I have lost my love for Football almost completely. The fact that it is a violent game that produces many devastating injuries is a big part of it. It started when my son was a Freshman in high school and won a State Championship. He was not a starter but was on the Scout Team and the seniors loved to beat on them like rented mules. He was 5′ 6′ and 160 pounds and they threw him around like a rag doll.
But he always got up and by the time he was a Senior, he was 6′ 1″ and 245 pounds and a beast! He could not be stopped. He was the Fullback on offense and played the “Elephant” on defense. He won another State Championship as a Senior, but this time it was “his team” as he was All-City, All-Conference, and All-State. At the Awards Banquet when he was named the MVP, the coach said he was the “heart and soul of the team.” I looked forward to four years of college where (in 4th grade) he promised me he would win the Heisman Trophy. I admit to being biased, like any father, but down deep, I knew he could do it. However, I was also afraid of the price he would have to pay. He has the heart of a Champion. Here he was, running onto the field in the State Championship Game at Lucas Oil Stadium.
I always envisioned that he would be a left-handed pitcher, but baseball just wasn’t his gig. He tried and just did not like it. No way – no how. Basketball was my best sport, although I loved baseball more, but he just was not a basketball player either. He can still dunk handily… and that’s probably his best shot. My oldest son who is 32 can still dunk… he just can’t remember when I could although he remembers watching me play.
So, anyway I was shocked when my youngest son said: “Dad, I am not going to play football in college.” He walked away from some big scholarships in the process. Well, the truth was I was shocked… and relieved. He said, “I want to walk when I’m your age.” I’ll be 66 soon and years of tennis, baseball and basketball have created arthritis in my hips, back, knees and lately, my upper back and neck. Whenever I try digging with a shovel or use a chain saw he says “Dad, let me do it” and he does.
He is now the Sales Manager at US Water Systems (at 20 years old) and has made some big lifestyle changes since quitting football. He is now 6’1″ and 188 pounds. He has dropped almost 50 pounds and feels so much better. It was him that called me last night (thinking I was still at the Colts Game) and said: “Dad, Andrew Luck is retiring… and I get it.” Yes, he does! Andrew is walking away from $58 million because he is married, has a child on the way and knows that football is a violent game that incapacitates many. Andrew Luck is a very intelligent person and knows there is so much more to life than football. He just is no longer “all in!” The timing is poor, but what’s a guy to do? As a Colts fan, I hate it, but as a human being, I get it. I too am moving away from football as a fan. That’s just me. We left the game last night in the middle of the second quarter.
The Indianapolis Star’s Greg Doyle wrote this:
“For the last four years or so,” Luck said, “I’ve been in this cycle of injury, pain, rehab – injury, pain, rehab – and it’s been unceasing, unrelenting, both in-season and offseason. And I felt stuck in it, and the only way I see out is to no longer play football. It’s taken my joy of this game away.”
Luck was booed off the field Saturday night when the Colts played the Chicago Bears in the third preseason game, the news of his retirement breaking on Twitter during the second half. The fans who stuck around, they booed Luck off the field. And he heard it.
“Yeah,” he said, “it hurt. I’ll be honest. It hurt.”
Even so, Luck sounded like a man at peace, a man who has stared into the abyss and turned away. Football, once his favorite hobby, the source of such childlike joy, had become his dark place. He said he had been thinking about retiring for about 10 days, calling it “a moment of clarity” when the idea finally started to take shape. He said he’d been tired.
“I feel exhausted,” he said, sounding very much that, “and quite tired.”
When you lose your passion for anything, it’s hard to keep on keepin’ on. It sucks… especially the timing. Season ticket holders are revolting. I get it, but Andrew has to live his life for him, not them. Maybe his career is over… or maybe it’s just over for a time. We shall see. Jacoby Brissett will surprise you but there are two words to remember for the Colts moving forward: Chad Kelly! He is a reformed (allegedly) knucklehead who reminds me so much of Bret Farve. I predict he will be the Colts starting QB by week #6.
What motivates Andrew Luck? What motivates anyone? What motivates my son? What motivates the Dodgers? I’ll answer that. What motivates Kenley Jansen? I’ll try and answer that.
The Dodgers, from the 25th man on the roster to Clayton Kershaw all have one common goal: Win the 2019 World Series. They all know that anything less renders the season futile. This is the best Dodger team I have ever seen, but it also has another important aspect: The insiders who know, including Andrew Friedman, Molly Knight, MLB Reporters, and the beat writers all say that this is the best lockerroom culture in all of baseball. It’s no secret that three players who went to Cincinnati were lockerroom problems to some degree. Those days are gone and this group is all singing out of the same hymnbook.
What motivates Kenley Jansen is a bit more complicated as he has health issues that can cloud his future. He has a wife and kids that he wants to enjoy and he also wants to win a World Championship for his Band of Brothers. To be a closer is to be an adrenaline junky. When you are closing out a game, that adrenaline is pumping like a pumper fire truck.
