Over the last several years, we Dodger fans have been very lucky to have a winning franchise. 8 consecutive division titles, 3 trips to the World Series, and a World Championship. Cy Young award winners, MVPs. A couple of ROY winners and a lot of exciting baseball. For most seasons, the Dodgers have been very successful in Los Angeles. Oh, there have been some losing seasons, like 1958, their first year after moving from Brooklyn. But that team was loaded with aging stars and players just passing through. But none of those losing seasons was as bad as 1992.
How can a team that had a lot of talented players on it lose 99 games? So far, no Dodger team in LA has ever lost 100. If you check the top 12 players from that year in WAR, 9 of them are pitchers. Only one was an everyday regular, Brett Butler who led the team with a 4.9 WAR. The other 2 position players? Mike Sharperson and Mitch Webster.
Sharperson was the utility guy, and Webster was the 5th outfielder. Or at least he was supposed to be. The team had the rookie, Eric Karros at 1st, Lenny Harris at 2nd, Jose Offerman at SS, and Dave Hansen as the starting 3rd baseman. The outfield consisted of… or was supposed to be, Eric Davis in LF. Butler in CF. and Darryl Strawberry in RF. Scioscia was the starting C. Things went south pretty fast. Davis played in 76 games but was nowhere near the All-Star caliber outfielder he was with the Reds. Strawberry only played in 43. And they lost him for the season when his drug addiction was discovered.
So others who filled the void were Webster, Henry Rodriguez, Billy Ashley, Kal Daniels, who only appeared in 35 games, Tom Goodwin and Stan Javier who they acquired in a trade. Webster got into 135 games and did a decent job. He also had duties as a pinch hitter. Todd Benzinger got into 121 games, but he did not hit much, and Sharperson, who was their version of Chris Taylor, played in 128 games. Sharpie and Butler were the only Dodgers to hit .300.
Butler led the team with a .309 avg. Carlos Hernandez was the backup catcher most of the season. He hit .260 with 3 HRs and 17 RBI’s. Scioscia, who was 33 and slowing down, hit .221with 3 and 24. Late in the year a kid came up for about 21 games but was not all that impressive. But 1993 would be his year to shine, Mike Piazza! Eric Young, Juan Samuel, Dave Anderson, and Rafael Bournigal all did time in the infield. None of them had very good years.
The starting pitchers were all in their 30’s except for Ramon Martinez and Pedro Astacio. Hershiser, Candiotti, Gross and Ojeda were the main guys. None of them had a plus .500 win record. Candiotti led the staff with 11 wins, and Orel added 10. None of the others had more than 8, and Astacio was 5-5. McDowell led the relief corps, if you could call it that. Corpse would be more like it. Only Gott and Candelaria had sub 3 ERA’s. Astacio had a 1.98 which led all the pitchers. Orel, Candiotti, Gross, Martinez and McDowell all lost in double figures with Candiotti and Hershiser both losing 15. McDowell had 14 saves, Gott 6, Candelaria 5 and Jay Howell had 4.
They had a team ERA of 3.41, which was 6th in the league. They Allowed 82 HR’s, but the offense only hit 72 which was lowest in the NL. They were towards the bottom of the league in most offensive categories. There was a young pitcher who got into a few games, he would become pretty famous after he left LA, Pedro Martinez.
The team had losing records against every opponent except the Padres, 9-9 and the Cubs, 6-6. They finished 35 games out, 9 behind the 5th place Giants. The Braves won the division by 8 games over the Reds. Surprisingly, they had one winning month, May when they went 13-10. After that, they were simply put, horrible. They actually were 13-14 in blowouts, games decided by 5 runs or more.
As bad as their offense was, I find it surprising that they won that many games by a margin of 5. On June 1st they were 23-23. They had just won 6 in a row. It was the last time they would be at .500. A 10 game losing streak from June 10th to the 21st pretty much finished any chances they had. There would be changes coming in 93. Strawberry was no longer a regular and was released in May. He then signed with the Giants. Davis played 104 games and was a little better than the prior season, but he would be traded to the Tigers for pitcher John De Silva on the 31st of August.
