LAD Postseason HR Leaders

♦ October 18, 2016 ♦ 2 Comments

When Adrian Gonzalez  hit his game-changing home run on Sunday Night he moved into 2nd place among all LAD postseason home run leaders.

LAD PostSeason Home Run Leaders:

Player | HR
Steve Garvey | 10
Adrian Gonzalez | 7
Davey Lopes | 6
Ron Cey | 6
Dusty Baker | 5
Manny Ramirez | 5
Steve Yeager | 5

Steve Garvey earned the reputation as a clutch hitter in big moments, and his ten postseason home runs still sits on top of this list. The reason Garvey/Cey/Lopes/Baker/Yeager are on this list is because their teams played not only in the NLCS but in the World Series.  And because they hit clutch home runs.

Below is a list of the total postseason home runs sorted by total home runs by player name after Steve Yeager.  Thanks to BaseballReference for providing the information used in this spreadsheet.

Player | HR
Andre Ethier | 4
Carl Crawford | 4
Pedro Guerrero | 4
Reggie Smith | 4
Bill Madlock | 3
James Loney | 3
Kirk Gibson | 3
Matt Kemp | 3
Mike Marshall | 3
Shawn Green | 3
A.J. Ellis | 2
Charlie Neal | 2
Chuck Essegian | 2
Corey Seager | 2
Eric Karros | 2
Jayson Werth | 2
Juan Uribe | 2
Lou Johnson | 2
Mickey Hatcher | 2
Mike Scioscia | 2
Ron Fairly | 2
Bill Buckner | 1
Bill Skowron | 1
Carlos Ruiz | 1
Casey Blake | 1
Duke Snider | 1
Frank Howard | 1
Gil Hodges | 1
Greg Brock | 1
Hanley Ramirez | 1
Howie Kendrick | 1
Jay Johnstone | 1
Jeff Kent | 1
Jim Lefebvre | 1
Jim Wynn | 1
Joc Pederson | 1
Joe Ferguson | 1
John Roseboro | 1
Justin Turner | 1
Mike Davis | 1
Mike Piazza | 1
Milton Bradley | 1
Orlando Hudson | 1
Rafael Furcal | 1
Rick Monday | 1
Russell Martin | 1
Wally Moon | 1
Wes Parker | 1
Willie Crawford | 1
Wilson Betemi | 1

 

 

Third time the charm?

♦ October 18, 2016 ♦ Leave a comment

The Dodgers will be sending Rich Hill to the mound for the third time this postseason, and for the 3rd time, they will be hoping for some semblance of the pitcher who wowed them in early September.  It is almost as though when Dave Roberts pulled Rich Hill from his perfect game on Sept 10th 2016, he took his mojo with him.

Hill was clobbered in his next start on Sept 15th, 2016, and was not allowed to pitch very much after that for fear he would be unable to pitch in the postseason. Everything was geared to making sure that Rich Hill could pitch in October, but so far all that babying hasn’t paid much of a dividend.

In Rich Hill’s first three starts as a Dodger, he went got 18, 18, and 21 outs while giving up zero runs in any of those games. Here was the number two pitcher the Dodgers had sought. It was almost too good to be true.

Because it was.

Dates | Starts | IP/Out | Runs
Aug 24 – Sept 10th | 3 | 19/57 | 0
Sept 15th – Sept 30th | 3 | 15/45 | 7
Postseason | 2 | 7/21 | 5

The Dodgers only used Rich Hill for three starts after his near perfect game. Over the last twenty days of the regular season, Rich Hill made three starts getting 16, 15, and 15 outs. The zero ERA was long gone.

Still, there was guarded optimism when Hill made his first start against the Nationals. There was hope that the babying would pay dividends and a healthy Hill would be able to follow Kershaw and give the Dodgers a great one, and a nice two.

