I am just going to say it, even if it costs me my media access… wait, I don’t have media access anymore, so here goes:
Dave Roberts is dumber than a bag of hammers if he left Pedro Baez in to allow 5 runners to get on base and all score. Even Ray Charles could see that Baez was a “deer in the headlights.” We all knew what was going to happen. We have seen this movie too many times. Is Doc really that dumb? Or… is he at odds with FAZ about Baez being on the team and he left Pedro in to force FAZ to designate him? Or… maybe Pedro has pictures of Doc in compromising positions? Whatever it is, it’s maddening and has to stop. Maybe this is why FAZ has not extended Roberts. I have been a huge supporter of Doc, but this is just too much!
That said, it was a great comeback, against the highest paid bullpen in the major leagues. As I have often said, relivers are a fickle bunch – we all wanted Kyle BearClaw who had a 1.28 ERA the first half of the season, but has a 22.24 ERA the second half. Past performance is no guarantee of future prospects – that is especially true with relievers. Look at what the Rockies bullpen makes:
- Wade Davis – $16 Million (plus 2 more years $36 million) – 5.51 ERA (6 blown saves)
- Brian Shaw – $7.5 Million (plus 2 more years $20.5 million) – 6.45 ERA (4 blown saves)
- Jake McGee – $7.5 Million (plus 2 more years $20.5 million) – 6.63 ERA (2 blown saves)
- Mike Dunn – $7.0 Million (plus 1 more year $8 million) – 9.00 ERA – 9.00 ERA
- Adam Ottavino – $7.0 million – 1.63 ERA (3 Blown saves)
$45 Million doesn’t buy the kind of bullpen it used to! What a trainwreck! The Rockies have nearly $50 million in bullpen arms and they are 29th out of 30 teams in MLB. The Dodgers only spent $5.00 on their bullpen and they are ranked #12 out of 30. They are actually 7th in the NL while the Rockies are last. However, when Ryu and Urias return, the bullpen will get even better. I have been saying for a while that this team is built for the playoffs. Of course, next there is the case of Kenley Jansen who has experienced heart problems in the past and is currently hospitalized in LA with an irregular heartbeat. He could be out for the series or out for the year. It is silly to try and guess – who knows? We all hope it’s just the series, but we will find out.
Who Closes Now?
As I said, relievers are fickle. Boston is finding that out right about now. Craig Kimbrel had a 1.77 ERA before the All-Star Break, but has had a 7.11 ERA since and has blown 4 saves. He has been regarded as one of the best closers in the game… so you never know. I guess the Dodgers could try Marshall Kasowski, but he needs another pitch, is not on the 40-man and isn’t ready… so there is that!
Most likley, it will be bullpen by committee with Floro, Alexander, Chargois, Ferguson and maybe Maeda in the mix. Whoops, I forgot Axford, Fields and Cingrani! But, I keep asking “Why Axford?” Axford? Maybe they know something we don’t… or maybe he has photos of FAZ… Hummmmm… Actually, it’s just next man up!
Other Stuff
- Chicken Strip was awesome with his return from the DL. It seems like it was fatigue.
- My Colts looked pretty good and with a little Luck could make the playoffs.
- Anyone want to bet me that the Lakers will win more games than the Pacers? I say no!
Discussion (61)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Why is Axford on the team if he never pitches?
Should have went Chargois, Floro and then Alexander. Rosscup for two innings come on, thx for throwing a run away in the sixth with Maeda basically done, Baez last night, how many more games you going to toss in the trash ROBERTS
Urias started for Rancho tonight. 1 2/3 IP, 3 hits, 1 run on a HR, 1bb, 2k. I’d love to know how hard he was throwing
Bleacher report said he touched 95
How about going to your three best relievers right now for the 7th, 8th and 9th Roberts? No lets out Rosscup our there for one more inning, incredible managing roberts. Jansen saves Roberts a lot over the years, no crutch now and we are in for a tough month.
