The Dodgers were in this same position last year. They were down 3-1 to the Braves and won three straight games. I was confident that they could do that… LAST YEAR! I do not think they can do it THIS YEAR! If you have a great team, The Whole Is Greater Than The Sum Of Its Parts. We have often heard that, but what does it really mean? The meaning of “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” is that when one single thing is grouped by a collection of individual parts and properties, it will be much better or more perfect than any of the parts would be on their own. It’s saying that individually, certain systems and things aren’t all that great, but when combined, it turns them into something excellent that has to be reckoned with.
So far, the Braves as a whole are greater than the sum of their parts. Conversely, the Dodgers parts add up to being greater than the whole, but they have not. The Whole is Much Less than the sum of the parts.Simply put, the Dodgers are playing like they won 88 gams this season and the Braves are playing like they won 106. Both teams have serious injuries. The Braves are without Ozuna and Acuna. The Dodgers are without Muncy and J-Turner. JT is done for this series. Shoot, the Dodgers may be done for this series. The fact that they are in this same position again and forced not to lose another game makes it highly improbable that they will win this series.
Last night, they really only had three problems:
- They couldn’t hit;
- They couldn’t field; and
- They couldn’t pitch.
If they fix all three of those things, they have a chance. I will be rooting for them, but my confidence level is low. I hope they can dig down deep and pull it out, but they look gassed! Some of you are blaming Roberts on Urias drop in velocity over his average fastball velocity. He was less than 2 MPH slower than his “AVERAGE” fastball velocity for the season, but last night was pretty typical of his fastball velo in the last three weeks. He is gasssed. Scherzer is gassed. Buehler is gassed. The bullpen is not so gased. Treinen, Knebel, Bazooka and Jansen can probably each go 2 innings today, if they pitch efficiently.
I am not going to say that “I told you so.” because if the Dodgers had rested their pitchers, they could have lost momentum. The Braves ending the season with an 8-2 record in the last 10 games. The Dodgers were 9-1. I said at the time, I would have rested some pitchers, but realistically how do you do that? The Indianapolis Colts rested their regulars inn a end of season game and lost all momentum. We will never know what would have happened here if the Dodgers had done that.
Julio Urias has the right mindset. “We’re a good team with great players, great talent. So the mentality stays the same. Tomorrow we need to come in and try to win, then go to Atlanta and do that there, too. We did it last year, why not this year?” Yep. Makes sense, but it’s time to stop talking and just do it!
The fat lady ain’t singing…. but she is humming!
Dodger News
- Gavin Lux is very raw in CF, but I think that is his future. Give him an entire Spring Training there and he will excell. Cody is a wizard at 1B and JT needs to be the DH. Max Muncy made himself into a very good first-baseman, and will do the same at 3B. I think he can be the equal of JT there.
- Jacob Amaya was 1-2 with a walk for the Desert Dogs last night (.375 BA/1.365 OPS). He is a defensive wizard and if he can hit, look out!
- McKinstry will likely get the call up, as he can play 3B. Lux will sit against Fried (I would assume). The only question is does Cody play CF with Albert at 1B?
- Trea Turner is the NL Batting Champion. Would you trade him even up for Eddie Rosario?
Keep the faith.
The Fat Lady is warming her voice up to sing up in the locker room tonight or soon thereafter with the injured players Kershaw, May, Nelson,Muncy, Rios and others. It is truly amazing the Dodgers won 106 games in the regular season, a Wild Card Game and an exciting 5 game series against the Giants. All this was done with 3 healthy pitchers,now exhausted and running on fumes, a great bullpen and a weak bench that prevented us from resting players with productive results, not from thle Sousas, McKinneys,McKinstreys who were not the answer. AF has some work to do in the offseason.addressing the starting pitching,shortstop and providing a quality bench. Mark was right, chasing the Giants till the last day of the season did not allow us to rest our big 3 pitchers before the playoffs and having to use Buehler on 3 days rest against the Giants and using Scherzer and Urias in relief was a formula for disaster. Great season under the circumstances. Wait till next year!
I remember last year at this exact moment saying (on this site): “I can totally imagine the Dodgers winning the next three games.” The same goes for right now. There were so many times this year when I thought the Dodgers were playing poorly and they were going to flame out, and then they would turn around and win a bunch in a row. It was rarely pretty, but they managed to get the job done. I will continue to believe they can do it until it’s over. One game at a time. All hands on deck. Every AB, every pitch, every fielding play: stay focused. You will have the whole off-season to rest.
Regardless of what happens, we won the “NL West World Series” and took out the red hot Cardinals along the way which was awesome (!!)– and 9 consecutive playoff appearances — I feel spoiled as a fan. Let’s take tonight’s game and put a little fear into the Braves — you know they haven’t forgotten what happened last year.
I love your optimism! Go Blue!!!
Well, that certainly didn’t go as planned. It looked like a mismatch, our Cy Young candidate and postseason wizard against their bullpen. Who would have figured the Braves would open a can of whoop-ass on us? Now we find us in a familiar predicament. We’re down 3-1 to the Braves, just like last year…
But, unlike last year Max Muncy and Justin Turner are now on the DL, Seager isn’t King Kong, and Mookie isn’t the spark plug that ignites the engine. I will begrudgingly keep the faith that a comeback is possible although improbable. This feels a lot like ’19 when after kicking the crap out the Nationals for a few years in the playoffs, they finally got their revenge.
