Dodger fans are never in a good mood after a loss to the Giants and it’s especially irritating when MadBum is the winning pitcher. I’m no different! $$#%& &?!^%$#@%$. There I feel better already, but then factor in that I am an Indianapolis Colts fan and my Sunday doesn’t look too fun. That, and it’s 92 degrees here today… at the end of September.
A few things may have changed… at least in our minds:
- Ryu may miss the first round of the playoffs. He’s going to have to miss a few days with his arm bruise and so may not be ready.
- McCarthy and/or Buehler are in consideration for spots. Both looked good last night. Brandon’s new windup is interesting. He was very precise in hitting his spots. His velocity is down 3-4 MPH and it may be by design. He might be trading velocity for accuracy and he was very accurate last night. If he can keep that up, he can be valuable in the pen. Buehler just needs to trust his filthy stuff!
- El Gasolino is still on the bubble.
Rants & Raves
- What was Puig thinking when he tried to steal 2B in the 9th inning? Duhhhoooo, he wasn’t?
- Kyle Farmer cannot play 1B. At 63, I can still pick those balls in the dirt. You either have it or not. He doesn’t have it.
Sports Websites
You know, I have thought about opening up some websites that I own. I own LaProSports.com and also the following sites:
- www.LaDodgerTalk.com
- www.LaLakerTalk.com
- www. LaAngelTalk.com
- www.LaRamTalk.com
- www.LaChargerTalk.com
- www.LaFootballTalk.com
Hummm… there’s a lot we could do with all that. I’ll probably sell them instead – I have no time. I have owned them for years. Do you know someone who wants to build a blog empire?
Dodger Top 30 Prospects
There will be a big shakeup in the Dodgers Top 30 prospects next season. Going into the season, here’s what I see as the TOP FEW:
- Kay Bear Ruiz
- Walker Buehler
- Alex Verdugo
- Mitch White
- Yusniel Diaz
- Will Smith
- Kyle Farmer
- Dustin May
- Luke Raley
- Matt Beaty
- Edwin Rios
- Dennis Santana
Arguably, you could put any one of about 10 other players in the TOP 10 and no one could say you were wrong. Players like Kendall, Alvarez, Lux, Sheffield, Heredia, Estevez, Oaks, Peters, Jackson, Marinan, Cooper, Wong and Robinson could be close. I don’t include Kendall because he’s too far away for me to project. Others do and that’s OK. I just can’t do it.
I would like to see a 7 or 8 inning start by Clayton today in which he totally dominates the Giants. I think that is something that is needed. The Indians are one game behind the Dodgers for best record in baseball. The Nats can’t catch the Dodgers, but Cleveland can.
P.S. I just bought a pristine copy of a 1977 Sporting News with these guys on it:
Discussion (20)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Mark, there isn’t any way to comment on your latest story.
Also, home field advantage is extremely tenuous. If the home team loses the first game of a series, home field advantage immediately flips.
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And home field doesn’t explain why wild card teams have gone on to win the WS.
Home field is nice to have, but not critical. Some examples:
2015 NLDS: Cards had home field against Cubs. Cubs won.
Dodgers had home field against the Mets. Mets won.
2016 NLDS: National had home field against the Dodgers. Dodgers won.
WS: Indians had home field against the Cubs. Cubs won.
As for home field in the WS, it’s not just Cleveland we have to think about. After today’s action the Indians have only a ONE game advantage over the Astros in the loss column. And unlike the teams in the NL over which the Dodgers have the advantage over ALL of them, their is no guarantee that the AL will be represented by either the Indians or the Astros. And of course, there is no guarantee that the Dodgers will get to the WS to make it matter.
Right now, all I care about is the Dodgers getting to the post season HEALTHY, and hopefully playing at the top of their game when the bell finally rings. As always, the post season is a crapshoot, and nothing will change that. A bounce here and a bounce there can make all the difference in the world.
I agreed Harlan.
Seems important to me.
Kershaw gets another weak lineup behind him today
Taylor
Seager
Bellinger
Granderson
Forsythe
Utley
Grandal
Joc
Those were the days when Sporting News was the best sports publication by far.
Don’t have a problem with trying to steal 2nd in that situation. The lack of slide is the issue to me. Almost as bad as the game where Turner got picked off 2nd without a slide and he got picked off by a catcher.
I have one more thought on Baez and Pederson. Why does it take four years to learn a lesson. Pederson still has not learned his lesson. I am an educator and we call these people slow learners. When I coached, if a player did not listen, he was sitting beside me on the bench. I guess these players are making so much money they do not have to listen.
The Dodgers have some really good farm kids. There is something going on in the minor leagues that is very good. I think they have good teachers throughout the minor league system. They are trying to develop the entire human body physically, mentally and socially. That is why they put a Spanish speaking coach on every team. I believe the Dodgers are going to be the model for all major league teams to follow. Some of these kids will make it and some will not. However, the Dodgers seem to know who to protect and who not to protect.
I watched very carefully what Baez threw last night. He was mixing up his pitches and looked much better. Even the announcers said the same thing. I know they have a game plan. However, why the difference between what Grandal called the other night and what Barnes called last night? You just cannot continue to throw fastballs to major league hitters. I am not advocating Baez be on the play off roster, but he looked better. I have said all year I do not like Grandal’s pitch selection. By the way, I think Barnes is almost as good as Grandal at framing a pitch. Barnes needs to be the starting catcher.