This article has 40 Comments

  1. Regarding the platoons:

    Just because I understand it, and even though it has logic behind it, that doesn’t mean I have to like it.

    1. Exactly.
      .
      Its not like Hernandez is such a stud against lefties. I do enjoy watching Barnes more than I do like watching Grandal though.
      .
      I am okay with Gutierez if he is only used as a pinch hitter.
      .
      I prefer Barnes over Grandal.
      .
      I am okay with SVS giving Gonzales a rest but I don’t think he is that good at pinch hitting.
      .
      I think the Dodgers are a better team when Joc starts regardless of the pitcher.

    2. I’m with you a 100%, but I tend to like order. It feels like it’s out of control sometimes.

  2. Totally agree. Today would have been a great day to see Toles and Joc back in there. Also defensively, they can cover way more ground that Guitierrez and Kike. Big outfield at Coors.

  3. I think if it was just one position platooned and one player being rested it wouldn’t bother me as much.

    With two platoons plus rested players, it just seems like a different team. Now, if they had been winning these games …..

    1. Grinch

      A few platoons to give players a day off, is not the problem.

      It is just the platoon team concept, that bothers people.

      Because it hasn’t done much for the offense, and at times, it weakens the defense.

      What is the true end result?

  4. By keeping Hernandez over Taylor plus the platooning in CF, the Dodgers are weaker in both the outfield and the infield.
    .
    Yesterday SVS pinch hits for Joc and strikes out and follows with another strike out in his next at bat. Today, with runners on first and second, Hernandez grounded back to the pitcher. Joc was perfectly capable of doing all three of those things 😉

      1. Maybe Roberts thought that Joc may be pressing to much, and wanted to give him a rest.

        But after what Scott did last night, I don’t think Roberts, would make the move, so fast again, so you might not have to deal with that, any time soon.

        I can’t imagine how you felt, after seeing those two at bats, from Scott.

        Maybe Joc will get into the game later, and hit for Kike, to make the team better defensively, later in the game.

        1. I always have a favorite on every Dodger team and I lose interest in the game when that player is not in the lineup.
          .
          I think my next favorites are going to be Smith and Bellinger along with Joc. For some reason I like Barnes. Sadly, I would be a fair weather friend to Puig. How can ya not like him if he hits and how can ya like him if he doesn’t?

          1. Bum

            I thought you had a good idea on how you would handle the two catchers.

            You said you would give your catchers, almost equal time between both catchers, to keep them hitting, and to keep them fresh.

            And Puig does the same to me, when he is hitting, and when he is not hitting.

  5. For those that are watching the game you might notice how quiet Barnes is behind the plate and how quickly he frames the ball.

    1. Bum

      I like Barnes he is from my area, and I think we need to give him more at bats, to rest Grandal, and to see if he can hit major league pitching.

      If he can, he can help with the leftie problem too.

      Grandal is a free agent, after the 2018 season, so I think we need to take a better look at Barnes, this year.

      Because he is so small, he can frame a pitch really well, and he moves faster, then most catchers.

      He just needs to learn about all of our pitchers.

  6. I like Austin Barnes and maybe he will be a good hitter, but Grandal is one of the TOP 5 catchers in baseball.

    If you offered Austin Barnes to any MLB GM for Yasmani Grandal, they would die laughing.

    Grandal will be extended.

    1. Mark

      I didn’t say Grandal was a bad catcher.

      I just said we should see if Barnes, can hit major league pitching.

      I thought you liked Barnes too.

      Catching his hard on players, and because of that, I think they need more rest, then other players.

      And we never know what a player, will do in free agency.

      They have never extended anyone, before.

      There policy is to let there players, explore free agency.

      Haven’t you heard what Friedman has said about free agency, when it comes to his players?

  7. I have favorite players too, everyone does. And of course, we are happy when they do well. However, “team wins” is more important to the overall team success and fan happiness. Even a good team in MLB is gong to loose about 40% of the time. 40%!!! That is almost half the time. So while every game counts, there is still going to be a bunch of lost games, no matter what.

    I’m pretty sure there are some guys you wouldn’t need to platoon for. Not so many of them are Dodgers though. If you have players that don’t hit same-handedness very well, go with the edge. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Just because they had a platoon isn’t the reason they lost. There is a bigger picture at play. And your favorite player got an extra day of rest. You may think they are big boys and they need that rest but lack thereof has a cumulative effect that can be detrimental to their play at a later date.

    They won’t win every game and there is a 25 man roster for a reason. Some even want to increase it. Guys have to play and guys have to rest. The manager has the best feel for the mix that he has and what needs to be done and who should be on the field any given game. Enjoy it and cheer the boys on. They are still going to lose a whole bunch of times, no matter who plays any given day.

