Dodgers Relievers Blow Another WS Game

Roberts is a great guy, but a good game manager? No! When will ownership figure it out? The Rays in 6. Sorry dodger fans.

It’s on Roberts miscalculation, too long on Baez, too soon on Graterol.

The rest is bad luck upon mistakes.

But we have more power, better pitching and defense. At the end we will prevail.

Go Dodgers

When Turner on 2nd and Seager on 3rd and 0 outs Muncy swinging for the fences struck out on 3 pitches followed by Smith striking out on 3 pitches. In that situation all’s I asked of each was, please don’t make an out. But Barns would of, should of moved and we would of won. It was bad luck that killed the game last night and I’m a firm believer in good and bad luck. Sure hope we don’t have to wait till next year!

Well it’s more live and personal World Series baseball for you Jeff. At least one more game at any rate.

Putting lipstick on a pig doesn’t make it more attractive. Or as Mark Twain put it, “there are three kinds of lies – lies, damn lies, and statistics”.

“Bitch all you want about the Dodgers pitching or bullpen, but right HERE, right NOW in the 2020 World Series, the Dodgers ERA is 4.54 and the Rays ERA is 6.43! Ponder that! The Dodgers WHIP is 1.15 while the Rays is 1.66. Yet, the series is tied 2-2.

The Dodgers are hitting .282 as a team (.895 OPS) while the Rays are hitting .229 (.737 OPS). The Dodgers have outscored the Rays 25-19 and yet the series is 2-2.”

Anyone who could see last night’s game could see that the bullpen failed. And that the Dodgers didn’t hit RISP.

I haven’t seen anyone mention yet what Roberts admitted in the post-game. Here is from ESPN.com:

“After Baez recorded the next two outs, Roberts greeted him in the dugout and told him he was finished. Then the Dodgers got a two-out, pinch-hit, two-run single by Joc Pederson in the top of the seventh and retook the lead. Then Roberts asked Baez to come back out for the bottom half.

“I take blame for having him go back out,” Roberts said. “We were down, I told him he was finished, and so to ask him to go back out and to see how he felt — he said he felt good — but I shouldn’t have [told him he was finished after the sixth] and just kinda kept him burning a little bit.””

A big mistake by Dave Roberts on the biggest stage – again.

Well I said in advance don’t bring Kenley in. We were lucky Arozarena did not hit the first pitch out or the one he fouled was a hanger. Once Jansen got 2 strikes he did not make another competitive pitch. Jansen has no command.

Baez has been a bad idea ever since he give up the homer to the cardinals way back. He just should not be in a game past the 6th. But, the Dodgers refuse to pitch their starters deep in the regular season so now you can’t expect it.

Will Smith is a liability at catcher right now. He can’t catch the ball he can’t block the ball and why you would ever throw Lowe any fastballs is beyond me. He may be tired, stressed I don’t know , but he is not our best option now.

So we come down to kershaw again. Oh my I think we are done. The homerun ball is his specialty. Tampa had no offense against Houston so I guess their plan is better or their players are better. Lowe was horrible and now he looks like babe Ruth. Kermeier is a terrible hitter but we can’t get him out. They have one hot hitter and we have made the rest. Tampa is a bad offensive team so our pitching is either bad or bad game planning.

Bellinger another playoff meltdown. He seems so immature. His talent is immense but he doesn’t currently have the discipline to make a difference.

You could say the players have got to get the job done and that I agree. But, you have to put players in the best position for them to succeed. For example kolarek was brought in to face 3 lefties. The right move and if it doesn’t work it is on the player. But doc continues to try to make playoff heroes out of Baez and Jansen.

As for tonight. The bigger the game the less kershaw delivers. I hope for his psyche he is very good. But you just never know how he will be. I could see him being very good, struggle with a high pitch count, or giving up the homers early. Unfortunately I am not expecting the first one.

I tried to convince myself that this was the year. We have a better overall team but it doesn’t matter unless you win.

I have no stats to back this up but it seems to me that our bullpen tends to be very good together or very bad together. On days where the first man or two out of the pen is not very good, the rest seem to screw it up as well.

I guess we’re trading for Hader this winter. Maybe we could do that deal this afternoon.

