The season did not end the way we wanted, but the better team won. What I mean by that was that they were better right about now. The Dodgers had more talent, but the Braves got hot at the right time, particularly Eddie Rosario who lifted the team to a level way above where they actually were. The Braves are a good team and with Acuna and probably Ozuna back next year, they will be even better. They will be formidable for a while… but so will the Dodgers.
There are three things that are at the forefront as to why the Dodgers lost when they did:
- The Dodgers starting pitchers were gassed (in the LCS, the Dodgers starters had a 7.71 ERA);
- It is Freaking Hard to win back-to-back World Series – the last NL team to do that was the Mid-1970’s Big Red Machine; and
- The Dodgers offense was the worst of any of the four World Series Contenders in the League Championship Series.
Make no mistake – If the Dodgers could have hit and scored runs, they would have won. Their silent bats hurt them immensely. Look no further than the batting averages of these players in the LCS:
- Will Smith .217
- Justin Turner .200
- Mookie Betts .174
- Corey Seager .167
So, now it is “Wait until next year.” Most Dodger fans over the course of this season lamented the state of the bullpen and discussion about the bullpen and its makeup was rampant. The fact of the matter is of the four teams in the LCS, the Dodgers bullpen pitched more innings and had the best ERA (2.70) and WHIP (1.02). Overall, in the postseason, the bullpen ERA was 2.16, while the starters were at 4.44. That was very un-Dodger-esque for starters to pitch like that.
I am going to start scaling back my involvement in LADT now. It is my intention to keep it open and I will have our IT team maintain the site. In the past, some of the writers sent me their blogs and I posted them, but it can take up to an hour to do so because there are photos to upload, formatting, and Spell Checking (I use Grammarly). I would be glad to teach anyone how to use Word Press. It’s simple. I know that Bear and Dodger Chatter still want to post and Jeff has indicated he will do so occasionally.
I will check-in, but I do not want to have the degree of involvement that I have had in the past. I may write a blog once a week or once a month… or whatever, but I am phasing out my everyday involvement. If someone wants to help fill the void, please let me know. I will not monetize the site with ads and pop-ups. I want to keep it the only one that is truly a work of love for the Dodgers. Maybe when (if) I retire, I will be back on a more regular basis, but that might be 10 years.
My thoughts are now on writing my book and I hope to have it completed in a matter of months. I will let you know when it is complete. In the next few days, I will have a blog on the offseason expectations and the State-of-the-Dodgers… as I see it. Bear has sent me a couple of blogs that I will get up in the next few days.
Godspeed!
Thanks Mark.
I’ve been waiting for this book of yours for over twenty years. With all the crap I’ve given you about it for those two decades is expecting a signed copy delivered to my house asking too much?
By the way, Badger. The correct term is, “Lighten up, Francis.” :0)
“touch my stuff…. and I’ll kill you”.
Good call rudy.
Stripes….Warren Oates as Sgt Hulka.
Thanks Mark. I can only imagine how much work is involved in keeping the site up and running. Who would have thought the 88 win team is going to the WS. A team that was .500 in August and not the 107 win team or the 106 win team! But that’s what I love about baseball. “ It’s like a box of chocolates”. Undone by a Rosario and a Matzek! Who’d of ever thought it? But thank you Dodgers for an incredible season. You played your hearts out. Frustrating and exhilarating at the same time! The battle down the stretch with the Giants. The walk off win in the wild card game. The epic series win with the Giants. We just ran out of gas and magic against the Braves. Now it’s our favorite time of year. Putting on our GM hats and telling AF what went wrong and how to fix it. That’s always a hoot! Hopefully LADT will continue in some form. My wife is already sick of my bitching and moaning. Adding the Dodgers to that list will push her over the edge! At least keep stirring the pot with your posts Mark and thanks again.
