I am very bored quarantining at home and it has just started (this is my 3rd day), so I thought I would weigh in on the game last night, where we might have seen a passing of the torch for the closer role, but to who?
Josh Hader had a higher ERA than Kenley Jansen this year, and Aroldis Chapman was only slightly better than Jansen with a 3.09 ERA (3.33 for Jansen). Many of the comments yesterday are just knee-jerk reactions to an epic melt-down by Kenley. I am sure Doc will not say it, but Kenley is no longer the closer, however, he’s not off the team. There won’t be an “official” closer – it will be a committee. Jansen will again be on the team next year and maybe Bazooka will be ready to close sometime next year… but he’s not right now.
Let’s not forget that on September 4th, Kenley had a 1.06 ERA, then he got shelled in back-to-back outings and his ERA soared to 4.42. In his last six regular season performances, he did not give up an earned run. However, his ERA for the playoffs is 7.71 – that won’t work for a closer. He seems to be on or off, but from here forward, Dave Roberts will use him differently.
Joe Kelly was rusty, but he has the experience and he was not a Wild Man last night – he frequently missed by “that much.” However, he was not “Machine Gun Kelly” either. Joe Kelly got the Dodgers out of a huge jam and I am sure he will be utilized more, as will Floro and McGee. The next time Trienen is used it will be in the 8th and 9th and Beaz will take the place of Trienen in the 7th or 8th inning.
Just like Cole and Verlander, Clayton is going to give up some Home Runs because he pounds the zone, but his playoff ERa is 1.93 this year with a 0.71 WHIP. Gerritt Cole gave up 14 HR this year to Claytons 8. I am not worried about Clayton – he hit 94 MPH a couple of times last night. It was not his sharpest game, but it was dang good.
The bottom line is that they won against the team that many experts believe is the 2nd best team in the playoffs. Tatis and Machado are locked in and these young bucks are hungry. Machado did not do a bat flip when he hit a HR – it was a “bat throw,” That’s OK, but when Graterol shows some excitement, Manny goes off the rails? If you can do it Manny, the Dodgers can do it – You lost! Shut up and play!
Seager, Betts, Muncy and Barnes were the offensive heroes and Cody was my Player-of-the-Game for his HR and THE CATCH! Wow – We will be seeing that for a long time.
Maybe with another winter with Driveline, Kenly can recapture some magic…. maybe he can’t. I hear that he is fat. I don’t think so – he’s a big guy, but I would not say he is “fat.” Over the winter, the Dodgers need to decide on a closer – maybe he is on the staff – maybe he isn’t, but right about now, if I had 2 lefties to face in the 9th, I would still bring in Kenley – LH hitters only OPS .518 against him. That’s where I would use him… but it would not be in a 1-run game.
Doc brought him in in a 3-run game. I was fine with that – In the past, Kenley has earned the right to close with his body of work – he lost it last night. Unfortunately, a closer judged by his most recent performances and we have seen this too much recently. It’s not yet the end of the line, but it could be close. Now, Roberts has to re-shuffle the pen.
The bottom line is that the Dodgers are ahead 2-0 in this series against the 2nd best team in the NL. That’s something! What happens today? I would start Dylan Floro and try and get one or two innings out of him. Then I would go to Julio Urias and see if he could go 5 or 6 innings. I don’t know if that is anyone’s plan but mine, but I like that idea. Julio has playoff experience… not a great record, but experience counts.
2021
This has been a crazy year in so many ways, but here we are on the cusp of another NLCS where the Dodgers will likely play the Braves. The Braves are dangerous offensively, but lack the pitching depth. I think the Dodgers could add another pitcher for the NLCS.
In the off-season, the Dodgers should try and lock up Seager and Bellinger, but that may not be possible. On the other hand, it could be possible given baseball’s current financial climate. Like Betts, they will not take a “Hometown Discount.” Both will command around $300 million deals. Joc and Kike will be gone next year and I do not see any big Free Agent Signings. McKinstry and Reks or Raley will find a spot on the team and I have heard that they have big hopes for Cody Thomas.
Justin Turner will be 36 next month and will be the DH – I think he will get about $9 Million a year over 2 years and that might be high! Who is going to give him more? Choices will have to be made in the bullpen. Who to sign, who to let walk? Friedman will look for more salvage projects like McGee. He may return at the right price, but let’s not forget that David Price will be back and Josiah Gary will have another years’ experience. If it were up to me, I would make Dustin May the closer for a year, while I groomed Bazooka! Just my two cents!
Front page photo credit: Harry How/Getty Images
Unbelievable, but that’s why you watch.
In postseasons past we lose that game….2020 may be the year folks.
Buckle up, grab a frosty beverage or two, pet your dog, tell your kids you love em, and enjoy the ride….
Ill be at Globe Life for game 1 of the WS. Hate you gotta buy a 4 pack….
Think Blue!
Barnes was huge last night, not just for his offense, but also behind the plate handling all of Kelly’s pitches in the dirt.
And his framing was pretty sweet
If anyone else was manager Kenley would have already lost the closer role. Use him in thd 6th, take the pressure off and if he proves he can get outs then move him up. I think Graterol is the obvious closer of the future and the future could be forced upon him. May as closer? Is he prepared for that?
I would try to sign Seager but you can’t sign all of your big name talent when your farm system is designed to replace them. As much as I like Bellinger he isn’t a pure hitter, he’s a violent swinger trying to make contact to hit homeruns. That is very prone to slumps, strikeouts and low on base %.
He hasn’t proven to me that he is a perennial hitter, not like Seager, Turner or Mookie.
Don’t get me wrong, he is a good player and I like him, but if someone has to go unsigned it should, IMO, be Belli.
Interesting, Bellinger is the reigning MVP!
Let’s look at their career averages:
Corey Seager – .295 BA/.362 OB%/.863 OPS
Mookie Betts – .301 BA/.373 OB%/.895 OPS
Cody Bellinger – .273 AB/.364 OB%/.911 OPS
If I had to use one stat and one stat only, I would choose OPS. OPS is on-base plus slugging (OPS) which is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player’s on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The ability of a player both to get on base and to hit for power, two important offensive skills, are represented.
Here’s how OPS is broken down:
A Great .9000 and higher
B Very good .8334 to .8999
C Above average .7667 to .8333
D Average .7000 to .7666
E Below average .6334 to .6999
F Poor .5667 to .6333
G Very poor .5666 and lower
Now, I am not saying Cody is better than Corey or Mookie, but he is right there with them. Mookie is already signed. I see no reason that they can’t sign Bellinger AND Seager.
Betts and Bellinger are elite defenders (Belli at 2 positions). Seager is average.
I’m not saying Cody isn’t good enough to resign, but can they resign Bellinger and Seager and Buehler and JT and…etc. Well yes they could, they have the money, but my point is just that the plan isn’t to sign every free agent and top out your payroll but to bring guys up and fill the holes w free agents. If I had to choose who to let go between Seager, Buehler and Cody I would let Cody go.
I would start Gonsolin tonight and Barnes is the DH, not Pederson.
Pederson won’t DH tonight. The Padres are starting the lefty, Morejon.
There was a good article about Kenley and Roberts by Pedro Moura (who I think is great) in The Athletic. Here is one particular comment on the article (the quality of commentary on that webzine can be quite good):
“The decisionmaking process for relief pitching in this game was absolutely mind-boggling. Starting from when Treinen left the game, Roberts more or less used the least-reliable remaining members of his bullpen.
Graterol’s got an amazing arm and will probably be a good contributor someday, but he currently doesn’t strike anyone out and has never been used in high leverage – and how he’s facing Fernando Tatis Jr in a 1 run game with a runner in scoring position?!?
Jansen’s been shaky and is of concern, and mysteriously recorded 2 outs yesterday in a relatively meaningless scenario. Kelly’s barely pitched all year.
The best 5 relievers on this team all year were McGee, Kolarek, Ferguson, Treinen and Gonzalez. One of those guys is gone to Tommy John surgery. Of the remaining 4, 2 pitched yesterday. One of those guys appeared today anyway. Somehow Kolarek and McGee, who have been fantastic against guys from both sides of the plate, haven’t thrown a pitch in this series. I understand that they are left handed, but they have acquitted themselves well against right handed hitters this year and McGee in particular has been, by far, the most dominant member of the Dodger bullpen.
It is inexplicable that these guys are being used this way. It simply does not make any sense at all, and is completely inconsistent with how they were used in the regular season.
