The Dodgers spent the second day of their post-Puig era with the Colorado Rockies. After yesterday’s sleepy loss, today’s game held plenty of fireworks. Unfortunately, most of them went off in the Dodgers faces.
1st inning
Dodgers
Justin Turner opened the home run gates with a two run blast to draw first blood. 2-0
Spoiler Alert: Nothing good for the Dodgers happened for the rest of the day.
Rockies
Brock Stewart gave up two homers and five runs.5-0
More Spoilers: The Rockies were just getting started.
2nd inning Rockies 5-2
Dodgers
With runners on the corners and one out, Joc Pederson misread a squeeze bunt, and ran himself off third base and into an out. By running with his head looking at the ground and not at the play developing in front of him, Pederson effectively killed the inning.
Rockies
A decent enough, scoreless inning for Stewart. Whew!
3rd inning Rockies 5-2
Dodgers
Heart of the order shut down with two strike outs.
Rockies
Stewart has settled down and retired eight in a row.
5th inning Rockies 5-2
Rain started falling.
The Dodgers went quietly and the game became official.
Rockies
The Rockies knocked out their third home run of the night to make things 7-2.
Next batter, another home run. 8-2
Did we mention this game was official?
Stewart out. New Dodger Josh Fields in.
First batter, RBI single. 9-2
Seven men batted and four runs scored before the Dodgers recorded one out.
And there was still plenty of game to go.
6th inning Rockies 9-2
Dodgers
JT started the inning off with a base hit. That was it.
Rockies
LP Fields out. Julio Urias in to face the Rockies’ meat of the order.
Side note: this was Urias’ first time pitching without glasses.
He walked his first batter, and then gave up a two run bomb to the next one. 11-2
The rally just went on. 12-2
7th inning Rockies 12-2
Rockies
Rain was really coming down. While hitting into the last out of the inning, Carlos Gonzalez rolled his ankle in the muddy batter’s box. He had to be helped off the field by two Rockies trainers.
For the remainder of the game, the Dodgers and Rockies went through the motions, pretending there was something resembling competition taking place. But we all knew better.
Dodgers lose 12-3
In the Battle of the Rookie Pitchers,the Rockies gave their pitchers double-digit runs of support. Dodgers pitching got punched in the gut.
For the second night in a row, the Dodgers failed to capitalize on a Giants’ loss.
Over the first two games of the series, the Rockies outscored the Dodgers 19 to 6.
Here’s the link to the game’s box score. I’m not going to torture myself by typing up the Dodgers’ pitching lines.
Home run: Justin Turner
Team with RISP: 0 for 2. Even if they were 2 for 2, it would have still been a laugher.
Oscar Martinez
I was born in the shadow of Dodger Stadium and immediately drenched in Dodger Blue. Chavez Ravine is my baseball cathedral, Vin Scully was the golden voice of summer all my life, and Tommy Lasorda remains the greatest Dodgers manager ever. My favorite things are coffee, beer, and the Dodgers beating the Giants. I also blog about my baseball card hobby at All Trade Bait, All the Time.
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His name is Stewart, not Steward. By the way, do you think the front office could acquire a starter who can actually pitch in the major leagues????? If I do not see Stewart again this year it will be too soon. Great way to start after the deadline. 2 loses, and they were not even close to the Rockies who are holding on by their finger nails. They just lost their SS for the year, and from the way Gonzo dropped like a bag of rocks, he won’t be back anytime soon. Puig DFA’d this afternoon……
Michael-
Not sure where your getting your info on Puig being DFA’d. Haven’t seen that anywhere.
Likewise. The Dodger.com website lists him on the roster with an asterisk and explanation:”Not on active roster”. I take it to mean he has been removed from the 25 man roster but not yet reported to OKC. If the team continues to flounder the rest of the season, I predict ownership will finally get the message FAZhole is NOT a great baseball man and put one of the on-site GMs in charge.
