More in Dodger Baseball
-
-
Dodger Killers
...
-
Pacific Coast League: A History
In December of 1902, the PCL was formed. It consisted of six teams. Officials...
-
Who’s Next?
Well, the first roster shakeup of...
Spot on Bear. Our stars did not shine. They went super nova.
The Mets scored 6 runs against rookie pitchers.
How many rookies pitched for the Mets?
Will the Dodgers have to do this again? It’s a 7 game series. The answer is probably yes.
I say again, the team must hit. Right through the lineup. They have to hit.
What were the Dodgers thinking when they trotted out their B list Bullpen in Game 2? A real lapse of intelligence if you ask me. The formula here is to win with overwhelming force and not to make this drag out any longer than needs be. It also didn’t help when our top hitters decided to take a day off.
That’s not going to get it done. However this lineup has always been feast or famine. Yesterday they got dumb and happy at the feast. Today they went on a starvation diet. Really ugly, hopefully they have a long miserable flight to NY and think about it. I hope Mr. August has a batting cage on the plane, I can’t get over how poorly Mookie disappears in most of his chances in the playoffs, it’s Mr. August until he proves he has any inkling of shining consistently in October.
Beuhler will do well next game, but they have to put some offense up for him.
Well, that didn’t work.
I don’t see anything to criticize Doc about. He’s been magnificent with the last 3 game plans and this one didn’t work. It was instantly a different cast of characters after Knack gave up 5 in the second. That is always the fear in a bullpen game. Actually it was the fear that fans had for Yamamoto’s start too. But Yamamoto pitched great. Knack didn’t.
The potential is always there for a walk, a bloop and a blast and you get ambushed for quick runs. The 6 runs in 2 innings by the Mets should, and did completely, change the pitchers used and and their order.
Despite folks here hollering for the Varsity Bullpen, it is terminally stupid to burn the high leverage arms, down 6 nothing. That is just Management 101. It’s not a lapse of intelligence. It’s minimizing the casualties.
Had the bats shown life, the plan changes. The bats didn’t produce. We will be fresh to live another day.
When you’re down early and the bats have no life you are wise to do exactly what Doc did.
Thanks again to John Smoltz for explaining what “arm-side” and “glove-side” means. He elaborately pointed out that since Sean Manaea is left-handed, he wears his glove on his right hand. So, if he’s pitching to his “glove-side” that would be inside to a right handed batter. Damn, he’s just a cornucopia of high level baseball information. Have you ever heard two guys ramble on more and say less than Smoltz and Davis?
So, do we expect Buehler? Put this one behind us and come out and swing it again. Ohtani needs to pull his head out and make a difference.
As much as Kike’s DP was the killer, he really smoked it. Just the way it goes.
Embarrassing effort 1-5.
Coaching was not awesome either. I didn’t get it.
I have no idea why you wouldn’t march out the exact same pitchers that dominated The Padres in game 4. No idea.
different team? Don’t care. Knack was stupid. No other way to describe that.
Fickle LAD fans go from Doc is a genius to he’s a dumb f***. One thing I detest is turning the game of baseball into a computer game. This is a game played by humans with human frailties. Knack was horrible. Can’t sugarcoat it. But it sure as hell is not because Doc is an idiot. This was not supposed to be a NLDS Game 4 bullpen game. It was not a must win game. The Dodgers were trying to get bulk innings from Knack. That is why he is on the roster. Some of you may not like that, but then again nobody on this site has a vote. That was a decision made by Doc, AF/BG, Marc Prior, Connor McGuiness, Danny Lehmann…They all had access to Eric’s stats and also talked with Knack. Gee. Bad game. S*** happens.
Knack gives up a lot of HRs. Yep, so does Jack Flaherty and yet he pitched 7.0 shutout innings. So does Walker Buehler. Let’s see what he does on Wednesday. BTW, the last time Knack pitched it was a shutout inning in NLDS Game 4. No HRs.
Maybe Brasier should not pitch as he gave up the HR to Lindor. Maybe Doc should only pitch Flaherty, and Banda, Kopech, Phillips, and Treinen for the rest of the series. Maybe Honeywell sneaks in there??? Well until he has another bad outing. Then Doc is going to a dumbs*** again.
Now that Kiké did not come through like Mark Vientos, should he be benched? Hits into a DP with the bases juiced and F9 with runners on 2nd and 3rd. Hell, he didn’t come through as well as Tyrone Taylor. Me? I just call it a bad game and expect better on Wednesday.
As bad as Knack was, the Dodgers had the opportunity to come all the way back. Ohtani/Betts/Teoscar/Freddie/Smith went 0-19 with 9 Ks. Edman has a 3 hit game and Kiké disappeared.
News flash. The Mets are a good team. Ask Devin Williams. Ask the Phillies and their outstanding pitching. For the playoffs, Vientos is on another planet in the playoffs.
Here is a list of computer baseball games that at least one of you can tap into and be 100% right every time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_video_games
Me? I will stick with the real game with both LAD player achievements and failures. I will revel in their accomplishments and be disappointed by their failures. But for NLCS Game 2, I am not blaming Dave Roberts.
BTW, Eric, maybe you should contact the LAD front office, tell them how smart and clairvoyant you are, and request that they consult with you before they make their decisions. Maybe they can get you on a Zoom Call.