To also be a closer, you have to trust your stuff and right about now, Kenley doesn’t have confidence in his slider. Both hits he gave up yesterday were on sliders. That doesn’t mean he should never use it, but he should use it for “effect.” He just needs to show it to put it in the hitters head that he has to look for it. Let’s look at Kenley’s 9th inning:
- Gregorius:
- 1st Pitch – 93 MPH Cutter
- 2nd Pitch – 94 MPH Cutter
- 3rd Pitch – 95 MPH 4-Seam Fastball
- 4th Pitch – 94 MPH 4-Seam Fastball
- 5th Pitch – 92 MPH Cutter
- 6th Pitch – 93 MPH Cutter (Strikeout)
- Torres
- 1st Pitch – 94 MPH 4-Seam Fastball
- 2nd Pitch – 82 MPH Slider
- 3rd Pitch – 94 MPH 4-Seam Fastball
- 4th Pitch – 83 MPH Slider (single)
- Gardner
- 1st Pitch – 91 MPH Cutter
- 2nd Pitch – 92 MPH Cutter
- 3rd Pitch – 81 MPH Slider (single)
- Urshela
- 1st Pitch – 94 MPH 4-Seam Fastball (Fielder’s choice – screwed up play)
- Tauchman
- 1st Pitch – 93 MPH Cutter
- 2nd Pitch – 92 MPH Cutter
- 3rd Pitch – 94 MPH 4-Seam Fastball (strikeout)
- Sanchez
- 1st Pitch – 92 MPH Cutter
- 2nd Pitch -96 MPH Cutter
- 3rd Pitch – 95 MPH Cutter
- 4th Pitch – 94 MPH Cutter (strikeout)
So, for everyone BLASTING Kenley for not throwing his slider more and not “obeying” the catcher, maybe Kenley is right, but I don’t think he should throw 8 cutters in a row to a batter… as he did to Tellez. Maybe Kenley is more right than the catcher or the Dodgers on this. He threw three sliders yesterday and two of those were for hits.
I think the issue is not that he should throw his slider more. The issue is to change up pitches and change the bitters line of sight. His slider is not good and should only be thrown for “effect.” I wonder if he could throw a curve? Bounce it… It’s not about using the slider more. It’s about changing location and line of sight and mixing in an occasional 4-seamer. Last night was a big confidence booster for Kenley and his cutter was as good as I have ever seen it. I don’t pronounce him “back” or “fixed” but he is a step closer. If he gets “back” this Much-Maligned Dodger Bullpen could be one of the team’s strengths.
Dodger Notes
- The Dodger bullpen ERA is now #6 in MLB, as they pulled ahead of the Yankees. I know some of you hate that stat, because it doesn’t fit your narrative.
- The Dodgers now have 86 wins. That’s 2 wins better than the Yankees and the Astros. There was actually a moron on another board who took the “under” on 85 wins for the team.
- The biggest difference between the Dodgers and the Yanks and Astros is “run differential.” The Dodgers have a 218 + differential while the Astros are +188 and the Yankees are +148. Here’s a tip: Watch the Yankees bullpen crumble with overuse down the stretch. The Astros are also hurting with Ryan Pressly out.
- Austin Barnes is catching today because Clayton loves throwing to him and their level of familiarity.
- Some thought I was crazy when I said Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin might make a difference THIS year… and here they are – making a difference.
- Russ Martin is on bereavement leave due to his grandmother’s death.
- I think Hyun-jin Ryu is fatigued and should skip his next start.
- Gavin Lux went 2-5 and remains at .407.
- Edwin Rios blasted his 27th HR for OKC.
- Jeter Downs was 2-3 at Tulsa, as he also walked twice and drove in 2 runs.
- Conner Wong remains hot as he went 3-5 and played 3B the entire game.
- Marshall Kasowski is back and pitched 2 shutout innings (2.08 ERA).
- For anyone who wonders why Jedd Gyroko is on the team, there are two reasons: (1) The Dodgers need another lefty killer on the bench in case David Freese can’t come back (and he may not); and Jedd (for his career) has a .271 BA/.344 OB% and .806 OPS against LHP. That’s why!
For some reason, this song resonates with me…
The last 2 hits the Yankees got on sliders were weakly hit. The first hit would probably been an out if Beaty doesn’t dive for it and left the shift to handle the ball cleanly. They were good pitches making weak contact which is what is needed.
I totally agree. That was a very strange inning. The first groundball would have been an out if they weren’t shifting 3 on the other side of second base. The second one would have been an out with a normal 1st baseman. The third one probably an out with Seager playing SS.
Wow Mark, your son was a beast!
Those sliders should have been outs with average defense. Live by the shift, die by the shift.
The pen was impressive, even with that really crazy ninth inning. Muncy is passable on defense, nothing more. Ditto for Beaty.
Freese looked pretty good running onto the field during Kike’s walk-off. I’ve read somewhere that he’s going to return as soon as rosters expand. I hope so because White and Gyorko are a step down.
The future looks bright with May and Gonsolin. May has really dirty stuff. Gonsolin looks like he knows how to “pitch”.
I can’t wait for the game tonight. I’m just hoping we see a win the series lineup.
Hey 59 what do you think on Gardner’s Slide. Was it Turner’s fault for compromising Muncy on that play that could have resulted in serious injury. Slide was hard and for that was an out. If Yankees want to play hard Dodgers should return the favor tonight. I want to see a Good hard clean slide and hustle tonight and maybe one below the waist to Gardner or pitch inside to send a message because he could have 2nd MVP of team in Muncy to IL !!
For those who are interested, Bob Kravitz of The Athletic sums up the Andrew Luck Thing:
https://theathletic.com/1160207/2019/08/25/kravitz-after-everything-he-has-done-andrew-luck-walks-into-tomorrow-and-the-rest-of-his-life-pelted-by-boos/
Should have retired at the end of last season then. Guys like Clayton Geathers go through what he went through to get on the field and Luck doesn’t want to rehab his ankle/calf and support his teammates. Last year was the most fun he ever had playing football he says and now he’s lost the love. Which is it? Go Jacoby and Kelly. Leaking it before the game was over was unfortunate timing for everyone involved.
