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!
More from Dodger Talk
Dodgers Food Trailer
I did this interview a couple of weeks ago with Chef Mike, who runs the Dodgers Food Trailer for the Great Lakes Loons. They are there for every home and road regular season and playoff game. They prepare three meals a day for approximately 50 people (players and coaches). Since games end late most evenings, they do not prepare breakfast. Many of their hotels have a complimentary breakfast anyway. However,…
Meet LAD 2026 Draft Picks 1-12
3 picks were High School players (2 SS and 1 OF). There was a college OF, college catcher, college SS, and 10 college pitchers. Of all the talk for a need for a catcher, the only catcher the Dodgers selected was Luke Bard, son of LAD bullpen coach Josh Bard. Bard was a 4th year senior from Houston Christian University. He is not a prospect, so the Dodgers are still…
Interview with Paul Beachy – Team Bus Driver For The Great Lakes Loons (LA Dodgers Minor League Team)
It’s been a few days since I did this interview. We have evidently been working my son-in-law (the video guy) like a rented mule at US Water Systems. However, I am taking him to London with me in a few days, so maybe Watford will buy him a pint as a tip, but he’s a dang Red Sox fan, so there is that! I thought that it would be interesting…
Thanks for Your Service: Chris Taylor
I was going to do this post when Chris announced he was retiring, then he changed his mind, but since the chances of him ever playing for the Dodgers again are slim and non-existent, I will go ahead with this post. He unretired, went on the IL, then decided to call it quits on May 24th. Taylor was born in Virginia Beach VA on August 29th, 1990. He attended Great…
Discussion (117)
Disagree, not disagreeable
In case you might have missed or even care Andy Burns is back:
09/10/21 Los Angeles Dodgers signed free agent 3B Andy Burns to a minor league contract and is currently at the ACL.
J. Gray got hit hard again yesterday with the Nats. ERA now at an even 6.00.
Keibert hit a 3 run double but his average still around the Belli level.
For us , Page hit his 28th of the year. Kid is looking really good. Should be at AA next season.
Busch went 2-5 , average climbing and climbing.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!
Wow, Kelly was mean tonight. If he can keep this up it could be a game changer in those close games we have trouble with.
WB bounced back nicely from his last outing .
Gavin 2-2, nice to see him go oppo. Keep him in the lineup. Kid only needs some confidence.
Keep the pressure up, hopefully the Giants after all will begin to come back to earth.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nice win, kept pace with the Giants. Now if the other teams could lend a hand. USC taking it on the chin at home from Stanford. Oregon upset Ohio State. Always love seeing the Buckeyes lose.
What a weird box. Mookie and Lux each with 2 hits, everybody else was 0fer.
Great job by Kelly. Kudos to Jansen
I don’t think Trienen pitched that bad it’s just that Tatis and Machado were locked in
Nice to see Cody contribute.
Good game by Lux confidence means a lot
Oh yeah I forgot about Mookie… Sweet
Strange game but I’ll take it all day
That was the best Joe Kelly has ever thrown as a Dodger
Wow!!
Also, as a guy who was born in another country but has lived in America since I was 5, 1) I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else, and 2) we got a lot of shit we need to deal with and fix.
Where is everyone?
We are winning…we scored 5 runs…..Belli and Lux are contributing….so why aren’t there 10 guys here buzzing with all this good news?
Great news….GAVIN LUX IS 2-2!
We might have a new outfielder to play when there is a RHP.
So if we are facing a RHP like today, we may be seeing Lux and Belli with Mookie.
If we are facing a LHP, you could see Pollock (when healthy) and CT3 with Mookie.
As Nevret was talking I said don’t throw him a first pitch strike
Booyah could see that coming
Speed Kills! Yes, I want more of that. Belli and Lux and a whole lotta speed combine for the first two runs of the game. Stay in the zone guys, good things will happen.
Cody, Luz and Warlker…are the Clutch….!!! Ha, ha, ha, it’s Nice to see that
You guys
I’m not sure you realise that you live in her greatest nation in the world bar none.
