Right Back In!

An incredible win for the Dodgers and their fans last night. Bear posted yesterday that he bailed after the 6th and I did as well. I was getting more pissed off after each awful AB by the Dodger hitters. And, tired of one broken bat hit after another by the Brave hitters. I mean, come on, it was crazy. I returned just after Will got a hit. When Belli got to the plate I was hoping he would approach the AB like he had recently. But, after two big swings I knew that wasn’t going to happen. I guess if there was a time to hit a 500′ HR it was then. And, then he goes all Joc and tomahawks an eye high pitch and completely changed not only the game, but the series with the Braves. Good for him.

Let’s continue the offensive onslaught today.

Crazy series…..the starters for both teams are not lasting long….except Max Fried I think he went more than 5 (6).

And by the way. Roberts is batting a lot higher than any of the players! As long as he doesn’t bring Kersh in relief!

Let’s not forget the great job Phillips did to keep us in the game. His stuff looked electric! And the rest of the pen. What a closeout by Jansen. We were on our feet going crazy during his 3 K inning!

The Braves were beaten by the Ghost of Tommy Lasorda. I could feel his presence in the ballpark. Not in our house he said. Dodgers have won 18 of their last 19 games at home. Losing only the 1-0 game to the Giants.

Dave Roberts gets a reprieve. I was about ready to call for him to be ritualistically drawn and quartered in the middle of the Dodger Stadium diamond to appease the Blue Gods in the Sky. The Blue Gods were angry with Dave Roberts and Andrew Friedman.

Andrew Friedman and Dave Roberts are very smart. They know they are very smart. They tell themselves that often.

They sat and pored over the numbers. They hypothesized potential match up scenarios. “We are going to outsmart the game!” They were going to play 12D chess in a traditional game of checkers.

So they crafted The Script. It was brilliant. They looked at their creation with pride – probably the same kind of pride Icarus had many years ago when he looked upon his wings crafted from wax. By the way, Icarus was very smart, too.

The Script was brilliant. The Script was perfect. They were going to outthink the game. Did I mention they are very smart?

So, out with Treinen, even though Treinen has the absolute nastiest stuff on the staff, even though he has been the most dependable reliever throughout the year, even though he was absolutely dealing and unhittable … no, no no! The Script called for Roberts to use a key starting pitcher between starts (a starting pitcher, btw, how has pitched more innings in his entire career and saw a dip in velocity at the end of the season). It was almost dastardly in its brilliance. They are very smart. The Script was perfect. They were going to stick to The Script no matter the game situation.

But the Dodger Blue Gods looked down from the Great Blue Sky and their brows furrowed. They were displeased. This was not the Dodger Way. This was not the 1988 Dodgers. This was not grit, resilience, determination – of letting go and putting faith in the Blue Gods in the Sky; of trusting themselves and trusting the game. Dave Roberts didn’t flail his arms in the dugout and yell at people like Tommy did. It was pride and arrogance and hubris. The Dodger Gods punished the Dodgers for their insolence, and might still punish them if Urias has a dead arm in today’s start.

Bellinger let go. He didn’t think of The Script. He didn’t think. He put his faith in the Dodger Gods. He switched off his targeting computer. The Dodger Gods looked down on him, and they were pleased.

May the Blue Force be with us.

Where’s TM? If this was a loss, he would have posted two hours ago.

Well, that was a hell of a game and a hell of a comeback. It was pretty crazy to put up bookends of 2 runs in their first inning and 4 in their last. Baseball is such a random game.

It sure felt like the Boys in Blue were feeling the pressure. I’m pretty sure a couple of guys had to go to the clubhouse and change the bottom half of their uniforms. They played really tight in that 4th inning and imploded a little bit. Or a lot of bit. Bueller was cruising before that dropped fly ball and that gift from the umpire. Then the broken bat hit and Bueller fell apart. 15 or 20 relievers and the biggest bomb of the season later and we’re on top and in this thing.

I really love Belli and felt so good for him getting that big one on a pitch that everyone decided he could never hit. That cheese was so high and out of the zone, I could hardly believe it. And boy did he crush it! Lost in the moment, Pollock also delivered. Maybe that will get him going. With so many players not hitting, I think you have to ride the hot hand and go with Pollock over Lux in the next game. Especially since it will be a bullpen game and Pollock’s splits aren’t as extreme as Lux’s.

This lineup is stacked with great hitters. Someone needs to get hot. Not an easy task against a very good Brave’s pitching staff. But, like Mark said, the more they see these pitchers, the better the bats are going to get. It’s great that the Boys didn’t quit. They’ll ride this momentum into the next game and hopefully throughout the series.

Doc was pretty funny in the post game interview. He’s riding on cloud nine. You can tell he really loves these guys and was proud of Belli. It was a good learning experience for Cody. You don’t have to swing with all your might to get the right result. Doc mentioned Belli getting that loop out of his swing and that he would never had hit that ball with that big uppercut he was doing. He also said that was as loud as he’s ever heard at Dodger Stadium. The crowd should be in full effect today.

Let’s not forget that if it weren’t for CT3’s catch in center, Belli’s big Bomb wouldn’t have been enough to secure victory.

Now we just need a gem from Julio and we’re right back in there. I was a bit surprised that they decided to give him game 4 instead of opting for additional rest after his hiccup the other night. But, as it turns out, it looks like there’s no other way around it after using everyone just about in the pen yesterday.

I think Trea is just about to turn the corner. We was jumping on everything yesterday and was a bit early in several AB’s. He sure picked a hell of a time to start slumping, like most everyone on this team. I think I’m mostly concerned about the other Turner. Will the real JT please step up?

I’m not sure why every post has to be about Doc. It seems like Mark is as obsessed with Doc as Eric is about the bullpen and pitching splits. Let it go. Even TM finds a different player to rip on as soon as the one he’s been bashing starts to produce. You even said that no one makes the right decision all the time. For once, point out a decision that you disagree with. It will be a refreshing change of pace.

My name is Cassidy and I was a Belli basher. I am now 2 weeks woke. I’m still in shock. ON A HIGH FASTBALL! Very high! Bellinger had an historically bad season. He was swinging at air on every high fastball. And there was NO way I thought it could change in the post season. I was wrong. Mr Timmons has called me a moron, an idiot and a bag of nails. Well I will admit to being the happiest moron in all the world! Happy that I was wrong, Happy for Bellinger. Amazing! He’s choking up, he’s moved off the plate a good bit and he’s tightened up his strike zone. And he’s gained some confidence. So much for the stubborn and won’t take coaching advise! In my defense I’m not a Roberts basher or an AF can’t build a bullpen guy and I have said two years ago that Urias would be a co ace with Buehler. But I was wrong to give up on Belli. Now I need to work my magic on the Turner boys. Common AF, get rid of those guys! Trade them, DFA them or send them down. But they should never play another playoff game for the Dodgers again! OK, my work is done!

Nice post, Mark.

Carson Taylor is a guy to keep an eye on. 4th round pick in ’20, he’s a SH catcher with potentially enough bat to move off the position if needed. He spent all of this year in A+ so AA seems like a lock. He put up a 45/63 BB/K line last year so he has a good eye.

If I am DR and the Dodgers brain trust I would think about putting TT at CF and Lux at 2b. TT has played cf before and done pretty well . Lux would be at his regular 2b position and we keep his bat in the lineup. He did not have a hit yesterday but he worked two BBs with good at bats.

As you said the two Turners have to start to produce NOW.

Lets hope Julio can give us 5-6 solid innings today. That would be huge with another bullpen game coming up tomorrow.

Ride the momentum, Dodgers!!!

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