Hang on for a Wild Ride!

Mark, I like your 2nd guessers are always right theory. However Robert’s make 2nd guessers have life nightly, and that is why he needs to go. Letting Ferguson face one in the 9th yesterday did not work out and it was the wrong baseball move. Robert’s was saved a la 2017 from his idiocy. Tonight he was not and his losing moves were as follows:

Grandal hitting .094 in his last 30 games, was allowed to hit in a game changing and winning spot. Also he is one of the worst hitters in the league with risp, actually bottom 5. Therefore, since we have three catchers on the roster, we have Dozier, Utley and Freese on the bench, what does he do let’s him bat and he strikes out. Then Puig, Up 2 and 0, likely to see a fastball, perfect hit and run opportunity to stay out of DP, not on Robert’s watch,inning ends. Our comes his trusty little notecard to write stick figures I would imagine?

Top 9, mostly lefties coming up, Maeda expressing in Texas about the anxiety of 9th innings, is sent back out. Ok but with expanded rosters let’s at least get Madsen up? No, empty pen, lead off double, empty pen still, hit Mcneil, okay Madsen to face Nimmo, no let’s just sit on my hands and try to pull one more rabbit out of my hat. Oh well, Kemp will save me tomorrow.

Don’t get me started on him managing the sixth inning like it was the season on the line instead of just going from Baez to Floro and leaving it at that. Then, guess what, still have Rosscup for a lefty in a tough spot when the game is really on the line. Oh like Nimmo in the 9th lol

He needs to go, please

Now this the LADT I remeber… The torches are burning and the villagers have hit cobblestones looking for Doc’s kids…

I think the Grandal abuse is now mind boggling…

We win the next two…Easy peasy…

Amazing. Wood gives up one run in 5 innings, and he is the problem. If velo was what identified a great pitcher, Greg Maddux would not be HOF. Maybe it is because Maeda is not the great reliever some think he is. He gives up a 3 run HR and Wood and his lower velo is the problem? And Kershaw and his drop in velo is not a problem? Roberts using 3 relievers in one inning is not a problem! It is Wood’s loss in velocity. Maybe FAZ should just put him on the DL for the rest of the season, then people would not have to worry about his drop in velo anymore.

Some of us thought that Verdugo should have been brought up earlier to help set the table. We found out tonight how wrong we were. Setting the table for the Dodgers is a waste of time, since no one will knock you in.

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Actually, with his ability to get on base via hits or walks, Verdugo should probably be leading off in front of Turner, Manny and Bellinger.

I agree, Grandal looked terrible striking out. It is on the players. They know what needs to be done. However, they all swing for the fence except Turner. This almost tells me it is a culture within the team or with management. We had runners on second and third and nobody has scored. A fly ball or a ground out will get us a run.

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Verdugo looks like a player. I was hoping to see Toles more, but they now have a long bench. These are four guys I wish would not see the field very often right now. They are Grandal, Taylor, Pederson, and Puig. Barnes is not any better. We just do not have a good situation at catcher. The only thing I can see with the catchers is let one play three innings and then pinch hit for him, then let another catch until the sixth inning and then pinch hit for him. We have four catchers now.

According to the Met announcers the ball Cody hit ricocheted off the wall directly to right fielder. With his speed Bellinger might have made it to second, and maybe not.

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Meanwhile why couldn’t Grandal hit that fly ball in his previous at bat?

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Therealten, can’t disagree that hitting for Grandal earlier might have been the best move at that time. It wouldn’t have been good for his ego, but it might also have served as a wake-up call for him to change his approach.

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Kemp choked!!! 🙂

Well we had beaten the Mets 12 straight games. We were due for a loss. Come back and take the next 2 and it’s all good.

And those at bats after Degrom left the game, were against the worse pen in all of baseball.

And we still couldn’t get the job done.

And no one even hit a solo HR against this bad pen.

I don’t think beating the Dbacks was a good gauge for us, because they were probably already on a downward trend, before they met us.

Don’t forget Grandal hit a wall last year and only got 1 start in the WS last year as I recall. Catching is a tough position that takes a heavy toll on your legs, but geez he’s horrible lately. 1st and 3rd w/ no outs all he needs is a fly ball and he K’s.

