Let’s Play Two!

Ernie Banks was a National Treasure and that was one of his favorite sayings. I can dig that. I would love to see both games, so hopefully I can close my office door at 2:20 PM EDT and watch the games.. and I may have a stash of bourbon to sip on. Well, I won’t make it until 3:30 as I have my second of three knee injections which is supposed to make me leap tall buildings with a single bound and make me more powerful than a locomotive (I doubt most of that). Then I have a haircut at 3:00. I have been getting my hair cut by “Joe the Barber” for 25 years. It used to cost $8.00. Now it’s $24.00 and I have less hair. I asked him why that was and he said it was “a finders fee.” Go figure. I went to the doctor and asked him why I was losing my hair and he said it was in my jeans. Well, I checked there and it wasn’t. So what should I do? However, I digress!

OK, I’ll stop!

Dustin May is out until 2023. We have no info on the Bazooka, but evidently, the Brandon Morrow experiment is over. Corey Knebel is on the DL until August and the Sky is Absolutely Falling! Or so it seems. It’s really not. The Dodgers picked up Phil Bickford yesterday, who was twice drafted in the first round: once #10 (2013) and later at #18 (2015)! The Giants traded him in 2016 in a deal with Milwaukee for Will Smith. This is another Andrew Friedman-esque move. Bickford is still only 25 and he was once tantalizingly good.

Bickford attended Cal State Fullerton before he was drafted by the Giants. After being traded to the Brewers, in 2017, he underwent a 50 game suspension for drugs and also had a broken hand, so he pitched very little. It should not be lost on anyone that he has never pitched above A-ball. He is not the answer this year, but perhaps the Dodgers developmental people can help him realize his potential as a reliever. Here’s his MLB debut (it was ugly):

The Dodgers currently have seven (count them, 7) pitchers on the IL. Tony Gonsolin and David Price look to be the ones who will be back the soonest. I suspect that Price will take spot in the rotation while Gonsolin slides into the bullpen. Joe Kelly is due back soon as well, and I have high expectations for him…. considering what has happened.

Rome was not built in a day… and neither are bullpens. I also think Jo Jo Gray could start a game before Price and Gonsolin come back, but the Dodgers would have to make a roster move to clear a spot for him so that may not happen. It’s a big blow to lose Dustin May, but the Dodgers are built for this. This bullpen is being built and saying that they can’t win with these guys after less than 30 games defies baseball sense. At the 60 game mark, we will have a better idea and I have always said the AF has the resources to trade for another arm or two… if nesessary.

I wonder how the Cubs feel in having to face Kershaw and Bauer the same day? Yikes! I hope we don’t hear the Cubs Song (they only do it when they win). The whole stadium stays after a win and sings together. I have only seen it twice as the Dodgers usually win when I go to Wrigley. This was in 2016 after winning the World Series:

This article has 76 Comments

  1. I fear Dr.ElAttrache will have to perform double duty next week on Dodgers pitchers. May already is scheduled and the Bazooka I fear will be next . Gets the MRI today and then we know for sure.
    Two vital parts helping us win the title last year are probably out for good until 23. Urghhhh!!
    Bad as was said this is baseball and things like that happen. Dodgers if any team can absorb hits like that.
    Gonsolin and Price give us options at the Nr. 5 starter to replace DM. I am more worried about the pen. We have no bona fide closer. KJ is not reliable. One day he comes out unhittable hitting 97 on the gun with his cutter dancing like crazy and next time he has nothing to bring to the table.
    Maybe Kahnle and Caleb Ferguson can give us some power arms late in the season . That would be quiete a boost.
    Both coming off TJ surgery but could be ready to go in September/October if everything goes well with the rehab.

    Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    1. Wouldn’t that be something if Caleb and Tommy were available in September? I think it we look around the league at everyone’s 5th starter, we would still rather have our option over pretty much any other team. Nelson and Price would probably be better than most team’s 4th and 5th guy and they aren’t even in line yet. Few teams have a No1 organizational prospect like Josiah Gray waiting in the wings.

      KJ worries me to say the least. It sucks having a closer that can’t go back to back. In his prime, he would pitch up to 4 days in a row.

      Elattrache is having a BOGO sale on TJ’s. The Dodgers are lucky to be able to take advantage of that offer. 😉

  2. Man, did it even rain in Chicago last night? I think the Cubbies plotted some funny business after the Dodgers offensive outbreak on Sunday. The Cubbies brought in their cooler (the weatherman) to make sure the Dodgers were a little less hot going into yesterday’s game, now rescheduled for today.

    It will be interested as to how Bauer and Kersh respond today with the extra rest and a couple of short 7 inning games. I wonder if we’ll see any bullpen. As you can see, they shuffled the rotation a bit. Bauer was scheduled yesterday and now has been pushed back to Wednesday. So, he’ll have a full 7 days rest between starts.

