TOOMGIS!!!!

♦ August 22, 2016 ♦ 1 Comment

toomgisdodger

The LAD just had the greatest morning inning ever. Ever

If not ever, someone can point me to a better one.

Dodgers Fifth Inning:

  • Toles hits his first major league home run
  • Segedin hits his first major league home run
  • That makes two rookies hitting back to back home jacks
  • Corey Seager hits his twenty-second home run. Hard to believe anymore, but Corey Seager is also a rookie. That makes three home runs in the same inning by rookies. I feel comfortable in saying the LAD have never done that, but I’d love to be proven wrong. I know Eric Stephen is looking it up right now.
  • Adrian Gonzalez hits his second home run of the game.
  • That makes two combinations of back to back jacks. Toles and Segedin and Seager and Adrian

Come on, that shit is cray.

Julio Urias continues to amaze

♦ August 22, 2016 ♦ 3 Comments

I don’t have the superlatives to describe what 20-year-0ld,  Julio Urias did yesterday against the Reds but however you want to describe what he did, it was exactly what the Dodgers needed, and the last thing anything should have expected from someone who just turned 20-years-old barely a week ago.

  • Urias turned in six shutout innings, shutting down an offense that had humiliated the Dodger pitching staff the previous two games.
  • Urias gave the rotation the go a head to get 18 outs in a game, I don’t think they knew it was possible until they saw someone do it.
  • Urias gave the Dodgers the lead in the highly contested NL Western Division

Baseball Reference still considers the 2016 season to be the 19 year old season for Urias. And so using their criteria we can see that Urias keeps moving up the 19 year old season leader-board.

Urias broke Joe Moellers fifty-four-year-old record for LAD strikeouts for a teenager by fanning four in his 7/21/16 start giving him 48 compared to Joe’s 46.

With his start last night Urias now has sixty two strikeouts moving him into 9th place for strikeouts for National League pitchers,  19 or younger since 1958.

As you can see, Urias also holds the second  highest SO9 rate of any teenager since the LAD came into existence in 1958 using 50 strikeouts as the threshold.   Just Dwight Gooden  fanned hitters at a better rate then Julio.

As great as all these teenagers were, you don’t see any hall of fame pitchers here. Gooden didn’t fall victim to arm issues but to drugs. Gary Nolan had a massive bone spur, and the story about that will turn your gut when you see how disposable baseball felt about their greatest assets.  Joe Posnanki details how Frank Jobe saved Gary Nolan’s career.

He was 18 years old when he made his first start in the big leagues — he and Feller are the only two pitchers in baseball history to strike out 10 or more big league batters in a game before they turned 19 years old.

 

“Pitchers have to throw with pain,” his Reds manager Sparky Anderson told him. “Bob Gibson says every pitch he’s ever thrown cut him like a knife. You gotta pitch with pain, kid.”

Larry Dierker threw 1250 major league innings by the age of 23.   Mike McCormick would win a Cy Young at age 28 in 1967 for the Giants but he was never really more than an average pitcher.  Ray Sadecki became famous for getting traded from the Cardinals to the Giants for Orland Cepeda in 1966. Cepeda would lead the Cardinals to the 1967 World Championship while winning the MVP and eventually hit his way into the HOF.

Here is the complete list of teenagers from 1958 on who struck out at least 40 hitters:

Below is the table for only NL pitchers from 1958 who were 19 or younger.

Player Year Age SO SO9 SO/W
Dwight Gooden 1984 19 276 11.39 3.78
Gary Nolan 1967 19 206 8.18 3.32
Larry Dierker 1965 18 109 6.69 2.95
Larry Dierker 1966 19 108 5.2 2.4
Ray Sadecki 1960 19 95 5.43 1.1
Billy McCool 1964 19 87 8.76 3
Mike McCormick 1958 19 82 4.14 1.37
Don Gullett 1970 19 76 8.81 1.73
Julio Urias 2016 19 62  9.8  3.6
Mike McQueen 1970 19 54 7.36 1.74
Joe Moeller 1962 19 46 4.83 0.79

 

The unblackening is gone and I’m going to miss most of it but not all of it

♦ August 21, 2016 ♦ 1 Comment

Man, I loved that opening.  It was so awesome. I don’t pay much attention to rating so it came as a surprise to me that The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore  was canceled this week. I didn’t watch every night, and probably missed his first 12 months because once Jon Stewart and Colbert left I took off from the Comedy Channel for a while.

