With the offseason officially in full swing after the Red Sox downed the Cardinals to win the World Series on Wednesday, the Dodgers made some news today by declining the options on Chris Capuano and Mark Ellis.
Both will be bought out for $1 million each. Capuano could have made $8 million next season, and Ellis $5.75 million, so this obviously saves some cash for bigger needs.
Then again, both could also resign at much more realistic rates. The early returns are that Ellis is the more likely of the two to be brought back. The Dodgers view Alexander Guerrero as their long-term answer at second base, or at least they hope. But then again, he could also play shortstop, which would slide Hanley Ramirez over to third, opening up second for Ellis again.
I do think the Dodgers will make an effort to bring Ellis back, especially because he's still very good on defense. He was a finalist for a Gold Glove, but lost out to Brandon Phillips, which there's certainly no shame in doing. Offensively, Ellis hit .270 with 6 homers and 48 RBIs, so it's not like there's much production there. That will probably cost him a starting nod. But, off the bench, I can see him contributing.
As for Capuano, I wouldn't expect to see him back next season. Give the guy a bunch of credit for battling back from two Tommy John surgeries. I can only imagine the uncertainty he must have felt going through that rehab twice.
But, as the years and innings continue to pile up, I just don't see him getting any better. He went 4-7 with a 4.26 ERA and 1.41 WHIP this year, which is nothing special. I think the Dodgers will look elsewhere.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
2013 Postseason Report Card
The final installment of my report card series focuses on the postseason. While it started off great with a 3-1 Division Series win over the Braves, it all came crashing down in a 4-2 defeat against the Cardinals. Let's take a look.
A
Brian Wilson - The most consistent pitcher when it was all said and done, he was scoreless in six appearances, striking out eight in six innings. I would think he earned himself a closer's job next season.
Zack Greinke - Didn't get the luxury of working with much run support, but a 2.57 ERA and 0.76 WHIP in three starts is pretty darn good. He did blow a 2-0 lead in Game 1 against the Cardinals, but like I said before, his offense gave him next to nothing.
Adrian Gonzalez - Found his power stroke with three homers and two doubles in 10 games, and hit a healthy .316. Capped off a big season for him at first base.
A.J. Ellis - Caught every single inning in both rounds, plus hit .323 with a .400 OBP.
Carl Crawford - The Dodgers needed his two home runs in the clinching game against the Braves, and ended up with a .310 average with four homers total in the leadoff spot. Also, led the team with 26 total bases.
Kenley Jansen - His 4.15 ERA and 1.62 WHIP are very high for him, but that's because of a rough Game 5 against the Cardinals, which was a win anyway. Saved both his games and struck out 10 in 4 1/3 innings.
J.P. Howell - Much like he did all season long, quietly put together good numbers with a 1.50 ERA and 1.33 ERA in six innings. Was the only lefty available in the bullpen in the NLCS, which shows how much he was trusted.
Chris Capuano - Made one appearance, which came in the big Game 3 win over the Braves, tossing three scoreless innings. It wasn't pretty with three walks, but no runs surrendered is the bottom line.
B
Clayton Kershaw - He was well on his way to an easy A, but it's hard to ignore his rough Game 6 against the Cardinals. Take away those four innings and seven runs, and he surrendered only one run in the other 19.
Hanley Ramirez - So, so good against the Braves by hitting .500 with a homer and four doubles... then got beaned in the ribs in Game 1 against the Cardinals, and was 2-for-15. He showed a lot of heart in even playing those games, but his power bat was sorely missed.
Yasiel Puig - When he wasn't striking out he did some damage, but 14 K's in 10 games is way too much. Was moved to the middle of the order before the playoffs to drive in runs, but only had four RBIs, and his 0-for-10 in the first two games of the NLCS included six K's.
Juan Uribe - Gets this only because of his great NLDS, as his two-run shot in the eighth inning of Game 4 was the series clincher. His bat was atrocious the next round, hitting only .130 with three singles and seven strikeouts.
Hyun-Jin Ryu - Started off being hit around against the Braves, but was fantastic in getting the Dodgers their first win in Game 3 against the Cardinals.
C
Nick Punto - Did an admirable job in filling in for Hanley Ramirez when he was injured. But, getting picked off of second in the seventh inning in Game 4 of the NLCS was just killer. Not quite as bad as Kolten Wong, but still...
Mark Ellis - Got the start in all 10 games, and while he wasn't bad, just wasn't that good either. Hit .250 with nine strikeouts, and never made much of an impact.
