Rant & Rave Friday

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1. Oversight – Jacob Amaya had 2 triples for the Quakes last night. The 20-year-old, whom the Dodgers selected in the 11th round of the 2017 Draft, has multiple hits in four of his past six games and is batting .265 through his first 13 games at the Class A Advanced level.

2. Good morning Mark. Thank you for thinking of AC and his family and trying to send flowers from all of us. I know recently you have been criticized by a few people here and I hope it does not discourage you from your opinions. I appreciate and respect them and enjoy your articles. I especially love your sense of humor. Please keep up the good work you do managing this blog with so many sometimes different and opposite opinions. I think it makes for interesting reading even if at times I want to hit some of them on the arm.

   1. I’ll second that. I’m sure it’s not easy managing the personalities and disagreements. This is the best Dodger blog on the internet.

   2. Nice thoughts on the flowers Mark! And thanks DBMom for making me laugh with the following statement. “I know recently you have been criticized by a few people here and I hope it does not discourage you from your opinions.”

      Mark is never discouraged about expressing his opinions and reminding people how right he was about something. It’s what makes Mark Mark. He’s also not afraid to criticize others. I know this first hand as I’ve been blasted several times by Mark in his posts and comments. I just hope he doesn’t hurt himself patting himself on the back about Castellanos which we get to hear about just about every day now. Sadly, he doesn’t say anything about our own AJ Pollock, who’s done just as well since the trade deadline. Instead he chooses to post future lineups featuring Pollock as a platoon or not on the roster at all. But, since he’s taking his stand that he didn’t want Pollock to begin with, he’s never going to admit any positive about him. I guess this quirkiness adds to his charm.

      1. Maybe Mark thinks that AJ is going to be so productive and healthy that he will opt out after 2021.

3. I get it, shifts work. But I really think MLB needs a rule change. I don’t really care where infielders shift, but they should have to remain on the infield until the ball is hit. Playing rover in short right field takes away lots of hits. Most fans want offense. It creates excitement. Some days it seems like baseball is becoming a version of slow pitch softball. Launch the ball if you want to score runs. It would be a simple change, one that really wouldn’t hurt the game. Yes, the Dodgers did use a walk, two doubles and a single to win the game last night. I’d just would like to see more of that.

   Interesting articles today in the LA Times about the Dodgers use of virtual reality technology to improve hitting. They can create a simulation of pretty much any pitcher in the MLB so hitters can experience how their pitches work, the speed, the movement. Matt Beaty, for example, is a big fan of the new tech.

   The other article focuses on how the Dodgers have been working to alter Kenley Jansen’s approach, much like Clayton Kershaw made changes, but Jansen has had difficulty, tending to fall back in what has worked in the past. He’s admits all this and acknowledges he needs to make the adjustment. He even admitted the breakdown led to the homerun the other night, an inside cutter that the hitter seemed to know was coming.

4. I too was reading the LA TIMES today about Kenley. It discussed evolving, mixing pitches as Kershaw has done. In Kenley’s last outing, I kept seeing: cutter, cutter, cutter. I’m not burdened with too much baseball knowledge, but I kept thinking to myself slider, where’s the slider? That inside pitch that was crushed for the HR, was clearly a ball (four) but out it went. My wife asked why didn’t he throw a change up? So, from the wives of the Dodger fans, “mix the slider in more Kenley!” (Husbands think so too)!

5. Daily Rant : Great series Dodgers Vs Yankees but ruined by MLB dumb little league uniforms . This is ridiculous i think. You have 2 great Iconic Franchises with maybe the best classic uniforms ever and they are wearing this dumb shirts for the whole series. Do it one game but why the whole series ? ……….. Mad Dog Russo agrees with me on this one . What is next ? Softball celebrity or 7 inning games. What a joke. FIre this Commissioner

   1. Wow Carlos, I’m impressed. Except for the Russo part, I totally agree here. You have the most iconic matchup possibly in all of sports and you do it on stupid uniform with nicknames weekend. Lame! This commissioner sucks, mostly for all the proposed rule changes.

      I don’t want to see any of the these new rules go into effect, let the players adapt to the shift. Tony Gwynn, Rod Carew, Wade Boggs would hit the ball through that gaping hole every time! The Dodgers preach passing the baton and taking the walk and letting the next guy do the damage, but they seldom take the single through the hole. What’s the difference between taking a walk when a pitcher isn’t pitching to you and hitting through the hole in the shift? At some point hitters will adapt.

