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Labor Day Losers: J.D. Martinez slugs 4 Home Runs, Dodgers Roll Over Like Dogs

Picard Dodger Hat

I’m running out of ways of explaining how much the Dodgers suck in written form. No matter how much of a wordsmith you think I might be, not even Walt Whitman can elaborate this collapse. The Dodgers rolled over like an orphaned puppy dog on Labor Day. On a day when Americans took the day off of work, the Dodgers decided they weren’t going to bother showing up in one of the most pathetic losses of the season. At least they put up some kind of fight during the San Diego series.

This was just a sad miserable baseball club realizing they can’t beat anyone at this point. The Dodgers lost again to the Dbacks, 13-0 was the final score. The division lead continues to dwindle away everyday as the Dodgers look to set the record for the biggest September collapse in baseball history. The lead is now 12.5 games and the Dodgers have now lost 9 of their last 11 games, 8 of their last 9. Expect so much more losing. The Dodgers refuse to take these games seriously until the lead is one game.

There was one man who should be absolved of all of this pitiful losery. That’s Rich Hill. He pitched extremely well and if not for one pitch would have come out with six shutout innings. Other than the two-run home run allowed to J.D. Martinez (his first of 4! 4!!!) in the top of the sixth, Hill was dominant. Overall Hill tossed six frames allowing just the two earned runs, two hits, walked one and struck out nine.

Dbacks   13 14 0

Dodgers 0 3 0

WP-Ray-12-5

LP-Hill-9-7

HR-Martinez-31-32-33-34-Drury-12

Martinez would hit three more home runs to become just the eighteenth player in MLB history to hit 4 home runs in a single game. Don’t believe that happened? Well, it did. This is how much the Dodgers suck at the moment. What I can’t even fathom was that Martinez hit all four of his home runs in the final four innings of the game.

Unfortunately the Dodgers are not trying to win these games. Right now giving playing time to minor leaguers, reclamation projects and utility players is more important than winning games. Auditioning minor leaguers and backups comes first right now with winning games second.

I, like you have had quite enough of this. Even when most of the regulars are in the lineup the Dodgers still can’t win. Again better to lose with your best, then with some random reclamation project on the mound, or minor leaguers in the lineup. The boys in blue have sucked in every facet of the game. With the exception of Clayton Kershaw, and Hill’s performance tonight, the pitching has been atrocious. The bats have gone completely cold, and the once efficient defense resembles that yakkity-yak song.

“Take out the papers and the trash”…..”Or you won’t get no spending cash”…….

The lyrics ring true for the Dodgers recent play. It’s time for the Dodgers to take out the trash. Any first place club should not be batting a .215 hitter second, or playing a career utility player that hasn’t sniffed the majors the entire year. But there were the Dodgers batting Enrique Hernandez second, and Charlie Culberson in the eighth spot. Apparently more reinforcements are on the way, including top prospect Walker Buehler, Joc Pederson, and Trayce Thompson.

But they weren’t here tonight. To make things even more laughable was that professional Dodger killer Paul Goldschmidt was not even in the stadium. He was sent back to Phoenix to have his ailing elbow examined. He may not play tomorrow, but the Dodgers will still lose. Robbie Ray, Hill’s mound opponent struck out 14 Dodgers over 7.2 innings pitched. The Dodgers have never been able to hit him. They have a better chance of hitting Zack Greinke then Ray. Oh look who’s pitching tomorrow night. Great.

Brace for the decline!

Scott Andes

Scott Andes: Longtime writer and Dodger fanatic

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Scott Andes
Scott Andes: Longtime writer and Dodger fanatic
https://ladodgerreport.com

26 thoughts on “Labor Day Losers: J.D. Martinez slugs 4 Home Runs, Dodgers Roll Over Like Dogs

  1. When are they going to start taking this seriously? I have given up watching the games every night as it is just too damn embarrassing. It’s like watching the proverbial train wreck. Really feels like a collapse is on the way. We may get a huge surprise as they pull out 5 or 10 wins in a row again but for now, this is not the same team. It can’t be!!!

