Back From the Grave

Bummer to hear Max wont be good to go tonight. Dodgers now need a white knight riding in on a black horse waving a magic sword to win game 6.

I remember Mitch White throwing 7.1 scoreless innings as a bulk pitcher this season .

With him at least the “white” part would be fulfilled…

Dodgers are snake bit this season with injuries and the TB saga.

Shades of 88 `? Tons of injuries, a somewhat beaten up rotation, a key player suspended and makeshift lineups every game.

Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Price would not have been activated if he hadn’t been throwing and working out while off roster. He might be able to get through 3 innings.

Late word is Price will get the start…..do not quote me on that. I only post what I hear…

Well half of my prediction came true. The Astros made it to the World Series. Now the other half of my prediction is the Dodgers to the World Series. I went with team OPS stats (both offense and pitching) for my prediction.

My final overall prediction is the Dodgers as World Series champions. Same thing using team OPS stats as my prediction.

What’s up with the rumor that Scherzer is not starting tomorrow?

I can’t believe that I of all people has been banned from McCovey Chronicles

Max isn’t a quitter, so he really must be hurt/done.

So with Scherzer out, we have 6 options:

1) Bullpen game

2) Price (probably isn’t ready to go more than 2 innings even if he pitches well)

3) White

4) Jackson

5) Gonsolin

6) Buehler on short rest (I would definitely not go with this one)

Also, we don’t know if Bruihl can pitch.

If Max is put on the IL, that would mean he couldn’t pitch in the WS either (although odds of getting that far are getting less and less by the minute)

Max will not start tomorrow.

I’d like to see two more bullpen games and bring Scherzer and Buehler in late to relieve. That would give LADT about 6 more months of rants and raves if it didn’t work out

We don’t need Scherzer and Buehler to throw two jewels, I only ask for 5 IP, from both of them, with a maximum of two runs allowed and if the bullpen is at the usual level the chances of winning this are very good; Yesterday we saw the real offense of the Dodgers and they crushed them, they are far superior, you just have to prove it, that offense has to stay alive, they just have to be themselves and then this team will go straight to win the World Series.

Does anyone know if the game will be moved from 5:00 to 8:00 EST tomorrow if Boston loses tonight?

Kike just made the exact same error in cf as Lux did in game 3.

Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In golf, one definition of a good drive is any drive you can find. You never know for sure until you are far enough down the fairway to see your ball.

We will be far enough down the fairway this Saturday or Sunday. In the meantime we are just taking practice swings.

I hope the Dodgers can move forward without removing Bruihl off the roster. If Max shows up with his good stuff they shouldn’t need him tomorrow night.

I am very happy we finally have Atlanta on their heels. Momentum is a thing in this game. And, for the moment, that momentum is on our side. Nobody takes a loss like last night without being shaken.

That said, I find so much of the pontificating going on here, and everywhere else in Dodger land, tiresome. I agree with Mark. I find it’s the fans who are overthinking and over analyzing; not Dave Roberts.

Baseball is a tough sport. But what makes any given single game exciting is that anything can happen in that single game. Over 162 games, factors like luck, weather and injuries tend to become diluted. The best teams will almost always have the best records (obviously not always.. 2021 Giants). But in a single game the best team isn’t always going to win. In a 5 or 7 games series, the best team often doesn’t win. And there are reasons for that.

Luck, injuries and other challenges become vastly more impactful in the playoffs. Additionally, the strategies of each team changes drastically. By design and necessity. A team doesn’t (and shouldn’t) take the same approach in a game in July verses a playoff game. Especially an elimination game. And they know the other team will employ different strategies as well, which has to been taken into consideration with your own strategy.

It’s very similar to poker. There is one strategy a player will employ when they are playing a regular game and a completely separate strategy employed when playing in a tournament. In regular play you don’t have an issue of time. You can let the odds catch up. If you play correctly, you will have ups and downs but over a long period of time you will be ahead. In tournament play, you don’t have that luxury. Blinds increase regularly. I saw more people get busted in a tournament because they weren’t aggressive enough! Simply the increase in blinds took out half their stack. Your opponents will play very aggressive and you must do the same. You will play cards you would never otherwise play and you would bet in ways you would otherwise never bet. How I played a normal game and how I played a tournament game didn’t resemble each other. You make moves that you believe improve your odds in THAT moment. Under the time constraints you find yourself in. There is no time to let to odds catch up. And sometimes it means betting heavy into somebody that flopped the nuts. It happens. And you will lose sometimes. It’s part of the game.

AF and Roberts had a plan for the playoffs. And it’s not the same plan as during the season. They are doing things they would never do during the regular season. As they should. They know what they are doing. That doesn’t mean it always works. Had it not been for that low pressure system off the coast of CA, Gavin Lux would have walked off that game against the Giants. All the effort, planning, training, strategizing, adjusting and executing go to shit with a single gust of wind. Over 162 games, wind is not an issue. But in one, it determines the outcome. That’s the playoffs.

