For the third time in four years, the Los Angeles Dodgers are NL Pennant Winners and headed back to the World Series. Will 2020 be different? Like the Cubs in 2016 and the Nationals last year, I think the Dodgers are the team of destiny. I am sure Tampa Bay Rays fans feel the same way, but I am a Dodgers fan so who cares what Rays fans think.
Corey Seager wins the NLCS MVP, but it could have been a three way award with Julio Urias and Mookie Betts. Fresh Prince, with the key 3-run HR in Game 5, and again the key game tying single in Game 7, could have been the MVP if it weren’t for Corey, Mookie, and Julio.
Once again, I did not read the comments during the game, but I am sure the Doc doubters were in good form. It was obvious that the stage may have been a little too big for Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin, and they did not last long before they were removed. With the go-ahead run in and two runners on, Doc goes to the wily relief veteran, Blake Treinen, after pitching in Games 5 and 6. Unfortunately he buries an 0-2 sinker to Nick Markakis that the usually good pitch blocker Will Smith was not able to handle, and the runners moved to 2nd and 3rd with no outs. With a huge thank you to Dansby Swanson and Austin Riley, JT turns a ground ball into a 5-2-5-6 double play, and the Braves ran themselves out of the inning and maybe the NLCS. JT dives at Swanson to get the lead runner and then throws a strike to Seager to double up Riley. Blake then gets Christian Pache to ground out to Seager to close out the inning. Joe Davis and John Smoltz both thought Treinen would not come back out for the 5th, but out he came to face Acuna, Freeman and Ozuna, and got all three with 9 pitches. I am sure the Doc doubters did not want Treinen in, but Doc stayed with him for two innings and Blake rewarded the trust. Of course Blake needed some special glove work from Mookie (who else) stealing a HR from Freddie Freeman. That’s three special plays from Mookie in Games 5, 6, and 7, all LAD wins.
Dodgers down 3-2 in the 6th, and the Braves turn to Game 5 starter, A. J. Minter who stifled the Dodgers, and Doc makes a change of his own and sends Eric’s favorite Dodger, Kike’ Hernandez, to PH for Joc Pederson. Doc pushes the right button again, and Kike’ hits a monster HR to tie the game. Kike’ becomes the second PH in MLB history to PH a game 7 HR. He now has eight playoff HRs.
Treinen is done, and now what does Doc do? He goes to the 22 year old Bazooka who got roughed up a bit in Game 4 before redeeming himself in Game 5. Brusdar Graterol gives up a one out walk to Albies but then strikes out Swanson and Riley on 7 pitches. I think the Dodgers are looking at their future closer with Brusdar.
The 7th inning now becomes Julio Urias time. Some wanted Urias to start, some wanted him in early, but Doc thought the best time to pitch Urias was the 7th and then see how long he can go. He gets three up and three down on 10 pitches.
I mentioned in one of my comments earlier in the day:
“I am not going to say that Belli needs to back off the plate, because he is not going to do it. He will have all offseason to see film and hopefully make the adjustments next year. But I would rather have a comfortable Belli at the plate knowing that he cannot hit the fastball on the upper inside quadrant of the K Zone, but knowing that he can obliterate a mistake. Maybe he K’s all previous PA today, but then kills a mistake for a walk-off. Right now that is who he is.”
Well it wasn’t a walk off, but he obliterated a mistake for a game winning Belli-Bomb, and gave the Dodgers their first lead in Game 7. It was his 2nd Game 7 winning NLCS HR in two years.
Urias came out for the 8th and got Freeman on a line out to Cody after 9 pitches. It took 6 pitches to get Ozuna and four pitches to get d’Arnaud, who has been so very quiet in the NLCS. Six up and six down for Julio.
The Dodgers failed to get an insurance run in the 8th, and then the eyes were all on Doc to see what he was going to do…leave Urias in or bring in KJ. Urias threw 101 pitches in his Game 3 victory, the most by any LAD pitcher in 2020. He threw 29 pitches in two extremely high leverage innings in Game 7. Would Doc dare send him out for the 9th? He did, and after the 10th pitch settled into Cody Bellinger’s glove, the Dodgers were onto the WS. Urias throws 39 pitches in 3 critical stressful Game 7 innings against the NL’s #2 offensive team, and Julio fully entrenches himself as a Dodger Game 7 hero.
The Dodgers came into the NLCS as clear favorites but found themselves down 2 games to 0 after a valiant Game 2 rally came up just short. The Dodgers rode the near late inning heroics in Game 2 into a record breaking 1st inning in Game 3 and were back into the NLCS. Dodger fans felt very secure with Game 4 with future HOF Clayton Kershaw against rookie Bryse Wilson. Kershaw begins the 6th in a 1-1 tie. Kershaw was at 71 pitches and many thought he had done enough. But Doc sent CK out for the 6th and after a single and two doubles on 16 pitches, it was Bazooka time. Graterol could not get out of the 6th before Victor Gonzalez had to come in. He gave up a single allowing the remaining CK runner to score. Game four that most Dodgers fans counted on went to the Braves, and now the Braves are up 3 games to 1.
Game 5 was going to be a bullpen game for Atlanta while the Dodgers looked to get back in the series with Dustin May. But the stage was too big for May in Game 5 and he left losing 2-0. With a solo Corey Seager HR, and a three run HR from Will Smith and the Dodgers come from behind to take a 4-1 lead. The Dodgers get three more in the 7th and win going away 7-3.
Now the task gets tougher. Down 3 games to 2 and the Dodgers are scheduled to face the projected CY winner in Max Fried who has not lost all year, and super rookie pitcher Ian Anderson who has not been scored on in the postseason in Games 6 and 7. In Game 6 with back to back 1st inning HRs from Corey and JT, and then a run scoring single by Belli, and the Dodgers are in front 3-0 after one inning. Starting pitcher Walker Buehler gets out of a bases loaded no out jam without surrendering a run. Buehler gave full credit to Austin Barnes who guided him through the rest of the inning. Buehler sat back and threw fastball after fastball called by Barnes and the Braves let a golden opportunity go by. Buehler pitched 6 shutout innings on 89 pitches. Buehler mentioned he was drained after 6 and was not resentful for Doc pulling him. Blake Treinen allowed a triple and double, and the Braves were looking to get back into the game. However, Treinen got the final two outs and the Dodgers went into the bottom of the 7th up 3-1.
Fried came out in the 7th and got Corey Seager to ground out but walked JT, Max struck out on a 3-2 fastball, but Fried was done after 109 pitches. Darren O’Day came out to get Will Smith for the final out of the 7th.
Pedro Baez relieved Treinen and got the Braves to go quietly in the 8th with a K. Chris Martin relieved O’Day, and with one out, Joc Pederson PH for AJ Pollock in the 8th and singled, and Edwin Rios walked as a PH for Austin Barnes. But that was the end of the threat.
