Lots of people are believing the Giants are for real… and they may be. They have been consistent up until now, so we have to say that they are real… but will they stay real? Time will tell, but you can’t help peruse the roster and statistics and ask “They did this… how?” The fact that they are in first place does not really compute, but if we break it down to it’s simplest form, I think the reason is that because they pick each other up. When one guy doesn’t get a hit, the next guy does. It seems that with the Dodgers, everyone hits or no one hits. Consider the following:
- Kevin Gausman, who has been very good is having his best year ever, at age 30, but has not pitched this many innings since 2018.
- Anthony DeSclafani has 126 IP and is showing signs of tiring… big time!
- Alex Wood with nearly 100 IP, has seen his ERA rise as it has been 4.70 over the past 28 days… and we know his injury history.
- Also with nearly 100 IP, Johnny Cueto has not pitched this many innings in 5 years.
- Logan Webb is also approaching his most innings pitched in his young career.
- At age 34, Jake McGee is having his best year ever! EVER!
- Tyler Rogers has a 1.98 ERA, but it was 4.50 last year.
- A variety of other pitchers have pitched well out of the bullpen, but their press clippings are largely unimpressive.
- None of their outfielders would start on the Dodgers… yet go figure!
Can the Giant starters keep it up? Maybe, but the odds don’t favor them. Their infield is old and Crawford, Longoria, Posey, and Belt are playing better than they have in a long time. There are still about 2 months left in the season. Lots can happen. A couple of days ago, Jeff Dominique touched upon what I think is the problem with the Dodgers. It’s the TOTAL LACK OF HITTING SOME GAMES. Robert Van SuckSuck is the Dodgers hitting guru. . I call him that because THIS YEAR ESPECIALLY, the Dodgers score a bunch of runs or none. Initially, his hitting philosophy was modeled after the Ted Williams Method of Hitting: Hunt for pitches you can damage and keep your bat in the hitting zone as long as possible to damage them.
That’s a solid foundation, but I think the Dodgers have deviated from this plan. I think they are more focused on working the count than looking for a pitch they can damage. Of course, that method does work much of the time. Make the pitcher wear himself out and then murder him. This is not true with every player. Chris Taylor, Max Muncy, AJ Pollock, Justin Turner, and others are his disciples and have recently faired well. Andrew Friedman said this after hiring Van SuckSuck:
“We’re trying to avoid games in which we score zero, one, or two runs. Scoring three or more as consistently as we can should put us in position to win a lot of games. What we’re striving for is to individualize our offensive approach and put our guys in the best position to succeed.”
That is a worthy plan and they did it in 2020, but they haven’t done it in 2021. Technically, Robert Van Scoyoc (OK, I’ll quit calling him SuckSuck) is technically the co-head hitting coach with Brant Brown (whose title is “hitting strategist”). They are aided by assistant hitting coach Aaron Bates. So, I have to wonder: are there conflicting theories at work here? I have no idea, but I have to ask. Sometimes too many cooks can… well, you know the rest.
Many of the Dodgers have been so intent to work the count this year, that they often take the first pitch… or two… or three. Pitchers have wised up and have started throwing strikes on the first and maybe the second pitch, and then suddenly, if the hitter is 0-2, he is in a defensive mode. I have always been of the opinion that you look for a pitch in a certain zone and if you can see it, you hit it… no matter what the count. RVS evolved the game, and now other team’s pitchers have evolved to accommodate the Dodgers’ hitting style. If you want a Revolution, the only Solution is to Evolve!
It’s time for the Dodger’s hitters to evolve: See the ball, hit the ball. It ain’t complicated! It’s time to get with it. When you look at the Dodgers players OPS and the Giants players OPS, it’s hard to understand why they are in first place, but it’s all about timing. Look around the diamond and what Giant player would you take over a Dodger player?
Let’s look at it and you decide:
- Catcher – Will Smith or Buster Posey ?
- First Base – Brandon Belt or Max Muncy?
- Second Base – Chris Taylor or Donovan Solano?
- Shortstop – Corey Seager or Bradon Crawford?
- Third Base – Justin Turner or Evan Longoria?
- Left Field – Alex Dickerson or AJ Pollock?
- Centerfield – Cody Bellinger or Steven Duggar?
- Right Field – Mookie Betts or Mike Yastrezemski?