In his first start against the Nationals he struck out the side and everything looked rosy, but by the end of the second inning it was apparent that Rich Hill was struggling.  Hill gave up a single and a walk, but also had struck out Rendon for his 4th strikeout. With two on and two out he was facing the second weakest link in the National lineup, Danny Espinosa who Kershaw had used to get out of jam after jam the day before. Instead of getting Espinosa out, Hill hit him, loading the bases for Jose Lobaton. This time, Hill escaped serious damage by enticing Lobaton to hit into a DP.  In the 3rd Hill struck out the side again, though he did give up a single to Trea Turner. With three innings in the books, Hill had struck out seven of his first nine outs. That had never been done before and if the games ended in the 3rd inning Rich Hill would have been famous. But baseball needs 27 outs, not nine, and Rich Hill went from being in the Dodger records books to just another Dodger pitcher who couldn’t get at least 15 outs. Hill gave up a lead off single to Murphy  but got two fly balls bringing up that Espinosa kid again. And once again instead of getting the weak hitting Espinosa out, Rich Hill hit him.  This was almost like the second inning when Hill faced Lobaton with the bases loaded and two outs, except this time it was only 1st and 2nd.  One curve ball later the weakest link Lobaton had hit a three-run home run. Luckily for Hill he had the pitcher up next and got him for his 12th out.  Hill came out for the fourth and gave up a single to Turner, a single to Harper, and a single to Murphy. Pedro Baez came in and got a DP to save Hill from further damage.

So, it wasn’t simply a hung curveball to Jose Lobaton. Besides the strikeouts, it was a pretty lousy effort. Hill gave up four runs in four innings, and it could have been much worse without two fortuitous double plays.

Rich Hill got his second start on only three days rest and it was hoped he could give the tired bullpen at least four or five innings. There were no expectations of six or seven innings. Just give the team five innings. He gave them 2 innings and two outs. He left with two runners on and two outs before Joe Blanton came in and got Rendon for the 3rd out. In two starts the bullpen had left four of his inherited baserunners on base. This game would end up being one of the greatest postseason games ever for the Dodgers, but Hill didn’t play much of a part other than making the bullpen earn the victory.

Now we wait for Rich Hill to make his 3rd start. Another start in which it is imperative that Hill goes at least five innings. This is the first of three games in a row, and tomorrow is being pitched by Julio Urias who has to max out at five innings.

When your choices for the next three postseason games are:
1. A guy you were afraid to pitch most of the time you had him because of his blisters
2. A 20-year-old who hasn’t started a real game since Sept 2nd
3. A guy who clearly looks done

That doesn’t look good, but you only have to look at what the Indians are doing to the Blue Jays to feel good about the Dodger chances. They have Kluber, we have Kershaw. They got nothing but mirrors after that, and that is what the Dodgers have.  Maybe all you need are mirrors instead of Arrieta / Lackey / Lester.

Maybe

The Minotaur is unleashed upon the World

♦ October 17, 2016 ♦ 2 Comments

minotaur_illustration_medium

It is a small but cool club that knows about Clayton Kershaw and The Minotaur.  The club involved those who were with Dodger Thoughts circa 2007 when Clayton Kershaw was doing things that seemed mythical while in the minor leagues.

I may be missing some facts but I’m pretty sure that as we talked more and more about his deeds on Dodger Thoughts, I said I refused to believe in him until he was real. I had been burned too many times by the Greg Millers/Kiki Jones of the world. Nate responded that he was like the Minotaur, a mythical beast so great no one could believe he was real.

I can’t find the exact moment this happened but as Jon Weisman tweeted it was definitely in 2007 when we started using it.

And by this photo, you can tell he was also left handed.  The nickname stuck for us at Dodger Thoughts and when we migrated to TrueBlueLA, I brought it with me.

Eight years go this past spring, I wrote a brief ditty about Kershaw and his spring training debut.

Sometime today the Dodgers will be unleashing the Minotaur upon major league baseball. The prospect ghosts of Kiki Jones, Dan Opperman, and Greg Miller look on and hope the beast will feast upon the National League bats like they were never able to.

We all hoped for and expected good things for the Minotaur, but no one expected Clayton Kershaw to become the best pitcher of the 21st century. No one expected that he would match Sandy Koufax game for game, season for season, to make such a case that you might have to think a second before saying who was better.

Back in 2011 Jon Weisman wrote a lengthy piece on ESPN about what the future might hold for Clayton Kershaw. I think Jon nailed it on the head right here:

Either way, there’s an explosion within reach for Kershaw — oh, you better believe there is. He turns 23 on March 19, and soon after, he might turn Dodger Stadium back into a place where fans are racing through the crowds for their seats, the way they did for those transcendent heroes of the recent or distant past, for no other reason than to drool over his next pitch or exult in his supremacy.

