This game had it all. Fantastic Dodgers pitching, glorious Dodgers hitting, old friends across the diamond, a beanball war, and almost a cycle. Whew.
Here’s how it went down…
Things started off conservatively as the Dodgers small balled their way to a 1-o lead on an Austin Barnes RBI ground out.
In the third inning the Dodgers opened the Friday night fireworks box early. They scored one more rune run on a big Chris Taylor bomb,
and another with more small ball. This time the RBI was brought to you by the Banana Kid, Enrique Hernandez.
In the next inning, the big blue bats of the Dodgers split the Friday night skies again when Brett Eibner hit a two run shot to put the Dodgers ahead 5-0.
Meanwhile, last weeks NL player of the week was quietly slicing up the fish. Through seven innings the Marlins had a mere four hits, and Alex Wood was piling up scoreless innings.
Wood left after 7 1/3 with two on, one out, and 18 consecutive scoreless innings that stretched back to his last couple of starts. Ross Stripling came in and quickly got a double play to end the inning.
In the eighth inning, Cody Bellinger pounded out yet another two run home run, putting the game out of reach at 7-0.
Then the punk closer for the Marlins, drilled the next batter, Brett Eibner, with a fastball smack in the middle of his rib cage.
When the fish came up in the 9th, Stripling immediately threw one about an inch behind Giancarlo Stanton and the benches immediately emptied onto the field.
This was a much more mean-spirited meet up than the one the Dodgers and Giants had on Wednesday afternoon. Marlins skipper Don Mattingly came very close to blows with Dodgers coach Bob Garen. When the smoke cleared, it was still the ninth inning, Stripling was tossed, and Chris Hatcher took over for the Dodgers. He went right after the still-steaming Stanton, and struck him out to the delight of the crowd and the Dodgers dugout.
Then Hatcher reminded us all that he’s still Hatcher, and he quickly gave up a homerun to the very next batter, ruining the shut out. Then he gave up a single, a double and a sac fly to make things more interesting, but not in a good way. Kenley Jansen had to get up in the bullpen and start warming up, but Hatcher managed the third out and the game was thankfully over.
Dodgers Win! 7-2
Almost: Chris Taylor was a triple shy of a cycle.
Don’t scare me like that: Yasiel Puig came out of the game after for the fourth inning. During his at bat in the fourth, Puig looked as though he tweaked something in his back. He was checked out at first base, and stayed there, eventually scoring on Eibner’s home run. Then he was lifted. Precautionary?
Alex Wood (5-0) – I said Five and OH! – went 7 1/3 with 6 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks and 4 Ks. ERA 1.88 Smaller than Kershaw!
Oscar Martinez
I was born in the shadow of Dodger Stadium and immediately drenched in Dodger Blue. Chavez Ravine is my baseball cathedral, Vin Scully was the golden voice of summer all my life, and Tommy Lasorda remains the greatest Dodgers manager ever. My favorite things are coffee, beer, and the Dodgers beating the Giants. I also blog about my baseball card hobby at All Trade Bait, All the Time.
Follow Me:
Just think about a possible rotation come playoff time. We have Kershaw, who figured out some early issues with sink on his slider and some home run issues to become Kershaw again and is a Cy Young front runner. Then you have Wood, if, who if he can maintain that improvement due to his change in arm slot, could be a breakout this year, or at least the pitcher he was in Atlanta. Then Hill, who if he can get a callous on that finger, has that wicked curveball that makes him one of the best pitchers in the game. Then you have Urias, who aside from that game in Colorado, can improve upon last year and can become a sub 3.00 ERA stud. That is a studly front four starting pitching squad. You can choose any three of Maeda, McCarthy and Ryu as the fifth guy. …I don’t why people are complaining. The Dodgers have seven potential solid starting pitchers.
There’s some issues: there’s some holes in the relief core. Aside from that hanging slider against the Cubs in the playoffs, Blanton was Mr Reliable last year, and the Dodgers don’t quite have that guy …yet. Romo stinks, and Hatcher is Hatcher, but I think someone will fill that void. The Dodgers, even with the uneven performance from Maeda and Ryu and relief core, still, by a pretty wide margin, have the best pitching staff in all of baseball.