If you were building a team for today and the future, you would likely not take one Giant Player over a Dodger Player, even though a couple are having great years (Posey and Crawford). Yet they are ahead of the Dodgers in the standings! The whole is greater than the sum of the parts! The Dodgers are better position-by-position, but the Giants are a better team… at least right about now. It’s like the men’s 4 X 100 race. The American sprinters were all faster than their opponents, yet they finished sixth! Why? They did not work together as a team. Simple as that.
It’s gut-check time! Are you a team or are you just trying t pad your stats? This story is heading into the final chapters. The history is yet to be written. Will the 2021 Dodgers be Champs or Chumps? The stretch run starts TODAY! What will be this teams’ historical record? Will they pull together and pick each other up or will they just keep on doing the same thing they have done all season. The Giants have been consistent bu playing .600 or better baseball EVERY month! The Dodgers have had one month when they played over .600 baseball, but they are capable of so much more. With the team Andrew Friedman has assembled, they can run off two months of .700 ball. They are that good, but they have to play like it… and they haven’t… until now.
WHAT FOLOWS IS STRICTLY MY OPINION: They have traded for Max Scherzer and Danny Duffy. They have signed Cole Hamels. Why? I think the signs are that Clayton Kershaw is going to need Tommy John Surgery. They are holding him out to see if his elbow can hold on by a thread and hope he can be a factor in September and October, but deep down, they know he is finished. Sherzer, Duffy, and Hamels are insurance. It would be a shame to lose Clayton, but the Dodgers are prepared, Clayton will be in the Dugout and will not get surgery, but will rather, retire as the greatest Dodger Pitcher of All-Time. I hope I am wrong about most of this, but I have a feeling I am not!
Sometimes You Have To Act the Part to be it!
Tt’s Time for You to Wake up, Cody Bellinger. Let’s Ride!
From Bluto on the Last Thread:
Cartaya and Pepiot made Kiley M’s new top 50 Prospect list:
https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/31958336/kiley-mcdaniel-midseason-top-50-mlb-prospects
The great Eric Longenhagen has this to say about Dodgers righty Hyun-il Choi
He’s experienced a little bit of a velo bump (more 92-95 than 88-92, where he was in 2019) and shown remarkable strike-throwing ability; he’s only run three 3-0 counts all year. A plus splitter, at least plus command, and viable fastball velocity makes him a high-probability big league starter.
Longenhagen also put former Dodger prospects at #1 and #3 in terms of those traded at the deadline:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/ranking-the-prospects-traded-during-the-2021-deadline/
Don’t look now #1, but Andy Pages has been on a tear since mid-July, slashing .380/.494/.761 in his last 20 games. Despite his occasional strike zone deficiencies, he hit his 22nd homer for Great Lakes, 101 mph off the bat, 396 feet, and he went 2/3 with 2 walks tonight overall.
Dodgers signed an undrafted player, Jack @Dreyer from Iowa. Lw-90’s fastball with a curveball, slider, and a changeup. In college he struck out 23 batters in 21.2 innings, limiting them to a .171 batting average.
Don’t look now, #2, but Cameron Gibbens’ 4is promoted and still rocking! Now in AA Tulsa, he had a perfect 2.0 IP debut. Ascending from Low A to AA in a single minor league season is always noteworthy!
Don’t look now, #3, but from FutureDodgers:
The move is not official yet (should be tomorrow), but SS Eddys Leonard is heading to High-A Great Lakes.
He’s been arguably Rancho’s best hitter all year, hitting .295/.399/.544 (146 wRC+) with 14 HR. 11 BB%, 24 K%, 11.6 SwStr%.
Still 20 years old, won’t turn 21 until December
Discussion (51)
Disagree, not disagreeable
I guess we just aren’t that good. Again, we lay an egg against a team we should blow away. And they didn’t even have their two superstars playing.
Oh well….a year of disappointments continues…..
Time to think about who to start in the WC game?
Walker or Max?
1-12 in extra’s and another 1 run loss. Just real hard to take. But, what chaffs me the most is bringing in a guy who has lost all of his games in extra innings. Cleavenger, with the loss tonight, is 0-4 in extra inning games. With a RH up, why the hell did he not use Graterol? He could have walked Ohtani with 1 out and a runner on second. But he lets Cleavenger face Iglesias and boom, they are down 3-2. Then the misplay on the pop up, and it is 4-2. But the killer was wasting Muncy’s lead off double. Never would have made it to extra’s. This team is pitiful with no outs and a runner in scoring position. Wasted another chance to gain on the Giants. Change in philosophy is needed. Turner will get his first start tomorrow.
