I watched every painful pitch yesterday and was certain that the Baseball Gods were frowning on the Los Angeles Dodgers. Every missed call went for the Braves and even weak contact resulted in a hit for them. I was about ready to concede that the Big Dodger in the Sky was punishing Dodger fans for berating his beloved manager… until the bottom of the eighth inning! Little did I know that the Big Dodger in the Sky had a plan. That plan involved the two most reviled Dodger players: Cody Bellinger and Kenley Jansen. Earlier in the season, most Dodger fans wanted Kenley sent back to Curacao and even more recently most fans wanted Cody Bellinger left off the post-season roster and traded to the Marlins.
The Big Dodger in the Sky decided not to punish all Dodger fans by letting them lose the game, He just decided to punish all the dumb ones who wanted this team to be rid of Jansen and Bellinger. Trailing 5-2 with two runners on, Cody hit one of his patented Belli Bombs, and then in the top of the 9th inning, Kenley Jansen came in and absolutely smoked the Braves hitters, striking out the side! “Take that“, the Big Dodger said!
Buehler didn’t have his best stuff. I am sure it was because Dave Roberts caused it. Roberts is a bad manager > Buehler didn’t have his best stuff > Roberts is s bad manager. Rest assured that if Julio does not have his best stuff tonight, you will blame Doc, so be consistent and blame him for last night as well! Actually, you have to blame the organization, because they made the decision to fight to win the NL West Championship and they fought like hell, but still fell short. Many pitchers on the Dodgers are running on fumes, which is why I felt the Dodgers should have rested their pitchers the last two weeks of the season and be content with the Wild Card, which they ended up with anyway.
That was my opinion, but if I wanted to be like many of you, I would say it was stupid for them to do that and that proves they are bad managers or GM’s. IT IS AN OPINION! It was not right or wrong. IT IS AN OPINION! The same is true with bringing in Urias to pitch in game 2. I did not like it either, but it proves nothing, except that you have something against Dave Roberts and use every opportunity to exploit it. The problem is not Doc – the problem is that you need a Doc! OK, I am going to quit beating that Donkey, but you need to take a closer look at yourselves, not Doc.
Doc never lost faith in Jansen and Bellinger and that is part of the reason the Dodgers won last night. Kenley Jansen will blow more saves (hopefully not this offseason) and Bellinger will strikeout, but last night we saw what they can be. Personally, I want both of them to be on my team. I have heard that Kenley has a “fragile psyche.” How do you know that? He has fragile mechanics, but a fragile psyche? Ha Ha! To have been through what he has, the man has a psyche of Kevlar coated stainless steel! Again, the fan with the 30,000-foot view has it wrong.
Make no mistake about it: This team is tired! This team is banged up! They are just going to have to suck it up. No one took BP on the field last night… and that was for the best! It is going to take some steely resolve to win this. Hopefully, Julio can do what he thinks he can do. He wanted to come into Game 2 and he did strike out his last two hitters. Buehler was not sharp last night and that is not on Doc. If Urias is not sharp tonight are you going to put all the blame on Dave Roberts, or could it just be that everyone is wearing down to some degree?
If you happen to be a Roberts Hater, we know what you will do, no matter what the facts may be. The Dodgers miss Max Muncy, but he ain’t coming back. The Braves are missing Acuna, Soler, and Ozuna! They have to play the hand they are delt and they were missing Freedy Freeman… until last night. He got well on Walker Buehler. I do not believe the Dodgers can pitch their way out of this. They are going to have to hit and run their way out.
The Braves pitchers are getting tired as well and the more the Dodgers see them, the better they will hit them. That also works the same way with the Braves hitters. Of the four teams left in the postseason, the Dodgers have scored the fewest runs in the LCS – 12. They need to crank it up! They are running at will on d’Arnaud and have not been caught in 8 attempts. Here are the Dodgers Top Hitters this post-season, by batting average
- Betts – .412
- Taylor – .320
- Smith – .313
- Bellinger – .292
- Lux – .250
- Seager – .222
- Pollock – .208
- Pujols – .200
- T-Turner – .200
- Souza – .167
- Beaty – .111
- J-Turner – .097
It’s pretty clear who needs to step up. They need to do it right about now. Tonight is a bullpen game for the Braves. I can sense an offensive explosion is imminent!
- Carson Taylor is hitting .500 with a HRv in 4 AB’s.
- Kody Hoese is batting .375
- Jacob Amaya is hitting .333
- James Outman is at .182
It’s very early in the season.
If I am DR and the Dodgers brain trust I would think about putting TT at CF and Lux at 2b. TT has played cf before and done pretty well . Lux would be at his regular 2b position and we keep his bat in the lineup. He did not have a hit yesterday but he worked two BBs with good at bats.
As you said the two Turners have to start to produce NOW.
Lets hope Julio can give us 5-6 solid innings today. That would be huge with another bullpen game coming up tomorrow.
Ride the momentum, Dodgers!!!
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!
TT likes CF even less than 2B and hasn’t played there in years. I don’t see it happening.
Nice post, Mark.
Carson Taylor is a guy to keep an eye on. 4th round pick in ’20, he’s a SH catcher with potentially enough bat to move off the position if needed. He spent all of this year in A+ so AA seems like a lock. He put up a 45/63 BB/K line last year so he has a good eye.
He might be the next Will Smith, eh? I’m really impressed with the farm, but try not to get too excited until they perform at the upper levels. AA is a good measuring stick. We’ve very close to seeing the next generation of position players and there seems to be a lot of arms that can make an impact as well.
Probably not the defensive chops for the comp but you’re right. AA is the dividing line. The goal is to have enough guys so that even if a couple hit we’re good. I’d have him in my top 30 but not by much.
My name is Cassidy and I was a Belli basher. I am now 2 weeks woke. I’m still in shock. ON A HIGH FASTBALL! Very high! Bellinger had an historically bad season. He was swinging at air on every high fastball. And there was NO way I thought it could change in the post season. I was wrong. Mr Timmons has called me a moron, an idiot and a bag of nails. Well I will admit to being the happiest moron in all the world! Happy that I was wrong, Happy for Bellinger. Amazing! He’s choking up, he’s moved off the plate a good bit and he’s tightened up his strike zone. And he’s gained some confidence. So much for the stubborn and won’t take coaching advise! In my defense I’m not a Roberts basher or an AF can’t build a bullpen guy and I have said two years ago that Urias would be a co ace with Buehler. But I was wrong to give up on Belli. Now I need to work my magic on the Turner boys. Common AF, get rid of those guys! Trade them, DFA them or send them down. But they should never play another playoff game for the Dodgers again! OK, my work is done!
That just might do the trick!
Funny, but I believe to the correct term was bag of hammers. 😉
Well I feel like a nail!