Outfield is a weakness. I think Puig is solid. Yeah, he’ll hit .260 with 20 something home runs, but with his arm and his 8 million salary, he’s a bargain…and he’s almost an anchor in the outfield. Don’t make him trade bait for Braun. He probably won’t do what he did in 13 and 14, but I’ll take it. Pederson is a problem unless he can figure it out like he did somewhat in the second half of last year. I think the Dodger can make do with the platooning in left; Gutierrez is pretty solid. I’m still not sold on Agon turning it around, but if he can hit .275 and get 15 home runs, I’ll take it.
As much as you people like to complain, you have to concede that Wood, Taylor, Toles are just great and smart acquisitions. This is a pretty solid team
Colorado is scrapping and getting by and they’ve improved their relief core, but eventually their thin run differential will catch up to them. The Dbacks are decent, but are just a slip up from faltering. The Cubs have been pretty average this year, and there are some real issues with the peripherals of their erstwhile top end starters. Zimmerman is going to cool off, as will the Nats..and they already are.
As the Dodgers sort things out, I think they’ll win the division. Who knows what they’ll do in the playoffs, but I think they have pretty well positioned – so far – to do ok.
I know. I’m a FAZophant. Blah ..blah …blah. I just look at the evidence. I think this team is, on the whole, pretty darn good.
The evidence? Are you talking about the first two years, or the last few weeks?
I’m as surprised as anyone, and that includes you, about Wood. Taylor looks like a real find. But I think it’s a bit early to say this is the team to beat in the National League.
We all know you’ve been waiting many months for something good to happen to be able to express this. Congratulations. We beat the Marlins and are tied for second place. So far so ok.
Can’t disagree, DodgerPatch. Baseball, like much of life, has the back and forth of a pendulum, good today, was bad yesterday, and who knows about tomorrow? It’s like the weather, don’t get too comfortable with it, because it WILL change… Sorry about the platitudes. FAZ gets more criticism than he really deserves from some of us, and more praise than he deserves from others . That’s Life. (Sorry, the platitudes got loose again) I doubt that he targeted Taylor, it was more like,”Who’ll you give me for this guy I’m getting rid of?. Blind squirrels and all that… (Excuse me, I have to lock those platitudes up…) But if he’s so smart, then why in the Hell doesn’t he get rid of Hatcher? He wants some respect, getting rid of his mistakes is one way to look better.
FAZ is a they. Friedman AND Zaidi. They work in tandem. Small point maybe, but an important one. This front office has multiple heads.
That’s twice you have offered me information I already knew. I was there at the birth of the name and quite realize it is a collective name for the entire Dodger Front Office. We are thus using poetic license. Multiple heads? Aye, perhaps… But it’s where they have placed those heads that seems to be the problem…. Everybody has one, you know…
Sorry. When you say he I don’t know if you mean Andy or Farhan. I’m not sure why you continue to do that, but I’ll look past it from now on. And yeah, the heads seem stuck up a rectcalculator. But, I’m still hopeful it all works out in the end.
We are not given to know who makes what decisions in Dodgerland. Some of them could well be made by Kasten himself. So I assume that all moves, statements, decisions, whatever that come from their Front Office are collective so I accredit them to a collective entity, FAZ, which gets all the credit/blame for whatever happens.
(Andy??? Are we getting chummy with “Andy”? Phone calls, Christmas cards, whatever. Timmons would be jealous.
Jonah
Good analyzation.
And agree with your last sentence too.
Jonah
What is the temperature at your place this morning?
It is 75 here where I am, at 8:30, this morning.
I assume it is hotter where you are at.
Supposedly 75 right now, supposed to get up to 89 today. Don’t feel bad, your area will get almost as hot as it does here, little difference.
I’m not sure how you can make any case to say the Front Office didn’t target Taylor.
That said, I’m sure it’s much like Jonah imagines. You like Zach Lee? Our former first round pick? Who would you give up. At that point, teams are generally given a list to pick from or a list of players would wouldn’t be touchable.
But then, and this is important, the Dodgers and their scouting staff had to pick Taylor.
As to YF’s point elsewhere in this thread:
Keeping arms fresh is the point of the 10 day DL shuffle. They will keep innings and usage low through phantom injuries and extremely minor ones.
Try to remember this is a sports blog where strange people post pointless and worthless opinions, not build a documented waterproof case for the Supreme Court. I still think you have some lawyer training hiding in your background…
I don’t, but agree you are 100% right. A little over-reactive there.
“But I think it’s a bit early to say this is the team to beat in the National League.”
Which is why I didn’t.