Loved the D-Backs series but this team is entirely too dependent on the long ball for runs. Can’t string together three or four hits in an inning= one run games. Gotta get fixed.

first place was fun, while it lasted

Well 1st place felt pretty good……………….for a moment.

Even the Mets can get a hit WRISP.

That was a pitiful at bat by Kike in the bottom 8th. He had no reason to swing at what he made strike 2. I like Kike, but he should of done a lot better than that.

1 for 7 RISP

For me the failure of the Dodgers to score with 1st and 3rd with no outs falls completely on Grandal’s shoulders. All he needed to do was make contact and hit a fly ball. But, he decides he has to hit it out on every swing. He had no good reason to get upset after that at bat, except to be upset at his own approach.

A few observations…

1 – Wood nibbles too much – so he doesn’t put hitters away. He doesn’t trust his stuff. He was really hanging his curve in the 5th

2 – Roberts’ management of the bullpen in the 6th was absurd. He burned 3 pitchers when he didn’t have to.

3 – Does Alexander make everyone else as nervous as he makes me?

4 – The 7th – 1st and 3rd and no one out, can’t score. Grandal looked pathetic up there.

Another dips.. non move by Roberts. Grandal has to be ph for in the clutch!! Puig is dp guy you have to start runner our fastest runner!!

Unreal the way this team strands runners. Grandal should have never hit. Puig has to go with the pitch. Just terrible.

Muncy ain’t no ballerina, but he gets the job done.

Is it my imagination, or has Wood been falling behind hitters after he gets ahead 0-2?

The Dodgers are going to have a plethora of Players eligible for Rule 5 and I don’t think they can keep them all:

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Rios

Joe

Ramos

Ahmed

Scavuzzo

Peter

Broussard

DODGERS WIN! DODGERS WIN!

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OKC Dodgers beat the Colorado Sky Sox four straight to make it to the postseason when five games ago all looked lost. Today they won 16-4 in the second game after taking the first contest 7-1. Both were 7-inning contests. They was four elimination games in two days.

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Connor Joe and Henry Ramos led the last four games after coming off the DL when four OKC Dodgers were called up to LA. Ramos went 13 for 17 with 11 runs batted in in the four games. Joe was only 8 for 12 with six walks.

. Ogden, Great Lakes, Rancho Cucamonga, Tulsa and OKC all head to the play-offs after the AZl Dodgers won their championship.

The last 2 years, Brian Dozier has hit 18 HR in September!

From a spectator’s perspective I’d like to see mil/col in the wild card.

Not thinking this way but we’re .5 GB of stl for wc2. Paybacks a muther

On a different note, the Indianapolis Indians were named the Ballpark Digest 2018 Team of the Year.

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https://ballparkdigest.com/2018/08/31/2018-ballpark-digest-team-of-the-year-indianapolis-indians/

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Mark and I have had an ongoing discussion regarding the prospective success of the current LAD bullpen. We already know that Urias will not be in the mix. Many of us thought that would be the case, but others believed he was going to come back and be effective and that was a reason the Dodgers did not need to get an elite reliever. Sure, starting pitchers like Stripling, Maeda, Ferguson, and Wood can join the bullpen, but they are starting pitchers. They are not used to getting up multiple times in a game or going in back to back games. Only once has Ferguson come in in back to back games, and in that game, he gave up a 3 run HR against the Giants. I will say again that there are very very few more supportive fans of Caleb Ferguson than me. But he is less than 1 year removed from A Ball and putting him in late inning high leverage situations is not his strong suit right now. It may be next year, but in a pennant crunch, that is not who I would look to.

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When was the last time Stripling was productive and effective in a high leverage relief situation? In his 11 games in relief in 2018, only two games were in a hold situation. Last year, Stripling had 4 holds, 5 losses, 3 wins, 2 saves, and 3 blown saves. Strip has become an excellent starting pitcher and his stuff can probably transfer to relief, but do you really want trust Strip in multiple high leverage situations in the final 3 weeks (not two months).

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Maeda is good in perhaps multiple inning situations, but high leverage late inning? Back to back days? He has relieved 5 games this year, and in only one has he had as few as 2 days’ rest. In the 5 relief appearances, his average days rest is between 3 and 4 days. Jansen has gone back to back to back. That is what is needed, not starting pitchers who can provide multiple innings relief, but not successive days.

