I like to break things down to their simplest form, and here is why the Dodgers were swept in the NLDS: They could not score more than two runs a game. In 162 games, the Dodgers averaged 5.6 runs a game, but in this three-game series, they scored just two runs a game. They were blown out in the first game, but the next two games were very winnable and failed to hit. PERIOD! It was just like last year… and the year before. I detect a trend…
The Dodgers team ERA was 6.58 in the playoffs. Another 100-win team was Baltimore and they were worse with a 7.27 ERA. The Arizona Diamondbacks ERA was 2.20. Do you see the problem here? The Dodgers had a team OPS of .498, while the Diamondbacks were nearly 400 points higher at .877. The Diamondbacks have hit 13 Home Runs in five games, while the Dodgers have but one in three games. The team batting average was an anemic .177!
So, we have to blame someone… anyone… Right? Where do we start?
Andrew Friedman – Start at the top, Blame the guy in charge, “He knows how to build a team that wins 100 games but can’t win in the playoffs.” So, you expect me to believe that winning three games is harder than winning a 100? 5 out of 4 people struggle with math. “Well, he did not trade for any good starters after May, Gonsolin, Kershaw, and Company were injured!” There are two things here: (1) Teams have repeatedly demonstrated that method is not the path to winning (many of you wanted Jack Flaherty. His ERA after he was traded to the Orioles was 6.75), and (2) THE PITCHING WAS NOT WHY THE DODGERS LOST THE SERIES TO THE D-BACKS! Andrew traded for Mookie Betts and signed Freddie Freeman, and both were Top Five players in the NL this year. They were good enough to win 100 games, but not three!
Dave Roberts – Of course, there is the “Fire Doc” faction, even though he has the best all-time winning percentage of any manager ever in the history of modern baseball! Of course, some of you say, “Well, anyone can win with the teams he has.” That contradicts anyone who has a beef with Freidman and there are a few that do. I think that the Dodgers will have Dave Roberts back, but this is something that has to be considered. Ultimately, I think that this is not the problem. People love to second guess what a manager does because it somehow empowers them. People second-guess because they think there are ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ answers or ways of doing things. Since they believe there is the perfect answer to a problem, they get caught in a conundrum of questioning decisions and believing that they know better. Of course, with second-guessing, they are always right, and that makes them feel smarter too. Can Roberts improve on anything? Of course, but he will be back in 2023, I believe.
Robert Van Socyoc – Now, we are getting somewhere! “It’s the all-or-nothing approach. Teams that rely on the home run can be easily beaten!” Yeah, that’s the ticket. RVS can resurrect JD Martinez’s career along with Jason Heyward. He can help James Outman improve his “caveman swing” and help Mookie and Freddie be candidates for MVP, but you can’t be too reliant on the home run in the playoffs. Whoops, the D-Backs have 13 HR in the playoffs. The three teams in the playoffs still alive, are all reliant on the home run this postseason. I am sure that the Dodgers will look at RVS with a microscope up his butt, but ultimately, who is better?
Mark Prior – He seems to be able to help pitchers resurrect their careers (yes, it didn’t work with Thor because he thought the Dodgers could get him back to throwing in triple digits again, as he also believes in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny). Mark Prior’s arms problems de-railed a Hall-of-Fame career. Maybe he knows too much about contorting the arms and spinning the ball, which causes arms to blow out with more regularity? I am being serious. That has to be looked at. The Dodgers have had an unusually high number of arm issues. Dodger pitchers led MLB with over 2,200 man games lost to the IL. Could it be that Prior is “too good” at his job? Ultimately, I think Prior will also be back, but he will also have a colonoscopy!
The Players – How about the guys who failed to hit? Let me list them: Mookie (.000 BA), Freddie (.100 BA), JDM (.200 BA), Muncy (.182 BA), Peralta (.167 BA) Outman (.000 BA). Kudos to Will Smith, who hit .417, Kike Hernandez, who hit .375, and Miguel Rojas, who hit .333. Other than Smith, Hernandez, and Rojas, the entire offensive team sucked so much that they choked! When all of your leaders hit like sissies, the team goes home. The Dodgers are where they belong and where they deserve: at home!
I think the real culprit is Bill Plaschke, who cursed the Dodgers by saying they were going to in the World Series. Instead, the Diamondbacks sent them home with their tails between their legs. Disgraced and ridiculed on the biggest stage. The fans are clamoring for someone’s head, and there is a saying that “It better to hang some feller than no feller!” This feels like a lynch mob. No rational thinking – just hang someone! The video below says it all.
Mookie barely hit .200 in 2018 when the Red Sox won the World Series. In 2020, he hit .296 in the playoffs and World Series. In 2021, it was .319, but then in 2022 and 2023, he hit .143 and .000, respectively. Freddie Freeman has a career BA of .291 with a .402 OB% and a .933 OPS in all of the combined playoffs, while Mookie has a pedestrian .256 BA/.338 OB% and a weak .722 OPS in all the combined playoffs. He is an amazing athlete who can bowl 300 but can’t lead HIS TEAM to a win in the playoffs.
You may never see another team like this. It’s a team full of good character, guys… Guys who help little old ladies across the street and visit sick children in hospitals. They do a lot for the community and each other. Their character is impeccable, and they can win 100 games, but they can’t win three when it counts! There will be lots of changes next season. Joe Kelly, Lance Lynn, Shelby Miller, Jimmy Nelson, Clayton Kershaw, David Peralta, Kolten Wong, JD Martinez, Chris Taylor and even Jason Heyward could all be gone. Maybe the team needs a Juan Soto in LF and will cough up the prospects. Maybe Blake Snell will become a Dodger. Maybe Shohei Ohtani comes to Chavez Ravine. Maybe they sign the Japanese dude.
Get ready for the winds of change. It’s in the air!
We didnt choke because we never showed up.
Hey Johnny….you roughed me up a bit (not very gentle) when I predicted our starting pitching would fail us in this Erie’s and Zona would win with Kelly and Gallen.
Of course, I could appreciate your optimism and hope is always much better than reality, but I think you owe me a drink for the harsh words directed at me. Agree?
At least we came in first place in the West….doesn’t that count for something?
I don’t feel bad today because my playoff expectations are usually pretty low…especially this year with no sure fire starting pitcher with a resume for such. Oh well, hopefully something was learned through this beat down. Braves will lose too. I don’t expect Strider will go past 3-4 innings.
You were right.
I own that.
All apologies, my friend.
Blessings going back your way…..your apology impressed me. Thanks…
Where do you go from here? The Dodger regular season is meaningless. Somehow in baseball math a 90 win team has the advantage over the 100 win team. We lost to a team who picked up an abandoned player and batted him third, while all our two MVP candidates gave us was the crap in crapshoot! Gonna be hard to get excited about 24 with this group of gaggers!
