Doom Gloom? Not!

I went to a blog that I am sad to say I was once part of yesterday and it sounded like the Dodgers were dead and buried. Even on this blog, fans are singing the song of gloom and doom. I really don’t get it! This is baseball… where anything can happen… and frequently does. Everyone was holding up Houston as a team that the Dodgers cannot bet, but here they are in the same place as the Dodgers – tied 2-2 facing a deciding game with Tampa Bay in a “winner take all” situation.

The fact is: from day one, many have hated Andrew Friedman and Dave Roberts for reasons (well, no “reason” is actually involved) only they know. Here are a couple of examples:

I. So the big questions are, WHY did DR put two injured pitchers, Kelly and Hill on the post-season roster? WHY did he choose to let Hill start game 4? Why did he put Lux at 2nd, and play him there the whole game, when he could have played Kiké Hernandez there instead? WHY did he have to take Maeda out for a PH? and especially, Why did he use a 0-12, 10 KO, Pollock? Maeda could have pitched another inning, and he is definitely a better hitter than Pollock is, right now. Freeze was 3-3 last night, and didn’t even start game 3, so why did he not get the start in game 4? Where are the big bats? They are Missing in Action! We’ll have to wait and see what other bonehead Management decisions arise for game 5.

II. You can’t place all the blame on Roberts when the front office didnt do their job. When adam kolarek was the lone pitching acquisition at the trade deadline that should tell you all you need to know about this. Look pitching wins championships and the Dodgers dont have great pitching. The staff is serviceable maybe even pretty good but not great. The onus was on the front office to fill in those gaps and they refused to part with a couple of Prospects or spend any money. We have known all season long that the bullpen had holes but they could have used another starter as well with the injury to rich hill. They used hill because they literally had nobody else to start in that game. Again that should tell you something. If hill doesnt start then the choices were mediocre Maeda who seems to be better in short outings then as a starter or rookie may who cant go more than 5 innings anyways. Again that’s on the front office.

I could go on and on. Those are just two comments. Here are the facts:

• Dodgers Starters ERA – #1 in NL
• Dodgers Bullpen ERA – #1 in NL
• Dodgers Team ERA – #1 in NL

What drivel! Look, Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg are two of the best pitchers in baseball and the Nationals are capable of beating the Dodgers, just as the lowly Rays are capable of beating the Astros, but I don’t buy into the fear-mongering. The Dodgers have scored more runs in the playoffs than the Nationals, Braves, Astros, Cardinals, Twins, and of course, the Brewers and the Athletics. Only the Rays and the Yankees have scored more. The Dodgers have 7 HR while the Rays lead with 10. The Yankees have 5 and no one else has more than 4.

The Twins, Nationals, Astros, and Cardinals have all given up more runs than the Dodgers. The Dodgers are capable of playing with anyone, but in baseball, stuff happens. When good or great pitchers have their stuff, balls look like strikes as they leave the pitcher’s hands. You can say that the Dodgers “chased too many pitches out of the zone” but that’s what happens with great pitching. A hitter has a split second to make a decision and the pitch starts out looking like a strike and then moves or dives out of the zone. It’s so simple to say “don’t swing at that stuff.” But, it’s hard to do in real life.

The Dodgers have the same plan they have all year – But GOOD PITCHING STOPS GOOD HITTING. Today is a new day. It’s Strasburg versus Buehler. Strasburg is on 5 days rest and Striker is on 6 days rest. Will the extra rest help or hinder him? We are about to find out. At first sign of faltering, Clayton Kershaw will follow Buehler and Clayton has been very good in relief. I think the Dodger’s depth and talent will prevail, but it doesn’t always work that way. This is baseball… it’s beautiful and maddening!

Second-guessers are never wrong and that’s why they second guess. “Doc should have started __________________ (fill in the blank). ” They always know better. Actually, they are just miserable critics, who come to the battlefield after the battle and shoot the wounded. Teddy R. said it best:

Critics are a joke to me. This is where we are. On the brink of going home or advancing to the Championship Round. The Astros are also there. It’s not on Dave Roberts or Andrew Friedman – it’s up to the players to execute. That’s it! It’s that time… It is so VERY, VERY hard to get to back-to-back-to-back World Series! VERY HARD!