What s Up Doc?
The Dodgers won four games in a row and then lost 2-1 to the Phillies yesterday and predictably, it is all Dave Robert s fault. Somehow, Doc should have produced two more runs and Justin Turner should have pinch-hit and hit a home run to win the game even if the medical staff advised him not to play or even if he knew he could not play. To compare that to
The Dodgers won four games in a row and then lost 2-1 to the Phillies yesterday and predictably, it is all Dave Robert’s fault. Somehow, Doc should have produced two more runs and Justin Turner should have pinch-hit and hit a home run to win the game… even if the medical staff advised him not to play or even if he knew he could not play. To compare that to what Kirk Gibson did is ludicrous. Gibson was done for the Series. He never played again. It was a desperate move that happened at that moment in time.
Justin Turner has a strained groin. If you have never had one, let me tell you that it is something that can go away in a week… or month, but if you are smart, you let it heal. Maybe he will be back tonight, but I would not be surprised if ends up on the IL. I have no inside knowledge and neither does anyone else on this board. I am not a Dave Roberts fan, but I am also not a detractor. However, to blame Roberts for everything is absurd. In one breath, you say the term is not good enough and in the next breath, you say that Freidman has given Roberts such a great team that anyone would have his managerial record… which is #2 in winning percentage in the history of baseball.
I know you want it both ways, but you can’t have it that way. Gabe Kapler was a trainwreck in Philly, but now he’s a genius. I am ambivalent about Dave Roberts. If he were fired, it would not be a big issue with me, but he runs one of the best clubhouses in MLB (which was my complaint about Mattingly). Like it or not, Dave Roberts is the Dodgers manager and will be for the foreseeable future.
There are a lot of games left. Anything can happen. I’ll start thinking about the Wild Card when that becomes an option. I am in favor of sitting Mookie and JT and getting them healthy. The Dodgers will be in the playoffs and there is plenty of time for a Giants collapse. Here’s Bear’s Take:
Michael “Bear” Norris on What’s Ahead
Well, here we are: Closing in on the middle of August. 47 games left, 7 with the Mets, 3 with the Pirates, 3 with SD, 3 with Colo, 3 with Atl, 3 with SF, 4 with St. Louis, 3 with SD, 3 with Az, 3 with Cin, 3 with Colo, 3 with Az, 3 with SD, and finish with 3 against the Brewers. Depending on what the Giants do as I write this, 4 or 5 games back.
There is certainly enough time to catch the Giants. Only 15 of the games are against teams with losing records. 32 games against teams with a chance at making the playoffs. Nobody is going to just roll over and play dead for the Dodgers. They have a target on their back. And their offense is handicapped some with Mookie out, Bellinger struggling, and a bench that has not been all that much help. Amazingly the best player off of the bench has been Tio Albert.
Matt Beaty has been the only reliable left-handed bat off of the bench. None of the AAA call-ups have done well at all. They miss McKinstry. But the McKinstry they miss is the guy they had the first few weeks of the season. He has not been the same player since he came off of the injured list.
O.A.R.
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Discussion (138)
Disagree, not disagreeable
I am shutting this down because I cannot stand stupidity!
I smell another one run game coming up……
I do not suffer fools well,
B & P is saying some of the stupidest shit I have ever heard!
Dink and dunk and lucky hits.
Yeah, morons will blame it on Doc!
10 more strikeouts tonight. Taylor gets his 3rd hit of the night. Walks will kill you. Dodgers scored 3 on sac flies and are only 1-5 with runners in scoring position. Some fan in the stands shining a laser light in Muncy’s eyes in the 9th. Not cool at all. Jansen in for the 9th, so he needs to get 3 outs with no drama. Giants up 5-2 in the third in SF. Jansen K’s Alonzo to send it to extras. Time to flip the script. Smith hits 2 run HR in the 10th. Maybe the script is being flipped. Hold on to your hats, Jansen coming back out for the 10th. Jansen gets the win, 6=5. They break the curse of extra inning loses.
I thought Graterol should have remained in the game. But Graterol is no sure thing, and quite frankly the Mets didn’t exactly knock the cover off the ball.
Doc Sucks!!!
