Do You Get It?

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1. I am likely in a very small minority, but I would not trade 3 “guaranteed” WS championships if the trade off is not being good for 12 years. World Series is not the end all for me, I love the regular season and consider post season play to be nothing more than another tournament that has been watered-down with the inclusion of “wild-card,” regular season runners-up.

   1. More or less I’m there with you, SoCalBum.

2. I like how you were able to weave concern over the current state of the Dodgers into lowered brain mass, lowered IQ and dementia. LOL. Clever.

   It’s now a cliche it’s been repeated so much, but In the playoffs anything can happen, and the Dodgers are still in a good place heading into them, but you can’t deny that they aren’t clicking like they were earlier in the year, whereas the Astros are doing exactly what a great team should be doing going into the playoffs – surging.

   Look at offense for the last 30 days. The Astros are head and shoulders above everyone else in baseball, but the Dodgers are middling. https://tinyurl.com/yy7lgcft

   Or what about starting pitching, which had been probably the Dodgers biggest asset? The Stros went out and got Greinke and some guy who they tinkered with and subsequently threw a no-hitter. They shored up their #4 spot for the playoffs with Greinke. The Dodgers for their #4 have either a 39 year-old Rich Hill, who hasn’t pitched the entire second half of the season and is held together with baling wire and duct tape, or a parade of relievers who were in AA a month ago. It shows in the performance of starting pitching over the last 30 days …. https://tinyurl.com/y654pyry

   The relief core is actually a bright spot. The Astros are struggling a little here, while the Dodgers, although not elite, are doing better. Still, though decent, the big problem is the reliance on Kenley as the anchor – or “closer” of that corps. It doesn’t inspire confidence. https://tinyurl.com/yyqaolzy

   I don’t really fault AF here. They have a plan that’s working and they’re not deviating from it. There’s not a whole lot more I can think of that they FO could have done differently at the deadline save maybe getting a reliever like a Nick Anderson, who’s more of a diamond in the rough type. Roberts has done a good job I think managing the workload and getting them rested and peaked for the playoffs. The team just isn’t peaking. That’s just the way it is.

   I think the Dodgers have as good a chance as anyone to win, but the reality is the Astros and, to a slightly lesser extent, the Yankees are just very impressive teams. So were the Mets and the As in 88.

   No, I don’t want a championship or two and then 13 years of suckage. That’s dumb. I also don’t want to be the Bills. Why does it have to be an either/or question?

   The Dodgers were once considered the best organization in baseball. They were respected by all. There was an aura around the organization, and they were considered a model – before they were sold to Fox. The Dodgers are getting back to that. I prefer a system that maintains excellence year in and year out, from the top to the bottom of the organization. I expect AF to make the right moves to put the team in the best position to win every year.

   1. You really hit it on the head with all your points. Concerning the Dodgers playoff chances this year, I can’t exactly put my finger on it, but I don’t feel as confident in their chances to win the NL pennant this year as I did the last two years. I feel this is a more talented, versatile team with championship caliber mental make-up and character, but like you say…they’re just not peaking.

      However, last night’s game was a positive sign that maybe they have some rally in them after all. After two innings, it looked like Kershaw wasn’t going to last much longer and our solid at-bats were going to remain fruitless. But they dug in and chipped away. Kershaw settled, started cruising and before it was over turned an ugly effort into a gritty tune up. The offense was helped by a couple HRs, but by and large, they did it the hard way with patient at-bats that bared walks, broken bat RBI singles, well placed bunts, in-field singles coupled with smart base running that put guys in position to be driven in. I loved it! Makes me feel a little better that we’re not necessarily going to live and die by the HR this post season. Makes me feel a little more confident that the peak is ramping up.

3. Yah, I have to agree with you, Mark, bullpens are volatile and you don’t have to look beyond Colorado’s effort to build a bullpen through high profile relievers to understand it’s difficult to do. Relievers may be good one year, bad the next. Sometimes you hit the jackpot with an under the radar signing like Brandon Morrow. But then the Cubs signed him for a lot of money and he breaks down, which wasn’t all that surprising since he had a history of injuries and the Dodgers really rode him hard in 2017. I was hoping the Dodgers would pick up Doolittle when they acquired Hill. He would have helped them back then and going forward.

   The problem with acquiring relievers today is the high cost of mid-season trades where everybody wants your top prospects or in the winter where relievers and their agents want top dollar because of the value being placed on those players. Most of the time those signing don’t work out.

   My issue with the Dodger bullpen has been a lack on consistency, which also plagues other teams.

