When the Dodgers traded Ryan Pepiot and Jonny DeLuca for Tyler Glasnow, the naysayers were quick to call Glasnow “Fragile” and “Injury Prone” because they thought they knew what they didn’t know. As it turned out, the pitcher they thought was a dog turned out to be a Workhorse! Tyler Glasnow had one misdiagnosed injury that cost him almost four years of his career. His UCL was not properly attached to the bone, and it frequently took him over an hour just to “warm up.” He had to be a horse to do that for four years.
Tyler didn’t get the win last night, as he gave up just one hit, but it was a home run. He struck out 10 Padres in his seven innings pitched, and while the second guessers are plying their trade ad nauseum and criticizing Doc for taking Glasnow out, not walking Arraez, taking out Blake Treinen, and bringing in Grove and leaving him in (let’s add “why not bring in Vesia to pitch to Arraez?). Let me address each of these “second guesser” issues:
- Doc should have left Glasnow pitch into the 8th inning. – Why? So we can wear him out by October? That is just counterproductive! This year, it is about managing the workload so that the players will be “fresh” by the playoffs.
- Doc should not have taken Treinen out. This is a really silly one. Treinen has not pitched in two years. Let’s push him now to be a multi-inning reliever? If Doc had done that, the same people would have called him stupid. Get a grip.
- They should have walked Arraez, as Grove is not as good against LHP. I have to say that there is validity in walking Arraez, or maybe bringing Alex Vesia in to pitch to him. There is also something to letting Grove get it done. He has been almost unhittable in his last few outings. Sometimes, Managers have to put players in a position of discomfort to see if they will grow. “Win the war, not the battle.”
There are two real reasons the Dodgers lost last night:
#1 – They didn’t hit. It’s back to “everyone hits or no one hits.” They either win 14-2 or lose 2-1. That drives me crazy.
#2 – James Outman “limp armed” a horrible throw to home plate. Andy Pages would have gunned him down by 10 feet. It was an ugly throw by a guy who is now hitting .158. Every phase of his game is out of whack.
James Paxton is to go today. Let’s see how they handle the Lefty. The Padres Matt Waldron has a 5.82 ERA – he will probably pitch a perfect game.
BTW, I do not believe the Dodgers have enough “Prospect Capital” to trade for Mason Miller. It’s going to take a couple of TOP 50 Players and one TOP 15 Player. The Dodgers simply do not have that.
Down on the Farm
OKC BASEBALL CLUB – Miguel Vargas did not play, leading to speculation that he is on the way to San Diego. Purely speculation!
TULSA DRILLERS – Hyun-il Choi, who has pitched at A+ and AAA, was moved to Tulsa and went 5.1 innings, allowing six hits and 2 ER while striking out n8 for the win. Lao closed it out.
GREAT LAKES LOONS – “Rake” (no longer Jake) Gelof was 3-5 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI. He will move up quickly.
RANCHO CUCAMONGA QUAKES – Kendall George 0-4 (3 Ks). Sam Munoz – is 2-24. Wilman Daz – .182
ARIZONA COMPLEX LEAGUE DODGERS –
DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE DODGERS BAUTISTA – No Game
DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE DODGERS MEGA – No Game
Those Padre uniforms are hideous.
So… how should Clowns dress?
I like that Orel likened those uniforms to them still looking like they were playing little league ball.
I might go to tonight’s RC game in Visalia. Will post a report if I do.
Cool – Live up dates!
Absolutely agree, Glasnow should not have returned after 7! Nor should Treinan have pitched the 9th! James is completely overmatched right now! I can’t see any scenario where Heyward comes back and Outman stays. It’s not fair to the team, and really not fair to James to keep running him out there swinging like he is! …. Taylor? Another black hole with no light anytime soon!!! I haven’t checked, but how’s Chris Owings doing in the minors?? Beg Taylor to go down and try to get right, or simply bite the bullet and release him.
I cannot see any reason to bring up Owings.
