Fan Appreciation Day
Yesterday’s game was fun and to be appreciated. What a fan appreciation day!!! The Dodgers score 14 and collect 16 hits. Ryu pitched AND hit superbly. He allows 4 hits and collects 8 strikeouts, and ZERO walks, and gets THREE hits. Josh Fields and Julio Urias come in and shutdown the Padres for the final three innings. It is hard to get too excited about shutting down the Padres, but
Yesterday’s game was fun and to be appreciated. What a fan appreciation day!!! The Dodgers score 14 and collect 16 hits. Ryu pitched AND hit superbly. He allows 4 hits and collects 8 strikeouts, and ZERO walks, and gets THREE hits. Josh Fields and Julio Urias come in and shutdown the Padres for the final three innings. It is hard to get too excited about shutting down the Padres, but they did what they were supposed to do.
Manny Machado got things started with a 2nd inning HR. I know I have been hard on Machado, but it is not easy to not only change teams, but to change leagues and change time zones. Machado’s family is on the east coast. He is trying to get a record breaking contract and he has to be pressing with the struggling he has encountered over the last few weeks. But he is a dangerous hitter and the Dodgers need him to be lethal the next 6 games. He does not need to carry the team, just stay within himself. His talent alone can be a big influence on the outcome. Worry about next year after he rides in the Downtown LA parade that is sure to come.
Big day offensively for Matt Kemp, who collected his 1,000 career RBI with his 2nd inning HR. He also had a double and single for a 3 hit/3 RBI day. He is warming up to finish the season as he started. His last 7 games he is batting .353/.353/.765/1.118, and his last 15 games .318/.333/.568/.901.
Are we seeing more of the 2017 version of CT3? In the leadoff role, CT3 went 1-3 with 2 walks. In his last 7 games he is batting .333/.455/.500/.955 and .342/.432/.632/1.064 in his last 15 games. Yes, he is still striking out too much, but a .432 OBP over a 15-game span is more than acceptable. He is not an ideal leadoff player, but the Dodgers do not have one, and he is now getting on base at a far more acceptable rate. I am guessing that he is back in the leadoff role tonight against Robbie Ray.
Max Muncy continues to impress. It is no longer unexpected, but it still is striking. Two big 2-RBI hits in his two plate appearances yesterday. He has his OPS up to .960. 33 HRs and 72 RBIs in 457 PA. He is not going to qualify with sufficient PA, but if he did, he would be 5th in MLB and 2nd in NL (behind Christian Yelich).
Then there is the tale of three LHH OFs; Joc, Verdugo, and Toles. It is hard not to feel for Andrew Toles. There certainly seems to be something percolating beneath the surface with his use. He has all of 5 plate appearances since he was recalled and has unfortunately struck out 4 times. He is a far better baseball player than he is being afforded the opportunity to showcase. He does not need to go back to AAA and he is not able to show other teams what he can do. Verdugo is doing better in his September audition going 6-23 with 3 walks and 5 strikeouts. His shortfall is his power, and while that is not a big deciding factor for some of us, it certainly seems to be for FAZ. Then there is the much maligned Joc Pederson. For the month of September, he is batting .314/.352/.686/1.038 with 5 HR’s in 54 PA. He is striking out more often, but if he continues to hit with authority, I can stomach the K’s.
Austin Barnes is still an enigma. He has never had a problem offensively, so hopefully he will begin to thaw out this last week. Yesterday’s HR is a start. David Freese looks to be a key RHH PH. Brian Dozier looks absolutely lost at the plate. The Twins (and FAZ) seemed to look away from a mediocre to poor batting average because of his power. But he has 1 HR in his last 30 games while batting an anemic .144/.238/.233/.471. Those numbers do not correlate into a playoff roster spot. How does Ryu stick out his bat and collect three hits, and Dozier look inept? It is time to put Muncy at 2B and leave him there. If you need to put Kike’ in for defensive purposes at the end of a game, so be it.
The bullpen is starting to show some real backbone, and Jansen is getting back to his dominant self. Tony Cingrani should not come in for any meaningful innings for the remainder of this year. I think he can be a key contributor for next year, but this year he needs to sit back and watch.
Finally, it was absolutely heartwarming to watch Dad Utley make his final regular season plate appearance at Dodger Stadium and see the reaction of the crowd. I hope he is like Ethier and gets one more hit in his final AB in the WS, but this time with a win for the good guys. I would like to see him as a coach next year but being away from home so much with kids is not easy for the player, much less a coach. The Utley’s live in Sausalito and he would be away from his immediate family for too much of the year. I know we fans want to see Chase in a Dodger uni for many years to come, but he needs to make a decision for what makes him and his happy.
