The world according to Jim:
• It’s sort of poetic, isn’t it, that as summer turns to autumn, Dave Roberts’ “trust tree” has lost most of its leaves.
Maybe this is the flip side of – or payback for – October of 2024, when the Dodgers’ starting pitching was decimated but the work of their bullpen propelled them to a World Series championship. …
• Do not allow yourself to be seduced by the infrequent successful outings by Tanner Scott or Blake Treinen the last couple of days, as untrustworthy as they’ve been for most of the last few weeks. The best thing that Andrew Friedman and Brandon Gomes could do at this point is to build a playoff roster without either pitcher. I mean, what’s the greater risk at this point, young guys or veterans who keep demonstrating they can’t be trusted? …
• I’d take my chances with this pitching staff: Starters Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani, relievers Clayton Kershaw, Emmet Sheehan, Jack Dreyer, Ben Casparius, Justin Wrobleski, Alex Vesia, Anthony Banda, Edgardo Henriquez, Roki Sasaki and … maybe Will Klein, or Noah Davis, or even Bobby Miller as the last guy in the bullpen. …
• Remember, because of Shohei Ohtani’s official two-way status the Dodgers can carry an extra pitcher. Nobody really thought of it at the time the rule involving two-way players was enacted, because when he was an Angel, who expected Ohtani to have a playoff impact anyway? Guaranteed, prospective postseason opponents are grumbling a bit now.
Then again, it all depends on how effective that 14th guy might be. As we’ve been reminded so often the last two months, there are no guarantees. …
• Miller, who seemed like the next great Dodgers starting pitching prospect in 2023 but took several steps backward in ’24, was being groomed as a reliever over the last two months of the Pacific Coast League season at Triple-A Oklahoma City. From July 27 he had 18 appearances with an 0-3 record, one save and a 6.63 ERA, and among those 18 appearances, 11 were scoreless.
In other words, there could be promise there, but it might take a while, and it might be too soon for him to be a factor on the big stage in October. …
• Meanwhile, a reminder: Scott has three more years and $41 million left on his contract, plus a $5 million conditional club bonus, according to Cot’s Contracts. Treinen has one year at $11 million, plus a $2.5 million bonus due in December. Kirby Yates signed a one-year contract last winter and I can’t imagine they’ll re-sign him. In all, Friedman and Gomes spent/squandered $107 million on those three relievers.
Plus they acquired Brock Stewart at the trade deadline – who has been day-to-day with shoulder inflammation and at this point is no lock to help them in October – while passing up all of those other bullpen arms who changed hands on July 31. …
• And yes, I’m well aware of the unwritten rule: When the relievers fail, it’s the manager’s fault. But save some of your boos for the decision-makers, too. Roberts can only work with what he’s been given. …
• So, how confident are you in Sasaki as the new closer? …
• Evidently my column this week about Mike Trout’s Hall of Fame chances as a member of the 400-homer club struck a nerve among some sensitive Angels fans. To clarify: Nowhere in that column did I say he was Hall unworthy, nor did I say I wouldn’t vote for him, since in all likelihood I plan to when his name comes on the ballot.
It was just a reminder that there are arguments pro and con, the BBWAA voting membership can be awfully contrarian – okay, out and out cantankerous – and for Trout, gaining 75% of the ballots based largely on the early years of his career could be difficult. …
• So how many of you, after learning that Major League Baseball will go to a challenge system on ball-strike calls next season, kept count of the missed calls the next time you watched a televised game?
I wasn’t keeping count, but I saw enough to realize that two challenges per team won’t be enough. Granted, getting a call reversed means you’ll keep your challenge, but the players – who will have the responsibility of asking – will have to exercise discretion. Can we trust them to accept a borderline call in the second or third inning rather than burning it, then needing it but not having it later? …
• Put it this way: There’s a reason why the NBA puts the onus of asking for challenges in the hands of coaches, rather than players. Almost every time there’s a close call the player comes up twirling his finger, beseeching his coach to ask for a review. If the players could call for them, as I’ve noted, you might need 85 reviews per game. …
• Finally, a personal reflection, triggered by the Seattle Mariners’ first division championship since 2001: Doris Mae Alexander (nee Sawyer) grew up, got married and raised a family in Tacoma, just down the road from Seattle. And when the Mariners were formed, as Seattle’s second stab at major league baseball in 1977, that turned out to be a gift for the woman I will always know and revere as Aunt Dottie.
When our family visited the Tacoma Alexanders, we quickly realized that my aunt would be in front of the TV, without fail, on nights when the Mariners played. Good or bad, they were her team, Junior, the Big Unit, Edgar and Ichiro were beyond heroic and broadcaster Dave Niehaus’ word was gospel.
She passed away in November of 2007. But during the COVID season of 2020, when cutouts replaced real fans in the stands, I made sure her cutout would be in the stands for each home game.
And somewhere in heaven, I’m sure Aunt Dottie is smiling now, nodding her head and whispering, “Go Mariners!”
jalexander@scng.com
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