Even Baez and Floro, who are not exactly known for their reliability, would have been better choices than any of the 3 pitchers who pitched after Treinen left this game.
The only saving grace is that due to pitch counts and usage, the Dodgers will more or less be forced to use the better members of their bullpen as Jansen will be unavailable after throwing 30 pitches, and Kelly and Graterol’s availability for back to backs is not established. But what an incredible unforced error this entire game nearly was.
I’ve long been a defender of Dave Roberts because I have felt that the Dodgers largely have planned out how and in what scenarios they want to use their relievers in advance – target this part of the lineup with this guy, this section with that guy, and so on. In 17 and 18, even when things did not go according to plan, it was at least apparent that the decisions being made were in alignment with how the team had previously done things.
That all stopped in game 5 of the LDS last year when Roberts decided to ride or die with Kershaw, Jansen and Kelly. And it applies here.
One of two things is true: Either the Dodgers are not pre-planning pitcher usage to the level I believed. If that’s the case, Dave Roberts is wholly unsuited to make these decisions on his own, and he is an enormous liability, or there is a plan, and Dave is ignoring it in the highest leverage situations.
Either of these is unacceptable.
I can only hope that the upside is that this absurdly bad decisionmaking did not cost the team a game, and so perhaps provides an opportunity for Andrew Friedman to call Dave and say something along the lines of ‘WHAT THE HELL??’.
Dave is so wonderful at so many aspects of his job, most of which are frankly far more important than game tactical decisionmaking during the regular season. I do not know if it is pride, if it is stubbornness, or what it is that is driving us to be in situations where these kinds of inexplicable decisions are being made, but it has to stop. Either the Dodgers need to plan this stuff out the way other analytic organizations do (and as I thought previously), and put someone in the dugout to help Dave stay on that plan, or they need to move on.
The pitching decisions in this game amounted to self-sabotage to an absurd degree, and Dave was foiled only by the incredible quality of his own roster, Cody Bellinger, and a decision even worse than his own: Eric Hosmer’s contract.”
I’ve brought this up before, but I think one of the more laughable criticisms of Roberts and Friedman that the anti-AF partisans used to consistently bring up was the accusation that Roberts was some sort of AF puppet, that the analytics guys with pocket protectors would hand Roberts instructions on what to do with the bullpen in certain situations.
Last night – and game 5 last year – prove something different, and actually quite the opposite. Roberts is a player’s manager, and makes decisions based on sentiment.
When making in-game baseball tactical decisions there is a type of tripartite separation of decision making powers. You have the sometimes conflicting influences of analytics, which is purely rational and based on historical outcomes to predict future outcomes, and then you have intuition, which relies on personal experience and is more of a real time assessment. I think both are needed to be a successful in-game manager.
One example is the Rich Hill playoff game from a few years ago when he was yanked in the 7th while pitching a shutout. Yes, the game plan, based on data and most likely outcomes, was that a pitcher tends to suffer when facing an opposing lineup the third time through the order, so pulling Hill was just according to plan, and statistically was the smart move. Eyeballs and intuition, however, could have told Roberts that Hill had better than normal bite on his curveball, had better than normal command of his pitches, and still had some sequencing options to keep the hitters off balance. In this case, intuition should have overruled historical outcomes based on real time information and Hill should’ve been given the opportunity to pitch.
The third decision making component is sentiment. Roberts is loyal to his players. He is prone to going with the guys who have been the face and identity of the team for a long time. People here in this forum do it, too. We want the Dodgers to re-sign Justin Turner so he can finish his career as a Dodger. There were some here who wanted the Dodgers to hire Chase Utley as a coach – just because.
It is managing with the heart, and it is the most prone to gross errors in judgement. Roberts using Kershaw as he did in game five last year was a perfect example of this, and it was dumb, dumb, dumb.
Sticking with Kenley in the closer role – just because – is an example of managing based on sentiment, and there are still some good reasons for doing so on occasion just to manage team psychology and buttress the confidence of key players, but baseball is fundamentally merciless.
Then again, it could be Kenley was a decent move if you want to save McGee for game three and a 6-3 lead was relatively lower leverage. Who knows.
…
I wasn’t really that impressed with Kershaw, either. He had a couple of pitches that were thrown hard, but he lacked command, and his velocity was consistently in and around 90 and there were lots of pitches I thought were left out over the plate and were hittable. I think, at this stage, even with Driveline, he will have glimpses of the old Kershaw, but he will more and more have more games like last night.
I still do a quick read here from time to time but haven’t been tempted to comment but I have to give dodgerpatch20 his due. High five dodgerpatch20, so well written and thought out.
Interesting points, dodgerpatch20. You are a good writer.
Excellent !!!
I like the idea of Floro then Julio tonight then May in game 4. I’d save Gonsolin for game 5 to back up Buehler. I don’t care what Jansen’s numbers were this year. Right now he’s throwing an 86-87 cutter that doesn’t cut and he has no idea where it’s going. I feel bad for Kenley. He’s been a great closer and a great team mate but he can’t pitch ANY meaningful innings right now if we want to win a championship
E-Mail From Houston Mitchell:
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell, and it seemed like Game 1 ended only minutes before Game 2 began.
Some random thoughts:
—I think (hope) we have seen the last of Kenley Jansen pitching in the ninth inning with the game on the line this postseason.
—And Joe Kelly wasn’t exactly awe-inspiring out there.
—Why didn’t the Dodgers bring in Adam Kolarek, Victor Gonzalez or Jake McGee to face the left-handed hitting Eric Hosmer in the bottom of the ninth? Because of the three-batter minimum. Hosmer was the third batter Kelly faced.
—I’m making an appointment with my doctor today to strengthen my blood pressure medication and see if I can buy or rent a defibrillator.
—The resurgence on offense of Austin Barnes and AJ Pollock this season has been an overlooked reason for the Dodgers’ success.
—And look at all those balls in the dirt Barnes blocked in the ninth inning, preventing the tying run from scoring. That will get overlooked, but it was a huge part of the victory.
—Cody Bellinger is now 4 for 14 this postseason. That was an old-school Bellinger home run in the fourth, hitting it basically off one knee.
—Why is Max Muncy still hitting fourth? He still puts together quality at-bats, making the pitcher work and leading the team with 39 walks this season.
—You can really see the difference in the offensive approach by each team. The Padres are aggressive, frequently going after the first pitch, while the Dodgers try to work the count. The Padres do Clayton Kershaw a favor by doing that, because it allows him to pitch deeper into the game.
—It seemed like Padres batters walked up to the plate with an 0-1 count.
—I find it odd that Kershaw would agree to appear in a commercial where one of his pitches is hit so far that he needs to hop in a car to catch it.
—It seemed every throw from the Dodger infielders to first base was in the dirt.
—I would much rather see Pollock stay in the game rather than Joc Pederson hit for him. I don’t care who is pitching.
—Brusdar Graterol, maybe with rookie nerves, gets called for a balk on his first pitch for not coming to a stop before his delivery. Then, he could have been called for a balk on the very next pitch.
—That was an amazing, amazing catch by Bellinger. You can watch it here.
—Manny Machado getting mad at Graterol for showing some emotion on the field? The same Machado who is the ultimate hot dog? I mean, the jokes write themselves there.
—Graterol and Machado were chirping at each other after Machado’s at bat in the eighth. Something to keep an eye on the rest of this series.
—And then Graterol, after all that emotion, set the Padres down in order in the eighth. Impressive.
—The Dodgers never play little ball? That double steal in the seventh inning was great, and led to two important runs.
—Mike Clevinger has been declared medically unfit to pitch in the rest of the NLDS, so the Padres were allowed to replace him on the roster with right-handed pitcher Dan Altavilla. If Padres advance to the NLCS, Clevinger would be ineligible for that series as well. Altavilla pitched the eighth inning for the Padres in Game 2.
—The fake crowd noise didn’t drown out the FS1 announcers as badly as it did in Game 1.
—There have been 18 home runs hit in the three games of the Astros-A’s series at Dodger Stadium so far. In the two games in cavernous Globe Life Field, three.
—John Smoltz seems to like the Dodgers more this year than in previous years.
—Near heart attack aside, that was a great baseball game to watch.
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Postseason records
I’m not a huge fan of postseason records, since there are so many more playoff rounds than in the past. But a lot of you are and have requested some Dodgers postseason records, so here they are, through Wednesday’s game.
