I guess you can say I'm completely jaded now. Every year, we're boat-racing the opposition only to fall short to some team was was putzing their way through the regular season only to get hot at the right time.
At the moment, I'm not going to stress about anything in the regular season as far as wins and losses as I feel this team is still talented enough to make the playoffs.
Of course, I'm sure that'll change and I'll be pissing and moaning the second that first losing streak hits
I'll agree with you on the playoffs. But the regular season is a different animal. We always find a way. 3 examples are:
1) that one yr when Kershaw was cruising to the Cy Young, hurt his back and missed like 50 games. Somehow, we were still able to win the division with a rag tag rotation.
2) 2 yrs ago when we only had 3 healthy starters (Buehler, Urias, and Scherzer) to finish the season. We went with 2 BP games every 5 starts and still somehow kept up with SF and won 106 games.
3) 2018 - we lost Seager for the year and started pretty badly. Something like 20-33 or something. And then we turned it around and made the WS that year.
All I know is that, we find a way to get the job done (in the reg season). Every single year. So, I don't know how we'll do it, but I feel we have a good chance to win the division this year.
- Looks like they meant 1st in the NL for the last 5 years.
- Man, looking back at our offense, it's amazing to see what Friedman has done with it. We were consistently bad. Friedman came in 2015 and slowly built the offense into a top 5 offense for the last 5 years. Amazing.
- Hopefully, we can stay a top 5 offense this year.
- Looks like they meant 1st in the NL for the last 5 years.
Makes sense to see mostly all AL teams atop the category for so many years when they've always had a DH to work with. Quite impressive the Dodgers could crack the top-5 in the MLB during those years prior to the universal DH!
Interesting that the Padres supposedly emptied their farm last year for Soto, and they still have a prospect (Merrill) almost valued as highly as Cartaya. He was barely drafted in 2021. The no. 27th pick, 2 spots above our pick.
We drafted Maddux Bruns. He's worth 3.4 now. Merrill is worth 51.1. Cartaya is worth 54.5. Wow.
Yeah, the Padres' scouting department is quite impressive.
Let's see the trade values of the prospects the Nationals got for Soto:
Quote:
1) James Wood: 67.8
2) CJ Abrams: 36.9
3) Robert Hassell III: 25.9
4) MacKenzie Gore: 21.4
5) Jarlin Susana: 4.6
Total: 156.6
Let's see how much Ruiz and Gray are worth now:
Quote:
1) Ruiz: 55.4
2) Gray: 10.5
Total: 65.9
Wow, Ruiz is worth as much as Will Smith (55) and Cartaya (54.5)
The Athletics have traded outfielder Cristian Pache to the Phillies in exchange for minor league right-hander Billy Sullivan,
Once one of the sport’s top-ranked overall prospects, the now 24-year-old Pache is an elite defender whose bat has yet to develop at the game’s top levels. He’s also out of minor league options and has been leapfrogged on Oakland’s depth chart by offseason trade acquisition Esteury Ruiz, which led manager Mark Kotsay to announce earlier in the week that Pache wouldn’t make the roster and that the front office was exploring potential trades.
They’ve found a match to their liking in Philadelphia, who’ll presumably use Pache as a reserve outfielder and perhaps a righty-swinging complement to left-handed-hitting center fielder Brandon Marsh. Pache is a particularly logical fit for the Phils, given that he can provide a late-game defensive upgrade over either Kyle Schwarber or Nick Castellanos (either by playing a corner himself or by stepping into center and pushing Marsh to a corner).
Pache has always been rated as an excellent defender going back to his early prospect days with Atlanta and that’s held true during his time in the majors as well. He’s already earned +9 Outs Above Average and +4 Defensive Runs Saved in 824 2/3 innings, though Ultimate Zone Rating does have him slightly below average. The major issue has been on offense, where he has struggled mightily. In 332 career plate appearances thus far, he’s hit just .156/.205/.234 for a wRC+ of 26, indicating he’s been 74% worse than the league average hitter. If the Phillies do plan on platooning him with Marsh, that might be the best use of abilities. He’s produced a passable .214/.267/.337 line against lefties for a wRC+ of 73, compared to a dismal .129/.176/.186 showing against righties, wRC+ of 4. These are fairly small sample sizes but there’s perhaps some glimmer of hope there.
