Slip Slidin’ Away

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1. Well — these games are tight, and the margin for error is small.
   In the 5th, Ryu had two outs (on 3 pitches) and an 0-2 count on the Sox’s worst hitter — and then he made a mess.
   Benintendi did a great job of coaxing that walk, but I was VERY disappointed at how Barnes and Ryu were not on the same page during that at bat — I think they had 3 mound visits. That really got Ryu out of rhythm and, I think, led to the walk. I would have let Ryu stay in, given that he handled Pearce well in the earlier AB’s, but I didn’t think Madsen was a horrible choice. It’s hard though, in 45 degree weather, for any pitcher to come in and know he has to be in the strike zone (a big reason for giving Ryu that last batter).

   I think it was obvious to all that this was THE KEY MOMENT in the game, and the Dodgers did not execute — I don’t think Roberts made the greatest decision, but it is on the players to execute.

   So, will the team that swept the Giants and played an amazing game 163 against the Rockies return? It could happen. I have not given up yet — but I think I am going to tape Friday’s game, read the result in the morning, and if they won, go back and enjoy watching the good plays. I don’t enjoy watching the Dodgers (for 30 years) continuing the narrative of underperforming at key moments. I will watch any elimination games live, but I need a break from having my worst fears realized in front of me (When I saw Roberst come out, my first thought was, boy I have a bad feeling that in the cold whoever comes in is going to walk the next guy) — I hate being psychic about bad outcomes. Go Dodgers!

2. I still believe. We really just need to win a game. Start from there. A baseball game. Dont give up!

3. As much as I’ve come to tire of watching Taylor flail away at the plate, I absolutely agree with your suggestions. As frustrating as Yasmani can be, Barnes simply looks helpless at the plate. At least with Yasmani there is the hope that he will find one of his hot streaks.
   –
   I haven’t thought it through, but I’d also like to see Cody in the lineup everyday. His speed and defense alone are enough for me, and there’s always hope that his bat will come alive.
   –
   At the very least the Dodgers do have a history that suggests that hope is alive. The 1955, 1965 and 1981 teams all came back from 0-2 deficits. I’ve already said that breaking the 30 year drought won’t come easy. So Dodgers, make me look good. Time for the Red Sox to do some slippin’ and slidin’.
   –
   And yes, we will have another discussion, after the Dodgers have their championship parade.

4. Joc with 25 HR
   Belly with 25 HR
   Grandal with 24 HR
   Muncy with 35 HR
   All of them bench warmers when the game began. If Roberts is making out the line-up card he needs to be fired. If the geeks upstairs are making out the line-up card they need to be fired.

5. Dude, Kike HAS TO COME OFF THE BENCH! Why that dude is starting is beyond me. And we need to stop the all right-handed lineup. I’ve always been against this as it lets the opposing pitcher get in a groove. Roberts doesn’t know how to ride the hot hand. This is the lineup…

   Pederson LF L
   Turner 3B R
   Machado SS R
   Bellinger CF L
   Freese 1B R
   Puig RF R
   Muncy 2B L
   Grandal C S

6. After the Ryu/Madsen meltdown I turned the game off – this team is too painful to watch in games like this – you could see it coming before it happened.
   On the lineups (2 games) I get Barnes playing, his defense is far superior to the Brick, but Hernandez, and Dozier? – you can get by with one zero in the lineup but not three. Saber metrics are here to stay, but this is sabermetrics gone mad (three zeros in the lineup just to get right hand bats). Stack the lineup with right hand bats that swing and miss, and do it twice. What honest baseball person really thinks that’s the best Dodger lineup? I am not holding my breath for any major changes in LA, but hoping FAZ rethinks the all or nothing approach this off season.