Ok so I fell asleep and was dreaming!
As I was saying. Another great, clutch comeback by baseballs best lineup! Pollock for MVP!
Another losing blah performance by baseball’s best lineup! I’m not panicked just realistic. This team just doesn’t have it! Or deserve it!
Here comes Jansen… 3 up 3 down
Not everything.
This is though.
How else can not using the speed on the team being used, putting pressure on batteries, etc.
How often does this team manufacture runs?
McKinney or Joc?
Elder in California? Yeah, bet your house on it Mark.
Dear Lord,
Its the top of the 6 and Fletcher is causing chaos on the bases, distracting the pitcher, and gets to third on a bad throw with less than two outs.
Can you please instill this wisdom in the manager in the blue dugout????
Amen
I agree, Betts looks like he’s heading back to the I. L. If he can stay upright and able to jog, he’s worth putting in the lineup the way he’s hitting lately.
Poor Jimmy Nelson, looked like the bullpen and high leverage situations were in his future. Career might be over.
I couldn’t figure out the Cole Hamels signing. Now with the news on Kershaw, it makes sense.
Interesting note: Gubinatorial candidate Larry Elder is in the first row sitting next to Mary Hart’s husband.
I grow very weary of fans who start with a premise and work backward to fit their own narrow-minded, and ill-informed narrative. I think that instead of doing that, you should get “DUMBASS” tattooed on your forehead.
I mean, it is “make me want to quit” weary!
Two sources report that Will Smith is sitting to “rest his legs.” They may have told you something , without telling you something.
Giants lost
MLB dicking with the Dodgers again. They couldn’t clear him until a half an hour before the game? Shenanigans!
Well, Betts did go back to RF after the inning.
Unhealthiest bullpen I have ever seen.
Didn’t Doc just say that V-Gone was fine a couple of days ago?
Muncy fails to move a runner, yet again. Albert says, hold my beer.
How did people ever come to the conclusion that Price isn’t worthy of a rotation spot?
Bad news for Nelson after being for essentially three years. He’ll miss all of his age 33 season next year. I expect AF to give him a two year deal in the offseason.
Barnes is the king of cheap hits. Looks like a line drive in the box score.
The Big Dodger in the Sky is evidently not happy. Betts is likely headed to the IL again.
Betts is hurting again…so bad
Dodgers News: Trea Turner Activated For the Game Tonight in LA
08/06/21 Los Angeles Dodgers placed LHP Victor Gonzalez on the 10-day injured list.
Jimmy Nelson is out for the season.
Elbow surgery.
That hurts!
I can’t believe Will Smith is sitting on the bench after an off day and another off day after this series. Where the hell is the urgency? We are 4 games behind the Giants with time going by fast.
What’s up with Trea Turner not starting? I thought he was at dodger stadium today? Again where is the urgency?
Why are people talking about Kershaw being done? I haven’t read anything about him being done.
No Ohtani, Trout, Rendon. We gotta win this one. No excuses.
I would be fine with sitting Bellinger all weekend… maybe a defensive replacement or pinch runner. Let’s see how he handles that.
I guess TT still has a touch of the VID. Barnes should never start after an off day, much less after the second in 4 days.
Doc talks about urgency, then puts Barnes in the lineup with an off day before and after this series. If you want your team to feel some urgency, you should show it in the lineups you choose.
I would love to see Pujols shove a bat up Arte Moreno’s … never mind!
Tonight’s lineup:
RF Mookie Betts R
3B J. Turner R
2B Max Muncy L
1B A. Pujols R
SS Corey Seager L
CF Chris Taylor R
LF AJ Pollock R
C A. Barnes R
P David Price L
No Trea No Cody
Ramon Laureano Suspended Eighty Games After Positive PED Test
By Anthony Franco | August 6, 2021 at 4:12pm CDT
Major League Baseball announced this afternoon that Athletics outfielder Ramón Laureano has been suspended for eighty games without pay after testing positive for Nandrolone, a banned performance-enhancing substance. He’ll miss the remainder of the season. The A’s have 53 games left in 2021, so Laureano’s suspension will carry over for the first 27 games of the 2022 campaign as well.
