The Dodgers announced that they’ve placed left-hander Alex Wood on the 10-day disabled list with left adductor tendonitis. To take his roster spot, the team reinstated fellow southpaw Zac Rosscup from the DL.
It’s unclear exactly how much time Wood will miss, but his absence will clear the way for righty Ross Stripling to return to the Dodgers’ rotation in the near term, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com tweets. Stripling had been a revelation for the Dodgers this year until struggling to prevent runs in July, when he pitched to a 4.73 ERA despite excellent strikeout and walk rates (10.13 K/9, 1.01 BB/9) across 26 2/3 innings and five starts. The 28-year-old went on the DL on the last day of the month because of a toe injury, though it’s obvious he’s not dealing with a serious ailment.
Wood, 27, hasn’t been highly durable during his career, but this marks his first DL stint of the season. Thus far, Wood has racked up 22 appearances (all starts) and logged a 3.58 ERA/3.55 FIP with 7.81 K/9, 2.19 BB/9 and a 47.3 percent grounder rate over 123 1/3 frames, thereby continuing a career of above-average production. Losing him is an unfortunate development for an LA team which is tied with Arizona for the NL West lead, but the Dodgers should still boast a quality rotation with Stripling slated to rejoin Clayton Kershaw, Kenta Maeda, Walker Buehler and Rich Hill.
Viva 10 day DL
Been expecting this for two months. If Wood has any hope of being effective in September and October he needs to be freshened. While not alone among MLB starters, Wood just cannot pitch effectively for 6-7 months without a break.
I’m not going to waste any energy thinking about October. The way this team plays when faced with a real opponent tells me how they are going to perform in the postseason, assuming they can even make it there. Right now it makes no difference who they rest, they are completely unprepared.
Could not agree more. All this talk about the WS and we were pounded 14-0 on Saturday, by the team that will probably be in the World Series.
Whos talking world series? Thats the last thing to take for granted
You won’t catch me talking about any World Series for this team. I’ve been saying since the spring that they should trade away anyone who doesn’t fit into next year’s plans and start preparing for next year. Better that than spending prospects on a team that will get wasted in division series by just about anyone they could meet in the postseason, even if they do manage to get there, which I doubt.
Ok thats too far. Not expecting to make the world series is 1 thing but to act like the Dodgers are going to miss the playoffs or get wasted in the NLDS is pretty ridiculous. This is not the AL. The Phillies, Cubs, Dbacks, Brewers, Nationals do not scare anyone. In a year the pennant thats wide open why just punt? You cant waste Kershaws last guarenteed year on the team.
Right now I’d call their chances of making the postseason at 50-50, at best. They will have to hope the D’backs fold because they aren’t getting there by their own excellence, that’s for sure. If they do get there, they will have to continue to get lucky because no way are they prepared to do it any other way. How much more obvious does this need to become?
As for Kershaw, a big part of what I’ve been saying all along is he has to be made a Dodger for life. If that doesn’t happen the fans will be in open revolt. And they also need to go shopping next offseason, big time. If they didn’t work so hard to keep the payroll under the luxury tax cap this year for those reasons, then why did they do it?
The Dodgers are 20 games over .500 since their rough little start. Thats getting to where they are now on ‘their own excellence’. As for actually performing in the playoffs this team dismantled the cubs with charlie culberson and logan forsythe as starting middle infielders. Machado and Dozier are massive upgrades over those 2. Who exactly are you so scared of in the NL that you think its an NLDS wasting?
I see you responded to maybe half of what I said, but even given that much: the start to the season was a lot more than just a little rough, it was a total disaster. Maybe you haven’t noticed but for the last week or so they’ve played little better than they did in that awful spring. The same feeble at-bats, the same sloppiness in the field, the same bad relief pitching. Show me how those upgrades are making a difference and then we can talk about how they get to the postseason let alone win anything in it. Right now I don’t see what you are seeing. All I am seeing is the talent they’ve got underperforming massively and the same problems they had right out of spring training not being fixed and coming back to haunt.
What relief pitching has been bad? Yesterday was a total disaster but the game was over long before the bullpen came into the game. The day before they held the Astros to 2 runs the whole game. The bullpen pitched well the entire Brewers series. 1 bad inning out of Alexander who actually saved the day by getting a double play. Also 8 shutout bullpen innings in Philadelphia. The bullpen is not this disaster that you make it out to be. The reason they are playing .500 since the all star break is shakey defense and inconsistent offense. Both of those are things that will improve with Turner now back.
