Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds is a book about the history of popular folly by Charles Mackay. The book chronicles its targets in three parts: “National Delusions,” “Peculiar Follies,” and “Philosophical Delusions.” It attempts to educate the reader as to why intelligent people do amazingly stupid things when caught up in speculative endeavors. It explores how easily we can be misled and how illogically we can think when popular opinion influences us.
Mackay’s central theme in the book is that the tendency of humans to develop a herd mentality which leads individuals in the herd to act and react to various stimuli. The reactions are very similar and predictable and this “madness” leads to a downward spiral with undesirable effects. His book highlights several stories from the history of various manias that took place. There are lessons to be learned from them in the present day.
Across Western Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries, many witch trials took place. The trials came about because, at the time, bad luck was attributed to supernatural causes. This mass-superstition proved to be extremely dangerous with thousands of innocent people dying as a result of the cases. Many of the trials had very low standards of evidence and often came about as a way to settle old scores between neighbors or acquaintances.
In England, a self-styled “Witch-Finder General” named Matthew Hopkins traveled around East Anglia, making a point of appearing wherever there was an accusation of somebody being a witch. He would assist the judges with his knowledge on witches, leading to them carrying out many miscarriages of justice. He charged a large sum for his services, using the fear of witchcraft, which had spread like wildfire amongst the public, to extort money from the local authorities. He received extra money for identifying a witch and devised tests such as tying the accused’s hands and feet together and putting them in the river. If they sank, they were innocent (but drowned). If they floated, they were deemed to be a witch and burnt at the stake.
Modern-day witch hunts continue to this day. There is evidence of this all around us. From entire groups of people being persecuted in various parts of the world to the online abuse of individuals where the pitchforks have been replaced with keyboards. When a person is accused and identified on social media, there is often no fair trial, no hearing of both sides of the story, and no critical analysis. When sharing information online, we need to be careful, especially if that information condemns or vilifies another individual. Nobody wants to be the target of a witch hunt, but we should also not want to participate in one. This is not a witch hunt.
In an interesting twist to the witch-finder story, the imposter Matthew Hopkins met an untimely death due to his own notoriety, using his own witch-finding method. An angry mob from a village he was visiting believed that to find so many witches, he must have been a wizard who had acquired a book from Satan. The book listed all the names of the so-called witches and he was therefore working with the devil. He was thrown in the river and tested using his own method. Some say that he sank, others say that he floated and was then tried and executed. What’s sure is that either way, he met his demise at the hands of the angry mob.
Today’s blog is about “Hating Dave Roberts Mania and Why You Should Seek Help“. I have kidded about that in the past, but I am not kidding today. I know very few of the people on this blog, but there are a few who spew hatred of Dave Roberts as if they are Racists against persons of Black and Asian descent. Of course, Dave Roberts is both, having an Asian mother and a Black father. The vitriol that they spew is both irrational and dangerous.
No matter what Dave Roberts does, it is wrong, but sometimes he gets away with it and he wins in spite of himself. That is what they believe and if the Dodgers win, it is in spite of Dave Roberts and if they lose it is because of Dave Roberts. Last night, the Mets were the recipients of some bloop, soft contact, lucky hits. It happens in baseball, but some morons (yes, you are morons) have such an irrational hatred of Dave Roberts that they create scenarios in their small minds to blame everything on him.
Look, Dave Roberts makes plenty of mistakes. We all do. Every manager has, does, and will continue to do so. However, in the instant case of Dave Roberts, to continually criticize him brands you as a Racist, a fool, a mental midget, a deranged person, or maybe all of the above. It’s hard to hear such drivel, over-and-over-and-over-and-over. You don’t have to like Dave Roberts. I have no desire to meet him. I had a desire to meet Tommy Lasorda and I did. Dave Roberts? Nah!
However, he has the highest winning percentage of any active manager and is #2 on the all-time list, with a .612 winning percentage. Of course, you will say that it’s is because he has such a good team. You evidently believe that if it weren’t for his stupidity the Dodger would win 162 games! As if no other manager had such a great team?
I am not saying you cannot criticize Dave Roberts, but when all you do is criticize the guy ad nauseum, it gets old very quickly and screams “I need mental help!” Now, I get that second-guessing baseball moves is a National Pastime to some, but Damn… Every Move? That is a compulsion or sickness. Maybe I have a different viewpoint because I run a multi-million (not billion) dollar company. I understand how easy it is to criticize moves I make from the “cheap seats.” Everyone is an expert… or so they think!
However, if you do decide that you will want to criticize Dave Robert’s every move, I suggest that you get a tattoo… so that we can all understand where you are coming from. If not, seek help!
Have a nice day!
Dodger News
- I am sure that Mookie Betts has the best physicians, but there are miniminally invasive arthroscopic options for hip bone spurs that could be performed and have him ready fpr the playoffs… maybe! Of course, one of the leading causes of bone supurs is the onset of arthritis, but that is not always true. I really doubt they do anything until after the saeson, but it does not look promising for him THIS year.
- V-Gone could be back this weekend, as could Gavin Lux.
- Justin Yurchak who hit .356 at Great Lakes is now hitting .432 with a .479 OB% and a 1.116 OPS at Tulsa. The 24-year-old LH 1B acts like he wants to get his ticked punched at The Show.
- Gus Varland pitched 3 innings and allowed 1 hit last night at Tulsa.
- 6′ 7″ Mark Washington pitchd 2 scoreless innings for Tulsa and struck out 4. He has a 2.31 ERA.
I blame Roberts for the win last night! All the experts (LADT) know that you can’t pitch Jansen in back to back games and especially not for 2 innings. What an idiot!
From what I’ve read regarding the surgery involved, much depends on the spur itself and how much damage has been done. What leaped into my mind, right past the “stupid” tattoo I got talked into getting, (I’m sober now) was “why was this not found and treated a month ago”
We still need more information of course, you can never have enough data, right?, but I read yesterday “no surgery”. Then what is the scripted remedy? If the surgery is simple he could be back for the playoffs. Why aren’t they cleaning the area up? Is it because it wouldn’t be a simple procedure? Because surgery takes him out for the year?
Bullpen got roughed up. And, why did Roberts look surprised when Matt Beaty stepped into the box? Somebody screwed up.
Good read this morning. Much to think about. Thanks Mark.
There is an excellent article by Ed Yong in the Atlantic titled “How the Pandemic Ends”. No matter how you feel about vaccines, I recommend the read.
I know EVERYONE loved Lasorda, evn though he had his faults. Buyt since then has there been any time that the general opinion of the manager has been positive? No matter who it is. So there is something to be said about being the manager of good vs bad teams. Joe Torre the best ever when he mangaed the Yanks, But not so good before that. Don Mattingly etc
But did people love Lasorda because of his managing skills or because of who he was?
Id argue they loved the persona of Tommy and not his baseball accument. LA fans loved him and everyone else hated him. LOL. He was a personality, did commercials, was on The Tonight Show, etc. He was a celebrity in LA and really around the country. Can’t think of another sports “coach” outside of college sports that has ever had his profile.
I STILL will go to YouTube and listen to some of his rants to players, media, etc. and still laugh like hell. Tommy made the F word seem eloquent!
There will never be another Tommy Lasorda because times have changed and he would be fired 20 seconds after one of his tirades.
Tough words, Mark…..but certainly worthy to be considered and reflected upon.
I don’t usually comment during the game, and I certainly avoid being impulsive when upset, so I save my comments for after the game. So, my thoughts about Doc’s decisions from last night are this:
1. I don’t blame him for going with the southpaw Bruihl to face several lefties coming up. Bruihl has been awesome since coming up and his pitch location seems to be anti-home run, so I was okay going with him. It was too bad two guys got two bloop singles just in front of Cody. S**t happens!
2. I would have been okay if he stuck with Grat for 1-2 more hitters as well.
3. I was not surprised when Jansen came out to pitch the 10th because his pitch count was so low after the 9th inning. He only threw 19 pitches total for both innings. I like when Jansen doesn’t fool around and goes after them.