The Braves are a very good team. They aren’t a juggernaut that won 106 games. But, without Muncy and JT we aren’t either. We are reduced to praying for a miracle. Maybe we’ll pull up McKinstry and he’ll play Gold Glove defence at 3B and hit like Eddie Rosario all the sudden. Yeah, that’s not very likely. Maybe Albert will play 1B full time and hit like a Hall of Famer, I’m not going to hold my breath. A more likely scenario is the pitching staff will take over the series for the next three games and cool those hot bats. We pitch we win?
Doc already said that “The Machine” will start at 1B tomorrow. This will put Belli back into CF and Pollock will most likely start in LF against a lefty. That puts CT3 at 3B. A good enough lineup to beat any team. A more than capable lineup to put the hurt on any opposing pitching staff. They just have to play to their ability.
Not a whole hell of a lot to say about Yesterday’s shit show. I didn’t even bother to watch Tony G, the postseason choker, give up a 4 spot in the ninth. Par for the course! Maybe they should just IL him now and bring up anyone else that might be able to take down a couple of innings. Mitch White anyone?
Doc was asked if he would give a speech to fire up the guys before today’s game. He said he would not. Something to the effect that the team knows what position they’re in and what they need to do. Modern managers, eh?
I liked Bear’s idea of having a bullpen game yesterday and giving Julio extra rest to start today. It made sense to Bear and it made sense to me. I find it curious that it didn’t make sense to Doc and the faceless man behind the curtain. Maybe it doesn’t matter. Maybe one extra day wouldn’t have helped much.
I’m not blaming Doc for any of this. He’s playing the cards he’s been dealt. Maybe AF should have worked on that bench a little more at the deadline because right about now, it looks to be the biggest weakness on the team with two starters out. Sure, you can say Kike and Joc, but you can also say Rosario and Bryant, both traded at the deadline.
Steve displayed exactly why I can’t stand the Giants. What loser has the balls to go on a rival site and say HAHAHAHA? Especially after we just ended their team’s miracle season? What a loser. Never have I ever had the urge or either the thought to go on another team’s site and talk a bunch of crap. But, to do so right after your team was eliminated by said team is really no self awareness at all. I guess he never heard the expression about the pot and the kettle.
Let’s go Dodgers! Let’s go Brandon!
Dude, that is the bad side of midgets fans & they are a disease out there. Have you ever looked at yahoo comments on Dodger articles? I know there are find upstanding midgets fans …… SOMEWHERE …… but the ones I see online are scum.
cheers
pb+
Roberts won’t give a motivational speech because he’s not Tommy. He’s in upper management in the Dodgers corporation. He makes sure the players get the memo about the new TPS format for emails. Ok, that’s an exaggeration.
The bench has been a weakness all season. Probably still the correct decision to let Kike and Joc go, but the collection of people AF threw at the wall didn’t stick. I had hopes for Neuse. Noisy, Raley, DJ … busts. McKinstry started out well but regressed to who we know he is. I don’t even know who this Sousa guy is, but his throw cost the Dodgers the game.
Let’s go Dodgers …and let’s go Brandon!
I think an occasional Gnat troll here is kind of funny, actually.
Me yesterday: “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.”
RC Dodger: “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.”
“Sometimes smart people overthink things.” – BINGO!
Hawkeye Dodger: “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.”
In retrospect, I’m not a fan of the Scherzer move, either. His next start, by his own admission, his arm was dead – with an extra rest day. You have a great setup guy and a great closer. That’s their job!! Why be cute and completely mix things up after winning 106 games?
Hawkey Dodger: “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.”
Another good observation. I’m not all that impressed with TT’s makeup. He just doesn’t seem mentally tough to me.
Well …. AT LEAST with my shared low expectations, coupled w/ still believing they have a snowball’s chance to win. I can watch today with much lower blood pressure & stress. And same for me as has been posted. When they brought in gonzo, I was done. Never had, and do not have any faith in that dude. Even when he has done well, I have always felt an implosion was upcoming.
cheers
pb+
I think he needs to go back to the bullpen. They gave him a shot at being a starter, but he just wears down too quickly. I don’t like treating young pitchers with the uncertainty of shuffling in and out between the pen and the rotation. I can see a 5th starter being designated to pitch out of the pen during the postseason, but not going back and forth.
I agree. Watching every start and relief this year, he seems at his best at low stress, 1-2 innings. In other words, just another “middle game inning eater” at best.
cheers
pb+
He used to close, I have higher hopes for him than a middle reliever ceiling, but he needs to gain experience in a role.
TT is a great player, NL batting champ and all, but in the playoff games with the Nationals it was Soto, Kendrick, Zimmerman and maybe some others who were the nemesis players, it was never TT. Does he shrink on the big stage? It would seem so.
I remember it a little differently. With the Nats, Trea and Eaton were good at getting on base being table setters and causing trouble on the bases. He got on base 8 times and scored 3 runs on 5 games against very good pitching in the series against us. Good enough.
Players shrink on the big stage until they don’t. Seager and Bonds come to mind as having the moniker of postseason choker until they didn’t. With that in mind, I was calling for Mookie and Trea to bat in the top two spots weeks ago with Seager batting 3rd. They didn’t listen to me.
