I've been seeing so many Dodger Twitter people hoping that Shohei Ohtani would recreate his 2021 homer off of Cease this year and the fact that he did it and it was a three-run home run that tied the game in an NLDS matchup is mind-blowing
The dude just handled the biggest crisis in his career like it was a slight inconvenience and then walked right out onto the field at Dodger Stadium and starts throwing a baseball for the first time since an invasive elbow surgery. He is one of a kind.
If tonight is Kershaw's final regular season start at Dodger Stadium let me say it's been an honor to have this generational talent land on my favorite team. I've been watching him grow from the LHP prospect I met when I was 13 to the 1st ballot Hall of Famer he became.
It'll be fun to see if Ohtani gets his 55th home run, 60th SB, or a Triple Crown tomorrow but it's time Dodgers and their fans prepare for what comes next: A rematch of the 2021 NLCS (lossed to ATL) or the 2022 NLDS (lossed to SD). Either way the Dodgers have a chance for revenge
Be honest... Miguel Vargas in TB and Randy Arozarena in LA just kinda makes sense doesn't it? And I think both would go off in their respective landing spots.
Would you make this trade?
Dodger fans dream 2024 deadline:
• Luis Robert Jr.
• Bo Bichette
• Tanner Scott
Dodgers actual 2024 deadline:
• Tommy Pham
• Paul Dejong
• Kenley Jansen
It's now clear what the plan A is for the Dodgers:
Rotation:
1. Yamamoto
2. Glasnow
3. Miller
4. Sheehan
5. Buehler
Lineup
1. Betts 2B
2. Freeman 1B
3. Ohtani DH
4. Smith C
5. Muncy 3B
6. Arozarena LF
7. Heyward RF
8. Outman CF
9. Lux SS
Dodgers are paying $13M to Kiké Hernandez and Jason Heyward to play their outfield in 2024
$46M upgrades their 2025 outfield to:
• Juan Soto($44M) LF
• Luis Robert Jr.($15M) CF
• Andy Pages (pre-arb) RF
The "Billion Dollar Dodgers" current pitching rotation of actual healthy pitchers:
1. Gavin Stone
2. James Paxton
3. Landon Knack
4. Justin Wrobleski
5. Ryan Yarborough
The closest exit velocity/launch angle match I could find to this home run was Aaron Judge in 2017 who also hit one 119 mph but at 28° (Ohtani's was 29°)
Judge's went 495 ft. at Yankees Stadium.
Ohtani's went 443 ft. at Minute Maid Park (closed roof)
Hey
@TMKSESPN
Michael Kay:
We wont forget you're the weirdo who projected a bunch of pseudo-psychological nonsense publicly on your platform when you attacked Shohei Ohtani (without any evidence) other than your own imagined explanations for his hypothetical behavior. Retire!
The
#Cubs
are currently 38-44 and if they continue to struggle, The Athletic says “[Cody] Bellinger’s name will likely become a much-discussed name again near the deadline”
The Dodgers only have a few "un-touchables":
• Shohei Ohtani
• Mookie Betts
• Freddie Freeman
• Will Smith
• Tyler Glasnow
• Yoshinobo Yamamoto
The rest are moveable
The G.O.A.T. sacrificed MILLIONS...
WIN NOW
I firmly believe this guy will help the Dodgers win a World Series. Not just by boosting the team's success in the regular season via stad padding his HoF numbers (WAR, HR, etc.) but by providing an inspirational presence to the team and showing up in October when it counts most.
So according to my research there's never been a ball hit the way Ohtani just hit that ball that traveled only 443 ft. In the Statcast era. Either a misread, or seriously dampened by indoor environment.
The closest exit velocity/launch angle match I could find to this home run was Aaron Judge in 2017 who also hit one 119 mph but at 28° (Ohtani's was 29°)
Judge's went 495 ft. at Yankees Stadium.
Ohtani's went 443 ft. at Minute Maid Park (closed roof)
Edgardo Henriquez is a 22 year old in the Dodgers system who progressed from low A → AAA this year. He's hit 104 mph 🔥⛽. He has a 2.84 ERA (2.61 FIP) & a 13.28 K/9 through 12.2 IP in AAA. He'll be picked up in the Rule 5 draft in '25 if LAD doesn't add him to the 40 man roster
He's not exaggerating. He is the best shortstop in all of baseball. Amazing that the Dodgers can say they let Pedro Martinez, Mike Piazza, Adrian Beltre, and Corey Seager all leave.