    1. No doubt KLD. This is a very pathetic stretch of baseball. There seems to be no end in sight. I have no idea why they keep using guys like Wilmer Font and Fabio Castillo and giving at-bats to Charlie Culberson, Those guys should not be playing until the division is clinched. I think when the lead is down to 1 game is when management will start to take these games seriously.

  2. All Dodger fans are in a panic, and after the last 12 days it is easy to see why. They have not looked like the Dodgers, or played like the Dodgers, or resembled the team that built a 21 game lead at all. They have looked bad on the road and equally as bad at home. But if you listen to the Dodgers manager, everything is fine. They are playing almost a different lineup every day. Tommy must be having a heart attack. He ran the same guys out there every night. Of course, with Corey on the shelf, the offense has imploded, the pitching staff exploded, and the fans are pulling their hair out. Except me, I have none left! 25 games left, 12.5 game lead. Now if they can, by some miracle, win the next two, the lead would be 14.5 with 23 left. The D-Backs are actually in sort of a bind because they have 1 less game left than the Dodgers do. Right now, their magic number is 13. Roberts says they are taking it one game at a time. If he really means it, Kershaw should start tomorrows game so they at least can look like they are trying to beat Az. Yeah, Hill looked ok for 5 innings once again, but he had the homer jinx bite him again. Ryu tomorrow against Greinke? Looks like a mismatch, then Maeda against Walker. Walker has been really good lately. Looks like they are just throwing the series away. Luckily the Rockies come in on Thursday and they have been really bad even if they did beat the Giants tonight. Time to batten down the hatches cause the good ship Dodger Blue is taking on water. By the way, the D-Backs getting Martinez, well that now looks like a steal, and we get Granderson…….and his .125 average as a Dodger….oh I forgot, he was obtained because he hits Arietta and Scherzer real well…….you have to get there first FAZ!.

    1. I don’t think we are going to see Kershaw tomorrow, Michael. Roberts is cool as a cucumber and feels no urgency as he knows his team will not lose their division lead. I would not put Kershaw out there. No need. They have to find a way to win in their normal routine in order to prepare for playoffs. I said a long time ago, that our pitchers would be saved by our bats as I felt our pitching was never up to a level where we could shut teams down like Kershaw does. Wood was a surprise this year, but no one else surprised at all. So, in our losing ways before the ‘eruption’, the bats were silent, like now. I expect the only way we rise to the occassion is the return of the slugging, not the return of the pitching as I don’t see that as a viable way to beat teams. Our bullpen is a different story. The CAN shut teams down, but without bat support, no chance. Throwing in minor league bullpen players like we have are not going to get it done at all. We’ve already got the arms. They need to get in the groove and start to hit. Paredes is the only guy I’ve seen so far that looks good, be it pitcher or batter. Verdugo, et Cie., don’t look like any answers for me, yet. Hernandez batting 2nd? WTF? Robbie Ray killed them. A lefty. El nino del diablo!!

      1. Jeff

        I agree about Paredes.

        He might have got us out of that inning, without giving up a run, but the ump missed a pitch right down the middle of the plate.

        And if that one grounder didn’t go off Bellinger’s glove only one run would have scored.

        Bellinger talked about how hard it was for him to hit Paredes, when he was on another team last year.

        And do you notice that Paredes comes into a game, and acts more like a veteran pitcher then Baez does, even though this is Baez’s fourth year with this team.

        I know that Paredes is older, but he has more on the line then Baez does!

        Of course Roberts had to build up Baez’s confidence after the game!

        You would think they would have learned from Hatcher.

        It doesn’t matter what kind of stuff a pitcher has, if they don’t have the mind set, to pitch in high leverage situations, send Baez with his twin brother Hatcher!

        And what was good, was that finally Baez was charged for all of the runners, he left on base.

        That is why Baez has a decent looking era, and that is why a relievers, era, doesn’t mean much!

        Baez’s walks are higher this year, and he is striking out less hitters, then last year, so his overall numbers are not that good.

        And the Dodgers better stop pitching all the hitters the same way.

        They know a high fastball is coming already, especially JD Martinez!

        And we miss Corey just as much as we missed Cody, but Corey is taking for granted a little, because he just gets in there, and does his job!

        Corey has been hitting in the toughest place in the line up, since he first came up.