Clayton did all that. The only thing missing from his resume was the defining postseason run that all the other great Dodger pitchers had done.

This week, Clayton Kershaw had that run.

Clayton Kershaw’s exploits have become so much bigger than life, that it is hard to believe he’s real.

And he’s ours.

Kershaw gives the people what they want

♦ October 16, 2016 ♦ 3 Comments

This was the game that we had all been waiting for. Sure, Kershaw has pitched well since the debacle in Saint Louis, but nothing like what we knew he could do.

This was our Kershaw, the one we have seen every fifth day since 2010. The one who has staked his claim as the best pitcher in baseball. This was what we wanted the rest of the world to see.

And it was beautiful.

Hard sliders, beautiful curves, location location location.  For 21 outs, not 20 and baserunners, but 21 outs.  No inherited runners to muck up the works. He did his job, he shut out the Cubs, and he then he watched Kenley Jansen finish it up.

Facing the best team in baseball (for the moment) Kershaw blew through the lineup as though Don Larson was on his mind.  Once four innings were in the book, I started tracking his game score and it slowly climbed inning by inning until it sat at 78. Game Scores are dependent upon strikeouts to put up huge numbers, but as far as games go this one was about as good as it gets. This game put Clayton on the postseason map with the other Dodger legends. Clayton can now stand with Drysdale, Koufax, Don Sutton, Orel, Fernando, Hooten, Ruess, and Lima.

Kenley Jansen was setting his own history with a stellar six out save. Plowing through the meat of the Cub lineup in the 9th inning as though he had six Morgan horses pulling him.

Click this link for the complete list of LAD Postseason game scores >= 70 from Baseball Reference for more information on the games shown below.

Below is shortened list with LAD postseason game scores >= 75.

Player Date ▴ Series GSc Rslt
Don Drysdale 10/5/1963 WS 89 W 1-0
Sandy Koufax 10/14/1965 WS 88 W 2-0
Sandy Koufax 10/11/1965 WS 88 W 7-0
Orel Hershiser 10/16/1988 WS 87 W 6-0
Don Sutton 10/5/1974 NLCS 84 W 3-0
Tommy John 10/5/1978 NLCS 81 W 4-0
Jose Lima 10/9/2004 NLDS 80 W 4-0
Orel Hershiser 10/12/1988 NLCS 80 W 6-0
Burt Hooton 10/12/1977 WS 80 W 6-1
Sandy Koufax 10/6/1963 WS 79 W 2-1
Sandy Koufax 10/2/1963 WS 79 W 5-2
Clayton Kershaw 10/16/2016 NLCS 78 W 1-0
Jerry Reuss 10/7/1981 NLDS 78 L 0-1
Don Sutton 10/9/1974 NLCS 78 W 12-1
Fernando Valenzuela 10/10/1981 NLDS 78 W 2-1
Zack Greinke 10/4/2014 NLDS 78 W 3-2
Jerry Reuss 10/11/1981 NLDS 78 W 4-0
Don Drysdale 10/10/1965 WS 78 W 7-2
Fernando Valenzuela 10/19/1981 NLCS 77 W 2-1
Claude Osteen 10/9/1965 WS 77 W 4-0
Jerry Reuss 10/25/1981 WS 76 W 2-1
Orel Hershiser 10/20/1988 WS 76 W 5-2
Clayton Kershaw 10/3/2013 NLDS 76 W 6-1
Ramon Martinez 10/2/1996 NLDS 75 L 1-2
Zack Greinke 10/11/2013 NLCS 75 L 2-3
Tommy John 10/8/1977 NLCS 75 W 4-1

Clem Labine wants to know what is the big deal?

♦ October 14, 2016 ♦ 2 Comments

as does Larry Sherry, Mike Marshall, Steve Howe, and even Bob Welch. A lot of attention has come to Kenley Jansen for getting seven outs, and I guess in today’s game he deserves it.

From a historical perspective,  it wasn’t that special but we know better.

It made me curious just how many Dodgers have done this. To start with Rollie Fingers only did it once.

I’m going to focus on Dodger pitchers who got at least nine outs and also finished the game.

Some of these games were the biggest games in Dodger postseason history.

Normally I don’t wander back to the Brooklyn franchise but since we are going to talk about 1955, I’m going to make an exception.

