Dodgers, Yesterday and Today

Having fun with Walker Buehler Game Scores

Phil Gurnee ♦ August 4, 2019 ♦ Leave a comment

Walker Buehler put up a game score of 88 on August 3rd, giving him three games scores > 80 in 2019. This would make him the third right-handed Dodger in the 21st century to have three-game scores > 80 in the same season.

Andy Ashby did it once in 2002

Brad Penny did it once in 2005

Chad Billingsley did it once in 2012, twice in 2011, and once in 2008

Chan Ho Park did it once in 2001, Chan Ho did it four times, but in the 20th century (2000)

Derek Lowe did it once in 2008, and three times in 2005

Greg Maddux did it once in 2006

Hiroki Kuroda did it once in 2010 and twice in 2008

Jeff Weaver did it twice in 2005

Jose Lima (rest his soul) did it once in 2004

Josh Beckett did it once in 2014

Kenta Maeda did it once in 2018 and once in 2016

Kevin Brown did it twice in 2001, and three times in 2000 (the 20th century)

Mike Bolsinger did it once in 2015

Ricky Nolasco did it twice in 2013

Vicente Padilla did it twice in 2010

Zack Greinke did it three times in 2015 and once in 2013

Player▲	GSc	Date	Tm	Opp	Rslt
Zack Greinke	91	2013-07-13	LAD	COL	W 1-0
Zack Greinke	88	2015-07-09	LAD	PHI	W 6-0
Zack Greinke	86	2015-07-19	LAD	WSN	W 5-0
Zack Greinke	82	2015-09-13	LAD	ARI	W 4-3
Walker Buehler	85	2018-09-14	LAD	STL	W 3-0
Walker Buehler	85	2019-06-03	LAD	ARI	W 3-1
Walker Buehler	89	2019-06-21	LAD	COL	W 4-2
Walker Buehler	88	2019-08-03	LAD	SDP	W 4-1
Vicente Padilla	83	2010-07-11	LAD	CHC	W 7-0
Vicente Padilla	90	2010-08-04	LAD	SDP	W 9-0
Ricky Nolasco	84	2013-08-23	LAD	BOS	W 2-0
Ricky Nolasco	86	2013-08-28	LAD	CHC	W 4-0
Mike Bolsinger	88	2015-05-23	LAD	SDP	W 2-0
Kevin Brown	89	2000-06-15	LAD	ARI	W 4-0
Kevin Brown	85	2000-07-19	LAD	COL	W 9-1
Kevin Brown	91	2000-09-23	LAD	SDP	W 2-1
Kevin Brown	86	2001-05-07	LAD	FLA	W 1-0
Kevin Brown	84	2001-05-12	LAD	ATL	W 1-0
Kenta Maeda	82	2016-07-10	LAD	SDP	W 3-1
Kenta Maeda	86	2018-05-17	LAD	MIA	W 7-0
Josh Beckett	90	2014-05-25	LAD	PHI	W 6-0
Jose Lima	84	2004-05-29	LAD	ARI	W 10-0
Jeff Weaver	83	2005-04-17	LAD	SDP	W 6-0
Jeff Weaver	89	2005-09-12	LAD	COL	W 7-0
Hiroki Kuroda	90	2008-06-06	LAD	CHC	W 3-0
Hiroki Kuroda	91	2008-07-07	LAD	ATL	W 3-0
Hiroki Kuroda	82	2010-08-30	LAD	PHI	W 3-0
Hideo Nomo	85	2003-03-31	LAD	ARI	W 8-0
Hideo Nomo	87	2003-05-24	LAD	MIL	W 6-0
Greg Maddux	82	2006-08-13	LAD	SFG	W 1-0
Derek Lowe	85	2005-04-15	LAD	SDP	W 4-0
Derek Lowe	84	2005-07-25	LAD	CIN	W 4-0
Derek Lowe	90	2005-08-31	LAD	CHC	W 7-0
Derek Lowe	83	2008-07-26	LAD	WSN	W 6-0
Darren Dreifort	86	2000-05-12	LAD	STL	W 13-0
Chan Ho Park	83	2000-08-19	LAD	NYM	W 4-1
Chan Ho Park	83	2000-08-29	LAD	MIL	W 7-2
Chan Ho Park	87	2000-09-24	LAD	SDP	W 1-0
Chan Ho Park	95	2000-09-29	LAD	SDP	W 3-0
Chan Ho Park	92	2001-07-18	LAD	MIL	W 5-0
Chad Billingsley	85	2008-07-30	LAD	SFG	W 4-0
Chad Billingsley	85	2011-04-17	LAD	STL	W 2-1
Chad Billingsley	84	2011-05-14	LAD	ARI	L 0-1
Chad Billingsley	87	2012-04-06	LAD	SDP	W 6-0
Brad Penny	82	2005-07-01	LAD	ARI	W 7-0
Andy Ashby	88	2002-04-02	LAD	CHC	W 4-1