Kenly Jansen pitched a scoreless inning in a non-save situation in Game 5 and was summoned in a save situation for Game 6. Three batters and 6 pitches later and KJ gets his save and the series is tied up.
Game 7 – The Dodgers were facing their third elimination game in three games. As we now know, and described above, the Dodgers warded off elimination for the third game and came from behind again to get to the WS. The Game 7 stage may have been a little too large for Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May, but it was also a bit too large for rookie RHP Ian Anderson, who surrendered his first runs in the postseason with a Will Smith two run single and could not recover.
Did Doc make mistakes in the series? Undoubtedly. But he made many more right decisions, and the Dodgers are the 2020 NL Pennant Winner. Doc doubters will get another chance in the World Series. But for the NLCS, Doc made the right moves at the right time and he deserves the accolades.
The Dodgers have beaten the second and third best teams in the NL to get to the WS, and face a very good opponent in the Tampa Bata Rays. Can Dodger pitching shut down Randy Arozarena as they did Travis d’Arnaud?
Congratulations to the Dodgers, and here is to a 2020 World Series Championship.
I have no complaints at all about the way Dave managed in this series. I give a lot of credit to the Braves pitchers for the way they shut down the Dodger offense. I give credit to thier hitters for capitalizing when Dodger pitchers made mistakes. I give a lot of credit to the Dodger hitters who never gave up when they were down in game 2 and almost pulled it out. And for hitting the mistakes the Braves pitchers made. Mookie was the defensive star of the series, and Corey the offensive star. Urias won 2 games. Most of the pen did a good job, and all credit goes to Trienen who after a bad outing comes back and gets the job done with some good plays by his fielders and mental blunders by the Braves. Offensively, Tampa does not come close to having the Dodgers firepower. But, pitching wise and defensively, they are pretty damn good. It will be a good series. But I think the Dodgers win in 6.
Nice write up Jeff – hope you don’t mind but I’m gonna repost my comment which was the last on last night’s thread.
Have only just recovered enough to post. Had to take some deep breaths while watching those last few innings.
The Dodgers never make it easy for the fans do they?
I’ve read all the comments, and nearly everyone who played a hand in the great come from behind victory got a mention – but for me, the guy who hasn’t been mentioned was Treinen.
The game could very easily have got away from us when he emerged from the BP after the not so good showings of May & Gonsolin. He did a fantastic job in a very high leverage situation, and Doc deserves credit for getting that totally right.
So, on to Tampa, but there are a few questions now. What to do with May & Gonsolin? May particularly looked like a rabbit in the headlights, and Gonsolin didn’t exactly execute either.
This could be another long series, so do we add another starter/ long man?
Do we tweak the order? Max isn’t performing in the way you want a clean up hitter to, but Doc hasn’t blinked to this point.
The good news is we have a day off, and there are further days off in the series.
I think that AF & Doc have some serious thinking to do.
Well done everyone – Baseball has been a very welcome distraction from things -let’s make it a special season all round.
Hey Watford..they aren’t going anywhere…they stay in Texas for the series and they will be the home team. Had it been a normal year, they would already be home at Dodger Stadium since they had the best record in the majors. They will be the home team for the first two games, just like the series that just ended..
They could have been 3 MVP . . .
1. Seager on the plate.
2. Mookie on the field.
3. Urias on the mound.
And I could add one more . . .
4. Roberts on the dugout!
Knowing that MLB likes to invent new things and rules, maybe next year they will start giving MVPs for every situation and / or aspect of the game (I don’t know what word to use) but I think you guys get my point.
My friends, what do you think? Sorry, but I’m drunk tonight, double celebration!!
Just the way it should be, team effort with everyone chipping in. Sometimes spectacularly and sometimes just executing the fundamental play. For some guys, this might their last hurrah. Kike, Joc, Baez, gulp..Turner all made meaningful contributions and in some cases memorable ones. Very fitting if it’s indeed coming to the end of their runs with us. In our previous exits, there were never enough guys contributing. They’re playing like champions right now and WS is well deserved.
Hats off to the Braves, pretty darn good club. It speaks a lot that they pushed us so hard, despite Acuna having a bad series and Ozuna not making much of an impact outside of two games. At times, the Braves did look like the better team, although I think our hitters and pitchers kind of figured them out as the series went deeper. I wouldn’t mind having a few of their guys, but Freddie Freeman is an absolute stud. Seems a professional hitter in the mold of other lefty 1B like Mattingly, Clark, Hernandez, Palmeiro. Love watching him hit.
Turner was asked post game how it felt that he might be playing his last game as a Dodger. He shrugged the question off and said he wasn’t thinking about it at all. I thought it was great that all the kids were on the field after the game with thier dads. Freeman is a class act. He took the loss gracefully.
I agree Bear about the kids on the field. It was great to see the kids with their dads. We need more of this human side of players shown. KJ’s kids are absolutely darling. Good for Fox doing that.
Thanks for the great summary, Jeff! They say that adversity builds character. I think that we are a better team for having gone through this series against a very good Braves team. You have to give them credit: they pushed our backs up against a wall. You have to give us credit: we pushed back! This game 7 could have turned the other way if it hadn’t been for so many things: JTs heads-up DP, Mookie’s spectacular catch, Treinin, Smith, Kiki, Belli, Urias (he needs a nickname now – any suggestions?), Bazooka, etc. What a collective performance! And, oh yeah, Doc, who decided not to go with Kersh and KJ, and instead brought in Treinin at the right time, Kiki at the right time, and left in Urias for the 9th. Credit where it’s due, even from us doubters! And finally, AF for bringing us Mookie, who will undoubtedly enter the HOF someday as the all-time Defensive Runs Saved leader! I’d also like to see Mookie in a slam dunk contest!
Now onto the Series! But before we do, Julio Urias needs a nickname. Any suggestions?
Urias is now Big Game U.
I have often said Roberts is not a good game day manager but in game 7 he was excellent, for the moves he made and for the moves he didn’t make. So many clutch hits and great defensive plays by the team. The braves are a very good team, and I suspect will be even better next year. On to the Rays, another very good team.
Doc makes ‘correct’ decisions when players execute
So true. Players have to execute.
What also makes this a Doc MVP series is also the moves he didn’t make – as mentioned above, he left CK and KJ in the bullpen last night.
This is reductive and unfair.
A tired pitcher is less likely to “execute” than a fresh one.
A lefty pitcher is more likely to execute than a righty.
The third time through the order penalty is real and quantified.
A batter whose stance enables him to pick up the release point of pitcher X is better off than one whose stance does not.
etc.
Manager succeed by weighing these factors and others into decisions.
