I would venture that they could give anyone on this board 10 strikes against a MLB pitcher, and they would strike out every time. Hitting a baseball is one of the hardest things for a human to do. Puig could not hit LHP, although it was not always that way. Andre Ethier could not hit lefties very well. Joc has proven he cannot hit lefties. These things don’t go away with wishful thinking or fairy dust. Just because Joc is hot does not mean he will be hot against LHP. Some may think it would help his confidence if he got to play against lefties, but it could just as easily destroy his confidence.
Of course, if you are in the camp, that everything is Doc’s fault when the Dodgers lose and when the Dodgers win, it’s in spite of him, I doubt you will agree. However, since 1950, Dave has the best Dodger Manager Winning Percentage and his average finish in his division is 1. Second guessers are never wrong.
Yesterday, Jeff said this:
Perhaps Joc is not upset and not thinking let me out of here. It seems he might even be okay with how this system plays itself out. Do you have any evidence of it being otherwise and not all in your head?
Winner, winner, chicken dinner! 100% agree, Jeff. Then, the biggest Joc Pederson fan in the Milky Way (Bumsrap) wrote this:
Part of Joc being on the bench against lefties is to keep Taylor happy. He’s done enough in the last 2 years to not be benched 90% of the time. He is already sitting 70%.
Another Chicken Dinner!
I think that if Joc keeps up his hot hitting, he will get a few chances against LHP, but it’s my opinion that you have to give it time and do it in all due time. In case you have forgotten, last April Joc hit .298, which led to more playing time in May, where his BA dropped to .211. Arguing that he needs to play more to be effective is not supported by fact. Joc has always had difficulty against LHP. Compare that to someone like Cody, who actually had a higher BA against LHP in 2017. In 2018, he regressed, but it appears that he has fixed it.
OK, I get it that fans are supposed to complain and sometimes you have to “invent” stuff to complain about, especially with the 2019 version of the Dodgers. Let me give you an example. A couple of games ago, Ryu was cruising through 5 innings. What if Doc had taken him out after 5? Well, many of you would have been all over Roberts if he had done that, but what about the fact that Ryu allowed two runs in the 6th inning? I am frankly surprised that no one second-guessed leaving him in, but I guess that doesn’t fit the narrative you cling to.
Back to my original premise: Second Guessers are Never Wrong. Look, Dave Roberts does make some moves that I do not agree with. Every manager does. We get all the Cubs games here in Indy and Joe Madden makes some crazy moves, but he’s a genius? Maybe you think a certain player should have started, but some other player did. Maybe it makes no sense to you, but I guarantee Doc has much more information in the form of analytics, health information and personal issues players may be facing.
Know one thing: Roberts want to win… as much as we do. His job depends upon it and he is a competitor. He is going to make moves based upon the information he has (which is a lot more than what we have). Sometimes when he makes moves, they don’t work. It may be the move, but it also may be the player failing to do his job.
Even the best hitter is going to fail 7 out of 10 times, so logically if Doc pinch hits, 7 out of 10 times you can criticize the move. Second-guessers are never wrong at any rate. Doc’s record speaks for itself. Maybe you don’t agree with the platoons, but when he was hired, that was a prerequisite to his employment. Friedman and Zaidi were “all in” on platoons. Friedman has softened quite a bit on that and even stated that there would be fewer platoons THIS year and there has been. Last year, there were games against LH pitching where everyone was hitting RH.
We have won two straight games against lefties with Robert’s lineups, but those so inclined will say that it is in spite of Roberts, not because of Roberts. I guess you are going to stick to your own narrative… even if it is irrational, because that’s what fans do. If Freese would have struck out instead of doubling last night, the Roberts’ bashers would have said “Doc’s an idiot.” If you think about it, it is not usually the move, it’s how the player executes. Freese was batting against a RHP, but Muncy and Pederson were available – If Freese had failed, that’s the matchup they would have questioned, but Doc might have known something they didn’t… like the fact that Freese is hitting over .450 with RISP since he became a Dodger.
The right moves don’t always work and sometimes the wrong ones do… but many times there is no RIGHT move. It happens to be very subjective. Managers manage and players play and when they execute, the manager is a genius. When the players don’t execute the manager is an idiot! Dave Roberts is not perfect, but he’s pretty dang good and his record speaks for itself. If the Dodgers get to the World Series again, it won’t be in spite of him. It will be because of him and he will be “rare company.”
Rants & Raves
- There’s not much to bitch about today and the bullpen sure showed up big time. Now, if it can just trickle down to the average JOE.