      Russo is the one guy I always change the channel on. I can’t stand listening to that loudmouth east coast homer. I’d rather listen to an entire Reynolds/Morgan broadcast than 5 minutes of Russo.

      1. I agree with him only on his rant about uniforms but he can be annoying and i read he is a Giants fan. So not a fan but i rather watch that show than some of the other nonsense in MLB Network . But yes 59inarow i agree with your comment. Thanks

6. Since I live on the West coast and often post after the game is over, there are very few that are still awake at that time. I posted the following and since it so closely follows what MT writes about today I thought I would repost it this morning (though it is almost afternoon for some of you).

   “I have been critical of the Dodger’s defense in the past, but there is an interesting article on Dodger’s Nation that seems to prove me wrong https://www.dodgersnation.com/dodgers-amongst-best-and-most-improved-defensive-teams-in-mlb/2019/08/22/
   No one will read this tonight, so I will repost it tomorrow.

   Off to LA tomorrow to see the Friday and Sat games with my kids and grandson. Looking forward to two Ws.”

7. A very exciting win last night. I suppose that one could and maybe should look at these last-inning wins as indicative of a team which simply has the will to win, has that championship feel to it. But it could also be said that it is less likely that we will be rallying to win games against the top teams and bullpens. Two nights ago, we scored one run in the first nine innings. Last night, we had zero runs in the first eight. The heroics obscured that, but it should not be ignored. We can’t count on pulling these games out against the better relievers.

   I have mixed feelings about Hernandez. I’m glad that he could get the big hit, a bloop single, on his bobblehead night. I do not think that he is a very good hitter, and I know that he now will be in more games. I would prefer that we not play Pederson at all, since he is a .230 hitter, who doesn’t even hit the ball hard that often. I would rather see Taylor playing regularly, and even Beatty more, unless Beatty is simply not playable on defense. I am afraid that we will be seeing last night’s lineup again, and it did not surprise me that we could not score with it until the last inning. Pederson, Hernandez and Martin are almost automatic outs each trip through the lineup. All that said, still a great win, and we’ll enjoy this upcoming series, though learning of the gimmick uniforms is disappointing. Are we going with Gonsolin or May tomorrow? That will be a very big test. We do need a fourth starter, and I don’t think that Maeda is it, not against the powerful lineups.

   1. Working bawards, Maeda will wind up in the pen, don’t worry. A lot has to go wrong for him to be a post-season starter. Urias, Hill and May are all ahead of him on the post-season #4 depth chart.

      I go back and forth a lot with Joc. At times he’s a stud, and other times he’s a zero. Same thing with Kike who should never play against a right handed starter. I still think they’re the perfect platoon. But, I hate platoons. I would almost rather have Casty full time in LF as Mark suggests. But, his defense is atrocious and should probably be a first baseman or a DH. There really isn’t a great solution right now. Let’s see how creative AF gets in the offseason. I’ve mentioned 4 righty bats that are free agents next year who are outperforming the best two right bat free agents last year. Abreu, Casty, Rendon, Ozuna. None of them are the perfect fit because none of them are good defensive outfielders. You can wedge them into a spot, but it won’t be optimal.

      With that said, Pederson has been pretty damn good with the glove in the outfield this year, and he’s got 25 bombs as a part time player. Kike with 16 is also productive and plays great defense anywhere except going back on a ball in the outfield. Lucky we have CT3 who does that much better.

      It has also crossed my mind that perhaps CT3 should play more ahead of Joc. When CT3 is on, he’s awesome. But, he has the same flaws that Joc and Kike have with long slumps and a ton of K’s. He was basically Austin Barnes in the early going this year. This is the last hole that needs to be plugged and that will happen next year with Gavin Lux. Unfortunately, that will make us ever more left handed.

      For now, the last spot in the lineup is some kind of platoon between Joc, Kike, CT3, Freese and Gyorko. This is not a bad situation for the post-season.

