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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

Games 133-136 Thread: Aug 31 - Sept 3 vs. Braves

I'm going to skip 2021 playoff results and just think about 2020.

Thurs Aug 31 7p: Lance Lynn vs. Strider
Fri Sep 1 7p: Julio Urias vs. Fried
Sat Sep 2 6p: TBD vs. Elder
Sun Sep 3 1p: Bobby Miller vs. Morton

The Atlanta Braves have a four-game lead for the one-seed in the National League, and ESPN pundits are already calling the Braves unbeatable this year. But there was this part, late in the article:

The Phillies beat the Braves in four games last October, but that doesn't make them more dangerous for Atlanta than the Dodgers, according to several executives.

"The Dodgers' talent, experience and consistency give them the best shot at taking a playoff series," one executive said.

Another dove into the numbers.

"The Dodgers share a lot of the same hitter run value numbers vs. pitching as the Braves, and have more hard-throwing relievers, who are successful [in October]," he said. "The Dodgers are ranked first in pitcher run value when a pitch is 96 mph or above."

Essentially, the Dodgers rank second to the Braves in most offensive categories, averaging 5.6 runs per game compared to Atlanta's 5.8. But their pitching injuries have piled up, leading to just the seventh-best ERA in the NL. Then again, Clayton Kershaw just returned from injury and looks as good as ever.

"I think the Dodgers' overall 26-man roster depth is probably better than Atlanta's, so I would think they have the best chance against them in a long series," one executive said. "And they are a team that knows how to win, can take a punch, and has a tremendous home-field advantage."

Said the executive: "That would be one heck of a series."

So let's see how this series goes. We will see all three of the Braves' key starters. The Braves might not see all of ours.

I will be there at the Stadium Thursday night. I also have no idea why the Dodgers aren't playing on the Labor Day holiday.

Games 127-129 Thread: Aug 25-27 @ Red Sox

Fri 25 4p: Lynn vs. Crawford
Sat 26 1p: Urias vs. Paxton
Sun 27 10a: TBD Ferguson vs. Hauck

I just want to take this opportunity to thank the Red Sox again for giving us Mookie Betts.

photo swiped from this site

Games 118-120 Thread: Aug 15-17 vs. Brewers

Tue 15: Bobby Miller vs. Adrian Houser
Wed 16: Clayton Kershaw vs. Wade Miley
Thu 17: Lance Lynn vs.Corbin Burnes
All games 7p

Wait, we have a regular, no "TBD" rotation set for this three-game series? I'm confused.

We enter this series with a nine-game lead over the Giants in the NL West. The Brewers are also leading their division (3.5-game lead on the Cubs and Reds). After fattening up on a soft schedule for the last 13 games (Athletics 3-0; Padres 3-1; Diamondbacks 2-0; Rockies 4-0), it will be interesting to face a more formidable opponent.

Games 114-117 Thread: August 10-13 vs. Rockies

Thu Aug 10 7p: TBD vs. Blach
Fri Aug 11 7p: Lynn vs. Gomber
Sat Aug 12 6p: Gonsolin vs. Lambert
Sun Aug 13 1p: Urias vs. Flexen

I was supposed to go to tonight's (Thursday's) game. But I can't go, so I'm salty.

But you know who isn't salty? The Dodgers, who extended their lead in the NL West to six games over San Francisco (who lost its last two), 11 games over Arizona (who were swept in the two-game series at home), 13 games over San Diego, (who lost three of four to us in the recent weekend series), and a crazy 22.5 games over the visiting Rockies.

All this, and we still can't pitch well. It's amazing.

Games 108-111 Thread: Aug 4-7 @ Padres

Fri Aug 4 6.40p: Bobby Miller vs. Yu Darvish
Sat Aug 5 5.40p: TBD vs. Blake Snell
Sun Aug 6 4.10p: Lance Lynn vs. TBD
Mon Aug 7 1.10p: Tony Gonsolin vs. Seth Lugo

With the trade deadline pickups of Rich Hill and Ji-Man Choi, the Padres are all-in! And I feel about as confident about that assertion, as I do about the Dodgers being all-in by picking up Lance Lynn, Joe Kelly, and Amed Rosario.

I suppose the material difference is that the Dodgers are 62-45 and have a 2.5-game lead in the NL West, whereas the Padres are in fourth place in the division, 9.0 GB (and 4.0 games out of the Wild Card race).

Still, these four games should be a better barometer of how formidable the Dodgers might be for the playoffs--at least, relative to the Dodgers' recent sweep over the hapless and homeless Athletics. Let's go, Dodgers!