   Moving forward, I think the Dodgers would be best served developing their own relievers, which they have done with Jansen and Baez. Would appear to be a few potential bullpen pieces coming through the system now.

   Maeda should be in the bullpen next year. Considering May and Gonsolin should be given shots at starting, the likely return of Ryu to go with Kershaw, Buehler, Stripling etc. it would appear Kenta will have more value to the Dodgers as a reliever. Plus Gray has to be in the mix for a call up at some point next summer.

   I know some people place the ultimate value on winning a World Series, but it’s really a what have done lately game. Polishing trophies when your team goes into a long drought isn’t fun. Think those Giants fans are happy? The long winter has arrived. I want to be good every year, win the division, then have a chance to win it all. The best teams don’t always win the World Series. With a few exceptions, it’s about getting hot at the right time with a little luck thrown into the mix.

   One final thought, if everybody is going one way, the best path is usually in the opposite direction. Maybe the Dodgers should focus on having starters go at least seven innings. Create a new mindset and develop them for those roles. Sort of like developing pitchers who understand how to actually pitch instead of just throwing hard.

   Good column, Mark.

4. Reading about Michel de Montaigne’s quote and the study about it made me wonder if it is a “defense mechanism”. You know like going to the doctor worrying and positive you are are going to die and feeling great relief to find out you are going to live another day. Better than the other way around, thinking you are ok and finding out you are not? The key here is “faith”. I have it and believe the Dodgers will be ok. I enjoy the journey also.

5. Ok Mark, tomorrow’s column has to make me feel more confident in our offense! And sbuffalo don’t forget about Urias next year. He’s gonna be a stud! And I bet AF signs Hill next year on a cheap incentive laden contract over an expensive Ryu deal. Ryu will have to leave some money and years on the table to resign with Dodgers. If not then I think Hill is coming back. It’s a tough call with Maeda. His contract revolves around starting andvinnings pitched. If he goes to the pen he makes nothing.

6. Well Mark beat me to it as I was having a rough time reading the comments from William and others about the state of the bullpen and what AF should do. I respect William for his passion and knowledge, but I do not agree with his over reliance on opposing OPS. It is one of many metrics. What about:

   aLI – Average Leverage Index – The average pressure the pitcher saw in a game or season.
   RE24 – Base-Out Runs Scored – Given the bases occupied/out situation how many runs did the pitcher save in the resulting play.

   I have not read where anyone has measured these metrics for a group of pitchers. But I bet AF and his staff have these algorithms teed up at any point in time, plus hundreds (?) others. There is more to a pitcher than opposing OPS, or ERA, or WHIP, or blown saves, or inherited runners scored. William likes OPS, Mark likes ERA. They are both right, but incomplete.

   There is also the fact that either of those stats can be blown up in a few bad outings vs. a very good body of work overall. Relief pitchers have very small sample sizes in innings pitched, so a couple of bad outings can be a problem in certain measurements. Let’s take a look at Shane Greene. Many wanted Shane Greene to come to LA. I did, but last winter not at the trade deadline. But he was being touted as a closer, while I was touting him as a setup guy. Shane Greene since being traded to the Braves:

   23 G, 21.1 IP, 4.22 ERA, 22 H, 18 K/5BB, 1 SV, 2 BS, .272/.326/.395/.721, 4 inherited runners scored.

   Not very good at first blush. But most of the damage (and both blown saves were in his first 6 games). Since then, his last 17 games:

   17.0 IP, 1.59 ERA, 9 H, 14K/3BB, 1 SV, 0 BS, 9 Holds, .155/.219/.207/.426, 0 HR

   The Braves are relying on Luke Jackson to be their closer, and letting Shane Greene be their setup. In those 17 games, he pitched 1.0 inning in every game, and came in to the game in the 8th (15 games), or 9th (2 games). Now who is Shane Greene, the pitcher with all 23 games with the Braves or the one with the last 17 games?

   For me a key metric for middle relief is holds. To give more credence to Mark’s position of the volatility of relievers, of last year’s top 22 relievers with number of holds, there are only 7 repeaters.

   I do not measure the value of Adam Ottavino as a closer, but as a setup/middle relief which is where he excels. But he was never going to come to LA. He is a NY kid whose dream it was to play for NYY. Where do you think he was going to go? Zack Britton made it very clear that the only team that he was going to sign with and not be the closer was NYY. He was not coming to LA. Kimbrel was showing signs of KJ syndrome last year until Gagne figured something out (or did he?). AF was not going to match what NYM did to get Diaz. Seattle wanted a starting catcher for Alex Colome’, and got a good one in Omar Narvaez. Who did the Dodgers have to match that? They were looking for a catcher. There isn’t always a match.

