Well, here we go again. 11 straight years going to the playoffs. 9 years of disappointment, and 1 of elation so far. And last season was probably the most disappointing of all. Yet, we have experienced a time unlike any other in Dodger baseball history. People harp a lot that they resemble the Braves of the 90’s with all these trips and not much success.
Yet I look on all 11 of these seasons as successful. Did they reach their final goal? Obviously, they did not. But they got there. They gave themselves a chance. Many fans look at 2020 and say, oh, it was a shortened season, and the competition was just not what it normally would be. I disagree. It was perhaps much harder to play under those circumstances. No fans, no home field advantage. The masks, social distancing, the lack of being able to celebrate with those who pay to see you perform. Very difficult indeed. And they had to win more post season games than any team before them. So, it is legit.
What will 2023 bring? Right now, most baseball people feel the Braves are the odds-on favorites to win the World Series. Kind of like the Dodgers last season, the Braves are this year’s juggernaut. It is hard to argue with that assessment. The Braves as a team are hitting .275, LA at .256. Braves have hit 299 homers, with Olsen leading the majors with 53. They have scored 909 runs, 39 more than the Dodgers.
They have taken some hits lately though in their pitching staff. Morton and Freid are both out right now. Their pitching staff is rated 15th in the league. The Dodgers are 13th. The best ERA in the NL belongs to the Brewers. In the AL it is Toronto. The Phillies and Cubs, also playoff teams as of now, both have better ERA’s than the Braves. Arizona, another team who at this point are in, is the only playoff team with an ERA lower than the Braves. Miami at this point has a slim chance of getting in. The Braves will play the winner of Phillies-Marlins-D Backs, and the Dodgers will face the winner of Brewers-Cubs. The Cubs are playing the Braves, and the Marlins are playing the Mets. Of course, as close as all of the teams are, this can change day to day. We might not know until the last day of the season who will be playing who.
Does not matter to the Dodgers of course. They need to be ready for whoever they face. Lineup wise, The Brewers are probably the better matchup. Their order is not that frightening. The Cubs have decent pitching. The Brewers pitching is quite good.
Things will change, they always do. We do know that Miller and Kershaw will start games one and two. after that, it is anybody’s guess which direction the Dodgers will go. Opener? Lance Lynn? First two games will be at home. They need to take advantage of that. Playing at Wrigley in October? Not the best scenario. Closed stadium in Milwaukee offers a little stabler playing conditions.
The playoff roster deadline is I think just prior to game one of each series. Players left off of the roster can be placed on for the next round. But if a player is on the roster and replaced due to injury, he is ineligible for the next round.
So, it will be very interesting to see just who makes the 26-man playoff roster. Teams will be carrying essentially a taxi squad in case of injury. There are some locks, for sure, but I also believe that the Dodgers this time around are going to seriously consider the matchups with the pitching staff they will be facing.
The Brewers have a primarily RH pitching staff, so it makes sense to have a lefty bat on the bench. No matter who they choose, someone is going to end up not being very happy. I am just glad it is about time for the playoffs to begin. Still a lot to be settled in both leagues,
Wonder if 1B coach Clayton McCullough gets consideration from Farhan to be the next SF Giants manager? Whenever the FO fires a sitting manager the pundits look for association the GM might have with coaches and/or former managers.
McCullough got an interview with the Mets, with that job ultimately filled by Showalter and might be under strong consideration for the Giants gig. Another coach who might get consideration is Detroit Tiger Bench Coach George Lombard who was the Dodgers 1B coach while Farhan was in LA.
I’m not a fan of Kapler, but he probably didn’t deserve to be fired given the horrible roster given to him by Farhan, then again perhaps he lost the locker room with Webb commenting the other day that the culture needed to change.
Just another reason we as Dodger fans should reflect on the solid FO AF has put together including player development, player acquisition, scouting, medical etc. They may not win it all, but with 11 years in a row in the tournament t it is indeed a great time to be a DODGER fan. ITFDPSB. “It’s Time for Dodger Post Season Baseball!”
I think the Giants will go after Travis Barbary.