Piazza took over as the starting catcher and had a ROY season. Hitting .318 with 35 long balls and 112 driven in. The HR mark would stand as the most by a Dodger rookies until Bellinger beat it in 2017. The Dodgers struggled to a 81-81 mark that year, putting the bad taste of 1992 behind them. Fans have short memories when it comes to really bad years. About the only thing you will ever hear them mention about that season is Karros winning the ROY, as the first of 5 consecutive ROY winners for the team.
New Power Ratings from the Athletic:
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
Record: 53-31
Last Power Ranking: 3
The Dodgers completed their weekend sweep of the Nationals on Sunday behind eight relievers combining to allow one run over nine innings.
LA threw a bullpen game because Trevor Bauer had been placed on a seven-day administrative leave by Major League Baseball on Friday — two days after The Athletic reported the graphic details of a domestic-violence restraining order filed against the pitcher. It is hard to read, and harder to discern why it took the league even that long to place Bauer on leave. The Dodgers’ leadership spent that time pretending as if they had no agency in the matter and cracking jokes about sticky stuff.
Maybe one day the sport and the organizations within it will realize that how they handle issues like this matter a whole hell of a lot more to fans than how many batters a reliever can face.
Maybe one day the sport and the organizations within it will realize that how they handle issues like this matter a whole hell of a lot more to fans than how many batters a reliever can face.
Leave it to The Athletic to take irresponsible journalism to new levels. I suspect the Dodgers and MLB have a little more info than the fish hacks who wrote this.
One of the reasons I beleive I’m going to cancel my Subscription with them. They are getting as bad as Sports Illustrated.
Yeah, I cancelled my subscription after the world series last year. I did because of Ken Rosenthal’s lead story after the victory by the Dodgers was the Justin Turner Covid issue. Not the fact that the Dodgers won their first World Series in 32 years. No he had to go full virtue signaling over Turner’s actions. And, as it turned out it was a non story in the long run. There was no comments allowed to the article. So, I wrote the editor directly and expressed my disappointment in his publication that allowed their top national baseball writer to ignore such an important story actually about baseball not be featured in the lead. And, I told him they knew it was a bullshit article by not allowing any comments. They have some great writers that I would like to read. But, why bother when I can get better analysis and information on this site. Carry on.
Fair and balanced journalism would have mentioned the failure of MLB allowing reporters and hotel workers come in and out of the “Bubble” that wasn’t adequately provided to the players. Or how ridiculous it was to pull a key player late in the game after already being in contact with other players.
I was going to comment with a Trevor Bauer Anal-ysis pun, but I thought “Too soon”.
What this sentence even demonstrates is just how narcissistically self-absorbed these people are. It’s like they are the voice for all “fans.”
The Dodgers handled it awkwardly, but at the time Roberts gave that dumb answer, it was really early in the whole news story to take an official position. I don’t blame them for waiting to put him on admin leave.
Can’t deny that last point. The team handled that situation abysmally.
Thankfully, they are better at running a baseball team than crisis managment.
Legal experts chime in on Bauer.
https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2021-07-01/trevor-bauer-defense
Final sentence “This is being settled through civil court,” Rahmani said. “I’m like 99% sure.”
Note this article was written before Police said “this is bigger then we thought”.
I cancelled my Athletic subscription long ago because of Molly Knight and Pedro Moura specifically because of the slant that they put into their articles.
I remember that 1992 season. We were pretty crappy, but there was a crappier team that season and it was the Seattle Mariners. The M’s consolation prize in the following draft was Alex Rodriguez who threatened not to sign with them because he wanted the Dodgers to draft him. Instead we got Darren Dreifort with the number 2 pick.
One of the reasons that season stands out to me is that I married my beautiful wife and soul mate that year and I remember listening to the Dodgers games from a transistor radio that I brought with me while we were on a “Marriage Encounter Weekend” which was a requirement to attend in order to get married at my church.
Yesterday’s loss was a disappointment. Yes, it was a winnable game. An 0-2 pitch with 2 outs and nobody on was the difference in the game. A pitch in that situation should never be hittable.
The game never should have been that close to begin with. Shift hits and stolen bases could have easily been prevented. Instead they combined for a 3 run third. We had our chances with the bases loaded and nobody out in the 8th, but we could only come up with a walk and sac fly to knot it up. Belli missed a grand slam by an eyelash on the ball, CT3 popped and AJ struck out on three straight sliders.