Austin Barnes
Pinch hitting swings at the first pitch , come on work the count . I could go on but that sums up the Dodgers game plan .
Mookie and Freddie go 1-21 the entire series and this is what stood out for you?
Wow…..
That’s sums it up for the whole team
No game plan that I could see other then swing hard at a breaking ball out of the zone .
I went to sleep after that AB. It wasn’t even a good swing
This foo, yup his one at bat lead to the series loss
Extremely disappointing.
But we will be all be right back when winter turns to spring.
It sucks but you have to enjoy the journey, and I enjoyed this season, up to the last 3 games.
See you in ’24
You make a strong case why Doc and some coaches won’t be fired, but only one number matters when a team has been to the post season 11 straight seasons and that is how many championships have you won. AF has most likely explained OPS, ERA, SLG and all the other sabermetric stuff to the ownership group and while they’ve probably been educated on some “inside baseball” stuff at the end of the day they want championships. I’m not saying it makes empirical sense to fire some coaches, but millions of fans need to see a change, feel a change, hold out hope that better days are ahead with better results. To that end, changes are indeed coming.
When players are traded and suddenly put up better numbers with the new team we often hear it’s because a change of scenery was all the player needed. I believe that to be true here and that is why this team, the coaching staff, and even perhaps the manager will look much different next year. Some of my prognostications will occur, some will
not, but here goes. Yes, these are wild ass guesses…..
1. Doc will not be fired, but he will leave on his own and will be hired by the Giants, Guardians or some other MLB team.
2. Brandon Gomes will get the Red Sox Chief of Baseball Operations job and Chaim Bloom will reunite with AF and become the Dodgers GM.
3. Gabe Kapler will reunite with the Dodgers in some front office job. He will not replace Doc.
4. Travis Barbary who led the OKC Dodgers to a PCL pennant will be strongly considered to replace Doc. We’ll also hear Showalter and Francona as possibilities, but Barbary gets the job.
5. CK will retire.
6. Muncy’s option will get picked up and he will be slated as the full time DH. They have to get his stone hands out of the IF. When he slumps horribly or gets injured Will Smith will DH.
7. JDM is not coming back.
8. Peralta is gone.
9. I put a new Heyward contract at 50/50 right now.
10. Hernandez does not return.
11. Rojas becomes the Swiss Army Knife.
12. Lux will be given the SS job.
13. Busch is next year’s 3B.
14. Vargas is used in an off season trade for more pitching.
15. The transition with more youth will continue as a combination of Pepiot, Miller, Sheehan, Stone, Grove and others will be in the opening day rotation.
16. AF might cash in his ownership stake with the Dodgers and try his hand at another storied MLB franchise the Red Sox. If the Red Sox ownership group indeed wants AF and he leaves, look for Gomes to stay with the Dodgers and be elevated to the Chief of Baseball Operations gig or Josh Byrnes might inherit that role.
17. RVS is gone.
18. If AF stays ownership will instruct AF to quit wasting money on player contracts who do not contribute (Freyersian, Reyes, Nelson, Kahnle, Treinen, Hudson, Duffy) or minimally get some better surgical/health analytics about the expected recovery of the players coming off injury.
19. Ohtani will be signed.
20. Snell will be signed.
One, two, ten or none of the 20 things will happen this off season. I have no “inside source” and these musings are emotional over a morning cup of coffee. I’m not certain what will happen, but even Ray Charles can see changes are coming.
All of those things may happen or none of them will happen. Maybe some happen…
Mark,
This is why you get the big bucks to write these articles
So one guy I certainly do not blame is Roberts. He puts the guys out there and they have to do the job. We handled Arizona during the season and should have done it in October. We beat those starting pitchers. So we knew we were weak in starters going in. So plan was to have them go 4-5 innings and turn it over to our great relievers, hopefully to hold a LEAD. So that didn’t work as all three starter failed to do the assignment.. Game 1.-ok that game was over in 2nd inning. But other 2 games were winnable. So I say that’s all on Mookie and Freddie. JDM and Max had 100+ RBIs because they came up with those guys on base. The guy that we thought was used up and tired-Smith- came thru. And Kike being Kike.
anyone else wish Corey Seager was still here? i know the california tax was a roadblock, but that bat would’ve helped a lot, maybe not enough to save them this year, but he’s a stud! if mookie is full time second baseman year, maybe we need 2 outfielders not named peralta or kiki! heyward on the bench is ok. sure they averaged over 6 runs a game, but they could also go ice cold for lengthy stretches. agree , chemistry and character matter, but .230 hitters aren’t hard to find, and we seem to have more than enough of those. i’ve seen the rumors floating about Doc. not gonna blame him for this , but the dodgers are heading for the tutu of regular season champs! but no postseason glory. i hope Lance Lynn signs with the Friars!
Seager was my favorite Dodger…..we should have paid the man’s taxes (as if he needed it)…..but, I’m not sure even he could have saved us. After all, when Mookie and Freddie play small, what are our chances to score runs?
His bat would only help if he didn’t go cold.
Time to change up the buddy buddy country club atmosphere in the clubhouse. Less puppy dog and more pit bull. Too difficult to bring in fiery leadership as players, and that’s not who Mookie and Freddie are. So as much as I like Doc and don’t blame him, I think a new manager is needed. And not some rookie manager. Strong leadership. Showalter would work for me. Someone to get in some faces and put some fire into this team! Have to go in a different direction even if it means less regular season success. These Octobers demand a change!
Showalter sure did great in NY….talk about a dumpster fire….
Hell why not just bring in Kapler….
Showalter wants the Angel job, Kapler’s crap won’t play in LA. And Roberts just signed an extension.
I’ve been saying this for a while now. As much as I appreciate Freddy on this team I’m so sick of seeing him congratulate opposing hitters on their base hit when they get to 1st. I don’t care if the guy is your best friend, during those 9 innings he is the enemy so play like it.
That always grates on me too. The other thing I can’t stand is that childish “tooting the horn” thing Dodger players do on base , after they get a hit.
That sissified “Freddie dance” after every double was awful too!
That wasn’t tooting the horn, that was watch out for the freight train. No worse than the Angels giving a Samauri helmet after a homer. Can’t you guys think of something really significant to rant about rather than the on field celebrations?
Yes, I can think of something more significant to rant about.
I think it’s kinda dumb to label others complaining about on-field celebrations as “insignificant,” when clearly ALL rants about ANYTHING sports-related is in fact quite insignificant.
Is this perspective significant enough for you?
I will make my comments in my next post, which I am working on now. But this I know for certain. Roberts will not be fired, nor will he leave on his own. Not with this bad taste in his mouth. He has two years left on the extension he signed last winter, and I doubt the Dodgers want to pay two managers at once. Freidman is going nowhere either. There will probably be some coaching changes. Showalter is probably getting the Angels job and Francona is done. Especially because of his health. I would not be surprised to see a couple of Dodger execs poached again by other teams nor a couple of coaches replaced because they have moved to other teams. I can see Barbary being elevated to the major league club. The only player with his future totally in his own hands is Kershaw. The Dodgers will let him make the decision on whether or not he keeps playing in LA, retires, or becomes a free agent and signs elsewhere. Only three Dodgers have contracts of two years or more. Betts, Freeman and Taylor.
