Tonight’s Lineup
Providing there is actually a game… I turned down free Box Seats Tickets 3 rows from the field tonight (1B side) from a friend because Chicago in April is the coldest and rainiest place on earth. It’s as cold as SF Bay in December. Bone Chilling. I think it will be a rainout!
| Pos | Dodgers | Pos | Cubs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2B | Forsythe | LF | Schwarber (L) |
| SS | Seager (L) | 3B | Bryant |
| 3B | Turner | 1B | Rizzo (L) |
| LF | Gutierrez | RF | Zobrist (S) |
| RF | Puig | SS | Russell |
| 1B | Gonzalez (L) | C | Contreras |
| C | Grandal (S) | CF | Heyward (L) |
| CF | Pederson (L) | 2B | Baez |
| P | Wood (L) | P | Lester (L) |
Don’t you just love the Cubs with that fast, speedy guy at the top? That’s the key to winning baseball – put a speedster at the top of the lineup!
Dodger Game Notes
Do you guys check this page out? It has lots of really good stuff!
Discussion (28)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Yes, the game was disappointing. The Dodgers had ample opportunity to win the game. Last year they often did find that way to win. We are eight games into the season, so no trends can truly be determined. But there are some concerns. Bench hitting has not exactly been good.
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Gutierrez 3-13 1 Dbl 0 RBI 1BB 4K
SVS 2-10 1 Dbl 1 RBI 2 BB 4 K
Kike’ 1-7 1 Dbl 2 RBI 2 BB 0K
Utley 1-13 0 RBI 0 BB 3K
Is it too early to look at some potential changes? Probably yes. Let’s see where everyone is at in May.
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On the positive side, the relief pitching has been very good. I do not beleive we can expect Romo to go more than 1 IP. Fields has been a very pleasant surprise. I think it was telling that Doc did not call upon Hatcher last night, and expected Romo to extend. I am not that worried about Jansen, although his velocity seems to be down. I did not see last night’s game, but on Sunday his cutter was 91-92, while last year he was mid to upper 90’s. Maybe too cold in Colorado and Chicago. I would not be overly concerned, but to me it is something to watch.
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I mentioned it before, but I beleive that if the starting pitchers are not properly lengthened in spring training, you cannot expect them to throw 100+ quality pitches during the regular season. Wood pitched very well for three, and then probably tired out. IMO, too many pitchers in ST. I also understand why Doc would bring in relievers in the middle of the inning in ST to see how they would respond in those high leverage situations, but sometimes I think you need to let the starters work through it. Pitchers need to grind just as much as position players. They need to stretch out the innings in spring if you expect them to do so during the regular season.
Do I agree with you Bum. All three of those points could lead to runs. Joc is in a track stance and then does not run. Force the pitcher to throw to first.
Maybe Joc was given the green light on 3-0. I do not know. It was a good pitch to hit. It did look like he was taking.
These are games we need to win.
I think I am getting a little tired of the cautious conservative play.
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If a runner is on first against Lester and has some speed they should take a big lead and run instead of retreating. Instead of trying to rattle Lester, just steal the base.
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Forsythe should have tried to score from third on the short fly to CF. It was freezing cold and the chance of a good throw was low enough to be aggressive.
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Got to let Joc swing on the 3 and 0 count with bases loaded. Just look dead red and pick a location and if it is there, swing. Again, be aggressive, have fun, be confident, and win or lose fighting.
Hope the Dodgers got a big taste of Cubbie poop with all of the festivities, the fans and the highly distasteful loss. Maybe the team will really comprehend how important every scoring opportunity, for either team, and how important taking advantage of those opportunities can be even in early April when it comes to home field advantage. Every win counts, all season long. This is the mantra of a team striving to win the World Series and losses like this could just harden the resolve of this franchise to succeed.
Disappointing outcome.
Had opportunities to win it, especially bases loaded with no outs in the 7th.
Need to start winning some of these tight ones to boost confidence going forward, especially for post season play should we get there.
Thank you Mark Timmons. I’ve been drawn to your site for, I guess about three years. During one hot stove season, needing some baseball conversation, I looked up Kevin Kennedy at dodger talk. I got you, and haven’t left (well there was a hiatus). You’re writing is edgy, definitely not vanilla. And your fellow bloggers maintain that edge, and actually care about each other, generally, but not always, in a positive way. Agree or disagree, I try to keep an open mind, and learn something.
Bases loaded.
Urias struggled – 2 runs.
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Buehler was nails@!
How did Beuhler and Urias do?
Kike and SVS have done nothing to be on the team. I know it is early, but they do not look good.
Too many walks. Too many errors. I know it was a tough play for Puig but he normally makes that play. Wood can’t nibble and lose him when it’s 1-2.
I’m all for running on Lesturd but. I was a little surprised to see Gutierrez ruining considering his condition.
Lesturd bitching at the umps when he got a bs call for the first out of the game. I hate that guy!
I see they let Urias pitch 3.2 innings but Buhler stopped at 3.0.
Schwarber is WAY faster than Willie Calhoun.
Hank and Tommie Aaron, 768 home runs, 13 for Tommie.
ESPN lovefest with the Cubs is getting old. I am getting Cubbie fatigue and it’s only the second week of the season. I hope the Dodgers are feeling the same way.
I think some forget how good Alex Wood really is.
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Alex is in a very good place right now.
I am watching the game, but I am glad I am not there!
Good news Mark – the Dodgers finally acquired a pitcher from the Baltimore Orioles. Hold on, . . . it’s the wrong guy. They traded for Gunkel instead of Brach. Oh well, next trade.
This has been mentioned several times on Dodger broadcasts this year but for those that missed it….Joc Pederson and Duke Snider are only players in Dodgers history with 2 25-HR seasons before turning 25. Joc would be the only Dodger to hit 25 home runs three times before turning 26.