The Dodgers opened a weekend series with the 81-win Chicago Cubs tonight. To show just how serious they were taking the juggernaut Cubbies, they sent Bud Norris to the mound, and gave starts to Kiké Enrique Hernandez, the Traded Flop, and the newest Dodger, Carlos Ruiz. Yay?
1st inning
Norris quickly found himself with two on and one out. He got a check-swing strike out, and then gave up a base hit The Cubs opened the scoring. 0-1
Dodgers
Howie Kendrick led off with a base hit. The Dodgers left him standing on second.
2nd inning 0-1
Norris walked one and struck out two.
Dodgers
Two on and one out for the MVP, Chase Utley. A soft grounder to second brought an RBI and a tie game. 1-1
3rd inning 1-1
A 1,2,3 inning for Norris.
Dodgers
They gave Kendrick the leadoff spot tonight, and it paid off for the second time, as he earned a walk.
Corey Seager doubled to CF.
Justin Turner grounded out to shortstop and brought in the Dodgers’ second run. 2-1
The Dodgers ended up with bases-loaded and two outs for the Traded Flop. He struck out.
4th inning 2-1
Another easy and scoreless inning for Norris. 5 Ks
Dodgers on the corners with no out.
DP but Utley scored. 3-1
5th inning 3-1
With two on and two out Norris gave up a base hit to score one for the Cubs. 3-2
The Cubs tried to sneak a ground ball between Chase Utley and Adrian Gonzalez. Utley dove at it and speared it; while flat on his back, he threw out the runner at first to stop the tying run from scoring, and end the inning.
Dodgers
Two on and no out for the Traded Flop. Another strike out.
6th inning 3-2
Pedro Baez in. Job done.
7th inning 3-2
Joe Blanton in. Job done with 2 Ks.
Dodgers
Adrian Gonzalez launched one into right center field. 4-2
8th inning 4-2
Blanton still in. Kris Bryant hit a monster shot for a home run. 4-3
9th inning
Kenley Jansen vs Cubs
Jason Heyward: First pitch double.
Jorge Soler: K with a WP advanced the runner. Then a second WP brought in the tying run. 4-4
Extra Innings
10th inning 4-4
Adam Liberatore in.
Man on. Kris Bryant up. Blammo! 2-run shot. 4-6
Final. Dodgers lose 4-6
In his first game as a Dodger, Carlos Ruiz got on base with HBP, walk and a single.
The Traded Flop left 8 men on base. Just how long do the Dodgers think the season is? How much longer are they going to keep trotting this guy out there? He’s not contributing – in fact, he’s now hurting the club.
Kenley Jansen is starting to worry me. He was absolutely spooked by the runner on second, who was there by the way, because of a double he gave up on his very first pitch. He could not focus on the man at the plate, and wild pitched the tying run home. The blown saves are becoming more frequent for him at absolutely the wrong time of year.
Dodgers handed back a game to the Giants, and now lead by only one game. How big was not sweeping the Giants?
On the bright side: Corey Seager now has 36 doubles.
Bud Norris went 5 innings with 3 hits, 2 runs, 4 walks, 6 Ks. ERA 4.64
Home run: Adrian Gonzalez
Team with RISP: 1 for 15 – 1 for bloody 15!
Oscar Martinez
I was born in the shadow of Dodger Stadium and immediately drenched in Dodger Blue. Chavez Ravine is my baseball cathedral, Vin Scully was the golden voice of summer all my life, and Tommy Lasorda remains the greatest Dodgers manager ever. My favorite things are coffee, beer, and the Dodgers beating the Giants. I also blog about my baseball card hobby at All Trade Bait, All the Time.
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Oy vay. So many chances to win this game. Reddick with runners on, choke! Kenley, choke! Stupid lineup.
Norris actually had one of his better performances. I still have little confidence in him. He’s just not strong enough for the stretch.
This Reddick situation is beginning to trouble me. What are they thinking? Expecting? Hoping? This was the one game in this series that I thought we might have a chance against the powerhouse Cubs. A not so good pitcher, Moore, was beatable and we had this game sewn up. Methinks it will get harder from this point in the coming games. 2 hr’s from Bryant? Oy vay.
Jeff
But Reddick sure got a hit once there were no runners on, and that was another single.
And Toles pinched hit, and hit a hard liner to Rizzo.
Dodgers 1 for 15 with RISP.
