Posts & commentary about the Dodgers at every level, primarily their minor league system (no affiliation w/ the Dodgers). See pinned tweet for updated content.
Carlos Correa’s is just another moment in the continuing trend of Astros’ players and fans willfully missing the point.
When you cheat, you don’t get to pick and choose which accomplishments get questioned, and which don’t. They all do.
Make that four contending teams (Lindor, Betts, Bryant, Correa) seeking to trade one of their best players due to payroll concerns in a sport with no salary cap.
If the Dodgers win in 2017, there’s a fair case for Joc being WSMVP. Maybe it doesn’t affect his arb hearing, where he lost $1.75M, and maybe it does.
It’s why you can’t just assert 2017 is 2017 and it’s all in the past. There’s a butterfly effect that will continue to extend.
*discussing Machado on the Padres*
Orel: “Let’s say it’s the 7th inning, and your pitcher is pitching a shutout, and you’ve got Machado coming up—“
Joe: “Who in the world is gonna be pitching a shutout for them?”
Orel: “Okay fine, it’s the 3rd inning.”
Joe Davis stays savage.
Anyways, the Dodgers should complete the trade for Graterol, keep him, eat more of Price’s deal, send BOS back a mid-level prospect, execute the deal, and then hold a public press conference with a fluorescent neon sign telling John Henry and Chaim Bloom to eat shit.
end rant
no one:
espn: cody bellinger has a below average throwing arm
everyone: actually he leads the MLB in defensive runs saved with his arm
espn: remember when the cubs won the world series three years ago? fun stuff right?
Rob Manfred is monumentally unprepared and unfit to lead this league, and every day he remains in his position worsens the game’s standing in both the present and future. He needs to go.
If the Dodgers can grab tomorrow's game and split the first two, they're in a good spot. Braves' lack of SP depth will come into play in games 3-5.
Patience.
(also, please stop leaving pitches middle-middle)
Whoa, Danny Duffy is starting this afternoon’s ACL Dodgers game. Had been some reports this week suggesting he might not make it back this year after a recent setback, but he’s in the box score as the starting pitcher. Game is set to begin momentarily.
In: Mookie Betts, David Price (+ cash), Luis Rengifo
Out: Alex Verdugo, Kenta Maeda, Joc Pederson
Sad to see some favorites go, but getting Betts outweighs it all. What a night, and what a job by Friedman to get this done.
#LFG
I don’t know David Price or his family. I do know he donated several hundred thousand dollars unprompted to minor leaguers in an organization he hasn’t even officially played for yet, and if this is your first response to him putting his family first, you’re the douchebag here.
Imagine having your home address leaked online and have hundreds of requests from unknown strangers sent there.
Somehow an unpopular opinion: don’t send things to athletes’ home addresses unless you’re expressly invited to.
This isn’t about being ungrateful, it’s about privacy.
Credit to the Padres for making a big move to make their team better. Teams in smaller markets, like the Dodgers, just have to sit back and watch as big market teams like San Diego go after marquee free agents.
Dodgers’ 2016 draft:
With LA: Lux (1st), Smith (1st), May (3rd), Gonsolin (9th)
Used in trades: Smeltzer (5th), Raley (7th), Scrubb (8th), Alexy (11th), Kremer (13th)
AA or above: Sheffield (1st), White (2nd), Peters (4th), Robinson (6th), Thomas (13th), McKinstry (33rd)
The Dodgers now have five pitchers who’ve been drafted in the top two rounds the last two years:
2019: Kendall Williams, Jimmy Lewis
2020: Bobby Miller, Landon Knack, Clayton Beeter
Woah, the Dodgers grab Carson Fulmer, former eighth overall pick back in 2016, with their second round pick of the MiLB Rule 5 Draft. Fulmer was in the same draft class as Walker Buehler and Dansby Swanson out of Vandy.
fans: yo Rob can you punish the Astros’ players, admit the ball is juiced, not destroy the minor leagues, and try to make the game appealing to wider groups of fans?
Rob Manfred: playoff draft. playoff draft. playoff draft.
EXCLUSIVE: MLB is planning a radical change to their postseason perhaps by 2022, hoping to move from 5 to 7 teams in each league and -- get this -- have the teams with the best records pick their playoff opponents.