Lupcius would be before Owings.
Glasnow pitched a great game. Treinen was fantastic.
Grove was his inconsistent self. I am in the camp that they should have walked Arraez with Groves problems with lefties. However, both hits Grove threw the ball right down the middle. An embarrassing throw by Outman. Package Grove and Outman for something.
For a manager who is so heavily involved in matchups this was a hilarious decision to not walk Arraez,
All that talk about a manager putting players in good situations to succeed. Roberts hung Grove out to dry in that situation.
With a base open, the game on the line you just dont let Arraez beat you. A lefthanded hitter who happens to be not your ordinary LH but a two time defending batting champ. I laugh at all those who try to defend Roberts on that one. It was a classical “Dave Robert playoff move” . Backfired right into his face. Because it is only the regular season and the Dodgers already way ahead in the standings there will be no big fuss about it. But as I said a classical Doc decision.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you had walked Arraez, then you have to pitch to Tatis. Tatis is 2-2 against Grove this year.
So, if he had walked Arraez and Tatis got a hit, you would have also criticized Doc for that move.
See how easy it is to second guess EVERY decision?
Second guessers are never wrong!
No, I would not have critised him in that case. Cause it would have been the CORRECT move , especially for a manager who is so into matchups as Doc is. It is only YOUR assumption I would have criticised him.
BTW, a 2-2 THIS season is not even a small sample size , statistically it is almost a nothing in baseball terms.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good News – Pages’ 2 walks last night shows he’s starting to learn patience & selectivity at the plate.
Bad News – He’ll need a whole lot more patient AB’s, as opposing teams will start pitching around him to face Outman and Lux.
Exactly why would the A’s want to trade Mason Miller?
James Outman probably is headed back to the minors. Chris Taylor? Neither player is producing. Both players need to play regularly to fix what ails them. The mental aspect has to be playing with their heads.
Okay, hitting is something the Dodgers do well, until they don’t. The Dodgers are doing well so far, but they have a lot of room to grow. They definitely need to play better against the Padres. It’s early. But they need to have a good day today. We should just state the obvious. The Padres are a weird team with ugly uniforms. The Dodgers should beat weird teams with ugly uniforms.
It is rumored that Jackson Merrill would have to be a part of a deal with the Padres.
That would be stupid.
Because Oakland is a non-contender as Miller is a coveted bullpen arm.
Wouldn’t you just love to be a manager. Win 15 out of 17 and no praise at all. Lose one game and your a total idiot. Share your opinions during the game and not after. See how “brilliant” you are.
No one said he is an idiot. And it also not true no one gave him his kudos for the winning streak. You can read it here in this blog or anywhere else with related Dodgers news.
But that decision IMHO was a classic Doc move . one very similar to moves that have cost the Dodgers before in close games or even playoff games.
And the stereotype excuse of the Doc lovers are as usual as ever: The player did not execute and he has the best regular season winning percentag in history.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!
It is a valid point that Doc could have Walked Arraez, but it’s not like there is a wrong or right answer. Tatis could have hit a HR. We don’t know, which is why I find second-guessing so maddening.
You are pretending your solution would have worked when you really don’t know.
Sorry, you still don´t get my point (or refuse to see it). I leave it at that. If you think it was the correct move so be it.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There is no book. I don’t believe there is a correct move. I get your point, but don’t believe that is the way it is.
The book is based on historical experience. It’s not always right; but, it’s a good starting point. And, yes, there are correct moves; if a manager faces a 60/40 choice take the 60% option; just know you’re gonna look bad 40% of the time.
Bottom of the ninth, tie score, runner in scoring position; don’t pitch to the two time batting champ. I’m still a big Dave Roberts fan.
If it were me, I would have brought in Vesia to pitch to Arraez, but that is just my opinion.
I do not look at it as right or wrong” – it is purely subjective!
What it boiled down to was that Grove did not execute his pitch (it was right down Broadway where anyone can hit it) and Outman did not execute his throw, while the Dodgers offense should be executed!
