GAME THREAD

Discussion in 'Los Angeles DODGERS' started by MZA, Feb 23, 2019.

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  1. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    lol, Bellinger watches two letter high fastballs that he swings through a year ago and this fucking jabroni calls them both strikes. That’s a bullshit K.
     
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  2. LAdiablo

    LAdiablo descarado

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    one of the many reasons the cubs are hamstrung for the near future
     
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  3. LAdiablo

    LAdiablo descarado

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    last one was belt high but yeah
    any chance either May or Allie break w the team?
    i think we can use their hair
     
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  4. 1988Blues

    1988Blues DSP Legend

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    Is it me or maybe times are changing but that long hair really doesn’t fit or go with Allie or May. Some dudes it fits them right others it looks stupid.

    In this case I say cut it off it doesn’t look right on you
     
  5. LAdiablo

    LAdiablo descarado

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    i love it when young guys grow crazy hair
    kind of a fuck off i can do anything i want statement
    sure it looks silly but if you're going to do it nows the time
     
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  6. Bluezoo

    Bluezoo Among the Pantheon

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    Considering Brian Wilson, May looks like a dapper Fred Astaire...
     
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  7. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    Pitch seemed out of the zone by a good bit, but whatever, it's spring. Allie has a real shot to make the team, especially if Cingrani gets 60-Day'd, but do not expect him to be some bullpen hero. He struggles to locate a good bit and while his velo is great, the fact that many times it is right down the middle, is not great. They may want to see him in AAA a bit before making the call. No chance May makes the team, imo. He still has some work to do and while he has been incredibly impressive, there are a number of guys that they will give a shot to before him....plus, they will want the extra year of control.
     
  8. 1988Blues

    1988Blues DSP Legend

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  9. Bluezoo

    Bluezoo Among the Pantheon

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    Is Pollock related to Logan Forsythe?
     
  10. THINKBLUE

    THINKBLUE DSP Gigolo

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    I never noticed how shit Pollcok's swing looks.

    Another Kenley mess. But it's only ST...that cutter will be on point in a couple days. Dave talking about how he is fine...we're in October form already. :rolleyes:
     
    Last edited: Mar 24, 2019
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  11. 1988Blues

    1988Blues DSP Legend

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  12. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    Well... spring training is coming to an end. Most of the first few weeks were filled with some poor pitching performances, but at least they were from guys with no shot of making the roster. A couple of pitching prospects leapt onto the scene, while the same could not be said for the hitting prospects. I tried watching as much as I could, but work has been incredibly busy to start the year so this is just some of what I saw.

