Kenley Jansen decided he wanted to get into the act of blowing games himself and ruining poor Oscar’s BBQ in the process during the Dodger’s pitiful 5-4 loss to the Giants on Saturday. Kenley is one of the greatest Dodger closers of all time and had only blown those two games in San Diego the entire season, but dammit if he didn’t feel left out of the game blowing shenanigans. It took the Giants all of 60 seconds to string together three consecutive hits in the bottom of the ninth inning to overcome a one-run deficit. You see that’s what good clubs do to win ball games. Good teams are able to easily put together scoring rallies and effortlessly score runs. The Dodgers can’t do that which is why they continue with their meandering mediocrity. That was the Giant’s seventh walk-off win versus the Dodgers since the 2013 season. I think if you took all of the Giant’s walk-off wins against the Dodgers over the last couple of seasons you could probably fill a novel. The book would be called “Pathetically lost: The story of the 2016 Dodgers”.
So tonight they’ll give the ball to the 19-year old rookie for the rubber game of the three game series. The question I ask is can Julio Urias pitch past the fourth inning today? Better question is will the Dodgers actually let him? In three starts Urias has not pitched past the fifth inning in any of his MLB starts. He’s only pitched past the fourth inning once. Urias has struck out 14 and walked 6 in 11.2 innings pitched. However he has allowed 10 runs on 16 hits for a 6.94 ERA. He has some trouble getting out of innings when he has two outs. Opposing batters are hitting .333 against him when there are two outs in an inning. The left handed phenom will have to learn how to put batters away when he’s ahead in the counts and how to get out of innings. He just needs some experience under his belt. He’ll get that and more as the Dodgers are throwing him right into the fire.
Dodgers Lineup @ San Francisco-TBA
Tonight’s Dodger lineup at Giants:
Utley 2B
Seager SS
Turner 3B
González 1B
Thompson RF
Pederson CF
Kendrick LF
Ellis C
Urìas P— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 12, 2016
Julio Urias-0-1 vs. Jake Peavy-2-6
Game Time- 5:37 PM – TV- ESPN
Meanwhile the Giants will counter with veteran Jake Peavy (2-6 6.41). The grizzled right hander has allowed over 11 hits per nine innings this season and has a WHIP of over 1.5. Peavy is 35-years old and starting to show his age. The Dodger nemesis has faced the boys in blue once this year back on April 7 and took a no-decision. He gave up four earned runs on 10 hits across 5 frames. In his last start he allowed over four earned runs on five hits over five innings in a loss to the Cardinals on June 5th.
He’s been one of the biggest thorns in the Dodger’s side in recent memory. He’s been beating the crap out of the Dodgers for years dating back to his early days with the Padres. Peavy is 14-3 with a 2.50 ERA in 30 career starts against the Dodgers. The current Dodgers are hitting just .200 (19 for 95) with a .589 OPS against. Adrian Gonzalez seems to have Peavy’s number. He’s batting .269 (7 for 26) with 3 home runs and 5 extra base-hits.
Peavy vs. Dodgers
| Name | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | SH | SF | IBB | HBP | GDP |
| Adrian Gonzalez | 26 | 26 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 3 | .269 | .269 | .692 | .962 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chase Utley | 19 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | .059 | .158 | .059 | .217 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Howie Kendrick | 10 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .300 | .300 | .300 | .600 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| A.J. Ellis | 9 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .143 | .333 | .143 | .476 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Yasmani Grandal | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | .000 | .250 | .000 | .250 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joc Pederson | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .167 | .286 | .167 | .452 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Corey Seager | 6 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .333 | .333 | .333 | .667 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Justin Turner | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .167 | .167 | .333 | .500 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Enrique Hernandez | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .200 | .200 | .200 | .400 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Van Slyke | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .333 | .333 | .667 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Austin Barnes | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | .500 | .500 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Clayton Kershaw | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 103 | 95 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 18 | .200 | .252 | .337 | .589 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
This series probably won’t end well for the Dodgers. Urias is probably not going to be able to pitch past the fourth inning, and even if he could management wouldn’t let him anyways. Wouldn’t it be nice if Urias shutdown the Giants and we escaped out of town with a series win? Fat chance, Urias will likely get lit up like a Christmas tree. It’s up to the offense to score a lot of runs off of Peavy if the Dodgers are to have any chance of winning tonight.