Games played
Justin Turner, 58
Yasiel Puig, 58
Andre Ethier, 51
Joc Pederson, 50
Bill Russell, 49
Hits
Justin Turner, 63
Steve Garvey, 63
Bill Russell, 57
Yasiel Puig, 51
Pee Wee Reese, 46
Doubles
Justin Turner, 13
Carl Furillo, 9
Joc Pederson, 8
Duke Snider, 8
Ron Cey, 7
Jackie Robinson, 7
Triples
Steve Garvey, 3
Davey Lopes, 3
Yasiel Puig, 3
Bill Russell, 3
Home Runs
Duke Snider, 11
Steve Garvey, 10
Justin Turner, 9
Adrian Gonzalez, 7
Joc Pederson, 7
RBIs
Duke Snider, 36
Justin Turner, 27
Ron Cey, 24
Yasiel Puig, 23
Steve Garvey, 22
Davey Lopes, 22
Batting average (minimum 30 plate appearances)
David Freese, .400
Manny Ramirez, .386
A.J. Ellis, .365
Hanley Ramirez, .356
James Loney, .349
Steve Garvey, .346
Charlie Neal, .323
Billy Cox, .302
Ron Fairly, .300
Mickey Hatcher, .300
Ronnie Belliard, .300
We’ll do pitchers tomorrow.
Ask our Dodgers reporters
Have a Dodgers-related question you would like answered immediately? Go here and leave a comment, and one of our Dodgers expert reporters will answer as soon as possible. Or, you can always email me and ask, though titling a section “Ask Houston Mitchell” seemed a little narcissistic, even for me.
Padres-Dodgers schedule
Here’s the NLDS schedule. The Dodgers will be the home team for Games 1, 2 and 5. All times are Pacific.
Game 1: Dodgers 5, San Diego 1
Game 2: Dodgers 6, San Diego 5
Game 3: Tonight, 6 p.m., Dodgers (TBD) vs. San Diego (Adam Morejon**), MLB Network
Game 4*: Friday, 6 p.m., Dodgers (TBD) vs. San Diego (TBD), FS1
Game 5*: Saturday, 5 p.m., Dodgers (TBD) vs. San Diego (TBD), FS1
*-If necessary
**-left-hander
To check and see if you get MLB Network where you live, click here.
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In case you missed it
Dylan Hernández: Did Cody Bellinger make greatest Dodgers catch? Only time will tell
Dodgers showed their win in Game 2 of NLDS was built on smarts and riches
Walker Buehler lauds Dodgers bullpen rather than explain his command issues
Padres reliever Ryan Weathers, 20, goes from Class A to first-class debut against Dodgers
And finally
Justin Turner hits a walkoff three-run homer in Game 2 of the 2017 NLCS. Watch it here.
Until next time…
Something that just jumped out was that not one current Dodger has a post-season BA north of .300. Not counting games played, JT is on the hits, doubles, HR, and RBI list, while Joc is on the HR list. That’s it.
Adrian Morejon starting resembles the Game 3 bullpen game in their Wild Card series against the Cardinals.
Joc is also on the doubles list.
There was a good article about Kenley and Roberts by Pedro Moura (who I think is great) in The Athletic. Here is one particular comment on the article (the quality of commentary on that webzine can be quite good):
“The decisionmaking process for relief pitching in this game was absolutely mind-boggling. Starting from when Treinen left the game, Roberts more or less used the least-reliable remaining members of his bullpen.
Graterol’s got an amazing arm and will probably be a good contributor someday, but he currently doesn’t strike anyone out and has never been used in high leverage – and how he’s facing Fernando Tatis Jr in a 1 run game with a runner in scoring position?!?
Jansen’s been shaky and is of concern, and mysteriously recorded 2 outs yesterday in a relatively meaningless scenario. Kelly’s barely pitched all year.
The best 5 relievers on this team all year were McGee, Kolarek, Ferguson, Treinen and Gonzalez. One of those guys is gone to Tommy John surgery. Of the remaining 4, 2 pitched yesterday. One of those guys appeared today anyway. Somehow Kolarek and McGee, who have been fantastic against guys from both sides of the plate, haven’t thrown a pitch in this series. I understand that they are left handed, but they have acquitted themselves well against right handed hitters this year and McGee in particular has been, by far, the most dominant member of the Dodger bullpen.
It is inexplicable that these guys are being used this way. It simply does not make any sense at all, and is completely inconsistent with how they were used in the regular season.
Even Baez and Floro, who are not exactly known for their reliability, would have been better choices than any of the 3 pitchers who pitched after Treinen left this game.
The only saving grace is that due to pitch counts and usage, the Dodgers will more or less be forced to use the better members of their bullpen as Jansen will be unavailable after throwing 30 pitches, and Kelly and Graterol’s availability for back to backs is not established. But what an incredible unforced error this entire game nearly was.
I’ve long been a defender of Dave Roberts because I have felt that the Dodgers largely have planned out how and in what scenarios they want to use their relievers in advance – target this part of the lineup with this guy, this section with that guy, and so on. In 17 and 18, even when things did not go according to plan, it was at least apparent that the decisions being made were in alignment with how the team had previously done things.
That all stopped in game 5 of the LDS last year when Roberts decided to ride or die with Kershaw, Jansen and Kelly. And it applies here.
One of two things is true: Either the Dodgers are not pre-planning pitcher usage to the level I believed. If that’s the case, Dave Roberts is wholly unsuited to make these decisions on his own, and he is an enormous liability, or there is a plan, and Dave is ignoring it in the highest leverage situations.
Either of these is unacceptable.
I can only hope that the upside is that this absurdly bad decisionmaking did not cost the team a game, and so perhaps provides an opportunity for Andrew Friedman to call Dave and say something along the lines of ‘WHAT THE HELL??’.
Dave is so wonderful at so many aspects of his job, most of which are frankly far more important than game tactical decisionmaking during the regular season. I do not know if it is pride, if it is stubbornness, or what it is that is driving us to be in situations where these kinds of inexplicable decisions are being made, but it has to stop. Either the Dodgers need to plan this stuff out the way other analytic organizations do (and as I thought previously), and put someone in the dugout to help Dave stay on that plan, or they need to move on.
The pitching decisions in this game amounted to self-sabotage to an absurd degree, and Dave was foiled only by the incredible quality of his own roster, Cody Bellinger, and a decision even worse than his own: Eric Hosmer’s contract.”
I’ve brought this up before, but I think one of the more laughable criticisms of Roberts and Friedman that the anti-AF partisans used to consistently bring up was the accusation that Roberts was some sort of AF puppet, that the analytics guys with pocket protectors would hand Roberts instructions on what to do with the bullpen in certain situations.
Last night – and game 5 last year – prove something different, and actually quite the opposite. Roberts is a player’s manager, and makes decisions based on sentiment.
When making in-game baseball tactical decisions there is a type of tripartite separation of decision making powers. You have the sometimes conflicting influences of analytics, which is purely rational and based on historical outcomes to predict future outcomes, and then you have intuition, which relies on personal experience and is more of a real time assessment. I think both are needed to be a successful in-game manager.
One example is the Rich Hill playoff game from a few years ago when he was yanked in the 7th while pitching a shutout. Yes, the game plan, based on data and most likely outcomes, was that a pitcher tends to suffer when facing an opposing lineup the third time through the order, so pulling Hill was just according to plan, and statistically was the smart move. Eyeballs and intuition, however, could have told Roberts that Hill had better than normal bite on his curveball, had better than normal command of his pitches, and still had some sequencing options to keep the hitters off balance. In this case, intuition should have overruled historical outcomes based on real time information and Hill should’ve been given the opportunity to pitch.
The third decision making component is sentiment. Roberts is loyal to his players. He is prone to going with the guys who have been the face and identity of the team for a long time. People here in this forum do it, too. We want the Dodgers to re-sign Justin Turner so he can finish his career as a Dodger. There were some here who wanted the Dodgers to hire Chase Utley as a coach – just because.
It is managing with the heart, and it is the most prone to gross errors in judgement. Roberts using Kershaw as he did in game five last year was a perfect example of this, and it was dumb, dumb, dumb.
Sticking with Kenley in the closer role – just because – is an example of managing based on sentiment, and there are still some good reasons for doing so on occasion just to manage team psychology and buttress the confidence of key players, but baseball is fundamentally merciless.
Then again, it could be Kenley was a decent move if you want to save McGee for game three and a 6-3 lead was relatively lower leverage. Who knows.
…
I wasn’t really that impressed with Kershaw, either. He had a couple of pitches that were thrown hard, but he lacked command, and his velocity was consistently in and around 90 and there were lots of pitches I thought were left out over the plate and were hittable. I think, at this stage, even with Driveline, he will have glimpses of the old Kershaw, but he will more and more have more games like last night.