You bitch and you moan, and I get it – it’s not perfect – but trust me when I say – there’s no better place on Earth to be living in 2021.
What a country you live in, and how lucky you are.
The Dodgers are absolutely doing their best – we are the best team bar none – but unfortunately it might come one down yo one gsme.
That’s where I worry – in a one off format – otherwise I take us to beat anyone in a best of 5 or 7.
Still waiting for Giants to collapse and Bellinger to hit! But I think I’d rather play Giants in first round rather than Brewers! Even down an ace.
No team claimed him for a second time on waivers and he is still a Dodger:
09/11/21 Los Angeles Dodgers sent RHP Neftali Feliz outright to Oklahoma City Dodgers.
I’m not surprised to see Belli back in the lineup after watching Doc’s interview saying he would be out for a few games.
I’m glad to see Lux in there since he’ll most likely sit tomorrow against Snell. I guess we’ll see Mookie, CT3 and Souza tomorrow.
Hopefully Pollock is healing quickly. Thanks for the good news AVF!
I’m looking forward to game tonight, as usual. I got some Dodger Dogs from the store, gonna go with the grilled version. If you haven’t tried them yet, the new supplier is every bit as good, if not better than Farmer John. Damn, forgot to get a white onion.
I’m a hot dog traditionalist for the most part. Mustard, relish and onions with a pile of sauerkraut on the side.
lam sorry about the last three in lineup. But l like from first to 6th
September 11, 2021
Pollock (hamstring) participated in agility drills in the outfield ahead of Saturday’s game against the Padres, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.
Tonight’s lineup:
HITTERS H-AB RBI HR SB AVG
M. BettsRF 103-384 47 19 9 .268
M. Muncy1B 110-428 81 32 2 .257
T. Turner2B 164-515 59 21 26 .318
C. SeagerSS 78-275 41 8 1 .284
J. Turner3B 128-464 74 23 2 .276
W. SmithC 99-365 69 23 3 .271
C. BellingerCF 45-284 33 9 2 .158
G. LuxLF 63-287 37 6 3 .220
W. BuehlerP 7-62 3 0 0 .113
Giant 6 cubs 1 are these teams just rolling over for the giants
The Giants are junkyard dogs and some years teams are made up of incredibly lucky junkyard dogs. Such is the case for San Francisco this year where practically everything seems to fall in their favor. Prognosticators said they would be fortunate to play .500 ball this year. I live in the Bay Area and can honestly say that most of the Giant fans that I have interacted with have disliked Kapler from the start. Farhan Zaidi wasn’t far behind him either. Now they could be handed the key to the city and would be cheered in a Market Street parade.
How a team fielded with older, past their prime veterans, has overtaken the juggernaut Dodgers comes from incredible luck, a number of career years from veterans, and things simply falling into place for this team. I’ll give it to them. They have surprised us all. Desclafani and Webb came out of no where to become standup starters. Who could have seen that? Gausman was probably the best pitcher in the first half of the year. Then Posey rebounded to his 2014 self and Brandon Crawford learned how to hit. Belt took on leadership qualities that few realized he had and the rest of the fill in guys were gutsy, gritty players that have come through in the clutch.
They are a team that hasn’t had prolonged winning streaks (with their longest at six games), but also has not had a significant losing week all year, (longest streak was 4 games). Consistency has been their forte. With practically identical winning percentages on the home and road. Look at their monthly winning %: April .615, May .643, June .640, July .600, Aug. 679, Sept. .700
That is extremely difficult to overcome. Despite that, the Dodgers were toe to toe with them up until a few days ago.
Then there was the luck:
Aside from Longoria, the injury bug really hasn’t hit them hard. Yes, there was the COVID outbreak with two players before the Dodger series this month, but truth is it was a blessing in disguise probably, because the Dodgers would have faced a slumping Alex Wood one game instead of their bullpen. Johnny Cueto has had some injury issues but he certainly isn’t the pitcher he used to be. None of their injuries have been on the scale of what the Dodgers have had to overcome: Seager, Bellinger, Pollock, Kershaw, Gonselin, Kelly, Knebel, Graterol, Lux, Dustin May all come to mind.
