Leave No Trayce

 

Trayce Thompson's career trajectory is a lot like his brother Klay's team, the Golden State Warriors. He was very very good, and then out of nowhere he just instantly stopped being good for a couple of years, the league moved on, and now all of the sudden he's extremely good again as if the last few years didn't just happen. 

In Trayce's case, he had a decent rookie season as a member of the Chicago White Sox, was collateral damage in the deal that brought Todd Frazier to Chicago, and had a very starry season as a bench bat for the Dodgers in 2016. That was the last notable thing he did for 6 years. He spent that period tanking in both the majors and the minors, failing even with the White Sox, missing all of the 2020 season because he was still basically a minor leaguer, somehow figuring out how to hit home runs again in Columbus and Iowa, struggling for the Cubs and Padres, and was bottoming out in Toledo before the Dodgers brought him back.

And then, naturally, once he was back in LA, Trayce Thompson played some of the best baseball he'd ever played, hitting .268 with 38 RBIs and 13 homers in 74 games. It baffled me. How was Thompson back NOW, and why was it with the Dodgers again? Why and how? Apparently it was a mix of circumstances and new tactics. And now, after 3 games of 2023, he's responsible for a 3-homer game and leads the league in RBIs with 8. 

I...Trayce Thompson's on a team with Mookie Betts, Max Muncy and Freddie Freeman and he's really hitting better than all of them right now. Blows my mind.

As a Thompson skeptic, I am gonna be spending the rest of the month waiting for the other shoe to drop. Because this can't be real, can it? Did Trayce Thompson really just bottom out for 6 years and then suddenly remember how to hit major league pitching? Is this a more nepotism-y version of Rich Hill?

The Dodgers themselves are doing well so far, and are getting the most out of newcomers like David Peralta, James Outman and Miguel Rojas. Look, this isn't the homegrown masterpiece that a lot of prior Dodgers teams were, and it may be slightly artificial, but I do see them doing well this year. They're certainly doing better than the Padres right now, so maybe that's a sign that I was off pre-season.

Coming Tomorrow- Local ace can't stop throwing strikes; film at 11.

Division Series Update: Immense Joy and Creeping Terror

 

I think I've talked at length on here about how ridiculous it is sometimes being a Philadelphia sports fan. It's different from being the usual kind of long suffering sports fan, because sometimes you do win, and when you do win you expect to keep winning, and then...you never do. It's like the world's weirdest psychological conditioning. Like, consistently getting punished for believing good things were going to happen, and then keeping expectations so low that when good things do happen, you're in disbelief.

I did not think the Phillies would beat the Cardinals. And I certainly did not think the Phillies would beat the Braves. And here we are. Phils are going to the NLCS. In 2011, they had the team that SHOULD have gone to the NLCS, they didn't, and now THIS TEAM, with Bryce Harper not at 100%, Nick Castellanos hitting essentially when he feels like it, and only a slight improvement on the whole bullpen issue, is within 4 games of a World Series. 

I'm overjoyed. I'm so glad people like Brandon Marsh, Alec Bohm, Jose Alvarado and, yes, Bryce Harper, can be postseason performers for this Phillies team. It just was never a possibility because the narrative of this season was driven by teams like the Braves and Cardinals, and Dodgers honestly. And now the Phillies are going to an NLCS. 

...and the Dodgers aren't.

I...I think that in expanding the playoffs years ago, the MLB made it possible for underdog teams to have more of a stake in the playoffs. You know, for years it was just 'well the two best teams in each league play each other and the winner goes to a World Series', and then when other divisions came up and it became possible for multiple teams to be really good in divisions, it became 'well we can't leave these guys out', forgetting that October momentum is like any other month's momentum, and a 100-win team could go cold going into a seventh month. So this is why so many upsets happen, because now that the postseason is so expanded, those fluke teams have as much of a chance as the titans.

Which is why the Padres took down the Dodgers, something they had trouble doing all season. 

I said it after they took down the Mets, all the Padres needed were great starts from Musgrove, Darvish and Snell, and production from their lineup. Trent Grisham has been hot all postseason, Austin Nola had a great night last night, Machado and Soto have been holding things down, and there seems like so many opportunities for this team to succeed. And them coming to life late last night, blowing up Tommy Kahnle and completing the arc they'd been working on for 2 years...perfect.