      2. You make some good points, BUT, normal routine, Kershaw would be pitching against the Snakes . He is best when he is on his normal 4 days. So that means he would pitch tomorrow. He pitched Friday, so naturally Wednesday would be his next start. But the starting pitching as a whole has stunk up the joint the last 10 days or so. The bullpen had been decent, not spectacular. Last night I am pretty sure was not the norm. But they will win zip until the hitters start having good at bats. To me, and I have watched every debacle since the el foldo began, everybody is swinging for the fences. Taylor is ripping at balls even when he has two strikes and has been hit or miss through all of this. Granderson stands there with the bat on his shoulder and lets pitches right down Broadway go right past him and swings at balls he could not hit if he were an ant. Turner has heated up, and Cody shown flashes of what he was before he went on the DL. Surprise, Forsythe was the only guy who solved Ray at all for two meaningless singles. Hernandez tries too damn hard to hit everything over the wall. Those 3 HR’s he has against Ray are in the past. That guy last night pitched like he was Randy Johnson. It is more than obvious that they really miss Corey’s bat. There is a story today on yardbarker that Corey will most likely need off season elbow surgery. Seems he has some floating pieces in his elbow causing the inflammation. On Dodger Blue there is a story of why Dodger fans should not worry about this losing streak. But on twitter, the entire fan base, except a few, is in a total panic. The Dodger schedule after the D-Backs series is actually not all that bad, they only have 5 games left with playoff caliber teams, 12 if you think the Rockies are that good. But they play Philly and the Giants 10 games and we all know how bad those two are. Me, I am taking a wait and see type approach. They take 1 of the next two and their lead is still 12.5. Going into the second week of September I do not think any of us thought it would be that high.

        1. Michael

          I agree with most you said.

          The pitching has been bad, and they need to start pitching to hitters, differently.

          Everyone in that park knows that Baez and Fields will be trying to throw a high fastball, just out of the strike zone.

          JD Martinez and most every major league hitter, knows by now, that the Dodger’s relievers, will be throwing, a high fastball, just out of the strike zone.

          Honeycutt needs to start pitching to hitters differently, because they are being, out coached.

          The Dodgers have been pitching to hitters this way, for much to long.

          And this gets around the league, especially to the teams, in the western division.

          JD Martinez is a notorious opposite field hitter, that can easily hit a high fastball, located on the outside corner, into the seats, why doesn’t the Dodgers know this?

          About Corey, Corey has been the steadiest hitter, in our line up, check out his splits.

          And Corey is a hard guy to replace in the line up, and he means a lot to this team, just like Cody does.

          And pitchers do fear Corey, as much, as they fear, Cody.

          And we miss that balance in our line up!

          About Forsythe, it wasn’t surprising he had two hits, remember he was facing a leftie pitcher.

          It is true that Agone shouldn’t hit in the middle of the line up, but he could be a very good hitter, at the back of our line up.

          And Agone is a better hitter, then both Forsythe, and Granderson.

          And we didn’t start losing once Agone was in the line up, we won’t two series, with Agone in the line up.

          And Agone didn’t even play in these last two games, so he is not the problem.

          In fact he has hit in a run, in his last three starts, and he did this, with two outs!

          How many players, has done this lately?

          Both Cody and Corey, are important to this team, and the line up.

          And we haven’t had these two together in the line up, for quite a while now!

          I am going to do what Michael what Michael said, and wait this out!

      1. Well Bluto I know you are not panicking. But go on twitter and the herd is stampeding to the ledge like lemmings.

  3. I am officially embarrassed as well. Horrid play overall. It’s great that FAZ takes all the credit for phantom moves and then somehow is immune from the results. Verlander was gifted to the Astros while they were drinking their own look-aid. I hope that bloggers will soon to realize that if we don’t make it to the WS this year, the FAZ needs to go, en masse. Classic Wall Street.

  4. All those who had doubts about the starters, including Jeff, were right. Meanwhile there are 90% out there, whom I call bandwagon sheep, kept bleating about how the two of McCarthy, Ryu and Kazmir will contribute a lot this year. Two, it was proclaimed with lots of bravado and bleating.

    1. YF

      I wouldn’t put Ryu with those other pitchers, he pitched very well for us, before he got hurt.

