Never. Ever…again.
Leave it to the Dodgers to make Don Mattingly look like a genius. The club is playing a special brand of crappy uninspired baseball. Last night’s 2-0 loss to the Marlins set a remarkable precedent for feeble offense. Now the Dodgers must defeat Jose Fernandez on Thursday night to avoid a sweep at the hands of Don Mattingly and the Marlins. Isn’t moneyball grand?
You know things are bad when Scott Kazmir gives you a quality start and you still lose. Apparently the thumb injury is still bothering him but he was able to limit the Marlins to just the two runs in the first inning. Another no name pitcher limited the Dodgers to well…nothing. Stop me if you’ve heard that before.
Dodgers Lineup vs. Marlins
Utley 2B Gordon 2B
Seager SS Prado 3B
Gonzalez 1B Yelich LF
Grandal C Stanton RF
Puig RF Bour 1B
Crawford LF Suzuki CF
Kendrick 3B Realmuto C
Pederson CF Hechavarria SS
Maeda P Fernandez P
Jose Fernandez-1-2 vs. Kenta Maeda-3-0
Game Time – 7:10 PM TV- SNLA
Thursday night’s pitching match-up will see Marlin’s ace Jose Fernandez going up against Kenta Maeda. Maybe the Dodgers can try this new fangled approach to winning, it’s called scoring runs. I know you and I have heard of it.
Fernandez hasn’t gotten off to a great start this year, so perhaps the Dodgers can get three hits tonight instead of two. Shoot for the stars. Fernandez is 1-2 with a 4.37 ERA in four starts this season. Fernandez is 2-0 with a 2.84 ERA in three starts against the Dodgers. He’s 1-0 at Dodger Stadium. Don’t look at the numbers against Fernandez. You know you’re in trouble when Carl Crawford has the best career numbers against the opposing pitcher.
Fernandez vs. Dodgers
| Name | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | SH | SF | IBB | HBP | GDP |
| Carl Crawford | 9 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .500 | .556 | .500 | 1.056 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Adrian Gonzalez | 9 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | .143 | .333 | .571 | .905 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chase Utley | 9 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .222 | .222 | .222 | .444 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yasiel Puig | 7 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .143 | .143 | .143 | .286 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| A.J. Ellis | 6 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .333 | .333 | .500 | .833 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yasmani Grandal | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .000 | .167 | .000 | .167 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex Wood | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .000 | .250 | .000 | .250 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Justin Turner | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | .500 | .500 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 52 | 47 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 13 | .234 | .308 | .319 | .627 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Maeda is going for his fourth win of the season. He’s off to one of the greatest starts for a Dodger rookie pitcher since the days of Fernando Valenzuela. Now if the Dodgers would actually score him a run or two then maybe he could get that fourth win.
I’ll end this early by saying that the Dodgers are one of the worst hitting clubs at home this season. I’ll get into this later, but they’ve been utterly pathetic with the bats at Dodger Stadium. If this seems familiar that’s because it is. They’ve had similar problems over the last several seasons.
I think we can safely say that the problem was not Don Mattingly. I still don’t like him as a manager, but I think a lot of the criticisms were unfair. The club has the same problems as last year. There’s weak pitching, pathetic offense, and lousy roster creation. I think most of the problems exist in the front office and their small market, marginal player acquiring, penny pinching, moneyball mentality.
Sometimes a more traditional balance is needed. I tell you this though, my patience runs out around middle of June. It’s still early enough to make changes and address weaknesses. It’s not time to panic , and the club is still above .500. However my patience for mediocre baseball officially ends around June. That’s when I start getting testy on twitter.
Don’t make me do that Dodgers.
Go Blue!
Good post Scott.
I think once we get into May, we will score again. I’m interested to see if the inept WRISP numbers continue today. A 4 game series, against a sub .500 team, without a hit with runners in scoring position would be epic. Don’t you want that to happen just so you can tell your grandkids about it? No? Me either.
As I mention on the other thread, this starting staff is currently 6th in quality starts. Yeah, surprises me too. I don’t think we will stay there long, but we might through today. I look for Maeda to school this young Miami team.
Mattingly must be feeling good right now. I’m betting he never slept this well the 5 years he was here.
Little too early in the year to slit our throats. What I do not like is sitting the hottest hitters because a lefty is going. They had a chance when the bases were loaded, but Puig and Gonzo blew that. They went through this earlier before they broke out in Colorado. But not to worry, that lousy Padres pitching staff is on its way…they should break through against them,
The Dodgers seemed to struggle against left handers last year and it seems like that continues this year. Michael, I assume the hottest hitters you are referring to are Grandal and Utley. But both have been doing well against righties so it is hard to say if they would be hot against lefties. And, last year Turner hit better against righties and that could be true again this year.