Well I feel like a nail! And by the way BP crow tasted like sausage and mushroom pizza which spilled all over the room when Belli hit his hr!!!!!
I haven’t bashed Belli during the playoffs but everyone knows, I was looking to get him traded before the deadline.
Now lately I have been promoting either benching or dropping down in the lineup TT. I probably should have included JT too, but nevertheless….I won’t feel remorseful if TT gets 3 hits today…I hope he does. I subscribe to analytics, and so I put 1+1 together and thought bending him last night was in our best interest.
His slump+his resume against Morton was what I used….
I’m not going to bother looking up his resume against Ynoa….probably very small if anything, and I know for sure he won’t be benched, so why bother?
I bet you Luke Jackson went to his pitching coach after the game and said, “thanks a lot for telling to throw a high hard one to Belli….he can’t get around on those.”
He actually said it was “better than I thought it was” when he saw the replay. It was even higher than he intended. Cannot fault yourself when you throw a pitch to an area the batter has not hit all season …… and then he does.
GO BLUE
cheers
pb+
The first step is ADMITTING …….. now on to step two. Only 11 steps to go.
cheers
pb+
Well, that was a hell of a game and a hell of a comeback. It was pretty crazy to put up bookends of 2 runs in their first inning and 4 in their last. Baseball is such a random game.
It sure felt like the Boys in Blue were feeling the pressure. I’m pretty sure a couple of guys had to go to the clubhouse and change the bottom half of their uniforms. They played really tight in that 4th inning and imploded a little bit. Or a lot of bit. Bueller was cruising before that dropped fly ball and that gift from the umpire. Then the broken bat hit and Bueller fell apart. 15 or 20 relievers and the biggest bomb of the season later and we’re on top and in this thing.
I really love Belli and felt so good for him getting that big one on a pitch that everyone decided he could never hit. That cheese was so high and out of the zone, I could hardly believe it. And boy did he crush it! Lost in the moment, Pollock also delivered. Maybe that will get him going. With so many players not hitting, I think you have to ride the hot hand and go with Pollock over Lux in the next game. Especially since it will be a bullpen game and Pollock’s splits aren’t as extreme as Lux’s.
This lineup is stacked with great hitters. Someone needs to get hot. Not an easy task against a very good Brave’s pitching staff. But, like Mark said, the more they see these pitchers, the better the bats are going to get. It’s great that the Boys didn’t quit. They’ll ride this momentum into the next game and hopefully throughout the series.
Doc was pretty funny in the post game interview. He’s riding on cloud nine. You can tell he really loves these guys and was proud of Belli. It was a good learning experience for Cody. You don’t have to swing with all your might to get the right result. Doc mentioned Belli getting that loop out of his swing and that he would never had hit that ball with that big uppercut he was doing. He also said that was as loud as he’s ever heard at Dodger Stadium. The crowd should be in full effect today.
Let’s not forget that if it weren’t for CT3’s catch in center, Belli’s big Bomb wouldn’t have been enough to secure victory.
Now we just need a gem from Julio and we’re right back in there. I was a bit surprised that they decided to give him game 4 instead of opting for additional rest after his hiccup the other night. But, as it turns out, it looks like there’s no other way around it after using everyone just about in the pen yesterday.
I think Trea is just about to turn the corner. We was jumping on everything yesterday and was a bit early in several AB’s. He sure picked a hell of a time to start slumping, like most everyone on this team. I think I’m mostly concerned about the other Turner. Will the real JT please step up?
I’m not sure why every post has to be about Doc. It seems like Mark is as obsessed with Doc as Eric is about the bullpen and pitching splits. Let it go. Even TM finds a different player to rip on as soon as the one he’s been bashing starts to produce. You even said that no one makes the right decision all the time. For once, point out a decision that you disagree with. It will be a refreshing change of pace.
In retrospect I don’t know why ATL didn’t go to Smith against Belli.
That was a very good pitch that Jackson made to Belli. Could not handle high heat all year long. Bad break for him and the Braves that Belli for the first time all year mashed a pitch like that for a HR.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Actually, all three hits by LA off Jackson were on good pitches….Smith, Pollock, and Belli. I too couldn’t believe Belli got around on a HIGH fastball. I guess his slight choking up has helped and maybe he now is feeling much more confident. I’m sure that helps too.
As for the comeback, honestly, I didn’t expect it. I figured Jackson and Smith would mow us down and we are down 3-0. But, they came back from being down 4-2 in the 8th so call us even.
Let’s see what Julio has left in the tank tonight. Glad it is an 8:00 game.
I forget who said it but I liked the comment that it seems like we need to put ourselves in a position of total helplessness before we start to fight back. Rope-a-dopes?
Belli can’t catch up to high heat. So what happens? He hits one high and out of the zone. Pollock also chased another slider low, except this time he put wood on it and the ball found its way into the outfield.
The longer this series goes, the more all those random plays that go the Brave’s way will start to turn for the Dodgers.
I hope TT turns it around, but he has not come up big when it counts. It’s fine that he got a hit on that squibber to load the bases, but he really needed to hit the ball sharply in that situation.
So far Braves got most of the breaks. So many broken bat bloopers for them, defensive hickups by the Dodgers, missed strike calls against our hurlers in key situations and so on.
Hopefully we will get some of those breaks rest of the series.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Where’s TM? If this was a loss, he would have posted two hours ago.
Lol…..not true. I usually avoid talking after a loss….too much negativity.
I was supervising the guys who installed my tv and sound bar, make sure they are doing it right.
Congrats on keeping your faith in Belli….he didn’t let you, or the team, down. Can you now send over positive mo jo to the Turner boys?
Well, I hope you enjoy your new TV and sound bar. I just got new speakers last weekend and have been playing records constantly. I prefer true surround sound, but it takes up a lot of space and most speakers don’t blend into the ambiance of the room too well. It took me a long time to get it right piece by piece and it’s becoming a forever money pit.
Next up, new AVR. After that, I might go to an integrated amp for the front speakers. They have models that have a home theater bypass so you can use it in conjunction with an AVR. The downfall is that you have to two amps powered on for surround.
I’m almost as obsessed with records than I am with the Dodgers. I had my brother build me a beautiful 6 cube bookshelf to store my records. All five speakers are in cherry as well as the console under the TV. Unfortunately, my black sub doesn’t match so I’m sure I’ll find one in cherry to replace it with at some point.
If you want to do a nice test for your soundbar, I would suggest Ford vs Ferrari. That movie is most impressive with my surround setup.
Cheers! Don’t worry, be happy, at least for a day.
I played Interstellar….wow, the background music was loud, so i lowered the sound. but then the dialog was too low….so when I adjusted the volume up for the dialog….yowsa….my ears couldn’t take the loud music. So in effect, I had to keep the remote in my hand and adjust accordingly. Kind of frustrating.
