It's Getting Late… Late!

Yup tough, but I still believe in these guys.

When the Yankees repeated as World Champs in 2000 they won 87 games.

They went 4-13 in their last 17 games…..things happen in October and our guys have been there.

Look better this happen now than in October.

We have proven the last 5 game we can beat the best Starters in baseball….

Win today and we move….

So much of this year has been waiting for players to round into form. Betts, Snell, Ohtani as a pitcher, Muncy, Snell, Glasnow.

Some still haven’t: Scott, Trienen, etc.

If some more do, it could be a good plays run. Just need that luck.

Depends on which Kershaw shows up in October, the new Maddux or the guy who got clobbered in his last outing. I know that is blasphemy, but we will be facing four of the best teams in baseball. He is most vernable in the first and second inning so, yes, let him relieve.

I also think Conforto has earned a bench slot along with Kike and Kim.

But we have two equally poor hitters as backup catchers, with Rushing being passed as the better defensive backstop. Still, probably Rushing stays.

Do the Dodgers have a single reliever that you trust with a 1 run lead in the 9th inning?

Ugly game, put it in the rear-view mirror and move on.

Two quick Internet hits, both behind paywalls sadly.

Baseball America picks Minor League sleepers, 10 of them from National League Only ($$$$)

Chase Harlan from the Dodgers makes the list.

Baseball America ALSO takes an end of the season look at farm systems ($$$)

In their own words:

This exercise is not simply a rehash of our 2025 farm system rankings. Those rankings measure the overall state of prospect talent in each organization. Here, the focus is on performance this season, examining how each system delivered this year in terms of MLB graduations, breakouts and also setbacks or injuries.

To do that, we’re examining systems in several key areas:

Farm system rank, Key MLB graduations, Breakouts, Disappointments and/or injuries, Key additions

Dodgers’ Grade: C+

For all the Dodgers’ player development success, this hasn’t been the smoothest season for more reasons than just Roki Sasaki’s alarming start to his Dodgers career. Dalton Rushing and Alex Freeland are part-time players and haven’t graduated. The outfield depth remains a strength….

Philly has that look in their eyes! as of right now, the dodgers don’t. youcan feel the anxiety when dave goes to the bullpen! it’s hard to move on from games they should have won! 2 of the best left handed pitchers in the game , and the dodgers had em ! only to watch another collapse by the bullpen. i guess the offense is back on track. BUT, they can’t bail the awful bullpen out every single day! like i said earlier, the phillies don’t mind the left on left matchups. Dave is obsessed with them! … i’m going to give rojas a get out of jail card for last night. horrible at bat! but he’s been a Godsend for this team!…. Bottom line? if they hold on to to win the division, they can still win it all! if they get passed by the SH#T EATING padres, they could very well lose quickly and go home. As for AF? not his best job assembling this team. i know he doesn’t catch the ball or hit the ball, but the bullpen is directly on him. yet they are still the favorites according to some experts. And again, BUT, if kirby yates is on the postseason roster, he should be tarred and feathered!! (just kidding) . he should only be feathered! For some reason i believe Tanner Scott will be ok. Oh well, up to 1 am again tonight and praying for a different outcome ! As fleetwood mac would say, don’t stop thinking about tomorrow!!

On a different topic, And I don’t know how many are interested. But just received our Medicare enrollment book for 2026. In South FL. I didn’t save last year’s book, but it seemed there were about 5 0 pages or more of Advantage Plans. This time only about 10 pages

the problem wasn’t at the beginning, it was at the deadline. by the deadline everyone knew yates was awful. everyone knew scott was not reliable. everyone knew graterol wasn’t walking into that clubhouse. everyone knew trienan was another year older and hurt. everyone knew evan phillips was done for the season. but all they added was brock stewart. while not a bad addition, not the lockdown reliever they needed. it’s not the end of the world,(or season), but wouldn’t we all feel better if the bullpen was a lot better? i know i would!

i’m surprised that Doc Roberts gets a pass with most Dodger fans. As I see it he gives up on starters too early & is way too trusting with a bullpen that has totally choked in the second half of this season . Add in a dismal bottom third of the lineup & we get a team that will be lucky to win it’s division. Poor managing is certainly a part of this fall from the top.

Dodgers need to rename Bullpen to sheep pen. 60 year fan, this is the worst I’ve ever seen for blown saves.

I was originally surprised when the Dodgers spent so much on relievers (Scott and Yates) this off-season. I suspect that they knew what we did not – that most of last year’s high leverage arms were injured. Phillips was off of the roster during the World Series. He pitched in about 5 games this year and had Tommy John surgery.

Kopech and Treinen have been gone most of the season and haven’t been good when they have been available. Hudson retired. Vesia has been healthy and effective mostly.

There was a cost to last season’s run to the title without a rotation – the bullpen has been a casualty.

So they rebuilt – but the guys they got haven’t gotten the job done. And most of last year’s ‘pen is still injured or ineffective.

I am certain that they figured that the return of injured relievers would work out as the return of injured starters worked out so they added the also-injured and ineffective Brock Stewart. It hasn’t worked out however.

So unless starters can pitch 9 innings, they will put one of the current punching bags out there and pray.