It is on MLB’s transaction page…….from day before yesterday……
I was going to post my prediction yesterday, but got distracted.
PREPARE FOR A SWEEP.
Well, if it’s not the bats, it’s the pitching failing us. This team can’t seem to pull it together. I must say they are doing better than I ever would have thought. But now, in the most important part of the season, it is looking worse for the Blue Men. I could see them dropping out of the wild card fight and into some sort of irrelevance. I hope it doesn’t come to that, but there really has been no light in this tunnel. Perhaps with a little help from other teams losing more than us, we can be competitive. I get such a weak feeling from this club.
Can you imagine if Colorado had great pitching? Their offense is the best in the league and they are on fire, right now. How in the world did they stockpile all these bats? FAZ should be apprenticing with their GM.
Jeff
That is why I don’t understand this front office hiring the Padres former GM.
What did he ever do for the Padres?
All I can think is there pitching, but they haven’t had many of there prospects, turn out to be good position players, so why hire a guy like that.
But the Rockies former GM has had a lot of his prospects, be pretty good position players.
The Rockies have always had a good hitting team when they are healthy.
There pitching has been there problem, but that isn’t all on there former GM.
A lot of that, is the elevation.
These pitchers that this front office have signed or picked up, is the Dodgers problem.
When we had both Kershaw and Greinke, and could score enough runs, we usually won.
And just having both those number one pitchers, helped us to win the long season battle, with the Giants.
It is amazing what two number one pitchers can do for a team, even though they only pitch every five days.
They take the pressure off every other starting pitcher in the rotation, and these other pitchers, raise there pitching, just watching Kershaw and Greinke, pitching every fifth day.
And of course they saved the bullpen arms, every fifth day too!
Right now it looks like the Rockies, and even the Dbacks, have more young starting pitchers, that are ready, then the Dodgers.
Because our young pitchers need at least one more year in AAA.
And your right Jeff, that is he different with the Dodgers right now.
Our pitching almost always kept us in the game, and helped us win three division titles in the west.
The starting rotation this front office put together, not only had pitchers with long injury histories, they are not quality pitchers, and they are pitchers, that can’t pitch deep into games.
If we still had our two big horses on the rotation, this team could still do well, even with a pitcher like Kazmir in the rotation, as well as these pitchers that can’t pitch deep into games.
And that is why I was so upset that Friedman couldn’t get Moore.
At least he is still a young pitcher, with a good contract, and he has pitched well, in his last six games, and he isn’t a rental.
This was Friedman’s former team, that the Giants stole this pitcher from, and supposedly Friedman was in talks with the Rays for a few days.
And the Rays pitchers, were said to be Friedman’s main pitchers, that he was trying to bring to the Dodgers.
How did our division rivals get this pitcher?
I think all those bats has something to do with finishing near the bottom every year. And good drafting and player development.
I remain optimistic.
Bum
I don’t know how you can, with the way Joc runs the bases.
What was that?
That almost looked as bad as Puig, when Puig didn’t go to third, on the sac bunt by AJ.
It seems the trade deadline deals did nothing to rejuvenate our squad. We’ve come out totally flat these last 2 games. Maybe we’re content knowing sf sucks even more than we do right now, so we can f around and still be 2 back.
I am also scared for today, because Maeda’s off speed pitches that he needs to succeed won’t move as much in Colorado. Hopefully philly can take care of sf again for us
Bobby
Remember Maeda still pitched well in Colorado.
But I understand why you feel that way.
Because the Rockies are hitting so well right now, and they are smelling blood right now too!
Jerry Hairson said the same thing about how the players looked last night.
He said that they looked in so many words, lifeless.
I don’t blame them!
They have played there hearts out, since Kershaw went out, and this is the best this front office could do for the team?
A starting pitcher, that has been injured much more, then he has ever pitched, and he is on the DL right now.
I wonder how many times he has had to sit this year, because of blisters.
He has good spin rates, but that might be the reason he gets blisters.