D
Andre Ethier - Battled through a bad ankle injury, and eventually found his way back into the starting lineup. Unfortunately, that may not have been a good thing, as he hit a lowly .130 with no extra-base hits or RBIs. A big disappointment.
Skip Schumaker - Got some starts thanks to Ethier's injury, but did nothing with them. Hit .158 with two RBIs, and proved to be nothing more than a bench player.
Ricky Nolasco - Got skipped over in the NLDS in favor of Kershaw on short rest, then took the loss in Game 4 of the NLCS. He wasn't awful, but only gave four innings in an ineffective start.
F
Michael Young - Signed to be a big veteran bat off the bench and for his versatility. Instead, went 1-for-10 and failed to make any sort of impact at all in what might be a disappointing end to his career.
Dee Gordon - Only had one chance to make an impression, and got nailed trying to steal late in Game 2 against the Braves. It's the ultimate small sample size, but he failed to do the only job he was put on the roster for.
Paco Rodriguez - It was a tough end to the season for Paco, as he simply ran out of gas. The Braves smacked him around twice to the tune of a 27.00 ERA, and was left off the NLCS roster.
Chris Withrow - Six walks in five innings was his biggest undoing, as he had a 5.40 ERA and 1.80 WHIP in four appearances.
Ronald Belisario - Somehow found his way into seven games, which was way too much. Ended up with an enormous 7.36 ERA and 1.36 WHIP. Thank God for Brian Wilson.
A
Brian Wilson - The most consistent pitcher when it was all said and done, he was scoreless in six appearances, striking out eight in six innings. I would think he earned himself a closer's job next season.
Zack Greinke - Didn't get the luxury of working with much run support, but a 2.57 ERA and 0.76 WHIP in three starts is pretty darn good. He did blow a 2-0 lead in Game 1 against the Cardinals, but like I said before, his offense gave him next to nothing.
Adrian Gonzalez - Found his power stroke with three homers and two doubles in 10 games, and hit a healthy .316. Capped off a big season for him at first base.
A.J. Ellis - Caught every single inning in both rounds, plus hit .323 with a .400 OBP.
Carl Crawford - The Dodgers needed his two home runs in the clinching game against the Braves, and ended up with a .310 average with four homers total in the leadoff spot. Also, led the team with 26 total bases.
Kenley Jansen - His 4.15 ERA and 1.62 WHIP are very high for him, but that's because of a rough Game 5 against the Cardinals, which was a win anyway. Saved both his games and struck out 10 in 4 1/3 innings.
J.P. Howell - Much like he did all season long, quietly put together good numbers with a 1.50 ERA and 1.33 ERA in six innings. Was the only lefty available in the bullpen in the NLCS, which shows how much he was trusted.
Chris Capuano - Made one appearance, which came in the big Game 3 win over the Braves, tossing three scoreless innings. It wasn't pretty with three walks, but no runs surrendered is the bottom line.
B
Clayton Kershaw - He was well on his way to an easy A, but it's hard to ignore his rough Game 6 against the Cardinals. Take away those four innings and seven runs, and he surrendered only one run in the other 19.
Hanley Ramirez - So, so good against the Braves by hitting .500 with a homer and four doubles... then got beaned in the ribs in Game 1 against the Cardinals, and was 2-for-15. He showed a lot of heart in even playing those games, but his power bat was sorely missed.
Yasiel Puig - When he wasn't striking out he did some damage, but 14 K's in 10 games is way too much. Was moved to the middle of the order before the playoffs to drive in runs, but only had four RBIs, and his 0-for-10 in the first two games of the NLCS included six K's.
Juan Uribe - Gets this only because of his great NLDS, as his two-run shot in the eighth inning of Game 4 was the series clincher. His bat was atrocious the next round, hitting only .130 with three singles and seven strikeouts.
Hyun-Jin Ryu - Started off being hit around against the Braves, but was fantastic in getting the Dodgers their first win in Game 3 against the Cardinals.
C
Nick Punto - Did an admirable job in filling in for Hanley Ramirez when he was injured. But, getting picked off of second in the seventh inning in Game 4 of the NLCS was just killer. Not quite as bad as Kolten Wong, but still...
Mark Ellis - Got the start in all 10 games, and while he wasn't bad, just wasn't that good either. Hit .250 with nine strikeouts, and never made much of an impact.
D
Andre Ethier - Battled through a bad ankle injury, and eventually found his way back into the starting lineup. Unfortunately, that may not have been a good thing, as he hit a lowly .130 with no extra-base hits or RBIs. A big disappointment.
Skip Schumaker - Got some starts thanks to Ethier's injury, but did nothing with them. Hit .158 with two RBIs, and proved to be nothing more than a bench player.