Nice write up Jeff. I have been a Doc critic, but Doc did make good decisions. I was really happy he let Urias finish the game. I was really afraid Doc would go to Jansen. Not that Jansen could not of finished the game, but Urias was on a roll. I would not want to pitch to Seager. He is hitting everything. It was a total team effort. How about Smith going the other way to drive in the first two runs. Smith looks like he is going to be a star.
OUT STANDING!!
If any of yall will be in Dallas would love to grab a pre-game beer. Social Distanced of course…
Think Blue!
A few observations:
1. Like anyone, Doc improves, but he has always been a damn good manager. He just appears to be a better manager when his players actually execute, which they did! The Doc “managing problems” are between your ears! Hopefully, there’s some other stuff there too…
2. I have been beating that Julio Urias drum for years now. It’s heart-warming to see a young guy blossom. In this year’s playoffs, Julio leads the team with a 0.56 ERA (Kelly doesn’t count) and 4 wins!
3. Max Muncy hit .227 in the NLCS, but led the team in OB% at .452 and OPS’ed 1.043… and yet some of you want to move him out of the 4 hole? They just won the NLCS with him there. Come on, man!
4. Matt Beaty only had one plate appearance in the NLCS. I would replace him with another pitcher. We are going to need him against the Rays.
5. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE RAYS! They are the real deal and have about 12 guys who can throw 98-100. Everyone believed the Yankees were the team to beat… well they beat them too! They are also a bunch of Junkyard Dogs and you know how I feel about Junkyard Dogism! This will be a “Junkyard Dog Fight” because the boys in Blue also happen to be Junkyard Dogs!
6. Remember when many of you wanted to sign Reliever Will Smith? I didn’t think so… Ken Giles? You forgot!
7. This was truly a team win Everyone played a role.
8. Postseason ERA’s: Dodgers – 3.36 Tampa Bay – 3.36
9. Postseason Average Runs Scored: Dodgers – 5.75 Tampa Bay – 4.07
10. The Dodgers need to make an all-out push to sign Seager (Borasss is his agent so it will be tough). He needs a 10-year deal and I hope he wants to stay in LA.
11. Julio Urias already has a nickname. It’s El Culichi! What does that mean? “person who has very pronounced or very small buttocks or buttocks with some defect” I’m not making this up!
12. Will they keep Kelly on the roster? He looks injured to me….
Hi, that is not the meaning of culichi. “CULICHI” is the name we give the people that are born in Culiacan, Mexico (birthplace of julio), something like angelino, to the people of LA.
CULITO, person who has very pronounced or very small buttocks or buttocks with some defect
That must make Julio the “butt” of a lot of jokes!
Doc’s managing problems have come from not having a feel for the game and managing from a flow chart. It comes from too many people making those decisions too. Last nights start of the game was a perfect example. However, once they got past the opener bulk guy nonsense he did a perfect job. He managed from his gut and from the feel of the game.
This is presumption and wishcasting.
Quite a night.
For me the game and post game activities got over near 2:00 A.M. I usually don’t set any expectations but all throughout the game I felt the Dodgers would prevail. At some points I wanted to strangle myself or drive in town and drive right off the end of a wharf. John Smoltz analysing every pitch – what should be thrown or not thrown – before it was even thrown just drove me crazy.
Kike Hernandez is an underappreciated player by many Dodger fans. I think Mark has always appreciated Kike. He is not an all-star but is an all-star utility player. He is very versatile, a strong defensive player and gets timely hits. He came to the Dodgers in Andrew Friedman’s first trade that sent Dee Gordon to the Marlins. I will be surprised if he is not still a Dodger following free agency. I also believe Justin Turner will be re-signed.
I had hoped Mookie Betts would be a bigger offensive threat than he has been. Perhaps they pitched him so well he couldn’t get the ball airborne. However, his three exceptional defensive plays in three consecutive games were the catalysts to the Dodger victories. Simply put, without them the Dodgers don’t win.
Julio Urias is just a cool cucumber. It doesn’t seem to make any difference if he is ahead or behind in the count. His calm demeanor is certainly a plus.
Even in a series win Doc still seems to come under fire. It seems to me he certainly made the right moves more often than not. It is just so easy to make the right move at home after the fact. Doc doesn’t have hindsight on his side. so he can see what he player did or didn’t do.
I appreciated Doc tipping his hat to the Atlanta bench when he came out onto the field following the last out.
What I didn’t like very much was the wild celebrations with players on both sides leaping over the bench rail high into the air, shouting, screaming. I figured sooner or later someone would get injured in a wild celebration. Oh wait, someone did.
The WS will be a scratching,clawing series. The Rays are also on a mission. I expect the series to go 6-7 games and there will be some unlikely hero(s).
Go Dodgers!
Harold,
Glad you mentioned Kike. I really hope the Dodgers can figure out how to keep him.
PRESS RELEASE
DODGERS CLINCH NATIONAL LEAGUE TITLE
Tickets for World Series Drive-In viewing parties on sale tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. at Dodgers.com/DriveIn
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers tonight clinched the 2020 National League pennant and are heading to the World Series for the third time in four years. It will be the Dodgers’ 12th World Series appearance since moving to Los Angeles in 1958 and the club’s 24th National League pennant in franchise history.
The World Series against the American League champion Tampa Bay Rays will be held at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas starting Tuesday at 5:09 p.m. PT. The best-of-seven series continues with Game 2 on Wednesday and Games 3-5 Friday-Sunday. Games 6 and 7 (if necessary) would be on Tuesday, October 27 and Wednesday, October 28. The Dodgers will serve as the designated home team for Games 1-2 and 6-7.
The Dodgers will once again host Drive-In viewing parties for World Series games in Lots 2/3 at Dodger Stadium. Drive-In tickets will go on sale for the World Series tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. at Dodgers.com/DriveIn, and admission will be $75 per car. Fans are encouraged to visit Dodgers.com/DriveIn for viewing party safety procedures and more information.
Official NL Championship and World Series merchandise is now available for pre-order/pick up at the Dodgers’ Top of the Park store by visiting @DodgersTopofthePark on Instagram. Fans are encouraged to visit @DodgersTopofthePark on Instagram to view daily store hours and merchandise selection.
Sorry folks, I don’t see this being a 7 game WS, like many in here. 5 or 6 games and a ring for The Blue.
How the hell can you not like Kike, EVER? He not only comes thru clutch in so many playoff games over the years, he has to be one of the best clubhouse leaders and funsters on this squad. Never underestimate the value of a guy like Kike, it just makes you look stupid and uninformed on how sports operate on a hell of a lot of emotions.
Best move ever by Roberts: Not going to the Jansen well for a third game in a row, that would have been disaster. Finally Roberts followed his gut and not a chart of numbers to stay with Urias. Urias was on a roll, when you are on a roll you let your bet ride. Congrats to the outstanding effort and performance of Urias, totally clutch on a big stage.