As well as the fact, he probably doesn’t have a callous built up on his finger, because he hasn’t pitched enough to toughen the skin on his finger.
And after what this front office did for the team last year, the players are now seeing a pattern with this front office, just like we are.
And it isn’t quality, that is for sure!
That’s a good thing Bum!!! I’ve said since opening day we win the NLW, period…
Beyond that God knows… I thought the Nats were a lock last year. Who knew???
This is the best run of SP the Rocks have had ever, but alas when the the dust settles I imagine again a sub .500 team… Coors field is still a Dr. Timothy Leary experiment for them n others…
Badger said I was surprised!?!? Never… This blog reminds me of that old saying, “He’d bitch if he was hung with a new rope”…
P.S. Start n stick with Reddick dammit…
Pete-
You mean you don’t like the contradictory of ‘Reddick can handle lefties’ and yet the first sign of a lefty pitching and he’s not starting.
But yet if he would continue hitting below ,200 against lefties than that would affect his BA so in order to make themselves look good he must sit. Got to love the LA Platooners.
You trade for a rental and now he’s going to sit every time a lefty pitches?
Let’s see, there were a total of 57 games left in the season after the trade deadline. So far he has started one of two games. 55 to go, how many more is he going to sit?
Peter
Roberts should do that with the the mostly regular line up.
At least they would be getting more consistent at bats, and see leftie pitchers more.
And Reddick is hitting 187 against lefties, but I say play your best line up, whether it is a leftie pitcher, or rightie.
The platoon line up is the worse offense in all of baseball.
End this bad experiment!
You ever stop to think the players are as disgusted with FAZ as we are, no upgrades, no improvements. Maybe they’re just discouraged and going through the motions.
exactly what I was alluding to as well.
Wondering
That is what is happening, and like I just told Bobby above, Hairson said that the players, looked like they had no energy at all.
And he doesn’t say stuff like that, all the time.
Stopping to think like that usually means you have missed your freebie at the drug clinic…
Did you really ever participate in any organized sports??? Did you or others really roll over on your team…
Yep, at $507.5 minimum they’re all going thru the motions… We’ll show mgmt. What have I got to lose??? Well at second thought…
Pete, you ask if a poster has ever participated in organized sports. Obviously you have or you wouldn’t ask such a question. I’ll ask you, have you ever played for a bad coach?
This business of watching pitch counts in the minors, for years, is ridiculous. If you’re going to do that , get college pitchers who have some innings under their belts, not 16 year olds, who pitch in little league. Or just give the guy Tommy John upon signing, as part of his induction. No more rookie league for pitchers. Right to TJ. Every time Urias pitches, and fails, I start really wondering about the strategy of the phenom, whom you won’t trade, even if the team needs big time help. I hope I live long enough to see Urias be good in a Dodger uniform. My life expectancy is about 10-15 years. I better watch my diet. Terrible game last night. The brains picked our starter from the hopper because he had more innings under his belt. B.S. The giants will start winning one of these days. Then heaven help us.
You owe me a lunch and you know who you are… ‘Fazhole’ started it..(wonderlick lives…)
Throw out a few kernels and they come marching in…
And like Jerry Hairson said, the Rockies looked like they were out to beat the Dodgers down.
I actually feel bad for Roberts, with all of the injuries he has had to work around.
This front office missed out on a lot of good relievers, in the National league, that they could have helped the bullpen!
They were to busy with the Rays and the A’s, and with the American League.
You would think eight former GMs, could look a little farther, then these two small market teams!
The Giants, and the Nationals, and the Cubs, strengthen there bullpens, and didn’t wait till the last minute, to do this.
They got out there, ahead of the other teams, to make sure they got the best relievers to be had, at the trade deadline.
And both the Cardinals and Giants, got young pitchers, that have good team friendly contracts, and are not rentals, like the Dodgers Front office got.
