We’re all left with a sour taste in our mouths after Tuesday night’s 4-0 shutout loss to Clayton Richard and the Padres. It’s unbecoming for the exact same problems from 2016 to resurface in the second game of the season. The Dodgers were unable to get quality innings from their starting pitcher (Kenta Maeda) and their makeshift all-righty lineup got blanked. The Dodgers got 5 hits and hit into 4 double plays last night. It’s quite infuriating to watch.
Dodgers vs. San Diego
Tonight's Dodger lineup vs. Padres:
Toles LF
Seager SS
Turner 3B
González 1B
Forsythe 2B
Pederson CF
Grandal C
Puig RF
Hill P#LetsGoDodgers pic.twitter.com/oeTDvzoFMG— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 5, 2017
Trevor Cahill-0-0 vs. Rich Hill-0-0
Game Time – 7:10 PM – TV-SNLA-KTLA 5
If the Dodgers know what’s good for them they’ll stop using these useless all-righty lineups against left handers and play their regulars. If they’ve learned anything they’ll put Joc Pederson and Andrew Toles back in the lineup. Again Franklin Gutierrez and Enrique Hernandez are NOT better hitters than Joc and Toles. To be frank, those two aforementioned “lefty killers” can’t hit anyone.
They can’t hit lefties, they can’t hit righties, and they can’t hit middlies. It’s time the Dodgers stop doing this and use these guys in the roles they were intended for. Gutierrez as a left handed late inning pinch-hitter, and Kike as a defensive replacement. Fortunately the Dodgers should see more right handers than left handers, and tonight’s opposing starter is a right hander so we’ll get a break from being shutout.
This won’t be easy for the Dodgers either. Cahill revived his career with the Cubs last year primarily pitching out of the bullpen. He posted a 2.74 ERA in 50 appearances while striking out 9.0 per nine innings and giving up just 6.7 hits per nine frames. Now he returns to the rotation as a Padre. He’s 6-5 with a 3.86 ERA in 14 career starts against the Dodgers and has a 2.18 ERA in 41.1 innings pitched at Dodger Stadium. Adrian Gonzalez has hit him the best of anyone in blue. Gonzo is batting .400 (12 for 30) with 3 home runs and 10 runs batted in versus Cahill.
Cahill vs. Dodgers
| Name | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | SH | SF | IBB | HBP | GDP |
| Adrian Gonzalez | 35 | 30 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 4 | 8 | .400 | .457 | .800 | 1.257 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Franklin Gutierrez | 21 | 19 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | .211 | .238 | .368 | .607 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Yasiel Puig | 17 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 6 | .167 | .412 | .167 | .578 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Chase Utley | 17 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | .231 | .412 | .462 | .873 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Yasmani Grandal | 14 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .400 | .571 | .500 | 1.071 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Logan Forsythe | 9 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .333 | .333 | .667 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Justin Turner | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .200 | .333 | .200 | .533 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Hyun-Jin Ryu | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .500 | .667 | .500 | 1.167 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Van Slyke | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Joc Pederson | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Corey Seager | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 4.000 | 5.000 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Andrew Toles | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .500 | .000 | .500 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 132 | 107 | 31 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 23 | 19 | 26 | .290 | .405 | .523 | .928 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
Hill vs. Padres
Rich Hill is coming off a great year in which he was 12-5 with a 2.12 ERA between the Dodgers and A’s. Hill has only 4 career starts against the Padres going 1-3 with a 5.75 ERA in a little over 20 frames thrown. The current Padres do not have a hit against him and are 0 for 16 lifetime.
| Name | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | SH | SF | IBB | HBP | GDP |
| Wil Myers | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .000 | .250 | .000 | .250 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Erick Aybar | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .667 | .667 | .667 | 1.333 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Luis Sardinas | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .000 | .333 | .000 | .333 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Travis Jankowski | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Luis Perdomo | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryan Schimpf | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yangervis Solarte | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 18 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | .125 | .222 | .125 | .347 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Let’s just hope the Dodgers put out a better lineup. It’s ok to lose as long as you lose with your best players on the field. It’s not ok to lose with utility players in your lineup. But again at least Kike Hernandez not batting lead-off is progress. I never want to see that again.
For all of you non Spectrum subscribers, enjoy the game on the tube tonight! You’ll be able to watch nine more on KTLA this season.
Go Blue!
Well take whatever SNLA gives us. We’ll be driving in commercials from Time Warner/Spectrum or whatever it’s called. First chance to listen to a trio call a dodger game.
Go Dodgers!