Disappointing end to the year. But to tell the truth, I have been expecting it for a couple of days. When the final out was made last night, I was not angry or disgusted. The team fought back. They missed too many opportunities to get in front and stay there. And last night they reverted to their swing and miss way’s with 14 K’s. Taylor’s 3 HR’s were a distant memory as he went back to swinging and missing. Albert Pujols added 2 whiffs. They just could not do any damage against Atlanta’s LH relief pitchers. Last night Roberts came out and admitted that using Scherzer in relief in game 5 had an affect on the Dodger rotation. The web site itself blamed the unconventional use of pitchers as a big reason for the loss. Just my opinion, but I think that another reason was the loss of Muncy, and eventually Turner. That combined with a very weak bench weakened the offense considerably. I would love to replay this series with both teams at full strength. But it is what it is. I got an email from the team this morning. It said thank you to all of the fans who supported the team all year long. Calling LA fans the best in baseball. Twitter blew up after the game with Giant fans piling on. That was to be expected since most of them are low class clowns anyway. There will be changes this offseason. Next years team will have a different look. The bench will definitely be constructed differently. And the rules will not be the same. The DH is most likely coming. Automated K zone? Maybe. There is talk of limiting the shift. Baseball wants more offense and less K’s. Pitch clocks might be in vogue. They might even change a coach or two. Roberts is safe for now. 112 total wins and you go home is disappointing. But the FO still believes in it’s vision. After the World Series, which I will not watch, players will make their intentions known. Filing for free agency. The Dodgers have a lot of hard decisions to make. There will be some non tenders. I doubt seriously that Souza and Burns are in the organization next season. Souza did ok at AAA but added nothing with the big club. Burns would not have even been on the roster save Turner’s injury. The big decisions will involve their free agents. Kersh, Mad Max, Kelly, Seager, Taylor, Jansen. No one knows who they will make a push to retain. We can only guess. I would think Taylor has priced himself off of the team with his performance in the NLCS and playoffs. One thing was nice and that was seeing Bellinger totally change his approach at the plate. I will be checking in from time to time. I will add to the site as much as I can.
Winning 112 games in a a single season and winding up with no trophies or parade is a tough thing to swallow. Too many injuries to key players during the the season and especially the playoffs, the Trevor Bauer debacle and a Weak bench and I’ll say it again a Weak bench that was non productive during the entire season including the playoffs where a key hit could have turned the Atlanta series around.AF has his work cut out for him deciding who to offer a qualifying offer and which players to resign. The TB situation will have to be addressed one way or the other after the DA’s office decides to bring charges or not and what will MLB and Dodgers do if no charges are filed. Starting pitching is the number priority with only two quality starters, Buehler and Urias known going into Spring training.
Fo me it was frustrating but entertaining season and even without a participation trophy. I enjoyed the great work by Mark and Michael and all writers that contributed to make this the best Dodger blog available. The passion of Dodger fans here is second to none. I hope it continues,
I hope everyone enjoys the offseason and upcoming Holiday season with family and friends. It should be a truly Hot Stove for the Dodgers this Winter.
Kind of reminds me of that Seattle team that won 116 games in the regular season and flamed out in the playoffs. I honestly believe that if Bauer had not gotten into that mess, they would have not traded for Scherzer. So it did have one positive effect. I think Trea Turner will be more comfortable at SS. And that is where he will be because it is highly unlikely they resign Seager. I just hope the next time he is in the playoffs that Turner plays like he did during the regular season and not like he did the last 12 games.
Mark, I appreciate all your time, energy, and financial means to make this an awesome place to discuss Dodger baseball. To have an ad free site with the incredible contributions from the main article writers and all the posters is special. We have people from different parts of the world with a wide spectrum of personalities come together on LADT to discuss our common interest in the Dodgers.
Carry on.
In years past the Dodgers had the luxury of resting players down the stretch. Not so this year battling an upstart SF team every step of the way.
While it could be said they should have rested players and settle for the WC, the Dodgers kept on battling. Why? They were reigning World Champions and if you have the Heart of a champion you don’t quit
Tied going to the bottom of the 9th in the WC a hitter who was 8 for his last 72 hits a walk off homer. The heart of a Champion. Down 2 games to 1, the Dodgers picked themselves up and knocked out SF. The heart of a champion kept beating.
Battling all time until finally the loss of Kershaw, Muncy, Turner and Kelly became to much for the team to overcome. They may have lost but they never thought of quitting.
Thank you Mark
Although there are some posters on LADT that I don’t bother reading, I always enjoy the posts from you and Bear.
Good luck with the book
I am looking forward to reading it.
Thanks again for all you have done.
Thanks Bob, I really appreciate it. I have sent Mark another one today. So I have 3 already to go.
What an amazing season we just experienced. All of the pundits had the Dodgers as the team to beat on their way to a repeat with a payroll that said “We’re going all in”. It started off with a 13-2 run and I wondered if the season would be somewhat boring after steamrolling through the first two weeks like like a handpicked team in “The Show” playing in beginner mode.
The season was definitely not boring. It was akin to an epic Greek poem by Homer where the mortals down here had their plans, but the Gods had plans of their own. The Gods had a two pronged approach. First they would strike down and touch the heros and then they would elevate their biggest foes. Down went May, Bellinger and Seager. Betts was struck, but would continue to fight injured. Their rivals to the North and South would keep attacking with the help of the Gods who compromised their biggest heros. The Dodgers kept fighting and proved resilient.