MLB app just says Kershaw will be out until September. Giants will face Burnes and woodruffs one day after other
53 games left,59 days till the end of the season ,6 days off, 477 innings, give or take 10 either way to cover. Starting August 10 we have 13 games in row with no off days. Who will be the innings eater besides Buehler, Urias and Scherzer? Price and Tropeano are question marks. Gonsolin and Kershaw are probably done for the season. Can we count on Duffy and Hamels in September? White will be in the mix along with Jackson and Pepiot. The choices are really limited.
Memo to Dodgers’ pitchers for this weekend:
Don’t let OHTANI beat you….pitch around him or pitch to his weakness, if he has one. We don’t need to see him jacking balls out of the park. It is far safer to walk him, than watch him trotting around the baes with a big grin.
Without Trout, they don’t have another scary big HR/RBI bat. Justin Upton is good, but not scary. So, zero in on the guys after the big kid. Got it?
I repeat….don’t be all macho thinking you can take this kid…..he’s pretty good!
Thanks for listening,
TM
PhilJones, like clockwork, brings up a great point about pitch counts. I too believe that pitchers are conditioned to plateau at that magical mark.
But there are other driving factors. Starting pitchers used to “save some” for the end of the game and pace themselves for the long haul. They are now encouraged to go with their good stuff as a long as they can. Bullpens are very deep these days, so there’s a tendency to trust the fresh arm instead of trying to get all you can from the best arm. After all, you have to keep them healthy while you’re paying for that long and guaranteed contract.
Then you have the geeks that decided you can’t go through the lineup 3 times, much less 4 times. And I’m sure some bonehead published a study somewhere that said high pitch counts are the reason for all the surgeries, which might no longer be applicable due to newer trends and data showing no correlation. After all, it seems every pitcher gets TJ nowadays.
I watched an MLB Tonight video earlier today on Trea Turner. They were comparing him to Paul Molitor. Very high praise. They expect him to bat leadoff and play second base. I think the Mookie situation might derail the second base plan initially, but I would think that’s where he’ll ultimately wind up if all goes to plan by the end of the year.
I’m not sure if anyone has noticed, but JT has been struggling for the last couple of weeks now. He also hasn’t been getting his normal planned rest days. Mookie is playing second base to keep his hip in check. Pollock is playing more regularly than I can seem to remember and Belli still needs to “build and strengthen” the shoulder. This all points to CT3 playing a lot and everyone going back into the rest rotation. While it seems like a good idea to just insert CT3 over Belli, it isn’t going to work like that.
What has been a very lefty heavy lineup in recent years, has all the sudden become a lot more right handed, temporarily until possible next year when Lux and Rios are alive and well. We won’t be seeing that alternating Righty / Lefty lineup nearly as much, if at all for the rest of the season. Here’s my crack at the starting lineup tonight with Trea Turner in Center Field…
TT CF – R
Mookie 2B – R
Seager SS – L
JT 3B – R
Muncy 1B – L
Smith C – R
Bellinger – L
Pollock – R
At least, that’s how I would write out the card.
Was it someone on this board who has convinced him/herself that Seager is going to the NYY?
I had to work today so I couldn’t respond to marks rude remarks:
Ops Ab Ave. Hr. RBI
.892. 161. 280. 9. 30 Longoria
779. 296. 253. 14. 39 Flores
877. 372. 293. 20. 65 turner
952. 312. 272. 22. 62 Muncy
952 166. 277. 12. 29 Ruf
862. 172. 244. 13. 32 wade
When you add the stats here u can c the production at first and third base are very similar to ours. Farhan platooning like he did for dodgers puts a powerful production in place. They may be playing over their head but these are the current stats. Can they keep it up I don’t know. Our lineup only clearly wins at second and left. With tturner coming in and our guys like Seager, bellinger, Betts, performing we would be better. It is not hard to c why the giants r in first they have simply outperformed us in most areas. I did not use pujois because of 2 teams but this helps us.
Klawchat 8/5/21:
Dark Knight: Dodgers have been giving Gavin Lux opportunities for couple years… do you see him more as a Carter Kieboom/ Biggio? or still someone who will be an above avg regular?
Keith Law: Chance to be a star. Way better than those other two. Not even in the same league in tools or ability.
Dark Knight: Andre Jackson just pitched well in AA and promoted to AAA. LA has Pepiot & Miller/Beeter that looks like they’ll be ready soon. Will LA use the Gonsolin model for these guys?