With an off day just 4 days earlier, it was a wonder why it was decided that Betts, Bellinger and Muncy all needed a day off together, right after a bullpen game where most of the pen also needed a day off. They did everything they could to lose the game and just about won it regardless.
People love to talk crap on Pollock, the Rodney Dangerfield on the team, but somehow love Zach McKinstry. Both put up an o’fer yesterday, but Z-Mack made a throwing error that lead to a run in the game. Their slash lines are practically identical.
Doc says that he doesn’t expect Bauer to be back before the All-Star game. Pepiot is coming off his best start ever, but only his second game where he’s pitched 6 innings or more and has still never thrown more than 76 pitches in his very young minor league career. But, the Dodgers are starting to talk about him as a rotation option.
One the same day as Pepiot’s masterpiece, Jo-jo Gray threw in his second game of the year. Just two perfect innings and another in the pen after he was pulled. The bullpen will be abused at least until the All-Star game with just 6 games against the Marlins and D-Bags remaining before the break. The Giants have 5 games remaining before the break against the Cards and Nats, all at home.
I’m confused. You had to bring a transistor radio to a retreat as a prerequisite for marriage?
Well yes, I had to listen to the last place Dodgers of course.
Gotta set the bar for what life will look like going forward.
Any of you insiders know the real story on Graterol? Is it secondary pitches, holding runners on, conditioning? Seems like he should be one of the main guys in the bullpen by now.
His biggest problem is immaturity. He is still 22 and can throw 150 MPH. That clouds his vision. Sometimes you want to throw it a little slower… not faster!
I read that they wanted him to work on secondary pitches. They’ve also hinted that he didn’t do much offseason work.
Beyond that, it sure seems like they are very conscious about managing the workload of all their players as much as they possibly can after a short season and shorter offseason.
As Mark said, the guy can probably throw a lot harder than he actually does, they were going through too many catcher’s gloves apparently.
Thanks, both.
Since versatility is important to the Dodgers organization and it is to me by the way, why isn’t Ruiz trying out a different position or positions while he is still in the minors?
Catcher is an entirely different animal. Smith focused on it even though he can play 2B and 3B. Young catchers need to catch. A better question is “Why isn’t Will Smith learning another position?”
Probably because he’s the primary catcher.
Fun fact of the day. Verdugo’s WAR is 1.7, Lux’s WAR is 2.0.
Keibert Ruiz said he wanted to play some first base, the Dodgers apparently have no plans to have him swap gloves as he’s only appeared at C and DH in the minors this year. His CS% is just 19%, and his Fld% is .986 so there’s some work that needs to be done. For reference Smith is 25% and .993 and Barnes is 22% and .987. Smith has caught almost as many innings this season as Ruiz and Barnes combined.
The writing on the wall says that Barnes will be traded at the deadline. He has one more year of control after the current season and Cartaya is just 19 and is appropriately at low A. There is little reason to believe he will be ready to step up to the plate on the Major league roster before Barnes’ contract expires.
Another catcher, Carson Taylor, is holding his own in his first taste as a pro. The 2020 4th round draftee has solid numbers at High A Great Lakes, but also has a long ways to go as a 22 year old with just 98 ABs so far as a pro.
Ruiz’ trajectory to the big club will probably change at the deadline. He’ll either backfill Barnes, or be traded for a brand name Starting Pitcher depending on how the Bauer situation is resolved.
Respect your opinion but I would be shocked if Barnes is traded at the deadline. I see the cruel, Depodestian logick, but it just seems an unnecessary risk.
Offseason maybe . . .
I would have to agree that trading Barnes is a low priority item. He is no longer Kersh’s personal catcher like he was earlier in the season. His offense is not as good as it has been in the past. But the pitchers for some reason love pitching to the guy. What the Dodgers need to do at least this season is ride it out with who they have for now. Let Ruiz get better behind the dish. If you want to do position shifting, wait until spring. If one of the two catchers goes down to injury, then Ruiz will be up. I think the next player on the OKC train is Souza. He has not hit very well. I know he has had limited opps, but with he and Bellinger both below the Mendoza line, the Dodgers need some sort of production from their outfield.
BulldogsandPenguins
That should prove to everyone that WAR is a flawed stat.