- I hate to say it so soon, but Turner Ward doesn’t look so good right about now and Robert Van Socyoc looks better and better every minute. These guys are really demonstrating a huge “buy in” to a new philosophy.
- JD Mar… I mean Kike Hernandez, All-Star?
- Cody Bellinger, MVP?
- Yasmani Grandal is hitting .211. Barnes is at .400 and Martin is at .333 and both look locked in. Who’s still worried about the state of the Dodgers’ catching?
Mark–You are wrong. I would get hit by a pitch on at least one of those strikes. I have a tendency to lean over the plate when I bat left-handed.
How am I being unreasonable in that I expect my Dodgers to win 162 games this season? Well…..at least 150! Guess I can’t expect to avoid getting senile as these years fly bye. Got too many things to deal with today and with a broken leg it’s gonna be rough if I keep on procrastinating. Ugh! Okay I’m now in gear (without overdrive).
Dave Roberts has mentioned that he thinks strategically about winning a championship, which starts with winning the division. He’s told everyone that he needs the whole roster (and then some) to accomplish that goal. He won’t say it directly, but reading between the lines, he seems to look for players who are underperforming and then give them more opportunities (not less). e.g., last night, he put players with the lowest batting averages in the middle of the lineup, and wound up with the hotter players batting lower in the order. For fans (who are focused only on winning the game being played that day), it seems crazy. It seems crazy to sit Joc “I always start the season hot” Pederson and play Chris “on pace to lead the league again in K’s” Taylor. I believe the way Dave Roberts thinks about it, he is trying to infuse confidence in the guys that are not on track. He knows the team will need these guys to perform and he’s willing to risk losing games in April in order to get everyone on the roster ready.
It feels like he manages the pitchers the same way. First off, for the last couple seasons, the pitchers never seem ready coming out of Spring Training. It seems like the Dodgers want to use the first month of the season to build up their pitchers instead of ST. The month they save, they hope to apply to the extra month of playoff baseball at the very end of the season. Secondly, it seems that pitchers who struggle will be given multiple opportunities to come in and redeem themselves – Pedro Baez is the most frustrating example of this. Again, Roberts’ goal seems to be to assure them that they have his confidence and to also give opportunity for them to correct their issues. Last season, this strategy didn’t work too well as the bullpen seemed problematic the whole year.
As a Dodger fan, I’ve come to expect slow starts for all the reasons above. I’m thrilled to be 5-2 after the first two series, but I still have my expectations set at the team being slightly above 500 for April. If you judge Dave Roberts with the lens being success in a single game, he appears to make lots of bad decisions. However, if you think about his strategy of using the entire team to win out over the course of the entire season, his decisions make more sense. I don’t always agree, but at least I can understand what he’s trying to do.
Look how hot Justin Turner was in Spring Training, now he can’t jump out of a boat and hit water. You have to play your way through slumps to get out of them. You also need to play when you are hot. Just because Joc is hot, doesn’t mean he can hit LHP. That could be exactly what is needed to cool him off. We really can’t say either way, but Freese and Taylor delivered last night in some ways ignoring the match ups.
Mark,
Will Kenley survive the weekend? This is the biggest question that this team has to answer. By the look of things, he will survive. But as Krukow commented in the last game, he doesn’t seem to have command of his fast ball as he once did. This was not a condemnation but an observation of the current state of Kenley. There was no statement to the effect of him losing something that he could not get back, but Kenley needs to regain his form, which frankly, he has not done. All eyes should be on him this series.
The next question is when will Doc allow Kelly to pitch again? Should he rest him while he gets some tutorials on his fast ball? 2 blatant meltdowns in a row cannot be good for one’s confidence. Baez came back, but Kelly’s is much more serious.
Turner and Seager are struggling. Who would’ve predicted that? Turner, our heart and soul, our clutchiest of clutch hitters has been relatively absent but doing well in the SO category. He looks as if he is not seeing the ball well. His swings look off and he’s been reaching. Corey I can reconcile because of his idleness for a year. We just give him time and ultimately, I have no real concern about Turner especially since we have so much support in Kike, Belli, Pollock, Barnes, and Joc. Our offense is molten.
