OK, this is not a political post – I am simply using this as an allegory. Jim Shella, a writer for the Indianapolis Business Journal put it like this:
I have a confession. I have Trump Derangement Syndrome.
— IBJ
Before you jump to conclusions and call me a liberal or a leftie or a socialist or a Marxist, let me just offer my belief that you have Trump Derangement Syndrome, too.
TDS is not a “real, diagnosable, or treatable mental disorder,” according to an article by psychologist Rob Whitley in Psychology Today. But I’m telling you that it affects me, most of the people I know and, I submit, has a very real effect on American life.
Whitley says TDS falls into a folk category of mental illness, as opposed to a professional category. So, it’s real.
What is it, exactly?
Here’s a definition from Politico.com that I accept. TDS is a “neurotic obsession with [Donald Trump] and his provocations, and [an] inability to maintain emotional detachment from outlandish behavior, leading ultimately to distorted perception of reality.” It is something that affects not only the Trump opponents who are most often mentioned as victims, but also Trump supporters and, in fact, Trump himself. And maybe even civic-minded citizens who are in the middle. What I’m saying is that, unless you have your head in the sand, you have likely been infected with TDS.
Whether you are a supporter or a detractor, you have TDS. I do not believe that RDS (Roberts Derangement Syndrome) is as prevalent, but it is real. So real that Jeff Dominique of www.LaDodgerChronicles.com wrote a piece called “Damn That Dave Roberts!” Everytime something goes wrong for the Dodgers, RDS sets in with some people.
- It’s Doc’s fault, that AF overpaid for Kelly;
- It’s Docs fault he let Kelly pitch;
- Doc took Yamamoto out too soon;
- He took Vesia out too late;
- It’s Docs fault there was a rain delay; and yada, yada, yada.
ROBERTS DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.
Get back on your meds! What Jeff Said!
This has been a public service announcement!
Solid opening series vs STL. You take 3 of 4 any series and be happy.
Like the way they battled back both Sat and Sunday.
If we get this Muncy all year, watch out.
I am one who was not happy about the usage of Kelly and Vesia. I realize Doc has to play who he is given. It was obvious Kelly was going to blow it which he did. Vesia same. My problem is not the Cardinal series but just overall that is who Kelly and Vesia are. High wire acts over and over. They just can’t throw strikes . They are high wire acts every time. Of course sometimes they get out of it but not without drama. I just don’t want to end up with the playoffs on the line and those 2 are on the mound. But I could be wrong just my opinion.
On the other hand I read the dodgers had 29 draft picks on mlb open day rosters. More than any other team. Pads second with 28. This is with the dodgers not having any top picks(top ten) in the last decade if I read it right.
If only Robert’s could make his decisions until after the game like we do here at LADT. Robert’s didn’t sign Kelly. You can’t manage a bullpen by simply using your top 3-4 relievers every game. And what ever happens in the regular season is just a precursor to October anyway. If Kelly and Vesia don’t produce, they won’t be on the playoff roster. I envision May in the Urias role of 20, bringing home a WS!
Roberts manifestly left Kelly in too long on Saturday. He seems to assign innings to relievers and then leaves them in to finish “their” inning no matter how poorly they pitch. Neither Kelly nor Vesia had any clue where the strike zone was but he left them in even after that was clear.
Even George Shearing (the famous blind English jazz pianist) could see that.
OTOH, you can’t afford to burn all your bullpen. Sometimes, for the sake of future games, they have to eat it!
Some people on this site seem to forget they play 162 games. I’ll take 3 out of 4 every time.
One, this is true…first week of the season, things will sort itself out
Two, welcome back Mr Timmons….for me, your hiatus was a situation of “don’t know what you miss ‘til it’s gone…”
Three, I have LADTDS…yes, you guessed it—Los Angeles Dodger Talk Derangement Syndrome ….I’m deranged if I can’t read daily the banter, opinion, rumors, second-guessing, pugnacious posts, call-outs, tall tales and other forms of delirium here at LADT
Cheers…
The Dodgers only have 3-LHP on the roster, Paxton, Yarbrough and Vesia.
So with Yarbrough having pitch 3-innings 2-days prior – Roberts didn’t have any option “but” to pitch Vesia when the situation called for one to be used.
Vesia was a disaster last year but the the previous 2-seasons his ERA was 2.25 & 2.15 respectively.
We know the Dodgers are going to be there at the end so we have time to see if he can regain his 2021/2022 form. If not I am sure that AF will be busy at the trade deadline.
Open question to the more knowledgeable individuals on this site – as I am not very well versed on the minors – do the Dodgers have any LHP would might be called up to for a trail run?
