Win Three or Go Home
The Dodgers were in this same position last year. They were down 3-1 to the Braves and won three straight games. I was confident that they could do that… LAST YEAR! I do not think they can do it THIS YEAR! If you have a great team, The Whole Is Greater Than The Sum Of Its Parts…
The Dodgers were in this same position last year. They were down 3-1 to the Braves and won three straight games. I was confident that they could do that… LAST YEAR! I do not think they can do it THIS YEAR! If you have a great team, The Whole Is Greater Than The Sum Of Its Parts. We have often heard that, but what does it really mean? The meaning of “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” is that when one single thing is grouped by a collection of individual parts and properties, it will be much better or more perfect than any of the parts would be on their own. It’s saying that individually, certain systems and things aren’t all that great, but when combined, it turns them into something excellent that has to be reckoned with.
So far, the Braves as a whole are greater than the sum of their parts. Conversely, the Dodgers parts add up to being greater than the whole, but they have not. The Whole is Much Less than the sum of the parts.Simply put, the Dodgers are playing like they won 88 gams this season and the Braves are playing like they won 106. Both teams have serious injuries. The Braves are without Ozuna and Acuna. The Dodgers are without Muncy and J-Turner. JT is done for this series. Shoot, the Dodgers may be done for this series. The fact that they are in this same position again and forced not to lose another game makes it highly improbable that they will win this series.
Last night, they really only had three problems:
- They couldn’t hit;
- They couldn’t field; and
- They couldn’t pitch.
If they fix all three of those things, they have a chance. I will be rooting for them, but my confidence level is low. I hope they can dig down deep and pull it out, but they look gassed! Some of you are blaming Roberts on Urias drop in velocity over his average fastball velocity. He was less than 2 MPH slower than his “AVERAGE” fastball velocity for the season, but last night was pretty typical of his fastball velo in the last three weeks. He is gasssed. Scherzer is gassed. Buehler is gassed. The bullpen is not so gased. Treinen, Knebel, Bazooka and Jansen can probably each go 2 innings today, if they pitch efficiently.
I am not going to say that “I told you so.” because if the Dodgers had rested their pitchers, they could have lost momentum. The Braves ending the season with an 8-2 record in the last 10 games. The Dodgers were 9-1. I said at the time, I would have rested some pitchers, but realistically how do you do that? The Indianapolis Colts rested their regulars inn a end of season game and lost all momentum. We will never know what would have happened here if the Dodgers had done that.
Julio Urias has the right mindset. “We’re a good team with great players, great talent. So the mentality stays the same. Tomorrow we need to come in and try to win, then go to Atlanta and do that there, too. We did it last year, why not this year?” Yep. Makes sense, but it’s time to stop talking and just do it!
The fat lady ain’t singing…. but she is humming!
Dodger News
- Gavin Lux is very raw in CF, but I think that is his future. Give him an entire Spring Training there and he will excell. Cody is a wizard at 1B and JT needs to be the DH. Max Muncy made himself into a very good first-baseman, and will do the same at 3B. I think he can be the equal of JT there.
- Jacob Amaya was 1-2 with a walk for the Desert Dogs last night (.375 BA/1.365 OPS). He is a defensive wizard and if he can hit, look out!
- McKinstry will likely get the call up, as he can play 3B. Lux will sit against Fried (I would assume). The only question is does Cody play CF with Albert at 1B?
- Trea Turner is the NL Batting Champion. Would you trade him even up for Eddie Rosario?
More from Dodger Talk
Dodgers Food Trailer
I did this interview a couple of weeks ago with Chef Mike, who runs the Dodgers Food Trailer for the Great Lakes Loons. They are there for every home and road regular season and playoff game. They prepare three meals a day for approximately 50 people (players and coaches). Since games end late most evenings, they do not prepare breakfast. Many of their hotels have a complimentary breakfast anyway. However,…
Meet LAD 2026 Draft Picks 1-12
3 picks were High School players (2 SS and 1 OF). There was a college OF, college catcher, college SS, and 10 college pitchers. Of all the talk for a need for a catcher, the only catcher the Dodgers selected was Luke Bard, son of LAD bullpen coach Josh Bard. Bard was a 4th year senior from Houston Christian University. He is not a prospect, so the Dodgers are still…
Interview with Paul Beachy – Team Bus Driver For The Great Lakes Loons (LA Dodgers Minor League Team)
It’s been a few days since I did this interview. We have evidently been working my son-in-law (the video guy) like a rented mule at US Water Systems. However, I am taking him to London with me in a few days, so maybe Watford will buy him a pint as a tip, but he’s a dang Red Sox fan, so there is that! I thought that it would be interesting…
Thanks for Your Service: Chris Taylor
I was going to do this post when Chris announced he was retiring, then he changed his mind, but since the chances of him ever playing for the Dodgers again are slim and non-existent, I will go ahead with this post. He unretired, went on the IL, then decided to call it quits on May 24th. Taylor was born in Virginia Beach VA on August 29th, 1990. He attended Great…
Discussion (134)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Atlanta better win today….because if they dont….
