Monday, October 06, 2014

Post-NLDS Game 3 Thread: Whatever Pitching Decision Don Mattingly Makes, It Is Inevitably Wrong

CARDINALS 3, DODGERS 1

At this stage, it's getting ridiculous. Mattingly leaves Clayton Kershaw in for Game 1, when the Cardinals are teeing off his fastball and Kershaw doesn't seem to want to throw anything else, even shaking Mattingly off the mound in the process. Wrong answer. And then in Game 1, he signals for Pedro Baez, who had entered a game with baserunners in only three of his 20 2014 appearances. Also, wrong answer. Then, for Game 2, Mattingly pulls Zack Greinke after seven shutout innings in Game 2, going to J.P. Howell. Wrong answer.

And tonight, Mattingly has Hyun-Jin Ryu plugging along through six solid innings and a 1-1 game, going this time to Scott Elbert, who had struck out both batters he faced in Game 1. Sure thing, right? Nope, wrong answer again; Elbert gives up a leadoff double to Yadier Molina, and then a home run to biblical scholar Kolten Wong, to put the Cards up 3-1 and put the Dodgers down 2-1 in the series. Arguably, Elbert was the wisest choice yet, given Ryu was at 94 pitches coming back from shoulder issues; Scott Van Slyke pinch-hit in the top of the seventh for Ryu, with none on and two out, and grounded to short. But in Mattingly's hands, in this NLDS, the Elbert decision could only go incredibly awry. Which it did.

Sure, we had a chance in the ninth inning with consecutive singles and one out off of Trevor Rosenthal. Cardinals manager Mike Metheny calmly came out when Rosenthal was down 2-0 in the count to Juan Uribe, delayed the game while calling for the grounds crew to apply a drying agent ("drying agent"? sort of like Lana Kane in Archer?) to the mound, and allowed his closer to catch his breath. Rosenthal then got Uribe and A.J. Ellis to fly out to right field, and end the game.

Mattingly has made regrettable pitching decisions in each of the three NLDS games. Metheny, on the other hand, has seemed to slow the game down when his team looks unwieldy. This contrast cannot be underlined more, as it's swinging the series.

You look up and down the two lineups, and with the exception of Matt Carpenter's torrid run and Juan Uribe's lack of jazz hands this series, we should be ahead in this series, not down 2-1. I'd like to think that, with Kershaw starting Game 4 and Greinke starting a possible Game 5, we have a shot at winning this series in five games.

That is, if baseball games were six innings long. At a full nine innings? We're bound to choose the wrong answer, again. That was easy.

22 comments:

spank said...

why are we saving arms in the post season for? Isn't the post season the reason why we have pitch counts during the regular season to save them for moments like today and this past Saturday night? Pitch counts go out the door during the post season. I'd rather win it all now and have their arms drop off during spring training next year than save them now and have their arms drop off during June 2015. Straight the fuck up. Sack up,Dodgers!

Fred's Brim said...

Fuck I am more steamed this morning than when I went to bed.
Why the fuck is Elbert facing a righty? Are you saving your stellar righty relievers for later in the game?
Why is Scott Elbert on the roster at all? I know you need another lefty but how can he be the best choice after all the shit he's gone through combined with the fact that he's never really been successful at the major league level? I don't dislike the guy but I would rather have died with Paco.
Is Fox Sports 1 a regional network? It sure feels like one with the poor production, terrible ads and the shameful homerism of Joe Buck.
Why is SVS facing a righty as a pinch hitter, not Dre? I assume Dre was up behind Ellis made the last out.
Dale Scott can fuck the fuck off with that strike zone. He should be fucking embarrassed.
Wong's batflip #CardinalWay
Shut the fuck up, Harold.

Steve Sax said...

Donnie really must go. I don't dislike the guy, but we are getting exposed here. In a five-game series, we can't waste time trying to overcome his decisions as well.

And Ned should be held accountable for the lack of arms in our pen.

Fred's Brim said...

I'm not a manager blamer (though it sounds like I am). I don't want anybody gone, I just want everyone, players and coaching staff and myself, to be better and things to go the way I want them. Is that asking too much?

Fred's Brim said...

If this was the regular season, there's no way three straight relievers give up homers on on their first 5 pitches (or whatever it was). The Cardinals didn't all of a sudden get great and our relievers start extra sucking, right? This can't go this way every time, can it? Please say no

QuadSevens said...

Dale Scott blows as a home plate ump. Was he just pissed off about the foul ball he took off the mask during a HanRam at bat early in the game? Kemp had a valid argument and the pitch tracks showed it.

Announcing team on FS1 blows too. Joe Buck said that Harold Reynolds gave a standing ovation to Lackey as he left the game. So much for being impartial. Never liked that guy and now I just have another reason not to.

