stevebaldwin.blog
Last week I wrote a column for the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America, titled “Blame My Friends and Me For Dodgers’ Success.” I’m not sure if I’m allowed to repost the entire thing here so I’ll just drop the link. 
https://open.substack.com/pub/ibwaa/p/june-5?r=qd3je&utm_medium=ios
-At 40-22, the Dodgers have now played 38% of their games this season. One hundred games to go, and they’ve built a 7 1/2 game lead in the NL West.
-I figure the Dodgers need to win at least 93 games to win the division. They’ll do it if they go 53-47 the rest of the way.
-I try not to bore you guys with all the “Shohei Ohtani is the greatest baseball player to ever live,” stuff, because you can get that anywhere. But, Shohei Ohtani is the greatest baseball player to ever live.
-What he’s done in his career is unprecedented and what he’s doing this year is… I don’t know what to call it. Extraordinary? Phenomenal? Sick? As of today he’s hitting over .300 and leads the league in on base percentage. He’s also 5-2 with a 0.74 ERA, one inning short of qualifying among the league leaders.
-He’s on his way to his fourth consecutive MVP award, the Dodgers have won two championships in the two years he’s been on the club. He’s kind to opposing players and loves his dog.
-Sure, things can change quickly. Baseball is finicky. He could nosedive into a season-long slump or suffer a freak injury. How many guys miss six weeks because they slice a finger cutting an orange (happens every Spring training) or slip getting in the shower (Freddie Freeman last year)?
-But the $700 million contract he signed two years ago, most of which will be paid out after the contract expires, seems like a pretty good deal for the Dodgers at this point.
-Of course, any single player on any roster is only as good as the players around him. The Dodgers have made sure to surround Ohtani with the best players available, allowing him to thrive on the mound and at the plate.
-Still, he was an MVP with the Angels, when he wasn’t always surrounded by the best players available, aside from Mr. Trout.
-Speaking of the Angels, the Dodgers get to play them for three games at home this weekend. The last time the Dodgers and Angels played a weekend series, the Dodgers modified their season run differential by +30.
-Angel fans want owner Arte Moreno to sell the team. But to be fair, the position the Angels find themselves in is not all Arte’s doing.
-It’s not as if the Angels haven’t spent money on players. They’ve spent on the wrong players. And they’ve had some of the worst luck of any franchise in North American sports.
-The Angels have endured horrific tragedies with the passing of Nick Adenheart and Tyler Skaggs, while playing in the shadow of Donnie Moore. It’s dark and horrible and unthinkable that any of that happened. Young people, especially professional athletes, are not supposed to leave us that way.
-Then the bad signings. Everybody points to Anthony Rendon, who is the polar opposite of Shohei Ohtani, below average on the field (when he’s on the field) and generally grumpy, going so far as to suggest there should be fewer games. Ernie Banks (“Let’s play two!”), he ain’t.
-But don’t forget these other misguided spending splurges, in rank order from worst to barely tolerable, with Rendon holding the top spot: 2. Josh Hamilton: 5 years, $125 million in 2012; 3. Justin Upton: 5 years, $106 million in 2017; and as much as I like the guy, 4. Albert Pujols: 10 years, $240 million in 2011. All yielded zero playoff wins for the Halos.
-The latest and perhaps greatest offense is Arte Moreno’s claim that Angel fans don’t care about winning. Earlier this year he quoted an “internal fan poll” that revealed winning isn’t in the top five things that fans care about, allegedly.
-It probably doesn’t help that the other team in the Angel’s geographic region is the Dodgers, who have been run so successfully for so many years, now with eight world championship banners and seeming unlimited resources.
-Of course now that I’ve written this, watch the Angels go out and smoke the Dodgers three games in a row this weekend.
-I’d be very disappointed if that happens, but I wouldn’t be shocked. Because that is how baseball works sometimes.
-Dodgers v. Angels at Chavez Ravine this weekend, start times: Friday, 7:10, Saturday 7:10, Sunday 1:10 pacific.
