Post by Bklyn_LA on Apr 27, 2018 18:07:20 GMT
Excerpts From the Dodgers Dugout
Dodgers -What’s going on?
OK, for the last year or so, I’ve tucked away grumpy Houston Mitchell and let happy Houston Mitchell write the newsletter because there really hasn’t been a lot to complain about. After all, the Dodgers won 104 games last season and made it to Game 7 of the World Series. Any serious complaining would be nitpicking.
But now things are different, because even though the Dodgers have the same record as this time last season, they don’t look like the same team. And enough games have been played where it’s fair to make judgments and point out a few things.
So here we go …
Why in the world is Pedro Baez pitching in the ninth inning of a tie game and not Kenley Jansen? We’ve seen many times how that ends, and it doesn’t end well. Give Dave Roberts credit for taking full responsibility for making the wrong choice, but still, why even make that mistake?
Baez can’t pitch in high-pressure situations.
He chokes more often than a Model T. Why does it seem like only Dodgers fans have figured that out? You want to bring him in during the sixth inning, fine, he pitches OK then. But in the ninth inning of a tie game at home against the worst team in baseball? With Jansen available? Inexcusable. better to have a struggling Jansen than a 100% Baez.
For the Dodgers organization;
Opponents have a .167 average, a .220 OB% and a .267 SLG% against Baez. The opponent OPS+ is 57, which means that opponents are 43% worse than average against Baez in the sixth inning.
Seventh inning crap
.241/.310/.389/114 OPS+
Uh oh, opponents are better than average suddenly.
Eighth inning Yikes
.225/.295/.421/117 OPS+
Opponents get even better against Baez here.
Ninth inning Yuk
.242/.307/.462/132
Ouch! Look at that jump in slugging percentage from the sixth to the ninth inning. Opponents are much better than average in the ninth inning against Baez and are worse here than any of the other innings. Baez has a 4.18 ERA in the ninth inning, his worst overall inning. He has a 3.01 career ERA overall, so he is over a run worse in the ninth inning.
Baez is also worse than average with two out and runners in scoring position. So again, Dave Roberts, what were you thinking? There was no save situation or reason to not use Jansen once the score was tied in the ninth inning. He was the best option at that time. Actually, anyone else but Baez was a better option for that matter.
Also, understandable not wanting to give Brandon Morrow $10 million a season to be a setup man, but can we admit that perhaps Tony Watson should have been re-signed because Scott Alexander has been a complete bust so far.
Next Joc Pederson. Roberts said the other day that he wants to get Pederson “more at-bats.” but Why?
Pederson, Jocko. Even though he had low batting averages, his walk rate and power, plus his good defense still made him a useful player. His OPS+ was over 100 in 2015 and 2016. But last year, he stopped hitting for power, with his SLG% dropping from .495 in 2016 to .407. His defense got dramatically worse. He no longer was a useful player. Even in the minors, he is “slugging” .326. Combining last season and this season, he is hitting .213/.330/.395, with average defense.
The Dodgers need to give Pederson “more at-bats.” They need to give him “fewer at-bats.” At some point, you have to realize that a player is what he is. I know Andrew Toles is injured, but if you want to give someone more at-bats, how about calling up Alex Verdugo or Tim Locastro or someone else from the minors and see what they can do, since they can’t be much worse than what you know Pederson is giving you.
Lastly, for all the vaunted “depth” the Dodgers have, they certainly haven’t found anyone who can play third base and hit at the same time.
There are 15 teams in the National League. Here’s where the Dodgers rank compared to the third basemen on other teams:
AVG: .155 (15th)
OB%: .226 (15th)
SLG%: .286 (15th)
We are DEAD LAST in NL. How about trying Kiké Hernandez at third for a while to find out whether his hitting surge is for real?
It looks as if the Dodgers are just waiting for Justin Turner to come back, and then everything will be fine. Last year, the offense struggled until Cody Bellinger was called up from the minors. But Turner just started swinging a bat, so he’s not going to be back anytime soon. Meanwhile, the Dodgers continue to stumble through the start of the season, looking a lot like a team that aged greatly in the offseason.
There’s still plenty of time for the Dodgers to turn things around. I’m not giving up on them by any means. But the odds of them going 93-46 the rest of the season, like they did last year, are long. And Arizona has a good team. It’s time to stop stumbling, to stop making bad decisions and to start playing like they are capable of playing.
.
up and coming
Friday, Dodgers (Hyun-Jin Ryu, 2-0, 1.99 ERA) at San Francisco (Derek Holland, 0-3, 4.98 ERA), 7:15 p.m.
Saturday, Dodgers (Walker Buehler, 1-0, 0.00 ERA) at San Francisco (Chris Stratton, 2-1, 2.32 ERA), 1 p.m.
Saturday, Dodgers (Alex Wood, 0-2, 3.72 ERA) at San Francisco (Johnny Cueto, 2-0, 0.35 ERA), 7 p.m., KTLA
Sunday, Dodgers (Kenta Maeda, 2-1, 3.10 ERA) at San Francisco (Ty Blach, 1-3, 4.30 ERA), 2 p.m.
