Around Third and Heading for Home…

Dodger fans are never in a good mood after a loss to the Giants and it’s especially irritating when MadBum is the winning pitcher. I’m no different!   $$#%& &?!^%$#@%$.  There I feel better already, but then factor in that I am an Indianapolis Colts fan and my Sunday doesn’t look too fun.  That, and it’s 92 degrees here today… at the end of September.

A few things may have changed… at least in our minds:

  1. Ryu may miss the first round of the playoffs.  He’s going to have to miss a few days with his arm bruise and so may not be ready.
  2. McCarthy and/or Buehler are in consideration for spots. Both looked good last night.  Brandon’s new windup is interesting.  He was very precise in hitting his spots.  His velocity is down 3-4 MPH and it may be by design.  He might be trading velocity for accuracy and he was very accurate last night.  If he can keep that up, he can be valuable in the pen.  Buehler just needs to trust his filthy stuff!
  3. El Gasolino is still on the bubble.

Rants & Raves

  1. What was Puig thinking when he tried to steal 2B in the 9th inning?  Duhhhoooo, he wasn’t?
  2. Kyle Farmer cannot play 1B.  At 63, I can still pick those balls in the dirt.  You either have it or not.  He doesn’t have it.

Sports Websites

You know, I have thought about opening up some websites that I own.  I own LaProSports.com and also the following sites:

  • www.LaDodgerTalk.com
  • www.LaLakerTalk.com
  • www. LaAngelTalk.com
  • www.LaRamTalk.com
  • www.LaChargerTalk.com
  • www.LaFootballTalk.com

Hummm… there’s a lot we could do with all that.  I’ll probably sell them instead – I have no time.  I have owned them for years. Do you know someone who wants to build a blog empire?

Dodger Top 30 Prospects

There will be a big shakeup in the Dodgers Top 30 prospects next season.  Going into the season, here’s what I see as the TOP FEW:

  1. Kay Bear Ruiz
  2. Walker Buehler
  3. Alex Verdugo
  4. Mitch White
  5. Yusniel Diaz
  6. Will Smith
  7. Kyle Farmer
  8. Dustin May
  9. Luke Raley
  10. Matt Beaty
  11. Edwin Rios
  12. Dennis Santana

Arguably, you could put any one of about 10 other players in the TOP 10 and no one could say you were wrong.  Players like Kendall, Alvarez, Lux, Sheffield, Heredia, Estevez, Oaks, Peters, Jackson, Marinan, Cooper, Wong and Robinson could be close.  I don’t include Kendall because he’s too far away for me to project.  Others do and that’s OK.  I just can’t do it.

I would like to see a 7 or 8 inning start by Clayton today in which he totally dominates the Giants. I think that is something that is needed.  The Indians are one game behind the Dodgers for best record in baseball.  The Nats can’t catch the Dodgers, but Cleveland can.

P.S.  I just bought a pristine copy of a 1977 Sporting News with these guys on it:

This article has 20 Comments

  1. I watched very carefully what Baez threw last night. He was mixing up his pitches and looked much better. Even the announcers said the same thing. I know they have a game plan. However, why the difference between what Grandal called the other night and what Barnes called last night? You just cannot continue to throw fastballs to major league hitters. I am not advocating Baez be on the play off roster, but he looked better. I have said all year I do not like Grandal’s pitch selection. By the way, I think Barnes is almost as good as Grandal at framing a pitch. Barnes needs to be the starting catcher.

  2. The Dodgers have some really good farm kids. There is something going on in the minor leagues that is very good. I think they have good teachers throughout the minor league system. They are trying to develop the entire human body physically, mentally and socially. That is why they put a Spanish speaking coach on every team. I believe the Dodgers are going to be the model for all major league teams to follow. Some of these kids will make it and some will not. However, the Dodgers seem to know who to protect and who not to protect.

  3. I have one more thought on Baez and Pederson. Why does it take four years to learn a lesson. Pederson still has not learned his lesson. I am an educator and we call these people slow learners. When I coached, if a player did not listen, he was sitting beside me on the bench. I guess these players are making so much money they do not have to listen.

