Total Lack of Focus
Never underestimate the power of focus. Conversely, never underestimate what happens when you lack focus. Case in point: Yasmani Grandal: For whatever reason, Grandal is at home with his wife (again) at least in his mind. Three passed balls, 2 errors. Strikeouts, can t advance runners. His head is somewhere else. There are no excuses you do or you don t do. I ll talk about what I think the Dodgers should
Never underestimate the power of focus. Conversely, never underestimate what happens when you lack focus.
Case in point: Yasmani Grandal: For whatever reason, Grandal is at home with his wife (again)… at least in his mind.
Three passed balls, 2 errors. Strikeouts, can’t advance runners. His head is somewhere else. There are no excuses – you do or you don’t do.
I’ll talk about what I think the Dodgers should do at Catcher next year, but right about now, there’s still a series to win…. and it is still winnable! However, it’s not winnable if the Dodgers keep playing like this.
Chacin was focused. Buehler was cocky! Chacin knew he had to pitch the game of his life. Buehler thought all he had to do was show up. The Dodger hitters lacked focus as Chacin fed them table scraps and hid the meat and potatoes. The Brewers were focused while the Dodgers just made you “cuss.”
Maybe they are still focused on getting to the World Series, when they have to win the NLCS first. Maybe I am wrong, but it feels (to me) like the Dodgers are not nearly as focused as the Brewers. Chacin knows how to pitch with similar “stuff” as Kershaw, but Clayton still is focused on what he did when he was 27. His focus is wrong!
The Dodgers are in trouble unless Rich Hill can focus today and get a few of the troops to focus behind him. Kike Hernandez hit the nail on the head (I’m surprised he didn’t miss it too). From Ken Gurnick at MLB.com:
“We sucked. That’s why we lost,” said Enrique Hernandez. “I think as a team we were a little bit flat tonight and it showed on the offensive side. The playoffs, you’ve got to want it. Today it just wasn’t our day. We had no energy. The stadium had no energy. The fans had no energy. So overall it was a pretty bad day for everybody that calls themselves Dodgers. Tomorrow is another game.”
Hernandez clarified, emphasizing that it was the players who set the listless tone, not the fans.
“I don’t have an explanation for why some days we just don’t have it as a team, like energy or whatever it is,” he said. “But sometimes we can feed off the crowd. The fans here do a great job of showing up and packing the stadium every night and have a lot of passion for the game. But tonight for whatever reason I guess as contagious as energy can be from the fans to the players, it was from the players to the fans tonight.”
Well, he nailed the explanation – too bad he can’t nail a baseball like that! I feel bad for Yasmani Grandal – he’s a stand-up guy and well respected by his teammates, but he is killing the team with his bat (or lack of it) and his defense (total lack of it). He needs to sit the rest of the series. Kike, Cody, Dozier, Muncy, Puig and Freese have all had cold bats. Bellinger is making contact – he only has 1 strikeout in 10 AB’s, but he needs to get his focus back.
Every player as an individual, is responsible for their own focus, but Dave Roberts is the “gatekeeper of team focus” and he needs to do his job better. Yes, theese are grown men. Yes, they are responsible, but as the manager you can certainly inject some focus into the lineup. It just seems to me that their focus ALL YEAR has been on the World Series, but they have to win NOW to get there. Somehow, Doc has to get them TOTALLY focused on today’s game. Rich Hill should be focused and that can be contagious. Let’s hope so, because it will be hard to climb out of a 3-1 hole.
- It’s THIS game
- It’s THIS at-bat
- It’s THIS pitch
- It’s THIS moment
Nothing else matters – focus on what is in front of you THIS second or THIS series is over! Bring it, Rich!
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Discussion (192)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Machado is a douchebag, but hes our douchebag.
Yay. Judt found out we won. Did we really go 13 innings without an XBH? Amazing pitching by us though.
Well, I’ve had a few hours to regroup.
There’s so much to analyse in that game. I will contain myself by saying the Rich Hill is still my favourite Dodger, and that I’m delighted for Bellinger, who came up huge with a game changing catch, and the Walk Off hit.
Doc played his hand as he saw fit, but not necessarily how I would’ve done it.
Especially burning Freese in 2 innings, and PHing for Wood with Grandal, when he was pitching well.
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The one thing that is beyond question in my mind however, is that if it wasn’t for the pick up of Machado in July, we would be done already. He has kept us going, especially in the Post Season, and this series in particular.
It was interesting to see that he openly admits to a lack of hustle, and I respect the honesty, but when push came to shove, he really put it in to score from 2nd on Bellinger’s hit. Maybe he won’t hustle until he feels he can make a difference?
