The final game of the Dodgers-Mets weekend lovefest featured Clayton Kershaw vs Bartolo Colón.
Both teams were coming off emotionally charged wins. The Mets taking the first game when Chase Utley‘s 9th inning heroics were thrown away by Pedro Baez‘s 9th inning mistake. The Dodgers won the second game when Chase Utley rose again to crush Mets fans hopes with an offensive show with two home runs, one of them a New York-sized grand slam.
It was the rubber match, and everyone was waiting to see which team would rise to the top.
We pick things up in the third inning.
3rd inning
Dodgers
Lead off single for Chase Utley.
Base hit, Corey Seager
Justin Turner weak ground ball to short. Score Utley 1-0
Mets
1,2,3 inning.
4th inning Dodgers 1-0
Mets
Kershaw left a mistake pitch over the middle of the plate that was tagged for a double. Otherwise, he continued his dominance. 7 Ks on 57 pitches at this point.
5th inning Dodgers 1-0
Dodgers
Kershaw’s bat broke while swinging, and the barrel of the bat swung around to hit him on the side of his neck. It looked painful, but Kershaw stayed in the game.
Corey Seager base hit.
JT base hit.
Adrian Gonzalez delivered with a base hit to score Seager. 2-0
6th inning Dodgers 2-0
Mets
Asdrubal Cabrera hit a home run. 2-1
8th inning Dodgers 2-1
Mets
With two out and a man on first, Dave Roberts lifted Kershaw for another lefty, Adam Liberatore to face Curtis Granderson.
Triple! Tie score. 2-2
9th inning Tie score 2-2
Dodgers
Enrique Hernandez, brought in with Liberatore in the Kershaw switch, singled.
Corey Seager walked.
Justin Turner walked to load the bases for the Butter and Eggs man.
Single! Score two runs. Dodgers up 4-2
Mets
Kenley Jansen vs Mets
Yoenis Cespedes – K
Neil Walker– F7
Juan Ligares – F7
Dodgers Win! 4-2
This New York series had everything. Debuts by teen-aged phenoms, revenge pitches, tossed managers, grand slams, come-from-behinds, blown leads, and best of all, more Dodger wins than Mets wins.
The Dodgers were burned twice in the series by the bullpen, but this game’s bullpen mistake could have been avoided. Kershaw was over 100 pitches when Roberts lifted him, but I fail to see the logic in lifting the best left hander on the planet to bring in another left hander specifically to face a left-handed batter. Liberatore is better than Kershaw? He’s better than a four-out save from Kenley?
On a positive note, the Dodgers’ were saved tonight by a guy who needed to put up some clutch RBIs, Adrian Gonzalez. His power is still mostly MIA, but the man can hit, and he came through in the ninth inning, right when his club needed him.
There are LADR readers who advocate for trading Agone, but tonight’s game is exactly why the Dodgers should hold on to him for dear life. Gonzalez is clutch, and his bat is going to be needed plenty more as the season goes on.
Clayton Kershaw went 7 2/3 innings with 4 hits, 2 runs, no walks, 10 K’s, 1 home run. ERA 1.56
Double: Joc Pederson
Team with RISP: 2 for 9 Not improving.
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.
Follow Me:
Ray Boone made another observation about the questionable decision making in the bottom of the 8th. On the pitch that Granderson hit for a triple, he observed that Puig had been playing shallow, up by 1 run in the 9th. OF should be playing “prevent defense” and playing deep to avoid extra base hits. If Puig had been playing deeper it would have been a routine out.
A day or 2 ago, the press revealed that the Dodgers position their OF using GPS. Either the micro-manager got it wrong and positioned Puig incorrectly, or Puig was being a knucklehead and played shallower than the manager told him.
Either way, another questionable decision by someone.
Boone made that comment long after Granderson got the hit. It was so late it came off as an after thought. Had Boone said something before the hit, he would have sounded smart instead of like a Monday morning quarterback.
There was alot going on when Granderson stepped to the plate and it is the bench coaches responsibility to position the outfielders.
Roberts was seen in the dugout talking with Honneycut after the inning or after the hit and it didn’t look all that friendly. Roberts was doing the talking.
