The Giants are Junkyard Dogs!
As I wrote that, I threw up in my mouth because it is true. The Dodgers shut out the Padres who have crashed and burned while the Giants won handily 6-1 in a bullpen game. What if on April 1st I told you the following: Dustin May would miss the seaon; Tony Gonsolin would miss…
As I wrote that, I threw up in my mouth because it is true. The Dodgers shut out the Padres who have crashed and burned while the Giants won handily 6-1 in a bullpen game. What if on April 1st I told you the following:
- Dustin May would miss the seaon;
- Tony Gonsolin would miss over 3 months;
- Corey Seager would miss three months;
- Clayton Kershaw would miss over 2 months;
- Jimmy Nelson would miss the season;
- Corey Knebel would miss three months;
- AJ Pollock would miss September;
- Mookie Betts would be injured all season and try and play through it;
- Cody Bellinger would miss two months and come back and hit .150;
- Victor Gonzalez would miss substantial portions of the season and be mostly ineffcetive;
- Gavin Lux would not hit;
- Albert Pujols (who) would be a part of the hitter rotation;
- Luke Raley, DJ Peters, Steven Souza, Jr., Zach Reks, Billy McKinney, et al could not jump out of a boat and hit water;
- Chris Taylor would be an All-Star and then hit .178 in his last 30 games to challenge Belli for Champion of Futility; and
- Trevor Bauer would be suspended from baseball for most of the season?
If I would have told you all that, I think most of you would have not bothered to tune in to watch or listen to most games. But, all of that did happen, and what also happened is what I predicted before the season started: “Never underestimate the ability of AJ Preller to screw something up.” The Padres went from the Darlings of baseball to the Damned of baseball. Hot dogs are best served hot with relish and the vaunted Padres are playing Ketsup!
Who saw old, broken-down, retreads, unknown, and fading players on the San Francisco Giants like Brandon Belt, Buster Posey, Evan Longoria, Brandon Crawford, LaMonte Wade, Jr. (who?), and Darin Ruf all OPS’ing near .900 and above? Who saw a pitching staff of castoffs, wannabes, and never were’s to be nearly the equal of the Dodgers? The only explanation is that Doctrine of Junkyarddogism! All season long, they have only done what is necessary to win – nothing more, nothing less! While the Dodgers sometimes go out and put up 15 to 20 runs, the Giants will 4-3, 6-5, 2-1. Some of it can only be explained by the Baseball Gods and Junkyarddogism.
It is certainly not over. The Mets owned the Dodgers in 1988 only to get smoked by the team that underachieved all year (or was it “overachieved?”). The Dodgers are 36 games about .500 and on track to win 100 games even with all the injuries. The Dodgers bullpen just pulled past the Rays pen for the #2 ERA in all of MLB and they now trail the Giants Bullpen by 0.10 points… and I would not be surprised if the Dodgers bullpen is #1 by and of the year. The Dodgers do have the best pitching in all of baseball… by a large margin… and that is what gives me hope.
Julio Urias (17-3/2.98 ERA is now in the Cy Young discussion, along with Max Scherzer (13-4/2.28 ERA), and Striker Buehler (13-3/2.31 ERA). Kenley Jansen is #3 in saves and Blake Treinen, Corey Knebel, Phil Bickford, Alex Vesia, Joes Kelly, and Justin Bruihl make up the best bullpen in baseball right about now.
Now, if they could only hit! Cody Bellinger, Chris Taylor, Gavin Lux, Justin Turner, and Max Muncy (until last night) are all hitting under .200 in the past 30 games… some WAY below. Max Muncy showed signs of breaking out last night. Baseball is a game of streaks and I smell a hot streak for the hitters coming on (yes, I know it is wishful thinking, but it is wishful thinking based upon what frequently happens in baseball). Players can be ice-cold one day and then red-hot the next three weeks.
This ain’t over! I believe there is some Junkyarddogism in the Boys in Blue. We may be shocked… one way or the other.
Dodgers Minor League News
- Ryan Ward hit his 26th HR last night while Andy Pages hit his 27th.
- Jesus Vargas pitched 6 innings and allowed 3 hits while striking out 3 for GL.
- Michael Grove went 5 innings, allowing 3 hits and 2 runs while possibly returning to prospect status… from suspect status.
- Mike Busch was 2-3 (including a triple) and is nearing .900 OPS.
- Miguel Vargas was 2-4 (.321 BA) and Noda hit his 27th HR for Tulsa.
