You know how $1 dollar Dodger Dogs sounds like a good idea at first? You feel happy and good and munch on a whole buncha dogs, because they’re only a buck, right? Then, around the 6th inning, you start to lose that hot dog glow, and everything just kinda sits there…threatening to blow up in your face. Then, in the 8th, you hit bottom and lose everything. Well – that’s kinda how the Dodger game went tonight.
Walker Buehler got the ball and the mound to open the home stand against the Colorado Rockies, and he did not disappoint. He was perfect through four innings, and then in the top of the fifth, Buehler have up a solo home run to tie the game at one run apiece. One batter later, Buehler took a line drive off his upper ribs and recorded the out, but he wasn’t long for the game. Buehler was lifted after seven innings, just two hits, six Ks, and the one run.
Max Muncy continued to heat up at the plate and smacked his fifth homer of the season to give the Dodgers the first score of the game in the 4th inning.
And that was all she wrote for the Dodgers’ offense folks. They never scored again. We all know one run a night is a recipe for disaster with their bullpen. That played out again tonight, courtesy of one Pedro Baez.
Baez got the call to hold a one run lead in the eighth inning, although for the life of me, I don’t see why Roberts didn’t choose a different arm for a crucial one-run game. Baez retired the first batter and then he walked a .132 hitter – on four pitches! Baez was back to his slow pitching time tonight. So slow the broadcast crew had time to show the $1 Dodger Dogs and discuss the condiments they prefer on their dogs.
Back to Baez and his .132 hitter, Tony Wolters. Wolters then stole second, and took third when Yasmani Grandal‘s throw sailed into CF. Baez out…Scott Alexander in. Carlos Gonzalez singled, scoring Baez’s .132 gift runner.
Fast forward to the bottom of the ninth, with one out. The Dodgers were down by a run, in an important momentum-deciding game, at home, and lousy hitting Cody Bellinger was due up. He was already 0 for 3 at this point, but what do you think Roberts did? He gave Cody the opportunity to go 0 for 4. Fulfilled. Why the heck Bellinger is batting ahead of Matt Kemp is another mystery of the universe I can’t solve.
Matt Kemp brought the Dodgers’ last hopes to the plate. He hit a sharp infield grounder and ran past first just as the throw skipped past the Rockies’ first baseman. Trouble was, Kemp placed one foot inside the base line, and was committed to return back to first if he was going to be safe and keep the Dodgers alive. Just like he had eaten five $1 dogs, he was too slow on his dive back to the bag, and was called out.
On the bright side, the Dodgers can try to start a new winning streak tomorrow night.
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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This game was a GIFT to the Rockies.
Did we even try to win this game?
All the stats and projections just pointed to complete disaster as soon as Baez came in (in the late innings).
Refer to my latest post on previous thread.
In addition to all the problems of Baez, I just think, from observation and results only, that the rest of the team on the field just feels nervous when he is on the mound. Especially with a runner on. Grandal makes a bad throw, Utley cannot convert. That does not happen with another, more confident pitcher on the mound (e.g. Morrow or anyone else, or even Urias despite the youth).
Can we try Broussard instead of Baez already??!!?!!!
And can we give more ABs to our contact oriented hitters, like Barnes and Farmer please? They can play multiple positions. Let them. That was the reason they were touted in the first place, right?
Baez walked a guy that never should have scored. He gave up no earned runs. It’s my opinion this one is on Utley and the offense. E-4, 3 for 29, 0 for 3 WRISP. The offense took the night off. The defense failed. The staff gave up 1 earned run and we lost.
Let’s also give home plate ump Ryan Blakney some credit. Not only was his strike zone way off, the error on Grandal sending the runner to third was clearly interference on Valaika. Then Utley looked like a 50 year old making that play up the middle that allowed the run to score. That is a routine play for most second baseman.
Did I mention 3 for 29? .103 as a team. .000 WRISP. Suckage. Dodger Blue Squirrel suckage.
I agree on Utley. That should have been a routine out. He also botched a play in the 9th, way too slow.
Speaking of routine remember when all base runners were taught to run past 1B and cross the foul line. That guaranteed the runner wouldn’t be tagged out at 1B. It was taught for a reason. Kemp was lucky he didn’t hurt himself, ala D.C.
Yes to all that. But it just has to be Baez. Stop bringing him in after the 5th already.