Also, not Jansen’s fault completely. That’s right – you guessed it – Carlos Ruiz. Per Dodgers.com:
“A strike-three slider in the dirt bounced off his backhand glove attempt to allow the tying run to take third, then when calling for a high cutter, he simply missed the pitch that let the tying run home. The official scorer ruled a wild pitch that could have been called a passed ball.”
Per Dodgers Digest:
“In any case, he struck out the next batter, but it came on a pitch that Carlos Ruiz couldn’t block, which moved the runner to third. The save was then blown on a high cutter that was scored a wild pitch but was really a ball that should’ve been caught.”
Funny, isn’t it? Mark blames the loss on Jansen – everyone else implicates Ruiz. It figures.
The real culprit – Dodgers’ offense.
If everyone else is blaming it on Ruiz they need glasses. Ruiz should have block the ball? AJ would have blocked it? Those are two things no one can prove, so you say it feeling safe. In AJ Ellis last game, he had a Wild Pitch. Ellis has 2 Passed Balls and 9 Wild Pitches this year, so it not like he is the Virgin Mary behind the plate.
For someone blame it on anyone but Jansen is a smoke screen… maybe to obfuscate the fact that Rick has repeatedly said “who is going to close for the Dodgers if FAZ doesn’t re-sign Jansen?” Rick has championed a Kenley signing all year. The fact is, we are better off without Kenley’s fragile psyche and 6 blown saves – ALL SIX SAVES WHICH COST US A GAME AGAINST THE GIANTS!
Kenley melts down with a runner on. Baserunners are 39 for 44 against him. Kenley chokes with a one run lead. I thought in his contract year he would step up… instead he has choked.
#1 – We do not know if Ellis would have blocked that pitch or not!
#2 – The score was 4-3 Dodgers favor when Kenley came in. The last I knew, the team with the most runs wins and all Kenley had to do was get 3 outs like he has often done,
#3 – He gives up a leadoff double and then proceeds to pace around the mound like a deer-in-the-headlights.
Yes, the Dodgers were bad with RISP. Yes, Reddick sucked, but anyone who puts this loss on Ruiz is just an AJ Ellis apologist (and there are lots of them because he is a great guy), who is trying to make excuses about a “second tier closer” who (Happily) will be on another team next year.
Kenley Jansen may very well help cost us a pennant! The scorer scored it a Wild Pitch. Yes, a catcher should block every pitch, but that is not reality. We don’t know if Ellis would have blocked it. What we do know, because we saw it with out own eyes is that Kenley Jansen snatched defeat from the jaws of victory for the sixth time this year.
When you have an elite closer, like Kenly obviously is not, you expect them to close out every game. The Dodgers should have 76 wins right about now. That would put them solidly behind the Cubs for the second best record in baseball and on track for 101 wins, but of course you want to make Ruiz and FAZ look bad so you disbelieve your eyes and try and say it wasn’t on Kenley. If you argued that in a court of law you would be in contempt of court for wasting their time on nothing.
Wow. Strong opinion. Way to “bring it”.
Bummer you already offered him 5 years and $75 million.
95 wins is still mathematically possible. Let’s not give up yet.
I said someone would offer him that. Not me and not the Dodgers!
Dodger rick
I blame this on Kenley, because he has done this more then one time, when we really needed him, to do the job.
Why isn’t he careful with his first pitches?
Kenley knew that Heyward has seen a lot of him, and he threw him a low fastball, that was on the inside corner.
And Heyward has not been doing much, but that pitch was in his wheel house.
Those low strikes are a dream for any leftie hitter.
Kenley concentrated more on Heyward on second, instead of his hitters.
And Heyward only had a small lead, and wasn’t going any where.
And how often have you seen Kenley throw to a pitch in the dirt?
Kenley just is not a sure thing, in a one run game, anymore.
He had just gave up a HR in the last series.
Kenley is only asked to pitch one inning, most of the time, so I expect more from him.
He is the only pitcher in the bullpen, that isn’t close to being over worked!
And Kenley always seems to do this, when it cost us a game in the standings to the Giants.
And Rick that was the first time that Ruiz has ever caught Kenley, so I think he deserves a break.
Absolutely!
We can’t say Ellis would have blocked that ball on the dirt, but we can say for sure he knows the movement on Jansen’s pitches.
The real culprit? The Cubs are better than the Dodgers. They were behind all game and they won. Good teams do that.