But who are the 3 best relievers? What Roberts has available is not too good. The Braintrust got the ‘Cup and the ‘Axe and that’s it. If Alexander is now the closer, then who do you put in? The cupboard is bare. It’s at least partially the ‘Trust’s fault.
The ‘Cup!
Now the Axe?
And Maeda got one out and was lifted, Roberts does this shirt all the time, drop the hammer at season’s end.
That was infuriating and reflective of why Roberts is a terrible in game manager. It is the 5th inning, we are up 1, man on 3rd and 1 out. Maeda at 88 pitches, has struggled all night except the last inning and Roberts lets him bat. The maximum we get out of Maeda is one more inning, is that worth not scoring a run. I realize it is not guarantee they score there but the likelihood goes way up. There is also no guarantee Maeda makes it through the 6th, knowing Roberts he will let him face one hitter and then lift him. Brain surgeon Doc Roberts
Close – he pitched to 2 batters. Then the ‘Cup comes in. Great.
Adam asked “is that worth not scoring a run”
That’s actually a good question. 1 run, in the 6th, vs helping the bullpen by having them pitch less, in Coors Field. What is a run worth in Coors? Is 1 run huge? Or is a fresher bullpen more important? I don’t know the answer, especially in Coors. But I don’t think it’s a no brainer answer either way.
Now taking Maeda out after facing 1 more batter is a different question. I think I’d pinch hit and try for the run. But not an easy answer either way
Bobby
Well thought out, and I think your right.
It isn’t as easy, as we think.
Colorado is just a different animal, especially with an iffy pen.
I was just about to post the same thing. He does it on a regular basis. Pitcher hits we don’t score, goes out to pitch, Roberts takes him out. Maeda is a warrior but also pretty much a 5 inning pitcher. He already had 90 pitches roughly. He definitely should have taken him out after 5 but some more Roberts genius. Well at least the cup got them.
Maeda to pen
Hatcher available – A’s DFA him.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/08/athletics-designate-chris-hatcher.html
If the Braintrust like El Gasolino, then why not add Hatcher?
Dodgers starting their closer tonight.
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Anybody know the speed of Stewart’s fastball lately?
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Baez has heard everybody’s vocal exhaust and is whistling down the wind. Here is the latest from Baez:
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Whistle down the wind
Let your voices carry
Drown out all the rain
Light a patch of darkness
Treacherous and scary
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Howl at the stars
Whisper when you’re sleepy
I’ll be there you hold you
I’ll be there to stop
The chills and all the weeping
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Make it clear and strong
So the whole night long
Every signal that you send
Until the very end
I will not abandon you my precious friend
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So try and stand the tide
Then you’ll raise a banner
Send a flare up in the sky
Try to burn a torch
And try to build a bonfire
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Every signal that you send
Until the very end
I’m there
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So whistle down the wind
For I have always been
Right there
Oh yeah
You could have at least quoted the Tom Waits version.
Okay, here you go:
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I grew up here all of my life
But I dreamed someday I’d go
Where the blue eyed girls and red guitars
And the naked rivers flow
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I’m not all I thought I’d be
I’ve always stayed around
And I’ve been as far as Mercy and Grand
Frozen to the ground
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I can’t stay here and I’m scared to leave
So kiss me once and then
I’ll go to hell
I might as well
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Be whistlin’ down the wind
The buses at the corner
The clock on the wall
Broken down windmill
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There’s ain’t wind at all
And I’ve yelled and I’ cursed
If I stay here I’ll rust
I’m stuck like a shipwreck
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Out here in the dust
The sky is red, and the world is on fire
And the corn is taller than me
And the dog is tied to a wagon of rain
And the road as wet as the sea
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Sometimes the music from a dance
Will carry across the plains
The places I’ve been dreaming of
Dream only of your face
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There are places where they never sleep
And the circus never ends
So I will take the Marley Bone Coach
And be whistlin’ down the wind
So I will take the Marley Bone Coach
And be whistlin’ down the wind
Good man. I first saw him at the Troubadour in the early ’70s.