Also, and I totally agree with all those who criticised his kick on Aguilar, and base running antics of yesterday, but I would say that he was the one Dodger who has had an edge to his game these past 2 evenings. The one Dodger position player who is gonna go down with a fight. The one who is gonna front up and make something happen, even without getting a hit. He is the kind of player that you like to hate if he is on the other team, because you know he will try every which way to win.
He is absolutely winning me round with his attitude, and hopefully it will be contagious. I don’t necessarily like it, but he is carrying the offensive side of our game almost single handily.
He has the most RBIs of any of this year’s Post Season Players, and shares the lead with 3 HRs, and 2 Doubles.
Maybe he needs to play in this scrappy way to bring out the best in himself.
I just know that without him we would be done by now.
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Have to be fair to the Brewers, they’re a better team than i thought, especially the Pitching.
We were lucky we didn’t regret not taking advantage of another poor Gio start.
I fancy a gem from CK tonight.
Great rwin, amazing, was thrilled
They did not walk Bellinger and Grandal to face Urias. Thought that was the play even if it put pressure on Brewer’s pitcher to throw strikes and keep it from the backstop. Or at least walk Bellinger and face Grandal, thank you Craig!!
I am thrilled and hope this takes us back to the Series but i have to wonder about some of Robert’s micromanagement. What would have happened after the 14th, forfeit, I guess Ryu??? Anyone? However that did not happen so the all in gambler won this time, thank god!! Likely why I am on the couch and he is in the dugout.
Please stop pinch hitting for Freese in the 2nd inning, start Muncy or keep Freese in a little longer.
Kersh get some rest, take us back to the Midwest up 3 to 2
Good for Cody. A big defensive play, 2 hits, and a walk-off hit. You could feel him getting closer. There are a few guys like Cody who I think just need to break the proverbial seal and have something good happen for them. Watch Cody start playing better now. There a couple of other guys in that boat.
Tell you what, this damn team is gonna give me a a heart attack!
All that trying for HR’s and it’s 2 singles and a WP in the 13th. They could have done that in the 7th, 8th or 9th when they had the leadoff man on base and saved us about 2 hours.
Big win but really – 17 K’s and 2 for 10 RISP. If this continues they will lose. And I expect it to continue – this is the way they’ve played all season long.
5 Hrs 15 minutes of nervous tension because neither team could hit a lick tonight. I smelled that back in the 7th when Doc burned 3 pitchers but Counsell did the same and had to lean on Guerra for 4 innings late. Both teams used every available pitcher in the pen and every guy on the bench except starting pitchers (and Jeffress who was off limits) I am not sure I can stand another one like that but everyone should be available tomorrow even Jansen with the off day Thur. Kershaw will have the weight on his shoulders, let’s hope he doesn’t have to drive in the runs himself too.
Kudos to the pen!
So tomorrow’s huge Game 5 will be started by Kersh. Can Kersh come thru in a big game!
Why in the world would they pitch to Bellinger with Grandal on deck? Thank You Counsell.
Ironically some hustle by Machado made a big difference in the end.
Wow. Phew. And OMG
Seriously folks, regardless of the outcome, this team, despite all the talent is seriously flawed, and the manager wanting to play every player in most of the games is in-game challenged, and on top of that upper management (by their comments) Is blind to some of the problems.
Dodger hitting. The word pitiful comes to mind.
Bellinger wasn’t much better. No need for him to be swinging for the fences, especially since he has speed and had the potential to steal if he got on first base.
I would have kept Wood in there.
He was pitching well.
Floro or Urias now?
Same pattern with Grandal. Look at strike 1 and chase strikes 2 and 3. Not so sure I would have bothered to pinch hit.
So over Machado. No I don’t want the good with the bad. The good isn’t good enough.
MJ’s right – here’s the SI article:
Open on www.si.comhttps://www.si.com/mlb/2018/10/09/dodgers-braves-nlds-los-angeles-nlcs-brewersHere’s the quote:
““We want guys who are passive out of the strike zone and aggressive in it,” said Dodgers vice president Andrew Friedman, “and when they swing, guys who hit the ball hard. We’ve got a lot of guys in our lineup–and on our bench, too–who do that.”
So deep and powerful are the Dodgers that they had 108 home runs on their bench in Game 3 (against the Braves)–just 25 fewer than the entire Marlins team. They scored 70% of their runs in the series on home runs (14 of 20). They posted a .210 batting average, which is increasingly becoming a meaningless statistic.
“It’s tough to make a living trying to string hits together today,” Friedman said.”
Time for a Belli bomb
I’d rather open the season next year with a single A utility player at SS until Seager is ready than watch Machado in a Dodger uniform. He’s entitled, not clutch, a me first player (it appears) and a bad sport. No Thanks, he can wear pinstripes next year and we’ll take the draft pick compensation
Punk move by Machado if done on purpose.
I think Machado is trying to light a fire under some of our guys