The Slime Art of Second-Guessing
OK, you all likely know what happened last night: Joc Pederson drove in the first run against Zack Greinke. Hyun-Jin Ryu had pitched 7 strong innings when Roberts pinch-hit for him with Kike Hernandez. On a 2-2 pitch from Greinke, Kike jacked the ball out of the stadium to tie the game at 2-2. Next, Dylan Floro played the role of set-up man and shut down the D-Bags in the
OK, you all likely know what happened last night: Joc Pederson drove in the first run against Zack Greinke. Hyun-Jin Ryu had pitched 7 strong innings when Roberts pinch-hit for him with Kike Hernandez. On a 2-2 pitch from Greinke, Kike jacked the ball out of the stadium to tie the game at 2-2. Next, Dylan Floro played the role of set-up man and shut down the D-Bags in the top of the 8th inning to set the stage for Red Beard the Pirate’s home run in the bottom of the 8th. Finally, the beguiled Kenley Jansen came in and acted like… well, Kenley Jansen, to slam the door on the Snakes.
It was all about execution. But right now, I am going to give you a lesson in the “Slime Art of Second-Guessing.” It’s not a Fine Art, it’s Slime Art, and we all do it. It’s easy as fans to second guess moves Dave Roberts makes or question his lineups, but it’s really all about execution and I am not suggesting that Doc needs to be executed! It’s about executing what you need to do to advance the team.
WHAT IF?
What if Doc pinch hit for Ryu, and Kike struck out? Then, what if Floro gave up a run in 8th and JT hit his HR in the bottom of the 8th to tie game, followed by Kenley giving up a 2-run home run in the 9th to lose the game?
If that happened everyone would be lamenting “what an idiot Dave Roberts was for pinch-hitting for Ryu who was cruising”. “What a stupid move to bring in Floro and everyone knew Jansen is toast.”
Second-guessers are never wrong, which is why I try and avoid it. I have advocated firing Dave Roberts, not because of his moves, but because of lack of execution by the team and I know you can’t fire the whole team, so the Manager gets the ax. That is obviously not happening and I have every expectation that Doc will lead this team to the Post-Season.
When players execute like last night, no one says “Doc is genius.” But, when they don’t execute, so many say “He’s and idiot for that move.” Maybe he’s neither an idiot or a genius, but do you understand that second-guessing is really a “slime-art?” It’s simply about players executing!
DODGER NEWS
- John Axford is throwing again and should be back this month. Hopefully, he can pitch like he did in his 2nd and 3rd Dodger appearance.
- Julio Urias came into the game for OKC in the sixth inning and walked two batters while retiring one. No word on his velocity, but that was his first relief appearance.
- Chicken Strip looks to be pain-free and will likely be activated today.
- Verdugo and Toles were not in the lineup for OKC last night, as they were likely on a plane to LA.
- Ryan Madson has the ability and experience to help the Dodgers bullpen. He can still hit 98 MPH on the gun. This could be interesting.
- David Freese is a professional hitter, hitting LH and RH pitchers about equally. He also has lots of Post-Season experience and has played at a high level when there. He will be on the playoff roster.
- Kike Hernandez likes the bright lights!
- Will Chase Utley be on the playoff roster? Will Matt Kemp?
- Here we go: September will determine it!
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Discussion (95)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Who will step up tonight? It’s getting late.
Freese looks like lloyd braun
Man we have a fleet of lefties on the bench
When do you think the Dodgers will figure out that lefties are hitting Conroy better?
And I bet his slider doesn’t affect leftie hitters, like righties.
I hope by the next time we face Conroy in that last series against the Dbacks, this year.
There have been 11 runs scored in 1st 3 games of Dodgers-DBacks series. 10 have scored on HRs. 5 solo, 1 2run HR, 1 3run HR
Can anybody on this team hit? (except Turner)
Steiner is insane. He just called this game a “thriller” with “theatrics”. Uh . . .
I’m not too worries about Austin… it’s just your standard 5 month slump. I’m sure he’ll break out of it soon.
Why is puig in the lineup? He doesn’t hit lefties and his defense has not been anything to crow about this year. Him and kemp are double play candidates with runners on. I would definitely rather see bellinger in there. It appears Roberts just refuses to play his best players. I love kemp but if he has gained twenty pounds back I would dfa him or use him as a pinch hitter only until the season is over. I am shocked that he starts Hernandez since he hit a homer last night and has been hot. He may not do anything tonight but at least he is going with a hot hitter.
DODGERS ANNOUNCE ROSTER MOVES
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LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers today recalled infielder/catcher Kyle Farmer, infielder/outfielder Tim Locastro and outfielders Andrew Toles and Alex Verdugo from Triple-A Oklahoma City, while activating infielder David Freese (#25) and right-handed pitcher Ryan Madson. Los Angeles also reinstated left-handed pitcher Zac Rosscup and infielder Chase Utley from the 10-day disabled list.