    It’s time for Lux and Rios to breakout. Rios hit one to the warning track during full dress BP on Sunday and Lux beat out that huge dude at first on an infield single. Sure looks like a line drive in the box score.

    The first game starts in just 5 hours.

  3. So with all the advanced training methods, all the studies, the pitch and innings limits does anyone find it interesting that we still have lots of major arm issues with pitchers?

    Seems to be more now than ever. Or is it just my imagination?

    1. The arm was just not made to withstand all of the crazy things that pitchers do, like throwing a 100 mph fastball with high spin rate.

      And kid pitchers start logging so many innings at such a young age. I’ve come across 14 yo pitchers who blew out their arms and needed surgery.

      What could go wrong?

    2. Your imagination.

      Beside Ferguson and May since 2015, Andrew Friedman’s first full season as the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, only two other pitchers off their major league roster have undergone TJ surgery, namely Brandon McCarthy (April 2015) and Grant Dayton (August 2017). According to the data in the Tommy John Surgery Database, they’re tied for the 10th-fewest TJ surgeries among pitchers in that span:

    3. sbuffalo, it certainly feels like there are more arm issues than ever. In 2018 it was 25%+ pitchers had TJ. A few years back, half the pitchers in the all-star game had undergone TJ.
      I find it interesting when folks claim the hitters were much better back in the day. They faced fewer international players, players of color and all the pitchers prior to 1974 who blew out their elbow ligament were DONE. Dustin May would have been finished at 23.
      Maybe it’s too many pitches at a young age. Maybe it’s pitch counts, or pitching fatigued, of excessive innings, of poor mechanics or throwing a 100mph? Maybe it’s a combination. I don’t know. and maybe no-one knows.
      Here’s my post from 4/29 to Rogerthat regarding pitch counts
      “most teams track bullpen pitches as well and yes, they add up. But this is all based on the assumption that more pitches over a season is bad and damaging to an adult pitcher. Are we sure that’s true?
      I can’t find any clear scientific evidence to support this contention. It might surprise you to know that pitch counts (that didn’t start until 1988) are derived only from a collection of opinions and have no basis in valid science. Technically, the idea behind pitch counts is a theory and not a fact. 100 pitches was where it’s landed because it’s a nice round number. The days of 150 are gone but there is some room there that might not be detrimental between 100 and 150. It is so dependent on the individual and circumstances. But 100 is a nice number and everyone can err on the safe side. My contention is that the greatest risk factor is not pitch count but poor mechanics. (and 100mph)
      This has been an interest of mine for a long time so I’m certainly interested in hearing about any solid scientific data by reputable sources that correlates pitch counts with are injuries. Jeff Passan in his book “The Arm” stated that accumulation of solid data is difficult to put together. People and places trying to gather data over time never get finished. Individual teams snap them up to use for their own organizations and stop sharing any data. It’s spy versus spy rather than an MLB wide effort to draw conclusions. MLB has funded grants to study pitch counts and injuries but exclusively for youth. If you haven’t visited their “Pitch Smart” website it’s worth a visit. Great stuff for parents, coaches and kids. But that’s not adult professional pitchers. Maybe the less is more theory isn’t actually true with certain pitchers with clean mechanics. Maybe 110 pitches is NOT more damaging than 85 or 100? Is that really overuse?”
      If low pitch counts were the answer why would one inning relievers ever break down? I’m supportive of building up pitch counts with proper rest. 100 pitches in April are not the same in September.
      I believe that mechanical issues are the killer especially when combined with the velocity we are seeing today.
      That’s my theory. I have NO proof.

      1. I suggest that you read a book by Jeff Passan called “The Arm”.
        https://www.amazon.com/Arm-Billion-Dollar-Mystery-Valuable-Commodity/dp/0062400371

        The 100 pitch limit was suggested without study by a dermatologist (!) named Rany Jazayerli in an article in 1998. A quote from The Arm:

        “If doing something is bad, the thinking now went, doing less must be better. The widespread adoption of the five-man rotation gave starting pitchers an extra day of rest but didn’t demonstrably help keep pitcher healthier. When Russell Carleson of Baseball Prospectus studied every start from 1950 to 2012 to learn whether an extra day of rest helped a pitcher perform better the answer surprised him. “There was no indication that pitchers did better or worse based on how many days of rest they got” he wrote. “ What was significant was the number of pitches that the pitcher had thrown in his previous start.””

        The magic number of pitches was over 140.

        Pasasan pointed out that there is little relationship between pitch counts and injury (or effectiveness), or days between starts and injury (or effectiveness), or innings pitched and injury (or effectiveness). He even notes that there is no evidence supporting the so-called Verducci effect (which suggests that young pitchers shouldn’t increase their workload by over 30 innings in a given season). In short, in the face of increasing limits on a starting pitcher’s workload, the number of injuries goes up and not down.