I hate the Padres. I live in San Diego and have to put up with their horrible broadcasters and obnoxious fans. And, Profar is an idiot. I do, however, respect the team they have built. They do not have the depth of talent we have (no team does), but if healthy they will be a serious playoff contender. Their 123 pitchers of Cease/Darvish/Musgrove are probably as good as Glasnow/Yamamoto/Miller, and if King can be more consistent, they will be a handful.
Last night was an unexpected pitcher’s duel, helped by a generous strike zone at times. But what bothered me most was the Padres walking Smith so they could pitch Muncy with RISP. I realize it was a lefty-lefty match-up, but this was embarrassing and speaks to the weakness of our team in high-leverage situations.
Muncy mashes average pitchers in low-leverage situations which helps win regular season games. Great. But with RISP, he batted .178 last year. Clutch players have a higher avg with RISP, no matter how low their overall batting avg. is. Muncy hits lots of meaningless homers, is slow of foot, not good defensively (Freeman makes him look better than he is, can’t handle bunt/slow roller), and now this?
Muncy has improved as a fielder by a bunch. Not many third basemen are great on slow rollers or bunts. Maybe that is because, so few players bunt nowadays. Last year Muncy hit .178 with RISP. This year he is hitting .233 with RISP, has 3 homers and 18 of his 26 RBIs in that spot. So no, he is not hitting meaningless homers nor is he not driving in runs in clutch situations. He is a streak hitter. When he gets on a streak, he hits everybody. You want to dis someone for not hitting in the clutch, how about Betts? No homers since April 12th, the last time they played the Padres, and that homer was off of King. King had the whole team in his hands, not just Muncy. Give the pitcher some credit for taking his game up a notch.
Mark: I believe he could not have brought in Vesia due to the 3 batter rule.
dodgerram, when you state it would have been the CORRECT (with correct all in caps) move, your opinion is anything but humble (IMHO). It is OK to have an opinion but when judging something like a move in a baseball game to say something is right or wrong after the fact is absurd. All managers get paid to make split second decisions. Some will work, some will not. I would argue that Doc’s record shows most of his did. If you think that is me just drinking the Doc Koolaid, you are nuts. I just evaluate by the facts.
It’s too easy to be a Monday morning QB!!!!!!
It would have been not only the correct move overall with a defending batting champion coming up but especially the way Roberts is invested into matchups.
That is why I put it in capitals.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
King was just great last night. Everything went his way. All his pitches were working, great movement, and any questionable pitch the ump gave him. He made Smith look like he had never seen a baseball before.
That said Mark is right you don’t know if Tatis homers or if he gets him out then u got cronenworth a lefty. Then, you bring in Vesia. I do get dodgerrams point. All too often with the game on the line what Roberts does or doesn’t do seems to fail. If Grove executes he might get out of it.
I just cringe and don’t ever want to c Grove in a high leverage situation. But Roberts has to use his roster. Mb Vesia wasn’t available etc.
Outman has to be sent down. He offers nothing in the offensive equation and Pages’ game (offense and defense) is superior to Outman’s game.
When Heyward gets activated I can see an OF line-up consisting of Hernandez, Pages and Heyward with an occasional start by Enrique and, dare I say, a very seldom start by CT3.
Mookie has not hit so well the last 7 games and Will Smith is also cooling off after his red hot start.
Sometimes you have to tip your hat to the opposition. A healthy Tyler Glasnow has turned into a legit ACE; however, as good as he was on the mound, Michael King was simply masterful. Brought back memories of Greg Maddux in his prime years. Kept hitters off balance and was able to dial it up to 95 mph when he needed a swing and miss. While Glasnow overpowered the Padres lineup with his FB, King did it by locating, changing speeds and movement. His pitches had a lot of movement.
Anyone who can strikeout Freeman twice in a game, is definitely doing something right. The Dodgers eventually got to Matsui to tie the game, but Suarez with his 100 mph FB closed the door in the 9th.