    The Good:
    • Justin Turner... my oh my has he been impressive. Stay healthy my friend.
    • AJ Pollock ended up having a very solid spring after a very slow start (1 for first 17 I think). If he can stay healthy, his impact could be tremendous when paired with the return of....
    • Corey Seager does not appear to have lost a step after his long absence. That non-dairy diet really has made him look like he has lost a bunch of weight.... almost too much.
    • Enrique Hernandez looks to be building on last years second half success. Now taking the mantle as Dodgers full time 2B and a few baseball folks are expecting him to have a huge breakout season potentially.
    • Austin Barnes is a night and day difference from last year. He looked just sooo fucking lost in 2018, but he is looking more like the 2017 Barnes now that he is both healthy and has spent the offseason with the hitting coaches.
    • Prospects Jeren Kendall, Jeter Downs and Omar Estevez sure looked like they belonged in their brief appearances with the big club. Kendall still looked like a work in progress with his mechanics, but hey, I'll take any sort of a step forward at this point. As for Downs and Estevez, both continue to exceed expectations and there were a lot of folks that have come away from AZ talking about how impressive they looked.
    • Dustin May was one of a few talks of camp as his high spin rate fastball lit up radar guns and his breaking pitches befuddled batters. He needs to tighten a few things up at AAA in the coming weeks or months, but it looks like the club has another big time pitching prospect that could make a major impact in 2019.
    • Speaking of prospects that turned a lot of heads, Tony Gonsolin was right behind Dustin May in the "oh my..." department. His high 90's fastball paired with a BRUTAL 70+ grade splitter has a lot of people talking about a guy who could make a HUGe bullpen impact down the stretch for this club. Unless some of his other pitches take a step forward, Gonsolin may be best served as the in house replacement for Kenley Jansen.
    • Julio Urias came back stronger than ever this spring and found his way into the Dodgers rotation to start the season. We will see where this goes, but the former top pitching prospect in baseball is still looking like a potential front line starter since returning from shoulder surgery.
    The OK, let's see where this is going:
    • Max Muncy had a HORRENDOUS start to spring that had a lot of people nervous of an adjustment year that was then paired with a recent wrist injury. After missing a few days, Muncy has come back looking much better by putting together his first two multi hit games of the spring and some cleaner swings at the plate. Hopefully this is is him coming out of it.
    • Yimi Garcia had a strong spring, but I am putting him here for now since he has fooled me a couple of times before. He was once regarded as a future back end reliever, but has never fully regained his stuff since his injury.
    • Speaking of strong springs, but under the watchful eye is Scott Alexander. After an incredibly disappointing 2018, Dodgers fans never got a glimpse of just how good this guy had been. Alexander ended up having a VERY impressive ST, but did allow a long ball, something that plagued him last year. I'd like to see him be the guy he used to be as he used to be a legit 8th inning reliever.
    • Joc Pederson had a miserable spring. Outside of a few day stretch in mid March, he sure did not do a whole of inspiring. The good news is that crappy springs are not irregular for Joc and he has shown in the past it is not something to get worked up over.... yet....
    • Cody Bellinger didn't have a super sparkly spring, but I have liked the way he has looked with the new stance and swing. It may take some time for everything to click, but the early appearances are that he should be better for this change.
    The Bad:
    • Bah, Alex Verdugo sure did not do a whole lot to make the team's decision hard on who too and not to start in LF. Verdugo did not hit for a ton of power and struck out a tad more often than he has shown in the past. One thing to note is that outside of one season, Verdugo has been a pretty slow starter. Not playing everyday is going to be new test here and trying to stay in sync could be tough for the high contact hitter. I would not be shocked if he sees AAA again this year.
    • Kenley Jansen does not look good and there's likely a growing sense of worry within the Dodgers FO and clubhouse of just what this guy has left and what they may need to do if his struggles persist. Lots of hard contact this spring and 91-92 with the velo are not great. Generally that velo was his sweet spot for cut, but he just does not look the same anymore. I said this a few days ago that he is likely the reason the club would not sign a guy like Kimbrel if he insists on a long term deal, but if his demands come down, I wonder if the Dodgers pounce.
    • Dennis Santana has been getting knocked around a lot this spring. There was some hope that he could force his way into the rotation equation if he could bounce back from his injury. It sounds like he could start the year in the AAA rotation, but with the emergences of May, Gonsolin and Urias, it may give the Dodgers room to eventually move Santana to a BP role where his +/++ sinker and + slider combo could potentially put him in a position to dominate. The other thing about most pitchers in ST is to take guys with bad numbers with a GIANT grain of salt. People tend to ignore that a pitcher may be working on certain weaknesses in a game to a point that the other team is fully aware what the gameplan is, so they may be sitting on certain pitches. Santana is a good example of this as I am sure his changeup was a focal point for his workouts.
    • None of the Dodgers top hitting prospects did much if anything. Ruiz, Smith, Rios, Verdugo, Lux and Peters all struggled. This is not a huge deal since a few were notably working on some things with their swing and others were facing more elite pitching than they had ever seen. Aside from Rios and Verdugo, none of the other Dodgers prospects mentioned have seen pitching above AA or in Smith's case, had success at the AAA level. Rios was a big disappointment at the plate for me, but his glove looked WAY better than advertised. Hope he can figure his shit out. Peters notably revamped his swing in the offseason and turned a lot of heads behind the scenes, so I am looking forward to the season ahead for him.
    • Chris Taylor looks bad.... really bad. He really may be becoming a good day/ bad day guy. With the fact that he said that his swing hasn't felt totally right since 2017, that causes some worry for me. Also worried the coaching staff enough to move him to a full time bench role. Maybe not playing everyday will allow him to ambush some guys instead of having some glaring weaknesses periodically attacked.
     
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  13. THINKBLUE

    THINKBLUE DSP Gigolo

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    Great info
    Looks like it's what was expected
    • Seager and Turner are still the only offensive players we can count on
    • Cody is still a question mark who will be relied on to hit in the middle of the order
    • Muncy is a question mark
    • Joc is still an overweight mess who will probably hit righties and look like a fool
    • Kenley's career is still over
    • Kershaw and Hill are injured
    If Max and Cody produce, it's a good offense. If not...scary stuff.
     
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  14. Fall Winslow

    Fall Winslow McRib

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    Verdugo/Lux/Peters/Rios = 1/2/3/4 in OKC
     
  15. Bluezoo

    Bluezoo Among the Pantheon

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    If the new version of 2019 magic is supposed to be Pollock, then I'm from Missouri.
    Trade Verdugo asap.
    Depth.
    Not a believer in this kid at all.
     
  16. irish

    irish DSP Staff Member Administrator

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    was really hoping reuniting with his former hitting coach would turn shit around
    but he's been a colossal disappointment
    to the point where i was wondering if he might be sent down or even cut
     
  17. THINKBLUE

    THINKBLUE DSP Gigolo

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    Taylor had similar rate stats in 2017 and 2018, but the totality of his strikeouts and the plummeting of his batting average made that uppercut mess of a swing disgusting to watch.
    In 2017, when you get career years out of every single damn player like that, you have to capitalize.
     
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  18. irish

    irish DSP Staff Member Administrator

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    conversely, barnes looks like he's figured shit out
    but yeah, 2017 was a huge opportunity wasted
     
  19. 1988Blues

    1988Blues DSP Legend

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  20. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    God damn does Urias look confident out there.
     
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