RANDOM THOUGHTS AFTER THE FIRST 3 GAMES OF THE SEASON
We have the first series under our belt and here’s a few observations: ● I thought they might, but alas, it doesn’t appear that the Dodgers will go 60 0. That’s a shame, as it would have eliminated all worry about making the playoffs. I guess 59-1 will have to do. ● If we win all our games 8-1, 9-1 or lose 5- 4, then it doesn’t appear
We have the first series under our belt and here’s a few observations:
● I thought they might, but alas, it doesn’t appear that the Dodgers will go 60 – 0. That’s a shame, as it would have eliminated all worry about making the playoffs. I guess 59-1 will have to do.
● If we win all our games 8-1, 9-1 or lose 5- 4, then it doesn’t appear the Dodgers will have to use Kenley Jansen in a critical situation until the playoffs. Hopefully by then, his strength will be built up and he can let ‘er rip throughout the playoffs.
● THIS IS NOT INTENDED TO BE POLITICAL, IT IS ONLY AN OBSERVATION. I thought the opening day picture of Bellinger, Muncy with their hands on Betts’ shoulder during the National Anthem on opening day was quite moving, no matter what side of the political fence you live on. I also liked the picture of Mookie Betts sitting by the Jackie Robinson statute, in front of the stadium.
● Mookie Betts has the lowest batting average of any starter. I’m okay with that. I feel relatively confidant he’ll rebound quickly. Just a petty little complaint (only because as a fan, I feel I have the right to do so), but I don’t understand why, after having Betts hit lead off virtually every “summer training” game, the Dodgers would switch gears when the season starts and bat him second. I may be daft, but I don’t think the hand with which a pitcher throws will impact his success at all.
● Bellinger is also off to a slow start. Once again, I’m okay with that. I think he will rebound quickly.
● It does not at all pain me to see the Giants have such a bad team. I know it won’t, but I do hope this malady plagues them for many years. That said, I hate losing to them more than to any other team.
● It appears that Alex Wood may be a weak link in the starting rotation. He did not look good in his first outing. I could see that, even though I was following the game on Gameday. 60+ pitches in 3 innings will hardly ever get the job done.
● Corey Seager is still hitting most everything very hard. For him to get a clutch hit off Tony Watson bodes well for games to come. It’s only 3 games, but he really looks locked in.
● Blake Treinen’s sinker is filthy. If he can throw that pitch with the same authority as he did in his first game, I’ll feel a whole lot better about our bullpen.
● Maybe, just maybe, Justin Turner will win the MVP award this year. Wouldn’t that be sweet.
● CT3’s collision with the Panda looked nasty. I’m glad Taylor did not get hurt any worse than he did.
● If Dylan Floro can keep this up, he will be a solid, if not spectacular, piece to the bullpen puzzle. Even if he never pitches in a high risk situation, the less we have to use those pitchers we absolutely want to rely on in non-critical situations, the better it will be for the Dodgers in the long-run.
● Dustin May belongs. He’ll have a few hiccups along the way, but he definitely belongs. 98-100, with movement coupled with a nasty slider, will play at the major league level.
● McGee appears to be improving. It seems as though the Dodgers will give him every opportunity to show he can help.
● When Kershaw comes back, it will be real interesting to see who the Dodgers send down. Do they put Wood in the bullpen and send down Santana or Kolerek? It will be an interesting decision.
● I think Dennis Santana will come around, but he’s just not quite there yet. If he continues to flounder, he would be one of the first pitchers that I sent down.
● I miss the minor league games. After a game like Saturday’s loss, I always looked forward to perusing the minor league box scores to see how our prospects did. I didn’t realize just how much I miss that activity, until after the Dodger’s loss.
● Fans, or no fans, Joe Davis does make watching a baseball game better. I agree with other posters about Orel Hershiser. He’s seems like a really nice man who you could easily spend an afternoon with. However, he just doesn’t add to much to the commentary for me. If I hear him say “If Pederson hits a 3-run homer run here, we’ll tie the game” one more time, I might throw my sock at the TV. No kidding captain obvious. He does, on occasion provide some good insight, but those times are far and few between. I listened to an inning on the radio driving home from work on Thursday. I like the sound of Charlie Steiner’s voice and appreciate his humor at times, but the lengthy pauses after pitches and the “Seager pops it up to second, (pause) back goes Yelich he’s against the wall and Seager has a home run” calls, frustrate my listening mind to no end.
My song parody for the day, with apologies to Gordon Summer who wrote the song, is a very weak take on the Police’s “I Can’t Stand Losing You.”