7. From Bleacher Report:
   https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2802715-dave-roberts-countless-errors-bury-dodgers-chance-to-end-30-year-title-drought?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial

8. My mantra has been Keep the Faith…the Dodgers do best when their backs are against the wall. However, while I will continue to Keep the Faith, I am not as sure about pulling this out as I was for winning the NL West Division, and the NLDS, and NLCS. The Brewers proved to be tougher than many thought, but talent rose to the top and the Dodgers prevailed.
   .
   Boston is on a different level. Good pitching is supposed to counter good hitting. But either the Dodgers pitching is just not up to the task, or Boston’s hitters are just superior. I think a little of both. The Dodgers do not have a leadoff man like Betts, nor a middle of the order guy like JDM. Boston really battles with 2 strikes and 2 outs. The next time CT3, Kike’, Grandal or Max shortens up with 2 strikes will be the first time. And then you add an Austin Barnes and Brian Dozier to the mix, it is really hard to see how the team can put together a two out rally like Boston did last night to score 3 runs on 3 singles and 2 walks. No doubles, triples, or heaven forbid…HR’s. Some want Max in no matter the pitcher, but during the playoffs, Max has 20 strikeouts in 46 PA. He has 5 singles to go with 2 HR’s and 5 RBI’s. Not the middle of the order bat the Dodgers desperately need to go with Machado.
   .
   Outside of Freese and JT, the rest of the Dodgers lineup just does not make the adjustment. Fenway is not an easy place to play when you are familiar with the surroundings, but an opposing team is just at such a disadvantage when never playing there. It is doubly difficult when the weather is as cold and wet as it has been the last two nights. Not making excuses, it is just a tough place to play.
   .
   Now the series comes back to LA. We know the weather will be much better. Hopefully Buehler will be able to settle himself enough to just let his stuff dictate without trying to throw the ball through a brick wall. Now Cora is going to have to make a decision. Does he take out JBJ and move Benintendi to CF and JDM into LF, or move Mookie to 2B and move JDM to LF and move Benintendi/JBJ around?
   .
   Hopefully this will be a déjà vu moment in recalling the 1955, 1965, and 1981 WS. I will be watching every pitch and keeping the faith until the Dodgers win the 2018 WS.

9. The plan, which is easier said then done, is to win 2 of 3 in LA. then Game 6 becomes a must-win and gets us to an anything-can-happen game 7. Sadly, I am currently of the view that Roberts’ management is probably holding us back more than helping us but it’s probably more of an organizational philosophy than just him alone. Still, the thought that guys like Dozier & Madson & relief Wood are CRITICAL to our 2018 success just rubs me the wrong way. If the season ends in another runner-up position, maybe the eulogy for the season can be accompanied by Barber’s beautiful Adagio for Strings, better known as the sad slow movement from that other eponymous tragedy, “Platoon.”

10. @Rudy Byrd – Great article…

    “He’s the reason we’re here,” Nunez said. “Every move we make, there’s a reason. And it’s a good reason every time he makes a move.” – Said no one ever about Dave Roberts.

11. My conversation with my buddy in Boston, when discussing the series Tuesday morning before game 1:

    Him: so you think the sox are the better team?
    Me: I think we’re very close talent wise. They just showed up more this year. We screwed around a lot.
    But to go to Houston and win 3 was so impressive
    Boston gets a lot t clutch hits. We don’t. And that will be the biggest stat to watch this series

12. “We live in an era that .210 with 30 home runs and 70 RBI is acceptable, it’s a good season. We don’t believe that.” Alex Cora.

    1. AC

       He is right!

       And our front office thinks it is great to have a whole line up of hitters, that can hit 20 HRs.

       There are more HRs hit in this day, then any time in baseball, because most of the hitters, are almost always, trying to hit one out.

       It isn’t because they are so talented, it is bound to happen when that is the all encompassing goal, every time a hitter comes up to bat, after all, pitchers do make mistakes, from time to time.

       But not as often, when runners are on base, and especially in scoring position, thus that leads to a lot of solo HRs.

       It is more rare to have a 290 hitter or above, with a little power, that handles their bat well, then the all or nothing hitters, like this front office loves to have an entire line up of.

       But sabers don’t value hitting for an average, and they don’t value hitters, who can get hits when runners are in scoring position, because they can’t quantify why some hitters do better, in these situations.

       When I look at these numbers, there are not to many players, that hit for a good OPS in these situations, that don’t have a good batting average.