Post-Game Presser Notes:
CK:
He said he was just okay last night. His slider was not as sharp as it was against the Brewers.
On the HR to Machado, CK knew Machado likes the pitch low and in, and the slider did not break as much as CK wanted. Looking at the replay, it had a lot of the plate. CK knew it was a bad pitch. His pitches just did not come out right in the 6th.
Hosmer HR – He said he went once too many times to the same spot for Hosmer. Bad pitch at the wrong time.
CK praised his team’s defense. He said the Padres lineup is exceptional from 1 to 9, and they hit a lot of good balls that were defended well. Belli, CT3, JT, Muncy’s digs at 1B. He also praised “Barnesy”.
Belli:
“It’s going to take a while to wind down from that one”. “That is some Post-Season baseball right there.”
When asked what was better, the HR or stealing the HR. He did not hesitate. The catch was better. He was asked if Brusdar thanked him, and Belli laughed and said, “Yeah he caught me right away in the dugout”. When asked about Graterol/Machado, Belli said he really did not know anything about it until later.
He said he was surprised about the HR to CF because he hasn’t been hitting anything out in CF even in BP.
Doc:
With the walks to Fernando Tatis, Jr. and Manny in the 9th, he gave credit to both hitters for grinding and not giving in. “They spoiled some good pitches, took some good pitches and earned the walks.
On KJ, “I have to keep thinking through it.” “He threw some good pitches, but 30 pitches to get 2 outs was a lot.”
On taking Bazooka out, Doc said that Graterol had not yet finished an inning, sat, came out to throw a full inning, sat, and then gone back out. Doc did not feel that the playoffs was a good time to test him in that spot. He liked KJ with that part of the Padres lineup coming up. He trusted KJ could get three outs.
On the Graterol/Machado dust up, Doc said that Brusdar is emotional and it was an emotional moment. Doc said that Manny took exception, but “everything is okay.”
On Belli’s catch, “Great players make great play in big moments.”
The double steal was all Mookie/Corey. It did not come from the dugout.
Some extended thoughts. First, it was a thrilling game, and we should all enjoy the fun of actually having playoff baseball to watch, that is something good in itself. And of course it was even better to win the game.
The Dodgers had better win the title this year, because their window may well be closing, at least relative to other teams in this league, mainly the Padres and Braves. Which Dodgers can we reasonably expect to improve next season? A few: May, probably; maybe Gonsolin, Graterol. In the lineup, not many, though hopefully Bellinger will have a better year. Meanwhile, SD will definitely be better next year. I would be surprised if they do not win the division.
I and others have pointed out that Jansen is not reliable, he was a great reliever for us as recently as 2017, but he is not now. And every time he would come in and actually pitch well, many would say, see, you Jansen critics don’t know what you are talking about! Actually one does does not have to be an expert on metrics or pitching fundamentals to simply see that for every good effort, he tosses in a bad one. And how many times this short season has he either not gotten out of the ninth, or barely done so? This game he could not. Usually. Roberts leaves him in, and this time he didn’t. I think it is ridiculous that the Dodgers have let Jansen stay as the closer for the last two years, not going all-out to get a top closer from another team. They did get Trenein, but he is not a top-level closer, which you need. The lack of one may ruin us against the Braves or possibly the Rays, because they do have very good back-end relief pitchers. But maybe it is our year, and we will get away with it this time. Let’s hope so.
People are applauding Kelly for managing to get the final out after loading the bases on walks. He did come close to striking out Tatis who barely tipped a possible last strike, and he made some pretty good pitches to Machado, before ending up walking both of them. He came so close to blowing this game, and it would have been a repeat of the last game vs. the Nationals. This is all we had for the bottom of the ninth in a crucial game, Jansen and Kelly? We do miss Ferguson, undoubtedly.
Again, the Dodgers ownership and general management has an approach which is commendable in many ways, but is either arrogantly or penuriously cavalier when it comes to taking the final steps to build a championship team. We needed a closer in the winter meetings, and we needed one at the trade deadline, and no such moves were made at all. “Oh, well, we’ve got a strong team, let’s just leave it, we know we’ll be competitive.” And yes, they are very competitive, but they don’t win any titles, and that is not some kind of bad luck it is mostly due to the fact that there are always another team or two which is built better and stronger, and managed more effectively, and comes up in the clutch. I’m thinking of the Cardinals of fairly recent seasons, and the Giants, also the Phillies teams which beat us for the pennant. All it takes is for there to be one team which is better, and whose ownership and management goes all out to add key players and shore up potential weaknesses, and you lose to them. And it is not the same team each year, of course. We’ve seen the Padres now go out and get all sorts of players, and they won’t stop. What will we do in the offseason?
If we lose either of Seager or Bellinger, we will not win any pennants, because we don’t have much else, with the notable exception of Betts, of course. Turner, Pederson, Lux, Pollock, even Smith, this is not close to enough to win anything. I don’t follow the minors as closely as many of you do, but I doubt that we have any great Tatis type players down there. It is hard to consistently win when you draft low, but then you have to do what a few other franchises do, go out and add top players. We absolutely did with Betts, but that is a wonderful exception. The Yankees do it, and they have had problems with their pitching, even though they have built a fearsome lineup, but they will keep doing it until they win. San Diego spent a lot of money on Hosmer, then Machado, they picked up Clevinger, they are determined to be the best team in baseball. To me, the Dodgers seem to be close to their last great year for a while. I certainly hope I am wrong in this view.
I will enjoy the rest of the playoffs. TBS has had some good coverage after the game, and it is nice to see them praise the Dodgers. We have a great group of players, and they all seem classy and focused. Much of the fun of following Dodgers baseball has been hoping that next year will be even better than this one. I don’t expect our ownership to change any of its patterns. We got Betts because we had a lot of excess cap money available. Will we do something like that again, to stay up at the top of the league? Or are we going to try to do it again, one last time, with essentially the same group of players, and then watch Seager and/or Bellinger leave, and be looking up at the best two or three teams in our league? No one can expect their team to be great every year, but we have squandered opportunities to cash in some great regular seasons. The way out of this is spending money on a couple of top free agents, to shore up the declining parts.
The Dodgers window is so far from closing it makes me wonder if William is on drugs?
The team is young, it’s player development the envy of the majors, it has a ridiculous amount of talent on team control, fiscally favorable contracts and has OOODLES of cash flow.
Just make your points Bluto without starting the personal comments about William using drugs. He had a very thoughtful post.
There are replacements available but the window is closing on a few All Stars and one HOFer. Kershaw’s numbers won’t be replaced and Jansen in his prime will be difficult to match. And there is Turner.
Agreed, Phil.
To be clear, my supposition of William being on drugs was a joke. I don’t know William, where he lives, if his name is even William, if he’s a he, nor do I know or care if he uses drugs.
That being said, I don’t have any further points to make. As above:
The team’s core is young and inexpensive, the team is the envy of the league (as evidenced by reporting and hirings), has a ridiculously beneficial TV deal and has an absurdly good cost-controlled set of assets.
Interesting comment. ARod, Papi, Big Hurt, and Dontrelle Willis all made the same comment last night about the window closing. I assume they must be on drugs as well.
They have about much weight (to me) as William.
And I think Papi was on drugs!
1. The Dodgers window will stay open – the farm is loaded
2. The last two World Series winners did not have great closers. They just had pitchers step up.
3. The Padres will be better, but never underestimate AJ Preller’s ability to screw it up!
MLB Network showed something that was missed live last night. When Grishom caught Smith’s ball at the warning track, Grisholm dropped the ball over the wall into the Dodgers pen taunting Graterol
I actually saw that on the broadcast last night and thought to myself there’s another hot dog move by Grisham, who also pulled a Machado-like bat flip stunt when he homered off Kershaw previously.
I really have no problem with any of that stuff, but if you’re going to do it, you need to be able to take it in return.
I agree … but I’m old school. Act like you’ve been there before.
OK folks, here’s the answer to our closer problem:
1) Kenley isn’t getting the job done. He’s out.
2) Buehler (because of the blister) can’t pitch far into games when he starts so his innings have been limited.
3) New closer – Walker Buehler. He certainly has the stuff and the attitude for the job.
4) Starters for the next two series: Kershaw, Urias, Gonsolin, May, VGon (who started in the minors last year)
5) Add White and/or Gray to the roster for long relief
I realize most of you will think this is crazy, but hey, 2020 has been a crazy year.