8. Dodgers continue to find a way. Tough “no decision” for the Jays starter, who was lights out.
   Great bull pen work last night. I have not been one to lament the lack of adds at the deadline in the pen. Some folks here can’t seem to move on. It’s done. This is what we have. The price was just too high for guys who may be no better than who we have. I actually like the potential in this bullpen and have said so all along.
   I’m not a proponent of legislating against shifts. It’s up to the hitters to adjust. Right now, I think the DODGERS are a bit pull happy, especially from the left side, and it’s showing up in production the last 2 games. Lots of rolled over ground balls into the shift. But that is the likely miss for most power hitters. A little more oppo in the right counts would be nice to see. It’s hard to criticize however, the million homers they’ve hit and winning overshadows offensive struggles.
   My comments yesterday about KJ’s lack of effectiveness is not whining and the criticism isn’t mean spirited or unjustified. It’s hard to trust him and he needs to pitch better. I don’t need lots of saber metrics and stats to see that he makes too many location mistakes. It’s almost never the pitch selection that is the issue, with any pitcher. It’s the location. His command must improve. There’s 32 games left to get better. I hope he does. We need KJ.
   This walk-off habit is a fun one.

9. William once again-wrong. BA’s is a poor indicator of offensive contribution! Look at Joc’s OPS against righties. It’s over .850 which translates that he’s a very GOOD hitter against righties. About hitting the ball hard. JOC must lead the league in balls hit over 100mph for outs. The shift kills him! Yes he’s streaky and yes it’s frustrating at times but he’s also proven that he’s a clutch playoff contributor and he will definetley be in left field against righties in playoffs.

   1. Joc is hitting .230. That means he is getting less than one hit in every four at bats. His batting average has gone steadily down, and he is almost exclusively playing against right-handed pitchers. People keep waiting for him to fulfill his early promise; maybe he will with some other team., but I would be surprised. At this point, he just makes outs with the occasional hit, sometimes a homerun, like the one he hit the other night with the Dodgers ahead by ten runs, or maybe a rare early solo shot. Since the goal of hitting is to get on base and drive in runs, I do not see how hitting .230 is worthy of being in the lineup. I have much more confidence in Beatty in an at-bat, than in Pederson. If he plays in the playoffs, and gets a few hits, people will say, “See, we told you that Joc needed to play.” If he just makes more outs, no one will say much, because it’s the norm for him now. Outfielders are supposed to have much higher averages than he does. Every time we got to the Hernandez, Pederson, Martin spots in the order last night, we knew that it was going to be a scoreless inning. This puts immense pressure on the hitters in the lineup, which were really only two through five; such a lineup has little “length.”

      1. Batting average is of minimal import to the decision makers.

   2. I don’t agree with that statement at all. A walk is not as good as a hit, you can’t drive in a runner from second with a walk, you can with a single both count the same with OBP. AVE, OBP and OPS all have their flaws.

      Ave accounts for hits, but not out avoidance
      OBP accounts for out avoidance, but not hits
      OPS weighs out avoidance equally to power production

      I would gladly sacrifice OBP for more hits and power. If you have a guy on second or third and hit a single, you mostly like score. If you walk, you setup a double play.

10. Mark, you love pointing out that the Dodgers BP rank #7 in ERA in the majors, but your spin always leave out that the BP is last in inherited runners and inherited runners scored, the Dodgers BP have faced 144 runners on base and 60 of those runners have scored. This is the stat that must be improved if the Dodgers are going to have a chance to win the WS.
    Yesterday your article I thought was the best I have ever read from you and I was hoping this was going to be the beginning of of a new Mark, guess not, but anyway your article yesterday was great.

11. The shift isn’t a new thing. Only the extreme use of it. Ted Williams saw shifts and felt it was a great advancement in the game of baseball. Hit it were they aint! Should we ban the shift because players fundamentals are bad? I’ve seen more players beating the shift this year than last and I bet next year will be better than this year. What did Cody do to help get out of slump last week? He dropped a bunt down for an easy base hit. Banning the shift is basically telling kids since it’s too hard we will change it for you since your fundamentals are bad. No need to get better. It’s not like all the pitching is pitching to the shift because they don’t have to. The reason there is a shift is because pull hitters roll over on EVERYTHING. What happened when the Dodgers new loogy first came in to pitch this year the first couple of times? He put it on the outside corner and the hitters went with the pitch and hit grounders right past 3rd base. Players need to adjust like that.
    ~
    The initial adjustment was getting the ball in the air more. Then we started seeing players steal 3rd more. This year I’ve seen the shift beat a little beat more the traditional way. I was working with a 15 year old kid last night. Every pitch I threw he rolled over to short or third. His front hip and front shoulder came open every pitch. He’s a big strong kid who wants to take it deep every time. I told him I would just put a shift on you until you showed me that he could use the entire field. I showed him what he was doing, asked him to try to hit one to RCF. I threw him one on the outside corner and he rolls one to third. UGH! It’s much like Kike when he’s struggling. He doesn’t use the entire field when he’s bad. He drives the ball to RCF too when he’s good. There are different kinds of defenses in football and basketball just because somebody in the 1800’s put their 9 players in the traditional spots doesn’t mean that needed to be permanent.