You say you know this for certain, but there is no way you can because I’m sure the organization doesn’t even know yet. It’s time to shake things up and just because Roberts signed an extension doesn’t mean squat. I’m not a Roberts hater and actually like the guy, but this is how it goes….. Change is tough but it has to start somewhere and the Manager is more times than not the answer. Fans are fed up and if I’m ownership so am I. We could win 120 games every year and have a manager with the greatest record of all time and none of that means shit if you year after year underperform in the playoffs.
Maybe ownership is content with great regular seasons, leading the league in attendance every year, and just making money, but I have to imagine that will wear off (it sure has for me and others) but the more times this happens it will get in the players heads that they either can’t win the big games, put too much pressure on themselves to win (we are probably already there) and the biggest thing, other teams DO NOT FEAR the Dodgers. A big change is needed now! The Dodgers have taken on the Dave Roberts mindset of relax and be patient it’s a long season, but this is crippling us now.
I think ownership and management have already made that decision. They are not going to make changes simply because the fan base is pissed off. This happened last year, and Roberts was a lame duck manager then. What happened????? Not a damn thing except he got extended. Yeah, I know, managers get fired in the middle of contracts all the time, including Showalter this season. But the Dodgers haven’t fired a manager since Grady Little was shown the door, and they don’t like paying two managers at once. So trust me when I say, Doc is coming back. There will be changes, but maybe in the coaching staff. I doubt your being fed up will carry much weight with the powers that be.
And that is my point “This happened last year, and Roberts was a lame duck manager then. What happened????? Not a damn thing except he got extended”. And here we are again in the same boat, how many times can it happen without a different result before you are forced to make the change.
Don’t try and make this about me being fed up because if ownership is not then that is a problem.
I understand that. He simply will not be fired. So far it has happened twice and the only ones who look pissed are the fans. It is pretty quiet in Dodger land.
I’m not so sure about Doc. He’s a good guy, a player’s manager, a very good communicator, a company man but often player’s grow tired and weary of the same messaging, the same voice, the same accolades, the same style etc. Often, in sports a change is made for the sake of change even if the manager/coach is largely successful. In the NBA Nick Nurse and Mike Budenholser were both fired a couple of seasons after winning a championship.
Terry Francona was let go by the Red Sox after leading them to two World Series Championships, ending an 86 year drought for the franchise. Phil Jackson was fired from the Chicago Bulls after leading that franchise to 6 world championships in 8 seasons. Joe Maddon led the Cubs to their first World Series Championship since 1908 and then took the club to the playoffs the next two years but after not being offered a new contract and after a lame duck season he left.
I’m just not so certain and definitive as you are that Doc won’t be leaving. The odds are against it happening, but perhaps he will do some soul searching and think it’s time to move on. His kids are out of the house in college, he maintains a home in the SD area and he has a growing wine making business. I’m not certain he will leave or be fired but I won’t be heart broken if he indeed leaves one way or the other.
Alston manager of the Dodgers for 23 years. Lasorda managed for 20.
What a disappointment. I heard on the Dan Patrick radio show this morning that the Dodgers have won 100+ games in franchise history 10 time and have not won the World Series in any of those ten seasons. Unbelievable. The only thing that was not a disappointment was the bullpen. Credit to Mark, who told us all year that they would turn it around… but 6 runs in three games from the offense against an 84 win team… PATHETIC.
I don’t think you can count # 10. That one was in 1899 and there was no World Series.
I actually believed the Dodgers could win two straight in Phoenix and bring it back home for the win. Hats off to those here who were not so naive and were realistically pessimistic. There is no way to sugarcoat this embarrassment. The 100 win accolades for this team stand in vivid contrast to the humiliation of being crushed like an empty aluminum soda can in the playoffs , by a team you owned in the regular season.
Two years in a row! And a brutal 2019 loss!
Maybe, just maybe, the other team deserves some credit???
Remember this was the year that the Padres were the team to beat not LA. I give full credit to Doc for taking this team to 100 wins especially with a deceminated starting rotation. Most other teams would have fallen apart. As for the lack of success in the playoffs, the hitting disappeared again. I am not sure how one fixes this… These players had very successful results during the regular season only to go cold in the playoffs. AGAIN!
We are very fortunate fans to have a team year after year kick butt. We are spoiled. That being said, it would be nice to one once in awhile.
Driman
So the end to a thoroughly enjoyable “Transitional” season, was a little earlier than many had anticipated.
For me, it was far more than I had expected, and gives great hope going forward into 24 and beyond.
The emergence of so many young players who have now gained invaluable experience
A raft of affordable, controllable young arms and the improvement in James Outman, added to the remodelled Vargas plus the return of Gavin Lux and Walker Beuhler give great optimism.
So much money coming off the books gives great opportunity for AF to do his thing.
When the dust settles, this has been a great season. People are hurting and eager to put blame at certain doors but the reality is this was not going to be our year. Too many Starting Pitchers going down and Kershaw unfortunately coming to the end of the road, meant that we couldn’t compete in the higher quality Post Season.
Yes Mookie and Freddie were disappointing in October, but they were the best one/ two in Baseball and both were in the MVP conversation. They went cold. It happens.
I sincerely hope that Clayton rides off into the sunset and enjoys his family life.
Time to face reality. Him being around only clouds things in the Front Office and makes things complicated for Roberts, who had his best season managing the team.
He really did a great job of patching a Pitching Staff together, and his use of the Bullpen was his best effort yet. This one’s not on him.
It was disappointing to see so many people here dismissing a very good, young hungry Arizona team after the first series of the season back in April.
Labelled a .500 team at best, and that they’d fade in the second half due to their perceived lack of depth, they came back to bite us with a vengeance. Anyone who’d taken notice in the second half of 22 could see they would be a force.
Sham Diego and NYM are great examples of why trying to buy success doesn’t work. It’s about growth from within engendering a spirit and togetherness plus good player development which we know the Dodgers excel at. The D’Backs are a great example of this, but the difference is that we have far more financial clout to secure any top level Free Agents.
If this was a “Transitional” year(100 wins is an amazing achievement), then I’m
looking forward to the next already.
Remember this was the year that the Padres were the team to beat not LA. I give full credit to Doc for taking this team to 100 wins especially with a deceminated starting rotation. Most other teams would have fallen apart. As for the lack of success in the playoffs, the hitting disappeared again. I am not sure how one fixes this… These players had very successful results during the regular season only to go cold in the playoffs. AGAIN!