   I looked at the list of FA relievers and there may be two that I would consider to be an upgrade, Will Smith and Will Harris. Will Smith is a southern boy who may find his way to Atlanta or even Tampa Bay who shows they can compete, and love relievers. He may re-sign with the Giants. LAD will have to overpay to get Smith, and maybe they will, but probably they will not. Will Harris will be 35 next year, and it is just as likely that Houston will try to keep him, but if not, how many years are you going to offer him. The Dodgers already have Collin McHugh, his name is Ross Stripling (younger and longer control). Maybe the Dodgers take a gamble with Arodys Vizcaino or Tony Cingrani (again). But neither of the Will’s are likely to land in LA and it is not always in AF’s hand.

   The best way to build a bullpen is from within. That is exactly what the Dodgers are trying to do. Will they succeed? IMO, Yimi Garcia is an inch or two away from being a dominant middle reliever. Will he succeed? Will Scott Alexander come back and be the ground ball specialist that he was acquired for? Will the re-grip for Caleb Ferguson be a game changer for next year? Will Dennis Santana make a good transition to reliever? Will Marshall Kasowski or Victor Gonzalez make an impact? AF sees something in Josh Sborz. Maybe it comes together next year. Will Ross Stripling get a chance to start for someone else next year for a ML reliever. Or can he be turned for a couple of highly regarding reliever prospects? Or would you rather have Tony Sipp or Cody Allen? Not me!! I am guessing that AF will be more right than wrong.

   1. I totally concur on Yimi Garcia. I think he could be a monster next year. Who knows, maybe he will be a Legend of the Fall?

      1. I was a big Yimi fan pre-surgery. He still flashes what made me like him. So, I have laid off of his HR struggles this year. However, I don’t think I can put him on this season’s post-season roster over May. Sometimes Yimi looks very wide-eyed still like he isn’t up to the moment yet and the leaves a hanger right in the middle of the plate. If May throws strikes the movement he has is ridonkulous and he will come in and break some bats. Especially, on guys who haven’t seen him. If he can minimize the dingers, Yimi will get the opportunity next year to be a bigger part of the pen. 2020 will be a big year for his career.

7. There is an interesting article in ESPN by Sam Miller about 95 and plus fastballs and where each playoff teams rank. That made me feel better about our offense!

   1. Sam Miller is even better as a writer as he is as a podcast host, and he’s an excellent podcast host.

      The velocity article you cite is a fun and informative read.

8. Winning the World Series is not the end all be all for me! I’m in the great PNW for a couple of weeks enjoying my grandchildren. They are not perfect, but it doesn’t matter. They are mine and I love them dearly and I enjoy every moment I can be with them. Whether they grow up to be brain surgeons or professional baseball players doesn’t matter to me as long as I can enjoy their journey and be with them. My love of the Dodgers, while certainly not as deep, is similar. I enjoy the journey, I love watching the young pups come along, and I appreciate the contributions of the older players. But I would never sell my baseball soul just for a World Series victory. The day after the victory, you’ll wake up to have to play another day.

   1. Well said. I totally agree.

9. No offense but you’re all crazy! Winning the World Series is the ONLY point!!! You’re all off your meds!

   1. Well, I am not offended and I am not on meds, so I can’t be off them (unless vitamins count).

      However, you have to get to the World Series to win it.

      The more you get there, the better the odds and “stacked teams” seldom win.

      Still, the end game is to win it… just don’t forget that by getting there, you technically have 50/50 odds. I’ll take that!

10. When is a save not a save? Examples – When a reliever comes in with the bases loaded, no outs, three run lead and doesn’t allow a run to score, THAT I A SAVE! Next reliever comes in, no one out, no one on, three run lead and he allows two runs to score. He gets credit for a hold or maybe a save. These two could either get a save, but they certainly are not equal! If you look only at the number of saves it doesn’t give you the whole picture.

11. Another peeve- Starter goes 8 innings of shutout ball, reliever comes in the 9th and gives up 3 runs. Home team then scores 4 runs in the bottom of the 9th and the reliever gets credit for a win. Starter should get the win.

12. I’m not an expert on save rules, but every time I see “Britton blew 6 out of 8 save opportunities,” I read it as, Britton virtually never gets an actual save opportunity,, because Chapman is the closer. So these “blown saves” are actually him not holding a lead in his one (8th) inning. If he pitches 75 games, and holds the lead 67 times, and on 8 occasions he gives up at least one run, he “blew eight saves?” No non-closer could ever have a positive save ratio under those rules. If I am wrong about this, and Ottavino actually blew seven saves in the ninth inning, I would be very surprised. But that’s just an ancillary issue.