Our achilles heel is relief pitching. This is where the blunders of Doc are felt most. When to pull and when to insert starters and relievers. In-game management is not Doc’s strong suit. If the guys are not producing offense, relying on Doc’s acumen is a long shot. Does anyone really think Doc is that good? I completely disagree with how Mark spins Doc’s success. He inherited a dynamic team, not built it into a machine. But, I am not going to complain and whine like so many posters do about Doc’s play calling. It’s boring to listen to and really creates a negative atmosphere as has happened on other boards. There is no reason the Dodgers cannot win the WS with Doc and in spite of Doc. lol
I personally think it’s completely fair to say the main weakness on this team is its relief pitching. You can also say this historically, going back to the last few postseasons.
That is not to say it will be a weakness for the rest of the year or necessarily the reason why we might fail, but from a pure personnel/expectations viewpoint, our least talented department is our bullpen.
We tend to rely on guys we hope do well rather than those who have a proven [and recent] track record of doing so.
Joc should be kept in the lineup against righties through the 7th inning regardless of the score and if a lefty reliever comes in after the 7th and the Dodgers need a run then pinch hit for him. Too many times Joc or someone else has been pinch hit for when they will still get 3 at bats in the game and the last two has the pinch hitter getting those at bats with a righty on righty match up. The better Joc does against lefties when he gets a chance the more at bats he will or should get against them. He already has a better swing against them so there is a chance that that new swing will change his stats against lefties.
The problem with Joc sitting against lefties to date is the number of consecutive games lefties start and sometimes an off day is included in those consecutive starts. In the past Joc has had to sit 4 or 5 games in a row and he is about to sit 4 in a row. Those lengthy sits have cooled him off in the past. I would not sit Joc more than 2 consecutive games regardless of the pitcher. That strategy could also be used for Taylor but if he doesn’t sit more than 2 consecutive days it doesn’t mean that he should always sub in for Joc.
M.T. there were embers barely glowing and you had to add accelerant to the Doc drivel!?!? Jeff was spot on about Doc…
Soon it will be Honeys fault…
Good win last night… Have a feeling Jansen will be just fine!!!
Someone out there is going to pay dearly when J.T. and Seager’s bats awake… You can take that to the bank…
Here I go again ad nauseum … Why don’t they give the kid Verdugo RF and be done with it until he’s done with it… I’d like to see if he could adjust…
Re: Verdugo. This will play out in time. The Dodgers haven’t given most positions to players. JT earned 3B but it took time. Cory grabbed SS when he came up. Same for Belli; injury gave him playing time and he earned it. Kiké seems to have earned 2B but it took time. An injury or Muncy not producing will eventually give Verdugo his shot. From what we’ve seen this week, it looks like he might take it.
A lot of great a level headed comments today.
Bums, I’m with you on Joc. Doc seems to love to cool his hot players in favor of heating his cold players. I agree that Joc should get a shot at a lefty especially when it’s under the right conditions. 1) He’s on a hot streak. 2) When you’re going to see 3 or 4 lefties in a row.
Jeff, Kenley doesn’t ever seem to start really hot. He’s a big man with a lot going on with his big body and his grip. He’ll get in a groove soon. Kelly is a tall and lanky guy with similar issues. He seems to suck for a while, then he’s un-hittable in long stretches. He’ll be fine as well and we will probably see him in one of the first couple of games in Colorado. Sitting Joc for so many games in a row is dumb. If Kike can start hitting righties, Joc should be afforded the same opportunity to hit lefties. Anyone could have predicted that Seager would struggle after not having a Spring Training in major league camp.
Knights1, you summed up Roberts’ strategy very well. With a talented team, he gets away with the stupidity of getting cold players more at bats. It’s stupid to me to tell the players to play to win one game at a time, then manage in a contradictory way.
MT, nice article defending Doc. Failing to mention his horrible driving and the fact that our only two losses occurred when he pulled starters during shutouts around the 75 pitch mark is homerism at its finest. One more inning from each of those guys and we probably win those games with little effect on their constitution come playoff time. Besides, he does the same dumb moves in the postseason. Is he saving them for the following Spring? Probably not, because no one pitches enough during Spring to be ready for the season.
Also, no one is complaining about leaving Ryu in because we all think starters should at the VERY LEAST go 6 or 7 innings. Two runs in 6 or 7 innings is no only completely acceptable, it’s welcome. What isn’t welcome is pulling a guy who is dominating so that the bullpen can throw away the game. Especially when he’s boring everyone with his mid inning pitching changes so much that MLB is going to implement a rule to stop him from doing it.
Good job so far against some not so good teams at home, now we’re gonna have to get it going now. Colorado is cursed for us, we always seem to get injured at that park.
See, I happen to disagree with leaving starters in for longer stretches early in the season. There’s a large body of evidence that shows pitchers who have high inning counts early are much more susceptible to injury. When you build up slower, you have a better chance of finishing. Buildup of lactic acid early in the process is a recipe for injury.