Arraez is an excellent hitter, so I can understand some folks calling for a BB in that situation, but you have to respect Tatis Jr. He is the bigger threat of the two. Would you justify walking Ohtani to get to Freeman? That is what a deep lineup does. It forces the opposition to pitch to guys that would normally be pitched around in weaker lineups. We played well, the Padres played slightly better by getting the big hit in a key situation.
Pages is making adjustments. Outman looks overmatched at the moment. The league has adjusted, can he counter with his own? So far it’s looking a little bleak.
Go Dodgers!!!
Tatis jr. is not hitting well so far this season, Joe and Orel alluded to it during the game.
Arraez is a defending battng champ on a tear since moving to SD.
Arraez is lefthanded and Tatis RH.
All facts pointed to walking Arraez and pitching to Tatis jr.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I low-key hate Roberts but I wouldn’t be walking anyone to get to Tatis, who has long tortured us.
As soon as the count would go to 2-0 we’d say it was a mistake.
Question the pitcher or the pitch. Batter did his job.
If this were a playoff game, I do not believe you see Grove in that situation. However, this early in the season, teams are playing the long game. Workload management is key to ensuring we have a bullpen in the playoffs. Although, Tatis has gotten off to a rough start, I dislike an eventual Vesia vs Tatis matchup just as much as I did not like the Grove vs Arraez. In terms of Groves walking Arraez to get to Tatis, I would venture to say that Tatis would do more damage on a FB down the middle than Arraez. That is a pick your poison moment IMHO. Not having Phillips has created a huge void that likely would’ve lead to a different outcome had he been available.
Grove grooving (no pun intended) a FB down the middle is the reason why we lost the game. Not necessarily who he chose to pitch to. Major league hitters are not going to miss that pitch.
Excellent analysis.
Last week Grove won an extra inning game. Started the inning with a runner on second, no one out. He didn’t give up a run. Now I’m reading Grove isn’t good in pressure situations. Like Mark said, this point in the season, managers are testing their players to see whether they can consistently perform under high stress situations. So far Grove is 1 for 2.
Give King some credit. He kept the hitters off balance and got the job done. Our hitters could not figure the guy out and we lost. It is one game. They still have the largest lead of any division leader. After this series, they only play the Padres five more games. Two at the end of July, and three at Dodger Stadium, September 24-26, sandwiched between six games with the Rockies to end the season. As for Grove, he had been pitching much better of late. Had they taken the lead, Hudson would have pitched. They got the first two hitters on in the 8th inning and only scored one. And that was on a sac-fly. Don’t put all the blame on Muncy. They had other chances and did not score then either. Too many weak ground balls or K’s. Just win the next game, and then work on the game after that.
Agreed. However, good pitching will always stifle good hitting.
Last night Glasnow and King put on a pitching clinic. You could argue that the Pads got lucky by running into the pitch that ended up being the lone run that Glasnow would gave up, but that is baseball. When pitchers are executing at the level they did last night, you can expect 2-1 or 1-0 scores. It usually boils down to getting the big hit at the right time and/or a little luck as well. The Pads earned that win last night.
If we were to play 10 games with Glasnow and King on the mound, respectively, I’d say we come out on top 7 out of 10 times. I feel King benefitted from calls outside the K zone. Then again, that is baseball. When you’re consistently painting the corners and edges of the K zone, you’re bound to get some calls; a la Glavine, Maddux of the 90s.
Personally, I choose to give credit where it is worth. The Pads got us in the 1st game, but we’re coming after games 2 and 3.
Go Dodgers!
Exactly. The amount of blame placed on Roberts is laughable. I remember a game quite a few years ago, I think it was opening day against the Giants. Matt Cain against Kershaw. Cain pitched 6 scoreless, Kontos came in and had a scoreless 7th. Kershaw hit a homer, and the Dodgers scored 4 runs to win.