The Dodgers are 16-8 since 8-29, and if they keep that winning percentage through the end of the year, they will win 4 of the final 6 games they play, and hopefully that will be good enough to get them their 6th consecutive NL West title. The Dodgers get Ray and Greinke this series. They need to beat them both.
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Discussion (68)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Dee Gordon drew his 9th walk of the year last night. In 580 plate appearances.
Omg what the hell was the cardinals rf doing on that pivotal hit last night against mil?
Great article in The Athletic on how baseball is failing at pitcher development:
Open on theathletic.comhttps://theathletic.com/539450/2018/09/24/gammons-baseballs-system-for-developing-pitchers-is-broken-and-its-hurting-the-game/The Phillies have quit. I’m hoping Arrieta has enough pride to win a game on Thursday.
I think Manny’s baserunning/lack of hustle at times has been mentioned here the last week or so. I”m glad Joe and Orel are calling him out as well.
So far, the pen has done its job! Now Kenley has to do his, and I think Goldschmidt will be waiting for him.
Just say no to Axford, Madsen, Chargois or Cingrani.
OK now that we have the lead, a playoff bullpen needs to pitch 3 scoreless today in this big game. Let’s see what the pen is made of!
It seems to me that the Dodgers don’t score runs for CK. 3 runs would be a lot for Clayton to work with– just the opposite of Hill.
This has been the knock on Kershaw. He has often not been at his best when the game counted the most. Houston Mitchell did a column today comparing Koufax’ numbers in the post-season with Kershaw’s. There’s just no comparison. Can you imagine Kershaw doing what Koufax did in game 7 of the ’65 Series against the Twins? 2 days rest, only the fastball worked, spin a 2-hitter and win the game.
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The Rox are crushing the Phils after sweeping these same Snakes in their last series. The Dodgers have to be just as good as Colorado or they will be on the outside looking in. The game isn’t over yet but Kershaw isn’t getting it done.
DON’T PITCH TO MARTE, CLAYTON!
Kershaw is so damn stubborn – Marte owns him. Just hit him. Clayton, this is really dumb!
all of a sudden the Rockies starting pitchers became aces
DODGERS REINSTATE JT CHARGOIS
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LOS ANGELES– The Los Angeles Dodgers today reinstated right-handed pitcher JT Chargois from the 10-day disabled list.
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Chargois, 27, has made 38 relief appearances this season with Los Angeles, going 2-4 with a 3.45 ERA (12 ER/31.1 IP) and has held hitters to a .228 average, while striking out 38 against 15 walks. Chargois missed 29 games with nerve irritation after leaving the game on August 20 against the Cardinals in the fifth inning with neck discomfort.
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The Dodgers now have 40 players on the active roster.
Col 8 phi 0 drama is coming
I understand the player’s may have bought into platoon mania in order to attempt to win it all but Bellinger and Puig and to a lesser extent Joc have to complain in the offseason. No way this continues next year? Ac, Mark, do you have thought about this or if their is any way it happens all of next year?
Dozier over Muncy, Bellinger and Puig makes little sense in a such a big game. Anyone have a reason beyond Robert’s stubborness.
Stadium half full, I would say 60 to 40 or 65 to 35 dodger fans, almost a home game. They just had the Diamondback team awards and it was quiet, Corbin best pitcher and Goldschmidt best player.
Insted of Dozier
Another bad line up…I dont put Kike em 5th better kemp and put Muncy instead of muncy
I would think after reading Colletti’s book, that he is getting up in age to do the 24-7, 351 days a year( He said he usually got about 2 weeks off a year from the job). He seems to really like his gig on Sportsnet LA, and he likes his college class too. As much as alot of you guys rag about him, he is very talented at using his scouts and other people around him to evaluate and draft alot of young talent. Most of the young guys on our roster,, and some of the old, are all Colletti’s guys, so I would hope he doesnt go to the Dumpster Fire By The Bay. Let it burn baby.
Actually, I love it. Just what the Giants need… hee, hee!
Bobby Evans out as Giants GM. Ned Colletti is front runner for position.
The Dbacks have hit 3 HRs off Kershaw this year, 2 in his last start, against the Dbacks.
Kershaw pitched 7 innings, and give up 2 runs, both on HRs in that last start on September first, against the Dbacks.
No Goldschmidt or Peralta in the Dbags lineup tonight.
Let’s not give up on Andrew Toles. He can still be an excellent 4th OFer although I believe the days of him starting for us full-time are over. If traded, he needs to build up some value first. He can still be a productive MLB player.