The other thing about lefties going against the Dodgers is that Roberts doesn’t have in the lineup the player that is 3rd in average, second in runs scored, tied for first in home runs, third in RBIs, first in OPS, 4th in OBP, 1st in slugging, and the best defender at a position that many consider the most important defensive position on a team.
That player might not be able to do nearly as well against a lefties so the problem is not so much one of platoons but one of the person replacing that hitter against lefties is not doing near as well as the one he replaces that plays against righties.
Grandal has ZERO hits against left handed pitching…all his hitting is done left handed. But Gonzo is a RBI machine and he hits lefty’s. I was referring to Seager who has hit LHP pretty good in his short career. Right now Turner and Kendrick are not hitting a lick. Turner has a couple of singles, but is not showing the gap power he had in spring. Kike kills lefty’s, but I think right now they really miss SVS, who also destroys LHP. Puig has looked a little off the last couple of games…..
What about this guy? Should he be platooned? He is:
* 3rd in average,
* 2nd in runs,
* 1st in home runs (tied actually),
* 3rd in RBIs,
* 1st in OPS,
* 4th in OBP,
* 1st in SLG
He is one of the guys that sits against lefties and some have said he should go down to OK.
Are you referring to the ‘so far’ career .214 hitter? If he stays at those levels on this team than this team will not win 75 games.
Than where would Hazelbaker rank on this team.
Player Team Pos G▼ AB▼ R▼ H▼ 2B▼ 3B▼ HR▼ RBI▼ BB▼ SO▼ SB▼ CS▼ AVG▼ OBP▼ SLG▼ OPS
Pederson, J LAD CF 21 58 12 16 4 0 3 10 10 21 1 1 0.276 0.391 0.5 0.891
Hazelbaker, J STL CF 21 58 11 18 3 2 5 13 4 19 2 2 0.31 0.344 0.69 1.033
Haven’t seen that much passion from Mattingly since before they extended his contract. Putz.
The pathetic offense shouldn’t surprise anyone. They have three #8 hitters in there. When you sit two of your hottest hitters because they stand on the “wrong” side of the plate this is what happens–rewind to 2013. It pains me to say it, but Howie is looking like the Luis Cruz of 2016. Where is Alex Guerrero when you need him?
In 11 seasons, the lowest Howie has hit is .285 – most of the time he was between .290 and .320. He hit .295 last year. There’s no doubt he will come around – he has nothing to prove.
He actually has a lot of trade value!
Hopefully that good trade value manifests itself.
It’s still April and we are discussing Howie’s trade value. It’s ok to talk about dumping him a month into the season but for heaven’s sake don’t question the signing. By the way, he’s hitting about a buck forty and is signed for $20 million. He has no trade value. Oh sure, anyone is tradeable. The key word here is “value”. There is none at the present time.
They are not going to trade Kendrick…..
If they don’t trade kendrick it will be interesting when SVS and Ethier return.
Bum thoughts are actions! So do think!
MJ, help me with this. Are you saying bum thoughts are actions or are you saying Bum, thoughts are actions? Thinking gets me in trouble MJ that’s why it is fun to think.
He has been a consistently good hitter but right now it looks like he needs to go back to Glendale for a couple of weeks. Like most good players he’s used to playing every day and it’s not happening.
Snider I don’t agree about Howie. Howie has been playing almost every game, he has sat out, for maybe two games. And I think he is lucky, that Roberts, has continued to play him, because he has looked horendus, in most of his at bats, and hasn’t looked that much better, on the field.
They say that spring training, is mostly for pitchers, and it only takes a couple weeks, for position players. Shouldn’t Howie, look like he is close to hitting by now? It looks to me, when Howie didn’t get his offer, he was not staying in shape, and didn’t come to spring training, in good shape. Howie’s biggest problem, is that he can’t stay healthy.
Must have missed the .279 in 2010. He averages about 8 HR’s a season….total of 87 divided by 10 seasons. 8 HR’s, .285 32 y/o injury plague player at $10M per year. Pass.
The Dodgers would have to eat 75% of his salary just to get a class A prospect.
The truth is in the pudding. Betcha he is still with the team by the end of the season.
Chili, what you are missing is that FAZ is going to bundle Kendrick with Crawford. Much more tradeable that way.
Bums…..Not sure if that is a joke or not. Seriously. Bundling 2 guys that IMO have no value and are definitely not worth their pay doesn’t help move 1 or the other.