    1. July 1946 – Lou Boudreau is credited with inventing the infield shift, which came to be known colloquially as the “Boudreau shift.” Because slugging Red Sox superstar Ted Williams was a dead-pull hitter, he moved most of his Cleveland Indian fielders to the right of second base against the Splendid Splinter, leaving only the third baseman and left fielder to the left of second but also very close to second base, far to the right of their normal positions. With characteristic stubborn pride, Teddy Ballgame refused the obvious advice from teammates to hit or bunt to left against the Boudreau shift, but great hitter that he was, not changing his approach against the shift didn’t affect his hitting very much.

       Boudreau later admitted that the shift was more about “psyching out” Williams rather than playing him to pull. “I always considered the Boudreau shift a psychological, rather than a tactical” ploy, he declared in his autobiography Player-Manager. Courtesy of Wikipedia

       1. Very interesting Phil Jones. Thank you.

          1. My pleasure Mom. Keep up the positive vibes……………..

12. Good read from Houston Mitchell:

    Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell, and the 2019 Dodgers now have 12 walk-off wins. The 2017 team, which felt like a miracle team, had 10. The 1988 Dodgers had six.

    Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell, and the 2019 Dodgers now have 12 walk-off wins. The 2017 team, which felt like a miracle team, had 10. The 1988 Dodgers had six.

    The Yankees are coming to town

    Well, what in my opinion is a very important series is upon us: Dodgers versus New York Yankees. Not because I believe that this will show which team is better. It’s because the winner of the series, especially if it is a sweep, will have the upper hand in the race for home-field advantage in the World Series. If the teams finish with the same record, whichever team won the season series gets home field.

    Remember, home-field advantage now goes to the team with the best record. And, while playing Games 6 and 7 at home doesn’t guarantee anything (just ask the 2017 Dodgers), it’s nice to have.

    Let’s take a look at the race for best record:
    Dodgers, 85-44, —
    Yankees, 83-46, 2 GB
    Houston Astros, 82-47, 3 GB
    Minnesota Twins, 77-50, 7 GB
    Atlanta Braves, 77-52, 8 GB

    And don’t sleep on the Astros. They have the second-easiest schedule in baseball the rest of the season, so they could easily zoom up the list and get the best record.

    But let’s look at how the Dodgers and Yankees match up going into this series. Keep in mind that the Yankees should do slightly better offensively because they get to use the DH, and the Dodgers should do slightly better on pitching because they don’t have to face a DH.

    There are going to be a lot of stats now, so if you aren’t a fan of stats, please scroll past this and meet me in the next section.

    Batting (through Wednesday)
    Runs per game
    Yankees, 5.88 (1st in majors)
    Dodgers, 5.55 (4th)

    Doubles
    Dodgers, 238 (8th)
    Yankees, 228 (12th)

    Triples
    Dodgers, 17 (T18th)
    Yankees, 13 (T27th)

    Home runs
    Yankees, 230 (2nd)
    Dodgers, 225 (3rd)

    Stolen bases
    Yankees, 45 (23rd)
    Dodgers, 44 (24th)

    Walks
    Dodgers, 502 (1st)
    Yankees, 462 (7th)

    Strikeouts
    Yankees, 1,108 (15th)
    Dodgers, 1,047 (23rd)

    Batting average
    Yankees, .272 (3rd)
    Dodgers, .261 (9th)

    On-base percentage
    Yankees, .345 (3rd)
    Dodgers, .343 (4th)

    Slugging percentage
    Yankees, .487 (2nd)
    Dodgers, .479 (5th)

    Average with runners in scoring position
    Yankees, .302 (1st)
    Dodgers, .281 (6th)

    Average with runners in scoring position and two out
    Yankees, .279 (2nd)
    Dodgers, .265 (5th)

    Pitching (through Wednesday)
    ERA
    Dodgers, 3.33 (1st)
    Yankees, 4.52 (16th)

    Starting pitcher ERA
    Dodgers, 2.94 (1st)
    Yankees, 4.85 (18th)

    Bullpen ERA
    Yankees, 4.11 (7th)
    Dodgers, 4.14 (8th)