He hit .294 against us in 5 games. He had 6 hits and scored 3 runs. He had no steals and no RBI’s He had 5 hits and 2 RBI’s against the Cardinals, bur he disappeared in the World Series hitting .161. He did steal a base and scored 4 runs. He walked 4 times and struck out 7. In this series he has no walks and 6K’s. He has scored 1 run and has 1 steal.
Is it just me or aren’t you supposed to play your best players in the playoffs, considering the days off you get?
First of all Doc should have pulled Urias before the 5 runs were given up. Everyone (including me) knew Urias didn’t have it.
Secondly, where were the best relievers (the guys that got you to the dance) such as Vesia, Knebel, Kelly, Treinen, Jansen.
I guess Doc was saving those guys for today’s game. But in the playoffs you don’t save guys, you use them right?
Just a little food for thought (discussion starter).
Hindsight is perfect. In the clincher against the Giants Belli gave us the lead in the 9th inning. CT3 popped up a bunt attempt for the 2nd out. Up by just 1 run Doc removed Jansen for Beaty who grounded out to end the inning. Scherzer was brought in to pitch the 9th inning and ever since our pitching has been out of whack. If CT3 had knocked in Gavin from 3rd to make it 3-1 maybe Jansen would have batted and finished the game. A rested Scherzer would have started the Braves series. Our lack of hitting probably still dooms us but our pitching has really struggled this series. I am very proud of this team. GO DODGERS!
Well said. Certainly a domino that gets highlighted in the playoffs. The CT3 bunt attempt was odd and it certainly didn’t work out well. I think you are absolutely correct in your assertion that if CT3 gets an RBI sac fly, Jansen pitches the bottom of the ninth and Scherzer is not needed.
Doc has made some good moves but he indeed seems to “over manage” and makes some very unnecessary moves to show he’s the “smartest guy in the room.” I like him, and while some think he should not be the Dodgers manager any longer, I am not in that camp. He and AF have kept the Dodgers always relevant, made them consistently competitive and have ensured that the NL West title will have to go through LA for quite some time.
He’s good, maybe not great. I suspect after this is all said and done we will see some coaching staff changes. Geren’s been there a long time, but I can see a change at bench coach, perhaps moving Ebel to that role with a new 3B coach, and some addition/deletion to the hitting coach situation. Doc lives in SD, would he consider the manager’s job there? Does he need a different job, is he tired of LA, does AF want to go in a different direction? Dodgers need a big comeback or it will soon be the hot stove league.
Dick Vermeil left the Rams after winning the Super Bowl and came back to coaching after retiring, Bochy left the Giants after winning three WS championships and now wants back in coaching, I have no “inside” information and I’m not trying to be the National Inquire, but it would not at all surprise me to hear some rumors once this is all said and done that Doc may consider retirement or a change of scenery. Just a wild ass guess on my part and perhaps admittedly far-fetched, but the off season will be interesting with the CBA negotiations, Free Agency, Seager, CK, KJ and the TB situation.
I think Roberts is here to stay. He’s a company man. He works well with the front office, and they are probably on the same page with respect to game strategy.
I think that’s his weakness. When a game plan is formulated before the game even starts, there is pressure on him not to deviate from it. I think that would effect most people. It would actually take some balls to go against a strategy you and your boss agreed to. I think he kinds of goes along to get along. I don’t think he’s an AF puppet necessarily, but the pre-planning consensus by higher ups limits his in-game freedom to act independently.
Would I trade Trea Turner straight up for Eddie Rosario? Uh, No.
Turner hasn’t set the world on fire in the post season, but his speed, power and range makes him a difference maker in 2022 and perhaps beyond.
Looks like Justin Turner’s year is over.
Atlanta better win today….because if they dont….
Game 6 Mad Max on FULL REST and a new sense of life on the team
Game 7 Big Game Buehler on FULL rest in an all hands on deck game in a town that has teams notoriously known for blowing leads. Their cheeks will be tight….
All im saying is Atlanta better win tonight if they want to win the series….Don’t let the boys get hot.
Go Dodgers!!!
What makes you think that Max and Walker will pitch better than so far in this series ?
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rarely do they have bad back to back starts….
and the power of positive thinking.
Plus a little better rested
Me yesterday: “ 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.”
RC Dodger: “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.”
“Sometimes smart people overthink things.” – Bingo!!!
Hawkeye Dodger: “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.”
I don’t even like the Scherzer move, even though I understand the logic. By his own admission he had a dead arm in his next start, even after an extra day of rest. The team wins 106 games, have maybe the best setup guy and closer in the game, and they have to change the whole formula … because they want to be too cute by half.
Hawkeye Dodger: “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.”
This was another good observation. I’m not impressed with TT’s mental makeup. You need gamers in the playoffs.
I still don’t know why they started Max in game 2 and not walker.
In that scenario both Max and walker would have been on normal rest.
Go dodgers!
I should have said performance not behavior. I think the Dad in me came out. Lol. But I found myself wondering why am I hearing this at the beginning of a series.
We could spend away our morning chatting about the ins and outs of last few games. Instead just look at yesterday’s line. It pretty much says all I need to know.