    This season should not be valued solely on “Did we win a championship?” That is unfair. But a series of seasons should matter. And I don’t think the choice has to be as stated, which is win a few titles and then fall back, or be very competitive but never win one. Teams ebb and flow, but the best franchises in any sport stay near the top on a consistent basis. Baseball is harder than the NFL or NBA, in that the most talented team is less, likely to win the title. But it does often enough. When you have not won one title in 30 years, something is lacking, rather clearly.

    Of course, Guggenheim is not responsible for the years before they got here. But there are some similarities, in that the Dodgers have virtually never signed a major free agent, since Peter O’Malley signed Strawberry and Butler, and then decided that the Dodgers would never do that again. Guggenheim signed Greinke, and that was the only one. I’ve said this before, of course. The way that the Dodgers do it, is to almost solely rely on: 1) homegrown prospects, 2)under the radar minor league players whom the GM sometimes astutely picks up, 3) second-tier free agents or players in trades who often have a history of injuries (Hill, Kazmir, Pollock) They have done well with this approach, but not well enough, since a franchise in this market should win as many titles as virtually any other franchise, and we do not. My opinion is that some of these relatively lesser talents do not do as well in a World Series as some of the higher-value players which a few other teams are willing to pick up for a higher price.

    I will enjoy the playoffs., at least until and if we are eliminated. We have a pretty decent chance, as we now almost always do. But like in any competitive event, where the goal is to win it, you have to be the best, not the third best. Baseball is less predictable than the NBA, where the best team is almost always the one which wins the title. But hiding behind that unpredictability to validate allowing a few other teams to make more daring and expensive moves, is not what an ideal Dodgers ownership should be doing. So we’ll see how it all plays out, and maybe the Dodgers will play their best baseball in the playoffs, and win it all. Or we will not, and be back here next year with another team which is still not the best one going into the season, and thus likely will not win the title then, either. That seems to be okay with many Dodgers fans, and they are certainly entitled to that approach. The ownership counts on it, though.

    1. You are wrong about saves. Blowing a lead before the 9th or last inning is not a save situation.

       1. Gonsolin was given a Blown Save on Wednesday night. So was Anderson from the Rays who pitched in the 6th inning.

    2. The O’Malley’s got burned on Goltz and Stanhouse so it took them forever to go after Strawberry or someone like him.

13. Well the Dodgers have made big moves at the trade deadline to acquire the best players available in Machado in 18 and Darvish in 17. As far as signing long term expensive free agents I think that has proven to be fools gold. Ask Philadelphia and SAN Diego how that worked out this year. And Epstein in Chicago! AF is smarter than all of us here combined! Dodgers in good hands! And by the way the WS MVP last year was Steve Pearce! Hardly a high value pick up!

14. Here are two articles from The Athletic that I found to be very entertaining. That is a paid subscription site,so don’t tell anyone.

    https://theathletic.com/1222103/2019/09/19/five-observations-on-some-of-the-luckiest-and-unluckiest-hitters-in-baseball/

    https://theathletic.com/1226617/2019/09/20/stark-the-useless-info-dept-what-to-watch-in-the-last-week-edition/

    In the last one, I have taken a couple of points and highlighted them below. One involves the Nationals and today’s subject, and the other involves Belli.

    Useless Info of the Week

    SAVING MR. DOOLITTLE – Ever heard of a playoff team that went a month without a save – in August and September? Meet the Nationals, who just found a way to perform that astonishing trick. Didn’t have a save between Aug. 16 and Sept. 17 – and were still in position to host the wild-card game when they came out the other end of it. Hard to do!
    That comes to 28 consecutive games without a save. And how many playoff teams in the division play have ever done that this late in a season? That would be zero, according to STATS. How many have done it at any point in any season? Just two, if you don’t count the 1981 strike-year split season:

    TEAM GAMES DATES
    2015 Blue Jays 34 May 5-June 10
    2000 Cardinals 28 July 13-Aug. 11

    Good for the Nationals for surviving that stretch. But here’s a prediction for them: No team that goes a month without a save in October will be winning the World Series!

    VIVE LA DIFFERENCE – Finally, this just missed the cut for the Stuff To Watch in the Final Week. But you should watch it anyway. A hat tip to NBC Sports Chicago’s Chris Kamka for chronicling this unbelievable feat from Cody Bellinger this year:
    He has hit 45 home runs…
    Off 45 different pitchers!
    So who else has ever done that? No one has ever done that. Of course! And only Albert Pujols (in 2015) has ever even hit as many as 40, off all different pitchers.

