Podcast: ‘Dugout Blues’ episode 151 – Maeda, Stripling, Puig, minor trade

On this episode of “Dugout Blues,” Jared Massey (Dodger Blue) and I recap the first week of the season. It started off so well, too.

The offense was surprisingly good against both the Padres and Giants. That’s encouraging for the rest of the season. The pitching was much better in San Diego than it was in San Francisco. Clayton Kershaw, Scott Kazmir and Kenta Maeda were all great against the Padres.

The biggest pitching story of the week was Ross Stripling‘s 7 1/3 no-hit innings in San Francisco. We talked about Dave Roberts‘ correct decision to remove Stripling when he did.

The Dodgers acquired two depth pieces in outfielder James Ramsey and utility man Zach Walters from Cleveland for cash considerations. Ramsey has the pedigree as the 23rd overall pick in the 2012 draft (five picks behind Corey Seager), while Walters hit 10 home runs in the majors in 2014 (but not much else). They’re both on the 40-man roster, so they might see some time in Los Angeles (if they aren’t designated for assignment before the opportunity arises).

Yasiel Puig is off to a scorching start, and it’s probably the most encouraging thing from opening week.

The minor-league season also got started, and some Dodger pitching prospects looked good (Zach Lee, Jharel Cotton, Chase De Jong, Grant Holmes), while the hitters left something to be desired. Howie Kendrick and Yasmani Grandal have been rehabbing at High-A and Triple-A, respectively. They should be back early this week. Carl Crawford went on the disabled list and Micah Johnson took his spot on the roster.

We close with a solid Q&A session. Please keep them coming.

Also, if you’re having trouble on iPhone via the Podcasts app of getting episode 150 (or other back episodes), unsubscribe from the podcast, delete the podcast from the app, resubscribe and the past episodes should show up.

Libsyn link
Direct link
iTunes link

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

Avatar photo
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.