Sometimes the War is More Important Than the Battle
Of course, I knew that everyone inclined would blame Dave Roberts for the loss last night. Right or wrong – everyone has an opinion of him, just like everyone has or is an… well, never mind! I sat four rows in back of the Dodgers dugout and had hundreds of Dodger faithful in all…
Of course, I knew that everyone inclined would blame Dave Roberts for the loss last night. Right or wrong – everyone has an opinion of him, just like everyone has or is an… well, never mind! I sat four rows in back of the Dodgers dugout and had hundreds of Dodger faithful in all their gear around me. In the first inning, after scoring three runs in the top of the inning, the Catman gave it all back, and the Dodger fans were screaming to take him out. That would have been a dope-fiend move! Tony settled in and shut the Reds down for his next four innings and would have left the game after five innings with the same score except for Max Muncy’s Air Mail throw.
Tony did not have his best control, but he turned it around and pitched well – he pitched out of trouble…. because Dave Roberts left him in and gave him that opportunity. Someone said his velocity was down. NOT TRUE! Nothing more to say. UNTRUE! Fans make shit up! Just like a certain person made shit up about Betts being afraid of Vargas on the field, and when I call them out, they take their ball and go home. Bye! Some of you have an idea of how to manage people or players. Some have no clue… in fact some think management is a SOB! I can’t help you there!
Many fans want to blame this loss on Dave Roberts or Max Muncy because “Well, we have to blame someone.” OK, you can blame Max, but he has gotten better and will continue to get better at 3B. You could have given him both errors, and there would be no argument! However, the throw from Jason Heyward to Muncy would not have been caught by Nolan Arenado… or Brooks Robinson for that matter! I was forty feet away, and it either hit the runner’s foot or hit something and just skidded away. Max had no chance! Max was visibly upset and even jawed with the fans… which is why (it looked to me) Doc took him out and replaced him with CT3. You could see that Max was very frustrated and animated in the dugout. He cares…, and while I acknowledge he is not a great defensive third baseman, by the end of the season, I think you may have a different opinion.
CALEB FERGUSON LOST THE GAME! “But Doc should have never left him in there in the first place!” I call BULLSHIT, and here’s why: Caleb Ferguson has great stuff… and he is soft! I see this as a moment when Caleb Ferguson was not going to be given a Mulligan. This was a learning moment for Caleb. The fact that he choked will be a stepping stone or stumbling block! You don’t learn from success – adversity is the best teacher. Doc left Caleb to fend for himself. He sent Mark Prior out there to “build him up” and then left him to do it himself. In essence, he was saying, “I have confidence in you Caleb – You can do it!” Of course, we know what happened.
When managing people or players, you have to allow them to grow or not. You have to put them in positions where they can succeed or fail. But, when they fail (and fail, they will), you have to determine if they can learn from their failures and turn it around. Caleb Ferguson is soft, and Dave Roberts is trying to turn him into a Bulldog – as Tommy did with Orel. It starts with changing your mindset. Will Caleb learn after last night? That is to be decided, but if he turns it around, it was because Dave Roberts gave up the battle to win the war.
The Bullpen
Remember this: Bullpen Pitchers are fickle! Last night, Craig Kimbrel struck out the side with 12 pitches to get his 9th save for the Phillies… but he still has a 5.09 ERA – he has been horrible and great. Yency Almonte was unhittable last year – this year, it has been a crapshoot! Caleb Ferguson is a “lefty killer,” but unless that is his ceiling (I do not think so), he has to be stretched out of his soft comfort zone, “This is not Mamby Pamby Land, you Jackwagon!”
Caleb Ferguson has two saves this year. He came in with a two-run lead. Don’t tell me he should not pitch to RH Hitters. His problem was confidence and control as he walked or hit four batters. They only got one hit off of Caleb. Caleb will either grow or crash and burn over this. We shall see, but the bullpen needs more pitchers who can step up in pressure situations. It’s a work in progress.
The Bazooka has had two bad outings in a row, but his ERA sits at 2.10 – he is also a work in progress. Building a business and building a bullpen are very similar – you have to put people in positions where they can succeed or fail and then coach them up to succeed. It’s a process. Some pretenders will be weeded out, and others will become bulldogs! As I mentioned yesterday, there are a number of pitchers on the IL who will be back over the next few weeks or months, including Julio Urias, who will allegedly be back over the weekend. Then there are Dustin May and Walker Buehler (August and September… maybe), and Alex Reyes, Daniel Hudson, Ryan Pepiot, Jimmy Nelson, Blake Treinen, and JP Feyereisen.