If Evan Phillips was available last night , we’re probably not having the “ Doc is Dumb “ conversation. It’s the bottom of the ninth, a leadoff double usually isn’t going to go well no matter what! I’m not a Doc defender, and I DESPISE Tatis! ….But 1st and second , i choose Doc’s choice.
For those who say Tatis was the bigger threat, I totally disagree.
Arraez’ batting average this year is about 60 points higher than Tatis.
Who is more likely to hit a homer in that situation? Tatis of course, but they only needed one run to win the game and had a runner on second.
Walking Arraez at least gives you a shot at a double play. If Tatis hits the ball to Orange County who cares. They only needed one run.
8:40 PM ET
Dodgers (26-14)
Padres (21-20)
SP James Paxton L
4-0 3.06 ERA
SP Matt Waldron R
1-4 5.82 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
RF Andy Pages R
2B Gavin Lux L
CF James Outman L
66° Wind 8 mph L-R
Saturday Dodger Minor League Schedule
10:05 a.m. PT: Great Lakes (Jackson Ferris) vs. Lansing (Luis Morales)
4:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (TBA) at Sugar Land (Colton Gordon)
5 p.m.: Tulsa (Yon Castro) at Midland (Jack Cushing)
6:30 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Gabe Emmett) at Visalia (Denny Larrondo)
Believe Doc should have brought Treinan (sp) back in for the ninth. He was commanding, had thrown few pitches, and don’t believe he would have been taxed with one more inning. I think we overdo the pitching changes when relievers are accomplishing the job. The one inning deal that Doc follows takes you from confidence to uncertainty.
Nice job of circular thinking!
It works if you apply it.
Pages is in that category where when he comes to bat he’s already got 2 strikes on him.
… and he is ONLY hitting .293.
What a bum!
These last 2 games looks eerily like our playoff offense. No matter how many stars slumps will happen. King great last night but Waldron…
Haha knew I could get them going!!
Usually I’m the one making those comments. Nice to have some company.
True. Everybody else asleep. Ha
I never sleep!
I’ll sleep when I’m dead!
😉
This 2 year, $24 mil deal we have with Max Muncy is beginning to look like a steal.
Number 1 defense currently. Muncy looks like a runaway Hoover down there! I hope they were just getting Kike an at bat. Varland looked good tonight. Paxton 5-0. Feyersen looking better.
Love Teoscar bat flip on the Grand Slam
Ohtani got pulled in the 9th, ’cause his back tightened up. Dodgers gave no prognosis afterward.
From the Dodgers’ Official Page:
“LATEST NEWS
May 11: DH Shohei Ohtani exits in ninth inning with lower back tightness
As the Dodgers’ game against the Padres progressed on Saturday, Ohtani complained of lower back tightness and was replaced by Kiké Hernández in the ninth inning. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts wasn’t sure exactly when Ohtani experienced the initial discomfort, but the designated hitter is not expected to be in the lineup for the series finale on Sunday. Despite that, however, Roberts said long-term concern is “minimal” for Ohtani.
“Just talking to the trainers — I haven’t talked to Shohei myself yet — but right now it’s minimal,” Roberts said. “It’s more precautionary, for sure.”
Sunday Dodgers Minor League Schedule
10:05 a.m. PT: Great Lakes (Jared Karros) vs. Lansing (Jacob Watters)
11 a.m.: Tulsa (Justin Wrobleski) at Midland (Royber Salinas)
12:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Landon Knack) at Sugar Land (José Urquidy)
12:05 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Payton Martin) at Visalia (Adonys Perez)
well that’s not good! I guess the only good thing about it is Will smith will DH today. Ohtani probably just needs a little bit of rest, guy swings so damn hard he probably just tweaked something.!…. On James Paxton. Last 2 starts have really been good!! …….. Hope Walker can go 5 good ones today! ……. Probably won’t happen, AF should bite the bullet and try to sign T. Hernandez to an extension!! Guy loves being a Dodger!! No one in the minors can replace his bat. Wouldn’t hurt to ask.