Kiké Hernandez NLCS Game 5 heroics clocks in at #15 in MLB top 100 plays of 2017

♦ December 27, 2017 ♦ Leave a comment

Cracking the top 20 plays of 2017 was the grand slam by Kiké Hernandez in game five of the NLCS. Hernandez also hit a solo home run earlier in the game.

All in all, Kiké had an outstanding 2017.

Bellinger hitting 39th home run is 22nd greatest play of 2017

♦ December 27, 2017 ♦ Leave a comment

I expected Cody Bellinger to crack this list but wasn’t sure which home run would do it, but I guess breaking the NL rookie home run record works.

Of course Cody had a plethora of highlights in 2017

Adrian Beltre collecting 3000th hit for 25th among top MLB plays of 2017

♦ December 27, 2017 ♦ Leave a comment

He was a Dodger first, our own phenom who was starting for the Dodgers at age 19 and the one we let get away after 2004. Many years later, Adrian Beltre does something very few 3rd baseman have ever done, collecting his 3000th hit.

This future HOF will stand tall with the greatest third baseman in baseball history and still holds one of the greatest seasons in Dodger history back in 2004 when he assaulted pitchers like Van Helsing going after vampires.

Player            HR WAR/pos Year Age  PA   BA  OBP  SLG   OPS   Pos
Adrian Beltre     48     9.5 2004  25 657 .334 .388 .629 1.017 *5/H6
Duke Snider       42     8.6 1955  28 653 .309 .418 .628 1.046  *8/H
Duke Snider       42     9.3 1953  26 680 .336 .419 .627 1.046  *8/H
Mike Piazza       40     8.7 1997  28 633 .362 .431 .638 1.070 *2/DH
Duke Snider       40     8.4 1954  27 679 .341 .423 .647 1.071  *8/H
Matt Kemp         39     8.2 2011  26 689 .324 .399 .586  .986 *8/DH
Jackie Robinson   19     8.5 1952  33 636 .308 .440 .465  .904  *4/H
Jackie Robinson   19     9.7 1951  32 642 .338 .429 .527  .957  *4/H
Jackie Robinson   16     9.6 1949  30 704 .342 .432 .528  .960    *4
Willie Davis      12     8.3 1964  24 652 .294 .316 .413  .729  *8/H

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/27/2017.

Chase Utley again at #29 in MLB top 100 plays of 2017

♦ December 27, 2017 ♦ Leave a comment

The silver fox at 38 years old is not someone you would have expected to populate the top 100 plays of 2017 more than once but here is once again clocking in at number 29. This play on August 23rd was not only outstanding it preserved the perfect game in progress by Rich Hill.

For a guy who only played three years for the Dodgers, Chase sure lit it up the highlight reel.


His play in 2016 at 2nd base was one of the greatest of the year.

Ryu/Gonzalez combine for # 67 on MLB top 100 plays of 2017

♦ December 27, 2017 ♦ Leave a comment

It wasn’t pretty but the play by the Ryu on a weak ground ball toward 1st made the list. Ryu fielded the ball and was close to Adrian Gonzalez but was headed away from the bag so he flipped it toward Gonzalez who caught with his bare hand against his shoulder.  This game was on April 18th against the Rockies but it didn’t help the Dodgers win as they lost to the Rockies 4 – 3.

At that point in the season, Adrian Gonzalez was still the Dodger 1st baseman and Cody Bellinger was tearing up Oklahoma. Gonzalez had started thirteen games and had yet to hit a home run.

Puig cracks the MLB top 100 plays of 2017 at 89

♦ December 27, 2017 ♦ Leave a comment

On April 24th Puig unleashed his arm on Brandon Belt with a throw that put him in the top 100 MLB plays of 2017.

Here is a reminder from youtube just how dangerous the arm of Puig has been since he exploded on the baseball scene in 2013.

Chase Utley clocks in at #92 on MLB Top 100 plays of 2017

♦ December 27, 2017 ♦ Leave a comment

Chase Utley was the first to clock in on the top 100 MLB plays of 2017 but he did it as a first baseman on May 10th. The play involved a ground ball down the line that hit the bag and caromed over his head but Chase somehow knew where the ball was going to land and nailed the runner at 1st base. At this point in the season, it was generally felt by Dodger fans that Chase had left his game behind as he came into the game with an OPS below .400. It was this game that got Chase going as he collected two hits on May 10th, and by May 30th had moved his OPS from .374 too .477. The Dodgers won the game 5 – 2.

A few weeks later Chase would make this outstanding play.