I was one of the people calling for a slider now and again! I still think he needs to mix them in. Maybe not for a strike! I see guys going after non strike sliders all the time. Great white knuckler yesterday, kudos to Gooose and the pen. Hoping Clayton can miss some bats today.
I have lit a candle in the church for Kenley’s cutter to be wicked…
The Dodger bullpen ERA is now #6 in MLB, as they pulled ahead of the Yankees. I know some of you hate that stat, because it doesn’t fit your narrative. No Mark the stat that means the most for relief pitchers for me is inherited runners and runners scoring, as of now the Dodgers rank last in the majors, not being negative, just showing a stat that the Dodgers must do better and maybe with different pitchers in the BP for the playoffs they will.
The Dodgers now have 86 wins. That’s 2 wins better than the Yankees and the Astros. There was actually a moron on another board who took the “under” on 85 wins for the team. That was his choice, makes him very wrong and probably not very smart on the Dodgers, but not a moron, a word you love to use on people.
The biggest difference between the Dodgers and the Yanks and Astros is “run differential.” The Dodgers have a 218 + differential while the Astros are +188 and the Yankees are +148. Here’s a tip: Watch the Yankees bullpen crumble with overuse down the stretch. The Astros are also hurting with Ryan Pressly out. Maybe and yes but my concern is the Dodgers PB.
Austin Barnes is catching today because Clayton loves throwing to him and their level of familiarity.
Some thought I was crazy when I said Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin might make a difference THIS year… and here they are – making a difference. Many on this site said the something.
No, he was and still is a moron!
MT calls customers morons and gets all crybaby when we call Barnes a black hole. Priceless!
Not the case. What is/was moronic was not letting it play out. It did. The Dodgers had the luxury of doing so. It turns out that he would not get his swing back, so I embraced the change. He gets another shot today at the playoff roster, but he’s a longshot.
Why is he going to play tonight is beyond me put Smith out there, I do not care if Kershaw likes to pitch to him. The guy cant hit water !!!
True about stats. You can pull up anything to make a point. So low ERA is great when the relievers come in to start a 7th 8th or 9th. inning especially when you are ahead by 5 runs or so. But inherited runners is relevant in games that can be blown and that is definitely a weakness.
As for ‘Moron’, we should be discussing facts and opinions. Name calling just diminishes the name caller as someone who has to be correct and there must be something wrong with someone with a different opinion. Is that what we teach our kids? Sadly that is what our country has become lately
You nailed it 50!!!
I know it’s a pipe dream, but why not have a 3 Day or ? moratorium on stats and just talk baseball…
No where in the book according to M.T. does it ever mention that the only thing constant is change!!!
Great idea, I think you’re on to something. Talk about baseball without stats. What’s next, Mexican food without salsa? Pasta without sauce? Peanut butter without jelly? Sushi without soy sauce?
I do sushi without soy sauce. Good fish needs no extras!!
Exactly! Stats and baseball are like ham and beans.
OK, let me make one point that may be forgotten… and it’s a big point. Roberts starting pitchers pitch deeper into games than any other team in baseball. He often takes them out when there are runners on base, so other teams may have more opportunities with RISP.
The Dodgers are also 3rd in Component ERA, or ERC, which is a baseball statistic invented by Bill James. It attempts to forecast a pitcher’s earned run average (ERA) from the number of hits and walks allowed rather than the standard formula of the average number of earned runs per nine innings.
The Dodgers are 6th in bullpen ERA and 6th in bullpen runs allowed. They are also 2nd in bullpen WHIP, which could mean that they have been “unlucky” too. They are also next to last in Caught Stealing which could fall on Kenley’s proclivity to ignore runners to some degree.
The Dodgers Bullpen is also second in all of baseball in the fewest Total Bases Allowed. So many of you want to get hung up on just one stat: Inherited runners scored and while it is important, it is not the end-all, be-all. The bullpen is and will be better than you think.
On the use of “Moron:” The guy to whom I am referring really is one. Certified! I would be remiss if I didn’t call him that. In his case, it’s not a name… it’s his title.
I heard Barnes’ nickname on his jersey is Black Hole.
I’m making a conscious effort not to overanalyze games including lineups, substitutions, strategies…..all of it. It’s hard. As an old player and coach, it was my job to (over) analyze everything. The worst time for me was in the 80’s when I got hooked on betting on football. That totally ruined my view of the game. Human error, luck and game decisions that influenced outcomes were a huge frustration as I expected perfect play and the better team to always win. I stopped appreciating the game as entertainment. I finally quit gambling and started looking at the game for what it is. Same with baseball. I didn’t gamble on it but I see things, good and bad, that are hard to ignore or question. But I’m getting better. Yesterday was a great example of my commitment to just enjoy the game. I’m refusing to second guess Doc’s lineups. I assume there’s a reason. I refuse to second guess pitching changes but that was hard when Kelly strategically pitched around a hitter with first open only to be “rewarded” by being replaced by Baez. My initial reaction was that this was disrespectful to Kelly BUT, I let it go. Bottom line, the move worked. Without second guessing things, I found myself really engaged and enjoying a very exciting game while not picking everything apart. I’m not completely there yet but I’m getting better. Hope for another good one tonight.
That’s where I am. I do like overall stats, but like I have posted on this website for years: I appreciate Statistical Analysis, but I don’t worship it. I also use the Eye Test, but it’s never a short sample. The Dodgers were winning in spite of Austin Barnes, but when Freese, Verdugo, CT3 and Kike went down, it was necessary to call up SuperWill.
On morons: no one complains when I call myself one… and I have plenty of times.
The Yankees beat our ace… (damn near unbeatable in the Ravine)…
So lets jump all over the Yankee’s ace…. Seems fair!!!