Next, the Gods would work directly with their rivals to the South with a plan of temptation to the hero that was leading their defences. They sent a concubine to temp him and he succumbed to the succubus. Another hero was eliminated through the political pressures of the times. But, the Dodgers kept fighting and proved resilient. The battles were fought hard for year in and year out. The Gods were losing the battle, their foes were also starting slip. So the Gods came down on the last day of the season and struck down their mightiest hero right before the final battle.
The resilient Dodgers did not flinch. They used everything they had killing off their biggest rival to the North, but the war was not over. Two more series and final prize would be theirs. The Gods did not like this and intervened again. Their bravest hero, the one with the red beard was struck and the the three headed monster that lead the way, the one they called Scherzer, Urias, Bueller was wounded badly. Though wounded the monster battled bravely to the end, but finally succumbed to a new hero named Rosario and the season for the mighty Dodgers was over.
The baseball Gods looked down at humanity and let them know that anyone that challenges the Gods will pay the ultimate price.
What an epic tale! This was not a Hollywood ending where the good guys always win. This was an ancient epic tragedy where the heroes meet their doom.
I woke up calm today. I’m not very upset at all. I don’t put fault on anyone even though Doc made some questionable decisions, I don’t feel like we lost because of them.
I don’t feel like I did when we lost against the Cubs. Even though I felt they were the better team.
I don’t feel like I did when we lost against the Astros. Where decision made cost us. It turns out the Astros had a hand in that misfortune as well.
I don’t feel like I did when we lost against the Red Sox. When some bullpen pieces at the deadline might have changed the outcome.
I don’t feel like I did when we lost against the Nationals, where I was certain we would advance and we choked away a lead on that fateful game 5 only to see them ultimately win the big prize.
This year was different. We got the monkey off our back last year and we were completely decimated by injuries and worn out pitching. We lost to an inferior team overall, but like Mark said, not at this point in time. Right now they are better, deeper and were hungry for it.
Again, I’ll tip my hat to the Braves and root for them to crush the Astros.
The Braves won with just 4 runs scored. We lost game 2 with just 4 runs scored. Like Mark said, our starting pitching ERA was out of line with the rest of the season. If we pitch, we win. It’s that simple. That didn’t happen.
We wound up with three regulars OPS over 900 this postseason. Congratulations to Taylor, Bellinger and Pollock for their valiant efforts. Also notable was Mookie with a 319 Ave and 377 OBP and Will Smith’s 3 big flies and 865 OPS. Unfortunately, Seager, the Turners and the lack of Muncy pulled the sum of the parts downward.
On the opposite end, our Cy Young candidates looked Cy Old and Tired. Bueller 4.91 and Urias 5.40 took the brunt of the beating while Mad Max pitched admirably when he was on the hill, he couldn’t answer the bell when we needed him most. Another capable starting pitcher probably would have yielded better results for the entire staff. It seems like we leaned on the three headed monster a little too much.
In the end, it came down to just too many injuries for one team to bare. That’s the story of the season right there. It just wasn’t meant to be.
Excellent narrative B and P, I totally agree with you, we had no chance against Houston to have passed, and it would have been doubly painful to lose the world series to them when we all want sweet revenge with both teams as equals. Thank you for all your comments, you have my respect and admiration.
Thanks Jose, I appreciate the kind words. I also appreciate your rational point of view. Keep posting!
The baseball season is a marathon, long and arduous. There are peaks and valleys, slumps and hot streaks, injuries and optimal performance.
In professional cycling the two biggest stage races are the Giro d’Italia in May, and the Tour de France in July. It is rare, even for the best cyclists, to win the Giro and then come back and win the TdF two months later. Armstrong never even raced the Giro. He preferred to train and do tune up races leading up the the Tour. He designed the entire year to peak just for those three weeks.
In a long season a professional athlete has only a limited window where he is operating at peak performance. It’s universal across different sports and is encompassed in the training concept called Periodization, where the season is split into cycles: preparation, build, peak followed by a recovery period.
Buehler started out pretty slowly last year. Some of us were complaining that he didn’t show up ready to play. He dominated in the playoffs. His FB was a consistent 98, and he just mowed people down. This year he was great from the beginning, but he ran out of gas last night. Short rest didn’t help.
Scherzer, when he came over from the Nats, went on one of the most dominating pitching runs since Hershiser’s streak in 88. Pundits were calling it the best midseason trade pickup in history. He couldn’t pitch last night …. dead arm. He peaked in in late July/early August, and it was apparent in September that he was starting to slip out of that peak performance window.
A lot of people here criticized Roberts for resting guys as part of some plan. “He just had two hits and a home run! He’s hot and, of course, Roberts benches him! Stupid Roberts!”
This is why. You have to manage these peaks and valleys over the course of the season to get your players to be peaking and playing optimally when it counts the most – at the end. Sometimes that means not playing optimally early on. There’s a lot of moving parts and managing all of this is very complex – and hard. … and imperfect.
