The Dodgers open a four game series against the Mets on Monday evening at Dodger Stadium. The NLDS rematch kicks off a nine game home stand for the Dodgers. The two clubs have not met since last October’s chippy 5-game playoff series. The Dodgers came up on the short end, but not before there was no shortage of drama and exciting moments. Unfortunately the Dodgers were eliminated and the Mets went on to lose to the Royals in the World Series.
As Steven Matz and Scott Kazmir duel Monday in the series opener, I figured I would check in with the enemy, a Mets blog called Brew and Orange. The site is run by two Mets dudes named Brian and Alex. The guys cover the Mets and also do beer reviews. Before each Met’s series they preview the series, talk to the opposition and then preview a specific local beer. For the Dodger series, they did a question and answer with us, and then reviewed a beer named point the way IPA. We might all need more than one beer after this series is over.
Brew and Orange and I talked Chase Utley, the Dodger’s prospects and what’s wrong with Matt Harvey among other things. So check out my conversation with Brew and Orange and then read below for their answers to my questions. Thanks again guys! Here’s hoping the Mets lose badly tonight.
Question for Mets guys
It seems like the Mets are having a pretty good start to the season. What do you contribute the most for the Met’s hot start?
Mets fans were a bit worried at the very early going: after a dismal spring training, the team was lukewarm out of the gate – going 2-5 with a couple of losses to the Phillies and Marlins. Since then, the Mets have returned to their post-July 2015 level of performance, aided by dingers and dominant pitching. Despite a slow start from Matt Harvey, the rotation has been every bit as solid as advertised. It’s always a good sign when your fifth starter (Steven Matz) is sporting a 2.37 FIP.
I think the starting pitching was entirely expected, but the dingers, although talked about to death by Terry Collins, have been a pleasant surprise. I guess Mets fans shouldn’t be too shocked: the team lead the league in OPS after the all-star break last season and have 8 position players that could conceivably hit 20+ home runs. That being said – I don’t think many would’ve predicted that the Mets would lead the league in HRs in May.
I think the biggest surprise that is contributing to the Mets success would be the bullpen. That was clearly our biggest weakness last year, and it was completely exposed by the Royals in the World Series. The Mets lead in every single game, and still managed to lose that series 4-1. This year is a different story; Jim Henderson and Antonio Bastardo have been solid additions to a bullpen that is second in the league in runs allowed per game, and fourth in the league in stranding runs (17% Inherited Runs Scored).
Limiting the opposing team’s runs and scoring your own seems like a good strategy to win ball games. It may be outside the box thinking by Terry Collins, but let’s hope they can keep it up!
Question for Mets people
Does anyone know what’s going on with Matt Harvey? Is he hurt? Or is he just kind of screwed up in the head?
I don’t think anyone but Matt Harvey, and possibly Scott Boras, knows what is wrong with Matt Harvey. One can point to his BABIP and infer that he has been a bit unlucky (.347 BABIP vs. a career .280 BABIP), but he genuinely has seemed to leave more pitches up in the zone – allowing hitters to square up on contact.
I don’t think it is a health issue. His fastball has lost about 1 mph since last year, but that shouldn’t be a major concern this early in the season. The bigger concern, in terms of pitch type, is his slider. He hasn’t gotten as much late breaking movement off of his ‘out-pitch’, allowing hitters to drive the ball when it is in the zone and lay off of ones they may have changed in season’s past. Prior to this season – opposing hitter held a sub-.200 average against Harvey’s slider. This season they are hitting a remarkable .385.
Last night’s game was definitely a bit of redemption for Harvey; Mets fans are hopeful that he rediscovered his secondary pitches and will continue to keep opposing batters off balance.
Question for Marv Throneberry fans
Would you say that the acquisition of Yoenis Cespedes was the missing ingredient for the success of the Met’s offense? How would you rate the Mets hitting right now?
Long Answer: I think a few things happened at the all-star break that really shored up the Mets offense. Marv Throneberry couldn’t carry the 1962 Mets to a record that was better than historically bad by himself, and I think the same way – Cespedes isn’t the only reason the Mets are piling on runs. The Mets promoted rookie Michael Conforto in August last year – and he is sporting a .869 OPS and locked down the 3-hole since he broke onto the scene. That’s a big step up from Michael Cuddyer. Daniel Murphy started hitting the ball in August last season, and the Mets brought in Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe for infield depth; they’ve since been supplanted by Asdrubal Cabrera and Neil Walker – and their contribution cannot be understated. David Wright, who is as healthy as someone who a degenerative back condition can be, also came back when Cespedes came in. Lastly – Curtis Granderson was, statistically speaking, as productive as Cespedes last year. There are a lot of moving pieces; Cespedes is just one big piece.