- Luke Raley was 3-5 with his 15th HR (.306 BA/.998 OPS)
I Encountered a Bear…
While I was in Denver, I met up with a Bear (Grizzley, I Think), aka/Michael Norris. We talked and had a great dinner at Russel’s Smokehouse. He gave me a Cody Bellinger and Steve Garvey Bobblehead. What a great night to finally meet the bear!
Finally, Never Forget!
Epic Sounds!
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Discussion (117)
Disagree, not disagreeable
A season with 100 games won is always special because it is very difficult to achieve, the Dodgers will finish the season with 100 or more victories, that should give the division championship most of the time, if this does not happen this time, you just have to take off your hat, as a sign of respect, before the team that surpassed us and prepare for what follows, an elimination game where the team is well equipped to play it and win it and advance in October
Shabbat Shalom fellow Dodgers fans…..
I have to say, The Giants are impressing me more and more each game. I’ve about given up hoping for them to go on a losing streak. I guess we are going to have to beat them 4 times in order to eliminate them.
Hey, how come none of you minor league watchers didn’t tell us LUX has been working out in the outfield while at Oklahoma? Or did you? If you did, I apologize. I hope he didn’t embarrass himself out there last night.
Anyhow, it was interesting to see Doc bench Cody, a lefty, for Lux, a lefty….knowing that both are pretty much useless against left handed pitchers. I guess Doc was willing to give up Cody’s excellent defense hoping to get at least one big hit from Lux. Oh well, I hear he hit the ball hard one time and I don’t think he struck out, so that is good news.
So, for Doc to play Sousa and now Lux over Beaty should tell us something….Beaty must have dumped his gf (Doc’s daughter, niece, someone close to him). Lol
Glad to see Max break out…we need for someone, other than Seager and Will, to do that. Max is a start. Who’s next?
Go Buehler!
TM
9-11 is always a solemn day for me. I watched the events unfold from our truckers lounge at the JB Hunt facility in South Gate. A couple of friends of mine had friends or relatives in the towers. And also some co workers. To me, it was like Pearl Harbor all over again. And that it happened on American soil made me all that much madder. 20 years have passed, and I still get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I still go out of my way to thank policemen, fire fighters and soldiers of all branches when I encounter them. They put the safety of others ahead of their own and they are a shining example of what all of us should be about. MLB is going to have a moment of silence before games today. I whole heartedly support that. And I hope American’s realize there are still threats to our very existence out there. We are not universally loved.
Here would be my lineup tonight:
1. Trea Turner 2B
2. Corey Seager SS
3. Justin Turner 3B
4. Will Smith C
5. Mookie Betts RF
6. Matt Beaty LF
7. Max Muncy 1B
8. Cody Bellinger CF
I ranked the hitters according to Batting Average. If you don’t like where you hit, all you have to do is improve your BA. Anything wrong with that?
Bluto,
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Open on www.uswatersystems.comhttps://www.uswatersystems.com/us-water-limeblaster-salt-free-water-conditioner-10-gpm.htmlHowever, we have a new and improved Limeblaster 2.0 ready to launch and if you are interested, I could get you into a Beta Test for a lot less. It is about 30% more effective than the current Limeblaster.
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Now we see that Taylor has been playing with a bad neck. And Phil, letting Julio hit in the 6th last night I don’t think was a pitching decision. He’s a better hitter than any one else we had on the bench! Now that’s pretty sad! And add me to the list that I think Lux will still be a star! And Seager will be a Yankee
Good morning all. It was nice to meet up with Mark and his family in Denver. Barring the traffic which is becoming equally as bad as LA anymore, the trip up and the trip home this morning were pleasant. We got to talk about a lot of things, baseball included. Mark was a gracious host. The area where the restaurant was is one of the nicest to visit in Lo-Do. What they call lower Denver. A street that was closed off to autos’ and is now a great place to go for food and shopping. The food at the smokehouse was great. I had the smoked turkey sandwich. It also shows that two people can have a lot different conversations face to face than they can on line. When I first started posting on baseball blogs a few years ago, it started on a different site. Mark was a poster there and things immediately got pretty icy between us. It was not about who was right or wrong, it was about how differently we both perceived the same player. The player? Yasmani Grandal. At the time, Mark felt he was the second coming, me, I did not even want the guy on the team and I said so vehemently. We stated our cases, did some pretty heavy name calling and calling out and finally just resolved that we were never going to agree about the guy. To his credit, over the years we resolved what ever differences we had simply because we both love the Dodgers. It has culminated with me now writing for his blog and enjoying the whole experience. To sit down with someone you have never met who shares the same passion for the game and the team is something that you have to cherish. And in a lot of ways, we are alike more than one would think. Mark is the second person who posts on a blog that I have met fact to face. Both experiences were very positive. I wish we were all in closer proximity so we could have a great get together. It would be fun to put faces to the names. Oh yeah, the two bobbleheads I gave him were a Bellinger from 2019. And the Steve Garvey from when he was added to the Dodger Legends. We discussed many subjects besides baseball, so it was a great time. Oh, and I am obviously the better looking of the two of us! LOL. Got to watch the recap of the game this morning. I am glad they started off the homestand with a win, now lets win 20 in a row. Beaty was added to the roster and McKinney placed on the 10 day IL with a hip impingement. Mark was also checking the score on his I phone, and informed me when Taylor struck out with the bases loaded…….CT 3 redeemed himself a little in the 4th with the sac fly and that great catch he made off of Machado’s drive.
