Monday, March 18, 2024

Opening Day 2024 Is Coming, And Freddie Freeman Looks Terrified

Just got this email from the Dodgers. Besides the horrific Opening Day font, I reacted adversely from looking at Freddie's countenance:

We're supposed to be striking fear into our opponents, Freddie! Not ourselves!

(Great lighting job on Ohtani, btw--well done, Dodgers.)

Saturday, March 16, 2024

Big Shohei In Little Tokyo

Thanks to stringer Josh for sending these shots in, of a huge Shohei Ohtani mural taking form on the Miyako Hotel in Little Tokyo:

Ohtani has already been in MLB for six years, and he's never gotten a mural on the Miyako Hotel. I'm sure this has everything to do with the recent announcement of his marriage to Mamiko Tanaka. Can't think of any other reason.

Archiving the 2023 SoSG Attendance Record, For Posterity

Time to archive the 2023 Dodgers attendance record. And for the second year in a row, the Sons are at .500, though when I say "Sons", this may be just a record of my own attendance (inlcuding one game on the road in San Francisco).

SoSG 2023 record: 5-5

4/2 vs. AZ (L, 1-2): AC, Sax
4/17 vs. NYM (L, 6-8): Sax
5/1 vs. PHI (W, 13-4): Sax
5/13 vs. SD (W, 4-2): Sax
5/30 vs. WSH (W, 9-3): Sax
7/5 vs. PIT (W, 6-4): Sax
8/30 vs. AZ (W, 7-0): Sax
8/31 vs. ATL (L, 7-8): Sax
9/22 vs. SF (L, 1-5): Sax
9/30 @ SF (L, 1-2): Sax

Prior SoSG attendance records: 2008 (18-15), 2009 (21-10), 2010 (9-8), 2011 (10-7), 2012 (24-18), 2013 (24-16), 2014 (22-12), 2015 (27-13), 2016 (10-5), 2017 (27-13) 2018 (12-9), 2019 (10-5), 2020 (0-0), 2021 (4-3), 2022 (4-4).

Friday, March 15, 2024

Dodgers Go With Oscar Winner for Opening Day; Japanese Film Debut Pushed To Night 2

Opening Day for the Dodgers is set, and for the seventh year in a row, it's a different choice from the prior year. Tyler Glasnow gets the nod for Game 1 (against the Padres' Yu Darvish), with Yoshinobu Yamamoto getting the start the next day (vs. Joe Musgrove).

Glasnow is coming off a year where he went 10-7 with the Rays, with a 3.53 ERA (118 ERA+). He also just won the Oscar for Best Actor.

I was secretly hoping for Yamamoto to get the Opening Day nod, after Sarah Langs reported that "If Yamamoto starts the first game, he would be the first pitcher to make his MLB debut as an Opening Day starter since Al Gerheauser in 1943" (and there have only been two others in the live-ball era). Alas, it's not to be, but maybe the diminished spotlight will benefit Yamamoto, who was not as sharp in his most recent Cactus League start.

Game 1 is set for Wednesday, March 20, with first pitch at 3am.

Sunday, December 10, 2023

Dodger Currently Wearing #17 Bummed Out About Ceding Number To Ohtani

Miguel Vargas started out the year wearing #17, but his demotion to the minors let this guy hold it for the end of the 2023 season. Apparently, he's pretty disappointed to give it up to Ohtani.

Poor guy.

photo: Bob Levey / Getty Images

Saturday, October 07, 2023

2023 NLDS Thread: Oct 7-14 vs. Diamondbacks

Game 1 @ LA: Sat 10/7 6.20p: Clayton Kershaw vs. Merrill Kelly
Game 2 @ LA: Mon 10/9 6p: TBD vs. TBD
Game 3 @ AZ: Wed 10/11 TBD: TBD vs. TBD
Game 4 @ AZ: Thu 10/12 TBD: TBD vs. TBD
Game 5 @ LA: Sat 10/14 TBD: TBD vs. TBD

I apologize for having to put up a full series thread for this rather than individual Game Thread links. I'm going to be traveling this week--which means I unfortunately had to pass on going to Game 1, which is brutal--so I'm posting this in case I can't get to all the individual GT posts.