    Shutouts
    Dodgers, 13 (1st)
    Yankees, 6 (T15th)

    Saves
    Yankees, 48 (1st)
    Dodgers, 32 (14th)

    Blown save opportunities
    Dodgers, 22 (T7th)
    Yankees, 22 (T7th)

    Save percentage
    Yankees, 69% (6th)
    Dodgers, 59% (20th)

    Inherited runner-scored percentage
    Yankees, 29.4% (10th)
    Dodgers, 41.7% (30th)

    Home runs given up
    Yankees, 210 (3rd)
    Dodgers, 145 (29th)

    Walks
    Yankees, 396 (21st)
    Dodgers, 298 (30th)

    Strikeouts
    Yankees, 1,169 (6th)
    Dodgers, 1,167 (7th)

    WHIP
    Dodgers, 1.105 (1st)
    Yankees, 1.323 (14th)

    Best players by WAR
    Dodgers

    Batters
    Cody Bellinger, 8.0
    Max Muncy, 5.7
    Justin Turner, 3.8
    Alex Verdugo, 3.2
    Corey Seager, 3.0

    Pitchers
    Hyun-Jin Ryu, 5.2
    Clayton Kershaw, 3.1
    Walker Buehler, 1.6
    Julio Urias, 1.0
    Kenta Maeda, 1.0

    Yankees
    Batters
    DJ LeMahieu, 5.0
    Mike Taichman, 3.7
    Gio Urshela, 3.5
    Brett Gardner, 3.4
    Gleyber Torres, 3.0
    Pitchers
    Adam Ottavino, 2.2
    Zack Britton, 1.8
    Domingo German, 1.4
    Masahiro Tanaka, 1.2
    Aroldis Chapman, 1.2

    So, the teams are pretty evenly matched. Both teams have high-powered offenses. The Dodgers have a big edge in starting pitching, the Yankees a big edge in the bullpen. It should be a fun series. And I don’t even want to look at my emails if Kenley Jansen blows a game.

    1. Great stats to compare the teams. Personally, I’m unsure how much to draw from direct comparisons of AL vs NL teams. I suspect the DH skews hitting stats towards AL teams and pitching stats towards NL teams. Intuitively it makes sense, but I wonder if anyone has done any data analysis to see if the DH added advantage results in material differences.

13. I see no need to legislate against shifts. These are big league players.playing a game of adjustments. ADJUST, ADJUST, ADJUST. It drives me crazy when I see a gaping hole and one side of the infield where the only thing needed is a base hit, and the hitter insists on trying to kill the ball to the pull side. Even where a hit will just extend the inning, why are they still trying to pull the ball out of sight?

    Also, surprised that Mark didn’t mention Pedro Moura’s article about Kenley in this mornings Athletic. Maybe he hasn’t seen it yet. I would post at least part of it, but still haven’t figured out how to do that on my phone, if even possible.

14. Could it be hard for a batter to hit avoiding the shift If the pitcher is pitching away from beating the shift? Oh well, practice makes perfect. Sorry is this is a dumb question.

    1. Not a dumb question at all………..in days gone by it was common to pitch to the defense. Like the “play him away and pitch him away”, strategy. For the most part that strategy has been abandoned. They now just seem to just pitch to both sides of the plate, in and out, up and down, using all their pitches and not pitching to the shift. The advanced stats place the defense due to tendencies and they just pitch unless the hitter has obvious holes in their zone.

       1. Thanks Phil Jones for your input. The expression, “play him away and pitch him away”, makes a lot of sense to me. Wonder why that strategy was abandoned for the most part.

15. Since the DH has been brought up, there are 2 changes I’d like to see happen in baseball and I’m mostly against changes.

    1 Use the DH in both leagues (I prefer this one) or get rid of the DH. Having the DH in one league only gives the teams in that league the advantage in offensive statistics and disadvantage in pitching statistics.

    2 Have every team face every other team the same amount of times during the whole regular season. 6 times per season, 3 at home and 3 on the road. This would add 12 extra games to the regular season so no big deal. This would get rid of the advantage some teams have playing teams in their division if the teams in their division are among the worst teams in baseball. It will get rid of that argument about well your favorite team has an easy schedule because blaw blaw blaw. I don’t know if this could work with scheduling the games, I’m not smart enough to figure that out.

    Just a thought to make things more competitive or some other word I can’t seem to come up with.

