Monday, November 11, 2024
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Dodgers Score Early, Hang on Late To Beat Turncoat Greinke and Snakes 3-2

Zack Greinke

You know Greinke went for the money this year and maybe he doesn’t regret it with his 210 million dollars. He can’t be happy though with the lousy team he inherited. He may be rich with money but is very poor with wins. This is the last time the Dodgers will see him this season and they said goodbye by defeating him again, sending him home to the golf course thoroughly depressed.

The Dodgers still had trouble scoring runs though on Friday evening in the second game of the four game series against Arizona at Chase Field. However their 3 runs were just enough as the boys in blue squeaked out a win over the Snakes by a 3-2 score to even the series. The Dodgers got to turncoat Zack Greinke early by scoring two runs in the first inning and made it stand up. They added one more in the fourth frame and starter Kenta Maeda turned in 5 effective innings to earn his fifteenth win of the season.

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Two of the Dodger’s three runs were unearned thanks to a throwing error and a passed ball. The Dodger’s bullpen took care of things the rest of the way as the club used 6 pitchers (J.P. Howell, Josh Fields, Pedro Baez, Grant Dayton, Joe Blanton and Kenley Jansen) to pitch the final 4 frames of the game. As of right now the Giants are besting the Cardinals 8-2 in the ninth inning. Regardless of that outcome the Dodgers retain their 4 game advantage over the Giants and reduced their magic number to 12 to win the NL West. This is the second time in less than two weeks that the Dodgers have beaten traitor Greinke. Here’s how it all played out in the desert.

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The Dodgers struck first off of Zack Greinke in the top of the first. Greinke has incorporated some kind of weird pause in his delivery for some reason. It didn’t affect the Dodger hitters. Chase Utley leads off the game with a double to right field. With Corey Seager at the plate, Greinke uncorked a wild pitch that sent Utley to third.

After Seager struck out, Justin Turner tripled into the right field corner as the ball bounced past Yasmany Tomas. Utley scores and the Dodgers go up 1-0. Then with Adrian Gonzalez at the plate there is a passed ball that gets away from Snakes catcher wellington Castillo and Turner scores the second Dodger run. Gonzo worked a walk, but Yasmani Grandal grounded into a double play.

Dodgers 3 5 1

Dbacks    2 6 1

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LP-Greinke-12-7

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Kenta Maeda has a nice easy 123 inning in the top of the first, then lost it in the second inning. With one out, Castillo singled to center, and Maeda walks Tomas and Brandon Drury. Mitch Haniger’s ground out force play scores the first Dback run of the game, and that makes it a 2-1 score. Maeda would settle down and the Dodgers got out of the inning.

Move to the top of the fourth inning. Gonzo singles and after Yasmani Grandal’s force out, Josh Reddick’s walk forces Grandal to second. Defensive shortcomings would be the Dback’s undoing in this inning. Howie Kendrick’s grounder was a taylor made double play, but after getting the out at second, Jean Segura throws the ball away. That allows Gonzalez to score and the Dodgers take a 3-1 lead thanks to the Arizona error.

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Maeda got into a little bit of trouble in the bottom of the fourth after issuing a single to Drury and a walk to Haniger. However Greinke’s force out ends the inning and keeps the Dodger’s lead intact. Maeda tosses a 123 fifth inning and then is removed. Maeda allows one earned run on 3 hits, walks 3 and strikes out 6.

More trouble for the Dodgers in the bottom of the sixth. J.P. Howell enters the game and immediately allows a double to Jake Lamb. He’s then hooked and right hander Josh Fields is brought in. Fields walks Castillo but whiffs Tomas, Drury, and gets Haniger to fly out. Threat averted for the Dodgers. Zack Greinke is removed after 6 innings. He allowed 3 runs (one earned) on 4 hits, walked 4 and struck out 4.

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In the bottom of the seventh inning Pedro Baez pitches around a Segura double to preserve the Dodger lead and we head to the eighth. The bottom half of the eighth is where years are taken off of our lives thanks to Joe Blanton, but the Dodgers narrowly escaped. After Grant Dayton whiffed Jake Lamb, Roberts brings in Blanton and the tom foolery begins. He walks Castillo, and then he strikes out Tomas. Then there is a wild pitch and he walks Drury. Then he walks Haniger to load the bases. Pitching coach Rick Honeycutt has to come out and talk to him to settle him down. With Kenley Jansen warming in the bullpen he gets pinch-hitter Ricki Weeks to ground out and the Dodgers escape.

