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
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!
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Discussion (178)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Great take.
Lets do this!!!
The beer will be that much colder when we win tonight; whens the last time we celebrated a post season clincher at home??
I didn’t read anything about the Astros-Rays game, but I did look at the box score. And from that it looks like the Rays beat the “great” Verlander with a bullpen game. You just never know. And I don’t say that lightly, because in all the years I have been watching baseball, I have seen the IMPOSSIBLE on more than a few occasions.
No matter the circumstances, I never go into watching a game thinking that the Dodgers are going to win, even if I think that they have an undeniable talent advantage, and all of the stars appear to be aligned in their favor. So I don’t think that the Dodgers are going to win tonight or lose tonight. I simply HOPE that they win. And whatever happens, don’t think that there won’t be an element of luck involved, one way or another.
Game 5 in 3 out of the 4 playoff series,good competition,hoping the Dodgers take care of the Nationals with the home field win tonight.
Just got message on my phone that Will Smith is catching tonight. Given that he caught Buehker’s gem last week, that makes perfect sense to me.
I hope the Dodgers win tonight. However, I know anything can happen. The best are playing baseball now, and 3 of the 4 are in game 5. That should tell you something.
Great post Mark.
Love the Teddy R. quote. Win or lose tonight I hope all our guys get their uniforms dirty (figuratively speaking). All I ask is a huge effort. Then let the chips fall where they may.
By the way, the “lowly” Rays won 96 games this year so although it would be a surprise to see them beat the Astros it wouldn’t be a total shock. They are probably the most underrated team in all of baseball.
The lowly Rays took the season series from Houston this season. This is not a shock whatsoever that they’re 2-2 after 4.
We can talk about this until the cows come home, but the Dodgers just need to relax, have fun and play. If they execute and maybe get a little lucky they can win. But you can almost guarantee that everyone on the field tonight will be tight at the start of the game. Probably a lot more pressure on the Dodgers than the Nationals, expectations and all. Bill Plaschke of the LA Times said the ramifications of losing are devastating. He said the good news for Dodgers fans is that the team is still Goliath. The bad news is a loss tonight would represent a fall of biblical proportions. So there’s that. Not sure about the whole biblical proportions thing, but it is a colorful way to state the obvious. But either way, the sun will rise tomorrow. I realize a lot of people tend to question why a manager does this or that, starts this player or another. But the manager has to go with what he senses. It either works or not. If the team loses, you get a lot of … what was he thinking? If the Dodgers win tonight we can move on. If not, we can discuss what biblical proportions means and how it will impact Dodger thinking at the management and owner level. But at this moment, we’re still Goliath.
Just hearing Doc on an MLB phone interview, he nailed it pretty good about playing at home in front of a sellout blue towel waving crowd. It is gonna be friggin electric, and these aint the passive Dodger fans of the 80’s and 90’s. These days, they can make Dodger Stadium literally SHAKE when they get going. All it takes is one good rally early in the game to get the hitters going at home, then, look out!! The floodgates will open. My take is that Strasburg is sitting on a powder keg and he has the match. He has to pitch carefully or he’s gonna get blown up pretty quick. Not even worried about brass balls Buehller. The kid was made for this moment. Let’s get this!!
My scientific analysis of today’s game. Odds are good that if the Dodgers play good defense, pitch good and score a lot of runs they’ll win. If they don’t they’ll lose. So play good Dodgers.
I am not in the camp that says the Dodgers have to take control of the game early. No doubt that would be preferable, but there is no set formula for winning. No matter how the game plays out, all I hope for is that we’re celebrating a Dodger victory at he end. No doubt I want to see the Dodgers score early and often, and see our pitching smother the Nationals all night. Much better for my blood pressure.
It would be great going forward if Kenley pitched as well as he did the other night and closed out a close win. And Seager and Belly hit back to back bombs!
Not a lot to say here. The pressure is on. One game take all to advance to the next round. Is the pressure on the Nats, or on the Dodgers? I think the Dodgers have an advantage here being through it before and playing in front of the home crowd with 56,000 raucous, blue towel waving fans. The sound system will be pumped to 11 and Deiter will get under the Nats’ skin by playing subtly insulting riffs of the organ.
I don’t like the Goliath reference, since Goliath ultimately succumbed to David. It would also imply that the Nats are much more of a lessor team, with a much lower payroll. Which it is not. If you take out sunk costs of players not on the roster the payrolls of these teams are very close to each other.
Up until this point, both managers have done well to put their respective teams in a position to win. Both teams have benefited from some luck being on their side. Now, it comes down to two of the best pitchers in league locking horns and battling to the death on the side of a mountain.
Weather will not come into play as it did last game when the Nats got the big home run before the winds came to knock ours out of the sky. It’s going to be tepid weather at Chavez Ravine tonight. Mid 60’s for most of the game with some humidity and single digit winds. Perfect baseball weather.