  4. I’m glad AF pulled the trigger on the Bauer signing.
    Looks an even better move now.

    Saw some great pictures of Joc greeting his old comrades yesterday.

    Lots of smiles.

  5. Graterol likely out, too. I would not be surprised if his IL stint doesn’t heal that arm and it turns out he’ll need Tommy John. Throwing 100 MPH is obviously very stressful on a human arm.

    I worry about Buehler. He throws hard. At this point in his career he relies on that velo and is more thrower than pitcher. That was his strategy in game 3 of the WS – just blow it by guys.

    That, and he doesn’t have the reputation as a pitcher that physically prepares in the off-season for the workload he puts his arm through. If there is one pitcher on the Dodgers staff I would predict would blow out out his arm, it’d be him. If he needs TJ, it would be his second. Most guys don’t come back from that all the way.

  6. Bazooka had TJ in 2016, so if he needs it again the odds are long he makes back

    1. Samre with Ferguson, TJ No 2. Hong Chi Kuo came back from multiple TJs.

  7. The Los Angeles Dodgers recalled Keibert Ruiz ahead of Tuesday’s split doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs, giving the team three catchers on their active roster. The Dodgers additionally are back to carrying 13 pitchers and 13 position players.

        1. According to True Blue LA, Ruiz replaced Kickham on the roster. The 27th man hasn’t been announced yet:

          “Dave Roberts on Monday mentioned left-handed pitcher James Pazos as one who would be called up, though that move wasn’t yet made as of Thursday morning. The Dodgers instead opted to call up Keibert Ruiz to take Kickham’s spot, giving them 13 position players and a full bench, something Roberts over the weekend said was coming soon.

          “The Dodgers and Cubs also get to add a 27th player because of the doubleheader, which eases the roster burden for both teams, though that hasn’t been announced yet. Because the doubleheader is the result of a postponed game within the same series, the teams get the extra player for only one of the two games. The Dodgers and Cubs are both opting for an extra player in the second game of the doubleheader, to be determined after usage in the first game.”

  8. I have always been of the opinion that Ruiz had a higher upside than Smith. I hope he still does but Smith has raised that bar. It will be interesting to see if Smith starts playing elsewhere at times. It has never been articulated but many Dodger pitchers do not prefer to pitch to Smith. I smell movement.

    1. Although that may be the case about Smith, there is time to turn that around. I remember reading an article a week or two ago that Smith’s framing metrics are better than Barnes so far this year. SSS and all, at least there’s improvement. Julio seems to like throwing to Smith as does Bauer.

    2. It’s easy to forget that Smith only has 113 games under his belt compared to Barn’s 364. There’s no guarantee this staff is going to like throwing to K-Bear over Barnes who’s caught just 17 innings. If you can smell movement based on 17 innings, you can probably smell my farts all the way from California. Remember, it was Barnes, not Smith that played second base the other day. Do you think Barnes has the bat to stick at 2nd?

      1. I don’t get the idea that they plan to start Barnes at second any time soon, but want him to get some reps in for the possibility of late inning switches when pitchers are brought in. When they were carrying 14 pitchers that cut down even farther on substitutions so they want to be prepared for anything.

        I’d still like to see Kaybear get some reps at first base just to give him some more possibilities of playing time, although the DH next year should help greatly with that.

  9. Surely Ruiz is up for his bat off the bench or am I missing something?

    Probably the latter tbf.

  10. Clayton getting hit hard today. Dodgers are really, really in a tail spin. Thank good it is only May.

    Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!

  11. I hate these seven inning double headers. As much money as these guys make they can’t even play a couple nine-inning games on the same day? Give me a break.

  12. No hustle or energy at all today, very disappointing again. At this rate be lucky to be a .500 team.

  13. Muncy has to sit down. He is 2 for his last 41 and should not be batting 4th when he does play. Beaty should be playing first while he’s hot.

    1. Sit him for his own good right now. Doc has got to do this. Totally agree Beaty should be in there. It’d be the best thing for Muncy to sit a while.

    2. Absolutely agree with sitting Muncy down and Rios should be sent down. If Muncy is in the lineup he should be batting 8th because he does have a great OBP.

      1. It seems to me that Muncy is waiting for his “perfect” pitch and when he does get it, he fouls it off. Just my opinion.

      2. he has a GREAT obp, but he cannot hit for anything. his obp is all a result of walks. leads the majors in that by far. his obp was 5th in the league lately. all pretty much from walks & hbp. i would put him 2nd & seager at cleanup right now.

  14. Here’s some excellent news – MRI showed no structural damage for Graterol. No telling how long he’ll be out but I’m assuming it means no TJ.