Short answer: Yes. Cespedes is to homeruns as Saint Marq is to tattoo’s on Spike’s Ink Master: He is a homerun God.
The Mets hitting is a bit boom or bust to get an 80 grade rating. I’d probably say the Mets are a 65 grade offensive team right now.
Question for losers of the 1988 NLCS
Are you guys really still upset about the Utley slide? Do you think there could be any kind of retaliation against Utley during the series?
No – not seriously upset. I don’t think the “Utley is a Butt-ley” meme will die out anytime soon (not until he retires at least), but that’s just because of a cute kid in the bleachers. Any lingering hate for Utley has more to do with his history against the Mets; he is just someone Mets fans intrinsically dislike, and the slide added injury to years of Philthy insults. I did think his slide was a bit egregious (I’d argue that it was against the rules as they are written) but would echo your concerns regarding the rule change. You’d think they’d reestablish the neighborhood play and just be bit more strict enforcing the original base path rule (6.06(6))
“If, in the judgment of the umpire, a base runner willfully and deliberately interferes with a batted ball or a fielder in the act of fielding a batted ball with the obvious intent to break up a double play, the ball is dead. The umpire shall call the runner out for interference and also call out the batter-runner because of the action of his teammate. In no event may bases be run or runs scored because of such action by a runner.”
¯_(ツ)_/¯
I don’t think there will be any retaliation. Tejeda isn’t on the team anymore, and even if he was – he appears to have recovered fully from the injury. I will be shocked if we see anything – and certainly don’t think fans are calling for any of that (I hope not at least).
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Tuesday’s match-ups
I want to thank Brian and Alex for taking time to chat. Hopefully the Dodgers can take at least 1 game in this series. It’s not looking good for the Dodgers. Tuesday night sees another unfavorable match-up for the Boys in Blue as Jacob deGrom counters Alex Wood at 7:10 PM.
Wood (1-3 5.18) vs. Mets (0-3 4.35)
| Name | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | SH | SF | IBB | HBP | GDP |
| Juan Lagares | 21 | 20 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | .250 | .286 | .500 | .786 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Lucas Duda | 13 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | .182 | .308 | .182 | .490 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wilmer Flores | 13 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | .364 | .462 | .818 | 1.280 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Curtis Granderson | 12 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | .100 | .250 | .400 | .650 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| David Wright | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | .429 | .600 | .429 | 1.029 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Eric Campbell | 9 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .111 | .111 | .111 | .222 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Neil Walker | 7 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .286 | .286 | .429 | .714 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bartolo Colon | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .200 | .200 | .200 | .400 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Asdrubal Cabrera | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .667 | .667 | 1.000 | 1.667 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rene Rivera | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .667 | .667 | .667 | 1.333 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Harvey | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yoenis Cespedes | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 4.000 | 5.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeurys Familia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 100 | 90 | 24 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 9 | 29 | .267 | .340 | .467 | .807 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
deGrom (3-1 1.99) vs. Dodgers (0-2 3.66 vs. Dodgers)
| Name | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | SH | SF | IBB | HBP | GDP |
| Adrian Gonzalez | 15 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 8 | .286 | .333 | .714 | 1.048 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chase Utley | 13 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | .273 | .385 | .273 | .657 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Justin Turner | 11 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .455 | .455 | .727 | 1.182 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Howie Kendrick | 9 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .111 | .111 | .111 | .222 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joc Pederson | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | .000 | .333 | .000 | .333 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Carl Crawford | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | .000 | .250 | .000 | .250 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yasmani Grandal | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .000 | .167 | .000 | .167 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yasiel Puig | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .167 | .167 | .667 | .833 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Corey Seager | 6 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .333 | .333 | .500 | .833 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| A.J. Ellis | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .333 | .600 | .333 | .933 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Enrique Hernandez | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Clayton Kershaw | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 93 | 82 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 29 | .207 | .301 | .366 | .667 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Go Blue!
Yes, as was quoted in here, the interference rule has always been there. There was no need to add anything to it. Just read the book and interpret the rule blue.
