Well, I have a busy weekend, so it will be a little hard to do any research, just use this post to vent and share your thoughts this weekend while the Dodgers are in Houston against the Astros. I will post when I can.
With the trade deadline just a few days away now, the rumors are heating up. Jeff’s post on Friday was his last for a while. If there are any topics you would like covered, let me know, I will try to get them on here for you.
It was a successful home stand coming out of the All-Star break. There were a few bad moments, but you have to love a 5-game winning streak to start the stretch run. As of today, they have 58 games left. 31 on the road and 27 at home. At this point, they are only 6 games over .500 on the road, 28-22. The go to Houston, San Diego, and Oakland on this trip. Then Milwaukee for four and St. Louis for three on the next trip. Arizona for three and the Angels for two at the beginning of September. Their last long road trip takes them to Atlanta for a Friday-Monday wrap around four game series, then to Miami for three. The last weekend of the season they will be in Colorado.
Of course, the deadline is still the hot topic everywhere. Just who they might target remains to be seen. Fans want a big splash, Skubal, Crochet, Robert Jr. I have no clue who they will go after. I have my druthers, but I suck at predictions. Since I first started this post, Freeman has left the team for family reasons. His young son’s illness. Everything else takes a back seat. With the loss they had today, I am pretty sure there will be some ranting out there. I will update the minor league games when they are completed.
Saturday’s Affiliate Games
OKC 7 Tacoma 6: Bobby Miller started for OKC. The first Rainer batter hit a home run. After a ground out, he gave up a single, a stolen base, and then a run scoring double. OKC did not score in the first. In the second inning, Miller walked the first two hitters and then gave up another run scoring double. He then hit a batter, and the next hitter drove in a run on a ground out. 4-0. Trejo hit his first homer in the bottom of the second to get OKC on the board. Miller got the side out in order in the top of the third. OKC went down in order in the bottom if the third. Miller back on the mound in the fourth. After getting the first hitter to line out, he gave up consecutive singles the lead runner going to third. Then the runner on first stole second and a run scored on Cartaya’s errant throw with the runner getting all the way to third. A sac-fly scored the 6th run, and Miller walked the next hitter. Little replaced Miller. Final line for Miller. 3.2 innings, 6 hits, 6 runs, 5 earned 3 walks 1 K and 1 hit batter. Score, 6-1. In the bottom of the fifth, OKC began their comeback. Avans walked, was singled to third by Lipcius and scored on a Ward sac-fly. In the sixth, with one out, Trejo singled, Gauthier walked, and Owings reached on an error loading the bases. Avans singled in 2 runs. Tacoma put in a new pitcher. On an attempted double steal, Avans made it to second, but Owings was out at the plate on the return throw. Lipcius then got aboard on a throwing error and Avans scored. Game stayed 6-5 until the bottom of the 9th. Ward walked on a challenge to a strike call. Hoese doubled with Ward stopping at third. Sweeney was walked intentionally. Cartaya hit a sac-fly scoring Ward, Hoese went to third. Davis replaced Hoese on the bases. Trejo got aboard on a fielder’s choice and Davis scored. OKC 7 Tac 6. Michael Petersen left the game in the top of the 9th when he had a problem with his left, non-pitching shoulder. No report on the injury yet. 5 OKC relievers, Little, Brasier, Graterol, Gowdy and Flynn, combined for 5.1 shutout innings. Of note for Dodger fans, Brasier struck out 2 and Graterol struck out the side. Not a clean game, each team had 4 errors.
Frisco 5 Tulsa 2: Not much to say about this loss. Tulsa went ahead 1-0 in the top of the 4th, then gave up 5 unanswered runs. 2 in the bottom of the 4th and 3 in the bottom of the 6th. They scored a run in the top of the 7th. Driller’s hitters struck out 15 times. Keith hit his 8th homer and C Yeiner Fernandez had 3 hits.
Great Lakes 4 Lake County 1: Great Lakes scored 3 in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back. DePaula was hit by a pitch. Mongelli then doubled. Nevin then flied out and with 2 outs, Newell hit his 22nd homer to left field. Captains would score their only run in the top of the 4th on a walk, double another walk and then a run scoring walk. Bautista replaced Heubeck after the walk and struck out the next hitter to end the inning and Frisco’s scoring for the night. In the bottom of the 8th, Mongelli singled and Nevin walked. They then pulled off a double steal. They then pulled off another double steal with Mongelli stealing home, and Nevin third. 4-1 Loons. Kelvin Ramirez then struck out the side in the top of the 9th for the save, his 8th. Bautista got the win. Mongelli had 3 of the Loons 4 hits.
