Official 2018 Los Angeles Dodgers Thread : Game 4

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It happens bro
AJ a + defender and gives the lineup some balance, damn if dude can stay healthy lookin at all the incentives & how his contract is setup could b a good deal

Lets get JT
 
Some insight into the trades/signings and the FO thinking, per Olney

There were moments in recent seasons when Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was asked about Yasiel Puig's daily approach to his work, about his consistency, and Roberts would pause and smile and look down, collecting and perhaps measuring his thoughts.

Whatever he said after that really didn't matter as much as that initial tell.

Puig improved his play after his brief banishment to the minor leagues in 2016, posting an .833 OPS in 152 games in 2017 and .820 in 2018, and there were stretches in which his defensive performance was as good as anyone playing the position. But there continued to be a daily mystery about the manner in which Puig would go about his business -- his timeliness at work, his preparation, how he would take his at-bats. Sometimes he was locked in and disciplined, a lot of times he wasn't.

In the Dodgers' moves this winter, there seems to be an effort to build more consistency. Puig was traded to the Cincinnati Reds, along with Matt Kemp. Yasmani Grandal, who repeatedly struggled in the postseason after regular-season excellence, moved on as a free agent without a concerted effort by the Dodgers to retain him, in the way they kept Kenley Jansenand Justin Turner. Joc Pederson is on the trade market, having hit .228 in his first five seasons in the big leagues.

Meanwhile, they've added A.J. Pollock, an outfielder who has been hurt often during his career but has a pristine reputation for his daily approach and preparation, and has a connection with a new member of the Dodgers' coaching staff. L.A. is talking with the Marlins about a possible trade for catcher J.T. Realmuto, who is regarded as rock-solid in his work.

In the midst of last fall's World Series, one prominent member of the Red Sox organization noted that some of the Dodgers' hitters seemed to struggle with in-game adjustments. Time and again, he said, you could throw the same pitch in the same spot and a few of the Dodgers seemed to be helpless. The greatest challenge for the Boston pitchers, he said, was in executing the game plan, because if they did that, some of the Dodgers' hitters would simply not be able to counter.

Dodgers veterans Turner and David Freesecombined to go 13-for-36 in the World Series. The rest of the L.A. lineup batted .137 in 153 at-bats. Cody Bellinger went 1-for-16, Chris Taylor2-for-14, Manny Machado 4-for-22, Kemp 1-for-9, Austin Barnes 0-for-11, Pederson 1-for-12 with five strikeouts. Grandal, basically benched by that point in the postseason, went 1-for-5 with four strikeouts.

The 2018 World Series is a just a snapshot of the Dodgers' work in recent years, but perhaps helped to define the direction of some of their moves this winter.

Chase Utley played with the Dodgers the past four seasons and became a model in how he bought in to the way the team's roster was constructed. He didn't always start, he didn't always play, in an organization that builds and utilizes depth. But every day, Utley worked to be fully prepared for whatever he was asked to do, whenever he was asked to do it, and this is part of the reason the Dodgers kept bringing him back even as age dragged down his numbers -- and why he'll continue to work within the organization.

Similarly, Pollock has always been very serious about his work, about learning, about adapting. During the 2017 season, the Diamondbacks traded for J.D. Martinez, a serious student of hitting who often took batting practice with his personal coach on mornings before night games. In his first days with the Diamondbacks, Martinez would drive 45 minutes to find a place to hit, but Pollock offered use of the indoor cage at his Phoenix-area home to his new teammate.

And thereafter, Pollock joined in the morning work, and armed with this new information, he got off to a great start for the Diamondbacks in 2018, generating an OPS of 1.034 in his first 36 games -- and then he got hurt.

Martinez's personal hitting coach: Robert Van Scoyoc, who was hired by the Diamondbacks for the 2018 season, and was recently named the Dodgers' hitting coach. He has been in position to inform the Dodgers in their pursuit of Pollock, and to speak to his work ethic and preparation.