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Let’s take a look at 4 late inning high leverage relievers who were traded at the deadline: Jeurys Familia, Keona Kela, Brad Brach, and Ryan Pressly.

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Jeurys Familia – 19 games (21 IP) since the trade to Oakland. 6 back to back days, 4 with 1 day rest, and 0 days with more than 3 days’ rest. In those 19 games, 15 have been scoreless, and in 2 of those games, 5 of the 7 runs were scored. 1 HR, 7 walks, and 28 K’s. 4 holds, 0 blown saves, 4 wins, 1 loss. Remember he once had a 53 game consecutive save streak.

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Keona Kela – 15 games, 14.1 IP after trade to Pittsburgh. 13 games were scoreless, 1 with 1 run, and 1 with 4 runs (09/01). That one game shot Kela’s ERA up. In the 15 games, he has 4 holds 0 blown saves, 2 HR, 5 BB, and 22K’s. He was in 4 back to back games (including the one he gave up 4 runs), 6 with 1 day, 3 with 2 days, 1 with 3 and 1 with 4 (just after acquisition). In August, he appeared in 14 games and had a 0.63 ERA.

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Brad Brach – 16 games since trade to Atlanta with a 0.63 ERA. After sitting out 5 days before his 1st appearance, he spent the next 15 games never going over 2 days rest; 3 back to back, 5 with 1 day rest, and 7 with 2 days rest. 13 games he held the opponent scoreless. He has allowed 0 HRs, 7 walks, and 14 K’s. Since the trade, 7 holds, 1 blown loss, 1 win, and 1 loss.

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Ryan Pressly – 15 games, 14.1 IP, 1.23 ERA since trade to Houston. 6 holds and 1 blown save. 1 HR, 0 walks, and 19 K’s. 2 back to back games, 7 with 1 day rest, 4 with 2 days, 1 with 4 days, and 1 with 5 days. 13 of the 15 games were scoreless, and the other two games only 1 run was allowed.

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It might have been nice to have at least 2 of these guys in August when we needed relievers, instead of 5 consecutive blown save losses. All four of these late inning high leverage relievers were available. How many of these relievers could the Dodgers have traded for with Yusniel Diaz, Rylan Bannon, Zach Pop, Dean Kremer, Breyvic Valera, Luke Raley, and Corey Copping. The area that needed the most help was the bullpen, not a SS or 2B. If we had 2 of them, we could be comfortably in 1st place.

well OKC won that first game today. Next game is for all the marbles!

Watching all kinds of baseball today. Everybody’s bullpen sucks 🙂

Today vs deGrom:

Joc

JT

Manny

Muncy (2b)

Verdugo (CF)

Belli

Grandal

Puig

Wood

Great read indeed.

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I must admit I am one of those old guys who loved the game as it “used to be”. The human aspect- spirit, determination, awareness, etc. – is all important to me as you can’t measure it and it is what wins games when analytics are used equally on both sides. That is why I gravitate to minor league ball where the game is still a game and the youngsters are not nearly as much placed into slots because of numbers on paper. They are allowed to play, especially at the lower levels.

What Analytics Missed About Matt Kemp

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http://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/la-sp-dodgers-dugout-kemp-20180903-story.html#

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Great Read!

Josh Sborz just induced a fly ball for a third out with the bases loaded and the OKC Dodgers up 4-1. He replaced Zach Neal. That is what I call a true “save”.

Catcher Hunter Feduccia of the Loons just picked a runner off first base with the bases loaded and two out. No score in the bottom of the seventh.

I’ll preface this with I happen to like Machado…

MT says ‘little pop’ and I smile…

Coming to the Blue he avg’d 35/92… Not too shabby for a middle infielder… Ray Charles knows that!!!

I hope he’s here, but we’ll see!!! M.T. still pining on Yas

I don’t think Seager returns to SS nor do I think it would be prudent and as someone said, having Manny , Seager, Turner and the Kid in a middle of a lineup = Sweet…

I agree Bobby, Machado may be worth only 5/80 but Boras will laugh at 5/180. Dodgers are likely out, I feel we should make a run at Harper. Likely will be out bid on him by someone.

Any chance we make a play for DJ Lamathieu, maybe like 4/60 or 5/70. I feel he would be a great fit here at 2nd?

Any word on Buehler? Fo him to complain seems concerning, landing foot injuries are problematic.

