Nothing to See Here, Folks!

Oh crap.

Pollock cut a really. Oh My God he hurts

Doc has unleashed the hounds

Gonsolin just pulled after 2 1/3 at Quakes Stadium (LoanMart Field). He was scheduled to pitch 3 innings. He gave up one run. A couple of hard hit line drives plus a drive that was caught at the fence. Seems healthy. No radar readings a available .

Put Seager in 2nd spot…..!!!!

The Dodgers have won 10 of their last 14 games. They have done it with pitching. The offense is scoring 3.6 runs a game in that stretch. Their BA with RISP is .178. They are hitting as a team a paltry .228. Now tar and feather me, but it seems the vaunted best team in the majors cannot hit it’s way out of a wet paper bag right now. And one of the biggest culprits is Taylor. Yeah, he got a clutch bloop hit last night, but he is striking out a lot. So is Muncy. Bellinger looks totally lost at the plate, and very energetic in the outfield. He almost made a brilliant catch last night. I watched the entire game. Did not miss a pitch. And the bullpen was outstanding. Even Phillips did a great job. He made the right pitch, got Posey to hit a routine grounder, and Turner just rushed a throw on threw it too wide. Game over. But the onus is on the offense. When you go to extra’s you need a crooked number and not just the 1 that holds serve. They failed to do that and lost. Giants have some guy named Jackson going today. He is a starter called up from the minors. 30 years old and a strikeout type pitcher. Taylor in the last 2 weeks has played in 11 games, is hitting .158 and has struck out 17 times. Bellinger in 12 games is hitting .139 with 10 K’s. If you want to point fingers for bad offense, those two are big reasons for it.

Tonight’s winning lineup:

2b Trea

1b Max

RF Mookie

3b Justin

ss Corey

LF AJ

CF Chris

C Will

P Julio

No Cody

The Dodgers better win these next 2 games, because relying on other teams to beat the Giants is a dangerous situation to be in. The Brewers beat them 3 out of 4, but they are the next best team in the standings.

Why in the hell, with all the star power we have on offense is the offense so inconsistent?

By the way, we lost yesterday but I didn’t blame it on Doc. I think the Doc loyalists need to relax. I or we don’t ALWAYS blame Doc.

I think there’s a lot of people who didn’t do well in math.

Unlike Mark, I would not classify last night’s tough loss as a “train wreck” and overall I am feeling good about the remainder of the season. First of all, it was a pen game for us. Our pitching, overall, showed a lot of guts and I admire how they left it all on the field. I think we we found another diamond in the rough (unlike Javi B. who is still looking for his) in Phillips. He came in, in a very high stress situation and made the pitches necessary to allow the offense a chance to redeem themselves. Now the Giants have to face 2 games in row with only their relievers to hold back the blue tide. I like our odds greatly with Juli and Kershaw’s little brother. I am about to give you a

“post hoc” conclusion that I have been tracking for the past 1 1/2 years simply on my own. I understand the criticism that I am submitting myself to because I am giving you my opinion after the event(s) have already passed. I am totally ok with any doubts that readers may have. For better or worst, we come together here to exchange ideas, information, facts, perceived facts and our own biases which we may not even understand until we put them in ink.

Very simply, as I mentioned earlier, I have been tracking for the past 18 months, what has been the outcome (scoring or not scoring) when the Dodgers have a man on 3rd base with less then 2 outs and the batter has hit a ball to one of the 4 infielders. One player has scored, one player has stayed at 3rd base and the other 13 base runners have been thrown out. In 14 out of 15 times, the player on 3rd base has taken off for home plate “at the point of contact” between the batter and the pitch. One player held his position at 3rd base. So there must be an “official” team policy that players have to try and score from 3rd even though there is only 1 out. This team strategy is just not working. I would rather have the player on 3rd hold his position and let the infielder throw the runner out at first. I know “Duh” so why does it keep happening. I understand that some people might not consider 15 episodes a great number to come to a conclusion that this is “team policy” . Many times it has been said that anything could happen just one, twice could be a coincidence but three time and there is a trending going on here.

With 15…………….??? – Just keep this non scientific poll in the back of your minds when it comes up again

ROLL BLUE !!!

If Betts doesn’t perform like a superstar and lead this team we won’t be the ones celebrating at the end of the year. There’s just way too much talent in this lineup to put up so many dud performances! If we’re not hitting home runs we don’t score enough to win. Can anyone hit off speed? Frustrating!

another tough loss to the Giants. We lose the one when the Giants OF robs Albert of a walk off hr, then the two blown saves by KJ on the home stand with the Giants and now this nailbiter.