One hitter to late, one CF to short

Phil Gurnee ♦ August 3, 2019 ♦ 2 Comments

DustinMayDebut08022019

Dustin May put up the worst debut game score (40) at Dodger Stadium by a LAD in history last night but it was hard to fault him for it. The Dodgers didn’t exactly back him with their A lineup with Negron playing his first game in CF at Dodger Stadium and Tyler White getting the nod at 1st base. DJ Peters and Edwin Rios both in AAA could have given him better defense that what he got last night from those two.

May didn’t cruise through five innings, but he hadn’t given up any earned runs through those five innings and was leading 2 – 1. Two singles later it was surprising that he was still pitching. Another single later I don’t think anyone at Dodger stadium expected him to face the left hand hitting Naylor with two on and two in the 6th after having thrown 90 pitches except Rich Honeycut and Dave Roberts. The Dodgers only had a right-hander warming up when clearly the lineup card showed a left-handed hitter in a dangerous spot. May had already thrown over 90 pitches in his debut and taking him out with Naylor up would have made the most sense but for whatever reason Dave Roberts decided to let the kid try to get out of his jam. I guess with a 16 game lead you can try things you normally wouldn’t.

It didn’t work, as Naylor hit a rocket that Negron tried to run down but as he slammed into the fence, Negron was unable to make the circus catch. Negron who is normally an infielder was pressed into CF because “surprise” AJ Pollock was hurting. I doubt Pollock even comes to close to making that catch unless he was playing Naylor in a completely different way than Negron did. The hit was the ballgame, as the Dodger offense took the night off other than a booming two-run home run by Cody Bellinger.

In the end, Dustin May has the worst game score for a LAD debut but for five innings he gave up zero runs, and at times showed why he is the Dodgers top pitching prospect. With Ryu and Stripling down, for the time being, Dodger fans will get to see Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May a few more times.

Player                     Date  Tm Opp  Rslt  IP  H ER BB SO GSc
Dustin May           2019-08-02 LAD SDP L 2-5 5.2  9  3  0  3  40
Terry Wells          1990-07-03 LAD CHC W 7-6 6.0  8  4  1  6  41
Hyun-Jin Ryu         2013-04-02 LAD SFG L 0-3 6.1 10  1  0  5  50
Sandy Vance          1970-04-26 LAD NYM L 1-3 6.0  4  3  1  0  51
Dennys Reyes         1997-07-13 LAD SFG W 9-3 6.0  4  3  4  6  54
Jim Neidlinger       1990-08-01 LAD SFG L 1-2 6.0  7  1  1  3  56
Jose De Leon         2016-09-04 LAD SDP W 7-4 6.0  5  3  0  9  57
Stephen Fife         2012-07-17 LAD PHI L 2-3 6.0  4  1  3  1  58
Don Sutton           1966-04-14 LAD HOU L 2-4 7.0  7  2  1  7  59
Clayton Kershaw      2008-05-25 LAD STL W 4-3 6.0  5  2  1  7  60
Doyle Alexander   1971-06-26(2) LAD SDP W 4-3 8.0  7  2  0  3  63
Matt Magill          2013-04-27 LAD MIL L 4-6 6.2  4  2  2  7  63
Rick Sutcliffe       1976-09-29 LAD HOU W 1-0 5.0  2  0  1  3  65
Shawn Hillegas       1987-08-09 LAD ATL W 5-2 8.2  7  2  3  6  65
Ramon Martinez       1988-08-13 LAD SFG W 2-1 7.2  4  1  4  5  68
Kazuhisa Ishii       2002-04-06 LAD COL W 9-2 5.2  2  0  3 10  72
Nick Willhite     1963-06-16(2) LAD CHC W 2-0 9.0  5  0  1  6  82
Pedro Astacio     1992-07-03(2) LAD PHI W 2-0 9.0  3  0  4 10  87

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 8/3/2019.

Can Dustin May break any of these LAD debut Game scores?