Let’s just hope the Dodgers don’t embarrass themselves on national television. That’s all I ask for. Don’t embarrass yourself Dodgers. If you’re going to lose (and they will) just do so quietly and with dignity. At least Yasiel Puig and Brandon McCarthy are coming back soon to save the season. Whooooopeeeeee! What a team! What a season! What a feeling!
|
#
|
Team
|
W
|
L
|
PCT
|
GB
|
HOME
|
AWAY
|
L10
|
||
|
1
|
|
37
|
26
|
.587
|
–
|
18-13
|
19-13
|
5-5
|
||
|
2
|
|
33
|
30
|
.524
|
4.0
|
17-14
|
16-16
|
5-5
|
||
|
3
|
|
29
|
33
|
.468
|
7.5
|
12-16
|
17-17
|
5-5
|
||
|
4
|
|
27
|
37
|
.422
|
10.5
|
11-23
|
16-14
|
4-6
|
||
|
5
|
|
26
|
37
|
.413
|
11.0
|
15-18
|
11-19
|
6-4
|
||
Oh by the way, people may want to lay off Kenley Jansen just a smidge. I’m not saying any of you guys are disparaging him, but I’ve seen a lot of people on twitter really piling it on him. Those people should remember that Kenley is only 3 saves away from becoming the all-time Dodger leader in saves and 63 strikeouts from being the number one Dodger strikeout reliever all time. Considering the guy is an elite talent who maybe blows 3 games a year might want to cut him some slack.
People should stop blaming Kenley and instead possibly look at the terrible clutch hitting and base running as a good culprit for yesterday’s pathetic loss. You know when the Dodgers leave ten men on base and go 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position, and make two costly tootblans where Kike and Joc both get foolishly thrown out on the base paths. Just saying maybe people should lay off Kenley a bit….yes???? Noooo???? (points finger at computer screen).
Go Blue!
LINEUP AVG VS LEAGUE
1- .258- 21/30
2- .269- 13/30
3-. 238- 26/30
4- .278- 8/30
5- .214- 25/30
6- .230- 23/30
7- .202- 29/30
8- .218- 18/30
9. .168 (12/15, NL only)
AVG- 28/30
OPS- 27/30
OBP- 24/30
SLG- 28/30
HITS- 25/30
HR-20/30
R- 18/30
WRISP AVG- 22/30
As you can see, our 1-3-5-6-7-8-9 hitters are some of the worst in baseball outside of Seager and Agon, those stats are PATHETIC.
VISION IS THE ART OF SEEING WHAT IS INVISIBLE TO OTHERS, I said it was the lineup then and I still say it is the lineup now, these position players outside of Seager and Agon are absolutely horrendous compared to the rest of the league.
79-83
Trayce Thompson isn’t hitting 214 . I don’t know where you got that stat.
MJ, this is the season as a whole, not individual players. You can clearly see where Seager and Agon always hit. The rest of the team, no matter how you shuffle it, is well below average for the season.
Ok truth I spoke to soon, Sorry.
I’ll bet everyone of those stats is much higher by the end of the season.
You see what is now! What is now will change. That is my vision.
Wanna bet?
“This series probably won’t end well for the Dodgers. Urias is probably not going to be able to pitch past the fourth inning, and even if he could management wouldn’t let him anyways. Wouldn’t it be nice if Urias shutdown the Giants and we escaped out of town with a series win? Fat chance, Urias will likely get lit up like a Christmas tree. It’s up to the offense to score a lot of runs off of Peavy if the Dodgers are too have any chance of winning tonight.
Let’s just hope the Dodgers don’t embarrass themselves on national television. That’s all I ask for. Don’t embarrass yourself Dodgers. If you’re going to lose (and they will) just do so quietly and with dignity. At least Yasiel Puig and Brandon McCarthy are coming back soon to save the season. Whooooopeeeeee! What a team! What a season! What a feeling!”
I mentioned before that I usually just scroll right down to the comments. That passage is just a little embarrassing. I just don’t really get it……what the point is….why that is considered insightful.
I admit, I’m disillusioned. The team is not hitting across the board. I thought, on paper, based on what these individual players have done in the past, that the lineup was not bad offensively. It looked to be pretty solid top to bottom. Well…so far the offense stinks, there are weaknesses in the starting rotation, and there have been some pretty glaring relief core meltdowns.
The team found a new way to lose last night, and bore witness to the only sure thing on the team outside of CK blowing what would have been a great come back win. Actually, he looked pretty shaky the night before – falling behind and giving up some loud outs.
Perhaps a non-lethargic hitting team wouldn’t have put Kenley in the position to blow it. Still, not a bad showing against Samardija, and, although it was a poor RISP showing, that was a clutch homer.
The relief wasn’t bad. I’d like to see an expanded role for Libertore. Ride the hot hand, and he’s pretty hot.