One more thing that continues to bother me – the rule on overrunning first base and turning left or right and making a move toward second. As you know I umpired about 10 years, levels as high as jr college and semi pro. I went to numerous clinics over the years and that play was reviewed often. The rule is clear on it. There is nothing in the book that says you have to turn left or right after running past first. The move to second has to be a definitive one, obvious to all. It’s about intent. A commitment made to go. In the clinics I attended the instructors told me it should be a move involving a step TOWARD second base, as if you intend to go. Not a feint, not a lean, a full step. I’ve reviewed the Kemp play several times this morning and it’s my opinion he made no move toward second base. As an ump, he didn’t convince me he was about to take off for second base. Unless that rule has changed, I think ML umps get that one wrong.
I think it’s totally subjective, and (even though this wasn’t part of your post) thus not open to review.
I didn’t see any move towards 2nd either, but that doesn’t matter.
I think it does matter. The strike zone last night was all over the place. The clear interference on Valaika (how is that not seen? It happened 3’ in front of the ump!) and the call on Kemp. These umps are supposed to be the best in the world. I’ve seen better on softball diamonds around the country. I find many of them fat and lazy (Joe West) and some incompetent (Angel Hernandez, CB Bucknor Laz Diaz and that idiot at home last night).
Poor umpiring effects the integrity of the game. MLB needs to do better.
Badger
The problem with the play on Kemp, is why did he rush back like he did make the turn?
Because that made Kemp look quilty.
If Kemp would have walked normally back to first, the Dodgers would have had, a bigger case.
Because Kemp didn’t make any attempt, but he thought about it, but he never turned his whole body around, to even try to go to second.
I missed Utley’s misplays, but on the after show they said Utley made that error, that allowed the runner to score.
And what people forget, is the fact that Utley made an error, in game two, that allowed the Astros to score a run, and that was why Roberts took Hill out early, after that inning.
They didn’t give Utley an error, but the ball was hit right at him, and he should have made the play.
And they also said the umpire missed the interference call on Grandal too.
I understand what YF is saying about Baez, because when Baez takes his sweet time, his fielders get restless standing out there.
And Baez, and non of these relievers, should come into a clean inning, and walk any hitter, because he did put the go ahead run on base, so it was on him too.
Because there is no defense for a walk!
And this is just getting old with Baez, because he should never be used in a tie game, in the later two innings, of a game.
I meant it doesn’t matter because there’s no recourse.
But you say it matters because it strengthens the point that umpiring could and should be better.
Two things are true at the same time.
Is MJ now saying that walks have a benefit for offenses??!?!?!??!?
The umpire is only 32 years old and in his second year I believe. Joe and Orel both mentioned it right after the interference. But that is not an excuse
It’s a basic call, easy to make. You can’t even lean over the plate, let alone stand on it like that guy did. It’s interference in Little League. We all knew about it from the age of 10, a guy umping in the Bigs should not miss that one.
As for what Kemp did racing back to the bag – not relevant to the call. It is or isn’t. He can come back to the bag any way he chooses, including a moon walk if he wants. Because Kemp isn’t sure should not influence the ump.
Hey, check this out. It’s Muncy’s Home run ball.
One of TO Dave’s students got it.
Cool…..I once got 8 foul balls at a Padres game in their old ball park. There were only 6,000 people there and I had box seats. You could walk all the way to the LF stands and I got 3 during batting practice and 5 during the game….Never come close since although I did catch a ball Joe Ferguson hit on a bounce into the LF pavilion during BP.
Guess it is time for me to chime in. 1st. You don’t hit, you don’t win no matter how good your pitching is. Marquez shut the hitters down. After Muncy homered in the 4th they did not get another hit until the 9th when Kemp singled and then was thrown out trying to get back to first, and sorry, I agree with Badger on this one, he made no aggressive move that he was going to second. He also did not see the 1st baseman miss the ball and was looking at the umpire and since he did not see the ump signaling anything that’s when he dived to get back. To be sure, Marquez is one of the worst umps in the majors, he is also highly combative with players and has a short fuse. Blakney’s zone was all over the place. There were quite a few calls that were so far out of the zone that it was not funny. That being said, 3 hits is not going to cut it. The BP only walked 2 this game, but as usual for these guys, one was one too many. Baez has many faults as a pitcher, and holding runners is something he has never mastered in all his years in the majors. I doubt had Valaika not fallen in front of Grandal and he had gotten off a perfect throw, the runner would have beaten the play. The throw being that high was the result of Valaika being right in front of Grandal when he unloaded the throw. Of course it all became moot when Gonzo hit the ball and Utley threw it away. They made 3 errors in this game. The other 2 did not affect the game, but this one was a killer. The main problem with the Dodgers is that they are not a very good baseball team right now. Oh yeah, they won 4 in a row, and swept a pretty good DC club, but last night they reverted to the guys who were losing to bad teams. There are 6 guys hitting over .250 and two of them are not here. Seager and Verdugo. Bellinger, Pederson, Utley, Barnes, Taylor, Utley, Puig, Forsythe and Hernandez are all under .244. 2 guys, Taylor and Bellinger, are averaging a strike out a game. Hernandez, Puig and Grandal, close to that. This is not a great team. They are pretty much right where they belong in the standings and the only thing keeping them close is Arizona being so bad lately and Colorado prone to just breaking even. Even the Giants are still in it and they have their 1&2 pitchers on the shelf. Stewart called up to start tonight’s game. Venditte will probably be sent down. I wish it were Baez and Hudson….