Phil Gurnee ♦ August 2, 2019 ♦ Leave a comment

DustinMay1
The Dodgers best pitching prospect will make his debut tonight at Dodger Stadium against the San Diego Padres, so I thought it might be a good idea to look at the best scores for a rookie debut, for a rookie debut at Dodger Stadium, for a rookie debut against the Padres, for a rookie debut in August, for a rookie debut in August at Dodger Stadium. All these are based on the LAD franchise not the Dodger franchise.

Pedro Astacio is still the gold standard for all LAD debuts. Ross Stripling is the only active Dodger with a game score debut > 70, but Kenta Maeda is on the list with a game score debut of 66.

It is not surprising that all of the Japanese imports are on the highest LAD debut game score list since all of them were highly sought free agents from Japan and only technically rookies, but it is always a surprise to remember that the worst of them Kaz Ishii had the best debut.

Rookie Debuts:

Player                    Date  Rslt  IP H ER BB SO GSc
Pedro Astacio    1992-07-03(2) W 2-0 9.0 3  0  4 10  87
Nick Willhite    1963-06-16(2) W 2-0 9.0 5  0  1  6  82
Doug Rau            1972-09-02 W 5-1 9.0 3  1  2  2  77
Eric Gagne          1999-09-07 L 1-2 6.0 2  0  1  8  75
Ross Stripling      2016-04-08 L 2-3 7.1 0  1  4  4  74
Kazuhisa Ishii      2002-04-06 W 9-2 5.2 2  0  3 10  72
Hiroki Kuroda       2008-04-04 W 7-1 7.0 3  1  0  4  71
Hideo Nomo          1995-05-02 L 3-4 5.0 1  0  4  7  68
Ramon Martinez      1988-08-13 W 2-1 7.2 4  1  4  5  68
Kenta Maeda         2016-04-06 W 7-0 6.0 5  0  0  4  66
Shawn Hillegas      1987-08-09 W 5-2 8.2 7  2  3  6  65
Rick Sutcliffe      1976-09-29 W 1-0 5.0 2  0  1  3  65

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 8/2/2019.

Rookie Debuts at Dodger Stadium:

Player                    Date  Rslt  IP H ER BB SO HR GSc
Pedro Astacio    1992-07-03(2) W 2-0 9.0 3  0  4 10  0  87
Nick Willhite    1963-06-16(2) W 2-0 9.0 5  0  1  6  0  82
Kazuhisa Ishii      2002-04-06 W 9-2 5.2 2  0  3 10  0  72
Ramon Martinez      1988-08-13 W 2-1 7.2 4  1  4  5  0  68
Shawn Hillegas      1987-08-09 W 5-2 8.2 7  2  3  6  0  65
Rick Sutcliffe      1976-09-29 W 1-0 5.0 2  0  1  3  0  65

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 8/2/2019.

Rookie Debuts Against the Padres:

Player                     Date  Tm Opp  Rslt  IP H ER BB SO HR GSc
Doyle Alexander   1971-06-26(2) LAD SDP W 4-3 8.0 7  2  0  3  1  63
Jose De Leon         2016-09-04 LAD SDP W 7-4 6.0 5  3  0  9  1  57

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 8/2/2019.

Rookie Debuts in August

Rk           Player       Date  Rslt  IP H ER BB SO HR GSc
1    Ramon Martinez 1988-08-13 W 2-1 7.2 4  1  4  5  0  68
2    Shawn Hillegas 1987-08-09 W 5-2 8.2 7  2  3  6  0  65
3    Jim Neidlinger 1990-08-01 L 1-2 6.0 7  1  1  3  0  56
4    Nathan Eovaldi 2011-08-06 W 5-3 5.0 4  2  2  7  0  56

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 8/2/2019.

Rookie Debut in August at Dodger Stadium
Ramon Martinez on 8/13/1988 had the highest games score debut in August at Dodger Stadium.

Being a GM is hard

Phil Gurnee ♦ July 27, 2019 ♦ 1 Comment

On May 10th the Dodgers had a decision to make. They were feeling a roster crunch and would need to get rid of one of their three catchers. They had acquired Travis d’Arnaud on May 5th after he had been released by the Mets on May 3rd. Travis had been so bad for the Mets that they were going to eat the rest of his contract which paid him almost 3 Million in 2019. Travis got into one game for the Dodgers on May 7th.

Austin Barnes meanwhile had a .697 OPS propped up by an OBP (.316) 100 points higher than his batting average. Barnes had minor league options, they could have optioned him to the minor leagues and kept d’Arnaud but instead, they sold him to the Tampa Bay Rays. It was the expected move, but it didn’t turn out to be the right move.