The Dodgers went up against the Diamondbacks in their last playoff appearance (2017), in which the Dodgers swept them out of the playoffs before advancing to eventually get cheated out of a World Series title. But the Diamondbacks scared me more this year than the heavily-vaunted Padres did; the Diamondbacks actually were in first place this year as late as July 19, before going on a nine-game losing streak that basically dropped them out of contention for good.

The Dodgers just posted their NLDS roster, and Ryan Yarbrough and Amed Rosario did not make the cut. Kolten Wong and Michael Grove did. Hmm.

Thursday, October 05, 2023

On the Dodgers' 2023 Playoffs

There's obviously a lot of stress around the Los Angeles Dodgers' 2023 playoff run, which starts Saturday against a surprising opponent in the Arizona Diamondbacks, who dispatched the favored Milwaukee Brewers with two straight come-from-behind victories to sweep the best-of-three Wild Card series.

The Diamondbacks play a fast and athletic style of baseball that is basically the anti-Max Muncy, finishing the season in second place (84-78) and earning the final NL Wild Card (and playoff) spot. And though they went only 1-for-10 with RISP in Game 1 against the Brewers, and were caught stealing twice in their four attempts, they rode a bevy of relievers in the first game before deploying starter Zac Gallen (6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 4 Ks and 3 BB) for a more conventional win in the second game (when they went 3-for-5 with RISP).

Leadoff hitter and ROY candidate Corbin Carroll batted .571 with a 1.810 OPS in the series, and cleanup hitter Christian Walker mashed his way to a .375 BA. The Diamondbacks look potent, and they still have starter Merrill Kelly (12-8, 3.29 ERA in the regular season) primed and ready to go.

Sure, the Dodgers were 8-5 against Arizona this season--but we were 5-1 against the Brewers. I'm a little concerned here to be facing Arizona in the NLDS.

But then again, we can't forget that the Dodgers--after an off-season in which they lost Justin Turner, Trea Turner, Cody Bellinger, and effectively Gavin Lux--shouldn't even be in the playoffs in the first place. Our pitching rotation was a disaster, with losses of Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, and Julio Urias; the failed Noah Syndergaard experiment; and the inability of Walker Buehler to rejoin the team this year. Even our Game 1 starter Clayton Kershaw--who leads the Dodgers in IP this year with a puny 131.2 IP (apparently this is one of the lowest IP numbers ever for a player leading his team)--spent much of the year on the IL.

This was supposed to be the Dodgers' rebuilding year. Many predicted we wouldn't even compete.

The big-spending Padres were picked by some to win the 2023 World Series.

And instead, the Dodgers--languishing in third place (four games back) in mid-June, took the divisional lead on July 14 and never looked back, eventually winning the NL West by 16 games. It marked the Dodgers' fourth consecutive full-season with the Dodgers winning at least 100 games (and three in a row, accounting for the pandemic-shortened year).

This 2023 season is already absolutely amazing.

Our bullpen was one of the worst in the majors at the All-Star Break, and somehow that crew (augmented by Joe Kelly) has locked it down since August. We even eked a 7-2 record out of midseason pickup Lance Lynn (who is not easy to pick up, literally), who gave up more home runs this year than any other player in the major leagues.

Even our light-hitting shortstop, Miguel Rojas, started hitting home runs late in the season. Talk about unexpected.

So sure, the scrappy and full-of-momentum Diamondbacks will be a big test for us. And should we be lucky enough to advance, the Braves look unstoppable this year (as they lead fangraphs' World Series forecasts by a healthy projection), and last year's NL Champion Phillies look just as hot and hungry as they were last year.

But I'm just impressed that we are even here in the playoffs at all. Credit to Andrew Friedman for constructing this roster, and to Dave Roberts for getting the most out of this year's crew.

If we can advance, I'll be stoked.

But even if we can't--this year was one for the ages, and worthy of celebration.