This is a perfect example of why Doc is an idiot.. There was no reason to pull Graterol. Doc always over manages.
Aaron Sanchez released by the Giants.
I think Roberts did not really want to pull Urias once they had scored, but Beaty was already at the plate so he was stuck with the move. Considering how well Knebel pitched in the 6, and Graterol so far, it is not going to affect the outcome yet.
The reason McKinstry has not been playing the last few days at OKC is simple. He is with the big club on the extra player list they have when traveling. Lux 0-3 at OKC tonight with 2 K’s. Through 6 Round Rock and OKC tied at 0-0. OKC with only 2 hits. Santana and Bemboom.
Muncy already has 1 more hit than he had the entire series in Philadelphia. Turner showing off his speed again. It is so much fun watching that guy run.
Stay out of Belli’s way McKinney
My son played quite a bit with and against this pitcher for the Mets. I remember him being a goofball as a kid and teen. He could always bring it though. He kinda lived in his big brother Trevor’s shadow. It must feel good for him to be having more success at the major league level than his big brother.
This kid had all the confidence in the world. I never saw him pitch an exceptional game, yet in his mind he knew he would be a pro some day. I’m happy for him to be living his dream.
1 – bone spurs are usually arthritic, so there is an arthritic process there that’s already started. even if the spur is easily removed, Mookie is young to have an arthritic hip. puts a cloud on the future for sure.
2 – the Crawford resigning is a big risk for the Giants, even for 2 years. he has lost a step in the field – range factor is down, and his offensive resurgence is a huge surprise. his career average OPS is .722 and it’s .904 this year, by far his best year at age 34.
3 – not just “NO” but “NO!!!” to Puig. have we learned nothing these past years?
That was absolutely a GREAT at bat from Seager. He sure has looked good, I think his fielding is also been above what it had been before he went down IMO. Whatever rest he got, it sure did him good.
Way to go for Cory he didn’t try to pull the ball. Smith might have made contact with that hanger if he hadn’t tried to pull it
As much as I criticize MLB, they got the Field of Dream Game right. A wonderful event and way fun to watch. Storybook ending.
I can look to fix plenty of blame for last night’s loss. To me, it’s pretty simple.
We got 3 hits and failed to score the tying run in the top of the ninth with the bases juiced. End of story.
For all those that thought SFG was a possible pursuer of Seager next Winter, Brandon Crawford just signed a two year extension for $32MM.
I would take a flyer on Yasiel. I still believe the guy has a lot of talent and he is not that old. He has pop, which neither Beaty or McKinney have, and how stabilizing would Tio Albert be to a guy like Puig who probably has admired Albert’s game for years. And as stated, he would not cost much. Red Sox designated Marwin Gonzalez for assignment. Schwarber activated. Oh Yeah, Matt Kemp is available also, but I am not sure they have a uni that large.
I found this:
Michael Busch
– Walks (OBP) is Solid / Needs to cut down on his SO’s
69 GP – 294 AB – 55 BB – 99 SO – .375 OBP
– Has not hit well at Home in Tulsa / Has hit well on the Road
H: 45 GP – 164 AB – 30 R – 36 H – 8 2B – 0 3B – 4 HR – 18 RBI – 30 BB – 55 SO – .220 .363 .341 .705
A: 34 GP – 132 AB – 26 R – 34 H – 8 2B – 0 3B – 9 HR – 20 RBI – 25 BB – 44 SO – .258 .389 .523 .912
– Hit RHP pretty well / Hits LHP poorly (SSS)
RHP: 228 AB – 59 H – 11 2B – 0 3B – 12 HR – 32 RBI – 38 BB – 76 SO – .259 .382 .465 .847
LHP: 68 AB – 11 H – 5 2B – 0 3B – 1 HR – 6 RBI – 17 BB – 23 SO – .162 .352 .279 .632
– Streaky hitter ( Will rake for a month, then go cold for a month )
M: 23 GP – 88 AB – 18 R – 23 H – 7 2B – 0 3B – 6 HR – 13 RBI – 16 BB – 30 SO – .261 .398 .545 .944
J: 21 GP – 75 AB – 11 R – 13 H – 2 2B – 0 3B – 0 HR – 1 RBI – 15 BB – 29 SO – .173 .326 .200 .526
J: 25 GP – 93 AB – 21 R – 27 H – 7 2B – 0 3B – 6 HR – 19 RBI – 18 BB – 26 SO – .290 .431 .559 .990
A: 10 GP – 40 AB – 6 R – 7 H – 0 2B – 0 3B – 1 HR – 5 RBI – 6 BB – 14 SO – .175 .277 .250 – .527
So let me say I have nothing personal against Billy McKinney. Probably a very nice guy and would be a good fourth outfielder for a second division team………………………..but not for the 2021 Los Angeles Dodgers.