The one time I saw the show Larry was poking at Bill Cosby and while I understand why he did it, it didn’t make me laugh, it made me sad, because Bill Cosby had made my family laugh for almost 50 years, and I had this deep respect for the man. So finding out he was a complete asshole was just depressing, and while I hope he gets what is coming to him, I wasn’t interesting in being reminded what an asshole he was. I know I’ll never be able to listen to a Bill Cosby routine, or watch a show with him ever again. And yeah, that makes me sad.

I don’t remember what brought me back to watch the Daily Show with Trevor Noah but it might have been the election coverage. Anyway, it was natural to watch the Nightly show right after it.

I like Larry, I liked the show, I liked his correspondents but the panel part at the end of the show didn’t work for me. I hate to use the word “resonate” because that is the excuse that Comedy Central gave for giving Larry the heave-ho but it is exactly how I felt about the panel discussion.  Luckily it was at the end and time for bed anyway so I’d shut the show down just before the panel started. I figured I got at least 20 good minutes of thoughtful entertainment so I felt I was winning.  Maybe that was the part of the show that others like, to each their own.

With Wilmore’s departure from the late night ranks, the already overwhelmingly white-and-male world of late night is, well, even whiter.

Wilmore had been referring to this year’s election as “The Unblackening.” As he said in a statement about his show’s cancellation, he is “also saddened and surprised we won’t be covering this crazy election or ‘The Unblackening’ as we’ve coined it. And keeping it 100, I guess I hadn’t counted on ‘The Unblackening’ happening to my time slot as well.”

It is weird that the man who came up with the unblackening slogan was part of the unblackening of the Comedy Channel.  When I started writing this I didn’t know about the rating but after reading about them it does seem strange that Larry was sacked. The whole he “wasn’t resonating” sounds like they did some focus group bullshit. Too bad, he was his own man, and he and his people took some chances. Trevor Noah might have a better show if he the same correspondents working for him that Larry had. Hopefully, he’ll snag a couple.

And I hope Larry Wilmore gets another gig, he’s got some talent.

 

Dodger Notes – Offense was halted for one game, is that a trend or an anomaly?

♦ August 20, 2016 ♦ 1 Comment

Even with scoring,  only two runs run last night the Dodger offense has been its best weapon in the second half. Since the all-star break:

  • The Dodgers still posted double-digit hits last night and continue to lead the NL in team batting average at .278, and slugging % .468
  • The Dodgers rank 2nd in the majors with an average of 5.40 runs per game. Overall they have scored 162 runs.
  • The Dodgers slugging % of .468  is on pace to be the highest in LAD history, with a Usain Bolt like lead over the predecessor of .434 set in 2008 behind Manny Ramirez.

This offensive outbreak has been mainly provided by three players who all might end up garnering some MVP votes if they were to continue to hit this way, and lead the team to the NL Western crown.

Yazmani Grandal continues his offensive surge:

Just Turner is just as hot as Grandal:

  • Turner leads the Dodgers in home runs with 23 and RBI with 72.
  • Turner has hit safely in 15 of 16 games since July 30th and is batting .328 with 14 extra base hits.
  • Since June 10th, Turner has posted a 1.037 OPS, while leading the major leagues in home runs with 19, and RBI with 52, and Slug% .670.

Cory Seager has a great case:

  • Corey Seager now has a ten game hitting streak to go along with his earlier nineteen games hitting streak.
  • During his ten game streak Seager is hitting .442 with two doubles, and  two home runs
  • Seager ranks 2nd in NL fWAR with 6.0
  • Seager ranks 10th in wRC+ at 140
  • Seager ranks 6th in runs with 79
  • Seager ranks 3rd in hits with 148
  • Seager ranks 3rd in doubles with 34
  • Seager ranks 3rd in total bases with 251
  • Seager ranks 11th in average at .313
  • Seager ranks 14th in slugging%  at .531
  • Seager has 181 hits through the first 144 games of his career, and that is the most by a LAD to start their career.

 

 

 

 

That lead didn’t last long

♦ August 20, 2016 ♦ Leave a comment

The Dodgers were in and out of first place so fast it was like watching a Jamaican running the 100-meter dash.

What do you mean the Giants aren’t going to lose 2 out of 3 games the rest of the year?

What do you mean that a rotation with Ross Stripling, Bud Norris, Brett Anderson, and Scott Kazmir isn’t the stuff that Divisions are won with?

What do you mean it is hard to win when your cleanup hitter is hitting .164 | .227 | .180 with ZERO runs batted in, over fifteen games?

In just two games Dodger fans went from no hay problemas , being in first place, an 8 – 6 record in August and looking forward to five games in a row against the likes of the Phillies and Reds. Two games later they are in second place, the record is now 8 – 8 and they are counting on Brett Anderson who has pitched ONE major league inning in 2016 to right the ship.