My first reaction to the laser story was that it bordered on micro-managed absurdity. But you can also say that the team has had guys up in a press box with binoculars positioning outfielders for decades. Teams have always tried to eek out just a marginal edge. That’s what competition breeds. If getting out the lasers is the next step in the informational arms race and gives a slight edge, well….ok.
Many teams in baseball, use to lasers in the field. It is not just the Dodgers. To me, this really a non story . The story is more about the Mets having a problem with this.
Ray Boone has been dead for years. You are probably referring to his grandson. Bret Boone, who’s dad was Bob Boone. As far as positioning, well he probably was not playing deep enough, but he WAS PLAYING where he was told to by the coaching staff. You guys kill me. Everyone wanted DM fired, and he was. Now you are second guessing his replacements every move. The guy is a rookie manager saddled with a iffy bullpen, little help on the bench and an anemic offense. There is more than enough experience on that bench and too much interference from Fried Brains and Zilcho with all their saber metric and analytic crap. As it was, Puig just missed that ball. It is like blaming Kershaw, who is a god in LA right now for hanging a slider right down the middle. Nobody is perfect, and a lot of you on here are expecting perfection. Show of hands, how many of you would rather see Gabe Kaplan, the Fried Brain flunky running this team??? Get a grip, they won the game, and that is the ultimate goal is it not? Not one of you coming on here writing this crap knows more about the game than those guys in the dugout. You might have the opinion you do, but that is all it is. Puig has more talent in his little finger than most of you combined, but you ride the guy constantly for his mistakes. I have seen dumber players trust me. Us older guys remember Marv Throneberry, who was a walking disaster area. Marvelous Marv was great for comedic relief. Puig actually has talent, and earlier this year when he was playing well, you did not see all the crap you read now. If you love the team, at least try to support them when they are not doing well. The next 4 games will show a lot. The Cubs are a very good team with better pitching than the Mets. And do not forget Arrieta no-hit the Dodgers last year.
I laughed. Nice post.
Not exactly funny, but point made.
Wait….Show of hands? I guess that’s funny.
I don’t think we are expecting perfection out of this group. I know I’m not. We won. That’s all that really counts. But discussing the game and offering insights is what this place is about.
I wasn’t making a larger point. Agreed with some, but not all of it. It was just written pithily and bluntly with an added a – Ray Boone is dead – and Throneberry anecdote for good measure.
I laughed.
I agree, but sometimes the stupidity of what is said just is too much to bear. Especially stuff like trading Puig, Gonzo and prospects for Harvey……that is not only dumb, it is just plain moronic…..
Second-guessers are never wrong. I was watching the game with a friend last night and he said “Can you believe they are taking out Kershaw?” Sure I said. But, I also said this (and I believe it 100%): If Roberts left Clayton in and Granderson got a hit or a HR, the second-guessers would pile on, and if Roberts took him out and Liberatore gave up a hit or HR, then the second-guesser would still pile on. That’s what second-guessers do and they are never wrong. They are just so much damn smarter than any manager.
Clayton was clearly tired, his breaking ball wasn’t as crisp and Granderson has shown an ability to hit Kershaw already. Believe it or not, Liberatore has almost identical stats against lefties as Clayton. I had no problem with the decision although I expected Jansen, not Liberatore, but I was fine with it. Sometimes stuff works, sometimes it doesn’t.
Now, I am not sure Puig would have caught that ball, even if he had played on the warning track, but to single out one play as a questionable decision is disingenuous at best – how about all the times the positioning works… and it has worked a lot?
I just dislike creating straw men to advance an argument against anyone. It was a nice comeback!
This is why
I don’t understand why some are questioning Roberts move either, but I have not heard anyone here, question Roberts moves.
I totally understood why Roberts didn’t stay with Kershaw, and didn’t give Kenley the ball. Kershaw was tired, and you could see that, in his previous inning of work.
And Kenley had just blown two, four out saves, in SD. And in both of those instances, Kenley said that he would take care of Melvin Upton, but he didn’t! And Granderson, is better then Melvin Upton. But I am glad that Kenley blew those two saves, because his pitches looked much better, in last night’s game.
Yes Mark, we know how posters with opinions disgust you. You are very clear about that. Have been for years.