Rancho 11 Inland Empire 5: Zahir Hope returned to the lineup after being on the IL for two months. He had a huge game going 4-5 with 5 driven in and a homer. Top of the second, Perez walked, Decker singled to left. Rojas then singled to center scoring Perez and Decker and he went to second on the relay throw. He went to third on a wild pitch. Munoz walked. Osorio hit into a force play and Rojas scored. Diaz popped out and then George and McLain walked. Hope then singled driving in 2. 5-0 Quakes. They scored another in the top of the third when both Decker and Rojas were hit by a pitch. With 2 outs, Diaz then singled to score Decker. Inland got one back in the bottom of the third. Hope homered in the top of the 4th and Rancho led, 7-1. 66ers scored one in the bottom of the 7th to make it 7-2. Top of the 8th, George walked and then stole his 30th base. After a strikeout, Hope singled in George. Hope went to second on a wild pitch and then scored on a single by Perez. 9-2. In the top of the 9th, Munoz walked. Osorio singled him to third and he then scored on a sac-fly by George. McLain singled Osorio to second. Hope then drove in his 5th run of the night with a single. 11-2 Rancho. Inland scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th for the final score. Linan got the win with 4.2 innings of one run ball. He struck out 6 and walked 6.
Born June 14th, 1948, in Los Angeles California. AKA The Bear
Thanks for all your posts and what you do for this blog. Enjoy your weekend.
Passan:
BREAKING: The New York Mets are acquiring outfielder Jesse Winker in a trade with the Washington Nationals, sources tell ESPN.
After signing for $2M this winter, Winker has been excellent, hitting .253/.372/.417 while playing a solid left field.
The biggest Mets addition yet.
The LAT’s Jack Harris has a look at the Dodgers’ difficulties in the trade market…
https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2024-07-26/dodgers-garrett-crochet-trade-deadline-white-sox
Dave Roberts won’t be coming back if we fall short again.
Good decision to take out your starter who is pitching a shutout with 2 outs in the 6th, having just retired Alvarez with the pitch count absolutely in check.
Not only did he take Wrobleski out who was going strong but he put even more workload on an already overworked bullpen. Had a golden opportunity to give the pen some more rest had he left the starter in.
There is always that argument that Roberts is coaching for October and how meaningless those games in July supposedly are. But then he decides all of a sudden it is a good move to take the starter out who was doing so well and yet again stresses the pen.
You see I am not even talking about the bullpen implosion that followed .
It is just another example that Roberts is a below average manager with not much feel for the game. We have seen this plot many times now.
A well known blogger would call Roberts decision that of a true moron.
Many trades went down. Phillies got Estevez from the ANgels to fortify their pen even more. That PHI pitching staff looks formidable, rotation and bullpen.
Dodgers will have to match (Scott from the Marlins or maybe even Mason Miller) .
Bobby Miller was bad last night at OKC. No control whatsoever. I have no faith in him and Buehler . Clayton ? Maybe. We will find out soon. As early as TUE in SD.
Snell with 15 Ks in 6th inning. Dodgers are rumored to be interested. Doubt the Giants will deal him to us.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok, my rant:
I still don’t understand those who continue to blame Roberts. Starting pitchers, including those on the Dodgers, are only asked to go 5-6 innings these days. You don’t have to like it, but you do have to accept it. Houston’s starter went 4.1 and gave up 4, the Dodgers starter went 5.2 and gave up nothing. Clear advantage Dodgers. Phillips went zero innings, allowed 2 to score and gave up 2 of his own. Hudson went .2 and gave up 2 and Treinen threw 4 pitches and got the loss on a booming 400’ home run. The bullpen SUCKED and you want to blame Roberts?
I see Miller and Buehler continue to blow chunks, Yamamoto is still invisible and Kershaw still looks like a maybe.
I’ve said it many times and I’ll say it again – gotta score 8. The reason I keep saying that is because I keep seeing the need for it. The Dodgers have to find an outfielder who can hit and they have to find PITCHING.
