One Step Forward – Three Steps Back
The simple way to blame someone for last night’s debacle ‘er, loss, is to say it was on Dave Roberts for starting Chris Taylor at 3B after Max Muncy’s big night. However, that would be short-sighted as well. Max has not fared well against Alex Wood – having just one hit in 9…
The simple way to blame someone for last night’s debacle ‘er, loss, is to say it was on Dave Roberts for starting Chris Taylor at 3B after Max Muncy’s big night. However, that would be short-sighted as well. Max has not fared well against Alex Wood – having just one hit in 9 career at-bats against him, and it could be that Max Muncy is becoming a platoon hitter as he has not gotten a hit against a LHP this season!
There’s another reason Chris Taylor started at 3B last night: Doc is a players’ manager, and showing confidence in a player breeds confidence. In case you have never played the game, the most important aspect of hitting is confidence. The opposite of confidence is indecision, and indecision will kill a hitter. Dave Roberts and the Dodger staff are trying hard to “fix” CT3… but sadly, it is not working. I feel I am watching a Cody Bellinger re-run!
Here’s the deal: when the top four hitters in your lineup get one hit and the bottom four hitters get two hits, you are not scoring, let alone winning. Mookie did walk three times, so I give him a pass, but Freddie Freeman was 0-5 and still has just 2 RBIs on the season. That is insane.
Here is what else is insane: Making a determination at this juncture of the season that a certain player is a good or bad MLB player. It’s way too early for that. Dave Roberts can’t do it. Andrew Friedman can’t do it, No rational baseball person can do it. I can’t do it. But maybe you possess some special power that enables you to determine that at this juncture. If so, I would recommend selling that to the highest bidder. If you prove you can do that, someone will pay you millions. If not, right about now would be a good time to be still.
This is not close to playing out with CT3, and it is painful to watch, but it’s just one game. It might take 20-30 more before we can reach a determination. In the meantime, we have to remember that it’s a team game, and when you lose 5-0, with just three hits, it’s more than one problem. For the short term, Muncy is going to play against RHP, and CT3 will likely play against LHP. This puts Max in the best place to succeed and also gives Chris his opportunity. It’s a process, and it takes patience… no matter how ugly the game.
Miguel Vargas is playing exceptionally well at 2B, so I would hesitate to put him over at 3B, but maybe there is a plan to do that if CT3 can’t cut it. Busch is hitting .326 at OKC, and I think his bat is MLB-Ready, and he can play 2B. But a lot has to play out before that happens. By the way, Gavin Stone struggled with control again last night. He gave up two home runs and allowed three hits and three runs in 4 IP. He walked four batters. YIKES! See, even I did not know Shineola about him being ready! The OKC Dodgers did win, however, as Nick Robertson is taking the next steps forward. The 6′ 6″ RH went two innings and got his second win. He has struck out 12 in 7 IP, and you may see him at a Ravine near you this summer. Harold Uhlman (Dodger Chatter) is loving it from his vantage point with the Big Dodger in the Sky!
Other Dodger News
- Andy Pages was 2-4 at Tulsa last night with 3 RBIs.
- Emmett Sheehan pitched four innings, allowing two hits and 2 ER while walking one and striking out 9.
- By the way, if you click <Minor League Affiliates> at the top of the LADT page, you will go to every team’s home page, where the box score is located. I do not have time to do a re-cap.
- After first-inning control issues, Dustim May came back with a vengeance! I like the growth I am seeing from Dustin.
- Tonight, it’s Kershaw vs. Cobb.
- I can live with being 6-6. I do not like sub-.500!
Question
As you may know, I was supposed to have back surgery on Monday (Lumbar Decompression), but in the Pre-Op Meeting, they did an EKG and said I have A-Fib. It is now postponed! I am getting an Apple Watch today (as it detects it). I have no symptoms. Does anyone have experience with this?
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Discussion (74)
Disagree, not disagreeable
I am going to blame Doc for some of this. He will not adjust. It is all about the HR. He will not play small ball. We have two stolen bases all by Outman and that is it for the team. That game last night was winable. It was 2-1 for a long time. Mookie, Vargas, Outman, Rojas, Thompson, and others can run. Teams are running this year and we are not. There are many other ways to win a ball game besides the HR.
Another thing. Everyone steals on us. We have had this problem for years and it never gets fixed. Singles become doubles. Look at Arizona. They would get a guy on and immediately steal second. Now he is scoring position. This year, this problem is going to be bigger, because of the new changes. I feel sorry for Smith and Barnes. Even Johnny Bench could not throw those runners out. Fix the dam problem.