Puig missed it by inches. If he had been playing a no doubles defense, which was Boone’s point, he would have been standing under it making the catch. Still, heck of an effort on his part. I thought Roberts removing Kershaw when he did was odd. We won. That’s all that matters.
Now we go into Chicago with the 4 Mousekateers pitching. I’m hoping for a split.
Cueto won again. He’s 8-1. But not worth the money, right? He’ll blow any day.
I believe I used the word “DISLIKE” not “DISGUST”
I am glad you appreciate my being clear, but you misquoted me.
And while we are talking about Puig’s positioning, go back and look at the reply – I DID – It’s BS – TOTAL BS – that he wasn’t playing deep. He was way deep, so that is not even an issue – IT’S A FABRICATION.
It’s just like clockwork! Even when the Dodgers won Saturday: They were lucky!” Damn, I would hate to go through life like that!
There’s a difference between criticizing the front office for one non-move, such as Cueto, which was a criticism that I made, and criticizing and second guessing this front office for everything, and never giving any credit where it might be due. That’s just disingenuous.
Libertore was a questionable decision, but I don’t really have too much of a problem with it. I understand why it was done, and Libertore has actually been surprisingly good. Think of that Cardinals playoff game where CK lost because he was left in too long. The refrain then was that he was left in too long because Mattingly had no confidence in the bullpen. CK just happened to tire a couple of outs too early for Kenley. That’s all.
And with as much snide disdain and passive aggressive insults you direct Mark’s way, I think both disgust and dislike would be visceral sensations I’d be feeling if I were him. 😉
He’s got the best team in the league. What does he care from lasers?
http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles/dodger-report/post/_/id/19839/bulls-eye-cubs-not-defensive-about-dodgers-lasers
Something I would change immediately if I were King:
Liberatore throws 7 pitches, one of them goes for a triple scoring a run, gets a Blown Save, costing Kershaw, who threw 117 pitches, a win – yet Liberatore gets one out and a W. That’s just not right. To get a W and a BS on the same night is BS. Yeah, yeah, I know, I’m second guessing MLB and will no doubt take heat from our bombastic resident know-it-all critic, but that W should go to Kershaw.
Agreed Badger. That’s why RP ERA is totally useless. CK’s ERA goes up but Liberatore’s goes DOWN. A much fairer way would give the SP & RP 50% of the run. The responsibility for the run would be equally shared.
That is why Baez’s Era still looks decent.
From one of my favorite authors, Seth Godin:
The possibility of optimism (the optimism of possibility)
Is the glass half full or half empty?
The pessimist sees what’s present today and can only imagine eventual decline. The glass is already half empty and it’s only going to get worse.
The optimist understands that there’s a difference between today and tomorrow. The glass is half full, with room for more. The vision is based on possibility, the future tense, not the present one.
Pessimists have trouble making room for possibility, and thus possibility has trouble finding room for pessimists.
As soon as we realize that there is a difference between right now and what might happen next, we can move ourselves to the posture of possibility, to the self-fulfilling engine of optimism.
And the realist tells you that that glass has 8 oz. of water in it. He doesn’t care if it is half-full or half-empty.
The realist lives in the now. Excellent point Rick
“When you are fully present, the past will not define you, and the future cannot harm you.”
Badgerdamus – circa 8:00 a.m. May 30th, 2016
And the glass is refillable.
The glass is full of water. Half is in a liquid state, half is in a gaseous state. That is what the scientist said when I took my kids to the science center.
My glass has beer in it. If is light beer it is half empty.
Bum
Not Michelob light!
I thought Roberts was going to remove Kershaw prior to the eighth inning. I think Kershaw expected it too. He would have hit for him if his batting turn had come up for sure. I think Kershaw would respect his manager more if he had just went ahead and started the inning with Libertore or whomever. Of course we don’t know how that would have worked out… I think it would have left a better taste in my mouth nevertheless.
I believe most thought the move would have been to bring in Jansen for the 4 out save. And that isn’t hindsight, it’s what many were no doubt thinking at the time, including me. That said, Liberatore is a left handed reliever in our pen. That is what he is there for. And he does get another BS for the pen. It goes into the book of numbers. That said, I think do understand the move. He struck out the next guy.