As for Barnes, I doubt he gets traded. Very little value.
I agree that WAR is crap. But, I also recognise that Verdugo is solid player, nothing more, nothing less.
Mark
Smith shouldn’t have to learn a new position. It’s Ruiz who is in the minors that should learn new positions to get him on the big league club. That is what the minors are for, TO LEARN.
The powers that be should have Ruiz learn 3B and LF because Turner already needs days off and won’t be around for many years to come and Pollock is not a long term solution to LF.
His value is at catcher, as is Smith’s.
Both players hitting ability are less valuable at another position.
I remember in ’92 when the 99-Cent store ran an ad that said “congratulations to the Dodgers for losing 99 games!”
Pujols single yesterday put him in some very elite company. It gave him 6000 total bases in his career. Only Aaron, Mays and Musial have ever had that many. Congratulations to a great hitter. Dodger hitting coaches should take lessons from this guy. Bellinger should sit down and talk to him for hours and pick his brain. Because as long as Belli stands as close to the plate as he does, straight up, that inside pitch is going to get him every time, and he is not going to make solid contact very often.
Seems like a fair number of hitters stand upright and close to the plate. Frank Robinson comes to mind.
What they didn’t have that Bellinger has is that big uppercut swing. He’s either going to have to back off of the plate a bit or swing with less of a loop.
Cody’s problem is not with his stance…………..it is completely with his swing path. When Bellinger finished his MVP year (’19) his b.a. was .305. His average at the end of 2020 was .239. The difference between 2019 and 2020, is that the pitchers made adjustments to CB but he never made any changes to their “chest”moves. He became intoxicated with all of the awards and v.i.p. attention that he was receiving. He was (and is) convinced that swinging for the upper section in the outfield is going to bring back all of his lost notoriety. The question now is how long will his hitting instructors and Doc allow him to be lost at sea with is self delusions. It was not that long ago that Brant Brown (one of his Obi Wan Kenobi hitting instructors )told him (to paraphrase): “Cody, quit trying to be the man. When you t-r-y to be the man, you can’t be the man………..but when you don’t t-r-y to be the man, that’s when you become the man.” Bellinger has 3 types of swings: #1 The HR swing which starts at 1 o’clock and ends up at 5 o’clock which is 90% of his swings. #2 The flat swing which produces (by far) the most hits because it remains in the hitting zone the longest amount of time. It is the equivalent
of a swing that starts at 2 ‘clock and ends at 4 o’clock which is about 5% of his swings and his #3 swing is the choke up on the bat and then he flicks his bat at the pitch at the last moment which is used 5% of the time. This is the swing that he usually uses for going to left center when he has 2 strikes in the count. Is anyone really surprised that it is July 6, 2021 and he is hitting .189. There is nothing wrong with his shoulder (based on his thunderous wiffs at the pitches and there is nothing wrong with his lower legs based on some great running catches he has made. CB will be a free agt at the end of this year. The Dodgers are paying him $16m for this season. If he ends up hitting .218, 16 dingers and 42 rbi(s), what would YOU PAY HIM if you decide to make him another contract offer.
Look forward to all of your thoughts and suggestions. Just 1 remaining thought experiment. With the shift on, what would you think of Cody trying to lay down at least 1 bunt attempt per game. I don’t think his batting average would object…………the question is, can his ego accept that type of improvement to his game ?
1. Cody will not be a Free Agent until 2024.
2. He should only swing at strikes, so he needs to improve his eye.
3. He will be fine…. give him a couple more weeks.
4. I have seen him go the other way quite often.
5. A bunt is fine!
And today Belli chased two high fastballs from Floro that were balls.
Seems like there are a few holes in his swing. I kind of marvel at his MVP season. Can he ever get back up to that quality of production?
He’s hitting below .200 now. He’s a lot better than that. ….
Oh, Taylor just singled… Lux coming up.
1-1 score in the 8th inning, one out…
Yes! Taylor steals!
OK Lux, a chance for redemption….
Oh well. Another strike out. And again, Lux fails against a lefty.
And Pujols draws the intentional walk.
Barnes up to pinch hit, while fans here are saying he should be traded…. Oh, the suspense.