Come on, Will Smith is just outstanding and possibly a close second for the MVP award given to Seager. Willie was clutch in many at bats this series, without Willie we are not even playing a Game 6 or Game 7.
Ok, I’m confused. Didn’t you previously argue that the Dodgers are built for the regular season and not the playoffs, and that this strategy is calculated to generate income from fans without incurring the costs involved with fielding a World Series caliber team?
Did I misread your previous post on the subject? If not, and if this is true, how do you reconcile your previous argument with your prediction here that the Dodgers will win in 6?
Respectfully yours
I did say the Dodgers are built for the regular season and not the playoffs, very true. However you are assigning a discussion on generating income from fans, etc etc that I have never broached, you must have me confused with someone else that brought that up. Regarding how something is built and used has nothing to do with my prediction of the Dodgers winning in 6 or less games. Things can be built for something and yet be useful on occassion to accomplish something else, ever use a butter knife as a screwdriver? Ever use a pickup-truck to pull out a tree stump? What I was talking about and even mentioned specifically is that the Dodgers were designed and players acquired to use the strategy of swinging for the fences and take advantage of weak pitchers. Since there are more weak pitchers than strong pitchers met throughout the regular season, the Dodgers stood a pretty good chance to do well in the regular season. Since there are more strong pitchers than weak pitchers in the post season, it stands to reason the Dodgers could run into problems. Pitchers can be on or they can be off on any given day, or parts of a pitching staff can be strong or be weak or weaker, thus winning and losing can be subject to the comings and goings of the pitching staffs they meet. So why do I think the Dodgers will win in 6 or less games against the Rays because I think the Dodgers happen to be in a better position on the mound than the Rays, it’s just that simple. The Rays probably give the Dodgers the best matchups for the Dodgers to be successful.
Now where is that screwdriver that I need to use as icepick, damn those screwdrivers have some good uses that they weren’t specifically designed for.
Wow, this series was very stressful and exciting to watch. I had a hard time sleeping for days now. I’m so glad they have some off days built into the World Series making it much easier to manage the rotation. The only bad thing about all of this is that we’re probably stuck with Doc a while longer. Thank God for MLB changing the rules to make it easier for Doc to manage. No unnecessary mid inning pitching changes with the accompanying unnecessary double switch. I too cra**ed a little when I saw Kersh and Jansen rustling around in the pen. I’m wondering if someone put a birdie in Doc’s ear keeping him from going to Kersh and Jansen. Still can’t stop the horrible pressers, but I choose to tune out when his mouth starts moving.
This biggest difference in this team is that they are less platoon driven, I’ve been bitching about this for years. Let guys get into a groove. This very young team is also more mature with a ton of post-season experience for such young players. Seager and Smith are clearly cemented as my favorite players on this team. Seager was a beast and Smith was Mr. Clutch. Kike is used as he should be, off the bench. So much better when Taylor and Kike aren’t in the same starting lineup. I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that Doc doesn’t get in his way of bringing the big prize home.
It’s great that we aren’t talking about next year’s team right now. I’m also glad we have a day off today, not sure I can handle all this stress. I hope we have some bigger margins of victory with the Rays, but it sure seems like some low scoring games coming up. Aren’t we a high velocity hitting team? Dodgers in 6.
I too have had a big problem in the past with all of the over-managing Doc has done with platooning, moving guys around, double switches and Swiss Army guys moving around just because they can. I agree that the DH and the 3 batter minimum has lead to way less of this. I love a set, predictable batting order and defensive positions. Doc has stayed more with the same faces, sometimes in a different order, down the stretch and it’s paid off. This wasn’t always the case this season. There were again questions at 2nd base with Lux given every opportunity. Like last year, there were about 5 guys who were tried out there, including the Mookie Betts for a one game deal. Doc finally settled on CT3 (and some Kike) and abandoned Lux about game 55. Most all of us knew was the best guy there for the playoffs and I wondered what took so long to set the line up. He stopped the platooning in left when Joc was doing nothing. Doc has really moved his attention to the pitching decisions which have been great. I wasn’t a fan about hearing May got word of his start about 11:00 on game day. I’ve never liked that. Yeah, a young pitcher might be nervous if told earlier but I think prep time to do your routine is way more important. When coaching I always wanted the starter to know the day before. But I guess Doc didn’t know.
Anyway if didn’t matter. But you point on this is well taken.
Just perused our post season stats. 8 guys OPS’n over .800. We are a pretty good hitting team.
Truth is right, we feast on fastballs. Odds say we win in 6. Sounds good to me.
The stats… Seager is on fire and… I’ve never seen a cleanup hitter like ours. I’ll leave it at that. Turner, Smith, Taylor and Pollock show room for improvement. Jansen should be well rested.
Mark was right about Julio, but he wasn’t the only one who believed.
Thanks Jcv. That didn’t sound right to me, but I didn’t know. You set it straight.
I hope May and Gonsolin are learning from their experience and gaining some confidence. I think we are going to need some quality innings from them.
Lots of time to discuss what might come next. Odds of a normal season starting in Spring? Not that good.
So true Badger, the Dodgers don’t have trouble squaring up fastballs, usually depositing them on the other side of the fence. I like our batters 1-9 vs Fastball pitchers. Do the Rays have any righthanded pitchers that throw sharp-breaking sliders? Those guys give some of our lefty batters fits, as we have seen for the last 3 or 4 years
What an exciting finish to a awesome series. Lots of ups and downs. But, in the end the best team won. It was truly a team win lead by Seager, Smith, and Betts. It seems almost everyone made a contribution at one point in the series to help achieve victory for the blue. Our depth really made a difference. Corey is on fire right now and is fun to see. It’s, also, brought out an outward emotion from Corey that we have never seen before. Awesome.
I think the situations with Roberts for me in the past playoffs has been his removing pitchers that are doing well and the overmanaging of the bullpen and double switches. I agree that players need to execute when given the opportunity and when they fail it should not be Robert’s fault. An example last night would be with Kiki. Kiki hits a HR so Roberts is a genius and if he had failed then Roberts doesn’t know what he’s doing by hitting for a hot Pederson. I think with the DH and 3 batter rule now that helps in that many decisions that he had to make in the past are not there. Therefore, Roberts becomes a better manager. So, maybe he’s turned the corner with allowing pitchers that are doing well to continue until they don’t. Which is exactly what he did with Urias last night. He let his eyes guide his decision with Urias. Thank you Doc.
