Justin Wrobleski (6-2, 3.07) vs. Zack Wheeler (4-0. 1.67).
Since taking over the manager's role in Philadelphia, former Dodger manager Don Mattingly has led the Phillies to a 20-8 record, basically the reciprocal of the 9-19 record he inherited. So while the Phillies currently appear to be a .500 team (at 29-27), looks are deceiving...which makes for a perfect test for the Dodgers this weekend.
Let's get this party started tonight.
Tues, 4:10p: Alex Wood vs Wei-Yin Chen We lost. To the Marlins. Who have the second-worst record in the NL.
Wed, 4:10p: Walker Buehler vs Caleb Smith We lost. To the Marlins. Who have the second-worst record in the NL.
Thurs, 9:10a: Kenta Maeda vs Dan Straily We l—we won??????
Loyal SoSG reader/softballer Johnny Blanchard, to paraphrase the immortal Def Leppard, has got something to say! Take it away, Johnny B!
WHO TO BOO?
Who’s responsible for this garbage?
This has been just a fascinating start to a season. The Dodgers have an absolutely loaded roster, full of players that the hoi polloi have dreamed of having for decades. This, of course, stands in direct contrast to whatever the hoi polloi say.
Currently, the Dodgers still have a positive run differential. Therefore the team is not the Reds, Marlins, or Padres despite the fact that those teams are literally right next to the Dodgers in the standings. The hoi polloi are not known for their collective intelligence.
That said, the Dodgers baseball club is not winning games at a high rate, so it must be asked: who is to blame?
The culprits are as follows:
1. Cody Bellinger. This cocky m’fing Millennial is missing all the balls and I have heard from back channels, because you know I have access, that there are people in the Dodger organization that don’t believe in this guy. I guess it’s not entirely germane to the discussion, but worth noting since he’s stinking up the joint right now. The Dodgers could’ve done a blockbuster trade and sold this guy high maybe. What do I know.
2. Yasiel Puig. A man who has shown a great degree of resiliency to hang in mentally and improve his approach to the sport of baseball, has been an abject failure at the dish so far this year. Puig continues to play excellent right field so he is still a net positive, but the club was counting on a solid bat from old number 66.
3. Kenley Jansen. Our big man, the most lock-solid dependable player on the roster, alongside Justin Turner & Clayton Kershaw, has been absolutely awful this year. One wants to believe things will improve inevitably, but one needs to wait until Mr. Jansen actually starts throwing pitches like Dodgers fans are used to seeing before the faith increases. To whom much is given, much is expected.
4. Scott Alexander. The Dodgers count on the guys they have designated to be their breakout performers based upon careful analysis of sabermetric principles to be actual breakout performers. This guy can’t stop walking people. Now, another time-tested Dodger method is to send underperformers to the bush leagues and get their act together. Mr. Alexander has just returned from his sojourn to Oklahoma so perhaps he will repent of his prior ways.
5. Chris Taylor. He’s lower on the list because one shouldn’t actually believe in a guy that has no reason why one should believe in him other than one year’s good production. Mr. Taylor is like Mr. Bellinger — missing the ball all time but at least he plays premium defensive positions like shortstop and center field with his weak bat.
6. Austin Barnes. This is another young man designated to be awesome by the front office. Mr. Barnes has not done so. He is making lemonade out of lemons through super on-base powers but he isn’t hitting the ball well. Plugging him in the lineup with last year’s productivity makes this team much better.
7. Rich Hill The New Englander is scuttling. He’s still striking guys out, but watching him, Mr. Hill is obviously giving up too much hard contact. Fortunately, this red-ass plays the game the right way and beats himself up nightly to be better at playing baseball so he should improve.
HONORABLE MENTION: Logan Forsythe, who doesn’t make the list because he’s injured and has struggled with injuries and it’s not nice to pick on guys whose bodies aren’t working right.
All this said, and believe me, it’s annoying to watch all this craptastic baseball happen, this team is not nearly this bad. The Dodgers have given up a .300 BABIP and a 14% Home Run per Fly Ball rate; both of those numbers are in the bottom 10 in baseball.
In other words, the Dodgers are suffering bad luck on the pitching side. To further illustrate, Tony Cingrani has stuck out 22 and walked 4 in 14 innings, and has a 5.79 ERA.
My recommendation is to go out and watch the baseball team you love and boo them when appropriate. It has been fun in 32 years of being a Dodger fan to hear people argue about the validity of booing, but finding the appropriate members of the roster to boo is of vital importance.