* What time is the varsity game today? There are some games that Doc just seems determined to piss away. For starters, I’m confused as to why Muncy, Bellinger and Mookie need the same day off with 6 games remaining before the all-star break? Despite this lame line up, we damn near won the game when “the reserves” got into the game.
*I think there are 40,320 possible line ups with 8 guys so Doc has barely scratched the surface.
* You always need about 4 second basemen with McKinstry now. Muncy, Lux and CT3 apparently just aren’t enough.
* Striker, like other Dodger pitchers, feels there is little need in holding runners at first. The Marlins just tapped down the starting blocks and ran early and often. His consistent 1.45 to 1.47 gives Smith no shot, even with a good throw, which he didn’t make all night. Lux’s muffed tag attempt on his best effort, a short hop into the runner, led to an error. 7 bags stolen off Buehler in 5 starts really needs to be addressed. Every walk and base hit is a double. There are ways to fix this.
* So if stealing is so easy, why don’t we do it? Is it because other teams hold runners and we don’t bother?
* Maybe Mike Muchlinski is the worse balls and strike umpire ever.
* It’s refreshing to get analysis from the hitters perspective from Nomar.
* How about the idea of starting Price and not call him an opener? Just a pitcher. Try to start stretching him out and get what you can, 3 or 4 with 60 pitches. Don’t keep using him for 2 innings max.
* Damn I’m sure a grump today. I just hate losing games like last night.
So do I, Especially when you have a team on the ropes and let them off. Instead of making that reliever work for his strikes, Taylor helped him out by swinging at bad pitches. And Pollock did not even come close to making hard contact. Game starts at 7:10 EST. Which is 5:10 here. I think they are more likely to trade for a starter than anything else. They have a lot of BP arms, but with all due respect to Pepiot and Gray, they have no arms at AAA even close to being MLB ready except journeyman Mike Kickham. Rarely has a starter at AA level come to the majors and done a good job, They do not need on the job trainees, they need guys who can give them innings. Prospects are nothing more than that until they prove they can do the job. And I do not think those kids are ready for the big time. Maybe next year.
Being in CO as well I like the 5oclock games. Work ends, games starts, get to bed at a decent hour.
Dodgers have signed Neftali Feliz to a minor league contract.
The first of what I would assume to be a number of “veteran” pitchers who will be joining the organization this month.
Barnes isn’t going anywhere this season. He’s under contract this season for $1.65 MM and for $2.65 MM in 2022 and is a free agent in 2023. He has played significant innings every post-season and I expect the same this year.
Maybe they trade him in the offseason but his knowledge of the pitchers makes it tough to trade him in the middle of a season.
The Bauer situation potentially puts the Dodgers in a bind. It’s possible that he’s not back this year. Gonsolin seems like his shoulder isn’t 100%. They are uninterested in stretching Price out for whatever reason. With May out for the year, they are down to 3 healthy starters if Bauer stays out.
Gray is still coming off his own shoulder injury and they won’t rush him for short-term gain. If they make a deadline deal, maybe it’s for a starting pitcher.
Dodgers Sign Former Rookie of the Year Pitcher Neftalí Feliz
Feliz??? the few times I have watched him pitch this season, he has been terrible. Has to be nothing but a depth move.
Souza DFA’d. Dodgers call up reliever Jake Reed???? from AAA OKC. Reed is 28, and has a plus 5 ERA at OKC in 21 games. He has one save. Gives them a short bench again. 12 position players and 14 pitchers. Never have liked that short roster.
DODGERS SELECT JAKE REED
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Jake Reed and designated outfielder Steven Souza Jr. for assignment.
Reed, 28, will be on the active roster for the first time in his career and his next appearance will be his Major League debut. The righty from La Mesa, CA appeared in nine games for the Oklahoma City Dodgers, going 0-0 with a 2.61 ERA (3 ER/10.1 IP) and 11 strikeouts. He was acquired by the Dodgers on June 4, 2021 after being released by the Los Angeles Angels on June 2. In 17 minor league games with the Angels and Dodgers, he is a combined 0-0 with one save and a 5.57 ERA (13 ER/21.0 IP) this year. He has spent parts of eight seasons in the minors, recording a 19-14 record with a 3.73 ERA (142 ER/342.2 IP) and 360 strikeouts. He was originally drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the fifth round of the 2014 First Year Player Draft out of the University of Oregon.