I didn’t see the pitch but it sounds like Ruiz used the “Yasmani” – classic move – with runners on, its a backhand on the ball in the dirt away which when successful allows the catcher, with little movement of his feet, opportunity to come up throwing. Note: problems may arise if ball is not fielded cleanly.
More importantly, how was Ruiz’ framing?
Urias and Stewart have been determined. Give us 12 guys.
Come on Badger, that is really unfair, we all know that the most critical factor to judge a catcher upon is Pitch Framing. Duh pretty obvious, isn’t it? I believe I read that the HOF is going to add a separate wing, Greatest Pitch Framers of the MLB. If Grandal had been in there last night, I’m pretty sure the Dodgers would have thrown a shut out at the Cubs. What a moron! Our resident Catcher would tell you as much.
Badger
That might be true about the Cubs, but Heyward is not one of there best hitters.
He is far from it!
Kenley didn’t even have to pitch to the meat of the Cubs order, he pitched to there hitters, that are way down in there order.
He allowed Heyward, to take him off his game.
And you are right, Grandal could have easily let that ball go to the back stop too.
Very frustrating! Would have been great if neither of those balls got past Ruiz — but my goodness, look at where Ruiz set up for the two pitches: the first one, on which Soler struck out, he set up for a cutter HIGH in the strike zone and Kenley bounced it — that’s a really big miss; the second one, Ruiz set up low and inside and Kenley threw a sailing fast ball with no cut HEAD HIGH and OUTSIDE. That is really bad pitching by Kenley. You want your catcher to “save” your pitcher in that situation, but those were two horrible pitches by Kenley at a really big moment in a pennant race. I’m going 80/20 with the Kenley/Ruiz blame
I’ve posted this for a couple of years: Kenly is a head case. Now you’re starting to believe me.
Exciting that we agree!
True, this regarding framing:
Former heavyweight boxer turned astrophysicist Michael deGrasse Tyson puts it this way –
“Stat geeks are making sh*t up. The location and way a ball is caught should not affect whether a pitch is a ball or a strike, because that is decided when the pitch crosses the plate, not when it is caught. Yet for some reason people seem to often discuss this as a valuable skill in a catcher and an overall benefit to the game. To me, if framing is having a large effect then it just means the umpire is poor. The hitters can’t do anything about it – pitches will be called strikes completely out of their control in an unreliable manner if framing really has that much of an effect. I think the whole idea is bad for the game – argue against me!”
I wouldn’t advise arguing against that guy. After he melts your brain with injections of astro theorems he will kick your asstro butt sideways to Sunday.
Badger: “framing is having a large effect then it just means the umpire is poor. The hitters can’t do anything about it – pitches will be called strikes completely out of their control in an unreliable manner if framing really has that much of an effect. I think the whole idea is bad for the game – argue against me!”
OK, Does it really matter what you, a former slow pitch umpire, thinks? I think cancer is bad for humans, big deal, it’s still reality. YOU can’t change reality. Defensive shifts, are now part of the game, are “they bad for the game”? Maybe/Maybe not, but they are reality.
EVERY team in MLB baseball recognizes the reality of pitch framing. But you, the “greatest” slow pitch umpire in history says it’s “bad for the game”. I just don’t know why you aren’t President of the MLB Umpire’s Union. Then you could tell all the umpires, “Call strikes, strikes, don’t fall for the old pitch framing trick”. In your mind, that proclamation from you would solve the problem. NOT!!!
I for one, am glad FAZ prefers to live in Realville. Balls and strikes have been missed by umpires since the game was invented. You are the ONLY umpire in baseball history that got them all right. You are a legend in your own mind. I guess you haven’t noticed all the umpire missed calls since they started instant replay. Happily, baseball is the only professional sport with this problem. Basketball refs never call phantom fouls or miss calling fouls at important points of a game. NFL refs always get pass interference calls right. It’s just those “poor” umpires who make mistakes.
I bet you also believe Crooked Hillary Clinton was paid $500,000 per speech, just because she is so good looking and interesting also. WAKE UP. Pitch framing is reality until humans are taken out of the equation.
You bring up basketball refs and phantom calls, which is interesting. Do you ever wonder why a professional basketball team has such a better record at home than on the road. It’s actually huge. It’s curious, because the court dimensions are exactly the same, the ball is exactly the same, it’s the same players and the same refs. So why is the home team so much more likely to win? I don’t think anyone has had a truly good answer.