So you think a team out there will take both of these guys with the Dodgers eating how much of their salary? And if your coming in with 75% or higher than why not just release them. Normally I wouldn’t do so (but I wouldn’t have signed Kendrick in the first place) but when you are keeping the kids from moving up and gaining experience that is a BIG issue.
These knuckleheads (yes, FAZ, actually F & Z) treat everyone as chips. This is not a computer game. Somehow they think the more assets they own the better position they are in……and that is so not true. Me, personally, I’m taking quality over quantity. A team/organization can win multiple championships in a short amount of time with proven solid players…….and we have seen it from a few organizations recently. No one is touting the Giants farm system, the Royals farm system nor the Cardinals farm system. Who cares if you have solid position players and strong pitching. That puts you in a position to compete and win every year. We had that in 2013 & 2014. Solid position players took a hit last year and now this year it has carried over to the pitching staff.
Under who’s guidance has this happen?
Dead serious obviously Chili. They make a perfect platoon tandem. Both need rest to help avoid injury. The Angels might be a team that should be interested. Okay, I was totally being facetious.
Come on Scott! Keep the faith. Just a bad stretch of games. Happens every year to every team. Just need to ride it out. We win tonight, sweep SD, and it’s a positive home stand. BTW Matt Kemp has 6 HRs? Should be fun.
It’s 66. As he goes, so goes the team. It’s too bad, but true.
I think that is more true against lefties.
Grandal does better against righties than Ellis does against lefties.
Kike’ does better against lefties than Kendrick does against lefties.
Joc does better against righties than Trace does against lefties.
Utley does better against righties than Kendrick does against lefties.
Turner does better against righties than he does lefties.
The platoons against lefties are not as good as the platoons are against righties.
Constant platoons, are not good for anyone. Even someone like Ethier, would hit better throughout the season, if he is playing everyday, and facing both leftys and Righties. His stats might not look good, against leftys, but by getting consistent at bats, he will hit better, then by just platooning, over all.
I gave up on last nights game in the 7th. These guys couldn’t produce a hit in Nashville. The constant switching of the lineup is just like last year and the year before etc…. Let the frikin hot bats play. So we wait for Howie to “come around” and in the meantime we lose games…… To the Frikin Marlins and Donnie the Astronaut, Doctor, 5 star General and Astrophysicist. We can’t let games/series like this slip through our hands this early in the season.
We are more than likely going to be in a very tight race in the division come September, and I guarantee you everyone will forget about these “early games in April” because we would have lost a few tight games in August. These early games against teams like the Minnows are games WE MUST WIN. It’s games/series like these in the early season that boil my blood. If we lose a hard fought game going extras in August or early September I can “almost” live with it.
Stop experimenting with “nerd lineups” right now and go with those who are hot. Pick some of the low hanging fruit damn it!!!! Win these games.
May is going to be brutal, and yes hopefully they will have re-learned how to hit a damn baseball to where the opposing players are not. But that is all fine and dandy except by then we will have lost 8 of the last 12.
So we get Wood and Stripling against the Fathers and then CK on Sunday. I really am hoping for a sweep so we will have won 4 in a row by Monday, but I don’t have much confidence if Roberts keeps doing what he has been doing with the lineups this last week. 2 out 3 hopefully. That makes us 3 out of 7 the week before we head to Toronto and then Mets. UUGGHH!!!
Sorry but I am just not thrilled with what has been going on the last week plus. We should be fattening up on the plump chickens before we head out to the real battlefield for a solid month.
The Marlins have good offensive production out of LF, 2B, RF, 3B, and decent in CF and next to zero out of 1B, SS, C. Kendrick could improve their team at 1st base and Kike’ would add offense at SS. Barnes might add offense at catcher.
The Marlins also need depth in their starting rotation. Lee, Stripling, and Bolsinger would provide that to the Marlins. Now if the Marlins just had somebody the Dodgers could use.
The Marlins are only paying Stanton $9 million this year, $14.5 million next year. They will be hanging on to him at least until that contract goes to $25 million – 2018. The alleged mythical year.
Why in the world would the Marlins take on $20 million? That doesn’t sound like a Miami move.
FAZ will use the Dan Haren clause to make such a trade.
Not sure why I’m even responding…..Kendrick has no value. The Marlins had Hernandez and traded him away. He has little to no value. Barnes has no value. Then you want to move starting pitchers that the Dodgers do not value, except for Stripling and his value will drop the second time around the league for whom….Stanton or Fernandez? Might have persuaded a 6 y/o in the 70’s to make that deal via Topps trading cards but in real life, are you serious? Throwing Joc in the deal does not get it done.
I do think possibly Joc, Deleon or Urias, Bellinger, Barnes and money ($10M) might get it done for Stanton.