Keith Law: I definitely would with Jackson, who is still ‘young’ in pitching experience (but not young for a prospect).
Talk about a tough stretch. The Angels next 5 opponents, Dodgers, Jays, Astros, Yankees and Padres.
Interesting post Mark comparing the Giants and Dodgers and the Dodger’s hitting philosophy and approach.
I find a couple of things interesting that your post made me think about:
One involves pitch count. One way to look at it is each pitcher has a finite number of bullets in their gun belt and when they are used up, either during an individual outing or in a season, they will begin to fail. When the x number of bullets are fired, they are done. Effectiveness is lost and injury can occur. There are certainly lots of variables involved with using those bullets.
Four Giant pitchers are getting close to maximizing their previous inning totals. So, the assumption is they will start to fail due to the workloads. That is pretty standard thinking – but WHY? I have somewhat of a different view of pitch counts and innings pitched. I can’t understand why a pitcher who has started building arm strength in March is still restricted in August to the magic 100 pitch benchmark. Or X number of innings. If a guy is healthy why isn’t usage building arm strength instead of weakening it? Everybody starts getting real antsy when a guy get to 100 pitches. Guys are conditioned to start looking in the dugout or have emotional conversations when the magic 100 pitch mark is reached. I realize all pitch counts aren’t the same. A 40 pitch inning surrounded by a couple 10 pitch innings isn’t the same 50 pitches. And a red flag goes up. The same with inning totals. The rule of thumb has been viewed as a 30% spike in innings from one season to the next is a red flag.
Maybe the reduced innings from last season is the reason for the concern. Every pitcher is being extended beyond last year’s levels. But to me the same thinking was prevalent in 2019 and before. Concerns about inning restrictions and pitch restrictions have been the norm of a long time.
I have read extensively on this subject. Jeff Passan’s book “The Arm” is good. It covers lots of territory. What I’m looking for is some solid medical evidence on pitch counts and innings. I can’t find any scientific evidence that can put a cap on pitches and innings. I remember well when pitch counting started. It started at a about 150. Then it went down to 125 and now has settled at 100; the magic number. Why 100? I think it’s because it’s a nice round, super safe. number.
If somebody has some solid evidence supporting these restrictions, I’m all ears. But I need more than the fact that’s how everybody’s doing it.
Next is the new hitting approach and working pitch counts. Many of us have commented plenty on our distain with taking fat pitches and hitting in disadvantage counts to run up the pitch totals (ironically to 100 pitches generally). It is no longer a “sin” to take a called third strike as many of us had pounded into our heads as kids. It’s now considered to be a better at bat to take a close strike 3 than to swing at a ball that’s barely out of the zone. For my old school thinking of “hitting anything close” is out the window. Better to strike out than to get a hack at a pitch out of the zone. Hey, guys swing at balls way out of the zone all the time as chase pitchers. So, why not get a hack on a close one? Vlad, Yogi and many others were good bad ball hitters and didn’t stand for a called 3rd strike. Back when contact mattered. The batting average pitches taken is 0. At least swing at a close pitch offers a chance.
Everything changes but not necessarily for the better. Pitchers are having more success with pitches up in the zone now against the lift and separate swings. Hitters will adjust. Which will put the once effective sinker back in vogue. It’s an always evolving chess match but I have never warmed up the the 3 Outcome Approach to hitting.
* Hey, Anthony M did you get a chance to check out the Athletic article on salary and conditions in the minors. Good on your grandparents, by the way, for being a host family for minor leagues.
Any news on whether Trea Turner plays today?
It will be interesting where he plays and who sits and where in the lineup he is at. Any thoughts?
I’d like to see him in an RBI spot in the lineup. 3rd/4th.
You can sum it up in one word: “You never know.” Courtesy of Joaquin Andujar.
Catcher – Will Smith or Buster Posey ?
First Base – Brandon Belt or Max Muncy?
Second Base – Chris Taylor or Donovan Solano?
Shortstop – Corey Seager or Bradon Crawford?
Third Base – Justin Turner or Evan Longoria?
Left Field – Alex Dickerson or AJ Pollock?
Centerfield – Cody Bellinger or Steven Duggar?
Right Field – Mookie Betts or Mike Yastrezemski?