Since joining Tampa Bay, Travis d’Arnaud has been one of the best hitting catchers in baseball. He has a 124 wRC+ which ranks third among AL catchers and 5th among all catchers since May 11th with at least 100 plate appearances.

Austin Barnes meanwhile, since May 11th has a wRC+ of 40 and Russell Martin has a wRC+ of 61 for rankings of 38 and 34 respectively. That is bad.

I don’t think anyone can blame the Dodgers front office for picking their own two catchers over Travis, but man does that decision look bad in hindsight. The Dodgers are still on a pace to win over 100 games, the fact they are doing this while getting the worst offensive production from the catching position has been amazing.

Barnes has been sent back to AAA to find his swing, with Will Smith getting promoted to become the starting catcher. This could still all work out in the end. Travis could crater back to what he was doing in April, Smith could simply be the answer, Barnes could find his swing and help if Smith is not up to the task.

For whatever reason, the Dodger front office took forever to make the obvious call to send Barnes to AAA, and bring up Smith. For many Dodger fans, this is a move that should have been done at least a month ago if not months ago.

I hope Smith proves that he can be a starting catcher for a team with World Champion aspirations, that Barnes finds his groove, and that Martin can find some kind of offense in his bat so he’s simply not a veteran garnish.

Hopefully, a different take on the Dodger trade deadline

Phil Gurnee ♦ July 22, 2019 ♦ Leave a comment

The trade deadline has always been an exciting time for fans as the buyers hope to acquire the piece that will give their team the edge come October, while the sellers hope to acquire the prospects or major league talent to change the fortunes of a team already out of a playoff run.

It also cuts both ways for the players. If you are on a team seeking another player and you are a key component of that team, you herald the front office search to add another piece to your October run, however, if you aren’t a key component the trade deadline could be maddening. What if you love being a Dodger but to make the current Dodger team better, you might be the price they have to pay to make it happen.

It isn’t always prospects that get traded in these in-season deals. Molly Knight of the Atlantic wrote about every single Dodger July deal since their last World Championship.

The Dodgers have made 74 transactions in the month of July since they last won a championship in 1988. Each one has failed to put them over the top. I went and looked back at all those moves and wrote about why this time might be different: https://t.co/mM2aqPriO9

— Molly Knight (@molly_knight) July 22, 2019

These are the Dodgers who were on the 25-man roster when the deals were made as they attempted to strengthen their team.

Mariano Duncan, Tim Leary, Hiram Bocachica, Juan Encarnacion, Paul Lo Duca, Guillermo Mota, Sandy Alomar Junior, Willy Aybar, Danys Baez, Odaliz Perez, Cesar Izturis, Boom Boom Betemit, Andy LaRoche, James McDonald, Nathan Eovaldi, Matt Guerrier, Paco Rodriguez, and Logan Forsythe.

If you go through all the July trades that Molly documents you will find that over 95% of the deals are the Dodgers buying not selling. Sometimes that buying involved moving major league Dodgers. The biggest major league player to be traded was their starting catcher in 2004 Paul Lo Duca. It caused a big uproar at the time and Molly covers that in her story. Heck, just last year the Dodgers traded 2nd baseman Logan Forsythe for 2nd baseman Dozier.

Dodgers on the current 25-Man Roster or who have played in the majors this year that might be trade bait could be:

Austin Barnes or Russell Martin to open up a spot for Will Smith. Neither would bring back much, Martin could be moved to a contending team that wants a better backup, Barnes to a team willing to see if that 2017 magic can come alive again while knowing he’s a catcher that pitchers love having behind the plate. I think the Dodgers would be fine with a duo of either Smith/Barnes or Smith/Martin but they may not think so. We will find out in nine days. Keibert Ruiz was promoted to AAA which means the Dodgers have their two top catching prospects at the same level. That is a bit weird and hard to imagine that stays the case.

Kiké Hernádez which would open up a spot for uber-prospect Gavin Lux. With Chris Taylor hurt and not due back until September I feel this might be a reach, but if Chris Taylor was here I think this would be in play.