Speaking of umpires, anyone see Harper point his finger and scream “fu$& YOU!” at the ump yesterday? Classic. The game had just ended, so, I wonder what MLB might do. As bad as umpiring is, I’m surprised this doesn’t happen more often. And though the officiating in the NBA is just as worse, they have an excuse. That game is immeasurably faster and more difficult to officiate. And Go Warriors.
The Mets Dodgers. The Mets are a better team. How that translates to a 4 game series in May remains to be seen, but what I see out there, and in the standings, is the Mets have better players. And if Harvey gets it figured out, the gap between them widens. The question for me is, if this continues through 80 games, what will the Dodgers do at the deadline? Too early for anything definitive, but not too early to speculate.
‘What will the Dodgers do at the deadline?’…..I know that you know what they will do. ________________________________________________ See all that blank space. That’s pretty much it. Why would they go for it THIS year? No reason to….not happening. (And at this point, I wouldn’t suggest making any major deals.) They could have had Frazier and Cespedes in the off season for Peraza and $75M. Signed Maeda, kept Grienke and well, you would be talking about a serious run without losing a single prospect. Would be a showdown between the Cubs and Dodgers….with the Giants not too far behind.
Instead, well, it’s looking at 2018….and hoping the kids ALL having great years and planning on Kershaw having his best year to date….of course he’s gone after that (can you say the first $40M/year player).
I agree.
But, with that, what might they do? There will be many teams looking for upgrades.
The key word is ‘upgrades.’ Way too many fans over value many of the Dodger players. Sorry to burst everyone’s bubble but at the current cost of many of the players no one is interested in any of the folks that the Dodger (fans) want to see gone.
It’s not the players we want gone who are the upgrades.
Of course, unless somebody in the West goes ape between now and July 31st, and I don’t think anyone believes that will happen, we won’t be sellers. But knowing how these guys work, we won’t be buyers either. And frankly I don’t want to be. After going apoplectic last July (maybe I should apologize for that? Nah….) I accept the plan is to build from within. Our Championship season will just have to wait. I am now ok with that. But let’s stop pretending, this just isn’t the best of 30 teams. I’ve contended for some time that it’s not meant to be. FAZ has a plan. Most see the light. Many who disagreed left the building. I was sorry to see that, but if you can’t accept difference of opinion, the blogosphere is no place to hang out.
Badger-
JUST FOR MATTER OF DISCUSSION, my view of the 40 man roster on who has value……..Kershaw, Jensen, Seager. Only 3 players with true value.
Agon, Pedersen, Maeda, Puig and Grandal have some value for the right situation/team.
Stripling & Hernandez have little value.
Ethier, Crawford, Ellis, Utley, Kendrick, Thompson, Culberson, Kazmir, Wood, Blanton, Baez, Howell, Hatcher, Coleman, Liberatore, Fien, Garcia, Thomas, McCarthy, Ryu, Anderson, Avilan, Frias, Bolsinger, Barnes, Cotton, Johnson, Sierra, Guerrero and anyone that I’ve forgotten all have NO value. A bag of balls and maybe a couple of wood bats for Seager or a Class A prospect is about the best you’ll get for these guys.
So I say Trade away!
Yep, ONLY FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES, if you go to fantasy ranking sites, and there are a few, the only Dodgers even near the top are Seager, Jansen and Kershaw. Right now we just aren’t very good. That said, Gonzalez and Grandal could bring some worthy prospects. Grandal is team controlled and no doubt part of the plan, as is Pederson. Maeda is an interesting piece. His contract makes him look like gold, but a tender elbow might scare teams off. The guy who would bring the haul is the guy who’s name shall not be mentioned in any discussion with the word “trade” in it. He’s not scheduled to leave until after ’18, and let’s face it, all chances of making a post season run begin with him.
Things need to evolve.
Wouldn’t it be ironic (and really not surprising) to see Theo (Cubbies) paying Kershaw $40M/year for about 5 years with declining payments in years 6 & 7. That would be so funny with everyone comparing this rag tag group to Theo. If the Cubs were to win the WS within the next 2 years….look out cause Theo will look to continue their run.
Hey Scott, that was a pretty cool interview; thanks! Always nice to hear/read another team’s perspective.
I’d also throw out there; if possible, maybe you can do that with other teams that we play, especially rival or big teams, like Cubs, Giants, etc?
Meanwhile, who isn’t excited about the ace matchup tonight: deGrom vs. Alex Wood?????