-Following last night’s 15 run outburst against Colorado the Dodgers are now 35-20 and have played 34% of regular season games.
-The Blue are 8-2 in their last 10 while the Padres have gone 5-5. That has provided a little cushion, but 3 1/2 game lead in late May is nothing.
-The Dodgers do tend to score runs in bunches, our run differential is the highest in baseball. And the bullpen has been lights out. It’s been good to see Mookie swing the bat well.
-On the other (Shohei’s) hand… let’s hope the baseball gods see fit to prevent an injury after Sho got plunked yesterday. Watching guys get hit in the hand, wearing pads/armor or not… it makes me squirm.
-MLB’s Ken Rosenhall is a terrible on-field reporter IMHO but a very good baseball analyst. In his latest pod he listed teams whose stock is on the rise and whose is falling. One the rise: Phillies, Cardinals, Nationals, Brewers. Falling: Cubs, Tigers, Angels, Rangers, Mets. In between: Orioles, Twins, Blue Jays.
-I was in Kentucky last weekend and got to go to the Louisville Slugger museum and factory, where 80% of major league baseball bats are made (we visited *a few* bourbon distilleries in the area as well). It’s an active factory, they were making bats while we were walking through the place. And I got to hold Babe Ruth game used bat. Pretty cool!
-At 24-17, the Dodgers now sit in second place. 25% of the season has passed.
-Yes, second place. We’ve been here before this season, but having been beaten in two of three by the Braves this past weekend, it now feels a little bit different.
-Scoring runs was a challenge this week. In the six games since last Tuesday The Azul put up 1, 12, 3, 2, 2, 3, a total of 23 runs while giving up 31.
-Mookie is back and that is something to be optimistic about. On the other hand it’s not as if he’s been an offensive juggernaut. In fact, he hasn’t been the Mookie from pre-2024, that is, hitting around .300 with 30 homers, since… 2024.
-Last season he filled the gap at shortstop like the Hall of Fame player he is, becoming one of the top defenders in the league at that position. Now Roberts needs to ask Mookie to do the improbable again: play gold glove shortstop AND hit like the Betts of old rather than like old man Betts. And I say that as a 58-year-old with a desk job who has played catch once on the last five years.
-Besides if anyone can pull off something improbable, it’s Mookie Betts. He’s an incredible athlete and seems like a good human and I’m rooting for him.
-Meanwhile in Metsland they are calling up prized prospect AJ Ewing, who was hitting .327 in AAA Syracuse. They need something to unlock the offense that scored 5 runs in three games in Arizona over the weekend.
-If Jose Soriano pitched every game for the Angels, they’d be 30-10 rather than 16-26. What if he wins the Cy Young for a 4th or 5th place Angels team? It could happen. Paul Skenes won while pitching for the last place Pirates in 2025.
-With yesterday’s win in Houston the Dodgers have played 21% regular season games. The blue are 5-5 in their last 10. Losing a lot of close games. We could use a high leverage arm in the back of the bullpen right about now. Know of any?
-Although our podcast is off to a slow start due to our crazy travel schedules Chris and I are predicting a stronger second half. Similar to the Red Sox, who just fired their manager, verified cheater Alex Cora, and then immediately started playing better this past week.
-How weird is it that the Phillies’ GM is the Phillies’ manager’s son? Kind of cool though. But I’m not sure I could work for any of my kids. Me: “Weren’t you supposed to empty the dishwasher?” Them: “I don’t appreciate your tone. You’re fired.” Me: [hangs head, empties dishwasher].
-Braves, Cubs, Yankees are all genuinely good and baring catastrophe are going to contend the rest of the way. The Padres have played well and Mason Miller is a beast but I’m not sure they are actually good just yet. They’ve given up two more runs that they’ve scored, a -2 run differential. Compare that to the Dodgers (+68), Braves (+80), Cubs (+43), and Yanks (+76).
– I’ll touch on future Dodger Tarik Skubal next week.
baldwinishere 