Adversity is what gives us lessons. Life is like a coin – there will be good and bad times… just like a coin has two sides. Both sides are essential. Good times give you the best memories, some fun, some happiness, and it passes away without teaching anything. But, Adversity in life, though it is frequent, teaches you the lessons of life. If people think about why adversities are made, we can see that adversities are as crucial as success. It’s necessary to enjoy success. It gives us much more and better lessons, often bitter, but it’s sweetest after you get the result.
Bad experiences happen; that’s what makes people experienced and truly human. If you don’t have Adversity in life, it means you probably don’t have lessons.
Talking about humans, we met so many people in our life. It’s not accidental. Everyone we met is for a cause, some give you good things, and it will be a memory forever. But, some give you bad things, bad experiences, which give you life-long lessons. From each and every experience, we learn something! The true essence lies in finding out the lessons and accepting them rather than complaining.
Hard times build you up, bad people make you strong, and enemies make us famous. All those hard times and the hard work you have is sure to give us an opportunity for results. It all depends on your attitude toward the adversities faced in life. Either it can destroy you, or you can use it to drive you to your dreams with those lessons learned from bad times.
All in all – it was a fun game. I enjoy the process of seeing youngsters like Caleb Ferguson grow into something more than they are. To me, that is the coolest part of baseball. If you are just concerned with wins and losses, you are going to be miserable half the time. Misery is a choice, and I do not have time for it in my life! The good news is that I walked 5 miles yesterday with no ill effects on my back. Life is too good to be miserable! If you are miserable… change your thinking, and you will change your life.
Now, I am worried about how the pitcher formerly known as Thor will do today. But, in baseball… just when you think you have it figured out… you don’t! Jonny DeLuca will play today.
By the way, not signing Verlander, deGrom, or Rodon are three of Andrew Friedmans best moves EVER!
Minor League Notes
- Michael Busch was back and had 2 doubles and 3 RBI (he had an unspecified injury)
- Of course, Nate Robertson was called up last night and is on the 40-man.
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Discussion (90)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Happy Kershaw Day!!!
Win today!
When if ever is a Dodger International Super Star signing going to arrive on a Dodger roster like the Reds De La Cruz?
Bieber has lost 3+ MPH on his fastball, and his strike out rate is less than half of what it was 2 or 3 years ago. He is headed for TJ it seems to me.
What a strange season.
Right now, the Red Sox are 31-31, which is good for last place in the AL East.
And the Twins are 31-31 too, which is good for FIRST place in the AL Central.
The Red Sox are 13 games out of first place. Will this make them sellers? Perhaps not, because they are only 5 games out of a wild card berth.
Over in the AL Central, the last-place Royals, with an 18-44 record, are also 13 games out of first–and 18 out of the wild card..
If the season ended now, the Dodgers, Marlins and Pirates would be the NL wild card teams.
In the AL, it would be the Orioles, Yankes and Trashtros.
I just noticed an oddity. The Dodgers after they play the Angels on Saturday, the 8th of July, get five days off before they embark on a 9-game east coast road trip to New York, Baltimore and then Texas. Never seen that before. After that trip they come home for 9 at the end of July and into August, which just happens to coincide with the trade deadline. Although the Sox might sell, I think they have a better chance of prying Bieber away from Cleveland than landing any of the Sox’s starters. Ohtani most likely will NOT be on the trading block.
You have to believe that the team will turn things around. Yes, they are a flawed team. But a 111-win team did not win it all. They play in a division that does not really have at this point a dominant team. The Diamondbacks are playing way over their heads. They have some good young players, but you have to think that at some point, the league will figure them out. Meanwhile, the Giants have creeped to within 3.5 games of the Dodgers and we all know how much the Giants love spoiling the Dodgers parties. The Padres could be trouble if they ever figure it out. To me, they need to beat the leagues patsies. They had won 8 straight from the Reds heading into this series. They need to win today and go to Philly on a high note. Kershaw is going, so the BP should get a breather.
Michael Busch back in the lineup for OKC against El Paso last night. He went 1-5 with three K’s. Kole Calhoun made his OKC debut and was 0-5. OKC won with 2 in the 10th inning. Jones hit 2 homers, Mann and Hernandez also homered. Washington got the save.
After Roberts comments last night, I think it is more likely Thor heads to the IL than being DFA’d Roberts said he still was having blister and fingernail issues.
Headline: THOR NO MORE -Rookie Reds Sink Dumpster Dive Disaster Syndergaard – how much longer a Dodger???
I’m Norwegian.
Noah is the most consistent pitcher of 2023.
He’s a good man. He needs to shave his head. Become a monk.
Valhalla isn’t for him.
Ain’t for everybody.
It would’ve been great if we could have gotten Syndergaard to improve from last year.