Wasn’t it weird to see all those empty seats when the game started?
That was just Matthew McConaughey mumbling . . .
Dave Roberts gets a reprieve. I was about ready to call for him to be ritualistically drawn and quartered in the middle of the Dodger Stadium diamond to appease the Blue Gods in the Sky. The Blue Gods were angry with Dave Roberts and Andrew Friedman.
Andrew Friedman and Dave Roberts are very smart. They know they are very smart. They tell themselves that often.
They sat and pored over the numbers. They hypothesized potential match up scenarios. “We are going to outsmart the game!” They were going to play 12D chess in a traditional game of checkers.
So they crafted The Script. It was brilliant. They looked at their creation with pride – probably the same kind of pride Icarus had many years ago when he looked upon his wings crafted from wax. By the way, Icarus was very smart, too.
The Script was brilliant. The Script was perfect. They were going to outthink the game. Did I mention they are very smart?
So, out with Treinen, even though Treinen has the absolute nastiest stuff on the staff, even though he has been the most dependable reliever throughout the year, even though he was absolutely dealing and unhittable … no, no no! The Script called for Roberts to use a key starting pitcher between starts (a starting pitcher, btw, how has pitched more innings in his entire career and saw a dip in velocity at the end of the season). It was almost dastardly in its brilliance. They are very smart. The Script was perfect. They were going to stick to The Script no matter the game situation.
But the Dodger Blue Gods looked down from the Great Blue Sky and their brows furrowed. They were displeased. This was not the Dodger Way. This was not the 1988 Dodgers. This was not grit, resilience, determination – of letting go and putting faith in the Blue Gods in the Sky; of trusting themselves and trusting the game. Dave Roberts didn’t flail his arms in the dugout and yell at people like Tommy did. It was pride and arrogance and hubris. The Dodger Gods punished the Dodgers for their insolence, and might still punish them if Urias has a dead arm in today’s start.
Bellinger let go. He didn’t think of The Script. He didn’t think. He put his faith in the Dodger Gods. He switched off his targeting computer. The Dodger Gods looked down on him, and they were pleased.
May the Blue Force be with us.
https://youtu.be/KuKqcfO31is
Sarcasm Alert! 😉
I am pretty sure my feelings hurt and I need some hugs!
Well, you need to hit a homer to get hugs. Albert don’t give those out for a fly ball to the warning track!
Whaddya mean, sarcasm? You mean we can’t ritualistically draw and quarter Roberts in the middle of the Dodger Stadium diamond?
The Braves were beaten by the Ghost of Tommy Lasorda. I could feel his presence in the ballpark. Not in our house he said. Dodgers have won 18 of their last 19 games at home. Losing only the 1-0 game to the Giants.
I’ll buy into that!
I admit I was thinking about him too.
Let’s not forget the great job Phillips did to keep us in the game. His stuff looked electric! And the rest of the pen. What a closeout by Jansen. We were on our feet going crazy during his 3 K inning!
Evan Freaking Phillips?
I was glad Gonsolin saved him for that final out in the 8th.
I know it is all about who pitches at just the right time, and VERY GLAD gonzo only needed 2 pitches to get the out. But of everyone besides Buehler, he deserved the win the least.
I couldn’t pick him out of a police lineup.
Years from know I won’t even remember his name.
I think it was Harold Reynolds on MLB last night that said if the Braves think they are going to beat us w/ their relief corps they are going to be sorry. He said that us seeing a lot of their pen night after night is helping us more than it is helping them to see ours. He just thinks our pen is A LOT better. He also said the team that gets a starter or two to go long will be the big diff.
I blinked and thought Trenein was on the mound. Andrew really had his build a bullpen from the garbage bin thing going this year.
And by the way. Roberts is batting a lot higher than any of the players! As long as he doesn’t bring Kersh in relief!
Crazy series…..the starters for both teams are not lasting long….except Max Fried I think he went more than 5 (6).
An incredible win for the Dodgers and their fans last night. Bear posted yesterday that he bailed after the 6th and I did as well. I was getting more pissed off after each awful AB by the Dodger hitters. And, tired of one broken bat hit after another by the Brave hitters. I mean, come on, it was crazy. I returned just after Will got a hit. When Belli got to the plate I was hoping he would approach the AB like he had recently. But, after two big swings I knew that wasn’t going to happen. I guess if there was a time to hit a 500′ HR it was then. And, then he goes all Joc and tomahawks an eye high pitch and completely changed not only the game, but the series with the Braves. Good for him.
Let’s continue the offensive onslaught today.
Passan was on the Tony Kornheiser podcast.
He said that the games in this playoff series are interesting, but interminable.
I think that’s right, they’re way too long. Every team is too cute by half with pitcher management.
I’m not sure what the solution is, because these moves aren’t being done on whims.
But enough is well past enough.
Does not help that commercial breaks are longer in the postseason from what I see. They should go to more of the “commercial box while the game is going” ones to shorten the game. Too much time between innings is the main issue IMO.
cheers
pb+
Writers complaining about the length of a great game. What’s new?
Why? Has this been going on a while?
I don’t think it’s just writers complaining about it.
Great Piece in The Athletic by Andy McCullough:
https://theathletic.com/2901332/2021/10/20/mccullough-cody-bellinger-cant-explain-how-he-saved-the-dodgers-but-he-did/?source=dailyemail&campaign=601983
Here’s a snippet:
“On Tuesday, [Bellinger] saved a season.
When the eighth inning began, the Dodgers were, in the words of Roberts, “dead in the water.” The team trailed by three runs. The offense had not advanced a runner past second base since the first inning. The at-bats looked feeble, futile. Atlanta was six outs away from securing a 3-0 series edge.
The 2021 campaign was hell for Bellinger. Offseason shoulder surgery reduced his ability to lift and train heading into the spring. Scouts noticed his slimmer frame and diminished power. Pitchers challenged him and won. His body betrayed him. Bellinger broke his leg, then hurt his hamstring, then fractured a rib.
The nadir, to Dodgers officials, came after a road trip to San Francisco and St. Louis in early September. Bellinger went hitless on the trip. He struck out six times in 22 at-bats. His OPS dipped to .524. For Bellinger, Roberts said, this was “rock bottom.”
The coaching staff commissioned a series of alterations to his approach. Bellinger was receptive, hitting coach Brant Brown said. He did what they suggested. He choked up on the bat. He dropped his hands. He ditched his trademark uppercut for a flatter path. Brown emphasized contact. Bellinger was still strong enough that any contact would be productive.
“We just basically tried to put him in a position where he could go straight to the ball,” Brown said. “I don’t think it’s going to wind up there for the rest of his career. But for where he’s at now, I just think it was an important change. His stance almost premeditates his intent, not trying to do too much. And I think he’s reaped the benefits, despite where he’s at physically.”
