Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell and my doctor told me to walk a mile every day. Now I’m 30 miles from home and don’t know what to do.
Time to hear from a different voice about the Dodgers, and colleague and columnist Mirjam Swanson was kind enough to answer a few questions about the team.
Q. We are almost a third of the way through the season. How would you assess the Dodgers so far?
Swanson: Exactly where I thought they’d be! And where they thought they’d be, too, I imagine.
Even without overexerting themselves (or Shohei Ohtani), forever keeping the main thing, the main thing, they’re one of baseball’s best teams.
As I write this, at 31-19, they have the third-best winning percentage in baseball and, even more tellingly, they have the second-best run differential: plus-98. Only the Atlanta Braves’ plus-104 is better.
They’re cruising along, weathering the expected injuries, deep enough to not have to rush anyone back, hopeful that all their most important pieces will be primed for postseason play.
In other words: Another year in the life of the Dodgers.
Q. The Dodgers are still the favorites to win the World Series. Which NL team would you say has the best chance to unseat them in the postseason, and which AL team would you say is best right now?
Swanson: Whomever the Dodgers face in the NLDS.
Because that club — be it the Padres, Cubs, Cardinals, Phillies or whoever — will have to beat the Dodgers only three times. There’s much more variance in a best-of-five series than in a traditional seven-game set.
But beating this team four times? Good luck.
As far as the American League? Does it matter? The AL is to MLB what the Eastern Conference is to the NBA: Meh.
The Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees are the only teams that have consistently played good ball all season. The Cleveland Guardians have gotten hot, so now they’re in the same proverbial ballpark standings-wise, at 30-22.
But after that: The A’s and the Chicago White Sox, who are barely .500, won’t intimidate anyone come playoff time.
And those are the only five teams in the AL that are above .500. Woof.
Q. I get emails from readers who say the Padres are now the Dodgers’ biggest rival, not the Giants? Your thoughts?
Swanson: When I was schooling at the University of Oregon, fans there thought of UCLA as our rival (the football teams were both good or getting good at the time).
I’m pretty certain UCLA didn’t think much about Oregon. Because obviously … USC.
That’s kind of how it seems with the Padres-Dodgers situation.
The Padres and their people really might have it in for the Dodgers.
But the Dodgers have an already established historical rival that overshadows any tug-of-war of the moment. They have the Giants.
I posed this question to a Dodger fan in my life to see what he’d say, reminding him that the Giants have stunk lately.
His response: “Good.”
Q. At some point, the window will close on this team and they won’t make the postseason. I don’t think the window closes this season, but do you think that time is coming soon?
Swanson: What’s soon? Five seasons? Four? I think as long as this ownership group is involved and this front office is calling the shots, they can play the game — on the field and off, salary cap or no. The Dodgers are going to be able to keep that window propped open.
They spend big, but they also build smartly, so they’ve got prospects lined up, just waiting for a crack at the regular big league opportunity. (See: Dalton Rushing, River Ryan, Hyeseong Kim, who would be regulars by now on almost any other team.)
Especially with a dozen teams getting in every season, I’d be shocked if they didn’t put some distance on the Braves’ 14-consecutive-playoff-appearance record, which the Dodgers should tie this season.
But, no, I suppose they won’t go on winning at this clip for the next 50 years.
What about that bullpen!
The Dodger bullpen has pitched 38 consecutive scoreless innings. breaking the team mark of 33 set by the 1998 bullpen.
Dave Roberts: “They’re on a heater. It’s one of those things where when it doesn’t go well, they get the blame. And when it does go well, they don’t get a lot of credit. But they are getting the credit now, and it’s earned. Really happy for those guys. We spread those innings pretty well with a lot of different arms.”
The last time the bullpen gave up a run was in the seventh inning of a loss to the Giants on May 12. Blake Treinen gave up a run that inning. The Dodgers were 24-18 after that game. Since then:
Dodgers record: 9-2
Charlie Barnes, 2 IP, 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 K
Jack Dreyer, 2 IP, 1 hit, 1 walk, 4 K’s
Paul Gervase, 2 IP, 1 hit, 1 walk
Edgardo Henriquez, 1-0, 5 1/3 IP, 1 hit, 1 walk, 6 K’s
Jonathan Hernández, 2 IP, 1 K
Kyle Hurt, 5 IP, 4 hits, 3 walks, 4 K’s
Will Klein, 1 save, 3 IP, 4 K’s
Chayce McDermott, 1 IP, 1 hit, 1 K
Wyatt Mills, 2 IP, 3 walks, 2 K
Tanner Scott, 1-0, 1 save, 5 1/3 IP, 2 hits, 1 walk, 10 K’s
Blake Treinen, 3 2/3 IP, 1 hit, 2 walks, 3 K’s
Alex Vesia, 4 2/3 IP, 1 hit, 2 walks, 8 K’s
Total, 38 IP, 13 hits, 15 walks, 44 K’s
And that doesn’t include the two scoreless innings Klein threw as an opener the day Blake Snell was put on the IL.
Catcher Dalton Rushing: “They’re pretty relentless. “Everyone wants the ball, regardless of who you are, regardless of the situation. They want to go out there, they want to succeed, they want to show out of the team. I don’t think it’s really in their head, what they’re doing right now — I don’t think they’re aware of it. But that’s the good thing about it. They just go out there, throw the ball and good results come.”
This is the fifth-longest streak in history. The top four (according the baseball-reference.com):
45.2 innings: 1962 Detroit Tigers
44 innings: 1966 Kansas City Athletics
41 innings: 2016 Kansas City Royals
38.2 innings: 2017 Cleveland Indians
If you are having trouble remember the 1998 Dodgers bullpen, which had the previous team record, the main arms were: Jeff Shaw, Antonio Osuna, Scott Radinsky, Mark Guthrie and Jim Bruske.