I heard a stat on the broadcast yesterday about the team’s RISP hitting. Their average WRISP was .241 I think, and the team batting average was .243. To me, that seems like it is less of a problem of hitting WRISP than just hitting. Encouraging that Agon is starting to heat up a little. We wait on Turner. We wait on Puig. Not sure what’s going to happen with them. I think Grandal has a better bat than he’s shown. These guys pick it up a little, Kazmir finds his control, another reliever emerges or the team gets one (or hopefully Hatcher figures it out),maybe we get Ryu back after the ASB….just stay within striking distance of the Giants and things might pick up.
I agree with all of that. I still think the offense is better than they’ve shown, though even when they have hit well, they haven’t WRISP.
Thank you oh sage of all that is positive. Where would we be without your …… encouragement.
Right where we are I suspect. In second place 4.5 games out.
Some more words of wisdom:
We are not very good at recognizing illusions, least of all ones we cherish about ourselves.
I watched the replay too. Granderson is a left handed hitter with some serious pop. Tying run at first. No doubles defense. I think I would have had Puig 3-4 steps deeper, putting him at the fence making the catch. That was Boone’s point, and it was a good one.
I glad we have some opinions here!
I’m not burdened with the knowledge of most of you but here’s my drivel. I’m okay with Clayton being pulled he was getting tired. Not okay with Liberatore NOT being able to get that lefty out! Granderson is all world against the Dodgers, .200 against everyone else!
My rant is on Yaseil’s choice of pitches. After being burned on down and out sliders, you think this guy would begin to get it! Dodgers need a “take this pitch sign” for Yasiel!! From 2500 miles away, I can call how they are going to pitch this knucklehead, and I’m not burdened with knowing too much baseball. I don’t think he’s ever going to get it! I like him in the outfield, but he’s a weak hitter I’m afraid.
You smart guys needs to help Turner. He’s got to be doing something wrong!
Puig is a knucklehead and you are a hitting expert? Please, Puig has a tendency to do a couple of things, which the coaching staff has been working on, so far with mixed results, one, he swings at the first pitch a lot, and two, he is still vulnerable to the slider low and away. The opposition gets him out a lot of times that way, but do you realize that career wise he is hitting over .400 on the first pitch? Let the experts do the judging,
He is also vulnerable to the fastball in. The analysts last night were talking about Puig’s tendency to lunge, so even a fastball down the middle seems to tie him up. It is a pitch recognition problem probably – he lunges at what he thinks are fastballs but are sliders low and away, causing him to lunge at inside pitches as well, tieing himself up and making himself unable to extend his arms.
The placement of Puig was fine, but I didn’t first think that, after Boone said that later. But I was looking at the play again, and right where the ball was hit to, was a place, that was not uniformed, with the rest of the fencing.
It hit off, an area in the fencing, that was a little deeper, in about a ten foot range, of the fence. So where the coach had Puig standing, was the right place. That is because we are only talking about only a ten foot area, in the fencing that was a couple foot deeper.
I just think that Roberts, should have kept Puig hitting in the seventh position, like he was, in the prior three games. Because Puig was having much better at bats, and did have a couple of clutch singles, when he was batting, in the seventh position.
I still think that Roberts should move Turner down in the line up, until he starts hitting like a number three hitter. I would bring Howie up to second, and put Cory in Turner’s place, in the line up, and have Turner bat fifth, like someone suggested, in the prior blog.
It would be better, for the team, and maybe Turner, won’t be pitched as toughly, batting fifth. I just think Turner’s off season surgery, is why Turner is having trouble hitting.
That surgery that Turner had, has a long recovery period, and that, along with Turner, not being able to train in the off season, is probably much of Turner’s problem. And he is not helping the team much, hitting in the third position.
I still think Yasiel has trouble picking up spin. To keep swinging at that same pitch, a foot outside, signals a serious problem. He’s had enough experience missing that thing for strike 3 that he should know better by now. Get his eyes checked dammit.
I noticed that Cory is really good, at picking up the spin on the ball.
And Utley is great picking up the spin on the ball.
(5/29/16) Kike Hernandez might well have caught Cabrera’s 6th inning ‘homer’ against Kershaw. Kendrick is not an outfielder.
Getting a glove on Granderson’s 8th inning triple (Puig) was an expectable event for a plus outfielder, even one mis-positioned. (It wasn’t a high fly but it was not a line-drive, either.) I would rather have had a healthy Trayce Thompson out in right field.
