The Dodgers lost again in Philadelphia on Wednesday evening by a score of 7-5. They’ve now lost four in a row and continue to be awful with no end in sight to this current suckfest. They’ve been terrible for a month now and I just don’t see anything changing anytime soon. Pedro Baez didn’t even pitch in this game. You would think with Baez tucked away safely in the back of the bullpen the Dodgers would have a good chance of winning tonight. That was not the case. They actually had a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning after Chase Utley tripled to lead-off the inning, Enrique Hernandez doubled him in and then Cody Bellinger’s two-run double put the Dodgers ahead by two runs. I could hold your hand and take you through the lowlights, but why bother tonight? I’ll just hit the late inning disasters.
Neither starter factored into the decision in this game (Alex Wood, Jake Thompson) but the Dodgers managed just one run on three hits off of Thompson through the first six innings. They didn’t get anything going with the bats until they scored 3 runs in the seventh to take a 4-2 lead.
So the Dodgers actually had a lead, but this is the Dodgers and the new reality. Unsurprisingly the lead lasted about all of 60 seconds. Ross Stripling entered the game in the bottom of the seventh and gave up three runs within the blink of an eye. Aaron Altherr hit another home run. He’s hit what three home runs in this series? Altherr’s two-run shot tied the game and then Stripling gave up another home run to Tommy Joseph. My god they’re bad. The Dodgers did tie the game at 5-5 in the top of the eighth when Austin Barnes walked went to second on a wild pitch and third on a passed ball. He scored on a Chase Utley grounder to first thanks to a really nifty slide into home.
Dodgers 5 7 1
Phillies 7 6 0
WP-Garcia-2-4
LP-Avilan-2-3
SV-Neris-23
HR-Taylor-22-Altherr-19-Joseph-22
But of course this is the new Dodgers so they immediately gave up the tie and the game in the very next frame. The next bum to serve it up was Luis Avilan. He gave up a walk to Cesar Hernandez and then committed a throwing error on a bunt attempt from Freddy Galvis. Then Brandon Morrow came in with the bases loaded after Rhys Hoskins was intentionally walked and promptly gave up a two-run single to you guessed it….Aaron Altherr.
That was it. Game, set and match. The Dodgers had a chance to finally clinch the division tonight with a win and the Dbacks losing in San Diego. Now the best that can happen is the magic number lowering to 1 if the Snakes lose to the Padres. Update– as of right now the Dbacks are losing 6-2 in the fifth inning. For the record the race for home field advantage is now down to just one game over the Indians.
With each pathetic loss the apologists and optimists disappear from the twitter-verse one by one. They all have so many excuses to give for this team. They have backup excuses for their backup excuses. Let’s go over them one by one before I sign off.
“The Dodgers still have the best record in baseball”….. For now. Then that’s blown to the Indians…..
“The Dodgers still have the best record in the National League”. Soon to be blown to Washington……
“Playing bad in September has no historical bearing on October success”…… They continue to lose…..
“It’s just a slump…Every team goes through it and the Dodgers haven’t had a slump this entire season”…..
With each pitiful loss the excuses dwindle. Eventually the truth will remain. This isn’t a slump. It’s not bad luck. THEY JUST SUCK. There is still hope but that is waning.
So tomorrow the Phillies will go for a four-game sweep over the sad sack Dodgers. Kenta Maeda takes the mound to allow four runs in 4.1 innings. Meanwhile the Phillies will counter with Mark Leiter Jr. in an early morning game at 10:05 AM PST. So the Dodgers can lose and get swept before lunch time.
Tomorrow is my birthday in case you didn’t know. So maybe the Dodgers can win and clinch the division on my birthday? That would be nice but I won’t hold my breath. Today Friday is Tommy Lasorda’s 90th birthday. I wonder what he would have to say about this pathetic stretch of baseball? Anyways Happy birthday Tommy!