It’s a long season and I don’t think we’ll have much options come playoff time. It will be fairly obvious who plays because many will be tired, ineffective and/or injured. This is how things are with this team. I don’t think Wood makes it to the postseason at full strength. I maintain what I said weeks ago, I think we will only have 3 of Hill, Wood, Ryu, Maeda, McCarthy and Urias available when postseason comes, and I think another of our AAA youngsters like Stewart, Jurrgens or Oaks will get a postseason start.
In the mean time? I’ll take as many good starts as I can get before they run out of gas.
You Gweilos should pay close attention to the baseball wisdom of my colleague and fellow deceased warlord, Yueh_Fei. He has made an extensive study of this simple child’s game that you Gweilos waste billions of dollars and millions of hours on every year. And you call us inscrutable! Anyway, my cohort has evaluated the game as if he were planning a military campaign. You can totally rely on his opinion, unless he has eaten a dish of bad Egg Foo Young. Sometimes the duck eggs have lain in the sun too long and they make people feng.
Most who follow this team closely see it that way YF. At least that’s my take in reading various blogs. With the evidence we’ve seen for two and half years we know we are good, most predict 90 wins, but we hold our breath with the obvious frailty of this roster. Who will be left standing in September/October? That’s anybody’s guess.
Except there’s nothing to suggest any of this is true or will come to fruition aside from “I don’t think…”
Care to explain that patch? It sounds like a typical Timmons insult – you don’t agree with me so you must be stupid.
Yeah, but I’m not Timmons..and that really wasn’t meant to be an insult, nor was I calling anyone stupid.
I just don’t see anything to suggest that Wood won’t be effective at the end of the season, or that there’s something endemic to this organization that will make players burn out, lose effectiveness or get injured by the end of the year. If anything, the way the FO manages the personnel, it would keep players fresh at the end of the year by managing the workload during the course of the regular season.
I mean, if you’re going to think of yourselves as The Realist Camp, you have to provide a little more than “I don’t think.” ….doncha think? *shrugs shoulders*
And I think you’d be a little happier if you’d exorcise this Timmons obsession. You’re seeing him everywhere.
Wood pitched another really good game, and now his ERA, is lower then Kershaw’s ERA.
Taylor once again stepped up, and had a big game, and I am wondering how, Logan is going to top that.
But with Turner out, we need all of our infielders.
Cody could have easily been three for four last night, because he hit three balls really hard, and he was finally awarded with the oppo field, HR in his last at bat.
Good thing Stripling did get thrown out, so Roberts could see that Hatcher still has a lot to prove, before sticking him, into important times, in games.
Yes the Marlins are not much of a team now, but we do still have to beat these type of teams, too.
And we had faced this Marlin’s leftie starting pitcher twice before, and we didn’t do much, until last night, so that is an improvement.
Nicolino by nearly every measure isn’t very good. We should beat him 9 times out of 8. Straily will be a better test, but we should beat him too (60%). The Marlins are just not that good. But then, neither are the giants and we lost 2 of 3 to them.
Mieses was 1 for 5 but the hit was a homer. He’s hitting .088. Rios at .336. Buehler threw 53 pitches, 2 runs in 4 innings. Calhoun hit another one, his 8th. He’s hitting .319. But who cares about an average? What’s his OPS? .927. Verdugo with 3 hits. His OPS only .773., but .844 WRISP. Dayton with a BS and the L. Oaks went 6 and gave up 4 earned.
Badger
Did you see what Mattingly was upset about?
If you didn’t, Mattingly was upset that Corey swung at a pitch, with a three zero count, with a five run lead, in the seventh inning.
We have owed Mattingly and the Marlins a pay back, since they swept us last year, at home.
And the fact they won that last game, from a hit from Gordon, the cheater, that delayed his puishment, until after the last game, of that series.
He sure toke the Marlins, for a lot of money, by cheating.
I didn’t understand why they rushed and gave Gordon that multi year contract, after only one year, that sure wasn’t a smart move.
I wouldn’t be playing him over the guy that toke over for Gordon last year, because that guy played well, when Gordon was out.
And he also has much more pop then Gordon does.
You are referring to Dietrich. They gave Gordon the contract after he won the batting title in 2015. The PED thing, like what happened to Manny came out way after his positive test. So, they had no clue when he signed the contract that he was using PED’s. In their minds, they were signing a pretty good player. Power is not Gordon’s game, never has been, but when he gets on base it is almost like hitting a double with his speed and stealing ability.