We’ve lost 7 of last 8 home games. This is painful to “watch”.
If the way that Mets are winning games, is because of HRs, that will even out. There young prospect came up late last year, and has done really well. But the Mets manager, doesn’t put him in the heart of the order. And I think that is smart. I think that Corey has enough pressure, and Roberts should bat Cory, in the fifth, or sixth position, so he will get better pitches to hit. Like Roberts has handled Pederson. The problem right now, is that Turner hasn’t been himself, and Howie is just starting to hit. And Puig should not be hitting, near the top of the order! And the new relief pitcher, that the Mets got, that is mentioned in this article, is another relief pitcher, that the Dodgers could have gotten
. And they would not have to pay to much, or give up to much. I can’t remember how the Mets got Bastardo, but I know the Dodgers could have gotten him, because I thought the Dodgers, could have gotten him, at the time, I heard he was aviable. But this front office, did nothing! If they would have gotten Chapman, that would have been there best move to date! And that alone, would help the Dodgers, win a least ten more games, even with his suspension. And that is a low estimate. And the Dodgers would have had him, for two years, because of the time a missed, because of his suspension.
His suspended time doesn’t affect his free agency, he will be available to sign this fall… But of course our FO won’t sign him, and they’ll try to low ball Jensen and probably lose him. But they’ll be happy, they’ll still have Hatcher. That’s the game plan.
Wondering when did you hear that about Chapman, because on the MLB Channel they said that Chapman wouldn’t have enough time in, because of his suspension, and wouldn’t be a free agent next year, because of this.
http://www.rotoworld.com/player/mlb/5757/aroldis-chapman
Click on the link and then contract details. And if that doesn’t convince you, go to Cott’ Contracts, http://www.baseballprospectus.com/compensation/cots/league-info/potential-free-agents-for-2017/
and you will find him listed there, list last updated in May, 2016.
Thanks Wondering! I will read it. When all this happened with Chapman, they said that it would affect his free agent time. I heard that, even before Chapman, knew his suspension. And they said that if it was enough time, it would effect his free agent time.
Yes it does!
I have come up with a new “word” for our #4&5 pitchers: Kazwood. After they are knocked out of the game, our twins have the same opinions of themselves: “I feel good…I am close……I just have to execute.” The minors are full of that line. Puig probably says the same thing after another 0 fer. 6 hits and 4 walks. Nice start for Kazmir. Lucky the game was close as it was. How long can we stay at .500 before some team starts to win? Maybe the whole season. Up here in the Bay Area, the giants are running guys up and down the farm system. Good to see. Grienke goes against the giants in Arizona on Thursday. Go Zack.
love it
The Kazmir deal was asinine, especially after Anderson accepted the QO. When they did it, I knew he’d have a decline year and the one year deal would turn into a 3 year deal, the second and third years being dead weight. Maeda’s deal was far better because he was younger and incentive laden. I know the Dodgers have injuries, but they could have easily plugged in Bolsinger (again,, granted, they didn’t know he’d be hurt).
I want Kazmir to do well so he leaves this winter. Obviously, with all the prospects, Bolsinger, Stripling, and Ryu/McCarthy on the path back, they would have little interest in bringing Kazmir back. Looks like Kazmir will opt in and be a noose after he struggles.
“Denial isn’t a river in Egypt.”
The Mets are a championship caliber team, the Dodgers are not. End of discussion.
They say that Degrom’s velocity is down this year, so maybe the Dodgers will do better against him tonight.
And the Dodgers will be facing six right handed pitchers, for the next six games, so the line up, should be mostly the same, so that should help the team. Lets see if Roberts moves Puig down in the order.
MJ,
Just as a point….this time of year, the hitters are suppose to be ahead of the pitchers. Pitchers velocity ‘normally’ don’t hit their max until it warms up. Of course some pitchers don’t need max velocity to be effective cause they know how to pitch. But do keep that in mind both as to the Dodgers hitters and the opposing team’s fire ballers.
Chili they said it was maybe because he pitched, deeper into the season. But it seems just the opposite this year, about what you are saying, about the hitters being ahead of the pitchers.
A lot of teams, and players, are not hitting. One week they are hitting, and the next week they are not. The Dodgers have been like that. And right now, the Giants are going through a team slump.