    1. Welcome back, AC!

       1. Ditto. Good to hear from you AC.

    2. Interesting tidbit on Bellinger. That is amazing.

       Regarding the Nationals, how many blown saves did they have in that stretch?

15. Mark, I agree with the premise of your post. Is the Dodgers bullpen good? No, not really. It’s okay. The pen has appeared as the weakest link. Especially when Joe Kelly was terrible early in the season. However, when you compare the Dodgers to the rest of the league it is okay. I think all this bullpenning has run pens into the ground. When you compare the Dodgers pen to the rest of the teams going into the postseason only the Yankees stands out heads above everyone else. Using Ottavino is a bad example BTW. The middle innings guys are only going to get blown saves because they will be gone when the actual save happens. Look at Urias’ numbers there. The Yankees have been very smart with how they use their pen too. They haven’t run them into the ground at all.
    ~
    I also agree with you that some players aren’t up to the big market or big moments. I never once wanted Greene from Detroit. One player stood out as what the Dodgers needed and thank goodness Neil Hunnington tried to make the Dodgers pay for his past mistakes with Cole, Archer, and others. Andrew was too smart for that. Hell, we’re lucky the Pirates didn’t take what Andrew did offer which we know was Ruiz plus two more. Vasquez was the only guy that was a difference maker. AF has said that they will look for impact players.
    ~
    As for the Cubs, they did what they had to do to win a World Series. Frankly, Theo got lucky on some stuff which is necessary. For example, they got Kyle Hendricks because Coletti wouldn’t give them Zach Lee for Ryan Dempster. So after the deal with Dodgers fell through he went to Texas and chose Hendricks from a list of players made available. Theo is following the same pattern as in Boston. After initial success, bad decisions. However, their farm system has never been good to the level of the Dodgers. After the Chapman deal there really wasn’t much left and after the Quintana deal what was left was gone. The Cubs pretty much had to go in on Kimbrel. Every postseaon Maddon winds up running with 2 or 3 pitchers that he trusts and runs them into the ground. Hello Carl Edwards , Jr. If you think Dodgers fans were complaining about their pen, you should live around Cubs fans. Darvish is probably their best pitcher right now. He’s been throwing well. 31 years is a long time for a WS Championship. Especially for the Los Angeles Dodgers, but it isn’t 108 years or whatever the Cubs were at so I understand pushing their chips in for Chapman. Theo is now in a place where he has to try to put a product on the field that wins while re-building the minor league system. Their minors is hot garbage right now and they don’t want to be over the luxury tax threshold either. They haven’t drafted well and haven’t developed pitchers at all. How they move forward will be interesting and hopefully a train wreck since I despise the Cubs. They knew the end of Lester’s deal would look the way it does now. If they got a WS win it was worth it to them. At least that’s what they were saying at the time. Rumors are they are going to have to deal Bryant to work their way out of this potential mess.
    ~
    I am not of the mindset that only winning the World Series matters and that the season is a failure if they don’t win it this year. I’m happy knowing that I can finish my nights watching the Dodgers put a good product on the field every year. A World Series title will happen. It will be interesting to see what they do this offseason with so much cash freed up and even more the next season. It didn’t fit AF’s reputation to give someone like Kelly that kind of deal. However, Andrew thought he was an impact player. Cole? Rendon? Smith? Ryu?. I think the Dodgers will be in on some of those guys. I think Cole or Ryu will be in the rotation next year not Hill. Rendon would get my vote for MVP not Cody. Can you say impact player? I also wouldn’t be surprised to see them try to fix Treinen if and when the A’s decline his option. He’s had back issues. If AF can buy low that seems like someone they would bring in too.
    ~
    The pen isn’t my biggest concern for the postseason. Although it is one. My concern is Cody not showing up, not taking his walks, and trying to do too much. I think the Dodgers miss Verdugo. The offense and defense isn’t as good with Pollock instead of Verdugo. Joc has been fine in RF basically the same as LF, but he doesn’t have the arm to be out there. They miss Verdugo. The Dodgers made a point to strikeout less. He was a big factor in helping with that. The Dodgers must have Cody and Corey show up for a postseason run or the bullpen isn’t going to get a chance to blow saves.