So much for the _______________ (you fill in the blank) who said he was uncoachable and wouldn’t listen!
It’s a great piece by McCullough.
He picks the Braves to win game 4 today.
McCullough is so good.
Its easy to say that you were right that we shouldn’t have tried to win the division because we lost anyway. But what would the feelings be if we gave up, then lost the one game to the Cards. Then we all would be saying that we should have tried tow in and then we came up flat vs Cards. So I guess that’s circular reasoning.
Anyway GO DODGERs
The point is:
It is an opinion. It is not right or wrong. Circular reasoning comes into play when you try and generate a hypothesis.
We all know baseball games can turn around, but this was remarkable. The Dodgers looked absolutely listless after the Braves took the lead in the fourth. Maybe some of it was due to the shadows, no game should start here at 2pm. We weren’t hitting the ball hard, we were striking out, popping up, hitting weak ground balls. Two more innings and the season was essentially over. And then we somehow got two men on base, Pollock actually got a hit. And I thought that the only possible way we could win this game is if Bellinger hits a three-run homer. And he did. And suddenly we woke up, players and fans.
Will this turn around the entire series? Very possibly. The Braves are still very good. But their bullpen has to be tired. It will depend on whether our three starters ca regain their earlier form. They all have tired arms. It may be that the bullpens will decide this series, and that seems to be the case in the AL series, too, the game has turned into a succession of relief pitchers coming in. I lost count as to how many we used, but I guess you could look it up, as Ring Lardner would say.
We obviously need to win the next two, we do not want to have to go into Atlanta needing to sweep. We are now actually slightly favored to win the series, but we have been favored to win the championship all year. We are going to need some people in the lineup to actually hit: Trea Turner, Justin Turner, and AJ. The two Turners are automatic outs right now, and it is hard have a big inning when your third and fifth hitters just make easy outs.
Lux should not be playing center field. He’s had this problem going back on balls before. The Braves’ four-run inning was directly due to his misplay. He will get better, but not this year. Put outfielders in the outfield. Souza is another one who may have cost us a game. Put good outfielders in the outfield. You do not have to double switch each time you take a pitcher out, it is not in the rulebook.
There are some people who will say that every game we win is due to Dave Roberts’ managing, and every loss we have is due to players not executing, and that if they had, Roberts would be called a genius; which means that managers are exempt from criticism. That seems like a preconceived perception which nothing can shake. Win the title and Roberts is incredible, and everyone should admit how stupid they are to criticize him, or lose the title, and the players were tired, and did not play well enough, and everyone who blames it on Roberts is stupid. That is like a religious article of faith which takes precedence over everything else.
That was a great win, thrilling just for the emotional and improbable aspect. It is rather too bad that we have to play again today, and cannot bask in it, as we did after the Cardinals game, and the final game against the Giants. Will it be just the one shining moment of this series for us, maybe like Joe Ferguson’s throw to home in Game 2 of the 1974 World Series, or will it turn everything around? I think we would win the World Series if we got into it, and assuming our three starters are healthy enough. Like last year, the harder part is beating the Braves to get there.
I disagree about our chances in a possible WS.
Both BOS and HOU have menacing offenses and our starters – our apparent strength-look tired and far from their best .
I don’t think we can win slugfests with either of those two teams.
Go Dodgers!
So far in the postseason the Red Sox have scored 26 more runs than us and the Astros have scored 20 more runs. The Red Sox have allowed 20 more runs and the Red Sox have allowed 21 more runs. Looks pretty even to me considering that half our games were against better competition in the first round than either of those teams had to face.
The most runs we’ve given up in a game in the entire postseason so far is 5 and we did that twice. The Sox have given up that many a whopping 6 times and the Astros have given up 12 twice and 9. Arguably, we’ve been capable of winning every single game we’ve been in. Conversely, those AL teams have not.
I know you did not mean to do that, but you said the Red Sox allowed 20 more runs, and then the Red Sox allowed 21 more…one of those has to be the Astro’s. So who has given up 20, and who has given up 21??? Clarification please….
Astros allowed 21.
It’s the players. Bellinger came through, Roberts was on the bench when he did. Urias failed, Roberts was on the bench when that happened. We can question every move with our opinion of it but it’s players who make plays.
The other day after Taylor killed a rally with a base running gaffe I made a off the cuff comment that suggested the Dodgers weren’t necessarily a good base running team and BullP jumped on it immediately, of course, with a stat sheet that on base running. I found little in it that suggested one way or another whether the Dodgers as a team were good or bad. The go to stat for base running at fangraphs is BsR and I found this:
https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=y&type=8&season=2021&month=0&season1=2021&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&startdate=2021-01-01&enddate=2021-12-31&sort=19,d&page=1_30
Notice the first Dodger on that list.
Pretty ironic that Taylor is first on the list. If you go to team stats, you’ll see that the Dodgers lead the 4 teams currently in the playoffs in BSR…
Only the Rays and Cardinals were better on the year, out of all teams.
https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=0&type=8&season=2021&month=0&season1=2021&ind=0&team=0,ts&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&startdate=2021-01-01&enddate=2021-12-31&sort=18,d
Does that help?
October 21 20:53 (Los Angeles)–Two days after Cody Bellinger saved the Dodgers season with his dramatic 8th inning homer, LA finished off their home portion of this year’s NLCS with a resounding 8-0 victory behind the arm of Tony Gonsolin and the bat of Corey Seager. Gonsolin, who retired the only batter he faced in Tuesday’s come-from-behind win and was held back in Wednesday’s 12th inning series-knotter, pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out nine and plating a run in the 2nd inning with a bunt double that scooting through a charging Freddie Freeman’s legs. Another first inning home run by Corey Seager, who later added a bases-clearing double in the decisive 4th, set the tone for a game that put the Dodgers ahead 3-2 heading back to Atlanta for at least more game. Brusdar Graterol, who battled back from being down 3-0 to strike out Ozzie Albies in the bottom of the 11th with the bases loaded in Wednesday’s five-hour classic, pitched the final two innings to put the Dodgers one win from their fourth World Series appearance in five years. Unfortunately, the game was not without controversy, as manager Dave Roberts, who was spotted by a TBS camera in the 5th inning holding a corkscrew in his left hand, tripped while attending to an injured Matt Beaty–who had fouled a ball off his knee the next inning and had to be removed from the game–and was immediately administered an on-field sobriety test by crew chief Jerry Meals after huddling for over ten minutes with Brian Snitker and a league lawyer. Roberts was shown on the stadium’s video monitor reciting the alphabet backwards, laughing uncontrollably when he couldn’t continue after finally spitting out a loud and comically extended “O” after a long pause for a barely audible “P” with the entire left field bleacher section jumping on their seats and chanting “Dave!” over and over despite’s Meals’ amplified pleas for total silence in the stadium. Roberts was eventually ejected and carried to the dugout steps by Blake Treinen and Kenley Jansen, both of whom had jogged in from the bullpen during the delay. Waving his hands and blowing kisses to the thundering sell-out crowd, Roberts was later caught on camera bleary-eyed on the clubhouse couch, eating Triscuits and sipping from a Cup O’ Noodles cup. League discipline will be announced early tomorrow morning and is expected to be at least as severe as that handed out to Travis d’Arnaud, who sat out Thursday’s contest after being suspended for one game for pulling his cup out of his pants and throwing it in the direction of Lance Barksdale after being called on a checked swing.
