Runners in scoring position. All teams have them, the more you get them in, the better chance you have of winning.
The Dodgers this season have been really amazing at scoring with 2 outs. I think they have scored more than 300 runs with 2 outs. But they have had stretches where they just cannot get a run home with men in scoring position.
One of the most frustrating things for fans to watch is a team loading the bases with no outs, or less than two outs, and then watching the team leave them loaded, or score only one.
That happened Saturday night when they loaded the bases in the first inning. They scored one when Smith hit into a DP. That right there cost them the game. Had they scored at least 2 of those runners, they would have won the game in regulation.
They wasted a fine effort by Sheehan and Yarbrough. They had plenty of chances after that but went 1-10 with RISP.
But this is not a new problem. It has plagued Dodger teams over the last several seasons. It is puzzling because the Dodgers usually have a pretty decent hitter coming up in those situations.
Like Jeff mentioned in a prior post, they need to change their approach. LA has 11 grand slams this season. That ties the team record. Maybe that creeps into the hitters mentality when the bags are juiced. Hey, I get a granny here, we win this game.
Thus it becomes the hitter’s kryptonite. Instead of just trying to hit the ball hard somewhere, they try to launch. I saw Chris Taylor doing that a couple of times this weekend.
Smith usually does shorten up his swing with 2 strikes, but he also does have a tendency to swing harder with men on base instead of just letting the ball come to him in the last couple of weeks.
Now this season, the Dodgers OPS with RISP is .838. Second to Atlanta. They usually do a decent job this season. And since this is one of the better offensive teams in Dodger history, overall, they have done pretty well.
I think one thing has factored into the lull they face now and then, that is JD Martinez not being in the lineup.
Let’s face it, when healthy, JD is an RBI machine. He has played in 92 games and driven in 75 runs. When he is in the four hole behind the top three, pitchers have to be very careful.
Also, this season, he owns Atlanta. He is hitting .500 against Braves pitchers with 3 homers in three games. If they meet in the playoffs, JD is going to be a huge piece of the puzzle. In his career, he has 9 homers against the Braves.
Not much time to change a whole lot this year, so we will have to wait and see if they change some hitters’ approaches next season. Many teams are starting to revert back to using more contact hitting styles and less of the new philosophy.
Deja Vu all over again. Baseball is reverting back to some of its old ways. I can’t wait!
We should hear something about the Urias situation today. Back to business for the MLB office in New York. My guess is admin leave asap.
Been giving this some thought.
Im not sure changing the approach at this point will work with this group. Make contact with two strikes, with these guys, might bean approach that ends up with a rollover double play. I don’t know that but it sure seems possible to me.
I think I prefer this approach: We’ve worked all year to be as good as we are. It’s the 4th quarter, do what we do and do it better than those guys. Let’s finish what we started.
Excellent point about JD. Will we get him back in time?
My gut tells me this – we aren’t as good as Atlanta, but we can beat ‘em.
As for Urias, it won’t matter what the lawyers are able to do for him. It’s possible no legal decision will be made until this season is over, but, like Bauer, who still hasn’t been convicted of anything, Julio Urias is finished as a Dodger.
Every couple of weeks, Baseball Prospectus encapsulates a Who’s Hot and Who’s Not story into a series entitled: Heat Wave. They select two Hot and two Not Hot prospects from each affiliated level. This week, the Dodgers got one mention:
Low-A
Hot
Thayron Liranzo, C, Los Angeles Dodgers (Low-A Rancho Cucamonga): .343 (12-35), 6 R, 5 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 7 BB, 11 K. Season Stats (Low-A): .274/.396/.557, 22 HR, 2 SB.
Signed for just $30,000 in 2022 and with two unremarkable professional seasons under his belt, Liranzo was not on the prospect radar, overshadowed by organization mates, Diego Cartaya and Dalton Rushing. However, as they struggled at their respective levels, Liranzo flourished, setting career bests in most offensive categories. There’s some swing-and-miss to his game and he might be best served ditching the idea of being a switch hitter, but there’s no doubt the power is real. He’s also shown vast improvements behind the dish, with the durability and quickness to stick at the position long term.
Thayron is 20 (baseball age 19). He is improving defensively as a catcher. We have no idea if he will be a front line catcher until we see what he can do when he reaches AA; hopefully sometime next season.
A former Dodger prospect got a Not So Hot selection:
Not
Jacob Amaya, SS, Miami Marlins (Triple-A Jacksonville): .167 (5-30), 4 R, 2B, 5 BB, 7 K, 2 SB.
For the season – .253/.334/.401/.735 – 11 HR, 25 doubles, 2 triples, 6 SB, 1 CS, 52BB 93K.
I got a question for you money guys in here.
I don’t understand the JockTax.
Here’s an example of how the jock tax would be calculated for a player in the MLB:
The first step is to calculate the portion of total income that will be taxable in each state. Divide the number of games played in a particular state or city by the total number of games played (including the regular season as well as pre-and post-seasons).
Then, multiply against the total amount the athlete was compensated for the year. That amount is then taxed according to each state’s income tax rates.
For example, let’s take an athlete with the following stats and determine the amount of Pittsburgh jock taxes owed:
Total games played at PNC Park = 5
Total games played pre- through postseason = 105
Total salary for the season = $5 million
Seems simple enough, but I know through experience seldom is anything as simple at it seems.
My question is this, can deferred money be sent to a residence in a non income tax state?
6 earned in 8. 6.75 ERA.
Well, Miami has more to play for than the Dodgers do. We aren’t catching Atlanta so the goal, I guess, is to make sure we don’t lose another pitcher.
Slugging like we did for a while there isn’t sustainable over 3 months. It should come back for periods over the next 2 months though. Gotta score 7 might be a theme for several games going forward.
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