       Almost all l the hitters I see that have high OPSes, when runners are in scoring position, or in high leverage situations, also have a pretty good batting average in these situations, too!

       It doesn’t mean every hitter that hits for a good batting average in these situations will have a high OPS, but it makes sense that a hitter that hits for a pretty decent batting average in these situations, handles their bat well, so they can make the adjustments hitters sometimes need to make in these situations, especially with two strikes!

       Alex Cora is just taking the Astro’s ideas on what makes a good baseball team, to the Red Sox.

       Both these teams use saber metrics to a point, but they also use old baseball knowledge that has worked, for a very long time.

       After all, who would argue it isn’t better to have more then one way, to score.

13. And neither does anyone else on this site believe that.
    –
    One of the things that drives me crazy is the platooning of most of our left handed hitters. How in the world are they ever going to learn to hit lefties if they never get a chance to face them.

    By the way, did Cora ever interview for the Dodgers managerial job? I seem to recall that he had long been considered managerial material.

    1. He was not on the short list when Roberts was hired. I had heard from a good source that the job was Gabe Kapler’s but that Doc blew management away in his interview and beat him out. The short short list was Doc/Kapler/Dave Martinez (Nats Mgr). Others considered were Bud Black, Bob Geren, Ron Roenicke, Tim Wallach, and Darin Erstad. No Cora.

       1. Not really a Murderer’s Row of candidates.

14. Sabermetrics are here to stay, that is not changing. That said, with the Dodgers the pendulum has swung too far where your best players sit on the bench, and other players are out of position (Bellinger), and others are allowed to swing wildly (Taylor & Hernandez) most every time at bat. Friedman is a smart guy, hopefully he makes philosophy changes, and stops the madness.

15. I am sorry but the facts are the facts, we did not lose with our best in games 1 and 2 in do or die games. That is either bad managing, bad organizational philosophy or both. There has to be more then just matchups and numbers and more importantly there has to be the ability to shift on a dime if the situation warrants it. It sounds like these pre-planned scripts and strict platoons take away Robert’s ability to divert course if his eyes or brain tells him something else. Yeah I don’t like Robert’s or our matchup philosophy but in their defense he and the FO have been painfully consistent throughout. And even with all my disgust this morning, Robert’s has earned an extension but I have every right to be unhappy about it. And I am!!

    It did seem like Boston was over complimentary of there team and performance and we were equally complimentary. Give me a break, yes they won and yes they outplayed us somewhat. The gap and disparity is so small, easily could have been 1-1 and maybe even us up 2-0. That being said let’s act like we belong and take it to them in game 3. Win that one, and I have to believe Evoldi can’t go too long in 4 after pitching on consecutive nights so that presents another great opportunity. However, people who have had two tommy john surgieries seem to have rubber arms kind of like our very own Daniel Hudson.

    Off day was needed, let’s come out and do this on Friday with our best players playing and pitching.

    1. well said. another valid criticism could be why was alex verdugo given such few opportunities when he seems to be exactly the kind of player who could be helping us out right now.

16. I thought Ryu pitched better then Price, considering the line up he had to face, as compared to Price, who had so many easy outs.

    Dozier has not even hit above 200 since he joined this team, and apparently he was the reason we didn’t make three double plays that were close, in the game before.

    And Kike has not did a thing in the post season, because he refuses to adjust when runners are in scoring position, and especially when runners have been at third, with less then two outs.

    Because Kike has struck out way to much in these important situations in games, and once again he did the same, last night.

    And we have to have Barnes in this line up, because we can’t count on Grandal to block the balls he should, or catch a throw from the outfield or the infield.

    Grandal has never hit well in the post season, so I don’t think his bat is worth his lack of defense, because pass balls kill a team, because it puts runners in scoring position, and gives away easy runs, from third.

    And I do feel bad for Grandal and his family, because this is his important free agent year, but he is not best for this team behind the plate, and the Red Sox have not taken advantage of Barnes weakness on throwing to second, except in that first game.

    And then you add Taylor to this line up who strikes out a lot, that gives a pitcher at least four easy outs, although at least Taylor has done something in the post season to deserve the starts, he has been given.