I thought we want more aggression on the base paths. I thought we want to “make things happen” rather than stand on the bag. Sure, Joc getting thrown out at third killed that opportunity, but was it really foolish? Being more aggressive means taking risks. Taking risks means they don’t always work out how you want them to.
The team, nonetheless, isn’t terrible. I think Urias has a distinct possibility of improving the more he gets experience up in the bigs and pitching well today, and I think Peavy has shown this year that he’s likely to get hammered. The team takes two out of three and, although it doesn’t solve the issues, it keeps the team in the race.
I don’t think there’s much the FO can do via trades to fix things offensively. We don’t want to give up anything of substance prospect wise to buy high on Braun. Probably the best upgrades right now are just keeping Puig out of the lineup in favor of Thompson and seeing what Ethier can do when he comes back. We don’t need to trade for yet another outfielder.
I’d rather see a trade for a really solid relief guy. Not Chapman. I’m intrigued by Vizcaino from the Braves.
I think the lack of options to get an offensive guy illustrates the relative scarcity of offense in the pitcher-centric era. I know a lot of naysayers say it will never happen with this FO, but with so much money coming off the books in 18, it makes me wonder what kind of impact Bryce Harper would have on on the club. The skeptics keep pointing to the the FO’s experiences at Tampa Bay and Oakland, but that kind of moneyball parsimony was borne of necessity. The Dodgers, although there are limits to what even they can spend, especially now, are rich.
Patch,
“I mentioned before that I usually just scroll right down to the comments. That passage is just a little embarrassing. I just don’t really get it……what the point is….why that is considered insightful.”
Yeesh, it’s a joke Patch. A joke! You gotta lighten up a bit. The Dodgers aren’t that bad, but please understand….JOKES
Honestly, it’s going to take Urias a while to adjust to the majors. Like any prospect. We can’t put too much pressure on the kid to preform right away. This is why he can’t pitch past the 4th inning in his starts.
Maybe , maybe he can tonight if he can limit foul balls and get weak contact from the Giant’s hitters. He’s going to have to adjust and learn to how to put hitters away when he gets ahead of them. Classroom is in session for young Julio. He’s got the talent, just needs the experience.
Meh……So I’m a little tone deaf.
Dodger Patch
There is no excuse for what Joc did! Firstly, you don’t try to steal a base, when your team is behind, especially, when you are already in scoring position. Joc can’t even steal
Second base, Let alone third base.
And it is harder to steal third base. Joc doesn’t have elite speed, or the green light, to steal anytime he wants. And really, Joc isn’t as fast as he was, last year, because he has bulked up his legs.
And Joc did this, when Howie was hitting, and next to come up to bat, was the pitcher. And if Puig had did something like this, everyone would be all over him, especially the media. Even though Puig is much faster then Joc.
I think the reason that Joc did this, was because his room mates are getting more attention, because they are playing better. If you remember, Trayce tagged up on a flyball to outfield, from first base, to second base, to get in scoring position, but Trayce is faster then Joc too.
I think Joc is feeling left out. I also think he might be feeling like he is not contributing to the team, and wanted to do something. But that doesn’t really make sense, since he just hit what should have been a HR, but it hit the wall, and he only got a double.
Unfortunately Joc wasn’t the only player, to make a base running mistake. Kike also made a bad base running error. The Dodgers can’t affort to have players, making these stupid decisions, especially in an important series, against the Giants.
And to compound what Joc did, Joc made another bad decision when he came up to bat, after Trayce was walked, and a run scored, because the bases were loaded.
Joc was ahead on the count 2 0, and instead of making this pitcher throw more pitches, Joc swung at this pitcher’s first strike, which was after this same pitcher, had just walked in the tying run. And Joc looked more like a basketball player, who was shooting a fade away shot, then a baseball hitter, hitting a pitch.
This is because Joc’s swing was so unbalanced, that he almost fell down.
Yes those two tootblans were bad. Really cost them.
Dodger patch
I wouldn’t worry so much about Puig. Joc is hitting much like he did last year, after the first month of the season. And Puig has a much better stats and a history of hitting, then Joc does, at the major league level.
If Joc starts hitting like he did in the first month, I don’t have a problem with him. Because he looked better then last year. But he stopped hitting to the opposite field, and making decent contact, but he had some hits in the last two games, and he looked better.
I guess he is on my short list right now. And that is to bad, because he looked like he is going to start hitting again. He also hit a ball, to leftfield yesterday’s game. So maybe he is getting back, to the way, he was having at bats, in the first month.
And I still think some positive came out of yesterday’s game.