Our real Ace is going today. 😉
Let me preface this with I really like Kersh and hope I’m around for his HOF induction…
That being said please lay down your never ending proverbial list of stats that makes Ryu playing second fiddle…
I know you can do it M.T.!!! Just pretend you’re going to hoop on a fast break, jamming a qb on 3rd. &1 or last but not least tearing up the floor on a spotlight dance on Dick Clark …
Real aces step up in October.
But, I only have a 1/2″ vertical now. I can’t go there.
I hope Ryu keeps it up, and he has been outstanding, but (here’s that damn stat thing) he has already pitched more innings this year than any other year except his rookie year in 2013. He has still been very good, but I think he has hit the wall. Hopefully missing a start or two helps.
If you remember, I was one of the few who supported the re-signing of Ryu. I love the guy, but make no mistake, Clayton Kershaw is the Dodgers Ace.
Clayton Kershaw is the Dodgers Ace in the Regular Season and maybe the best ever behind Koufax. But has yet to prove he can be clutch in October and same goes for Jansen and even Ryu. Somone has to step up. Rich Hill has but for some reason decided he had enough on game 4 of WS 2018 and Doc took him out…….
Don’t blame Luck either Mark, the NFL is a brutal place to make a living. Appease the masses and self destruct your health, sounds terrible. Lets not forget, Gronk just did the same thing, it will become a trend, same as the contract holdouts. What a mess the NFL has.
I agree. The truth hurts in this case. Luck’s timing was bad, but he did what he had to do.
Long time…
You OK?
I saw Jordan Reed went into concussion protocol. This is the SEVENTH concussion of his career!
I also read the Colts are paying all of Luck’s contract. (Perhaps hoping he will reconsider down the road)
That is not true. They are Just not making him repay part of his signing bonus money.
They’re going to have more unhappy customers if they raise ticket prices after letting him walk away with all of that signing bonus.
All is well. Kenley, will never win an award as a good fielding pitcher, but. came through when it was needed and important. Good on him. Now let us go and win the series from an excellent team. But I think we are better. Nice write-up and personal history Mark. Enjoyed it.
Top of the morning to you Dodger Mom…
Yep Kenley isn’t a gazelle by any stretch of the imagination…
Mom you should have seen in the minors behind the dish , Good Golly Miss Molly!!!
He would have had your hands flying up to your eyes like yesterday…
peterj…….No more fingers or nails left after last night’s game. Now working on arms. Maybe I should just close my eyes and not watch. Very exciting game. Proud of Kenley for hanging in there and staying calm.
Today’s lineup to take the series!
Joc (LF)
Muncy (2b)
JT
Belly
Seager
CT3 (CF)
Beaty (1b)
Barnes
Kersh
I think they take the series today as well, and the offense comes up big. I would especially enjoy scoring off their vaunted bullpen tonight.
I have a feeling you got about a grand for your 6 tickets to this series!
Why is Barnes in the lineup ?? He and Kershaw are 2 straight outs there for Yankees. Barnes should no be starting an important game like this. Is National TV .What is Doc thinking ? (Or should i say Friedman as he makes the lineups probably )
Doesn’t take long for you to bring your optimism and joy to the conversation does it? Barnes is starting, because presently, he is the only other catcher on the team. Kershaw likes to throw to him, and Smith sometimes needs a rest. I’m relatively confidant, that whoever makes out the lineup, he doesn’t factor in whether or not they are playing to a national audience. Maybe the Yankees do, but I doubt it.
haha. We may need Barnes in Oct. Hopefully he’s figured things out, cleared his head, and gets a couple hits today.
See, this is a classic case of where “moron” is applicable.
Me??????
No, not you! You know who. Not Bobby either.
Carlos, Carlos, Carlos…
It’s already been stated Kersh likes the kid calling/catching his game…
How long were you at the bottom of the pool before someone noticed???
Against a righthander the only things I’d change is Smith instead of Barnes and if Verdugo was healthy/available him instead of Taylor.
As far as the bullpen goes, the Dodgers have the 4th best OPS against in all of baseball at .698, but 18th in save percentage at 60.00% and here is why the big difference.
Baez .527 OPS against.
Urias .559 OPS against.
Kelly .511 OPS against after the all star break.
And then:
Jansen .674 OPS against.
If the Dodgers could take a lead to the beginning of the 7th inning and turn it over to Urias, Kelly, and Baez, they would be in good shape.
As far as our possible World Series opponents:
Dodgers bullpen OPS .698
Astros bullpen OPS .694
Yankees bullpen OPS .723
Dodgers save percentage 18th at 60.00%
Astros save percentage 7th at 69.23%
Yankees save percentage 8th at 68.57%
I stopped watching football several years ago. In my case it was simply a growing disinterest. And when I read about the degenerative neurological disorder CTE, I wonder if consideration should be given to banning the game on the grounds that it’s too dangerous for children and young people to be playing. Or maybe consider changing the game and/or the equipment to make it safer. But I also understand that those things are not likely to happen given the overwhelming controversy any such moves would engender. If anything, I believe that any changes or ban will need to be evolutionary over a great deal of time.
Let’s not throw out Barnes with the bath water just yet. He is a more than capable defensive catcher who got in a hitting rut and couldn’t get out. Looks like he was doing some good things in Triple A. I have started to really bite my tongue this year on guys that have struggle bused big time for us earlier in the year, and we wanted to run them out of town. (Pollock, Kelly, Kike, Barnes, Baez last year). All have rebounded pretty damn good and are throwing in to win a ring. I have a cupboard full of ketchup to eat my crow from these guys. I truly think Barnes is going to get a big hit on National TV tonight, which may be what he needs to get his confidence up. He is human, we got to give him a chance to perform. If not, he goes back down when Martin returns. Nothing lost, nothing gained. He is a Dodger however, and we need to root for his ass tonight.
