It seems like we just can’t get away from Daniel Murphy in the postseason. He’s become the Dodger’s October Chupacabra, and now he’s back to potentially haunt the Dodgers again. The only red headed Irish man I want to see hitting bombs is Justin Turner.
Last season veteran infielder Daniel Murphy destroyed the Dodgers single handedly in the 2015 NLDS. At the time he was a Met. The 31-year old left handed hitter had never reached the postseason before in his 8-year MLB career. We all remember Murphy’s infamous stealing of third base after a ball four from Zack Greinke on the Dodger’s ill fated shift in game 5 of the 2015 NLDS. That smart heads up play personified Murphy’s baseball instincts last October. That’s not taking into account all of the home runs he hit, including the game winning shot off of Greinke in that same game.
Now the Dodgers will have to see him again, this time as a Washington National. Before the season started Murphy declared free agency. I actually suggested before the Dodgers resigned Howie Kendrick, that the Dodgers should look into signing him if Kendrick didn’t work out. Kendrick did end up resigning with the Dodgers, and the Nationals wisely picked him up.
This season he blossomed into a hitting star, having a career year at the plate. He batted .347 with a .390 OBP and posted a .985 OPS. He hit 25 home runs and drove in 104 runs while getting 582 plate appearances. He notched 184 hits and 47 doubles. He finished second in the National League in batting, and only struck out 57 times in his 531 at-bats. He spent most of the time in the field at second base, but can also play first and third.
Last October against the Dodgers he went 7 for 21 in the series for a .333 average and an OPS of over 1.000. He hit 3 home runs in the NLDS and 4 in the NLCS against the Cubs. In that series he won the MVP award by batting .529 (9 for 17) with 4 home runs and 6 runs driven in. He is batting .328 in the postseason (19 for 58) with 7 home runs and 11 runs driven in. Murphy is batting .302 in his career against the Dodgers.
This year Murphy has battled various injuries. He’s had hamstring problems, a sore knee, and now has a strained Gluteus muscle. This is ironic because he’s been a huge pain in the Dodger’s butt. They might get a break because he is still uncertain to play in the series. The Dodgers will have to somehow find a way to contain him. My advice is to not pitch to him. Seriously, the Dodgers can’t allow this guy to beat them again if he plays in the series.
We don’t want to have another repeat of last season.
‘only struck out 57 times’
Wow, that may be the most impressive of all the stats you gave.
Gona be a good series!! Can’t wait.
Toles will be starting in LF tomorrow!
So who is in RF?
I”d bet Reddick, as we’ll go with a bunch of lefties vs scherzer and his 98mph fastball
Basically Turner would be the only right handed hitter tomorrow.
Hamels with a 16.2 ERA, so far, in this years playoffs. Who wanted that guy for Seager and Urias?
Nobody.
Yea, i think it’s safe to assume tomorrow is:
Utley
Seager
Turner
Agone
Grandal
Reddick
Joc
Toles
Kersh
I’d like to see Toles or Reddick move into the #2 slot in the order and the other move ahead of Grandal.
Utley
Toles/Reddick
Seager
Turner
Gonzalez
Toles/Reddick
Grandal
Pederson
Kershaw
Toles speed gets wasted at the bottom of the order.
We don’t have a real leadoff hitter.
So I go with this lineup:
Nobody
Toles
Seager
AGon
Everybody else hits 8th
How about just Seager 1 through 8. Vs leftys …a right handed hitting Seager 1 through 8.
Since 1958
What did you think about the Giants winning yesterday?
Badger
You missed Turner.
No I didn’t. He would be the first #8 hitter.
Oh sorry Badger!
I think we better stay with the same line up, that has worked all year.
When Roberts played mostly the regular line up against lefties, he didn’t stay with the same batting line up, and I think it got in the way, of scoring more runs.
I wouldn’t break up Utley, Corey, Turner, and Agone, because this has been our most productive offense this year.
And I don’t ever want to see Howie leading off again.
He isn’t a patient hitter, and I think Howie is good for a RBI or two, when he is hitting well.
I also don’t want to see Puig hitting fourth either.
Puig has done much better, but he isn’t a fourth hitter.
The highest I would bat Puig would be fifth, but I think he does a better job, in the sixth and seventh position.
Because Puig puts to much pressure on himself, when he hits higher in the line up.
There was a “regular lineup”?
I hope Utley and Kendrick are ready to go. They both looked terrible the last month. Kendrick was under .200. Utley was under the Grandal line.
Utley 244, and ops 716 for September.
Howie 200, and his ops is 5 something for September.
And Howie doesn’t have good post season stats.
