Nightengale's Notebook: Dodgers running away in NL West with Dave Roberts' 'favorite team'
PHOENIX — The Los Angeles Dodgers listened to their neighbors to the south pop off all winter, hearing them brag about their new toys, vowing to make the Dodgers yesterday's news like 8-track player.
The San Diego Padres, after all, spent $280 million on shortstop Xander Bogaerts. They committed another $350 million on third baseman Manny Machado. Locked up Yu Darvish to a $108 million extension. And even out-bid the Yankees for Aaron Judge, only for him to return to New York.
The Dodgers stood by in silence. They let All-Star third baseman Justin Turner walk. Former MVP Cody Bellinger, too. Bowed out of the bidding to keep All-Star shortstop Trea Turner from going to Philadelphia. They instead spent just $44.5 million grabbing veterans off the scrap heap: outfielders Jason Heyward and David Peralta, DH J.D. Martinez and starter Noah Syndergaard.
While everyone ran their mouths, they kept theirs shut.
“Hey, you go to do what you’ve got to do," Dodgers star Mookie Betts told USA TODAY Sports. “If that’s how you pump yourself, do it, by all means. For us, that’s not just the way we operate. We operate in a different fashion.
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“So, it’s like, you can talk all you want, say all you want, but nobody what is being said, you’ve still got to go play the game. In between the lines is what’s going to dictate the outcome."
All of the Dodgers have done since the games started is win, showing heart, resiliency, tenacity and a clubhouse culture that is the envy of all of baseball.
Los Angeles has lost every starting pitcher to the injured list at some point. They have employed 11 different rookies, seven making their major-league debut.
But, right now there may not be a better all-around team in the game.
“This is my favorite team I’ve ever had," says manager Dave Roberts, who has led the Dodgers to a World Series title, three pennants, six division titles and seven playoff berths while posting the greatest winning percentage of any manager in Dodger history.
“I love this club. I mean, I really love it. It’s as tight-knit group as I’ve seen. It’s a very unselfish group. When I’m asking pitcher to pitch in various roles, and for hitters to play in different roles, and for guys to whatever it takes to win a ballgame, that is being a good teammate. I’ve got 26 of those guys. That has been our secret sauce throughout the injuries, the inconsistencies.
“There were low expectations outside our clubhouse, but I will tell you this: 'Good teams find ways to win.' Conversely, there are teams that just don’t know how to win."
The Dodgers are built different.
“I don’t think anybody expected them to be on the bottom of our division," Padres starter Joe Musgrove says, “but we obviously felt a whole lot better about our chances matching up against them. I don’t think any of us expected something like this.’’
Says Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr.: “Those guys, they just don’t go away. They do this every single year."
The Dodgers, who were in third place in the NL West, sitting 4 ½ games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 18, are now running away with the NL West.
Once again. for the 10th time in 11 years.
They entered Saturday with a commanding 7 ½-game lead over the San Francisco Giants, a 12 ½-game advantage over the Diamondbacks and 13 ½ games over the Padres.
While the rest of the division has wilted under the pressure since the All-Star break, the Dodgers have thrived, going an NL-best 18-8 the second half and 10-1 since the Aug. 1 trade deadline.
This was the first time since 2012 when the Dodgers finally appeared vulnerable, and absolutely no one took advantage.
Can you imagine these Dodgers if they get Shohei Ohtani this winter? Shortstop Gavin Lux and starters Dustin May and Walker Buehler will return from injury – as another wave of young talent emerges from their deep farm system.
Hey, there’s always 2035, right?
“It’s just amazing what they do," says veteran Padres starter Rich Hill, who pitched 3 ½ years for the Dodgers. “They identify what guys do well, and have them do what they do best. They have just have the ability of opening players’ minds to a little bit of creativity. Sometimes we get shoe-boxed in certain ways of doing things whether a hitter of a pitcher, but they do a really good job identifying what guys can do to expand their weapons.
“Really, it starts with the top, and it’s the culture. They create a culture for guys and identify stuff that other teams couldn’t see in players. The culture is there. And it’s real. It’s not like 26 different islands. Everybody is on the same one. It’s pretty cool to see."
The magic touch
Look around the Dodgers clubhouse. There’s reliever Evan Phillips, who was released in 2021 after yielding a 7.36 ERA by the Baltimore Orioles, and is now the Dodgers’ closer, producing a 1.92 ERA.