I said earlier, Dodgers can win it all, or get bounced in their first series! I think this applies to all teams in the playoffs. let me touch on the Gabe Kapler firing. I’m not a big fan but, I believe he’s getting the poop side of the toilet paper. if you actually look at that roster, Bruce Bochy isn’t winning with that. the front office deserves 85% of the blame for this. they signed injury prone free agents to go along with a group who were never all that to begin with. Kapler is the fall guy here! he’s robot like, so it will be interesting to see if any teams come calling. one more home run and Freddie has put ribbon on one hell of a season. good to see Will drive that pitch to center. hopefully Freddie hits number 30 today and they get #100.
Our young pitchers have grown with every start. They look confident on the mound with the knowledge that they can get guys out. EK said last night that he would stack our 13 man staff against any in baseball. I believe that to be true and I expect that the team will ride these kids to the World Series. This all goes to the depth and player development the Dodgers provide. It could be an extremely fun post season.
Looking now like the Marlins are going to get in. Means the Dodgers will get the winner of the Brewers-Marlins. Braves will get the winner of D-Backs-Phillies. Cubs’ chances took a big hit the last four days. Brewers will have to use their big guns against the Marlins, and the Marlins are going to use their best against the Brewers.
Bear: If we assume the Marlins win the suspended game (leading in the 9th with 2 men on and 1 out) the Marlins and Diamondbacks currently have the same record. The Marlins have the tie breaker so that would mean we play the winner of the Brewers/Diamondbacks. The Reds cannot be overlooked also. What this all says is things are still in a state of flux and we may not actually know the answer until the suspended game is completed on Monday. I’m just glad the Padres are finally gone.
The D-Backs play two against Houston. They face Verlander today and they are sending Kelly against him. I think Houston wins tonight. D-Backs have 84 wins, Cubs need two wins against the Brewers to get 84. Marlins with 83 wins, and they are playing the Pirates, so they could have 85 and not need that Monday game. But we won’t really know anything until Sunday at least. Cubs have their two best pitchers going against the Brewers the next two games, but they need help from the Pirates to keep Miami at bay. Arizona is 84-76, Miami 83-76.
*unto
Because of” baseball being baseball” if there is a way for the Dodgers to play the Cubs they will.
Why? Because it seems in baseball, brothers end up playing against brothers, sons versus their father’s old teams, rivals vs rivals, and since Cody Bellinger is a Cub he’ll be in L.A. for the playoffs!!
Not without help from the Pirates and then they need to win the last two against the Brewers and then win their wild card series.
Even if the Cubs win the next 2 and the Marlins lose the next 2, the Marlins still have Monday’s resumption of the suspended game. If the Marlins complete their win in the suspended (again they have a 1 run lead in the 9th with 2 on and 1 out) game, they will beat out the Cubs by virtue of the tie breaker.
I think the only way the Cubs get in is if they win out and the Marlins (including the suspended game) lose out and the Reds lose at least 1. Here are the tie breakers:
NATIONAL LEAGUE
4-way tie scenario (for 2 spots)
Scenario: D-backs, Cubs, Marlins, Reds tie
Result: Marlins and Reds IN; D-backs and Cubs OUT
There are four teams vying for the remaining two NL Wild Card spots. The second Wild Card spot would go to the team with the best winning percentage against the other tied clubs. That is the Marlins at .611, better than the D-backs (.550), Reds (.538) and Cubs (.346).
The third Wild Card would then go to the Reds because they own a winning record against the Cubs (7-6) and D-backs (4-3).
3-way tie scenarios (for 1 spot)
Scenario: Marlins claim the 2nd Wild Card; D-backs, Cubs, Reds tie
Result: Reds IN; D-backs and Cubs OUT
The Reds would claim the third Wild Card because they own a winning record against the Cubs (7-6) and D-backs (4-3).
Scenario: D-backs claim 2nd Wild Card; Cubs, Marlins, Reds tie
Result: Marlins IN; Cubs and Reds OUT
Although the Marlins and Reds each won their season series vs. the Cubs, they split their six head-to-head games, meaning the third Wild Card would go to the team with the best winning percentage against the other two tied clubs. In this scenario, the Marlins would claim the third Wild Card because their .583 winning percentage against the tied clubs is better than the Reds’ (.526) and Cubs’ (.421).
3-way tie scenarios (for 2 spots)
Scenario: D-backs, Cubs, Marlins tie; Reds eliminated
Result: Marlins and D-backs IN; Cubs OUT
In this scenario, the Marlins would earn the second Wild Card because of their 4-2 records against the D-backs and Cubs. The third Wild Card would go to the D-backs, who were 6-1 vs. Chicago.