Conclusion: I give Doc a B+ for his bullpen decisions last night (would have been an A if he at least allowed Grat to pitch to one more batter to see if he could close the inning.)
Mark, I feel the need to add this one thought so there is no misunderstanding of your intention from your rebuke….are you saying that “anyone” who displays an incessant hate for Doc does it out of a spirit of racism?
I’m sure some may fit into that hole, but it is my feeling the majority of those who display hate toward Doc is merely because that person believes Doc is incompetent in making critical decisions, and is not connected to his skin color or nationality. Having said this, I am not speaking about or judging anyone here. I draw my conclusions from basically all my communication with Dodgers fans from all media sources! Like Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, etc. I’ve only been here a few weeks and the only person I feel I really know is Pooh Bear. Obviously he doesn’t fit that unhealthy mold.
I think he was going to use Beaty just in case McKinney hadn’t drive the run, but a run scored and 2 outs, why waste a batter? That’s why I thought about letting Urias hit and in the next inning still use the bullpen, and how stupid are some ESPN commentators who were already criticizing Roberts for taking Julio out of the game so early, these idiots do not understand and do not know the situation, Julio will only throw a maximum of 5 innings for the remainder of the season to take care of his arm, and thus be able to avoid as much as possible that in the playoffs he has what is called “dead arm”
Please, comparing Roberts with Lasorda is absurd and unfair, they were very different times, very different offices, very different teams, the game was simpler, you cannot compare them!
Great words, Jorge. I am very happy to see LA limit Urias’ pitch count too. Smart. He won’t be much good in the playoffs with a dead arm.
Geez, Mark. You really play fair. You spout all this garbage year round about Covid & Biden & boycotts & Trevor Bauer and then as soon as someone posts their own crackpot ideas you call them “Racist” [sic].
1. You need some help with reading comprehension. I never called anyone racist.
2. What garbage about COVID?
3. I voiced my opinion of the All-Star Game being moved and my distaste for Manfred and Biden.
4. I have only reported what we know about Trevor Bauer.
Everything I have talked about has been within the confines of the Dodgers and baseball and COVID, All Star Boycotts, and Trevor Bauer are all part of that.
I don’t care if someone says they don’t like Roberts or even want him fired, but it is ridiculous to blame EVERYTHING on him. That is the problem.
Took your ball and went home last night eh Mark
I guess so. Enough irrationality for the night!
I understand totally Mark. I have seen what happens when the site administrator lets things get out of hand.
Thank you for not deleting my comment. I respect your willingness to let others speak their minds. If I had my own blog I’m sure I’d ruffle some feathers. In the end we all have more in common than not. So cheers.
It’s asinine, of course, for a critic of Roberts to be labeled “racist” because he criticizes his ability as a manager. But let’s read this again:
“However, in the instant case of Dave Roberts, to continually criticize him brands you as a Racist, a fool, a mental midget, a deranged person, or maybe all of the above.”
Really? I’d wager there are many Roberts critics who never get insulted like that. But of course, these people don’t operate a popular blog where we are all armchair managers and GMs. (Speaking of GMs, I hope nobody here thinks the way Al Campanis did. He certainly didn’t consider himself racist and many people agreed. And yet he said what he said, and when Ted Koppel gave him a chance to get himself out of the hole he had dug, he proceeded to cluelessly did deeper.)
I don’t have a strong opinion whether Roberts is a good manager or not, but I suspect most of us here think his career would be more illustrious if not for the cheating Trashtros. Also Kershaw’s.
Speaking of cheating–and since Mark declared his distaste for Biden–I hope everyone is paying attention to the mounting evidence that the guy who inspired the “stop the steal” movement was the one actually trying to steal the election. It wasn’t just trying to pressure Georgia’s REPUBLICAN Secretary of State to “find” more votes even after three counts and certification. It was also the attempt to weaponize the DOJ to falsely claim that, without evidence, there election was corrupt in the swing states. The good news is that some patriotic Americans didn’t agree to participate in this conspiracy to undermine democracy–but the conspiracy still set the stage for the Jan. 6 MAGA mob incited by a man who still professes his love for these criminals.
But back to baseball…..
Feels good that Belli came through with the big hit and that Rockies beat the Giants–oh,
and that Gilbert no-hit the Pads!
And I was cheered also by the way that Miguel Vargas keeps crushing the pitching in Tulsa. Three years from now, we could see an infield of Muncy, Busch (maybe!), Trea Turner and Vargas, with Smith catching, backed by Cartaya (maybe!) and an OF of Mookie, Belli and Pages (maybe!).
I asked my cousin, who’s an orthopedic surgeon here in LA.
He said Mookie should be back this year and be able to play, but later on down the line (not sure how far down the line that is), he may need a hip replacement .
Is that WITH arthroscopic surgery Bobby?
Good observation Jorge. I too think Urias should be on a pitch count. Actually I’d like to see him get 10 days off, but we may not have the depth to do that. My question is, if not regarding Beaty pinch hitting, why was Roberts out there pleading a case with the home ump?
Julio went on IL, so he’ll get some rest. One start or two?
I am not as worried as many here that he may wear down. He’s been very good and I would keep riding that horse when he is healthy.
He, Buhler, Scherzer are the key starters now–6 or 7 innings from each would be great. Price is good for maybe 4 inning. When will Hamels be ready? And Duffy? What’s the latest on Kersh?
I would be shocked if Bauer returns.
Red Sox Designate Marwin Gonzalez For Assignment, Activate Kyle Schwarber
One good year while cheating made a career
F that guy
Roberts is always the idiot when players don’t perform but never the genius when they do. And where is the ire towards AF for not providing Roberts with enough quality depth at the end of the bench and the bullpen? And if it wasn’t for Roberts the dang Giants wouldn’t be so good this year! Have I left anything out?
May have to pick up that book, Mark.
I usually get my wisdom from Jack Reacher books.
I guess we can cross the Giants off the list of teams that may pursue Cory Seager.
1 – Not to get political, but tech titans Twitter and Facebook are excoriated for shutting down anyone whose statements/opinions are inconsistent with management’s. But it’s OK if LADT does it apparently. That’s what happened last night.
2 – And now if you don’t approve of Dave Roberts you might be a racist because he’s black and Asian? This place is getting pretty woke.
3 – My view of Roberts hasn’t really changed. He was hired in large part to communicate the front office’s instructions about what to do or how to do it and to get buy in from the team, and to keep morale high, because the statheads in the front office have a non-traditional view of baseball that many players don’t necessarily like. Roberts has been very good at the job of Dodger Manager the way that it’s currently designed.
4 – Roberts is not a great X’s and O’s manager. But the Dodgers have what is probably the best analytics department in baseball so mostly he doesn’t have to be.
1. Certain people blame Roberts for EVERYTHING. I have not kicked them out. I just shut the site down to show my displeasure. You can bash Doc all you want, but it’s not his fault your coffee was cold.
2. When someone has an irrational obsession with another person, it COULD be racist. I did not say it was. Racism is irrational, so the comparison exists.
3. & 4 . Totally agree!
Interesting take rick.
Not to get political, but I recently read an article on the history of the word “woke” and learned a lot. I was most struck by these words:
“Woke is no longer a Black word. In a matter of a few short years, it went from a soulful signifier of Black consciousness, to a sneering dog whistle of anti-Blackness used against anyone who might argue for a world where Black lives do, indeed, matter. “
Also, it might sound picky to some but the analogy of Roberts not being an X’s and O’s guy, but relies on analytics I find somewhat contradictory. X’s and O’s, a football term to me, is indeed about analytics. It’s about seeking advantage through studying tendencies. In baseball, that’s why the shifts and the bullpen matchups. Roberts IS a good manager because he knows how to take advantage. His wining percentage proves it. To me anyway.