We are very fortunate fans to have a team year after year kick butt. We are spoiled. That being said, it would be nice to win one once in awhile.
Driman
Always liked Mike Batts Winds of change much better than the Scorpions.
It is a true classic. The lyrics with that amazing melody always give me goosebumps.
As for the Dodger; Wait til next year.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not like we weren’t sweating the top of the rotation . We came up short on starters – no surprises here.
Easily fixed next season. We shall rise once again.
How about dem Lakers !
Good regular season, and the usual terrible ending. Hope AF with money to spend this offseason signs players that can perform in October. I wish all the bloggers on this site a healthy safe Fall and Winter. Approximately 120 days till pitchers and catchers.Enjoy!!
I snapped awake this morning, still in my recliner, from the worst nightmare. In my nightmare, it was smoky, like an old black and white noir movie, and through the hazy I could hear a voice that sounded like Rod Serling, but his partner kept calling him Bob. And he was broadcasting the Dodger – D-Backs game that I was watching before nodding off.
The faces and the names in my nightmare looked familiar but they weren’t playing right. They didn’t look the same. Every Dodger face looked pale, hollow eyed and in shock. Every player looked dazed and confused. There was no life in their faces and joy in their play. They looked like someone stole their hearts. Gone was the happy, joyful play and the great team chemistry. Nobody doing the Freddie.
The D-Backs had hit 4 homers in one inning, in this stupid dream. Yeah, like that would ever happen? And get this – they were all hit off the same pitcher, like he’d still be in the game after the 3rd one?
So, am getting up out of my chair, turn off the episode of “Friends” on TBS this morning, grab some coffee to shake out the cobwebs and turn on my DVR. I can’t wait to watch last night’s game that I recorded it in case I fell asleep early in my chair.
It was definitely SURREAL to see a pitcher give up 3 ( yes THREE) home runs in one inning in a do or die game, and be left in the game to give up a FOURTH.
Look it could be worse.
We could be Mets, Yankees, Royals Twins, Rockies, Pirates etc etc etc fans.
Truth of the matter is winning a WS is hard, damn hard.
You do have to get hot at the right time. Mostly likely 3, 100 win teams and the best 3 teams in Baseball wont make the LCS.
Not excusing anyone’s play because we were bad, but its fricking hard to win a WS.
Ill always cherish 2020 because that may have been one of the toughest to ever have been won. We peaked at the right time, but one more loss to ATL and we wouldn’t have.
Lets enjoy the journey back to the mountaintop because it is coming, will it be 24, 25, 26. Heck I dont know but it IS coming….
Go Rams!
I see now that I’m looking at this game and series all wrong. It was not an epic and ignominious collapse and defeat by the Dodgers, it was an epic triumph and win by the DBacks.
The week lay off didn’t help
Maybe the statistical analysis folks can come up with a solution for the week layoff thing- maybe like winning less regular season games?
Change of pace…… What are the Astros doing???? 7th straight ALCS. They’ve lost some of their main cheaters and continue year after year to win in the playoffs. I’m jealous!!
The AshCans find a way!
I find the post-mortem analysis a little reactionary.
Consider this:
1 – The Dodgers had no healthy starting pitchers from the anticipated rotation and still won 100 games.
2 – The rotation that was left was not ever going to be competitive in the post-season. Untested rookies, injured Hall of Famers, and bomb-throwing veterans – a bad combination.
3 – It was always going to be up to the offense to win games. The offense cooled off the last 3 weeks of the season and never heated up.
4 – What exactly was Roberts supposed to do in this situation? Maybe lift Lynn before he could give up 4 bombs, but otherwise? Winning 100 games with this squad was the best managing job that Roberts has done yet. No way he’s leaving.
5 – Friedman tried to bring in SP at the deadline but there wasn’t much to be had. As has been pointed out, only a couple of guys that were moved at the deadline have pitched well and one of them (Verlander) was never available.
In short, the Dodgers did better than I expected. While another post-season loss to a lesser team is VERY PAINFUL, the season was fun.
What do they do going forward?
A – This was always going to be a transitional year. They left expensive veteran talent leave and didn’t sign any big names last off-season. As Mark noted, there’s going to be a lot of turnover again this off-season. Will the roster spots be filled with more untested or thus far unsuccessful rookies, or with expensive free agents or trade acquisitions?
B – Rookies who have impressed thus far – Miller, Pepiot, Outman. Those who have not: Grove, Sheehan, Stone, Busch, Vargas. Will any of the latter play better next year? Who knows?
C – Things that have to change next year:
*No Muncy at 3B
*Starting pitching from outside the organization – Buehler and May are big questionmarks going forward and Gonsolin won’t be back next year. Urias is gone and Kershaw is a questionmark. Miller and Pepiot look like rotation candidates going forward but they need more than 2 SP.
*They will potentially have vacancies at 3B, 2B (or SS), LF. Who plays there?
*Do they bring any of the free agents back? If Muncy moves to DH, then no to JD Martinez. (And no to Ohtani – he can only DH for now). Maybe they trade Max? No to Peralta. Maybe to Heyward? No to Kike Hernandez. No to Lynn, Kelly, all of the injured pitchers who are on the IL, etc.
May is out for all of 24. No chance he comes back at all. Buehler should be ready by spring. I think he will be fine. Sheehan had some nice outings and a couple of stinkers, but he is a rook. I think he will get better and the experience did him good. Otherwise, I agree with 98 percent of what you said.
Check out the record of pitchers who have had 2 Tommy John surgeries. Not very good.
Here’s an excerpt from an article from the San Diego Union-Tribune from 11/20 talking about Mike Clevenger’s second TJ:
““On average, the typical TJ revision isn’t as successful as the typical primary TJ,” Dr. Andrew Cosgarea, an orthopedic surgeon and professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said Tuesday. “… The first time you drill a hole in the bone it is fresh and clean, but if it happens again you already have a hole there and that hole is filled with scar tissue. … Scar tissue isn’t as healthy as original tissue. It doesn’t have the same blood supply; (it is) not as durable.””
“Of the 42 major league pitchers who have had two Tommy John surgeries, the majority did not pitch in the majors again after their second or fared poorly over a short period. But many of those pitchers were well into their 30s at the time of the second surgery.”
Here’s a link to an article from MLB.com on the subject
https://www.mlb.com/news/pitchers-to-have-tommy-john-surgery-twice
Here’s from an article from the Washington Post in 2015:
“But like a double-header that goes on too long, having the operation a second time doesn’t work out nearly as well, according to new research released Tuesday. When surgeons Robert Keller and Bill Moutzouros of Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit looked at 33 pitchers who had the surgery a second time, they found that only 65.5 percent were able to return to pro ball. The ones who did had shortened careers and threw fewer innings than 33 statistically matched pitchers who hadn’t had the surgery. Their performances, as measured by baseball’s copious statistics, were about the same.”