Lots of rumors flying around. Nothing is concrete yet or confirmed. A lot of fun reading all of the posts by fans and web sites. Cannot wait to see who comes close to being right. The one obvious fact is that there at this point is a lot of pressure on the front office to make a major move. The problem there is because they are the Dodgers, teams want more from them. I would believe that maybe the only untouchable player in the system is DePaula. Maybe Hope too. Anyone else might be available for the right piece. Skubal is definitely on their radar as is Flaherty. But some have even opined that Detroit might want them to take on Baez’s contract. That to me would be a deal breaker. 70 mil over the next three years for him? Not a chance.
Phillips has totally lost his confidence!! I thought he threw very aggressively last night but just got dinged to death. Roberts over and over has burned the pen up. Not just last night but he refuses to let the starters go deep when they are pitching well. Then, he complains he doesn’t have anybody available in the pen.
to Roberts and the teams credit. How in the world do u win with the lineup we throw out there? Btw Treinen needs to go on the dl. Mb his appearances are too much after his layoff. I like him but his stuff is flat.Hudson had 1 pitch last night mb he is overused. Bring in Graterol, Brasier, and Grove for August.
the Dodgers have multiple problems. Pitching, both starters and bullpen and of course an anemic offense.I don’t understand with all the money spent how we find ourselves with a team with this many flaws? In hindsight mb Cease would have been our best pitching option. Teams and fans are thanking their lucky stars they didn’t get Yamamoto. Can’t blame AF on that one but Senga and Yamamoto seem fragile.
Padres swung a deal for RHRP Jason Adam from the Rays, who now seem to be all out sellers. Lowe and Parades would be nice pickups. Brandon Lowe, not Josh.
Nightengale and a couple of others on X are claiming that the Dodgers and Yankees are in a bidding war for Parades. Since Yanks are in the same division, Rays would probably prefer trading him to LA.
todays lineup is hard to stomach. Unbelievable. There are AAA lineups better than this.
A disgrace to the franchise , its fan base and River Ryan the starting pitcher.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Interesting, really interesting deal, Per the Padres:
We have acquired right-handed reliever Jason Adam from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for right-hander Dylan Lesko, outfielder Homer Bush Jr. and catcher J.D. Gonzalez.
Per Ardaya:
Mookie Betts continues to swing a bat and has progressed to soft toss and flips, per Dave Roberts. Could take batting practice soon.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto will throw his first bullpen on Friday
Roberts said Max Muncy’s progress is “stagnant.” Still dealing with some discomfort but tests have come back clean.
Objects in mirror are closer than they appear. Dodgers are reeling and the Padres are surging.
*Not much to say about this one. Our high leverage relievers were shitty. Phillips is having a rough time lately and what was a strength is now a weakness. *Wrobleski was good. I like the kid but Phillips gave up Wrobleski’s inherited runners and 2 of his own. An ERA killer.
*As the line-up has been decimated, the only salvation for the poor play was “yeah, but we’re still leading the division”. That may not be for long.
*I can’t wait for the deadline to come and go. I have “deadline fatigue”. I can’t take much more speculation and information.
*It’s good to see Gavin Lux’s improved hitting and he’s gotten more trustworthy on routine ground balls, His throws to first aren’t an adventure that much anymore, due to a better transfer action, courtesy of Miggy Ro.
He did let the ball travel on Will Smith’s perfect throw on a steal, but he insists on having both feet in front of the bag.
But he still can’t turn double plays. In a sense, he’s a “victim” of the “Utley Rule”. Back in the day, he would have gotten blasted into left field with that standing in the base line pivot. But now you don’t have to learn the dance to avoid a runner and get something on the relay.
Again, he failed to turn a routine double play with that piss-poor, stationary, in the baseline pivot. He gets nothing on the throw, that was late and wide at first. He just can’t move his feet. He could crossover to save distance (preferred) or drop-step, but he has that one lame pivot. It’s like his feet are in cement.
Orel said he’s working harder at getting the ball out of his glove. Getting a smaller glove and quicker feet might help.
*Orel and Joe kept bitching about soft contact and bad luck. Orel said those balls hit weakly, should be outs. Is that a pitchers thought, or what? I call it good hitting. Good things happen when you get the ball in play. You don’t have to have a 100mph exit velocity to get a knock.