Why to coaches and players argue calls? Is it just to vent? To you think in some intuitive sense, Billy Martin knew that if he threw a tirade, the next time the ump might be slightly less likely to make a call that wasn’t in the Yankees favor?
What makes one person love Hillary (like my sister), and another think she’s loathsome (like me)?
Dig deeper into yourself patch for the answer to your Hillary question. Don’t accept the first simple answer. Keep asking why or where did that thought come from. That is the mark of a truely critical thinker.
Bum
I just wish what some of these people want to come true for a fleeting two month, then maybe they will finally understand.
That thought is very scary.
Oh, I know a person’s political identity is just that: an identity. I suppose through upbringing and early exposure you become imprinted with a particular belief system, and you subsequently see the world through that prism. On the other hand, there are a lot of first year college students who have their whole perception of the world and how it operates and how they see themselves fitting within it changed dramatically when exposed to a revolutionary point of view. Still, like a religious identification, those beliefs become fixed.
We all have our biases, in everything. It doesn’t mean that all assessments are invalid because of bias. For example, I can look at a pattern of behavior with Clinton that starts all the way back to the Travelgate scandal in 1992 up the present day that shows a willingness to flirt with the abuse of power for political gain. A supporter would see in that pattern a predilection for her opponents to make unsubstantiated claims for political gain. And it’s true her opponents have an agenda based on personal bias to look for malfeasance in everything she does. In the end, I have to rely on my best objective assessment, as inherently biased as it is, and the evidence, to form my own conclusions.
Get your facts straight box –
I umpired semi-pro, American Legion, high school and college. And yes, I also umpired A League softball tournaments. But, no, it rally doesn’t matter what I think. Just like it doesn’t matter what you think.
The post was supposed to be funny. You took the humor out of it.
And I’m not going to take the Hillary bait. You learned that trick from the master baiter – Mark Timmons.
It would be refreshing if somehow you could restrain yourself from always poking a stick at Timmons with nearly every single post you make.
It’s a little bit of an unhealthy preoccupation, don’t you think? Whatever floats your boat, but do you really want to just be a slightly more articulate and coherent version of BOB?
What are you talking about? I counted 7 posts on this thread and only one referenced the resident bad news bear and it was a compliment! Nobody has been better at baiting than Mark, he is the master, and he admitted he models Donald Trump at de-escalating the conversation to argumentative levels. In my opinion that takes obscenely unchaste genius.
Boxout
That second to the last paragraph explains everything, and I understand.
I think FAZ lives in Smallville and will refuse to move.
If that is his statement, then DeGrasse Tyson is an idiot. The idea that there are quirks in how people perceive their environment that can be influenced in subtle ways is not really that revolutionary, nor hard to understand. You can have two people who witness an event such as a car accident from the same vantage point and their recollections and description of the events can be different in subtle but significant ways. How people perceive things is influenced by prior experience, which creates patterns or expectations of how events will unfold. Pitch framing is just a way for a subtle action to disguise the appearance of another action based on visual cues the umpire has come to expect. The umpire has to see the action of the ball crossing the plate and into the catcher’s glove is so fast, he probably has to use other cues to reinforce his judgement. He is probably influenced by where the ball eventually ends up in the glove.
That’s a decent hypothesis, but is it verifiable? Because of Pitch Fx data, every single pitch by every single pitcher in every single inning in every single game can now be recorded and cataloged. We can compare what the pitch actually was to how it was actually called, and we can compare differences and look for patterns. Which umpires blow more calls? How does the strike zone of one ump differ from another? Which catchers seem to get more borderline calls? If we know exactly how many pitches to certain catchers get called strikes versus balls, and if he know the exact scenario when that pitch was made, we can now tabulate how many additional outs there were. If we know that, and the circumstance of the game, we can tabulate how many potential games are won or lost based on just those borderline pitches that get called strikes versus balls.
This is all measured and validated and verifiable. The king of the Facebook meme should understand that.
I prefer strikes to be determined electronically.
Uh, hello, earth to patch, Michael deGrasse Tyson is not a real person. It. Was. A. Joke.
Former boxer? Astrophysicist?
Where did you and box go to school? UTAC? University for Tight Ass Conservatives?
Lighten up man.
Ah fuck! Neil deGrasse Tyson. Ok, nevermind about that part. I wasn’t paying attention.
Still though, if you don’t believe framing is “a thing,” ….then.
