at all it would be interesting when Edman shows up.
*Poor Will Smith, is just lost at the plate and looks beat. The wear and tear has has taken a toll on him physically.
Jack Harris has a nice look at Brandon Gomes ($$$$)
https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2024-08-12/dodgers-gm-brandon-gomes-andrew-friedman-front-office
just a ton of good info, not sure what I chose to highlight below is the best representative, but the work day has started:
Make no mistake, the Dodgers’ front office is still very much Friedman’s domain. He has the final say on all key decisions… had his name included in the contract’s “key-man” clause.
…
“In the Ned days, you never saw the front office,” added pitcher Clayton Kershaw, referring to former GM Ned Colletti. “I think Andrew changed that, and Gomer is continuing that. And it’s good. It’s good to interact with that side of it. Not too much. But … if you’re around every day, and you feel like they’re in it with you, you have more of a trust.”
Yesterday’s modest 4.4 quake was centered in Highland Park, about a mile from my old home in Mt. Washington.
When the massive Northridge Quake hit, I thought my home would collapse and nearly ran outside naked.
Then I feared that I might die of embarrassment.
Lux hit a ball that would have cleared the fence in left center but was caught for an out. Frustrating for a hitter. Joy for a pitcher.
The Dodgers, like San Diego, have a lot of players that can play shortstop.
I like Kiermaier a lot as well. Nice to have a guy who can bunt a runner to third instead of striking out. When Muncy and Edmond join the team there is a good chance Pages will join OK although Pages hits lefties well.
I’m curious to see who gets playing time once Max and Edmonds join the team.
Just in: River Ryan to undergo Tommy John surgery.
A couple of notes, the Dodgers dodged a huge bullet. James Paxton has been diagnosed with a torn calf. The Dodgers only two options for Rosario are to place him on waivers or release him outright. They cannot trade him for prospects. The only players who can be traded after the deadline are players who have not been on the active roster all year.
Someone mentioned giving Teo an extension or signing him to a new contract. I know he would like to stay in Los Angeles. He has really enjoyed the season and has been an important part of the offense while playing better than average defense. Teo will be 32 when next season starts. Giving him a four-year deal would seem not too much of a risk. But at how much per-year? He is making 23.5 mil this season. Are there going to be other LF options after the season? A younger one would be Anthony Santander. He will be 30 next season. Power numbers a little more than Hernandez right now, 35-26. Both have 79 driven in. Santander strikes out less, 92-138. Teo has the advantage in BA, OPS, by .001. Santander OPS+ by 1 point. Pretty much the same guy. Santander like Teo, is normally a RF. But he could easily move to left. He has a pretty good arm that would complement Mookie’s in right. But to me, the more important position that needs to be addressed in the off-season is center field.
Good updates on a lot of our prospects from Bruce Kuntz.
https://dodgersdigest.com/2024/08/13/dodgers-prospect-notes-rushing-and-ferris-shine-hope-on-fire-casparius-and-duran-great-morales-continues-domination-more/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Jazz Chisholm to IL with a UCL injury.
For those of you who think mb Mookie should b lead off and Ohtani second. Traditionally the lead off hitter makes the pitcher work. Watching the games Ohtani swings at the first pitch n Mookie takes the first pitch.
just watched pages miss another catchable ball in cf. stone bails him out. Once again not sure I understand doc the chess players thinking. Pages hits lefties but there is a righty on the mound. Kiermaier can’t hit anybody but he is a lefty. Kiermaier is far superior in cf.
Glad to c lux hit a bomb with his friends watching. Earlier in the year lux was jumping from any inside pitch. Now I think he needs to get a shot at lefties. If he could hold his own against lefties he would be quite valuable.
Doc is redeemed Pages with a blast! First homer since June 18. I’m shocked the Brewers are leaving Rea in.
stone may not last long but tonight he seems to be pitching with more conviction. Hopefully he gives us 6-7.
Gavin Lux at the All-Star break: .562 OPS
Gavin Lux now: .670 OPS
OPS after AS break is over 1.03
Dodgers gave Kiermaier 16 at bats to prove them wrong and he went 2 for 16. Also didn’t they have him bunt twice towards that 2 for 16 and the Dodgers are not a team known to bunt. No faith in him to get on base and perfect spots to keep him from trying to get on base with a hit? Now they put Pages in CF today and CF is not Pages strength and against a RHP and a RHP is not Pages strength. That should say something clearly. On top of that Pages hit a homer today. I think the Dodgers were desperate for a CF at the deadline and their target was Edman, but they knew Edman couldn’t play right away, so they got a cheap CF Kiermaier until Edman gets activated. I see a DFA coming for Kiermaier.