You Can t Win em All!

I hope not, but there is a possibility that tonight could be Kershaw’s last start as a Dodger at Dodger Stadium.

Wow that was a long night and I’m going for a repeat tonight with my son… Back to back night games on this old guy is rough, but worth it.. Just start with Phillipes and jump the bus with the Blue crazies…

Ryu, Joc and Max $%T Muncy… Who knew…

Heed what MT said, Good pitching stops good hitting and were facing a good one in Freeland tonite…

Maybe you can’t win them all, but, paraphrasing Mick Jagger, if you try sometimes, you win what you need.

That was a very impressive win, much more like it.

Muncy looking much like his early season self, and Joc coming to the boil like he did this time last year.

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Kershaw & Beuhler Up next.

I have always worshiped Joc Pederson!

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Think: Dustin Pedroia

You guys above mentioned Deacon Liput. Who is he? Was he a draft pick this year? If so, how’d he do this year?

THE DODGERS JUST BROKE COLORADO’S SPIRIT!

If Puig only had a brain.

So StL is at Atl right now. That is a big series for us, as we’re tied with StL for that 2nd wild card, AND we’re close record-wise with Atl for home field in the NLDS.

Right now, StL is up 9-5 in the 8th

I sure nailed it when I said Joc Pederson should never hit leadoff again…

DODGERS ANNOUNCE ROSTER MOVES

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LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers today reinstated right-handed pitcher John Axford from the 10-day disabled list and left-handed pitcher Tony Cingrani from the 60-day disabled list, and recalled right-handed pitcher Yimi Garcia from Single-A Rancho Cucamonga.

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Axford, 35, has been on the disabled list since August 14, missing 30 games due to a fractured right fibula. Since being acquired from the Blue Jays on July 31, the Ontario, Canada native has appeared in three games with Los Angeles, allowing six runs over 3.1 innings and striking out four.

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Cingrani, who missed 89 games with a left shoulder strain, has posted a 1-2 record and 4.84 ERA (12 ER/22.1 IP) in 28 relief appearances with the Dodgers.

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Garcia, 28, will make his second stint with the big club after posting a 1-2 record with a 5.57 ERA (13 ER/21.0 IP) and striking out 17 against three walks in 22 relief appearances with Los Angeles this season.

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To make room on the 40-man roster, the Dodgers transferred right-handed pitcher Daniel Hudson to the 60-day disabled list (right forearm tightness).

Jeff Mcneil of the Metss is a very good example of how you must hit very well without home runs

Congrats lux aeterna & gonzo

Here’s the official press release:

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DODGERS NAME TONY GONSOLIN, GAVIN LUX AS THE BRANCH RICKEY MINOR LEAGUE PITCHER/PLAYER OF THE YEAR

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LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers today named right-handed pitcher Tony Gonsolin as the Branch Rickey Minor League Pitcher of the Year and infielder Gavin Lux as the Branch Rickey Minor League Player of the Year.

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In 26 combined starts this season with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga and Double-A Tulsa, Gonsolin has a 10-2 record with a 2.60 ERA (37 ER/ 128.0 IP), striking out a combined 155 batters against just 42walks. Gonsolin started his season in the California League, posting a 2.69 ERA (25 ER/83.2 IP) in 17 starts and was named a Mid-Season All-Star before his promotion to Tulsa on July 14. The 24-year-old then dominated in nine starts for the Drillers, going a perfect 6-0 with a 2.44 ERA (12 ER/44.1 IP), a 1.08 WHIP and a .203 opponent’s batting average.

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The Vacaville, California native was selected in the ninth round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of St. Mary’s College where he split playing time as an outfielder and pitcher before he transitioned to pitching full-time with the Dodgers. In 87 career minor-league games (26 starts), the right-handed pitcher went 18-10 with 10 saves, 3.14 ERA (80 ER/229.0 IP) and struck out 265 batters against 68 walks.

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Lux started 2018 with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga batting .312 (72-for-231) with eight home runs and 35 RBI and was named a Mid-Season All-Star. The 20-year-old continued his dominance in the second half of the season, slashing .346/.396/.528 and was selected as a post-season California League All-Star, to finish ranked among league leaders in average (.324, 3rd), OBP (.396, 2nd), SLG (.520, 3rd) and OPS (.916, 2nd). After 88 games with the Quakes, the Kenosha, Wisconsin native was promoted to Double-A Tulsa where he hit .324 (34-for-105) with four home runs, nine RBI and a .408 on-base percentage in 28 appearances.

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Since being selected as the first-round pick by the Dodgers in the 2016 draft, the shortstop has appeared in 283 career minor league games, slashing .288/.368/.432 with 22 homers, 54 doubles, and 117 RBI.