And Utley does have good post season stats.
BR – Sept/Oct – Utley .229, Kendrick .190.
They looked gassed. Hopefully 4 days off will rejuvenate them.
Badger
I just looked at September, in MLB splits.
Whenever Utley gets a day or two off he seems to hit the ball hard when he returns to the lineup.
You can look at stats all you want but you should throw out the book in the playoffs. What happened in September is ancient history.
Madison Bumgarner had a 4.09 ERA the last 28 days of the regular season.
What did that mean in the playoffs?
NOT A DAMN THING!
The season starts now!
Mark
I am hoping the Cubs will change Bumgarners post season stats, but not in a good way.
But you are right, you just never know.
The tournament starts now!
the Dodgers, reportedly, were going to use Chapman much as the Indians did tonight. In variable, high-leverage situations.
Bluto
I thought they were just going to try to shorten the game with Kenley and Chapman, like the Royals.
Either way shortens the game really. But if you mean, taking the 8th and 9th most nights that’s not what I’ve heard and read.
I have never read anything specific from our front office, but Friedman did say they were going after Chapman, to make up for losing Greinke.
But certain saber metric people would like baseball teams, to have a new reliever for every new inning.
But with Cleveland, they lost two of there starters, just before the post season sometime, so I think that is one of the reasons, that they are using Miller in that way.
Brian Kenney will be living the use of Miller that way. Much like Sparky Lyle and Mike Marshall.
Hawkeye
That is exactly who I was thinking about, that would use a fresh pitcher every inning, or like they are using Miller, right now.
That sounds good, but in post season play, there seems to be a player, that isn’t a top player, that shines at times.
But I think it makes sense, but not in the way Kenney is thinking.
Because some pitchers, get better and stronger as they go.
Yes, I think the Front Office has shown that this year. Lots of different looks and pitches with starters only going five or six. Saves wear on the arms and has proven effective.
Imagine if Chapman hadn’t been a vagrant, would have seen some very interesting bullpen usage presumably.
Bluto
I am not sure that Chapman would be a good candidate to use in that way.
In relief?
In high-leverage situations?
His splits are pretty good in both.
Not sure what you mean.
Well I’ve been trying to get some ducks in a row with getting into my next (and likely my last) dwelling and the ducks been flying against wind on different schedules. I’m not gonna miss tomorrow’s game, though I’ve got to traverse 75 miles to a sports bar to do so and I am not drinking any beer till another 3 months. But at least the bar is in the town where I’m moving back to. Too many birds and just not enough rocks.
I believe it’s the Dodgers who has home field advantage and it’s likely that we’ll KO Nats at Dodger Stadium. I even hope Giants whoop the Cubs so we can whip the Giants in four at Giants seagull shit park.
I’m gonna get some sleep, I’ve traveled more miles in the last 3 months than the previous 3 years. GO DODGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CHEERS, friends!
Quas
I hope you have a good game day, as well, as the rest of us.
Yes, the Giants have won the last three even numbered year WS and this year would give them a fourth. But the Dodgers also have a winning history that gives them a higher probability of a win this year.
1955 + 4 = 1959 +4 = 1963 + 2 = 1965 +16 = 1981 +7 = 1988 + 28 = 2016
(4/4=1) + (2 X2=4) + 16 + 7 = 28 = 2016
This is the standard predictive formula for world series winner as a function of a discrete variable whose integral over any interval is the probability that the random variable specified by it will lie within that interval.
So relax, the Dodgers have a more reliable predictive future than the Gaints.
Bum
Does this mean that the Dodgers have as good of a chance, as the Giants do, with there even year BS?
Better
Bum
That sounds even better!
Whew, now I am very confident!
This is in the bag…
Wait, what about leap year and Hale Bopp?
According to what I read this morning the midgets are a long shot against the Cubs and the Dodgers/Nats are pretty much even money. I’m making no bets and no predictions. Everything I’ve read says the playoffs follow no pattern. One misplayed fly ball or one Winters strike zone can change the course of history.
That said – the Cubs are the best team in this tournament.
It’s the mistakes which can knock you out! The guy whose photo is in this post, yeah he may have hit well, but he committed a gigantic error in game 5 of the WS. Maybe he’ll commit another error in this series.
Artieboy
That is true about Murphy, but at least he made it to the World Series, and without Murphy, the Mets don’t go to the World Series last year.
Badger
We just saw what the Indians did to the Red Sox, even though they lost two of there starting pitchers, so even if the Nationals have lost a couple of there players, it doesn’t mean anything, until the games are played.
Because anything can happen in baseball.