Martinez was dumped by the Boston Red Sox after hitting 16 homers with 62 RBI last year, and already has 25 homers and 76 RBI this year for the Dodgers. The Cubs Jason Heyward $22 million to go away, only to watch him become an invaluable fourth outfielder for the Dodgers, hitting 11 home runs with fabulous defense.
Peralta was still searching for a job at the start of spring training after playing last season for the D-backs and Rays, the Dodgers grabbed him, and he has hit .277 with seven homers.
Veteran reliever Ryan Brasier was released 10 weeks ago by the Boston Red Sox with a 7.29 ERA and 1.571 WHIP. These days, he added a cutter, and has a 1.27 ERA with the Dodgers and a .0797 WHIP.
The Dodgers didn’t trade a single top prospect at the deadline, making under-the-radar moves by grabbing starter Lance Lynn and veteran reliever Joe Kelly from the Chicago White Sox, along with pitcher Ryan Yarbrough and infielders Enrique Hernandez and Amed Rosario. Lynn was 6-9 with 6.47 ERA, the second-worst ERA in baseball, while yielding a league-leading 130 hits and 28 home runs. Kelly was 1-5 with a 4.97 ERA.
The Dodgers sat down with each of them, offered some advice, tinkered with some mechanics, and voila: Lynn is 3-0 with a 2.00 ERA in his first three starts with the Dodgers and Kelly has given up just one hit with seven strikeouts in 3 ⅔ shutout innings.
“Let me tell you something, I was on the other side for long time playing against this team,’’ said Peralta, who spent the first nine years of his career with the Diamondbacks. “I was always wondering, 'The way they go about their business, how do they do it? What they so successful? Why do they do everything so good?'
“The moment I walked into the clubhouse in spring training, you feel comfortable, and you start tapping into the culture and everything here. There’s no selfishness. Everyone is together. There’s so much energy. It’s about how are we going to work as a team to win?’.
“You hear stories on other teams, teams with all of the talent in the world, but they have a lot of egos. They don’t like each other. And you can see it by the way they play.
“We’re just the opposite.’’
It's more than talent
Oh sure, the Dodgers have talent. They have three MVPs in Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw is a three-time Cy Young winner. They have All-Stars. But no one can make it consistently work like the Dodgers.
“I don’t know where to start," Kelly says, “but honestly, they put more energy from the bottom of the organization to the top. From people who sell Cracker Jack to those who rake the field in spring training to minor-league coaches and staff. They they put an emphasis on finding the right people, no matter what, at all costs.
“Obviously, they find the right talent, but also the right fit, and the right person. They go above and beyond trying to find the perfect fit on all aspects. And they do that better than anyone else."
This is a team where no one is unafraid to speak up. When they lost two of three games to the lowly Kansas City Royals five weeks ago, it was infielder Miguel Rojas, who joined the Dodgers from the Miami Marlins in spring training, who privately called them out in a team meeting. When All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman noticed that too many teammates were sulking after an at-bat and staring at their iPad on the bench, he told them to watch the game.
“I’ve never seen a player like Freddie Freeman play the way he plays on every single pitch," Roberts says, “and holds his teammates accountable to the same level of standard. You don’t see the modern player challenge or hold their teammates accountable like they used to. This guy does. And he does it every single day."
Freeman, who’s having another MVP-caliber season_hitting .344 with 23 homers, league-leading 43 doubles, 23 homers, 83 RBI and a monstrous 1.017 OPS, says there’s no need to look any further than an incident involving Heyward last month to exemplify their clubhouse vibe.
Heyward, batting seventh in the Dodgers’ starting lineup on July 18, hit a 3-run homer in the second inning off Baltimore Orioles starter Tyler Wells. When it was Heyward’s turn to bat again and left-hander Cole Irvin now on the mound, Roberts pinch-hit for him with right-handed hitter Jake Marisnick.
Guess who was on the top step of the dugout cheering Marisnick?
“Sure, you can accept your role, but it’s like, 'Man, I just a hit a home run. I want to be in there,' Freeman says. “There wasn’t a peep out of Jason. He was just on the top step. Everyone saw that. That’s Jason. He’s an ultimate pro. When you bring pros into clubhouses, everybody meshes together. It’s just a beautiful thing.
“We may not win 111 games this year, but it’s just such a close-knit group that’s playing together, pulling together, and you’ve got to give the front office a lot of credit for doing their homework and making sure the right pieces fit into the puzzle.’’