Maybe there are good reasons to start Barnes over Smith today, but for whatever it’s worth, I’d much prefer to see Smith starting. From what I’ve observed, it appears as if Smith has been doing a good job of handling Kershaw and the pitching staff in general. And going forward it appears as if Smith will be doing the bulk of the catching. And after a rough start to the Yankee series, Smith managed to get a hit yesterday in, what I believe, was his last at bat. I just think it might be a good idea to let him build on that.
But Doc gets paid the big bucks to make those decisions. Who am I to complain?
If Doc read LAD on a daily basis, he’d go straight to the FO and demand a raise! !
In all seriousness I am most excited to see this new version of Kersh go up against perhaps the best offense in baseball. Let’s see how his stuff plays out today. Huge for October!
Last thing about the unis. I’m watching highlights before the game and you can’t tell who’s who, or which team is which. Very bad idea MLB.
Maybe you can try historic uniforms for each ballclub next year. Let the Astros don the Colt 45’s or the rainbow, the Angels and their elastic waistbands, the Pirates with the we are family uniforms, Padres taco bell uniforms. Let the players choose which of their own team’s uniform to use.
Agreed 59. Good idea. I wish I understood their reasoning for the choice of uniforms. Were they sending a message…..good versus evil? In that case the good guys lost yesterday. Just curious.
I usually have nothing on stiff like that. Whatever….
However, this is moronic. Beyond moronic! How stupid!
Great idea 59, that would be friggin awesome! Seriously, you out to email MLB with that, it would be fantastic visuals, also celebrating MLB’s past. Once again, great idea!!
agree; that’s a really good idea. Throwback Weekend is much better than this nonsense, and I’d guarantee you could see more throwback jerseys than you could these ugly things.
It’s not just the “moronic” choice of uniform (can’t see the numbers or names, and the Yanks must have drenched themselves in sweat yesterday. Black was a bad choice on a hot day) but the use of nicknames. Some of the names made sense but others were just made up to fill in the blanks. There was nothing to connect them to the player. We got there after the lineups were announced (the traffic was terrible) but before the first pitch and had trouble figuring who was on first. Nickname made no sense, his number wasn’t in the program and they only used the nickname on the message board. That choice too was “moronic”. It was Gyorko
On Friday night I was surprised by how many Yankee fans there were in attendance. They had a lot of fans there, and there were some epic , “Let’s go Dodgers vs Let’s go Yankees” battles during the game.
Nice use of the word!
Joc Jack!
I simply cannot stand listening to A-Rod. Whoever thought putting him on Sunday Night Baseball was a good idea should be fired! Probably the moron who designed the uniforms….
Funny. I really like him. He does have some great insight as he’s been the best player in the game and seen it all.
The uniforms on the other hand? Ridic
He does. I just dislike the sound of his voice…
He sounds like a robot and frankly just repeats national narrative whether it be wrong or right. I usually mute this crew and listen to Steiner and I can’t stand Steiner.
It was equally moronic to keep the umpires in black shirts. No one had the foresight to think the umpires and the black team would blend together. Geesh!
Oh no you just didn’t go there? Maybe he just sucks as an analyst!
I deleted a few comments just now as someone pretended to be Carlos… but it wasn’t.
Someone is reading here CLOSELY and jumping in to create problems.
Really Carlos! Now that’s MORONIC!
That was a troll – Carlos did not write that.
Whoever it is has posted 6 times under other names just recently. I have deleted them all.
Someone is pretending to be some of you and trying to wreak Havoc. I’ll find you sucker!
The Black Hole Exploded!
Go Dodgers. See if this works.
I am trying to post without going to purgatory. Please be patient with me.
Mark, I tried to re-register. Stills goes to purgatory.
I have no clue why. It’s not personal. Just a damn glitch.
I’ll try and figure it out…
I’m sure Doc had his reasons, but that stolen base is one of the reasons I wanted Smith behind the plate in this game. Not to mention his bat.
Wow, how did our offense just disappear vs this average starting staff??
Even today’s dude had an ERA over 4, and we can’t do much against him.
The offense has been struggling for a while, now. If you go back and look at the run production since the Braves series, you will see the one double digit win for the Dodgers, but most of the games have been won or lost just scoring 3 or less.
Muncy strikes out with the shadows on fastballs he would usually hit. And then, with no more shadows, Kershaw surrenders a HR on a fastball.
All the negative talk is about our bullpen but is this offense good enough to win a WS. It hasn’t been the last two years. I don’t see a lot of Big game James Worthy type players for Dodgers except for Turner and Freese. Belli, Seager and Muncy have a lot to prove this post season!
Watch that knee… the night is young.
Bellinger thinks it’s 2017 World Series again. He looks hideous this weekend.
Time for some of our leftie hitters to bunt against the shift to get things started
By biggest fear come postseason has been what we’ve seen this series. Cody hasn’t produced in October. Nor has Seager much. Cory did very little vs Houston if I remember correctly. I noticed during the Atlanta series Cody swung at what would have been ball 4 at the time 4 different times. He is pulling off the ball a lot and trying to do too much. Turner and Muncy need more postseason help on the offense.
Got to wonder if Belli is even gonna hit .300. He is really struggling! You’re not calling me a jerk are you Mark?