 

 

Zipping along with the Dodgers

♦ December 22, 2017 ♦ 7 Comments

It is always fun to check out the Fangraphs Zips projections by Dan Szymborksi for the Dodgers.

Lots of projection data is in the link above but I’m going to simply say over/under on key or interesting players on the list related to either wRC+ or ERA+.

Player AVG OBP SLG wOBA wRC+ Betting
Corey Seager 0.293 0.357 0.495 0.359 124 Just Right
Cody Bellinger 0.272 0.353 0.558 0.375 134 Just Right
Yasiel Puig 0.267 0.345 0.475 0.347 116 Over
Yasmani Grandal 0.235 0.324 0.456 0.333 107 Over
Chris Taylor 0.259 0.322 0.422 0.32 98 Over
Logan Forsythe 0.25 0.341 0.41 0.326 103 Over
Austin Barnes 0.254 0.342 0.387 0.319 98 Over
Andrew Toles 0.266 0.301 0.409 0.303 87 Over
Kiké Hernandez 0.238 0.312 0.417 0.311 93 Over
Justin Turner 0.292 0.37 0.481 0.362 126 Under
Joc Pederson 0.233 0.348 0.455 0.344 114 Under

It would appear that I’m very bullish on a number of Dodgers compared to Zips.

A couple of fun items about the zips. Stu Pederson the father of Joc Pederson is listed as the number one comp for Blake Gailen. I have no idea who Blake Gailen is, but how cool is that?

Also, Matt Stairs is the number one comp for Yasiel Puig. Ha Ha Ha.

Joc Pederson can’t be thrilled to see his comp being Val Pascucci.

I have zero idea how the comp program works for Zips but physical characteristics are certainly not in the code. Still, couldn’t they find an athletic 1st baseman for Cody Bellinger instead of one of my all-time favorite 1st baseman Kent Hrbek?

 

Fangraphs / Zips / Koehler

♦ December 22, 2017 ♦ 2 Comments

I was waiting for Fangraphs to produce an article about how Tom Koehler was a brilliant signing by the Dodgers and they did deliver an article on Koehler. On the same day, they published the Zip projections for the Dodgers.

First, let’s talk about Koehler. He has been a lousy starter for almost all of his career and if he starts for the Dodgers one can’t expect anymore from him than if Wilmer Font got those starts instead.  The Dodgers, however, have signed Tom Koehler to be a bullpen piece.  Koehler pitched in relief fourteen times last year with good results but when you want to talk about small sample size, Tom Koehler as a relief pitcher could be the poster. What did the Dodger analytics group and scouts see that made them sign Koehler to a major league contract?

Per Jeff Sullivan from his Fangraphs article on the Dodgers signing Koehler:

There’s another thing that has technically already happened. With the Marlins last year, as a starter, Koehler threw 61% four-seamers or curveballs. With the Blue Jays, he threw 82% four-seamers or curveballs. Koehler already simplified his repertoire, and I’m going to guess he’ll do that even more. In the bullpen, the fastball should play up, and Koehler generates a fair amount of rise. And the curveball has already been a weapon in the past. Koehler gets a lot of vertical drop. The four-seamer/curveball combination might be all that reliever Koehler needs.

My favorite line from the article is the last line.

Whether it works means nothing to me, but this is interesting, because it’s not an investment in what a guy is. Instead, it’s an investment in what a team thinks a 31-year-old could be.

In 2018, at least five pitchers will do excellent work that will appear to have come out of nowhere. In 2016 it was Joe Blanton, and in 2017 it was Brandon Morrow for the Dodgers. In 2018 it very well could be Tom Koehler.

Zips, however, thinks Koehler will be one of the worst pitchers on the Dodgers.

Dick Enberg, the sporting voice of my youth, RIP

♦ December 22, 2017 ♦ 3 Comments

We lost one of the great broadcasters of the 20th century last night when Dick Enberg passed away.

I’ve written about Dick several times on this blog. On Oct 16th after he retired from the Padres.

Yup, in the early 1970’s Dick Enberg was my favorite announcer. Sure I loved Vin Scully but truth be told I preferred the styling of Dick Enberg. Dick was a tad more energetic about the sports he broadcast and it didn’t hurt that he was doing the Rams and Bruins, besides the Angels.

and again in January of 2017.

Once again Vin Scully has outlasted one of his HOF peers. Here is Vinny talking with Dick Enberg.

I never read his autobiography appropriately titled “Oh My” so I popped over to Amazon and was surprised to see it is not available in a kindle version but is only $1.99 for the hardcover.  I ordered a copy and expect to relive the sporting memories of my life when I receive it.

Oh My