Sure, the Dodgers are flawed. Three-time Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw was sidelined for 44 days with shoulder inflammation, and he still has pitched more innings than anyone on the team. The starting rotation’s 4.50 ERA is the worst since the franchise moved to Los Angeles. They have used 107 different starting lineups. They have had 30% of their starts made by rookie pitchers.
“It’s crazy," Freeman says. “You lose Cody Bellinger. You lose Justin Turner. You lose guys who have been here so long. You don’t know what it’s going to be like coming into the year. But everybody has just accepted their roles and have comes together. You see us dancing in the dugout, dancing in the bullpen, just good guys who are playing the best baseball we can possibly play."
They are the 2023 Dodgers
“You’re seeing why everyone wants to come here," says Lynn. “Even watching them from across the field, playing against them so much in the playoffs from my time in St. Louis, you just notice this sense of urgency. They’re ready to go, ready to contribute, with veteran guys letting the young guys be themselves, but helping them along the way.
“They just play the game hard. They play the game right. And, man, do they win.
“This is everything I thought it would be playing here. Really, it’s like a rebirth for me. It’s unbelievable, really.’’
Managerial carousel
There could be as many as 10 managerial openings this winter, particularly if Dusty Baker retires from the Astros and Craig Counsell steps down as manager of the Brewers, as expected.
– If the Padres don’t reach the postseason, Bob Melvin could take the fall with bench coach Ryan Flaherty a strong candidate to succeed him.
– Aaron Boone could pay the price if the Yankees miss the playoffs.
– Buck Showalter’s fate may depend on front office hires, with current-Brewers executive David Stearns the favorite to become New York's president of baseball operations.
– John Schneider’s future is uncertain if the Blue Jays are sitting home in October.
– Davey Martinez is without a contract in 2024 in Washington.
– Phil Nevin is also on a one-year contract that expires after the season with the Angels.
– Torey Lovullo, who received a one-year extension this summer, should be safe, but if the Diamondbacks' dramatic free-fall continues, there’s no guarantee.
– If the Minnesota Twins somehow are overtaken by the Cleveland Guardians and miss the playoffs, Rocco Baldelli’s future becomes awfully cloudy.
Around the basepaths
– The San Diego Padres are aggressively trying to sign Juan Soto to a contract extension, just as they have all season, before having to make a decision this winter whether to keep him or risk losing him as a free agent after 2024.
– Los Angeles Angels GM Perry Minasian absolutely made the right call keeping Shohei Ohtani and adding at the trade deadline in hopes of staying in the wild-card race.
If they don’t make it, at least they tried, while also keeping alive their chances of signing Ohtani.
If they had no interest in bidding for Ohtani, they would have moved him.
If you want to cast blame, throw it towards the San Diego Padres, who hung onto pending free agents Blake Snell and Josh Hader, despite being a sub-.500 team for the last four months.
– Former White Sox starter Lance Lynn says that reliever Keynan Middleton’s criticism of the White Sox wasn’t wrong, but calls it overblown to say there was a toxic clubhouse culture.
“I wouldn’t call it that, we were just losing, and obviously, it didn’t work out," Lynn told USA TODAY Sports. ‘We underachieved as a team. We all could have played better. But when I look at their future, there’s a lot of talented players. I think [manager] Pedro [Grifol] is good at what he does, but it just takes time for guys to understand what’s expected of them. There were a lot of first-time things come at him at once. I think he’s got all of the right tools.
“Nowadays, when you have a new manager, everybody thinks magically you’re going to win a lot of games. It just doesn’t work like that. He’s implementing a whole new way of doing things. Give him time.’’
– Juan Soto certainly had a damning quote about the Padres after being swept by the Mariners this past week, prompting another team meeting, when he said, “days like this series, we just give up. Like literally, we just give up instead of keep grinding, keep pushing."
Soto walked back his remarks two days later, saying they were spoken out of sheer frustration.
“I shouldn’t say anything like that,’’ Soto said. “We get a little frustrated sometimes.’’
– Can we give the AL Manager of the Year award to Bruce Bochy of the Texas Rangers right now? They’ve already won more games than they have all last season (68).
Teams who were looking for a manager last winter have to be embarrassed they didn’t at least interview Bochy.