We are not in the salad days of Juan Pierre & Andruw Jones & 2011-2012 Juan Uribe. The guys we have to boo are much better players and they are the guys listed above.
Thanks Johnny! Oh, by the way...
Roberts said he expects Justin Turner and Logan Forsythe to be in the Dodger lineup Tuesday in Miami.
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) May 13, 2018
Fri, 7p: Hyun-Jin Ryu vs Derek Holland Orange 6, Blue 4
Sat, 1p: Walker Buehler vs Chris Stratton Blue 15, Orange 6
Sat, 7p: Alex Wood vs Johnny Cueto Orange 8, Blue 3
Sun, 2p: Kenta Maeda vs Ty Blach Orange 4, Blue 2
WELP.
Donnie's Revenge is complete, the Marlins having taken two of three from us to boost their record to a scintillating 7-17. Meanwhile, the third-place Dodgers (11-12) visit the fourth-place Giants (11-13...how are we ahead of them in the standings?) in a series that includes a doubleheader that makes up for a rainout in San Francisco earlier this month.
The Dodgers went 12-17 last September, so maybe they're just getting their shitty month out of the way now? If so, brilliant plan, guys!
Its also welcome back Don Mattingly and company (including Miguel "let me save Kershaw's no hitter" Rojas). He's dealt a raw deck by Jeter and the management - remember the lame duck manager status in LA? De ja vu. Welp, here's to getting well against a struggling team. GO BLUE!
Statement from the Miami Marlins organization: pic.twitter.com/6A4Rv6m2g9
— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) September 25, 2016
This is my favorite photo. I took it after he got a W vs Dodgers. He grabbed chair, watched fireworks. A big leaguer but always kid at heart pic.twitter.com/QwDzQ1sKCx
— Allison Williams (@AllisonW_Sports) September 25, 2016
Kenta Maeda (3-0, 0.36) vs. Jose Fernandez (1-2, 4.37).
"Ha ha, Dodgerfuckers! It is I, Don E. Mattingly, freed from the clutches of the nerd cartel of Kasten, Friedman, Zaidi, LLC! And I've got current Gold Glover, Silver Slugger and NL batting champion — and FORMER Dodger — Dee Gordon, and Giancarlo "Don't Call Me Mike" Stanton, and tonight's starter Jose Fernandez on my team!
"And now my plans for revenge are almost realized, with my beloved Marlins taking at least three of four from the suddenly slumping (there's a shock!) Blue Crew. Eat my mustache dust, Dodger Stadium! BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"
photo by Jeff Roberson/AP
First let's start with the story: Dodgers GM Farhan Zaidi gave Dodgers manager Don Mattingly a vote of some confidence recently:
"His preparation has been tremendous. We spend some time with him before every game. We see how thorough he is," Zaidi said. "In every other industry, being a manager is managing people. In this industry we think it's just X's and O's. But the reality is, you're being a manager like you would manage a business, but you also have to make X's and O's decisions."
One advantage for the Dodgers is home-field advantage for the first round. Los Angeles tied St. Louis for the best home record at 55-26, and the Dodgers have had their road struggles, posting a 37-44 record.
While Mattingly will take the heat or earn the credit for the Dodgers' success or failure, Zaidi doesn't subscribe to the idea that all the credit or blame should be put on the manager.
"If you're going to tell me that the team's success is solely driven by the manager, I just don't think that's how it works," Zaidi said. "Managers make strategic decisions, but a lot of the decisions they make are 52-48 or 55-45.""We're looking at games that are going to be tight, going to be low scoring," general manager Farhan Zaidi said. "So you're looking for a manager that is going to be able to handle the pressure and handle the personalities and the added pressure of the postseason." [...]
Look, I defintely think Mattingly's strategic decisions, or lack thereof, have caused us a game or two or five. And from the look on her face, Alanna Rizzo is with me on this one:
John Wooden used to say, "Failure to prepare is preparing to fail." Let's hope Mattingly's preparation pays off this postseason.
Clayton Kershaw (16-7, 2.16) vs. Frank Garces (0-0, 5.00).
Welcome to Game #162! Over their first 161 games the Dodgers have won their division and secured home-field advantage against the Mets in the NLDS, so the only regular-season points of suspense today are:
Buckle in and enjoy, because this is your only Dodger baseball for the next five days!
Don Mattingly has been linked to reports of his candidacy as manager of the Miami Marlins, and even the Dodgers' own website is happy to report on this:
Mattingly said he first heard of the rumors when his son, Preston, called him about them Wednesday morning.