Thanks for the laugh! The part about reciting the alphabet backwards reminds me of being at the SLO county fair around 1980 & getting in a little scuffle. When I got taken to the local police station in Paso Robles the chief was there & asked why they brought me in & they said for fighting. He said “where is the other guy?” They told him that the dude did not look so good so they sent him home ( he was a local of course ). The chief said “doesn’t it take two to fight?” Then they took my mug shot with a polaroid and when the pic popped out they put it what looked like a regular photo album. They the chief made me say “how much wood could a woodchuck chuck…….” , when I repeated it correctly he says “this guy is not drunk send him home”.
cheers
pb+
That’s awesome, cheers.
You mean that is not true?
Sorry, what is not true?
That’s some creative and funny stuff DL. Thanks
Again a gutty performance to come back from the walking dead yesterday.
* The bullpen saves the day again. What a performance giving up one run the last 5 and 1/3. KJ is Good Night Irene.
*The starting pitching is concerning for sure. Striker getting 3.2, Max at 4.1 and the opener game where Gonzo was supposed to eat some inning that didn’t happen has caused 25 pitching outings in 3 games. That has to be a record. We could sure use at least 5 out of Urias today. (I assume he’s starting and this isn’t a bullpen game but every game is a bullpen game).
* You could see it coming with Charlie Morton. He’s at a standing 8 count in the 1st inning. CT3 could have put a huge nail in his coffin with a big hit with the bases juiced. And it didn’t happen. Morton settles in and by the time Minter took over in the 6th we were down 3 runs and had used 5 pitchers.
* Our water spigot offense again shut off with 3 hits in innings 2 – 7.
* I have been critical of Bellinger’s swing but I’ve like the changes he’s made lately. I absolutely never suggested that he be benched or platooned. He has to be in the lineup every day for his defense and for exactly what we saw yesterday. He’s always capable of running into one and change the game. That was some at bat. The previous fastball up in the zone was what we’ve seen too much of; moving parts, a little head dip and he was tardy. The next elevated fastball had to be a height Jackson wanted it. And Belli somehow got it timed up and squared it up. Great bat path to that ball, on time. Great results.
* With those little cards in use, I’ve never seen so maybe cross-ups by all the teams.
* Could the announcers over-spectulate and over analyze any more than the do?
“You know Ron this 2:00 start time is unusual and could really throw a pitcher off”
“When Bellinger called Smith off that pop up, the sun could have been a factor for him more than it would have been to the catcher”
“You wonder if Buehler had a bowl movement this morning. If not, that can really effect your game. And if he did, was it a good one or just subpar? Lauren do you have anything on that?”
Okay, I made the last one up.
* Am I really seeing a Draft Kings Sportsbook tote board on my TV screen multiple time during the game telling me I’d win $205 for betting $100 on a strikeout of the batter, with the over-under? Questions:
How is this legal and with MLB being a partner? To me this is such a shift from the age old posture that gambling and striking an umpire were the 2 original sins posted on every clubhouse door since 1919. Now MLB is openly promoting gambling. While Pete Rose still sits out of the HOF. Time to rethink that one.
* Brutal job by Jerry Meals behind the dish especially the missed called strike in the 4th on Joc that added to Strikers demise. I mentioned it sometime back and so has Bull&Pen a couple of times. If they don’t go to the ABS. I’m all for eliminated the box superimposed on the TV screen showing pitch location. If the strike zone is going to be each umpires interpretation of the zone than that’s the standard and what pitch trap says doesn’t matter.
* Did you catch Belli jackin Joc in the nuts with his glove after Joc’s single? Despite the age, 8th grade PE antics never get old.
* I hope it’s Urias and I hope he’s better then what we’ve been getting from the starters.
With regard to your question about how the line of tolerance has blurred and moved between MLB and Gambling, I refer you to following which has helped me navigate nearly all of my questions since giving up on Socialism:
Tony Kornheiser, podcast, sports commentator and legendary columnist for the Washington Post, often quotes former NBC executive and producer of numerous sports programs Don Ohlmeyer: “The answer to all your questions is money.”
Yep, online betting is big biz now. Bwin is one of the top ten biggest sponsors on the international soccer stage and you bet (pun intended) we will see more of this. And you bet (pun intended) that it is absolutely hypocritical that Rose is still banned from baseball considering a bunch of his own personal property is on full display in the HOF, just not a plaque for him. Fitting for today’s society.
Pete Rose should be in the HOF. PERIOD!
So should Shoeless Joe.
* There can be an Asterisk.
I don’t think anyone needs an asterisk as long as “The Georgia Peach” is in there.
HOF was woke b4 there was woke. And as we know, everything woke turns to sheeyit.
cheers
pb+
Interesting. I didn’t realize it was so pervasive.
Two barriers to players getting caught up in this is that: 1. the money they make makes them less susceptible to the temptation 2. the risk of a lifetime ban
I can imagine it’d be a problem. What stops a player from getting a VPN, making an anonymous account to bet on himself striking out, and then going out and striking out?
There were a couple of movies where the characters were betting on random stuff. Caddyshack was one … they were betting on whether that kid would eat his own booger. I think there was another movie where they did that?
Rose should have been banned from baseball, not for betting generally, but for betting on games involving his own team. There are some who are pretty sure that he bet against the Reds at times. But let us say that we take him at his word, and he only bet on his team to win.
Would he not do more to try to win the games where he bet on the Reds? For example, using his best bullpen pitcher an extra inning, or on consecutive days? Playing someone who really could have used a few days of rest? We do not know, but one would think that he is going to do more to try to win a game which he has bet big money on. That completely undermines the so-called integrity of the game.
Or what if the Reds are out of the race, and he bets on them to beat an also-ran team, and then has no good starters to pitch against the contending, team, thus influencing the pennant race. Or what if he holds out his best starter so that he can pitch against a bad team, and Rose can bet a lot of money on that.