Bellinger plays 1B, Barnes catches. Joc replaces Stanton in the OF and they get a young quality pitcher. That’s about what it would take to get Stanton at the moment.
Giancarlo Stanton is the only reason the Marlins draw over 10,000 people anywhere they go. He’s not just the face of that franchise, he’s the body mind and soul of that organization and the single reason anybody anywhere, including Miami buys a ticket to watch that team play when Fernandez isn’t pitching. That guy costs the Marlins less than what we are paying Howie. Let that sink in for a moment. Miami is not trading him until after ’17.
Badger like you said, he is going to continue to have injuries, and who wants that contract?
MJ,
Stanton is only 26 years old. That is not old. In fact he is just reaching his peak years. Will you feel the same about Trout when he is 27 or 28 and seeking his big contract?
At some point Kershaw is going to break down. Are you going to want have that big contract when the time comes?
Do you want the stars or don’t ya? Not going to get them at bargain basement prices.
I don’t want Stanton. I am just throwing out names that could help Miami and won’t hurt the Dodgers. I’ll take Fernandez though but I would expect Miami would want to add a better prospect than I mentioned to get him.
Bums,
If you were going to trade for one or the other, the MUCH safer bet would be Stanton. Just sayin.
Chili I wouldn’t want Stanton, be ause he can’t stay on the field, and because the way his contract, is back loaded. The Marlins are not paying a lot right now, but in a few more years, that’s when the contract is going to pay a lot. And I wouldn’t want Harper, until he could prove that he can stay on the field. Trout stays consistently, in the line up, and he has had a very consistent start, to his career.
I would say that is silly to say that Kendrick has no value, but that is being way too too kind. You aren’t being serious are you? No one is that dumb…
They have no offense in centerfield. There centerfielder, was hitting so bad last year, the Marlins owner, wanted him to send him back to AAA.
One of the problems with the SABER crowd is that when in management positions they are too cute by half.
An occasional shift against certain big hitters with no one on base makes sense. It’s certainly not new – Lou Boudreau invented it when he managed the Indians in the 40s and tried to stop Ted Williams from killing them. Shifting against a .250 hitter, or when there are runners on base is just plain dumb. (Remember the playoffs against the Mets when there was no one to cover 3B on a grounder to the right side and it cost the Dodgers a run?) Did anyone see Kershaw glare back in the 6th when a grounder became a hit because of the shift?
Some guys have extreme platoon splits (Andre Ethier anyone?) and are productive on one side of the plate but should never hit against same-handed pitchers. IN certain instances a platoon makes sense. BUT to run out a lineup with Charlie Culberson instead of Cory Seager for the sake of a platoon is just plain dumb. Joc Pederson, in spite of his problems making regular contact, has actually been productive, plus he is the best CF on the team, but he hasn’t started a single game against a lefty this year. (And it’s not like Thompson has given the Dodgers much offensively or defensively so far.)
As I posted yesterday, the Dodgers’ right handed hitters haven’t done much this year – so why not let some of the lefty-swingers try their luck against a southpaw?
Most of the best teams in baseball history trotted out their best 8 players and let them play. There is a long history of platooning and it can be effective, but it doesn’t make sense to do it as much as the Dodgers have this year – but it’s a SABER thing.
AND – with all of the enthusiasm for Roberts as new manager before the season, does anyone think that he has carte blanche to set any lineup that he wants? To play any player that he wants? I would be surprised if it was simply a matter of the Braintrust just shuttling data to him and letting it ride. Guys like that are control freaks. But baseball is played by people, not computers, and you can’t control everything. You shouldn’t even try.
Good points rick.
One of the things discussed in that article I posted about Mattingly was a quote saying Donnie is enjoying baseball again because now he can do it his way. Clearly that suggests he wasn’t doing it his way in LA. Not that difficult to figure out whose way it is around here.
Badger most of those quotes were from Gordon, not Mattingly. Mattingly actually wanted to stay with the Dodgers. And if the front office, would have extended his contract, beyond the one year, Mattingly had left, Mattingly would still be a Dodger. The truth is, that Mattingly wanted to stay with the Dodgers, but the front office, didn’t want Mattingly, beyond that one year.
And Mattingly actually said, that he enjoyed working with this Front office. The real
reason that Mat tingly went to the Marlins, was because the Marlins, offered him, a multi year contract, that the Dodgers wouldn’t give him.
All of this BS, about having fun again, is just not true. Mattingly needed a job, beyond that one year, left on his contract, so he went to the Marlins. The Marlins don’t have the high expectations, that the Dodger have, so that might make his job seem easier.
But I think that Mattingly is under estimating the Marlins owner. Because the Marlins owner, doesn’t keep managers around to long.