Joc Pederson is the odd man out right now. To try to get him in the lineup the Dodgers have used him at 1st base but the Dodgers have already said he won’t be playing 1st base come October. With a healthy outfield of Bellinger / Pollock / Verdugo and none of them needing to be platooned, he’s only going to get at-bats if someone gets hurt or when Dave Roberts makes room for him. The Dodgers have several minor league options to take his spot on the roster. Matt Beaty has shown he can play the outfield. Zach Reks is a left hand hitting outfielder who has hit 23 minor league home runs to go with his .935 OPS over two levels this year. At 25, he’s ready to show what he can do. Right-hand hitting OF Kyle Garlick has torn up AAA to the tune of a 1.105 OPS and already had a decent run with the Dodgers a few weeks ago. At 27 years old his time is also now. The surprise name on this might be DJ Peters who just a few weeks ago was having a sub-par season at AA. The Dodgers promoted Peters to AAA on June 27th and he’s done nothing but crush since his promotion. Peters hit eleven home runs in 250 at-bats in AAA but has already hit eight in only eighty at-bats at AAA. His strikeout rate has dropped significantly while increasing his walk rate. If you didn’t have his AA numbers staring at you, and you only saw his AAA numbers, you’d think he’s one of the top hitting prospects in AAA. Anyway, the point is that none of them are as good as Joc Pederson but if Joc can help bring in a piece that would help the team more than he would, he might be someone who will be playing on another team come August 1st.

Matt Beaty is already a Dodger legend even though he’s only had 123 major league plate appearances. He’s never been a highly-touted prospect. He barely squeezes into top 20 Dodger prospect lists. He’s blocked everywhere you look by Muncy, Verdugo, Joc, and Turner. I’m not sure what he’d bring back in a trade. I’m not sure you should even think of trading him. What a major league hit tool.

Kenta Maeda’s name never comes up in trade conversations. I don’t get it, he’s got a fantastic contract, he’d be a great addition to any rotation that isn’t the Dodgers. He doesn’t appear to have a no-trade clause. Eric Stephen said when he was signed that

In addition, Maeda receives a $1 million bonus each time he is traded.

He has worked well out of the bullpen but when he does pitch out of the bullpen he loses money. It has always made more sense to simply trade a great contract like Kenta for a better bullpen piece. In a normal year, you would hate to trade a rotation piece like Kenta but right now the Dodgers aren’t playing for the Western Division, that is in the bag, they are creating a roster for October. Kenta will not start in October, he hasn’t made a postseason start since 2016 and I doubt that would change in 2019. He’s headed for the bullpen but maybe he would bring back a better bullpen piece. Just saying.

Ross Stripling is another pitcher who is better suited to the rotation than the bullpen. He’s cheap and solid and might be the better option for a team looking to get younger, but still have an actual major league arm in the return

Caleb Ferguson probably has to be on this list which is really annoying. If Caleb had pitched this year like he did last year maybe the Dodgers aren’t searching for that other kickass relief arm. He hasn’t, and the price may be his to pay, which is to bad because I really like this guy.

Might be time for Keibert to learn how to talk like a Pirate

Phil Gurnee ♦ July 18, 2019 ♦ Leave a comment

This is not a reactionary column to another poor outing by the Dodger bullpen, but it is about the season-long problems with the bullpen. The team is still on pace to win 105 games so at this point we only care about the wins in October.

I’ve followed Keibert and watched him climb up the Dodgers prospect ranking to take the number one spot this spring. Many names have been bandied about to help the Dodger bullpen but far and away the best name and option belongs to Felipe Vazquez of the Pirates.

Via the Fangraphs Custom Date Tool, here the best relief pitchers via fWAR from 4/1/2017 – 7-17-2019.

Name	IP	WAR	K/9	BB/9	HR/9	GB%	FIP	xFIP	ERA
Felipe Vazquez	185.2	5.8	11.63	2.67	0.53	46.4 %	2.37	2.96	2.13
Josh Hader	175	5.3	15.17	3.34	1.13	29.0 %	2.65	2.57	2.31
Roberto Osuna	140.2	5.2	9.92	1.34	0.45	42.1 %	2.24	3.28	2.82
Blake Treinen	195.2	5.1	9.75	3.27	0.55	52.9 %	3	3.4	2.76
Sean Doolittle	135.2	5	11.14	1.79	0.73	30.1 %	2.44	3.62	2.45
Edwin Diaz	175.2	5	13.88	3.13	1.13	40.9 %	2.93	2.83	3.13
Aroldis Chapman	138.1	4.8	13.99	4.03	0.46	46.5 %	2.26	2.8	2.73
Kenley Jansen	178.2	4.6	12.19	1.61	1.21	35.6 %	2.85	2.88	2.52
Kirby Yates	161.2	4.6	13.64	2.51	1.06	39.6 %	2.67	2.77	2.51
Joakim Soria	160	4.4	10.46	2.81	0.51	43.1 %	2.61	3.45	3.71

Josh Hader, Osuna, Treinen, Doolittle, and Chapman are all on teams the Dodgers might have to beat in Oct to win a World Championship. Diaz was an elite bullpen arm but has given up three runs or more in four games this year and may not be the guy you want to mortgage some of your future for. Just ask the Mets. Kenley Jansen is, of course, our guy. Kirby Yates might be available but I think he’s going elsewhere. Soria is the final guy on the list and the A’s aren’t moving him.