If you don’t like Roberts driving, that’s one thing, but Friedman and the medical staff have dictated lower pitch counts early in the season. Hate on them for that. Don’t shoot the messenger. I am a Dodger Homer, but I call it the way I see it. I could tolerate Colletti, but asked for his head many times. I hated Torre and Mattingly and campaigned for Donnie’s firing. I called for Turner Ward’s head, so I don’t defend anyone unless I agree with them.
You are entitled to your opinion but to think I’m a homer because I defend Doc is incorrect. Most of this is opinion anyway. Dave Roberts is not the only one who does all the pitching changes. Just about 16 other teams do the same thing. I don’t always agree with them, but again, it is subjective. I don’t get hung up on the subjective stuff.
So, I decided to call BS on the “16 other teams do it” retort. I spot checked about 25 games from March 30 – April 1. I found one other starter that was pulled after 5 innings with less than 80 pitches that wasn’t getting shelled.
Trent Thorton of the Blue Jays was tossing a shutout at 5/75 and guess who lost the game? Almost every single game I checked, both pitchers pitched into the 80s and 90s and even some in the 100s. This is exactly my point, that it is non-standard and is not a good practice if your goal is to win games.
It’s fine if you want to do a puff piece on Roberts, but if you choose to ignore all the stupid things he does you’re gonna be called a homer from time to time. Hell, you didn’t even mention what a bad driver he is.
Is there an echo on here? Yawn!
59,
I love the MLB rule that should be called the “DOC” Rule. The Giant’s channel mentioned Stripling’s No-Hitter when Doc pulled him out and the BP lost the game.
FYI, according to TBLA, the minor league affiliates with the most MLB Pipeling Top 30 prospects are:
Tulsa (AA)–9 currently on roster
Rancho Cucamonga (A+)–6
OKC (AAA)–5
Great Lakes (A-)–4
And for those of you with Dodger baseball withdrawal on an off day, at 5:05 pm both Clayton Kershaw and Dustin May are scheduled to start their respective games.
If both Joc and Verdugo keep playing well, do you guys see a way the Dodgers are going to be able to keep both? Barring an injury to the other outfielders (God forbid), it will be tough to find enough playing time for both. Those two plus CT3 get time in the outfield – but CT3 gets in when a LHP starts against them.
I really like Joc, but I could see the FO trading high on him and making more opportunities for Verdugo.
This is what we debated all offseason long 🙂
Great! I wasn’t able to follow along.
What was the consensus? thanks in advance
Whatever consensus this site came to it probably changed with Joc’s hot start. He could be extended as easily as traded. The Dodgers like Bellinger in RF but the battle for playing time might now be more Muncy vs Verdugo with Belli moving back to first base and after the 25 game mark.
We also got a little head-faked by some chatter that we were shopping Joc. Some thought it meant we were targeting Harper. Also, Toles being on the shelf might’ve squashed all talk of trading another outfielder period. We’ll never know.
Thanks Bum & Mirror. Imagine if they still had Puig and Kemp – tough to find PT for everyone.
FWIW, if it came down to Muncy vs Verdugo, I would trade high on Muncy. I really like his underdog story – getting cut by the A’s, working out at a high school batting cage with his dad, etc. However, his glove is not at the same level as the other players. There’s just no place to hide him in the field.
When the Giants rallied and almost caught up, Muncy botched a double play grounder. You could see on the broadcast that Kenley was pretty ticked. Then, in the post game interview with Alanna, Kenley mentioned it again.
We have only played 7 games in a 162 season, and because of that, I expect to hear some different comments about these same players, as the season goes along, and probably even after the next 7 games.
We all do it to an extent, it is not just 59, although 59 might seem more persistent.
I am just trying to put everything in prospective, because we all know how much the narrative will change, throughout the season.
And with all of that, today’s goat might be tomorrow’s hero.
And that is why we have to play the games and find out.
Well said. Baseball can be especially cruel in this regard as it literally comes down to fractions of inches [ball/bat] and sometimes pure luck [fielder/field]. If Freese’s drive last night is caught on the track, the entire tone of this thread is different. That’s why the process we follow is so important. In 1000 simulations, we’re looking for a 99.8% success rate. Hang the DJ.
Thanks!
OMG, serious minor league stiffy warning:
The top four batters for the Tulsa Drillers today are
1) Lux
2) Peters
3) Ruiz
4) C. Santana
Not trying to sell 2B Estevez or the other OF’s (Thomas/Reks) short, but wow what a nice foursome . . .