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Farmer, 28, will make his second stint with the big league club this season after appearing in 32 games with the Dodgers hitting .238 (15-for-63) with four doubles and eight RBI. He has done damage off the bench for Los Angeles this year, going 6-for-16 (.375) with two doubles and four RBI as a pinch-hitter. With Triple-A OKC this season, the Atlanta, Georgia native has posted a .288/.333/.451 slashline with 24 doubles, one triple, seven home runs and 36 RBI in 79 games.
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Locastro, 26, has appeared in eight games with Los Angeles this season, with his last appearances on May 13 against the Reds. In 83 games with the OKC Dodgers this year, he has hit .279 with 61 runs, 23 doubles, two triples, four homers, 25 RBI and 18 stolen bases along with a .389 on-base percentage.
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Toles, 26, returns for his second stint with Los Angeles after appearing in seven games with the Dodgers batting .261 (6-for-23) with four runs, two doubles and four RBI. The speedy outfielder has appeared in 71 games with Triple-A Oklahoma City this year, posting a .306/.345/.461 slashline with 17 doubles, one triple, seven homers and 39 RBI. Over the past three seasons, he has appeared in 86 games with the Dodgers, combining for a .290 batting average and a .805 OPS along with 14 doubles, eight home runs and 35 RBI.
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Verdugo, 22, has appeared in 14 games with the Dodgers this season over two stints with the big league club, posting a .280 (14-for-50)/.345/.440 slashline with seven runs, five doubles, one home run and three RBI. The clubs No. 1 rated prospect by MLB.com had another great year with Triple-A OKC, as he was named the Pacific Coast League’s Mid and Post-Season All-Star and was also selected to the 2018 All-Pacific Coast League team. In 91 games with the Oklahoma City Dodgers, the Tucson, Arizona native slashed .329/.391/.472 with 44 runs, 19 doubles, 10 home runs, 44 RBI and eight stolen bases. His batting average ranked the fourth best in the PCL, while also ranking among the league leaders in on-base percentage (11th) and OPS (12th).
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Freese, 35, was acquired by the Dodgers from the Pittsburgh Pirates prior to the 9:00 p.m. PST deadline last night and in 93 games for the Bucs this season, he hit .282 with 29 runs, 10 doubles, one triple, nine home runs and 42 RBI along with a .780 OPS. The veteran infielder has put up very similar splits against both right-handed and left-handed pitchers, hitting .284 (31-for-109) against southpaws compared to a .281 (36-for-128) mark against righties. Defensively, he has appeared in 54 games at third base and 15 games at first base this year, posting a combined .977 fielding percentage.
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Madson, 38, was also acquired by Los Angeles yesterday from the Washington Nationals and in 49 relief appearances with Washington this year, he has 2-5 with four saves and has posted a 5.28 ERA (26 ER/44.1 IP). The Long Beach native has been a member of two World Series championship clubs (2008 & 2015) in 13 Major League seasons with the Phillies (2003-2011), Royals (2015), A’s (2016-2017) and Nationals (2017-2018), posting a 61-48 record with 91 saves and a 3.45 ERA in 731 games (18 starts).
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Rosscup, who missed the past 10 games with a left calf strain, has appeared in eight games with Los Angeles this season going 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA (5 ER/6.2 IP) and striking out 10 against just one walk. The 30-year-old tossed one rehab outing with Triple-A OKC on August 28 against Iowa, striking out one batter and issuing one walk over 0.2 innings.
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Utley, 39, has been on the disabled list since August 2, missing the past 26 games due to left wrist inflammation. In 69 games this season, he has posted a .240 batting average along with 10 doubles, one triple, one home run and 14 RBI. The veteran infielder has been clutch off the bench this year, going 13-for-29 (.448) with three doubles, one triple and five RBI as a pinch-hitter. His 13 pinch-hits and .448 average as a pinch-hitter each ranks the second best in the Major Leagues.
Freese 167 vs Corbin bellinger has been hot but I guess that doesn’t matter to Roberts. Freese is just another ave hitter. I hope he goes 4-4 but unlikely to be any kind of upgrade. Maybe him or dozier can get hot and play over their head for a month.
Bellinger should be in the lineup darn near everyday. Freese wouldn’t have been needed if our so -called lefty killers were doing their job. Now Bellinger and Muncy are sitting because another player had to be worked into the lineup.
As for managers: same old same old. Some of the best guys record-wise and
championship-wise are not the best in-game guys. One or two of you may
recall I often suggested the Ds find something useful for Donnie to do during
the actual games:-). (And see how surprisingly well he has the predicted-to-be-
woeful Marlins actually playing most days). The best guys are the marathon guys
who can keep a team mostly focused, mostly pulling the oars at the same time.
Tommie was a bad, bad game manager a lot of the time, but a very, very good
MLB manager. No surprise that his best work was in a year when the bullpen
man by man, was excellent. He couldn’t mess it up!!!