Yeah, framing is a thing. So is flatulance. I don’t like either.
And I can promise you umps know who it is that is successfully making them look like horses asses. Those framing numbers will change month to month as umpires make their own adjustments.
Hi, Badger — thought you might enjoy this: https://twitter.com/neiltyson/status/222860309830967296?lang=en&lang=en
I did enjoy the read Bison. Thank you. I do remember the Los Angeles Angels at Wrigley Field in LA, then they went to Chavez Ravine (not Dodger Stadium). I still have family in Orange County and not many there bought into the the Angels Angels. They are in Anaheim and they will remain the California Angels to me. Little known fact – Anaheim means “famous mouse home by the river”.
I thought is was German for “there’s nothing here”.
Nothing but a mouse and his magic kingdom. And strawberries. Oranges. Knott’s. Highway 39 Drive Inn.
Bison, my favorite from Neil deGrasse Tyson
Effective Advertising: My sister just bought a Dodge Truck. When I stepped inside, my voice dropped an entire octave.
Ruiz did say after the game that Kenly’s ball was moving alot. He thinks he catches those two balls that let the runner get to second and then to third more times than not after he has more experience catching Jansen.
I might throw in that a 37 year old catcher might not move as quickly in the 9th as he did in earlier innings.
If Jansen and Baez had good off speed pitches they would be Game Over.
I can’t stand the image of the Dodgers celebrating a pennant, Division Series, or WS without AJ in the middle of the celebration.
This no doubt was going to be AJ’s last year as a player with the Dodgers and it would have been awesome if he would have celebrated with the team. I like Ruiz and if the Dodgers could have added him without giving up AJ would have been the smart thing to do.
I would rather have 3 catchers than one Culbertson. Ruiz could have been used as a pinch hitter as could have Grandal with 3 catchers. And, the Dodgers could still have kept a player that makes other players better in AJ.
Ruiz is a class act – I expected him to take the blame. He wants to boost Kenley’s confidence. It’s the right thing to say.
I do find it curious WHY the Phillies wanted AJ – perhaps we will learn why later…
Mark
They just brought up there one of there top prospects, and they want AJ to work with hm.
And teach him how to prepare for his pitchers.
The Dodger writer thought that Larry Bowa suggested AJ for the job.
The Phillies were intending to try to get AJ as a free agent next year.
I guess someone values AJ’s hard work, and the way he deals with people.
Bum
I think that would have been the better move.
Just looking at Anderson and McCarthy on the bench makes me upset, as well as them being on the roster.
And I have thought the same thing, about Culberson being on the big team too.
And like me and you have said, Reddick really is the problem, because he is not even close to the answer!
MJ, I was going to be patient with Reddick but now I think of him as part of the reason AJ was traded. Before it was bad enough that he was another lefty bat that was not needed and wasn’t hitting.
Teammates were distracted by Puig so he gets sent down.
Teammates loved AJ but he gets traded.
Organizations do better when management doesn’t zig zag.
Bum
This front office are social idiots!
I am not blaming Ruiz, but I think he catches that ball 9 times out of 10. Putting him in a game and having him handle half a dozen pitchers he’s never even caught in practice–what could go wrong? BUT it’s Kenley’s fault for giving up a double to a guy who isn’t even hitting his weight. The two batting practice fastballs to Bryant, well that could happen to anybody, right?
Having a third catcher would have allowed AJ or Yaz to be catching Jansen in the ninth. The Cubs carry three, but they don’t have to have eight or nine relievers because their starters pitch deep into games.
Pitch framing is a thing… much like a passed ball or wild pitch – very subjective. I have seen Grandal get more than his share of borderline pitches, but maybe that’s subjective too. MdGT sums it all up though when he says: “To me, if framing is having a large effect then it just means the umpire is poor. “
BINGO! You don’t have to be an astrophysicist to see that!
We know that there are some bad umps and he is exactly right – it does work on some. You can fool some of the people some of the time….
I was back looking at the videos of the game last night when BisonJones posted and he is absolutely correct: Those were horrid pitches – Kenley missed his spots by 3 feet!
I put a little bit of credibility into pitch framing, not a lot. But to put nothing into it means ignoring your eyes. Putting no credibility into it is as stupid as putting a lot of credibility into it. Personally, I think it’s time to take the umps out of this equation.
