Game 7 Thread: April 3 vs. Nationals, now!

Emmet Sheehan vs. Miles Mikolas.

Holy cow, this game is on right now. And you would think, with the opposing starting pitcher, that my Spidey-Sense should have signalled me. Hmm.

Dodgers are up 5-3, mid-3rd.

Game 6 Thread: April 1 vs. Guardians, 5.20p

Yoshinobu Yamamoto (1-0, 3.00) vs. Gavin Williams (0-1, 5.40).

Weekday game before a travel day, so it's probably a 7p start time, right? APRIL FOOLS!

Nope, we go early tonight, cutting even more into Yoshinobu Yamamoto's recovery time. Lucky for us, it's not like we overworked this guy down the stretch last season. I'm sure we're totally good here.

Game 5 Thread: March 31 vs. Guardians, 7p

Shohei Ohtani vs. Tanner Bibee.

March seemed to follow the old weather adage, "in like a lion, out like a lamb." The Dodgers stormed to three come-from-behind victories over the Diamondbacks to start the season, only to appear totally asleep in last night's series opener (a 4-2 loss). Maybe those Sundays off are a bad thing? We'll see if Shohei has anything to say about it, tonight.

Game 4 Thread: March 30 vs. Guardians, 7p

Roki Sasaki vs. Parker Messick.

Remember Roki Sasaki, starter-turned-effective reliever in the 2025 postseason? Well, that guy is back to the starting rotation...except this 2026 Spring Training, he was not good, with a 15.58 ERA and 15 walks in 8 2/3 innings over four starts.

Yikes.

Sasaki hasn't proven himself as a MLB starter yet, going 1-1 with a 4.46 ERA (ERA+ 93) over eight starts in 2025. The Dodgers might actually have some bullpen options this year, so it makes sense to slot Sasaki back as a starter. But he'd better find his groove fast or this might be a long year.

Game 3 Thread: March 28 vs. Diamondbacks, 6p

Tyler Glasnow vs. Eduardo Rodriguez.

Last night was another come-from-behind victory for the Dodgers, as well as the debut of new Dodgers closer Edwin Diaz...and the debut of the Dodgers' new solo trumpet section (not yet sponsored by Uniqlo).

It would be nice to actually coast to a victory in one of these Opening Series games.

Game 2 Thread: March 27 vs. Diamondbacks, 7p

Emmet Sheehan vs. Ryne Nelson.

All was joyous at Dodger Stadium yesterday, with the Dodgers leveraging home runs from Andy Pages and Will Smith to romp to a 8-2 victory over Arizona.

But let's remember 2009, when Orlando Hudson hit for the cycle en route to a 11-1 Opening Day victory over the Giants, starting the season with a lot of momentum (the Dodgers ended up winning the NL West), only to crash out in the 2009 NLCS in a loss to the Phillies.

It was one game yesterday, over a team not expected to make the playoffs.

Now the ball goes to you, Emmet!

UPDATE: SoSG AC is at the Stadium tonight!

Game 1 Thread: March 26 vs. Diamondbacks, 5.30p

2025 World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs. Zac Gallen.

The Dodgers' quest for (even more) Championship history continues this evening at Chavez Ravine. With the Giants' loss to the Yankees on pre-Opening Day yesterday, the Dodgers look to take a commanding one-game lead in the standings over the Snakes and Gnats.

Today will be Yamamoto's second straight Opening Day start for the Dodgers; it is Gallen's fourth-straight Opening Day start for the Diamondbacks.

I'm so pumped for this game, for this season, for this team.

SoSG Dusty Baker will be at the Stadium representing the Sons.

LET'S GO, DODGERS!

Let's Run It Back

Every holiday season, I get a little ping from our domain service provider to ask if I want to renew the website for another year. And lately, I've been debating this (minor) annual investment.

We started this blog in 2006, when the Dodgers were listless and pathetic and seemed to be fading away into irrelevance, beset by incompetent and miserly management regimes, not to mention three championship titles from the rival team up north. Sons of Steve Garvey was a way to keep up with the Dodgers' day to day travails, a spot for fans to vent about missed opportunities and postseason disappointments.