Maybe this game is a reminder that the stars need to step up.
The bullpen was on such a hot streak that a blow-up like this seems inevitable. And let’s not forget to give some credit to Sean Manaea, who’s had a nice bounce-back season with the Mets and will be a free agent this winter….
Next up is Buehler, right? Can he keep the Dodgers in the game? And then Yamamoto. Dodgers are going to need some pitching heroes…”
The Yankee – Guardian game was entertaining. The Yankee pitching was excellent. Carlos Rodon was great, getting deep into the game with lots of swing and miss. Luke Weaver, who has emerged as the Yankee closer, got a 5 out save with 4 strikeouts.
The Guardians starting catcher, Bo Naylor, had a miserable night behind the dish. He’s a youngster at almost 25 and needs to be a good defensive catcher as he his .201 for the season.
When I was coaching, in the scouting reports, we would have referred to this kid an “ER”.
That’s a “catcher” with NO catch. See what I did here?…an “ER”.
He was miserable last night. He attempts to frame pitches by catching them in the web to keep the glove in the strike zone and he just flat missed the ball.
But he’s the poster-child for a lazy young catcher who lives down on that knee to receive a pitch. He has zero lateral movement on pitches in the dirt and he doesn’t even try to shift out to block the ball. It’s all Ole’. He’s a Matador back there.
He had 4 “Wild Pitches” all charged to the pitcher, of coarse, 2 scoring runs. And all of them should have been blocked.
Absolutely pitiful.
Chilly, fall weather is New York. It will be crisp for our game Thursday night.
It looks like we get Marvin Hudson for our game.
If so, here’s my book on Marvin – Crew Chief. really tight zone. Tight no and south. May expand inside to LHB. Very consistent. Hitter’s ump. No nonsense guy.
Enjoy the day off.
A lot earlier than expected, Kershaw announced that he intends to pitch in 2025. Will it be for the Dodgers? He has a five-million-dollar player option which can increase up to 20 million based on appearances. He is just 32 strikeouts away from 3000. I think AF leaves the decision up to CK and he comes back. He is 25-10 over the last 3 seasons in 53 appearances with an ERA just a tad over 3. If he can pitch, he is still very effective. Speaking of stats, before yesterday’s game, the Dodgers basically owned Sean Manaea. He was 1-5 in his career with an ERA north of 7. But he is not that pitcher anymore. He changed his arm slot, and the Dodgers were swinging at echos all day long. Severino is 0-1 against LA in his career in 2 games, Quintana, is 3-2 lifetime, and Peterson is 1-0 despite an ERA over 5. Megill is 0-1 in three games. LA is going to have to get it done on the road. Something they were ok at, 11 games over .500. They were 3-0 at Citi-Field this year. They beat Lopez, Quintana and Ottovino.
Brent Honeywell spotted a snake on the steps of the dugout prior to the game. So one could say the Dodgers were snake bit!
In my humble opinion, which some here will disagree with, I think one of the Dodgers huge shortcomings is the lack of a power LH bat off of the bench. Say what you will about Heyward, but I would much rather see him on the roster instead of Taylor. Even after he was picked up by the Astros, J-Hey continued to rake and hit the ball hard.
Well, that went downhill early and fast. From the leadoff homer to the GS in the second . Knack just did not have it and that is the problem with those BP games. Only takes one guy to be off that day and you are behind the eight ball.
Debatable if Doc should have pulled Knack earlier. In his in-game interveiww he admitted that Knack did not have it.
Dodgers got a good look at this game in the 6th and 8th but both times Kike could not come up a hero again.
Even in the 9th they had two on , no out with Betts, Teo and FF up. Three Ks later game over.
Very disappointing game that basically turned on two pitches.
Will the Dodgers keeep Knack on the roster after that shellacking he took ?
Alternatives ?
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kersh will return next season!
At least some good news today.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow. One loss and people are losing their freaking minds. It is one game. It’s baseball, bad games happen to good/great teams. I had no problem with them going with Knack. He didn’t have it and put us squarely behind the eight ball early. That certainly changed the decisions on which pitchers to subsequently use. It was a bullpen game and it didn’t work out. Let it go. After the grand slam the Dodgers worked their way back and got the game within reach. But none of our “stars” showed up. The offense was pathetic.
Face the facts. If our big guns don’t show up, we will lose more times than not.
BTW, who told me yesterday that using Hudson on Sunday in a blowout would not preclude him from pitching Monday ?
And now according to Doc the unavailibiliy of Hudson was a huge part in going with Knack ?Or not taking him out ?
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!1
By not using our high leverage guys yesterday Roberts now has lost one full game where he can use them. With the 3 consecutive games in NY coming up our high leverage guys will be able to go in only 2 games anyway. Can not use them 3 in a row. So he squandered Game 2 to use them.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Listening to some experts/bloggers/youtuber/Dodger players etc today the common theme:
Not worried about losing this Game 2.
Mets were hungrier. Wanted it more. Buehler going Game 3 will be fine. Dodgers the better team yaddayaddaydaa.
How can you not be hungry in a Game 2 of a LCS at home ?With the chance to put the other team really in a deep hole..
Exactly the laid back approach that will you NOT win a WS. I just donßt like that kind of approach.Hate it.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Blue Techker Good post! We will be linking to this particularly great post on our site. Keep up the great writing