Wednesday, October 04, 2023

2023 NLDS Update: Diamondbacks It Is

DIAMONDBACKS 5, BREWERS 2; ARIZONA WINS 2-0

Pretty impressive by the underdog Diamondbacks, who took both games on the road for the series victory (Texas did the same thing @ Tampa Bay).

Game 1 of the NLDS is at Dodger Stadium on Saturday. Clayton Kershaw takes the mound for the Dodgers; no starter has been named yet for the Diamondbacks.

Tuesday, October 03, 2023

Scoreboard Watching: NL Wild Card Game 2s (October 4)

4p: Diamondbacks' Zac Gallen @ Brewers' Freddy Peralta (D'backs lead 1-0)
5p: Marlins' Braxton Garrett @ Phillies' Aaron Nola (Phillies lead 1-0)

The Dodgers can rest up while seeing if the Diamondbacks can prevail and steal another game in Milwaukee, or if the Brewers can send this series to a rubber match Thursday. The Brewers were the overwhelming favorites for this series, but Arizona's Game 1 win now gives them a 72% chance of advancing.

Starting to get nervous.

Oh, and there's another NL Wild Card game at hand, too. And two other AL Wild Card games (first pitch, 12p (Rangers @ Rays, Rangers lead 1-0) and 1p (Blue Jays at Twins, Twins lead 1-0).

These Wild Card series are nuts. If any of the Brewers, Marlins, Rays, and Blue Jays lose--they're done for the year. Yikes!

Monday, October 02, 2023

At-Game 161 Thread: Into The (Baby) Lions' Den

This is how close we were at Oracle Park. Wow.

Saturday night, I went up with a friend to Oracle Park to see the Dodgers fall to the Giants, 2-1. The game itself was kind of a bummer of an evening, with the only redeeming takeaway being Mookie Betts registering his 107th and final RBI of the 2023 season, driving in David Peralta in the top of the fifth to momentarily tie the game at 1-1.

But even though starter Clayton Kershaw was cruising (having given up only a solo HR earlier), he was undone by Max Muncy's ineptitude at third base on two consecutive plays in the sixth. First, with two runners on and no out, Muncy is hit a ball that he foolishly decides on which he can try to pull a 5-4-3 double play (he didn't), so the runner on first is safe and the lead runner, whom Muncy could have either tagged out or just raced to the third base bag, is now safe at third. The following batter, Wilmer Flores, again hits a ball to Muncy, who promptly botches the play and allows the runner on third to easily score. Michael Grove came in to escape the jam, but the damage was already done--and worse off, Clayton Kershaw, in what could be his final appearance as a pitcher let along possibly as a Los Angeles Dodger, was on the hook for the loss, his first since May 21.

Also want to call out that many Giants fans--and the crowd was about 50-50 from where we were sitting--applauded as Kershaw left the mound for the dugout in the sixth. That might be his last regular season start, as a Dodger or as a player in total. I was excited to be there to see it, even if the result wasn't what I had hoped.

Kershaw, grabbing some food before his start.

Muncy also went 1-for-4 and I know his OPS is over .800 and his WAR is 2.6 (ahead of JD Martinez and Jason Heyward, for example). But he's a three-outcome hitter and more often than not, it's a strikeout (his 153 Ks on the year is second only to James Outman) or a weak fly out to the infield. And his defense is a disaster, as evidenced by this debacle Saturday night.

The Dodgers ultimately ended up losing when, having just reached on a two-out single, Chris Taylor was thrown out trying to advance to second. Upon exiting the stadium, I heard another Dodger fan (and there were plenty of them at this game, which was great) mutter about how Taylor shouldn't have been running with David Peralta at the plate. But with Austin "Automatic Out" Barnes batting behind Peralta, Taylor really didn't have another option. It was then or never. He had to try to get into scoring position for Peralta.

And anyway, the game was meaningless for the standings, and it felt like a low-stakes game in kind. The Giants' season ended the following day, and they go into the offseason having shed themselves of smarter-than-everyone-else manager Gabe Kapler and a lot of pressure to make a bold move after striking out on both Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa last offseason. The Dodgers rest up during the Wild Card round and prepare to face either the Brewers or Diamondbacks next week in the NLDS.