The late 2010s were especially painful, as the Dodgers' management got smarter, the team got better, and the proximity to a World Series Championship got tantalizingly close. But we couldn't get over the top, thwarted once by a band of cheaters and once by late injuries and a surging Red Sox team.

And then, everything changed. The Dodgers not only got better, we became dominant.

The COVID-shortened Championship title in 2020. The signings of Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Shohei Ohtani, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The dramatic 2024 championship over our historic rival, the New York Yankees. The even more dramatic World Series Championship over the Toronto Blue Jays in 2025, arguably the best World Series ever.

We now have nine World Championship titles, eight of which happened with the franchise based in Los Angeles. And we reloaded this summer to actually appear even stronger than either of the last two years.

SoSG Orel will corroborate that at the beginning of the 2025 season, I predicted we would come up short but win the title in 2026. Our bullpen maladies last year almost made my prediction come true, but our starters had just enough in the tank to edge out the Jays for the series victory.

This year, we're on the precipice of a potential three-peat.

I'm excited.

Meanwhile, our website traffic has sunk to microscopic lows. The website now looks so antiquated, it almost appears like a malware or phishing site. It's clear that the original audience for this blog has since moved on, and yet here we are, still using the blog to post random thoughts and feelings about the team we love.

The team that everyone else in the country hates, because we spend a lot of money and win a lot of games. But the truth is, they're all jealous of our successes.

And this blog is testament to how much fun the ride has been, decades later.

Sons of Steve Garvey has become a neighborhood bar so dark and grimy that when you enter through the door, your eyes have to dilate before you can make out any sights--and right after you're hit by the stench of decades-old cigar smoke baked into the oak furniture and leather seating upholstery, you realize that there's just one other person in the bar with the hunched-over bartender behind the counter.

It may be a relic of another era. But for some of us, it's still home.

So, I've paid the annual domain fee for another year, which means I'll be posting for this 2026 Dodgers season.

Here's hoping you come in and take a seat.

Let's run this one back.

Archiving the 2025 SoSG Attendance Record, For Posterity

Once again, it's time to archive the prior season's attendance record, again a World Series Chamionship 2025 season for the Los Angeles Dodgers (the franchise's ninth title). The Sons were an amazing 10-2 during the regular season, as well as a spotless 2-0 during the postseason (and this was a second consecutive year that Sax has seen a walk-off Freddie Freeman home run in a World Series game!).

SoSG 2025 record: 10-2, 2-0 postseason

3/28 vs. DET (W, 8-5 (10)): Sax
4/2 vs. ATL (W, 6-5): AC
4/27 vs. WAS (W, 9-2): Dusty
5/17 vs. LAA (L, 2-6): Sax
5/31 vs. NYY (W, 18-2): Dusty, Sax
6/3 vs. NYM (W, 6-5): Nomo
6/15 vs. SF (W, 5-4): AC
6/17 vs. SD (W, 8-6): Dusty
6/18 vs. SD (W, 4-3): AC
6/22 vs. WAS (W, 13-7): AC, Dusty
7/5 vs. HOU (L, 6-4): Orel, Sax
9/18 vs. SF (W, 2-1): Sax

10/9 NLDS G4 vs. PHI (W, 2-1 (11)): Sax

10/27 WS G3 vs. TOR (W, 6-5 (18)): AC, Sax

In 2025, I only got to five games (3-2), plus two playoff games (2-0). That was the fewest number of games I had attended in a season in over a decade (excluding 2020). I pledge to get back to the Stadium a lot more in 2026!

Prior SoSG attendance records: 2008 (18-15), 2009 (21-10), 2010 (9-8), 2011 (10-7), 2012 (24-18), 2013 (24-16), 2014 (22-12), 2015 (27-13), 2016 (10-5), 2017 (27-13) 2018 (12-9), 2019 (10-5), 2020 (0-0), 2021 (4-3), 2022 (4-4), 2023 (5-5), 2024 (5-6).

Dodgers Force Mets To Pick Up Battle-Damaged Bo Bichette

In the chess game that is the MLB Hot Stove season, my shock and glee at the Dodgers picking up top free agent Kyle Tucker for an otherworldly four-year, $240M deal ($57M/year with deferrals) was only amplified by the subsequent move of the Mets to gobble up Bo Bichette for a similar three-year, $126M deal.