    1. He is old and therefore was tired running around the bases all the time in spring training. He is now rested 😉

  8. Alright I have a question for a few of you guys out there that seem to keep alot of stats. Do the other elite teams(Cubs, Mets, Nationals, Ants,) in the league platoon as much as we do, and what is their success rate? Just curious.

    1. The Cubs have used a different lineup every game.

      I think they did OK last year!

      Most teams are platooning. Oldtimers don’t like it. Change is difficult.

      1. Dang Mark, I didn’t know the Cubs were doing it to that extent. Yes, I am an Oldtimer, but I am cool with it as long as it works. Still wish they would expose Toles and Joc to more lefties at this stage in their careers though.

      2. Mark

        I have a good question for you.

        What did the Cubs do offensively last year, against leftie pitchers, as compared to the Dodgers?

  9. If SVS and Gutierrez are not able to get the job done, there is a kid at OKC who has had an absolute monster series. 10-14 (.714), 1 dbl, 3 HR, 5 RBI, OPS 2.143, with a big 4 hit day for O’Koyea Dickson. This kid deserves a chance. Eibner also had a 4 hit day. Not much pitching, but some offensive stars in the Cubs series. Dickson .714, Calhoun .417, Bellinger .412/ Eibner .600. Jair Jurrjens had a well pitched game today. 6 IP, 3H, 1R, 0 BB, 3K, 80 Pitches. Good relief from both Rhame and Liberatore. 12 runs on 19 hits for the OKC Dodgers first win of the year.

    1. I forgot to mention that Verdugo also had a good series and is batting .417. He did not play today as Chris Taylor played CF.

    2. I’m with you on O’Koyea Dickson. He deserves an MLB debut. If the Dodgers can’t find a spot for him on the big club they really ought to trade him so he can get a chance to make a major league roster.

  10. Couple observations on the game:
    .
    That flyball triple by Barnes was a classic Coors field special. I’m happy for Barnes though as he really needs to catch a break so he can get his bat going.
    .
    Puig is starting to press a bit. Orel feels that he started doing that when didn’t run out that double in yesterday’s game. Yesterday, Puig hit a bomb to dead center. He didn’t flip the bat, but he was walking out of the box like he thought he hit it out. His hit bounced high off the CF wall and Puig must have been a bit embarrassed. He doubles down and tries to make up for it by getting caught stealing 3b for the THIRD out – another mistake. Ever since then, he has not had a good AB. Coach Ward needs to give another wax-on/wax-off lecture so Puig can get back on the rails.
    .
    Hersheiser is doing color on the broadcast and his best comment was about the wind blowing debris onto the field. He said it reminded him a lot of Candlestick, the old home of the Giants. “All sorts of trash would be flying around that field.” Every Dodger fan picked up on that double-entender. Good one, Orel!

  11. Good win – needed that.

    Hard watching The Masters and The Dodgers at the same time.

    1. The Dodger offense got it done against a LHP. We gotta celebrate this one for a bit before picking apart all the other stuff we want to see them do.

  12. I think the best thing about today’s game, was that inning, that it looked like we were not going to pick up those runners on second and third, with no outs.

    Because they did turn that around and scored even more runs, I believe.

    It would be nice to hand Lester a loss, on the Cub’s opening day tomorrow.

    We did hit him hard in that first game we faced them, in the post season, but there defense made some good plays, to take hits away from us.

    That would make a good case, that we can hit lefties this year, and maybe not every team, will throw a leftie any chance they can, at us.

    I think that is a National
    Broadcast game tomorrow too.

  13. We can debate Kike being in the lineup until we’re Dodger blue in the face, but all in all I liked the batting order today. We need to accept that bench guys have to play to be sharp and for the Dodgers they’re going to primarily play against lefties. If Kike can’t cut it then I want Joc to get more AB’s or Thompson when he’s ready to go.

    I will say against Lester, the Dodgers should play Toles somewhere. I said the same thing during the playoffs. I don’t want to see Kike hoping off the bases like a 10 year old. I want to see someone put pressure on him. Go on first movement. I would rather see SVS in the lineup too either at 1st or instead of FG. SVS isn’t a speed demon but he’s capable of running on Lester. He did it two years ago.

    1. I like the idea. Lester is known to have issues going over to 1b. Put pressure on him and maybe get him off of his game just a little bit. It could make a big difference in the final score.

    2. The Dodgers took huge leads against Lestor and rushed back toward first at first move. Stupid. They should take a big lead but not as big as they were taking and then use the two extra steps Lestor allows them to steal. Joc could use the running lead that worked so well for him in the minors.

  14. Looks like Jansen was trying to turn it into a save situation. Good to get that one out of the way.

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