    Most of these players are only starting and playing in these games, just because they bat from the right side.

    That is just as bad as how the Dodgers have handled Freeze in this series, who has been taken out early in games right after he has produced, because a righty pitcher was put in the game.

    And this is even though Freeze has even splits against both lefties and righties, and he has excelled in the post season.

    Where is the common sense in these line ups?

    These line ups are only making it easy on the Red Sox pitchers, and they are not a line up of our best players, obviously.

    About Madson, apparently he said after game one, that he had a lot of trouble with the cold, and he couldn’t find his mechanics with the first batter he faced, in that game before.

    Madson has back problems, and the cold weather doesn’t make a person’s back, or any muscle weakness, feel better.

    I thought Roberts talked to every player before the game.

    And Roberts should already know, non of his players are going to say they are not ok to pitch in a World Series, anyways!

    But it sure didn’t seem like Baez was having any trouble, throwing in this cold weather!

    Once again, where is the common sense?

    1. And believe me, even though both the Astros and Red Sox do use saber metrics to a point, they don’t believe strike outs are the same, as other outs!

       And so does almost every Dodger fan on here, that have watched this team play, all year!

       1. The Dodgers don’t believe that either!

          1. That’s the problem, hopefully they change their thinking that swing and misses do matter – it might take an EPIC WS failure to nudge them toward moderation with saber metrics

17. Several thoughts:
    1 – The Dodgers are supposed to have the best starting pitching except for the Astros in MLB. Red Sox starters have outpitched Dodger starters thus far. Sale is nasty but the Dodgers’ patient approach got him out of the game early. Kershaw didn’t have it in Game 1. Dodgers didn’t take advantage of Sale’s early exit. Price only gave up 3 hits in 6 innings and outpitched Ryu. (I still think that Ryu’s huge home/away splits meant that he should have pitched Game 3 in LA and Hill in Boston, where he’s from.) As long as the Sox outpitch the Dodgers, the Dodgers have no chance.
    2 – Roberts is compelled to play platoon baseball. Anyone who thinks that the decision to sit Bellinger and Muncy was his alone doesn’t get it. Roberts is the manager because he’s willing to share the decision making with the Braintrust, and the ‘Trust operates on the basis of the numbers.
    3 – Roberts has lost confidence in Grandal. Grandal’s pitchers’ ERA is lower than Barnes; he’s (usually, outside of the post-season) a better hitter and a better pitch framer, and is much better throwing out baserunners. But he can’t do the one thing the position requires – catch (that’s why they call it catcher). Grandal should get the starts against Porcello and other RHP; it will be interesting to see what happens.
    4 – Roberts is like a lot of managers; he falls in love with certain guys and that’s what has happened with Kike. Kike got hot in July and was hot through the end of the regular season and so Roberts is playing him every day. Again, interesting to see who sits in LA against RHP.
    5 – The Dodgers’ DNA is what it is at this point in the season – they are a grip and rip team. K’s and HR’s. That isn’t really working in the post-season where the pitching is better. And they lose too many attempts to knock in baserunners – the chances don’t come that often in the post-season and their failure to cash in hurt against a team that’s great with 2 outs, 2 strikes, and with RISP.
    6 – I argued for years that JD Martinez would look great patrolling LF in Dodger Blue. He looks pretty good for the Sox, doesn’t he?
    7 – I’ll say it again – the Dodgers were largely outplayed by the Brewers in the LCS, but their superior talent won out. They won’t get away with that against the Sox.

    1. Rick

       Most any decent pitcher could pitch well against a line up of Kike, Dozier, Barnes, and Taylor, especially with Taylor’s propensity to strike out.

       Kershaw has not pitched well away from Dodger Stadium this year in the post season, except against the Braves, but all our pitchers pitched well, against the Braves.

       Remember the first game Kershaw pitched against the Brewers at Miller Park, and against the Red Sox at Fenway, just the other day?

       And Kershaw didn’t have a single out, when he left the game, the other day.