Roberts is executing the plan. It’s the fans who are over analyzing everything. This is baseball.

I have no problem with second guessers. Everybody does it with their personal and professional lives. You gather as much information as possible, make the decision, and move on. Maybe the decision turns out positive, and maybe it doesn’t. It does not make the decision a bad decision, just a bad outcome. In the same Game 2, was it a bad decision by Snitker to bring in Luke Jackson for Tyler Matzek to face JT. I understand the decision. Bring in the RHP to face JT instead of the LHP. He hits JT on a 1-1 curveball bringing up CT3 to face the RHRP. CT3 hits a two run double and the Dodgers are up 4-2. Should Snitker be chastised for bringing in Jackson? Gathered the information, rolled the dice, and it came up snake eyes.

The same with Urias. Urias had not pitched a normal bullpen session at the time. Maybe they were saving that for Game 2 if needed. I don’t know, and neither does anyone here. He was successful in that role during the 2020 playoffs. Urias started Game 4 in the 2020 WS, went 4.2 innings and came back 3 days later to pitch the final 2.1 innings of the WS in perfect fashion. In 2021, he started Game 5 against SF and pitched 4.0 innings, throwing 59 pitches. Again he came back after 3 days, and this time it did not work. Yes, different year. He has pitched more innings this year than ever. He may be tiring. He was due to start game 4. However, maybe the thought going on in the brain trust was that, if the Dodgers get up late in the game, let’s win Game 2. The team is going to need a bullpen game in Game 3, Game 4, or Game 5. If they could close out Game 2 with Julio who has proven what he can do in this situation, they have Buehler going in Game 3, or perhaps a bullpen game and get Buehler in Game 4, Urias in Game 5 with extra rest and maybe Game 6 is not needed. If so, there would be a well-rested Max Scherzer. That is not a possible scenario? I have no idea if it was or not, but neither does anyone else. The point is, the Dodgers brain trust put a plethora of scenarios together and drew up a battle plan. Roberts is free to change the plan, as he did in the 2020 Game 7 NLCS and Game 6 WS. There is no way the analytics would point to Urias pitching three innings in NLCS Game 7 and 2.1 innings in WS Game 6. He saw that Urias was dominating and he stayed with him.

I have no issue with William and his takes. He is articulate and his message is well thought out. I may not always agree with him, but it is not due to off the cuff remarks. He understands the nuances of the game. I do think he likes to take the negative approach. He is not alone there. Where I vehemently disagree with William is with his comment…”He wants to paint a managerial masterpiece, and if it does not work out he NEVER says that he made a mistake (as Cora essentially did about using Eovaldi in relief), he always says that “I felt that he was the best option we had,” or “I liked the matchup.” Well, of course, but that doesn’t justify it.”

1. I do not want Doc ever compared to Cora, who should be out of baseball for cheating. So I do not care one iota what Cora says.

2. Of course his “I felt that he was the best option we had,” or “I liked the matchup” justifies the decision. That is the point. He gathered the information and made a decision. The execution was flawed. His decision did not have the same positive outcome, as it did in 2020.

3. You learn from the bad outcomes, and that goes into the next decision. More information. Corporations earn and lose millions on decisions. Executives who make those decisions are promoted and fired every day. But the decisions were made with the best information at the time. Apparently, Doc makes more right decisions than wrong decisions in the eyes of LAD management.

4. Finally, I DO NOT EVER WANT A MANAGER WHO SECOND GUESSES HIMSELF. Make a decision and move on. Game 2 did not work out. Maybe it will in Game 6 or Game 7. Urias could very well get a chance for a repeat in Game 7. I do not want Roberts thinking about Game 2 when the decision is made.

5. This is what Doc said after Game 2…”While speaking with the media on the off-day today, Roberts said that he still stands by his decision to use Urias in relief and went more in-depth on where the Dodgers’ bullpen is as a whole.

“Different doesn’t mean it’s wrong,” Roberts said. “A decision that doesn’t work out doesn’t mean it’s the wrong decision. Everyone in that clubhouse believes we’re going about it the right way. For us, that’s the most important thing.

“I don’t think using Julio in Game 1 or 2 changed that. I don’t see the cost. We had to get to a point where we were at to win the game and figure it out. Things just can’t be scripted, you’ve got to go off script to what I feel is the best chance to win again, let alone a series.”

He made a decision that did not work, but as he said, it was not the decision that was wrong just because it did not work out.