One of the funniest parts of the off-season was watching the guys from
@TodayJays
react to all of the Shohei Ohtani news... So it's fitting they still make for great reaction to Ohtani greeting Toronto fans with a bomb 😂
I think this could be a good lineup to put out most days:
1. Mookie Betts 2B
2. Freddie Freeman 1B (L)
3. Shohei Ohtani DH (L)
4. Teoscar Hernandez LF
5. Max Muncy 3B (L)
6. Will Smith C
7. Jason Heyward RF (L
8. James Outman CF (L)
9. Gavin Lux SS (L)
If Dalton Rushing has the perfect outcome scenario and keeps producing at AAA he could potentially get called up to get a look as soon as this year to play in LF.
1. Betts SS
2. Ohtani DH
3. Smith C
4. Freeman 1B
5. T. Hernandez RF
6. Muncy 3B
7. Edman CF
8. Rushing LF
9. Lux 2B
Yoshinobu Yamamoto is proving to be worth every penny the Dodgers invested. His consistent and impressive performances on the mound are making a significant impact for the 2024 Dodgers.
Luis Rengifo > Luis Arraez? 🤔
He's versatile across the infield, does best at 3B, and the Dodgers have eyed him before in a trade. Could he be their missing piece the Dodgers need? More on this potential trade below 👇⚾️
For the second year in a row the Dodgers have targeted a LHP from the AL Central who became un-obtainable last second because they decided to flex their own leverage
Don't sleep on the Matt Gage pickup. He has the same arsenal as Caleb Ferguson (fastball, cutter, slider) and could really be another sneaky pickup from the Dodgers.
Here is Yoshinobo Yamamoto's 132nd( !!!) pitch into game 6 of Japan's equivalent of the World Series.
A 97.5 mph heater up in the zone to generate a swing and miss for the strikeout. 🔥⛽
Tyler Glasnow has dreamed of being a Dodger for as long as he can remember and is coming back home with one thing in mind: Playing World Series Baseball 😤🔥
Please for the love of God Dodgers fans. Scream. Yell. Let them feel your presence. He is begging for your support here and we saw how he rises to the moment against the Yankees earlier this year.
Still unsure if the Dodgers should trade for Garrett Crochet? Check out this video and see why he leads the league in strikeouts. His elite stuff is game-changing!
Jack Flaherty and Randy Arozarena make a lot of sense for trade deadline adds if you're a org/fan that wants to keep top tier prospects like Josue De Paula/Dalton Rushing while still getting better. Both DET and TBR have made very recent trades w/ LAD proving their willingness.
I bet you the Dodgers would have included Andy Pages into a trade for Randy Arozarena at the beginning of the year when negotiations were occuring on the Glasnow deal. And I'd bet the Rays now really regret not taking that deal.
Full meltdown for the Dodgers rotation:
• Glasnow (currently on IL and exceeding all time innings pitched
• Yamamoto (very serious shoulder injury IL indefinitely)
• Miller (shoulder injury/not the same)
• Buehler (Cooked)
• Sheehan (TJ)
Will Smith might be a man with a case for Cooperstown when he's done. That's right, I'm talking about the *possibility* of number 16 going down as an all time number in Dodgers History. His improvements on defense and solid offensive approach should get him the WAR it would take.
Jorge Castillo (ESPN) on Juan Soto's upcoming free agency:
"The Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers are among the other clubs that could make calls [besides the Yankees and Mets]."
Hmm.
THE quintessential Padres thing to do would be to:
• NOT trade Snell + Hader
• Miss 2023 Playoffs
• Fire Bob Melvin
• NOT fire AJ Preller
• Trade Juan Soto
I would laugh so hard
Organizational failure from the FO:
• Starting Kershaw game 1 while knowing he was injured
• Starting Lynn game 3 despite him being horrible
• Not having a true backup plan after Verlander and Rodriguez said "no"
• Leaving Ahmed Rosario off the roster in favor of Kolton Wong
#Dodgers
manager Dave Roberts said Jason Heyward won’t be available tonight because his back tightened up again before yesterday’s game. He’s going to get some imaging done just to see where he’s at, according to Roberts.
An interesting detail coming from all this:
An un-named, unbiased interpreter talked with Shohei the night Ippei told everyone what he did in the clubhouse.
That un-named, unbiased interpreter described Shohei as having "no fucking clue" about what Ippei was talking about.
NEW: Go on the "zig-zagging, 48-journey" with me as we go behind the scenes on how the
#Ohtani
&
#Ippei
story rapidly evolved this week. We have more details on what we asked and what Mizuhara and others said in response in our continuing investigation.