Roberts again

Sigh.

He puts faith in the wrong people at the wrong time. Kershaw in the past. Baez and Jensen this series.

To me, he had improved in not knee jerk lineup changes as soon as opponents go left-right, but his pitcher usage is just head-shaking.

His quotes last night are the most damning. He doesn’t have a plan.

But, to me the Dodgers are the better team. They shouldn’t have to overcome their manager, but they may have to.

So we get to keep and earn the runs that we score on a clutch blooper but the Rays were gifted their runs scored via blooper.

Taylor not only flubbed the catch, he came closer to 1st base with his throw home than to home plate. Then Muncy throws the relay wide making Smith try to make a catch and swipe tag all in one motion and it is Smith that gets all the flack?

I have no intention of bashing Doc and his pitching choices last night. He’s been mostly good but last night his decisions didn’t work out. There’s plenty of blame to go around including Mookie who aside from the great catch, had a bad game. We expect more.

You try to put guys in position to succeed and last night the pitching didn’t get it done but we had some critical runners LOB that would have given a little cushion.

What I wonder is why starting pitching been reduced to 5 innings and 85 pitches? With the exception of a few ACES who might get extended. the expectations for a starter has been reduced to them being placeholders to get to the bullpens. I’m planning on posting something after the season on how pitch counts have steadily declined from 150 to 125 to 100 being the magic number, to now 80 or 85.

Urias wasn’t Walker Buehler last night but it was predictable that he wouldn’t go deep into the game. And that’s not based on effectiveness. It’s not based on performance. It’s based on “just because” I guess.

Jason Stark of the Athletic wrote:

“REMEMBER JULIO URÍAS? He was the Dodgers’ starting pitcher. He was around for 4 2/3 innings. He struck out nine Rays and got 20 swings and misses. And then, with two outs in the fifth and nobody on base, Dave Roberts popped out of the dugout and took him out of this game. According to STATS, he’s only the second starter ever to get taken out of a World Series game with a lead in the fifth, when he was one out from qualifying for a win and there were no runners on base. The other? Denny Neagle got hooked by Joe Torre in Game 4 of the 2000 World Series – and let’s just say that if you’re ever at a party (or even on a Zoom) with Denny Neagle, don’t bring that up!”

To me this is a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy. Doc gets what he demands and expects for everyone but CK and Walker. Give me 4 innings and 80 pitches and we’ll call it good. It’s just another example of the new way to manage which I’m having to adapt to. I may never.

Now obviously, pulling a picture who is cruising along and doing quite well is a huge lift for the opposing team. Especially when he has more gas left in his tank. Slavish adherence to analytics may win a lot of games. But it loses games too. Big games.

To Mark above, not once did I absolve the players. Of course it was Baez and Jansen with their continual inability to close out critical innings in the postseason that led to the defeat. Just as it was CT3 and Muncy and Smith on the last play. Of course S— happens and games are blown. But the continual dismissal of the repetition of putting Baez and Jansen in those situations is what is maddening.

Neither Baez nor Jansen just walked out there. They were put in that situation yet once again. And they failed again. So I am not absolving Baez and Jansen, but neither am I absolving the one person who continues to put those players in those situations, Dave Roberts. How many times does Baez and Jansen have to fail in those situations before you say NO MORE. I showed a chart that depicted Baez relieving with runners on base 9 times in the postseason. In 6 of those games, Baez allowed runners to score. More than 50% of the inherited runners have scored. We’re not talking about once, twice, thrice…failing. How many times do you have to put your hand on hot stove before you stop the insanity.

Now with all that said, the Dodgers are the better team. They have to put last night in the rear view mirror and come out hitting against Glasnow. They do not need to panic. They need to play with a purpose…winning; not NOT losing. I mentioned in the article that the vaunted Rays bullpen is very vulnerable as four of the 6 relievers were scored on, including their top 2, Castillo and Anderson. None of Glasnow, Snell, or Morton have finished 5 innings. Their pitching is very vulnerable. Tired? Overused by necessity or design? But will I feel comfortable with a narrow lead and the Dodgers bullpen coming in? When the Dodgers win the WS, Doc is going to need to make countless decisions, and it is going to be the decisions he makes over the next 2-3 games that could dictate the outcome. Right now, I am only placing blame on Doc for pitching Baez and Jansen in those pressure situations.