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Gonsolin and Lux will both be presented their respective awards and honored in a pregame ceremony at Dodger Stadium on Sept. 18 vs. Colorado.

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Branch Rickey Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year: 1989-2018

Year Player of the Year Pitcher of the Year

1989 Mike Huff, Albuquerque (OF) Jim Poole, Vero Beach (LHP)

1990 Henry Rodriguez, San Antonio (OF) Jamie McAndrew, Bakersfield/San Antonio (RHP)

1991 Eric Karros, Albuquerque (IB) Pedro Martinez, San Antonio/Albuquerque (RHP)

1992 Mike Piazza, San Antonio/Albuquerque (C) Todd Williams, Bakersfield/San Antonio (RHP)

1993 Billy Ashley, Albuquerque (OF) Kip Gross, Albuquerque (RHP)

1994 Billy Ashley, Albuquerque (OF) Greg Hansell, Albuquerque (RHP)

1995 Adam Riggs, San Bernardino (IF) Gary Rath, San Antonio/Albuquerque (LHP)

1996 Paul Konerko, San Antonio/Albuquerque (IF) Billy Neal, Vero Beach (RHP)

1997 Paul Konerko, Albuquerque (IF) Dennys Reyes, San Antonio/Albuquerque (LHP)

1998 Angel Peña, San Antonio (C) Luke Prokopec, San Bernardino/San Antonio (RHP)

1999 Chin-Feng Chen, San Bernardino (OF) Eric Gagné , San Antonio (RHP)

2000 Joe Thurston, San Bernardino (IF) Carlos Garcia, San Bernardino (RHP)

2001 Phil Hiatt, Las Vegas (IF) Ricardo Rodriguez, Vero Beach (LHP)

2002 Joe Thurston, Las Vegas (IF) Edwin Jackson, South Georgia (RHP)

2003 Franklin Gutierrez, VB/Jacksonville (OF) Greg Miller, Vero Beach/Jacksonville (LHP)

2004 Joel Guzman, Vero Beach/Jacksonville (OF) Chad Billingsley, Vero Beach/Jacksonville (RHP)

2005 Andy LaRoche, Vero Beach/Jacksonville (IF) Chad Billingsley, Jacksonville (RHP)

2006 James Loney, Las Vegas (1B) Mark Alexander, Jacksonville/Las Vegas (RHP)

2007 Chin-lung Hu, Jacksonville/Las Vegas (IF) James McDonald, Inland Empire/Jacksonville (RHP)

2008 Ivan De Jesus, Jr., Jacksonville (IF) James McDonald, Jacksonville/Los Angeles (RHP)

2009 Dee Gordon, Great Lakes (IF) Scott Elbert, Chattanooga/Albuquerque/Los Angeles (LHP)

2010 Jerry Sands, Great Lakes/Chattanooga (IF/OF) Rubby De La Rosa, Great Lakes/Chattanooga (RHP)

2011 Scott Van Slyke, Chattanooga (IF/OF) Shawn Tolleson, Great Lakes/Rancho/Chattanooga (RHP)

2012 Joc Pederson, Rancho Cucamonga (OF) John Ely, Albuquerque (RHP)

2013 Scott Schebler, Rancho Cucamonga (OF) Zach Lee, Chattanooga (RHP)

2014 Joc Pederson, Albuquerque (OF) Julio Urias, Rancho Cucamonga (LHP)

Corey Seager, Rancho Cucamonga/Chattanooga (IF)

2015 Alex Verdugo, Great Lakes/Rancho Cucamonga (OF) Zach Lee, Oklahoma City (RHP)

2016 Edwin Rios, Great Lakes/Rancho Cucamonga/Tulsa (IF) Brock Stewart, Rancho Cucamonga/Tula/Oklahoma City/LA (RHP)

2017 Keibert Ruiz, Great Lakes/Rancho Cucamonga (C) Walker Buehler, Rancho Cucamonga/Tulsa/Oklahoma City (RHP)

2018 Gavin Lux, Rancho Cucamonga/Tulsa (INF) Tony Gonsolin, Rancho Cucamonga/Tulsa (RHP)

Today the Dodgers named Gavin Lux their Branch Rickey Minor League Player of the Year, and Tony Gonsolin as Minor League Pitcher of the Year. In 524 PA across 2 levels, Lux batted .324/.399/.514/.913, with 50 extra base hits, 55 walks, and 88 K’s, primarily in the leadoff role. Gonsolin, also across 2 levels, in 128 IP had a 10-2 record, with a 2.60 ERA, 8 HR’s allowed, with 42 BB, and 155 K; 10.3K/9,

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The awards will be presented to both players in a pregame ceremony before tomorrow ‘s game against the Rockies.

Kemp not in tonight’s lineup again….Is he hurt or just in the doghouse?