In the 1955 World Series Clem Labine twice got at least nine outs and to top it off, Clem did it in back to back games. Much has been made of Johnny Podres pitching the gem in game 7 to win the Dodger franchise their first World Championship but without Clem Labine saving games four and five, Podres never gets to pitch in game 7.  In game four Labine entered the game in the top of 5th with the bases loaded and two outs. The Dodgers were ahead 4 – 3 and the game was on the line. Labine got Joe Collins to hit a ground ball for the 3rd out. Labine would then pitch the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th innings for the win. Labine did give up two runs in the 6th, but the Dodgers had scored three runs in the 6th. The final score was 8 – 5.  Labine was not done, in game five which was played the next day on Oct 2nd, 1995, Labine entered the game in the top of the 7th. The score was 4 – 2 and a runner was on 1st, the tying run at the plate. Labine got a double play from Irv Noren, and a ground ball from Gil McDougal to get out of the jam.  Yogi Berra led off the 8th with a home run making it a 4 – 3. With one out Eddie Robinson hit a single and the tying run was on 1st with one out. Labine got another double play this time from renowned manager Billie Martin to finish out the 8th.  The 9th was three ground ball outs, and Labine had saved his second straight game.

In relief, he got a total of 22 outs in back to back games on back to back days.

Larry Sherry is next up. Most LAD fans know the story of Larry Sherry. He won the World Series MVP because of the amazing work he did in relief. He was only a rookie but he saved the Dodgers bacon time and time again in 1959. Still,  I was surprised to see just how long Sherry did pitch. Game two of the 1959 series was just a run of the mill nine out appearance. Sherry entered the game in the bottom of the 7th with the score 4 – 2. He would finish the game while giving up one run in the 8th. Game six was a different beast. The Dodgers were blowing the game open, having scored six runs in the top of the fourth to take an 8 – 0 lead. Podres however quickly gave back three runs and Alston went to Larry Sherry with just one out in the 4th and the score 8 – 3. Sherry would pitch the rest of the game in scoreless fashion and win game six and end the World Series. The 17 outs he recorded in relief were more outs than most Dodger starters could get in 2016.

Mike Marshall got nine outs or more twenty-two times during his Cy Young 1974 season. He would do it one time in the 1974 series. Unfortunately for Mike that game is known as the Joe Rudi game, because Mike gave up a home run to Rudi with the game tied at 2 – 2 in the 7th inning.  Mike would finish the game with three innings but the home run marred his effort.  That was game five and the last game of the series as the A’s won four of the first five games. That is not indicative of how close the series was or how brilliant Mike Marshall had been in the Series.  Marshall pitched in all five games of the series piling up nine innings in five games. The only run he gave up was the Joe Rudi home run.

Charlie Hough got at least nine outs twice while finishing the two games but one was not the same as the other. Charlie was a knuckleballer so the stress on Charlie was not same stress other relief pitchers have.  In 1977, game three was 5 – 3 when Charlie entered in the 7th inning. The score would also end 5 – 3. Charlie was brilliant going three innings, no runs, only one hit. Strangely enough, he didn’t walk anyone.  In game five things’s didn’t go as well. The Yankees were already winning 5 – 2 when Charlie came in to bail out Lance Rautzan in the fourth inning. Hough allowed one inherited runner to score. Lasorda left Charlie in, and in the bottom of the 7th, he was battered for four runs. He would finish the game having gotten 13 outs, but also gave up five runs on ten hits.

Steve Howe was involved in what I still think was the most exciting World Series game ever played at Dodger Stadium that didn’t involve Kirk Gibson. The NYY had a 2 – 1 game lead and Bob Welch didn’t get an out to start game four. With the bases loaded and no outs the much-maligned Dave Goltz replaced Welch and managed to keep the NYY from scoring only one more run. By the time Steve Howe entered the game in the top of the 7th the score was tied at 6 – 6, after the greatest inning that didn’t involve Kirk Gibson took place in the bottom of the 6th. Howe would give up one run in three innings and collect the win as the Dodgers won 8 – 7 but it wasn’t easy. You think yesterday was stressful? In the top of the 9th, the NYY loaded the bases before Howe got the final out to preserve the victory. Trust me, it was stressful and just as much fun when stress turned to victory.

