Kimbrel is Fixed… For Now!

That means he is really not fixed – you can just see the momentum shift as he throws strikes and then throws balls. I hope, wish, and pray he is fixed, but he’s not. I hope to the Big Dodger in the Sky that I am wrong. He’s Kenley Jansen revisited. The Dodgers will rue the day they did not DFA him. He looked great his last time out as well as in the 9th inning, but then the Dodgers had to rely on Chris Martin to bail them out. Craig Kimbrel will break our hearts… if allowed!

I would have taken him out after the 9th inning, but I am not going to criticize Doc for letting him in. I am sure Mark Prior endorsed it as well. I just thought Kimbrel should have had the opportunity to build on another good inning. It was a decision that was made, and I will not second guess it like many fans who have never had to make such a decision but are quick to criticize Doc when Doc has so much more inside information than them. I guess it makes them feel important to criticize the manager who has the best record in baseball (All-Time).

I see fans say, “that was a horrible decision.” OK, when things don’t work, yeah, it did not work out. But was it a horrible decision, or did the player just not execute? It’s like some fans think Doc does things just to lose the game. That is really some horrible thinking. No, it is a total lack of thinking! I call it “immense moronism.” Of course, Doc wants to win every game, but he also knows that JT had a low-grade fever, that Gavin LUx had a stiff neck, and Caleb Ferguson had an ingrown toenail removed today. I made all that up, but it’s stuff you will never know, that Doc does, and yet you pretend to know better than Doc. GROW UP!

In the 2019 playoffs, when Kershaw gave up two back-to-back Home Runs, was that on Doc? Hell no! Many Dodger fans blame Clayton, but Doc did not throw a pitch. Clayton himself will tell you he messed up. It was on Clayton. If Clayton had executed his pitches, he was out of the inning. He didn’t, and that was that. You can blame Doc, but I blame Clayton. Truth be known, Clayton blames himself too. It was not Doc’s managing that cost the Dodgers the win; it was Clayton’s lack of execution.

Why did Trayce not start against the RHP, because we all know he has reverse splits? Was he tweaked? Was he sick? Was he tired? Does he have a bad record against Lopez? No clue, but I guarantee that Doc wants to win as badly as anyone. Actually, more because he has financial incentives attached to winning… to say nothing of his job. Very few of us have a clue of what inside information Dave Robert has access to, but many pretend they do…. because… well, because it makes them feel important!

When something goes wrong, we like to be able to blame someone. “IT’S THEIR FAULT!” Doc can put the players in a position to be successful, but the rest is up to them. AS Bluto reminded us last night, the Dodgers are on track to win the most games in franchise history… barring a total collapse. And… let’s not forget how they did that:

• Justin Turner, Max Muncy, and Cody Bellinger underperformed much of the season.
• Craig Kimbrel was a bust as a closer for much of the season.
• Walker Buehler blew out his arm and was never a factor.
• Clayton Kershaw was on the DL twice.
• Relievers were dropping like flies, but Friedman bought them cheap and stacked them deep!

Despite the adversity, here they are. The best team in baseball with one of the most criticized managers because… well… I think most of you understand that to have the best manager’s record, you have to be pretty dang good. Dave Roberts is not perfect, but he has made more right decisions more often than not, and in fact, has made the right decisions more than any other manager in baseball since he started managing. Yes, Andrew Fredman gave him a good team, and Dave Roberts managed it accordingly.

I also think that if you understood how much Doc collaborated with the front office, you would understand that the decisions you place on him are the product of the Dodgers’ Braintrust. It is a fact that the Dodgers have an “Inner Circle” composed of about a dozen individuals who make these decisions and “brainstorm” situations and solutions. Who is in that group? Here’s the list:

• Andrew Friedman
• Dave Roberts
• Brandon Gomes
• Josh Byrnes
• Jeffery Kingston
• David Finley
• Ron Roenicke
• Pat Corrales
• Chase Utley
• Matt McGrath
• Jose Vizcaino
• Sam Elias

… and coaches like Mark Prior, Josh Bard, Conner McGuiness, and Danny Lehmann can also be involved. It could be an informal meeting or a Zoom call with 12 to 15 people on the call, discussing game planning and strategy. So, when you blame Dave Roberts for many of your imagined failings, you are really blaming the Dodger’s Braintrust. I guess that makes you smarter than them all. Andrew Friedman could just fire them and save a lot of money by only paying you. Ha, Ha!

The Dodgers are in a very good position right about now. Even losing Tony Gonsolin for a couple of weeks won’t hurt. In fact, it will likely help him be fresh… providing there really is really no bad underlying injury… just a strain. The thing is: the Dodgers play the injuries very close to their vests, so we really don’t know. What we do know is that the arm injury was of the degree that the Dodgers training staff were willing to sign their names and sign off to it, so it is not a phantom injury. Tony Gonsolin has pitched 128.1 innings and needs 33.9 innings in order to qualify for the ERA title. He will not likely get that requisite number of innings, but he can still win the Cy Young. It all boils down to who does what the rest of the way. Tony is in the running, but so are Sanda Alcantra and Julio Urias. Tyler Anderson has an outside chance.

It’s time to accept that in a short playoff series, this may be the Dodgers rotation:

1. Julio Urias
2. Dustin May
3. Tony Gonsolin
4. Clayton Kershaw

That leaves Heaney and Anderson to eat some chunks of the game. The truth is, the Dodgers could withstand another injury to their staff. Gonsolin may be out longer than we believe. Forearm strains are frequently indicators that Tommy John is imminent. The Dodgers think they caught it early, so he may be fine, but you never know. They have so many arms coming back that it is insane. Dave Roberts will only use Craig Kimbrel for one inning from now on… we have seen that movie, and it won’t happen again, but Man-O-Man, did Chris Martin sack up or what? Don’t forget about Andrew Miller and Gavin Stone as well.

Andrew Friedman is intrigued by Danny Duffy in high-leverage situations. He may just get his wish soon. This team is loaded, and it would be awesome to take two out of three from the Mets. Andrew Heaney takes the mound tonight!

Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Byk1mZmsy_4

Miguel Vargas is just getting his “man strength.” Watch out! No way the Dodgers trade this guy. He is going to be a star. Write it down.