Grandal and Joc batting .154 against Gray while Manny is 1-3 with a homer. What did you expect from Doc?
Pederson LF
Turner 3B
Grandal C
Dozier 2B
Bellinger CF
Taylor SS
Muncy 1B
Puig RF
Maeda P
No Manny….
Logan Forsythe batting cleanup for the Twins tonight
Yeah exactly. The health is immensely more important that any think. He takes his time
So 10 days y not 1 month?
Minimum of 10 days from yesterday.
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I am not a cardiologist, but I doubt they know either.
DODGERS PLACE KENLEY JANSEN ON DL
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LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers today placed All-Star closer Kenley Jansen on the 10-day disabled list with an irregular heartbeat and recalled switch-handed pitcher Pat Venditte from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
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Jansen, 30, who will be placed on the disabled list for the first time this season and for the second time in his career with an irregular heartbeat (July 29-August 25, 2011), was selected as an All-Star for the third consecutive year in 2018. In 51 appearances with the Dodgers this season, he has gone 0-3 with 32 saves and has posted a 2.15 ERA (13 ER/54.1 IP), while striking out 61 batters against 14 walks. The right-hander is currently tied with Rockies’ closer Wade Davis for the National League lead in saves, while also ranking among NL relievers in opponents’ OBP (.228, 5th), WHIP (0.90, 6th), strikeouts (61, T-8th), opponents’ OPS (.523, 8th) and opponents’ batting average (.175, 9th)
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Venditte, 33, will make his seventh stint with the big league club this season and has appeared in five games with Los Angeles allowing four runs over 4.1 innings (8.31 ERA), while striking out four against one walk. In 42 relief outings with the OKC Dodgers, the ambidextrous pitcher has gone 4-2 with four saves and has posted a 1.68 ERA (9 ER/48.1 IP), while holding the opposition to a .162 average. He has also punched out 59 batters against 14 walks, while posting a 0.85 WHIP.
Baez reminds me of Hatcher. You just cannot trust him. It is nice for Doc to have faith in Baez, but when does the light go on in Doc’s head. Send him to AAA and then you do not have to worry anymore about Baez. Doc is just lucky the team bailed him out. In my opinion, Rosscup, Axford and Baez do not belong. I would rather have any AAA reliever up than those three. Bring up Urias. Beuhler, Stripling, or Maeda will have to go to the pen. Especially now that Jansen is gone.
Hatcher DFA today.
don’t even think about it … 😉
After further review, maybe Striker Buehler becomes the closer… just this year.
Anyone at AAA who can be acquired to help? I don’t recall if the waiver rules are different for minor leaguers. I think it’s a bit different. Nothing is coming from a major league roster that won’t put them over the luxury tax.
“Nothing is coming from a major league roster that won’t put them over the luxury tax.”
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And therein lies the rub. I am still amazed that we were able to get under the luxury tax threshold this year. What we have is what we will likely ride through to the end, whenever that will be.
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We do have some pieces in the starting rotation that can help bolster the pen. Massaging the egos is something Doc does well. Time for him to earn his contract offer for next year.
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Given the rules the way they are, we were going to have to get under the threshold at some time. I thought it would be next year, but the front office pulled off some amazing trades to do it this year. Think of it as our rebuilding year.