I think the Dodgers and Roberts attempt to manage this phenomenon better than most. At least there is a plan. It might have to be tweaked a little more next year.
I was looking at Rosario’s stat line. I didn’t really know who the guy was. Decent offensive player in his career with Min. Doesn’t walk a lot, which keeps his OBP down, which keeps his wRC+ down. His best wRC+ year was 17 when it was 117 (100 is league average). This year it was 98, which is lower than average.
In the playoffs, in 42 plate appearances, he hit .474, with 3 home runs. He had a double, he had a triple, and 11 RBIs. OPS 1.313 wRC+ of 243. That’s a performance that will carry a team in a short series. He was a midseason pickup.
The Dodgers had their own midseason pickup. Trea Turner was the NL batting champ with a BA of .328, had a wRC+ of 142, with 28 home runs. In the playoffs his wRC+ was 42. His walk rate was a miniscule 1.9%. His ISO, which measures power, was a pathetic .039. If you look his career stats, he has a long history of not showing up for the playoffs.
I’ve said it twice already, but I’ll say it again. I’m not a TT fan and would prefer he not be the Dodger long term replacement for Seager at SS. He’s not a gamer. He’s flashy, talented – that home plate slide was a thing of beauty – but I don’t think he’s mentally tough and he doesn’t show in high pressure playoffs. His face reminds me of some skinny jean wearing hipster and it bugs me how he’s always playing with his hair.
To compare and contrast two midseason pickups, that’s a difference maker right there. The Dodgers could have absorbed Trea’s no show, but they also had JT disappear and go on the injured list, and there was no Muncy. The Dodgers had to play Sousa. He should not be in baseball let alone on the playoff roster of a WS team.
Rosario, by far, the best midseason pickup
That’s just how it goes.
A thanks to Mark for running this blog. We have gotten a lot out of it for a long time.
Excellent post Patch especially about operating at peak performance over 7 months.
Lol – Sometimes a player just gets on your nerves. I get it. I’m not the biggest Trea Turner fan either. I always thought he was vastly overrated as a defender and his bat is solid as seen by his career year this year. That was Bill Russell for me as a kid. I just didn’t like him.
I would love to have Corey back, but his bat really disappeared in the playoffs as well this year. Both of these shortstops have their flaws and really I think Lux has the highest defensive upside of all three shortstops on this team. He just needs the seasoning and the confidence with his bat. I think he can be a Rafael Furcal if he can put it all together. Sneaky power. Fast enough to steal bases. Pretty strong arm with good range. He’ll hit for a high average if he learns how to hit through the holes.
Regardless, I think they’ll make a run at Seager and Trea is here for one more year.
We have a very good team coming back next year with just a few holes to fill. More on that in another post.
I don’t always agree with all your posts, but most are well thought out. I enjoyed meeting you in person this year. Cheers and ride in the bike lane, not on the outer edge! 😉
Mine was Grandal. Never liked that guy from day one. It didn’t help any that Mark loved him. I thought he was about the worst hitter in the clutch I ever saw.
Man, I loved Grandal when we got him. I followed him as a prospect and believe the hype of a great defensive switch hitting catcher with pop. But, I learned to hate him and wanted him gone by the time we eventually let him walk.
The worst for me was those throws from the outfield that he couldn’t catch. It was even worse than Mike “El Toro” Piazza dodging runners coming home. Piazza avoided collisions like Roberts avoids letting relief pitchers finish an inning. It was particularly hard to stomach after having brick walls Scioscia and Yeager all those years.
Great analogy. Where as Brick Wall Scioscia would go out of his way to get into one. Yeager was another. But Johnny Roseboro and Campy never backed down either. Catchers just were taught different in those days.
Mark, I don’t mind helping out in any way I can to keep this blog running. I’m just not sure what it takes or what is needed, so perhaps I wouldn’t be of much use. But, if you think I can help, count me in.
I’m not upset with this season either; perhaps it’s because we beat SF in a great 5 game series, and we’ll always have that to hold over them. Either way, I’m sure we’ll be back to fighting for the NL West. SD will be better, and I don’t think SF will come close to 100 wins.
NorCal, on the last thread you mentioned you’re going to the Rams game today. You will be IN AWE of Sofi Stadium; it’s absolutely spectacular!
Go Braves in the World Series, but I won’t watch. Go Lakers, Go Kings Go, Go Galaxy, and Go Rams! (I’d mention my Bears, but we suck).
Now, it’s time for a workout, followed by Liverpool-Man U (GGMU!!!), and then stuffing my face with curry chicken and naan before I head to Staples for the Laker game.
Maybe you can do a weekly around the web piece. You seem to be pretty good at that.