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Braves 0 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 4 9 12 0
Dodgers 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 4 1
Apparently, the Braves pitching as way better then I thought and they deserve a tip of the cap
Starting pitching is costing us in this series just as much as the inept offense.
This teams strength was said to be our three Cy young candiates in Max, Walker and Julio. Not one of them has made it out of the 5th inning in this series. Combined they have given up a whoppin 13 runs now. Julio 7 (2 in relief), Walker 4, Max 2.
0-1 in doing so. Can not expect to win a series against a very good ATL team when your Cy Young aces put up numbers like that.
If you count TG as a starter it is 17runs given up by starting pitchers.
Now their backs are really up against the wall. Nothing left to lose. Let it all hang out and hope for a repeat of 2020.
Who will get the bulk innings tonight ? Phillipps ? Graterol ?The mystery man who comes out of nowhere to save the day ?
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
From Eric Stephen and TBLA
I feel compelled to point out that the period starting October 9 and ending October 20 is 12 days. As in last night was the 4th game for Julio Urías in 12 days. Just like Sunday was Max Scherzer’s fourth game in 12 days.
Scherzer lasted 4⅓ innings Sunday, Urías was knocked around through 5 innings last night.
Those three pitchers are undoubtedly an asset, perhaps unmatched in all of MLB. But it’s only three assets and they may not have been used optimally.
“…they may not have been used optimally.”
That’s one way to put it.
“the war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan’s advantage” – Emperor Hirohito’s surrender speech
Awesome sauce, Dodgerpatch.
Well done.
Reddick
Loretta
Furcal
Uribe
Baker
Pederson
What do they have in common
Who are six people who have never been a houseguest of mine?
I have never burned one with any of them?
Players you’ve had a man-crush on?
They all played on both Dodgers and Braves teams
LOL! Missing Mitch Haniger.
Mitch finally did what I thought he would and could do.
Mark has defended and praised Cody more than I have done the same for Joc but yes. I have earned the rib poking for my Joc Tok.
I wanted Hanigar’s righty bat because at the time, Dodgers had Cory, Cody, Joc, Max, Alex, Grandal, plus Lux and Ruiz coming up.
Oh, you forgot Gleyber.
You don’t have to defend Haniger. He’s a good player. Just giving you a hard time. You have to admit, Rudy’s post was pretty funny.
Funny the first 10 times he said something like that. I’ve deserved it but am tired of it.
You missed Wes Covington.
There was a very limited discussion days ago about if the Dodgers lack of titles over the past half-decade (or so) is bad luck.
I posited their lone title was a result of good luck.
I feel pretty vindicated.
Winning a World Series is fucking hard. You have to get lucky, you have to stay healthy, you have to have some of your players playing well above their norm and most players playing at least at their norm. You have to have good weather, you have to make good managerial decisions on the fly.
Almost none of those things (to varying degrees) have happened to the Dodgers. They aren’t happening ot the Red Sox either, but the Red Sox aren’t as talented.
It’s the way the cookie crumbles.
Let’s see what happens tonight.
I agree . A lot of things have to come together to win a WS title, let alone multiple ones or a repeat we were driving for.
Just look at those great Braves teams when they had three HOF starters in Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz plus a young ace in Avery. And there lineup and bullpen was loaded too .
All those divisions they won but just one WS title.
Dodgers should and would have won the 2017 title if not for you know what I mean. Then we would be sitting with 2 titles and this discussion would be moot.
The loss of TB, May and Clayton for long stretches killed us this year. If we can not stage another miracle comeback like last year. Not counting us out yet, but it looks bleak.
Go Dodgers!
Go dodgers!
The Dodgers and Rays played more innings than any other teams last year.
The Dodgers had to play an extra game this year (wild card).
If the Dodgers lose today they will be more rested for next year.
If the Dodgers play in the World Series they will be far less rested for next year.
A player can look really bad in one series and look really good in the prior or subsequent series.
The Dodgers need to wind up with 4 strong starters for next year’s playoffs. It probably won’t be the 4 they start the season with as there are always injuries.
Trea and Gavin have been able to hit the ball to the wall but not over the wall. Dodgers long ball game is as absent as there RISP hitting. That needs to change.
Yes, it was striking last night how their fly balls were carrying out while our died in front of the fence.
Lux, TT I (and the hitters)thought both were gone.
Go Dodgers!
Gavin Lux, Trea Turner, Mookie Betts, and Cody Bellinger all need to hit the weight room in the winter. Cody is noticeably smaller after his inactivity from his shoulder surgery.
The good ship Los Angeles Dodgers has sprung a serious leak. Losing Turner is a huge blow. But the lack of offense, and the inability of the starters to go deep into games has been huge also. The defensive plays the Braves have made have kept the Dodgers from gaining any momentum. On the other hand, the brilliant defense the Dodgers displayed against Atlanta last year, has not shown up in this series.
The Braves have shown some power, while the Dodgers long drives for the most part have fallen short. The bullpen has been forced to pitch a lot of innings and they have been stellar. The 2 one run losses could have easily gone the other way had the team gotten any kind of offense. They left far too many men on base in game 2. Had they displayed any pop at all, the Braves would be in the 3-1 hole.