"He's the one that informs me what's going on. I have no idea where that comes from," Mattingly said. "I'm happy. I'm not worried about anything as far as that goes. I'm happy here. I feel like I'm a Dodger. That being said, that's about all we need to talk about as far as me."LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers manager Don Mattingly on Wednesday dismissed any talk of him leaving Los Angeles, despite rumors swirling about him going to Miami as a potential replacement for Marlins interim manager Dan Jennings.
Hmm, is that all? Mark Saxon of ESPN.com keeps pontificating:
Mattingly is signed through 2016. He grumbled about his uncertain status shortly after the 2013 season, after the team declined to announce his option had been triggered with a first-round win over the Atlanta Braves. After an awkward press conference, with Colletti sitting right next to him, the Dodgers rewarded Mattingly with a three-year contract extension.Then again, the new front office of Andrew Friedman inherited Mattingly from former general manager Ned Colletti. Mattingly had no previous ties to any of the major three decision-makers above him in baseball operations -- Friedman, general manager Farhan Zaidi or vice president for baseball operations Josh Byrnes. Also, no team has ever had a payroll anywhere close to the Dodgers' -- approaching $300 million -- so there's no telling how far they might have to go to save Mattingly's job.
And here's where those Ron Roenicke fears start multiplying.
Not sure what the hell Don Mattingly was thinking here, but putting in Adrian Gonzalez as a DH (in order to wedge Alberto Callaspo into the lineup, for some bizarre reason) was absolutely not the right move.
Gonzalez is a career .293/.365/.501 batter. He's .295/.369/.506 as a 1B, where he has played in roughly 95% of his plate appearances. As a DH, Gonzalez is a woeful .248/.285/.418--all numbers which stand to further degrade after today's 0-for-4, 4 LOB, 1 GIDP play. Why Mattingly thought this was a good idea for Gonzalez at DH is beyond me.
But wait, a NL team uses the DH to sneak in another potent bat, right? So into the lineup went Callaspo--batting ninth with his .224 average, no less. Callaspo went 0-for-1 with 2 walks and a K, but had the almost-TOOTBLAN moment of failing to tag up from second and advance to third, on a long fly ball over Shin-Soo Choo's head (which Choo misplayed but finally caught). The Dodgers went from no outs to one out in the top of the sixth in a still scoreless game; Gonzalez did his aforementioned GIDP, and then the Rangers came out in the bottom of the sixth and bloodied Carlos Frias and Adam Liberatore for their four runs.
Why wasn't Alex Guerrero playing? Guerrero's OWAR is +0.9. Callaspo's OWAR is -0.3, which is the absolute worst on the whole Dodger team (i.e., below Mike Bolsinger's -0.2--and he's a pitcher).
Criminy.
The Dodgers got one back in the top of the eighth on a leadoff Yasmani Grandal HR.
Andre Ethier grounded into two double plays, which is only three fewer than the Giants had all game yesterday.
Pretty good piece over at the Bill-Simmons-less Grantland about Don Mattingly, and how he has endured through front office chaos and how he has either navigated deftly (or survived barely) through choppy clubhouse waters. Some of the good parts:
Mattingly has gone from being one of the most maligned leaders in sports to the third-longest-tenured manager in the National League. His Dodgers are in first place in the NL West and poised to mount another playoff run. And he has the front office’s support: “Incredibly favorable from my standpoint, what kind of person he is, what kind of communicator,” says Andrew Friedman, who left the Rays in October to become the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations. “We had a really good back-and-forth and working relationship almost immediately.”
Mattingly may not be a gifted tactician, but he also may not need to be. With expectations in L.A. as high as ever, Donnie Baseball has shed light on the evolving role of the modern manager by being able to survive, if not thrive. [...]
[W]hile [GM Andrew] Friedman is known as a numbers guy, he’s also always emphasized clubhouse harmony, something that he, new GM Farhan Zaidi, and other members of the front office would soon realize the 2014 Dodgers completely lacked. With Kemp, Ethier, Puig, and Crawford all on the roster, squabbling broke out over playing time, with Mattingly hinting at players’ selfishness after an early-June loss dropped the team to eight games behind the then-front-running Giants. Mattingly now speaks candidly of that unit’s “lack of professionalism.”
Molly Knight, a writer who spent the 2013 and 2014 seasons embedded with the Dodgers and will soon release a behind-the-scenes book, The Best Team Money Can Buy, put the team’s dysfunction in stronger terms.