Michael
I already knew they didn’t know, about the steroids.
But most teams, don’t give a multi year contract, after a player has only played well, for one year.
Because you don’t know that a player is a really good player, after one year.
And when Gordon won that batting title, his Babip, was way higher then the norm, for major leaguers, so that showed he was hitting, with quite a bit, of good luck.
And now that Gordon is not doing steroids, he isn’t getting on base, that much.
And actually Billy Hamilton is a much better base runner, and base stealer, then Gordon is.
And Thanks I couldn’t remember the kid’s name, that took over for Gordon.
It is mainly, the point with me.
And I can’t see playing a player, that isn’t really producing, even if they are making so much money..
If you check the stats MJ, Gordon had a very good year before he was traded and maybe that is the player Miami thought they were getting. Hamilton is faster than Dee, that’s very true, but Dee is a good base stealer. And unfortunately he is not the only cheater now still on a MLB roster. Braun is one, and so is Grandal.
If memory serves, and I think it does, the Dodgers have had a problem beating mediocre teams for a few years now. The have beat up on the NL west for a while, excluding the Giants of course and especially in SF. They are so so in interleague games. But bad teams have had a way of giving them a hard time. They should be going through those teams like crap through a goose, but it has not been happening. They also have a tendency to make mediocre pitchers look like Koufax sometimes.
Michael
Your right about that, so that is why I said, that it is good to also beat the teams, we should beat.
But I have noticed other teams, having trouble hitting pitchers, they have never seen, even if they are a AAA pitcher.
Very true, and that has been a problem, but with today’s scouts and all the video available, that should not occur all that much. Now, if the kid has serious skills, well that’s another thing. Take Blach of SF, Against anyone else, he is mediocre, but he has the Dodgers number that’s for sure.
A couple of things, first, MLB is investigating the Dodgers use of the DL per Maeda. Some team may have complained that the Dodgers are using the DL illegally. Who knows. Roberts was quoted as saying that when Forsythe comes off the DL, he is going to be playing 3rd base exclusively. That’s where he played last night and where he will be playing tonight. Utley and Taylor will be platooning at 2nd. They expect Turner to be out at least 2 weeks if not more. As for FAZ, we all know it is the nickname of the FO as a whole. I think a lot of the criticism is warranted. Some is not. He has picked up some effective players, Taylor, Wood, Toles before he was hurt, Liberatore was very effective. Avilan was part of the Wood deal, so they are both pitching pretty well at this point. I would not call Hill, as Patch put it, one of the best pitchers in baseball. He is what he is, a 37 year old journeyman pitcher who turned one good 1/2 year of baseball into a 48 million dollar 3 year contract. If he does this and if he does that? Please, the guy is about as reliable as a 58 Edsel. He has pitched a total of 9 games during the regular season and won 4 lost 3. 47.1 total innings. That is not a record you would expect from one of the best pitchers in the game. He is not even on the list. Hernandez, another FAZ pickup, had one good year, one really bad year and is about average this year. His infectious personality aside, he still thinks he is a power hitter, which he is not. I must admit, and this makes me choke, that Grandal has been solid so far this year. He has improved at throwing out base runners and he has been pretty hot at the plate lately. I still think he is mediocre in the clutch and like a lot of players on this team, he strikes out way too much. So yes, some of the pick ups have been producing. They have avoided trading the absolute cream of the crop, but they have traded some who may somewhere down the road come back and bite them on the butt. The depth word has been used extensively, and the team is pretty loaded with talent down through all the levels. Whether or not that level of talent plays out at the major league level is yet to be seen. They are banking on most of those kids becoming solid contributors to the big league team. And anyone who has watched the game for any amount of time knows that is not always the case. The fans would prefer guys they know get the job done. That’s one huge reason that when the FO signs mediocre players who have had limited success, they get frustrated. They want the Greinke’s and Sale’s, and anyone else who has been very successful. They want to see the same 8 position players run out there every day. They want familiarity. Too many borderline players platooning, going up and down on the OKC shuttle does not make that happen. Guys like Bellinger, and Corey will be out there everyday, and the fans will love that. But they can’t abide guys who are still with the team despite being so bad most of the time. There were plenty of posts wanting Utley’s head on a pike. But forced into playing a more everyday player roll, Chase responded and went on a hot streak. He is a pro’s pro. He is here as much for his mentoring as anything else. We as fans can only sit and watch, and sometimes bitch and moan, and wait to see if FAZ’s plan works. I still think they think too much like a small market team. I still think they have blown chances to get players that would have made the Dodgers the team to beat. Washington is that team now, Colorado, for the moment is a very legitimate contender. Chicago will figure it out sooner or later, and they are not that far behind. Dodger depth makes them a contender, but they are far from the team to beat.