And he will not be patient, for to long, even if Mattingly is a friend. But Mattingly does have that guarteed contract, to lean on.
But MJ, there is a narrative that this FO office dictates what the manager does on the field, and that the manager is merely a puppet of the FO.
I’d really like to know where this comes from. Was there something in Molly Knight’s book? Have there been other insiders who have shed light on that dynamic, if it indeed is a dynamic that actually exists?
I think it is more a created reality based on the feelings people have about this front office and a general mistrust of the trend toward data driven decisions in baseball. You could ask Clint Hurdle if he’s a puppet of that front office. He was pretty old school, but he was open to change and he has a good working, collaborative relationship with the data guys. If you work as a collaborative team – from the manager, to adviser to the front office to the president, I think that would be ideal and not a negative. Better that than the situation in Anaheim, where Scioscia is this old school stubborn jerk who blew off his GM, and then went directly to the owner and had him fired.
Someone assumed that the front office hired a puppet or was making out lineups for Mattingly and said as much. Someone heard this and repeated it…and so it takes on a life of its own. Without ANY evidence that this is the case I have to discount it unless I see something that suggests otherwise.
The idea has probably come from what has been documented about other SABER-driven management teams. Billy Beane has made it clear that he doesn’t respect managers and that they are interchangeable parts. When Art Howe started to get some kudos and got some ideas about how he wanted to run the A’s Beane fired him. Same with current Dodgers’ bench coach Bob Geren.
Granted, not all SABER-driven management teams exercise that level of control but they do exercise more control than what used to happen. Do you think that anyone told Walter Alston or Tommy Lasorda what players to play, who to pitch, or how to arrange the lineup? Heck no. The GM respected the experience of the manager.
Now, teams hire managers with no management experience (hello Dave Roberts) and then “give them data” and tell them how to run their teams.
Data is good from all sources. Whether it’s stats or scouts. But let the managers manage. You’re right about Scioscia – he wanted to manage his team his way and when the GM, who had never managed (DiPoto) told him what to do, Scioscia told DiPoto what HE could do.
And Scioscia did win a World Series with the Angels before DiPoto was named GM. What exactly did DiPoto accomplish with the Angels after he got there? I never thought that he was any good as a GM.
Rick-
Excellent Post.
I think it comes down to people that played the game and those that did not (at least not a very high or serious level). I’m talking about these saber-metric folks. I don’t see Joe Maddon getting all wrapped up in platoons in Chicago. His only platoon is at catcher and if you were to platoon that would be the ideal position to do so.
Roberts is saying if the pitcher’s out pitch is a curve ball the stats show that the hitter should not bat from the same side as the pitcher throws. If the out pitch is a fast ball or change up, then the splits are more neutral.
So he is assuming that everyone of his hitters are going to get into a 2 strike count. If a pitchers out pitch is a ‘nasty’ curveball or slider than you swing at the fastballs early. It’s called being aggressive.
85% of all pitchers out pitches are curves or sliders so I guess the platooning is alive and well.
Evidently someone needs to tell the rest of the league that doesn’t platoon that they are messing up……maybe start by telling the Royals who play the same 8 guys almost daily. How’s that been working for them?
I don’t believe for a second that Roberts decides who will be in the lineup. Maybe he can pick the order but that’s about it.
“There’s this belief that a baseball team starts with the manager first. It doesn’t”.
Rick,
I agree with most of what you say, but Roberts does have a choice. He has Carte Blanche, unquestionably.
Based on what? dodgerpatch says that he rejects those who repeat that Roberts doesn’t have discretion to name his own lineups, etc., because it’s just a rumor and that there’s no proof. What proof is there to the contrary? How do you know that he has carte blanche?
When this year starts looking like last year than one can ask what’s changed and what hasn’t. Or can compare lineups Mattingly’s first 4 years to his last season. There is much proof of what is going on. Even Ray Charles can see that.
BTW, Culberson played for Seager for one game to give Seager a break due to him being something like 2 for 20.
Puig seems to play better the day after he sits. He needs mental breaks as much as Agon needs physical breaks.
AGon doesn’t get that many breaks. Everybody needs a day off now and then but giving three or four of your best hitters the same day off makes no sense.
According to Baseball Reference.com, Culberson has started 3 games at SS so far this year, not 1.
I have no objection to Seager getting a break from time to time and it should be against a southpaw. The Dodgers have played 22 games so far this year, so Seager has rested 14% of the time.
I understand that breaking balls from same-handed pitchers are hard for some players to hit. But not all players need to be platooned. Do you think that anyone wanted to platoon Ruth, Williams, Musial, etc. because they were lefties, against tough southpaws?
