Podcast: ‘Dugout Blues’ episode 128 – Wood, Greinke, bullpen, Bellinger

On this episode of “Dugout Blues,” Jared Massey (Dodgers Nation) and I talk about the week that was for the Dodgers. Luckily for us, we recorded before last night’s debacle of a game.

Alex Wood made his debut for the Dodgers against the Phillies. He was good, but not great. Still, the 24-year-old has a lot of potential to be a mid-rotation starter.

Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw had uncharacteristic outings. Greinke gave up six runs to the Phillies, but also contributed three hits on offense. Kershaw didn’t have any command on Friday night against Gerrit Cole, and the Dodgers would go onto get swept. It happens. The Pirates are a really good team.

The bullpen is still struggling. Outside of Kenley Jansen, J.P. Howell and Juan Nicasio, there aren’t a ton of guys who instill a lot of trust and confidence.

There were some decent performances in the minors this week. Cody Bellinger had a good week, including a two-home-run game that I witnessed in person. Chase De Jong, acquired for international slot money, had another great outing for the Quakes. Pablo Fernandez, on the other hand, did not and looked like a fringe major leaguer. Guess that’s what $8 million buys these days.

Jared also released his “post trade deadline” (such a cop-out) Top 25 prospects list. It’s pretty awful.

Also something of interest, the Dodgers are employing a pinch-runner-only position in the minors. It began with Robbie Garvey and the player development department has added 2015 38th-rounder Edwin Drexler to that list. It’ll be interesting to see if they actually give one of these guys a shot come the postseason, as the Royals did last year with Terrance Gore.

To close, we answer your questions. Please keep sending them our way.

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Look for new episodes of “Dugout Blues” every Monday. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast and review us on iTunes. We want to make this the best podcast we can so we’re always looking for suggestions and ways to improve.

If you have questions you’d like us to answer or certain topics/players you want to hear more about, feel free to email us ([email protected]) or send us messages on Twitter (@JaredJMassey or @DustinNosler). You can also “Like” the podcast on Facebook. We always welcome audience participation.

About Dustin Nosler

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Dustin Nosler began writing about the Dodgers in July 2009 at his blog, Feelin' Kinda Blue. He co-hosted a weekly podcast with Jared Massey called Dugout Blues. He was a contributor/editor at The Hardball Times and True Blue LA. He graduated from California State University, Sacramento, with his bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in digital media. While at CSUS, he worked for the student-run newspaper The State Hornet for three years, culminating with a 1-year term as editor-in-chief. He resides in Stockton, Calif.