There was the game in Milwaukee when Avisail Garcia dropped the final out of the game on the warning track. Then there was the Pujols home run robbery in Dodger stadium by Tauchman, (a guy no longer even in their organization), and the check swing debacle that handed them a win. Those are three games I can think of off the top of my head that San Francisco should have never won. I know there are more.
A guy like Tauchman, who batted a horrid .178 for the Giants. He saved two games with defensive gems that robbed home runs. Even underperformers have contributed to that team.
Jake McGee? Did we even care that he walked away from us last year. The guy has as many saves as Jansen this year. Alex Wood? He has shined as a Giant and shown a fire that we didn’t see too much in LA.
Then there is the schedule. It hasplayed out where the Giants face a weak and depleted Cub team that has given up and has sold off their stars. When LA faced them a few months back, they were contenders with something to play for. When the Giants swept the Reds four straight in Cincinnati back in May, they faced an injured team that had little playoff aspirations. Now the Dodgers go head to head with them as they battle neck and neck with San Diego for their post season lives. My point is, this type of luck has seemed to follow the Giants all season long.
San Francisco has called up kids that have panned out. Estrada and Wade come to mind. Neither thought of as potential contributors but both have been significant pieces in their first place run. I’ve got to hand it to them though, their kids arrived and they were ready. They got on the big stage and performed. Can’t say the same of minor leaguers the Dodgers called up.
Despite the fact that the Dodgers have three legitimate Cy Young candidates in the rotation (and none of them is named Kershaw), they sit 2.5 back in the standings. I still have hope that the Dodgers will overtake them, but 140+ games in, it doesn’t look like the Giants are going to falter.
If the Dodgers win the one game wild card game and face them in the NLDS, I like their chances with Urias, Buehler, Scherzer, Kershaw facing them. It’s that wildcard game that has me worried though. Anything could happen there.
I want this for most of the time until the end of the season, I want Belli’s defense, I don’t care that he’s not hitting:
2B TT
RF Betts
SS Seager
3B Turner
1B Muncy
C Smith
LF CT3 / Lux
CF Bellinger
Agree with most everything you wrote, Mark.
But honestly I’m not surprised that the players you listed could fall out of a boat and not hit water. For those players the boat is still parked in the driveway. Either not ready or high strikeout swingers. I had hoped that Zack McKinstry would be one of the answers to replacing Kiki.
For all that has gone wrong and Mark pretty much hit the nail on the head with his review, it’s pretty amazing the Dodgers are in position to win a hundred games.
All that being said, the Dodgers had opportunities to push the Giants back and failed to take advantage of opportunities. The back to back blown saves, losing two out three in San Francisco, losing two out of three to the Rockies at home, splitting with the Cards. The Giants have been better in the dogfight than the Dodgers and that’s why they are leading. More games are lost than won.
The lack of hitting in the bottom of the line up stands out. It has hurt the team time and again. At one point the bottom four were something like 0-65. Toss out the blind squirrel theory.
Honestly too many people pay too much attention to analystics. Nothing wrong with hard contact data, but I’ll take a .300 hitter over a .220 or .230 hitter anytime. Batting average is still important. Must be, many people still refer to those stats here, in the media, among players and baseball pundits.
I thought the ball Max Muncy hit last night clearly indicates what’s wrong with the game. Manny Machado made a diving catch playing rover on a ball headed for a double. The game needs more offense, not less, time to end the shifts. Two players on each side of second base playing on the actual infield. Honestly, the game is becoming boring, the lack of hitting and all. More guys swinging for the fence and more strikeouts. Just four hits for the Dodgers last night.
Dave Roberts said last night no more resting players. So that’s good news.
Excellent review Mark.
Bluto… So very true!!!
I see a name and I fast forward… Easy !!!
Why are you complaining?
It’s what I do.