I believe all of us were holding our breath last night. And I don’t believe it’s inaccurate to say we all thought the same thing that the writers quoted here thought. Gulp. wtf is Roberts doing? Closing by matchups is past due, you know it, I know it and the American people know it. Roberts doesn’t. The second thing is it’s clearly obvious to me that Jansen cannot throw more than 15 pitches after pitching last night. If you risk back to back with this guy, personally I wouldn’t do it, you just cannot let him throw as many pitches as he did last night. Can’t do it. You are blowing it if you do.
The Dodgers won anyway because they are better, Bellinger and so forth. But here’s something I believe everyone can see and William just stated clearly – the window remains open but the Padres are crawling through it. There just isn’t that much separating these two teams and a glaring handicap for them is that they are currently without 2 of their top 3 starting pitchers. If Lamet and Clevinger were 100% who knows where this 5 game series goes.
I hope this series ends tonight. I don’t want give the Padres any air at this point. I also hope Roberts gives some serious thought to his bullpen management going forward. You’ve done this sh*t before and it didn’t work out so well. You did it again last night. Learn. Don’t let it happen anymore.
Re: Joe Kelly last night – did anyone notice that he threw very few fastballs and that when he threw them they were usually in the 95 MPH range? When Kelly is “right” he is up around 97 – 98 MPH. And all of those breaking balls in the dirt…geez.
Kelly was on the DL with shoulder problems from 8/9 until 9/10, and then he served a 5 day suspension and was activated 9/16. He pitched 3 2/3 innings between 9/17 – 9/26, allowing 3 hits, 4 walks, 4 Ks, and 3 runs. I watched several of those games and remember 2 when he only threw breaking balls. He didn’t look good and wasn’t throwing hard, which is how he looked last night.
Why would they possibly bring him into a game under those circumstances?
Good question dodger rick. I mentioned at the end of the regular season that Kelly had turned into Sergio Romo after his injury. He throws slider after slider. He seems to hate his fastball. Listen, I didn’t even want him on the roster let alone put in a super high leverage situation. WTF
Actually, on Gameday they had his at 91-93 MPH.
Per Pedro Maura
“The Dodgers say Dustin May will start tonight.”
So Gonsolin could come out of the pen? Either he or Urias needs to be available for tomorrow night if it goes 4.
Everyone is complaining about Roberts and closing but I don’t see anyone offering up solutions. Who do you want in the .9th to face Tatis, Machado and a Hosmer?
Gore?
Bravo Watford.
Bravo!
That’s it – Have Gore race them to 1B!
Anybody but Jansen.
Therein lies the problem Cassidy. Those guys were not the hitters coming up. It was Myers, Cronenworth, and then Moreland PH for Profar with Grisham and Nola behind them. Tatis and Machado should have never been a factor. Of the 5 hitters he faced, 3 got hits. Granted the hit by Cronenworth was right back at him. He really had no shot to catch it, but then Moreland doubles to the gap scoring Cronenworth, Nola pops out. On a 3-2 pitch that was right over the middle of the plate, Grisham singles to center and Moreland scores. 30 pitches, only 19 strikes. Those 3 guys should have never been coming to the plate. I would have used Floro to start the inning, or even McGee who hasn’t pitched in a while either. At least those two throw strikes.
I would use Treinen in that scenario, with Victor Gonzalez coming in to face Hosmer.
Yeah, if Treinen had not already been used.
How many “lip readers” do we have on this site? When replaying the incident with Machado they now block out his mouth! The profanity was obvious. Save Joe Kelly for a time Machado is batting with no one on base and the game not in doubt. See if Kelly can control that 100 mph fastball to put it in Machado’s ribs. Too bad we don’t have a Don Drysdale, or Bob Gibson.
I find Machado to be a particularly unlikable fellow. He wasn’t even likable when he was a Dodger. I don’t wish him any ill will, I just want him to strike out 4 times and get a foul ball off his upper lip. Ok, that wasn’t very nice. How about 4 Ks and a foul ball off his shin? A bad hop grounder into his cup? I’ve noticed he’s quieter when he’s losing. So get up by 7 in the first and he probably won’t mouth off. Probably.
Not exactly safe for work, but you asked for the translation.
https://youtu.be/QVCgggECm_g
Good comments from all. I am absorbing all of this info. MLB today announced that the QO will be 18.9 million this year. No way Kike, Joc, or Baez get that kind of offer. They might have to give it to Turner unless they reach a deal with him for an extension before he declares free agency. I think they try to bring him back. William, none of the NL games are on TBS. FS1 is carrying both the NLDS and NLCS. The World Series will be on FOX. As for Jansen, I think pitching him in back to back games is no longer an option. I think the main reason Roberts was lulled into thinking it was a good idea was that in game 1, it only took him 9 pitches to get the last outs. But what is more disturbing to me is that he could not get the job done against the bottom of the order. He struck out Myers on 3 pitches. Then the hard come backer he could not catch and then the wheels came off. Why he was still out there after 2 men were on is the most puzzling thing to me except for the fact that Kelly did not even start to warm up until Jansen had those 2 guys on. I would have had someone warming up immediately after the hit. If this were the 2017 Jansen, that would not be needed. But this version has not been that kind of a pitcher. Kelly had only pitched 3 plus innings since his reinstatement on the roster. So he was bound to be rusty and his control could not have been very good. Myself, I would have had McGee in there instead. But that’s me. Offensively, they looked better. Muncy has begun to get more lucky and balls are falling in better. Seager had a much better game and Barnes was outstanding. Smith is back to hitting the ball hard, but right at someone. I would not have hit for Pollock. He has been one of the better hitters and he has done it against both right and left. I do agree that Roberts, being the players manager that he is, goes with his heart instead of his head sometimes. And it has cost them. But this time he got away with it. I am not worrying about next year until this season is over for the Dodgers. The Padres will be better next year and a real threat to the string of NL West titles the Dodgers have strung together. Their young guys will be a year older, and they have some pretty good young guns of their own in the pipeline. The one thing I think Friedman will definitely have to address is the closer position. If one does not come from within, they definitely have to do some hard thinking on what to do with Jansen. One more thing. Thinking Bellinger is not a good hitter is inane. Belli has the ability to be very good. How he develops, especially after a season like this one, will say an awful lot about the player he will become. And unless they found a free agent even close to his ability’s, he won’t be going anywhere.
They can’t make a qualifying offer to Turner – they made one in 2016 and a player can only receive a qualifying offer once in his career.
My bad, I forgot about that. But it also means that they have until just before the meetings to be able to negotiate with him and I am ok with that.
They can negotiate with him until he signs with another team. I am hopeful that he and Dodgers will work out a deal. Perhaps an innovative deal with a large signing bonus spread over three years that keeps the AAV down for Competitive Balance Tax purposes.
May is starting tonight’s game for the Dodgers. I can’t watch since it is on MLB network and I do not get that station. DRAT!
How come nobody is telling me what an idiot I am for my suggestion above to make Buehler our closer for the rest of this year’s playoffs?
I don’t mind being called a fool, but I hate being ignored.
Ever consider that silence may be considered affirmation?
No stupid comment should go unanswered. Just ask Mark.
Ok I will.
What an idiotic idea. He’s a 5 inning starter and we will need those innings going forward.
That enough? I could go on.
I don’t mind your calling me an idiot but how dare you call my ideas idiotic.
Your “5 inning starter” hasn’t gone more than 4 innings his last three starts. I think I’d rather have him go 1 or 2 innings to close out a game and be able to use him maybe two out of 4 games than to have him start once a series and go 4 innings.
Your turn.
Closing is overrated. It’s just 3 outs, takes 15 pitches. We have several guys who can do that. Take last night. Jansen, after pitching the night before, comes in to face the bottom middle of the order and starts throwing 88 mph cutters. Treinen, Kolarek, Baez, VGon, or Floro could have done better than that.
Starting and going 5, that’s the bar, is more important. I think the Padres would agree.
And yes, Gonsolin has closer stuff but he too is a starter. If the series goes beyond 3, I got Gonsolin starting game 4.
I think the next game Buehler pitches well in relief will be his first. He has not fared well in the relief role.
9 games, 10.1 IP, 11.32 ERA, 2.419 WHIP, 9 walks, 12 strikeouts, 3 HRs, 16 hits, 13 runs.