Souza Jr., 32, appeared in 13 games for the Dodgers, batting .160 with one homer and two RBI. He has spent parts of six seasons in the Major Leagues, slashing .231/.321/.4165 with 72 homers and 205 RBI in 495 games. He was originally drafted in the third round of the 2007 First Year Player Draft by the Washington Nationals out of Cascade High School in Everett, WA.
Whoa, another Duck.
Interesting article on Jake Reed:
https://www.startribune.com/jake-reed-s-switch-to-sidearm-delivery-was-investment-in-his-career/570236302/
Souza will catch on with another team. The Dodgers gave him a chance.
Reed? I have no opinion!
Who?
Steven Souza Jr. He hit a HR in the series with the Diamondbacks. Don’t you watch the games? He was a former Ray who hit 30 HR’s with them one year. Was signed as a free agent by the D-Backs and tore up his knee on a play at the plate. He has been rehabbing for the better part of 3 years.
Talking about Reed.
Never heard of him.
[Look up “antecedent”]
Me neither, welcome to the club
I was wondering why AF chose to bring up a guy that most of us had never heard of, but I see from the video which Mark posted above that Reed is a side armer. They like they idea of different looks out of the pen, so that might explain why Reed jumped ahead of a few of the others.
Makes sense. And Reed did well.
I do like AF’s habit of giving overlooked and rehabbing guys a shot. A 29-year-old minor leaguer finally reaching The Show is reason for cheer.
Plus, his wife will probably win gold on the USA softball team. So it will help balance the scales a bit.
Tonight’s lineup in Miami against the fish:
RF Mookie
1B Max
3B Justin
CF Cody
C Will
2B Chris
SS Gavin
LF AJ
P Tony
Short bench: Albert, Austin, Matt and Zach
The 99 cent store comments reminded me of the time for my birthday my son got me a 98 cent gift card to the 99 cent store!
Cassidy I don’t see anything wrong with that. My son makes up the greeting card on his computer and E-Mails it to me AND we live in the same home. It’s really the thought that counts, isn’t it?
Me neither, I send them all the time, along with e cards
DODGERS RECALL GARRETT CLEAVINGER
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers recalled left-handed pitcher Garrett Cleavinger and placed left-handed pitcher Victor González on the 10-day injured list with left plantar fasciitis.
Cleavinger, 27, returns for his fourth stint with the club after being optioned last night. On the season, he is 2-3 with a 2.03 ERA (3 ER/13.1 IP) and 15 strikeouts in 15 games. He was acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies in the three-team trade with the Tampa Bay Rays and Phillies on December 20, 2020. He was originally drafted in the 3rd round of the 2015 First Year Player Draft by the Phillies out of the University of Oregon.
González, 25, has appeared in 36 games for the Dodgers posting a 3-1 record with a 2.57 ERA (8 ER/28.0 IP) and 26 strikeouts against 15 walks. He suffered his first career loss last night after beginning his Major League career with a 6-0 record. In two seasons with the Dodgers, he is 6-1 with a 2.05 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 48.1 Innings. He was originally signed as an international free agent on July 2, 2012 by the Dodgers.
Plantar fasciitis cured in 10 days?? I’ve been trying to get rid of mine for years.
If that is really his ailment, it will take quite some time to fix.
Plantar fasciitis is the code word for over used and needs a rest.
Ding ding ding
Isn’t tomorrow the last day the Dodgers can stash Tsutsugo at AAA?
Not sure, if he had options remaining, they can keep him there as long as they like
I think they can keep him at AAA for 20 days on rehab assignment. He last appeared in a game on July 4 which would be the 19th day.
Sayonara
Jays trade 1st baseman Rowdy Telez to the Brewers for 2 players.
Best thing about Rowdy Tellez is his name.
Four strikeouts in two innings unacceptable. Nobody’s taking the two strike approach anymore. Man I hate strikeouts
There we go I guess their ears were burning
Lux,,,,,,Maybe not
Mookie needs to get his act together and soon.
WAR may be flawed, but it ain’t crap.
Go down the list of top 25 WAR performers and you won’t find a weak example. I know of no other metric that attempts to combine and judge offensive and defensive performance.