Why did Dino not sent JT on the Seager base hit in the 11th ? It was a clean single to deep enough center field to score from 2b even when you are not the fastest runner. On a night when your offense can do nothing you have to take that risk IMHO.

And TT better clean up his 2b defense soon. Cost another game eventually. Was an easy throw to make. Shades of Steve Sax….

Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m not trying to be political or prejudice, but as a Navy veteran this really bothers me and I hope I don’t offend anyone. ,but can someone explain to me how 13 Marines who gave the ultimate sacrifice gets less recognition than George Floyd ? This is the last I’ll mention it but I had to get it off my chest.

I just read this…

“It was something he’s been dealing with but then it kind of came to a head more after his last start,” Roberts said. “We just want to be sure, just to reset him a little bit, too. You look at what David did last year [not playing] and what he’s done this year, it’s a lot as far as workload. To kind of give him a little reprieve and get him back, get some of that soreness out, he should be fine.”

If Price has been dealing with this since his last start, why didn’t they IL him and have White up for last night’s game?

Then I read this…

“The next step for Clayton will be to throw a ‘pen on Sunday,” Roberts said. “Once he gets through that, we’ll figure out where he goes on a rehab assignment, which would either Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. After he gets through that — we would assume healthy and all goes well — then the next outing will be with us.”

So much for getting Kershaw back by Tuesday. More bullpen games.

Since the Dodgers and Giants came into the series tied for first, it’s only a train wreck if the Dodgers fail to take the series.

If you look at the Dodgers on paper they should be a much better hitting team, far more consistent than they are.

Looking back, the Dodgers were focused on the San Diego Padres being their chief rival, not the Giants. Built the team accordingly. Moving forward I suspect the Dodgers will consider the Padres, not the Giants, as the team they will have to beat in 2022.

But Farhan Zaidi probably surprised himself wth the way this team has performed. Sign a few pitchers here and there, then get big seasons from a bunch of aging vets. A bit of luck in all that. But the Giants are in first today because they play well in the moment. This hasn’t been the best Dodger team in that respect for most of the season, extra inning victories in short supply. Better lately, but a diasaster for most of the year. Why is that? No idea.

It would just be a rehash to mention that injuries have taken a toll. Even Mookie is still not right. But I’m guessing he will get hot again, hopefully this weekend.

These next two games will help decide who wins the NL West and who gets to play in a one game playoff. Like the Dodgers chances with Julio Urias and Walker Buehler.

The good news is that Clayton Kershaw had another good workout and expects to join the rotation in the next couple of weeks, likely for the series with Arizona mid-September. David Price is probably headed to the IL as a precaution, struggling with arm soreness.

Max Scherzer went through his usual workouts yesterday, will throw a bullpen Sunday and make his Monday start. Tony Gonsolin will make a rehab start in Rancho today and is expected to throw three innings.

Well, the big investment in Yasiel Sierra has come to an end. Originally signed to a six year, $30 million deal, he was released this week. Dreadful probably describes the better part of Sierra’s career. Sierra joins a list of other high ticketed signings (Erisbel Arruebarrena, Hector Olivera, Alex Guerrero, Yadier Alvarez and Yusniel Diaz) that yielded little to the Dodgers. Diaz, who I liked, is the only one still playing and was the key to the Manny Machado trade in ’18. Olivera was traded to the Braves with lots of money moving around and Alex Wood being the key player coming back to the Dodgers. Pretty much a lot of wasted money.

Desperate times, desperate measures. Price going down sure didn’t help things. It was a heartbreaker, but we have two more with good pitching and the Giants put a big dent in their own bullpen tonight as well. Seeing a three game lead by the end of the series was apparently too much to ask for.

Like in the beginning of the year, we found ourselves in a position where an inexperienced pitcher had to pitch in an extra innings game. With a little luck it would have worked out. JT made a close play at the plate on Will Smith’s ground ball hit squarely to Brandon Crawford was the difference in the game. Instead of bringing home a second run in the ninth, it left the game tied.

The pitching shuffle that we’ve been playing by optioning White and Jackson after their starts worked for a while, but you can only trick the baseball gods for so long. Today is the 4th, we have our 3 healthy starting pitchers lined up for the next three games and by then we might get Kershaw and Gonsolin back.

Great job by Mitch White going 6 scoreless on just 60 pitches last night for the Low-A Quakes. With Price coming up with a sore elbow, at least he’ll be lined up to make a start after 4 days rest with Urias, Bueller, Scherzer, Kershaw/Gonsolin lined up before we’ll need him. With a little luck, it all comes together now.