D-Backs lose Souza again with a pec strain, Dee Gordon to DL with a broken toe. Twitter up in arms and blasting Hill for peeing on his blister…????? Reports that Grandal may be trade bait at the deadline…..
Every time we face a rightie, Roberts almost always, moves Kemp down in the line up, but Kemp is hitting righties better then both, Joc and Cody.
I would bat Turner and Kemp, one after another, and then fill in the line up, around these two guys.
And I would keep these guys in the line up in this order, against both righties, and lefties.
Because we need some steady hitters in this line up, that will make good contact, especially when runners are in scoring position.
Turner didn’t hit much in the Nats series, but he will come around.
Most good teams, only have a couple of hitters, that are hitting below 250, not all over the line up, like we have.
And you can’t put these type of hitters at the top of the line up, and expect to win many games, because the odds are, they will not get a hit, when runners are in scoring position.
I would also hit Cody fifth or sixth, until he starts hitting, and takes his walks, instead of swinging out of the strike zone.
I would also keep Puig in the eight position too, because he gets the team a lot of cheap RBIs, hitting eighth.
Because Puig tends to take his walks, when he is hitting eighth, and if a pitcher makes he mistake, Puig will make a pitcher pay, with a long HR.
And no Baez after the sixth inning, unless we have a five or six run lead.
It is to bad Muncy can’t play second, because that is are weakest offensive position, on this team.
“Dee Gordon to DL with a broken toe.”
Trade Forsythe for him.
“Twitter up in arms and blasting Hill for peeing on his blister…”
Ignorant savages. Everyone knows urine is good for the skin. Even the President knows that.
Why stop at Forsythe they need a centerfielder too.
I don’t understand why they moved Gordon back to 2nd with Cano’s injury. If the long term play was to have him adjust to CF, why stunt that with a move away from that position.
He only played 3 games there while they looked for a permanent replacement…..now they are really looking.
We can help them out.
Yep….we could do that….Dodger Blue reporting that the Orioles would definitely ask for Buehler in any trade for Machado…..that puts the kibosh on that idea.
They can ask. Nobody is going to give anyone like him. At least I don’t think so. Verdugo, Lux and maybe Peters. Maybe a pitcher instead of one of those guys.
How about an infield of Arenado, Machado, Turner and Seager. Outfield of whoever, Bellinger, Harper. 2020. Go Hollywood right before the sale.
Muncy leading off again, Turner in the 2 hole. Kemp hitting cleanup and Cody behind him.
A pretty strong batting order for the 2nd game. No Joc, no Kike. Unfortunately, Dodgers are scraping the bottom of the barrel for their starting pitchers. Stewart will start. This is getting to be like a bad dream. Dodgers will need their bats tonight. If they don’t come through this game, it will be a long season no matter what Arizona does. They’ve got to beat these Rockies!! We need to break out of this hitting slump.
Well their #8 hitter is hitting like a #8….he is terrible……Dodgers need a real 2nd baseman……BADLY>>>>>>
Another center cut pitch deposited over the fence. Forsythe leaves the bags jammed….Kemp is nails…The Rockies announcers are super annoying, especially the woman doing the play by play……
You have to love Kemps at bat in the 8th. It was painful, literally and he battled. His look when he walked back, “hey rooks and underacheivers that is how you work an at bat”.!!!!!!!
Lessons learned from the first game and this game. And actually from the last two years.
… cut Forsythe and Baez pronto!!!
I don’t know why we keep going to these guys. Enough is enough.
And just in case anyone is a Forsythe fan, Barnes is a better option at second and Farmer is a better option at third.
And both are better at the plate !!
Yueh, FAZ loves mediocrity. He revels in it and in those two they have a jackpot. Farmer hit his first homer at OKC today during a 8 run 10th inning. Yeah, I would definitely play Barnes over Forsythe or Kike who is another epitome of mediocrity player.