It should be another tough series with the Rays. With TB having all those hard throwing pitchers, outstanding defense, and average offensive threats I think it will be a low scoring, nail biting series. The Dodgers are far superior offensively than the Rays, but excellent pitching usually wins out. And that TB seems to have in spades. But, they’re young and inexperienced so the Dodgers might have a huge advantage there. But, with the games being played at a neutral site this year it takes away some of that advantage. What a different affect 54,000 screaming Dodgers at the stadium would have on the young Rays. But, it is what it is and we can be thankful for the opportunity to play in the World Series this year. With the pandemic, the election, and political and social division maybe a Dodger WS victory will fit right in with one of the most unusual years in our country’s history. Besides, 2020 is an easy number to remember in case we go another 32 years without a WS.
Go Dodgers!!!
Few things:
1) Yes, Wat, I agree. Blake Treinen, with the help of JT and Mookie, really kept the game within reach for us. I’d LOVE to keep him for the next few years
2) Julio Urias now has the most postseason wins by any player under age 25, EVER! He has 6 wins already. (and he’s lost 2 years due to surgeries)
3) Urias to me looks like he’s a money pitcher. To have him and Buehler, who have that big game ability is amazing.
4) I have tickets to a World Series game 7 . God wiling we win this before game 7, but if there’s a game on Oct 28, I’ll fly to DFW for that one! Matt, I’m ready for that beer!
5) We need one of Muncy/Belly to get hot in the World Series. Tampa has ton of fastball pitchers and we need them to wake up.
Would love to, but Ill only be there for Game 1 and 2. Couldn’t swing Game 7. You are right hopefully we win it before Game 7, not sure I could take another WS game 7!!
Go Dodgers!!
Man, the Dodgers sure know how to keep their fans on the edge of their seats. Last nights game was wonderful to watch. There were great fielding plays and Clutch hitting. After Urias pitched his first inning I felt confident, thinking Urias was going to finish the game. But in the 8th inning they showed Jansen up in the bullpen. I found myself talking to the TV (Doc). “Please let Urias pitch the 9th”. I felt that Urias was on a roll, but if a Brave did get on base Urias had a much better chance at holding the runner at 1st than Jansen. Thank goodness Doc heard me….lol.
Al, I can say after a restless sleep last night is, “Wow”. Thank you, AC, for recapping it all for us. Your article made me relive all the excitement, inning by inning again, as the Dodgers forged ahead to victory. The only thing I wish is that the Dodgers could have done it at a fan-filled Dodger Stadium.
We won with a team effort and some really great contributions from Seager, Betts, Urias, Bellinger, Smith, Hernandez, Treinen, just to name a few. Mostly was everyone and Corey deserved the MVP award.
DC, so glad you did not strangle yourself or drive off the end of a wharf. Stay calm up there in Nova Scotia. Save your energy for those cold winters if you have them.
So, Congratulations, Dodgers. Here’s to you and a World Series Win.
Unless I missed it there wasn’t any mention of Will Smith’s 2-run single to tie the game 2-2. We had a lot of heroes last night with Mookie, Kiki, JT, Urias, and Bellinger but not Smith. He deserves mention also.
It was there. It may not have been as prominent, but it was there, second paragraph. Will Smith is getting a reputation as being a truly clutch hitter.
“Corey Seager wins the NLCS MVP, but it could have been a three way award with Julio Urias and Mookie Betts. Fresh Prince, with the key 3-run HR in Game 5, and again the key game tying single in Game 7, could have been the MVP if it weren’t for Corey, Mookie, and Julio.”
Two biggest high points of the weekend. The Houston Astros didn’t make it the World Series and the Dodgers did.
The key with Tampa is the battle between their pitching and our hitting. Four runs should win us every game. Betts and Belly need to bring some thunder. And I’d bat Joc cleanup over Muncy for game one
Interesting observation by Houston Mitchell of The Times:
“—Why did Dustin May start the game? First, keep in mind that Dave Roberts doesn’t decide who is going to start. He has input, yes, but the front office looks at all their flow charts, their crystal balls, their sabermetrics, their Tarot cards, their performance metrics, their Magic 8 Ball and decide who will start. The idea was that May would start, face Acuna-Freeman-Ozuna-d’Arnaud the top three or four in the lineup, then you bring Tony Gonsolin in and he can hopefully pitch five innings only facing those four once.”
Then there was the next line…“—Of course, it turned out May and Gonsolin were the two worst pitchers of the night for the Dodgers.”
The next stage is even larger than the last one. Did the kids learn anything? The way that Gonsolin and May pitched last night was why some of us were wanting that good #2 or #3 veteran starter in the rotation. But both Tony and Dustin will be tremendous starters in the future, as will Ian Anderson for the Braves, who also faltered. Let’s hope that Gonsolin and May were good students and learned a lot to be better prepared for the 2020 WS.
Some of us “were wanting that good #2 or #3 veteran starter”. #3, that would be David Price.
Some of us were calling for a #3 at the trade deadline AFTER Price opted out. Now the price may have been too high, but I think Lance Lynn would have been a fine compliment to Buehler and Kershaw.
Great tangential point to this in Rosenthal’s The Athletic piece today:
The Dodgers parted with Hyun-Jin Ryu, Kenta Maeda and Rich Hill last winter, lost David Price when he opted out of the season because of concerns over COVID-19 and traded Ross Stripling at the Aug. 31 deadline. That’s five quality starting pitchers they subtracted, and it barely created a ripple. The team finished the regular season 43-17, then went 5-0 in the first two rounds of the playoffs against the Brewers and Padres.
He also talks about one of my favorite parts of the current Dodger age, the 2016 draft:
Nine members of the class already have appeared in the majors. The group includes Smith, the 32nd choice overall, a compensation pick for the loss of Zack Greinke as a free agent; May, the third-round pick; and Gonsolin, the ninth-rounder. Gavin Lux, the Dodgers’ top selection that year at No. 20 overall, is one of the game’s top prospects, and projects to be a future member of the Dodgers’ infield… Club officials believe the class will produce at least four more major leaguers, and they have used the picks to supplement their club in ways other than major-league promotions. Two pitchers, 14th-rounder Dean Kremer and fifth-rounder Devin Smeltzer, were part of trades for Manny Machado and Brian Dozier, respectively. Other 2016 picks might be part of future deals.
May gets a DP then K’s a guy with a 100 mph pitch. He should have gone out for another inning or Gonsolin should have just started. If the Dodgers lost the handling of the beginning of the game would be what we’re talking about. Great job by Doc after that.
Just curious what some of you thought about that crazy DP in the 4th inning. I saw Riley, who was out at 3rd, calling to his dugout to check the replay. But my question is about Turner’s tag on Swanson. I only saw replays from 2 different angles but I couldn’t tell conclusively that he made the tag. It would have had to have been on his butt or upper thigh from what I saw. Maybe I missed something. Did anyone see a view that showed that the tag was definitely made?