(I don’t know who Parmalee or Walker are)
Chris Parmalee was recently signed by the Dodgers to provide minor league depth. Coming out of high school in Chino Hills, CA, Parmalee was considered the top high school bat in the 2006 draft. He was drafted in the first round of that draft, however, he has yet to taste the success expected of him.
Jared Walker is the Dodgers’ 2014 5th round draft choice. He’s been slowly working his way through the Dodger system. He has some pop in his bat.
Thanks. Looks like Walker hit 25 HRs last year. Also hit 3 in the Arizona Fall League.
Parmalee has considerable major league experience. Man, for a pure “baseball is hard” illustration, check out his debut in 2011 when I’m sure he thought he had it all figured out . . .
Pretty solid ‘stache too.
Sometimes I get him confused with Chicken Parmesan.
Is that what gets you excited? OMG
I think Muncy will play a lot, as will Joc because one of them will have to go at some point. The Dodgers need another RH Bat and Muncy or Joc … most likely Muncy, could be part of that deal. Muncy first has to show that 2018 was not a fluke.
Did anyone see that the Yankees have 11 players on the IL?
11 of their 25 roster? Couldn’t happen to a nicer team
Why will Muncy or Joc have to go? Joc seems to have turned a corner. Why would you ever trade him if you didn’t have to? And, Muncy is a very good backup 1B who is doing quite well there defensively. Freese will probably not be around next season, but who knows? We need to not overthink all this at the moment. Time will tell who contributes and who doesn’t. There’s no rush and the Dodgers have a very solid base to work from at the moment. An injury or two will change the balance somewhat and we need the depth to accomodate this possibility. I have never been this positive about the team in decades. It really does look like they will go all the way this year.
That’s a good point Mark, I’m actually liking Joc, that can easily be ruined by him trying to hit lefties, let’s keep as is!
Ain’t that The Truth?
Get read from Inc. Magazine today:
I ordered a turkey sandwich and asked for double meat. The guy behind me said, “You shouldn’t eat meat.” I turned and shrugged.
“Seriously,” he said, his voice getting louder. “Meat is bad for you.”
“Maybe so,” I said. “But I like meat.”
Evidently that was not the right response. “A friend turned me on to a vegan diet,” he said. “Only fools eat meat. Meat is terrible for you. There’s not a single reason to eat meat. The science is irrefutable.” Then he paused and moved closer, narrowing his eyes to stare intently into mine.
“It’s changed my life,” he said.
“I’m not sure all meat is bad…” I said. “But that’s really cool how being a vegan has worked out for you. How long have you been doing it?”
“This is my second day,” he said.
Ah.
The Dunning-Kruger Effect
Our interaction is a perfect example of the Dunning-Kruger Effect, a type of cognitive bias described by social psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger in which people believe they’re smarter and more skilled than they actually are. Combine a lack of self-awareness with low cognitive ability and boom: You overestimate your own intelligence and competence.
As Dunning, a psychology professor at the University of Michigan, says, “If you’re incompetent, you can’t know you’re incompetent… the skills you need to produce the right answer are the very same skills you need to recognize the right answer.”
As Bertrand Russell said, “One of the painful things about our time is that those who feel certainty are stupid, and those with any imagination and understanding are filled with doubt and indecision.”
Or as my grandfather said, “The dumber you are, the more you think you know.”
(On the flip side, people with high ability tend to underestimate how good they are. High-ability individuals tend to underrate their relative competence, and at the same time assume that tasks which are easy for them are just as easy for other people.)
But I shouldn’t be too hard on the gentleman who had just adopted a vegan diet. I once spent twenty minutes trying to convince a motorcycle mechanic my bike handled poorly because of issues like spring rate and steering head angle and frame height… only to learn out I had unknowingly turned my rear shock’s rebound damping to its lowest setting.
Wildly overestimating my knowledge made me a D-K.
We all know people who do the same. They take a position and then proclaim and bluster and pontificate while totally disregarding differing opinions or points of view. They know they’re right — and they want you to know they’re right.
Their behavior isn’t an indication of intelligence, though. It’s the classic sign of a D-K.
Wisdom Is Never Found in Certainty
As Jeff Bezos says, “The smartest people are constantly revising their understanding, reconsidering a problem they thought they’d already solved. They’re open to new points of view, new information, new ideas, contradictions, and challenges to their own way of thinking.”