Nice picture, looks like some place in Colorado. Anyway, infuriating is about the right word. My philosophy and what I have always believed is that you trot your best 8 out there everyday. The Dodgers have always been a better team when they do so. The other 5 guys fill in when someone is under the weather or they need a blow. Those 8 players are where they are for a reason. They are the best your team has. Screw Sabermetrics, and this guy does that against so and so. I have never liked the platoon system. Now in the first years in LA Alston used it because he did not really have great players at every position and it worked because those Dodger teams had superior pitching. They were pretty good defensively too. But hitting was not their forte. This team does not have that luxury. I do not care what Mark Timmons may think. FAZ has constructed a roster of good players at most positions and a mediocre starting staff save 1. Kershaw is a stud, the rest are hospital cases waiting to happen. That is not a fallacy. That is the facts. Even Kersh missed time last year, but he looks healthy now. Hit the nail on the head about the same problems as last year showing up in the 2nd game of the season against a journey man lefty. Although Richard has always pitched pretty good against the Dodgers. Cahill did remake himself in Chicago, but despite his career stats, the last few times the Dodgers saw him, they lit him up. We will see. I say just plug that every day pony in there and ride them home. But unfortunately, we all know that FAZ likes the playing of the saber metric games, and Dave Roberts, as good a guy as he is, will pretty much follow that mis guided path.
Michael
Nomar said on the post game show, that these line up changes, are not good for the hitters, to keep there rhythm, like we all know.
I don’t really understand all of the antipathy toward platoons. If you have the right guys, platoons can help you win.
Platoons have been around since 1914. Casey Stengel won 5 straight World Series by platooning.
https://www.si.com/vault/2013/08/26/106361060/the-case-for–the-platoon
The problem isn’t necessarily with platoons – it’s with the guys who are used in the platoons. The problem may be that guys like Kike and Gutierrez shouldn’t be out there platooning. It’s only been one game though and Gutierrez has a good recent history against southpaws.
One thing for sure – they have to do something better against lefties than they did last year.
That article only mentions the times where there was success (Stengel, Weaver. Cox). He didn’t mention when it didn’t work.
I think the big problem is
1. Set in stone righty vs lefty
2. The team was horrible last year with that rule when they faced left handed pitching.
Dodger rick
The problem with there platoons, is that they sent the platoon team out there, all year, last year, even though they had the lowest offensive production, in all of baseball.
If it was working no one would mind. So far it is not.
I agree but only for platoons using players in their prime or later, for example Ethier.
The problem is that platoons are being used to justify lackluster overall play, usually based on statistical aberrations or a breakout year, and you know what, usually the fall takes longer and you lose more on the way back to the average than what you won in the first place. This is why arbitragers lose to long term strategic thinking. Good players get better as they head into their prime – don’t waste those growth years (under team control) with platoons, which denies them the growth, especially in April and May.
If it was working, there would be no antipathy.
I have only a minor problem with the platoon philosophy. I’ve expressed it. I want to see the Dodger starters when I go to the park. I don’t want to see the pathetic backups this organization has put together, I want to see the stars. As it has been, I think since the day Friedman took over, after Kershaw (Greinke) we get ? and Mysterians. Against guys like Bumgarner we get what looks like the hamburger squad. You want to pay $260 FCI for that? I don’t. I’d pay to see stars like MadBum pitch, but only if we are playing our stars, which includes all our left handed hitters. If we fielded a team of thumpers it would be different. But these platoons just have not worked. Maybe that changes. I don’t expect it. Just like I never expected much out of McCarthy, Latos, Anderson, Kazmir, Hill or Wood. I’m looking forward to the day they are all gone.
Badger
Really, who thinks a part time AAAA player, is going to hit better, then a almost everyday player, that is getting consistent at bats.
Badger
Even in the post season, too!
The Hills Have Eyes! I saw that movie more than 40 years ago and I still remember it. One of the scariest I ever saw…
Jonah
Did they ever remake that movie?
I never saw the movie, but I saw the advertisement on TV, back then.
Did you see that Solarte got us again, last night?
Yes, there were two remakes, sequels, whatever. Not sure of the names…
Remember the commmercial they had for that?
Wow. I Little League error by Myers. These guys are terrible.
Hill with a hard hit double play to get out of a jam. AGon a pro. Seager can hack. Joc can’t stop his swing. A good start.
Did SNLA just say Seager #1 in rookie batting avg 308?
Piazza hit 318 in his rookie season.
Maybe I saw wrong.
They were talking about last years crop, not Dodger history.
The two Hill’s matched up very evenly – Hill 5 IP 1 earned, Cahill 5.2 IP 2 earned.
Badger
To bad you joined the service to fight for your country, then started a family when you got home, because you have such a way with written words, you could have been a really good sports writer.
Thank you. I took a few upper division composition classes and enjoyed the process. A grad school professor tried to talk me into becoming a local sports reporter, even made a call for me, but I wanted to coach and teach Special Ed so I passed on that offer. That same year Prop 13 was passed and California education went downhill fast. I was forced out by funding cuts.
Prop 13 benefited millions of home owners, saved them billions of dollars that would have been just flushed through the sewer system they call politics…
Let’s how our bullpen holds up. First bullpen game this year.
Alex Wood looked really good in relief. I like him there!