Well, today is the first day of winter for Dodger management. For the next month or so experts, fans and baseball writers will weigh in on what went wrong? Expectations and all.
Maybe it was the hard regular season run, trying to chase down the Giants in the NL West, the wildcard win and the San Fran series, but the Dodgers seem to be a step behind, never quite able to turn the corner. All this while winning 106 regular season games, second most in baseball.
They could have easily beaten the Braves, lost twice in the ninth, but for whatever reason couldn’t find a hit at the right moment, no magic in Atlanta. Maybe it’s the way they handled the starting pitching, overthought everything. That’s certainly Pedro Martinez opinion and probably many others.
But they looked like a tired team. Too many injuries, not the right bench players. An exhausted rotation, unable to back off and rest pitchers late in the season, all contributing factors, no doubt.
But the real question is the future. What happens with Trevor Bauer’s contract? Do the Dodgers re-sign Kenley Jansen, Corey Seager, Joe Kelly, Chris Taylor and Clayton Kershaw?
That’s a lot of talent, all big contributors to past Dodger success. No question the Dodgers are better with Seager than without him, but if I had to put money on it, I’m guessing Seager moves on and Trea Turner takes over short. Maybe Taylor too, but I’m thinking the Dodgers make him a priority. Maybe Jansen signs on for for $18.4 million. Clayton Kershaw will be back on some kind of incentive based deal. He’s been the face of the franchise for too many years just to let him walk away.
Then there is Max Scherzer. It needs to be a two year deal, but would a third year surprise anyone. Older pitcher and all. But the Dodgers need his arm. Odds are that they sign him.
Dustin May will be back at some point next year and there are a couple of possibilities in the minors to make an impact in 2022.
If Seager is gone, Gavin Lux takes over second. Maybe Dave Roberts already hinted about that a month or so ago. He even said he will miss some of the players who will be free agents after last night’s game. Another hint?
Major changes ahead? Does the team rally want to pay $300 million for Seager? Probably not.
Waiting to see Mark analysis of all this, no doubt coming soon.
From the big picture the two Key moments for me in this series;
Starting Max in game 2 and Walker in game 3 instead of the other way around. If you do it Walker and then Max both pitch on regular rest . Could have made a big difference not only in ingame production but maybe Max does not get the dead arm syndrom if he is kept on regular rest.
Second key moment was bringing in Julio in game 2 when there were very good other options (keeping Treinen in, or going with Bruihl ). Cost eventually not only game2 but forced Julio to come back on short rest too and he had nothing in the key game 4.
Bullpen was superb all second half of the season and the playoffs so I dont know why DR did not trust them in this key moment.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I thought this entire blog was an infomercial for US Water Systems. It sure sure reads like sponsored content. Shitty end to a season bursting with promise. Call someplace paradise; kiss it goodbye.
I have no problems having one sponsor instead of a crapload of ads where the page never finishes loading. At least Mark can get some tax dollars back out of it that way to offset the cost of hosting and maintaining the site.
Hello fellow dodgers talk bloggers, we finally lost the opportunity to repeat winning the world series against a good team from Atlanta that I coincide, they are at the time but somosa better in talent than them. Thanks Mark for maintaining the site here we will be waiting for your valuable and interesting comments as well as Bear, Jeff, DC, and all the other colleagues like Tejon, B and P and all the others with all our nonsense and nonsense.
From Mexico I will be in contact throughout the offseason to see the development of the negotiations with the GL and the players’ union, their agreements and then the movements of our Dodgers. Greetings to all.
Though I am realtively new to this board I want to thank Mark for all his work he put in. Hope you have a lot of fun writing your book and maybe you will still contribute to this site in one or the other way.
Dodgers despite all that got wrong late in the season and playoffs with players getting injured almost every other day could have won this series. 3 games were their for the taking including yesterday. A hit here or there, a key out or a defensive play could have swiung this series completely in our favor even with our starting pitching in total disarray.
If someone told me our starters in this series would have an era of just below 8 and a record of 1-3 in games started by Walker, Julio and Max I would have given us not a crying chance. Yet we manage to score 27 runs to their 28. That too shows how close this series was.
Game 6 was a microcosm of the entire series. Walker had 2 outs ,nobody on and Dárnaud down 1-2. Can not finish him, ends up walking him. Then a pinch hitter gets a double on yet another broken bat hit. Had Rosario 0-2 and allows the back breaking homer.
Then in the 6 we have 2nd and 3rd and up comes Albert, Souza and Mookie only to strike out against Matzek. Two productive outs here and the game is at least tied. Those two innings one more time exemplified why we lost this series.
Our starters not their usual overpowering self and the offense unable to get the timely big hit or at least productive out.