10:10 PM ET

Phillies (91-61)

Dodgers (84-67)

SP Jesus Luzardo L

14-6 4.03 ERA

SP Blake Snell L

4-4 2.79 ERA

Confirmed Lineup

DH S. Ohtani L

SS Mookie Betts R

RF T. Hernandez R

1B F. Freeman L

CF Tommy Edman S

2B Miguel Rojas R

LF Andy Pages R

3B E. Hernandez R

C Ben Rortvedt L

75° Wind 10 mph L-R

Most of this and the stuff on the other Dodgers sites are insane drivel.

They are the rants of fans who have left their brains somewhere else.

Yawn… I am going to go drink a beer.

Do you all remember how certain fans were that we could not win last year?

Seek mental help!

wow mr. bluto! i don’t know who AF could have traded for, but lots of relievers trade places. it’s obvious the dodgers didn’t feel the need to acquire any other than Stewart. But given the state of this bullpen, a couple of quality arms would make a helluva difference right now. my logic? if you run the dodgers, get what you need. just my opinion. that’s what this site is all about, right?

Obviously Ohtani wasn’t going the distance. No matter when he came out this bullpen was capable of blowing the game. However, the starting pitchers throw one day a week. They should be able to go longer than Doc is allowing and will need to in the postseason.

At least we do not have a no hitter to be spoiled tonight! Gallows humor, ok?

The starting pitching is really exemplary

The hitting is good enough

The ‘pen just needs to solidify

Hub Collins scored 148 runs in 1890.

The record in the modern era is Babe Herman in 1930 – 143. (He’s the most underappreciated offensive player in Dodger history) – and he didn’t bat leadoff. But if you hit .396 and have 416 total bases in a 154 game season you will score a lot of runs)

By “bad physical condition,” what do you mean?

Not so bad as to prevent him from throwing 100mph+ gas in the major leagues.

From what I’ve seen and read is that the problem is more of a lack of movement in his fastball, which was also the (occasional) knock on Brusdar.

Anyway, I suspect that Sheehan will be getting plenty of work out of the bullpen in the playoffs. And I’m hoping that Sasaki can help.

Snell told doc to go back to the dugout and sit his ass down. Doc had the intelligence to say, “OK, Ricky, go get him” to quote Major League. I have never seen Snell so animated. I think he intends to carry the team.

Pages’ stole second, moved to third on a pickoff attempt and came in on a Keki blooper. All with 2 outs. Definitely the spark plug for this team.

Yamamoto. Kershaw.Glasnow. Sheehan! that’s a pretty good 4. to run out there against the giants this weekend! And then there’s ohtani and Snell! 6 very good to great pitchers the dodgers send to the mound now that they’re all healthy! Blake Snell cemented his place as a DODGER last night! 12 K’S and only 2 bb. but more importantly the fire he exhibited in that 7th inning! the dodgers absolutely have the best rotation in baseball! The phillies aren’t a slouch either. especially since you consider Wheeler is done for the season. they ran 3 very good (lefties) pitchers out there this series. the dodgers offense did their job against those guys. the starters were absolutely amazing. the bullpen? not so much. vesia was good. Scott , while pitching a scoreless 9th was still not the guy AF signed. But he’s there and Doc will use him. Will yates and kopech even sniff the mound in the 4 game set against the Giants? probably since the bullpen will be called upon a bunch this weekend. And with 3 in Arizona and 3 in Seattle next week, it’s going to be a bit stressful for Doc when Mark Pryor picks up the bullpen phone! …. Be good to see Max back in the lineup again tonight. Kike did a good job against the phillies the 2 games he played. Defensively he is good most anywhere he plays. Had some good at bats too! …. Probably conforto back in the lineup tonight. Does Tommy play second? I wouldn’t mind seeing Kim get a shot at second tonight. He’s lightning in a bottle. Wouldn’t hurt to use that lightning a little more!…. ohtani. unbelievable!

I believe that the opponent AF was trying to defeat with his glutenous moves this offseason was not another team but rather the randomness of the MLB playoffs. The best team rarely wins (witness the 14 year run of the Atlanta Braves with minimal WS success. ) AF was trying to beat that randomness with by creating a team so stacked both in LA and on the farm that he could rest his players and line them up for peak playoff performance while still winning the division. It might have worked if not for bullpen injuries and underperformance by players with with previous historical success. It was a valiant and brilliant play, but in baseball, player performance is far more variable and fickle than in other sports, thus the randomness of the playoffs. The good news is that while we are not the best team in baseball this year, we thus get to benefit from that very randomness that AF was trying to defeat. We have only a slightly lower probability of winning the WS than whomever one might consider the best team going into the playoffs. Baseball leadership decided a long time ago that dollars were more valuable than equity, thus the high number of teams in the playoffs. It is almost enough to make one want to move to Panama!

Can we all give an appreciation for what Ben Rohtvedt has done for the squad.

Appreciate you Ben, and what foresight by the front office to pick him up……

I asked ChatGPT about Henriquez’s conditioning, and this was the response:

I can’t find any credible report or beat-writer note saying Edgardo Henriquez has a “conditioning problem.” Recent coverage focuses on (1) the metatarsal/foot injury that cost him Opening Day and (2) his triple-digit velocity since returning—nothing about conditioning.