“I wasn’t around for those 1970s A’s teams, but I can’t imagine they were much worse than the 2014 Dodgers,” Knight says. “It was a disaster, a shitshow. [Mattingly] had to make sure guys didn’t kill each other and keep all of that out of the media. He had to deal with Yasiel Puig, who’s phenomenally talented, sells tickets … and he’s a basket case. He flouts all the rules, skips BP, shows up late. What do you do? Bench him and watch your team lose? Or not punish him and piss off 24 other guys?”
Puig has caused fewer stirs than usual this season because he’s missed time while nursing a hamstring injury. But he’ll presumably remain a managerial challenge once he returns.
“It’s not easy managing that, figuring it out,” Knight says. “They weren’t going to win the World Series with that bullpen, with no center fielder, and the worst defensive shortstop in the league. It takes a really steady manager’s personality just to get as far as they went last year. He did as well as he could have done.”Yet nearly five years after that double-mound-visit snafu, Mattingly is still in Dodger blue. He’s survived two playoff misses, two heartbreaking playoff exits, and constant speculation and criticism. He’s made it through one of the most controversial ownership changes in sports history, one of the most tumultuous clubhouses in recent memory, and a front-office shake-up that seemed destined to cost him his job.
I eagerly await Knight's book and some insight as to how bad it was in the clubhouse last year. Donnie remains far from a managerial genius in my mind (enough with the double switches and mercurial lineups!), but I could be convinced that his ability to connect with players has helped him manage during difficult times.
"Calm seas never made a skilled mariner," as the saying goes. With a more stable front office and arguably greater lineup depth, let's see if those experiences pay off for the Dodgers, as well as for Donnie.
It is hours after Sunday's game has ended and I am still more frustrated (and angry) than a kid at junior high school cotillion. What a fucking disaster. Losing 4-2 after holding a 2-0 and 2-1 lead late is bad; dropping said game at home (and dropping a home series for the first time in over nine months), on national television is worse. But the absolute worst part about this game, which I watched almost end-to-end for the first time all season, was just evisceratingly horrible...because any Dodger fan knew we were destined to lose.
First off, there were so many missed opportunities. Even with a laboring Lance Lynn who could barely make it through five innings (and not without considerable concern from the entire ESPN broadcast booth, the St. Louis Cardinals trainers, and probably outside a 50-mile radius from Dodger Stadium--the Dodgers could not take advantage. Andre Ethier, who had three strikeouts and a walk today, had better not be mentioned as a candidate for Comeback Player of the Year any longer--certainly not after killing Dodger rallies with Ks in the first inning (Justin Turner with a two out double to score Yasiel Puig) as well as the third inning (Turner, again, singling home Zack Greinke from second). Ethier had a nice catch over the left field wall in the eighth inning, but the Cards had already taken a 3-2 lead by then and really, who the hell cares. Ethier was an abyss today. If you want comedy, watch him get tagged out at home in the bottom of the sixth off Rollins single to right; Ethier, his bone-creaking stride, and his walker were all out by a country mile.
The Dodgers' best chance to break the game open was in the fifth inning, with Lynn having labored through the fourth without any velocity of note, and having ceded a Greinke leadoff single followed by a Joc Pederson walk. Two on, none out: we got this, right? Nope, Puig flies weakly to center; Adrian Gonzalez (0-for-4 with 5 LOB) flied to left, and Justin Turner flied to right. Threat over; Metheny went to the bullpen and they held us in check from there.
Don't even get me started on Jimmy Rollins, 1-for-4 in the eight hole. What a waste J-Roll has been, relative to the potential that we had seen in seasons past. I know Rollins is a veteran and I harbor hope that he will provide leadership for this team. Meanwhile, however, Dee Gordon, of whom I admittedly was not always a fan, is now batting .372 for the Marlins and leading the NL in batting average and hits.
The Dodgers went 2-for-9 with RISP and pissed all over a great 6.2 IP outing from Greinke, who gave up a solo HR but struck out 8 with one walk. Juan Nicasio let three runs in late, including one charged to Adam Liberatore who had walked Matt Carpenter. Why Nicasio, you might ask? So did the LAT's Dylan Hernandez: To protect a one-run lead in the eighth inning Sunday night, the Dodgers turned to … Juan Nicasio?
And Greinke's outing goes for naught.