The Dodgers are currently limited by their bench of course, I think we all agree on that. But looking at the box score something leaped out me. JT and Mookie are missing of course, ouch, but we had 4 players OPS’n below league average and one of them is our leadoff hitter Trea Turner. His OBP with us is .276. That won’t work going forward, and I trust it will improve. Bellinger at .628 will also improve. I don’t think Beaty, Barnes and McKinney will.
I think we can tread water without Mookie for a month. But we need both Turner’s in there doing what they do to have a chance at the Division. That’s my opinion anyway. I could be wrong.
“Woke” is the new “pc”–an easy punching bag for rightwingers, many of whom do not want actual American history to be taught in American schools, but just the happy Disney version. The anti-woke seem to think “Gone With the Wind” is more accurate than “12 Years a Slave.” Would anti-woke Catholic have preferred that their church kept succeeding in covering up the crimes of hundreds of pedophile priests?
Perhaps you heard about The Former Guy saying the USA women’s soccer team lost in the Olympics because it is “woke.” Canada got the gold–and I bet that team is so “woke” they’re glad that mass shooting seem to only happen south of their border, and that their country is handling covid better too.
I would much rather be “woke” that asleep and dreaming fantasies that have no relationship to reality.
Good points Dodgerrick.
The comments by Bulldog and others criticizing Roberts decisions did not seem out of line to me. Last nights game was extremely frustrating to lose a 4 run lead so quickly. I did not like removing Urias so early and giving such a quick hook to Graterol after 9 pitches. That is my baseball opinion and has nothing to do with race.
In my view, Dave Roberts is a great person, a good communicator and keeps a very positive tone. However, I think his in game decisions are often questionable, especially around pitching. This may have something to do with his playing experience when he was not a pitcher or a catcher. Or it may be that the front office actually makes these decisions or dictates the scenarios. Or I may just be wrong because I watch the Dodgers more than other teams.
But a blog should allow leeway for opinions on baseball. Even opinions that differ with the host and founder.
I enjoy Mark’s comments and almost always agree with his opinions.
But I disagree with shutting down the site because a few people may criticize the manager. And a vehemently disagree with labeling regular guests as racist just because they question a manager’s decisions.
In the future, on any questionable in game decisions, I will direct the criticism to Friedman since it is unclear who actually is making the calls. And I want to be clear that there is no racism in the commentary.
1. Again, I never called anyone a racist.
2. Jorge Valenzuela understands why Urias was taken out of the game when he said ““how stupid are some ESPN commentators who were already criticizing Roberts for taking Julio out of the game so early, these idiots do not understand and do not know the situation, Julio will only throw a maximum of 5 innings for the remainder of the season to take care of his arm, and thus be able to avoid as much as possible that in the playoffs he has what is called “dead arm””
I was called a racist once by a good friend of mine, whom I no longer communicate with. He said I was a racist because I disliked Obama. It had nothing to do with the color of his skin. It had to do with his politics. I have had far too many friends of color to be a racist. And unfortunately my friend was just talking out of his heinie.
Sounds like I missed A LOT last night. I posted about Seager’s beautiful AB and double & then never went back on. And at the end I realized that I really like that drama, high, low, back up again. It sucks we have mostly been on the losing end of these types games. But when you win them, they are fun and special.
cheers
pb+
FYI;
Trevor Bauer, the star Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher under investigation for alleged sexual assault in California, was the subject of a temporary order of protection sought by a different woman last year, according to sealed court records reviewed by The Washington Post.
An Ohio woman sought the order in June 2020 after repeated threats from the then-Cincinnati Reds pitcher, according to her lawyer and records separately obtained by The Post. Photographs independently obtained by The Post also show bruises on the woman’s face and blood in her eyes, which her attorney said was caused by Bauer punching and choking her during sex without consent
I just read that. I wonder if Bauer paid her off?
That throws a whole new light on everything now doesn’t it?
Inadmissible!
Prior acts of criminality are not admissible to prove that a person committed a similar crime.
Of course most people believe they are, but, you know, law. Law has its own way of looking at things.
Agreed this is a different case. However, repeat offensives, if true, could warrant a stiff penalty from MLB.
He’s already been suspended.
Time served!
Play ball.
There are ways around that… sometimes. Maybe… Maybe Not!
https://law.lclark.edu/live/files/25189-ncvli-newsletter—when-prior-bad-acts-are
Accusations are one thing, convictions is another. He’s an incredibly rich single guy who clearly has issues. He’s could be an easy target for a certain collective.
That said, things are slowly changing.
Wow! You are “on it.” That was just posted 30 minutes ago.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/08/14/trevor-bauer-ohio-protection-order/
This changes everything.
If verified, that presents a whole new situation and is likely the end of Trevor Bauer.
Even if it’s only one woman, this is a “pattern” and it will lead to his demise. I think MLB now has reason to suspend him pending adjudication.
I am sure his teammates will not have him back under any circumstances.
“This changes everything.”
One would think so. But…..
I would think the Dodgers would have known about this before they signed him. If not, shame on them. If so, then a big shame on them. And, if so, what the hell were they thinking? This is something that a reporter needs to dig into.
Personally I do not think Bauer has the reps as a Dodger to be labeled a star, he is more of a 104 million dollar public relations disaster. I quit following his case when he was given the extended admin leave by MLB, and when the other day, they extended it to August 20th, he is completely out of the picture and persona non grata in my eyes.
Perhaps the greatest sign of a weak and nonexistent point attempting to be made…………racism. LOL
Also, quickly becoming one of the most useless words that use to actually mean something.
Mark, Roberts IS a beneficiary of a loaded team over his tenure. That does not mean that he is not still a decent to good manager. That same can be said for any manager that has routinely among the highest number of players into the All Star game and many more that don’t get in.
Are you saying the Roberts would have this winning percentage that you wax and shine almost daily if he managed the Mariners, Rockies, Mets, or any other team that has had a mediocre amount of success over the last 6-8 years? Of course not is the logical assumption, although we will never know for sure. Perhaps Robert’s brilliance would have made those, and most any by your logic, into perennial playoff contenders.
Would you also concede that there more than a few managers that could have guided these LA teams over the past few years into the playoffs against a rather weak NL West, or was Roberts the only one that was capable?
Please clarify.
Would Phil Jackson have all those rings if he coached the Nets, Kings, or another team all those years? Or was he just maybe a tad fortunate to have some of the best players in the history of the sport on his teams?
I don’t know what would have happened if Kapler, or anyone else, would have gotten the job all those moons ago. I do know what HAS happened though. Yes, they won last year but with this team, they really should have more. Is there really anyone that disagrees with that? Do you Mark? Are you making the case that this LA team over the last 6-7 years should be happy and content with their one title?
Yes, cheating in 2017 and the Sox were just a much better team in 2018 (only one game though) but were all the other teams over the years that they lost to? Nope, they can’t win every year and the better team does not always win. I think that everyone knows and understands that.
Players have to play and perform but as everyone here says over and over, leaders have to put them in the right spots. I still feel one his his biggest blunders of all time was leaving Kershaw in against the Nats after the first HR. How anyone can defend that I have no idea but maybe its racism? That’s about as stupid an argument as any so lets go with it.
I also know that outside of Posey (and even that could be debated) there isn’t ONE player on the Giants field that would start for LA. They have had, and still do, their fair share of injuries as LA has also. However, they win games they should and many that they shouldn’t. Why is that? Luck is surely a factor a couple of times but for months and months? C’mon….we’re all past the 4th grade. Could it be that solid leadership and management can squeeze more out of the same person via a variety of interactions, methods and motivation? Isn’t that true in sports, business, and really anywhere? Is that not also true of what is seen out of Oracle Park throughout the year?
Other than Taylor, and maybe Pollock(not sure he counts since he about career norm), who is the guy we are squeezing the most out of? Who is it that is just playing above the rim right now, or even throughout the year? My two stupid brain cells aren’t coming up with anyone.