Beaty, who is a far better hitter than Billy is sitting today, probably because he’s somewhat of a butcher in the outfield and I’m guessing the Mets outfield is not a small area to cover.
So here’s my solution.
Sign Yasiel Puig who is currently playing in Mexico and who at this point would probably be willing to accept a salary slightly smaller than the parking lot attendant in lot 3 at the stadium.
Yes, he’s a bit of a flake and he doesn’t listen very well, and he’s been somewhat of a disrupter in the clubhouse in past years. None of that matters at this point because we have so little of the season left, we’re 5 games behind the Giants and we want to win the division and avoid the wildcard game.
Puig is as good a fielder as McKinney. Puig is as good a hitter as Beaty. Two for the price of one. Problem solved.
If my experiment is a total disaster, either from a production standpoint or a behavior standpoint, cut him loose and you still haven’t lost much money. I have no idea why Andrew is the GM and I’m sitting here typing this, and not even getting paid for it.
I once had a bone spur on my brain. They said I needed a frontal lobotomy but I thought they said a “bottle in front of me”. My mistake…
OK, all you medical experts. Doc says that Mookie’s problem is a bone spur tied into the hip. He’s received an injection, the pain has subsided, but still no timetable for a return.
Is a bone spur in that location only going to be fixed by eventual surgery and is that surgery major or minor?
Dodger Lineup:
1. T-Turner 2B
2. Muncy 1B
3. Smith C
4. Seager SS
5. Pollock LF
6. Taylor 3B
7. Bellinger CF
8. McKinney RF
9. Urias P
No JT!
Good points William. But I believe Kapler’s team would not be doing what it is doing without resurgent performances by veterans in their walk years who have not been good for a while. This is Crawford’s best season in years. Same with Belt, and he had been out with injury until last week. Then he hits 4 HR’s over the weekend against a very good Brewers team. Posey, who had not played at all last season, and was injury prone the 2 seasons before that gets healthy, plays no more than 3 days in a row and is having his best season in years. All of their starters are MLB retreads. Two of them, Desclafani and Gausman pitched out of their minds for the first couple of months. They got a resurgent Wood on a one year deal, and Webb, a young pitcher, has pitched better than expected. Only Cueto has been so so. But lately, their starters have shown cracks in their armor, and the bullpen has been heavily used. McGee blew a save against the D-Backs the other day, and had Walker not made 2 crucial errors in the 9th, they might have lost that game. The biggest plus for the Giants has been the play of their bench, and the young guys they have called up. When Crawford was out, Estrada stepped in and hit over .350. Wade Jr. has done an excellent job. What Kapler has done is instilled a we can do this attitude in his clubhouse. The team is loose and not feeling any pressure. Why should they? Every time the Dodgers have gotten close, something has happened to keep LA from closing in. Does that make Kapler a better manager and a genius? No. I think the genius label is thrown around entirely to liberally. Stengel was a genius with the Yankees and a clown with the Mets. Years before he took over the Yankees, Joe Torre was a bust in Atlanta and with the Mets. I disagree with a lot of the moves Roberts makes, but I am not privy to the same information that he is. None of us are. I saw so many posts yesterday angry because he did not use Turner to pinch hit in the 9th. Forgetting that had they done that, and tied the game, Turner, who could probably have hit, was not fit enough to play the field and no other outfielder was on the bench. Smith had already hit for Barnes, so a pitcher would probably have had to play the outfield. Things like that go into the decision making and he felt keeping the option of Turner being available for the Mets series was more important. Only time will tell if losing that game yesterday has a huge impact on the season.