6. And to your query as to whether I doubt that if Treinen were used in the eighth, and then Jansen in the ninth, the Dodgers would have won that game? As a Dodger fan, I never have doubts. I did not have doubts about Urias. Can you guarantee LAD would win the game with Treinen and Jansen? KJ did in fact give up the walk off hit in Game 2, and Treinen has not been perfect. In Game 1 he gave up the walk off hit in the 9th, getting only 1 out. Maybe in Game 2 he pitches an 8th inning like the 7th, or maybe he pitches it like the 9th the game before.

For the record, I did not agree with the decision. I was at Fright Fest at Six Flags in Vallejo for Game 2, and when I got the notification of Urias coming in to pitch the 8th, I was shaking my head. My wife asked if the Dodgers were now losing. I said…no, but Dave Roberts just opened himself up to all of the second guessers. He is going to look like a genius or get whacked like a piñata. If you believe in your bullpen, why not go with them. But those were my thoughts with the limited information I have as a fan.

BTW, I do agree with William that there will be a bunch of changes next year. I am not ready to talk about next year, but there will be changes.

I’m really enjoying this post season baseball. Obviously I would like it if we were sewing up the pennant but the NLCS is very unpredictable and exciting. Just like my golf swing over the years, I’ve had baseball “figured out” a 1000 times. Who wouldn’t know that Urias was going to beat the Braves Johnny Wholestaff and yesterday Max Fried would beat our bull-pen? Oh wait. I had that backwards. I will admit that I don’t spend any time anymore checking out the pre-game pitching match ups. They’re both likely to be outta there by the 5th now days.

I will say I think CT3 made himself a lot of money yesterday. I hope it’s with us next season. Maybe we’ll get a home team discount and some consideration that we like him, he likes us and we basically salvaged his career after he lost the shortstop job in Seattle and couldn’t hit. The Dodger’s remade his swing and made his career with a lot of hard work from him. I really do value his humility and quiet classy demeanor unlike clowns like Heredia with swords and shit. Get that guy a cheerleader’s outfit. And I won’t mention the Padres.

I got myself a Braves hat that I wore to my weekly beer and bullshit session with the retired baseball coaches group yesterday. They call me a Dodger Whore. But now i’m into reverse psychology.

I must admit that once Freeman hit the two run homer in the first inning last night, I thought the Dodgers were done.

But the team proved me wrong, and battled back with an impressive victory in the must win game. I felt the pitching matchup in this game was heavily against the Dodgers with Fried against Kelly, but the Dodgers bats came alive and they found a way to win.

I had already prepared myself with the excuses of injuries, long season, bad luck, and difficult to repeat. However, the Dodgers refused to lose the elimination game at Dodger Stadium. What great performances by Taylor, Pollock, and the bullpen! The game was a great illustration of the character of the team.

The odds are still against the Dodgers, but the pitching matchups are favorable in games 6 and 7.

Hopefully, the offense continues to produce, and they can push it to a game 7.

No matter the outcome, I am impressed with the team’s effort and thankful for an exciting, roller coaster postseason so far.

Now it looks like Bruihl is injured. He had arm soreness. Dodgers are taking an extra pitcher to Atlanta just in case he needs to be replaced on the roster.

It is really easy to criticize after the fact. Had Urias struck out the side, we would not even be having this conversation. You want to place blame? It was a team loss. Failure of the pitcher to hold the lead, failure of the offense to score more, and failure of the game plan.

And, bear, that is your opinion. The cause was, pure and simple, the pitcher did not get the outs. That was the major cause because they already had the lead and only needed to keep it. There it is. We had the lead and lost because a bad decision brought in a pitcher that couldn’t hold it. Seems simple to me. They didn’t need any more runs than they already had, if the pitching would have held.

Urias was in there for the matchup. Rosario singled, but he got Freeman on a K. They went to him before and made sure he was ok with it. Had Betts been in RF, I do not think Rosario would have scored on that hit. But it did not make much difference because Riley doubled and it would have knocked in both runners. Key play was the stolen base by Rosario. Julio giving up 2 runs did not cost them the game. The offense getting only 4 hits, and wasting numerous opportunities to score cost them that game. It was 4-2 when Julio came in. Had the offense done anything at all, it would have been a much bigger lead. They had 9 walks. They were 1-10 with men in scoring position. That is what cost them game 2. Not Urias giving up 2 runs. Had they scored just 3 of those walks, Julio probably would not have even pitched.

Old Bear… Great stuff… Used to go to Wrigley Field to see the PCL Angels… I was hooked with Angel Annie, Steve Bilko and others… Anyone out there remember Carlos Bernier?? One of the best PCL players I ever saw… Great athlete with the IQ of a fence post… When the Dodgers announced moving out west, my Father n I were elated…

Oh well, Saturday will be a great day… Simultaneously the Dodgers taking the Braves down and Notre Dame putting a whooping on USC…

Is that Bear hunting or what!??!

William… Blah, blah, blah… Do you write also for BP??