Knee…;)
I’ll take 7ip and 3 runs from anyone, including Kersh, vs the Yanks lineup. Good game thrown my Kersh. The bats did not come out to help him (or Gonsolin etc yesterday)
Without the bats, there’s no hope for the Blue. The Yankees are also a top team hitting team against LHP. Giving up 3 HR’s is hard to overcome for any team.
Yankee power is amazing. Right now they’re the better team and they’re still not all healthy. PS Mark. I prefer moron!
The bullpen is not the issue right about now. It’s the hitting.
Cody and Corey are not being patient and are chasing.
RVS needs to have a talk with these guys.
Dodgers are not hitting up to par recently and in this series, but the Yankees do NOT have more power. They started this series about 8-10 HRs ahead of the Dodgers. However, the Yankees play in the AL East, home of the Yankee Stadium launching pad, the Camden Yards bandbox, and the Fenway Park monster. And they also have the DH.
Overmatched with their bullpen! Heck we couldn’t even dent their starters. Forget about the Yankees. Is this offense good enough to beat the Nationals in the first round! I have my doubts!
Belli’s offensive game has regressed badly. Kind of looks like 2017 WS Bellinger.
Yeah — I think Bellinger needs a couple of days off. He is pressing and needs some time to think about his approach, get his head straight, and do some work watching film of his sucky AB’s with the batting coaches. He has \ six weeks to get his mojo back — I have faith.
Late August spanking does not mean much, but the offense needs to be sat down for individual meetings. Each of th needs to write an essay why their current approach stinks.
This is a learning series. Can they grasp the curriculum?
This will either be a stepping stone or a stumbling block!
Cody: You were just treated like a little B_____ch!
The sky is falling! The sky is falling! Let’s see how this plays out. The Yankees have to get by the As and the Astros. They’re not WS champions yet
Winner, Winner – Chicken Dinner!
Oh well, time to watch El Traffico! Go Galaxy!
Well, that sucked. The offense was non existent all weekend. At least no more games with those stupid uniforms.
Dodger fans might be hoping they don’t meet the Yankees in the WS this Autumn. It’s a bad match-up for the Dodgers. Here’s a blurb from an ESPN staff writer:
“Here’s a thing: The Yankees entered today third in batting average (.290), third in OPS (.870) and fourth in homers (41) against left-handed starters this season. And that’s without Giancarlo Stanton. If they meet in the World Series, the Dodgers would probably use three against them — Clayton Kershaw, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Rich Hill.”
Between Ryu and CK, 3 HR’s each and they lost both games. I would think it would be a very good case for a Buehler start for the 1st game. But, I’m getting ahead of myself as the WS is very far off. Dodgers will have to fight their way out of the NLDS.
Where was the ‘motivator’ this series? Isn’t that his strong point? Quiet as a mouse.
The offense has been in a slump for a while. Slumps happen, but it seems like as long as I’ve watched the Dodgers, most of the hitters have slumped at the same time. The slump will end.
The Yankees’ starting pitching stinks but dominated the Dodgers. If they face each other in the Series that won’t happen. They just aren’t that good.
Yankees’ bullpen is good and they have good hitters too. They hit a lot of solo HR in this series.
Both teams learned something from this series. If they meet again in October, we will see two different teams – the games will be different.
Why will they be different, Rick? Their LHP Paxton dominated us. German stinks? The Yankees are LHP killers. All we have are LHP. Where would you put your money?
Silly!!!
Ok Carlos, first of all, A-Rod has always been a smarmy kind of guy,(Code for Douchbag) all the way to back in the day when he wanted a girls phone number during a game when the Yankees were losing, not even going into his PED drama.Don’t matter if he is white, black, brown, or pink, the guy drives me nuts as an announcer. Maybe he ought to take some lessons from the Dodgers Legendary Spanish announcer, Jaime Jarrin or Fernando and learn how to let the game come to him. The girl in the booth smokes his ass as far as picking up game time stuff. With that said, please, PLEASE don’t bore my ass with talk about Kershaw allowing a couple of bombs, or our bullpen not keeping us close. Yankees TOTALLY THROTTLED our offense the whole series. This is Red Sox World Series 2.0. They obviously scouted us good, and made Bellinger, Muncy and Seager a non factor. You can’t score 2, 2 and 1 runs in a three game series and expect to win. Am I worried? Not really, because this years team learns from adversity, and I guarantee you they are pissed off in the clubhouse right now. This series was a measuring stick, and we came up short, but will learn from it or go home. This series was about lack of offense on our part, not a bullpen issue. Learn and move on. Also agree with Mark, Cody got Bitch Slapped as far as how they pitched him. This time he will figure it out.
It was bad when they only got 2 off of a washed up CC yesterday. I had hoped a victory yesterday would make them less tight.
The Dodgers will be fine-they packed the house and played hard, just came up short against a very good team who apparently wanted it more. Next up: Padres for 3 (wouldn’t want to be them facing an angry Dodgers team) then Az for 4, then back home for 6 against the Rocks and Giants then on to Balt and NY to play the Mets. Pretty easy stretch of the schedule, and reinforcements coming when the rosters expand and Dugie, Hill and hopefully Freese come back from injury. Facing those teams will help Cody get his swing back, Muncy too. I like where the team is and how the bullpen is slowly shaking itself out.
I guess the Yankees must have won the World Series, from all the shots ESPN kept showing of Yankees fans yelling and congratulating each other and pounding their chests. Pretty tacky of the Eastern Network. The Yankees fans can do what they like, though they did choose to move here.