No one knows if he did, or what he did, but a manager betting on games involving his own team invites that kind of thing. It cannot be allowed, unless you want baseball to be seen as corrupt, as was generally believed in the 1920’s; and for fans to decide whether their team’s manager was betting on them that day, or a player recovering from injury thinking that the only way he was put in the lineup is because the manager had a bet. It seems obvious to me that based on the known facts, Rose should have been banned.
“No evidence was discovered that Rose bet against the Cincinnati Reds.” This is a sentence directly from the Dowd Report.
Now as far as being banned from baseball goes, I don’t have a problem with a ban from being a part of any team or MLB or any affiliates. But, it’s completely stupid to have his gear in the HOF, but he can’t have a plaque there.
I would agree that it is hypocritical to have the gear there. As I recall, Rose had a very respected attorney, and they agreed to a lifetime ban apparently in exchange for no hearing. They would almost certainly not have agreed to that, unless the evidence was very bad for him. Then after a couple of years, Rose reneged, and said he should not be banned. Giamatti is not there now, and some of the other witnesses such as bookies or clubhouse people, may not be easily found. I am sure that they still have betting sheets showing just what Rose bet on day to day, but the lack of witnesses would be to his advantage.
You are correct, William. It’s pretty simple to understand.
The Rose situation was a mess. He lied and seemed remorseless. He was dead wrong and again committed one of the 2 original deadly baseball sins. He claimed that he only agreed to a lifetime ban (which kept him out of jail) with Ole Bart G because Bart had agreed, according to Petey, to lift the ban in a few short months or years. Of course that agreement must have been a verbal one and ole Bart had the bad fortune to die shortly after. So, Pete’s claim had no legs. Lots of people falsely tie the circumstances of Pete’s case to later day offenses like drug use, steroid use, domestic violence and the like. But all those punishments were negotiated between the Players Union and MLB. That wasn’t the case with gambling and assaulting an umpire in 1920. It’s apples and oranges.
But to me, the statute of limitations on this “lifetime ban” has long ago expired especially in light of MLB’s new ownership and activity in organized gambling now. Seems pretty hypocritical now.
Pete’s done his time – in spades. I think Pete needs to try Manfred again in light of the current state of the union.
Well you get back to the idea that the Dodgers should have let go of the division and here I go again:
The Brewers won the division early in September and they did just what you wanted the Dodgers to do: they put players to rest, they played at half gas, they lost a lot of games, in the last series they were swept by the Dodgers and minimized the result Counsell said: “we are preparing for October”, as they had no urgency to win they got cold and when they wanted to start the engines they could no longer do it and they ran out, they were eliminated.
Yesterday the Dodgers bullpen did another great job, only allowed one run and gave the team a chance to win, they are not gassed.
I agree with most of that. The Colts had the same issue. I would not have conceded the division, but I would have rested my starters more. Maybe let them go three innings…
Anyone else notice Eovaldi got hammered yesterday? Another instance of overmanaging by using a starting pitcher in relief, perhaps.
Aren’t pitchers really almost at the knife’s edge of performance based on their respective roles? If I’m a starter and I have a set routine and predetermined amount of recovery between throwing 100 pitches, doesn’t getting put in a relief situation in the middle of my recovery period kind of throw a wrench in the whole process?
If Urias comes out and is flat we will be having this conversation about his relief appearance again.
Last year Urias was nails in relief … but that was his role. He wasn’t expected to start and could focus on being a long relief guy. I think it’s too much to ask a starting pitcher to do both. But what do I know.
So is the plan for Urias to pitch tonight, bullpen game [or Gonsolin] tomorrow, then Scherzer/Buehler in ATL?
Or will Doc do something surprising in Game 5?
I don’t have an opinion, but I do think whatever happens tonight shouldn’t determine our course of action.
TG has to pitch well tomorrow. Has to give us some bulk innings. He can do it, talent is there but he seems to be crumble during the postseason. Not the same guy as in the regular season it appears.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!
Agreed. He could honestly be the difference. Just throw the start of your life and we’ll never ask anything else from you, Tony G.
The umpiring in the Red Sox-Astros game was atrocious. And the main source was the home plate ump, Laz Diaz. That guy’s K zone was so bad. Lots of parting ways going on. It looks like Kyle Seager’s option is not going to be picked up by the Mariners. I was surprised to read that he had not spoken with DiPoto for several years.
Bear, I looked up yesterday’s rating on my new Umpire Scorecard app. It has good old Laz Díaz missing 21 pitches for an accuracy rate of 86%, that’s pitiful. Which brings up the same old question. How does this A-hole keep his job?
I have no clue, but he, Hernandez and a couple others need to be GONE.
Gavin batting 6th and in CF again.
Ynoa opening for the Braves.
I would have put TT in CF and Gavin at 2b. TT has experience in CF and Gavin at 2b is an excellent defender there.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!
I now agree…..Gavin seems to be a liability in the OF. He is not ready…not instinctive yet. All it takes is a split second to not move forward or backwards that can result in a hit that would have been caught by Cody. Too bad Gavin can’t play 1B instead of OF for now. Next year, we can try again.
The sun was in his eyes.
He’ll be fine.
That said, why not Lux at first for now? Anybody can play first, and a lifetime SS certainly can. Just a thought.
“Gavin seems to be a liability in the OF” Why am I not surprised? From the same guy that wanted Beaty in the OF.
Changing everyone’s position in a pressure packed postseason series when you’re down 2-1 is not a smart move. What I’ve seen so far from Lux was 1 really botched play in unusual conditions with afternoon sun. I’ve also seen him make some good plays like the double play the other day.
I agree that he could play 1B, but he wouldn’t even be as good as Beaty at 1st base if you throw him out there now. Put everyone where they feel comfortable.
I think the way the lineup is constructed, they plan on pinch hitting for Lux at some point anyways. I thought it would be a good idea to seperate Belli and Lux with a couple of right handed hitters. By putting Lux right in front of Belli, they’re setting a trap to accomplish the same thing, make the lefty face two righties instead of two lefties by pinch hitting for Lux.
Good call B&P. You just don’t move guys around into uncomfortable positions in the most critical games. The players aren’t robots. It was bad enough moving Lux there at all to keep his bat going but it wouldn’t have been center for me, despite him saying he sees the ball better there. I don’t think any excuses are necessary. He didn’t lose the ball in the sun. It wasn’t a bad hop or he was fouled on the play. He missed the ball. It’s because he is an inexperience centerfielder.
Second base would be completely out of the question as I believe he’s hitting better without the burden of playing in the infield. Maybe next year.
But he’s hitting .250 this post season so it’s not like he’s Babe Ruth and he has to start somewhere.
New SP for Atlanta tonight.
Dodgers need to be in hunt and destroy mode.
Gavin dropped a ball that was in his glove. He got to it.