We move on. The Giants stay home.

On Saturday, the Dodgers didn't get their 100th win of the season (though they did on Sunday afternoon). Nor did Mookie get his 40th HR or Freddie his 30th HR or 60th double (none of which happened on Sunday, either). So from that perspective, it was a bummer.

I end up the season 5-5, counting this road game.

That said, my friend (who invited me to the game) had incredible seats, first row right down the first base line. And even with the quicker pace of play, the game gave us enough time to talk and reminisce about the rivalry, how we got into our respective NL West fandoms. We shared perspectives on empty nest syndrome as well as the difficulties of aging. And we got to watch some great athletes and a stadium full enough to keep the seagulls away for one evening. It was a great night.

I noticed that the Oracle Park scoreboard seems sharper than our Diamondvision screen at the Stadium. The Giants also have more quiet time between innings and pitches, a stark contrast to the aural barrage that happens at Dodger Stadium. And they have stupid between-innings traditions--namely, a sing-along set to Vanessa Carlton's "A Thousand Miles" (because nothing strikes fear in one's opponent like a 90's one-hit wonder from the Dawson's Creek soundtrack)--but at least it wasn't as insipid as the Food Truck dot racing animation that they've been running this year at Dodger Stadium. But overall it was a good night.

Actually, it's always a good night at a ballpark. This year, I got to a game at Yankee Stadium (my first at new Yankee) as well as here at Oracle Park. I also got in a game at the Dayton Dragons (the Reds' High-A affiliate) as they hosted the Lansing Lugnuts.

Man, I do love baseball.

Friday, September 29, 2023

Games 160-162 Thread: Sep 29-Oct 1 @ Giants

This man is not happy.

Fri 9.29 7p: Lynn vs. Winn
Sat 9.30 6p: Kershaw vs. Beck
Sun 10.1 12p: Miller vs. Harrison

After posting a quick placeholder on Friday afternoon, I listened to Lance Lynn suffer through a 359-pitch first inning (yielding one run) and thought that the Dodgers' 2-1 lead (through 1) was precarious. Well, it was, though not for the Dodgers; they went on to win 6-2 off the backs of homers from Will Smith, Freddie Freeman, and J.D. Martinez. Lynn actually got the win, as well, which is nuts; he's 7-2 with the Dodgers though it's a nail-biter each outing.

Clayton Kershaw goes on Saturday and I am going to be at Birdshit Park to watch, unlike former Giants manager Gabe Kapler, who was strangely fired with three games to go this season (and one postseason appearance in four seasons). Kapler may the fall guy, and Logan Webb may be mad at his teammates, but I'm sure the Giants will deploy their massive financial resources and record profitability to figure it all out.

For now, though: the Dodgers are NL West Champions in 2023, and advancing to the playoffs next week. Let's celebrate.

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Games 156-159 Thread: Sept 26-28 @ Rockies

A picture of Coors Field with a couple of strays.

Tue 26 12.10p: Pepiot vs. TBD
Tue 26 5.40p: Miller vs. TBD
Wed 27 5.40p: TBD vs. TBD
Thu 28 5.40p: TBD vs. TBD

The Dodgers are still four games back of the Braves with seven games to play, so that #2 position in the NL Postseason is all but set. But there's still some milestones for which to play, namely an opportunity for Mookie Betts, who already has more RBI (105) than any leadoff hitter in baseball history, to be the first leadoff batter with 40 HR in a season (Betts is at 39). Freddie Freeman, at 57 doubles on the year, has a chance to get to 60 which would be the most in the modern era (former Rockie Todd Helton has 59).

And of course, there's no better place to chase these offensive records than Coors Field, and the Dodgers will get four chances at it. That said, I definitely would want Betts and Freeman to get some rest, too. We need them both for the NLDS, that's for sure.

photo: Justin Edmonds / Getty Images

Thursday, September 21, 2023

Games 152-155 Thread: Sept 21-24 vs. Giants

Giant in the distance.

