DODGERS 2017 NEWS/RUMORS/AROUND MLB Thread

howard cole so fwiw...

Can Dodgers Stand Pat At The Trade Deadline?
by Howard Cole | Forbes — 12 hours ago

Can the 2017 Dodgers go where no Dodger team has gone before -- or for 29 long years, anyway -- without an upgrade? To the World Series, while standing pat at the trade deadline?

That we can even entertain the question is a significant development. Because it means that the Dodgers are that good. And they are that good.

L.A. is 33-21 and on pace for 99 wins at the one-third mark of the season. They just won seven straight and eight of 11 without their leading hitter, Justin Turner, before losing to the Cardinals last night. They've won with injuries all over the diamond. They lead baseball in team pitching and are fourth in hitting. The bullpen is ridiculously good. The bench looks better than the 1988 version, affectionately known as The Stuntmen.

They're as good as the Nationals. They're better than the Cubs. And they're laughably better than San Francisco. If the playoffs started today, and with Turner, this is a World Series team we're talking about here.

But a quick check at the calendar tells me otherwise, and the object of the game is to win in October, not June. For the Dodgers to succeed down the stretch and into the postseason with the current group intact, a bunch of things would have to occur. Most or all of this list, it seems to me:

1. Five or more healthy and effective starting pitchers. The Dodgers are not going to trade for an "elite" starter if Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill, Alex Wood and Julio Urias and at least one of Brandon McCarthy, Kenta Maeda and Hyun-Jin Ryu are doing their jobs. Hill was acquired last summer to be that second elite SP. Wood looks like one now, his latest injury notwithstanding. Urias very well could be.

If anything, L.A. may consider trading from strength, and deal a starter for prospects. Don't laugh, but Scott Kazmir is said to be regaining velocity of late, and could be shipped elsewhere if he returns able. A surplus is nice, but six should suffice come late July. You don't need eight.

2. The best bullpen in baseball. Can you improve on the being the best? Sure, in theory, but not at the price required. The bullpen is firing on all cylinders now, with former slackers Chris Hatcher and Sergio Romo contributing and guys like Brandon Morrow and Adam Liberatore (when healthy - see below) creating a surplus.

3. Satisfaction with the left-handed relief pitchers. With Liberatore hitting the disabled list again this morning and the just-recalled Grant Dayton a completely different pitcher than he was last year, the Dodgers are going to have to be satisfied that one of the two can be counted on for the duration, or go with Luis Avilan as the lone southpaw in the pen.

4. Two good-hitting outfielders. Los Angeles can afford to carry one no-hit great-glove outfielder, but not two. Either Joc Pederson or Yasiel Puig have got to hit. Pederson has shown next to nothing in 2017 and Puig has run hot and cold, but with some power in evidence. One of those guys must hit with some measure of consistency. And this presumes a productive Cody Bellinger throughout.

5. A thriving bench. All things being equal, you don't mess with this group: Austin Barnes, Franklin Gutierrez, Kiké Hernandez, Chase Utley, Chris Taylor.

6. No new long-term injuries. Who the hell knows, right? If Corey Seager were to do down with a serious injury, you'd have to replace him. The same goes for Yasmani Grandal or Justin Turner, and obviously Kershaw. But not for a two or three week kind of thing, ala Turner now. Dodgers depth, remember.

Conclusion: While you can't count on all of the above occurring, I don't think I've asked for anything completely unreasonable (well, except perhaps for #3). If all of these things were to come to fruition, then yes, the Dodgers can stand pat at the non-waiver trade deadline, July 31.

It's the front office's job to predict the future as best they can and act accordingly. And they will. Los Angeles needs outfield productivity. If neither Joc nor Puig hit with authority, Andrew Friedman is going to have to make a move (Lorenzo Cain, anyone?). If Bellinger falters, even more so.

If some unfortunate combination of Hill, Wood, McCarthy, Maeda and Ryu hit the disabled list and cannot be relied upon in a pennant race, standing pat simply will not do. Ditto the lefty reliever. Not if you want a pennant flying above the center field flagpole next April. At least.

If Kersh gets hurt, well, I'm not even going to finish the sentence.

You've heard some version of this baseball cliche before: Every team is going to win 50 games and lose 50 games; it's what you do in the other 62 that counts. Orel Hershiser said it differently last night, suggesting that you're going to win 60 and lose 60; it's about the other 42 that counts. The 1962 Mets, among others, would beg to differ.

We're a third of the way through the championship season, and your Los Angeles Dodgers look the part. We'll see what happens in the next 54 games, and the 54 after that.

And in October. Colorado and Arizona don't scare me. I'm that confident about this team, whether they stand pat or not.

And remember, glove conquers all.

 

and now... one on the dl, the other slumping
player/rookie of the month curse #fml

 

this shit is getting fucken annoying
so he called motte a fag, big fucken deal
and now homos are offended?
what's more offensive, being called a cocksucker or actually being a cocksucker?
and it's not just homos, trannys, bi's... everyone is too fucken sensitive
and by donating money all you're doing is justifying their outrage
although i'd get anyone being upset at being compared to motte
fkags

Kevin Pillar donates to LGBTQ groups after suspension for anti-gay slur
by Mike Oz | Big League Stew — 2 hours ago

Kevin Pillar is out of firestorm these days. Sports controversies come and go, that’s the nature of these things.

Just a couple weeks ago, though, he was the controversy of the week. Pillar yelled an anti-gay slur at Atlanta Braves reliever Jason Motte. Baseball fans noticed. He got a ton of flak on social media. His team, the Toronto Blue Jays, apologized and suspended Pillar for two games.

When Pillar apologized the next day, he said, “This is not who I am and will use this as an opportunity to better myself.” A few weeks later, we can’t say for sure whether Pillar has better himself, but he has taken at least one step in the right direction.

Pillar announced that he’s donating the salary he forfeited during his suspension to two LGBTQ charities: PFLAG and You Can Play’s Toronto branch.

Said Pillar: “It’s not lip service. It’s easy to come out and make your apologies and hope people forget but I meant what I said when I said hopefully I’ll be made an example of.”

Here’s more from Shi Davidi of SportsNet:

"PFLAG is an advocacy and support group for the LGBTQ community, and will also conduct sensitivity training sessions for Pillar. You Can Play seeks to make sports safe and open for athletes regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and their work really appealed to Pillar.

“I’ve seen the impact of a similar organization in Challenger Baseball for people with disabilities and the impact baseball can have on them,” said Pillar. “Hopefully my contributions will help this organization with kids in all walks of life (so they can) feel like they’re included to play.”​

Pillar is making $555,000 this year from the Blue Jays, which comes out to about $3,426 per game.

 

way to crap on your teammates
like they're holding you back
i mean, it's not like your team leading 11 hrs given up have contributed at all
what a douchebag
can't stand the giants [obviously] and i despise bumgarner
but that big hick needs to bitchslap this punk

 

i think chemistry is a good thing and it helps
but it's often overrated, if not, misunderstood
good chemistry will [only] help a good team
but it can only help a bad team/bad players so much
the best example i've ever seen was the 88 dodgers
that team had no business beating the mets and a's, and gibson literally willed them to victory
conversely, the 77 and 78 yankees were known to despise one another, and yet they beat us two years in a row

 

Charlie O. Finley likes this.

 

matt holliday with 12 hr for the yankees







@DodgerLove is jerking off to this.

 

@DodgerLove is no longer jerking off, and is now planning your murder.