I hate that they made the Dodgers and the Nationals, wait the longest, and our guys are playing in the mid game.
There is only an hour difference, from Washinton DC, and Chicago, but they are having all of the late games this weekend.
And I don’t like that they have to play baseball, in this type of cold weather.
I would be in favor of the teams starting earlier, or shorten in the schedule, so the weather is better.
I’m glad our guys got some rest. They also get some days to distance themselves from that pathetic finish.
MJ, losing good players does mean something. If we hadn’t lost any, we might have finished above 92 wins. But since we watched as China dolls were signed one after another, the under 92 was actually a good bet. So was taking the under on McCarthy and Anderson doing anything but cash their checks and sit in the whirlpools all year.
Considering how short winded our starting staff has been all year, I think the bullpen did an admirable job of wrapping up unfinished innings. Maybe that’s a sabermetrical thing in today’s game. Yeah, starters make the big bucks, but they only need to put in 5.1 innings (that’s what the Dodgers averaged, 29th in MLB). But, we were 14th in runs, and 18th in OBP, so, I guess that makes up for lack of starting pitching stamina.
But as was mentioned, throw the stats out the window and hope for mistakes by them, perfection by us, and umpires that favor the color Blue.
At least Anderson is gone.
It will be interesting, to see what kind of contract he will get next year.
The great thing about the way baseball used to be was that there was no real argument, the pennant winner was always the best team in their respective league. Hard to argue with the fact that the most games won over a 154 or 162 game schedule wasn’t the best team in the league. Not so now. I understand that there are too many teams and too much $ to be made, but it doesn’t stop me from being nostalgic for the days when baseball was different than the foozball [or the concussive brain damage sport as I like to call it] bassetbaw and hokey.
“Whatever the question, the answer is money” – Tony Kornheiser.
I miss the old days too. Starters that finished and consecutive game streaks by starters who played everyday. Stolen bases used to be a thing of importance, and an exciting part of the game. Everybody could bunt and everybody could hit and run. So much has changed. But, it’s changed in all sports. When I played college football I was able to compete against bigger faster players by beating the crap out of them all the way downfield until the ball was in the air. Targeting? Oh hell yes we targeted. Ringing the bell of opposing receivers was the goal. Watching them walk to wrong sideline with a bloody nose was actually fun. I couldn’t play today’s defense. But I know I could play today’s baseball. The strike zone is the size of a box of corn flakes and I can bunt, hit to all fields, steal a base and hit my cutoff.
I sound like Dana Carvey’s Grumpy Old Man character. “That’s the way it was AND WE LIKED IT!”
I actually like the way baseball is played these days…just don’t think the tournament system actually produces a true best team champion. More like the hottest and luckiest champion. As has always been said, anything can happen in a short 7 game series. That’s why the WS has always been of secondary importance. The league pennant winners were the truer test.
Since 1958
That would sure stop the Giants from just being good, right when the post season begins, because they wouldn’t have won those World Series, because they wouldn’t be in the post season.
And really the Giants didn’t even hit much to win in that last game against the Mets, it was another fringe player, that helped them win that game.
Crawford did hit that double, but the Mets closer, was only one out from stopping that rally.
I can’t believe the Met’s closer, had only gave up one HR all season long, before that HR.
Though I wasn’t around in 1958 I agree with you 100%. I wish there was 1 NL team, 1 AL team and 1 simple 7 game series. It won’t happen, but I prefer that.
And I know it’s wrong to say, but when I see a team that couldn’t come in first place celebrate over winning 1 game I think of little league.
Yeah it’s wrong to think like that but this is what MLB wants: champagne celebrations galore!
Today could be the most important day of the playoffs for the NL pennant. Losers will probably not come back in a 5 game series. Same could be said for yesterday in the AL. Boston losing and having to face Kubel today means that the BoSox are probably gone. They were the only real threat to the giants in the AL. So, if the giants get past the Cubs today, they win that series and will beat whomever they play for the NLCS. Then, maybe Cleveland or Toronto, both teams short of starting pitching. Looking through my shit-colored glasses, if the Cueto beats Lester today, give the giants the crown. I’m crawling into a deep hole until after Nov 8. Then the election and the giants’ parade will both be over, and we start talking about Spring Training again. Does anyone know how to time jump ahead?
Bobbie 17
The Red Sox don’t have good starting pitching.
And Price has a worse record in the post season then Kershaw.
And pitching usually rules, in short series.
I got freaked out, after the Giants won too, but that was just one game, so try not to jump that far.
I will try too.
Bobbie17
I have thought that I just want to know when things are over, but what if it is different this year?
There is always a chance.