 

The biggest surprise for me on this list was Bob Welch. Because I was around for it and did not remember his great work.  It came in the first game of the 1978  NLCS against the Phillies. Burt Hooten started and the Dodgers whomped the Phillies to take a 7 – 1 lead. Hooten couldn’t hold it, though and was knocked out in the bottom of the 4th as the Phillies scored three more runs off him. Welch came in with the score 7 – 4 with a runner at 2nd and HOF Mike Schmidt at the plate Welch retired Schmidt to end the inning. Welch would pitch the rest of game getting thirteen outs and giving up only one meaningless run in the 9th as the Dodgers won 9 – 5. Unlike the others on this list, Bob Welch was a starting pitcher who had made thirteen starts during the season. He was also a rookie, this would be like Julio Urias finishing a game after coming in relief for a starter who got knocked out early. It was still an impressive outing but it wasn’t done by someone used to only getting three outs at a time.

 

 

1000 questions, 1000 answers

♦ October 14, 2016 ♦ 3 Comments

Who needs an Echocardiogram when you have a Dodger postseason game to test your heart?

I’ve watched a lot of Dodger postseason games, but from a pure stress level from beginning to end the game last night might have been the most stressful and fulfilling this century.

The Lima game was fun, but you knew in your heart it would be only a hiccup against eventuality. 

The Uribe game was fun and stressful and had much of what yesterday’s game had, but yesterday had more stress because of the bullpen issue. The Joc home run will certainly rank with Juan Uribe in NLDS lore.

The Mark Loretta game was pretty exciting, but was it this stressful, this intense? Maybe? But it didn’t complete an exciting five-game series, and it didn’t send the team to the NLCS.

This game had it all because of all the uncertainty.

How long would Rich Hill go?  The answer came much too quickly. Not long at all. Trea Turner led off the 3rd with single, stole second and seemed destined to score. The Dodgers were already down 1 – 0, a second run would seem like a huge hill to climb with Max looking so strong. Hill got Harper, but Turner went to 3rd. Hill struck out Werth in a huge moment leaving Turner on 3rd with Murphy coming up. Dave Roberts made his choice, Hill walked Murphy, and walked off the mound having gotten eight outs.

With 2nd and 3rd, could Blanton keep the game in check? The answer was yes, as he got Rendon to fly out to Joc Pederson.

Once Rich Hill was relieved by Joe Blanton in the top of the 3rd the question had to be asked. Who was going to pitch the 7th or 8th?  Not who you might have expected.

Max Scherzer struck out the side in the 4th. Was Max going to throw a no-hitter? The odds were stacked against him because of one particular at-bat by Justin Turner. Even though Max struck out the side, Justin Turner walked, and it was no ordinary walk. Turner was down 0 – 2 but ended up making Max throw 13 pitches. That one at-bat might have paved the way for what happened later in the game.

Blanton finished up his work going 1 – 2 – 3 in the 4th. The Dodgers managed their first hit off of Max on a bloop single to RF by Reddick. Joc followed with a sharp single to RF, and when Toles managed to hit a blooper just over the outstretched glove of Murphy the bases were loaded with one out.

Who would Dave Roberts turn to in such a crucial situation? Dave went with Andre Ethier and with the bases loaded one out, down 1 – 0, Andre ………..stuck out.  Chase grounded out and the Dodgers headed to the bottom of the 5th still down 1 – 0.

Dodger wonderkid Julio Urias entered the game among so many questions.

Would the 20-year-old be rusty having not pitched in 15 days? Would Urias by unfazed on the big stage? How long could he go? Roberts said one out or ten.  He was lucky he got to start his postseason career against Max Scherzer and he started with a flourish striking him out on five pitches. Trea Turner would be key, and Urias got him on a high bouncer back to the box. It was almost the last pitch Urias would throw because he turned his ankle while making the play. Urias stayed in but walked Harper. Facing Werth he threw over to first a few times, and on the last throw he picked off Harper. Urias led the major leagues in pickoffs even though he didn’t even pitch 100 innings. It was a huge mistake by Harper and another big play in a big game. More so because Urias would start the sixth inning by walking Werth. Now it was the kid against Babe Murphy, and the kid got Murphy to line out to RF. Rendon popped up to Gonzales. Urias was sailing, he had gotten through the thick of the Nationals lineup. And then Ryan Zimmerman shot a double down the line into the corner. Andrew Toles quickly got to the ball fired to Seager who fired to Grandal and ……………..Werth was out by twenty feet and the Dodgers were still only down 1- 0 heading into the top of 7th.