Well, season over. Can not win it every year and winning 106 regular season games tying a franchise mark and kicking the Midgets out of postseason play gave us some great moments, but the frustration of going home now still is sobering. Makes 2020 that much more special.
Need to make some big decisions in the offseason . Hope AF and the fron office push the right buttons to get us back into postseason play. Then anything can happen.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TOTALLY agree with everything you said.
I may have missed something, but why wasn’t Rosario walked with first base open? I was yelling at the screen throughout his AB, predicting the worst. Has anyone asked Roberts?
Because their best hitter, Freddie Freeman, bats right behind him.
So, you wanted to load the bases with Freddy Freeman coming up?
I admit I would have done just that.
Well, in hindsight it might have ended up better… or worse, but I would NEVER walk the bases loaded with Freddie Freeman up. Buehler was so close to getting him…
It’s a game of inches.
Not hindsight with me. I looked at my wife and said “I don’t give this guy anything to hit”. A few moments later I said “that’s why”. First base open, let him have it and go after Freeman who was hitting about 200 points less than Rosario.
That said, were we going to win that game 2-1? I doubt it
Hats off to TREINEN who did his job last night and kept the Dodgers in the game. Unfortunately those three strikeouts WITH NO OUTS AND RUNNERS SECOND AND THIRD were a dagger to the heart of the game and season. No sugar coating: it was a winnable game pissed away. But such is life, FRAUGHT with DISAPPOINTMENT. Better luck next time! Go RAMS!!!!!
Two big things cost us that game. Bueller giving up that three run bomb and failing to add on in “WITH NO OUTS AND RUNNERS SECOND AND THIRD”. Either of those go the other way and we win, most likely anyways.
Thank you Mark, for all you’ve done.
This has been a long, interesting and entertaining season. I seems like a lifetime since spring training and you could write a book about the season. In fact, some of you did.
It’s been bittersweet.
On one hand it’s been very enjoyable and successful campaign. We won, what, 112 games and watched some incredible performances. Our stretch run with the Giants was the most competitive race I can remember. I admire our effort and desire to win the Division despite the fact that in retrospect. it was perhaps foolish and detrimental to our pitching in the playoffs. Foolish maybe, but it’s hard to question a team trying to play to win. Lose the battle to win the war might have been wise but I just don’t know how the FO tells a team battling for the title that were not gonna make our best effort with our top pitchers and it’s for their own good. Tough call and like most managerial decisions, there’s no correct way to do things. We’re making this up as we go along. I applaud the fact that we kept the pedal to the metal and tried to win. It’s hard. There hasn’t been a repeat World Champion in 21 years.
It’s also the most frustrating season I remember. The distraction of the Bauer situation was unique but brough us Turner and Max. But most frustrating were the injuries. I’ve never seen anything like it. We all know the list of players lost. Losing 3 pitchers, Muncy and JT as late as we did with an already depleted group is bad luck. I have no other explanation. I plan on talking about the injuries at a later post. How many times did we hear the rally cry “next man up?”……that’s “coach speak” to stay positive and encourage the (inferior) replacement player instead of throwing your hands up and yelling WTF!
I think Doc and the Wizard did a remarkable job through this very trying year. Doc, like everybody, has his strengths and weaknesses. He’s a great player’s manager and communicator and stubborn to a fault. We all know that. His detractors seldom miss and opportunity to criticize his every move. He is who he is. But I’ve never seen a manager have to face so many challenges trying to keep a competitive team and lineup on the field. To win over a 100 games with all the injuries and challenges is remarkable and he deserves way more credit and way less criticism. He looks like he needs about a 2 week nap under a palm tree on a remote desert island.
I’ve worked at being open minded and more understanding of the new analytics based decision making. It’s not easy for me. I still appreciate old school managers who make decisions with their eyes and gut. But that gets more extinct every year. I still struggle with pulling a reliever who’s being successful mid-inning based on the match ups stats and analysts. I liked staying with the hot hand and the players used to like a manager who stuck with them. Now that’s all changed and players are conditioned to accept it. I now question far less of Doc’s decisions. I have learned to watch and try understand the reasons. Do I always agree or understand. No. But is it going to ruin my day or blow up my blood pressure? No again. I’m getting way better at enjoying the game and not look to manage the game from my living room.
It will be a very interesting off season with plenty of changes. I’m disappointed this team didn’t win it all. It was always an uphill climb. But it was really a remarkable season. For an old baseball-man like me, I loved the season. Fans in the stands, the smell of new mowed grass, pine tar, hot dogs and popcorn. I’m not sure how many more seasons I will be around to enjoy the game I love. I appreciate the ride.