Terrific picture this morning of Mark and Bear. It’s very cool you guys got to meet up. A couple of good lookin guys.
* Despite 4 hits, our pitching saved the day again. Nice use of the pen with Treinen and KJ after Urias’ great 7 innings.
* I thought it was really interesting decision that Doc made to let Urias hit with the bases loaded and 2 outs in the 6th. One of those Skipper decisions; do you pinch hit and try to add on to the 3 run lead? Or do you stick with the hot pitcher? Doc chose to get one more inning out of Urias and finish with Blake and KJ. I don’t know if that came from Doc’s gut or analytics but it was an Interesting dilemma and he made a good call.
* It sure is a different game these days. All the “shift haters” must have blown a clot when Machado robbed Muncy of a potential double as a rover in right field and then got TT on a nice play in the 6 hole. I don’t love the shift but I’m not ready to make rules against it, but stuff like that could make me reconsider.
BullPen. it’s 0 to 0, after one.
Glad to see you guys meet up, there’s no substitute for in person interaction. Hope you guys had a great time together.
The Padres are sure getting their Karma. Losing Cronenworth at this point in the season is a huge blow for them. Too bad it will also help out the Giants.
The offense put up just enough to beat the Padre’s ace last night, and Musgrove really got off a little easy. Muncy almost took him deep earlier in the game, he made sure he got all of it later.
Lux and CT3 almost crossed wires on a ball hit perfectly in the gap. Both showed some range and both could have caught it while covering a lot of ground. Our defense has the ability to be very good at times. Lux showed some good instincts letting CT3 take control as the Center Fielder.
Bill Plunkett also questioned Doc’s decision to rest Seager, especially with Will Smith out of the lineup. Doc’s response mentioned “Putting Seager in harm’s way by playing 13 in a row”, what a load of crap! Harm’s way?
Lux crushed a hard liner last night right to Profar at first base. So close! Let him play tonight, I want to see more.
Damn I hate the Giants. The Cubs were on a roll, then the Giants come to town and they roll over. I don’t like this one bit.
When Tatis made that catch up against the wall I was hoping for that shoulder to pop out again. I’m a bad guy I guess.
Julio is a stud! What a performance lowering his ERA into the sub 3 territory. I’m sure rooting for him to surpass that 20 win mark. Three leading Cy Young candidates on the same staff. Oh my.
Throw up in your mouth a little? I can relate. I feel that way at the thought of the Giants snapping our streak of division titles. A wild card championship is kinda like kissing your sister.
Bueller rebound game against Paddock tonight. Let’s extend our one game winning streak. Just bat TT and Mookie 1 and 2! Just do it!
Kershaw will be added to the rotation on Monday. We finally have 5 starting pitchers, too bad two of them will basically be openers for a couple of weeks.
We hit, we win. Simple really.
Bear is a talented and generous man. I know this to be true. That other guy has his moments.
Farhan and Kapler have done a fine job. Both are LA trained. The formula works. Can those guys sustain through November? The money still says no. Nobody is betting on them. Yet. Until we are eliminated I’m betting on the Dodgers.
San Diego is suffering The Curse of the Smirk. I wish only what the baseball gods have in mind for that group. Complex Destiny Karma is way over my head. At this point I’m just an observer, along for the ride.
Agree that some of the hitters are about to wake up, just in time for October.
And if we have to win a wild card game at home, so be it. But if guys start to wake up, the timing couldn’t be better.
You and Bear could pass for brothers, which I guess you are in more than one sense.