Urias was due up fourth. He had gotten six outs, would he stay in the game?

Would the Dodgers score or be destined to lose 1 – 0? Joc Pederson answered that question very quickly by driving the pitch by Scherzer over the fence in left field to tie the game at 1. Scherzer had been brilliant but would leave this game without a chance to win. Marc Rzepczynski replaced him and he was left-handed.

Could the Dodgers score against a left-handed relief pitcher? Dusty must have felt his stomach turn when Marc walked the slumping Grandal to put the go-ahead run on 1st base.

Could Dave Roberts out-manage Dusty Baker? Dave Roberts went into manic managing mode. Howie Kendrick pinch hit for Toles. Dusty countered with the tough righty Blake Treinen. Howie singled to left field. Roberts replaced Grandal at 2nd with Austin Barnes. Roberts pinch hit Charlie Culberson for Urias. Culberson’s only job was to bunt to put both runners into scoring position. The Dodgers had two on, no outs. Charlie failed and ended up striking out trying to bunt with two strikes. One out, two on. the game in the balance. Managers got busy. Sammy Solis replaced Treinen. Clint Robinson went into play 1st base for Zimmerman and was put into the 9 spot.  Roberts countered with Carlos Ruiz to hit for Chase Utley. Roberts had now used all his catchers in one inning. This is why they put Barnes on the roster instead of Kike Hernandez because they wanted to use Carlos Ruiz as a pinch-hitter.

IT WORKED

Carlos Ruiz slapped a single that hit the glove of 3rd baseman Rendon and caromed into left field. Barnes scampered home with the go-ahead run. Cory Seager flew out. Two outs, two on, Dodgers now lead 2 – 1 with Justin Turner due up. Big decision for Dusty.

Will Dusty go righty on righty or lefty on righty with Turner? The normal strategy would be to bring in the right-hander to face Turner, but Turner has eaten right-handers this year while struggling against left-handers. Dusty goes with the book and brings in right-hander Shawn Kelley to face Turner. The hitter of the postseason for the Dodgers calmly blasted a two-run triple off the wall in CF and the Dodger lead was now 4 – 1.

Now we need to set the new Dodger defense. Carlos Ruiz stayed in at catcher. Howie Kendrick stayed in the game in left field. Charlie Culberson stayed in the game at 2nd base. The Dodgers had no more catchers if Ruiz gets hurt. Dave could have used Barnes at 2nd to handle that possibility but that would have undermined the infield defense. Oh, and Grant Dayton the rookie was asked to pitch the 7th which partially answered the question we asked back when Joe Blanton was pitching the 3rd.  I say partially because Dayton wasn’t around long. Grant walked Espinosa to start the 7th, and Dusty countered with ex-Dodger Chris Heisey. Dusty won this round, as Heisey slammed a two-run home run, and all of a sudden that three-run lead was down to one and the Dodgers still needed to get nine outs.  Clint Robinson singled to RF. The top of the lineup was coming up. Things looked dire.

Dave Roberts and his big balls didn’t hesitate and he brought in the Dodger closer Kenley Jansen to pitch in the 7th inning with no outs and the big part of the National lineup coming up. Jansen got Trea Turner to fly out to Reddick. Baker decides to pinch run for Robinson with a pitcher Joe Ross. Harper slaps a single to LF, and Ross scampers to 3rd base. 1st and 3rd, one out, score 4 – 3 and Jayson Werth is coming up. Everyone has to be thinking about that monstrous home run that Werth hit against Jansen on Monday Night. Jansen needs a strikeout to keep Ross from scoring and tying the game. A DP would be better. Werth battles to a full count. Harper goes, Werth strikes out. 2nd and 3rd, two out, but now Daniel Babe Murphy is up. Easy call to walk him so now bases are loaded with Anthony Rendon up. Three pitches, three strikes, sitdown Mr. Rendon. Classic Kenley.  Jansen had closed out the 7th but the Dodgers still needed six outs and Jansen had worked his arm hard in the 7th.

The 7th inning was finally over and I heard it clocked in at just under one hour. Possibly the most intense and enjoyable postseason inning this century.