Here is another decision that needs to be made. I am assuming that Barnes will be catching Kershaw tonight. If Bellinger cannot play defense, does Joc become the LF, Pollock to CF, and Smith or Rios the DH? Or do you just keep putting Belli out there hoping that something will click, and he will take what is given to him. Who is the better player? No question it is Belli. But who is hitting better right now? Mookie went 0-fer last night but made a great defensive play. Belli was not on the field to do the same, and he has never been clutch in the postseason, while Joc has. With that said, I fully expect to see Belli in CF batting 6th, Joc in LF, and Smith as DH.

As Dodgerrick said, with the Dodgers outhitting and outpitching the Rays, no discernable difference in defense, the series is tied up at 2-2. Why? Some players can handle the pressure, some cannot. Right now, it looks like Dave Roberts is in the latter category, but he has 2 wins in 2020 to change that directive.

Doc’s unbridled and undying faith and loyalty in his players is one of his greatest personal assets. It’s also one of his greatest managing weaknesses. Same can be said for his faith in analytics.

On a positive note, it was just fantastic to see Barnes have such a good game the other day. Barnes ,the red-haired step-child whipping boy of the Dodger fans all season long. Barnes who was sent down to the minors last year, took it like a man, never lost his enthusiasm or team spirit. Never quit. I admire the hell out of that. Good on you Barnes!

AC I couldn’t agree with you more. Baez and Jansen pooped their beds. No ERA Stats, no hard hit balls crap. You saw it, I saw it. Doc puts Baez in a mid-inning pressure situation and he bombs. Doc puts in Jansen in a one-run game after pitching him the night before and he bombs. Forget about the CT3-Muncy-Smith distraction. Doc sent out Baez with runners on base and got exactly what Baez has given him over the years–a poor outing. Then, for some inexplicable reason, Doc doubles down and sends him out again. Jansen comes in the ninth and puts too many pitches over the plate and we get beat by the 28th player on the Rays roster with a 2 strike cookie. Baez and Jansen failed the team. Doc failed them.

Why didn’t my post show up? did I say something wrong?

Oh no here comes the third one one through we must pull the starter. Dumb! He had K’d Diaz twice. Let Urias face Diaz and have the opportunity to finish the inning then see if the offense adds on before unnecessarily pulling him. We all know the Dodgers have hit the Rays bullpen the more it is exposed. The same goes the other way.

I’ve never seen Doc that animated in reaction to sh*t going wrong. It was quite amusing actually to see him lose the dead-pan , emotionless expression, Even though the situation and circumstances were not funny at all, blowing a game like that.

It’s not the first time we’ve seen Kenley fail to back up home plate resulting in a loss. A few years ago Puig one hopped one past Grandal then the winning run came around and scored while Kenley stood there with his thumb up his ass. We’ve seen this at least three times now. I would not look to him as a leader in the locker room.

So, it seems that I only listen to MLB.Radio in the truck.

I had to run a couple of my leaf blowers to my son this afternoon which is about an hour round trip. During that time, I listened to MLB and some different callers. Several valid points were made, including that Kenley, while still very good, is no longer elite, just like Aroldis Chapman is no longer elite. Kenley started Spring Training hitting 94-95 MPH, but when they finally came back, his velocity was somewhat diminished. However, he was Closer of the Month in August and had a 1.54 ERA and 2.29 FIP in 13 appearances in August, with 19 strikeouts and four walks in 11⅔ innings. He was not that good the rest of the season!

But one caller summed it all up when he said: “In the World Series, with Will Smith catching, the Dodgers have given up 14 runs in 2 games. That’s an average of 7 runs a game. Austin Barnes has also caught two games and has given up 5 runs total. That is an average of 2.5 runs a game! Will Smith should not catch another damn game!”

I cannot argue with that. Will Smith makes me pine for Yasmani Grandal. I guess Will is a catcher who cannot call a good game!

Barnes should start the rest of the World Series! The figures are as simple as that!

AP HEADLINE: ROBERTS IN HOTSEAT AS PITCHING MOVES BACKFIRE, RAYS TIE SERIES.