Right on!
What could MLB be investigating? And where did you read that?
~~~~~~~~~
UPDATE: I found it! Here:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/la-sp-dodgers-disabled-list-mlb-20170515-story.html
But the article reads like it wasn’t a Dodger investigation, more like routine way of doing business
~~~~~~~~~
I’m sure the Dodgers trainer will say Maeda is injured. Is MLB going to ask for a 2nd opinion?
I’m quite quesy about the morality of what the Dodgers are doing, but not sure there’s any remedy. Baseball must have known (or modeled out that) this would/could happen.
The story has been on Yahoo sports, and have seen a write up in Dodger Nation. And the articles I read said MLB was investigating the team. MLB could ask for a 2nd opinion if other teams may have complained. But maybe they got suspicious them selves because all those moves go through MLB it self.
It’s gonna get worse.
I agree…Maeda comes off the DL Thursday…
If Maeda says he hurts, that’s all that’s necessary.
Michael
I agree stick with eight players, and let the utility players, give days off.
And if the regular players don’t get the job done against lefties, then think about, platooning.
It has been proven from both the almost everyday players, and the utility players, that when a player gets more consistent at bats, they generally will hit better.
When we faced so many lefties in that one two week period, when Kike played in seven of eight games, Kike’s hitting got better, and Toles hitting got worse.
That isn’t rocket science, most hitters do better, with more consistent at bats.
Those platoon players might cost less, but they take up more space on the roster, when you have two players, sharing one position.
Good point. I’ve advocated a 28 man roster for several years.
They are playing with the idea of expanding the rosters. Also being tossed around is the idea of a traveling taxi squad type thing like the NFL has. You can designate certain players as inactive for a particular game. I think the players would approve expanded rosters, and maybe even the taxi squad thing if it means the players are always paid.
I’m pretty sure the players are in favor of it, and it really would cost the owners little money, as low as 3 minimum salaries, less than $2MM. But they are denying it to the players, holding back on it to trade it for something in return from the players. What my mother used to call “Cutting off their nose to spite their face”.
I wonder Jonah, if the cost is much higher given potential pension and benefit impacts.
No clue though, total speculation.
Bluto, that is a certainty, but the benefits outweigh the costs. I wonder how many injuries that might save. With a couple of extra bodies on the bench, they wouldn’t have to call up replacement players for short term ‘owieees’. And, like you, what they are now doing generates some moral turpitude in me. A simple fix would be to charge starting pitchers to the roster only on days they are scheduled to pitch. That would automatically open up 4 roster spots for the bench or bullpen.
Oh, bad thought! Four more Hatchers….
Excellent post Michael.
And by the way, in response to another post, the historical Yueh_Fei was not a warlord. He was a martyr who chose country over the very likely prospect of being an emperor himself by playing to the masses and usurping the throne, and he was also a warrior poet who found several of the martial arts forms and principles that are still in use today.
On this date, May 20, 1972, Al Downing shut out the Astros in 1 hour and 30 minutes. The fastest game in Dodger Stadium history.
Speaking only for myself, I would like to see this team get younger and more athletic. I prefer 8 guys who play every day, or close to it, but I understand that is a thing of the past. An ironman is a guy who plays 148, staying off the DL for a few years. We have one. Seager. Bellinger looks like another. I look forward to the day we surround those guys with guys like them.
Bang for the buck is another thing I don’t see here. I don’t care what the payroll is, I want to see excitement worth paying for.
That’s it, right there, bang for your buck. The have wasted more than most any other team on mediocrity.
Forsythe 1-1 with 2 runs scored last night. Had 3 walks also.
I’m rereading Tom Clancy’s “Jack Ryan Series’. Currently reading “Without Remorse” and the “Patriot Games”. Except for “Red October” the movies fall far short of the books. And Alec Baldwin was a far better Jack Ryan than Harrison Ford. Ford is a poor imitation of James Stewart, who like John Wayne was a terrible actor who made a lot of good movies. These guys played the same character in every movie, they just changed the settings and character names. Yes, I’m criticising them and I watched every movie they made, as far as I know.