Thu 21 7p: Sheehan vs. Harrison
Fri 22 7p: TBD vs. Manaea
Sat 23 6p: Kershaw vs. TBD
Sun 24 4p: Lynn vs. TBD

The Giants are 76-76 this year and three games out of the final NL Wild Card spot. But they have to vault over Miami and Cincinnati to get there, but it's still possible--FanGraphs says there's a 2.1% chance of the Giants making the playoffs.

Now, the Dodgers could pull a 2021 NLDS here and just squash all hope for their rivals. Or, the Dodgers could just take it easy--we're comfortably set for the #2 National League playoff slot, which gets us a bye in the first round. It's a nice position in which to be for these seven remaining games with the Giants (four here, three up north).

I'm going to the Stadium on Friday, and am excited to watch TBD as our starter.

Monday, September 18, 2023

Games 149-151 Thread: Sept 18-20 vs. Tigers

Mon 18: Lance Lynn vs. Rodriguez
Tue 19: TBD vs TBD
Wed 20: Miller vs. Olson
all games 7p

The Tigers are not going to play in October. And the Dodgers, fresh off a sweep of the hopeful Mariners in Seattle (and having clinched the NL West as part of said sweep), go into this series without a real agenda either.

No stakes. Sleepy tigers. You get the drill.

Sunday, September 17, 2023

DODGERS CLINCH 2023 NL WEST TITLE (Post-Game Thread 147)

"In a year that has experienced so much change, one thing is the same: The NL West STILL runs through LA!"

DODGERS 6, MARINERS 2 (11)

The Dodgers battled through nine scoreless scoreless innings, including a particularly nail-biting bottom of the eighth inning (two on, none out: Alex Vesia gets JP Crawford swinging, and then Boston castoff Ryan Brasier gets Mariner phenom Julio Rodriguez swinging, before striking out Teoscar Hernandez to quell the threat). Clayton Kershaw delivered four scoreless innings, and Emmet Sheehan gave three more. And after trading runs in the tenth, the Dodgers erupted in the eleventh inning with five runs, stoked by Max Muncy, Chris Taylor, and Kike Hernandez RBI singles. The ghosts of our 2020 WS team drove us to victory, including Joe Kelly messily but effectively cleaning up the bottom of the 11th.

More important than all that, the Dodgers clinched the NL West divisional title, and celebrated at T-Mobile Park in Seattle:

Loved these quotes from Jack Harris' LAT piece (only available online, given the LAT's stupid only-print-features-in-the-new-diminished-sports-page plan):

“I think everybody talked about what we didn’t do [in the offseason], but we still had Mookie, we still had Freddie, it’s not like we were underdogs by any means,” said Clayton Kershaw, who pitched four scoreless innings in what became his fifth career start in a division-clinching game.

“It wasn’t like a ‘silence the doubters’ kind of moment,” Kershaw added, standing shirtless and beer-soaked in a plastic-wrapped postgame clubhouse. “We were expecting to do this. We were supposed to do this. But it doesn’t make it any less special.”

Technically, Arizona could still also claim a share of the divisional crown, if they win their next 12 games and the Dodgers lose their next 15 (not exactly sure why the gap in games played is so huge). But at this stage, the Dodgers are basically set with the #2 seed in the NL, and the Diamondbacks (who won an extra-inning thriller against the Cubs) are tied for the third Wild Card spot (with the Reds), behind the Cubs and the Phillies, and with the Marlins (0.5 GB) and Giants (2.5 GB) also in the mix.

Time for us to rest up the few guys we have left.

CONGRATULATIONS, DODGERS!!!

Friday, September 15, 2023

Games 146-148 Thread: Sept 15-17 @ Mariners

Fri 15 7p: Miller vs. Kirby
Sat 16 6.40p: Kershaw vs. Miller
Sun 17 1p: TBD vs. Gilbert

The Mariners are fighting for their playoff lives, 1.5 games out of the divisional lead (in third place, behind the Cheaters and Rangers) and 1.5 games ahead of the Blue Jays for the final AL Wild Card spot.

