It's Getting Late Early

Last night, the Dodger hitters could not jump out of a boat and hit water, as Walker Buehler proved that he was not unhittable. It’s getting late… EARLY. The Giants homered three times and the Dodgers put up a goose egg. All the Giants have to do now is win two more games. This has been the maddening issue with the Dodgers all season: No one hits or Everyone hits. There seems to be no middle ground. No one can seem to pick up the other guy some nights. Today, the Dodgers could do what Boston did last night and score 14 runs… or they could get shut-out again.

We could use old friends Kike Hernandez and Alex Verdugo right about now. Kike was 5-6 with 3 doubles and a HR, while Verdugo was 3-5, as the Red Sox impressively banged out 20 hits against the vaunted Ray’s pitching staff! Shoot, while we are at it, add Joc Pederson who homered for the only run in the Braves loss to the Brewers. It is very troubling to me that the Dodgers cannot put up competitive at-bats on certain nights… especially against top pitchers… especially against the Giants.

I do not blame the players – I blame the system. I am not sure where I heard it yesterday – it might have been on MLB or TBS or MLB.Radio, but that doesn’t make any difference… I heard it, and what I heard was this: The Giants have a number of pitching machines that throw curves and sliders, and the hitters can work for quite a long time in tracking pitches like that. They were talking about how no one else has anything like this, and about how the Giants “script” and “game plan” pitches and situations. Robert Van Socyoc and his team brought some revolutionary “techniques” to the Dodgers which created launch angles that would result in more home runs… and that put them at the top of the curve for a while, however, the league has caught up with them and the Giants (for one) have surpassed them.

This is a game of actions, reactions, changes, and more changes. Simply put, Farhan Zaidi has pulled a “fast one” on the Dodger Hitting Gurus. If Logan Webb were on the Dodgers, he would be a #4 starter, but last night he looked like Cy Young because he executed the Giants game plan (of which I believe Farhan is the implementer). He has the Dodger’s “number” and at the rate this is going, the Dodgers may not score a run in the series… unless they can adjust… but they don;t have much time. It’s getting late… early!

This is simply a case of being “outsmarted” by your competition. The Giants are not nearly as talented as the Dodgers. They are not as deep as the Dodgers, but they are better prepared than the Dodgers. This is on the architect of the Dodgers: Andrew Friedman. Farhan Zaidi took a team of castoffs, ragtags, never were’s, and aging journeymen and he got them to buy into the proposition that Game Planning and Sticking to the Script will trump talent every day.

Dave Roberts has maintained a very good clubhouse… in fact, it may resemble a country club whereas Gabe Kapler is a “hair on fire” guy who may create some chaos for the team. They practice at 100% wide open, game speed, which carries over into the game while the Dodgers hitters strut up there with their resumes and are whiffed out like a pest control company kills cockroaches.

Logan Webb is not a great pitcher, but he is a good pitcher who can execute a game plan and when he does that, he looks great. Walker Buehler (I can’t call him Striker after last night) struts out there with his Cy Young Stuff, but I have always felt that he trusts his ability and not the Game Plan. In a fight with Blue Bloods and Junkyard Dogs, I’ll take the junkyard dogs. It may be too late in the season to even attempt to counteract what the Giants have done, but the Dodger Brass had better come up with a better plan because on about one out of three games, they do not come to play.

I am not saying that they don’t try – they just do not have the type of game plan that they need. On average, maybe you can win 106 games like that, but in a short series, luck is not on your side. We (I) have said that the Giants are lucky. Luck is where preparation meets opportunity. It appears to me that the Giants are prepared for just about any opportunity… and that is not luck. You do not win 107 games by being lucky – you win them with lessor talent by being uber prepared! You don’t lead the majors with 18 pinch hit home runs. You do it by being prepared!

The Dodger Brass and Coaches should have been up all night and scripting what they can do to counteract Farhan’s superior preparation. Right about now, they look like rank amateurs compared to the Giants Staff – you know, the staff that will be the Organization of the Year. You can buy and trade for all the talent in the world… and the Dodgers did. Make no mistake, the 2021 are the most talented and deep team in MLB. But, how can you allow very good players to go into extended slumps (Bellinger, Taylor, Muncy) fr such long periods of time? It’s the approach. It’s the preparation. It’s not one BIG THING – it’s 50 LITTLE THINGS!

The Giants simply have the Dodgers’ number. What are you going to do about it, Friedman and Company?

Rants & Raves

• Julio Urias better have what he had last post season.
• So Clayton Kershaw does not need Tommy John Surgery, but he got a platet rich plasma (PRP) injection into his elbow, Clayton “NEEDS” Tommy John, he just does not want to endure the rehab this late in his career. He has probably already talked with the Dodgers and will sign an “incentative-laden deal” in the offseason. If this doesn’t “fix it,” he will retire as a Dodger. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
• The wife and I went to see the new james Bond Movie last night – save your money – it was embarrassing!

10,000 Maniacs