Bum Puig is just not a good clutch hitter. He lets his emotions, and his impulses, affect his at bats, and his play in general. And you need to have good at bats, in those situations.
It seems like he strikes out a lot, in those situations. Like he did last night. I am begining to think, Puig doesn’t belong at the front of the order. Puig has had trouble hitting 92 fastball, that are right down the middle of the plate.
And I don’t want Howie, any where near, the front of the order, because he has came up, way to many times, with players, in scoring position, and done nothing.
And Turner, hasn’t done much either, especially for Turner. He is our number three hitter, and the number three hitter, has to produce.
If FAZ just wanted a guy to do what they wanted they would have just put Gabe Kapler in as manager.
Dave Roberts is his own man. If you think FAZ is going to make out the lineup, you have no clue.
They wanted Kapler. Ownership said not so fast and ‘recommended’ Roberts.
Here’s another one. I think someone brought this up to Stan Kastan…asked him if he directly intervened to open up the interview process. I think he actually laughed. He said clearly that that’s not how it happened, that the interview was open and it was a cooperative effort by all parties to find the best guy.
Where these assumptions come from I don’t know. I admit, I actually thought this, too…because I read it on the internet. There are a lot of old wives spinning tales in the baseball blogosphere.
The rumor actually came from the press, not the web. There are lots of articles stating that Kapler was the immediate favorite to get the job, but that Roberts “wow’d” the owners with his interview and turned the tide in his favor.
Yup!
Turner is out tonight, and Howie is playing third. And Crawford will be out in leftfield, when Maeda is pitching. I just hope Crawford plays better in leftfield to night, because he has been really shakey out there.
Why did Crawford hold the ball, when Gordon, was running home, the other night? I just wish Crawford would try to do something to compensate, for his weak arm.
He should catch a fly ball, with both hands, so at least, his hand will be closer, to make the throw, in the transfer, to his throwing hand.
He usually catches the ball with one hand, and then has to transfer the ball, to his other hand, and it takes more time, to make that transfer, then if he catches the ball, with both hands on his glove.
I disagree with those who say Mattingly and Roberts make out the lineup. There are way to many similarities in what lineups we had last year and what lineups we have this year. How do we know Grandal cannot hit left handers. He has not been given a chance. Same is starting to happen with Pederson. He is not getting a chance to play against left handers. This is not working. You better figure out your 8 best players and play them every night until they need a rest. I have been a FAZ supporter, but I am starting to change. You can stick all this sabermetrics up your rear end. I am old and believe in 8 starters. I believe what my eyes tell me. To hell with sabermetrics or whatever BS you want to call what we are seeing. I am pissed and I do not see anything changing with these lineups. The sooner someone tells FAZ to get back upstairs and be a General Manager and let the people on the field decide who plays, the better we will be. I am out and pissed.
Do you see our current crop of Presidential candidates? That’s what happens when people make decisions about leadership when they’re pissed.
Excellent point. Two different managers same platoon, splits, righty/lefty combination bull shit.
But somehow it did work last year, at least I think it did.
Idahoal Mattingly was playing Grandal over AJ last year, even though Grandal hadn’t hit over 178 since he got hurt, early after the Allstar break. And AJ was hitting well, at that time. And Mattingly almost played Grandal, in every game, in the post season, over AJ, even though Grandal was hurt, and couldn’t even swing a bat. Do you think people who are in to numbers, would have played Grandal, and Pederson, in the post season? Those two, hadn’t been able to hit, for a long time. Remember how bad Joc was, in the second half, of the season.
One more thing while I am at it. The signing of Kendrick was a terrible signing. We do not need him. We certainly do not need him at second. We do not need him in left field. Once we signed Utley we had no need for Kendrick. Send Kendrick and CC to AAA. We have no need for either one. When SVS comes back send him also to AAA. We need a house cleaning. I am getting tired of seeing guys play who do not deserve it because they have a contract. While you are at it, send FAZ to AAA.
I agree about Howie!
Dodger patch, what has politics got to do with baseball? Stick with baseball. Our country is already ruined by Bush and Obama. At least there is still some hope for Dodger baseball.
I’ve come to the conclusion that it doesn’t matter who is president, the people with the real power are those that own the politicians. It may sound like platitude, but the game has been fixed by wealth. People don’t matter anymore. Maybe they never did and I’ve been fooling myself since 1968.