Puig’s second pitch limp double-play ball in the 9th bailed out Familia who couldn’t find the plate with both hands that inning.
The Dodgers are now 0 for Cuba (Arruebarrena, Guerrero, Olivera, Puig). 120M+ out the wazoo. Guggenheim, a committee, throws money at the problem, creating other committees (Dodger management). Systems reproduce themselves: Where there’s no one person accountable you get many wagers to spread risk. You get no one big wager (Greinke for 205M anyone, or Cueto, or ???) that anyone has to answer for. This explains the pattern we are seeing. The most likely outcome will always be a middling to good club. Kershaw’s brilliance is certainly going to waste.
Cabrera’s ball hit the railing a good 6 feet over Kendrick’s head. Kareem Abdul Jabar might have caught it.
I agree Wondering, and maybe if that fan hadn’t touched the ball, and it didn’t make it to the railing, then Howie might have caught the ball.
I didn’t think that ball was out, when it was hit, because it looked like he hit under the ball.
I thought it as going to be just a big flyball.
Kike would not have caught that ball. It would have hit the railing in LF. Kike is a good athlete, but he is not that great an OF. Trayce Thompson might have had a shot at it as he is a lot taller than Hernandez or Kendrick. And a whole lot more athletic, but Hernandez is hitting under the Mendoza line, he should not even be in the majors.
Sound logic Mr Glenn. Therefor I must agree.
0 for Cuba. Good stat. Yot got a syntactically consistent algorithm for that theorem? You may need to present it around here.
Cubs -130. O/U 8
Who you got and how many runs?
I was listening to the game on the radio while driving when Kersh was taken out and Liberatore came in.
The announcers said lefties were 3 for 27 vs Liberatore. And Granderson is like a .210 hitter. So clearly the move was the right one. It didn’t work. Sometimes it doesn’t work. But I still think it was the right move. Kenley had just blown his last 2 where he came in the 8th inning .
The right moves don’t always work, and the wrong moves sometimes do work. I won’t sit here 2nd guessing; that’s too easy.
In the meantime, we went to NY, and won 2-3 vs a top NL team. I’ll take that any day. Now I’m hoping at worst for a split of the 4 in Chicago, but let’s make a statement and win the series there too. The Giants are hot, so let them cool off. All we can do is wake up and start playing better baseball ourselves. Still have 4 months to go
You sound too logical to be here. 😉
Bobby
To bad we didn’t get the sweep, but I will take the series win any time.
OKC Dodgers 4 – Sacramento River Cats/Giants 1. That was the good news. Jharel Cotton got the win, but certainly did not fool the Giants hitters. His fastball was consistent at 93 and had some upward movement, and his curve/off-speed was mid 70’s, but was effective. What he could not command was his hard slider at 90-91. He continued to bounce it in front of the plate, not fooling the hitters. His outpitch was the high fastball. It obviously had some rise because there were a lot of early pop-ups and foul backs. But when the fastball/slider straightened out, Cotton was hit hard. A lot of long flies and line drives right at our defense. Final line 5 IP/3 H/1 R (Earned)/2 BB/ 5 K. Based on what I saw today, Jharel is not ready to make the jump. He needs to work on his command of the hard slider. That should be his out pitch, especially against RH. There were times his slider broke late and was not bounced that fooled the hitter. He just needs to be consistent and his fastball/breaking ball combo will be very effective. But if everybody could throw the slider like Kershaw, then Kershaw wouldn’t be so special.
Gregario, the Giants pitcher, was very smooth and pitched free and easy. At 6’8’’ he has a long stride. He was working a lot on his breaking ball clocked in low 80’s. His hard slider was 88-91 and broke late. Very effective against aggressive RH hitters (SVS, Guerrero and Segedin). His fastball topped at 95, but he did not use it much, relying more on his off-speed pitches. His pitches leaked out over the plate, and were very hittable when they did. His line was 5 IP/4 R (3 ER)/ 5 H/1 BB/8 K. Of the 5 hits, two triples (Johnson and Cotton), and 1 double.