Yasmani is a very good defensive catcher… EXCEPT when it comes to blocking pitches in the dirt. He is on the high bad side when it comes to PB and WP… but he’s not as bad as some of you think. I think he needs to work on that over the off-season with Yeager or some other pro catcher. He’s young and can improve, but offensively he has started becoming what I thought he would be. I said he would hit 25 HR and he should surpass that this year. I said he would hit .275 and he won’t make that… maybe he never will – but he is only one of four starting catchers in all of baseball who has an OPS over .830! His .348 OB% makes up for his low batting average – and I think he will be better next year – another year removed from surgery.
I find it hilarious that you guys still feel the need to denigrate Yasmani! Even Ray Charles can see what he is.
Mark, if you can find a way to get Yasmani to smile and look like he is having fun I will agree to like him.
Bum
Does Libertore bother you too?
I haven’t noticed him so much. He doesn’t get enough TV time. Does he seem like a person that isn’t having fun?
I liked Loney’s quirkiness. I liked watching Kemp and Gordon joking with each other. I like to watch Cory and Joc share a smile and laugh. Bill Russel used to joke with the Toy Cannon pretending that one of Jimmy Wynn’s throws burned through his glove when Wynn was playing through a sore arm.
I liked Russel and Cey over Garvey; Baylor over West; I digress.
When Grandal is hitting, it’s easier to overlook defensive shortcomings. But he’s not Piazza. OBP only makes up in part for a low average when you’re in an RBI situation.
I guess my biggest beef is that he insists on being in the lineup even when he is not 100% and not helping the team, but I’m starting to feel that that decision came from above.
With all the electronics, why can’t Torre weed out some of the worst umpires? You can fool some of them most of the time, it seems.
… now! If someone could teach Baez a changeup and slider. OUCH!
Also, now that Kenley has proven to be a Choke Artist, I am worried that he might pull a Brett Anderson and accept the QA!
Mark:
Don’t be afraid of Kenley accepting the QO. All the FO has to do is tell him they are going to QO offer him but he will no longer be the CLOSER.
When I saw Ruiz’ name in the pregame lineup, I wondered about putting him in a game so soon, thinking that there might best be an orientation to the Dodgers, particularly to the pitchers. Now, in hindsight, given that everyone talks about the good movement of Kenly’s pitches, a bullpen introduction might have been helpful. In any event, I think that the situation was unique to this particular game and would probably never repeat itself. As such, it is not productive to try to assign blame. It’s a shame that it came at this particular time in the pennant race.
Very well put, Mr. Wolfe.
The Phillies traded Ruiz as a favor to him so that he can have one more chance at the playoffs.
The Dodgers traded AJ as a disfavor to him so that he would NOT have one more chance at the playoffs.
Some organizations have more family in them than others.
Bum
That is the problem when most of the front office, don’t have social skills, and think mostly about numbers.
We talk about how bad the starting rotation has been, but we don’t talk about that starting rotation not pulling there weight, and because of this, the pitchers in the bullpen are really over worked.
And so is Roberts, and his coaches.
It isn’t good to have only a few employees do all of the work, and get paid much less.
Everyone should be pulling there weight.
MJ, I’ve resisted being critical of FAZ for their habits of signing players that have been for one reason or another regular members of the DL. Not any more after the AJ trade. From now on, until the Dodgers win and do it with a core of DODGERS leading the way, I will not have faith in FAZ or like them.
A lot of finger pointing because there was plenty to blame not just Kenley and Ruiz, but BOTH shoulder part of the blame, but let’s not act like AJ is great at blocking balls. He cost the Dodgers a playoff game when it let one go right between his legs. I will say that I think AJ works with Kenley better than Grandal. Definitely growing pains between Kenley and Chooch, but let’s not forget Kenley put a ball in about the only place Heyward would get a hit.
1 for 15 w/RISP against a bunch of mediocre pitchers last night. Enough with Reddick already. He has no business playing against LH pitching. Segidin or Puig should be out there in that case. Unless Puig went all Davey Martinez with one of his teammate’s wife they all can suck it up and deal with him for one month. I’ve seen enough. He should be playing against LH pitching. Not Reddick and not Culberson.
Joey Pancakes put one of a platter for Bryant. Liberatore hasn’t looked the same since right before his DL stint. Not having a real 8th inning guy bit them in the ass last night too. They were playing with fire when Joey Pancakes went out for a second inning. Of course a starting pitcher that could go 6 would have prevented 2 innings of Mr. Pancakes.