“With one Tommy John surgery, “there’s a good chance you’re coming back,” Keller said in an interview. “You’re probably not as good as you were before, but you’re near to where you should be. When you have a second one, you may not come back, and if you do, you won’t pitch as much and you won’t pitch as long.”
“The paper has been accepted for publication in the Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine and was presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons this week.”
Not close to being a sure thing with Buehler.
100% Agree!
Your probably right, I am just hoping that he comes back at close to 90 percent of the pitcher he was before.
Big fish – small pond. One WS win in 30+ years – a trend not an aberration. How is it that the Dodgers and Kershaw repeatedly look vastly overrated when the playoffs begin? It is hard not to attribute the post season failures of the Dodgers and Kershaw to the same source. For the last 2+ decades, the NLWest has typically been the weakest division in all of baseball. During this stretch the Dodgers and Kershaw have played half of their games each season against primarily sub-.500 teams. Example – The Padres recently went 10 straight years below .500. This year, the Padres prevented the league from having 3 sub .500 teams (a rarity) by ending up at .506. but still lost 9 of 13 to the Dodgers.
Has this become a negative self fulfilling prophecy for this core group?
Yes. We have total control of the Dodgers destiny!
In regular season games a couple batters in a row get singles and Doc pulls the starter, last night Lynn gives up 3hr in a row and and he gets the opportunity to make it a foursome. Is there anyway that makes sense. And then in 5 more innings the DBacks don’t score another run. Roberts should have started the bullpen right from the beginning, game one.
And obviously let them bat also, every bullpen pitcher should have pinch hit. Come on !
… and it would have made no difference in the outcome.
Listen to the video that had Freeman and Betts talking in it that Mark provided up top. Start it at the 2 minute 45 second mark. The reporter asked Betts “is there a flaw in the playoff format” and Betts gave a quick answer of “no comment”.
1) Could it be that Betts doesn’t like 6 teams allowed in the playoffs in each league because it makes for a crapshoot?
2) Could it be other players feel the same way?
3) Could it be that Betts is suppose to shut up when asked this question because it’s all about more money?
You make the call.
Every player plays in that same system in the playoffs. Most of them wind up hitting better than Mookie did.
I will make the call, Betts said no comment because the format didn’t play like crap, he did and the rest of the team. He knows better than to point the finger when everyone could see the Dodgers messed their pants.
Just step up. They sucked! Plain and simple.
I would like to thank the Dodgers for another enjoyable season of baseball. It would have been nice to do better in the post season but, que sera, sera. I’m looking forward to next season and hoping that some of the young players can shine. It’s going to be a long wait until March. Thankyou Mark and Old Bear for all your work on LADT. I hope you can keep it going thru the off season.
Go Dodgers!!
I will keep it up as long as possible. Getting hard to pick topics sometimes, but I manage to find one now and then.
I’m a big fan of both Mookie and Freddie, and their colossal failure in this year’s playoff disaster doesn’t change that.
I also have no problem with their greeting the opposition on the base paths. After all it’s a game and we already have too many people pissing on each other throughout the world.
That said, this roster is missing something very important. I’ve mentioned this before and I’m going to repeat it. When AF makes his roster changes this winter, he desperately needs to add a guy with attitude, someone who would rather punch the guy on the other team instead of patting him on the butt. I don’t expect that to be Mookie or Freddie because that’s not who they are, but I firmly believe that we need a different type of personality to lead this team into the playoffs. Look at the effect that Harper has on the Phillies. That’s the type of guy I’m talking about. Unfortunately, those guys don’t grow on trees but if AF can identify someone in free agency or in a possible trade, he should spare no effort to bring him on board.
Freddie and Mookie will open the door and always say “you first”. We need a guy who pushes his way past everyone and barges through that door, bringing everyone else behind him, not wanting to be left behind.
Maybe Chapman? LA need a 3B
Chapman is not coming to LA. They will give the kids a shot before they sign a big ticket free agent which is exactly what he will be.
You right Don Drysdale
Pete Rose , Bob Gibson
Kurt Gibson
The Hanson brothers
Big D, I loved that guy. Can the Hanson Brothers play the outfield?
Hell let’s just blow the whole damn thing up and start all over. Let the kids play. C, Feduccia, 1B, Freeman, 2B, Busch, 3B, Vargas, SS, Lux, RF Mookie, CF, Deluca, LF, Outman, DH, Smith, Feduccia and Smith can alternate at catcher. Taylor would be one bench piece; they would sign some other free agents to fill the gaps. Let Muncy and his K’s walk. Rotation, Miller, Sheehan, Pepiot, Buehler, and Grove. Sign a lefty starter if you want or bring back Kersh for 1/2 a season. Have Phillipa, Graterol, Brasier, and Vesia as the front of the pen, and fill in the rest with Yarbrough as the long man. Trade or non-tender Ferguson, Gonzalez, and a few others. Now let’s see you win 100 with this bunch.
Dodgers need this to happen for next year sign Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery a one two punch at the top of the rotation with Buehler and and Miller and Shehan okay. They sign Matt Chapman as the thirdbaseman. They try to trade with Padres for Juan Soto who then plays every day in LF Betts every day in RF Freeman every day at first base. Now you have Lux at second base and Rojas at shortstop or you go sign a veteran second baseman say a Adam Frazier playoff experience you got smith at catcher and you being a guy up from the minors that can hit more then 200 and be a decent backup catcher or you go sign Grandal who we know as a dodger and hwy he be better backup catcher then Barnes . So thats what they should do and then you got some gritty players on the team like a Kirk Gibson then they pretty boys. So a lineup of Lux, Betts Freeman Chapman Smith Muncy Soto Outman Rojas that is a playoff and world series team an a rotation of
Buehler
Snell
Montgomery
Miller
Shehan
Pepiot
There you go if they want to win a world series.
Grandal is not coming back to LA. He sucks at defense and would be way too expensive to sign. They are not signing both Montgomery and Snell. They are both lefties so they would not be the 1-2 punch. I doubt they sign either one of them, they are not going to sign Chapman. No way the Padres trade Soto to the Dodgers. Just like the Angels would not trade Ohtani. You’re really reaching here Bradley. Mookie should move to the infield. Permanently, but he probably won’t. Rojas was signed to back up Lux, who will get the first shot at being the everyday SS.
Negative Nancy! How do you know who they are signing. Why must you always shoot down everyone’s ideas??? I’m pretty sure guys are just spitballing here. I think Bradley’s list other than Grandal is a decent plan. Probably won’t happen, but please stop acting like you know who they will sign and who they won’t. Maybe more along the lines of ” good idea, but i don’t think it’s going to happen”
What’s that about leopards and spots??
I am not changing my effing spots for anyone on this site, you say something I think has little to no chance of happening, I am going to call you out on it. But, if I am wrong, and any of that stuff does happen, I will eat crow. I have no problem with that. But make realistic choices, don’t throw crap against a wall and hope it sticks.