At the trade deadline, the Dodgers decided to trade Ross Stripling in part because they felt Tony Gonsolin was one of their best five starters, and needed to be in the rotation. They were correct.
Two innings, six strikeouts, eleven whiffs so far. Looking absolutely filthy today
This is an important part of the story. Money is obviously a big factor, but the Dodgers didn’t win either of these sweepstakes simply because they had the best offer on the table.
DARVISH WAS CLEARLY THE BETTER PITCHER AT THE TRADE DEADLINE, AND VERLANDER WAS A LEAGUE AVERAGE PITCHER AT THAT POINT. THE FINANCIAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO ADDED AN ADDITIONAL FACTOR THAT WEIGHED IN DARVISH’S FAVOR, AND VERLANDER DIDNT EVEN WIN EITHER WORLD SERIES START, AND
Do Chase Utley’s HOF chances increase by winning another title?
Does Yu Darvish get more money in 2017 free agency if he doesn’t implode in the World Series?
Endless questions which will remain unanswered and unknowable. Other players get this; the Astros don’t.
#Dodgers
have shown interest in Japanese OF, Seiya Suzuki who will be posted today.
@USABaseball
Manager, Mike Scioscia managed vs Suzuki in Olympics. He believes Seiya Suzuki will hit with power in MLB and has “Tremendous throwing arm from Right Field”
#HotStove
To be clear, my disappointment with trading Downs & Wong doesn’t have anything to do with Betts. It’s that Boston’s bad faith tactics got them a better package.
Anytime you can get Mookie Betts, you get him, and I’ve said as much.
Dustin May, with what may be the best start of his career:
7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 14 K
103 pitches, 72 strikes
May’s last three starts:
20.2 IP, 12 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 22 K
RHPs Ryan Pepiot and Andre Jackson have received promotions from Double-A Tulsa to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
After Josiah Gray was traded to the Nationals, the Dodgers move two of their top pitching prospects to one step below the majors.
@MasterTones
Could you elaborate a little more on what happened next?
Like his next start?
The one in game five in Houston?
The one where he threw 51 breaking balls generating only one swing and miss, and it later came out his opponent had cheated the entire year?
That next?
Down by one, with the bases loaded, Gavin Lux walked on four pitches to tie the game for OKC.
He is 3-4 tonight with 2 doubles, and is hitting .452 with a 1.375 OPS since his promotion to Triple-A.
It’s game number 30 for him at the level.
Gavin Lux isn’t the only hot
#Dodgers
position prospect. SS Jeter Downs, acquired from the
#Reds
in the Wood-Puig-Kemp-Farmer trade, is headed to Double A, per
@FutureDodgers
. Downs, 21, had batted .301 with a 961 OPS at High A since May 10.
Basically all the younger bench role guys from last year (McKinstry, Raley, Beaty, Peters, Neuse, Reks, Ruiz, McKinney) are gone now. Just Rios left from that group.
You don’t trade for Soto because you need an outfielder, and you don’t not trade for him becuase you don’t need one. You trade for him because he’s Juan Soto and he’s available.
McKinstry's trade leaves the Dodgers with six players left from the 2016 draft:
Gavin Lux (1st)
Will Smith (1st)
Mitch White (2nd)
Dustin May (3rd)
Tony Gonsolin (9th)
Kevin Malisheski (38th)
Zach McKinstry continues to impress this spring, as he put the Dodgers ahead with a triple here. He's currently on the 40-man roster.
Dave Roberts spoke very highly of him the other day, saying he wouldn't be surprised to see him in the majors this season.
If you really, truly, honestly believe that Andrew Friedman, with his track record, is going to give up two top 50 prospects in baseball for a reliever, well boy do I have the bridge to sell you.
In case you needed a reminder, the Astros’ players:
- aren’t sorry
- don’t care
- are, however, very mad someone on the team talked and “broke clubhouse rules”
Outside of Fiers, not one person who hasn’t lost their job has shown one shred of remorse for being involved in this.
Asked what he thought of Mike Fiers going on the record about the Astros using technology to steal signs, Dallas Keuchel said it's a "tough subject."
"It sucks to the extent of that the clubhouse rule was broken," he said.
The Dodgers optioned Miguel Vargas down to Triple-A.
With Justin Turner expected to return tomorrow for the Twins series, Vargas will head back to OKC to get regular at bats.