I also think that although he addressed to some degree the starting pitching and second base problem at the deadline, picking up Scherzer and Turner, who had to wait 10 days before being activated and then playing a totally new position. AF never addressed a very weak and inept bench. Only Pujols added any kind of offense. Albert is the only bench guy who hit above .200 except for Beaty and McKinstry. A lot of McKinstry’s problems started after his injury. But he did manage 7 HR’s. Albert had 12 and Beaty 7. McKinney, Neuse, Raley, Reks, Burns, Souza, Peters and Tsutsugo all hit under the Mendoza line and only Neuse and Raley had more than one HR.
The Braves on the other hand, faced with the loss of Acuna and Ozuna, replaced them with Pederson, Soler, Rosario and Duvall. Pederson and Rosario contributed 7 HR’s apiece, Soler hit 14. Duvall added 16 and led the NL in RBI’s. AF’s attempt to improve the starting pitching flamed out when 2 of his pickups never pitched a game for LA, Hamels and Duffy. He went through a slew of arms for the pen and the rotation, White, Jackson, Phillips, Gonzalez, Nelson, Uceta, Cleavenger, Alexander, Santana, Jones, Gray, Nunez, Greene, Reed, Sherfy, Feliz, Ramirez, C. Greene, Vazquez and Quackenbush.
Price was so so as a reliever and a starter and Bauer’s questionable behavior cost them their 40 million dollar high impact free agent. Add to that injuries to major pieces of the offense, especially at the beginning of the year when many players were playing out of position, it made the offense inconsistent. They were carried early on by Muncy, Turner and Taylor. Pollock became a force also. The rest of the team except for Will Smith was maddeningly inconsistent.
But they still managed to keep up with the Giants for most of the season. Getting maddeningly close, and then not overtaking them. The bullpen got better as the season progressed. The starters were outstanding. But the offense never was consistent. And after a very stressful NLDS against the Giants, the bats have totally gone to sleep in this series. If the Dodgers are to get back into this series and send it back to Atlanta, those same bats are going to have to show some life early in this game. They get behind and they except for game 3, have not shown any resiliency . Tonight could end up being not only the last game of the year in LA, but the swan song in Dodger blue for Seager, Taylor, Jansen, Kershaw, Kelly, Scherzer, and a few others.
Losing JT is not like losing Ramirez when Kelly broke his ribs in the playoff game against the Cards. The Dodgers might be better today without Justin and Taylor playing 3rd in his place.
Jansen has said he is better now because he mixes in curve balls than when he was stubbornly clinging to his cutter almost all the time.
Trea needs to stop clinging to his tendency to want to pull the ball.
Belli got better when he stopped being stubborn and changed his swing if for no other reason to match it up with his injury.
The Dodger clubhouse is a good one but it probably misses the looseness it had with Joc and Kike’ in it.
I disagree. Although he has not been the same player so far, he has been much better in the playoffs than pretty much any Dodger in their long history. Ramirez was having a great year. But he only played in 5 series in his career and had one homer. Trea Turner has not been so far in his career a very good post season offensive player, so what he is doing is about par for the course. He is a career .219 hitter in the post season, and has 1 homer and 5 rbi’s over 37 games. As far as his swing, he is still doing what he did during the season when he hit .328.
I was careful to say for today’s game regarding JT being out. Ramirez was hot and coming off a good year. A stretch to compare Ramirez past playoff performance with that Cards series.
great post Bear. I especially agree with your thoughts on how this team was perceived to have a stocked group of AAAA players really got nothing from that group. Lux was the only guy who added anything and that was late season from a guy who was “can’t miss”. McKinney, Neuse, Raley, Reks, Burns, Souza, Peters, Tsutsugo and I’d add McKinstry, all added nothing. And many of these guys aren’t that young anymore. I’ve refused to talk about next year until we re done this year but I think it’s time to clean house and see a new wave of prospects come alone who might make an impact.
McKinstry was one of their more clutch players until he got hurt. When he came back, he did not do as well and was sent to AAA. He never regained his stroke or his confidence. Next year is next year. Some will be back, others will not.
1. How many young players come to the major leagues and struggle?
2. How many are instant hits?
3. How many young players that struggle in the beginning eventually figure it out?
You have been in baseball. It’s hard! But some of those youngsters are going to figure it out! It’s the wrong time to clean house. I think 2 or 3 of those players will be very good.
Duval, Rosario, Riley, Swanson and several others were not overnight successes and had to go through various growing pains.
I agree. But the Dodgers conversely relied on their farm system and it failed them. The Braves went with experience and reaped the benefits. And no where did I say anything about cleaning house. But, Raley and Reks are getting a little old to be considered anything but AAAA players. Beaty has value as a PH and sometimes sub for a player needing a day off. Neuse did better at AAA and will have a full spring to impress the brass. McKinney will not be retained, McKinstry will also get an opportunity in spring to get back on their good side. They called up Andy Burns to replace Turner.
Teams have won multiple championships. I don’t feel like looking it up, but I think that the Giants have won three in the last fifteen years or so. St. Louis has won three in the last twenty years? Boston four? It can be done. I realize that we had bad owners during much of that period. This group, much better, has won one. We should win more than that.
I will just say that if Roberts is not given major blame for where we are in this series, then there is nothing that a Dodgers manager could ever be blamed for, unless he came out on the field drunk, or had a lineup card of seven players. Roberts made a big mistake, and he did it out of a certain need to micromanage, be some kind of genius.