The Dodgers have scored an excellent 80 runs in August but have now given up 89 runs in 16 games.  I expect they will need to continue to average 5 runs a game over the next three games if they want to win a couple.

 

 

This season is just a bunch of No hay problema’s

♦ August 19, 2016 ♦ 3 Comments

No Clayton, No hay problema,  we well just catch the Giants without you

Musical chair rotation, No hay problema, no matter who you gonna call, they win

Rookie SS shouldering the offensive load, No hay problema, I’ll just turn into the dark horse MVP candidate

Home run hitting 1st baseman missing home run stroke,No hay problema, I’ll just hit .350 instead

Playing a 2nd baseman in left field, No hay problema, I’ll just outhit 90% of the left fielders after the all-star break

Using a 19 year old in the rotation, No hay problema, I’ll just break every single 19 year old LAD record

Using a rookie who started in A ball for spot starts , oops, gigante problema

Demoting your star right fielder to AAA while chasing the Giants, No hay problema, I’ll catch them anyway

Your new right fielder can’t hit a lick, No hay problema,  because everyone else is hitting

Your starting catcher was so bad in May that the fan base wanted him traded for LuCroy, No hay problema, I’ll just become the best hitting catcher in baseball since June

Your starting 3rd baseman was so bad in May that the fan base wanted him traded for Evan Longoria, No hay problema, I’ll just become the best hitting 3rd baseman in baseball since June

The Giants had an eight-game lead in June when Clayton Kershaw went down, No hay problema, I’ll just watch them lose game after game after game.

Scott Schebler doesn’t do much but when he does, he does it big

♦ August 19, 2016 ♦ 1 Comment

Scott Schebler was always one of my favorite Dodger prospects, not because I had high hopes for him but simply because of the triples he hit while in the minor leagues. I’ve watched a lot of prospects come and go but his was a particularly unique skill.

Scott has just average speed, with good power but somehow managed to snag 62 triples in his minor league career.

  • 2011 – 8 – 3rd place
  • 2012 – 8 – 9th place
  • 2013 – 13 – 3rd place and also 2nd place in home runs with 27
  • 2014 – 14 – 1st place and 1st place in home runs with 28(this is why I liked him)
  • 2015 – 9 – tied for 1st place
  • 2016 -8 – tied for 1st place in only 289 at bats

Who leads the league in home runs and triples? Let me know if you have someone. I’ve always been told by men of baseball that triples are simply doubles turned into triples by desire. Anyone can job into 2nd on a ball into the gap, and we see every day, but to get a triple you have to bust your ass from the get go. To get double digit triples you have to be busting your ass every time you hit a gapper. No admiring the possible home run.

That is why Scott Schebler was one of my favorite prospects.

Things haven’t gone well for Scott for the Reds yet, but he has directly won two games for them. Many players will go a career without a walk off, but Scott already has two in limited action this season. His bomb below was just crushed and it came off a pitcher who had been dominant until that moment.

 

Before that bomb, Scott won the game for the Reds on April 6th with his bases-loaded double 

or how about this grand slam while playing for the Quakes

Joey Votto – best player on a bad team in the NL?

♦ August 19, 2016 ♦ Leave a comment

Joey Votto has been one of the best hitters in baseball for almost a decade but in those ten years, his team has had limited success.  Only three times have they won at least 81 games and most of the time are out of the pennant race by August 19th, just as they are this year.

Other players on bad teams over the last nine years could be Mike Trout, Giancarlo Stanton(though that has changed this year), maybe Freddie Freeman.   I guess I could take each player and figure out the average wins for them per season.

Nah, I’m just going to say that Joey Votto is the best player on a bad team in the National League. That way I don’t have to play with Mike Trout and show how bad the Angels have been,  even with the best player in baseball on their team.

Votto’s calling card has always been an outstanding combination of power and patience.

Votto became a regular in 2008 so that is the timeframe we are going to use:

hmm – I’m going to have to expand the criteria because when I look for players who have hit at least 200 home runs and walked 800 times all I come up with is Joey Votto.

I guess I’ll just show the leaderboards for OPS+  since 2008:

If you use OPS+, Joey Votto has clearly been one of the most productive offensive players in baseball in the past nine years.  He has 100 more walks than anyone else in baseball during his run of 2008 – 2016.

That list has some heady company.  Hey look, Yasiel Puig right next to Matt Carpenter. Not bad for a AAA player.