Ricky Nolasco - Got skipped over in the NLDS in favor of Kershaw on short rest, then took the loss in Game 4 of the NLCS. He wasn't awful, but only gave four innings in an ineffective start.
F
Michael Young - Signed to be a big veteran bat off the bench and for his versatility. Instead, went 1-for-10 and failed to make any sort of impact at all in what might be a disappointing end to his career.
Dee Gordon - Only had one chance to make an impression, and got nailed trying to steal late in Game 2 against the Braves. It's the ultimate small sample size, but he failed to do the only job he was put on the roster for.
Paco Rodriguez - It was a tough end to the season for Paco, as he simply ran out of gas. The Braves smacked him around twice to the tune of a 27.00 ERA, and was left off the NLCS roster.
Chris Withrow - Six walks in five innings was his biggest undoing, as he had a 5.40 ERA and 1.80 WHIP in four appearances.
Ronald Belisario - Somehow found his way into seven games, which was way too much. Ended up with an enormous 7.36 ERA and 1.36 WHIP. Thank God for Brian Wilson.
Sunday, October 27, 2013
2013 Report Card
(Note: This is my annual report card, but for the regular season only. I will be back with a postseason report card very soon. To view my mid-season report card, click below.)
2013 Mid-Season Report Card
A
Clayton Kershaw - The soon-to-be Cy Young Award winner was everything the Dodgers could've hoped for. Led the NL in ERA (1.83), WHIP (0.92), and K's (232), while finishing third in wins (16) despite a horrible lack of run support for much of the season.
Zack Greinke - A rough start because of injuries eventually gave way to an ace-like end. A 1.85 ERA in the second half paved the way to a 2.63 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and a 15-4 record.
Kenley Jansen - Saved the day in the bullpen, as one of the key moves to turnaround the season came in early June when he took over the closer's role. Finished with 28 saves and a fantastic 13.03 K/9.
Hanley Ramirez - Playing in only 86 games was tough, but was terrific when he was in there. Hit .345 with 20 homers and 57 RBIs, and made the offense a whole lot better just by being in the lineup.
Adrian Gonzalez - Played through neck pain early in the season, which led to some uncharacteristic errors at first. But he finished with 157 games played, hitting .293 with 22 homers and 100 RBIs, and was a steady influence all season long.
Yasiel Puig - There's no denying the electricity this guy brought at a time the Dodgers desperately needed it. Ended up hitting .319 with 19 homers, 42 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases, not to mention the eight assists from the outfield.
Juan Uribe - Who knew? This guy totally changed his career around, becoming a vacuum at third base, plus hitting 12 homers and 50 RBIs.
Brian Wilson - Even though he only appeared in 18 games at the end, was the perfect setup man with an 0.66 ERA. Definitely proved his arm troubles are a thing of the past.
J.P. Howell - Quietly had a 2.03 ERA and 1.05 WHIP as one of the primary left-handed relievers.
Paco Rodriguez - Faded at the end, but you can't forget how good he was for so long. Still fresh out of college, pitched in 76 games to a 2.32 ERA and 0.90 WHIP.
Hyun-Jin Ryu - Wasn't expected to be more than maybe a #4 guy, but outpitched those expectations by going 14-8 with a 3.00 ERA and 1.20 WHIP.
B
Andre Ethier - His numbers continue to be unimpressive (.272/12/52), but something should be said about his versatility in the outfield, especially with so many injuries to others. Still plays very solid defense.
Carl Crawford - Had his usual ups-and-downs as far as injuries go, limiting him to 116 games with some days of rest mixed in. Only had 15 stolen bases, but is still somewhat of a threat at the plate as he worked his way back from Tommy John.
Mark Ellis - His days as a starting second basemen could be over with the signing of Alexander Guerrero, but still sets a great example of how to play hard. Hit .270, but remains great on defense.
Ricky Nolasco - Started his Dodger tenure a house of fire... but oh, those last three starts. ERA shot up from 3.14 to 3.70, and probably cost himself more starts in the playoffs. But, went 7-0 in his first eight starts, which played a big role in the summer run.
Chris Withrow - The flamethrower hit the rookie wall towards the end, but still had a 2.60 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and 43 K's in 34 2/3 innings. A power arm to keep an eye on in middle relief.
A.J. Ellis - Turned himself into one of the final candidates for a Gold Glove, where he's valued most. Only hit .238, but his 52 RBIs included some big ones along the way.
Nick Punto - Gets upgraded because of his ability to play three infield positions (third, short, second), which was big because of the revolving door of injuries to everyone else.