Could the Dodgers get another insurance run in the 8th? Dusty makes a plethora of moves. Trea Turner goes to 2nd base. Murphy goes to 1st base. Severino goes in at catcher, Michael Taylor goes into CF.  The 8th was no seventh but the Dodgers did make Dusty Baker go to his closer in the 8th, and Melancon got it done by getting Charlie Culberson to ground out with two on and two out.

How long could KJ go in the 8th and if he wavers who saves him? We hear rumbles that Kershaw has left the dugout but they were just teasers. He’s in the dugout. He’s not going to pitch tonight.  For Jansen, he was going to face the bottom of the National lineup but he made it tough on himself by walking the first batter Stephen Drew and Drew made him work before walking. Espinosa, however, did the Dodgers a huge favor by bunting his bunt attempt into the air, Jansen called for it but Adrian Gonzalez flew in front of him to snag it for the first out. Jansen then blew through the next two hitters.

As the game went onto the top of the 9th, the announcers show us, Clayton Kershaw, walking toward the bullpen. Holy shit, he just pitched on Tuesday, and that was on three days rest.  Decoy?

As Kershaw starts to warm up, the Dodgers go down 1 – 2 – 3.

Will Kershaw pitch the 9th? This is crazy Orel 1988 stuff of legend. Not yet, Kenley Jansen starts the 9th. Have to figure Kershaw is getting ready to face Harper but first Jansen has to get Trea Turner.  Turner is the key to the inning. If he gets on, that is a basically a double because anyone can steal on Jansen and Turner is not anyone, he’s the fastest player in baseball.

Jansen bears down and strikes out the rookie.

Is Clayton coming in to face Harper? Nope, Jansen stays in but walks him. One on, one out, Werth coming up. Yikes. Once again Werth makes the pitcher work taking Jansen to a full count and walking. Jansen is clearly laboring, he’s given everything he has.

Is it Kershaw time? Yes

Damn

I have such mixed feeling. I love seeing Kershaw here but what if he fails? What if he can’t close this out like he hasn’t been able to close out his 7th inning? What if he adds to his October misery?

What if? what if? what if?

Flip the narrative, flip it. flip it big.

Y’all know what happened. Yeah, it was like that.

ONTO CHICAGO

 

Going down the checklist

♦ October 14, 2016 ♦ 2 Comments

Last night I noted what the Dodgers might need to do to win a game five. How did they do?

Corey Seager to get a hit outside of the 1st inning  – negatory

Rich Hill to get fifteen outs and a lead – negatory

Yaz Grandal to not leave the bases loaded – another bad game

Adrian Gonzalez to continue on the hot streak he started Wednesday – negatory

Turner to continue to break postseason records – Booming game-deciding triple

Trea Turner to never reach base – only once in five at-bat, and did not score

Daniel Murphy to stop tormenting the Dodgers – it took Kershaw but it worked

Werth to remember he’s an old shaggy dog left fielder – he was still a bit of a thorn but he did get thrown out at home in an important play of the game

Josh Reddick to not make Dodger fans wish Puig was starting – I think we all felt Puig would have thrown out the Nationals first run of the game

Toles a chance to use his speed – he did get to the ball faster than the 3rd base coach expected and his relay to Seager was a big part of why Werth was dead meat at home

The bullpen to continue to do what they do – it was  not conventional and there was one hiccup but all in all, THEY KICKED ASS

Joc to connect = BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

Tonight would be a good night for

♦ October 13, 2016 ♦ 2 Comments

Corey Seager to get a hit outside of the 1st inning

Rich Hill to get fifteen outs and a lead

Yaz Grandal to not leave the bases loaded

Adrian Gonzalez to continue on the hot streak he started Wednesday

Turner to continue to break postseason records

Trea Turner to never reach base

Daniel Murphy to stop tormenting the Dodgers

Werth to remember he’s an old shaggy dog left fielder

Josh Reddick to not make Dodger fans wish Puig was starting

Toles a chance to use his speed

The bullpen to continue to do what they do

Joc to connect

 

Good time for the FO manuevering to pay off

♦ October 13, 2016 ♦ 1 Comment

The Dodger front office has their hands all over this fifth game. Their top trade deadline acquisition will be starting and trying to prove that trading three pitching prospects for a blister on a hill was the right move. All Rich Hill has to do is what he did last Sunday but for more than twelve outs.  Or maybe twelve outs is all they need today as long as it is a great twelve outs.