This leaves the best pitcher and the best option. Felipe Vazquez. The Pirates have a fighting chance at the Wild Card but not a very realistic one. Their team simply isn’t that good. To get Vazquez we can look to recent mid-summer deals for elite bullpen arms in the last few years.

In the summer of 2018, Brad Hand was dealt from the Padres along with Adam Climber for the Indians top prospect Francisco Mejia. That was the only prospect the Padres got. At the time of the deal, Brad Hand was in the middle of a contract that would keep him with the Indians through 2021. The Indians were swept in the ALDS by Houston with Brad Hand pitching in two games, getting five outs, giving up three hits and two earned runs. The Indians gave up their top prospect and got nothing from him in the postseason that would have prolonged their season. They still have Brad Hand though, and maybe this year he will be the difference-maker in October. It is a trade I would have made.

On July 25th, 2016 the Cubs traded multiple prospects including Gleyber Torres to the NYY for Aroldis Chapman. Chapman appeared in 28 games for the Cubs during the regular season. The Cubs would win the World Series with Chapman as their closer but it wasn’t like he was Mariano Rivera. Chapman was good enough that he only gave up runs in four of his eighteen games, but two of those games were games six and seven of the World Series. The Cubs got what they wanted when they traded for Chapman, a World Series. They also gave up one of the best young players in baseball.

Headed into this spring Keibert Ruiz was considered the Dodgers top prospect. The previous summer at just nineteen years old he had acquited himself quite well in AA. He had a successful stint in the AFL. The switch-hitting catcher was generally considered the best catching prospect in baseball. Keibert has struggled offensively this year in AA, but he’s still just twenty. As far as the prospect list goes, Alex Verdugo is now a successful major league outfielder which dropped him off the list but Gavin Lux has emerged as the Dodgers best positional prospect.

In my own view, the Dodgers have several untradeable prospects. Those would be Gavin Lux, Dustin May, and Diego Cartaya. Keibert Ruiz is not one of them for one big reason. Will Smith. I have no doubt that Ruiz is going to a major league catcher, hopefully, a good one, but I also believe that Will Smith is also going to be a quality major league catcher. It is only because of Will Smith that I’d consider trading Ruiz but because of Smith, I do think the Dodgers could move Keibert Ruiz for Felipe Vazquez. I think it would take more than Ruiz to pry Vazquez from the Pirates. I would move three prospects for him only because I think this team really has a shot at the elusive World Championship and Vazquez is the guy who might help them get it.

Given the depth, on the major league roster, the Dodgers could actually move Joc Pederson for some prospects that they might move toward the Pirates. Or Kiké. Depth will win you the season but it won’t win you the World Series and the season has already been won.

Anyway using Dustin Noslers top 30 list I’d think a package of Keibert Ruiz, one of (Omar Estevez, Mitchell White, Matt Beaty), one of (Edwin Rios, Edwin Uceta, DJ Peters, Dennis Santana) might get it done. Maybe it will take more, but I do think this is the guy the Dodgers should be targeting.

If they get Vazquez, he will help, but you never know how he will perform in the post-season. The Dodgers have a history of having their best regular-season relief pitchers come up short in the postseason but at least they would have another weapon and the quintet of Jansen/Vazquez/Urias/Kelly/ Baez would be formidable.

With Seager / Pollock / Freese returning who will be the odd man out?

Phil Gurnee ♦ July 11, 2019 ♦ Leave a comment

The Dodgers get their 2nd half reinforcements on Friday when they are expected to activate Cory Seager, AJ Pollock, and David Freeze but it will come at a price to more than one Dodger who helped propel the team to the best record in baseball while the aforementioned were nursing their injuries.

Matt Beaty has already been optioned back to AAA, and we all recognized his great contributions while he was up. Kyle Garlick and Edwin Rios will be next. Heck of a July trade right? Cory Seager / AJ Pollock / David Freese for Matt Beaty / Kyle Garlick / Edwin Rios.

Dave Roberts will have to figure out how his new lineups will incorporate Taylor, Verdugo, Joc, Freese, and even Hernandez. Right now there simply aren’t enough starting spots for all the players who warrant starting gigs.

