It is high, it is far, it is JOHN! : Higgy says farewell: "I (I) consider (ider) myself (self) to be the luckiest (luckiest) man (man) on the face (ace) of the earth (the erth)...

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Monday, December 11, 2023

Higgy says farewell: "I (I) consider (ider) myself (self) to be the luckiest (luckiest) man (man) on the face (ace) of the earth (the erth)...

Posted by el duque at 5:47 AM

Get out your Kleenex. Higgy is gone.

No more "Higashioka, the home run strokah!"

(Did I dream it, or did John also say "Gettin' higgy with it...")

Yesterday, he posted this on Musk Mush.

26 comments:

JM said...: Kyle is a good guy. I hope he does well in SD.; December 11, 2023 at 8:17 AM
Carl J. Weitz said...: Ditto JM; December 11, 2023 at 8:56 AM
AboveAverage said...: Higgy also possesses a great sense of humor that helped to keep things loose in the clubhouse (especially when dressed up as a cross dressing Norman Bates/Boone, darting around the showers with a giant cardboard knife).

Don’t know if the Mother Norman Bates/Boone thing is true or not but apparently he was a funny guy to have around.; December 11, 2023 at 9:02 AM
Doug K. said...: That brought a tear to my eye.; December 11, 2023 at 10:17 AM
AboveAverage said...: I regrettably do not believe that the Higgster will have any influence at all in bringing a World Series title to San Diego.

AND WOULD SOMEONE GET DOUG A TISSUE, PLEASE!; December 11, 2023 at 10:42 AM
BTR999 said...: Really nothing bad to say about Higashioka., who labored in the minors for 10 years, played hard, and from all accounts was a good teammate with a professional approach. He’ll be 34 next year, I wonder if he’ll rejoin the team in some capacity when his playing days are over?; December 11, 2023 at 10:49 AM
The Hammer of God said...: That guy would make a great coach, I'm sure. Not so sure that the Yankees would bring back one of their own to coach. Like with players, they seem to prefer to import some bozo from Timbuktoo. Preferably with zero MLB experience. David Cone would've made a great pitching coach, right? And yet they brought in Matt Blake. Maybe Coney didn't want the job. After all, high profile coaches get zero credit if things go right and all the blame if things go wrong. Like umpiring, it's a thankless job.

But who knows. Higgie is smart enough not to burn any bridges. He's heaping praise on the generosity of the Yankee organization. How the Yankee organization saved him from the cold, brutal world. How the Steinbrenner family saved his soul from eternal damnation. How they nurtured him from a diapered babe into a man and an MLB veteran. How someday he hopes to return and repay the Yankee organization for all the infinite good things they've done unto him.; December 11, 2023 at 11:11 AM
el duque said...: Write this down.

Higgy... future Yankee manager.; December 11, 2023 at 11:17 AM
AboveAverage said...: E.D. - by future manager - do you mean May or June?; December 11, 2023 at 11:20 AM
Scottish Yankee fan said...: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/12/dodgers-trade-victor-gonzalez-yankees.html#comments

Giving up Trey Sweeney seems like a lot for what we get back time will tell I guess

Gonzalez coming back from an elbow injury that needed an operation HMMMMM nothing could go wrong there; December 11, 2023 at 11:25 AM
Celerino Sanchez said...: This trade is just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic; December 11, 2023 at 11:44 AM
Scottish Yankee fan said...: Wee bit of info

It is time to see where the real holes in the LAD organization truly are…2B/SS. As of right now, the 2B at OKC will be Jorbit Vivas, and the SS will be Austin Gauthier. I wrote about both in the 3B discussion, so I am going to cut and paste for them in this column as well.

23 year old infielder from Venezuela, Jorbit Vivas. Vivas is another in the long line of utility infielders in the Dodgers system. Jorbit is more of a 2B who can play 3B. Vivas has been pushed a little because he was added to the 40 man after the 2021 season. He has one option year remaining before he needs to stick to the MLB roster without being designated for assignment, beginning 2025. Jorbit is the Dodgers #10 prospect in MLB Pipeline. Here is their Scouting Report.
Scouting grades: Hit: 60 | Power: 40 | Run: 45 | Arm: 45 | Field: 50 | Overall: 50

Vivas’ 5-foot-10 frame and ability to barrel balls seemingly at will from the left side of the plate are reminiscent of countryman Luis Arraez, His size and fast hands produce a short, quick swing that makes contact with all types of pitching in any part of the strike zone. He generates some sneaky pop (mostly against right-handers) that could translate into 10-15 homers per season, has the patience to draw walks and adds to his on-base ability with a knack for getting hit by pitches.

Most of Vivas’ value comes from his bat because he has fringy speed and arm strength, limiting his effectiveness on the bases and in the field. He’s a sure-handed second baseman with decent range but not much versatility. He has seen considerable action at third base, but the game speeds up on him there and his arm isn’t suited for the hot corner.

https://www.truebluela.com/2023/11/22/23946436/victor-gonzalez-2023-dodgers-review; December 11, 2023 at 11:49 AM
Scottish Yankee fan said...: After elbow surgery sidelined him for all of the 2022 season, Victor González was back in the majors and was a useful left-hander for stretches in the Dodgers bullpen in 2023.

González didn’t make the opening day roster, but during his four major league stints this season was on the active roster for 94 games. He was the third left-handed reliever behind Caleb Ferguson and Alex Vesia in the Dodgers bullpen, with González’s longest stretch a 10-week stint from the end of April to the beginning of July.