Dodgers -What’s going on?
OK, for the last year or so, I’ve tucked away grumpy Houston Mitchell and let happy Houston Mitchell write the newsletter because there really hasn’t been a lot to complain about. After all, the Dodgers won 104 games last season and made it to Game 7 of the World Series. Any serious complaining would be nitpicking.
But now things are different, because even though the Dodgers have the same record as this time last season, they don’t look like the same team. And enough games have been played where it’s fair to make judgments and point out a few things.
So here we go …
Why in the world is Pedro Baez pitching in the ninth inning of a tie game and not Kenley Jansen? We’ve seen many times how that ends, and it doesn’t end well. Give Dave Roberts credit for taking full responsibility for making the wrong choice, but still, why even make that mistake?
Baez can’t pitch in high-pressure situations.
He chokes more often than a Model T. Why does it seem like only Dodgers fans have figured that out? You want to bring him in during the sixth inning, fine, he pitches OK then. But in the ninth inning of a tie game at home against the worst team in baseball? With Jansen available? Inexcusable. better to have a struggling Jansen than a 100% Baez.
For the Dodgers organization;
Opponents have a .167 average, a .220 OB% and a .267 SLG% against Baez. The opponent OPS+ is 57, which means that opponents are 43% worse than average against Baez in the sixth inning.
Seventh inning crap
.241/.310/.389/114 OPS+
Uh oh, opponents are better than average suddenly.
Eighth inning Yikes
.225/.295/.421/117 OPS+
Opponents get even better against Baez here.
Ninth inning Yuk
.242/.307/.462/132
Ouch! Look at that jump in slugging percentage from the sixth to the ninth inning. Opponents are much better than average in the ninth inning against Baez and are worse here than any of the other innings. Baez has a 4.18 ERA in the ninth inning, his worst overall inning. He has a 3.01 career ERA overall, so he is over a run worse in the ninth inning.
Baez is also worse than average with two out and runners in scoring position. So again, Dave Roberts, what were you thinking? There was no save situation or reason to not use Jansen once the score was tied in the ninth inning. He was the best option at that time. Actually, anyone else but Baez was a better option for that matter.
Also, understandable not wanting to give Brandon Morrow $10 million a season to be a setup man, but can we admit that perhaps Tony Watson should have been re-signed because Scott Alexander has been a complete bust so far.
Next Joc Pederson. Roberts said the other day that he wants to get Pederson “more at-bats.” but Why?
Pederson, Jocko. Even though he had low batting averages, his walk rate and power, plus his good defense still made him a useful player. His OPS+ was over 100 in 2015 and 2016. But last year, he stopped hitting for power, with his SLG% dropping from .495 in 2016 to .407. His defense got dramatically worse. He no longer was a useful player. Even in the minors, he is “slugging” .326. Combining last season and this season, he is hitting .213/.330/.395, with average defense.
The Dodgers need to give Pederson “more at-bats.” They need to give him “fewer at-bats.” At some point, you have to realize that a player is what he is. I know Andrew Toles is injured, but if you want to give someone more at-bats, how about calling up Alex Verdugo or Tim Locastro or someone else from the minors and see what they can do, since they can’t be much worse than what you know Pederson is giving you.
Lastly, for all the vaunted “depth” the Dodgers have, they certainly haven’t found anyone who can play third base and hit at the same time.
There are 15 teams in the National League. Here’s where the Dodgers rank compared to the third basemen on other teams:
AVG: .155 (15th)
OB%: .226 (15th)
SLG%: .286 (15th)
We are DEAD LAST in NL. How about trying Kiké Hernandez at third for a while to find out whether his hitting surge is for real?
It looks as if the Dodgers are just waiting for Justin Turner to come back, and then everything will be fine. Last year, the offense struggled until Cody Bellinger was called up from the minors. But Turner just started swinging a bat, so he’s not going to be back anytime soon. Meanwhile, the Dodgers continue to stumble through the start of the season, looking a lot like a team that aged greatly in the offseason.
There’s still plenty of time for the Dodgers to turn things around. I’m not giving up on them by any means. But the odds of them going 93-46 the rest of the season, like they did last year, are long. And Arizona has a good team. It’s time to stop stumbling, to stop making bad decisions and to start playing like they are capable of playing.
.
up and coming
Friday, Dodgers (Hyun-Jin Ryu, 2-0, 1.99 ERA) at San Francisco (Derek Holland, 0-3, 4.98 ERA), 7:15 p.m.
Saturday, Dodgers (Walker Buehler, 1-0, 0.00 ERA) at San Francisco (Chris Stratton, 2-1, 2.32 ERA), 1 p.m.
Saturday, Dodgers (Alex Wood, 0-2, 3.72 ERA) at San Francisco (Johnny Cueto, 2-0, 0.35 ERA), 7 p.m., KTLA
Sunday, Dodgers (Kenta Maeda, 2-1, 3.10 ERA) at San Francisco (Ty Blach, 1-3, 4.30 ERA), 2 p.m.