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Move to the bottom of the ninth. In comes Kenley to secure the save. Segura flies out to right for the first out. Owings then triples into the gap and the Dodgers are in trouble again. Here comes up Goldschmidt who has struck out 3 times on the night. Kenley gets him to fly out deep for the second out, but Owings brings in the second run which makes the score 3-2 Dodgers. Finally Lamb grounds out into the shift and the Dodgers win it! Final score 3-2.

The Dodgers now improve to 83-64 and the magic number has been reduced to 12. The series in the desert continues Saturday night as rookie Brock Stewart takes on Shelby Miller at 5:10 PM. The Dodgers need to start scoring more runs again. That was way too close for comfort.

Go Blue!

Scott Andes

Scott Andes: Longtime writer and Dodger fanatic

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Scott Andes
Scott Andes: Longtime writer and Dodger fanatic
https://ladodgerreport.com

61 thoughts on “Dodgers Score Early, Hang on Late To Beat Turncoat Greinke and Snakes 3-2

  1. It’s always nice to beat the turncoat.

    Regarding the bats and the low runs scored, one change I would like to see made is Kendrick leading off. It’s not that Utley is a bad choice, it’s just that Kendrick has a much higher OBP. Utley can bat 2nd followed by our RBI guys.

    Kendrick
    Utley
    Seager
    Turner
    Gonzalez
    Puig
    Grandal
    Pederson

    There’s a lot of HR power beginning with Seager and that’s how the Dodgers have won many games, blasting HR’s and doubles. They are not good at hitting singles or clustering their hits. Grandal and Pederson have yet to break the 100 hit mark! This is 25% of the order. This is one of the reasons they don’t score more runs. Two positions that are not as productive as you’d want. Grandal only has 13 doubles!

    Puig needs to be utilized more, Reddick less. Ethier may not regain his former production. These 3 players may be able to get us a monster in the outfield. Pederson could also be dangled. He will not break .250 for the year.

    1. Jeff
      Chase is to much of a difference maker once he is on base.

      Chase has one of the all time base running stats in all of baseball.

      I do agree if they want Puig to be a difference maker against lefties, they are going to have to play him much more often, because he isn’t good with coming off the bench.

      And really most players are not.

      I don’t see any reason that Reddick is played like he has been played.

      He isn’t as good on defense, as most of our own outfielders are.

      Puig is a much better defensive player, and if you want him to be that difference maker, you just have to play him.

    2. Jeff
      And I do think it is a telling stat that Joc and Grandal don’t have one hundred hits yet, for the season.

      If you needed someone to hit in a clutch run, would you want Joc and Grandal up to the plate, more then some of the other players, in the line up?

      1. Jeff: “Grandal and Pederson have yet to break the 100 hit mark!”

        MJ: “And I do think it is a telling stat that Joc and Grandal don’t have one hundred hits yet, for the season.”

        Biggest, DUH, of the day you two.

        Seager, 569 ABs, 179 hits
        Gonzalez, 526 ABs, 150 hits
        Turner, 506 ABs, 137 hits
        Utley, 475 ABs, 121 hits
        Kendrick, 439 ABs, 117 hits

        Pederson, 378 ABs, 92 hits
        Grandal, 363 AB’s, 81 hits

        First thing when examining those statements, is look to number of ABs.

  2. And the good ship Grandal is sinking into the sunset. The guy may have power, and frame pitches well, but he is too streaky. He has been losing points on his BA steady for about 2 weeks. He has really been bad with men in scoring position. Maybe he needs a day off…because he sure is not hitting right now. Good thing I am pretty healthy because the way this team goes about winning is enough to give you a heart attack.