I agree Baez has no business on the roster but since he is you have to pitch him. The perfect spot was when we got beat 10 run rule vs. the lastros. Maybe he did pitch I turned it off. If Baez had 3-4 days off why did he pitch Chargois 2 days in a row and multiple innings. Why acquire Axford if he isn’t going to pitch. Put him in and if he gets in trouble take him out. Baez should have been taken out last night period. He had a short bullpen why he had Axford, Venditte, etc. if they can’t pitch get them off the roster. I agree we all new the bullpen needed help from the beginning so faz has not supplied the team with good options. I believe that Roberts was outmanaged in the World Series because he tried to get by with Maeda, Jansen, Watson, morrow, Cingrani who were good but overused. Primarily, morrow, Jansen, Maeda overused. Fields, McCarthy etc were just suit fillers who cost the Dodgers, plus the Kershaw meltdown and Roberts not letting hill go further. I blame faz the bp roster but Roberts has got to use the players he has not to overuse others.
Gross negligence, deliberate indifference and frequenting a common nuisance. Sue for treble damages on account of he’s a fraud.
Hahaha! I love it… now we’re getting somewhere.
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Maybe we can we get him arrested for impersonating a big league manager?
Impersonating a doctor… they call him “Doc”
Manager of the year in 2016. The next season he wins 104 games and gets to game 7 of the world series.
Yet people blaming him for management’s failures and ownership’s “fixed budget”. All while they continue to lick the butts of management like Trump does with Putin.
Maybe some fans should be sued for nonsense comments and jumping on and off the bandwagon when it’s convenient for them.
on a more serious note, anyone think Strip or Wood would accept a move to the bullpen now to help the team, especially since Kenley is out for a month?
Even with the manager of the year award and the 104 victories, Doc has always mishandled the pitchers
Haha! He’s not even a real doctor!!!
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Oh man, even just the imaginary trial of Dave Roberts is making me so much happier today.
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If you don’t laugh about these things you will indeed turn into that person muttering to yourself in the grocery store.
Is it worse if i mutter to myself even when not in the grocery store?
Ha! It sounds like you might have a pretty bad case of PeteySD!!
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I suggest you stop whatever it is you’re doing and head to the nearest psychiatrist’s office.
Honeycut looks about a clueless on the bench as Dave does over the past two years. Whenever I see him on the phone to the bullpen, I always assume he thinks he’s ordering a pizza from Domino’s.
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Not getting rid of Baez 2 or 3 years ago is insane enough. Keeping him around, bringing him into the game last night, and then leaving him in there as long as Dave did is just simply managerial malpractice. I know there’s a few lawyers on here… do we have a case for some kind of fan initiated class action lawsuit?
Maybe we can sue the FO and Dave for mental anguish or emotional distress? Or possibly for depraved indifference?
IF Roberts is the one making the decision on who to bring into the game (pitchers), why not give the choice to Honeycut? Doc did make the right decisions with pinch hitters last night! Baez should not be one of the options.
Agree with Bobby. Roberts was placed in a tough position last night by a limited bullpen, and the knowledge he had (and we didn’t) that the Dodgers still had 3 more games left in hitter friendly Coors without Kenley, and the prospect that Kenley could be out indefinitely.
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No way to know what theDodgers will do next. I’m sure that they’ve been in discussions with other teams for potential August deals. I’m not sure what internal options are being considered, but whatever they’re considering, it will be hard, and probably impossible to replace Kenley.
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On the plus side, if the Dodgers don’t implode without Kenley for the next month or so, he would be well rested come playoff time, assuming the Dodgers get there.
You can cry about it or just man up.
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This is where charater is built.
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I imagine the Yankees were depressed when Wally Pipp went down. Sometime the Gehrigs appear when you least expect it.
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I LOVE THIS GAME!
Maybe this turns out to be a silver lining. Someone like Alexander steps up and becomes a lights out closer. We can always hope. I still think Maeda can fill the position admirably, if only the front office thought the same.
I pretty much agree with Bobby regarding Roberts and his use of Baez last night. Roberts was definitely was working with a limited bullpen last night, which was compounded by the knowledge he had (and none of us had at the time), that Jansen was out at least for this series, and for a time to come. And that was compounded by the fact that there are still 3 more games left in hitter friendly Coors.