Bobby, you are our good luck charm. Lead the cheers and bring some mojo with you to the park tonight to will us to victory. Make sure the fans in your section are loud, we’re counting on you!
Great pst by Jon Weisman today on Dodger Thoughts:
“The Ten Commandments of . . . Baseball Managers:
1) Good decisions can yield bad outcomes. Fans won’t care.
2) Bad decisions can yield good outcomes. Fans won’t care.
3) Many choices offer at best the lesser of two evils. Fans won’t care.
4) You might choose surprisingly off of private information. Fans won’t care.
5) Fans think their hindsight is true reality, dubious as that is. Fans won’t care.
6) You don’t have the benefit of hindsight. Fans won’t care.
7) Your successes may have more value than your flubs cost. Fans won’t care.
8) Sometimes, a team will beat you no matter what you do. Fans won’t care.
9) If your team falls short, you might deserve another chance. Fans won’t care.
10) You might, in fact, be a bad manager. Plenty of managers are. Some managers grow over time, some managers stagnate. Some never had enough to begin with. But ultimately, fans will judge you on the emotions you make them feel. Because fans care.”
JW articulates what I think, so much better than I could ever dream of doing.
Tommy Lasorda is quoted as saying “”In baseball and in business, there are three types of people. Those who make it happen. Those who watch it happen. And those who wonder what the hell happened.””
So who will make it happen tonight?
Yesterday doesn’t matter. It’s all about tonight! What will Strasburg’s strategy be tonight? Sticking with more off speed or does he go to more fastballs. With that bullpen you know he wants to get ahead in the count and keep his pitch count down. Are we aggressive with first pitches and looking for fastballs? Love to see JOC crank a first ball fastball and set the tone! Cat and mouse.
I posted this is the last blog but comments closed and I am still puzzled since i didn’t get an answer.
Anyone shed light on this and give me lesson on the game?
I thought that I knew that game pretty well but apparently not. Can someone help me understand a move/non-move from the other night?
I think it was the 5th with Trea Turner on 2nd and Urias on the mound. 1 out I think but I could be mistaken……less that 2 anyways.
Rendon is up. Probably their best hitter. 1st base open.
They pitch to Rendon and even get 1-0 to him.
Why not IBB him?
That give you a matchup against a lesser hitter in Soto. Much less patient hitter in Soto.
Gives the Dodgers a L on L matchup against Soto, and put the double play in order with Rendon on 1st.
Of course Rendon ripped a long double to score Turner.
I just don’t understand why they didnt walk Rendon. Announcers didn’t even mention it as a possibility.
Again, I just don’t understand. Maybe I would have been a fool, but I walk Rendon every time in that spot.
I better get this done, the squad is coming..AC thanks for getting back. I think I got your number Saturday, but both of us know we can throw out all the stats and buckle in for great one.
4 game 5’s … Who knew?
Stopped reading LA sports page after Jim Murray left us.
Plasche is a clown.
Carlos, I work with recovering addicts .. Reach for that phone
Braves gave up a touchdown and a field goal already. Game over! We play the Cards next.
We just need to get off to a better start than the Braves have today.
10-0 Cards after 1/2 inning.
Today’s take the series day:
Joc (RF)
Muncy (2b)
JT (3b)
Belly (CF)
Beaty (1b)
Seager (SS)
Kike (LF)
Smith (C)
Buehler
Tonight could be a great pitching match-up (even the great Justin Verlander has a bad game once in a while after all) and should be must watch baseball.
The Dodgers are the better team but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they will win.
They have to play their best players with the caveat that the Braintrust has the numbers that will allow them to tweak the lineup to give them the best chance for success.
There’s no way that Bellinger sits. Period. He has been their best player all year and they have to believe that he gives them a better chance to win if he plays then if he sits. Same with Seager.
I agree with Mark – it’s up to the players to execute.
But I keep harping on the same historical fact – some players wilt under pressure and some thrive. I think that all of us here know that Turner and Freese have been great in the post-season and that Seager and Bellinger haven’t. That doesn’t mean that Cody and Cory can’t turn things around and Bellinger in particular has taken better swings since Game 3. But statistically, it isn’t likely based on numbers generated to date.
I would love to wrong on this – I would love to see Cody and Cory have huge games, but for that to happen, something has to change.
Freese must just not be physically ready to go nine! Just cannot believe that first inning! Wow! There must be some analytics as to why Kike is starting. Can’t be just a hunch
I’m betting Blue wins despite our inept mgr. And useless 25.
And what will they say then?
Please don’t say it was the Lord’s workand his disciple St. Carlos.
P.S. Someone the Lord ha s bigger problems than the MLB.
OK, moving forward… religion and politics are not something we should discuss.
Dodgers only.
Dig?