The Rangers were the only team that interviewed him since he left the Giants after the 2019 season, although the Padres did offer him a managerial job for the 2020 season, which he declined.
– It’s crazy for the Mets to try to rush closer Edwin Diaz into games in September unless they simply want to showcase him to teams for a potential trade this winter to prove he’s healthy.
– The Tampa Bay Rays, the best team in baseball the first two months of the season, now may be spending the winter lamenting what would have been with the season-ending injuries to starters Shane McClanahan, Jeffrey Springs and Drew Rasmussen.
– So, what can a trade deadline do for a pitching staff?
The Rangers’ starting rotation had a 5.12 ERA and major-league worst 1.51-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
This month, after acquiring Max Scherzer and Jordan Montgomery, they have an MLB-leading 2.36 mark.
– You want to put up big numbers, try playing everyday.
Atlanta surpassed the 1944 Cincinnati Reds by having four players play in all 114 games this season. The record is 156 games by the 1904 Boston Americans. Take a bow, Ronald Acuña Jr., Austin Riley, Matt Olson and Ozzie Albies.
“You get paid to play, and you do what you can to go out and help the team win every day,” Atlanta All-Star first baseman Matt Olson told reporters. “You can’t do it from the bench. …As long as you’re feeling good and healthy, strong, there’s no reason to not run out there every day.”
– Houston Astros GM Dana Brown says that he wants to make All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker an Astro for life, and is confident he’ll get it done.
Well, considering the season Tucker is having – .292, 21 homers, 84 RBI and an .884 OPS – it will take the largest contract in franchise history to reach an agreement. Certainly, it would have to eclipse $200 million, which owner Jim Crane has never given to a player, nor longer than a six-year deal.
– The biggest difference in MLB’s rule changes this year is time of game and base stealing.
Time of game: Decrease of 29 minutes, 2:39 from 3:04.
Stolen bases: Increase from 1.4 attempts to 1.8 attempts, with the success rate rising from 75.4% to 79.7%.
Runs per game: Increase from 8.6 to 9.1.
Batting average: Increase from .243 to .248.
On-base percentage: Increase from .312 to .319.
– Fabulous comeback for Jon Singleton, who returns to Houston eight years after he departed, and hits his first home runs since July 29, 2015. The eight-year, 13-day stretch between homers was the longest by a position player since Rafael Belliard went 10 years and 144 days between homers from 1987-1997.
– The Padres have sold out all but eight of their games this season, including 25 in a row, but considering their woeful play it’s a little tough for Padres’ fans to swallow that season-ticket prices are rising by about 9%.
– You think the official scoring is absurdly lenient this year where anything remotely close is ruled a hit?
There are only 0.51 errors per game this season, which is the lowest in MLB history.
– The Arizona Diamondbacks had a 79.8% chance of reaching the postseason on July 1, according to FanGraphs.
That has dropped to 13.7%.
Going 7-25 will do that.
In fact, no team since 1900 has a team has gone from 16 games over .500 to a losing record in less time.
– No one is going to accuse the Tampa Bay Rays of being a baseball mecca, not with an average attendance of 18,255 per game_the fourth-lowest in baseball.
Yet, they have increased their attendance by 29.1%, and are pace to finish with their largest attendance in 10 years.
– The Texas Rangers had six All-Stars this year.
Five wound up on the injured list.
– For those who believe that WAR is the ultimate tool in evaluating players, consider this:
Atlanta outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr., who is having one of the finest overall seasons in history, has the same Wins Above Replacement rating as San Diego Padres utility infielder Ha-Seong Kim.
Really.
– Phillies president David Dombrowski showed again why he’ll be in the Hall of Fame one day, pulling off yet another doozy at the trade deadline.
Michael Lorenzen, who had a major-league best 1.11 ERA in July, dominated in his first start with the Phillies (8 innings, 6 hits, 2 runs in a 4-2 victory) and then threw a no-hitter in his next.
Pretty, pretty, pretty good.
– White Sox closer Liam Hendriks, after overcoming Stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma already this season, has no doubt he’ll recover from Tommy John surgery, too.
“There’s no doubt in my mind,’’ he says, “I’ll be back.”
The White Sox have a $15 million option or a $15 million buyout on Hendriks that would pay him $1.5 million a year for 10 years.
“‘The ball is in their court,’’ Hendriks told reporters. ‘‘I have put it in their ears that I’d like to stay. I think I have unfinished business here.’’
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