I know what you mean because I was uncertain while it was happening. But thinking now it seems Swanson was aware he was tagged. True it wasn’t a hard tag but touching any part of the uniform too is all that’s needed. It was ruled a tag so it was a tag.
The key was that Swanson headed right to the dugout; in fact, he stopped running — his body-language told everyone on the field that he got tagged (either on the leg or on the foot) — so that was never an issue even though on our TV angle it was not clear.
PS — here is what I posted a few days back on the verge of going down 3-1 🙂
“Even if they lose tonight, I’m not giving up. I have seen enough baseball to know the Dodgers are capable of winning three in a row against the Braves. Will they have to play well? Yes. Are they capable of playing well? Yes.”
tapped him on the butt, then actually brushed his left ankle and then his right heal, causing the runner to actually stumble. So he didn’t get him once he got him three times (that should be a triple play, right). Also notice that the runner quit running because he felt the tags and knew he was done.
What mostly comes to my mind when playing recaps of effort was Turner leaping, tagging, landing then throwing his strike to Seager covering 3B. Just OUTSTANDING! And inspired the rest of the team to really pull this one off. Four more!! CHEERS!
I think it has been mentioned previously, but I believe it bears repeating. The Dodger family runs deep. Both Rick Honeycutt and Charlie Hough noticed something with KJ and called him, sent pictures, and discussed what might be the problem. As it turns out, after the discussion, KJ goes back to back games and gets 3 up and down in both games, one a BIG save. It certainly appears that KJ really listens to Charlie Hough who was the one most involved in KJ’s transition from catcher to pitcher. Honey is an old school coach who relies on film to find the little nuances that make up a delivery, and gets the pitcher back to where he was successful. Honey is not necessarily a developmental guy, but a coach. He saw something, studied it, and contacted KJ. Here’s to hoping that the lessons carryover to the WS.
Kenley had a lot of good things to say about Hough. Good to see an old Dodger helping us unlike Gagne helping Kimbrel
We must savor the victory in what was truly a series of highs and lows. There is no way to definitively say that if only this or that had or hadn’t happened, the result of any game or the series would have been different. But I think it is reasonable to say that without Betts making three great catches, we probably would not have won. In Game 5, facing elimination, we are down 3-0, Braves have no outs, men on first and third. If that ball drops in, it is 4-0, men on first and second, we probably lose. In Game 6, we might have won anyway, but the catch sure helped. And last night, we are down two runs if he doesn’t leap above the fence to save a homerun. Would we have rallied again from two runs down, given that the only batter who drove in a run on the basepaths all game was Smith? So despite the voted MVP, Betts saved the series. And Urias played a big part as well, stifling the Braves down the stretch.
I do think that Roberts is getting too much credit for simply leaving Urias in the last inning, that seemed obvious, though he has made the wrong decision there before. Pinch hitting Hernandez, was right, but we always make that move against lefthanded relief pitchers. As far as the pitching sequence, we started May, who seemed unsure, just like he did in Game 2; then went with Gonsolin, who was not too effective; we used Treinen, who made some good pitches, but also should have given up the homerun that Betts caught, plus benefited from the Braves’ baserunning mistake. Now, we did not have many choices, but it is not as if all the pitching decisions were brilliantly conceived. I think that people are so eager to support the Dodgers manager, whoever he is, that they are apt to give him credit for just doing a reasonable job in any game. But it is academic, Roberts will be here for another twenty years, if he wants. I still think that his decisions cost us the 2017 World Series, and the series with the Nationals last year, which is pretty expensive. This time, we barely beat a good Braves team, though we were supposed to be the better club.
However, the goal now is to win the World Series this time. And certainly making the Series three times in four years is a great achievement for the franchise. We must cash it in this time, since the Braves and Padres will be better next season than this one. I also want to say, that even given all the dreadful things that are going on, the season being curtailed because of them, games canceled; the playoffs have been very exciting, the TV coverage, particularly pregame and postgame, has been fun to watch. I had thought that even if we won it this year, it would go down as a fluke season, not a real one. But the way the games have been played, the intensity shown, and high level of play, I think that if we win it all, it will still be given almost all of the credit which has gone to any team which has won the title in a full regular season.
Completely agree on how the WS championship for 2020 will be viewed in retrospect.
Whichever team wins this year will be given full credit for a title. A major part of that will be because the playoffs have been full of drama and seem like regular playoffs (in spite of all the extra teams).
If we win it, the drought will officially be over.
William, it was 2-0. If the ball had dropped in, and had Ozuna gone back and tagged up and scored, it would have been 3-0. They ended up winning 7-3. Minor point. What matters is he made the play, Ozuna left too soon and was called out. As much as anything, the Braves base running gaffs aided the Dodger wins. In game 7, Muncy struck out 3 times. But his double in the 3rd set the stage for Smith’s single to the opposite side of second. I still do not like Max in the 4 hole because he does K a lot. But I also understand his propensity for drawing walks. My biggest concern last night was the walks. 6 by Dodger pitching. 2 of those walks scored. They got thier other run on the Swanson homer. One thing the pitching staff did do was keep Acuna off of the bases He hit only .167 for the series. And did no major damage. They also cooled off Atlanta’s hottest hitter coming in, dArnaud. He hit .174 for the series, Riley hit .143. They got 10 hits last night, and the Braves got 3. Considering they were only down 2-0 after 2 innings, the kids did ok. It could have been a lot worse. One thing noted after the game and was echoed by every player interviewed. Even when they were down, they all felt they could over come any deficit they were in. Kike’s HR last night was his 8th in post season play. The all time Dodger leader is Duke Snider with 11. All of his coming in World Series games. Turner has 10. Seager on the strength of 6 this post season, now has 9. And Belli, well even with a sub .200 BA he has 7. Joc has the same number as Kike. 8. For me, this is the first time in 4 days I have woke up and my stomach is not doing flip flops waiting for the next game. Fortunately. I cannot lose anymore hair. I think the series with Tampa will go six. Our offense is a lot better than theirs. They have great pitching. The one guy the Dodgers are going to shut down is Arozarena. I know some of their players, but most of them are no names. Kiermeier, Lowe, Choi, Margot, the exe Padre, Renfroe, Glasnow, and Snell are all familiar names. Zunino I remember from when he was in Seattle. I believe the Dodgers length will make the difference. One last thing, Mark, I do not think they take 16 pitchers to the series. That leaves only a 3 man bench. Even though the taxi squad is right there to replace an injured player, I do not think that is they way they go. It limits Dave’s ability to be flexible with hitters in the late innings,
The dreaded “contact play” failed twice last night, each in a big moment. The Dodgers doubling up Swanson and Riley on the contact play and throw to 3rd. It was a possible game changer in the 4th. The Dodgers did similar in the 6th putting on the “contact play” with CT3 at 3rd with 1 out and Seager hitting. The infield was way in and there was no way any caught ground ball would allow CT3 to score. But they ran the damn play anyway and CT3 was meat at home. All while JT could have been up next with CT3 on 3rd.