18. god, as the memory of last night’s loss lingers, i’m compelled to think that ryu & barnes’ inability to get on the same page might end up being the key to our eventual downfall. (last year i thought it was pulling hill early in game 2.)
    *
    i’m sure how many more years i can wait for a championship. the sad truth is probably that last year was our year and we didn’t take what was ours. the dustbin of history is filled with such sad stories.
    *
    sure, we’ll probably win one in the next 5-10 years but this current will certainly be viewed as a disappointment if it doesn’t happen soon. i think the team knows this and it isn’t helping.

    1. Think Stan Kasten, multiple playoff appearances – one WS win
       Lucky us, he’s clogging up the Dodger front office these days.

19. Echoing AC’s sentiments – “let’s keep the faith!” With that said, my “visual” reaction to these games has been , mostly, “how the heck did this team get to the World Series?” But then, I begin to look at things more analytically, and realize that it’s the “little” things that dramatically affect the outcome of a game. For instance: (1) what if Freese is able to catch the Betts’ pop-up, how does that change the game? Only one out, but it changed the complexion of that first inning dramatically; (2) what if Hernandez had not given up on Martinez’ drive to center, which appeared to be very catchable, and hit off the bottom of the fence; (3) what if the umpire, instead of calling a ball, on what appeared to be strike 3 to Vasquez, which looked to be a strike, l? Inning over and we’re feeling real good about ourselves; (4) what if Pederson catches Benintendi’s pop-up instead of being overly concerned about running into JT? On it goes, there are so many other examples. Right now the RedSox are having virtually every play go their way, while the Dodgers, not so much. Sure, our offence is woeful, the pitching hasn’t been stellar, our defense leaves much to be desired, but otherwise, we only need to win 4 more games to bring this championship home. 4 games is all! No problem, we can do it!!!

    1. i think it might be as simple as we need to start getting some big hits and stop making so many mistakes. i vote for winning the next two and making it a three-game series.

20. here’s my question: we have two and a half players who are truly full-time, regardless of the hand of the opposing pitcher: machado, turner, & puig (i have puig as the “half” because he is only recently in this category and could easily be pulled from it). keekay was threatening to become a full-time player but then that stopped. bellinger arguably has the talent to be a full-time player but if you don’t start game 1 and 2 of the world series you might not be a full-time player. i guess we will find out if taylor is a full-time player when the game 3 lineup comes out but he was benched for long stretches of time so i can’t even give him a “half” title right now. also, barnes went from back-up to starter so fast i can’t quite put him in the full-time category as his promotion was largely due to grandal’s demotion.
    *
    so with 3B/SS on lockdown and RF pretty well spoken for, that leaves LF (taylor/joc), CF (bellinger/keekay), 2B (dozier, keekay, muncy), 1b (muncy, freese, bellinger), & C (barnes/grandal) in constant flux. i guess my question is, is this a tenable strategy heading into next year or will we be looking to upgrade to players who man their positions full-time?
    *
    obviously someone like harper would represent a full-time player, and of course seager will be a full-timer if healthy in 2018, but are we planning on staying with this philosophy?
    *
    update: in reseraching this meandering post, i discovered an interesting number that should probably shut me up. Guess how many games cody bellinger appeared in this year? . . . . . . . 162. Call him a full-timer i guess without a starting job or a regular position. what a weird team to root for.

21. As usual this board comes strong with reasonable, educated and strong responses when we win or lose.

    Dionysus, agree with you on Verdugo, his approach and bat might have been useful, but their opportunity to try him was in the Atlanta series, a team we clearly were better then. No dice the FO amd Robert’s value slug over contact. Hard to argue with their results minus the last two World Series. Will be interesting to see if the philosophy shifts at all if we cannot come back against Boston. I doubt it as I think they believe they are the smartest people in the room. And the fact is they are in terms of this team, but like all great think tanks even the smartest can get help with decisions once in awhile. I rarely hear any contriteness with this organization, hopefully thst is just what we see and behind closed doors today they are looking with their eyes more and seeing our best players have not been out there enough in games 1 and 2. And have not been in there during the most crucial moments.