Our bullpen blows as well. They've been streaky at best all year, and they picked a terrible time to fall to pieces. Why is our post season bullpen made up of guys who spent most of this year in the minors? Apparently we are going to need Kershaw and Greinke to pitch complete games for us to win.

Last night felt terrible. It's probably a blessing that I'll only be able to listen to today's game on the radio.

Fred's Brim said...

I am not ready for this to be over, but these losses are very hard to take

Dusty Baker said...

I read FB's comments the way I would read Ginsberg's "Howl."

Ditto all that. The worst decision is Elbert. His arm is taped on, he's played like four minutes in the big leagues, never faced most if not all of these batters, and hasn't been on the mound all season. Why not live (or die) with at least known quantities? It's not like Elbert is going to turn into Trevor Hoffman in that very moment.

Fred's Brim said...

@DB - not quite the same flow, but this kind of applies too. Maybe Saxy can write a version that replaces "shoelace" with "call to the bullpen".

Was Bukowski a degenerate drinker because he was a troubled artist or a Dodger fan?

Fred's Brim said...

I would be sad but not surprised if I heard Elbert was chosen over Paco because of "gut" or "feel", not that Paco is injured or something. They were both kind of awful in the last few weeks of the season. Paco could easily be the one we were crying about today but nobody would have said it should have been Elbert in there.

Alex Cora said...

It was the Wong Answer for the Cardinals. I can't believe we are getting smoked by Carpenter and Wong. Not the way we want to go down.

Hideo Nomo said...

Elbert turned into Trevor Hoffman from the 4+1 game.

karen said...

Just read FB's link to the Charles Bukowoski poem. Wow.

On another note, I taped the SNLA postgame show last night and watched it this morning (just couldn't do it last night). Matty was interviewed and was talking about Dale Scott's calls. He said he has never seen a worse call of the game and that there needs to be "accountability" for Dale Scott. Hartung said after the interview that Matt would "probably be writing a check to Major League Baseball after those remarks", but in essence all on board agreed with Matt.

BJ Killeen said...

I abhor cheaters, and there's blatant cheating going on with the umpires we have faced. We know there is obvious bias against this team from the media, and now MLB has spread it to the ump. They don't want us to win, and will do everything in their power to make sure that happens.

Adding to this is the terrible managing that is Donnie, and has been for the two years we have been complaining about it.

Puig strikes out 7 times, yet Dre sits in the dugout game after game. The man has no clue. Why bring Justin back if he's going to sit there as well. WTF are you waiting for Donnie? Next season? I also agree that Ned must be fired. The fact that we needed a solid bullpen is not a secret. Even unconscious people know that. Not sure why Colletti hasn't figured it out yet.

If they don't fire Donnie, I see no need to continue to support this madness.

And someone in the Dodgers organization needs to grow some balls and file a formal protest against the horrific umpiring against us all season. Matt Kemp is right, and I'm thrilled he spoke out.

Dusty Baker's Toothpick said...

All I know is Lackey ain't that good, Carpenter is a fucking mule, Mattingly is has shit for brains, Puig couldn't hit a 99 cent store power rangers pinata, and this Dodgers team better let go of the suckage and come out and win today. I'm sick and tired of losing to seemingly inferior baseball teams. Yeah, I'm pumped. I just got through listening to this playlist on my drive in. I wish I could pipe this into the Dodgers locker room:

Ministry - Death & Destruction
Metallica - Battery
Deftones - Battle Axe
Ministry - Reload
Spike 1000 – Manwhore
Subhumans – I don’t wanna die
Bad Brains – Attitude
Bad Brains - PMA
Metallica – Hit the Lights
Ministry – Filth Pig
Excel - Drive

\m/

Orel said...

And god forbid Kershaw lose today and we have to hear all this "chokes in the playoffs" shit

Orel said...

Ken Rosenthal ‏@Ken_Rosenthal 25s26 seconds ago

Puig not in #Dodgers’ lineup. Crawford hitting second, Ethier in center, batting sixth.

Dusty Baker's Toothpick said...

Mattingly is actually trying to DO SOMETHING?

I don't know if Ethier is the spark we need, but I'll take it as a positive response from Donnie B.

I thought switching Puig & Hanley in the batting order would've been enough. We'll see how this works out.

Fred's Brim said...

Wow, Donnie, that is surprising, Maybe Puig is hurt enough to not start him

Fred's Brim said...

and you know this means Dre is going to muff a play or two in center, just because Donnie made the switch. And probably give up a homer too

Orel said...

GTUP!

Fred's Brim said...

Fuck me I am a wreck today.
I have a meeting with the boss' boss' boss from 4 to 5 today and I know it will go past 5. All I will be thinking about is getting out of there and to a TV and praying we aren't already down 4-0