Hawkeye
I too think that the front office should have got a quality reliever, to help set up games.
Blanton has done pretty well, but he shouldn’t be the set up guy.
And there were quality arms out there, that were not big names, that would cost way to much.
I don’t think that Reddick should continue to start in rightfield anymore.
He hadn’t done a thing, and he shouldn’t even be playing over Toles.
They better start using Toles more, or his bat, will be wasted on the bench.
He isn’t going to continue to be sharp, if he is sitting on the bench.
Toles did more then Redick has, in his first 15 at bats, when he first came up.
Toles is our player, not a rental like Reddick.
Out loyality should be with Toles, not Reddick.
Roberts needs to put the best players on the field.
The team can’t continue to carry Reddicks weak bat in the line up, or wait any longer for Reddick to start to produce, there not enough time left in the season.
He needs to sit on the bench, against both lefties and rightie pitchers.
I would prefer to see a Toles/Puig platoon or Toles/Segedin down the stretch in RF. We all know Reddick is better than what we’re seeing but he’s cracking under the pressure. I was shocked that he was playing over Segedin last night.
Hawkeye
I have no problem with that platoon, and Toles would be getting most of the at bats, in a platoon anyways.
Roberts would need to grow cajones to ignore an order from the FAZhole.
Also, I do think we should give Ruiz some credit getting Norris and Baez through the Cubs lineup. I think he did a good job until the 9th inning.
I agree and we need to remember that was Ruiz’s first time, catching all of our pitchers, and really how often does Kenley throw pitches in the dirt?
I didn’t see the game; i paid attention on my phone on gamecast and, as frustrated as I was seeing all that happen, I’m sure it was even more frustrating to watch.
Let’s win today and get back on track. Plus, I”ll be there, and I don’t want to see a loss. Round 1 on me if anyone is going!
Bobby
I hope we win today, epecially since you will be there.
I hope you see awesome game today.
I think Urias will suprise the Cubs, this time around.
I hope he keeps his pitches down when Bryant is up to bat!
I’m surrounded by Cubs and Cardinals fans here in Iowa so I absolutely hate them both as much as the Giants. I get to golf with two Cubs fans on Sunday. Watching the Cubs fans hoist their stupid flags in our stadium just pissed me off last night. A loser organization that has done nothing for a century hoisting W’s in our stadium had me steaming last night. I rooted for them to beat the Cardinals last year. It won’t be the case this year.
The Dodgers have demoted righty Kenta Maeda in order to gain an extra pitcher until his next start, as MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick tweets. The move appears to be procedural in nature. Maeda will be assigned to the club’s Rookie ball affiliate; with that season coming to a close, he can permissibly be brought back before the typical ten-day waiting period.
Somebody coming up… Puig?
They did it yesterday just in case Norris left hurt again. It allowed them to bring up Stewart.
We blew a one run lead. These things happen in this maddening game. Didn’t SF blow a 3 or 4 run lead in the 9th against Baltimore or Pittsburgh a few weeks back? So we turn the page and get ready for today’s matinée game.
I hate to say this because a win is a win. But THE CUBS WERE LUCKY TO WIN THE GAME LAST NIGHT! The best team in baseball should have lost. Period. On the blame game: on the pitch that scored the tying run, the target was center high. The pitch was WAY HIGH AND OUTSIDE. Yes it should have been caught because these are big leaguers, but it was no where near the target and sailed like it had sails. Jansen is more the culprit that Ruiz. Kershaw said of Ellis that Ellis had a “servant” mentality when it came to pitchers. I think most good catchers have that same mentality. That is why Ruiz was quick to take the blame. ALWAYS protect the pitcher. I love it. The pitcher/catcher dynamic is a fascinating one. Koufax mentioned his catchers in his HOF induction speech, saying that the pitcher’s mound is a lonely place, with the catcher your only friend. These two will live to fight another day. I hope it is today with different results. I, too, hated to see the Cubs fans in their jerseys celebrating last night. Lovable losers? Not for me.
Bobbie 17
I liked the way that Ruiz handled himself, when he was up to bat too.
He looked like a true professional, because he was very calm and patient, up at the plate.
Reddick batting sixth today. Toles 8th. Howie gets a day off. Loading up the lefties big time.
Hawkeyes
Why in the H is Toles hitting behind, a 150 hitter?
Because Faidi and Reddick are…..you know…
I don’t know. What are you saying Wondering?