Sure, the deal for Tucker (4.6 WAR in 2025, even with injuries) is more expensive. But Bichette (3.5 WAR in 2025, also with injuries) is also pricey. A revenge f___, if you will, by Steve Cohen?

In any event, it will be interesting to watch Bichette and Juan Soto play rock paper scissors before each game in 2027 to see who gets to play DH, and where the Mets want to place the defensive weakness on the field.

Welcome to the Dodgers, Kyle Tucker!

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Verducci: "The Greatest Catch In World Series History"

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Diaz? Nuts!

Hat tip to SoSG Nomo for that headline.

After foolishly throwing away money with long-term deals to relievers who completely bombed in 2025, the Dodgers have gone out and landed closer Edwin Diaz (three years, $69M).

The Los Angeles Dodgers got the best closer on the free agent market Tuesday, reaching a three-year, $69 million deal with former New York Mets reliever Edwin Diaz, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan and Jorge Castillo on Tuesday.

The deal by the Dodgers, who were targeting bullpen help this winter, set an average annual value record for a relief pitcher.

Diaz, a three-time All-Star, logged a 1.63 ERA and converted 28 of 31 save chances for the Mets last season. With an elite combination of a high-velocity fastball and vicious slider, Diaz, 31, has posted high strikeout rates throughout his career. In 2025, Diaz struck out 98 in 66⅓ innings while walking just 14 batters.

The Dodgers went into the offseason with a clear need in the back end of the bullpen after their relievers combined for a 4.27 ERA and blew 27 saves, tied for the seventh most in the majors. The state of their bullpen was so bad heading into October that the Dodgers used their starting-pitching depth to supplement it, transitioning Roki Sasaki to closer while using the likes of Emmet Sheehan, Justin Wrobleski and, at times, Tyler Glasnow in relief roles.

Diaz now solidifies the ninth inning, with Tanner Scott, who the Dodgers hope will bounce back from a disastrous first season in L.A., lined up as his setup man. The likes of Alex Vesia, Blake Treinen, Anthony Banda and Brusdar Graterol, the latter of whom is coming back from shoulder surgery, headline what the organization believes to be a deep crop of relievers.

Initial assessments are pretty positive, probably stemming from the recency of watching the Dodgers' bullpen this postseason:

ESPN's Bradford Doolittle: Grade: A

It's a bad idea to sign a relief pitcher to a long-term contract. But it's not a bad idea to sign Edwin Diaz to a long-term contract, and it's especially not a bad idea for the Los Angeles Dodgers to do so.

You could get really cynical or optimistic about this -- whether you're a Dodgers fan or not. The Dodgers' bullpen plan a year ago was to stock the roster with a ridiculous list of big-name relievers who had all worked in the closing role for various teams. The depth chart was eye-popping: Blake Treinen, Tanner Scott, Evan Phillips, Kirby Yates and Michael Kopech. The plan did not work. Each of those pitchers struggled with injuries, performance or both.

That being the base, you could point at the Diaz signing as an expression of Dodger hubris: They did not learn the most basic of bullpen-building lessons, that there is no such thing as certainty with that position group, no matter how much money you spend on it. Of that quintet, only Scott and Treinen remain on the roster.

So, sure, any and every reliever is a risk, but for the Dodgers, Diaz is more than worth it. Few relievers truly separate themselves from the pack and maintain their status for an extended period of time. Diaz is one of them, and this deal -- strange as it is to say about a reliever -- is a bargain, even if the $23 million average annual value is a record for a bullpenner.

Doolittle goes on to point out the Dodgers got a shorter term than expected--three years--which other less-resourced teams might not have been able to execute. (Tanner Scott's disastrous deal, for example, was for four years.)

But this Diaz deal is not without concern, as MLB Trade Rumors pointed out:

That’s not to say there aren’t any red flags at all with regard to Diaz. His average fastball velocity has dipped in two consecutive seasons. While this past season’s average of 97.2 mph was still well above average, it’s also two miles per hour shy of Diaz’s 2022 peak. He also gave up considerably more hard contact. Diaz’s 88.5 mph average exit velocity and 39.7% hard-hit rate were both the second-highest marks of his career, trailing only his disastrous 2019 season (his first as a Met). Neither is a glaring issue, particularly considering Diaz maintained elite strikeout and swinging-strike rates (38% and 18%, respectively), but he’ll want to avoid allowing those negative trends to continue, however slight they may currently be.