And the Giants took the pitcher they got, right out of Friedman’s own hands, from the team he use to be the GM of.
And the team he had been talking to, the most and the longest!
Well I find myself conflicted this morning. There are elements of this team I actually like. I’m an AGon fan, always have been. I like Turner and I really like Seager. Any staff anchored by Kershaw has a head start on most. I think Pederson cares enough to do what is necessary, and Kendrick Utley looked like it might actually work – though as you know I had Kiké in that role and the money spent on Howie going into another starter. I was and am a Puig fan. Maybe stubborn about that at this point. This morning? I don’t know what to make of what I’m seeing. It just doesn’t feel right to me. I feel like I’m watching the owners of that old barn that’s falling over running around the structure adding makeshift supports to hold it up. And as an admission I’m weary of the same tiresome FAZ arguments. Is it working or is it ain’t working and is this a 1 year plan, a 2 year plan or maybe even a 5 year plan. And the idea that Roberts is handicapped because of the unfortunate string of injuries that has befallen this club I find hilarious in its foundation. I have to ask – what do you expect when you deliberately hire players with that very resume? They LOOK for guys with history of injury because they consider them bargains and when they break down fans call it bad luck? I call it bad judgment and for that I often get labeled negative. The latest example of possible trade malpractice I see is moving legitimate prospects for a 36 year old guy with history who is on the disabled list and has pitched once in the last month. What could go wrong there?
I don’t know what to expect going forward other than more of the same. I say again, it just doesn’t feel right. Make of that what you will.
Badger, I feel pretty much the same as you at this point.
Giants Phils have already started. We can see Matt Moore hopefully get his butt kicked and see them get swept
If we hadn’t backed out of the Chapman trade, we’d still have a bullpen or a boatload of prospects to show for it. The time to build a contender is before the season, not at the deadline. Only rarely do these moves make much difference, and this roster had too many holes to patch.
PeterJ, This is just the opposite of Mark’s comments from a week or so ago when he went off about how people will rally around a cause, such as CK going down, the team did just that. The few weeks before the trade deadline they were playing lights out. Now the lights are literally out.
Not sure what you do or did for a living, but when you see management developing a pattern of not surrounding their employees with the best tools possible to succeed in their chosen profession, it does become frustrating. It’s human nature to show frustration in a situation like that by collectively not giving 100%, and no I don’t mean they all got together and voted on under-performing. When they rallied around CK the 100% plus WAS VERY evident. Now we might be seeing less than 100% part. If management isn’t 100% committed how can labor be?
I am on board with the idea that the team is frustrated as a whole, with the FO’s lack direction, lack of a consistent line up (when and where do I play?) and all of the injuries. They see the constant revolving door to OKC and the doctors/surgeons office. Where as a player do you fit in. These guys have been role players for decades and they have honed their craft quite well. Now they have no clue about playing time etc…
You do have to seriously wonder if some players didn’t want to get traded to the Dodgers. Can you really blame them? Maybe some of the “elite” players had a “no L.A.” clause in their contract. Players used to love to come to play in SoCal, now, probably not so much.
Well said Tim.
Hard to know what the players are thinking but it’s easy to guess. We’ve seen teams rally around a second string quarterback for one big game. The Dodgers turned around the record in non Kershaw starts, but is that energy sustainable over months?
I hope Hill works out. I really do. But will I be surprised if he doesn’t? Of course not. This team, the team on the field, has not improved since the FAZ management team took over. Frankly it doesn’t appear to me they are trying that hard. Their attempts appear more clever than bold. And that is why I keep saying this isn’t about now. They are trading assets for rentals when the odds are not in their favor. Why? They are playing the game toward a draw, with an eye on victory later. The ride to that end will be entertaining, probably, with another 3 million 500 thousand fans will show up to see it. With good fortune we may beat the odds. If not, we have lost only a few unproven assets and we are one year closer to having payroll contained.
In the mean time, we watch and evaluate.
We would have found out if that was the case, like with Lucroy.