16. Well, Houston Mitchell of the Times disagrees about the ‘pen. Here’s some of what he wrote this morning:

    “It’s very odd to be a fan of a team that will finish with one of the best records in team history, yet has one glaring weakness that we’ve known about almost all season: the bullpen.
    For two games, it looked like the old Kenley Jansen was back. And then he wasn’t. It’s a familiar pattern. He’s back! No, he’s not. He’s back for real this time! No, he’s not.
    It’s incredibly frustrating for fans, and incredibly frustrating for Jansen. We’ve been hearing all season how things will click into place for him, but it hasn’t happened.
    So, what to do?
    Time for a closer-by-committee. Pick the best matchups. Keep an eye on Jansen. Every fan I know can recognize pretty quickly if he has it that day or not. If he doesn’t, get him out of there quickly. In the playoffs, consider using Clayton Kershaw or Walker Buehler in a game on their throw days between starts. The Red Sox did that last year with Chris Sale and it worked pretty well.”

    The Dodgers can overcome an inconsistent ‘pen with adept management by Roberts. However, I generally hate the way he manages the bullpen. One of his problems is sticking with Jansen whether he has it or not. Another is sticking too hard to matchups and using so many relievers early in games that there aren’t enough pitchers left for late. (anyone remember the likes of Wood losing post-season games because he was the only pitcher available to pitch?)

    1. Roberts cost us 2 WS wins with his poor management of our pitching staff…he hasn’t changed and we will likely not win it all this year!

17. Agree with Cassidy on Urias. Big season next year. So we’re not operating in a bubble here, consider what it would have mean’t to go all out. Throw everything in to try to win a World Series now. Bill Plaschke of the LA Times argued time and again for this approach. Trade the kids, win now. The first thing we should remember is there are no guarantees that acquiring a Cole Hamels, an Andrew Miller or Brad Hand etc would have put the Dodgers over the top. Plaschke would have traded Seager, Bellinger and Urias to make those kind of deals. Where would the Dodgers without those players? What would be the future? But Plaschke wouldn’t have stopped there, he would have traded Verdugo, Smith and others. Gone after Sale, no matter the cost. You’ve officially become the Angels and the Giants. If you’re lucky, you win a World Series. If not, you join the other teams that emptied the farm system and came up short.

    1. He would have gone all out in on Vazquez too! Can you imagine losing Lux and Ruiz for that piece of garbage!

18. Hey Mark, great video today. AC/DC is one of the greatest rock bands of all time. Bon Scott, what a loss, but you know what? They did just fine with Brian Johnson. I always loved Angus Young rocking the Gibson SG and when I think of him, I think of that iconic guitar.

    Back to baseball now. Where to begin?

    We need a championship and we’re in a good spot to get one this year. The Braves, Cards and Nats in a short series are all solid teams, but they aren’t nearly as good as we are. The Yankees and Astros have more wins, but there’s a lot of truly pathetic teams in the AL to pad the stats and the win column with.

    The biggest concern I have is facing left handed pitching. The Braves are the only team on the NL side that has 2 lefty starters. The Yankees potentially have 3 lefties if they can get all of them healthy and it appears to be the only team that can stack lefties against us. That alone makes me feel pretty good about things, other than facing the Yankees.

    We lead our league in hitting and pitching. We set the NL HR record this year. If you take out DH home runs, we would lead baseball in that department. We also lead the league in fielding if you use advanced metrics like defensive efficiency ratio, or DRS.

    Sure our closer has question marks, but whose doesn’t? While Kenley has 8 Blown Saves, you would be hard pressed to find a closer, on a contending team with less than 5 Blown Saves.

    I must say that I like our pen as a unit, more than I do as individuals. Our post-season pen is going to have very good arms 1-8, technically 9 since we only have 3 defined starters.

    I just want to see them play good baseball these last 9 games and go into the post season with some momentum. Sometimes the “Stacked” team wins and sometimes it’s the “Hot” team that wins it, and sometimes it’s the lucky team. Hopefully, we’ll be hot and lucky, we already have the most talent.

    1. Jansen 2nd in MLB with 8 blown saves. (8/38)
       Chapman (NYY) – 5/42
       Osuna (Hou) – 6/41
       Rogers (Min) – 6/34
       Doolittle (Wash) – 6/34
       Hand (Cle) – 5/39
       Pagan (Tampa) – 8/28
       Hendricks (Oak) – 6/29
       Hader (Mil) – 6/40
       Martinez (StL) – 3/24
       Kimbrel (ChiC) – 2/15

       There are no closers on contending teams with more BS than Jansen and only a couple with worse save %.

       Dodgers 2nd in MLB in blown saves (28).

       1. I don’t see a huge difference between 8 BS and 6 BS over the course of 153 games so far. The point is, there aren’t any automatic closers this year.

19. Mark, you wrote this:

    “Every fan looks at who is good right now and wants to trade for them, but what you are looking at is ancient history which has absolutely nothing to do with TODAY!”

    Can you explain what you mean? Isn’t good right now the same as today?

