St. Louis Cardinals (16-14) @ Los Angeles Dodgers (18-14)
You have already met the Dodgers formidable pitching staff. Did you know they also lead the N.L. in runs scored? Bill Richmond (23-year-old 2B, bats L) leads the team in batting at .331 and stolen bases with 9. Slugging 1B Ron Thompson is second in the N.L. with 29 RBI to go with 6 HR and a .307 batting average. DH Matt Kemp is hitting .326, star CF Joc Pederson is at .314 with 20 RBI, LF Theo Alexander has 19 RBI, yada yada yada. We will see most of their scary pitchers in this four-game series played at Dodger Stadium, which seats 56,000 and plays as a slight pitcher’s park. The Dodgers are managed by former Mariners skipper Aaron Holbert, in his first season with L.A.
Michael Wacha will start game 3 on Wednesday. Perdomo will pitch out of the bullpen in this series. The Cardinals pitcher for game 4 on Thursday is listed as “undecided”.
May 10, 2021: G031 (16-15, - GB, t-1st)
Star: LA C Jack Murphy 3-3, HR, 2 RBI (GWRBI)
Odorizzi did not have his best stuff but battled into the eighth.
Texas refused my offer of Hald for their #3 prospect, so it’s back to the drawing board.
May 11, 2021: G032 (17-15, 1st, +1G)
Star: STL 1B Trey Michalczewski 2-5, HR, 3 RBI, 2 RS
L.A. CF Joc Pederson was injured on a defensive play (oblique strain, 2 weeks).
Cardinals-Athletics Exchange Six Players
This trade doesn’t include any stars and doesn’t solve the #2 starter problem, but I get back a prospect and two useful pitchers for three players that I did not want. I also made room for stud prospect SP Jose Flores, who was promoted from AAA to replace Hald in the rotation.
Chambers has an affordable $1.6M arbitration estimate for next season. He has three options remaining and provides good insurance for next year’s rotation. Rodebaugh is a quality bullpen arm at minimum salary with two minor league options. I could have optioned Hald to AAA instead of trading him, but I would have released him at the end of the season anyway. I would much rather have Chambers and an extra $3M in profit.
May 12, 2021: G033 (17-16, - GB, t-1st)
Star: LA SP Clayton Kershaw 7.1 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K
Wacha 5.1 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 2 HR, 4 BB, 6 K
Matt Snyder and Shelby Miller have both asked for a trade because they are not happy with their role on the team. I would love to oblige them, but neither player has any value.
Perdomo will pitch the final game of the Dodgers series. Flores will pitch the first game of the Milwaukee series starting on Friday because he is not fully rested. I will push the rotation back one day, so Rosenthal and Odorizzi will pitch the other two games.
May 13, 2021: G034 (17-17, - GB, t-1st)
Star: LA SP Jose Fernandez 8 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K
Perdomo 8 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K (run scored on two singles and a sac fly)
2B/SS Hector Rios was injured while throwing the ball. The diagnosis is pending.
I am really kicking myself now for putting Cris Navarro through waivers when Crawford came off the D/L. He was up for a big arbitration award next year, and I didn’t want to pay that much to a utility infielder. I shopped Navarro right before the move, and there were no offers. That usually indicates no interest, but not this time. I could really use him now, whether he hits or not. T-Mick will be my utility infielder until Rios is able to play again, and Snyder would play first if T-Mick is needed elsewhere. However, I don’t look forward to watching T-Mick (or Wong) play shortstop.
By the way, I kick myself a lot. My previous dynasty “bullet” format really did not allow for this much self-doubt on a day-to-day basis. One thing that I wanted to do this time was to put more of my failures, bad decisions, and course changes into the narrative.
Trade Discussions
Tampa Bay remains interested in trading SP Max Hicks for SP Michael Pineda, SP Luis Perdomo, and LF Dutch Deol. Pineda and Perdomo are expendable, since I now have recently-acquired SP Ray Chambers to compete for a rotation spot with Rosenthal and Wacha. I also have top prospect Gerald Thompson waiting in the wings. The holdup is trading Deol. I love his defense, on-base percentage and clutch hitting. I just can’t bring myself to let him go, despite the warts and his high arbitration estimate. Right-handed hitters with decent OPS and defensive skills are really hard to find in this league.
I am convinced that Pineda is not as good as his record because of his .256 BABIP and K/BB ratio of 5 vs. a 3.5 career mark. This could be my best opportunity to sell high and save Pineda’s $6.7 million salary for next season. I don’t want to wait too long in case he slumps or gets hurt. I think having a second ace in the rotation would take some of the pressure off Flores and (later) Thompson.
I still have my eye on Taijuan Walker in Seattle. I can’t afford him and Hicks. I think Walker is a better fit IF his salary demands are more like a true #2.