  3. There is not one tried and proven formula to construct a lineup, but I have always felt of you had a group of guys who OPSed over .800 you could score a lot of runs. For the uninitiated, OPS is OB% + Slugging %. It’s a very straightforward stat. The stat geeks like more sophisticated metrics, but a lot of it is subjective to a degree. For example, the D-Bags have these guys:

    Goldy – .900
    Lamb – .875
    Segura – .845
    Tomas – .812

    The Cubs have these guys:
    Bryant – .950 (MVP)
    Rizzo – .938
    Fowler – ..827
    Zobrist – .810

    When you have two guys over .900, you are nails.

    The Boston Red Sox have these guys:
    Ortiz – 1.026 (sick)
    Leon – .938
    Young – .894
    Betts – .892
    Ramirez – .858
    Benintendi – .857
    Bradly – .852
    Pedroia – .850
    Bogarts – .795

    The Red Sox lead all of baseball in OPS (.821) and Runs Scored. I always look at OPS – WAR is somewhat subjective, OPS isn’t. The Dodgers OPS .726. They are 9th in the NL. I would build the lineup based upon OPS. I would find out if Andrew Toles who leads the Dodgers in OPS (albeit a small sampling) can lead off. I would hit Ultley 2nd. He has a .703 OPS but he will move the runner better than most in baseball.

    Here’s my lineup:

    1. Toles .980 LF
    2. Utley .703 -2B
    3. Seager .898 – So close to being a superstar! SS
    4. Turner – .840 3B
    5. Pederson – .822 CF
    6. A-Gon – .784 1B
    7. Puig – .722 – RF
    8. Grandal – .800 – C

    Kendrick .722 is first off the bench. If you OPS below .700, you can’t play for me:

    Reddick .549
    Hernandez – .626

    A-Gon used be a a .900 OPS guy, then an .800 OPS guy. Now, he’s a mid-to-high .700 guy. He’s a nice player, but not a force.

    The Dodgers will try and sign Turner because he is a mid-.800 OPS guy. They need another one and some mid .800 guys. That’s when you score runs. If you can OPS .800 as a team, you will score a ton of runs. — Baseball 101

    1. Interesting, but Grandal is just way too streaky for me. But I see what you are saying. A-Gone is on the down side, we all know that. Hernandez has sucked all year, and I never liked the Reddick move anyway, we did not need another LH bat.

      1. Michael
        Look at Agone’s ops, do you think Joc is a better hitter, then Agone?

        Agone is on a low now, but he was hitting really well for a long while.

        Joc is not a better hitter then Agone, at this point in his career, but Joc’s ops is higher.

        1. Joc is not even close to being the hitter A-Gone was. He has a lot of power and a ton of potential, but so far the results are mixed. If he could put together an entire season like the first half of his rookie year, then maybe I would think he was a good hitter. But he gets in these ruts where he swings from the heels and tries to crush every pitch he sees. Seager on the other hand, has a plan. He does chase the low inside pitch a lot, and gets struck out on it a lot, but he also can hit lefty’s and looks like he goes to the plate with some sort of discipline, something Pederson and Puig, and at this point Hernandez need to learn.

    2. Good analysis Mark.

      Something that really stands out to me in your analysis is, Grandal, Seager and Pederson. These “Up the middle” guys, positions where defense often over shadows offense, are YOUNG studs. The Dodger farm has lots of corner outfield possibilities (and a first base possibility) to add to this very nice young nucleus. Add 5 -7 one or two, stud pitching, possibilities and the future looks bright!

      While I have no problem “dangling” Pederson, 24 yr old Joc made great strides this year. I think he gets better again next year.

    3. Mark
      That ops stat can be deceiving, look at the second and third guy in ops on the Red Sox.

      Young is really quite average, and Leon is having a good offensive year at catcher, but neither one of these guys, are even close to a player like Betts.

      If someone could change the saber metric evaluations, and not equate a walk is the same as a hit.

      And would not equate a strike out, being the same as any other out, and value for batting average much more, then I might feel different.

      Joc ops looks better because of the above problems.

      He is not penalized for his strike outs, and lack of contact, and the same with his low batting average.

      1. And does anyone really feel that Joc is that close to being the hitter, that Turner is, if you look at both there ops’, they are really close.

        But does your own eyes tell you, that Joc is close to the hitter that Turner is?