I’m reminded of what Robert Mitchum said about acting, I’m paraphrasing – “Easiest job in the world. Just repeat the lines someone else writes for you”. That’s all most of those guys ever did. Same delivery, different movie.
Some did it better than others. Mitchum was actually competent at it. Some were just “stars”, put them in the movie, people would come out to see it.
Did you ever see “The Story Of G I Joe”, movie written by Ernie Pyle, one of Mitchum’s first roles, he played the platoon/company leader whom his men grew to love and cry when he gets killed on Monte Cassino?
Wayne was very good at it. And sometimes all he needed to do was give that look…And he was the #1 star at the box office longer than any other actor, and in Holly weird, that is what counted the most. Lawrence Olivier, and Spencer Tracy were better actors, and very popular, but they could not have played the roles the Duke did.
The movie was really good and it was about Pyle, that’s why it was called G.I Joe. But Mitchum could play a bad guy as good as any, like he was in Cape Fear.
Well John Wayne never claimed to be an actor, what he was was a reactor. He reacted to the script and what the director wanted, and he never put on airs. He always played John Wayne, not some one else. And you are right, they played them selves. Thing is, their kind of movie was very successful. They gave the public exactly what they wanted. They wanted John Wayne, not John Wayne playing some wimp. They wanted the stuttering Jimmy Stewart who always seemed to come out on top at the end. John Wayne made good movies because he played himself. He had great script and story writers, and he surrounded himself with people he trusted. He got one Oscar, for True Grit, but should have gotten at least 2 others. One for The Quiet Man, and one for Sands of Iwo Jima. But I still think his 2 best performances he played a total asshole, one was The Searchers, and the other was Red River. As for the Ryan series, the worst one stared Ben Affleck. That was The Sum of All Fears. Patriot Games, and A Clear and Present Danger were entertaining, and pretty well done. They do not do the novels justice that is true, but movies that are based on novels rarely do. There are a few exceptions, Exodus for example, and To Kill a Mockingbird. Clancy’s novels are all pretty long. Cramming all that into a 2 hour movie is almost impossible. Best adaptation of a novel I have ever seen was done in a mini series. The novel was The Winds of War by Herman Wouk. It took 18 hours of TV time to tell the story, then they made a mini series of the sequel, War and Remembrance. The cast of both was outstanding with Robert Mitchum as the lead character. I have over 120 John Wayne movies on DVD and Blu Ray. I also have both of those series on DVD.
Great post, Michael. Another movie that was much better than the book was James Jones’ “From Here To Eternity”. I would love to watch the “Winds Of War” and the sequel again. If you have DVDs, they’re digital; you could download them on your computer and send me the files on an email, if you could be so kind… I can offer a lot of ebooks in trade if you’re interested.
I will try. I am pretty computer challenged, but I will get a friend of mine to help. I have to dig them out. No need to trade anything. Just send me your email addy to my email address,,,,,[email protected] and I will let you know when I get them downloaded. That’s about 30 hours of movies. Lonesome Dove was well done too. A lot better than the sequels were.
I already have Lonesome Dove. There were a couple of later Robert Duvall series that were pretty good, Open Range and Broken Trail. A couple of really good movies Duvall was in before he was famous, are The Outfit and Captain Newman, MD.
Duvall was in To Kill a Mockingbird too. Open Range is a very good movie and so is Broken Trail. Thomas Hayden Church, who was in Broken Trail was one of the villain’s in Spiderman 3, and he was Ursula’s boy friend in George of the Jungle. Have always enjoyed Duvall’s movies, and I finally found a copy of his Oscar winning turn in Tender Mercies. I have about 5000 movies on DVD and Blu Ray. Music, movies and Dodger baseball are my 3 great passions. Make sure when you send your email addy to say ATTN Michael on the topic.
A little about the set-to that happened during Stanton’s AB in the 9th. Stripling was ejected because he threw BEHIND Stanton, and it was seen as on purpose, which it most likely was, but the plate umpire blew it because when Eibner was plunked, right after Cody’s HR, no warnings were issued. And the Marlin pitcher definitely threw at Eibner, it was not a pitch that got away. The amusing thing about the scrum was the two old guys really going at each other. Geren and Mattingly were yelling and nose to nose. Geren had been yelling at the Marlin bench from when Eibner was hit. Also funny, and a little scary was Chase Utley trying to push the very large human being that is Stanton away from Stripling. I remember a melee with the D-Backs that got the Dodgers on a hot streak. I hope this does the same.
