Dear Dodgers,
I’ve been your fan since the days that my only knowledge of you was hearing the not so far away cheers from the stadium as I played in Elysian Park when I was a child. If you put a drop of Tommy Lasorda’s Dodger Blue blood next to a drop of mine, you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference.
My point is, like so many others, I love this team, win or lose. That said, this season has been like none that I’ve ever witnessed. It’s been a strange ride, to say the least. All season we fans have been surprised at almost every turn. Who saw any of this coming? The incredible winning streaks and steamrolling just about every other team in the majors was big fun. I can’t even imagine how great it must have been to be on the field and the dugout during those high-flying times.
Now we all sit mired in just about the worst losing streak and bad mojo that the franchise has ever known. As a writer, I’ve done my share of analysis and opining over the causes of the losses, and what I would do if I were manager. During these dark days I’ve been angry, frustrated, and just plain blue (and not the good kind of blue). Again, I can only imagine what that must feel like from your point of view.
We all know there’s still time to pull out of this funk, and there’s no better place for it to happen than against the hated Giants. Some of you on the team probably don’t know much – or really care – about the long and bitter rivalry against the orange and black. That won’t matter, because the fan bases of both teams care quite a bit about “the shot heard ’round the world, Juan Marichal’s bat, and Steve Finley’s grand slam, just to name a few of the stories swirling around one of baseball’s longest and bitterest rivalries.
As you open tonight’s series in Frisco (they hate to be called Frisco, you see), their fans, and more importantly to you, their team, will see you as a wounded enemy. They would love nothing more than to slam you from home plate to those ridiculous toy cars in their outfield. Every year these late-season, Dodgers-Giants matchups have a postseason air about them, regardless of either team’s standings. This could be an advantage for you.
The Giants smell Dodger blood in McCovey Bay. Their fans are going to let you have it tonight like they used to bring it back when Tommy Lasorda walked the guantlet down their first base line back in the day. Their team is going to feed off that energy and do everything they can to put you down for good.
Take a long look in the mirror, Dodgers. THIS is your season right here, right now. Those champagne days of the early summer are long behind you, and this series is the chance to put those recent god-awful, dog days in the rear view mirror as well.
Feed off the atmosphere tonight. Make every pitch, every at bat, and every dash around the bases count like none have counted all season. You can turn things around and emerge from this series as the champions we all know you are. Focus on the fundamentals that got you here, find those intangibles that are inside of all of you.
Tommy Lasorda spoke about the strength of twenty-five men all pulling on the rope together. He was right then, and he’s still right today. There are countless Dodgers fans out here, and we’re all pulling on the rope with you. It all starts with one pitch, one base hit, one home run splashing into that stupid cove. We’re with you Dodgers. All the way.
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.
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You don’t often get teams amazingly good and amazingly bad in the same season.
The stat I like best: before the decline, it took 72 games for the Ds to lose 14.
After the decline, it took the Ds 15 games to lose 14.
Wow. Just wow.
And while they were doing the amazing regular season good, I posted they were
still not a champ roster.
So far, for all the good and bad things the Evil Hedgers have done, bang for buck still
rates them awful. They took a contending but playoff-failing team, tore it apart for
roughly a cool billion over three years, hired a boatload of “experts” – and have, as a
result, a contending but playoff-failing team.
(Until they don’t).
They seem to be from a very well-populated school in baseball that says “just get into
the second season, and anything can happen.” I am from an equally well-popped school
that says an excellent regular season team is not necessarily an excellent playoff team.
(See about eight, including Giants, of the last ten champs).
Oscar,
Spoken like a true Dodger fan. Unfortunately, those who run the Dodgers are not the same kind of fans that we are. FAZ did not grow up loving the Dodgers. We did. They don’t love the Dodgers. We do. They only care about one thing, Making money. No one who loves the Dodgers could possibly take a look at young players and sacrifice a win or two doing so. When we wish some certain player would pitch or bat, they never use any part of their hearts to make a decision. Their decision could be based on sabermetrics or what somebody on their management panel thinks or a number of other reasons. Just not one that matches our old style philosphy. Yes we love the Dodgers but no we don’t agree with some of the crazy things the FO and manager does and rightly so.
Well, tonight’s lineup includes Granderson, AGON and Grandal and no Taylor or possibly Barnes or heck, even Joc. The thing is the dad gum lineup should not be changed night after night while preparing for the playoffs. Period.
Tonight’s line up……Roberts never learns…….Granderson, LF, Seager, SS, Turner, 3B, Bellinger, CF, Puig, RF, Gonzalez, 1B, Grandal, C, Utley, 2B, Maeda, P. Gonzalez has a HR vs Stratton in his only AB against him. Cody in CF? Well he does have the speed to cover all that ground at AT&T Park, but not the experience. Granderson leading off????? The guys OBP since becoming a Dodger is lower than snake shit. Seager, Turner, Bellinger, Puig, Gonzalez is ok. Gonzo behind Puig should get Yasiel better pitches. Grandal? I would have him hitting 8th since he is in a big slump, actually I would have him on the bench. I would rather see Andre out there in LF than Grandfather…………
I have no words for this lineup
Oscar, from the heart!
I hope Cody doesn’t get hurt playing CF!
Well I looked it up, to see if Granderson ever faced the pitcher we are facing tonight, and there is no reason that Granderson is playing tonight, as I thought!
To me, this is an absolute slap into Ethier’s face!
And this is absolutely not the best way for this team, to finally get a win.
And I would hit Grandal eighth, like Michael said.