You do not take out Treinen after a great nine-pitch seventh, to have Urias come in to pitch the eighth. And that was not Friedman’s decision, he does not tell Roberts whom to use in what innings. At most, he may have agreed that using Urias in relief in the series was a decent idea. But that was not the right time, and Urias has now llost two games in the series. Keep Treinen in, and we probably win game two, and maybe Urias pitches much better in game four. If you don’t want to fault Roberts for this absolutely unnecessary move, then you don’t want to fault him for anything, which is okay, but just removes the subject. Other teams fire managers,though we don’t. My concern would be whom we could hire. I think that Roberts cost us game five against Washington, and game two against Atlanta,, basically doing the same thing.
Assuming we lose this series, we have many decisions to make. I am apt to overemphasize these things, but I do think that we are in danger of falling back. I would favor the Braves to win the pennant next year, and other teams such as the Brewers, Cards and Giants may be better. We have three starters, as Kershsaw is unlikely to do very well without surgery. May probably needs all of next season to begin to pitch well. I don’t even know if Scherzer will sign with us. If not, whom do we have?
We are all disappointed for Justin Turner, but he was not hitting, and could barely run the bases in the last month. He is seriously injured every year. Seager is very likely gone. We have Betts and Smith, and hopefully Muncy has a good year. And Bellinger might be great again, though one or two hard hit balls do not mean that. He may hit. .240 or so with 30 homeruns. What else to we have in our lineup? Pollock? Trea is showing no clutch ability, and he is gone after next year.
We need an infusion of talent, but I don’t know how we get it, particularly if Bauer is still on the books The feeling I have watching these games, is that we are a team soon to be in transition, with some talent, but now needing to depend on our minor league system to provide more stars, or being able to somehow, without trade chips, being able to pick up top talent. This current group, minus Seager, is not going to win a pennant. These are just my opinions, of course. But I don’t think this series is bad luck, or even Roberts’ mistakes. We look overmatched by a team which has more active bats, runs at every opportunity, and seems to have more esprit right now. In short, a team with Trea Turner batting third is unlikely to win a title.
So, William, now we know why Bruce Bochy pitched MadBum 21 innings in one World Series. He did it out of a certain need to micromanage, be some kind of genius.
If you truly believe all that you just wrote, I really feel sorry for you! You have no grasp of reality!
That reply Mark seemed to ignore reality.
It’s a tough one.
Who are the Dodgers going to have in their lineup except for an MVP in center, an MVP in right, the 2021 batting champ and a perennial top player at 1st and the best round catcher behind the plate. And that former all-star in left.
Tough
Think how many teams would want that dilemma!
FYI:
round in “best round catcher” should be young in “best young catcher”
The best round catcher was traded for Scherzer. How about a best round first baseman?
Knowing we were gong to have to have a bullpen game at some point I would have liked to have seen it been yesterday since Urias had pitched in game 2. I wasn’t a big fan of him pitching in game 2 I could understand it and if he had pitched lights out that night nobody would have complained. IMO, pitching Urias last night negated the advantage we would typically have had with him pitching. Going into the game we needed 3 more wins and pitching Urias, Scherzer and Bueller rested in games 5,6 and 7 made more sense to me. The biggest reason we’re down 3-1 is that we simply have not hit with runners on. We have had plenty of opportunities to score but have not done it. J. Turner has obviously been hurt but others haven’t seemed to make adjustments or forced the Braves pitchers to throw strikes. That’s what killed the team in previous postseasons. Mark mentioned that the Braves are without Acuna and Ozuna but that happened at time when the Braves could bring in 4 players to offset losing them. Muncy got hurt the last day of the season so I see that as kind of an apples to oranges comparison.
From Ken Rosenthal:
“For the better part of the 2018 and ’21 postseasons, Alex Cora could do no wrong. He was aggressive. He was creative. He always seemed to gain the upper hand. But the game humbles even its best minds, and the past two nights, as if to remind us that the baseball gods will tolerate only so much success, the Cora Mystique has taken a hit.
In Game 4 of the American League Championship Series on Tuesday night, Cora went to Red Sox ace Nathan Eovaldi to pitch the ninth inning with the score tied, 2-2. The move backfired. And now, with the Red Sox facing elimination, Eovaldi might be compromised for his start in Game 6 the way the Dodgers’ Max Scherzer and Julio Urías were compromised in the NLCS under the same circumstances — starts that followed late-inning relief appearances on two days rest.”
So Rosenthal sez Scherzer and Urias were “compromised” after the relief role gambit. So it’s not just some people’s imagination ? Dodgers win, it’ll all be forgotten. Dodgers lose, it’ll be a “thing” when people are combining through the wreckage looking for answers (and blame). GO DODGERS NEVER GIVE UP.
Rosenthal is a reporter and that is simply his opinion, which does not mean spit. He has no inside info.
In 2017, 2018 and 2019 I had some legitimate concerns and issues and complains to explain not getting to the promised land. Inexperience, bonehead moves, missed opportunity to add to the pen at a couple of those deadlines. This year, I feel completely differently.