It is my opinion that none of those things are going to happen. Not a snowballs chance in hell of San Diego making a major trade with the Dodgers. Hasn’t been done in the Preller era. No way he makes LA better. I am not negative, I am realistic. When you throw shit at a wall and hope it sticks, you are dreaming. Bradley is dreaming. If there was something realistic on that list, I would not have a problem with it. The only player he mentions that I could see the Dodgers chasing is Montgomery, and even that is a long shot. Grandal has about as much chance of coming back to LA as I do of managing the Dodgers. He is worse defensively than anyone they have, he is old, and his bat is not as loud as it used to be. Chapman brings exactly one thing better than Muncy, his glove. He hit a little better, but only had 17 homers and 54 batted in. Snell is a Boras client and we all know how AF feels about those guys. Chapman is a Boras client too.
Uhhh….Preller was the GM when the Dodgers traded Matt Kemp.
I stand corrected on that nocal, I had forgotten who made that trade. But that trade was made before the rivalry got as heated as it is now. And by the way, that was the last trade made between the two teams. Dec 18th 2014. I would be shocked if they traded Soto to the Dodgers or any of their other stars.
glaze3
“How do you know who they are signing. Why must you always shoot down everyone’s ideas???”
Answer: Because that’s who he is. I’ve had constant problems with him and the reason why is because of that personality he has.
Logical people know that the Dodgers are not going to sign Chapman or Grandal.
I could see them signing one of Snell or Montgomery.
Soto turned down $440 million over 12 years with the Nats, so why would he sign for less and why would the Dodgers gut the farm for him?
Most of the moves Bradley propounds are of the dope-fiend variety.
You don’t like my personality fine, I care less, I am entitled to my opinion just like you are, the difference is, I also write for this site. I disagree with you sometimes, and others, you make perfect sense, But you pooh pooh some of us who have watched the game, and this team for many years and see trends. I am not always right, never said I was, but go ahead and read the proposals he made. They are not based on any kind of logic. It is just throwing crap against a wall and hoping it sticks. I admire his passion for the team, but his knowledge of how baseball works is a little sketch. I think they would sign Montgomery over Snell Mark, he is a Boras client and that makes a difference.
And Bradley strikes again! Lol man gotta love your post Bradley, always get a kick out of it. You gotta be smoking some good stuff because these proposals you come up with are some head scratching ones. It’s hilarious but hey you never know some of them could happen. Keep blessing us with your proposals Bradley
I would actually like to see at least one of his idea’s come to fruition simply because they are so out there and bizarre.
We got Rosario this year when Bear said no way and he hit pretty well when the team wasn’t hitting, we got Hernandez to and that was way better then Vargas his love child that would strikeout every time and he wants him again as a starter in 2024 no way I want to see that again.
I was totally wrong about them trading for Rosario, but they did not get him to play SS. He did ok, but he hit .256 as a Dodger with three homers. He did not hit lefties that well after the trade, which is why they traded for him. He played more games at second than he did at SS. The Hernandez trade totally took me by surprise. Kike played much better in LA than he did in Boston, he hit 40 points higher. And he had 5 homers and 30 driven in while playing 54 games, which almost matched his totals in 84 games for Boston. As for Vargas, he is a 22-year-old kid with 99 games and 303 at bats in the majors. It is way too early to judge what kind of hitter he is going to be. His K rate was about 25 %, so saying he strikes out all the time is an exaggeration. He did fair up until June when he went in the tank and was sent to AAA. Vargas is not my love child. But you can bet come next spring, he will get plenty of opportunities to prove himself again. Will he succeed? No one knows, but he is still one of the Dodgers top prospects and they are looking to get younger. Vargas has had success at every level he has played at. Not every kid comes up and makes an impact like say Seager did. Sometimes you need to be patient. I would be willing to bet you Bradley that Miguel Vargas is on the opening day roster next year. So you might as well get used to it. He is a .300 plus hitter in the minors, so he has some talent. Vargas had been gone about 3 weeks when they brought in Kike.
If there was his much tension in the clubhouse maybe we’re still playing! Still say it’s easier to change the manager and the intensity and fire than the stars
Very true Cassidy. But that is not Doc’s style, and it hasn’t been the Dodgers style since Kirk Gibson was there. Oh Jeff Kent brought a little vitriol with him. But a real go getter in the clubhouse, been a while. Can you imagine Freeman jumping someone’s case? There are just not that many fiery players in the game. Harper is one though.
I’m sitting here stomach in knots. In shock mode unable to fathom what I just seen. How is it possible for two of top three mvp candidates to go 1 for 22 with the one hit only because pitcher hesitated to cover first when it counted most. I’m not a doc hater. He does a fine job in regular season but he is the only consistent part of all the postseason meltdowns. They say insanity is trying same thing over and over again and expecting a different result which leads me to believe going at it again with the same formula would be insane. Change’s are needed. New leadership, a new voice, a different kind of spark. In my humble opinion that means squat I think it’s time
Buehler Snell Miller Shehan Pepiot would be a way better rotations then what we had this year in the playoffs Old Bear and Blake Snell wants to be a Dodger and also Juan Soto does to and Chapman is a California kid. So why wouldn’t he not want to play for the Dodgers. Would be a better fielder then Muncy okay Old Bear name a third baseman better then Chapman. And way better then Busch or Vargas please were trying to get better not just move up rookies.
Bradley, I really admire your passion. It is not about them wanting to play for LA. First, both Snell and Chapman are Scott Boras clients. According to what I have read, mostly in MLBTR, Snell wants to return to the Padres. Freidman has not signed a Boras client in years. He does not like Boras or his tactics. Arenado is a better third baseman than Chapman, but he isn’t getting traded unless St. Louis decides to blow up their team. Ramirez, Machado, Bregman, all rated higher than Chapman. So, unless AF has a total change of heart, he is not signing a Boras client. As for Soto, I have never read anywhere that he wants to play in LA. Last thing I read; he likes San Diego. Explain to me please, why they would sign a bunch of 30-year-old plus guys and not give their own kids a chance? Soto also has no control over where he plays until after next season. He is arbitration eligible. SD might end up trading him, but the chances he comes to LA would be less than 10 percent. And you can just call me Bear, that is my nickname. Like I said, you have a lot of passion and a lot of ideas, but you really need to take a step back and look at players the Dodgers might realistically target. If the guy has Boras as an agent, forget it.
In my opinion, I think the “blame” goes to the organizational philosophy of their adherence to the analytics. Generally speaking, they’ve built a team that looks at a lot of pitches and swings hard in case they make contact. Over a large sample size, this leads to a lot of wins. But this also makes them susceptible to losing when they aren’t hitting home runs. The middle of the order is stacked with players who have more strikeouts than hits. Most of the team’s stats are against non-playoff teams. I don’t think approaches that are good over 162 games, against all types of opponents, necessarily translate well when you need to win a specific 3, 5, or 7 game series against the playoff caliber teams.