Michael Young - Did a solid job by hitting .314, even though he was short on power. Plus, he appeared at all four infield positions.
C
Matt Kemp - Somehow played in 73 games, even though it seemed like much less. Once again his season was derailed by one injury after another, and you have to question if his body is too brittle to ever be a star player again. Never thought he'd have 6 homers and 33 RBIs for the whole season.
Scott Van Slyke - Never really took advantage of any sort of playing time he was given, hitting .240 with 7 homers and 19 RBIs in 53 games. Seemed like he should've made a bigger impact.
Skip Schumaker - Wasn't bad, but never really was the good pinch-hitter he was signed to be, hitting only .263 in 319 at-bats. At least he pitched two shutout innings, though!
Carlos Marmol - Definitely was better off in LA after a disastrous stint with the Cubs, and did have a solid 2.53 ERA. However, his 1.55 WHIP showed his control problems will never go away.
Stephen Fife - More injuries disrupted his season, but had four wins with a 3.86 ERA, so wasn't too bad.
D
Dee Gordon - Got passed over by Justin Sellers (Justin Sellers!) for shortstop when Ramirez was hurt to start the season, and proved again why he'll never be an everyday player with an awful .234 average.
Tim Federowicz - Maybe there's a reason A.J. appeared in so many games - this guy was pretty bad. Had nearly as many strikeouts (56) as total bases (57), and never gave Don Mattingly a reason to play him more.
Ronald Belisario - Mr. Inconsistency was just that - inconsistent. Is no longer a strikeout pitcher, and a 3.97 ERA and 1.47 WHIP showed how unreliable he is.
Chris Capuano - Speaking of inconsistent, there's him. One start he'd look good, the next start he'd get bombed en route to a 4.26 ERA and 1.41 WHIP. His best days are clearly behind.
Jerry Hairston - Left off the playoff roster because of a pitiful .211 average with no pop at all.
F
Brandon League - An absolute abomination as the closer. And to think, his numbers actually IMPROVED to a 5.30 ERA and 1.55 WHIP after being demoted. That says it all right there. A horrible deal by Ned Colletti.
Matt Magill - Failed to take any soft of advantage of spot starts, bombing his way to a 6.51 ERA and 1.99 WHIP.
Matt Guerrier - Earned his way to Chicago with a 4.80 ERA and 1.47 WHIP. Remember how he was signed to be the primary setup man? Yikes, that's a scary thought.
Peter Moylan - Pathetic numbers with a 6.46 ERA and 1.96 WHIP.
Ramon Hernandez - Was given 17 games to prove his worth. Well, he did by hitting .208, earning him a ticket out of town.
Justin Sellers - A horrendous choice to start the season at short, hitting .188. Ouch.
Luis Cruz - Had one of the biggest downfalls I can recall in recent memory. Had third base all to himself over Uribe, yet hit .127 in 45 games, and more than played his way to the waiver wire. Boy was he bad!
2013 Mid-Season Report Card
A
Clayton Kershaw - The soon-to-be Cy Young Award winner was everything the Dodgers could've hoped for. Led the NL in ERA (1.83), WHIP (0.92), and K's (232), while finishing third in wins (16) despite a horrible lack of run support for much of the season.
Zack Greinke - A rough start because of injuries eventually gave way to an ace-like end. A 1.85 ERA in the second half paved the way to a 2.63 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and a 15-4 record.
Kenley Jansen - Saved the day in the bullpen, as one of the key moves to turnaround the season came in early June when he took over the closer's role. Finished with 28 saves and a fantastic 13.03 K/9.
Hanley Ramirez - Playing in only 86 games was tough, but was terrific when he was in there. Hit .345 with 20 homers and 57 RBIs, and made the offense a whole lot better just by being in the lineup.
Adrian Gonzalez - Played through neck pain early in the season, which led to some uncharacteristic errors at first. But he finished with 157 games played, hitting .293 with 22 homers and 100 RBIs, and was a steady influence all season long.
Yasiel Puig - There's no denying the electricity this guy brought at a time the Dodgers desperately needed it. Ended up hitting .319 with 19 homers, 42 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases, not to mention the eight assists from the outfield.
Juan Uribe - Who knew? This guy totally changed his career around, becoming a vacuum at third base, plus hitting 12 homers and 50 RBIs.
Brian Wilson - Even though he only appeared in 18 games at the end, was the perfect setup man with an 0.66 ERA. Definitely proved his arm troubles are a thing of the past.
J.P. Howell - Quietly had a 2.03 ERA and 1.05 WHIP as one of the primary left-handed relievers.