I think the same is true in baseball. It’s a multibillion dollar business and the people with power are the owners. The Dodgers ownership made the decision to bring this management group in, and by doing so one would think they would be allowed to hire the manager of their choice. I believe they did. I think Roberts is their guy and I say that because that’s what I read, not on blogs, but in press releases. According to the writers, Freidman said “There’s no way Dave walked out of that interview not thinking ‘I totally nailed that’ because that’s how we all felt.” Roberts is the guy that will implement what the owners want, which is to run the team according to the numbers that FAZ crunch. It’s FAZ that want the platoons and its FAZ that believe the shift is the way to beat the big hitters. It’s Friedman and Zaidi that believe moves like McCarthy are better than Hamels. Roberts is doing exactly what Mattingly did and who knows, maybe it’s what he wants to do, but you can be sure it’s what FAZ wants him to do. Think about it for a moment, if Roberts would have told them in the interview “I’m old school. I’m not big on platoons and I don’t believe in overloading defenses”, do you think he would have been hired? Not a chance.
As long as Friedman and Zaidi are in charge we will see a whole lot more of Moneyball. I hope it works. So far? No. It hasn’t worked. I’m not convinced it will work, but, I accept that it takes time to rebuild an organization. I give them……. I think you know how long I think it will take. Again, I just hope it works.
Badger I’m with you, with those signings, of all those injury prone, and sub par pitchers, and Howie. But I don’t believe they are making the line up.
Maybe Billy Beane does for the A’s, but Joe Maddan, made the line up, when he was with the Rays. He was hired by Friedman, and he worked under Friedman, for many years.
I don’t think Friedman, uses saber metrics, as his only tool, and he has said this. Friedman is not a purest, when it comes, to saber metrics. Maybe the GM was, when he was with A’s, but not here.
Bunting is looked down, by saber metric people, and Maddan, uses the bunt all the time. And by the way, Mattingly was doing platoons, before these guys got here. He platooned Ethier quite a bit, and played almost all of these back up players, on the bench, constantly.
That is how Scotty, finally, got up on the team. Look at Hairson, Punta, and Skip, Mattingly played all of these guys, quite a bit. And why did Mattingly want a contract extension, if he wasn’t allowed to make his own line ups?
Mattingly only left, because he wasn’t going to get more years. And what is Mattingly’s excuse, for the other four years he was with the Dodgers?
Roberts might be over doing it right now, but he is just feeling his way, around the team now. Give him time, to get to know the team. The bench coach is from the Mets, and the Mets don’t platoon to much.
Badger think about who Mattingly played in the post season, Grandal and Pederson. Both of those guys hasn’t hit above 178, in the second half, of the season. And AJ was actually hitting well, and had pretty good stats, in post season play. There is no way, that the front office, put those two, in the line up, with there terrible offensive stats? And Grandal was hurt. Remember when Baez was brought in, to pitch to the Mets third baseman, and Baez had terrible stats, for that situation? One thing these guys know, and that is numbers. No one who knew the numbers, would have played those two, or brought in Baez, in that situation.
Numbers go out the window in the post season. Those number guys say it’s too small a sample size. As far as Baez that was Donnie with his head up his ass and that stupid belief that Jansen can only pitch the 9th inning. Remember he did it two years in a row.
They don’t make the actual lineups MJ. They likely send down information regarding match ups If Roberts gets a note that says a certain player hits .200 against a shift, and .300 against a normal alignment, what do you think Roberts will do with that info?
These things are here to stay. Evidently even Kershaw has to put up with it. The really good hitters will make defenses pay for leaving huge gaps open. The stubborn guys will continue to hit into it. Platoons are the new Dodger way. Get used to it.
Badger I know they get the stats on things, but I’m sorry, Mat tingly was not playing players, because of those stats. He got stats, but he did what he wanted to do. He was the one that continued to play Joc, even though, Joc couldnt even make contact! .
I think Roberts will use that as a tool. And Roberts is just getting to know these players. We need to give him a chance, and see what he does. And if something continues, and it isn’t good, then make a judgement. Badger you were much more positive, last night! You said that they would come around, and that made me feel more positive.
I think Roberts will use that as a tool. And Roberts is just getting to know these players. We need to give him a chance, and see what he does. And if something continues, and it isn’t good, then make a judgement then. Badger you were much more positive, last night! You said that they would come around, and that made me feel more positive.
In modern baseball fans only count when they spend $. I’ve noticed that people like Vinny and Tommy still talk about the fans and their importance to the ball club. It’s sad that it’s a dying belief. But it is what it is. Pay large sums of money to watch a major league player misjudge a pop fly!
Idahoal I agree, when you have to many guys, and try to fit them in, you never get the best, from anyone.
I would hate to see an over-reliance on data crunching take the soul out of Dodger baseball. The game is still played by flesh and blood human beings, not computers that an IT guy can control. The data can help, but it shouldn’t be the central focus of the game.