      2. Why not subtract points for every time you strike out with runners in scoring position, and if your walk is to get to the pitcher, why should it add to your stats? Great he got on base with a walk, but a pitcher hitting .078 was coming up, and he struck out meekly. One reason I think it is time for the NL to adopt the DH. I am really tired of guys like Kazmir, and Norris, and just about every other pitcher on the team flailing away, and killing rally’s, year once in a while they get lucky, but for the most part they suck.

        1. And Michael
          If Grandal gets a walk, with a runner on second or third, does that walk hit the run in?

          Both Grandal and Joc don’t get penalized for there lack of contact, and lack of hits, or for there below average, batting averages.

      3. OPS is a useful stat, but I want to know more. On-base, slugging percentage and yes, old-fashioned batting average, particularly with men on base. For example, JT and Yas have similar OPS with RISP, but Turner is hitting almost 100 points higher. There are times when a walk is not as good as a hit.

  4. A lot of Greinke’s problems can be traced to pitching in the launching pad known as Chase Field. But a lot more can be traced to a bad fielding team who when they make a mistake it is magnified. They did that a couple of times last night.

    1. I am not sure AZ being a “bad fielding team” is correct. Tomas doesn’t look like a very good fielder, but, everyone else looks solid. To me Greinke looks like a “3” right now and fading with age. He knew Dodgers would torch the fast ball and had to rely on junk.

      I couldn’t help but think last night, Lamb and Segura, would slot very nicely into future Dodger plans. I know it would never happen, unless “Dumb and Dumber”, keep working their magic, but, just exactly what we need going forward.

      1. Well Lamb has 17 errors. So his defense is not as good as Turners. And besides, when the SS they drafted is ready, they will probably move Corey over there. You are a bad fielding team when you have almost 30 more errors than the team you are playing.

        1. Fair enough. You are correct about Lamb, I hadn’t looked. He has looked like an up and coming stud. His defense looks suspect, I better keep looking for Turner’s replacement.

          I also think MAYBE Seager will move to 3rd, but, maybe not. It would be good for the team to have a slick fielding SS, like Lux, and Seager at 3rd after Turner is gone. But, if they sign Machado, Seager could stay at short. Nice problem to have.

          1. 4 of their top 30 prospects play short. I doubt the FAZ master wants to sign big bucks free agents, and Baltimore will probably go all out to keep the guy, he is after all the franchise, so hoping for a guy like Machado is wishful thinking. I think they better concentrate on a way to keep Kershaw here past 2018. If anyone got signed, I would target Arenado. Already familiar with the division, and one of the best power hitting 3B in baseball, plus he can field, and he is a righty swinger with power……a glaring need.

  5. Michael just isn’t remembering the offensive production from Dodger catchers prior to Grandal.

    2014 Dodger Catchers

    Ellis, .191 BA, .254 SLG
    Federowicz, .113 BA, .197 SLG
    Butera, .188 BA, .288 SLG

    2016 Catchers

    Grandal, .223 BA, .471 SLG
    Ellis, .194 BA, .252 SLG

    The fact that “CATCHER” Grandal is fourth in SLG on the team is huge.

    1. I know far too well how Dodger catchers have performed, and you conveniently forget how solid AJ was in 2013. In 2014 he was injured, but came on at the end of the year, and AJ brought a lot to the table, he saw a lot of pitches, was great at game calling and was pretty good at throwing out runners. Granted, his skills went down along with the injury’s, but he was solid behind the plate. You left out 2015, a season where Ellis played only 60 games. But he was the teams hottest hitter in September, and should have started every game in the playoffs, but they started Grandal who was injured, and he absolutely sucked against the Mets. 4th in slugging, great. But he has been slumping, leaving men on base the last couple of weeks. Federowitz, never played much at all and was never really in the lineup regularly. Like I said, I like Grandal’s power, but I think he is way to streaky and goes into prolonged slumps where he does bupkis to help the offense……

      1. All that being said, did you want Ellis as your starter this year? Who would you rather have than Grandal? I am very satisfied with what 27 yr old Grandal has given us offensively at catcher.