    You also wrote this:

    “I can tell you this for a certainty: Andrew Friedman will not blow up the bullpen and bring in some big-name relievers. Why? because he is not stupid! That is the highway to hell.”

    Why is it you assume that others are talking about what you call big-name relievers?

    1. Because they are. Other than that… no reason!

20. I’m curious as to why so many people want to talk about next year when we’re on the cusp of the playoffs with home field advantage in our first two series?

    Mark doesn’t know what AF is gonna do any more than anyone else. According to Mark’s interpretation of the front office, we wouldn’t have gotten Pollock or Kelly last year.

    Once the season ends, I for one am going to be talking about improving the pen, getting a right handed power bat, dreaming of Garrett Cole, etc even though, deep down, I suspect that won’t happen. But at the same time, I will concede that I never saw the first Kemp trade and to a lesser extent the Puig trade coming. IMO – Andrew keeps all options open and will consider anything to improve the team, including spending past the salary cap. Who knows, maybe these new owners put in enough capital to get us past the dept service rules to open some spending? Literally, who knows? Not any of us.

    Before we get into next year, I’m gonna enjoy these last 9 games of regular season ball and look forward to the NLDS against some Wild Card chump of a team. After that, I’m gonna hope for a NLCS against the Cardinals.

    1. If the Dodgers did not have Kelly and Pollack would they be any less of the best team in the NL?

       I don’t think so. I was surprised Friedman signed either one and I hope the payoff is in the playoffs.

       1. Yes, they are both valuable players on this team.

21. 59, I agree with you about the lefties but facing Houston with Verlander, Cole, and Greinke will be a daunting task. Our pitching will have to be lights out because we’d have to win 2-1 and 3-2 games. Even though their righties we will still struggle offensively. DeGrom just recently shut us down

    1. Actually, Cole and Greinke have not been very good against the Dodgers in their careers.

       1. Cole is a very different pitcher now than when he was with the Pirates. It’s like Housyon has this magic pitching potient!

22. I love seeing the Dodgers competing every year. Winning a WS would be great but trying to win their division is more important. I do believe the Dodgers are working on fixing the bull pen from within. They drafted a lot of relievers in the past two years. Almost every team has bull pen problems. No team is perfect. All it takes is for three or four Dodgers get hot at the right time.

23. Keith Law chat:

    Scott: If the season ended today, who is Keith Law’s NL MVP?
    Keith Law: Bellinger.

    Bruce: Corey Seager came back this year after a couple of major injuries. What are your thoughts on his season and do you expect him to put up better numbers offensively next year after having an offseason where he does not have rehab? Do you expect Seager to move off SS for Lux in the near future?
    Keith Law: The Dodgers seem disinclined to move Seager, and 3b is occupied at the moment. Not sure where else he would go.

    Josh: There seems to be some between the lines discussion about Will Smith’s catching. Talk about Ryu not as good with him, etc. Just noise or a little signal there? Not sure how much you have watched him since he’s been in the bigs
    Keith Law: That sounds like bullshit to me. Nothing but raves for Smith’s catching all the way back to Louisville where he caught McKay.

    Jacob deGrom: Did anyone think I would becomne the best of the Mets starters? I was never ranked a shigh as Harvey, Wheeler, Matz or Noah
    Keith Law: I think I can say this safely now. I know one person who believed in deGrom before anyone else in the industry: Paul Depodesta.

    Scott: I was happy to see Jeter Downs get honorable mention in your Prospect of the Year column.
    Do you think his bat profiles well enough to carry him regardless of a possible position switch to CF?
    Keith Law: Yes, it does, but why not 2b?

    FANGRAPHS chats

    Branding: My Dodgers really look a dollar short compared the AL WS contenders. Can you tell me why I should feel this way?
    Craig Edwards: I’m not going to tell you how to feel, but if they make it to the series I don’t know that over the course of a handful of games, Verlander-Cole-Greinke is that much better in terms of your chances of winning than Buehler-Kershaw-Ryu and that rotation is better than any other AL team outside of Houston. It’s going to give the Dodgers a good chance of winning no matter who they play.

    NL Cy: Follow-up on that, would you have voted for Ryu if he didn’t blow up in August? Or would FIP still have swayed you to Scherzer/DeGrom?
    Craig Edwards: I don’t think Ryu ever jumped into the discussion with deGrom and Scherzer just due to park and defense that was keeping his ERA so low (along with his good pitching, of course).