And you know that the Giants are suppose to be a good hitting team. I think that because baseball, has had better tests, for steroids, we are seeing a change in baseball. It looks like baseball, is going back to the 60s, and 70s, when pitching was really dominate. And like I said, a lot of teams, and players, are going through these slumps. And it looks like the pitcher, are ahead of the hitters..
This has nothing to do with what’s happening at the moment with some teams or just this year…..over 100+ years hitters ARE always ahead of pitchers. Hence, why pitchers show up earlier in ST and if you’ve ever played (or pitched at any decent level) you would know that the warmer it is the better the arm feels. Not going to argue a point that is stated probably nightly by at least one telecast somewhere AND many times on ESPN.
Would bet you $5, $50 or $500 that DeGrom’s avg fastball is higher in July than in April.
There are players that hit better when it’s warmer, especially the Cubans but a hitter can swing the bat at the same speed regardless of temperature, not always the case for pitchers.
I just want to say that I live in NY and every Met’s fan that I know wants to see Utley plunked, often and hard. Having a beer last night with a friend from work, He said “plunk him in the face.” Face, I hope not, but I think the Dodgers would erupt after a proper plunking. Not that I condone this type of baseball….. But, yes I do.
Mets fans are nuts. The face? F you. Yes Utley took out your shortstop but that was the worst looking pivot I’ve ever seen. Freak play with no intent of injury. Hitting someone in the face could end a career. They won the series. Tejada isn’t even on the team anymore. Move on dot morons.
I told him the same, also added that Tejada played it like a little leaguer.
Good for you. I got a close friend that’s a Mets fan. He toned it down for a while because several years back I made him a 500 push-up bet that he lost. He’s chirping again. Not like your guy did, but I heard from him when last year’s series ended. Not much I can say at this time.
No true, but it’s NY and they are New Yorkers. Which really sucks.
I lived there, on Long Island, for a few months in ’72. Yeah, it kinda sucked. Had a girlfriend in Manhattan. Nice place to visit.
Hey – this is the guy from the interview here…
In general – the personal opinions of a few fans aren’t indicative of the entire fanbase. That goes for every franchise in sports. Mets fans who are calling for ‘retribution’ are completely misguided (especially if they are lobbying for serious injury in the case of Dean’s acquaintances). Unfortunately – these fans are also more commonly calling into radio shows and are the first to represent the franchise on the internet. I’m not saying that no one is calling for a beaning, but I generally think most fans get that that accomplishes nothing. Mets fans hated Chase Utley before the incident, so some of that aggression might be tongue in cheek.
That being said – the slide was terrible; I think most impartial analyst and sports fans agree to that. I don’t think Utley was intending to hurt Ruben – but he did go out of the base path with the intent break up the play. It’s really a moot point though – the Mets won the series, baseball was changed forever*, and there really is nothing left to quibble about. I’m fairly certain if the tables were turned and Daniel Murphy broke Corey Seager’s league on the same exact play – he’d be drowned Boo’s and negative thoughts from Dodgers’ Nation
*I should mention that I agree the rule change was unnecessary and is putting players at risk. Scott addressed that issue on our blog, and I couldn’t agree more. I think if the MLB just chose to enforce the rule as written, and quoted above, more often baseball would be better off.
Alex I don’t think Torre would have done anything, if it was the other way. Matt Holiday, slid even worse in the post season, and nothing was done. And that Cubbies player, really hurt the Pirates shortstop badly, and nothing was done. It is a bunch of east coast bias. And most shortstop’s, and second baseman, blame this on the Mets player, not Utley.
What? Please show me one second baseman/shortstop not on the Dodgers that unconditionally defended Utley’s slide or in other words implied it was all Tejada’s fault.
Cal Ripken Jr., Harold Renolds, and Nomar.
MJ,
Here’s my post once again….it is very self explanatory…’Please show me one second baseman/shortstop not on the Dodgers that unconditionally defended Utley’s slide or in other words implied it was all Tejada’s fault.’
This was your original comment ‘And most shortstop’s, and second baseman, blame this on the Mets player, not Utley.’
Ripken is on record saying that the slide was both late and legitimate. That is someone talking out of both sides of their mouth and it is a ‘conditional’ statement.
http://www.laflinesque.com/?p=656
So I ask once again, please show me a 2nd baseman and/or shortstop that says it was all Tejada’s fault as you and a few others want to claim.
Thanks for explaining.