Relievers pitch a relatively small number of innings, so one blow-up outing could have an outsized effect on the overall statistics. González had three different games in a stretch of two and a half weeks just before the All-Star break in which he allowed three runs, after which he was optioned to Triple-A for a month.

Dodgers bullpen scoreless outings
Pitcher No runs Total G Scoreless %
Brusd Graterol 58 68 85.3%
Ryan Brasier 33 39 84.6%
Evan Phillips 52 62 83.9%
Shelby Miller 30 36 83.3%
Victor González 27 34 79.4%
Caleb Ferguson 53 68 77.9%
Justin Bruihl 15 20 75.0%
Yency Almonte 35 49 71.4%
Alex Vesia 38 56 67.9%
Phil Bickford 22 36 61.1%
Source: Baseball Reference
González had four games in which he allowed three runs but allowed runs in only seven of his 34 appearances. He had the fifth-highest percentage of scoreless outings among the ten Dodgers relievers who made at least 20 appearances this season.

Once he returned to the Dodgers in August, and again over the final weekend of the regular season. González allowed just one run in his final 10 innings.

González broke out a changeup occasionally this year, throwing it 6.5 percent of the time, his first time using the pitch since 2020. He threw all 33 of his changeups against right-handers, finishing off four strikeouts with the pitch, and holding batters to one single in the 10 at-bats that ended on that pitch.

That allowed González to hold righties to hit just .191/.288/.302 against him, even better than he fared vs. left-handed batters (.259/.307/.362).

AD
González pitched in only three games classified as high leverage by Baseball Reference, and his .710 average leverage index (1.000 is average) was ninth-highest among the 10 regular or at least semi-regular relievers.

2023 particulars
Age: 27

Stats: 4.01 ERA, 3.18 xERA, 3.40 FIP, 33⅔ IP, 30 K, 10 BB

Salary: unknown, likely somewhere a tad north of the $720,000 minimum salary

Game of the year
May 17 was a scramble game for the Dodgers pitching staff against the Twins, with Dustin May leaving after only one inning with an elbow injury that would end his season and eventually require surgery. Dylan Covey filled in with aplomb, covering four innings while allowing two runs in emergency duty. But he also allowed the first four batters to reach in the sixth inning, and left with the bases loaded and nobody out in a tie game.

Enter González, who induced a harmless popout to first base by Jorge Polanco, then got Donovan Solano swinging, finishing him off with a changeup. Then came old friend Kyle Farmer, who flew out harmlessly to left field to end the threat with no runs in.

Opposing batters were hitless in four at-bats with the bases loaded against González on the season, with one sacrifice fly.

González on the season had a 2.30 ERA in 15⅔ innings at Dodger Stadium, and a 5.50 ERA in 18 innings on the road.

Roster status
With three years, 58 days of major league service time, González is eligible for salary arbitration for the first time. MLB Trade Rumors projects González to earn $1 million in 2024.

González is also out of options, making his hold on a 40-man roster spot tenuous.; December 11, 2023 at 11:50 AM
BTR999 said...: Since Gonzalez has MLB experience as a LH reliever, I think he will replace Peralta in the pen. Visas is a middling prospect whose best position is 2B, making him a candidate to replace Torres in ‘25. Sweeney seemed to be held back a little by some defensive shortcomings.

I’d consider this trade kind of a wash.; December 11, 2023 at 12:04 PM
HoraceClarke66 said...: Sweeney! Not Sweeney Todd! The demon barber of Fleet Street!

Trey Sweeney?

Oh, okay.; December 11, 2023 at 1:05 PM
HoraceClarke66 said...: I dunno. Seems like a decent deal. I do worry about dealing with the Dodgers, though.; December 11, 2023 at 1:12 PM
Local Bargain Jerk said...: Higashioka showing beaucoups de class right there.

Bravo, Higgy.; December 11, 2023 at 1:25 PM
JM said...: If we say goodbye to Wendy, I won't miss his deer in the headlights expression in tough situations. That always kind of freaked me out.

Man.; December 11, 2023 at 3:00 PM
AboveAverage said...: Anybody here have a clue as to where the Yunkee$ brass are meeting with the Admiral in the City of Angels?; December 11, 2023 at 4:09 PM
HoraceClarke66 said...: Higgy is a class act, and will be missed.

I'm trying not to think about the YY meeting, so as not to awaken the juju imps.; December 11, 2023 at 4:14 PM
ranger_lp said...: JackCurryYES
@JackCurryYES
·
38m
A source with knowledge of the Yankees’ interaction with Yamamoto said they remain optimistic about their pursuit of the free agent pitcher. It’s a crumb of info. So I’m sharing a crumb. Stay tuned. We’ll talk Yamamoto, Ohtani and more on the Yankees Hot Stove at 6:30 PM on YES.; December 11, 2023 at 4:33 PM
Kevin said...: Here's some salt to go with your vinegar. Ohtani is only taking two million per year over the life of his contract. Meaning that the fucking Dodgers will have plenty of cap.space.... I should have known.; December 11, 2023 at 7:04 PM
BTR999 said...: So the contract is for 350 years? That’s what I call a long term deal!; December 11, 2023 at 7:17 PM
Kevin said...: No, he starts the big payout in years eleven through twenty. Well, assuming that there isn't something else yet to be revealed.; December 11, 2023 at 8:14 PM
TheWinWarblist said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; December 11, 2023 at 9:38 PM
TheWinWarblist said...: Not a good hitter and only a passable defensive catcher, but a class act. I did not know about the latter until today.; December 11, 2023 at 9:39 PM