That game was over when the first run was scored. So now it doesn’t matter that the bullpen totally combusted after that first run was scored? Axford, he was good. Sure glad we went out and got him. And Rosscup, what a great pickup.
Facts: the Dodgers bullpen is 18th in ERA and 11th in WHIP (the Astros are #1 in both categories). And this only underrates the issue. Because of the weakness in the bullpen Roberts sticks with his starters longer than he would if he had reliable relief arms. Nobody to bail them out when they get in trouble so the phone doesn’t ring. That problem doesn’t even show up in the relief stats but it’s a function of it and games are lost as a result.
So just because the bullpen doesn’t totally combust every day does not mean it isn’t a disaster. It is, for any team that hopes to contend, and it will play very badly in the postseason if they get there.
Bottom line: these totally embarrassing games against the Astros advertise in big neon letters everything that has been wrong with this team since April, how the problems aren’t even close to being fixed, and why the Dodgers will be overmatched in October by just about any team they face.
If you are waiting for them to get lucky, be my guest. But at least be honest about it.
Good thing the only way the Dodgers meet the Astros in October would be the world series. Otherwise dont worry about then. You dont seem to get how wide open the NL is. And to just punt while that opportunity is there is dumb. The Phillies Braves and Brewers don’t have any recent playoff experience and frankly the Dodgers matched up well with them in the recent games they played. The Cubs are better but not a team to be scared of. Theres no scnerio where they play an NL west team in the playoffs before the NLCS. The fact you wanted this team to be sellers is mind boggling.
And in your book this is a good thing? The Astros are only one of three or four powerhouse teams in the AL. And notice, all of the first and second place teams in the other NL divisions have better records than the Dodgers. This seems to suggest that they’d be highly worthy postseason opponents. Could the Dodgers can sneak past two of them? Maybe, if they get lucky, only to be trounced in the World Series by a fully prepared team. You know what boggles my mind is Dodger fans who’d be satisfied with that outcome again. I don’t know many who think that way anymore. Never meet any in the ballpark, that’s for sure. Most of the fans I talk to are fed up with 30 years of the team never being good enough.
Don’t worry about the selling part, they’ve already missed that opportunity. They opted instead for a marginally competitive team that can’t win a world championship without getting really lucky. I guess that team is being fielded for the few fans who still thinks that’s good enough. I’m not one of them.
No i am not opposed to making the world series and hoping for the best lol. Do you hear yourself? You are just flat out assuming they would lose a world series if they made it. While i would rather not have to deal with that again you dont have a crystal ball and know exactly whats going to happen. You keep contradicting yourself too by saying they should sell but complain about the 30 year drought. This is not basketball. Anyone can win
This makes no sense whatsoever.
No, I said they’d need to get lucky because they’d be facing a far superior team, if it’s any of about four powerhouse teams in the AL. This is not the same thing as hoping for the best. Yes we’ve seen weaker teams prevail in the postseason. This is what happened to the Dodgers last year IMO. That was their championship to lose. But wouldn’t you still want to be the better team going in, or do you think it all comes down to a random coin flip? If that’s the case, I sure don’t agree.
I haven’t contradicted myself once. If you think so its because you haven’t been reading what I’ve actually said.
Far superior how? Maybe you don’t get baseball, but there’s a reason why it’s crazy to bet on baseball. Get in the playoffs and it’s a crapshoot.
Why the hell would the Dodgers sell????? LOL.
Good we don’t need you. I don’t see the difference in talent between this and last, but I’m sure you’ll explain how it is they’re so different.
BlueSky, you might as well change your name to black cloud. I have watched you comment since this team got off to their abysmal start, and you have been nothing but doom and gloom since. Sack up bro! This team is not as bad as you let on, and they had the best deadline deals in baseball. Get over yourself!
LOL! BlueSky was upset for most of last season too. There’s a large segment of Dodger fans that just can’t seem to enjoy the team. Today my friends whined that Cole will kill us and that Buehler will get rocked. Now after the game they’re saying that Buehler is a flash in the pan. I don’t understand this type of fandom. We even have fans complaining that Kenley is no longer trusted. Unbelievable.
Why so negative? Support your team. You just got machado and dozier….your line up is top notch. Will pick up a pitcher or two in August…drive 2 hours south….then you would have some legit reasons to complain!
Support my team, right. I’ve been supporting my team for over 40 years much of it as a season ticket holder who drives an hour and half to games. Is that enough support for you? Negativity comes from having a very nice seat in the ballpark to watch the team you support fold in Game 7 of the Series against a team they should have beaten, and then made to look like a bunch of little leaguers in their first rematch. If this gives you hope then I want to know where you stash your supply of happy pills. Thirty years, and counting.