As I said earlier, though, the worst part of all of this was that any Dodger fan knew this was coming. Even with a 2-0 and 2-1 lead, you knew we couldn't hold this against a good team like the Cardinals. As cliched and sophomoric as the whole gritty grit grit narrative that St. Louis cultivates through a parroting media is...you look at our team, which sans Howie Kendrick (who is hurt with a knee injury, but Don Mattingly still had bat late in the game anyway, which makes no sense), is full of streaky hitters who can get just as cold as they can get hot. And if Pederson keeps whiffing (0-for-3 with 2 Ks, now batting .258) in the leadoff spot; Puig (2-for-4) remains unpredictable; Gonzalez and Yasmani Grandal (0-for-4) both stay cold...we've got serious offensive problems (as indicated by our lack of runs the last two weeks).
On top of all that, can someone please explain: why Enrique Hernandez. 0-for-3 today, Hernandez looked totally overmatched at the plate to the point that you wonder if he belongs at the major league level at all. He is so bad, we don't even have a label for him yet on this blog (and I'm not initiating said label today). What is Hernandez doing in the lineup? In fact, what logic has Mattingly put into the lineup in the first place (see Saturday's GT for another head-scratcher)? Madness.
I have a friend who believes that Bruce Bochy is a genius for asking Mattingly to be on the All-Star Game coaching staff, as it is a deliberate ploy to promote the charade that Mattingly knows what he is doing. Not after a showing like Sunday, which was an absolute turd: the wrong lineup, the wrong relievers, the wrong in-game coaching decisions. It's a hot mess.
We've got sub-.500 Arizona coming into town, which might put lipstick on this pig. But it still ain't pretty. And I'm fucking pissed off about this team, who owe it to Dodger fans to deliver something better.
Matt Kemp and Zack Greinke gave us permission to exhale on Saturday night, injecting the Dodgers with a burst of hope by preventing a repeat of a catastrophic Game 1. For Kemp, who hit what would be the game-winning home run in the eighth inning, it was a triumphant high point following two years of rehab and rebuilding after his fateful collision with the Coors Field outfield wall in 2012.
Greinke performed masterfully, settling the frayed nerves of a pitching staff that surrendered 10 runs in Game 1. He pitched seven shutout innings, striking out seven and going 2 for 3 at the plate with a run scored in the third. A.J. stayed hot by starting the inning with a double, followed by a single by Greinke. Dee hit an RBI grounder and Greinke moved to second thanks to Mattingly's successful challenge of Kolten Wong's misplay. After a Puig strikeout (he went 0 for 4), AGon knocked Greinke in.
And that was it until the eighth, when Mattingly replaced Greinke with J.P. Howell, having already gotten lucky by extending Greinke through the seventh. Howell promptly gave up a single then a home run to that motherfucker Matt Carpenter, the score was tied, and Dodger fans were reliving the nightmare.
But Kemp rewrote the ending on the fourth pitch from Cardinals reliever Pat Neshek, Kenley came in for a much-needed 1-2-3 save, and this series is tied 1-1.
Breathe. In. Out. Game 3 is Monday in St. Louis and the Dodgers have a 49-32 road record this year. Breathe. In. Out.
Just woke up, and I'm still pissed off at Don Mattingly's mismanagement of that Game 1.
Let's start with this much-repeated tidbit from Elias (on the ESPN.com game recap sidebar as well):
From Elias: Clayton Kershaw (LAD): 1st starter to allow at least 7 ER in consecutive postseason starts in MLB History (7 ER in 2013 NLCS Game 6)
And to be clear, both of those times it was Mattingly's call to leave Kershaw in. Mattingly's instincts on when to take a pitcher out are flawed.
Exhibit two: bringing in Pedro Baez. If the Cardinals have suddenly figured out how to crush Kershaw's fastball, why bring in a kid who only has a fastball? Especially when all year long, Mattingly has been using his bullpen arms liberally in late-game situations, rotating Brandon League and Scott Elbert and Brian Wilson and everyone else with reckless abandon; why go to Baez here, and now?
I can't figure these two moves (or non-moves) out. I'm struggling to figure out how we can mount a World Series run here, if we have to win in spite of Mattingly (and not because of him, a la Lasorda).
Losing Game 1 was gut-wrenching. I sure as heck didn't want to write the Post-Game Thread (thanks, Orel!). But amidst the wreckage there still is hope.
The headlines are all about how amazing it was that Clayton Kershaw was knocked out suddenly, in the seventh inning, after he had overcome a first-inning solo HR to settle down and become machine-like in his dispatching of the Cardinals.