Because Turner had two hard hits, as well as Agone. And most of the players, had hits in yesterdays game. It to bad after Agone hit his HR, that only Trayce, had a good at bat, and got a hit.
Because that was the Giants last pitcher, and he isn’t that good.
I agree – like most fans, I thought that the offense would be competent, with a chance to be pretty good, but I didn’t expect that the pitching would hold up. The pitching has been better than I expected, but the offense has been horrible.
I am not impressed with the job that the coaching/management staff has done in this regard, but it is possible that the Dodgers’ hitters just aren’t that good. And I agree that the offense is what it is for the year – it is unreasonable to expect any front office to fix a problem that is this pervasive. I expect that some players will step it up in the second half, but I also expect the pitching to regress, so at this point in the season 85 wins seems about right.
Everyone, including Jansen, has a bad game or bad stretch from time to time. I agree that Libertore has been pretty good most of the time and that Blanton has been better than expected. The pen hasn’t been consistently good in high leverage situations, and there is no one other than Jansen that I am totally comfortable with in late innings. A premium reliever would be a big plus.
I wish I had your confidence in the future. The Braintrust is not interested in spending big money or in offering multi-year contracts. You are right that Ether and Crawford come off of the books after 2017 and Gonzalez and Kershaw in 2018. They will have more money to spend, but I don’t expect that they will spend it on stars – these guys never have, not with the Dodgers over that last 1 1/2 year and not with Tampa or Oakland – they didn’t even keep their own players with their old teams. Any guesses if they spend $$ to keep Jansen after this year? I didn’t think so. Any guesses if they pay to keep Kershaw after he opts out after 2018? He would be a 30 year old pitcher after all – with lots of innings on his arm and a $40 MM/year multiyear demand. Yeah, i didn’t think so.
I do expect to see continued improvement from Urias and he could beat SF – if the Dodgers score any runs.
Dodger rick
I don’t think it is the hitting coach.
Look how well Thompson is hitting. And he is also making good contact.
This team will likely finish the year hitting better than they are now. This team isn’t a bad team, it’s record is indicative of how good they are. It’s still possible that……… fill in the blank. Is it likely?
This team is not built for speed. This team is not built with mow them down night after night starting pitching. This team can’t hit with runners in scoring position. They didn’t last year either and we won going away. The bullpen is streaky. The roster gives all indications of being fragile. We are asking rookies to step in and contribute. The Cubs are for real. Washington and St Louis are very good. So is Pittsburgh. SF is better, but the stats say only when Pence is in there. He’s not for a while, so we should hold serve while he’s gone. Arizona and Colorado don’t look like all that so the Division IS possible. Is it likely?
My confidence level isn’t very high on this team. I think the future is where it’s at. I wouldn’t trade any of the stock. And my gut tells me if they didn’t last year, when we had a real shot at it, they won’t this year when the elite teams appear to be better than they were. Patience. To be a true Dodger fan we must show patience. It’s going to take a few years. I’m ok with that now. I’m ready for the revolution. They say they have a real solution, so, who knows – maybe, just maybe, its gonna be alright. If not? Who tf really cares? How’s your life gonna change if the midgets win again? It’s baseball, not world peace. There are bigger issues going on in the good ol US of A.
Well, I would say when you give a good team a break, like Trayce misjudging the fly ball, good teams usually cash them in. When the opposing pitcher walks the bases loaded and you can’t get a freaking hit, which seems to happen with regularity to the Dodgers, you’re not an elite team.
If the Dodgers had won the game, nobody would be talking about the base-running, but it sure is hard to believe Joc has a green light. How he managed to steal 30 bases at AAA remains a mystery to me.
Snider
On Dodger talk they said Joc tried to steal third, all on his own!
Fun Facts: Peavy hasn’t beaten the Dodgers since becoming a Giant. And the last time the Dodgers started a teenager against the Giants was July 4, 1956. Big D went 8 and a third and gave up one run–no pitch counts.
Pitching in the majors as a teenager really ruined his career!
Mark
Best inning yet for Urias. And Feel so nervous for him. That good and play by Howie, really helped. Urias looks like he is little deceptive with his fastball. It looks like his fastball, has good life at the end.
Yep the L hurt, but pales in comparison to the Orlando massacre!
I agee Petem.
Badger you and Mark were right. Turner looks like he has turned that corner. It was good to see both Turner and Agone, at it again. And the other players, also hit, so that has to be good news.
I hate Peavy and the Giants. Cory has been pretty quiet in this series. Good hit by Turner, to bad that leftfielder caught it.
That is what is wrong with Pederson. He wasn’t always swinging from his heels on a two strike count, like he just did.
The kid is learning
Scott
It is working. I hope it works for the game!