One of the fun parts of last night’s game was watching Big Al hustle on his groundout to first base and his subsequent dash to third on a sac fly in extras. He’s sure giving it his all even if it doesn’t look too pretty.

Like Mark I went to bed right before the end of the game. When we failed to score in the top of the 11th, I just felt like even if we would have held them scoreless in the bottom of the inning, we didn’t have any pitchers remaining for the 12th anyways. As a result, I didn’t see Trea Turner’s throwing error that eventually sunk this game, which is exactly why I usually don’t stay up for extras.

I figure, if I stay up and they win, I’m too excited to get to sleep and if they lose, I’m too mad to sleep. Better to be surprised to start my day on a high note in the morning and if they lost, I’m not too upset because I didn’t live it when it happened. If something good happens, I’ll pull up my MLB app and watch what I missed. I won’t be doing that today.

Andre Jackson started and pitched 4.2 innings this past Thursday for Oklahoma City and Mitchell White started and pitched 6 innings last night for RC. Both should be available sometime next week possibly Wednesday and Thursday next week respectively The rotation is in need of innings eaters. Hopefully Kershaw and Gonsolin can be help meet that need. .The bullpen will continue to shuffled until then.

Oh well…..I had a bad feeling about this game so when I woke up to see who won, i was not surprised one bit to see we lost 3-2. I was surprised to see the play by play from innings 9-11. Wow….what a nail biter. Two guys thrown out at the plate and winning on an errant throw. You can’t write this stuff….

I knew we had a bullpen game which is not a bad thing but you never know if one of those 7-8 guys is off that day and let’s in a few runs. Like I said, “ oh well.”

This series, this race regretfully reminds me of the David v Goliath battle, and we all know who won that battle. (Closing my eyes!) The Giants, for the most part, have a team of nobodies minus star power, yet here they are….not going away. I’m afraid this race will probably go down to the last game with the outcome being decided on a weird game, much like last night.

Well, I will be okay with us even winning 1 of the 2 remaining games this weekend. Being down one game with over 20 to go doesn’t upset me one bit. Of course I’d rather be up one game, but just saying….we can regain that one game Monday…it could happen that quickly.

Keep hoping and believing. Maybe this time, Goliath wins.

TM

No hit no field no win.

Picked a weird night to look that awful. giants didn’t look much better.

Put it back together tonight.

Yeah, it was a tough loss and to especially to lose it on an short, errant throw. Both teams had multiple opportunities to score runs and weren’t able to do so. Even with what the Dodgers had pitching in extra innings they had a good chance to win. Of course, JT running on contact in the ninth had to have philjones screaming “nooooo”! If JT had stayed at third and with Seager at 2B they both might have scored on Taylor’s base hit. When JT wandered off 3B after the rundown I thought what was he doing? And why Posey tried to tag out Seager after he had already been called out at 3B was weird as well. Just a strange play.

Anyway, things look good for the Dodgers in as the Giants have two bullpen games coming up. They had to use five of their relievers last night. Each for an inning. With Urias and Striker going we should see some success, but the team has to get the offense going. Good on Seager going 4 for 5.

Oh, Charlie Steiner kept his screw-up streak alive.

He said the Giants would be bringing in “Will Smith” to close, which had me wondering whether I’d missed a deadline trade. Then he corrected himself–that the new pitcher was Jake McGee.

Factoids from the Steiner-Monday radio broadcast:

–Giants are the MLB’s No. 1 team in limiting walks.

–And only two teams have committed fewer errors than the Giants.

So when we wonder why the not-exactly-star-studded and relatively-modest-payroll Giants have the best record in the MLB, those are a couple of unspectacular reasons why.

And something else I just learned: While Dodgers were using 11 pitchers, down in Rancho Cucamonga:

White pitched six scoreless innings, throwing 60 pitches to stay stretched out. Should the Dodgers continue the up-and-down with White, he’s eligible to return to the majors next Thursday.

This is, of course, the same Mitch White who pitched about 8 innings just a few weeks ago as the “bulk reliever.” Why was he pitching for the Quakes when the big club could have used a guy like him? And why has the term “long reliever” fallen out of fashion? When did “bulk” become baseball lingo?

Oh, I also learned that one of the Dodgers’ hottest prospects, Miguel Vargas, is said to be the son of a Cuban baseball “legend.” I don’t take the hyperbole seriously, but obviously baseball runs in a lot of families. Anyway, that was news to me.