While Cory Seager was out, Chris Taylor reestablished himself as an everyday player by being one of the best hitters in the NL since June 11th (when Seager got hurt). Per Fangraphs, Taylor has been the 8th best offensive player in the NL with his 177 wRC+ since June 11th. Seager will slide right back into his SS position so Chris Taylor will need to find a spot somewhere in the lineup.

Name	wRC+	WAR	PA	OBP	SLG	wOBA
Peter Alonso	213	1.7	103	0.466	0.741	0.489
Yasiel Puig	212	1.5	87	0.437	0.808	0.5
Cody Bellinger	184	1.5	96	0.396	0.732	0.447
Kris Bryant	183	1.3	93	0.452	0.634	0.452
Ketel Marte	181	1.4	90	0.456	0.627	0.453
Manny Machado	180	1.4	99	0.374	0.728	0.444
Chris Taylor	177	1.3	93	0.441	0.633	0.438
Charlie Blackmon	177	1	104	0.413	0.727	0.467
Juan Soto	176	1	92	0.457	0.644	0.445
Fernando Tatis Jr.	173	1.6	105	0.41	0.652	0.433

AJ Pollock got off to a slow start and quickly hit the disabled list due to an infection in his surgically repaired body. Alex Verdugo eventually took his spot in CF and has been one of the best center fielders in the NL while Pollock was mending. Using Fangraphs once again we can see how valuable Verdugo has been playing CF since April 29th. It should be worth noting that Pollock came to the Dodgers with a rep as an elite defensive CF and that Verdugo was not supposed to be a good CF. In 2019, Verdugo has been an above average defensive center fielder while Pollock in limited play was below average.

Name	WAR	Off	Def	OBP	SLG	wOBA	wRC+	PA
Ketel Marte	3.1	18.2	5.4	0.388	0.595	0.405	150	263
Ronald Acuna Jr.	2.1	10.9	1	0.363	0.498	0.364	123	292
Starling Marte	1.7	7.1	1.1	0.34	0.487	0.347	115	283
Alex Verdugo	1.4	4	2.4	0.349	0.442	0.333	109	235
David Dahl	0.9	1.7	-0.4	0.344	0.513	0.356	105	250
Ian Desmond	0.9	5.9	-2.8	0.369	0.571	0.389	126	195
Nick Senzel	0.7	0.1	-0.4	0.325	0.455	0.329	100	236
Kevin Pillar	0.7	-1.2	0.7	0.298	0.433	0.304	89	242
Victor Robles	0.6	-1.9	1	0.326	0.424	0.32	94	226
Harold Ramirez	0.6	0.1	-0.4	0.323	0.387	0.306	92	195
Jason Heyward	0.5	-1.1	-1.7	0.323	0.434	0.319	96	235
Lorenzo Cain	0	-11.8	4.2	0.295	0.32	0.27	62	251

If Verdugo moves to LF to make room for Pollock in CF, where does that leave Joc? Both Pollock and Verdugo figure to be full-time players, not platoon players.

The Dodgers recognized the future logjam in the outfield and much to the chagrin of some Dodger fans gave Joc Pederson an in-season try out at 1st base. Joc did not look good at 1st base but if he is going to play, he may have to become a 1st baseman. I thought it was prudent of the Dodgers to entertain this idea since Max Muncy has established that he can play 2nd base. The problem now though is that Chris Taylor needs a place to play, and what about David Freese?

As much as we like Kiké he has lost his starting gig and I’m not even sure how he gets one or two starts per week going forward. Against right-hand pitching, I can see Bellinger/Pollock/Verdugo in the OF and Joc / Muncy / Seager / Turner as the infield leaving Taylor on the bench. Left-hand pitchers could have a lineup of Bellinger/Pollock/Verdugo and an infield of Muncy / Taylor / Seager / Turner.

That leaves Freese and Kiké on the bench all the time except for the occasional start where they rest Turner/Seager/Muncy/Pollock/Verdugo which is how Roberts can still get them some playing time besides Freese pinch hitting and Kiké being a defensive replacement. Expect all of the Dodgers except Bellinger to get plenty of rest in the second half as Dave Roberts tries to make everyone happy.

Of course, this whole exercise could be pointless given the complete health history of AJ Pollock and the recent health history of Cory Seager.