Mark, I know that you are a good person at heart; well, I think so,but of course I could be wrong, as one can always be. So I find the ad hominem attacks sort of amusing. But you take what I say and mash it up . Did I ever say that the Dodgers are terrible team? Of course not. I suggested that, assuming that the Dodgers do not win this series, they would have to do some significant things to contend for a title next year. That is my opinion, and I think it will bear out, but of course they could make the big moves: sign Seager and Scherzer, acquire a very good fourth starter, obtain another solid outfielder. I do think , that as occurs in baseball, the Dodgers nucleus is starting to show wear and tear. Justin, Kershaw, even Muncy, and of course the pending departure of Seager.

That is another issue for the offseason. I wrote that because apparently the blog will not be around much longer, so I wanted to express a few opinions on the Dodgers future,and maybe I am unduly negative in that regard, I hope so.

Now, as to Roberts, I do not hate him, I don’t know why you have this mechanism of throwing out straw men to attack. Why would I hate him? He is better than some managers, worse than others, in my opinion. The fact that his teams have won many regular season games does not make him a great manager, do you think Bobby Cox was? I have seen Roberts blow postseason chances by a certain stubbornness, and then what I think is the desire to make the grand decision, have Kershaw finish the game against the Nationals, have Urias come in and pitch a great eighth inning, He wants to paint a managerial masterpiece, and if it does not work out he NEVER says that he made a mistake (as Cora essentially did about using Eovaldi in relief), he always says that “I felt that he was the best option we had,” or “I liked the matchup.” Well, of course, but that doesn’t justify it.

Did you notice that last night, Treinen threw 21 pitches in his first inning, and Roberts left him out for another scoreless inning? But in Game 2, he pulled Treinen after a perfect inning of nine pitches, just so he could put Urias in. That is utterly contradictory–except that in Game 2, Roberts already had it in his mind to use Urias, and so nothing Treinen did in his inning was going to change it. And it backfired badly. Do you doubt that if Treinen were used in the eighth, and then Jansen in the ninth, the Dodgers would have won that game?

Then there is all this, “That was Friedman’s decision.” There is no way that Friedman is going to tell Roberts in advance what to do. And if he does, then give him all the credit for the title last year, and all of Roberts’ regular season wins. Friedman is smarter that that; I’m sure they discuss possibilities, but Roberts makes the game decisions. And he put in Urias, watched him give up two hits, and not look sharp, and let him pitch to the righthanded hitter, who tied the game with a double.

It is not as if Roberts has not made other questionable decisions in key playoff games. Of course, every manager is open to second-guessing , or in the Urias situation, first-guessing, because I, and I am sure other people, did not at all like the idea of putting him in, before the fact. And in the Game 5 against SF, when Bellinger had gotten the big hit, we had runners on first and third, and SF changed pitchers, I said, “I think Roberts is going to try a squeeze play, don’t do it!” Why did I think that? Because it was an attempt at a coup de grace, and Roberts loves to try for the brilliant move. Taylor, who had been struggling badly, had started to hit several long fly balls ,and there was a decent chance that he could do that, or do something to get the run in, and not hit into a double play. But Roberts decided to do something he almost never does, and so Taylor popped it up. Fortunately, we won, anyway. And the squeeze play is best with an element of surprise, and after the delay to change pitchers, there was less surprise, and I predicted it in advance. It was a predictable Roberts move.

Hopefully the Dodgers will somehow win two in Atlanta, and that will be a very dramatic turnaround, for which Roberts would deserve credit in terms of him keeping the morale up and the team together. That is his strength. But if we do not win it, the absurd decision in Game 2 will be the major reason, just as the decision to leave reliever Kershaw to give up two homeruns in the 8th inning to Washington in 2019, was the proximate cause of us being knocked out of the playoffs. And who should have started the last game in 2017, Darvish, or Kershaw ? And if that was a collaborative decision to start Darvish, it was wrong; and after he gave up two runs in the first, in a game where you knew that Houston was gong to use every pitcher if they needed to, leaving him in to give up two more runs in the third, was essentially game over, and Kershaw’s subsequent four scoreless innings were useless.

You don’t give other people enough credit for having cogent arguments, even if you disagree with them You think that anyone who disagrees with you is hopelessly wrong. That may be true in politics, and it goes either way, but in sports strategy, you do not need to have read history or philosophy, or have advanced degrees, to have a worthwhile view. Not that it does anything to change things, Roberts will be here as long as he wants. But as a fan who cares, I cannot just let it go, and not give my opinion as to his major flaw, which may well end up meaning that in his seven years, he will have won many regular season games, and one title, in a shortened season, when his pitchers were not worn out, and where he had the best talent in baseball.

hodges54,

As for radio stations I do remember trying to get the staticy Philadelphia station, and listened when Drysdale pitched against them for his 58 innings streak. (I think )