The Giants got a well-pitched game from Yunior Marte and a 4 relievers but the lineup was overmatched by Dodger's SP Tarik Skubal and the outcome was never really in doubt. Key Lines:
Yunior Marte RHP- 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K's, 6/1 GO/AO. ERA= 4.44. Marte was again a gamer who fared better than his previous game against the same team. Per Gameday, FB had variable velocity 90-95 MPH. Is that by design or unwanted variability in mechanics? He threw more sliders and splitters than FB's and used those pitches to get groundball outs. He looks like he can compete for a long relief/spot start role next season.
Tarik Skubal LHP(Dodgers)- 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 K's. ERA= 2.72. The Giants roughed him up a bit in Dodger Stadium but you knew that wasn't going to happen 2 games in a row, not with this lineup. And yes, the Giants are not currently competitive with the Dodgers with or without Tarik Skubal. They would not be competitive with the Dodgers even if Skubal transferred off the Dodgers and to the Giants. That's how wide the talent gap is. It's a little better with Devers and Eldridge in the lineup but I don't think they are competitive even with them plus a Skubal and that's with the Dodgers suffering their own rash of injuries.
Just the fact that Skubal is currently a Dodger and the odds favor him remaining a Dodger for 10 more seasons is a testament to how broken MLB is right now. I have never been a supporter of a hard salary cap but when one team is playing by one set of rules and the rest of the league is playing by another, fans of the rest of the league are going to eventually lose interest. And it isn't just payroll and it's not just the Dodgers. When ever year 20% of teams empty out their roster and stop competing at the trade deadline while another 20% load up on top players with one team getting THE best player year in and year out, that gets old after awhile too.
I don't have much faith it will happen and it doesn't necessarily have to be a hard cap, but I would like to see something done to curb what the Dodgers are doing and I would like to see the trade deadline much earlier in the season. I think the payroll structure is more likely to change than the trade deadline.
Matt Wilkinson LHP gets a big test today after a terrific start against the Dodgers last weekend. He faces exhibit 2, Blake Snell LHP, who comes in with an ERA of 1.86. I was musing to my friend who is a Dodgers fan that us Giants fans have a saying that goes, "he was a good Giant". Blake Snell was not a good Giant!
Everyone loves a feel good story and to see Goliath (Dodger$) get knocked off by David (Milwaukee or Tampa Bay) would be wonderful. But that uplifting upset would come at the worst possible time since the Dodger$ and those who want to emulate them would argue that “ the system is not broken” and “anyone can win if you do things right.” Well, as Doc says, the Dollar$ will then be even more resolved to go shopping and swapping and the broken system will lead to greater disenfranchisement across the sport.
ReplyDeleteYou mention Skubal as a Dodger for ten more seasons. With the current use of high velocity pitches and the sweeper, I'm not sure if even Skubal with have that many productive seasons, let alone half of that.
ReplyDeleteThe Dodgers don't care. They just buy up enough aces they can rotate them in and out through injuries over many years.
DeleteMark Walter, the Dodgers' main owner, is being investigated for insurance fraud. Walter has no plans to sell and MLB will probably not force him. However, there seems to be something going on as Walter has sold off his stakes in the Lakers and Chelsea. Even though Walter insists business as usual for the Dodgers, money from the Dodgers would be a place for Walter and Guggenheim to tap into if they need to stabilize things. This could be nothing but if we follow the money, the sudden sale of Lakers and Chelsea shares suggest otherwise. Forbes has reported a $4 million loan to Dodger Tickets by one of the involved insurers so the feds are looking at the Dodgers, also.
ReplyDeleteSkubal's agent is Scott Boras and he probably is keeping a close eye on the situation even though he hasn't said anything about it. He's trying to get Skubal a $500 million contract and probably playing up the Dodgers to drive the price up. If Mets and Blue Jays get involved, it could hit $500 million and with Walter's situation, they may not want to commit that much money in the next ten years. I'm thinking Skubal goes to the Dodgers for higher AAV and has opt-outs in place just in case the Walter situation gets worse.
I believe instead of a salary cap MLB needs to make the teams pay the entire salary each year either to the players or to an escrow account. That way the team has to come up with the actual cash which is way harder to do.
ReplyDeleteI believe there are already escrow accounts involved. They could still defer money but the AAV for CBT should be the same for current or deferred money.
DeleteThe Dodgers have a history of doing what they do. I'm not so bothered by Ohtani's big salary as much as the deferrals allow him to dodge a lot of California taxes. Bay Area legislators (Giants fans) have looked into this but there was nothing they could do. Their local constituents do the same thing.
ReplyDeleteDon't like the tax dodge and I also don't like the AAV discount for CBT calculations the team gets from the deferred money.
DeleteA lot of Ohtani’s current wealth comes from endorsing green tea in Japan. Three years ago, you could see his picture in every direction in stores advertising the tea. One year ago, not quite as much. I think Japan is experiencing Shohei fatigue.
DeleteThe AAV discount doesn’t bother me as much because it accounts for inflation. The tax dodge is costing the state of California millions and Snell is doing it also.
DeleteMark Walter insists the Dodgers are "not for sale" and business will go on as usual. Selling off sports franchises is not a casual transaction because he got $12.5 billion from the Lakers sale and 1.6 billion pounds from the Chelsea sale. The need for liquidity and the seizure of Walter's cellphone by the FBI are signs something serious is going on. This is said not to involve the Dodgers' day to day operations but I suspect both the players and Dodgers will shy away from long term commitments and focus more on short-term deals with opt-outs in place if the situation becomes more unstable. Also, MLB doesn't like instability so they may intervene, also. It might explain a lot of where all the money came from to pay for some of these free agents.
DeleteWhat a lineup today. No starters from day 1 and I think the only one that was on the 26 man roster back then was Koss. It would be cool if they won this one with that lineup.
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