To answer Cassidy above about who should close??? I said it after the season and before the playoffs and again at least once in the playoffs, that if I was given the decision, Tony Gonsolin would be my closer for this year’s playoffs. He has four pitches that he can command almost always, and all he needs is for two to be controlled in a one inning scenario. If he gets his 4-seamer in the upper 90’s and comes back with his splitter, he can be as unhittable as anyone in MLB. He has also been a reliever, and his arm his sound enough to go back to back.
Buehler/Kershaw/May/Urias/Bullpen (Victor Gonzalez) – Gonsolin would be my closer with Treinen/McGee as setup and Graterol/Floro/Baez as 7th inning. Kolarek/Kelly/Jansen situational.
Catman is a great idea. Maybe that is why May is starting tonight instead of Gonsolin.
Your numbers on Buehler certainly suggest he wouldn’t be a great choice but I think they were mostly early in his career. That said Gonsolin makes sense. On the other hand he’s also shown he can go deeper into games when he starts. Long term when we add Price and maybe Gray next year Gonsolin might be a good choice for 2021 closer.
Graterol will eventually close. Gonsolin, May, Gray and White are starters.
IDIOT!
If that makes you feel better…
It’s an idea and not a bad one either. They need to consider everything.
Can you sign up for it Bear? I’ll pay for it. Get Showtime too, so you can watch The Comey Rule. It was really good.
I can only get it if I have a cable box. I do not use one. I can get one for 7 dollars a month, but then the sports package cost another 5. I pay 60 a month for my internet. I went to a Roku to save money on the internet service since when I had all the services it was over 100. On a limited budget, it just makes sense to cut corners where I can. I will be able to listen to the game on the radio.
I could not get the first two games, so I signed up for YouTube TV -14-day Free Trial (they did not charge my card). I’ll cancel in 13 days, but it probably worked because I have MLB.
Of you look hard you may find a feed on the web.
Bear, if you download the Diggz zenon build on you roku (I use an android) you can watch all mlb games with the ‘CREW’ addon. It’s all free. Go to YouTube and search DIGGZ ZENON build for detailed instructions how to load to roku.
Ok STB I’ll bite. You’re an idiot! Ha ha. I think with the blister issue pitching more frequently would be an issue and he’s just too good as a starter. It’s always good to be in the lead in the 5-6 inning mark. Even if that’s all he can give us this year
I’m really not sure if pitching more frequently but fewer innings would be a good or a bad thing for his blister issue. If the blister experts on the team want to endorse your thought, I’ll bow to that. If that isn’t the case, I reject your argument.
And thanks for not ignoring me Cassidy. I really love the attention. And I know you’re using the term idiot in the positive sense, as in “your positively an idiot”.
And so far my strategy for this series is working perfectly. We’re scoring more runs than the Pads each game! Sweep time tonight as I predicted. Not enough starting pitching. But if they sign Bauer for next year and Gore is as good as advertised then we’re in for a dogfight next year and years to come. I love it!
* Yup, I’m old school in many ways including my dislike for the way the Padres play the game. Way too much hot-doggin for me. But they love to get under opponent’s skin with celebration. They want to poke the Bear. We can’t take the bait. I just want to quietly kick their ass and move on.”
That was my comment before the series started with these bush-leagers. Nothing I’d like more than to see 99+ to Tattis or Machado’s ribs BUT not now. We don’t need suspensions, we don’t need brawls. Just stay calm and advance.
* I didn’t love Graterol’s actions but he did nothing that the hot-dog squad hasn’t done. The line of what’s acceptable and not showing up your opponent has moved so far that nobody knows where the line is anymore.
* I can add anything to the great observation made last night and today. dodgerpatch20’s posting of Perdo Moura’s “Athletic” article says it all.
*I stated yesterday that Doc had perfectly managed the bullpen in Game 1. Well, that certainly was washed out last night. Kelly? Really? He should be on the roster let alone put in a super high leverage situation.
* We has 2 so-so starts from our Aces and a bullpen malfunction and we’re up 2-0. Thanks you position players.
* I would have both Barners and Smith in the line, either one as DH. I would pick Barrnes. He hits lefties like Morejon. Please keep Joc on the bench.
* CT3 quietly does great things defensively and is seamless from position to position. Do you know how hard that is to do? One inning he’s picking ground balls, making nice throw and performing unusual coverages at 2nd with the shifts. The next inning he’s running down a deep fly on the warning track.
* I actually thought for a few moments that Belli was deeking the catch over the wall. He never showed the ball. You could finally see the ball in the webbing while he was running in. That would have been the world’s best week. Instead it was the world’s best catch.
* Buck Showalter yesterday talked about getting into a manager’s “Circle of Trust” as a player. Very interesting term. I’m wondering how Kelly got into Doc’s Circle of Trust last night. If he trusted him in high leverage situations before, he was keeping it a secret until last night.
* If KJ is still in Doc’s “Circle of Trust” it better now be as a low leverage, middle inning guy to face lefties only.
I like May tonight but I’m good with Gonsolin as well. I like Urias out of the pen.
With Morejon being a lefty I don’t think there’s any chance we see Joc in the starting lineup.
I think the choice will come down to Barnes or Kike. It should be Barnes but knowing Doc I’m betting on Kike.
Kike’ is a safe bet.
Barnes is hot right now and I think he should DH. He’s swinging it better than anybody else for that role including Kike.
I wasn’t suggesting Joc would face a lefty like Morejon in the starting line up. My point is he shouldn’t face anybody. He’s a strikeout waiting to happen. I can’t understand some people’s commitment to him. He’s had good performances in years past but so has KJ. They’re both done.
Phil, I am Austin Barnes’ biggest supporter on this site. So I would be fine with Austin as the DH. Actually I would stick with Austin as catcher and Smith as DH as I think Barnes is a better receiver. He has a weaker arm, but the Pads had no problem stealing on Will in Game 1. My response to STB was that it is a safe bet that DOC will choose Kike’ to DH against LHP before he would DH Barnes.
Bear, MLB network is actually free right now if you sign up. If that doesn’t work, I’ll give you the 411. Email me at fresnostate@hotmail.com
STB, I like your Buehler idea, except he won’t be able to go back to back days since he’s not used to it. However, for a big moment? Hell yes I want him out there!
William, I love your writing skills. But I disagree with your overall negative assessments. Our window to run away with the NL West might be closing, but our window to continue winning 95+ games isn’t and our window to make the postseason isn’t, and isn’t by a lot. If SD wins 100 and we win 97, so be it, but we’ll still be playing October. With the Machado and Hosmer contracts, they will very soon be cashed out. We have just as good a farm as them, and we have triple the cash. I think we’re just fine. Out window to compete for the World Series has been open for the last 8 years, and will continue to be open for the foreseeable future. Except for Kersh, our starting staff is 26 and under. We have a lot of young bullpen arms, and numerous young and in their prime star players. If we want Trevor Bauer this fall, we have a better chance at getting him than SD does.
Yes, the Padres are here. But so are we. Please don’t forget that part.
DBM, I love how our cutout selves are booing the Astros this week!
Mark, feel better!
What William said about the window was was it “may well be closing, at least relative to other teams in this league, mainly the Padres and Braves.” I don’t find that a negative assessment of the Dodgers, it’s a judgement on other teams getting better. I think he’s right. Of course we are still good, and will remain so for a while. The Padres have been building for a few years now and it would appear they have arrived. How long will they be able to sustain it? They don’t draw particularly well, and their tv contract is nothing like ours. How long before those young guys get paid?
Are the Pads really crawling through the Dodger window? I don’t think so. In fact, I think the window should stay open for some years. The Dodgers are light years ahead of any team in the West, maybe the entire NL. They are so deep that we are nit picking who should DH?, Barnes or Smith? No need to overthink what we are seeing. Dodgers still need to tweak certain things but that will take care of itself.
Which players would not like to play in L.A? It’s a dream come true for most. Pads are good and improving but they are not in the league that the Dodgers are in and the Dodgers should get even better!
I appreciate it Bobby, and I have MLB.tv on my Roku. But, MLB network comes in on the cable service. Mine is Spectrum. I just spent an hour on line with them. The agent tried to add the service to my internet streaming, and they cannot do that. It is not available through the app. MLB Network, and MLB.tv are different. MLB.tv is a paid service. MLB Network is a channel that is added to your cable service. Since I do not use the cable, I can’t get it. It is weird because when I go to my Spectrum channel and try on demand it says I need to upgrade. I think that is simply if you are using the cable service. I stream all of my shows. I have like 79 different channels on my Roku right now.