Seismic shift hits Los Angeles

Phil Gurnee ♦ July 6, 2019 ♦ Leave a comment

Even though Kawhi Leonard to the Clippers had been rumored for well over a year by well-respected sources I don’t think many Clipper fans really felt it would happen. As Clipper fans have heard every day for forever, no superstar will ever WANT to play for the Clippers. My wife just came home from Dallas where her cousins ridiculed the idea that Kevin Durant would consider the Clippers after they were watching an ESPN show that suggested such a thing. Not only did we hear this daily in Los Angeles, but we also had to listen to it from other localities

I felt in my heart if any free agent would tweak their nose at the rest of the league and sign with the Clippers it would be Leonard. The challenge of playing for a franchise with no championships in a city that is owned by the team they share their building with simply folds most superstars who simply aren’t up for the challenge.

Hell, who can blame them. When Chris Paul was traded to the Clippers he was still a top ten player. He took his family to a Dodger game and they showed him on the monitor Instead of getting the cheers he’s heard all his life, he was booed. In front of his son. I don’t think he ever got over that. I’m sure his son will never forget. I never forgot I’ve thought less of Dodger fans ever since.

Times change though. Donald Sterling is no longer the owner, Steve Ballmer the richest sports owner in the World is. The right-hand man for Ballmer is Jerry West, the Logo, the man who built the Laker juggernaut of Shaq/Kobe. The front office is so loaded that not one but two different assistant General Managers were recruited to run other organizations, and yet they turned down those offers to continue working within the Clipper front office. No one does that.

Winning? Well, the Clippers were the only Los Angeles team to make the postseason this past season. While the Lakers were salivating about another lottery pick the Clippers were the only NBA franchise to beat the Warriors in the postseason when the Warriors had their big four healthy.

The Clippers don’t have any championships, YET. But they do win, oh yes they do.

Year	Clipper Wins	Clipper Postseason	Laker Wins	Laker Postseason
2018-19	48	Lost 1st Round	37	No Playoffs
2017-18	42	No Playoffs	35	No Playoffs
2016-17	51	Lost 1st Round	26	No Playoffs
2015-16	53	Lost 1st Round	17	No Playoffs
2014-15	56	Lost Conf Semis	21	No Playoffs
2013-14	57	Lost Conf Semis	27	No Playoffs
2012-13	56	Lost 1st Round	45	Lost 1st Round
2011-2012	40	Lost Conf Semis	41	Lost Semis
	403		249

It may have taken Kawhi Leonard to get this city to notice the Clippers, but the Clippers have been the only winning NBA franchise in Los Angeles since 2013. They have won 154 more games than the Lakers since Chris Paul was sent to the Franchise by the NBA commissioner in 2011.

Chris Paul didn’t choose the Clippers, the NBA commissioner did. Blake Griffin didn’t choose the Clippers the draft did.

Kawhi Leonard chose the Clippers. Kawhi not only chose the Clippers over the super team across the hall he decided to build his own super team and recruited Paul George to join him. There will be no Chris Paul stigma as this duo tries to do what Lob City could not do, bring a banner to Staples Center and win over the NBA fans of Los Angeles.

In the past, I thought you could be both a Clipper and Laker fan but not anymore. Kawhi spurned the Lakers and has created a divide that will only be decided when these two superpower franchises match up.

Hopefully in a Western Conference Final.

Dodger rookies owning it

Phil Gurnee ♦ June 24, 2019 ♦ Leave a comment

Much of the talk about the Dodger rookies will be about the back to back to back rookie walk-off home runs this weekend but the Dodger rookies have been banging all year.

Player         WAR/pos Year Age  PA 2B HR RBI BB SO   BA  OBP  SLG   OPS
Alex Verdugo       2.5 2019  23 250 17  7  32 18 26 .302 .352 .489  .841
Will Smith         0.5 2019  24  24  1  3   6  2  6 .318 .375 .773 1.148
Kyle Garlick       0.4 2019  27  24  2  2   4  2  9 .318 .375 .682 1.057
Matt Beaty         0.2 2019  26  71  4  2  13  2 11 .333 .352 .478  .830
Rocky Gale        -0.2 2019  31  15  0  0   0  0  7 .133 .133 .133  .267

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/24/2019.
I didn’t realize that Rocky Gale was still considered a rookie given that it seems he’s been around a long time. He’s not banging, but everyone else is. Alex Verdugo is now firmly in the ROY race. Alonso has a full one point fWAR lead on him but he also did that with 70 more plate appearances, and one guy is a 1st baseman, the other is a centerfielder so that gap may continue to close as the season progresses if Verdugo can continue to hit at this level while playing a plus center field.