        1. I like AJ’s defense better. He is better at blocking pitches in the dirt, but it was pretty clear from the get-go that Grandal was the starter. And I would be far more satisfied if Grandal were hitting in the .250 range. I just dislike the fact that he gets in these slumps where he does nothing. He was hitting for about a month and a half, just tearing it up, and even got his average to almost .240. Power and OBP, are good. His RISP numbers, not so much. Especially in the clutch. I think the guy has a ton of improving to do before I ever think of him as an elite catcher. Lucroy is better, and much more consistent, and comparing Grandal to the 37 year old Ellis, who has in all fairness been injured a lot in the last 3 years, is not really kosher. Defensively, Grandal is still not close to being as good as Ellis was….his game calling has improved, but he still is lousy at blocking balls in the dirt.

        2. Boxout, that choice of Grandal or Ellis was made already by the Dodgers by going with Grandal and then trading Ellis. It doesn’t mean that Grandal is as productive a catcher as our team could use. He’s just adequate, demonstrating power at times, but little else in the offensive department. As long as the other batters are doing well, Grandal can be ‘hidden’ in the lineup by their hitting and run support. If Grandal didn’t find his power, would we be having this conversation? It’s the first time in his career that he’s hit so many HR’s.

  6. Really good article over on Thinkblue about Pantone 294. This is really what positive fandom is and should be about. It would be stupendous to be a part of an unfurling of that LA banner up in Frisco.

    http://www.pantone294.com/

    Oh, and show of hands…are we pretty much over the existential angst over not signing Greinke? Maeda’s contract is for 25 million….Greinke 206.

      1. And what “situation” is that?

        Yes, I guess we will have to wait and see what 33 through 37 year old Greinke produces at $34M/yr. But, I am willing to bet, Maeda, or some other Dodger young stud, like Urias, DeLeon, Bueller, Alzarez, Stripling, Stewart (and others) will give the Dodgers a lot more than “old expensive” Greinke in coming years.

    1. Maeda’s contract with incentives is worth over 100 million. Granted that is not guaranteed money, and I am not feeling any angst about Zack, he made his choice. But signing guys like Kazmir and Anderson and McCarthy chaffs my ass…..

  7. On Grienke: Age+new team+injury=mediocrity. He used to be a strike machine. Now he is 100 pitches in the 6th. I still love the guy. Just not when he plays us. BTW: Seager has had a couple of 0-fors lately. Is he wearing down? I hope not because he is the MVP of the team. The Cards are stinking up sf, but making our wild card chances better. I know not many of you are thinking of the wild card, but it is still in play. I saw Kershaw horsing around in the dugout; I’m thinking he recovered from the last start well. Monday might be the most important game of the season. A first of the series win will settle me down a bit. Going with the rookie tonight, not Norris. Interesting. How much longer can we throw these young guys out there with ok results? Last night: 7 walks and lots of Dbacks’ LOB’s. A bit of luck, I think. Go Cards.

    1. Bobbie17
      Norris loses his control and his temperment, much like a young pitcher does, but Stewart has much better stuff, and he pitched quite a game against the Cubbies.

      He has gotten better almost every game he has pitched in, up in the bigs.

  8. Anderson at OKC: 5-3-1-0-5 in an OKC win. Tonight Kazmir pitches. Kyle Farmer played 3B, was on base a couple of times. Venable had the key hit that put OKC ahead. OKC still down to the Padres 1-2.

  9. I agree with some Michael above that Grandal does need a day off. We’re in the midst of a 15-16 consecutive days with a game or something. The catcher doesn’t need to play in more than 4 straight. That’s the reason we got Chooch. Let him play, AND let him get used to catching our guys.

    Giants look good the last couple games vs a team like them; playoff tested. It’s not fun to watch them get their swag back. However, it’ll be more fun to beat them next week at home.

    And honestly, enough of this Reddick nonsense. If he’s gona get base hits when nobody is on base, but get out when guys are on base, then just let him lead off if he HAS to play. It’s a joke he’s out there continuously over Toles and Puig

    1. Bobby
      I
      Of course I agree.

      A 220 batting average, 3 doubles, one HR, and 3 RBIs just isn’t a reason to continue to play Redddick.

      And I don’t feel this way, because the front office brought Reddick to the team.

      I just don’t like when politics is the only reason that a player, is being played.

      I just don’t think it is fair to the other players, that have earned the right to play.

      And Mark you said that Reddick earned the right, by being a veteran of nine seasons.