Bobby, yes we are in the stands cheering for Oakland, but my heart is in Texas rooting for the Dodgers as I am sure yours is. Did you notice Mary Hart and some of the cutouts behind home plate are not there? I wondered if they might have been moved to Texas as I thought I saw her cutout just above the Dodger’s dugout.
They squeaked out a win in the end last night even though it made my hair less red, my nails shorter and I think I lost a few pounds, sweating it out. Now I hope they can win today and get some time off, maybe. Cody made the “play of the “year”. Awesome.
Padres today:
Grisham
Tatis
Manny
Hosmer
Pham
Moreland
Myers
Cronenworth
Jason Castro
Yeah DBM, that “murders row” on the front row of Dodger Stadium is all different. No Mary Hart, Burt Sugarman, their son, Dennis Gilbert, Larry King. Lots of “unusual faces”.
It would be cool if they moved those cutouts to Texas. I’ve continued to look for you in the crowd but I’m at a disadvantage since I don’t know what you look like.
I am still at Dodger Stadium somewhere in the Loge. I am wearing a Dodger hat and blue shirt I have a goofy picture and red hair.
I don’t know what Doc’s plan is for a possible game 4 or 5 with our starting pitching, but I would go for the kill today. All hands on deck. The Padres are good, I wouldn’t give them any breathing room. End them now. Worry about game 4 and/or 5 later.
Here’s the thing with our bullpen. We’ve got a lot of guys with lopsided splits who are good against one side of the plate and bad against the other side and a few who are dominate against one side and bad against the other side and it’s tough to put our bullpen guys in the best situation to succeed considering the 3 batter minimum rule. Then we got Kelly who just overall sucks and Jansen who is declining.
Off topic, this offseason Friedman needs to clean up the bullpen by finding and adding relievers that are good/dominate against BOTH SIDES OF THE PLATE.
It is my opinion FROM A PITCHING POINT OF VIEW that the keys to our 2 wins against the Brewers and the first win against the Padres was first of all Kershaw’s gem in game 2 against the Brewers and Doc using regular season starting pitchers Urias and May OPENING AN INNING in relief and going multiple innings in the other 2 games, therefore avoiding the regular bullpen guys as much as possible. I would have liked to seen May go 1 or 2 more innings more than he did, but it all worked out in the end.
These are the guys that I would put my trust in when it comes to the pitching staff and the reason why:
Buehler for obvious reasons.
Kershaw for obvious reasons.
May as a starter mostly but also if needed in relief.
Gonsolin is dominate against both sides of the plate.
Gonzalez is dominate against both sides of the plate. The only thing I worry about is inexperience.
Urias is good, not dominate against both sides of the plate.
Graterol is dominate against the right side of the plate. Only use him against the right side of the plate.
Treinen is dominate against the right side of the plate. Only use him against the right side of the plate.
McGee is dominate against the right side of the plate. Only use him against the right side of the plate.
Kolarek is dominate against the left side of the plate. Only use him against the left side of the plate.
Baez is dominate against the left side of the plate. Only use him against the left side of the plate.
If a name wasn’t mentioned above, I would avoid using them. And I would lean on the guys that are good/dominate against both sides of the plate more so than the other names mentioned above.
Tonight May is starting. I would watch for signs that May is running out of gas, and then I would go with either Gonsolin or Urias TO OPEN AN INNING in relief and let him go multiple innings as long as he is effective. Then if needed go with Gonzalez. Then if needed I would use any of the rest of the names I listed above against the appropriate side of the plate. Obviously the game can go in different directions that would interfere with that plan, but that would be my plan.
I said my peace, now I will move on.
It doesn’t matter if your better against one side or the other. With the 3 batter rule you’re gonna face both sides most of the time. I wonder about Baez. Haven’t even seen him warm up yet. Looks like Doc trusts Grateral,Treinen, and Gonzales the most right now
Correct the 3 batter minimum rule exposes some of our pitchers. That’s why I said I would lean on the pitchers that are good/dominate against both sides of the plate as much as possible.
1, Betts RF
2. Seager SS
3. Turner 3B
4. Muncy 1B
5. Smith C
6. Bellinger C
7. Pollock LF
8. PERERSON DH (WHAT?)
9. CT3 2B
May – P
I hope Doc knows something we don’t – on the surface, it make little sense.
I’m guessing that Doc believes Morejon is an opener and we will be seeing a lefty by the second inning when Joc is up to bat…or he’s just completely off his rocker. Hopefully Joc bats in the first inning.
Why no Barnes as DH?
he’s the only other catcher on the roster. they will save him to replace Smith if there’s an injury or as a pinch-hitter in the late innings
Joc has been slow playing lefties all year to get to the playoffs and rake! Brilliant! And then Jansen is going to start game 4 if needed and just pitch through the eighth inning. Because we all know what happens in the 9th
Further on the “window closing” silliness or it’s relativeness.
From Gammons, who’s about a zillion times more credible than Dontrelle WIllis!
The Dodgers have finished first eight straight years, and in the last three years have lost to the eventual world champions — in 2017 and ’18 to the Astros and Red Sox, respectively, and in 2019 to the Nationals in the Division Series.
As per one Dodger official. “… of what essentially has been a building process the last five years, and the current team has been built by a collaborative organization group. We have gone out and traded for Yu Darvish and Manny Machado to try to win it all; it didn’t happen to work. We have been building the depth of our team through drafts and trades (four of the five starting pitchers from the best rotation in baseball are 26 or younger and self-developed).
“To judge the entire season on whether or not you win the World Series,” says the official, “is to not pay attention to the process. The process is building a really good team for the long and short terms, and to develop enough talent to be able to make deals like the one with Boston.”
The Dodgers’ pitching has been the best in the National League, with Kershaw their only starter over 26 years old. Kershaw is one of four pitchers — along with Kenley Jansen, Pedro Báez and Julio Urías — who were in the organization when Friedman took over the Dodgers in October 2014. Of the position players, Justin Turner and Joc Pederson were the only ones currently on the 40-man roster who were already there.
“The thing that is so important about the Dodgers is that they are built on collaboration,” says Will Rhymes, who is the team’s director of player development. “The scouting and development departments always work together, which isn’t always the case; sometimes they clash when there are disagreements on why a player isn’t performing as expected. Josh Byrnes oversees both, and he’s a genius as well as a tremendous person to work with. What he, Billy Gasparino and the scouting staff do in the draft is tremendous. Look at Dustin May in the third round. Tony Gonsolin in the ninth round. Look at the international scouting, Urías and Victor González.
Gonsolin is a classic example. At St. Mary’s University, he was an outfielder/pitcher. He wasn’t drafted as a junior. The next year, after a four-year career and a 7-13, 4.06 ERA season, the Dodgers took him in the ninth round. Now, he’s up to 97 mph with an unhittable changeup/split, and in the postseason may be their rover, used in any situation required.
Which is a key to building conviction. Rhymes also notes one word in particular that is a cornerstone of the Friedman organization: “congeniality.”
The article is false as to whom was in the organization when Friedman arrived.
Corey Seager was drafted in 2012. Cody Bellinger was drafted in 2013. Victor Gonzalez was signed by Mike Brito the same year that Julio Urias was. Pedro Baez was signed by the Dodgers back in 2007.
I get that there’s been a lot of turnover on the Dodgers and that Friedman et al are responsible for many/most of the signings but Peter Gammons, if he’s to be believed, should do good factual reporting – it’s not that hard to figure out when the Dodgers signed or drafted a player and whether Friedman was there at the time.
And no – I don’t believe that the Dodgers’ “window” is closing any time soon.
Great catches!
I apologise for posting inaccuracies.
Gammons was right when he said:
Of the position players, Justin Turner and Joc Pederson were the only ones currently on the 40-man roster who were already there.
They were not on the 40-man is 2014, so Bluto you do not have to apologize. Gammons is right!
We’ve lost to 4 World Champs in a row. The Cubs won in 2016 after beating us in the NLCS
http://mlbstream.tv/los-angeles-dodgers-live-stream/
I can see every game here…
Bear
Have thought to sign up for a free trial of YouTube.tv? They have mlb.network.
I am getting it free on my computer on a streaming service.
Horrible base running by Smith! Does any young player know how to run the bases!!!
Why would you put Pederson in the lineup against a left handed or anybody really? So pathetic but predictable!!
Pederson has 2 hits, so far, and 2 RbIs.
Why was May taken out of the game? And why Kolarek?
We have 5 good starting pitchers and we’re docking around with a bullpen game?
What is this? A bullpen game in a clincher.