      And he has been out there pitching this year, while those other two pitchers, are on a nicely paid vacation.

      YF you ought to read the comments in the LA Times!

      I haven’t read them today, but I am sure they will be interesting to read.

  5. The biggest concern we should have is not the current horrendous play, it is how we match up against the starting pitching of the D-backs. this is the team we will be facing in the first round, and it ain’t pretty.

    When the Dodgers started getting cute and suddenly breaking up a very good thing, things started to go horribly wrong. They should have left Ed Dinger alone at 1B and only used Gonzo as a bat off the bench (don’t forget Ed went down on the second game he played in the OF, that was the first domino to fall). The old saying, “leave the dance with the one that brung ya”, they made a choice to get greedy and cute and now the good vibrations are numbed to a distant memory. Prior they actually believed they couldn’t get beat, now they totally realize they are very beatable. Not good!

  6. Well at lest we can throw out the idea that this team was up there with the 1984 Tigers, etc etc etc.

    Better to lose 9 out of 11 with this huge lead than in a tight division battle. The 1982 Dodgers went through this and lost it all thanks to Joe Morgan. That ain’t happening this year.

      1. Of course I’ll watch no matter how bad they play. Where did you read this?

        And I believe 2009 had a late season collapse only to have Kid K pitch a fantastic game against the Roxs to seal the division title.

    1. If I lived in LA I would join you Bobby. But it is a long drive, 1053 miles, from where I live to LA. Hopefully there will be no pain. I have memory’s of an ass whippin they put on Greinke at Dodger Stadium. And although the guy is good, he is not great on the road. He is beatable.

  7. A couple of things gang and then I have a lot to do today. Stretches like this happen to every team during the course of a year. We are lucky the Dodgers had built up such a huge lead. And they had a never say die attitude which helped them mount comebacks time after time. Now the worm has turned. Any thing and every thing that could go wrong has. Starters getting pounded, bullpen not shutting down the opposition when the game is close. Hitters not having quality at bats. Team as a whole striking out at an alarming pace. A couple of comebacks falling just short. Losing 3 games in a row to a very mediocre team. All that has happened in a 2 week span. And the feeling in the pit of your stomach is awful. The players that got us there not out there every night. Nagging injuries to essential players. Rookies getting chances, but not really contributing much. And all of a sudden 9 games gone from the huge lead. It has seriously been the good, the bad, the ugly and the totally unbelievable. You have to have a lot of faith to believe this is ending soon. Because all signs are it is like a HUGE boulder rolling down the mountain, picking up steam and crushing the helpless denizens of the village. I think this team is too good to have that happen, but some things need to change PDQ. Stability in the lineup is a must. Starters need to go out there and pound the strike zone instead of nibbling like a damn blue gill trying to get the worm. The BP guys who are out there to get the game to Kenley need to pitch like they want to keep their jobs instead of testing out new pitches. The game plan needs to be changed. Those high fastballs they like to throw are going out of the park at an alarming rate. Down in the zone is better guys. A couple of wins, and every one feels better. A few more losses like the debacle last night and gloom will preside over blue heaven on earth.

  8. MJ,
    I had supported Baez for the last few years as he’s got some blazing speed and that is not something that every Dodger pitcher has. However, your comparison with Hatcher is starting to ring in my ears!! He has surpassed the comfort zone of HR’s allowed and should not be allowed to give up any more. This means yanking him. I think it is fair to see him as marginal from the point of view of injury as well as giving up too much, too often. Not quite as bad as Hatcher, but any comparison to H., should not be taken lightly. One of the true demons that everyone agreed on.

    Tonight’s game, Ryu slid right into his inefficiency mode and also walked 4 in 4 innings. It didn’t lose us the game, and he did have quite a good SO rate. Quite clearly, as I’ve been saying all along, the Dodger batters are not showing up. Tonight was a perfect night to make Greinke feel like the money wasn’t worth leaving the Dodgers for, but alas, AWOL bats. Call the MP’s, Sgt. Bilko!!

  9. Ryu was good, if not quite good.

    Much as Hill was the night before.

    The bats will come around.

    This happens to everyone.

    Still the best record in baseball. In baseball. By far.

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