The slide was horrible. Some act like its the most egregious slide in the history of history. Various awkward version of the take out slide has happened every day in MLB since Tinker and Evers were in diapers. And dozens of Major Leaguers can’t slide worth spit. What made that play different was not Utley, it was Tejada. What he tried to do has never been seen on a baseball diamond. It’s part of American lexicon now – it’s called “the Tejada” and it’s described in Wiki as “turning the wrong way into a busy intersection, staring blankly into space and causing a completely avoidable collision with oncoming traffic”.
Badger sorry I answered that, because I thought he was asking me.
I was answering Alex.
Chili these are not my words. I am just telling you, what former players, and sports broadcasters are saying, on the MLB Channel. And I have read this stuff. I don’t know why you are attacking me. I just said what a former player, and baseball broadcasters are saying. All I said, was Degrom’s velocity was down, and said maybe are players, will hit him better. Are you mad because I was saying something positive about the team. It is a lot harder to hit a pitch that is 98 and then a pitch that is 91, or 92, especially when it is up in the strike zone. what level did you play at? Sorry I didn’t know you were a former major league player. All I said was his velosity was down. I didn’t say anything about heat or cold. And any time, anyone says always, it probably isn’t true. Your just mad because I said something positive about the team. And instead of watching ESPN, maybe you should watch the MLB Channel. This channel is only for baseball! And then you can tweet these former major league players, if you don’t like what they are saying! Better still, why don’t you get a job on that channel!
My bet still stands. Are you game?
No I never because I never said at what time of the year. And I was just repeating what I heard. And maybe they were talking about his fastball, being down from last year, at this time. Your the only one that mentioned something different. And I don’t need you to teach me the game! And by the way, not all people in the same group are the same! Maybe you need to read and change your channel!
And I didn’t attack you. Go back and read. I made a point that hitters are always ahead of pitchers early in the season. You started the attacking using the Dodgers lack of hitting as an example. Earth to MJ…the Dodgers do not have a good hitting team. Didn’t last year and don’t this year. Yes I don’t need people to tell me what’s going on. I can see it for myself. Feel free to ask any MLB pitcher if they throw harder when it’s warmer.
And I also said the Giants,! And I said a lot of teams, are not hitting! You just have an agenda, and said something positive. And what level did you play at? I am still waiting. You just have an agenda, and I said something positive!
The Giants offensive #’s to date IN ALL of BASEBALL……
6th in batting average
5th in runs scored
19th in HR’s
11th in SLG
10th in OPS
compared to Dodgers
20th in batting average
18th in runs scored
29th in HR’s
26th in SLG
23rd in OPS
Yeah, the Giants hitting sucks as bad as the Dodgers…..Right!Maybe you should read more and watch some of the other teams. Would tell you what the Giants problems are at the moment but you don’t read anyway.
And what is my agenda?
Yes, I’ve made it very clearly that I cannot stand MONEYBALL operations. They have cheapened the game.
And yes, I’m on record saying that if FAZ attempts to try and win now, try to build for the future and say they want to get younger while cutting payroll and then sign older free agents that it would lead to mediocrity. Said that last year! Look where things are at………what do you call a record of 16-16?
No one says anything about the season. And this was from a former MLB pitcher!
This was a Giant writter. And I said this week.
Oh and nice tone. Very classy.
See you didn’t even read what I wrote. The Giants are a good hitting team!
Wow…..you stated above ‘A lot of teams, and players, are not hitting…….that the Giants were not hitting, that they were going through a team slump…’
but you are placing the Dodgers hitting (or lack of) in the same category as the Giants hitting (attempted lack of) to support your case that pitchers are dominating. No their not. First of all, you must have missed all of Mark’s post about some of the top pitchers performances so far this season.
Secondly, only 4 teams would NOT take the Giants offensive numbers, whether slumping or not, at this point in the season.
You talked down, to me, what do you expect! And I am no longer responding to you, because I don’t want to go down to your level anymore!
I don’t value your opinion!
We made the ESPN news crawl – “Dodgers hitting .130 at home with runners in scoring position”
Dang. Newsworthy suckage. We’re famous.
Las Vegas Raiders. Perfect fit?
Best thread I’ve read yet, I don’t view this as negative, just…..the truth. Keep it up guys.
Tonight’s lineup
Utley, 2B
Seager, SS
Turner, 3B
Gonzalez, 1B
Grandal, C
Pederson, CF
Puig, RF
Crawford, LF
Wood, P
Thanks Bum! Joc six straight games!