    1. I think the general consensus is that the regular season is already too long so I very much doubt that the player’s union would ever agree to extending it another 12 games. That said, I like your idea and reasoning that it would be much more fair if everyone played everyone else the same amount of times.
       You can do the math (I’m too lazy) but what if it was 3 home/2 away (total of 5 per season) and just alternate seasons with the other team getting the extra home game the next year.

       1. If everyone played everyone 5 time per season it would be 145 games which would be 17 games less. Even though 5 games per season isn’t exactly making it fair for everyone, to me it is way better than the random schedules they do currently.

          1. Now we have another problem. The owners won’t go for a schedule which would remove 17 games from their income stream. This stuff ain’t easy!

             1. I hate the DH, but I’m fine with each league being different. It provides for some different strategy in the World Series. Frankly, I would prefer to get rid of inter league play all together. It’s run it’s course. Yes, the Yankees-Dodgers are creating buzz, but that isn’t the norm. I would rather see the Dodgers and Cubs go back to playing each other 12 games a year than seeing the O’s and Blue Jays. I wouldn’t use statistics as the reason to change the DH rule. The stats in baseball have been ruined by the steroid era anyways. Once MLB figures out the issues with Oakland and Tampa they will expand to 32 and it will solve some of the scheduling issues and create some new ones too I’m sure.

16. Totally, totally agree with Mark about Verdugo. With all of our success lately, he has been kind of lost in the shuffle. WE NEED THIS DUDE AND HIS ENERGY BIG TIME COME OCTOBER. His attitude has kind of grown on me, love how he isn’t afraid of the big moment. He has big game and big moment cockiness. If we get him healthy in September, he will have about a month to get his Stella groove back. Don’t discount what Dugo can bring to this team, they need his energy and set of brass ones when it’s clutch time.

    1. As I remember, I traded Verdugo to the Pirates for Reynalds.

       1. I assume Huntington also had you include Bellinger, Seager, Muncy, Buehler, Smith and Kershaw before agreeing to the deal.

          1. I appreciate what Verdugo has accomplished but I am still not one of his fans but I think more of him than you do because I am not the one that thinks that to get Reynolds it take all those additional players.

             1. My comment was made tongue in cheek and was basically referring to the over-ask he made for Vazquez when he obviously doesn’t need a closer for a team that isn’t going to win anything for a few years.

       2. And every other team.

          1. Yep. There are quite a few players I would rather root for on the Dodgers.

17. Bums – you’ve traded everyone at some time or other.

    Except Joc of course, although I think even he got traded for someone this week.

    1. Sometimes it depends on who I want to annoy as to which player I put in a trade.

18. This series with the Yankees is HUGE. If the Dodgers were to sweep the Yankees I believe it would put the Yankees too far back of the Dodgers (5 games behind) to overcome considering how good the Dodgers are playing this season. We would still have to worry about the Astros though for home field advantage in the World Series.

    Also the Dodgers and Yankees have played each other 11 times in the World Series which is the most times any 2 teams have played each other in the World Series in the history of major league baseball. The Yankees hold the edge 8-3 in those World Series appearances. No doubt if you are a Dodger fan you hate the Yankees because they are the Dodgers biggest World Series rivals and you hate the Giants too as they are the Dodgers biggest division rivals.

    As a kid, the first time I watched the Dodgers was with my grandpa who was a huge Dodger fan and it was either the 1977 or 1978 World Series both of those Series were the Dodgers vs. the Yankees and ever since I’ve been a Dodger fan and have followed them ever since, even listening to Vin Scully calling the games on the radio when the games were not televised. Now with all the technology I get to watch every game on the internet so thankfully no more radio needed.

    The gut in me wants to see another Dodgers vs. Yankees World Series but only if the Dodgers are favored to win it. I’d hate to see the Dodgers lose another World Series to the Yankees, I’d rather the Dodgers lose to the Astros instead. But you got to go with the optimistic view that the Dodgers are good enough to win the World Series so therefore I hope to see another classic World Series between the Dodgers and the Yankees. This weekend series might be a preview of things to come in late October. Go Dodgers.

19. I’ve been missing Verdugo as well. My biggest fear is that Doc plays the wrong guys when it counts. I’d like to see something like this…

    Against Lefties
    Pollock CF
    Seager SS
    Turner 3B
    Bellinger RF
    Freese 1B
    Muncy 2B
    Smith C
    Verdugo LF

    Against Righties
    Pederson RF
    Seager SS
    Turner 3B
    Bellinger 1B
    Muncy 2B
    Pollock CF
    Verdugo LF
    Smith C

    CT3 and Kike can come off the bench along with Beaty and Gyorko

    1. Boy, what a difference it makes to see Smith in there instead of Barnes/Martin. Those are very strong lineups. I’m assuming that if Smith maintains any kind of offensive output for the next month, he’ll start most all of the playoff games.