    MJ, loved your post about common sense and how it does have to prevail once in awhile, especially when the pot is full and we are all in. Cora seems to be coaching with a lot of common sense and the mentality that every game is really a game 7. What verified this is his response that he would pitch Eovaldi in game 3 if it provided a chance to go up 3 to 0 and worry about game 4 when it came. Robert’s managed like this in a game 7 last series but has not in games 1 and 2. Was Walker an option in game 1 or 2? Or hill for that matter? And I know probably no manager would have brought Jansen in the 5th of a must win game but why another pitcher besides Madson was not up is beyond me. Especially after his comments yesterday about his troubles warming up.

    And Rick, solid post as usual, Robert’s does love Hernandez and has probably given him more at bats then he deserves. He called him the MVP possibly at one point in September, that tells it all. However as involved as our FO seems to be it surprises me they have not been insistent on Hernandez getting less at bats. Maybe they love him too.

    Anyway I presume we finally get a game 7 approach on Friday, hope it is not too late. Let’s go Dodgers!

    1. i am probably the opposite of Mark in that i think this team was built for the regular season and not the postseason. it’s possible that our advancement to the world series this year was partially due to a weak NL field. as for roberts and his bullpen management, i think he should go full bizarro-baseball and do what you said and bring in jansen when our starter struggles. are we seriously going to say we lost the series because we used madson instead jansen? bring in your best reliever first and go backwards from there. francona basically did this with miller a few years ago and counsell almost did it too this year. if you’re going to innovate, really innovate. at this point, what do you have to lose?

22. I don’t recall who it was above, but I disagree that Bellinger is playing out of position. No doubt he’s a gold glove caliber first baseman, but he’s also a damn good CF. In fact, maybe that catch that 2demeter2 says that Kike’ didn’t make, is made by Bellinger. I value Cody’s defense at 1B, and surely I prefer a left-handed throwing first baseman. But in the absence of another CF who is as good or better than Cody, I think his defense in CF is invaluable. In fact, he also provides a powerful arm in CF. I recall a play last year when StatCast measured one of his throws to home plate at 98.7 mph. Suffice it to say, he nailed the runner. And it’s because of all of the above, depending, of course, on the make-up of next year’s team, I would love to see him in CF next year. And, again, depending on what the Dodgers do this winter, I wouldn’t mind seeing Seager end up at 1B. At 6’4″ he’d certainly provide a big target, and although right-handed, I believe he could easily adjust. Might even allow him to more gradually recover from TJ given the lesser stress on his arm he would have at 1B. Of course, he might also be able to adjust to 2B, where his strong arm (assuming he’s totally recovered from TJ) would allow him to get throws over to first faster on DP’s (certainly faster than Dozier).
    –
    And again, while I can’t recall who said it (I’m too lazy to scroll up), I absolutely agree that it’s a shame that the Dodgers never allowed Verdugo to get the playing time he needed to establish himself on this team. My best guess is that he might have gotten it had the Dodgers ran away and hid from the rest of the division.
    –
    I tend to lean towards playing Grandal over Barnes. But really, it’s a crap shoot. I would do it only as a gamble that Grandal might suddenly get hot with the bat. But as I said, it’s a crap shoot, with no way of knowing what the right decision really is. Six of one, half a dozen of the other.

    1. I confess, I made the statement that Bellinger is out of position. As you say he is a very good CFer, but he is potential Gold Glove 1st baseman. What you end up most times is Muncy at first and his defense is something less than stellar. Taylor despite the big swing and miss is fairly good in CF, and less of a drop off from Bellinger than the drop off you get with Muncy vs Bellinger at first.