Speaking of advanced stats/impressions….
I don’t know whether to trust MLB’s “GameDay” feature or not. I use it often, following games in my local coffeehouse. Anyway, is it true that Lux, facing a full count with runners on first and second just swung at third strike that was a foot off the plate? If so, well, crap. Just when it looked like Lux is getting his act together…
Just noticed that Pollock followed that with another strikeout, but my man Gonsolin got a hit, loading the bases for Mookie.
And Mookies strikes out too.
But, unless GameDay is lying, it was Lux who really screwed the pooch. Dodgers wind up with one run when they could have had 3 or 4.
I prefer what I see day. Mookie screwed the pooch also
And as far as Pollock is concerned he won’t leave that pooch alone
Yes the pitch to Lux was way off the plate. He chased big-time.
For me right now there is no more confounding Dodger than AJ Pollock. His ABs are nearly unwatchable. He’s a complete “rollover” right now, almost never battling to get the count into a competitive count and swings wildly without a game plan at all. Sit his butt down Doc…………………please.
I agree totally. People want to compare him to Lux or McKinstray. Those guys are rookies he’s getting paid to be a professional hitter and he is woefully lacking for the money he’s being paid
Stats suggest McKinstry and Pollock would make a good platoon.
I figured a long time ago that Lux and Pollock would be the weak links in the starting lineup.
I know it’s just the sucky Marlins but Gonsolin looked good today.
One more strikeout and it’s free Jumbo Jack.
Would that be when the Dodger pitchers get 10 K’s or when Pollock K’s four times? Asking for a friend.
Gee I got mixed up. It’s when OUR guys mow down THEIR guys 10 times. Ugh!
I agree with Mookie. BAD!
Ugh….. Lux botches it again.
Score tied.
Crap.
Bad managing by Doc so far in the series against the Marlins.
Just to give two examples Reed had no business pitching in a tight game today and Souza had no business starting yesterday.
Agree. Gonsolin could have finished the 6th inning and Reed should be brought along slowly with his first MLB game. Over managing by Doc. Reed doesn’t impress with his kinda sidearm delivery with a FB at 87 MPH. Color me not impressed, but then again Nate Jones pitched well in his Dodger debut and he’s now a former Dodger.
Mookie better get his shit together, dude looks entirely tied up in knots.
If he’s not injured he must have personal or family problems, something is really bugging that dude
Another pitch too close to take
And, according to Monday, Lux follows the physical error with a mental error, failing to get in proper position for a cutoff, thus allowing a hitter to get second. (Team game, of course, but Lux has also messed up reliever Jake Reed’s ML debut, too.)
Oh, Dylan Floro now warming up.
He’d probably like to beat his old team.
My ass puckered when that ball came off the bat from Alfaro
NorCal hit it on the head “pollock is unwatchable” . For me he just looks so lethargic just no fire. He can’t hit a righty slider and he can’t hit fastball up and in. He swings at pitches out of the zone refuses to walk. But, Betts is about as bad along with Bellinger. I have been a big supporter of Bellinger but man he will try your patience. Betts as an all star is embarrassing but it is a fans game. I don’t watch them and if I did I wouldn’t want to watch Betts strike out.
Who are these guys?
All things must Pass.
Hopefully !!
Starling Marte hit by a pitch. Ugh. Buhler hit him a couple days ago with two outs in the 3rd–and it turned into a big inning.
I have a bad feeling about this.
But if AF wants to upgrade the offense from the right side, Marte could be a longshot consideration. Supposedly wants to sign longterm with Marlins–he must really like Miami–but they could trade him.
As an offensive weapon, I’d rate him over Taylor, Pollock, Lux, McKinstry, Beatty. Look at it this way: He takes Souza’s spot. Possible lineup would put him at CF, with Belli shifting to 1B, and Muncy to 2B. Taylor and Lux could platoon at SS until Seager returns. (I think he has experience at 2B too.)
Odds of this happening are very slim. But of all the proven bats that might be available, he really stands out.
Good observation. But as you said unlikely
Holy crap how have the Marlins not moved yet?!??!?!?
Just seeing Mattingly reminds me of the lamentable McCourt, Colletti and Mattingly days.