Take a break and we will all be blessed for it
drives an 1 1/2 to games… i just drove 6 hours to watch them play in atlanta (don’t live in LA anymore) then drove back the same night. Was happy to do so. To get a chance to watch the boys in blue was worth 12 hours of driving for a 3 hour game. Stop whining Nancy! Real fans will take your seat if you leave it warm.
breathe in….breathe out…its just a game…
This conversation is unfortunate and wearisome. Non-Dodger fans on this board most surely are just shaking their heads or laughing at it. Thanks all in ad for the great reminder and gentle scolding. We deserve it!
The LAD have a stellar organization, outstanding talent at the MLB level and throughout their system. The organization is committed to and built for sustained excellence. Anyone who doubts that should read the Baseball Prospectus organization profile published prior to the 2018 season. Not only does the organization have tremendous resources/revenue–they are investing it. The FO makes smart decisions in player acquisition, has been careful to avoid the kind of stupid long-term deals that force rebuilds (please take note of our rivals to the north) and has now started to develop talent in the minor leagues that consistently produces a stream of players that contribute significantly to the team in LA or that can be used to acquire a Manny Machado or Rich Hill. We have a tremendous manager who has turned the clubhouse around in three years. We now have players who love playing in LA, take less to stay or come to the team, respond positively to the great coaching their are receiving and who genuinely care for another. It is a healthy clubhouse which by all accounts is full of “good teammates”–unlike the dysfunctional mess of a clubhouse that was inherited from the previous FO. Anyone who doubts these facts should read Molly Knight’s book, “The Best Team Money Can Buy”. Molly’s reporting has never been disputed or questioned by other reporters. Bottom line: LAD fans are INCREDIBLY fortunate.
BlueSky I have gone here a few times before with you; but I feel compelled to do so again. You behave and write sometimes like a spoiled, entitled old man. I get that you were around for the 60s-80’s and you want another championship. Good god, so do the fans of the other MLB teams. You have it better than just about any baseball fan. I feel bad we lost game 7 last year, as do millions of other LAD fans. Losing game doesn’t change one thing about the place this organization is in moving forward. We are in exactly the same great place we would be as if we had won game 7. Baseball is a 6 month long grind-an edurance test. To react and make judgements such as the one’s you have been throwing out here the past 12 hours is so short-sighted, immature and irresponsible. It’s two damn games out of 162. Despite losing our best position player and best pitcher for almost the entire season, we are in great position to the win this division (for the 6th consecutive year) and make the playoffs. Fangraphs still has LAD at 86% to make playoffs. Your 50/50 is simply irrational (or perhaps an overreation to two games?).
No FO is perfect. This one n LA would be the first to admit that. They learn and grow and this team and organization is going to keep getting better as long as the leadership team that is in place remains. Kenleyfornia….you da man! Thanks for standing up.
How many personal insults in one post, five? That’s where I lost track. But I did not see anything addressing anything I actually said. Nice going. And I am supposed to respond this or take what you say seriously?
Talk about unfortunate. Talk about wearisome.
Not sure I saw 5 personal insults… not sure I even noticed 1. Perhaps a bit touchy BlueSky? Once your team gets to October, all the other months have a tendency to fade away. I hope you decide to rejoin the fanbase then. We’ll welcome you back. 🙂
I dont mind having reservations about the teams chances but sell? Jeez
And now you are asking me to repeat myself, again? Please, if you are going to respond to my posts at least do me the courtesy of reading them. Is that really too much to expect?
I know exactly what you are singing. Sell pieces that have no long term future on the team after 2018. So that would have meant Yasmani Grandal. The redhot catcher where if they moved him they would be left with mediocre hitting Austin Barnes.
That’s a small fragment of what I’ve been saying, as I’m sure you know.
Molly Knight’s book, “The Best Team Money Can Buy” is a highly entertaining book for Dodger fans AND haters
Wow….what a difference a day makes. Buehler 8 Ks in 5+ innings, bullpen (Floro, Alexander and Kenley) is lights out and the new acquisitions deliver. Back in first too. Blue skies, nothin’ but blue skies!
God bless you NorCalblue and kenley. I think we are dealing with what happened with braves fans years back when they kept winning divisions. Fans got so critical they couldn’t enjoy the season. Sad.
How about that Axford move! Sheer genius.