I’ll try again.

AC you are absolutely correct. Forget all the stats–ERA, exit velocity, etc. You saw it, I saw it. Baez and Jansen pooped the bed. The CT3-Muncy-Smith debacle is just a distraction. Bringing Baez in with runners on is a no-no. He puts a cookie fastball on a tee to a fastball hitter and away it goes. Bringing Jansen in two days in a row is a no-no. He faces the 28th player on the Rays team and puts a two strike cookie down the middle and makes him a hero.

Doc made his choices and they were the wrong ones.

Now it’s all up to CK. I love him and the Dodgers but his history in second game starts in the playoffs isn’t great. And, thanks to Baez and Jansen, the Rays have momentum on their side. We’ll find out soon if they can overcome last night and turn things around.

I have to admit that last night’s game was too upsetting for me so tonight I’m going to tape it. I know that sounds like a cop out and I guess it is but I just can’t stand to watch them lose. Especially because they always come up with a new, novel way to do it. Maybe I’m the problem and this will bring them good luck. Go Blue!

I have little to add other than experienced veterans at this point in the season just need to execute better. From hitting spots with pitches, to not bunting at pitches up in zone (Little League error Kiké) to executing relay throws correctly (how many times have you done that by the time you get to the Majors?) to backing up bases, Kenley Jansen. You’ve got nothing else to do but make sure you are in a position to help and you were wandering aimlessly somewhere around the third baseline. It’s illegal to tackle a player in the baseline (only when he’s standing safely on a base can you pull him off) so get yourself lined up for an overthrow. That goes for all 9 guys out there by the way. My tournament softball teams did a whole lot better at that hustle play than you Major Leaguers.

Execute. With 3 left the team that executes better will win this series.

Well, by Wednesday we will all either be celebrating or slitting our wrists by the tone of things. The game is over. And if they end up winning the series it will just fall into the category of a bad game in the middle of a Championship season. If they end up losing, then it gains the status of Mickey Owens missed 3rd strike. Bobby Thompson’s homer in 51, and Stan Williams melt down in the 9th inning of game 3 in the 62 playoffs. I have seen this so many times over the years. By now, I am kind of numb to it. We have the better pitcher going tonight. Kersh has been very good this post season. And you can bet he is ready to redeem himself. His last game 5 did not go so well. But I expect him to be the pitcher he has been most of the season. I also think they cannot dwell on what happened last night. That puts more pressure on you. And Barnes will be catching tonight.

Start up the Jansen has the same ERA as Hader or Ian so they are just as good. LOL Like nobody has eyeballs.

I have no problem with Baez or Jansen. I am sure they are trying their best and want to win for themselves and the guys on the roster with them. In fact, I almost feel sorry for them. Their leader keeps thinking that they are something that they clearly are not and send them the wolves over and over.

100% blame, and YES blame should be recognized and assigned so it can be learned from and fixed, is on Roberts. This is not Bill Belichek here with a history of brilliance and a decision or seven goes wrong and shit happens. This is a long history of putting the wrong guys in the wrong situations and then staring deadpan when they inevitably go wrong. How Baez was sent out for the 7th is Exhibit G honestly.

Not a fan of Arod at all, but during the Braves series ( i think) he stated that Roberts had become a playoff manager that night because he stayed with Graterol and left Kenley standing in the bullpen. He didn’t manage with his heart but with who the better player was. New guys. Let’s use the best guy. Anyone think that McGee wasn’t a better option on the last hitter after Kenley had shit the bed….again, and put the series in peril.

He threw all that out again and became the same failure as in all the years past. I will take 100mph and confidence over a 91 either over the plate with almost no movement or non-competitive, deer in the headlights anytime.

Roberts has to go. Today is fine with me honestly. Over and over and over and over he has shown he isn’t up to the job with a team of talent that is expected to win.

Series was over if Jansen can get a light hitting, pinch hitter out. All the negatives that happened on that play are noise and honestly didn’t matter. Anyone think Roberts actually pulls Jansen if Randy Ruth stopped at third? Anyone think Jansen doesn’t just give up another hit on the next hitter? Buck and Smoltz make no mention that I heard that anyone was even warming up. I could be wrong though.