  4. Don’t have a problem with trying to steal 2nd in that situation. The lack of slide is the issue to me. Almost as bad as the game where Turner got picked off 2nd without a slide and he got picked off by a catcher.

    1. Hawkeye

      Both Nomar and Jerry said, that if Puig is going to go there, he better be safe.

      And Roberts said the same thing, when he was interviewed.

      And Roberts was furious with Puig, for doing that, in that situation in the game!

      There is no way that Puig should be going to second, with two outs, in a one run game, with Utley up to bat, unless Puig can insure, he will be safe!

      And Puig’s ankle is just fine.

      In the Giants post game show, they said that they believed that Crawford had decoyed Puig, into believing, that Utley fouled off that ball, and that is why Puig didn’t slide!

      I have seen some people say, that Puig has not had his head, in these last few games.

      They have also said, that Puig hasn’t been awake out in the outfield, and he has not been throwing the ball, to the cut off men, either.

      I had thought Puig has been a little lax lately too, but I didn’t notice all those other things, that others have seen.

      I guess that is understandable, with the way the team has been experimented with, since the last series, in August.

      But Roberts was truly furious, and he is very serious that he wants this team to play good and smart baseball, in every game left in the season, to be ready for the post season.

      And Puig does have to get back on track too!

      1. I do Buy he may have been decoyed into not sliding. If so, Roberts has a right to be mad. And yes, if you’re going on your own you better make it , but trying to get the tying run into scoring position with two outs is hardly a terrible baseball play. Like today when Grandal got gunned out at third with two outs. If you go you better make it. Grandal has been a terrible base runner for some time now. I remember Turner chewing his ass a year or two ago for getting thrown out trying to advance before the lead runner crossed the plate. Turner gets picked off second base by a catcher this year without sliding back to the bag and it ended the game. No one said boo about those knucklehead plays. So, it will be interesting to find out if more is really going on or this is a case of Puig being held accountable for something others aren’t.

        Roberts has not only moved him up to 5th in the order but also 4th at times. All public comments from Doc about Puig have been positive about not only his defense but also accepting process over results.

        So we shall find out if there is a bigger deal going on or this is an isolated incident with a bit of scapegoating.

    1. Puig has been benched today, and this isn’t just from what he did last night, this is about other things, too!

      Roberts said he only wants players in his line up, that he can trust!

      1. I watched the interview with Roberts. He seems quite peeved with Puig. I’m sure he has a valid reason(s) but he sounds somewhat hypocritical after watching he managed the SD Series and watching Baez blow the game in Philly. F

    1. There doesn’t seem to be an urgency to maintain a lead over Cleveland for home park advantage for the World Series.

  5. Home field is nice to have, but not critical. Some examples:

    2015 NLDS: Cards had home field against Cubs. Cubs won.
    Dodgers had home field against the Mets. Mets won.

    2016 NLDS: National had home field against the Dodgers. Dodgers won.
    WS: Indians had home field against the Cubs. Cubs won.

    As for home field in the WS, it’s not just Cleveland we have to think about. After today’s action the Indians have only a ONE game advantage over the Astros in the loss column. And unlike the teams in the NL over which the Dodgers have the advantage over ALL of them, their is no guarantee that the AL will be represented by either the Indians or the Astros. And of course, there is no guarantee that the Dodgers will get to the WS to make it matter.

    Right now, all I care about is the Dodgers getting to the post season HEALTHY, and hopefully playing at the top of their game when the bell finally rings. As always, the post season is a crapshoot, and nothing will change that. A bounce here and a bounce there can make all the difference in the world.

  6. Also, home field advantage is extremely tenuous. If the home team loses the first game of a series, home field advantage immediately flips.

    And home field doesn’t explain why wild card teams have gone on to win the WS.

    1. I don’t see home field advantage as a bad thing – do you? The Dodgers are 53 – 24 at home; 45 – 33 on the road.

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