Vesia was bad the first half of 2023 (6.75 ERA/2.203 WHIP), but he turned it around the second half with a 2.54 ERA and a 0.777 WHIP.
I see no reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Yes, Roberts left both Vesia and Kelly in too long, but it doesn’t matter, and I would argue that perhaps leaving them in too long was the right choice.
Keep in mind that the Dodgers – and Roberts – are playing the long game. These games don’t matter so much. Games in October matter a great deal.
Perhaps the mindset is “let them struggle now and figure it out.” Progress is often the result of failure. Let them fail now, work out the bugs now, so they peak in October.
I think the Dodgers will win the division or at least make the playoffs easily. Quick hooks to desperately stay in a game in March against a bad team is a misallocation of urgency.
That said, I’m just not a huge Vesia fan. He just seems like a wild spaz out there. I understand that Caleb Ferguson was perhaps a little disgruntled and not a gamer, but I think he was a better pitcher. Another lefty is probably a deadline move. Kelly is there to hopefully go on a hot streak at the right time. With Treinen and Bazooka back the Dodgers won’t have to rely on him as much.
Also, I read some comments on Jeff’s site that made me laugh. There’s a Kelly pile-on. Because he had a bad game, he’s now a very low character individual because he accepted a car as a gift from Ohtani for his number. Casting aside the let-them-eat-cake element of casually exchanging hyper-expensive sports cars for trivialities, I thought the whole exchange – complete with Kelly’s wife’s Instagram posts – to be fun and innocent.
Now it’s bad because he couldn’t throw strikes in a meaningless game. Also, there’s comments about what a disappointment Ohtani is. Good grief, people! It’s been like frigging five games! If you’re really making an assessment based on that data set, you’re just an idiot.
Oh! I couldn’t help but notice that Outman started against a lefty. What gives? I thought it was pretty much set in stone that he was a 5th outfielder who had to be platooned against lefties ….HAD TO BE! HE MUST!! HE’S JUST LIKE JOC!! … LOL
Lux was subbed out because Rojas gives them a clear defensive upgrade in that platoon situation. I think they’re going to give Outman the benefit of the doubt against lefties because they also value his defense in center, which is a really important position. …and he wasn’t bad against lefties last year, contrary to what Mark says, he just didn’t have pop against them. He might struggle, but he’s also probably the team’s best defensive center fielder.
The Kellys actually seem like really cool people.
Roberts could have started Kike in place of Outman, but he opted to put Kike at 3rd and sit Max, while Rojas played SS and Mookie shifted to 2B. (On offense, Rojas is not a liability against lefties.)
That is probably the Dodgers’ best defensive infield, from l-r: Kike, Rojas, Mookie Freddie.
But after the Dodgers fell behind 4-0 and the lefty Matz was lifted, Max replaced Kike and Lux replaced Rojas, with Mookie shifting to 2B.
And Max’s big blast came against a lefty RP.
Nice.
This post is probably, TO ME, the most thoughtful in a fortnight for this site.
+1.
I missed the silly Kelly chatter on the other site. Going there now to find it!
The pearl clutching over there is often good for a laugh. The comments after the Ohtani signing were hysterical. You”da thought it was another 9/11 or Kennedy assassination with all the wailing and gnashing of teeth.
“It’s IRRESPONSIBLE!!!”
Exactly!
I thought the idea is to win. I understand the long game and the Dodgers feel real comfortable that they will be in the playoffs. I guess a team that finished 1 game out of the wildcard such as the cubs might differ.
This is nothing new for those 2 guys. As doc says they have a track record. Mb vesia can get back to 2021/22 form but Kelly is Kelly. He is not an innings eater he has no command, but on the rare occasion he has swing and miss stuff.
Who amongst us wants to c us have a 1 run lead in the playoffs into the 7,8 inning and have Vesia or Kelly on the mound?
You’re standing in front of Andrew Friedman. You ask him why he’s paying Joe Kelly 8 million to be on the roster.
What do you think his response would be?
The idea is to win at the end, and the Dodgers aren’t the Cubs. The Dodgers have been very very successful at winning during the regular season. Not so much in the playoffs.
A couple of years ago Muncy was doing horribly during the regular season. There were consistent calls to get rid of him, including from Mark if I remember, and a lot of criticism for Roberts for continuing to start him, game after game. Turns out he turned it around at the end and finished the season being old Max. The Dodgers, and Roberts, let it ride out when it comes to established players.