We are not a complete team. I just do not understand Doc. Small ball is what he did as a player. In my opinion, that is one of the reasons we do not do well in the playoffs. If we hit the HR, we win. If not, we lose. We win many games because we have better talent. With equal talent, Doc will not help this team win.
I echo the patience theme of this post, but quite honestly I’m worried CT3 is what he is right now, and will always be. We waited patiently for Bellinger often reading things like “he’ll find his stroke after recovering from surgery two years prior, he’ll get his timing back, he’ll quit using the stand up straight stance, RVS will figure it out,” but those improvements never came. Will CT3 experience the same fate? I have zero confidence RVS and Aaron Bates can figure CT3 out. He has regressed terribly and he looks lost at the plate. Perhaps and IL stint with a phantom injury and a Busch call-up is needed.
For the first time in many, many years I don’t like the roster construction but I’ll be patient. Peralta, Heyward, Thompson, Rojas, CT3 and to a certain extent Vargas , just don’t inspire me with a lot of offensive confidence.
A four game win streak might mask some of the roster flaws and put me in a better mood, but right now this team looks average and maybe just a wildcard team in the post season at best. I’ll practice patience at hope for the best.
Just win series, do that all year long we’ll be there.
Freddie due for a big night….
Is the ‘Manfred Clock’ the best thing in decades? Since whenever?
It’s Fire. I’m onboard.
Instead of pointing fingers at particular players, can we say that the Dodgers are just not executing very well in almost every area. The areas keep changing such as the overall speed of the team; they are slow. They are good defenders but not at throwing out runners like base stealers. It’s been a problem for some year that never gets addressed. I love Will Smith, but it’s his bat that gets the kudos, not his particular skills as a catcher as some people might think. They seem to be in love with the strike out and the walk. They do hit a lot of HR’s. Thank Van Scoyok but get rid of these guys. Bat to ball skills is where it is at in baseball. Execute by getting on base because you can’t win by hitting HR’s very often. And the pitching? I told you when the season was about to begin that their pitching didn’t look strong anymore. May is an example. Good pitcher who is struggling with his control after 2 years of injuries. Kershaw, an old soul and an old arm who can no longer keep HR’s or BB’s off his stat sheet. The rest are salvation army folks. Strength in numbers? Not in this batch. Muncy pinch hitting near the end of the game? lol. That’ll fix things, won’t it?
Mark, good luck with your upcoming procedure(s). My father used to tell me all the time that growing old is not for the feint of heart……… Try losing some weight. It’s one of the best things you can do for yourself.
We’ve been here before in this 10 year run. Panic is for pancies
I like CT3, he is a valuable player, but not as a hitter. With a decent roster he should be the utility player, filling in 4-5 x a week and hitting 8th. He can be counted on to play good defense wherever they put him anf anything they get from him offensively is a bonus. Is that worth $15 mil/yr? Maybe.
Not starting MM after his big night might be defendable because of his track record vs Wood.
But not pinch hitting him in the 6th with bases loaded, none out is not defendable. Yes, he might have struck out or hit into a triple play but leaving him on the bench when we had our best look at the game was a WTF moment. At least for me. But hey, Roberts has a plan and what do I know ?
Well, what I do know: Dodgers currently have 6 players on the roster who are hitting below the Mendoza line. Muncy, Taylor, Vargas ( I give him a pass becaus of his walks) , Rojas, Barnes and Peralta. That is 6 out of 13 position players .
Yes, it is early, very early in the season but this at the very least IS concerning. Especially since the Dodgers will not have the luxury of throwing away games this season. They probably will need each and every win to make it into postseason play.
MOF, I am not surprised at what I am seeing at the moment. It is more or less what I expected. Very good starting pitching but a lineup with a lot of holes and a weak bench. Bullpen so far is disappointing which comes as a surprise since I thought it would be a strength.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3 for 30, 11K’s, 0 for 8 WRISP. It’s games like this that don’t exactly fill me with confidence in this group. And we’ve seen a few already.
CT3 looks lost. What to do? I have no idea. Keep putting him out there I guess.
Lakers came back. That’s a good thing.
I know a little about AFib Mark. Not enough to offer a lot of opinion here. Obviously it can be serious, but you know that already. Get as much information as you can and follow your doctor’s advice. Avoid triggers such as alcohol, caffeine, high stress. I would of course recommend a vegan diet until you know more, but, that’s me. Deep breathing exercises, yoga, walking, cycling. If you’ve been thinking about losing a few pounds, now would be a good time to do it.