20. As long as the Dodgers get to the WS (not a sure thing) I don’t care who their opponent is. But if they make it to the dance, they had better win if it’s the Yankees, since I have to live in New York surrounded by a bunch of Yankee fans. Same goes for fathers Division Series.

    I don’t follow the Yankees closely, but I have a hunch (based on nothing substantive) that the Dodgers would benefit from playing their road games in hitter friendly Yankee Stadium. Seems that the lefty heavy Dodgers lineup would benefit greatly from the short porch in RF.

    1. Agree – Yankee stadium is set up well for the Dodgers. Plus, the Dodgers have a lot of strong options for DH.

21. “fathers Division Series”. Don’t know where that came from. Probably iPhone app substituted “fathers” for something else I typed. I meant that the same was true for me if the Dodgers played the Mets in the Division Series. That’s possible if the Mets get into the wildcard and win it.

22. Today’s World Series preview lineup:

    Pollock
    JT
    Fresh Prince
    Belly
    Muncy
    CT3 (LF)
    Seager
    Kike (2b)
    Ryu

23. Castellanos I find it very difficult for him to play on the team one day, if we see the roster, everyone plays a good defense with the exception of Pollock, but he had a history of good defense and Turner that this year has reached his age.
     Castellanos is one of the worst OF’s in defense, watching him play OF hurts his eyes, No Thanks.
    To be a Dodger, he has to hit, catch and throw the ball, he has to be a baseball player, not just a good hitter.

    1. That’s BS. He has improved immensely.

       1. When you’re at the bottom the only way to go is up. Not saying much that he’s improved. He’s still horrible.

          1. You obviously have not seen him or have been paying attention.

             You are just parroting what some say…

             1. BS ?, his obsession with Castellanos is BS, he is only half a player can hit and his defense is horrible, that even a 3 year old can see

24. Watching Pollock play the outfield doesn’t hurt my eyes at all. Maybe he’s not what he used to be, and probably he’d be better off in a corner outfield spot, but he’s not as horrid as some people make him out to be. And I suspect, people will stop complaining about his defense if his bat stays alive, and we begin to see more of the power he’s displayed in the past.

    As for the Dodgers future outfield, I still wonder if DJ Peters has turned a corner, or if maybe that’s all a mirage. Only time will tell.

    1. I agree. He had some tough luck initially this season, but seems to be more than fine now.

    2. Who said watching Pollock play hurts his eyes?

    3. Pollock doesn’t have the arm that Verdugo has and should not be in CF. I’m not sure who has the better arm in LF, Pollock or Taylor or Joc?

       Where is DJ Peters going to play? Pollock, Verdugo, Belli, Joc, Taylor, Beaty……….Is he going to replace any of these players? Very doubtful.

       1. Pollock has the weakest arm of all the OF’s. He Gets the worst reads and jumps too

25. I know it’s not important, but for me, the real hero last night was Seager, but everyone was running to congratulate Kike, which is fine, but …

    1. You’re correct. Seager could wind up leading the league in doubles while missing a month of the season. If he and Cody hit in the postseason the Dodgers will be fine because JT and Muncy are clutch.

26. These unis are freaking lame!

27. Being in NY I’m blacked out of the MLB.tv broadcast, so I’m forced to watch the Yankee broadcast.

    1. I’m able to watch the LA Feed!

28. Mark, can I guess that you’re not in NY?

29. Magic number 13

    1. How much did you get for your tickets?

       1. My 2 seats which cost me $52 sold for $312. Prices are insane this weekend

          1. I have a friend who does this for a living. He’s making a fortune!

30. Bobby,

    I think it’s still 14. D-Backs and Giants both had 65 losses to begin the day. D-Backs lost, but Giants don’t play. Magic number is probably 13 for the D-Backs, but probably still 14 for the Giants.

    But honestly all I care about is tonight’s game, where Ryu is likely not going much longer given his 75 pitches after 4 innings.

    1. Ryu pitched his worst game of the year at home in what some might say was the biggest game of the year based upon the titians that are the Yankees and Dodgers. Bad night to crap the bed!