That’s because wisdom isn’t found in certainty. Wisdom is knowing that while you might know a lot… there’s also a lot you don’t know. Wisdom is trying to find out what is right rather than trying to be right. Wisdom is realizing when you’re wrong, and backing down graciously.
Don’t be afraid to be wrong. Don’t be afraid to admit you don’t have all the answers. Don’t be afraid to say “I think” instead of “I know.
As Inc. colleague Jessica Stillman says, “Next time you’re trying to determine if someone is actually super smart or simply bluffing, don’t ask whether they’re always right. Instead, ask when was the last time they changed their opinion. If they can’t name lots of times they were wrong, they’re probably not as smart as they want to appear.”
Which means they’re probably a D-K.
Perhaps to simple this down a little here are three quotes:
He who learns but does not think, is lost!
He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.
Confucius
It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble.
It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.
Mark Twain
The illiterate of the 32st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.
Alvin Toffler
Good post Mark.
While watching the game last night, I went through several mood changes. High one minute, not so much the next. At the critical point in the game, I questioned the decision to let Freese hit. It seemed that a “stupid” Roberts would have automatically sent Muncy up to pinch-hit for him. After the game, Doc was questioned about the decision and he responded with “I saw the right-handed at-bats prior, and the slider didn’t affect our right-handers tonight,” Roberts said. “Typically for me, spin away, lefty-lefty or righty-righty is kind of a red flag. I just felt with David, Moronta was stressed and I wanted to force their hand to keep the righty in there and go deeper into the game.” Not only did I find that insightful, I realized then, that my observation of the game from my recliner, did not give me all the information I needed to make in game decisions of the kind he needs to make. It also helped me to realize that Doc is not just a puppet, he has the capability to make in game decisions, with his eyes. I will admit to being a Roberts’ supporter. I don’t always agree with his decisions (heck, I don’t always agree with my wife, and I love her more than anyone on the face of the earth), but I’m very glad he’s our manager.
Another observation: The after game interviews have become much more informative. It really seems that players like Pederson, Bellinger, and Verdugo have matured. Bellinger, in particular, has taken much time to point out the work he did with RVS and Brown over the winter and how they have helped him to focus and capitalize on the things he does well and to stay away from the things he does not do well. It’s a small sample size for sure, but the initial results bode well for the rest of the year.
Quasimodo – I’m sorry to hear about your broken leg. Hope you have a speedy recovery.
Mark. I said that the lineup was “Creative”. That was movement for me.
First: I will say that we don’t know how a lineup of Verdugo, Joc, in place of Freeze, Taylor would have played out. Freeze and Taylor got late hits but early on nothing much except for Freeze doing a great job of baserunning on Bellinger’s base hit.
Second: It was great to see Doc leave Stripling in for 7 innings. That is fantastic. The BP continues to stink. KJ is worrisome. Perhaps it is time to look at Kimbrel????
Wrong I was. 6.1
No game today. Life stinks. 🙁
Kershaw looked Rusty but I think he is done making minor league starts – look for him 5 days from now to start for the Dodgers. 5 IP 61 Pitches. He’s ready!
I agree. Team might ask him to do one more rehab start but why waste any bullets?
I agree with 2demeter2, we as armchair managers give Roberts so much grief, yet we don’t know what kind of in game info he is getting from his bench coach, Honey, the bullpen coach, etc about how this player feels, is this guy ready, is the guy throwing in the bullpen has his stuff that night, it goes on and on. So much that we don’t know about as we want to hang this guy from the tallest tree. I love his gut decision to go with Freese on that crucial at bat last night. We can rag all we want about Roberts, but as Mark has said, his track record is undeniable. With this group of players, love him or hate him, Roberts has their pulse and their respect. He is a work in progress as far as he handles the bullpen, but he HAS been burned by some of the relievers not doing their jobs. This will all work out, we are big time better all the way across the board than last year, and we will all see it in the months to come.
Dustin May, 5ip, 2 hits, 9k today.
Semi related: Quakes rotation looks to be good.
Would really prefer that Kershaw not make his first start of the season in St. Louis. He has had more than his share of struggles there and would just as soon first start be in LA. Let’s stick with the current rotation until we get back home and create a better first start for him and for Hill, as well. The current rotation has delivered consistent good starts at home and I’d like to see how they perform on the road for future reference.
Will Smith, batting 3rd for OKC, with a double and walk tonight.
Sborz with 5 K’s in 2 IP.
Peters with 3 K’s in 4 AB’s for Tulsa.
Kendall already with 2 K’s in 2 AB’s with RC.