Excellent post Phil very well written, The game is sure different than the one I fell in love with but I still enjoy it. Not sure if I will watch any of the World Series or not. I hate the Astros and really don’t like watching any game that they are part of whether it’s a regular season or playoff game.
I agree with how managers don’t go with the hot hand or gut anymore, it’s all a numbers game.
It was an amazing season and I can’t look forward to doing it all over again next year.
Now it’s officially football season but football doesn’t compare to baseball for me. It will be a long offseason and I hate the dark months of November – February.
Take care to you and all the LADT Posters. I don’t post much but am a daily reader so I hope the blog/website continues on in some capacity.
Thanks Zeke. Always nice to hear from you. I will watch the Series and root for the Braves.
I’m off next week end to Phoenix for the winter. Catch some fall ball, put the top down on my sports car and enjoy the sunshine (and drown my sorrows).
Take care of yourself.
I was reading MLBTR. The post was about what the Giants would be doing this winter. It might surprise some to know that they need to replace or resign 4/5ths of their rotation, Gausman, Wood, DeSclafani and Cueto are all free agents.
No surprise I’ve mentioned that at least ten times this season.
Yes you have. But many read and do not comprehend. I am sure you have figured that out.
Thanks for keeping the site running all these years Mark. Although I haven’t participated much over the past few years I try to read most of the posts daily. I heard that B & P doesn’t like me so I am trying to keep a low profile in here. A disappointing end to what I thought was the best Dodger team that I can ever remember. An Allstar at every position. I guess it’s a combination of chemistry and injuries that kept us from back to back championships. Seeing names like Sousa and Andy Burns playing key roles was disappointing. The off season is going to be interesting on who is staying and who is going. Some key free agents and wondering if the DH will be coming to the NL in 2022. I hope the site stays up and some of the brilliant Dodger minds continue to post in here. Thanks again for my daily entertainment.
lol – You were a crappy manager and a mediocre shortstop! What’s to like? 😉 But, who cares what I think?
But he was a great center.
You’re right about that.
Hard to be as good as he was in 2 sports.
He was a 3x All Star and 2 time World Champion. He also had a higher win % than Lasorda. Add to that 11x NBA Champion I’d say he was quite accomplished. Congratulations Bill. Glad to see you posting again.
It is always sad when a Dodgers season ends. Sometimes we end a season with great hopes for the next season. I don’t feel that now, it could be that our run is over for a time. The problem with the run, is that with all the great regular seasons we have had, we have only won the one title. Yes, it is hard to do, but other franchises have multiple titles in the last twenty years. I don’t think that Roberts ‘managing in the playoffs has been very good, I don’t think it has been awful, just mostly ordinary, with the occasional lack of feel for the situation, as when he kept Kershaw in to give up two homeruns to Washington, or when he pitched Urias in relief against Atlanta, and left him in. I strongly believe that Robert cost us both those games, and at least one, if not both, of the series.
Managing in a regular season is very important, and Roberts seems to handle his clubhouse very well. Managing in the playoffs is different, and game strategy takes on much more importance. You cannot afford to give away even one game in a five or seven game series.
Our players showed a lot of resilience all year. Some of them did not play well in the Atlanta series. Injuries were a real problem all season, but the only major loss for the playoffs was Muncy, as JT didn’t hit at all, and Kelly was not missed in the two final games. But it would have been great to see a healthy team all year. Our starters wore out, and you can attribute that to various factors.
My concern is that our nucleus is dissipating due to age, injuries, free agency. We do not seem to have much minor league talent whom we can expect to be stars, as when we had Seager, Pederson, Bellinger, and Buehler. This is a problem, and a lot of it is due to low draft picks. Good old Houston actually tanked two seasons just to get high picks, what a discredit they are to baseball. But we need some more talent, as strange as that may sound.
I would want us to go all-out for Seager. He did not have a great year, he was out for two months. And his playoffs were not great. But he has power and can usually hit .280, and he plays a steady if not dazzling shortstop. I am not happy about TT’s performance here, and he will almost certainly leave after next year, and who is the shortstop? Seager is worth a lot to us. I think the rumors are true, and that he will end up with the Yankees, how disappointing. And we will have a hole in the lineup, and who would fill it?
So I do hope we try hard to sign Seager, but have we ever kept a player who was a client of Boras? I would even let Jansen and Taylor go just to keep Seager. We could use Treinen and Knebel in the key relief spots. Jansen did a great job turning things around, but I am assuming we can’t afford to keep everyone. Taylor does some great things, but we could work around him, if necessary.
Scherzer is a difficult question. Two weeks ago, I would have said that we have to keep him. Assuming his arm is okay, we should still try.. Lose him, and all we have are Buehler and Urias. Kershaw is a big question mark. We can keep him for his charisma for the team, but I doubt he will have another big year. We cannot go into next season with only two top starters and then a bunch of minor league prospects, or middling pickups like Kazmir or Anderson in the past. We need at least one more top pitcher.