And you know no one in the current bullpen wants to be the one to break the streak.
Best bullpen ERA in the majors:
Dodgers, 2.87
Boston, 3.00
Texas, 3.01
Seattle, 3.01
Atlanta, 3.08
Worst: Houston (no relation), 5.62
Chris Taylor retires
Former Dodger Chris Taylor broke his left forearm while playing for the Angels’ triple-A Salt Lake team last week. On Friday, his name appeared on the retirement list, prompting “Chris Taylor has retired” stories throughout baseball media. On Saturday, it was removed from the list, prompting, “Chris Taylor has unretired” stories throughout baseball media. On Sunday, he finally, officially, definitely retired, stating on his Instagram page,
“Clearing up any confusion. I’ve officially decided to retire from the game I’ve dedicated my entire life towards. I’m beyond grateful to all of my coaches and teammates, and the organizations who allowed me to live out my childhood dream. I’ll forever cherish the memories along the way and most of all, the friendships that will last a lifetime. Thank you to the loyal fans who have supported me through my success and stuck with me through the struggles. Thank you to my parents and family who have been with me from the very beginning. My baseball journey would have never begun if it weren’t for you guys. Most of all, thank you to my wife Mary who has been my number one. You stepped up for our family and allowed me to see my dream through all the way to the end and then some. I cant wait to start our next chapter in life together with our boys.”
We will have a newsletter dedicated to Taylor in the next week or two. In the meantime, we thank him for all the wonderful moments he provided and wish him the best in retirement.
These names seem familiar
How notable players who were with the Dodgers the last couple of seasons are doing with their new teams. Click on the player’s name to be taken to their full stats page:
Anthony Banda, Twins: 1-0, 5.96 ERA, 22.2 IP, 19 hits, 8 walks, 19 K’s, 72 ERA+
Austin Barnes, out of baseball (released by Mets in spring training)
Cody Bellinger, Yankees: .274/.381/.473, 223 PA’s, 13 doubles, 3 triples, 6 homers, 32 RBIs, 144 OPS+
Walker Buehler, Padres: 3-2, 5.05 ERA, 46.1 IP, 47 hits, 18 walks, 41 K’s, 80 ERA+
Mike Busch, Cubs: .230/.360/.380, 238 PA’s, 11 doubles, 1 triple, 5 homers, 29 RBIs, 118 OPS+
Michael Conforto, Cubs: .284/.388/.537, 80 PA’s, 8 doubles, 3 homers, 11 RBIs, 168 OPS+
Justin Dean, Cubs: in the minors
Caleb Ferguson, Reds: just off the IL, hasn’t pitched yet
Jack Flaherty, Tigers: 0-6, 5.94 ERA, 47 IP, 49 hits, 29 walks, 55 K’s, 70 ERA+
Tony Gonsolin: out of baseball
Kenley Jansen, Tigers: 1-3, 5.02 ERA, 7 saves, 14.1 IP, 9 hits, 5 walks, 19 K’s, 84 ERA+
Craig Kimbrel, Mets: designated for assignment
Michael Kopech: out of baseball
Gavin Lux, Rays: on the IL
Dustin May, Cardinals: 3-5, 5.00 ERA, 54 IP, 60 hits, 17 walks, 42 K’s, 77 ERA+
Zach McKinstry, Tigers: .177/.240/.240, 104 PA’s, 3 doubles, 1 homer, 7 RBIs, 36 OPS+
James Outman, Twins: .179/.258/.286, 62 PA’s, 4 doubles, 1 triple, 3 RBIs, 53 OPS+
Luke Raley, Mariners: .265/.326/.545, 140 PA’s, 5 doubles, 1 triple, 10 homers, 27 RBIs, 151 OPS+
Ben Rortvedt, Mets: in the minors
Corey Seager, Rangers: .179/.286/.353, 182 PA’s, 6 doubles, 7 homers, 20 RBIs, 91 OPS+, on the IL
Chris Taylor: retired
Justin Turner, Tijuana (Mexican League): .298/.412/.536, 81 PA’s, 8 doubles, 4 homers, 17 RBIs
Trea Turner, Phillies: .225/.281/.338, 231 PA’s, 9 doubles, 5 homers, 16 RBIs, 72 OPS+
Miguel Vargas, White Sox: .244/.376/.500, 221 PA’s, 8 doubles, 1 triple, 12 homers, 31 RBIs, 146 OPS+
Alex Verdugo: Out of baseball, had season-ending shoulder surgery
Kirby Yates, Angels: 0-0, 4.26 ERA, 6.1 IP, 4 hits, 3 walks, 9 K’s, 102 ERA+
Up next
Monday: Colorado (*Kyle Freeland, 1-5, 7.04 ERA) at Dodgers (Emmet Sheehan, 3-1, 4.93 ERA), 6:10 p.m., Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Tuesday: Colorado (TBA) at Dodgers (*Eric Lauer, 1-5, 6.69 ERA, first start with Dodgers), 7:10 p.m., Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Wednesday: Colorado (Tomoyuki Sugano, 4-3, 3.86 ERA) at Dodgers (Shohei Ohtani, 4-2, 0.73 ERA), 7:10 p.m., Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
All times Pacific
*-left-handed
In case you missed it
How Eric Lauer is trying to return to a better version of himself with the Dodgers
Shaikin: Do the Dodgers need a “Will he hit?” drama every time Shohei Ohtani pitches?
And finally
Chris Taylor makes an incredible catch against the Brewers in Game 7 of the 2018 NLCS. Watch and listen here.
Until next time…
Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.