Author: Dennis Schlossman

Dodgers Are the Worst Clutch Performers in Majors

Published on by Dennis Schlossman4 Comments

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One night, everything seems like it’s working perfectly for the Dodgers—sort of like their bulldozing 11-1 victory against the Padres in the series opener on Friday evening. The next night, however, the squad will find itself in a very tight contest, only to under-perform in the moments when the game is on the line. This has become a popular theme of the 2018 Dodgers, leaving fans feeling confident one moment, but pulling their collective hair out the next.

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How Much More Can Go Wrong for Dodgers?

Published on by Dennis Schlossman9 Comments
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(Photo by Stephen Carr, Daily Breeze/SCNG)

The good news is there are 34 games remaining on the regular season schedule, which is more than enough time for the Dodgers to climb back atop the NL West division. The bad news, however, is that whatever strategies the team tries in hopes of fixing its existing problems, nothing at all seems to work.

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Dodgers Prospect Watch: Can Will Smith Hit Major League Pitching?

Published on by Dennis Schlossman21 Comments
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(Photo Credit: Tomo San/Los Angeles Dodgers)

While many fans of the Dodgers probably think a conversation about next year’s catching picture is irrelevant, there are certainly a few relative factors that play into the remainder of the 2018 season’s landscape. The four biggest questions which pertain to many of the upcoming discussions over the winter are whether or not management will pursue a contact with Yasmani Grandal, if the coaching staff will ever trust Kyle Farmer defensively behind the plate, if Austin Barnes‘ 2018 season is simply an anomaly, and whether or not Will Smith can hit big league pitching.

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Dodgers Prospect Watch: Gavin Lux Finally Making Noise

Published on by Dennis Schlossman20 Comments
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(Jerry Espinoza/MiLB.com)

If you’ve been checking out any of Jason’s weekly minor league reports, you’ll know that he has been mentioning infielder Gavin Lux quite a bit recently. Selected by the Dodgers in the first round of the 2016 draft, many folks believed that he got off to a relatively slow start in the organization; however, his 2018 campaign has proven his tremendously high value.

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Suddenly, the Outlook of the Dodgers Bullpen Doesn’t Seem So Gloomy

Published on by Dennis Schlossman3 Comments
Kenta Maeda
(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Sometimes, all it takes is an 11-1 drubbing of another contending club to quickly change a fan’s perspective about the direction of their favorite baseball team. When an offense works according to the way it was specifically designed, it takes a huge amount of pressure off a pitching staff, especially a bullpen which has struggled mightily over the past week. And, with the news that closer Kenley Jansen‘s healing progress has been accelerated, the immediate future of the Dodgers doesn’t seem so dismal after all.

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Dodgers Bullpen: A Look at 3 Emerging Relief Pitchers on the Farm

Published on by Dennis Schlossman24 Comments
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(Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Davis/MiLB.com)

Considering the recent struggles of the Dodgers bullpen, there’s bound to be a number of moves on the horizon, even before rosters expand at the beginning of September. Besides the collapse of every available arm in the current crew, there’s been plenty of other news, most specifically the back injury to righty Ross Stripling and yet another setback for hard-throwing right-hander Josh Fields.

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Dodgers Worst Enemy: An Anemic Offense or a Second-Rate Bullpen?

Published on by Dennis Schlossman14 Comments
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(Los Angeles Times photo)

Believe it or not, some people saw a bit of logic when the Dodgers ignored their suspect bullpen while trying to upgrade their offense at the non-waiver trade deadline last month. After all, there were some internal moving pieces which would improve the relief corps, and the addition of two of the best available offensive weapons would seemingly allow the squad to slug its way into the postseason.

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Dodgers Roster: More Thoughts on an Otherwise Shoddy Bullpen

Published on by Dennis Schlossman32 Comments
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(Victor Decolongon/Getty Images)

It’s all that everyone’s been talking about—with good reason. What many followers of the Dodgers have considered to be the team’s biggest weakness all year long is finally proving to be true. It took an illness from the team’s All-Star closer to prove, but what folks are now learning is that Kenley Jansen was the single cog which was seemingly holding the entire Los Angeles relief corps together.

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Dodgers Activate Ross Stripling, Option Pat Venditte to Oklahoma City

Published on by Dennis Schlossman8 Comments
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(Mandatory Credit: Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press)

The Dodgers on Thursday afternoon reinstated right-handed pitcher Ross Stripling from the 10-day disabled list and optioned switch-handed pitcher Pat Venditte to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

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Dodgers Roster: Will Hyun-Jin Ryu Make Another Positive Impact in 2018?

Published on by Dennis Schlossman14 Comments

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Long before the 2018 starting rotation picture began to sort itself out, many folks close to the Dodgers believed that Hyun-Jin Ryu was embarking upon a potentially career-best season, just in time for him to successfully test the free agent market during the coming winter months. Through the end of April of this year, the 31-year-old southpaw had posted a 3-0 record with a 2.12 ERA, a 0.867 WHIP and an outrageous 10.9 K/9, at least by his own standards. Before the emergence of Ross Stripling, and with staff ace Clayton Kershaw fighting off several different ailments, Ryu was leading the charge of the entire Los Angeles pitching staff.

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