I’m sure Don is better in his field than the other two, but he’s not my cup of tea.
Feels like a walk off for the Marlins. Alexander pitching on back-to-back nights after just coming off the IL. Gotta bad feeling about this.
Another one run loss! Hard to believe this team is 20 games over .500 getting nothing from Seager and Bellinger and very little from Betts!
They win a few in a row and they all start patting each other on the back
You know what Harvey Keitel would say
Going into Miami thinking there in the catbird seat
I hope the bullpen can bail our offense out
“I’m hungry; let’s get a taco”?
Smith got a gift by the passed ball hitting the umpire’s shin guard and then throws a ball away in in the 10th. Someone should tell him to drop his ass and be a backstop and play the freaking ball off the chest. For all of the full season offensive comparisons to Piazza, his defense flat out sucks.
How about turner should be able to block a throw. We wouldn’t have been in the situation if lux makes play at short. Our defense and offense suck. Mattingly getting revenge and Jimi Garcia.
Miami said go fuck yourself. And we said OK we will
Smith screwed the pooch there was no reason for him to throw the ball in a hurry we had two outs. He should’ve never tried to back hand the ball in the first place
If you’re watching the Dodgers on SNLA. You got a love Jerry Harriston’s passion
For those who out of the market for the post game show please share what he had to say.
He was talking about the way catchers don’t block the ball and they try to backhand it. He was livid
and he is right. Smith ‘s glove is suspect. Remember game #4 in the WS. Despite CT3’s kick of the base hit it was Smith who “wiffed” on the throw home to allow Arozerena to score. Perhaps it’s time to find Smith a different defensive position and call up Ruiz
UGH. What a sucky game.
A lot of screw ups in this one. Just heard the bit about Turner failing to run on a blast to the wall–that he thought he had an HR and wound up with a single. Terrible. And terrible leadership too.
My gripe re Roberts: Why, as the visiting team, try to sacrifice in the 10th with a runner at 2B? Why try to cede the out when Taylor could have singled in the run?
Even if the math slightly favors playing for one run, the Marlins could still easily tie the score, or win, when they come up. What is the one-run advantage when the opponent starts with a runner on 2B? If you’re the home team, playing for one makes a lot more sense.
Unlike many people here, I like the extra-inning rule change. It adds instant suspense and forces the action. It’s still baseball. (The OT solutions for hockey and soccer really don’t seem like those sports at all–more like a glorified drill.)
Shades of Game 5
That was a team effort losing this game. But, geez JT, you got to smother that throw. I agree that Will shouldn’t have thrown it in the first place and I don’t like him dropping to one knee either. Who freaking teaches this?
How do you only score one run with 9 hits and 5 walks?
It seems like that early start on the 4th really messed with them. They’ve played like crap two games in a row.
Florida, man
Dodgers have called up Darien Nunez. He is 5-0 at OKC with a 2.70 ERA. I believe MT predicted a couple of weeks ago he would be up at some point this year. MT’s head is now going to get bigger than it already is…..just kidding, but good luck to the kid. We’ll see him tomorrow and we should probably see Smith sitting his ass on the bench watching some Steve Yeager and Mike Scioscia “how to block the pitch in the dirt” videos.
Who’s he replacing?
Not sure at this point
Uceta maybe
Vesia–3 more Ks
Knack–6 scoreless IP
Ward–still balling
6 pitchers used out of the pen last night and a bullpen game coming up today. Even with all those up and down roster moves this will backfire at some point.
And it is becoming painfully obvious that Bellinger has been figured out by opposing teams.
2 more 1 run defeats against an inferior team. What is our record now in 1 run games ? I dread to look it up but must be really, really bad.
Only positive thing beside catmans pitching the Giants lost again.
Cartaya with another bomb last night. When will they promote him to high A ball ?
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bad game all the way around, but your offense cannot continually leave men on base like they have the last two nights. Their at bats with men on base have been forgettable. Lux cannot hit lefty’s and should not be in there against them. But we all knew this team had holes. The bullpen did their job, the defense let them down.
Lux is coming along nicely. He has problems vs lefties but so do many LH hitters.
Bellinger is not hitting lefty or righties though. He is the biggest weakness in our lineup right now because he does not hit like the middle of the order batter he should be on this team.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!