I’ve discussed the “contact play” before on this site. I hate the play and have argued with many new coaches, especially college coaches, over its use. It’s appropriate in one circumstance only. Runners on 1st and 3rd and 1 out. You run on contact to avoid the double play around the horn. The runner at 3rd gets ito a rundown hopefully long enough to allow the runner at 1st to advance to 3rd and the batter to get to 2nd. You give up the out to not give up the double play end up with runners at 3rd and 2nd with 2 outs.
That’s it for me using the “contact play” if the infield is “in” or half way. Growing up the coaching advice was “make the ball be through” the infield. I still think that’s the BEST way to play it instead of running into easy outs at the plate.
It was obvious that Doc’s plan was too somehow get to the 6th or 7th inning and Urias to finish the game. Lots of trust in this kid’s ability to slam the door. It worked to perfection with some bumps in the road. I still don’t understand starting May and not just start Gonsolin but it doesn’t matter. Those 2 were not sharp but Treinen righted the ship. Gator was nails too. Another masterful job getting to the guys they wanted to. Doc, as far as I’m concerned, has redeemed himself as a manager of the bullpen from previous blunders. I hope it continues and I have no reason to think he won’t.
But we know why it worked. The guys came through when called upon.
Incredible series and hats off to the Braves. Classy group and a really good team.
I was very pleased to see the respect the two teams showed each other, both on the field and in post game comments. When Muncy ran into d’Arnaud on that play last night he stopped on his way to the dugout to make sure he was OK. It was nice to see really hard-fought baseball with no bad blood. Things like that (just simple good sportsmanship) makes the game better as far as I’m concerned.
The one thing I’d like to see is for the winning or losing team to acknowledge the other with some gesture after the last out. Either the losing team come out to congratulate the winners or the winning team going over to the loser’s dugout to pay tribute to their play during the series. It’s done in basketball and football as well as other sports. I think it’s long overdue in baseball.
Hockey too when they line up and shake hands.
One comment on that phil. That ball took a wicked hop after hitting probably the rim of the grass around the mound. Had it not done that, it would have been a much harder play for Albies since the hop took it directly into his glove and in a position to make an accurate throw. Since dArnaud was blocking the plate because of the path of the throw, CT 3 could have run him over instead of the head first slide, which I think is way more dangerous anyway since he could have easily had his wrist broke. One other thing, I think the Dodgers need to ban the high elbow bump like the one Kike and Belli did after his homer. it ended up popping Belli’s shoulder out of joint. Chance of bad injury is way too high. Kike made light of it in the post game saying that will teach him to do that with someone much stronger than he is. He also referred to the bench players as Hyena’s. Waiting for the scraps that the starters leave for them.
One thought on that Bear. The runner makes NO read what-so-ever on the contact play. He just goes home “on contact”. So he makes no read on the hop or the throw or how hard the play is. If you are playing “on contact” the player reads the play and makes a decision if the ball is through or the play is not routine. So maybe the infielder got lucky on the hop but they most always do. I almost never see that play work. The odds don’t favor going in my opinion.
CT3 certainly could have legally bowled over the catcher as you said. I had a rule as a coach. NO head first slides at home.
I would BAN the stupid, useless forearm bashing too.
He was given the go by the coach. Not really his decision. And he is not looking to see where the ball went because the coach gave him the go sign. I agree that the play has little chance of working UNLESS, the infield was back. but CT3 was out by 3 feet. It was a calculated risk that failed as it usually will. Mookie might have made it a little closer, but he would have been out too. Me, I would have steamrolled his ass.
Yeah, the “contact play” is a pre-pitch coaching decision and completely out of the player’s hands. That’s another reason why I hate it. It eliminates a good baserunner’s judgement based on the ball and the depth of infielders. Like Badger, I hate the play and really don’t understand why teams choose to make an easy out at home.
I was explaining the contact play to my wife and brother in law and ended it by say as a player and coach I never used it. It was always wait til the ball bets through because if you don’t you’re likely a dead duck at home.
I somehow misspoke on this sentence “If you are playing “on contact” the player reads the play and makes a decision if the ball is through or the play is not routine’ It was supposed to say correctly that “if you are NOT playing “on Contact” the player reads the play………….”. I said the opposite of what I meant. And it wasn’t even auto-correct.
Great post!
I’d love to see some analytics on it.
I’d surmise with how good defensive positioning is nowadays (and it was ABSURDLY good this past series) that the “contact play” is even more of a bad idea.
Urias for the final three innings was Roberts’ single best postseason decision ever.
Hopefully it helps to get us that ring and we can say everybody did their part.
Hats off to the Braves. They gave us everything we could handle and will be a force this decade.
Four more to glory.
I think Doc may be evolving as a manager. During the 17 world series people commented how Hinch stuck with his hot relievers whereas Doc stuck to the analytics. That’s been one of the criticisms of Doc and some of it is justifiable. Last night Doc stuck with Treinen and Urias. Urias especially was getting outs without much stress. In the past Doc would have gone to Jansen in the 9th no matter what. If Urias has allowed and hit or walked someone in the 9th I have no doubt we would have seen Jansen. With the way he pitched in games 5 and 6 I would have been perfectly fine with that.
I think we can all be thankful for baseball this crazy year. I know it has helped to keep me sane.
I concur with that David. Living where I do, it is more open. Our movie theater and restaurants are open. Bars can be open if they serve food. Most practice social distancing, and masks are mandatory in my building in the community area’s. But I can always drive up to a lake, or the mountains. Lots of wild life to see, and plenty of scenic places to practice ones photography skills. And I am lucky in that I always have my music to keep me busy.
1000% spot on! I am keeping a dozen games that I recorded during the season to watch again after the season. Planning to record all of the WS games.
Going to use a movie reference here. I do not know how many of you ever saw Demolition Man with Stallone, Snipes and Sandra Bullock. But they were in LA of the future, a place where all crime was eliminated. And their favorite tunes were old commercial jingles. If things were going ok, they would say, I am having happy joy joy thoughts! Well, that is me today. And it will be that way until game time tomorrow. Then the gut churning really begins. Glasnow named the starter for game one. Dodgers know him from his days in Pittsburgh. Snell will start game 2. Kersh for sure the game 1 guy.
Glasnow has a 0-0 record in his career against LA, but his ERA against them is 13.50 in 5 innings of work. He gave up 6 earned runs and 2 homers. Snell has pitched 2 innings against the Dodgers. He struck out 4, walked none and did not allow a hit.