It sure seems like the Rangers always does well, at the trade deadline.
Got quiet.
Another story – I just read at BR Roberts said Reddick was “not a platoon” player for Dodgers.
Really? Where was he yesterday?
Reddick will be 30 in February. As we know this is a contract year and likely his last chance at that brass ring contract. I’ll bet he would love to have an opportunity to improve that LHP split. Why not, Van Slyke was 0 for 4 and is hitting .244 against LH Starters. Maybe Reddick can do better for 2 months?
Badger
I agree of course you know.
They need to play the line up, they have today, whether a leftie or rightie pitcher is pitching.
This line up is playing more and getting more consistent at bats, so give them even more consistent at bats.
Forget that platoon team.
And I don’t know for sure if this front office is going to stop signing these risky pitchers, even in 2018 Badger.
They can’t help themselves from going cheap.
I am begining to think that Scott only hit that one DBack pitcher well.
Both him and Kike didn’t do much.
Badger, I agree with a lot of what you just said. I have no idea what the plan is anymore after such a trade and the way Urias and Deleon are being used and not used respectively. It shouldn’t just be about adding 20 innings to Urias’ resume this year. It should be getting him stretched out so that he can throw 6 or 7 innings consistently next year.
I hope demoting Puig is just a wake up call because the rest of the outfield doesn’t look to pretty between now and when Verdugo is ready. Thompson’s resume isn’t pretty, Howie is an aging 2B, Reddick is a .255 career hitter and a free-agent, Andre Ethier is an old old veteran coming off of a broken leg. If the Dodgers were serious about going for it this year, they would have matched up with the Brewers and got Braun, Lucroy, and Jefress. If you’re not serious about this year why give away Holmes and Montas? I think primarily because they had egg on thier face from last year’s deadline debacle.
As for Kershaw, he pitches only once every 5 days. If he’s there or isn’t there it doesn’t cure the fact that on the other 4 or 5 days, the starters blow and the bullpen is getting worn out.
Nice post HD. You took the words right out of my mouth. Braun, LuCroy and Jefress were exactly the players I wanted. LuCroy would’ve had to be extended though. Even if we had to go with what we have SP wise, at least with those three players, we might have won some 8-7; 11-9 games instead of losing 2-1; 3-2; 5-1; etc.
Or even Braun and Jefress. I don’t even like Braun, but you’re either all in or not and I’m not sure how you go all in not knowing if Kershaw can pitch this year.
Braun is still available, he just has to go through waivers now. The way it works is most clubs put all their players on revocable waivers. If a club claims one, the owning club can work out a trade, or pull the player back, or let the player go to the claiming club who is now responsible for all his salary. Milwaukee might well be happy enough to just let the Dodgers claim Braun and his salary. That wouldn’t be as good a deal as could be had in a trade but stupidity always has a price…
Hawkeye
At least they could have got Jefrees for the pen.
There were some decent pitchers for the pen, but it seems they didn’t look much in the National
league.
It sound like they were in talks, mostly with the Rays, and didn’t get one pitcher from the Rays, but the Giants sure did.
Richie if we even lost those 8-7 or 11-9 run games I wouldn’t be too upset, geez at least that meant we would have scored more than 1 or 2 runs
Puig only played pro baseball in Cuba, at the age 17 through 19.
He had one good year, and actually missed a year, because of his behavoir.
I don’t know if that, was Puig trying to escape or his behavoir.
But he only played in 187 games during that time.
So Puig really didn’t even play much in Cubans pro league.
That might be the reason he is having trouble hitting and seeing the spin on the ball.
Puig hasn’t played that much.
He really needed to be developed much more then he was.
And that is probably why his offensive stats are going down, and he has trouble adjusting to good pitching.
And Puig hasn’t listened to his coaches and manager this year.
Puig needs to want to be better, but he isn’t going to be better, if he doesn’t want to listen to his coaches, and his manager .