I don’t know how much money we have to spend, or who is available. Somehow the goal i s to reconfigure the team to where we still have the most talent, or close to it, because Roberts is not going to do what Kapler did with the GIants this year, or Cash does with the Rays., which is outachieve his talent level. The Braves will likely have a better team than we do in the NL, and teams like the Yankees and Astros probably will as well., and there could be others like the Giants or Cards, I do not share Mark’s and others’ love for watching our young players develop, though I respect it, of course. I have seen some great young Dodgers’ players, and many others who did not become stars, and whom we kept around for five years hoping that they would be, I do not have that patience.
This will be Andrew Friedman’s greatest challenge–assuming that the goal is to compete for a title, and not to step back for a few years and rebuild. I hope that ownership does not turn off the funds. The only current youngish lineup stars we have, if Seager goes, are Betts and Smith. Bellinger could be, but I have no idea what he will do next year
I will miss the season, as the only other sports I follow are UCLA football, which is dreary, and UCLA basketball, which is promising. I hate the NBA, so I will not listen to any sports shows. Dodgers offseason will be intriguing, but I am prepared for disappointments there, and I will be very very pleasantly and immensely surprised if the team we have going into next year is nearly a good as the last few looked to be.
Best wishes to everyone in the offseason, and thanks for the very intelligent discussions about baseball.
Thanks Mark for all your work. I have been with you for many years.
Thanks (Maker’s) Mark for all your insights and insults throughout the years. Best of luck to you down the road.
I prefer Makers 46!
Mark, I have really enjoyed your informative, authentic, entertaining, and provocative style. I have learned a lot from you and the others who post regularly on this site.
It has been an odd season. The sheer volume of injuries have been staggering, and this, in my opinion, is what prevented them from becoming one of the greatest Dodgers teams of all time. The feast or famine nature of this team was sometimes thrilling and sometimes frustrating. There were some great highlights. KJs re-emergence as a top closer was an unexpected pleasure. CT3 was at times a world beater. Beuhler and Urias had epic years. Muncy was terrific, as usual, and his injury in game 162 was a killing blow. Mad Max’s dominance until he ran out of gas. The lights out bullpen – usually a weakness of ours became a strength. The backs against the wall performances in the WC game and the series against the Giants. And the epic chase of the Giants that fell short by 1 game. And of course the drama around the TB fiasco.
It was a lot of fun. A disappointing end, running out of gas, but it was somehow fitting. There was something still missing, the consistent, timely hitting, which finally led to their demise. Oh well, at least I’ll have more time for who knows what!
Doing what I always do when the season is over. Looking for baseball news and not much is out there. Poll on MLBTR has the Braves winning in 6. I do not agree with that. I think it will go 7 and be a last man standing kind of series. They also reported on the Cardinals search for a manager. I found it amusing that one of the candidates was named Stubby Clapp. On a more serious note, and this I think is going to happen. NBC Sports reported in an article on Yahoo’s news page that there most likely will be a work stoppage on December 2nd when the old CBA expires. Although they have been in negotiations, the MLBPA and MLB are no where near reaching an agreement.
I sadly agree with you Bear. The sides seem miles apart. You would hope they all would have enough sense to not kill the Goose. Sadly, I think their egos and greed will do just that.
Stubby Clapp…I think I caught that once in college.
Ha
Very Droll.
You that short???
There doesn’t need to be major changes made to this roster. Just keep as many key free agents as possible, get rid of some dead weight (David Price is a great example of dead weight) and make sure there are 4 starting pitchers that can be relied upon for the playoffs and a better bench (No more McKinneys and Souzas of the world).
Injuries and bad luck was the problem.
I want to start with thanks to Mark , Bear, Jeff and DC and all the posters that come on this site that makes it so interesting
Well it’s all over but the crying now. All I like to say is I don’t believe the vitriol is well-placed. In my opinion it was the lack of timely hitting , and the injuries that cost the NLCS
Pedro Martinez has always felt he was disrespected when he got traded. He’s been a dodger hater ever since
There’s been plenty of occasions we’re starting pitchers have been used as relievers in playoff games. Things didn’t work out for this year for us Forget About It. Let’s look forward to next year a lot of decisions to be made Go Dodgers
Thanks to all of you, especially Mark, Bear, Jeff, and DC, for making the season so memorable for me. I am in awe of so many of you that I just sit back and listen. So if you don’t hear from me, that’s why. I really enjoyed B&P’s Iliad analogy. Gentlemen and scholars all!
Thanks Everyone.
It’s not like I am today gone…