June 21st, 2018 at 8:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka There is no other way to put it, when the Dodgers announced that they had optioned catcher / utility infielder Kyle Farmer back to Triple–A Oklahoma City less than 24 hours after his clutch, game-winning, pinch-hit, two-run double in game-1 of Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, it just plain sucked – not just because he hit a game-winning, pinch-hit, two-run double in the Dodgers half of the ninth inning, but because he hit a game-winning, pinch-hit, two-run double in the Dodgers half of the ninth inning again.
I mean let’s face it, the guy is just plain clutch; clutch of the likes Dodger fans haven’t seen since the days of Andre Ethier, the man affectionately (and often) called ‘Captain Clutch’.
Just as he did in his very first major league at-bat on July 30, 2017, Farmer hit a game-winning, pinch-hit, two-run double in game-1 of Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs to become the Dodgers new ‘Captain Clutch.’ (Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)
But the cold, hard fact is that Kyle Farmer has played in a grand total of 52 major league games since his July 30, 2017 debut – often as a pinch-hitter – and the guy for whom the Dodgers needed to make a roster spot for upon his return from the disabled list has played in 1,895 major league games over 16-year major league seasons – Chase Utley.
Although there are undoubtedly many Dodger fans who say ‘so what’ to this, when the 27-year-old Farmer clearly brings more to the table than does the 39-year-old Utley, and on every level. But, the simple truth is that Utley is under contract through the 2019 season for $2 million and Farmer is still under team control with options. And although you will be hard pressed to get Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman or general manager Farhan Zaidi to ever admit this, the bottom line is that it’s all about the money … for now.
To be fair, Utley has certainly had more than his share of clutch hits over his brilliant 16-year MLB career, including this RBI single on May 10. Unfortunately it was not a game-winner in the Dodgers eventual 4-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
In no way is this intended to be a knock on the veteran Pasadena, California native and former UCLA Bruin. It is merely to say – with all due respect – that Father Time eventually catches up with all of us, even the man affectionately known as ‘The Silver Fox.’
That being said and the silver lining to this is that there is zero doubt that the extremely popular (and incredibly clutch) former Georgia Bulldog will undoubtedly be the first position player to be called back up to the Bigs if (when) an injury – perhaps even one of those so-called ‘phantom injuries’ … like the one Utley is coming back from right now, if you get my drift.
Stay tuned.
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Things wouldn’t be the quite same at Citi Field, If Utley wasn’t back with the Dodgers for this series. I’m sure the Met fans will be glad to see him.
No doubt in my mind that this is the last season for Utley with the Dodgers. The 2 year deal was simply a way to pay Utley $2MM but keep the AAV to $1MM. It is time for Utley to retire and move into the Dodgers coaching ranks, I think he could do a better job today than Woodward at 3b. Perhaps play a few games and then retire as a player rather than off the DL. There is nothing left for Farmer to prove at OKC, time to make room for him on the active roster ASAP.
We all get the age old argument that guys need ABs to stay hot, which Farmer wouldn’t (or at least wasn’t) getting with the bg league club. But I would certainly prefer to take my chances with him in a key situation than I would Utley.
As I said to Kyle as he was preparing to ship out to OKC (again), “See you soon.”
Do you know why Roberts has not used Farmer more often as a catcher? Also, having to include name and e mail with each comment is strange.
With regards to your question, I have found that Roberts definitely has – and plays – his personal favorites (see Pedro Baez), and Austin Barnes is definitely among them.
Although Barnes has had his moments in the sun, I have long felt that Kyle is both a better defender and unquestionably a better hitter than Barnes, and have also long felt that he should have been the backup catcher all along.
That said, I am very biased towards Kyle, as we became pretty good friends dating back to his Rancho Cucamonga days. But if Roberts can have his favorites, so can I, right?
As for your second point, when Scott initially set up the site, he did so in a way that every comment had to be individually approved by me or him, which certainly helped keep the riff away. Unfortunately, it also kept legitimate fans (i.e. readers) away as well.
During a recent WordPress update, I asked Scott to make it so that anyone could comment at any time without specific approval because: A) I wasn’t always available to approve them in a timely fashion and, more importantly, B) so that more people would comment. This has most definitely happened, although I did not realize it was a must-sign-in-every-time thing.
I will have Scott look into other possible options, but I’m not sure there are any.
thanks for the answers to both questions.
According to Scott, it’s one way or the other regarding posting comments – either having to approve each one individually before they post, or allowing open commenting from anyone which, of course, occasionally brings us new commenters.
I apologize for the inconvenience and hope that your device(s) allows your sign-in information to be saved to expedite the process.
Nobody on the Dodgers I respect more than Chase Utley, and he certainly knows this game and how it should be played.
An absolute fact.
I am hoping that F&Z (Et al.) are smart enough to keep Chase in the fold in some capacity when he hangs up his spikes (if he wants to, of course), preferably as a coach or hitting instructor. His Southern California roots certainly bode well in this regard.
I expect that 2018 will be Chase’s final year on the field, and that the second year of his current two-year contract (through 2019) could make this transition very possible and amicable.
His old school mentality and approach to the game is essential in carrying on the rich history and tradition of the game for younger players. This is something intangible that cannot be bought or acquired any other way.