No WBC for Diaz in 2026, though!

Dodgers World Series Mini-Movie

Thanks to Houston Mitchell of the Dodgers Dugout (LA Times newsletter) for this find.

I haven't watched the whole thing yet, but I like the blue shaded coloring in the opening minutes of the movie!

Dodgers Mentioned As Potential Tarik Skubal Destination

Skubal: Do?

It's obviously just speculation, but here's here's The Athletic's Jim Bowden's argument for why the Dodgers might be in the running for the two-time Cy Young Award winner:

Potential trade return: RHP Emmet Sheehan, LHP Justin Wrobleski, LHP Jackson Ferris and OF Zyhir Hope

The Dodgers already have four aces in their rotation and an exciting development project in Roki Sasaki. However, teams can never have enough starting pitching, so the Dodgers have no reason not to add another ace to the top of the rotation, especially when they can offer a competitive package and have the resources to keep him long-term, as well.

Los Angeles could offer two major-league ready starting pitchers in Sheehan and Wrobleski, and a third pitcher in Ferris who’s getting closer to being major-league ready. Sheehan and Wrobleski have already cut their teeth at the major-league level, even getting important innings during the postseason. Sheehan was especially impressive with the Dodgers this year, putting up a 2.82 ERA in 73 1/3 innings during the regular season.

Ferris should start next season in Triple A after posting a 3.62 ERA in 154 1/3 Double A innings the last two seasons. He and Hope were the return the Dodgers got from the Cubs in the deal that sent Michael Busch to Chicago. Ferris won’t turn 22 until January and has plus stuff but needs to work on his command.

Hope has the highest ceiling among this group. He’s at least two years away from the major leagues, but he reached Double A at the end of the season and has above-average on-base skills to go along with a power-and-speed combination at the plate and a strong glove in center field.

Another idea would be to substitute Tyler Glasnow for Sheehan in the deal. This would give the Tigers a top-of-the-rotation starter to replace Skubal and they would control Glasnow for three more years. Glasnow does not have a no-trade clause with the Dodgers and has $94 million remaining on his contract if the team-half of the 2028 mutual option is exercised.

I didn't realize Glasnow doesn't have a no-trade clause.

2025 World Series Games 6 and 7, From A Blue Jays Fan

We've been passing this youtube thread around some of the Sons in the last week. It's an excellent recap of Games 6 and 7 from the perspective of a Blue Jays fan.

I have to admit, watching these highlights now, even knowing the outcome--it is still so stressful to watch. And that's as a Dodgers fan! But it's worth the 22 minutes; Ross Rheaume did a great job compiling this piece.

Enjoy!

Miguel Rojas' Game 7 Heroics, Revisited (Part 1)

Two weeks later, and I'm still watchiing highlights. But I just wanted to post this one by Stephen Nelson and Rick Monday, when Miguel Rojas hit his game-tying, ninth-inning home run in World Series Game 7. This was such a shock home run, I still get chills!

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Shohei Ohtani Wins Fourth MVP Award; 4x Unanimous Vote Winner

As amazing as Shohei Ohtani has been with the Dodgers in his first two seasons, it begs the question why he didn't reach these heights with the Angels' organization. I still can't figure that one out.

But let's not lose the opportunity to celebrate Ohtani's fourth career MVP award:

Ohtani has won four MVPs over the past five years, all of them in unanimous fashion. Only Barry Bonds has more with seven.

"It's definitely special," Ohtani, speaking through an interpreter, said on a conference call. "It makes it special because it was unanimous, and I would like to thank all the writers for voting for me."

Ohtani, 31, had already joined Hall of Famer Frank Robinson as the only players to win MVP in both leagues and the only player among the four major American professional sports with more than one unanimous MVP. Now he is the first player in MLB, NBA, NHL and NFL history to win both an MVP and a championship in each of his first two seasons with a team, according to ESPN Research.