23. Quite simply we are playing a team that plays better baseball or in my opinion, that plays baseball the right way.
    –
    I wouldn’t say that they are a more talented team or that they have more talented players… because I don’t believe that they do. The brain trust of the Dodgers (like most of baseball right now) have decided to wager heavily on the side of statistical analyses / match ups and launch angles / all or nothing type of at bats… and it can be pretty painful to watch when the match ups don’t work out the way you thought, the home runs don’t get hit, and the strike outs continue to pile up.
    –
    I believe that we have the more physically gifted / naturally talented players on our side… but if that individual greatness isn’t harnessed into a team first, unselfish style of baseball then you’re going to be at a huge disadvantage when you’re playing teams like the Red Sox and Astros.
    –
    The Red Sox do all the little things correctly… they play good defense, run the bases well, move runners over, focus on making contact when they have two strikes or if they have runners in scoring position. And similarly, their manager makes very few unforced errors, probably do to the fact that he seems to use his eyes and gut more instead of overusing statistical analyses.
    –
    The current Red Sox philosophy / style of baseball is exactly what most of us on here have been screaming for all season. You have heard similar comments made by Nomar, JHair, and Ned Colletti after the games all year long on Sportsnet LA.
    Currently, I feel that we have 4 guys in the lineup that take this (Red Sox style) approach to each at bat (JT, Freese, Machado, and Kemp) and Puig has shown that he’s comfortable changing to this philosophy in several games… including last night. And I agree with those above that brought up Alex Verdugo… he has what looks to be very elite bat to ball skills… I wish the team had given him more playing time during the season and/or the first round of the playoffs.
    –
    Our whole team could play this same way if they were asked to by the front office and management. As the players love to say after they win games… we have all “bought in” to the teams philosophy. Well if the Dodgers had a different type of philosophy… one similar to the Red Sox style… then all of the players would have bought into that as well.
    Hell… we had that philosophy in game 5 of the NLCS and we probably played our most complete game (against good competition) all year long.
    –
    And guys like Belli, CT3, and Kike are great athletes… if the philosophy being preached in the clubhouse was more about making contact at all costs, going the other way, moving runners over, etc. then I believe that they would be just as successful as the lesser known Red Sox hitters w/ RISP.
    –
    It’s very much a top down philosophy and the Dodgers front office has believed very strongly in playing this all or nothing style of baseball. It has worked to a certain degree last year and this year… but when you play the better teams that play fundamentally sound baseball… you tend to get exposed.
    –
    And while many people can point to another Western Division Title and our second straight World Series appearance as proof that the organization is doing things the right way… I kind of have a different take on things.
    I believe that if we played a similar style of baseball that the Red Sox play or like we played in game 5 of the NLCS then we would have:
    Won the World Series last year.
    We would have easily won at least 10 more games this year.
    Which means we would’t have needed to play in game 163.
    We also probably wouldn’t have needed 7 games to beat the Brewers this year.
    And we could have been up 2-0 in this series right now… or at the very least tied 1-1
    –
    With all that being said… I think we can still pull this thing off. I like our chances this weekend in all three games…. with Walker especially, but I think Rich and Kersh will come through with big pitching performances as well. We’re gonna have to fight fire with fire and every player needs to adopt the Red Sox style approach at the plate. And if we do, I think we’ve got a really good chance to win 4 out of the next 5 games.

24. Heard a great interview with Colleti and SportsTalk LA this morning. Ol’ Ned didn’t necessarily toe the company line, he had some pretty sharp comments. Number one, he said flat out that if you are coming into a high leverage situation like Ryan Madsen did last night, you HAVE to throw strikes right off the bat, no excuses, this is the World Series. He said Madsens fastball, which sets up his changeup and slider, was up in the zone and had no control, so JD Martinez was just sitting on it. Speaking of Martinez, Colleti went on to say here is a guy who hit 40 something home runs, yet goes the other way for a hit to keep the rally going. He mentioned for the Dodgers to even have a chance, they have to go back to what made them great during the season, constantly stressing the pitcher out with long counts, making him pitch a strike then making him pay for it. He also brought up a good point that some of our left handed hitters are starting to hit left handed pitching if given the chance. Totally agree with that and with what some of you other guys posted today. Enough of the all righty lineup, Roberts needs to get back to how he managed against Atlanta and the Brewers, taking some chances with some hot guys and throw the damn script out. Last thing with Ned, he said that Cora is managing a game at a time, a run at a time, bringing in Eovaldi to put out any fires, going for the win early in the game, and it has paid off. Hopefully Roberts will be a bit of a riverboat gambler and use the eye test more with his guys instead of the dreaded match up stats. Damn.