Don’t forget Trea Turner
Nick Tropeano came up with Houston and traded to the Angels early in his career. Plagued by injuries. Great nickname Nitro. I hope he has some gas left in the tank!
This is interesting. Nick Tropeano is a failed starter whose best pitch is a changeup. His fastball is low 90’s but his change-up is killer. He has been around with the Astros, Mets and Giants (that’s all that come to mind). Who get’s DFA’ed?
Longoria has been out for quite a while and is not expected back soon. So the Giants have been using Flores and others over there. Bryant has played there the last few games. All we can do as fans is sit back and watch.
The but if is the Giants are four games better than us so far and if the offense doesn’t get more consistent run production we won’t be catching up! That’s not on Roberts!
Dodgers To Sign Nick Tropeano
By Steve Adams | August 6, 2021 at 10:48am CDT
The Dodgers have agreed to a deal with veteran right-hander Nick Tropeano, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Tropeano, a client of the Bledsoe Agency, rejected an outright assignment from the Mets in favor of free agency earlier in the week.
I’m sorry, but I don’t think lucky or unlucky is what is happening.
I’m not used to blaming Roberts for what happens in the game, but I have disagreed with some decisions.
And I don’t believe what they say about Roberts having the best record or winning percentage in LA’s history as a manager, or whatever.
I am totally sure that if he were the manager of Detroit, Miami, Kansas City, Colorado, Baltimore and some others, I doubt that he would have that record or percentage, the fact that the Dodgers are a winning team for years, it is not because of him, it is because the team is complete and full of good and excellent players, so don’t say that Roberts is an excellent manager and blah blah blah…
Great to see all baseball talk because this weekend is going to be crazy.
The Angels always give us fits so I’m still on the edge of my seat (I think only playing Arizona makes me lean back in my seat.)
Giants have 3 games on the road with Milwaukee which is also a very good team. At the very least I’m hoping we win at least 2 and Milwaukee wins at least 2. That would cut their lead to 3. That is my worst case scenario. You know what my best case scenario is, but I would be shocked to see the Giants lose all 3. But you never know.
I hope we see Trea Turner tonight. I’ve not read anything about this. Anybody?
TM
I haven’t heard anything that says Bauer’s contract can be voided.
The Nationals organization allegedly had 12 positive Covid tests. 4 players tested positive. Martinez said all but one of those who tested positive have been vaccinated. Was Turner vaccinated?
I too am concerned we may have seen the last of CK in Dodger blue. He’s made a lot of money and wants to be a full time dad and mentioned that he does not want move his kids to LA to attend school. I think he retires.
With KJ and CK’s salary obligation off the books, with TB’s salary/contract potentially being voided I think AF will be a big player in the FA market this off season, but for now lets get this season together and track down the Giants. A one game wild card scares the crap out of me.
Lets be pigs every year.
Dodgers: Cody Bellinger Could Be the Odd Man Out Once Trea Turner is Acivated
by Brook Smith
The Dodgers have some pretty big decisions coming up this week. Not only do they need to sort of figure out things in their location, but they also seem to have a glut of talent this coming weekend against the Angels. The hope is that recently acquired Trea Turner is set to join the team,
Just checking stats this morning and it’s easy to see the differences between the giants and Dodgers. Obviously their defense is better, they rank third, we rank 21st. That’s in fielding percentage which tells me they make the plays, we don’t. Their bullpen appears to be better too. Fewer blown saves, better BABIP, better ERA, better xFIP and the most important one to me they rank #1 in WHIP. Their bullpen is best in the league and not putting runners on. We’re 11th.
Unlike so many in here I don’t blame the manager. He hasn’t blown a save or walked anybody. As I’ve said many times the best managers in history have only been worth roughly 2 wins. Last year alone 21 batters and 7 pitchers were worth more to their teams than nearly every manager in the last 100 years. That said, I know many of you will continue to believe whatever it is you choose to be true. Blame Roberts and miss the point if you must, but the stats say our bullpen needs to be better going forward. Sure, it would help if SF’s bullpen starts showing some cracks but I’m not going to count on that. Having Trea Turner on the field will help our defense. I hope we see Duffy, in the pen, as I too have doubts about Kershaw.
This team has a less than bullpen and defense, is without 3 starters and it’s All Globe closer is among league leaders in blown saves and they are still at this time a playoff team. Personally I find that remarkable.