Scenario: D-backs, Cubs, Reds tie; Marlins eliminated
Result: Reds and D-backs IN; Cubs OUT
The Reds would earn the second Wild Card in this scenario due to their winning records against the D-backs (4-3) and Cubs (7-6). The D-backs would earn the third Wild Card by virtue of their 6-1 record against the Cubs.
Scenario: D-backs, Marlins, Reds tie; Cubs eliminated
Result: Marlins and Reds IN; D-backs OUT
The Marlins (.583) have the highest winning percentage against the tied clubs in this scenario, so they would get the second Wild Card. The Reds would get the third Wild Card because they won their season series vs. the D-backs, 4-3.
So the Cubs are out in all tie breaker scenarios. In other words, the Cubs are pretty much dead but we may not know the final outcome until the suspended game is completed on Monday (assuming they even have to complete it)
The most disappointing, gut wrenching moment of all for me was the Defeat to the Nats in 19.
Took some getting over.
We would have won it that year.
at least we got to game 5 that year. We didn’t even do that last year.
I agree 2019 was gut wrenching, but last year was flat out the most pathetic loss of all our playoff runs.
The year when “Wild Man Kelly” broke Hanley’s rib wasn’t easy to stomach.
That was Puig’s first year and we’d overturned a huge deficit by going on an incredible tear – I think it was 13.
We had real moments that year
The team owes us for the piss-poor performance at last years exit More than owing us you really owe it to yourselves so you won’t have 2022 to think about how you should of done it. This year just do it and we won’t revisit Dodgers loosing the cake walk of 2022 to OUR deathbeds.
Hope we can do it for you Quas and all the loyal Dodger fans out there.
If Dbacks can get by Verlander tonight, there’s a chance Asstros get edged out. Wouldn’t that be sweet. I’d be glowing pink then.
David Vassegh
@THEREAL_DV
Austin Barnes catching Clayton Kershaw’s final regular season start of the season today in San Francisco. #Dodgers #Giants
The Oklahoma City Dodgers, champions of the Pacific Coast League, will battle the Norfolk Tides (Orioles), winners of the International League, in a one-game, winner-take-all Triple-A championship on Saturday night at Las Vegas Ballpark.
The game will start at 7 p.m. PT, and will be televised by MLB Network.
Oklahoma City swept Round Rock (Rangers) in two games in the Pacific Coast League championship series, finishing off the series Wednesday night at home behind home runs from Jonny DeLuca and Michael Busch plus 10 strikeouts by Gavin Stone.
It was Oklahoma City’s first league title since 1996.
I can’t wait to throw that on while our game is on as well!
9:05 PM ET
Dodgers (99-61)
Giants (78-82)
SP Clayton Kershaw L
13-4 2.42 ERA
SP Tristan Beck R
3-3 4.05 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
2B Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
3B Max Muncy L
DH J. Martinez R
RF J. Heyward L
CF James Outman L
SS Chris Taylor R
LF D. Peralta L
C A. Barnes R
63° Wind 8 mph Out
Disappointing loss. Max makes another crucial error. Can’t do that in the playoffs. Playoff fields set in both leagues. Just waiting now for the seeding. Only thing in the NL that needs to be decided is who is 6th and who is 5th. Marlins at this point .5 games ahead of the D-Backs. If they remain the 5 seed, they play the Phillies. If they drop to 6, they play the Brewers. Texas 1 game ahead of Stros for West title. It will be decided tomorrow.
Fergie looked good Tonite.
Amazing. He looked so bad the last couple of times out. OKC rallied for 4 runs in the 9th inning, but fell short, 7-6 in the AAA championship game. Gamboa got the loss, Busch, and Vargas hit 9th inning homers to get them close. Feduccia also had a homer. Yency Almonte started the game, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out two. Gamboa pitched 2/3rds of an inning and gave up 2 walks, 2 hits and 4 earned runs. Kershaw had 5 strikeouts tonight. He is now just 56 shy of 3000. Does he come back to get them>>>>>??????. I think he will.
Muncy should play defense for USC!
Yeah, they almost blew that one today. Have to respect Neon Deion’s team. They played their ass off the second half.