In true Ohtani fashion, he prioritized this year's World Series team victory over his own individual accomplishment:

“The biggest thing,” Ohtani said through an interpreter of this 2025 win, “is obviously being able to win the World Series. That's first and foremost. You know, it's icing on the cake to be able to get an individual award, being crowned MVP, but I just really appreciate the support from all my teammates, everybody around me, my supporting staff.”

The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya also has a nice piece, which ends with this:

In Game 3 of the World Series against the Blue Jays, Ohtani showed the world something else they’d never seen. He’d pounded Toronto through his first four at-bats, slugging a pair of doubles and two home runs to will the Dodgers to a 5-5 tie. Toronto manager John Schneider saw enough and put him on with intentional walks each of the next four times he went to the plate in an eventual 18-inning marathon. When Ohtani came up a ninth time on the night, he was walked on four pitches. It marked the first time in any game since 1942 that a batter had reached safely nine times, and no one had ever reached more than six times in a World Series game.

“We’re still running out of words to describe a once-in-a-ten-generational player,” Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman said.

Now, Ohtani has even more hardware.

Congratulations, Shohei Ohtani!

Dodgers Considering Signing More Guys Following Bad Years

Michael Conforto, walking back to the dugout after one of his 121 Ks in 2025.

I know the Dodgers need to fill some gaps, but I'm pretty concerned about the rumors that we're chasing injury-prone Kyle Tucker and largely-ineffective reliever Devin Williams.

Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic had the news on Williams:

Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes affirmed Tuesday that the Dodgers could sign a reliever as they ramp up for a potential three-peat. Candidates include at least one familiar target already clear at this week’s annual general managers’ meetings in Las Vegas, sources said: two-time All-Star reliever Devin Williams.

The Dodgers had been in the mix to trade for Williams last winter before the Milwaukee Brewers shipped him to the New York Yankees. Williams even said in his introductory news conference with New York, “I kind of thought I’d be going to L.A.”

His Yankees campaign fell off the rails as Williams posted a 4.79 ERA and lost his closer role by the end of the season (though his 2.68 FIP and 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings suggest he was still productive).

Now, there appears to be mutual interest between the two sides early in Williams’ first foray into free agency.

Williams was simply not good for the Yankees, who tried in vain to get him back to form using multiple unsuccessful approaches. And then, there's Tucker, whom ESPN's Jeff Passan says is interesting albeit not 10-years interesting (whew!). At least MLB Trade Rumors' Anthony Franco wisely reminds us there are other options:

The balance could be to turn to the trade market. Steven Kwan, Lars Nootbaar (recovering from heel surgeries), Brendan Donovan and Wilyer Abreu are among the outfield-capable players who might be available. The Dodgers were tied to Kwan and Donovan at last summer’s deadline. They certainly have the farm system to make a strong offer for a controllable outfielder. Rushing could be a trade chip if the Dodgers don’t feel he’d be an above-average regular in left field, for instance.

The Dodgers obviously have the spending capacity to make a run at any free agent as well. They’ve generally preferred making shorter-term commitments at huge annual rates to offering decade-long deals, though. They’ve broken that precedent for Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but both were special cases. Ohtani is the best player in the world and Yamamoto was a 25-year-old ace. Tucker is an excellent player but not that kind of unique free agent. The Dodgers would probably be more amenable to a five- or six-year deal at a premium AAV if Tucker winds up going that route, but it stands to reason his camp will try to pull a ten-plus year commitment in the early part of the offseason.

Look, we saw the disaster that was The Michael Conforto Reclamation Project in 2025 (thankfully, not in the regular season). -0.7 WAR, 418 AB, .199 BA, OPS+ of 79. And then, after trotting his sorry ass out to left field all year long, we didn't even consider him in the postseason.

We can't do this again.

(photo by Getty Images, unfortunately I can't credit the specific photographer because the OC Register's stupid paywall blocks the text)

Clayton Kershaw Had Shohei Ohtani's Number

Saw this clip from the Dan Patrick show:

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Kiké Hernandez, On Brand At The Dodgers 2025 World Championship Ceremony

Leave it to Kike on Monday, to show up to the Dodgers' 2025 World Championship Ceremony like the drunken uncle who decides he wants to give an off-the-cuff speech at a wedding:

I've found this video of the uncensored version, but I am not going to spend too much time looking for any other clips. Let's keep this family friendly (at least, for a while)!