I tried to tell ya, but some people just don’t…
Well as usual, you hit the nail dead center there Scott. Of course right now, the D-Backs have regained the lead in SD and are now winning. This is about as pitiful a stretch as I have ever seen. I do not even remember the 99 loss team having a stretch this bad. They just sucked the entire year. I guess the declaration that they were the best team in baseball can be laid to rest. They are 5-15 in September, and are no lock to win 100. They started the month with 91 wins. They had a 21.5 game lead which is now down to single digits. They have 10 games left and 7 of them are against teams with losing records who this month have winning records against the Dodgers. This is no World Champion we are watching here. This is not a National League Champion caliber team the way they are playing. Each night they find new and irritating ways to blow the game. If there is no angst in the organization, there should be. And it all started with Bellinger going down for 10 days, and then Corey going out with a sore elbow. Since that happened, they have been spiraling down. This is not a slump, this is a meltdown. Nothing is working. It looked like they turned a corner with the 4 game winning streak, but then a badly played game the last game in DC and the whole thing goes to crap again. There is no continuity, there is no sense of urgency. Things that were considered a lock like home field are slipping away daily. Right now the best team in the major leagues is hands down the Cleveland Indians. I am a Dodger fan, so I am used to disappointment in the post season. But right now I am more disappointed with the over all play of a team that was hitting on all cylinders less than a month ago, and now cannot do anything right. I think trading for Granderson was not exactly a great move. Oh it looked good for a few games, but since then we get more bad at bats while Roberts waits for him to quote, get hot. He has had all month to get hot and hasn’t. The starters have been better of late, but the bullpen has become the gas can brigade. They blow leads faster than Hillary Clinton…..sorry, I just could not resist and it was the best comparison I could think of. Like Blue said, Mo has left the building. All the momentum they built up is gone poof! Depth has become a curse because the manager has no idea who to play. Those who contributed to the lead are contributing to the demise. I really cannot wait to hear how FAZ spins this if they get blown out of the playoffs. Oh, Happy Birthday Scott……I really hope they get you a win……instead of backing into the title, it would be nice if they won it.
Michael
I can’t wait until the whole bunch in this White House go down, for colluding with the Russians, they are a bunch of traitors!
And they all should be locked up!
And Trump sure can talk tough about war, because he never had to fight in a war, because he bought 6 referrals to not have to go to Nam!
Bottom line, you were conned, by this guy!
Your opinion..I disagree….And MJ, you never fought a war either and neither had Hillary. And that sword rattling Psycho in Korea is the one who is starting all this crap. The reference stands, she blew it because nobody likes the bitch. She is an idiot.
He got deferrals, not referrals…and he was not the only one. Hillary’s hubby was a evader. sorry, there is a huge difference. Wars are fought by young men who are not rich, that is the way it has always been in this country. There were a few exceptions in WWII, but not many. Clinton used every thing he could to get out of the service. Trump at least went to a military academy for a while. You like Hillary, that is your choice, to me both her and Obummer were the worst thing to happen to this country in my life time. She was a horrible Sec of State and he is a colluding with our enemies traitor.
Michael
I hope you enjoyed correcting my mistake, but the point that you don’t get, is that everyone makes mistakes, including you!
But obviously you knew what I meant, and that is the other point!
Trump has never did one thing, to serve others!
He is embarrassment, to this country!
The truth is Putin wanted this bumbling idiot to be in charge, because he has so much blackmail on this guy, and the people around him!
And Trump had the Russians in the Oval Office, and he was smiling and shaking their top agent’s hand, and he opened up his mouth and bragged, about some secret info, he had.
And he stupidly gave this secret information away, to our enemy, the Russians!
Trump should not be a leader of anything, let alone this country, or the military, he is just as unhinged, as that leader, in Korea!
The truth is when Obama took over this country, we were in the biggest recession that we had ever been in, since the depression, caused by another Republican!
The difference with Clinton is that he was no war monger, and didn’t talk big about war, like this guy does!
And I am sorry, a few years in a military academy, is one funny, qualification!
You can say what you want about Hillary, that doesn’t make it true!
Trump is a blayton liar, and you fell hard, for his con!
Scott, no matter what we tell ourselves, and despite records, etc., there is no way to tell if a team will rise to the occassion or not in the WS. The Dodgers showed earlier that they have the goods to deliver and that is when Kershaw was sitting out! You would figure that with him playing, they would be even better. But slumping is not a science. There is no known medicine to cure it. The players and coaches talk about playing through it. There is a certain wisdom in that, but it is not infallible.
I would think there are certain factors that the coaches could do in the midst of a team slump. The first is to minimize the playing time of those who have not historically helped the club in the past. Roberts doesn’t believe in that as evidenced in both the pitching substitutions and the hitting starters.