I got nothin
I do not understand Doc.
Does anyone have a clue as to what Roberts is doing?
Let me rephrase that for you – Does Roberts have a clue as to what Roberts is doing?
Usually I figure DR has a reasonable explanation for what he does even if I don’t agree but I can’t come up with one this time
Fucking inventions from Roberts. It seems that what it is about is to give life to the padres. He is thinking in a fourth game?????
At least we have Urias now who is good against both sides of the plate and can go multiple innings. But why May was taken out and Kolarek inserted is beyond me.
And where is Gonsolin?
I do not understand Joc starting against a left hander. I do not understand May pitching one inning. I do not understand if this is a bull pen game. Why not start Gonsolin or Urias?
Doc said last night the double steal was the players decision.
Again, I do not understand Doc.
Hopefully, Urias can go 6. I told you what I would have done – start Floro and bring in Urias. I think that was felony dumb on Doc along with starting Joc! He’s wanting to get fired!
Let’s just out score them I guess. I too don’t get Kolarek as the second pitcher.
Congrats JT
Was there an injury to May? I noticed his velocity was way down on game day. I can’t get the freaking game.
No, the plan was for one inning.
Joctober!
JOC!!!!!!!!!
Why is he in this game?
because Roberts was pretty sure Morejon would not be in the game that long, and he wasn’t. Joc’s first hit came off of a lefty, so it worked out ok.
I like it. Go for the kill. We got Urias as long as he is effective. We still have Gonsolin. We are in a good position.
Love it Hawk!
He must have knowed something.
His thinking? …. the Dodgers, for the time being anyway, own the Padres The next series is 7 straight. He wants his starters well rested.
If we win tonight and Gonsolin starts game 3 or 4 of the next series he will have gone 18 or 19 days without appearing in an MLB game. That seems like it’s asking for trouble. But what do I know, I wanted to make Buehler the closer.
Genius is often initially misunderstood.
That has nothing to do with your idea to make Buehler the closer, I just thought I’d mention it.
Your point about Gonsolin is good one. I don’t know why he doesn’t get some of these innings tonight.
Haven’t you heard, Gonsolin is the new closer. He gets the 9th
Oh. Hadn’t heard that. I bet he could throw 2 innings every other day. That’s only 8 innings a week. He could do that in games 1,3,5 and 7 if necessary.
Wait, you didn’t hear this from STB did you. If so, forget the whole idea.
Lol
What the hell was Roberts thinking starting Joc tonight!! When things go bad Roberts is an idiot and when it goes right he’s just lucky!
Well joc has come through but he came up short in a big situation the first time up. As it turns out he had more chances. In some games we might not have had more chances. He certainly should not be batting against any lefty. But this may be more evidence that this might finally be our year. Go Dodgers go joc or whoever he puts in! I hope we win but I am pi…. that I can’t watch it.
Joc hit a missle last night. He may be coming around.
~
Urias looks filthy. I really that all five of our starters are homegrown. Let Price have the Andrew Miller role next yeat.
This is what Urias is capable of when he has command! Ace like performance! And if gets his change up going again to righties. Forget about it!
This is a very good team as good as the teams when I first started watching the Dodgers in 1977 the late 70s and 80s teams.
As I’ve said all along the only thing I fear is Doc and the way he uses the bullpen.
The next series is going to be tougher because Doc won’t have the luxury of using a couple starting pitchers in relief. Or am I overlooking something and he could?
As I write this Will Smith has his third hit of the game. I like it.
They will use 4 starters in a 7 game series, if a 5th one is needed, they will do what they have done numerous times this year and have a bullpen game. Dodger pen is superior to Atlanta’s. Braves have a problem themselves with starters this year. That means it will probably be Fried. Even though the Braves staff threw 4 shutouts in 5 games, they have not faced an offense like the Dodgers all year. And the two offenses they have faced so far are very mediocre. Just the length of the lineup the Dodgers have make it tough on any pitcher. The Dodgers are the home team for games 1 & 2, and if needed , 6&7. As for the Braves offense. The Dodgers know most of them well. Ozuna from when he was with the Marlins and Cardinals last year. And the Dodgers have faced better offenses than the Braves have, Except the Braves faced the Yankees, They split their 4 games with the Yanks. They also split their season series with the Phillies. The only team they really owned was the Mets, who they went 7-3 against., Their team ERA is 4.41. Despite his great start against the Reds in the wild card series, Fried gave up 4 runs in 4 innings to the Marlins, who are not exactly in the Dodgers class offensively. I think they will be fine.
Why did Hernandez pinch-hit for Joc with a righty pitching?
He didn’t. Strahm was pitching when Hernandez was announced.
Nice job by Urías. 5 IP, 1 hit, no earned runs. He could close by going 4 after Buehler goes 5. That’s some Jefe (STB) thinking right there. Out of the box and onto this page.
Where’s Baez?
Oh thanks for the correction. I missed that one.
The nit picking has become tiresome and unnecessary. Why this, why that. Just watch the game and enjoy the victory! Why create problems when there are none?
I will admit to being wrong about picking the Dodgers in 4. I really wanted to say SWEEP, but I felt that would be too arrogant.
Jeff, if you’re talking about me and STB, I should tell you we’re friends. If you’re talking about something else I must have missed it.
Hey, there’s Baez. About time.
Not you, Badger. Are you feeling guilty?lol
No, not you, Badger. Feeling guilty? lol
I’ve been acquitted.
Feels good.
But then, the bickering must’ve gone right by me. Dammit. Missed again.
The only comment I have is that just once it was easy. 5 run lead against this team is not enough…LOL….anyway, I think they will lock it down. And meet Atlanta on Monday. Kersh or Buehler in game one, and they have home field the entire playoffs, so they will be up last in games 1&2. And one thing to remember. Atlanta has thrown 4 shutouts in their 6 games. BUT< the offenses they were playing were no where near as good as the Dodgers.
I do believe Roberts has managed the Dodgers to a sweep of a very good Padre team! Well done Doc!
Urias striking out Tatis with the bases loaded was the momentum changing, game changing play of the game.
He was brilliant today.
He was. There for a while I began to think he wasn’t going to work out as expected. It appeared Like he had lost interest but something caught fire in him.
Will Smith five hit game setting a Dodger postseason record. I love it.
And youngest player ever with five hits in a postseason game.
… and the first catcher to do this.
To think someone wanted to play Barnes in this game and sit Smith. 5 hits!! 3 RBI’s, and a smile.
Now Bellinger delivers a triple knocking in 2 more runs!
That’s nothing. I was ready to trade him for Will Smith. Got that one wrong.
Now we can bring Jansen in
Who wanted Rosenthal? First appearance and he gives up 4 earned runs on 2 hits and 2 BBs. No, no, no. We are rollin’ in it, now! Congrats to a great team showing the league that they are the gold standard. Now I would love face off against Houston who thinks they have something to prove.
Well they finally gave me a no doubter. About time too, I am getting really short on hair to pull out.
I think Smoltz better check the ages of Smith, Belli, Seager, , Betts, Urias, May, Gonsolin, and Buehler before he starts handing future division to the Padres.
He’s a way better color man than Orel, whom I just can’t bear to listen to any longer. Joe and Smoltz make a very good pair.
Machado barely seems a memory his time as a Dodger. He is special but not as special as Manny thinks he is. Got a feeling the Dodgers clubhouse felt the same as me about him.
Great series by the Dodgers! After the Grisham celebration game in San Diego, the dodgers beat them 5 in a row.
I did not understand a lot of the coaching decisions in the series, but in the end, many of them worked. I couldn’t believe Joc was in the starting lineup against a LHP, yet he came through with two hits. And I do not understand using Dustin May for one inning and then Kolarek. But Julio was fantastic. And the Dodgers proved they were the much better team. Onto a tough matchup with the Braves!
A belated thanks to Jeff and 2d2 for their great insights and enjoyable writing. Hope to hear from you again.
And get well soon, Mark. We are praying for a speedy recovery.
The Padres are better than the Braves.
The only team that can stop the all or nothing Dodgers is the all or nothing Dodgers. We mow down the Braves in 5 then it’s on to Arlington! Wait…. that’s not right. It’s just back to the hotel. What a weird year this has been.
Angels finalized the deal to buy the Big A. Paying the city of Anaheim 150 million. Keeps them there until 2075. Who said they rely on the HR too much>? Nice way to move the line last night. Will Smith in his interview was awed that he set a record. Turner set a record also for most post season hits by a Dodger passing Steve Garvey.