If Hill stumbles again many fans will be pointing to the nice Sept that Mr. Cotton had for the A’s, and Cotton was the least hyped of the three prospects sent to the A’s. The FO certainly had to make a move for a rotation piece, but unless Rich Hill can win one of his two starts in the NLDS, you have to question if they got the right piece.

For some reason, the Dodger front office put Julio Urias on the postseason roster as the fourth starter. Which might have made sense if they had used him in Sept like a fourth starter instead of doling out a start here and there while limiting his innings. Urias made four starts in Sept but only three after Sept 5th, and in none of those starts was he allowed to go beyond 11 outs. I think to be a post season option you have to be stretched out beyond 11 outs.

I’m a little befuddled by my friends and bloggers who think Urias can simply pull a five-inning game out of his little used 20-year-old arm. Not just a five-inning game, but an effective five-inning game.  Today, Urias will be the emergency pitcher if Rich Hill blows out early, either by blisters, punching walls, or home runs. Can’t say I’m thrilled that the emergency pitcher is someone who last pitched 15 days ago, and all of three innings when he did. My expectations if Urias were to pitch would be to see a very rusty and wild twenty – year – old trying to save a team’s season. Seems too much to ask and I would not expect success. I’ve been his biggest fan, but this does not seem to be the right time.

This is how I hope this game plays out:

Hill – four shutout innings, gives up two singles in fifth, Lobaton up.
Baez – strikes out Espinosa, Lobaton, Scherzer to finish fifth
Dodger score one run in top of 6th
Baez starts 6th, strikes out Turner, Dayton replaces Baez
Dayton strikes out Harper, Roberts replaces Dayton with Fields
Fields gives up a double to Werth, walks Murphy, Roberts replaces Fields with Blanton
Blanton strikes out Rendon to finish the 6th
Dodgers score one run in top of 7th
Blanton strikes out Zimmerman / Espinosa / Lobaton
Dodger score one run in top of 8th on a pinch-hit RBI, Murphy makes key error
Avilan into pitch, Nationals send up Heisey to pinch hit. Avilan gets him on a deep fly ball to CF
Turner gets an infield hit. Avilan walks Harper
KJ comes in to face Werth. Epic at-bat after 10 pitches ends with a DP rocket to Turner to Chase to Adrian
Dodgers go quietly in 9th.
Murphy leads off 9th with a double
Rendon gets an infield single
Zimmerman hits into a DP, Murphy scores.
Espinosa strikes out

On to Chicago

 

Remove the home ump

♦ October 12, 2016 ♦ 4 Comments

from making calls on balls and strikes?

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel took a look at it.

While Major League Baseball claims that its umpires get nearly 97% of the calls right… Professor Moskowitz found that since 2013 the umpires are actually only about 88% accurate… that they get 1 out of every 8 calls wrong… piling up more than 30,000 mistakes a year. 

 And that’s including the easy calls… the many pitches that go right down the middle… or way off the plate… that scarcely require a decision.

When the umps have to actually make a decision … when the pitches are anywhere near the border of the strike zone … they miss at an even higher rate… much higher.

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel segment investigated this technology and its place in the game. The full show is available on HBO Go, HBO Now and HBO On-Demand.

The interesting parts of this show are the interviews with umpire Jerry Crawford. Even though the league thinks they are tutoring umpires on how to get the calls correct, the umpires may be turning a deaf ear to these attempts. According to ex-umpire Jerry Crawford the umpires are simply throwing away the information. At least that is what his group of umpires did. If that is true for a majority of crews, that is some arrogant shit going on.

I never thought I’d want to get rid of the home umpire but after watching how successful the replay system is, I’m beginning to waver. I think they need to fix a few things, I think being safe is beating the throw to the bag before the tag or force, and is not rising off the bag for a split second. Some agree, some don’t.

I like human interaction in the game, but if the umpires aren’t interested in getting better, maybe they should find umpires who are or possibly go full boar with the ball/strike technology.

It does seem strange now to watch a game knowing full well if a pitch was a ball or strike but the hitter or umpire do not.   If they do switch to the technology will they show the box on the big screen after every pitch?

Might be a game changer in terms of viewing the game live.