Maybe there is something else? Like maybe leadership, smarter thinking, putting the BEST players in the BEST position to be successful, trying something new, etc? I would love for you to explain it to us racists and morons please with reasoning other than “lucky”, “over their heads”, or other meaningless terms. I’ll grab my white hood, my crayons and my helmet and try to keep up with your enlightenment.
I am in complete agreement with all your points…. except that I am enlightened.
“The loudest voice in the room is seldom the wisest”. Matshona Dhilwayo.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt
Why’d you have to go and start talking bout me now? I haven’t been posting way too much!
In the last week or so I posted firm evidence that many great Managers with great teams had a winning % with those great teams less than the winning % of Dave Roberts. Suffice it to say, this empirical data more than disproves all the ridiculous constant negative comments about Doc’s performance. Yes, he makes mistakes (as all in positions of responsibility do) but please judge him on his overall body of work. Two criticisms over the last few days really say it all. First, he was criticized for not batting Justin Turner in the 9th 2 days ago. All batting him might have done was eliminate JT for the rest of the year. Secondly, he was criticized for taking Graterol out last night. Forget the fact that Graterol had pitched in 3 of the previous 4 games. Forget the fact that Graterol has been in and out of injuries this year. Forget the fact that Doc had the benefit of talking to Graterol. I am constantly astounded by people’s need to Monday morning QB. It is always easier to make a decision after the fact. If Bruihl had gotten the 3rd out on the 1st batter he faced, I guess Doc would have been a genius. WOW
Grateral also does rose with left handed batters.
De acuerdo Mushers, yo hubiera dejado a Graterol, porque las estadísticas de bateo de Do Smith contra los lanzadores derechos son menores en 0.100 que contra los izquierdos ( debo suponer que esos datos lo saben mejor los Dodgers que yo), el muchacho Bruihl todavía no está listo para un público tan feroz como es el de Nueva York, finalmente no se perdió pero ocasionó un desgaste innecesario de muchos más peloteros por una mala decisión, creo que Graterol habría eliminado a a Do Smith. Es divertido poder opinar y nada tiene que ver con racismo o estupidez, es un simple comentario
¡Exactamente! Me resulta refrescante escuchar tu opinión, José. Esta gente blanca piensa que todo es racista. Me pregunto si se debe a sus propias acciones en sus propias vidas tratando de compensar en exceso su propio comportamiento menos que deseable.
Exactly. The PLAYERS are what makes the manager a genius or a villain. Watching Doc & the Dodgers a lot, it would seem they have some “data” that their move is correct, but that only works IF the players in question perform their jobs the way the data says they should. Not that I like that kind of managing over a guy who uses his “eyes” some of the time, but that seems how we do things.
cheers
pb+
Trevor Bauer and his attorney posted a response to the Wash Post article on Twitter.
Bauer provides context to the relationship but I am not sure we will ever know the true story.
Not sure if Friedman should have known about this restraining order last year but I never liked making Bauer the highest paid player in baseball even without the off field problems.
Time to seek to cancel the contract and move on from Bauer.
I was born in Ohio and still have lots of friends there. When the Dodgers signed Trevor Bauer, a friend told me that some woman had tried to get a restraining order against Bauer. I could find nothing about it online, so I dismissed it. It sounds like he was right!
Cancelling that contract is not going to be all that easy. They are going to have to jump through some legal hoops to get out of it. And unless he is actually charged and then convicted, the MLBPA is going to do everything it can to see that his contract remains in force. If his conduct violates some section of the contract, then the road would be a little easier. But that remains to be seen. Accused is one thing, convicted and punished is another. MLB’s biggest weapon is suspension without pay. But like I said, the legal hurdles of LA getting out of that deal are massive.
Here is Twitter link to Bauer response.
https://twitter.com/baueroutage/status/1426566920648544256?s=21
Move on to baseball!
I hear what he is saying, but what are the odds the accusations by BOTH women are essentially the same?
Badger is correct that it might not be admissable, but it is admissible to MLB.
You would think that him knowing of the accusations before. He would’ve been more careful and would not have hooked up with this last woman. I guess he just can’t help himself
Good morning Dodger fans and fellow bloggers. I think what happened yesterday on here was because everyone pilled on after the bad inning instead of waiting until the game was over. In the heat of the moment, anger took over and irrationality ensued. I was watching the game when Urias was pulled. Beaty was in the on deck circle, and when the run scored he greeted the runner and then went to the plate. But everyone in the dugout was yelling at him to come back. Problem is, once he gets in the batters box, he is officially in the game.
Even if he is not announced. So that was a minor gaff. Beaty walked, but they did not score again. Knebel came in and did his job. They led 4-0 and Graterol comes in, strikes out the first two hitters and then pinch hitter Conforto gets a double down the RF line. Now, with a 4 run lead, this is the place where I felt Dave overmanaged.
He pulled Bazooka in favor of Bruihl, who has been effective since being called up. Vesia was not available, so he uses Bruihl. Smith who hits lefty was the next hitter. Dave played the percentages. He hits a ball to no mans land in center and Conforto scores. The next hitter walks. Since there is the 3 man rule, Bruihl has to face the Mets biggest power threat, Alonzo. No brainer, you do not let that guy beat you, so they walk him.
Instead of replacing Bruihl after 3 hitters, and because Treinen was not ready yet, he lets Bruihl face another lefty who hits another dink shot to CF that is just short of Bellinger and 2 runs score. There is no defense for those kinds of hits. Now Treinen comes in. And with Alonzo on third, Smith lets one get by him and the game is tied. Of course by this time fans are livid. It’s all Roberts fault, what an idiot for replacing Bazooka and putting that putz in. But he was doing what every manager in the majors does now.
I have seen them do it against the Dodgers all year. The Phillies did the same thing when Bellinger was coming up. Against Bellinger it worked. Here, against the Mets lefty’s it did not. But it wasn’t like they were killing the ball. Conforto’s double was the hardest hit ball of the inning. So we get to the 9th. 1-2-3 and out, but someone in the left field bleachers was shinning a laser pointer in Muncy’s eyes. You could see the green on his chest and in his face. Jansen closes out the 9th and oh no, we go into extra’s. Our Achilles heel.
But Smith cranks a clutch 2 run HR and Jansen heads back out for the 10th. He allows the 1 run on a sac fly and then gets the last hitter. Nido on a lazy fly ball. Game over, one run win and extra inning win in the bank. You never win second guessing the manager before the final outcome. I read a lot of the crap that was on twitter last night before and after the bad inning. People just get irrational in their hate. Do I think Doc is a great genius? No, but he is doing EXACTLY what he was hired to do.
It is just that his job is more high profile and open to criticism publicly than any fans is. I have seen almost every part of the Dodger organization from the trainers to the players, to AF, to Dave to Kasten and yes, to ownership criticized by the fans on this and many other Dodger blogs. Some of them before the game is even over. I have been guilty of this also, so I am not throwing stones. But this season, I have tried to temper that by waiting until the game is officially in the books before opening my big mouth.
Roberts cannot control what the Giants are doing. It is not his fault his team has suffered so many injuries and has so many stars on the shelf. The Giants have had injuries too. The difference is, their replacement players have done a pretty decent job replacing the guys who went down. Estrada, the SS, did a bang up job filling in for Crawford, and Wade Jr., more than filled in until Belt was back. Other than Pujols, the Dodger bench players have not been all that productive since the first few weeks when McKinstry was doing well before he was hurt.
Look at the guys Roberts has been forced for long stretches to be without, Kershaw, May, Betts, Seager, Turner, Rios, Knebel, Gonsolin, Nelson, Lux and McKinstry. That is a huge pool of talent. And the Bauer mess has not made it any better. They won’t have Duffy until mid September, Kersh maybe around the 7th or so. Forget Bauer, he is not coming back. They are what they have to play with.