I want to watch Kershaw pitch, not Zaidi push keys on his computer.
Exactly Dodger rick! There never should be just one way, of doing things, and in baseball, and any thing else.
Yeah I agree. Nothing wrong with these new approaches to baseball. But if it gets to the point of embarrassing yourself (who’s covering third?) then you have to ask if it’s really worth it to pay to see a “comedy of errors”. Personal preference.
OK, So bingo!!! It was mentioned above that the Sabre shit can also work the opposite way. Thank you Cpt. Obvious. Why can’t FAZ see it happening? Everyone else for that matter. Sabre shit seems so much like the lemming theory to me. Go against the grain!!! Geez!!!!
FAZ sees statistical data. They seek advantage using mathematics. I don’t even know they watch players all that much. Friedman might. I doubt Zaidi does. They are analysts.
MJ I don’t know that Mattingly is a believer in using platoons and shifts. Maybe. Perhaps the numbers show he used both with the same frequency before and after FAZ. My guess would be he didn’t, but it would only be a guess. I’m also guessing most managers, who are working for those who hired them, would do what their bosses preferred them to do. That could go a long way in, you know, keeping their job.
Badger that was a really good point, about wanting to please your boss. I think they did do a defensive shift, but nothing extreme. But Mattingly was always over playing those utility players, and did have Ethier platooning, at times. Mattingly would give players days off, and they just had a day off, in that same week. He really over played the bench players, and I know, because I didn’t like it. I never remember, the Dodger players, in the 70s, and the 80s, taking so many games off. Mattingly would give a day off, to someone that just started hitting. He was terrible about that kind of stuff!
They can’t let Fernandez, get ahead on the count. If the first pitch is a strike, they need to hit it.
Well that is a good start, and Badger you were right, they are hitting a little now. And Watford, Chase does it again. That old man, can hit a good fastball still!
Lot of discussion today; that’s great!!
Great job of hitting there by Grandal.
I know he gave up 2 runs in the 1st, but man, Fernandez looks like a stud. We need to get him in July. A playoff rotation of Kersh, Fernandez, Maeda would be fantastic.
Looking forward to the Japanese matchup Maeda v Ichiro
Bobby what match up? Maeda struck him out! And that, is hard to do. Everybody has much better energy tonight. I can feel it, through the TV.
Maeda will be fine, because he is smart, and he will adjust the next time he faces that catcher. That barely went out. It was kind of odd. We need runs!
I know it is a no no, with the first four hitters. But if we have a runner on third, with less then two outs, and anyone that is back of the line up, I would bunt. I just wish that one of those guys, got a bat on the ball, but I know it isn’t easy, to hit hm.
The look on Fernandez face after he swung at whatever Maeda’s pitch was was priceless!!
Bobby I saw that! It looked like he said, what was that!
Bobby that is the reason I don’t like Crawford to play. There is no way a catcher, should be able to make it home, from second, and standing, with he ball hit right to the leftfielder.
You’re telling me.
Crawford has a bad arm, and he doesn’t even run into his throws. He doesn’t even do a crows hop. No catcher, should be scoring from second base, with a ball hit to leftfield, and the catcher, was standing, when he touched home plate. And Crawford doesn’t even throw the ball, right away.
Crawford just came back, and he looks better, then Howie.
I was talking about hitting.
Didn’t like the Dee Gordon trade for “depth” last year, and I don’t like it now
Rather have Dee at 2b, than Hatcher and Barnes and even Kike
Amen, Another stupid trade from the moneyball guys
Scott did you see Crawford throw?
Throw? Crawford doesn’t throw. He wills the ball back to the infield with his noodle arm
He holds it a minute, and he doesn’t even crow hop, are try to run into his throw, to get something on his throws. A catcher scored from second, standing.
And this is why people are not impressed with what the bullpen does, when the Dodgers are not winning a game. They are always better, when there is no pressure. It is always the first pitch, that the bullpen throws, that causes this to happen! That is because the bullpen almost always, throws the first pitch, right down the middle of the plate. When will they learn? Never!
Embarrassing -Dodgers swept by Fish at home .
I’ve seen more than enough to declare those extreme infield shirts are self harmful when used by the Dodgers. If whoever calling those shots hasn’t seen this is so yet they better look into it. I know I’m not wrong.
Holy wow: Dee Gordon suspended 80 games for testing positive for PED!!
Scratch what I said above; glad we traded him!!!! Go FAZ!!
Idaho – not sure Giancarlo agreed with you when you said he was over rated!!
Watford, I did not say Giancarlo was over rated. You have me mixed up. I only talk about the Dodgers. They have enough problems.