He almost had it.
It likely had to do with the sun.
Otherwise, Lux has looked fine there.
You don’t switch two players.
Lux is OK.
No need to panic!
Tonight’s 8pm ET Lineup:
RF Mookie Betts R
SS Corey Seager L
2B Trea Turner R
C Will Smith R
3B J. Turner R
CF Gavin Lux L
1B C. Bellinger L
LF Chris Taylor R
P Julio Urias L
It’s winnin’ time
Memo to Julio….stay away from the 3-2 FB away.
And if you’re going to elevate an O-2 fastball then elevate it. That pitch was the biggest improvement from the first half to the second half of the year. That pitch got hit the first part of the year. Time for the offense to show up. TT looking like he’s swinging for the fence again.
Is it my imagination, or did it seem that Lux hit that ball harder than both the Braves’ HR’s?
It was hit pretty hard.
Gotta hit with ’em.
Urias is off tonight get him out of there.
He’s throwing BP. With AtL using a bullpen game I thought we would see CT 3 in CF and Pollock in LF. I have zero idea if CT3 gets to Joc’s hit. Nice AB by Lux but no luck for him.
PH for Julio. He’s done. Will JT and TT show up tonight? Julio not able to equal last year’s post season magic this year and the baseball gods will always have the ball find the inexperienced “out of place” player. Lux ain’t no CF right now and it’s evident.
I totally agree. Taylor, Mookie or Bellinger would have caught that ball. He is way to tentative out there. You cannot let that 4th run score. Unless the bats come alive, they are going to be in a huge hole. Same one they were in last year.
Only differences will have to sweep in Atlanta last year it was on a neutral field.
I agree we need put rallies together, but we never do that until we’re on our last breath.
Hope they wake up and start to chip away, don’t have to get it all back at once but put good at bats together
What they need to do, and have not been doing at all, is string together a bunch of hits,
Agree as Smyly just got an 8 pitch (3 out) inning. So many what-ifs in the post season. What if…………
Muncy had never got hurt and we had Cody in CF?
What if AJ Pollock hit regularly in the post season and was a viable option in LF with CT3 in CF or off the bench?
What if TB wasn’t a selfish punk?
What if CK hadn’t been hurt?
What if Dustin Many hadn’t been hurt?
What if JT hit just 100 points higher in avg? (hitting .125 for the post season).
What if TT hit like he did during the regular season?
18 more Dodger outs to get this thing going. Lets freaking go!
Atlanta bullpen working on a perfect game.
Can’t win if ya don’t score, can’t score if ya don’t hit.
In the old days they’d never let somebody get that comfortable at the plate. Go ahead and try to dig in against Gibson or Drysdale. Rosario just looks too comfortable in there
Of course that has nothing to do with our poor hitting, it just irks the shit out of me
Why is Urías still in there Robert’s? One more run was huge but Robert’s let’s him die on the hill, if he was pitching well he would have been taken out last inning.
When Julio’s change up is working he’s an all star and when it’s not they sit on his fastball and well the results aren’t the same. But cmon 2 no nothing pitchers have shut us down so far. That’s unacceptable!
I think Roberts left Urias in there because he is going to have to have a bullpen game tomorrow. Neither Scherzer or Buehler will be ready to go. But 5 runs? They had never overcome a 3 run lead until yesterday. Now they get 2 on with 1 out and dumb ass Taylor pops out on the first pitch. They do that way too frippen often. And look who comes through with a 2 run single, Pollock.
That’s definitely why he left him in too long. I get it but once I was at 4 if not 3 I’m yanking him. I really thought AJ would start after having a more competitive and successful AB yesterday. With a bullpen game by Atlanta I figured AJ had the more consistent splits than Lux.
Playoff Pollock has a new meaning now. That was huge. Going the other way gets us two runs. Lesson learned?
Instead of pulling off that pitch Pollock went the other way
With our lineup we should be playing with leads not deficits.
It’s ridiculous to have to depend on a miracle to win a game with our lineup.
Kudos to belli also
Nice AB by AJ. At least we got 2.
So, now Roberts double switches which brings up the pitcher sooner. Probably not a big deal but not how one usually uses a double-switch.
Wow. TT totally lost up there! Hard to hit balls bouncing in the dirt!
Julio had his worst start since June today. His worst start of his last 20 starts. And the only start this year giving up 3 home runs. He clearly did not have his good stuff today, but gave his best effort. I have to think the decision to throw him on Sunday on minimal rest disrupted his routine and negatively impacted his performance today.
I believe it was much more a Friedman decision than Dave Roberts. Sometimes smart people overthink things.
They received a lot of credit for Scherzer closing out game 5 against the Giants, but it was likely that Kenley closes that game out as well.
The decision to use Julio instead of Treinen, Jansen and Graterol probably cost them game 2 and probably hurt their chances in game 4 as well. I didn’t like the move from the minute he was put into the game Sunday. Not only are you messing with your game 4 starter, but you are asking a young pitcher who overcame major shoulder injury, and has pitched by far a career high of innings this year to pitch three times in 5 days, in super high stress innings.
We will never know if the relief stint had any impact on Julio today or not. But to me it appears that the decision negatively impacted two games this series. Even if there was no impact today, it was not worth the risk, and not a wise move.
The Dodgers are currently losing this series more so due to the lack of hitting than any management decisions. Hopefully, they can start hitting and turn the series around. They still have the talent and ability to win this series even down 2 games to 1 and 5-2 in this game.
Let’s go, Dodgers!
It certainly seemed unnecessary. Especially considering Rosario and Albies hit lefties better. They had a pen full of quality relievers. I don’t know if it compromised Julio tonight but it certainly didn’t help. I understood the Scherzer move. Probably not necessary but I get it.
What I don’t like at all was TT explaining how your bad 10 days might come during the postseason before the series even started. Seems like he was justifying his behavior before it even happened.
Now you know how it feels to be a Giants fan as far as the hitting is concerned! Just wanted to drop in and say.. hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
Well, at least we ain’t trolling Giant sites. We don’t even chant “beat SF” And how are we supposed to know how a Giants fan feels when we’re not into same sex? Enjoy your bath house parade Madam Adam.
Okay that was uncalled for. So sorry.
Down 5-2 in the eighth. We’ve been here before! We’ve got them right where we want them!
They lose Turner to what looks like a balky hammy. That is a blow. If he was hitting like he usually does, it would be even worse. Team looks listless.
Sorry Doc but miracles don’t happen every night
You have to play like you’re seriously trying to win from the beginning dont hope for a miracle at the end of the game
Love to eat my words
CT3, as much as I love him, just might be the dumbest player the Dodgers have. He comes up to bat with two new relief pitchers once with runner at 1st and 3rd and swings at the first pitch with not so much of a tough out at all. He then leads off the 8th with a new pitcher and swings at the first pitch when they needed base runners.