A Padres-Phillies NLCS is gonna be a lot of fun. The Nola Brothers are gonna do battle. Harper and Soto are gonna square off. Machado is gonna play the team he could have gone to on two separate occasions. It's gonna be INSANE. And...again...I don't think the Phillies are gonna win. Mostly because I think that's my strategy here. 

Now...yesterday wasn't all roses, y'all...

Because the Astros are going to yet another ALCS, and have the potential to ruin all the fun vibes the NLCS is planning on setting up. I am 100% sick of the Astros just being amazing every year, holding momentum through the whole season and beating all the fun and worthy teams. It's like the Patriots all over again except I actually like Dusty Baker. The Astros waited 18 innings to score a run, and then did it IN SEATTLE, to punish the Mariners for actually having hope, which was CRUEL. That was MEAN AS HELL and they did it anyway because they're the Astros. Pathetic.

Anyway they're going onto the ALCS, and...if the Yankees make it, they'll have to do that schtick again, and if the Guardians make it they have a pretty good chance too. I just...so badly want someone else to win an ALCS. This is worse than the Cardinals in the mid-2010s, cause at least the Cardinals didn't cheat in 2011. I just want, ONE TIME, a consequence to befall this team. That's it. And then maybe someone else can make a World Series. 

Look, at this point I kinda want the Guardians to win anyway, because at least they will provide some variety from the usual 'Astros beat the Yankees in the ALCS' thing we always do. Plus, the Guardians are scrappy as hell and a can kill a team with contact ball. The Yankees had their long-balls last night, and the Guardians won it with contact hitting. It was infuriating to watch, but from a baseball standpoint it was great. Oscar Gonzalez, Steven Kwan and Will Brennan taking down AARON JUDGE, GIANCARLO STANTON AND ANTHONY RIZZO would be...huge. And at this point, I'm honest enough about this Yankee season that I can be alright with it. 

Still, we should mourn the fallen:

The Braves proved that 2021 was not a fluke, and came back better and stronger than they were last year, ensuring they'll be competing for a long time. They may have lost this year, but they'll definitely be back next year, and with a lot of the same characters.

The Mariners were the feel-good story of the year, finally breaking a 21-year playoff drought and letting young stars like Julio Rodriguez, Cal Raleigh, Logan Gilbert and George Kirby fuel the narrative. I just wished that they would have had anything to get past Houston, but they could definitely be back next year.

And the Dodgers, ironically like the 2001 Mariners, were an unstoppable regular season force that looked unsinkable, and thereby sunk. I think the Dodgers did a lot right this year, and that their lineup was still impressive as hell [Trayce Thompson came back POWERFUL]. But the injuries, and some bullpen issues, sunk this team, and hopefully they'll learn from it.

Yanks-Guardians is today, and the Guardians could clinch. I'd prefer they didn't.

Damn, Klay's Bro's Pretty Good!

The outfield in LA hasn't exactly been constant. Joc Pederson's been the most consistent guy in there. Andre Ethier's been out all season with injuries, Yasiel Puig just got back from the DL, Carl Crawford got DFA'd, and the guys they had on hand as backup outfielders, like Scott Van Slyke and Enrique Hernandez, have been doing pretty damn poorly.

The only two good outfield reinforcements have been from some highly unlikely places. Howie Kendrick's played some games in the outfield thanks to Chase Utley coming in and becoming the starting 2nd baseman, and he's done comparatively well. The other guy nobody could have predicted becoming the outfield standout...is Trayce Thompson. Klay's brother.

The guy's hit 11 home runs since coming up, has played some really nice defensive ball, and has made a case for just playing every day instead of playing every other and coming in whether Hernandez runs out of steam. The guy has just shot out, out of absolutely nowhere, which is pretty nice--anything to give the Dodgers some publicity.

I think this is important, because the momentum coming out of this Dodgers team can't all come from the pitching. Kershaw, Maeda, Urias and Kazmir can only do so much, and Kenley Jansen can only have so many saves. Most of the lineup is slacking this year, and if people like Trayce Thompson, Adrian Gonzalez and Corey Seager can keep at it, the rotation won't have to do all the work.

Still, the month he's having is definitely a good sign.

Coming Tomorrow- He had one hell of a streak back there, and he's STILL as hot as hell.