Hopefully as he gets more settled in, Trea will add a lot more to the equation. He has already had some moments, Unfortunately, we still have what I consider a weak bench. And a short one. Getting Lux back should help. But he did not have a good game at the plate last night in OKC. McKinstry is with the team, which is why he has not been playing the last few days in OKC.
Bear, paragraphs are your friend. No need to indent; just skip a line. Helps the reader and helps the writer too by forcing him to organize his thoughts. You work hard here so some friendly advice from someone in the writing field.
My bad, it is easier when on the dashboard. I shall endeavor to do that in the future, thanks.
Well done!
You are awesome, dude.
Thanks and awwwww shucks
Fans often criticize managers and coaches. Why should anyone be surprised at that? Joe Torre won five titles in NY, and was still not admired as a manager by many Yankees fans, and was essentially fired, offered an embarrassingly low contract for a year, so left as intended. Joe Girardi won a world title, and was fired a few years later. Francona won two, and was let go. There are more such examples in other sports. Criticizing Dave Roberts as a manager, is not unusual, or unwarranted., despite the fact that his teams have won a lot of games.
My opinion is that Roberts probably handles the players well. But he is not a good game manager. Of course, as a Dodgers fan, we see him more. But I’ve seen managers who seem to have a better control of game strategy, seem very aware of whom to use when, and just seem in command. Cash is like that. Kapler seems to be another. LaRussa. Bochy was.. Roberts seems stubborn, will not change a pattern, and for a bright man, does not see ahead like the best managers do. It is not a case of whether the team loses or wins the game, it is that I think he is an ordinary game manager at best. But he has a very lucrative contract, and might stay two more decades, and that would not change the fact. Who is right on this? It is an endless topic of conversation on blogs in various sports. But do not think that the fans are always wrong about such things, and that the owners or coaches are right.
As to last night’s game, anyone please rationalize the fact that Roberts sent Beatty up to hit for Urias, and then didn’t want him to hit. If he wanted to take Urias out after five innings, why call Beatty back when we made it 4-0? He wanted to save the pinch hitter for later, let Urias bat, and then take him out anyway? Maybe, but I doubt it. He seemingly was intending to pinch hit to try to get the fourth run with two out and a man on second of third, had the throw back to the pitcher not been errant, allowing Taylor to get to third, and then score on the fly ball.
So I think Roberts then wanted Urias to pitch another inning, but he couldn’t, because he didn’t get Beatty back in time. So we had to use t least four relievers, one per inning, and it turned out to be five. Having a pinch hitter come up with two outs and a man on base and a 3-0 lead, is not worth having to burn the extra pitcher. And as we saw, the bullpen gave up four runs in the later innings. Bloop hits? Sure, but there are plenty of those in baseball; if we threw out all the bloop hits, pitchers would have far lower ERAs. Keep using five bullpen pitchers in the last innings of games, and we will pay for it, and also wear them out. So I thought the whole thing was foolish.
There are a whole cadre of people to support managers, the entire Dodgers network is devoted to it, and always has been. So there should be counterpoint to that, unless we want to live in a patriarchal state where we are always told how to think.
Way to go William. People take this all too seriously it’s just an outlet to vent, let it go
William, good comments and they make sense. I think Urias was coming out no matter what because Knebel was already warm. All it ended up costing him was a hitter. No harm no foul. If Dave has a fault, I do not think it is stubbornness. I believe his biggest fault as a manager is his loyalty and trust that certain guys in certain situations can get the job done. He hardly ever has another pitcher ready when the 3 hitter rule is reached. He usually does not get someone up until the second hitter has already been up and done what ever damage he can. Now someone made a point about Bazooka being in X amount of games over the last couple of days. Ok. makes some sense, but the guy was throwing 100 MPH and had struck out 2 hitters before Conforto’s double. This is where I think the inning got away from Roberts. Graterol had thrown 9 pitches, 7 for strikes. With that low a pitch count, I do not care if a lefty is coming up, I give Bazooka the ball. Dave plays the percentages, bringing in a rookie who has been in the bigs less than a week. And the inning goes south. I agree fans have the right to criticize. And I do it often. No one is perfect and every manager who ever strode onto a major league field is guilty of some gaff that cost his team a game.
I’m not entirely sure what went down regarding Beaty, it could have been the bench coach’s job to pull Beaty back, but I do know that Roberts looked confused when he came out. Did he not know the rule? Looked like it me. But, Urias had already thrown 82 pitches so I was fine with him coming out. If he’s not going to get a break the rest of the year it’s important to keep his pitch count down. It could be him facing the Padres in October.
Not in a win or go home scenario. I would use Buehler or Max in that game with Urias in the pen
Like I mentioned earlier, they may be used in an attempt to win the Division.
Just my 2 cents worth on the pinch hit situation with Beaty. Seems to me things happened pretty fast and CT3 getting to 3rd on the error and McKinney’s sac fly, caused a communication break down. It seems to me that there was or should have been earlier instructions to Beaty explaining the circumstances for him to pinch hit. If the run scores, Urias hits and is out of the game saving the only leftie pinch hitter for later. If not, Beaty hits with the runner on 3rd. Either he didn’t get that explanation or he didn’t understand. Where were the other coaches and players to fix this before Baaty was introduced?
Back when I was a kid, we used to play baseball and football constantly. Looking back, it seems like the only things we did. Every day after school, me and few buddies would play some form of baseball, with tennis balls, or whiffle balls against a garage, three flies up, hot box, pickle, over the line at the park. Even with nerf balls soaked in water in our back yards. Once baseball season ended, it was “touch” or “shove” football in the streets in front of our houses or mud ball games at the part whenever it rained. I think I always had raspberries on my knees and even my carboard like toughskins would eventually need to be patched. Those expensive Levi’s were a no-go at the rate we would put holes in our knees.
I remember several occasions when someone would take their ball and go home. Everyone left on the field would move on and do something else together. The ball taker would spend the rest of the day alone, pouting in his room. The next day things would go back to semi-normal. But, the ball taker lost some trust from his friends and some street cred. The takeaway was that the rest of the kids all agreed that there was a better way to handle things than to take your ball and go home. That was the ultimate dick-move and worse than calling someone a “Jive-Chicken”. (That’s a reference from Will Farrell’s Semi-Pro Movie), back away from the racism!!!
The easiest ways to tell that you won an argument these days is when your opponent resorts to calling you a racist. The white guy calling the brown guy a racist is beyond words for me. Ironically, the white guy lives in one of the whitest states in the country and I live in California. Need I say more? Especially after I agreed with the thought of bringing back Puig, just hours earlier. I’m apparently as bad as being racist as I am in making a case pointing out bad managerial decisions.
I’ve gotten into some pretty long and drawn out arguments on this site. Some of the biggest ones include arguing that Verdugo is not the next Tony Gwynn and that he would eventually be trade bait because his bat doesn’t profile as a corner and his glove isn’t good enough for CF. I argued that K-Bear wasn’t needed and would eventually become trade bait, since AF already sang the highest praise on Smith. I argued that you can’t call AF the best GM until he wins some championships and that the Dodgers would blow past the CBT any time they want to. I stand by my record, and Doc being a crappy manager will eventually be proven in time. Doc has a very similar winning percentage as Mattingly during his stay with the Dodgers. He’ll probably have a better winning percentage than Tommy when his tenure is done. But, what he’ll never have on Tommy is a lifelong job with the Dodgers and rings and a Gold Medal from teams that were underdogs.
Call me a racist, take your ball and go home. It makes no difference to me. I’m just here to share my thoughts and read others, sometimes I try to make a stupid joke and sometimes I argue with frustration trying to point out their opinion is not fact. Sometimes I like to explain the math behind the validity of certain statistics. I don’t feel I have to right to express my opinion here. I respect that Mark is the King of his website. He can kick me off anytime he wants, as he’s done before. He’s the boss.