I think I’d rent some earth moving equipment before I messed with Stanton…
Or get the Undertaker to back you up! The wrestler not the guy in black…..
Got your email and addy….will get back to you soon.
I re watched that recently. That was a classic.
McGuire wanted Gibson’s head!
Did anyone else catch the response from Mattingly about the beanballs incidents? Look, I know you’re managing one of the worst teams in the majors and are in managerial purgatory after heading the Dodgers, but you’re seriously whining because Bellinger swung 3-0 with a 5-0 lead. It was only the fifth inning! He basically admitted that he ordered the retaliation, and his clumsy attempt at being vague and noncommittal essentially conceded that things will carry over to today’s game.
I thought some of the folks made Mattingly out to be too much of a scapegoat when he was here, but I’m glad he’s gone. He was Torre disciple without any of Torre’s people skills and all of his sclerotic approach to managing lineups and bullpen usage.
Dodgerpatch
Mattingly is not a good manager.
And he has some nerve saying anything, after what the Marlins did last year, in that last game of the series, at Dodger stadium.
Remember when Gordon got the game winning hit, and right after the game was over, he admitted to testing positive for steroids, and went out for his punishment, right then, just minutes, after the game ended.
Can’t disagree about Mattingly’s managerial abilities, but so’s Mr Sock Puppet,
Jonah
I don’t agree with every move Roberts makes, but I like the guy, and what he does with the players, on an even bigger level.
They play more as a team now, and they do come back in games, a lot.
Last year, they had the most comebacks to wins, in all of baseball.
And I believe Roberts, and his coaches, are responsible for that.
No, that credit would have to go to FAZ, for when Roberts or the coaches speak, it is the words of FAZ that come out. They are merely speakers with feet.
I really don’t understand how you can argue the point when he does inexplicable things like bat Kike cleanup or bring in Hatcher to pitch. A good manager and one who IS managing his club, would use Hatcher only in blowouts until the g. d. GM figured out he wasn’t wanted and got rid of him.
On Hatcher Jonah, He would never have gotten in the game had Stripling not been tossed out, but I get you totally on Kike, and there is no way the FO considers that guy a 4 hole hitter.
Jonah
Because he is good at getting the most, out of his players.
And he is good with making his players, play as a team too.
He also represents the Dodgers, well, too.
And about those crazy line ups, I do think Robert does that, because he thinks that is what the front office, wants him, to do.
But I don’t think the few players they platoon, make that big of a difference, in our offense, most of the time.
But if we are facing lefties more often, then not, that might be different.
Watching an old fashioned pitching duel. Martinez vs Samardzija. Shark went 8, Martinez pitching the 9th in a 0 0 tie. You don’t see games like this much anymore.
Looks like that Cuban kid Robert is going to sign with the White Sox for about 25-27 million. That’s the skinny on MLB anyway, and a big shout out and get well soon to the skipper, Tommy Lasorda who is in the hospital.
Little girl caught Bellinger’s home run in her cap:
http://m.mlb.com/cutfour/2017/05/20/231344740/dodgers-fan-wasnt-really-aware-she-caught-cody-bellingers-homer
lINEUP.
https://twitter.com/Dodgers/status/866055566363246592/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Flinkmeister.com%2Fdodgers%2F
Urias is struggling really bad. Marlins up 3-0. Cardinals traded Matt Adams to the Braves for a minor league 1st baseman. Braves need Adams since Freeman is out for maybe 3 months.
Not a good night for the kid. Rockies lost. Schebler with his 12th. Even Peraza got a hit. Dbacks thumping San Diego.
Ugly game, and I mean UGLY. Kemp hit his 8th and drove in his 25th. He is hitting .349.
Correction- Schebler his 11th
It’s 9 zip and only 1 Dodger has more than 1 at bat. Yoiks.
I’m not worried, you assured us the Dodgers would beat this pitcher. I assume $5.38.com told you so…
No. I said this pitcher would be a better test. Yes, 538 had us winning. I think we’ve been favored in almost every game so far. Vegas likes us too. The only teams we won’t be favored against is Chicago and Washington. We’re supposed to beat everybody else.
Sure would be great to get Gonzalez going…..
He needs some Braun juice.