I don’t know if it is arrogance or stubbornness, but the Dodgers seem too one-dimensional when it comes to the playoffs. It probably didn’t help that they were down 6-0 before taking an AB to start their post-season, but they became very pull happy trying to hit 5-run bombs every at bat. I get that it takes a bit of luck to win in the playoffs. I also believe you make your own luck. The 2 runs scored last night were from 4 consecutive singles, mostly from going up the middle or the other way. I’m guessing analytics looks down on that. It seems to me that a run is a run and finding various ways to produce said run mitigates against the bad luck of not hitting home runs.
As for firing/not firing managers and coaches, does it really matter? Dave Roberts wasn’t brought in for his game management skills. He had never managed before. He was brought in to manage the clubhouse and follow the game plan script. The Dodgers have a game planning committee that decides line-ups and player/pitching changes. Players seem to love playing for him and you don’t hear about any clubhouse concerns. Clubhouse unity is important to the Dodgers. The FO has a system. If they send the manager, coaches, or players packing, they’ll just replace them with more people who will also fit their system. I think it’ll be more of the same unless they change their organizational philosophy.
Just my 2 cents…..
Man can’t even wait one day to start up all the bull crap fantasy trades, player moves and predicted lineups that won’t even be close to actuality when next season starts. Oh well some live for that discussion I reckon
That’s the best part after the season ends for us, been itching to put that GM cap on! Lol
I feel very different with the ending of this season compared to last year. Last year I did have some monster expectations. 111 wins. Solid rotation depth. Good bullpen. And losing to the arrogant Padres was just gut retching.
I had very low expectations going into the playoffs this year. Despite the 100 wins. The fact that we got to 100 was extraordinary. This was a transition year to begin with. With the injuries and criminality destroying our starting rotation and taking away Lux, it went from a transition year to a crisis year. Yet, Doc and AF managed to still win the division. Somehow.
AF, correctly, has every intention of seeing who among the myriad of young talent in the system will be MLB contributors. The train wreck of what became our rotation forced his hand with the young arms. That will be a good thing come spring training. Some of our best young talent aren’t coming in totally green in 24. They have the experience of trial by fire.
I’ve said it 100 times. The playoffs are a crap shoot. Just get in and anybody has a shot. The Braves might be knocked out tonight. The Phillies might take their 90 wins to the WS, again. Acuna got his only 2 hits in the series yesterday. The 3 top MVP candidates have played like dog s**t. That’s the playoffs. Some players get hot and some get cold. Arizona got red hot at the right time. So did the Phillies. They smacked the Braves around yesterday like mule.
My expectations this season were tempered. I believe the Dodgers simply making the playoffs with a 90 or so win season would be a “win”. We did better than that. And then fell completely flat against a red hot team. Getting swept hurt. But the end result isn’t surprising. The Dodgers massively overachieved this season.
Dodgers will make some moves in the off-season. No question they will go after some top arms. And I’m sure there will be some other moves. Likely ones we won’t see coming. But the kids will get their shot in ST. This team is set to be successful for years to come.
With the current playoff format, it will be a crap shoot again next year. I’m not pissed like I was last year. We were lucky that the kids got to eat at the adult table to begin with.
This was not a failed season. I don’t want to hear anymore about needing massive changes. 99-100 win teams have been dropping like flies. That’s the game today.
I totally agree Jayne. Last year was a gut punch. this was just embarrassing to watch. Your three starters all go less than three innings? Who would have predicted that. Dodger teams have always been better with more home grown than imported talent. So let’s see who steps up to the plate come spring. I can honestly see guys like Deluca, Vargas, Busch, Rushing, and a few others seeing some serious on field time. Pages is probably the one who gets left behind a little since his injury put him out for a large portion of the year. Frasso will get a long look too, as will a couple of the better relief arms. I do not see a whole lot of free agent pickups except for maybe some bench pieces.
Jayne Cobb, the voice of reason.
Totally agree with what you’ve said here.
For those who so badly want to get rid of Doc, how ’bout we change his contract. He manages the first 162 and Chase Utley manages the playoffs.
I doubt the Silver Fox wants the hassle of managing an entire season, and besides, he’s now MLB’s ambassador to Europe (he’s moved to London to do that). But I’ll bet he’d be willing to come back for October to manage a few games. Doc could open a nice bottle of red and sip wine in the dugout.
Without massive changes it will be same ole thing playoff after playoff and it’s ok if anyone doesn’t agree with that. Your opinion or my opinion doesn’t make it a fact. Sometimes wish I could be like some on here who are ok with just having a good season but I can’t. It’s not good enough
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ojp-YZpmhwA
Interesting take.
Gotta love Alanna, she said it the best in the playoffs aren’t a crapshoot just look at the asstros but if you want to blame the crapshoot for beating the dodgers that’s your privilege. And I say look at the Phillies to there not crapshooting there way into being Damm good when it counts. Truth is this year as opposed to last is for me more than a gut punch. I’m downright angry
Agree….dislike the Astro’s for their cheating ways in 2017 but their crapshoot has resulted in 7 straight LCS appearances. Not a big fan of Bryce Harper but he seems to come up big in the playoffs and doesn’t cool off like our two best offensive hitters.
Use any excuse you want for the playoff failure(s) a result of a lack of starting pitching, the playoffs are a crapshoot, the five day layoff cooled the bats, poor quality at-bats, Doc’s mindless managing but any way you look at the playoff failure it is an organization wide failure from top to bottom from ownership to the players. As an organization they must find a way to fix it.
I watched a video posted by Doug McKain last night and his comments were raw and full of emotion. One thing he said was this is the freaking city of LA where the Lakers get parades, the Rams got a parade and fans don’t buy apparel for winning the NL West, they buy WS T-shirts and hats. The ownership group needs to take a deep dive into the current state of the Dodgers from player development to player performance.
So Alana says it and it is true! But four million people say and PROVE it is a crapshoot and you choose to believe Alanna? Why?
Deflect, defend, shout from the mountain tops and try to convince the minions that winning at baseball is hard, like really, really hard. OK, what’s your point?
2023 was a success because we introduced some young kids to major league baseball, we spent millions on old broken down players who spent the entire year on the IL, sold 17 million micheladas at Dodger Stadium, celebrated the Sisters of the Perpetual Indulgence, had 26 player bobblehead nights, celebrated USC night, UCLA night, Filipino night, Faith Day, El Salvadoran Day etc. True baseball fans could give a rip. Moral victories don’t mean anything.
Build a better roster. I believe you called this roster a bunch of junkyard dogs, but from my 65″ Samsung TV they looked like a bunch of Chihuahuas.