25. Dionsysis, I agree with you and almost wrote about this yesterday. I believe this team is built for a long stretch and not a short series and here is why. This is an all or nothing team, and there will be periods when they are hot and then, when they are not. You can make up for the periods of “not” over a year long schedule, but in a short series when periods of “not” come up you don’t have time to make up for them with a hot streak. Over this year Taylor, Hernandez, Grandal and others have had their ups and downs (downs especially in the early part of the year, Kemp was hot early but not later in the season) but we had time for Turner to get back and others to get hot. Now we have about four guys that are not performing like they did earlier in the year (so what that Taylor hit 17 HR if he can’t hit one now) and there will not be time for them to turn it around unless they do so right now. No, this team is not built for a short series and it is becoming quite apparent.

    1. Two reasons I said it was built for the Post-Season:
       1. The Bullpen; and
       2. The depth.
       –
       The Bullpen was/is just like I figured: 1.65 ERA – the Brewers were at 2.82 and the Red Sox are at 3.18. That’s where I felt the Dodgers had a huge advantage… and they did/do!
       –
       The Starters did not hold up their end (yet) at 4.57 ERA. Boston’s starters are 4.02. The hitting has been anemic and the depth hasn’t helped (yet), but the stats suggest they are ready to break out. Can they do it for 4 games?
       –
       That’s the question.
       –
       … but it ain’t over! YET!

       1. Check out how many inherited runners they have allowed to score. All of Kershaw’s and all of Ryu’s runners scored but didn’t go against the bullpen.

          1. 100% correct – too many inherited runners score

26. Lots of great comments today, agree with almost everything written. Game 1 the ump had a tight zone and when Kershaw had to catch more of the plate they hit it and his defense also let him down. But the biggest issue was pulling Baez for no reason and the game was effectively over. Game 2 was lost before the 1st pitch by starting Ryu and trotting out the same lineup the Sox had already figured out how to attack. Ryu melted down after not getting a call and was done so quickly Doc couldn’t get anyone warmed up fast enough. Maybe a couple mound visits or a challenge-anything to get a reliever ready-crap fake an injury. But in both games almost every RH hitter was aiming for the Monster and on pitches away kept rolling over and hitting weak ground balls or striking out. If the pitch is outside take it to RF with an added bonus of beating the shifts. Muncy struggles with breaking balls, that’s what they threw him. Most of the team can’t hit a good heater so that’s what they get. They are pull happy so they get pitched away and they hit right into the shift anyway. Playing Dozier and Kike and Barnes twice after they pooped the bed the 1st game is felony stupid. It’s not just posters on this board, Doc is getting called out all across baseball. And yet they are still in it but need to sweep all 3 at home which is possible but unlikely. Heads should roll if they bow out early but they probably won’t. Madson would not even be on the roster if the brain trust acquired one of the many quality bullpen arms moved at the deadline instead of dumpster diving. I love my Dodgers but am really disappointed in their play so far and in how the team is being managed.

27. It’s pretty easy to play Monday morning quarterback. Making all the right calls after all the wrong moves are made and the game is over.
    But the fact is most of the right moves have been consistently made and called for on this site time and time again before the wrong moves were made.
    Yes players need to execute, no question. But some of these WS decisions have put players in positions to fail.
    There have been several excellent assessments of what a winning formula looks like. And it has been repeated often.
    Someone higher up than Doc isn’t particularlyinterested in that formula.
    Watching the Red Sox play the game is pretty exciting, if you like baseball.

28. It will be interesting to see if the Dodgers adjust in the next few games or if we continue with our HR or bust attitude. Boston and Houston have shown us how to do it. Will we adjust now or even next year. They do not value players like Verdugo and Toles. The Dodgers have played small ball at times this year and they looked good doing it. So, they can do it.
    –
    I believe the Dodgers can still win but they must change their approach. I love reading the comments on this board. We are all saying the same thing. If FAZ and Doc are smart, and I think they are, they will change. If not, then we will be lost until a change is made. Right now, this team was built to win the regular season, but not the play offs. This HR or bust does not cut it in the play offs.

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