AF put together a great roster with a ton of depth. We had a surplus of starting pitchers and the Opening Day starting lineup (At least what it should have been) looked stacked from top to bottom even if Belli’s rehab was coming around much slower than expected. The lineup was engineered to be Smith, Muncy, Lux, Turner, Seager, Pollock, Belli and Betts. The bench was Barnes, CT3, McKinstry/Nuese, Rios and Beaty. The pitching staff was supposed to be Kershaw, May, Bueller, Bauer, Urias (In no particular order) with the likes of Price, Gonsolin, Uceta, White, Jackson and Grey as Starting Pitching Depth. The bullpen had array of veteran backend options following Kenley including Kelly, Treinen, Knebel, Nelson as well as electric youngsters in V-Gone, Graterol, Vesia and Cleavinger. On top of all that, AF stole the best two players at the deadline in Scherzer and Trea.
Where we are today isn’t the fault of roster construction or mismanagement. If anything, maybe they rested too many guys too early on turning a couple of wins into losses and losing home field advantage and having to play an extra game as a result.
But, the biggest problem has been the injuries/discretion. RIP and out for the season/postseason are Muncy, Rios, Bauer, now Turner, Kershaw, May, Nelson, V-Gone and Cleavinger. Those still feeling the effects of in season injuries are Belli, Betts, Pollock, McKinstry, Price, Gonsolin among others.
You can say they needed to keep Kike or Joc, but at the beginning of the season we had a stacked bench. I do agree that the bench should have been improved at the deadline, but it was more than fine when we started if all the starters were healthy.
Luck and injuries are the main things that put us in this hole. We just had way too many warning track shots and extra bases that landed just foul. I don’t remember the umps screwing us this much since we played the Braves back in the Maddux/Glavine days.
I really can’t fault anyone for falling short this year. I still have hope, but losing JT yesterday and Muncy right before the playoffs start might be too heavy a cross to bare. I’m proud of this team, one that faced so much adversity all season and still won a 106 regular season games and beat down the only team that did better during the regular season.
I love this group of players and would go to war with the same group next year if I could. Well, maybe I would add just one more bench piece just to be safe.
Now, let’s go on a 3 game winning streak. We’ve done that many times before during the season. It’s possible. Have fait. We’ll have plenty of time to complain if don’t win the last game.
I really get a feeling Muncy’s injury RIGHT BEFORE THE PLAYOFFS was the injury that broke the camel’s back. After a season full of injuries, that one was just Too Much.
I agree. Losing Max was huge, especially with the Giants looming. He owned them.
Justin Turner placed on the Injured List, Andy Burns added to the Roster
Thank God, now we two Steven Souza’s and one of them can pitch crappy.
Does Mookie or TT have a big post season moment? I’ve been especially disappointed with Trea Turner who has not been the table setter that the Dodgers need. Although hitting with RISP has been terrible the fact is TT needs to find a way to get on base, steal a base get to scoring position and score on sac fly. Swinging wildly and failing to make any effort to go oppo has been concerning.
Andy Burns just added to the roster rather than McKinstry. Odd move but maybe he’s got a big moment in him.
Right handed bat. And he is a decent 3rd baseman, who won’t get a single inning of work unless they win tonight.
Could be the final game for lots of Dodgers tonight as Dodgers at Chavez Revine:
RF Mookie Betts R
2B Trea Turner R
SS Corey Seager L
C Will Smith R
LF AJ Pollock R
1B A. Pujols R
3B Chris Taylor R
CF C. Bellinger L
P Joe Kelly R
I’m glad Doc finally listened to me hitting Trea second and Pujols 6th. I should have told him to bat Bellinger 5th, oh well.
Lol. You said exactly that.
I’m sure they would have moved Cody farther up in the order today except for the fact that we’re facing a lefty who might very well pitch 6 or 7 innings.
And, although I’ve never met Andy Burns and am not related to him, I vehemently disapprove of your snide remark above. When Andy hits that walk off tonight you will have to apologize by cooking us all an Italian feast.
A minor gripe but why Burns, McKinney, and Souza over McKinstry?
I think McKinstry is a hell of a lot better than those other 3.
At this point they would be better off activating Muncy and have him swing with the brace on. Shouldn’t Rios be available to start baseball activities about now?
McKinney is not on the active roster. Burns is a RH hitter and has played a lot of 3rd base. McKinstry was not hitting well at the end of the AAA season.
Not only did we add Andy Burns to the 40-man for what may very well be one game in which he doesn’t even play, but that caused us to dfa Uceta to make room for him.
Yes, Uceta was not very impressive this year but he certainly has far more potential than Burns. He might have even had more potential to get into tonight’s game than Burns.
Uceta was a non tender candidate. And they have a ton of young pitchers in the minors better than he is. They can also move him in a minor league deal. But they do not need a pitcher, so his chances of getting in the game were pretty much nil. They did need another player who can play 3rd. Burns fits that bill.
Well it’s all pretty much been said. We’ll just have to wait and see what comes out in the wash.
Go Dodgers
Let’s Go Brandon
Mookie’s reply when asked about the team approach at the plate.
“We’re producers not directors we can produce hits but we can’t direct where they go”
Seems like they’re more like extras filling in the shot but not really doing anything
I think that was a pretty poor answer I would’ve like it if he said we need to put better at bats together
Morrow?
Who the hell is Brandon?