As to the series, it obviously did not look good for us, particularly going forward. The Yankees have a better and more adaptable lineup. Their bullpen is lights out; if you trail them after six, you are probably going to lose 90% of the time. The supposed edge we have is the starters, but not in this series. And it is not an abstract thing, it is their hitters vs. our pitchers, and our hitters vs. their pitchers. If we can only score five runs in three days against them, we won’t beat them more than maybe two games at most in a WS.
Of course, we may not face them, we may get lucky and play someone else. Or we may not make it, either. I’ll just leave it at this, after a disappointing but obviously not conclusive series: The ownership’s template of never spending for a big free agent, of trying to find diamonds in the rough for cheap prices, and then combining them with in-home prospects, has been done very well, but it has its limits. Guys like Taylor and Hernandez and Beatty, Barnes, Pederson (yes, I realize he hit a homerun today) are decent players, no more. The best pitchers get them out most of the time.
Putting aside our personal likes for our own players, I would rather have the Yankees or Astros lineup than ours. If Bellinger doesn’t hit, it is hard for us to sustain any rally, not with the outs we have in certain positions in the lineup. The Yankees have no automatic outs anywhere, and they’re playing shorthanded. Wouldn’t it be nice if we actually spent big money to get a great player to fill out the lineup? There aren’t many of those, but it doesn’t matter, because we don’t seriously go after them, anyway. The Yankees will spend big money to improve their ballclub, that’s how they got Chapman and Britton and Ottavino and LeMahieu, and Stanton, and Paxton, among others. Half their team seems to be acquistions. Our ballclub has very few, unless you count the players we have obtained off various minor league rosters. Billy Beane is a genius, but he has never won a title, either. It has its limits, this effort to maximize profits, not build a champion. Oakland has an excuse for that approach, of course, but we don’t.
AC has been saying since the off-season that the Dodgers RH bat should have been LeMahieu. Can you imagine Lemahieu as our 2B with Bellinger full-time in RF and Muncy full-time at 1B, with CF playing time shared by CT3 and Keekay?
I love what Friedman has done but Lemaieu should have been his right-handed solution for the Dodgers line-up this past off- season. He signed a 2-year contract for $24 million while Pollock signed for 4 years for $ 55 million.
AC was absolutely right, LeMahieu was a better player at Colorado than the oft-injured Pollock was at Arizona. I don’t know why we made that choice. Cashman is very good, even though the Yankees were down for a while up until the last three years. They look to have the makings of a franchise which might win four or five titles in the last ten years. They take risks in the free agent market, and they go after and get the players they want. We are much more cautious (cheap), and seem to find excuses for not going after this or that one. We’re always looking for bargains or under the radar players. We’ve done well with it, but the Yankees owners and management are the ones who have built the powerhouse team, not the Dodgers. Imagine if Stanton comes back healthy for the next year, and the Yankees get another good pitcher? What are we going to get, anything? To win a title you have to be the best, not “very competitive while still staying under the luxury tax”
I also wanted DJLM, not Pollock. I couldn’t figure out why they didn’t go for DJLM since 2B has been our achilles heel for years. It is because of the tightness of the owners and the eventual promotion of Lux to 2B that made them focus on a different area of need. But imagine an infield with DJLM, Lux, JT & Seager! I guess they couldn’t visualize this. OF with Belli, Verdugo, Joc/Taylor, plus The Prince. For me, there is no excuse for passing on DJLM, none.
Gavin Lux and concern over injuries and how much of his performance was from Coors field is why. The Dodgers were in on JDLM just didn’t meet his price.
Hindsight is always 20-20! AF didn’t sign Harper or Machado and that’s a big deal! How do u think the Rockies feel?
I think the small ball argument is playing out again. I’m a little lazy this Sunday, so I’m just going to reference eyeball accounts, but I suspect many will agree. We’re a top offense, but a lot of it comes in waves of big offensive explosions with way too frequent periods of dry spells. I get it, that’s the life you chose when you’re a power hitting team. The team sort of addressed it this off season by starting Verdugo, obtaining Pollock, bringing in RVC. Maybe when Verdugo returns it will help, although, in the last two months he was becoming seduced by trying to hit everything out as well. I dunno….we’ve got talented hitters who are capable of more than smacking everything, but it’s difficult to say what they’re being being told.
On a side note, Belli has one of the most powerful swings in baseball. But when he gets two strikes, he’s been resorting to this feeble looking chopping stroke devoid of any leg power. If the results were there, then sure, go for it and get your blooper single. But it’s not working. Maybe keep your normal stroke, just don’t swing as hard if you want better contact.
Flashback to the red Sox series.
If the team OPS’s .600 then it doesn’t matter about bullpen or if Roberts pulls Hill too early.
The offense approach was way different in this series vs the rest of the season. Swinging at first pitches, not grinding out at bats, not fouling off pitches, not waiting for their pitch. I’m a big fan of our offense, but this series their approach was way off.
Also, I’ve shut my mouth about this for a long time because I know I will get blow back, but Seager is not hitting left handed pitching and that has a lot to do with the Dodgers offense against left handed pitching not as good as against right handed pitching. Dave Roberts has stuck with Seager all season long against left handed pitching.
Seager .237 .322 .328 .650 against left handed pitching.
Hey, add in Joc, & Pollock to those not hitting LHP. Beaty, too.
I’ve been critical of Pollock but he’s hit lefties just fine.
BA .214 is fine?
RE: DJLM,
perhaps you should amend your post to ‘Dodgers wouldn’t meet his price’ instead of ‘didn’t’. We could have afforded him easily.
So sorry, I misread the splits. It’s RHP that he doesn’t hit.