    1. Thanks to the almighty Dodger in the sky. First good news in a while

  15. I am not a Barnes fan. He has a poor arm. Smith and Ruiz is a better combination. Muncy has been and is horrible. You cannot continue to put him in clean up position. Move him to the 8th position.

    Someone needs to light a fire under these guys. Can Doc do it? They do not run hard to first every time. That can be catching and then other problems come up. Beaty needs to play more.

  16. Game 2:

    1. Betts RF
    2. Seager SS
    3. Taylor CF
    4. Smith C
    5. Muncy 1B
    6. Pollock LF
    7. Rios 3B
    8. Lux 2B

    1. Excellent game planning by Doc, saving our two best hitters (Beaty and Kaybear) for use as pinch hitters late in the game rather than wearing them out by forcing them to have 4 at bats.

      1. Yes the last thing we want now is to have a hot hitter play consecutive games.

        1. Not enough data yet in order to justify a spot in the lineup?

  17. Just remember, it doesn’t matter about the quality of pitching that your team happens to score a bunch of runs against. The key is that the team scores a bunch of runs and gets out of their slump then that parlays into an explosive offense from that time forward. Now using that crazy theory, let me check on the first game following that offensive explosion on Sunday. Hmmm, I checking, I’m looking, or here it is, let me see the newly found team of crazy offense scored one run. Hmmm, I guess that is a very questionable theory on which to base your beliefs on, hey Timmons I hope you didn’t put a lot of money down on the Dodgers in that first stinkfest this afternoon at Wrigley. I refrained from commenting on the offensive vs. any pitcher theory but that is just plain crazy talk. Back to the drawing board on what it is going to take to get this offense healthy. I’m glad the MT encourages conversation in here and doesn’t mind when others disagree with him (let’s see if that holds up now).

    BTW, I guess Badger packed his bag and headed to the hills (don’t worry this will bring him out of the woods. I know he is reading this blog multiple times a day, seeing if he is missed. If this were a stage play, the script would say “Badger enters stage left” or extreme left in his case, lol) Queue the Badger.

    1. Well, if you want to be juvenile or moronic, you are free to do so.

      Keep it up – it shows your lack of intellect very clearly!

      Let’s see how it ends up, smart guy (you think, we know otherwise).

      You are little internet troll! Aren’t you soooo proud?

  18. Well they did seem to wake up a little bit late in the game. Let’s see if they can carry it over. Let’s stay positive. Go Dodgers. I hate The Cubs.

  19. On the pregame show, they are questioning not playing Beaty as well.

  20. If the Pads and D’backs win tonight and we lose the second game, we will be in 4th place.

      1. Done ‘n dusted, mate! Damn it I just remembered this is a seven inning game.

  21. It’s over! Bauer gives up his homer early!! Turn out the lights! Somebody said facing kershaw and Bauer would have them shaking but that is nothing when u throw Hendricks and Thompson ( whoever that is)

  22. I do not see how this offense can get better, Muncy done, Rios done, Betts hurt, Seager either hurt or contract in his head, smith average, Taylor average, turner above average, pollack average, lux below average. Power limited, starting pitching great, pen below average, manager below average,

    .500 team

  23. And our 8th inning guy treinen has to have the worst whip in the history of baseball, does he ever have a clean inning??

    1. Were you watching the game Adam.? Two hits that together didn’t travel 200 feet plus an error on a double play ball by Rios and then Treinen gets out of it by striking out their two best hitters.

      Treinen is not the problem here.

  24. Bench Muncy bench Muncy bench Muncy. Oh ….maybe not. Props to Roberts! Well good on Muncy. hopefully can break out of that horrendous slump.

  25. This team will go to any lengths to lose a ballgame! Please AF. Put Rios out of his misery-and ours!

  26. Slipping into darkness, quoting Timmons just wait until next year, World Series hangover alive and well!!

  27. You just can’t put lipstick on this pig. Kershaw did the unthinkable and laid an egg in game 1 – no offensive help.

    No offense in game 2 either, but the bullpen blew another one.

    Who here thought that the Dodgers would be swept by the sub .500 Cubs in a DH where Kershaw and Bauer were starting?

    1. Yeah really disheartening. Certainly doesn’t bode well for the near future. The damage done to the team’s confidence it’s going to leave a mark.

  28. One thing is becoming evident, I need to stop wasting three hours a day watching this team.
    Currently it ain’t good.

  29. Way way tooo early to panic. They are in second place and despite losing all these games they are only 1.5 games back of the Giants. They still are not at full strength. If they are still stumbling come July, then you can worry

  30. Nothing about the Dodgers right now leaves me with a good taste in my mouth. But Bear is right, it’s “Way way tooo early to panic”. If this is still happening come July, then it will be time to worry. If anything, the current debacle will open the Dodgers eyes that they can’t take anything for granted. And none of this is being lost on AF.

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