*If you hang around lone enough, you can see just about everything. I saw the weirdest play in the Yankee-Red Sox game. The Yankees had returned the ball to the infield and quietly threw the ball to third. Ceddance Rafaela was standing a foot off the base, talking with the base coach, and was tagged out. I think about the first thing you learn in Little League is stay on the bag. The lame excuse was he “thought” there was Time Out.
Play Better.
Paredes and Flaherty?
https://dodgerblue.com/dodgers-manager-dave-roberts-shoulders-blame-for-momentum-shifting-decision-in-walk-off-loss-to-astros/2024/07/28/
I’d love to have Ryan available 2 games per series to come in in the 3rd or 4th if the starter doesn’t have it, and get 9-10 outs.
Granted, if we don’t make any moves, we may need him to start Game 4.
Somebody needs to explain to me why Ryan was removed after getting Bregman and Alvarez for Alex Vesia, a LHRP, to face RH hitting Yandy Diaz. Makes no sense.
I remember a firsthand or relayed interview with Friedman in which he explained the reason they were so patient with Lux was because the bat was so promising.
Gavin Lux is slashing .293/.359/.517 for an .876 OPS in July 🔥🔥🔥
Well we found out that Wrobleski and River can go into a hostile environment and pitch great.
I am going to say it before we blow it. Unbelievable we were in a position to take 2 out of 3 with this lineup.
Vesia didn’t look like he even wanted to b out there. I don’t know who’s next but Vesia did not inspire confidence.
but, I am sure the chess player Roberts will find the answer. Let’s hope!!
Red Sox activated Paxton, also Yohan Ranirez who they picked up from the Dodgers and Jansen, who they got from Toronto. They designated Reese McGuire and Chase Anderson. Teo with a big homer in the 7th.
Pads lose
If the Dodgers add either Skabol or Crochet they could lose two from Ryan, Wrobleski, Stone, and Knack, There is no guarantee Skobal or Crochet will be strong through the playoffs. I like volume right now to help keep the rotation fresh for the playoffs, adding one Ace won’t help much if Glasnow, Kershaw, Yamamoto, Miller, Buehler, are tired or not near 100%. They will need three studs and 4 healthy starters who can go 6 innings.
Barnes, Biggio, and Lux really stepping up. The bullpen not so much. Dodgers bullpen ERA for July ranked last in MLB. Who knew?
The outfield is suffering from lack of consistent playing time IMHO. Outman was good at the beginning and end of last year and bad in the middle. Just leave him full time in CF and Pages in RF.
Heyward’s line last 30 games:
.174 .280 .372 .652
Pages line last 30 games:
.204 .254 .283 .537
Corbin Carroll’s last 30 games:
.194 .282 .417 .699
Joc Pederson’s last 30 games
.272 .387 .587 .974
Looks like Mark bailed on LADT..at
least for now
Given a choice, I now prefer Lux over Bichette. Maybe Friedman made the right draft pick.
Keith Law on the Paredes trade:
($$$$)
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5665014/2024/07/28/isaac-paredes-cubs-rays-trade-analysis/?source=emp_shared_article
He’s not a huge fan of what the Cubs gave up, nor is he a huge fan of Paredes going forward.
Really interesting analysis.
Per Ari Alexander, who I don’t know nor know to trust:
Sources: The #Dodgers, #Cardinals and #whitesox have discussed the framework of a three-team trade.
The Dodgers are working to acquire Cardinals UTIL Tommy Edman.
The Cardinals are interested in White Sox RHP Erick Fedde.
No deal in place at the moment.
I’m surprised AF has kind of painted himself into a corner with his bullpen this year. In the past he usually had about 3 relievers with options available to rotate arms in and out of the bullpen. Right now I think Vesia is the only reliever with an option left. I keep hearing reinforcements are coming for the pen but there’s no room to maneuver with out a dfa of some one like Banda or Honeywell who are actually pitching well at the moment. I assume Kelly, Phillips, Hudson Vesia or Trienen will have an injury and go on the IL to get a breather.
Not sure what kind of moves AF will make at the deadline my guess was way off. I thought Arozarena and Eflin were perfect AF trade targets.