The Dodgers, with a 13.5-game lead in the division and a magic number of 4, don't have a lot to stake on this series. So, just like the last series against the Padres (which the Dodgers dropped, culminating with a meek performance vs. 2020 WS G6 exiter Blake Snell), I guess we'll just have some fun out there in Seattle.

Monday, September 11, 2023

Games 143-145 Thread: Aug 11-13 vs. Padres

Ah yes, Ricardo. I remember that prediction.

Mon 9.11: Stone vs. Avila
Tue 9.12: Lynn vs. Wacha
Wed 9.13: Pepiot vs. Snell
all games 7p

The Padres, like the New York Mets over in the NL East, were supposed to use their big-name roster to romp to the divisional crown.

And here we are in September 2023, and the Padres are in fourth place and 10 games under .500, 21 games behind the NL West-leading Dodgers, whose divisional lead against second-place Arizona is so fat, that we're starting three dudes who weren't even on the roster the first half of the year.

Sure, we might get swept by San Diego at home this series. But with a magic number of only 7 with 20 games to play, it's not worth losing any sleep about this "rivalry series." Let's just have some fun.

Friday, September 08, 2023

Games 140-142 Thread: Sep 8-10 @ Nationals

Should we tell Washington he's already eliminated from this race?

Fri 9.8 4p: Sheehan vs. Gore
Sat 9.9 1p: Miller vs. TBD
Sun 9.10 10.30a: TBD vs. TBD

The Dodgers barely exerted any effort in Miami earlier this week, winning only the last game after going down meekly in the first two sessions. This may be a hangover from the unfortunate Atlanta series outcome; or it may be lingering effects from knowing Julio Urias isn't going to pitch again for the Dodgers, probably ever.

That said, the Dodgers still have a 13-game lead in the division (which has expanded over the last ten games, since the Dodgers' 5-5 record still beats the Diamondbacks' 4-6 record and the third-place Giants' 3-7 record), and with a magic number of 9 in the first week of September, we are fine to limp to the finish line rather than exhaust ourselves going into the playoffs.

So let's just have fun out there, Dodgers! Maybe participate in the Racing Presidents event, or go grab a sandwich from Swizzler? Or do some scoreboard watching--Diamondbacks at Cubs this weekend looks pretty interesting.

Tuesday, September 05, 2023

Games 137-139 Thread: Sep 5-7 @ Marlins

Tue Sep 5: Kershaw vs. Luzardo
Wed Sep 6: Lynn vs. TBD
Thu Sep 7: TBD vs. Garrett
all games 3.40p first pitch

After a depressing weekend against the Braves in which Lance Lynn threw BP meatballs on Thursday (loss); then Julio Urias went back to his wobbly ways Friday (loss); followed by the Dodgers coughing up multiple chances to win before Alex Vesia crumbled in extras on Saturday (loss)--the Dodgers salvaged a psychological win by avoiding the sweep on Sunday afternoon.

Whoop dee frickin' doo. We're clearly not in the Braves' tier, despite having the second-best record in the NL and the third-best in the majors. Cap that off with Julio Urias arrested Sunday night for what would be his second offense of domestic violence--no MLB player has ever been suspended twice under the policy (enacted in 2015), and Urias had a 20-game suspension for his first incident, in which the victim dropped charges--this truly was a shitty weekend for the Dodgers.

I can try and be hopeful in that the Dodgers still have the second-best run differential in the majors, and our 14-game lead over second-place Arizona (and 15-game lead over the Giants) will allow us to coast to the end of September. Walker Buehler just had a nice rehab outing in Oklahoma City (with a fastball up at 95mph), and he could return and fill a rotation slot. And Bobby Miller, who earned the Dodgers' victory on Sunday, has already been knighted as the Dodgers' new ace by LAT columnist Bill Plaschke (which means he is probably going to be a pile of shit in the playoffs, the way Plaschke's predictions typically play out).

So maybe it isn't all bad? If you squint your eyes, realize that whatever might happen in this series is against the ~.500, playoff-missing Marlins, well yeah, sure, maybe the last weekend wasn't a total disaster. I mean, there were some survivors on the Titanic as well, right?