In a matter of a couple of minutes, I was called a dumbass, fool, stupid, moron until Mark took his ball and went home. Instead of cooler heads prevailing the next day, like when I was a kid, Mark double-downed and implied that I must be racist because I hate Doc. But, I love Puig? Oh well, that doesn’t matter, move along nothing to see here. Mark, you’re “the boss”, but you won’t be “a boss” until you learn not to take your ball and go home and call people a bunch of names. You’re pretty bright most of the time, but these actions do not make you better, they hold you back.
You display a basic lack of reading comprehension.
“You display a lack of basic reading comprehension” would be a better arrangement of the words you used.
I’m no racist, I have a black friend.
I have two. One in LA and one in ….. no, sorry. It’s only one.
I used to have a lot, but I do have one who is a Native American, another who comes from Texas, which makes him unique and a coon ass from Louisiana. Cajun as they come.
Is she a stripper?
BP said……” The white guy calling the brown guy a racist is beyond words for me. Ironically, the white guy lives in one of the whitest states in the country and I live in California. Need I say more? Especially after I agreed with the thought of bringing back Puig, just hours earlier. I’m apparently as bad as being racist as I am in making a case pointing out bad managerial decisions.”
I don’t think it is possible to be a racist if you are hating on someone of your own kind. So, by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you NOT a racist. You may now kiss your accuser.
Rev TM
I have been critical of Roberts over the years. Mark has had several opening comments on the need for Roberts to go though it hasn’t happened recently. I have said that many other managers and managerial candidates could have been just as successful and many may have done better. Over time I’ve tried to figure out who is making the in game decisions. Up until recently I assumed it was Roberts. Now, I’m not so sure. Until we have an answer to that question, using Roberts to blame bad decisions and results on is a waste of time and energy. He’s not going anywhere and I have only so much criticism to go around.
His regular season decisions haven’t bothered me much in the last two years or so because it’s the regular season of 162 games. And, over time it’s usually the lack of execution by the players that are the cause of a defeat or bad outcome. It’s the post season that has really questioned his managerial skills (and pissed me off). Execution by the players is paramount for winning. Roberts’ job is to put players in the best situation to be successful. But, when a player isn’t executing he should be replaced. Or when the player is being successful he should be allowed to continue to do so. Like with allowing Urias to finish off the Rays in the last game in the WS. I believe it was the first time Roberts allowed his eyes to make a pitching decision in the post season. Not left vs right. Not pitch count. Not experience. It was actual, in real time, performance. Urias was dominate. This lead to the Dodgers first WS win in 32 years.
One of the worst decisions that Roberts ever made was with friendship with AJ Hinch. First, being friends with such a scum ball. Second, having him stay at your home after your good friend cheats your team out of a World Series victory. Talk about letting the wolf in the hen house. That AJ has some set of balls.
Another thing that bothers me about Roberts is his interaction with the media. And I know it’s not all his doing. He’s mouthing what the FO wants to make public. So, he takes a lot of abuse from fans and the media because of many things the FO may decide that doesn’t work out and that falls into his lap to poorly explain it away. One thing that I’ve grown tired of is Roberts and player post game interviews. Do we actually learn much from them? And why is there a need for our sideline reporter, Ms. Watson? She doesn’t appear to know much about baseball and even less about the Dodgers. Do we really need “so what were you looking to do with that pitch you hit for a HR?” “Oh, I was just was looking for something to drive.” Or “so what did you see from Buehler tonight?” “Oh, he was really dealing and dominate”. I’ve heard the same clichés and BS responses for over sixty years. So, when the game is over so am I. Highlights? I don’t need no stinkin’ highlights. I just watched the game. They have already shown Bellinger’s HR seven times from three different angles. If I really need to see it again I do on the Dodger site the next day. Oh yeah, get off my front lawn!
Excellent Ted !! My sentiments exactly. Not living in LA I am not subjected to J-Hairs BS post game analysis. When I was visiting, he turned me off more than Orel, and that is saying something. As for Ms. Watson. She is stiff, unsure of herself and knows next to nothing about the game. I am pretty sure someone has handed her the questions to ask post game and during the game. She shows little knowledge, and in my opinion, which is not worth much, is as much a nod to the fairer sex to simply involve them in the broadcast to attract female fans. Now some of those girls know their baseball. Watson is better suited to call volleyball.
All this vitriol less than 1year after winning the title. What’s it gonna be like for the next 31 years?
Now that’s funny Cassidy! Come on, what team only wins a WS every 32 years? That’s almost impossible! If did does happen I’m not going to be around to witness it. That’s why we need these WS victories now!!
Uh Ted, Boston went 86 years without winning. The Cubs went to 6 World Series after winning in 1908 and lost all of them before finally winning in 2016. 108 years. Montreal never won one. And only when the Nationals won in 2019 did they get their first win for the franchise. 50 years after they formed. And it was their first WS appearance. Angels won in 2002. Also their only trip to the series. 42 years after their formation. The Giants went 56 years between titles. 54-2010. Padres have been twice and lost both, winning one world series game in the process. Orioles have not won since 70, and have not been since 71. 50 years. Reds last won in 1990, and have not been there since then, 31 years. So you see it happens a lot more than you think. Oh yeah, Mariners, 44 years and counting never been, and lost one season when they set a MLB record for wins 116. And the A’s. Who have been to the playoffs 13 times since they last won in 1989 and have not advanced. 32 years.
B&P: Your posts are usually very good. However, you also sometimes play fast and loose with the facts. Saying Mattingly and Roberts have similar winning percentages with the Dodgers doesn’t make it so. Fact–Roberts has a .614 winning percentage with the Dodgers equaling an average of 99 wins/season. Mattingly has a .551 winning percentage with the Dodgers equaling 89 wins/season. While Mattingly’s winning percentage is quite good, he would finish 10 games behind Roberts. All I have ever said about Roberts is his record speaks for itself. Yes he has had great players, but so did Sparky Anderson, Bobby Cox, etc and he has performed better than all except Casey Stengel with the Yanks. The guy definitely makes mistakes, but, in fact, the results say he is a very good to great Manager.
Correct Jay…..and how many of those guys won 5 anything’s in a row? Only Cox, who led Atlanta to 14 straight Division titles. Stengel won 5 World Series in a row. But when he managed the Dodgers, Braves and Mets, his teams usually finished in the lower half of the league. Sparky got titles with 2 teams, the Reds and the Tigers, but sustained success was not there for him. He never won more than 2. Torre’s Yanks were a powerful team. And in those days, everyone accused Steinbrenner of buying titles. People are saying the same thing about the Dodgers even though they are playing by the same rules as everyone else. They just happen to have deep pockets, as do the Mets who proved that by trading for Lindor and giving him that massive contract. How has that worked out for New York. Dave has done a pretty good job this season working with what he has. He did a good job last year, and still was not the manager of the year.
JayB, it’s all about the championships for me. Roberts has one. Right now with the minimal responsibilities he has to deal with as a modern day manager vs what Tommy or Alston dealt with I would say Roberts is a good manager with his only effective attribute is being good with his players. With actual game management I feel the FO handles most of the decisions. In the past Alston and Tommy made those decisions. Tommy won two championships and Alston won four. But, you’re right. A manager needs great players to have the chance to be great.
Good post.
Alston also made some real blunders in his days with the Dodgers. Bringing in Williams in game 3 of the 62 playoffs was one. Leaving Roebuck in to start the 9th when he was obviously gassed at the time was another. But Walt was a pretty strong presence in the club house as was Tommy. Sometimes I think Dave is a little to buddy buddy with his players. But with these salaries, he has to soothe some egos. Tommy never gave a damn about that.
Absolutely. They all made blunders at one time or another. Just like most of us have. With 24/7 coverage, leaks from everywhere, and just made up stuff on the internet I’m sure it’s magnified nowadays. I thought Tommy’s biggest mistake was the way he overused Fernando. He wore that guy into the ground and abused his talents just for Tommy’s win at any cost. Although, Fernando has been a long time employee of the Dodgers so apparently he wasn’t bothered by it. And, maybe, I don’t know what I’m talking about. Probably, the latter.