That has to drive Doc crazy….is that circular reasoning, asking for a friend?
Agree on that CT3 at bat. Anything could happen there the guy could throw a wild pitch you never know. But I wouldn’t swing at the first pitch when it seems like things are starting to unravel for Atlanta
Lotta pressure on the pitcher right there CT3 let him off the hook
One last chance for another miracle
Gonsolin is not a relief pitcher! How good would this Brave lineup be with Acuna and Ozuna! Wow! What a pickup with Rosario!
Our trade deadline second baseman in the post season is……………….never mind!
Down 3-1 after four games. We’ve been here before. We’ve got them right where we want them!
Keep on believing that. If they can pull off a win tomorrow, there is always hope. But what they need to do is jump out to an early lead and keep piling on. So far, they have been unable to do that.
No late inning magic tonight. We will be down 3-1 with a bullpen game looming. The injuries played a huge part as has the sudden lack of offense since the playoffs began. When your table setters are not getting on you are not going to win many games. Except for a couple of games, they have been unable to score. That puts a lot of pressure on your pitching staff to be damn near perfect, And with the momentum and high of last nights win, to come out as flat and listless as they have been tonight? That just shows a huge lack of preparation. This is going to be about as disappointing an end to a season as I have ever seen. A team with this much talent being totally out played, out pitched and out managed. The pitchers look gassed. The players look gassed. Atlanta has taken advantage of every opening they have recieved. Give them and their players a lot of credit.
If the Dodgers don’t comeback from a 3-1 deficit I have to think there are some changes to the offensive coaching staff. To see a team this talented only get 4 hits a game, the horrible hit w/ RISP, the Bellinger season-long slump, the lack of ascension in the Lux offensive performance, the regression of JT, the reliance on the HR to score runs has to result in changes. RVS is on life support as a Dodger coach. Wouldn’t be surprised if Geren moves on also.
Bellinger’s slump had more to do with his injuries than anything else. He has been a lot better since he got healthier. They still coach launch angle too much in my book. Get your bat on the ball and make solid contact, take what the pitcher gives you and hit the ball the other way. Friedman likes the approach his coaches take. That is why he hired them. But before he even thinks about coaching changes, he is going to have to do a lot of work on his roster. And they are going to have to see what kind of changes in the rules are coming too. The CBA is the top thing on MLB’s list. RVS is just one of 3 batting coaches on this team. JT’s regression? He had a decent season, he tied his career high in homers. But the guy is 36 years old. Any regression he has is simply part of getting older. Even with that, he was still one of their better clutch hitters up until these playoffs. They played most of the season without their regular lineup in the game. Just look how many AAAA type players they had to use, and none of them were a huge help. Losing May, and then Bauer crippled the starting staff. They went through so many pitchers who were not of MLB caliber. They were terrible all year with RISP and yet still managed to be one of the top scoring teams in the majors. They got to the playoffs on the strength of thier pitching, especially their starters. Now those starters are getting hammered by the Braves. They managed to keep the GIants high powered offense quiet for 4 games. The 1-0 loss was a heartbreaker. The performance part is on the players. The coaches do nothing but make suggestions. The player either implements the suggestion, or he ignores it. But once he is at the plate, the execution of his plan is all on him. I have watched the entire team swing at way too many pitches that they could not hit if they tried.
Headline: DODGERS LOSE UGLY — Braves Scalp Uninspired Dodgers – Questions remain about Urias’s relief appearance.
Giants fan here.
Getting a bit tight around the neck I imagine, eh? Another choke job coming up? I think so!
HAHAHAHAHAHA!
Giants are playing golf. LOL. HOPE THEY DO BETTER ON THE LINKS THAN THEY DID IN THE PLAYOFFS.
Who knew that Rosario was the pickup of the year at the deadline!! Props to Anthopoulos
Betts 0-4. That’s a problem. In a HUGE game like tonight.
There’s lots of problems!
Lol. Sad but true.
I wouldn’t have believed they could play that bad IN THEIR OWN HOUSE after the HUGE momentum of yesterday’s comeback win.
I doubt a 14 pitch one inning outing had anything to do with how bad he was tonight. He left way too many pitches up in the zone and the Braves hammered them.
And as the brains here have already figured out, it wasn’t Doc who came up with that.
Match the player with the following NLCS post season offensive stats:
.214 avg, .389 OBP, .286 SLG
.167 avg, .167OBP, .167 SLG
.000 avg, .286 OBP, .000 SLG
.200 avg, .333 OBP, .200 SLG
All you need to know about why the Dodgers are down 3-1 is right there. We can debate the use of Urias in game #2, some of Doc’s decisions, the 4.2 inning start by Scherzer, the BP game in game #1 or any other reason why we’re down 3-1, but the reason we are is Betts, Trea Turner, Lux, and JT are doing very little in either getting on base or coming up with a big hit when most needed.
That sez it all. Sad.
First five hitters in our line-up tonight went 1-18 with a walk. The only hit was a Pujols pinch hit. That’s bad.
Dodgers were down to three very good starters, no fourth starter at all. And all three of them are worn out and overworked. Maybe it was not avoidable, but so far we have used Scherzer in relief in an understandable situation, and he said his arm was dead even when they gave him an extra day off. Urias substantially lost speed on his fastball in both the very unnecessary relief appearance, and then coming back to start three days later. Buehler is just tired, has tailed off the last month, though did pitch very well in the last regular season game.
In retrospect, while I did not want us to concede the division to the Giants, maybe they should not have used Buehler then, because the odds were high that the Giants would win, making our game irrelevant. And even if they lost, we would still have to go up there for a playoff game, and if we lost that, then a Wildcard game against St. Louis. Having Buehler get that game off would have helped all our pitchers, And we could have won it anyway.
I felt, and I was not the only one, that once Kershaw went out (and he was having problems his last few weeks pitching), we did not have enough starters. Koufax, Drysdale and Osteen did it in 1965, and Koufax, Drysdale and Podres in 1963. But these starters cannot do it. And Gonsolin, the default starter, is not very good at this point in his career. And we certainly did not want to use Urias, who was already overworked, in relief. If we had left Treinen in for Game 2, and gotten the win, then Urias would have had extra rest, and just maybe we could have won both those games and been up 3-2. It is not at all inconceivable.
Atlanta’s up 3-1. What could go wrong?
JT is out of the playoffs with a grade 2 strain of his hammy/ Not sure who will replace him on the roster. but ,most likely s McKinstry Dodgers sent P Zack Wilemann to the Royals completing the Duffy trade
William in 1965 and 1963 two teams played in the World Series. In 2021 10 teams are in the playoffs. Apples and oranges.