Yadier Alvarez is pitching right now for Tulsa, following a great 6ip of shutout ball by Mitchell White.

Let’s see if these announcers discuss what happened yesterday.

5/80 for Machado? Comedy. Let’s also offer Kersh 5/60, Harper 6/90, and Dozer 2/10 while we’re at it. Let’s pretend we’re back in 1996 all over again.

Yeah, I’d throw money at the International Market as often as I could.

I realize the new CBA limits the Dodgers’ ability to spend money in Cuba and maximize their revenue advantage, but they can still outspend 80% of the other teams in scouting.

Remember it’s the Int’l money that help facilitate the Machado trade.

Throwing good money after bad is usually not a wise practice, in this case it is IMO.

Keep in mind, we lose today and Colorado/Arizona win, we are out of first and tied for second with Arizona, Milwaukee and St Louis still hold the Wild Cards, this is not the time to let the foot off the gas petal

The dog days of summer are over and evenings are cooling and Kemp might be getting a second wind unless he has packed on weight. For some reason hitting is contagious. Machado didn’t start the fire, maybe Kemp did.

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Taylor vs. Dozier at second. A toss up?

I really think Kemp’s heroics just might be the spark at points this team needed to charge. That Dodgers are likely seeing themselves as belonging in their dream vision. Baez’ seems more mentally healthy and a little confidence is what was needed to be a major fix in the BP. Hopefully he’s a spark too. These guys need to know they belong then it’ll all come together. Dodgers, remember the Alamo!!! Or just remember Game 7 2017 WS is not the real you. And the chance to right that is at your fingertips. Grasp it like Kemp did these last couple games.

Machado – I was certainly in favor of the trade. Regardless as to how it eventually turns out, I will always agree with the trade. I expected much MUCH more from Machado, and I hope the next 25 games will deliver. But if not, it will be time to move on. 5 years $80MM looks about right. I have never believed the Dodgers were going to sign him this winter anyway; nor Harper. That is just not what FAZ does. They will be looking for complimentary pieces, not window dressing.

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Urias – I did not believe he would be an effective bullpen piece in September. It was just too traumatic of an injury and resulting surgery to overcome. I only hope we see a 90% Urias next Spring. Shoulder surgeries are not the same as TJ which have become much more successful over the past 40 years. Below are a couple of articles on the chances of Urias returning to be the same pitcher as he was. The first one is very technical, and the second very subjective with not a lot of data. But neither give the reader a lot of hope that the post surgery Urias will be as good as the pre surgery Urias. Oh that Chris Sale trade would sure look good right about now. Maybe Dodgerrick can find some other studies that are easier to read.

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3899910/

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http://www.baseballessential.com/news/2015/12/28/what-is-the-success-rate-of-shoulder-surgery/

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The loss of Urias, the apparent reluctance to use Fields (another shoulder), Venditte (AAAA), and Rosscup (AAAA) shows just how fragile the bullpen is. Does anyone believe Cingrani (shoulder) is going to come back and provide meaningful relief? John Axford? He cannot make any rehab assignments so how is he going to be ready? We know how no rehab assignments work (right Kenley?) The bullpen was a mess in July and in August and the only ML addition is Ryan Madson, and just for September. IMO that was an ostrich syndrome…hiding your head in the sand and hoping the problem just goes away. It was not realistic. Now they are going to need to make due with bubble gum, paper clips, and baling wire and hope that the bullpen stays afloat.

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I am happy for Matt Kemp. He is back where he always wanted to be, and he has been a hero in back to back games after keeping the team relevant in the beginning of the season. It sure would be nice to see Machado have just one of those at bats.

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Alvarez – Entitled, petulant, selfish, egocentric. Have I left anything out? Using MT symbolism, even Ray Charles could see this was coming. I had the feeling that Alvarez was not going to be the anointed one when he showed up 40-50 pounds overweight in 2017. He dominated rookie ball at 20. Okay but that is really nothing special. He has not been successful since. It is time to forget about Alvarez and move on to players who want to compete and compete with the team he is assigned. I would not send him to Miami, because he would like that. I would send him to Tampa or Seattle or Toronto.

Can Archie Bradley pitch for the visitors the rest of the season? Great job by the starting pitching all weekend. The bats and Roberts lineups were an entirely different story.