The Iceberg Principle: What's Below the Surface
When an iceberg is floating free in the ocean, only a small part of the whole is actually visible. Perhaps ten percent of the iceberg is discernible above the water line, while the rest is hidden below the surface in the depths of the ocean. Think about that, ninety percent of…
When an iceberg is floating free in the ocean, only a small part of the whole is actually visible. Perhaps ten percent of the iceberg is discernible above the water line, while the rest is hidden below the surface in the depths of the ocean. Think about that, ninety percent of the iceberg is invisible.
People are like that too. Many times they only share a small part of whom they actually are. However, no matter what it looks like on the outside, they may feel that it is not safe to share certain things, so they keep those on the inside. They keep deeper feelings, beliefs, and ideals that they are not as comfortable revealing to the world inside. Baseball teams are composed of people… and we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg. What is underneath all of this?
Some players are deeply religious – others are not. Some players, including Clayton Kershaw, are deeply offended by the Dodgers honoring the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence on Dodgers Pride Night. This is to the point where it is rumored that he may not be a Dodger next year. I am certain that other players feel the same way. Maybe this is not an “open fracture” in the clubhouse, but maybe they feel less and less like a team.
On May 18, 2023, the Dodgers canceled plans to honor Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence during the Pride Celebration, only to re-invite them on May 23rd. The Dodgers came into Saturday’s game against the Giants with an 11-15 record since May 18. They dropped to 11-16 with their worst loss of the season, a 15-0 blowout at Dodger Stadium.
I think the Dodgers have multiple problems: One is that other teams are understanding what type of pitches are coming and where it is coming, due to studying Mark Prior’s amazing success. Some of you think I am blaming Mark for the pitching issues, but it is actually a compliment that other teams have gone to this extreme. As a highly disciplined pitching coach, I am certain that Mark Prior teaches certain ways of handling particular hitters. If after a certain pitch is made, maybe 60% of the time, other teams have figured out that a “backdoor slider” low and away is coming next. Even a gimpy pinch hitter who can barely walk can hit it if he knows what is coming… at least he can hit it at a higher rate than not knowing.
The Second Problem that may exist is a fractured clubhouse. Dave Roberts has openly proclaimed his support of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. I suspect that as much as a third to half of the team may feel different that Doc, but keep it inside, under the water level of the iceberg. This may not be fixable, but Prior can change his strategy… it might take days… or weeks, however..
There is something below the surface of the tip of that iceberg!
Shallow
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Discussion (70)
Disagree, not disagreeable
They say Ohtani probably won’t stay with the Angels because he wants to go to a team that wins.
The Dodgers are favored to land Shoehei because he wants to go to a team that wins.
If the Angels win today and we lose, they will have a better record than we do.
Hopefully we am get catman some runs! Looks sharp but so does webb.
A little too early to bunt in that situation, but we finally scratched one across after 14 shut out a innings
Peralta looked like the coache’s kid on my son’s Ponu team from 5 years ago on that F**k up.
That can’t happen.
No juice box for Davy.
Peralta keeps surging at the plate.
Gonso already tiring in the 6th. He needed to close the door this inning. Instead he collapses and the Giants pull away.
Tony just doesn’t have the stamina. He look like he was already gassed. In the beginning Giants were sucking on that splitter. But then later on, he’s not able to locate his fastball, so they’re sitting on the splitter and wacking it all over the outfield.
Same old shit different day
Nothing to worry about – all is well.
We’re in trouble!
Webb, the expert nibbler. No shame for the Dodgers to struggle with this guy on the mound. But Heyward’s last ab was pitiful.
One thing we learned in this series is that the Giants are much better than us. They take advantage of every opportunity. Bear, here’s the new nickname for the Dodgers. The LA Lambs!
Mark is right to suspect the Iceberg Principle is presently in play with this team. But we won’t know what’s “below the surface” until AFTER this season’s over. Though one thing’s for sure – Even Ray Charles can see this team now plays a heartless brand of baseball.
From Jack Harris:
The sac bunt didn’t pan out. J.D. Martinez was thrown out at home with the infield in on a grounder, then Michael Busch bounced out to end the inning
Analytic lovers, rejoice
Embarrassing three game sweep. Move on, nothing to see here.
Move Mookie to short permanently and immediately. He is a better option there than Rojas. Find a RH hitting outfielder with good power and defense. When Lux returns next season, make him the starting second baseman. Vargas can move to the outfield or replace Muncy at third. My patience is getting thin Andrew, get off of your butt and make some changes or you shall face the wrath of Bear, something you do not wish to experience!
If the Dodgers can honor the sisters they could have Bauer on the roster.
Pulling the guy pitching a no hitter and losing the game was a gut punch. I blame the loss on Roberts. You can’t tell me that pitcher could not have pitched another inning or two or maybe a no hitter.
On the other hand Roberts left the Cat Man in for 7 runs. I don’t blame Roberts for this loss but he sure doesn’t help much.
I would counter the Iceberg Principle with a variation of Occam’s Razor – the simplest explanation is often the best explanation. In the last 30 games, the Dodgers are 12-18. During that stretch they lost Urias in mid May and Dustin May days later. This is on top of losing Walker Buehler for the whole year and Ryan Pepiot missing the first three months. Noah Syndergaard imploded and it became unsustainable to keep running him out there. That left them with Kershaw, Gonsolin (still building up after missing the first month to 5 weeks) , Michael Grove (7+ era) and two rookies making their ML debuts.
Their bullpen is among the worst in baseball and was stressed to the breaking point by having to pitch more innings than the starters did for a 10 to 11 game stretch in late May and early June.
Their offense has actually performed well in the aggregate but is heavily dependent on the top 5 hitters in their lineup. They are breaking in two rookie starters in Vargas and Outman and have used two other rookies to fill in for injured players. They lost one of their top 5 to 6 hitters for the year in Gavin Lux. For the last week, Betts, Freeman, Martinez and Smith have cooled off after being scorching hot for a week or two.
This all happened in a year where the Dodgers purposely tried to hold spending down and patch some gaps in their roster with band aids. Some have worked out well, a couple others not so much. For the time being they will trust their young players in their farm system to backstop the veterans. There are growing pains when you do that.
To attribute any of this to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and a fractured clubhouse seems too convenient. Could it be true? I suppose so. But the people who are quick to blame this on the Dodgers decision regarding the Sisters are the same ones most offended by the decision. I don’t live in LA or California and honestly have only heard about the Sisters on this blog. No doubt it was a self inflicted wound by management if it has had that kind of effect. But still, this roster is not as talented as any of the rosters the Dodgers have put together in the seven year run when they have the best record in baseball during that time. That to me is the bottom line.
Sometimes…. Shit just sucks.
We persevere
Some people always want to speculate on how Doc would do with a less talented team. Well, we’re seeing it.