      But I can also say that what Toles has done this year, is quite an accomplishment too.

      How many players start the year at A level, and go though AA, and AAA, and make it to the bigs, in one year, even though they were out of baseball, the year before?

      And more
      importantly, I don’t think that Reddick should continue to play, when that isn’t best for the team.

      And like I said above, if they want Puig to help with leftie pitchers, they are going to have to play him more.

      I like Toles a lot, and if Roberts continues to just play Toles off the bench, I don’t think he will continue to hit like he can either.

      In a small sample size, Toles has hit against lefties, and has hit one HR.

      It is going to be hard for Roberts to get everyone in the game, to keep them sharp.

      But at this point of the season, I think Roberts is going to have to stick with only a couple of guys, to get the best out of them.

      Because not many players, can play or hit, when they are mainly sitting on the bench.

  10. Last comment on Zack. I do not look on Greinke as being a turn coat. I look at as a player doing what was best for him and his family. I did not like it at the time, but I understood his motives, and honestly, would any of us turned down the insane money they gave him? I doubt it. His contract is back loaded so that after he retires, he has pretty much nothing to worry about unless he makes some really bad investments. When the time comes somewhere around November, 2018, Kersh will have the same option, and if somebody gives the guy 300 million, you think he will turn it down??? Hello Texas.,

    1. Absolutely right Michael. It’s all about money. Very few players give their teams a home discount although there were some in the past. I don’t fault Greinke one bit.
      Baseball is a BUSINESS and sometimes we tend to forget that, as such, the players will take their talents else if the prize is big enough.
      The players union notwithstanding, how many times has a player gone to the front office and said ” I had a real lousy year and I don’t deserve the money you’re paying me so if you want to cut my salary it’s ok with me”.
      On the other hand if they have a great year and are locked into a contract their salary does not go up.

      1. I’d call him a mercenary, not a turncoat. He came because the Dodgers were the highest bidder and he left because AZ outbid us. Although according to John Heyman, he was bothered by the lack of an offer from the team last season. Who knows?

        And as far as I know the last time a player asked for a pay cut was 1959. Ted Williams and Stan Musial both hit under .300 and felt they’d let the fans down. And they were making about $100K a year.

  11. Dodgers will continue to have problems with left handed pitchers and off speed pitchers both left and right. I see them winning the division, and after that it’s a crap shoot as to how hot and how lucky the Dodgers can get. As usual this years div championship will be a combo of Dodger consistency and SF collapse. Personally I think this has been the most entertaining of the last 4 seasons due to the influx of the rookies from the farm and all the scrambling due to the yuge amount of injuries. Certainly underscores the impact of a consistently good BP. Great job by DR, FAZ, the veteran players, young players and the coaches just keeping the Dodgers close, let alone taking the div. The seasonal grind in MLB to me is the hardest team challenge in sports. The softball tournament that MLB calls the post season is just a matter of which team is lucky enough to get hot at the right time. More like basetbaw,hokey and that concussive brain damage sport[foozbaw] than MLB.

    1. The post season is absolutely a crap shoot. The best teams over the course of the season don’t always win either in the playoffs or the WS. Example: Seattle 116 wins(?) lost the WS. 1951(?) Indians with 111 wins in 154 games gets swept in the WS.

        1. MJ:
          In sports NOTHING is sure. Naturally I hope we win it all but if we don’t. I’m rooting for the cubs. Their fans have been waiting a lot longer than we have for a WS win.

      1. Which Is Why The Best Strategy Is To Make Sensible if conservative deadline moves to improve the team. There were those here who were ready to write off the Dodgers chances. You just never know when there is a small sample size playoff. Anything can happen. I wouldn’t hand the pennant to the Cubs just yet.

    2. Since 1958
      This was a very fair and very good post!

      The luck of this crapshoot is why I don’t think the Giants are going to win another World Series for a long time.

      They may win the division or make it to the World Series sometime, but they won’t win it all, because this luck of fate, you
      talked about.

      I too, am concerned about our weakness against leftie pitchers.

    3. Since 1958
      I just read that the Cubbies have a 198 average against curve balls, do you know what our team’s averge, is against off speed pitches?