For the A’s, they originally acquired Pache from Atlanta just over a year ago as part of the Matt Olson trade. They still have Shea Langeliers, Ryan Cusick and Joey Estes from that deal, but they surely hoped to get more from Pache in 2022 than they eventually did. He struggled enough that they had to send him to the minors for a few months, exhausting his final option year. When they acquired Ruiz and squeezed Pache out of regular action, they decided to pivot and move on.
I wonder if we'd rather have Pache than Heyward? His bat is really bad, but his defense in CF is elite. And he bats right handed, which is a better fit with Outman being a lefty. But anyways, he got moved to the Phillies.
Putting this trade into the trade simulator valuation machine:
I guess you can say I'm completely jaded now. Every year, we're boat-racing the opposition only to fall short to some team was was putzing their way through the regular season only to get hot at the right time.
At the moment, I'm not going to stress about anything in the regular season as far as wins and losses as I feel this team is still talented enough to make the playoffs.
Of course, I'm sure that'll change and I'll be pissing and moaning the second that first losing streak hits
I'll agree with you on the playoffs. But the regular season is a different animal. We always find a way. 3 examples are:
1) that one yr when Kershaw was cruising to the Cy Young, hurt his back and missed like 50 games. Somehow, we were still able to win the division with a rag tag rotation.
2) 2 yrs ago when we only had 3 healthy starters (Buehler, Urias, and Scherzer) to finish the season. We went with 2 BP games every 5 starts and still somehow kept up with SF and won 106 games.
3) 2018 - we lost Seager for the year and started pretty badly. Something like 20-33 or something. And then we turned it around and made the WS that year.
All I know is that, we find a way to get the job done (in the reg season). Every single year. So, I don't know how we'll do it, but I feel we have a good chance to win the division this year.
But yeah, playoffs are a different animal.
Totally. The Dodgers have completely mastered the 162 so I'm not stressed about the regular season.
Playoffs, we can never seem to figure out.
The ironic thing is the only year we really dominated the playoffs was the year the Astros cheated us out of the title.
I guess you can say I'm completely jaded now. Every year, we're boat-racing the opposition only to fall short to some team was was putzing their way through the regular season only to get hot at the right time.
At the moment, I'm not going to stress about anything in the regular season as far as wins and losses as I feel this team is still talented enough to make the playoffs.
Of course, I'm sure that'll change and I'll be pissing and moaning the second that first losing streak hits
I'll agree with you on the playoffs. But the regular season is a different animal. We always find a way. 3 examples are:
1) that one yr when Kershaw was cruising to the Cy Young, hurt his back and missed like 50 games. Somehow, we were still able to win the division with a rag tag rotation.
2) 2 yrs ago when we only had 3 healthy starters (Buehler, Urias, and Scherzer) to finish the season. We went with 2 BP games every 5 starts and still somehow kept up with SF and won 106 games.
3) 2018 - we lost Seager for the year and started pretty badly. Something like 20-33 or something. And then we turned it around and made the WS that year.
All I know is that, we find a way to get the job done (in the reg season). Every single year. So, I don't know how we'll do it, but I feel we have a good chance to win the division this year.
But yeah, playoffs are a different animal.
Totally. The Dodgers have completely mastered the 162 so I'm not stressed about the regular season.
Playoffs, we can never seem to figure out.
The ironic thing is the only year we really dominated the playoffs was the year the Astros cheated us out of the title.
I always remembered thinking that series was meant to be won by us in 6 games. The Astros it felt were a team that was there a year early while we were the team primed to win that year.
Mets putting Justin Verlander on IL with muscle strain
The New York Mets placed right-hander Justin Verlander on the injured list with a low-grade muscle strain near his pitching shoulder, the team announced on Thursday.
The injury is to Verlander's teres major (a muscle that connects the scapula to the upper arm) and he will continue to throw at "moderate intensity" with a reevaluation scheduled for next week.
The injury popped up following a bullpen session Wednesday after Verlander's velocity fell in his final spring training start. The team did not hint there was any injury until the announcement on Thursday.
.................
Verlander, 40, expressed confidence that the injury was minor, adding that he would pitch through an injury like this during the postseason.
Corbin Burnes had a mediocre outing. Yeah, I wouldn't trade for him. I felt he slowed down last year. He's been declining since his Cy Young year. I don't think he's the same pitcher:
Pepiot to the IL. Michael Grove makes the opening day roster. So, does Pepiot get credit for being on the mlb roster as well and does his service time run?