Grandal seems to strike out, anytime their are runners on base.
So with this line up, Roberts has two players hitting 300, sitting on the bench tonight.
I was afraid this would happen, and Roberts still doesn’t get it!
He is pulling a Reddick, with a player, who has a lower batting average, then Kershaw, and Ryu, since he joined this team!
I like Agone, and I think he can be good for the team, if he feels healthy, but I would have played Ethier tonight instead, and have Cody play first tonight.
The outfields in AT&T, are so big, they are very hard to cover, and they have their own design, and can you imagine if Granderson had trouble covering leftfield at Dodger stadium, what will his defense look like tonight, and then, there is his arm!
Roberts is playing Granderson to get him right, what about the team?
What about getting the team right, first!
why the hell do u start a game when it’s still raining, only to let 1 guy hit??
If I’m Bochy, I”m pissed that my starter may not come back out after 1 hitter!
Rain delay……..did not keep Granderout from striking out. Roberts said that this is probably Taylors last off day for the rest of the season. 18 games left after tonight, if they get it in. And according to the Dodgers web site, they will be using a set lineup probably during the series in Washington.
The rain didn’t last this long this morning, where I am.
Well it is close to 10:30 now, I doubt they play tonight’s game, but they got a little help from the Rockies who came from behind to beat AZ 5-4. Lead gets a .5 game boost.
the game will resume at 1050pm
Yeah it started and Maeda gives up a two run shot to Span……uneffenbelieveable.
Let me summarize how things are going for the Dodgers.
Blach was behind 3-1 to Gonzalez and through one right down the middle. Somehow Gonzalez rolled over the pitch and hit it 57 mph to the first baseman.
Sigh
I can’t believe these starters can’t start a game without giving up runs, before the team hits.
And we never hit the leftie pitcher, that the Giants have pitching.
And right now this pitcher has an era of 7.
Ryu should be the one pitching, because Ryu doesn’t give in, like Maeda does!
Michael they are not going to win this game!
Only one hit, and that is by Maeda.
Ok we are fighting back. I expected no less.
Thank God I was wrong, tied game!
It’s going to be a late, wild one. I’m staying put at this pub now for the long haul. Drink responsibly folks. I’m going to have to call a cab home.
Puig!!!
This may be the most fun I’ve had following a game since Rich Hill’s masterpiece.
That lead off walk by Rabin was a killer. AGon can’t find it. Let’s see what we’ve got left. Good game.
Well they lose #11..but gain a game on the magic number because Az loses. But they are only 3 up on DC in the chase for home field, sooooooooooooooooo to do my part, I am not posting on here again until they break the losing streak which hopefully will be tomorrow since CK has a lifetime ERA of under 1.50 at this ballpark…see ya when they win…..
The pitching has really broken down during this stretch. Neither the starters nor relievers can stop the flow of runs other teams are piling on us. The collective ERA must be horrendous during this stretch. We are back to square one trying to figure out what to do.
I asked my wife last night why she thinks this is happening. She said they are tired and injured. Hmm. Well, they certainly look tired. Injured? Perhaps more than the players are letting on. This is a team with a rotating DL list, both pitchers and batters. They have to fix this if they expect any consistency at making a run for the WS. At this point, there is no way the Dodgers are winning the WS or even getting there, no matter what their finishing record is. I don’t think they will rebound from this slide in any meaningful way. The players themselves have to take responsibility for all of this. No one is speaking up, no one has a clue. A very strange phenomenon is taking place and there is only silence and a manager who says he is unconcerned.
Jeff
I don’t know how anyone of our starters would be tired!
They started this ten day DL stuff, at the very beginning of the season for these starters, and as everyone knows, most of the time these starters only pitched five innings.
Some in the bullpen might be tired, but those guys in the bullpen, pitched more innings last year.
I think we played better today than vs the Rockies or the DBacks.
But let’s see what happens tomorrow … er … later today.
YF
We probably played better against the Giants but as you already know, the Giants are not that good, and the Dbacks and Rockies are far better teams.
I went to bed after Turner tied the score with his double, that hit in Corey.
Baez was warming up in the pen then.
Almost any time these relievers come into a game and walk someone, that free base often scores.
Roberts needs to talk to his relievers about this.
I saw that Baez gave up thee hits, and a run, and Watson also gave up a run.
Of course Ravin came in and walked his first hitter, and that is when our relief started the Giants scoring.
Ravin only throws one speed, so he doesn’t help much, and he doesn’t have good enough command to pitch in the majors.
But YF of course I will be watching them tonight.
I don’t know why Maeda was picked to pitch in this game, because I think Ryu has been better then Maeda this year.
Ryu is stingy about giving in to hitters, and he is very stingy, about giving up runs!
Maeda has to many let downs, after he has two outs.
It seems like Maeda is always giving up runs, when he has two outs, with runners on base, and he is almost out of this bad situation.
We probably didn’t deserve to win this game, when Roberts continues to put Granderson in the line up, and especially put Granderson at the top of the line up.
I know Granderson was taken out of the game early, but Roberts shouldn’t be putting him in the line up, in the first place
Roberts wants to get Granderson right, more then the team.
And Roberts might be waiting for ever on Granderson to get right, because he has been hitting 109 since the beginning of the second half.
And Granderson has a lower batting average, then Kershaw and Ryu!
Good morning! Saw the results 🙁
But this team seems to have a fighting spirit. I thought this losing streak was going to end last night, so maybe tonight!
Hey, at least we have Thursday March 29, 2018 to look forward to. Season opener at home vs the Giants!!