  12. Bud Norris, the vet, was supposed to start today. But the kid Stewart, who went from A to AA to AAA to the bigs this year, will get the start because, as Doc said “he’s earned it”

    Ummmm, Josh Reddick, the vet, keeps getting the stars, despite the fact that the kid Toles, who went from A to AA to AAA to the bigs this year also “has earned it.”

    WTF

    1. Bobby
      I don’t think the front office is telling Roberts to play Reddick, but I think that Roberts and his coaches, might be playing him, because they think that is what the front office wants.

      Bobby I didn’t see that Roberts said that, but that was the case I made in my post above, for playing Toles more.

      And really, Puig needs to be played more too.

      1. MJ, you have got it right, but let me elaborate. I do not understand why people say things that are totally baseless…things that there is absolutely no evidence of being true and things that fly in the face of reason.

        Let’s establish a few things first.

        1. Managers are hired to manage the players the front office gets them. Managers even have a say in the players the front office gets – I am positive Dave Roberts was consulted about Hill and Reddick.

        2. The front office also supplies most managers with a vast array of sabermetric data… AND THEY TALK ABOUT IT!

        3. I am sure that Roberts communicates with Friedman and Zaidi on a daily basis.

        Why am I so certain of those things? Because I have spent a lot of time in clubhouses and around Vero Beach and Camelback Ranch and the offices. That’s how it works. They talk about all kinds of things as do all the other Special Advisors.

        4. Dave Roberts is highly respected and is a very smart man. How do I know that? Two ears!

        5. If Dave Roberts is as smart as I think he is, he knows that he will be judged solely on his record, not whether he plays certain players. If he doesn’t win, whether he played certain players will make no difference.

        So when I hear, that “Roberts doesn’t play Toles because he has been told by FAZ to play Reddick” I find that very silly! I would play Toles over Reddick (unless there is something I don’t know, and I know there is a lot we don’t know).

        Think about possibilities:

        1. Maybe Toles has a hole in his swing that the Dodgers know about (and maybe plan to “fix” in the offseason) and don’t want to expose him now.

        2. Maybe Roberts feels that Reddick is close to getting his swing back and he feels that Reddick will be better than Toles in the playoffs.

        We don’t know either of those things, so I said “maybe,” but to say that FAZ tells Roberts what to do is not reasonable and no sane person would do that. There is no evidence of that. Given the same set of statistics, it’s likely many people will come to the same conclusions.

        To say that FAZ just tells Roberts who to play is based upon a lack of reason and logic. Roberts’ job depends upon what his record is… not who he plays.

        Like me, you can say that you think Reddick should not play, but don’t resort to fiction or baseless charges…

        1. Mark
          I am at the point that I understand Toles has a lot to learn.

          And I am not saying play Toles everyday.

          I just think Toles and Puig need to be played more.

          1. I do to. But my point is: Dave Roberts has more information than us and I think he is managing for his job. I voice my opinion and then move on. A lot of people lost their minds on Don Mattingly’s moves. I wanted him gone from the day he came, but it was just his leadership. Managing moves are so subjective.

  13. Per Dodgers.com “Even allowing the run (yesterday), Jansen’s ERA of 1.84 is the lowest since his rookie half season. With 66 appearances, he’s on pace for the second-most of his career. He has the best WHIP and strikeout-to-walk ratio (94-9) of his career.”

    Nah, we don’t want him back.

    Maybe Baez or Hatcher can close next year

    1. Yes, Dodgers would like him back, Turner also. Oh course, bottom line, $$$ and other alternatives. Rather than Baez or Hatcher; Dayton, Liberatore or even Ravin might be replacements.

      It looks like to me while FAZ continues to work to get payroll under control (1 more year of Ethier and Crawford) and also competing, the bullpen will be a HUGE priority. Bullpen is the most cost effective method of putting together a MLB pitching staff capable of competing. Combine this with multiple young starters on inning limits, I can see them really beefing up the bullpen.

      So, I see 28 yr old Jansen getting a VERY competitive offer. But, Jansen might go for the money if someone gets crazy like AZ on Greinke.

      See: http://www.todaysknuckleball.com/nl/los-angeles-dodgers/heyman-dodgers-jansen-noncommittal-impending-free-agency/

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