    Sam: The playoffs is a crapshoot, but it seems to me like Friedman’s Dodgers are on the same trajectory as Rizzo’s Nationals, putting a good to great contending team out there every year, yet with the same loopholes year after year(bad bullpen, bad in-game manager). Do you consider this more of a success or a failure?
    Craig Edwards: It’s a success. The playoffs are hard. Did the Giants have some secret formula where they went 3 for 3 in the playoffs but completely missed the other two years. How would the Cubs be viewed differently if Cleveland got like one more hit? The Dodgers have just had a little bit of bad luck in a few short series over the years. Keep in mind, this year and 2017 were the only juggernaut seasons. They were in the low-90s in all those other title years so it isn’t like they should have expected a championship.
    Craig Edwards: Even if you have a 60% chance of winning every series (which they haven’t), you are still one in five to win it all in any given year. Even if you have a 20% chance of winning it all for six straight seasons (which they haven’t), you still fail to win a title a quarter of the time. It happens.

24. If the Dodgers did not have Kelly and Pollack would they be any less of the best team in the NL?

    I don’t think so. I was surprised Friedman signed either one and I hope the payoff is in the playoffs.

25. 18 game-winner, Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán, alleged slapped his girlfriend in front of someone from the MLB Commissioners’ office. The Yankees just lost their best starter.

    1. Better be AT LEAST 20. I guess Torre’s getting some karma for how he dealt Urias.

26. Today’s lineup:

    Joc (RF)
    Muncy (3b)
    Pollock (LF)
    Belly (1b)
    Seager (SS)
    CT3 (CF)
    Lux (2b)
    Smith (C)
    Kersh

27. I forget who mentioned it, but “what have you done for me lately”, is a pretty common refrain among fans. And I for one believe that it’s better to go back to the dance year after year, especially given that the playoffs are a crapshoot generally won by the team that’s playing best at crunch time. Oh, and he’s also smarter.

    I agree with Mark that it’s probably best to rely on home grown help
    to build a bullpen. That doesn’t mean that trades and/or a free agent signing is never appropriate. Simply depends on the circumstances extant at the time, And I always understand that AF knows and is aware of more than I am.

28. And I should have added that AF is also smarter than I am.

29. From Alden Gonzales:

    Rich Hill threw 17 pitches in a simulated game and said the brace he wore during the session kept him from experiencing pain. He says he is merely dealing with scar tissue in his left knee, not a new tear. The plan is for him to pitch for the Dodgers on Sunday and Tuesday.

30. Just wanted to thank 2D2, DodgerblueMom and SoCalBum for positive takes… Rushed home after working with my guys and thought I’d better get this comment before Jeff comes in from the shadows…
    P.S. One more uniform note that I recalled… In 1950 the Hollywood Stars, AAA affiliates of Pirates donned shorts for the season and 3 more to follow…Manager Fred Haney had the idea and the team bought in… Judging by the heavy material back in the day it probably was nice, except when sliding…
    Great reading you AC…

31. JT is available to pinch hit today, and will start tomorrow

32. As Mark reported earlier in this thread, Domingo German, the Yankees top pitcher, is gone from baseball for the rest of the season. This is potentially great news for the Dodgers if they meet in the WS! OTOH, Kershaw just gave up 2 HR’s in the first inning to Colorado! Kershaw, who is carrying the reputation of being a choker in post season play, is running on his highest ERA of his career and has also given up the most HR’s of his career, 27 including today’s game. His velocity and control are noticeably down.

    Am I on cue, peterj?

33. I had the same reaction as Doc when that pitch was called a strike. I’m tired of watching these umps blow calls on balls and strikes, even when they favor the Dodgers.

    ELECTRONIC STRIKE ZONE, ELECTRONIC STRIKE ZONE, ELECTRONIC STRIKE ZONE, ….

    1. if we had that, Kenley gets the save last game

    2. Especially, big, ugly, umps, like this one. Great to see Doc explode.

34. Isn’t it amazing that the Rockies almost beat us last year for the playoff spot. They are a terrific hitting team, but their pitching is absent. I feel bad for their fans.

    1. Don’t feel too bad. I went to a Pads-Rockies game last year in Denver; those fans have an awesome ballpark. Lot of food and drinking options there. At a Pads/Rockies game, I had a LA hat and my buddy a SF hat. It led to some fun baseball conversations for sure!

35. Good point Bobby. I think I was thinking the same thing in that last game.

36. Jeff – On Cue ??? You’re like a fart in the wind!!!
    Back to the darkness….
    Go BLUE..

    1. Why say stupid things and make it personal?

37. Dodgers set a single-season attendance record of 3,875,656.

38. Which means that Dodgers will end the season about 20,000 below 4 million if they sell-out Saturday and Sunday.

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