Logan Bawcom provided some excitement. He pitches very quickly. Mac Williamson tried to call time, but it was not granted and he backed out of the box for a strike. Bawcom tried again with another batter and the Giant’s dugout went ape#$%^. He pitches very quickly, and with three up and three down, those of us in the Sacramento heat were very grateful. Avilan had a very good 9th inning for a save. Not saying he would have done it at ML level, but he was effective and looked in command in this game.
Offensively, not a lot. The star was Jharel Cotton who had two hits, including a booming triple. He brought home a run and then scored on a bad throw to third. Culberson and Brown both had two hits. One thing that caught my eye the last two games was that Micah Johnson swings out of his shoes. He starts with legs wide, and takes a long and massive swing. I don’t think that swing plays well at the next level. In his two games at AAA, Alex Guerrero is 1 for 8 with 6 Ks. And the Ks have been ugly. His one hit was a good one. He stayed back and drove it into right field.
Defensively, no real tough plays made. SVS played 1B today, and if something happens to AGon, SVS is not a gold glover at 1B, so Utley and Kendrick are not a defensive drop off. He made an error and nearly dropped a pop-up. He did not look comfortable. Johnson made a good play on a ground ball up the middle, stepped on 2nd and bounced a throw to 1st. He did get the double play out, but it was a rushed throw that did not need to be. Admittedly, I watch Johnson closer than anyone else because I do want him to do well. He is an extremely nice young man who interacts well with the kids. I know that is not a reason to bring a player up. He is just easy to root for. I just think he is trying too hard. He needs to slow the game down. I think some time with Raul Ibanez would do him some good.
Game 4 of the series on Monday. Sam LeCure for the Dodgers, and Clayton Blackburn for the Giants.
When Johnson played at IU he did not swing out if his shoes. That sounds like a problem. He is a genuinely good person and his defense is not nearly as bad as some make it out to be. He should be trying to hit the ball on the ground. He has Dee Gordon speed.
Johnson has not had many difficult attempts at 2B, but he has made every play hit in his direction. I am not a scout, but he looks fluid around the bag, stays down on the ball well, and is not going to make a lot of mistakes. He has not had to leave his feet, so I do not know if he will. He does not look like he has stone hands like some want to say. Whether he can make the game saving play…I do not know. He has turned a couple of DPs and the one he did not, Hicks did not get him the ball quick enough to throw out a speedy runner. Maybe Culberson does. The one thing I would question is his arm strength. I don’t know if he can make the throw from the OF grass behind 2B. I have not seen him try, so I cannot say one way or the other.
I had a Giants fan sitting next to me on Saturday who asked if Johnson always took such a big swing. I said I didn’t know but it did look out of place for someone with his speed and size. Johnson did beat out a ground ball to SS, who was still on the infield dirt when making the catch/throw. I am hoping he calms the swing down, because while not a HOF player, he can be a good team ball player who will not make a lot of mistakes. While not spectacular, he is steady. He certainly looks far more comfortable at 2B than SVS does at 1B.
I like SVS, but right now he is not better than Trayce Thompson, and should not play ahead of him. Maybe SVS is just trying to get in baseball shape, and results are not as important as game conditions. But he still swings at sliders from RHP that start low and away and are unhittable. His HR was absolutely crushed, but it was against a LHP. The two hits he has had this weekend have both been against LHP, and his other AB against a LHP was a bullet at the 3B.
How many rings did Throneberry win? He’s tied with Puig. One big difference between the two is that Marv played on a crap team and wasn’t expected to win. Puig, on the other hand, is expected to win, and it is precisely because of his supposed talent that he is expected to perform. Expectations are a bitch, especially for a knucklehead. The play yesterday was a tough one, but there are many major league outfielders that would have made a better play on it. Moving on, the giants go to Atlanta. This series with the Cubs, without Kershaw pitching, could put us in 3d place. It’s nice to see late inning guts again. I think, right now, this is the best 1-2 batting order we have had in a long time. Seager is really stepping up, and Utley is probably our MVP behind Kershaw. I guess we should all go away because we don’t know as much as the professionals. I’ve heard that BS before. If they were so smart, none would ever be fired….by other professionals who know as much or as little as they do.
Utley to me, is helping more then Kershaw, because Utley is having to perform almost everyday.