Who’s better Dodgers or Giants? This doesn’t even need any sort of in-depth analysis. It comes down to luck.
We’ve been a very unlucky team, both on the injury front and our record in one run games. As Mark pointed out, the talent isn’t even close. Sure, in a single 2/3rds of a season, you can compare stats and make a case for some of the Giant’s players over ours, but can this be sustained through the remainder of the season? Buster and Crawford are having career years, as are DeScalfani and Gausman. Buster has a Babip of 373 which is completely unsustainable and Brandon Crawford in just 3 HR off his career high. That is the foundation of their House of Cards offense that will certainly fold under the weight of a full season.
Kenly is a freaking train wreck and he’s playing his way off of the post season roster if he doesn’t get it together. I can see why the Dodgers are being patient with him since his velo is the best it’s been in the last couple of years. But, he better start getting some clean innings if he’s to keep his job once Knebel comes back.
The bullpen at full strength is a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, is hasn’t been full strength all year. This is the reason why it’s been the subject of so much disdain all season. You can see the talent. Having three guys that can tough 100 is a rare feat. You just don’t see that very often. It seems that Treinen is the only one bullpen arm has been healthy all season. This has forced us to use guys that weren’t ready for high leverage roles to pitch in high leverage situations. Hence, that horrible record in extras.
So, yes. The bullpen has sucked at times, and has been dominant at times. When they’ve been healthy, they’ve been dominant. When they haven’t, they haven’t.
The Giants would be buried right now if Kenly could have just done his job and if we had won just half of those extra innings games. Baseball is weird. It’s full of statistical anomalies. That’s why you see a 34 year old shortstop who never hit more that 21 HR’s in a season suddenly look like A-Rod. That record in extras is a statistical anomaly and the Giants can’t count on the Dodgers to choke away extra innings games for the remainder of the season.
I still think Kershaw’s injury isn’t as concerning as it looks. Her’s Doc’s quote when it happened…
“This is something that once it came about, it made sense to cut some of the season off, and save some bullets for the rest of the season, and the postseason,” Dave Roberts said.
We’ll see how it works out, but it didn’t seem very concerning at the time. They most likely saw that Kershaw was pretty effective at the beginning of the season and just want to get him back to that point before a sprint down the finish line in September.
Moving on to the Minor Leagues, it sure looks like there’s reason to be optimistic. Eddys Leonard, Bandon “Fat Boy” Lewis, Diego Cartaya, Andy Pages are all very legitimate top of the talent pool types that could be potential All-Stars or “Game Changers”. Miller, Beeter, Pepiot and Knack all have tools that can develop into mid-top of the rotation guys. Hoese and Busch could just be having off years after being pushed up to AA after having their development stunted due to COVID. Outman’s star is rising and Nodo looks like he’s capable of breaking out. Vargas is just 21 and he looks like a pure hitter with solid number across the board at AA.
The future is bright, we’re getting ready to reload and backfill a talented MLB roster. I fully expect the Dodgers to leap frog the Giants and Padres systems as early as the beginning of next year.
Mark, when I look at that lineup side by side you could argue the Dodgers are better but that is not who has been playing. Posey clear winner, Crawford clear winner(Seager hasn’t played sub lux) bellinger has not been better than Duggar or the combination they have used, wade and Ruf have been equal to better than Muncy (belt weakens lineup) Flores and Longoria equal or better turner, Betts is better than yaz but hasn’t played, we have been better in lf and 2nd while their bench has been superior.
I know why AF let Peterson and kike get away but it has killed us due to injuries. Mckinstry was good but hasn’t recovered from the oblique, Rios gone, so the bench has not performed. Raley, reks, neuse, peters, have not only not helped but hurt us.
The starting pitching has been great but so has the giants. The bullpen is another area where we have failed. AF did not provide a quality bullpen for Robert’s. Dotted with guys who should not have been in Mlb games. If u say he did provide enough then u have to say Robert’s mishandled the pen. I think u could make a case both have been lacking. Couple that with the giants and pads improvement and what might have been ok in the past won’t cut it this year.
Defense and fundamental breakdowns. Holding runners, base running, defensive miscommunication have reared it’s head this year. I blame Robert’s and the coaching staff for this.
If healthy the Dodgers are a better team now but have pissed away enough games to be ahead. They should get in so we just wait and c if they can catch fire and win the division or not.
The Giants win the close games and we don’t. Why is that!