And I also was an advocate of signing Lemahieu. As much as people like to point to the advantages a hitter has at Coors, I never hear about the disadvantages that Colorado hitters have when they go on the road after playing half their games at altitude. And I’d like to see the Dodgers bite the bullet and take a shot and bring up Lux. I suspect that he’s the type of hitter that will quickly adjust to big league pitching. At the very least, bring him up and platoon him with Kike’ and/or Taylor. There’s not much left to the minor league season, so he would not be deprived of too many AAA at bats. And if he does well, he should definitely be considered for a spot on the playoff roster.
I suspect that the Dodgers will learn something from this series, and at the very least will be more familiar with the Yankees pitching should they meet in the WS (still a long shot, since both teams will have to navigate their respective league playoff series).
The Dodgers have had some high scoring games in recent weeks (e.g., 16 runs against Toronto last Tuesday), but they’ve also laid some offensive eggs lately (e.g., 1-hit against Jacob Waguespack over 8 innings last week).
Just an observation about Corey Seager (and I could be wrong). It appears to me that Seager has not fully regained the strength he had in his rookie year, and through most of 2017 before his elbow injury. Seager is about the same size as Cody Bellinger (Seager is listed at being 6’4″, 215 lbs, and Bellinger is listed at 6’4″, 203 lbs) and in my opinion is just as good a hitter–if not better–with comparable power. However, Seager has spent the past couple of years recovering from and rehabbing his elbow and hip, not affording him the opportunity to concentrate on strength training. I suspect that if Seager had had the benefit of strength training, that today’s drive to the CF wall and others he has nearly missed, would have been over the fence. It won’t help this year, but I suspect that if Seager has the opportunity to concentrate on his strength and flexibility this winter, we will see a much improved hitter next year, .300+ with 30-40 HR power, maybe more if the ball remains juiced.
As for this year, Seager seems to be regaining his stroke, and at the very least seems to be capable of providing strong offense with at least a bunch of doubles, and some HRs as well. He can still be a definite plus for this team, and perhaps a bit more.
BD, your post is a good one, IMO. I don’t think Corey has the natural power that Belli does, though, but I agree he can be much more effective than he has. I would also like to see a big improvement in his defense.
I am hoping that the DH gets implemented soon. I don’t want to see Muncy in the infield. He is not a natural defender. The DH was made for him. He is too short for 1B, not able to stretch out for errant throws and not athletic enough to snare line drives. Infielders should be quick. He’s trying and I give him good grades, but the only true position for him is DH or PH.
Who cares if Barnes gets a hit. His defense is not up to par. I am now of the opinion that Ruiz should be backing up Smith for next season, not Barnes. We need catchers that can throw out base stealers AND hit. We all love Russell, but he is not the future.
Maybe Corey doesn’t have as much natural power as Cody, but I think their different hitting strokes have a lot to do with it. Relating to golf, Cody, has an almost John Daly swing trajectory and Corey’s swing reminds me of a 3/4 quarter punch shot. Corey, just seems to get so tight on his swing, I wonder if it hurts his ability to hit outside the strike zone. Fine, as long as he keeps a good eye and lays off pitches outside the zone. He’s not really doing that this year, though.
I wonder if the Dodgers are holding off on Lux because they want to limit other team’s exposure to him. I guess the idea is he’s such a gifted hitter, he’ll adjust to major league pitching quickly and the league won’t have enough season to adjust to him. I’m sure we’ll see it with Will Smith, as his next 100 at bats won’t be as productive. Wait just long enough to ensure Lux doesn’t see a full 100 at bats this year.
BellingerBuehler,
I wrote my comments about Corey Seager while you were posting, so I’m just seeing them now. You will not get any blowback from me. I suspect that his stats against lefthanders are the result of having been out for a while this year, and also having missed all of last year. I am confident that over time he will regain his stroke against lefthanders the more he plays and the more he sees them. If I remember correctly, I believe he was replaced at short by Chris Taylor yesterday. Maybe that was just a planned day off, but I guess that he will hit lefthanders as he always has the more he sees them. However, he’s also probably going to get some planned days off between now and the end of the season, and most likely they will days on which the other team throws a lefthander (if only because his replacement at short is the right-handed hitting Taylor or Kike’).
Brooklyn Dodger
The question is, what does Dave Roberts do in the post season if that .650 OPS doesn’t go up significantly by the time the post season arrives?
At the end of the regular season, you look to see what has worked throughout the regular season and what hasn’t worked and go with what has worked and stay away from what hasn’t worked. As long as it is a large enough sample size and the sample is large enough on Seager. We’ll see what happens but I hope that if that .650 OPS doesn’t go up significantly Dave Roberts does something about it.
Chris Taylor so far this season against left handed pitching .263 .346 .526 .872 it’s better than Seager’s numbers against lefties.
It’s seemed lately that Seager is starting to pick it up. Obviously there’s a lot that none of us on this site know. My best guess is that Seager is almost certainly going to be the starting shortstop as long as he’s able to play. I’m sure Roberts and his coaches will look at the stats, but will not rely completely on them. And they will likely take into consideration what both players are doing during the several weeks prior to the playoffs.
I realize it’s a gamble, but I hope that the Dodgers call up Gavin Lux by August 31st in order to maintain his eligibility for the playoffs based on these rules.
http://m.mlb.com/glossary/transactions/postseason-roster-rules-eligibility
That doesn’t mean that they have to put him on the postseason roster, but I think it would be wise to establish his eligibility for this year. And if he distinguishes himself in the final month, they will at least have to option to use him. I understand that he’s only 21, and that even for a player with his talent it may be a bit much to throw him into the postseason fire. But in any case, I think that he may be special enough to pull it off. And he’s also another bat, which will give the Dodgers more choices for the DH if they get to the WS.