Game 6 Mad Max on FULL REST and a new sense of life on the team
Game 7 Big Game Buehler on FULL rest in an all hands on deck game in a town that has teams notoriously known for blowing leads. Their cheeks will be tight….
All im saying is Atlanta better win tonight if they want to win the series….Don’t let the boys get hot.
Go Dodgers!!!
Would I trade Trea Turner straight up for Eddie Rosario? Uh, No.
Turner hasn’t set the world on fire in the post season, but his speed, power and range makes him a difference maker in 2022 and perhaps beyond.
Looks like Justin Turner’s year is over.
Hindsight is perfect. In the clincher against the Giants Belli gave us the lead in the 9th inning. CT3 popped up a bunt attempt for the 2nd out. Up by just 1 run Doc removed Jansen for Beaty who grounded out to end the inning. Scherzer was brought in to pitch the 9th inning and ever since our pitching has been out of whack. If CT3 had knocked in Gavin from 3rd to make it 3-1 maybe Jansen would have batted and finished the game. A rested Scherzer would have started the Braves series. Our lack of hitting probably still dooms us but our pitching has really struggled this series. I am very proud of this team. GO DODGERS!
Is it just me or aren’t you supposed to play your best players in the playoffs, considering the days off you get?
First of all Doc should have pulled Urias before the 5 runs were given up. Everyone (including me) knew Urias didn’t have it.
Secondly, where were the best relievers (the guys that got you to the dance) such as Vesia, Knebel, Kelly, Treinen, Jansen.
I guess Doc was saving those guys for today’s game. But in the playoffs you don’t save guys, you use them right?
Just a little food for thought (discussion starter).
TT is a great player, NL batting champ and all, but in the playoff games with the Nationals it was Soto, Kendrick, Zimmerman and maybe some others who were the nemesis players, it was never TT. Does he shrink on the big stage? It would seem so.
Well …. AT LEAST with my shared low expectations, coupled w/ still believing they have a snowball’s chance to win. I can watch today with much lower blood pressure & stress. And same for me as has been posted. When they brought in gonzo, I was done. Never had, and do not have any faith in that dude. Even when he has done well, I have always felt an implosion was upcoming.
cheers
pb+
Me yesterday: “If I’m a starter and I have a set routine and predetermined amount of recovery between throwing 100 pitches, doesn’t getting put in a relief situation in the middle of my recovery period kind of throw a wrench in the whole process?
If Urias comes out and is flat we will be having this conversation about his relief appearance again.”
RC Dodger: “Julio had his worst start since June today. His worst start of his last 20 starts. And the only start this year giving up 3 home runs. He clearly did not have his good stuff today, but gave his best effort. I have to think the decision to throw him on Sunday on minimal rest disrupted his routine and negatively impacted his performance today.
I believe it was much more a Friedman decision than Dave Roberts. Sometimes smart people overthink things.
They received a lot of credit for Scherzer closing out game 5 against the Giants, but it was likely that Kenley closes that game out as well.
The decision to use Julio instead of Treinen, Jansen and Graterol probably cost them game 2 and probably hurt their chances in game 4 as well. I didn’t like the move from the minute he was put into the game Sunday. Not only are you messing with your game 4 starter, but you are asking a young pitcher who overcame major shoulder injury, and has pitched by far a career high of innings this year to pitch three times in 5 days, in super high stress innings.
We will never know if the relief stint had any impact on Julio today or not. But to me it appears that the decision negatively impacted two games this series. Even if there was no impact today, it was not worth the risk, and not a wise move.”
“Sometimes smart people overthink things.” – BINGO!
Hawkeye Dodger: “It certainly seemed unnecessary. Especially considering Rosario and Albies hit lefties better. They had a pen full of quality relievers. I don’t know if it compromised Julio tonight but it certainly didn’t help. I understood the Scherzer move. Probably not necessary but I get it.”
In retrospect, I’m not a fan of the Scherzer move, either. His next start, by his own admission, his arm was dead – with an extra rest day. You have a great setup guy and a great closer. That’s their job!! Why be cute and completely mix things up after winning 106 games?
Hawkey Dodger: “What I don’t like at all was TT explaining how your bad 10 days might come during the postseason before the series even started. Seems like he was justifying his behavior before it even happened.”