“Let’s go Brandon” is the new viral slogan all the cool kids in-the-know are saying. You’re in your West LA island so you wouldn’t know about that. 😉
The phrase or hashtag relates to NASCAR racer Brandon Brown. Brown recently won his first Xfinity race and was interviewed post-race with fans chanting in the stands.
The chants by the fans said “f*** Joe Biden” in protest of his presidency but the reporter during the interview said the chants said “Let’s go Brandon.’ It has become a big joke at the presidents expense
Is that a joke or serious? It sounds beyond stupid.
It’s a joke at the Presidents expense because a reporter said it at a NASCAR race?
As if the Dodgers did not have enough problems. Braves activated Soler off of the Covid list today. Pasche sent down. Rockies sent 4 players down including Arenado’s cousin, Josh Fuentes.
Keep shifting! Great strategy!!
I’m sure the Braves will keep shifting because the Dodgers don’t take advantage of it
Just like in Mookie’s interview he said we can hit the ball but we can’t direct where it goes
Tell that to Ozzie Albies
Exactly. Other players on other teams can. We can’t apparently.
Another Dodger down. AF will indeed have his work cut out for him this off season. Seager, CK, KJ, Kelly and CT3 all FA’s.
So is Scherzer.
Man Phillips has got some nasty stuff.
What has kept him from being a dominant reliever, control?
Phillips is rolling. I say keep him in a bit longer
I don’t know I think I might’ve kept Phillips in there and ask him to bunt
He was just pitching too well we need to get some innings out of him
Too late now Phillips could’ve done that.
I just can’t believe they burned Phillips for Souza
It baffles me people want to ban the shift. I’ve seen it get beat a lot this year. Some are the obvious ones like Albies. Some are because they are aligned a bit different like Rosario’s that started yesterday’s game. You see double plays not turned because of defenses in the shift. You see base runners take an extra base on shifts.
Did you see what Albert did there Mookie??
Seems like we just need Pollock, Pujols and Taylor to hit
I like the fight we are showing.
Beat those Braves !-
And if we do end up coming up short, make the other team earn it!
Looks like the first inning 2-0 lead is the kiss of death
Taylor for President!!! from now on, everything is gain
PAY THE MAN….PLEASE…..WE CAN’T AFFORD TO LOSE ANOTHER OCTOBER STAR!
I swear to God I said to myself shorten up Taylor,but pound it if it’s a cookie,and I can’t believe it !!!!!!
Lol….you are not supposed to throw an 0-2 fastball right down the middle…..thanks Chris Martin and thank you Chris Taylor.
The two September whipping boys leading the charge!!!
Who the hell is Eddie Rosario?!!!!
CT3 shows up in October. Always has.
Taylor for president of USA, Mexico and 10 other countries
Master of the universe, Ha ha ha
Where’s Zach Lee tonight?
I was hard on CT3 with his failed bunt the other night and his swing at the first pitch last night with a new relief pitcher coming in. I take it all back because the guy is amazing. We’re here because of his HR against the Cardinals and we’re winning this game because of him.
AF sign the man because McKinstry, Rios, Neuse, or anyone else cannot do what he does. He needs to be a Dodger for the next 3-5 years. Give him a full-time starting gig at 3B (use JT as the DH) and pay him the big bucks.
Vegas had Dodgers a large favorite. What are we missing ?
Favorite should have been Braves. Wish I had the magic ball
Forget about Scherzer and Buehler. I say two more bullpen games!
Guys like Taylor don’t grow on trees. If you can’t replace them, then you have to pay them.
Even if it means overpaying them.
God I’m glad there’s a day off between this offensive outburst and the next game. Seems like every time we have a big scoring game the next day we follow it with a choker.
Got to give CT3 the Qualifying offer.
PLAYOFF POLLOCK!!!!!!!
Yes! They need this version.
All showed up tonight!!!! Hopefully nothing doesn’t show up in Atlanta!
Betcha tonight’s game gets Taylor an extra million AAV on his next contract.
The Dodgers sure do have some bat breakers on their staff. Bazooka, Treinen, May, Kelly
Yes. Bazooka and May have similar velocity and arm side run on their two seamers. Runs in on right handers and saws bats.
I’ve noticed a lot of broken bats in general in this series. Not sure if it’s flukey or there’s a reason for it – like maybe more maple bats.
Well, at least we’re making it very interesting. Congrats!
Max and Buehler with full rest. I like our chances, but as has been noted often if we hit, we win.
Taylor is a true patriot. OPS =1.776.
go blue
Where is that little pr*ck Giants fan today? Lol. NEVER GIVE UP . Now the Braves are all thinking. OH SH!T, IT’S HAPPENING AGAIN!!!!
TT batting second… BP should get props… His idea got poo pooed by a couple guys here…take a bow B P
Doc said Kelly is done for the year. Who gets activated?
Mitch White and Jackson are the only two healthy guys left on the 40 man. Unless they opt to pick another AAA arm and bring him up. But I think Jackson and White have been working out in Arizona just in case. They could also activate Price. Kickham and Neftali Feliz declared free agency and are no longer in the organization. I think Nunez is still around. Another option would be Gonzalez.
Well — there’s the first step! One game at a time, Blue! Would be really cool to see Scherzer put them on his back in game 6.
Headed down to the ATL this evening. Ill be loud and proud for the Dodgers.
Max needs to shove!!!