This current slump has been made worse by our bullpen and Roberts’ early pulling of the starters for relievers like Stripling and Avilan who have horrid histories that we all bear witness to. Baez is another current culprit. Maybe Roberts is too nice and too fair. He wants to give anyone the chance including the minor leaguers who have zero experience in the tense playoff races. No one is immune from a bad night, but when those bad nights stretch throughout a season, it’s usually a good sign to bench those players. Baez is not the bridge to Jansen. Morrow has certainly won that opportunity and the auditions should have been for a lefty who might fill that role, too. I was hoping Paredes would have been that lefty, but have been put off by his ineffectiveness. They need more time to develop. They screwed Urias up really good all the while showing us how they were handling him with kid gloves. Look at how that ended up.
This current bullpen slump is not our only problem. The batters are slumping, too. But, we know who those players are that tend to slump and those that have not contributed consistently, historically. Our top 5 including Puig have been consistent all year. Sure they have their moments, but they are not ineffective. Moving to Granderson, who has given us almost nothing, Grandal who is in the midst of a 40 point batting average plunge and who does this every year, so far, Pederson, who is he?, Hernandez, wtf?, Gonzalez who is hurt but is dying to contribute, Forsythe who has lost his ability to hit the ball, period. This is a large group of puny contributors who have been carried by the top 5 all year. OTOH, Ethier is ready and able and Roberts still doesn’t get him ready for the post season. Roberts still starts Granderson and Hernandez as if he didn’t have other players capable and ready to offer something.
Roberts is one of the main problems. He’s not the only one, but he needs to screw his head on or else any WS will escape this team. Almost any manager can be successful with a team like the Dodgers. It’s bullshit to think that Roberts has something special that will get them a title. It’s also the players that you have and how to maximize their contribution.
Jeff
I agree with you, if a starter is pitching well, and their pitch count is not bad, why go to this bullpen early, especially with what has been happening!
I don’t get Justin Turner. He made a fabulous stop on a one hopper in the 5th or 6th inning. Then on the Avilan error he misses the throw from the outfield, which he has done so many times. I don’t know why he continuously fails to catch the ball and apply the tag at third. It seems most times the ball gets away from him. If it isn’t a perfect throw the ball ends up in the pitcher’s glove backing up the play.
I know there are people who love JT so they will take offense. But why can’t he catch the ball? Maybe he is waiting for the post season!
postseason baby! that’s when we flip the switch
Ah yes. Flipping the switch, which is what we Kings fans kept repeating in 2013, 2015, 2016 . . .
Sorta like the Giants and their ‘even year’ thing.
It all comes to an end.
Sure, they can turn things around–I just don’t see it.
“I am a Dodger fan, so I am used to disappointment in the post season.” Beautifully put, Michael.
Artieboy
Maybe you didn’t hear this about Turner, he was spiked by the runner sliding into third base, on that play.
Dodgers need more offense yet they play granderson (grandy man can’t) and grandal instead of ethier and Barnes. Mean while they are losing home field in playoffs. Someone please explain. I wonder if Roberts is told who to play
Happy Birthday Scott!
At least today’s game, will be over, before you get home from work, so you won’t have to waste a couple hours, watching this team play!
Unwatchable now.
I mentioned a week or so ago, that this team was not a lock to win 100 games, that would mean they would only have to win 9 games in September, YIKES, they ain’t likely to do that even.
I’ll see you guys in the post season.
well mj if they nuke us it will be to late…think about that..
Jerry
You are so right!
But Mr. Big Stuff doesn’t care, just as long, as he can talk big, but it is to bad, that he just doesn’t understand that he is the butt, of this big joke!
This guy isn’t Rocket Man, this guy is Missile Man, and Bernie Taupin, wasn’t even thinking about Missiles at the time, he wrote the lyrics to this song, for Elton!
Today’s starting line up…oh, you are going to hate this…..Seager is out again……….Taylor, CF Turner 3B Bellinger 1B Puig RF Granderson LF Utley 2B Grandal C Forsythe SS Maeda P. And they cannot clinch today. AZ is not playing so the magic number can only drop to 1.
and now we get the bullpen for the rest of the day
Wow! If you read this today, Scott, happy birthday! Imagine this, the Dodgers won this morning??? What the hell is up with this team? It truly feels like a curse has been put on them by the Giants or something similar. From an amazing team to a group that loses 3 out of 4 to the lowly Phils? I’ve been a blue fanatic since the mid 70s. Garvey was my hero growing up. All these years and I have never seen a team, Dodgers or otherwise, with a run like this. Not long ago, we were pretty much set for next year but now, they (FAZ) may just have some work to do this offseason.
Scott
I am glad , that they could get a win for you today!