Glasnow is a different pitcher with Tampa Bay. Glasnow is a SoCal kid who was a freshman at Hart High School in the Santa Clarita Valley when Trevor Bauer was a senior. Tyler has not been very good at all in the playoffs, but maybe his hometown Dodgers will bring out the best in him.
I’ll say it again, Urias should be our closer.
Kershaw should start game 1.
Maxwell’s going to be bringing his silver hammer to the WS (watch).
Now confirmed – Kershaw will start tomorrow.
I like Urias as a starter and Graterol as closer. Brusdar needs better spin rate and he’ll get it working with the Dodgers staff. Gonsolin could close to. He’s got the stuff.
I like that the Rays have never really faced Kershaw or haven’t seen him much so if his slider has good depth they will have a tough time laying off. I also like that Buehler seems to be getting better each time out. The blister issue seems to be healing some. He still doesn’t have his usual command of his off-speed stuff, but it appeared he was more confident using his cutter.
You don’t take a guy who has 4 pitches and #2 starter stuff, like Julio and make him a closer. Any manager or GM who did that would be instantly institutionalized!
Bazooka is the next Dodger closer and will slide into that role over the next year. Treinen might be back too.
The Rays have not seen Clayton, but I guarantee their Virtual Reality and 3D Simulators are rolling like crazy.
I think Clayton had better vary his pattern of always attacking. He should switch it up occasionally. When he gets into a little trouble, he does what lots of fighters do when they have been hit and staggered: He throws another strike. That’s when he needs to make them fish!
Barring injury, May or Gonsolin will have to be in the pen next year with Price back. Gonsolin is more of a pitcher, but May has that 100+ stuff. Gonsolin can hit 100 -he did in the playoffs, but he doesn’t stay there. He has 4 pretty good pitches I’d like to see May in the pen for a year!
Quick look at the last 5 full seasons (2015-2019)
Dodgers have had 6 pitchers with 10 or more game starts (2018 – 7) every year. They averaged 8 (range 7 – 11) with more than 4 starts.
Barring injuries
Buehler, Kershaw, Price, Urías, May and Gonsolin should each get 10 starts.
White and Gray are probably next on the depth chart of 4 – 6 starts without trades or other changes
May and Graterol would make a dynamic closing duo. Both need to improve their sliders
Neither currently misses nearly enough bats to be a good closer
Just wanted to also mention that our pitching for the most part was outstanding, Buehler, Urias, Treinen and the bullpen.
Hence the need to improve their sliders
DAVE ROBERTS AND NLCS MVP COREY SEAGER TO HEADLINE DODGERS ZOOM PARTY TONIGHT AT 5 P.M. PST
Fans can sign up now at dodgers.com/zoomparty.
LOS ANGELES – The 2020 National League Champion Los Angeles Dodgers will host a Zoom Party tonight at 5:00 p.m. PST to preview the World Series, which begins tomorrow evening. Hosted by Dodger announcers Joe Davis and Orel Hershiser, the Zoom Party will feature manager Dave Roberts, NLCS MVP Corey Seager, and other special guests. Fans can sign up now at Dodgers.com/ZoomParty <http://dodgers.com/zoomparty> .
The World Series against the American League champion Tampa Bay Rays will be held at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas starting tomorrow at 5:09 p.m. PT. The best-of-seven series continues with Game 2 on Wednesday and Games 3-5 Friday-Sunday. Games 6 and 7 (if necessary) would be on Tuesday, October 27 and Wednesday, October 28.
It appears that TB is poised to call up Wander Franco, 19-year-old SS. He is the #1 MLB Prospect.
Here’s his scouting report:
If you were to build a hitter from scratch using all of the physical attributes and skills that have come to define great hitters, he’d probably end up looking something like Franco. A switch-hitter with ridiculously strong wrists, blazing-fast bat speed and preternatural bat-to-ball skills, Franco absolutely punishes the baseball to all parts of the field from both sides, attacking pitches over the plate while also demonstrating tremendous discipline and rarely swinging and missing (4.3 percent swinging-strike rate in ’19). It’s why he’s recorded more walks (83) than strikeouts (54) across his first two pro seasons while compiling a .336 average. Power is the one part of Franco’s game that’s yet to emerge in earnest, but it’s easy to forecast plus power in his future as he learns to drive the ball in the air consistently and improves upon his 2019 ground-ball rate (48.8 percent). He shows more over-the-fence potential as a left-handed hitter and hit all but two of his 20 career homers from that side during his first two campaigns.
Defensively, Franco earns high marks from evaluators for his hands, range and actions as a shortstop, and he’s universally praised for the confidence and leadership he exudes at the position. Franco’s strong, compact build as well as the fact that he’s only a slightly above-average runner have prompted questions about his ability to stick at shortstop long term, but he’s passed every test early in his career, showing advanced feel for playing the position and plenty of arm strength. A shift over to second or possibly third base isn’t out of the question, and it wouldn’t be surprising if the Rays were to start increasing Franco’s defensive versatility as they do with many of their young, athletic infielders. And while the Rays do have a history of patiently developing young talent, Franco, with his All-Star-caliber ceiling, could end up being an exception.
This could be interesting. The Rays are trying to catch “lightning-in-a-bottle.”
Looks like a panic move if they’re considering…
Letting a 19 YO make his MLB debut in the World Series against the best pitching staff in baseball!!!
After never playing above A+
I guess we should counter that by calling up Cody Hoese? **sarcasm**
Sounds like my kind of shortstop.
Buehler to start Game 3.
Who goes in Game 2?
Bullpen game!
May/Gonsolin and the pen go Wednesday. Buehler, Urias, Kersh in 3-4-5.
With Doc’s comments about Dustin liking to know who he will be facing, I think you are right with May as opener and Gonsolin as the “bulk pitcher” then BP based on “situation” in game 2 and 6.
3,4,5 looks right with Buehler game 7. Would expect Urías as an option for 2-3 innings if needed in G7
Forgot about the 2 rest days. Maybe Buehler in G6 if TB up 3-2
The position by position comparison is now on MLB.com. Tampa has the edge in LF, 2nd base, starting and relief pitching according to the pundits. But most, 71%, think the Dodgers win in 6 games. The Dodgers have seen Morton and Glasnow. Granted, they are different pitchers now than when LA saw them. But Morton is a soft tosser. Not much of a fastball at all. Glasnow throws serious heat. What most of the polled writers felt is that the Dodger offense is unlike any they have seen. More patient and waiting on a mistake. They also feel that TB’s defense is pretty much superior to the Dodgers. Especially at SS and 3B. We hold the offensive edge at most of the positions. I believe the Dodgers will win it in 6. I just think their grinding out at bats will make the innings high stress for the TB pitchers.