But Kershaw makes much more of a diffrence, more then any pitcher can, because pitchers, don’t make a difference, in every game. Because they pitch every fifth day. But Kershaw makes a difference more then every fifth day, because when Kershaw pitches, you can bet, that he will give the bullpen, a day off.
Throneberry was originally a Yankee. You just seem to have it in for Puig. Not all that many major league OF’s would have even gotten close to that ball. Get over yourself.
The positive that we should be looking out for against the Cubbies is the recent improvement of Wood and Kazmir. Can they maintain it against a top team? Will Kazmir continue to alternate good starts with bad? Has Wood lost the mojo that he has apparently found in his last 4 starts due to arm soreness or the extra days off? Will Maeda have any lasting effects from the line drive that he took off of his hand?
Stay tuned…
That is real. That is realistic. There is also hope for even more improvement.
Dodger rick
I sure hope Kazmir can pitch a good game, and keep his pitches down in the strike zone, against those big hitters. Kazmir should be more effective against there big right hander, because they say that Kazmir, has reverse numbers against righties, because of his change up.
I just heard Ron Darling knocking Roberts for taking Kershaw out. And how the umpires shouldn’t have thrown Syderguard out. I hope we don’t hear him in the post season this year!
Dodger rick
Do you still want Joc or Thompson, still hitting in Agone’s place, in the line up? That is why I don’t think a lot of saber metric equations, are always a good measurement, of a player. But used as another tool, it is fine, because info is keen.
A comment on Puig and .400 first ball hitting. That has to be BS! I’ve seen him pop up the first pitch too many times to be hitting .400! Take the what have you done for me “this year” set of metrics. His early success has been negated by pitchers altering their approach.
I like Yasiel, he’s our knucklehead, but he keeps making similar hitting blunders. It’s time for him to mature at the plate. I can’t tell you how much I want him to succeed! I have my doubts he’ll adjust. I’m okay with a strategy of “hope” for the balance of the year with Puig. Joc seems to be maturing (I call no jinx) so these guys can learn. Eager to see how we do against the Cubs.
It’s easy enough to research.
According to the stats, Puig has 194 PA’s and has swung at the first pitch 48 times (24.7% of the time) and is hitting .354 with it. My philosophy, as I’ve stated many times, if you get a cookie on the first pitch you take a big bite out of it. For me, that is a dead red fastball over the heart of the plate. Just don’t swing at breaking pitches, unless maybe it’s a frisbee slider thigh high. Make them pay for mistakes. I like the fact Puig is aggressive. I don’t like the fact he continues to swing at pitchers pitches. Colon made him look like a rookie.
Badger
Roberts should have just left Puig batting seventh in the line up. He was having better at bats, and had even got a couple walks, and a couple of clutch singles, in the later innings, of the game.
Give Puig credit for what happened after he misses that ball. He crashes into the fence and immediately gets up to retrieve the ball. Forget the tying run that was the go ahead run flying around the bases. It was great hustle by Puig. Give him credit for that.
Yeah I agree about Kershaw. If he is four outs away from winning and he needs to come out, there is only one guy who should be brought in.
Everyone did you all notice on how well the Dodger pitchers, kept Cespedes in check?
He is in a 0 for 16 streak right now, but just got a single. I think that Cespedes didn’t get much off both Kershaw, and Greinke, in the post season, except for one HR.
And the other hits he got in the post season, were off, Anderson and Wood.
I remember him saying that the Mets starting pitchers, were better then the Dodgers, at that time.
I’ll say this. I didn’t really have any problems with the move either. Liberatore has been pretty good this year. He’s held lefties to a .107 avg against. It just didn’t work out. It very easily could have worked. Now if he had brought in Hatcher or Baez then I would have had a huge problem with it. They won anyways, and seem to be playing a lot better. 6 wins in 7 games. Moving in the right direction it seems.
Scott
Crawford is starting in leftfield today. I hope the wind is not blowing that much. I just don’t trust Crawford on defense, and especially his arm.
Utley
Seager
Turner
Agone
Pederson
Grandal
Puig
Crawford
Wood
I see Turner is batting third again which you don’t like, but, dang it, there just aren’t enough good hitters to fill up spots 1 through 5…
I would move Howie to second, and Cory to third. Turner shouldn’t be getting more at bats, then Agone!
Giants Lost guys! Happy Memorial Day!