We came so close so many times today
And I guess it’s all true what the people say
That games are played on the field and
you can’t call them in
Even when you out hit the other team by ten
I guess you’d call it luck
But I’m not prepared to see them win
Because, I can’t, I can’t, I can’t stand losing
I can’t, I can’t, I can’t stand losing
I can’t, I can’t, I can’t stand losing to the Giants
I can’t stand losing to the Giants
I can’t stand losing to the Giants
I can’t stand losing to the Giants
All our fly balls died at the warning track
And our pitchers can’t find the plate with a map
I don’t see the point in letting Woods play
Why oh why doesn’t Roberts listen to what I say
You can see he has no confidence
To keep bringing him in just makes no sense
I can’t stand losing to the Giants
I can’t stand losing to the Giants
I can’t stand losing to the Giants
I can’t stand losing to the Giants
I can’t stand losing to the Giants
I can’t stand losing to the Giants
3 innings was all Wood had before we said goodbye
Roberts it seems like you don’t care, so I won’t cry
And you’ll be sorry when we’re 3 games behind
When all this guilt will be on your mind
The pressure to win will then be oh so high
So please be willing to swallow your pride
Because, I can’t, I can’t, I can’t stand losing
I can’t, I can’t, I can’t stand losing
I can’t, I can’t, I can’t stand losing
I can’t, I can’t, I can’t stand losing
I can’t, I can’t, I can’t stand losing
I can’t, I can’t, I can’t stand losing
I can’t, I can’t, I can’t stand losing
I can’t, I can’t, I can’t stand losing
I can’t, I can’t, I can’t stand losing
I can’t, I can’t, I can’t stand losing
I can’t, I can’t, I can’t stand losing
I can’t, I can’t, I can’t stand losing
I can’t, I can’t, I can’t stand losing to the Giants!!!
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Discussion (64)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Urías has always struggled with command. I have never really seen him dominate. I hope to see him dominate this year. When pitchers dominate they tend to have a low pitch count. Urías may be within the pitch range per inning but he always seems to struggle to stay ahead in the count. Ryu is a dart thrower strike, strike, strike with location. Kendrick 103 pitches for 9. I think one of the reasons Urías is 4,5,6 innings is struggling with command.
The great thing with Ryu especially last year he got batters to swing and miss with his change up out of the zone a lot. So far Urias isn’t getting anyone to nibble at his off speed stuff out of the zone. He needs to throw his change up more and pound that first pitch fastball for strikes. Still say he’s a future ace!
I just have to say that Kepler outman aged Roberts in game 4 at every turn. The obvious of not pinch hitting for Kiké twice. It was much more kaplerdid pinch hit and get the right matchup. Solano an ex dodger killed us both games they won. Kapler used his pitchers just right to get the matchups. Roberts wants rhlh but in the case of turner Kapler went to a left on Muncy and then turner is better against righties then you got bellinger. Then, kapler brings in coonrod against 3 righties knowing that Roberts wouldn’t pinch hit for pollock. Kapler has a plan to make things happen and Roberts let things happen. So Roberts works himself into a righty vs kolarek. I should have taken the time to go point by point but Roberts was same ole Roberts. I want him to get it done but he never acknowledges a mistake so I think we will have to overcome his weakness if we win the big one.
I think we need to see Urias as a work in progress. As already pointed out by others here, he is only 23, has had multiple surgeries, and had control issues in the past. And he’s also had a few issues in his personal life. I particularly remember him trying to nibble around the corners when he first came up. Let’s not forget that only a few years ago, he was widely thought of as a rising star. There was a lot of excitement around him. I believe that the talent is still there. However, he needs time and seasoning to find his way, particularly learning to trust his stuff and attack the zone. That means taking some risks. However, that’s hard to do in a short season, where each loss counts as 2.7 losses. That creates a sense of urgency and pressure. And there’s also the Covid weirdness to consider, which can’t help but have some effect on the players. It is not an ideal situation for a young man to find his legs. Despite these pressures, I think he can thrive, given more time and experience. That means he’ll make some mistakes, and the Dodgers hitters will need to pick him up. And that means that they need to start hitting more consistently. What a strange season! As I said before, “It’s going to be a bumpy ride!”
It is simply silly to criticize Julio after 189 IP.
Right now, here are Julio’s underlying stats after not quite 200 IP:
Walks per 9 IP – 3.6
Strikeouts per 9 IP – 9.0
Compare that with Clayton Kershaw’s stats after a little more than 200 IP:]
Walks per 9 IP – 4.5
Strikeouts per 9 IP – 9.1
ERA after around 200 IP:
Clayton – 3.52
Julio – 3.14
WHIP
Clayton – 1.354
Julio – 1.291
By any metric you want to use Julio Urias nibbles less and is better than Clayton Kershaw, so why can’t he get even better? Clayton did!
The haters of Julio don’t have a leg to stand on.
I wanted to post this last night, but our power was out from 3PM to 1AM.