But even last year’s 3.94 ERA would be serviceable as a fifth starter. For some reason he’s gone backwards.
I would not DFA him right away, he needs to go down on a phantom and try to work things out, just in my opinion
Two positives from today’s game, obviously Robertson and Deluca. Robertson pitch two very nice innings, and Deluca hit the ball hard twice, and had a very good at bat which he was able to work a walk.
No time to panic, we still have time to figure things out. The thing that worries me though I just don’t see a lot of options at the trade deadline to help us. Let’s hope AF can do his magic.
I think Doc gave Evan the 9th inning to allow him to gain confidence moving forward, to use it as a developmental moment so he might be better moving forward to ensure huge dividends later in the season.
Of course I’m being sarcastic but I mentioned a couple of nights ago that this roster is poorly constructed with Peralta and Heyward equal in terms of what they might bring to the team right now.
Graterol is Don Stanhouse who was nicknamed “three pack” because Earl Weaver went through three packs of smokes whenever he was called on. CT3 is a strike out machine, Vargas has some serious defensive deficiencies as he learns 2B, Syndergaard was a waste of $13 million and has to be the worst signing under AF’s leadership.
Stop with the Pollyanna outlook. The roster is flawed and it’s apparent a shake up is needed. Not suggesting Doc has to go at all but here’s where I might start if I was king for a day.
Graterol needs a AAA stint much like Puig, Vesia and Joc all had to do to get his head right.
Caleb is not a closer, stop the nonsense.
Make Mookie the everyday SS and see what we have in DeLuca. His short swinging stroke might play well and let’s give him two weeks or so to see what he has.
Trayce never wears the Dodger
Uniform again. When he gets healthy he gets DFA’d.
Syndergaard gets DFA’d tomorrow. His game doesn’t play in the MLB and it’s time to cut bait.
CT3 gets a Sunday start and an occasional PH but his K% is abysmal to play regularly and his playing time should be relegated to 2 or 3 times per week.
Frustrated with the teams performance but I wish Doc would have a Tommy moment and clear the clubhouse spread to get this team playing better.
Dodgers gave Syndergaard a lot of run but I think we have a blister/tightness or a DFA coming. Take your pick.
I think Elly De La Cruz and O’Neil Cruz landed in a spaceship
Another shit show, disgusting.
UGH
…..and Max saved Graterols behind with that DP. Sweet play right in front of me.
Nic Robertson threw two clean innings with 3 strikeouts and only 22 pitches.
Why not keep him in? Why turn to Graterol? It’s not like Brusdar has inspired confidence lately.
The batters he would face would be facing him for the first time.
It’s great that Robertson threw two innings and not just one.
But a low pitch count should matter, especially when a guy is in a groove.
In 2023, Syndergaard’s consistency is unparalleled. I don’t know of anything more predictable. There should be an award.
Syndergaard should be released immediately after the game. Call up Andriese he can’t be as bad as Thor.
Syndergaard has to go!
At the game tonight and yes Syndergaard looks as bad in-person as he does on tv. He has to be IL’d, DFA’d or sent to the BP. Absolute horrible signing by AF. No movement at all on his 92-94MPH FB.
Deluca has a nice compact swing. He’s done nothing wrong so far!
Syndergaard. Sigh….
Agree with Mark’s post. I get the impression that Ferguson wants a role in more leverage situations and would like a chance to close games. Roberts seems to be looking for a third guy he trusts to handle innings 7-9. So he basically gives Ferguson a chance to back it up. And he failed. You want to be in those situations, throw the ball over the plate. Trust your stuff. Vesia had a role like that last year and he seems to have more of an edge than Ferguson. A confidence to challenge hitters in those situations. Maybe Ferguson grows from that and maybe not.
If I am the Dodgers, it is on Syndergaard to keep his spot in the rotation tonight. I would give Grove and Miller opportunities ahead of Syndergaard unless something changes tonight. He has more experience than either of them but not experience with the stuff he currently has. Grove and Miller have a better arsenal right now and certainly a higher ceiling. Miler will have his growing pains and so will Grove. But they are very unlikely to pitch to 7.00 era. I think the Dodgers know this better than me.
Interesting signing of Kole Calhoun. I wonder if he is going to replace Outman on this roster if Outman continues to struggle. Or if he is just one more left handed hitting outfielder competing with Heyward, Outman, and Peralta.
Lastly, looks like a lot of 40 man roster churn between now and the trade deadline. Throwing darts against the wall, basically. Issues with inconsistent production from spots 6 -9, a pitching staff thinned out by injuries, and a bullpen lacking depth and consistency. Every season brings its challenges. Looking forward to see DeLuca tonight.