Quote:
Dodgers' Ryan Pepiot: Heads to IL with oblique strain
Pepiot was placed on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a left oblique strain, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.
Pepiot had been lined up as the fill-in starter with Tony Gonsolin (ankle) sidelined to begin the season, but that assignment will now go to Michael Grove instead. The recovery time for an oblique strain can range from a couple of weeks to multiple months, and there's no word yet from the Dodgers about a Pepiot's recovery timetable.
Pepiot says he was dealing with it in the last start:
Rockies closer Daniel Bard starting on IL due to anxiety
Colorado Rockies closer Daniel Bard will open the season on the injured list because of anxiety.
"From my experience, knowing myself, I think just taking a step back, taking time to work through things, get it right, is the best approach," Bard told reporters Thursday, according to MLB.com.
The 37-year-old Bard was a member of Team USA at the just-completed World Baseball Classic, but control issues in a game against Venezuela included an inside pitch to Jose Altuve that broke the hand of the Houston Astros second baseman.
Bard was a standout reliever for the Boston Red Sox early in his career, posting a 1.93 ERA in 73 outings during his second major league season in 2010. But control issues surfaced, and after two outings in 2013, he stepped away from the game.
"It's a hard thing to admit. But I've been through this before," Bard told reporters Thursday, adding that he's grateful to the Rockies for being understanding and accepting of his situation.
The Rockies gave Bard a look in spring training in 2020, and he made the roster, returning to his standout ways last season when he had a 1.79 ERA in 57 outings and finished 16th in National League MVP voting.
But in the fifth inning for Team USA against Venezuela, Bard gave up a walk and a single, threw a wild pitch, hit Altuve and issued a walk to force in a run. He ended up charged with four runs on one hit and two walks, while not recording an out.
"I can't speak for Daniel because I'm just observing from 3,000 miles away, but I think he might have gotten caught up in the moment," Rockies manager Bud Black said after the outing. "He's pitching for his country in front of a big crowd. He only had three or four outings with us this spring and Daniel's got a lot of moving parts in his delivery. He was just out of whack."
Jake Bird, 27, is taking Bard's spot on the roster. Bird made his major league debut last season, going 2-4 with a 4.91 ERA in 38 relief appearances.
Anthony Volpe was a crucial missed opportunity for Dodgers
The Yankees benefited from a rare Dodgers error.
Heading into the 2019 draft, the Dodgers heavily considered three prospects for their 25th and 31st overall picks — Tulane 3B Kody Hoese, North Carolina 2B Michael Busch and Delbarton (N.J.) School SS Anthony Volpe.
They liked Volpe very much but heard mixed message about his signability.
At one point they heard he’d only sign with the hometown Yankees or the Dodgers, the marquee NL franchise that’s done perhaps the best job drafting and developing in recent years.
Then they heard he was surely going to Vanderbilt.
With the 25th pick, the Dodgers wound up taking Hoese, who has reaching only Double-A Tulsa, where he had a .613 OPS last year.
The Yankees, meantime, used the 30th selection on Volpe, one pick before the Dodgers took Busch, who remains a decent prospect (but not on the level of Volpe), signing him for $2,740,300.
Volpe called signing a “super, super, super tough decision” and told me he had “lots of sleepless nights” about the Yankees versus Vanderbilt decision.
Had it been a team other than the Yankees (or maybe the Dodgers) it would have been easy to go with Vandy.
While Volpe’s parents are Yankees fans, they are both doctors, and Volpe told me he intends to eventually get his degree.
Yankees executive Jim Hendry met with the family and told them that while he expected Volpe would become a high draft choice again after attending Vanderbilt, the chances are that this time it might be another team who picked him ahead of the Yankees.
“I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to play for the Yankees,” Volpe said.
It’s unknown whether Volpe would have signed with the Dodgers. But now that he’s made the Yankees and was tabbed to man arguably the most prestigious position in the game at 21, they surely regret not taking a shot at him.
1) M. Betts (R)
2) F. Freeman (L)
3) W. Smith (R)
4) M. Muncy (L)
5) J.D. Martinez (R)
6) D. Peralta (L)
7) M. Vargas (R)
8) J. Outman (L)
9) M. Rojas (R)
Yeah, I don't think we'll re-sign Urias, nor should we. I think his stuff isn't elite. I think he'll lose velocity soon, and I think he's going to command a ton of money.
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