I think Tommy’s biggest blunder was pitching to Jack Clark, and using Neidenfuer to do it.
Thanks JayB. You’re right, Mattingly is 551 and Doc is 613. While my statement of having similar winning percentages may or may not be incorrect, since the word “similar”, as defined is, “resembling without being identical”.
It doesn’t change the point I was making about Donny’s record after he left the Dodgers. My argument was that it’s useless to say someone is a good manager just because of their record. I use Mattingly as an example since his pristine record with the Dodgers took a nosedive as soon as he left. The funny this about it was that he left because he wouldn’t work on a 1 year contract. He’s just picked up his one year option last month. Live and learn I guess.
B&P: I would argue a 10/game per year gap is in no way close to resembling. I agree you need the players to win, hence, Mattingly with the Marlins vs Dodgers. That is why in a former post I compared Doc’s record to all the great ones (Sparky, Cox, Torre, Stengel, etc) only during their times when they had great players. Using that analysis as the basis of comparison, Doc has a better winning % than all except Stengel. That’s as close to apples and apples as I can come and under that analysis, one has to conclude Doc is a good/great Manager. Honestly, if you can’t like a Manager that has a great in season winning %, been to the WS 3 times in 5 years, won 1 (arguably should have been 2) WS I really don’t know what you can like and probably have standards way above what any human being can achieve.
Ted: Thank you for your response. You are making an assumption about the impact the front office has on in-game decisions. None of us really know. Roberts has been the Manager for 5 seasons (not counting this one). His teams have one 3 NL Pennants and 1 WS. However, I would argue if the Astros did not know what Kershaw was throwing in game 5, the Dodgers would have won that game and the series, which makes Roberts WS record that much better. To contrast the 2 Managers you mentioned, Alston won 2 NL Pennants and 1 WS in his 1st 5 years and Lasorda won 3 NL Pennants and 1 WS in his 1st 5. Very similar records but Roberts won almost 100 games/year while Alston averaged 87 and Lasorda 91 (only used 4 years for Tommy since his 5th year, 1981, was shortened by the strike). I understand you measure success by championships but I caution you on that measure. There are 30 teams and getting through the post season can be very much a function of timing.
JayB, all your points are valid. Your response to b&p was one I was ready to make as well about the 10 game difference was not at all similar. You beat me to it!
I did mention we don’t know how much the FO dictates what goes on during the games. if anything. We will probably never know. That’s why I can’t give Roberts the credit he may or may not deserve. And I’m aware that the world really isn’t waiting on my opinion on the matter. So, there’s that.
Anyway, excellent posts by you today. Carry on.
I’d like to see the Dodgers buyout Puig’s contract and utilize him as Bett’s backup.
What this all boils down to guys is that some of you dislike Roberts and others do not. We all agree he is not a great in game manager, or at least he has not shown that to be the case. He is definitely a players manager. I also doubt any on here dislike him because of his race. He is the first Dodger manager of color. I think those who say they hate him are going a little overboard. Hate is a powerful emotion and thrown about way too much. Hate drains ones energy, and at my age, I do not have the luxury of expending too much of it worrying about something I have no control over. Roberts is the manager for the next several years. He signed an extension, he does what management desires, and he soothes his teams egos, and in reality, he does that really well. Tommy would have bitten some heads off by now. He also would have a tough time dealing with the new rules. Tommy was every bit an old school manager. If you do not believe that, watch the video of him removing Doug Rau from game 4 of the 1977 series. It pretty much sums up Lasorda’s state of mind when things go south. Bruihl, under Tommy would have been gone the second he walked Alonzo. And not mollycoddled about it either. Alston had players he disliked who played for him who were Black. But he was never accused of being a racist because of it. And each of those players, Frank Robinson and Richie Allen spent exactly one year as a Dodger.
From Noah Syndergaard
Hey MLB, ESPN whose dumb f@*#ing idea was it to change tomorrow’s game to a night game when we’re traveling to the West Coast after,” the Mets right-hander wrote in his Instagram story. “Won’t get in until Monday morning. Take on first-place (San Francisco) Giants later that evening. Brilliant!”
Wow. The Dodgers don’t even get an off day Monday. This is cruel,” the 28-year-old added.
I think its a plot by MLB to help SF.
I doubt that. MLB knows that there is more excitement and interest generated when LA or NY is involved in the playoffs. Ratings are always higher when that happens. SF does not generate that kind of revenue, and that is what it is all about to the MLB leaders.
What the hell was AF smoking when he signed Bauer?
Probably nothing. It was a knee jerk reaction to the Padres getting Snell and Darvish.
A Drew Estate Puros Huérfanos Churchill Cigar.
Well, shit. Now I feel bad for judging him.
Seriously, the lack of due diligence seems to be a major boo-boo.
According to Bauer the Post has spent a great deal of time in contacting just about everyone who knows someone who knows Trevor. The MLBPA would never allow that and if a player knew you were doing that, you would probably not get any free agents to sign.
It’s easy to say they should have done their due diligence but how could they have been expected to do that? Now, if he was asked and covered up something that could be a consideration on his contract.
Doing a deep dive into a baseball free agents background beyond what is public record. Is a slippery slope.
Tonight’s lineup with JT available off the bench:
2b Trea
1b Max
c Will
ss Corey
lf AJ
3b Chris
cf Cody
rf Billy
P Waker
Exciting and interesting game. Certainly a festival for second guessers.
* Who are the 4 Dodgers who had 200 plus homers since moving to LA?
* I had to take a break from Orel yesterday. Of all the former pitchers who are now color commentators, Darling, Smoltz, Ek, Krukow, Cone, Glavine, Palmer, anyone, Orel spends more air time analyzing every aspect of pitching. I’m an interesting audience about all things pitching but he can even wear me out. When it comes to hitting and position play it’s out of his wheelhouse and he makes shit up. He still talks way too much.
* I watched the Mets broadcast and it was great. The Mets booth is a nice change. Ron Darling and Gary Cohen were very knowledgeable and flattering with the Dodgers. No flagrant home town bias. I got a ton of info I don’t get from Orel and Joe. They do their homework and had very cool old video and clips from Dodger past. They showed a letter from Branch Rickey’s scouting report on an 18 year old Don Drysdale that was great. They featured Big D on a couple of spots including an old video from the Joey Bishop Show with 6 Dodger players singing to honor Don’s performance. Don looked dapper in a Tux and sang too. Great stuff.
* They were questioning Doc pulling Graterol. And then not going to Treinen. not critically, just observations.
* When Mets skipper, Rojas, stayed with his righties pitcher to Belli, he was ignoring the match up. Went against the book. Darling said one manager made a decision and trusted his eyes, while Doc went with the script. Interesting observation.
* Barnes’ bunt attempt was pitiful in a big spot.
* Why cant we seem to communicate on pop ups? Every kid is taught priorities on pop ups and fly balls. Did we miss that?
* Lots of guys showing slow bats these days, like they’re under water. Long season.
* CT3 is awesome. 3 hits and a nice heads up baserunning play on the overthrow to pitcher, after Bellinger horseshit AB. It got us a run that proved to be very important. He continues to be our MVP.
* The Mets announcers reported K-bear, after being traded, hired Scott Boras as his agent.
Answer to the question: (I bet this was a yawner for you Bear)
4 Dodgers who had 200 plus homers since moving to LA:
Karros, Cey, Garvey and Kemp
No Piazza. I had him in and not Kemp, with his 2nd stint.
Boy this site gets testy sometimes. The Dog Days effect the fans too, I guess.
I agree Phil sometimes it feels like I am walking on egg shells when I post something, never know how its going to be perceived. I stayed away from most of the posts earlier today, even though I have some thoughts on it all. When is Gavin Lux going to be recalled? Would rather see him in the line up than Billy McKinney. It’s almost time for Dodgers baseball. Let’s win the series tonight.