Urias has pitched past the 5th inning. Looks like I was wrong. The kid is learning
Scott
I don’t understand why AJ got away from having Urias throwing fastballs, to Belt? Belt wasn’t even making contact on Urias’ fastball.
The Dodgers just can’t hit. No one is putting good swings on the ball and Peavy is not a good pitcher at this point in his career.
The umpire was calling strikes on Turner and Agone, that was way below strike zone because Peavy wined. You could see it on ESPN screen!
Scott, Pederson is not learning. He has not adjusted. He just may be a 220 career hitter. It is time for him to change or trade him.
Idahoal it is working, Joc just hit it in the drink!
This one is over. The mediocrity goes on
The Dodger hitting is going to get better. Agon, Kendrick, Turner, and Grandal will not hit at this level all year,
It sounds like the Dodgers are still trying to make Montas a starter. That is fine. Bring him up to take Urias’ place and move Ueias to the bull pen. This will conserve his innings and keep him in the majors.
Why would AJ get away from how Urias Pitch Belt? Belt wasn’t making any real contact on Urias’ fastball.
Libertore does it again! Obviously Mattingly was wrong about him!
It’s scary when Badger is the voice of reason. You guys need to check yourself before you wreck yourself. Badger has it right!
Pederson is fine in center, learning the game. What hurts is — a weak left field and a weak right fielder, and weak guys to fill in on the bench. So Pederson sticks out as a problem.
Ethier, when he comes back, if he can get in the game and produce, will help.
Roger
Pederson has hit above 250 only the first month of both seasons. He is where he was last year at this time. And he wasn’t good for the first half of the season last year, like some want to believe. Afer the first month of the season last year, he didn’t hit above 200 the whole year. And right now he is at 223.
OK, quiz time:
Do the Giants have better hitters than the Dodgers . . .
Or do the Dodgers just have average to below pitchers . . .
Both Rodger
Roger
The Giants are considered a good hitting team. And you already know about the Dodgers.
Trayce Thompson is not a good outfielder. Did you see the route he just took on that ball that Crawford hit?
Sure Joc hit a home run. That is great. He swings 100 % on every pitch. Even the third. That is why he has not learned anything in 1.5 years. I do not mine him swinging hard on the first two pitches. He is batting 220. When he is batting around 280, then I will say he has arrived. Until then he is a 220 hitter.
Idahoal I know, believe me!
Once again Kike trying to hit a HR, instead of just getting on base. He isn’t going to the job, swinging like that.
How can Turner take those last two pitches, with two strikes? This is on him! The first pitch was a curve ball, right down the middle of the plate. The second pitch was way to close to being on the left hand corner of the plate.
Idahoal
He got away from what he was doing the first month. I think he feels like he is left out, because his two roommates are doing better then him.
To answer your question Roger, I think our hitting is not good at this time of the season. Just my opinion.
We saw ace material from Urias today. I saw a bit of it the other day in his home start as well. If he can be a #5 for us this year (6ip, but good numbers), that’d be perfect. By our magic year of 2018, he may very well be our #2 (or #3 if we somehow get Jose Fernandez from Miami)
But as every single person on this board knows, we need a big bat. Ryan Braun may not work, unless Mil pays some of his salary, or we don’t send too much back to them. Other than that, who’s out there? Matt Kemp for LF??????
Meanwhile, why the F is Agone bunting like that? We may be the dumbest team in history
Bobby
I really don’t understand why AJ didn’t have Urias throwing fastballs to Belt.
Belt couldn’t touch Urias’s fastball. Urias had struck Belt out two times, before that at bat. How about Carlos Beltran, Instead of Braun? I
think that Beltran only has one year, left on his contract.
And he is hitting well right now. He is also a good post season player, and hitter.
Man, I’ve wanted Carlos Beltran since like 2003! I always wanted him to bat 3rd, in front of Beltre.
That didn’t work out so well
Bobby
I think he would make a bigger difference then Braun, and he doesn’t still have five more years on his contract like Braun. And he is a better bat.
I think that was Agone himself.
5 games back again and 2 games above .500. Sorry guys but the fact remains this is an average club assembled from loose pieces and injury marred players. The moneyball era has been a total failure. The sooner they get those two idiots in the front office out, the sooner they can rebuild. It’s over!
Scott
The problem is that they are not going to get these guys out soon.
It really bothers me, that they care more about giving other former GMs jobs, instead of using money on the actual big league team.
What I think is weak. Is that Kenley didn’t talk to anybody, after the games he has lost.
I think a player, or a pitcher, should face the media, in both good and bad times. He didn’t in SD, or last night.