Jansen out for a month http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24339788/kenley-jansen-los-angeles-dodgers-expected-miss-month-irregular-heartbeat
Not sure how Olney got a month out of that. If so, they’ve got big problems.
With Kenley out last night, and with Floro having pitched a few days in a row, Baez was needed yesterday, especially in the 7th inning. He choked again, and that should hopefully be his last game in LA.
I’m not ready to fire Doc like half of you; he was dealt a bad hand with a limited bullpen yesterday. I hope by putting him in there and watching him fail, upper management realizes he’s not worthy of a major league roster. If you want to blame and fire Doc, then fire the idiots who put Baez on the MLB roster.
Good points as usual…I like Doc, he plays everyone and is a we not me kind of skipper. He is still relatively new to managing and will surely improve but his in game decisions leave me scratching my head but for the most part work out. Should we give him credit for the 2 PH HR’s in one inning? I really don’t think he is going anywhere anytime soon. Faz has input but I think the lineups and batting orders are his call, at least I hope so. In closing the players seem to play hard for him and that’s half the battle.
Wouldn’t it have been nice to have Keone Kela to come in the 7th inning last night? That is what he has done 3 times for Pittsburgh since he was traded…0 runs, 3 hits, 1 BB, 5K.
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Or how about Jose Leclerc who has appeared in 2 games in his new closer’s role since Kela was traded, and has not allowed a baserunner.
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Or let’s go back to the off-season when Tony Watson was still available. Instead FAZ looks for another bargain in Tom Koehler and spends $2MM doing so. They could have had Tony Watson for 2 years at $7MM. All he has done for the Giants is pitch 53 games, 49.2 IP, 11 BB, 50K, 1.99 ERA, 1.007 WHIP, and a 200 ERA+. He has also only allowed 3 HRs all season. Gee do you think LAD could have used him again?
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Now the Dodgers have a reliable bullpen of Alexander, Floro, Chargois, and Ferguson. None of them bring up memories of Gagne, Britton, Chapman, Miller, Cody, Hand, or Kimbrel. But they should not have to. They will get hit at times, but they have performed much better than any were anticipated to. Before the season, Zaidi said that the bridge would be more than adequately staffed with Garcia and Cingrani. Without saying so, I am sure they were also thinking that Baez would be in that role. How did that work out?
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I am not crazy about either Shawn Kelley or Fernando Rodney, but at least the A’s are trying. Zaidi did not learn enough from Beane. When you get a chance…go for it. The available pitching was thin at the trade deadline, but now it is non-existent.
While I think Roberts is awful with his use of the pitching staff as well as with the starting line-up, the reason Baez is still allowed to tarnish a Dodger’s uniform is all on FAZ. They are the ones who make the big-money decisions, not Doc.
I look at it a little bit differently. I think Roberts loves Baez. He is the one that kept putting him in high leverage games last year and is doing so again this year because he believes in Petey, and has said so waaaaaay too many times. FAZ took that option away for the playoffs, or we know Baez would have been in those high leverage situations…probably to relieve Kershaw.
I have two seats section 507 row 1 for all Colts games for sale.
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Lakers vs Pacers? That would be intersting. They split their two games last year. If the Lakers were in the crappy East last season they were a playoff team.
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Maeda needs to go to like yesterday. Next guy that comes off their phantom dL trip needs to send Maeda to the pen. These final games need to be played like it’s the wild card game and they’re facing elimination.
Have you lost faith in the Colts?
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I’ll ask about the tickets. How much do you want?
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You can e-mail me at mark@uswatersystems.com
No. My son has fall baseball on Sundays until the end of October. I just can’t make as many as in the past. I have soured in the NFL and all of its penalties. It’s become hard to watch.
With Kenly out for a month, Maeda needs to go to the pen now to close out games. This bullpen makes me very uncomfortable, I hope FAZ has another trick up there sleeves because the train wreck is just about to happen.