But lost in this narrative is the fact that 1. we had Adam Wainwright on the ropes from the get-go. St. Louis' ace didn't last much more than four innings, thanks to a steady barrage by the Dodgers that kept runners on the basepaths and Wainwright ill at ease. So sure, they may have knocked out our ace, but not until after we had already gotten to theirs.
2. A.J. Ellis going 4-for-5 with 2 RBI, from the eight hole? This from a guy who batted .191 in the regular season? I'll take it. If Ellis can add yet another bat to an already daunting lineup, that will be great. We'll also need Ellis because...
3. ...Someone has to manage this team, since it's not going to be Don Mattingly. Mattingly's mismanagement of Kershaw in the seventh, when nerves got the best of him, was so typical: the player's coach left it to the player to make the call. When three straight Cardinals reached base, slapping Kershaw's fastballs convincingly, one would think that that would be the perfect time for the manager to come and slow the game down for his ace to recover. Instead, just like Donnie has handled Joc Pederson this past month, Donnie left his young player in a series of difficult spots, forcing him to sink or swim alone. This one could have been prevented--and if Donnie has already exhausted his trips to the mound, it's up to Ellis to stop the game, have some discussions, feign injury if necessary--but take control of this game. We are going to have to win in spite of Donnie, but I am confident Ellis can help do so.
4. Adrian Gonzalez is a stud. Not only did mild-mannered A-Gon call bullshit on Wainwright and Yavier Molina after the Yasiel Puig HBP, but he came back late in the game to stroke a two-run HR. We'll need his fire, but I'm sure we'll get that as well. A-Gon made clear, he's not sticking around just to watch the game; he's here to play.
5. Aside from Pedro Baez' missteps, the bullpen wasn't all that bad in Game 1. One on which to build.
6. Down 10-6, we didn't just roll over and go away. We didn't pull off the comeback, but battling back for three runs late shows we've got some grit, too.
Look, I'm bitter, and angry, and still trying to process this one. It was one bad inning, but that's all it was. This series is still far from over, so let's hope we come back today and show some more fire.
Soul-crushing disappointment was in the air at Dodger Stadium on Friday, baked in the oppressive heat and cooled in the shadows, leaving a bitter veneer on every surface it touched. Clayton Kershaw, owner of three Cy Young-caliber seasons and a no-hitter, now also has two consecutive postseason starts in which he has been torched for a total of 15 earned runs.
Kershaw did everything in this start, but not in a good way. After giving up a first-inning home run to Randal Grichuk, Kershaw retired 16 straight. At the plate he had two sacrifices and a walk. In the sixth he gave up another homer to his nemesis from last year's NLCS, Matt Carpenter, but escaped further damage. That made the score only 6-2, thanks to RBIs from Hanley, Crawford, Puig and Kemp, and a surprising two-run homer by A.J. Ellis in the fifth.
The seventh inning was Kershaw's undoing; I won't sprinkle more tequila salt on our wounds by recapping it, save to note that Mattingly visited the mound with the bases loaded and one out, and Kershaw convinced him to leave him in the game. The decision paid off initially with a strikeout of Oscar Taveras for the second out, but that damn Carpenter knocked Kershaw out with a two-RBI double. The next pitcher, Pedro Baez, gave up a three-run homer to Matt Holliday.
But don't forget the Dodgers are good enough to create hope, which they did by rallying with an AGon two-run homer in the eighth and a Dee Gordon RBI in the ninth. But they're also bad enough to crush hope on a regular basis, and the Cards' fireballing closer Trevor Rosenthal struck out Puig with Ethier on third to end it. LIVE. BREATHE. LOSE BY ONE.
The Dodgers' bullpen loomed large in this game, even in its absence. Mattingly obviously left Kershaw in for too long, but his fears were justified by Baez's poor performance. It was a lose-lose-lose situation.
Thank goodness for short turnarounds, so we don't have to stew in this mess for long. Baseball is like alcohol, after all: You swear it off one day, and the next you're partaking again. Let's see how this team bounces back in Game 2. Or let's see just how much we fans can take.
Chris Perez' sighting in the second inning evidenced Don Mattingly knew from the start this game was going to be a loss. Watching Hyun-Jin Ryu have the Giants bat around in the first before being lifted with shoulder irritation; Hanley Ramirez' limited defensive range; Yasiel Puig continuing to make throwing miscues; the Dodgers stranding a leadoff double; Kevin Correia continuing to look horrible--this was a shitshow of ultimate proportions. Well done, Donnie.