We as Dodger fans expect to win and as the great General Patton once said ” America likes winners and will not tolerate a loser. “Same can be said about Dodger fans, we like winners and cannot tolerate losing. Not advancing out of the NLDS two years in a row to a team that was behind us by 22 games (2022) and 16 games (2023) is FAILURE!
No second or sixth place trophies give solace to fans. It’s all about winning the last game of the year. Quit defending AF as a “godsend.” He’s probably not as good as you make him out to be, and he’s probably not as bad as I’m making him out to be. He’s a JAGM (Just Another General Manager).
So, why does no other GM have as good of a winning record consistently over the past 10 years?
It’s all about the post season. No parades or WS trophies for best in season record. Flags are flown over stadiums for World Championships not division crowns
Just so I understand what you are saying, AF signs players who can play well during the regular season but not in the playoffs?
How does he manage that? Explain that to me.
Or maybe, he hires coaches and manager whop can coach the regular season, but not in the playoffs?
I’m angry too, but it will pass. I’m also tired of the crapshoot BS. It very well may be for 88-90 win teams, but there are teams like the Astros and now the Phillies that understand about pacing and getting ready to play your best baseball in October, they are hard to beat and play hard for every out. Can you say that about this Dodger team?? It hasn’t looked that way to me. Yes we somehow won 100 games and yet that doesn’t mean shit because we are sitting home just like teams who won 60 games. C’mon there is only one outcome that the Dodgers aim for every year and they have failed miserably the last 2 seasons. Losing in the NLCS is one thing and that I can accept is more of a crapshoot, but the NLDS should be almost a given with a team who wins 100 games and is playing a team that finished 16 games behind them in there own division. Losing a game is one thing, but being swept and pretty much destroyed is not okay with me and it shouldn’t be for ownership either.
… and signing a bunch of free agents is not how the Asstros or other teams got there. The D-backs got there with young talent and that is what you will see the Dodgers do.
And , you cannot compare basketball to baseball. Do I need to explain why?
Not a good week for 100 win teams or MVP candidates!
Seriously!
So, the two best teams in the NL all year are not the best teams because they lost. I guess the Braves would trade their team for the Phillies and the Dodgers would trade their team for the D-Backs team?
Maybe I should say: that the team with the best talent does not always win.
But it’s not a crapshoot… no way, no how?
Dice roll. Nothing more.
Nick Castellanos — a player I really wanted!
He summed it all up: “The regular season and the playoffs are totally different!”
Yes, and when your two team leaders go 1 for 21, you really understand that.
You can put the best players on the team, but if they do well in the regular season and bad in the playoffs, you fire the Manager and Team President?
What kind of disjointed thinking is that?
If anything, you fire the damn player!
If it were me, I would trade Mookie, Freddie, and Max for as much pitching as I could get (young prospects). I would also trade Barnes and Taylor with the above players.
Then this would be my team next year:
C – Smith, Feduccia
1B – Busch
2B – Lux
SS – Rojas
3B – Vargas
LF – Outman
CF – DeLuca
RF – Pages
Screw the rest!
Dismantle this bunch of losers!
Lol
Vaunted Braves offense, averaged two runs the game just like the Dodgers
So does that make it a crapshoot? Or do the Braves have that negative self fulfilling prophecy like the Dodgers? Asking for a friend
What do they have in common?
A week off!
The two best offenses in baseball shut down.
If only the playoffs were in August!
Here’s the rub:
If you are one of the best teams, you have to sit out a week before you play while the inferior teams get to play on… and STAY SHARP!
Half of the inferior teams go home. The October Dodgers would have been one of them anyway.
This is the first time in MLB postseason history (excluding shortened seasons) that all 4 teams in the LCS have 90 or fewer regular season wins.
Playoffs are a crap shoot.
EXACTLY
I have enjoyed interacting with all of you this year. I will enjoy talking about the off-season, and the rest of the playoffs and WS.
This season was fun. Crazy, unexpected and fun. Despite all the ups and downs.
I am not bitter.
My son knows Brandon Marsh on the Phillies. Got to know him when he played in the CA League when he was with the Angels. He gave my boy crap (this was 2018) because my son would be out there during BP wearing a Dodgers shirt and a 66ers hat (Angels). They bantered before every game.
I’m all Phillies. For Brandon.
I love this group. Have a good night.
Here’s some free agents the dodgers should look at to get how about Adam Duval, outfielder playoff experience Adam Frazier second baseman can hit field pretty good a second baseman Luis Saverino starting pitcher Matt Chapman third base Blake Snell starting pitcher Michael Brantley Leftfielder looking at free agents catchers there’s got to be a better hitting catcher then Barnes, that’s just some players that will be free agents and true don’t know if there Scott Brosis boys buy there were some guys to add to the mix of dodgers they have which could be better then Peralta or Hayward or Wong and Lynn. If they keep JD Martinez as DH and let Muncy go I wouldn’t mind that Martinez had a good year for the Dodgers.
I like Duvall but he is 35 years old, he is a very good outfielder, and his OPS was over .800. He has decent power and hit right at .240. Frazier is decent defensively, but his OPS is below .700. Severino is a possibility only if he can stay healthy which he has not done. His last good season was in 2018. Bradley, Chapman and Snell are Scott Boras clients. AF has not signed a Boras client in years, and he does not like the man. Brantley is a good player, but injury prone lately. He played 64 games last year and only 15 this year, plus he is 36 years old and strictly a DH type now. You can see all of the available free agents on Spotrac. It also lists who their agent is. I have to believe Bradley that the Dodgers want to get younger, not older. So the thirty plus guys won’t really be a target.
Just for you Bradley, here is a list of all of the free agent catchers available right now. List will most likely change as time goes by. Almost all of them are over 30 years old. The youngest is Francisco Mejia. Grandal, 35 years old, .238 with 8 homers in 118 games. He is not a backup, and no way he replaces Smith as the starter since it was Smith who replaced him. Omar Narvaez, 32, .211 2 homers in 49 games for the Mets. Yan Gomes, 6 million team option. 36 years old, .267 10 homers in 116 games. Austin Hedges, 31, worse hitter than Barnes, 184 1 homer in 81 games. Very good defensive catcher. Martin Maldonado, 37 years old, .191 15 homers, 116 games. Also one of the best defensive catchers. Mitch Garver, 31, .270 19 homers, splits time in Texas with Jonah Heim. played in 87 games and got time as a DH also. Victor Caratini, 30 years old, .259 7 homers in 62 games for the Brewers. True backup type catcher. decent defensively. Roberto Perez, 34, Hit .133. Mejia, 27. hit .227 with 5 homers for the Rays in 50 games. Once a highly touted prospect. Tom Murphy, 32, .290 with 8 homers in 47 games with the Mariners. Gary Sanchez, 30, .217 with 19 homers, split time with the Padres and the Mets. Played 75 games. Can mash, but a defensive liability. Luke Maile, 32, .235 6 homers in 74 games. OK defensively. None of the other four are anywhere close to these guys.