From 2008 – 2016 – sorted by OPS+, with OPS+ > 130, with PA > 1000

Player OPS+ HR BB PA
Mike Trout 169 162 445 3388
Miguel Cabrera 161 297 668 5760
Joey Votto 156 207 837 5168
Manny Ramirez 153 65 204 1422
Paul Goldschmidt 150 134 448 3181
Albert Pujols 147 300 618 5667
Jose Bautista 142 270 728 4787
David Ortiz 142 264 652 4992
Giancarlo Stanton 142 206 397 3390
Kris Bryant 142 56 134 1176
Ryan Braun 140 243 434 5178
Jose Abreu 140 80 121 1803
Andrew McCutchen 139 168 590 4988
Lance Berkman 139 107 417 2687
Bryce Harper 139 118 368 2615
Buster Posey 139 114 329 3527
Josh Donaldson 138 132 318 2938
Adrian Gonzalez 137 241 614 5896
Matt Holliday 136 191 567 5142
Prince Fielder 135 239 696 5462
Edwin Encarnacion 132 262 534 4768
Freddie Freeman 132 128 391 3619
Nelson Cruz 132 257 386 4538
Chipper Jones 132 82 360 2471
Kevin Youkilis 132 113 324 2788
Jim Thome 132 105 288 1886
Yasiel Puig 132 53 147 1686
Matt Carpenter 131 68 349 2850
Shin-Soo Choo 130 143 585 4837
David Wright 130 145 515 4557
Robinson Cano 130 218 416 5933
Anthony Rizzo 130 127 337 3040

 

Not everything the Giants do turns to gold, it just seems that way

♦ August 19, 2016 ♦ Leave a comment

adamduvallhomerunderby2016

Last year in a deadline deal the Giants traded Adam Duvall to the Reds for Mike Leake. Leake was unable to help the Giants run down the Dodgers and has since taken his pitching skills to the Cardinals via free agency.

Duvall was already twenty-six and appeared to be a AAAA player who could hit a home run or two. He had hit 130 career minor league home runs since 2010 so the power wasn’t in question, but he sure didn’t seem like someone who would be playing in the 2016 All-Star game but there he was hitting home runs at Petco in the home run derby.

Duvall got to the all-star game because of his power. On July 10th he had already hit 23 home runs.  That does seem to be the only part of his game, but if you are only going to have one skill, hitting home runs is a good one to have.

It is possible that the first half for Duvall might be the best streak he will ever have. He has slumped quite a bit in the 2nd half, and even more so in August. The Reds sat him down for a few games to clear his head, I’m not sure if he’ll play against the Dodgers or not, he has not played since August 15th.

The right-hand power hitter does not have bad splits, even hits right hand pitching a tad more than left-hand pitching.

However,  it turns out, I’m glad Duvall is hitting home runs for the Reds and not the Giants in 2016.

Period TSL OPS Home Runs
First Half .249 | .288 | .551 0.839 23
Second Half .222 | 316 | .414 0.731 3
August .208 | 304 | .375 0.679 2

Willie Smalls goes yard, Tulsa Trio start raking again

♦ August 19, 2016 ♦ 1 Comment

Willie Calhoun slugged his 26th home run for the Drillers, Alex Verdugo collected three hits, and Cody Bellinger just hung out.

Let’s check in on how the Tulsa Trio have done since the trading deadline left them in the Dodger organization. I’m going to add in Edwin Rios and Johan Mieses because it will be fun to see their stats. And for good measure let’s also take a look a look at Yusniel Diaz and Yusiel Puig.

Alex Verdugo is the only one of these slumping right now. At one time Verdugo had the most home runs for a 20-year-old in the Texas League but he has not hit a home run since July 16th.

As you can see everyone else is smashing. These are just surface numbers and don’t go into what is behind these numbers such as K rate, walk rate , and BABIP but they are fun to look at.  Much like Brock Stewart and Trevor Oaks on the pitching side, Edwin Rios was barely a blip on the prospect radar headed into this season, but he has put himself firmly in the prospect conversation. He might be an AL type player, doesn’t seem to have the footwork for 3rd base, to slow for the outfield, so 1st base or DH might be his ultimate future. Possibly a Wilson Alveraz comp without the number one pick out of college that Alveraz carried with him to the Pirates. Alveraz never lived up to the lofty status of his draft pick, and now simply hits home runs for the Orioles without doing much else. That could be what Rios can be.

August Splits:

Player Month Level Age AB HR OPS
Alex Verdugo August AA 20 62 0 0.665
Cody Bellinger August AA 20 58 5 0.951
Willie Calhoun August AA 21 57 4 1.023
Edwin Rios August AA 22 58 4 1.003
Johan Mieses August A+ 21 55 8 1.326
Yusniel Diaz August A+ 19 54 4 0.926
Yasiel Puig August AAA 25 34 3 1.336