Zeke, just say what is on your mind. Mark is pretty fair about this stuff. When everyone starts beating a dead horse he probably gets frustrated like many do. Yesterday was one of those times. Lux went 0-3 last night with 2 K’s in OKC’s 2-0 win over Round Rock. He has been playing 3rd base. He would not replace Kinney in the outfield, but Taylor could move out there. Turner is now available off of the bench. He went on the IL on July 19th so he can come off anytime. Yes, tempers get short. We are all human and it happens.
You can say whatever you want, especially if it is rational. You can even say some irrational things. We all do. But when you say irrational things over and over…. that’s where I lose it. You do not have to walk on eggshells. Like Jim Rome says “Have a take and do not suck.”
I will frequently throw stuff out there. Sometimes I believe it. Sometimes it’s just a talking point and I will stir the pot. I will also go places many people don’t.
I knew that one Phil Piazza in his 7 seasons with LA hit 177. Kemp barely cleared with 203. Bellinger has 132 and should catch Guerrero on the top 10 list in the next year or so. He is 39 away. Shane Greene released by the Braves. AF might take a flyer on that guy.
The Dodgers have placed left-hander Julio Urias on the 10-day injured list due to a left calf contusion. The open roster spot will be filled by utilityman Zach McKinstry, who has been recalled from Triple-A.
And the wheels on the injury bus go round and round.
He did not have to travel far, he was with the team on the taxi squad.
Which may explain the snaffu when they took him out last night.
Putting Urias on the IL might have been necessary or might just be a way to have him skip a turn without having to give up the roster space.
If my calculations are correct, he’ll miss his start against the Pirates and be back to pitch against the Pads on the 24th.
I think we can solve this problem of Roberts once and for all. All we have to do is go back in time and put Mike Scioscia, Joe Torre, Dusty Baker or anyone else you like in the position and see how it works out.
Wow, with no Urias for 10 days, our rotation will look like:
1. Scherzer
2. Buehler
3. Price
4. White +bullpen
5. All bullpen
Is this about right?
yep. That is close. Urias will miss the Pirates series, who incidentally put up 14 on the Brewers in the first game of their doubleheader today. Giants got Longoria back today.
Could we see Pepiot?
Let’s make a trade….JoJo Gray for Gavin Lux…..
Can’t happen, the deadline is a hard deadline now, and what real good is a rookie in a pressure cooker of a pennant race? Gray has some chops, but he is no where near the answer in the playoffs. Now, if it was someone like say Ray or another solid starter, maybe. But a moot point since no deals are allowed until after the World Series. I miss those late August trades.
They need a good game from Butane today. He seems a bit off so far.
With Julio Urius going on the il I would like to see Andre Jackson come up for a spot start. He is on the 40 roster and recently joined AAA OKC.
He’s a possibility
He’s at the top of my list.
Check that. I meant Pepiot. Jackson gives up too many dingers.
I have some questions regarding Doc. It seems to me that after every blowout win, the team has trouble scoring runs. Is that just my perception, or does Doc fail to motivate them? Also, when he was playing, he loved to use his speed and baserunning to win games. Now he does not seem to value the stolen base or trust his players on the bases. Hope he will allow TT to run.
So now he has to motivate the hitters! How would you even do that? I think I saw a stain on Seager uniform to start the game. That’s Roberts fault as well
I’m so tired of seeing McKinney in there.
The Mets pitcher has a no-hitter going on through six innings.
Not anymore
There you go Smith bomb.
Striker Buehler Hotter than a plasma torch
Our offense has to pick him up, come on boys
Beatty is so due
You cant go down looking you have to protect the plate
I am getting a man crush on Vesia
McKinney then Beaty, 6 strikes, nothing in play.
Any time Trea. His OPS as a Dodger is less than McKinney’s.
Where’s PUIG we don’t have any options we need Yasiel
Two one run games in a row maybe we’ve broken the trend
Cmon let’s be honest. Show of hands. Who was ready to light Roberts up for removing Bickford with Knebel? Buehler and the bullpen saved our sorry offense tonight! How good are Vesia and Bickford right now? I trust our bullpen a lot more than our offense right now. Without the long ball this offense is not consistently good enough to catch the Giants right now! Wake up bats!
Doc actually handled that perfect. Bickford is good against RHB and bad against LHB and Knebel is better against LHB than RHB. That is exactly how Doc handled it. I’m willing to give credit when it is deserved.
‘m starting to get just a little concerned about Trea Turner. I’m wondering whether he may be trying too hard for his new team. He’s 6-30 a .200 average. Yes it’s a small sample but still………..
It must be the bats we’re using!
I just can’t believe Roberts, guess he liked that guy in that situation. And the guy did what he was asked to do,
DODGERS WIN…..DODGERS WIN…….
4 hits was all we needed. Bullpen again is dominating. Who are these guys? VESIA, Bickford, Bruihl, White?
Nevertheless, it’s nice to see when the bats go cold, the arms heat up….and visa versa.
Okay, now time to check on my other boys….the New York Football Giants v the new york jets.
Your Giants lost to the Jets, Denver beat Minnesota, Chargers beat the Rams and the Raiders beat the Seahawks.
Giants lost finally.
Yeah they did, and a misplay in the middle of the infield allowed one of those runs to score. Arizona no hit the Padres, so it was a good day all around. JT will be in the lineup tomorrow against Carrasco who has no decisions this season and an ERA north of 6, Only 4 of the Dodger hitters have ever faced him, Pujols, McKinney, Trea Turner and Muncy back when he was with the A’s. 3 Mets have good numbers off of Scherzer. Conforto, Villar and Davis all above .300 against Max.
One silver lining to our “dark days” and our endless pitching auditions is the learning that Vesia and Bickford experienced. You sure have to kiss a bunch of frogs to find a couple of princes! I hope we never have to go through this again!
Oh it will happen again. It always does. And since Freidman took over the running of the baseball side of the team, he has auditioned more pitchers than anyone can count. His first year he seemed to claim or sign a new arm every week. And he picked up a few retreads along the way. Vesia is a trade piece that is working out quite well. But I remember him picking up guys like Bud Norris who were way past their prime.
My opinion of Bauer is that he is a serial abuser and, possibly a sociopath. He deserves at least a year’s suspension without pay. He should have to go through the full MLB intimate partner violence program. And when he returns, he should be “on probation” for the duration of his contract–at the very least. But I’m a woman who, at my age, is leery of men like him. I will admit to my prejudices. They have kept me alive.
Remember, the “innocent until proven guilty” provision did not apply to Julio Urias. What Bauer has probably done is significantly worse.
It is the law of the land, difference with Julio is that there was a video that went viral. But it was misinterpreted and that caused a lot of problems. MLB most likely , excuse the expression, screwed the pooch on that one. Oh, and Urias was never actually brought up on charges. Bauer has not been either. But based on the video evidence MLB suspended him.
Well it goes to show once again that you need to wait until the game is over before you judge the results. As for the offense, how about giving some credit to the Mets pitcher, Walker? The guy did his job. And while you all were worrying about being no hit, Tyler Gilbert in his first major league start NO HIT the Padres. No mean feat with those hitters on that team, and the Rockies gave the Dodgers some help as Freeland beat the Giants 4-1. They are mortal after all. SO now they are 4 games back with 45 to play. Padres are now 10 games back of the Giants and 6 back of the Dodgers. They also lost Drew Pomeranz to season ending surgery today. And they are only 2.5 games in front of the Reds for the second wild card spot. Nice clutch hit by Bellinger in the 10th. That had to feel good and boost his confidence, especially after that horrible at bat where he swung at a pitch that was a foot off of the plate.
Well time to hit the hay, and I can sleep well knowing we are one game closer to catching the hated ones. The Padres are fading like a 50 dollar nag in a claiming race. Butane is still the best pitcher on this team. And Will Smith is about as clutch as they come. His HR traveled 444 feet. Second longest HR this season by a Dodger! Night all!!!