Watford

Exactly!

We don’t want to go into SF with a record, that would allow the Giants to make a mark, on our season !

That would certainly be the Giant’s World Series this year, as poor, as they have played.

We have that bad habit of playing up, or down, to our competition.

Dionysis – What about Liput’s suspension for undisclosed reasons??? Immaturity???o

Is Ryu’s rough history with the Rockies both at Dodger Stadium and Coors, or is it only at Coors?

Great match-up tonight in ATL/STL game. Mikolas vs. Folty. Every time I’ve seen Folty pitch I’ve been impressed with how he maintains his velocity deep into games. The Wild Card spot is a like a hedged position in our Guggenheim portfolio. Nice to have it in our back pocket if the division slips away.

fan bingbing

Kudos Hawkeye, here’s hoping Kersh stays home!!!

As far as the analysis paralysis and critique on Kersh, I’ll not wade into that swamp…

Wainright was/is on a mission, nobody beats him yesterday…No One…

as if on cue, fangraphs has a new article on kershaw’s mix of pitches

The Dodger did what they had to in St Louis now it’s Colorado, San Diago, Arizona, and then the last 3 against the giants. The Dodgers really need to sweep the Rockies, and then take at least 2 of 3 in each of the last 3 series. I think 9 and 3 will give them the division,8 and 4 could just give them a tie with Colorado. It is going to be very hard, but they put themselves in this situation, now let’s see if they can work their way out.

Sometimes being less predictable is working both sides of the plate. That can be on the catcher and game planning too. Game 5 of the WS is a perfect example.

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Yes, sometimes it’s starting the first pitch with a slider rather than a fastball. Clayton has been doing both of those things the last few years but what makes him strong is his pitch efficiency and getting a head of hitters

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I listened to him interviewed the other day and he addressed those issues. He’s never been one to accept his body of work as a finished product. He’s still looking to improve.

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Having said all of that, Clayton has three pitches and always has. It’s locating the fastball, his slider, and his curve ball. When all three are on he’s unbeatable. When the fastball and slider are on, he’s still going to win most of the time. When he’s had zero off speed stuff he’s in trouble.

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Unfortunately do to his success he’s held to a higher standard. He’s pitched well all season but every time he loses or has a bad inning it’s time to criticize him or belly-ache about his contract

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As Dodgers fans we would be lucky to have him in the Dodgers uniform for the rest of his career.

potential playoff roster:

starting pitchers: kershaw, buehler, hill, ryu [4]

swingmen: stripling, wood, maeda [3]

bullpen: jansen, alexander, floro, ferguson, baez/urias/axford/cingrani/garcia/hudson/fields [5]

infielders: machado, turner, muncy, dozier, utley [5]

outfielders: bellinger, kemp, joc, puig [4]

utility: keekay/taylor [2]

catchers: grandal/barnes [2]

longshots: verdugo, locastro, farmer

no chance: toles, gale

Bad take Mark.

In Clayton’s last 10 starts he has given up more than 2 Earned Runs one time. He also hasn’t pitched less than 6 innings in any of those starts. I think he is doing just fine.

I’ll take Kershaw over Wainwright 7 days of the week. If Kershaw got the strike zone Wainwright got he’d never lose.

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I too would have loved the sweep knowing Ryu has had a rough history against Colorado. However we would have all jumped at the Dodgers taking 3 of 4 from St Louis and the Rockies losing 2 of 3. The Cardinals have a tough schedule the rest of the way with the exception of their series with the Giants.

we got ourselves into this mess. it’s on us to get us out. winning 3 of 4 in STL was exactly what we needed. time to win 2 of 3 against the rockies. then we can really step on the gas. the pennant is right there for the taking. if we need to go through the wild card, so be it. it’s just one extra game. maybe 12 will be easier to get to than 11 😉

Tonight’s game is big, but for me this is a big series. So while I would not be happy with a loss tonight, right now I’m focused on winning the series, and of course hoping for a sweep that will put us up 2 games in the loss column. 2 of 3 just gets us even in the loss column. And let’s not forget that we lost the first game in the last series we had with the Rockies, and then went on to win the next 3.

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Before yesterday I wasn’t thinking about winning out for the rest of the season. I had a more modest hope, being that we would sweep both the Cards and the Rockies. But nobody ever said that this would be easy.

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104 mph is impressive, but I’ve seen nothing to tell me that Hicks is unhittable. And apparently Hicks has had some growth in his velocity since last year. I looked at the Baseball America Prospect Handbook for 2018, and they had Hicks in the upper 90’s last year, and occasionally hitting triple digits. I believe that they also mentioned that he didn’t perform very well in the AFL. I believe he was a 3rd round pick, so there must have been some growth in his physical maturity.