It seems there were no surprises, maybe some other player will be called later
”The Dodgers today recalled Kyle Farmer, Tim Locastro, Andrew Toles and Alex Verdugo from Triple-A Oklahoma City, while activating David Freese (#25) and Ryan Madson. They also reinstated Zac Rosscup and Chase Utley from the 10-day disabled list”
I happened to see that call when it happened. Like so many other balk calls,
it was almost undetectable, even on replay.
If major league ball has a problem with “deception”, why are catchers allowed
20-40% of some games to pull/push their gloves into a more advantageous
position for s strike call bu humans who have a hard enough time determining
a strike without that extra dance step?
And why does MLB keep deceiving us that any/most humans can consistently
distinguish a moving, darting baseball, in three dimensions at great speeds,
as a ball or strike. NO ONE impacts a game like the helpless human behind the
plate. Use the electronic zone; its mistake ratio CAN be improved. Let the
home ump be in charge of pacing the game, and getting the primadonnas like
Herrerra of the Phils to focus and stop keeping the nation waiting on their
self-serving antics
Freese batting 5th and playing 1b tonight.
If we do in fact get there, I give a big tip of my hat to Mr. Kemp and Mr. Grandal. Without them we’d of had no chance. That ball hitting Turner’s wrist almost took us out and we never reached any surplus of wins. Now every win is needed and Dodgers really could pull this one off as a whole team. I really believe! CHEERS!!!
I have said many times, I think Roberts is a very poor game manager, my feeling is not based on his decisions that work or the ones that don’t work, it’s on making the same decisions over and over with the same outcome. It’s on starting games with lineups that do not give the Dodgers the best chance to win, It’s about playing bench players almost as much as the regular players. It’s about running out of players or getting very close because in his one batter and done style he loves to play with the bullpen he doesn’t see the possibility of extra innings. If I were a regular or should be a regular I would not enjoy playing for Roberts, if I were a sub I would love playing for him. Let’s see what September brings.
It’s September 1st and by now, I think a few things are apparent:
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1. Kike Hernandez actually hits RHP better than LHP, so what is with the platoon and playing him against LHP? FAZ knows that – Doc ignores it.
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2. Joc Pederson is absolutely clueless against a LHP – he should only face righties.
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3. Yasiel Puig crushed RHP, but should never play against righties.
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4. Matt Kemp has been horrid since the All-Star Break. How long do you ride with him?
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5. Chris Taylor also has reverse splits against LH and RHP. He’s actually much better against RHP.
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6. It appears that Max Muncy hits both LH and RH pitching, but he has not received the opportunities against LHP. If you believe the stats, he should be in every game.
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These are things I know and FAZ knows, but Roberts ignores. I don’t know where Freese fits in, other than the bench, but this is the best lineup against LH and RH pitching:
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Against LHP:
1. Muncy LF
2. Turner 3B
3. Machado SS
4. Bellinger CF
5. Hernandez RF
6. Freese 1B
7. Dozier 2B
8. Grandal C
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Against RHP:
1. Muncy LF
2. Turner 3B
3. Manny SS
4. Bellinger CF
5. Pederson RF
6. Freese 1B
7. Dozier 2B
8. Grandal C
I had no problem with Roberts hitting for Ryu in the 8th. Fortunately, it worked big time. It doesn’t take a genius to make that move.
At some point we have to trust the bullpen to do it’s job if we are to go to the World Series. They, either, do their job now and in the future or it doesn’t make any difference anyway. No reason to hide from the situation, Madson, hopefully, will add to some stability to the pen.
Faz was on the pregame either last night or the night before. At the end of the interview he stated the strength of our depth and being able to have a different lineup every night was our advantage. So, if their was any doubt who is making out the lineups that kind of answers it. As I have stated before it’s not the way to win a championship. You have to play your best night in and night out to be successful. And, especially, now with us fighting for a playoff spot. Right now Taylor, Barnes, Kemp and Pederson should not be playing regularly.
My lineup
LF Verdugo
3B Turner
SS Machado
CF Bellinger
1B Freese (hits both RH and LH pitching about .280) /or platoon Muncy
2B Dozier
C Grandal
RF Puig
I guess for me it boils down to when you are setting your lineup based on the other team, and playing the odds with platoons, a manager is playing to not lose. I would rather have a manager putting his hottest and best 8 out on the field and say now beat us. I want a manager who knows he can win with his best 8. He plays to win. And yes I hate the prevent defense.
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Go out there with your best and if you lose, tip your hat to the other team. But if you try to play matchup and do not have your best out on the field and lose, you open yourself up to second guessing.
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1 other point. If you do not question Doc’s moves and it is the execution, then why do you say that Doc is as dumb as a bucket of hammers?
Liberatore was DFA’d in case you missed it.
Roberts is a genius………if we win tonight, and tomorrow. If that happens I’ll crown him superior genius elite. Tie this next one up Dodgers! Then it’s only looking forward!