During Game 1 of the World Series, the Dodgers' outfielders seemed to be positioned particularly deep in Fenway Park, certainly deeper than what the Red Sox staff was accustomed to seeing in opponents. L.A.'s coaching staff noted this as well and discussed it before Game 2. One of the X factors, however, was Puig, and how he might move on his own. Unlike other Dodgers outfielders, he sometimes would not carry the defensive-positioning card generated by the coaches.

In the fifth inning of Game 2, the Red Sox rallied against Hyun-Jin Ryu and the reliever who took over, Ryan Madson. With the bases loaded and two out, J.D. Martinez punched a line drive to right field -- in front of Puig, who had been playing very deep, again, in Fenway's unusually large right field. Two runs scored, the Red Sox grabbed a 4-2 lead, and took control of the World Series.

Moving forward, the new Dodgers will make their fair share of mistakes; the coaching staff will make mistakes. But as L.A.'s roster turns over into 2019, there probably will be fewer questions about whether one of the players has prepared in a way to put himself in the best possible position.

Yes Puig can be frustrating at times but he matured pretty well the last two seasons post minors and was good at both sides of the field.

The lack of playoff adjustments is on Dave and the coaches I remember yelling many times at my TV about plate discipline and how they were pitching the kids. If they’re not making the necessary adjustments and struggling after being advised, pinch hit or bench them.
 
I think with the success of the HR ball hitters have pretty much been getting to happy with their swings - shorten the **** up, play some small ball and move the damn runner!
 
I think with the success of the HR ball hitters have pretty much been getting to happy with their swings - shorten the **** up, play some small ball and move the damn runner!

661217753.jpg


Exhibit A
 
Can’t wait to have Saegar at full strength again. Having him Could be Like a great free agent signing
 
such a shame how that freese situation was handled based on ****ing #s - he obviously had the hot bat man!

belli :smh: so much talent, take off that damn cuban he started to wear, button up your damn jersey and put the damn ball in play,
 
Fan fest today has me excited for the season. I want to go to one eventually, but sucks to be all the way up in Seattle now.
 
Seriously though, Harper going to the Giants would be the ultimate slap in the face. I love sabrmetrics and finding value too, but no one is going to forget that the Dodgers have A LOT of money and are being cute with it...
 
^^^
Yeah you're right about the hesitance with dealing prospects but I mentioned money because that's the only thing stopping them from signing Harper. Not dealing for Realmuto I understand, because I wouldn't trade Belly, Verdugo, and Ruiz/Smith for him.
 
oh ok, well there must be a reason why manny & bryce havent signed yet ... how many days are we out till spring training?!

dodgers should just throw a 1 year deal at bryce
 
well there must be a reason why manny & bryce havent signed yet

Yeah, collusion by GMs to drive down market value. Dudes are gonna be making late-'80s salaries soon. All stars will be signing 3-year $9 million deals. This NL DH **** is the sop they'll give the MLBPA to keep them quiet about it, too, so these guys can play into their late 30's :nerd:
 
The ask of the Dodgers, ever-cautious themselves, was two from a group of Dustin May, Keibert Ruiz, Gavin Lux, and Will Smith, per Heyman, in the same tweet. Ruiz and Smith, both catchers, likely won’t ever be on the field together at Chavez Ravine, and some outlets ranked neither May nor Lux inside the top 100. Both Heyman and Rosenthal concede that Cody Bellinger was the prize on which Miami initially laid its eyes, but it appears the team quickly swiveled to less-established names in the weeks to follow.

So you're telling me you couldn't give up one of the catching prospects + May or Lux for Realmuto? Crazy.
 
Yeah, they’re out of their minds if all it would’ve took was Ruiz/Smith and Lux/May. Only justifiable thing is if they were hesitant because they’re still considering and prioritizing a trade for Kluber.
 
I doubt it.

They have shown that all they care about is making money and the LA fan base is so loyal to the Dodgers, they will make money.
 
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