       The Yankees offensive game is a mirror image of the Dodgers. Foul off a lot pitches, rely on the HR for almost all of the runs and get to the opposing team’s BP. I hope it’s not a precursor of things to come in October.

       1. I think Ryu was simply below the Yankee offense, I think his talent didn’t reach him to handle that level.

31. Dodgers are just setting up the Yankees for a huge comeback.

32. Bubble wrap ryu for the rest of the season, he is clearly tired, or maybe a groin strain il stint, or perhaps a six man rotation from here on out?

    1. There are a lot of off days in September. He will be fine.

33. Need Verdugo and Freese and Hill back by season’s end, all the bullets, as there are too many question marks and regression candidates throughout.

34. Every game I watch is an advertisement for an electronic strike zone. And if baseball wants to add offense to the game, part of the answer is a predictable strike zone.

    And I’m tired of the traditionalists who tell me that the electronic strike zone removes the human element. I’m old, but even I recognize that this is the 21st century, and that the technology exists to justify a system that removes human error. Isn’t the objective to get the call right?

    Does anyone still believe that the Yankees would trade Gleyber Torres to the Dodgers.

    For anyone getting depressed over this game, keep in mind that in 1959 the Dodgers lost the first game of the WS 11-0, and then went on to win the Series 4 games to 2. And if memory serves, the Dodgers lost the first 2 games of the 1981 WS to the Yankees, and then won the next 4.

    1. You mean the white chalk of the batter’s box isn’t a strike?

35. Brooklyn, re. the magic number, AZ’s loss today tied them with SF for 65, hence we got 1 game to make both AZ and SF magic number 13 to be eliminated

36. This is embarrassing!

37. And the reason Garcia is still on the team? Because he only gives up one homer an inning!

38. Is Ryu getting tired, or is his control just off a bit. I might be wrong, but I believe his control was a little bit off in his last start. It’s probably a bit early to jump to any conclusions.

    Seems like everyone around is depressed.

39. At least if we play the Yankees in the WS we don’t have to worry about Jansen blowing any saves!

40. Aaaand this is where the rubber meets the road. Yankees are not the Blue Jays, and are kickin our ass all over Dodger Stadium tonight. Love it, because our young dudes are experiencing some friggin adversity for once, another team who can match up with them and make us pay for our mistakes. Don’t hate on this, great learning experience and measuring stick on where we need to be come October. Trust me, Freidman and Doc are taking notes on who steps up and who fades. Sometimes a good ass whooping creates gold over ashes. We really, really needed a wake up call to how high the bar is to win it all. Yankees are the first test.

    1. agree. let’ see what we’re made of

    2. Roger,

       I agree also. A perfect example is Will Smith. I expect that he will benefit from tonight’s 4 strikeouts. And even though he probably qualifies as a veteran, Cody will also learn some lessons. And if we ever see him again, we got a look at Paxton for the first time.

       I don’t recall if I already said this. But I’m blaming this game on the uniforms. Or maybe the Dodgers pull off a miracle rally in the 9th.

41. Bobby,

    You’re right. When I looked at the standings I didn’t take into account that it included today’s Arizona loss. Further proof of my advancing old age.

42. Yimi again looks great except for his usual home run per inning pitched

    1. The white uniforms look like Woody Allen in the movie Everything You Wanted To Know About Sex when they’re dressed as sperm.

43. BITCH SLAPPED! This game was like a punch to the gut. Our best pitcher gives up 7 runs, 3HR. I keep pointing to one thing that will make a difference. THE BATS. AWOL in the last 3 games. You don’t win many games from good teams with just 6 hits, not to mention 3 or 4 hits as the Dodgers have been apt to do.

44. Lots of yankee fans enjoying themselves. Not so much to yell about for Dodger fans. Just have to eat it. Well there is fireworks

45. Obviously, it’s just one game. But we need to win at least one of the next two, hopefully both. If we lose all three, the Yankees have what amounts to a two-game lead over us. More important than that is the question of whether the best AL teams are simply better than we are, as Boston was last season. The Yankees are the best team we’ve faced all year. The NL is not very strong at the top, excepting us. Beating a bunch of NL teams does not mean we are as good as New York or Houston. Maybe we are, but we’ve got to prove it. And our starting pitching is not deep now, and if Ryu is tired, or if perhaps his great run so far was somewhat over his normal range, we have some problems. We need our top three to be almost lights out in the playoffs, because our bullpen is far from dominating.

46. Thanks for waiting two hours to post my comments!

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