Another good observation. I’m not all that impressed with TT’s makeup. He just doesn’t seem mentally tough to me.
Well, that certainly didn’t go as planned. It looked like a mismatch, our Cy Young candidate and postseason wizard against their bullpen. Who would have figured the Braves would open a can of whoop-ass on us? Now we find us in a familiar predicament. We’re down 3-1 to the Braves, just like last year…
But, unlike last year Max Muncy and Justin Turner are now on the DL, Seager isn’t King Kong, and Mookie isn’t the spark plug that ignites the engine. I will begrudgingly keep the faith that a comeback is possible although improbable. This feels a lot like ’19 when after kicking the crap out the Nationals for a few years in the playoffs, they finally got their revenge.
The Braves are a very good team. They aren’t a juggernaut that won 106 games. But, without Muncy and JT we aren’t either. We are reduced to praying for a miracle. Maybe we’ll pull up McKinstry and he’ll play Gold Glove defence at 3B and hit like Eddie Rosario all the sudden. Yeah, that’s not very likely. Maybe Albert will play 1B full time and hit like a Hall of Famer, I’m not going to hold my breath. A more likely scenario is the pitching staff will take over the series for the next three games and cool those hot bats. We pitch we win?
Doc already said that “The Machine” will start at 1B tomorrow. This will put Belli back into CF and Pollock will most likely start in LF against a lefty. That puts CT3 at 3B. A good enough lineup to beat any team. A more than capable lineup to put the hurt on any opposing pitching staff. They just have to play to their ability.
Not a whole hell of a lot to say about Yesterday’s shit show. I didn’t even bother to watch Tony G, the postseason choker, give up a 4 spot in the ninth. Par for the course! Maybe they should just IL him now and bring up anyone else that might be able to take down a couple of innings. Mitch White anyone?
Doc was asked if he would give a speech to fire up the guys before today’s game. He said he would not. Something to the effect that the team knows what position they’re in and what they need to do. Modern managers, eh?
I liked Bear’s idea of having a bullpen game yesterday and giving Julio extra rest to start today. It made sense to Bear and it made sense to me. I find it curious that it didn’t make sense to Doc and the faceless man behind the curtain. Maybe it doesn’t matter. Maybe one extra day wouldn’t have helped much.
I’m not blaming Doc for any of this. He’s playing the cards he’s been dealt. Maybe AF should have worked on that bench a little more at the deadline because right about now, it looks to be the biggest weakness on the team with two starters out. Sure, you can say Kike and Joc, but you can also say Rosario and Bryant, both traded at the deadline.
Steve displayed exactly why I can’t stand the Giants. What loser has the balls to go on a rival site and say HAHAHAHA? Especially after we just ended their team’s miracle season? What a loser. Never have I ever had the urge or either the thought to go on another team’s site and talk a bunch of crap. But, to do so right after your team was eliminated by said team is really no self awareness at all. I guess he never heard the expression about the pot and the kettle.
Let’s go Dodgers! Let’s go Brandon!
I remember last year at this exact moment saying (on this site): “I can totally imagine the Dodgers winning the next three games.” The same goes for right now. There were so many times this year when I thought the Dodgers were playing poorly and they were going to flame out, and then they would turn around and win a bunch in a row. It was rarely pretty, but they managed to get the job done. I will continue to believe they can do it until it’s over. One game at a time. All hands on deck. Every AB, every pitch, every fielding play: stay focused. You will have the whole off-season to rest.
Regardless of what happens, we won the “NL West World Series” and took out the red hot Cardinals along the way which was awesome (!!)– and 9 consecutive playoff appearances — I feel spoiled as a fan. Let’s take tonight’s game and put a little fear into the Braves — you know they haven’t forgotten what happened last year.
The Fat Lady is warming her voice up to sing up in the locker room tonight or soon thereafter with the injured players Kershaw, May, Nelson,Muncy, Rios and others. It is truly amazing the Dodgers won 106 games in the regular season, a Wild Card Game and an exciting 5 game series against the Giants. All this was done with 3 healthy pitchers,now exhausted and running on fumes, a great bullpen and a weak bench that prevented us from resting players with productive results, not from thle Sousas, McKinneys,McKinstreys who were not the answer. AF has some work to do in the offseason.addressing the starting pitching,shortstop and providing a quality bench. Mark was right, chasing the Giants till the last day of the season did not allow us to rest our big 3 pitchers before the playoffs and having to use Buehler on 3 days rest against the Giants and using Scherzer and Urias in relief was a formula for disaster. Great season under the circumstances. Wait till next year!
Keep the faith.