It’s 9million I believe not 8 million. I would like to ask Friedman why? But the answer I know is what I fear. He has a100 mph fastball at his best he has an awesome curveball at his best. He wants him in a high leverage situation for swing and miss. It may work out I just don’t want to c him in a high leverage playoff situation. He is very talented but very high risk. Kelly is here for one reason and that is a high leverage playoff game. That is my fear.
Money is no obstacle for the Dodgers. Obviously.
If the intention with Kelly is high leverage situations in the postseason I would rather have them obtain someone like Hader or Williams . Kelly is a liability . Never know what you get.
Both Hader and Williams are better high leverae options.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think it’s a very fair question.
If the game is on the line this season, would you rather pitch Kelly or Hurt? I’d go with the guy who, I assume, is earning the minimum.
But Hurt had options so he is back in OKC now, and Dinelson Lamet is up while Crismatt (who had replaced Hurt) has been DFA’d despite a strong performance.
Is Kelly better than Crismatt? Not based on their performances so far this year.
Don’t get me wrong about this. I like Kelly and his combative nature. He brings an edgy personality and that mariachi flair that adds fun. But he is inconsistent and overpaid. His salary essentially guarantees him a spot on the ML roster while Hurt is rewarded for a strong performance with a ticket back to OKC. (I assume the Dodgers will be able to deal Crismatt for a prospect, but the churn of RP talent sure seems strange.)
All considered, the bullpen is strong and deep, considering all the options in OKC. It will be better when Graterol and Treinen are healthy. But Kelly and Vesia make me nervous.
I was down on Max for about a week, but realized the error of my ways.
If they don’t perform during the season they won’t make the playoff roster. Do you really think the Dodgers are going to be fighting for the last wildcard spot?
Made it out to California safely. Missed Saturday’s game because I was in Nevada and was blacked out. Read all the stuff later. Kelly is who he is, he can be a high wire act one day and lights out his next. If nothing else, he is usually fun to watch. Yamamoto looked good. But they are going to handle their 300-million-dollar investment with kid gloves so I get pulling him. Smith and Barnes have both been charged with catcher’s interference and they got Muncy with an interference call. They will have to work on that. But winning is the name of the game, ugly or pretty. But you also have to wonder if Kelly was having trouble gripping the ball since it was still a light rain going on. One bad game is not going to worry me. Win the majority of the series, and all will be fine.
What was the interference on Muncy?
Every one of his fastballs went high and armside no matter where he tried to throw it. I do think he was having trouble gripping the ball.
Dodgers call up Lamet. Who goes?
Crismat?
It’s funny to read all the complaints about Roberts, Rojas and Barnes. Meanwhile the Dodgers took 3out of 4 from the Cardinals with both Rojas and Barnes contributing.
I wonder how spun up people will be if the Dodgers lose two games in a row.
10:10 PM ET
Giants (2-2)
Dodgers (4-2)
SP Keaton Winn R
0-0 .00 ERA
SP James Paxton L
0-0 .00 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
SS Mookie Betts R
DH S. Ohtani L
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
3B Max Muncy L
LF T. Hernandez R
CF James Outman L
RF J. Heyward L
2B Gavin Lux L
60° Wind 13 mph Out
Heyward out, Taylor in….. Stiff back or something.
Crismatt was designated for assignment by the Dodgers on Monday, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.
And the Giants have DFA’d Joey Bart
Prospects are suspects until….
I was never high on Bart. I felt his bat was slow and he just seemed ‘uninterested!’
Kind of Angel Pena II.
I thought Mark wanted to stop The Daily Show 😉
Don’t ask Patch about the Daily show.
Joke!!!!!!
Ha! Ha!
That damned Jon Stewart!!
What is Robert’s doing letting Paxton stay in and pitch with bases loaded. What an idiot! Oops. Never mind. Brilliant decision!
DFA Brasier!!(sarcasm)
Kelly mvp
Only 1 run this time thanks to Solers base running error.
And the umps strike three call on Chapman. Lux and Outman both unlucky and bad to begin the year.
I’ve always found the disdain towards Roberts puzzling. In particular when he is criticized for his “in game” calling. As if Dodger brass would assemble a team and then blindly turn the reigns of the team over to the manager. Not only is that frame of thought antiquated but fails to consider how the game is managed today. More specifically how analytics are utilized to develop in game strategies at levels that extend beyond the dugout.
Today’s managers are not only responsible for managing egos but are specifically responsible for overseeing the execution of pre-established in game strategies.
When folks criticize Roberts, they are truly criticizing the overarching Dodger way of playing the game. I find it a bit naive when fans cling on to the belief that managers are solely responsible for developing and executing a team’s in game strategy. The game has become too big to left in the hands of a single person.