It’s Time For Mediocre Baseball
OK, I’ll bite: The Pitchers are usually ahead of the hitters early in the season!
To say that the hitters are ahead of the pitchers is incorrect!
I have a take and I back it up:
http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2015/2/25/8094651/pitcher-performance-ahead-of-hitters
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=19716
Finally from a Sports Betting Blog http://www.sportsbettingacumen.com/mlb/betting-guide/mlb-baseball-betting-basics
It says this:
“Also, pitchers are always ahead of hitters coming out of spring training.”
There you go!
It is however, not surprising to me that some think otherwise!
Flies in the face of the fact that pitchers arms are protected early on due to lack of stamina and arm strength. The statement was that pitchers velocity is higher in the warmer summer months. I’ll make the bet with you that DeGrom’s avg fastball in July is higher than in April.
For as long as I have followed baseball, it has always been said that early in the season, the pitchers are ahead of the catchers and the stats appear to bear that out.
On DeGrom: Not every player is the same – some lose MPH, some add it, so no, I won’t do that bet!
No one but you said that! So argue with yourself!
Wow….your first example admits to only monitoring starting pitchers with at least 18 innings pitched in any given month…so that would conviently eliminate any pitchers that got hit hard in multiple starts and then missed starts or got removed from the rotation. That would skew data immensely.
Here’s a paragraph from the second article….
‘Interpretation and caveats:
Okay, so it seems that if we take temperature out of the equation, run scoring is at its highest at the beginning of the season and takes roughly until mid-June before reaching a level which is maintained more or less throughout the rest of the season.
Is this enough to say that pitchers are behind hitters early in the year?’
These do not support pitchers being ahead of hitters early on….nice try.
Dodgers two doubles for two at bats and leading 2 to 0. DeGrome must not have too much on his fastball.
Well, that lead didn’t hold up for long…
You know Utley feels bad. And I can’t be mad at Utley. He has been so good.
Let’s get some runs for Wood and Utley.
Hey guys, good discussions over here tonight
Wow, that was a fantastic game pitched by Wood; he matched an absolute stud for 6 innings!
Yes. Might be Wood’s best outing to date. Anything less would have been a for sure L cause the Dodgers struggle to score runs. Not negativity, just the facts. See Dodgers offensive #’s posted above.
By the way, Yasiel Sierra today: 6ip, 2 hits, 3bb, 3k
Honestly, I was so happy to see Baez come thru like that, especially striking out Wright. Last year in the playoffs he gave up that huge hit to Wright. The year before he gave up that huge home run to Holliday.
God please let this be a good sign of things to come!!
Bobby especially because Baez faced David Right again. And I am sure that he wanted to get him out badly. Remember Right had that big hit off Baez, in the post season. Maybe Baez is gaining some confidence, and learning how to better to command his pitches. This might be hopeful thinking, but I hope it is true. Because when a pitcher has command of a the fastball that Baez has, they will be pretty successful. And Wood pitched an excellent game. If he can be consistent, away from Dodger stadium, that would be nice.
Write this Down:
Tonight is the night we will look at as when the Dodgers turned it all around.
It would be nice but I would be surprised – the team has all of the same problems it had yesterday when even you were ready to write the season off. One win does not a season make.
Actually, the point I was making is that I have always been down with trading away the vets to rebuild. I still like this teams chances.
That is true.
I think Roberts has done a good job making this more a team. And in the last few years, the Dodgers never usually, came back, after the seventh inning. And they have done that in four of there last five games. They lost one of these games, but they still came back. I was glad they could win this game, after Utley made that error, because Utley has really been good for the Dodgers this year.
If you take Utleys error in consideration, it really shows that Wood really pitched a good game.
The Mets really got a good gift on that error, and with Crawford letting that little fly ball, drop in front of him. That was probably the best move for Crawford, because he might have missed it, and let the ball, go to the warning track. But Kike, or even Scotty, would have caught that little fly ball.
It looked like the Mets offense, was having trouble scoring runs, in this game too!
Still like their chances? I guess you do, predicting 95 wins. Only 78 to go. 78-50. I guess that’s possible. And as I recall you attacked those who suggested a rebuild. Maybe I have that wrong?
So, what vets can we actually trade and still get to 95 wins?
The Dodgers first game ending pinch homer since 2013. Nice.
Turner needs to start hitting, because his bat, is really important. He got a runner over, but he came up a couple of times, and couldn’t get any runs in.