Paco Rodriguez - Faded at the end, but you can't forget how good he was for so long. Still fresh out of college, pitched in 76 games to a 2.32 ERA and 0.90 WHIP.
Hyun-Jin Ryu - Wasn't expected to be more than maybe a #4 guy, but outpitched those expectations by going 14-8 with a 3.00 ERA and 1.20 WHIP.
B
Andre Ethier - His numbers continue to be unimpressive (.272/12/52), but something should be said about his versatility in the outfield, especially with so many injuries to others. Still plays very solid defense.
Carl Crawford - Had his usual ups-and-downs as far as injuries go, limiting him to 116 games with some days of rest mixed in. Only had 15 stolen bases, but is still somewhat of a threat at the plate as he worked his way back from Tommy John.
Mark Ellis - His days as a starting second basemen could be over with the signing of Alexander Guerrero, but still sets a great example of how to play hard. Hit .270, but remains great on defense.
Ricky Nolasco - Started his Dodger tenure a house of fire... but oh, those last three starts. ERA shot up from 3.14 to 3.70, and probably cost himself more starts in the playoffs. But, went 7-0 in his first eight starts, which played a big role in the summer run.
Chris Withrow - The flamethrower hit the rookie wall towards the end, but still had a 2.60 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and 43 K's in 34 2/3 innings. A power arm to keep an eye on in middle relief.
A.J. Ellis - Turned himself into one of the final candidates for a Gold Glove, where he's valued most. Only hit .238, but his 52 RBIs included some big ones along the way.
Nick Punto - Gets upgraded because of his ability to play three infield positions (third, short, second), which was big because of the revolving door of injuries to everyone else.
Michael Young - Did a solid job by hitting .314, even though he was short on power. Plus, he appeared at all four infield positions.
C
Matt Kemp - Somehow played in 73 games, even though it seemed like much less. Once again his season was derailed by one injury after another, and you have to question if his body is too brittle to ever be a star player again. Never thought he'd have 6 homers and 33 RBIs for the whole season.
Scott Van Slyke - Never really took advantage of any sort of playing time he was given, hitting .240 with 7 homers and 19 RBIs in 53 games. Seemed like he should've made a bigger impact.
Skip Schumaker - Wasn't bad, but never really was the good pinch-hitter he was signed to be, hitting only .263 in 319 at-bats. At least he pitched two shutout innings, though!
Carlos Marmol - Definitely was better off in LA after a disastrous stint with the Cubs, and did have a solid 2.53 ERA. However, his 1.55 WHIP showed his control problems will never go away.
Stephen Fife - More injuries disrupted his season, but had four wins with a 3.86 ERA, so wasn't too bad.
D
Dee Gordon - Got passed over by Justin Sellers (Justin Sellers!) for shortstop when Ramirez was hurt to start the season, and proved again why he'll never be an everyday player with an awful .234 average.
Tim Federowicz - Maybe there's a reason A.J. appeared in so many games - this guy was pretty bad. Had nearly as many strikeouts (56) as total bases (57), and never gave Don Mattingly a reason to play him more.
Ronald Belisario - Mr. Inconsistency was just that - inconsistent. Is no longer a strikeout pitcher, and a 3.97 ERA and 1.47 WHIP showed how unreliable he is.
Chris Capuano - Speaking of inconsistent, there's him. One start he'd look good, the next start he'd get bombed en route to a 4.26 ERA and 1.41 WHIP. His best days are clearly behind.
Jerry Hairston - Left off the playoff roster because of a pitiful .211 average with no pop at all.
F
Brandon League - An absolute abomination as the closer. And to think, his numbers actually IMPROVED to a 5.30 ERA and 1.55 WHIP after being demoted. That says it all right there. A horrible deal by Ned Colletti.
Matt Magill - Failed to take any soft of advantage of spot starts, bombing his way to a 6.51 ERA and 1.99 WHIP.
Matt Guerrier - Earned his way to Chicago with a 4.80 ERA and 1.47 WHIP. Remember how he was signed to be the primary setup man? Yikes, that's a scary thought.
Peter Moylan - Pathetic numbers with a 6.46 ERA and 1.96 WHIP.
Ramon Hernandez - Was given 17 games to prove his worth. Well, he did by hitting .208, earning him a ticket out of town.
Justin Sellers - A horrendous choice to start the season at short, hitting .188. Ouch.
Luis Cruz - Had one of the biggest downfalls I can recall in recent memory. Had third base all to himself over Uribe, yet hit .127 in 45 games, and more than played his way to the waiver wire. Boy was he bad!
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Revisiting some postseason questions
Back on September 30, I took a look at five reasons the Dodgers could win the World Series, along with five reasons why they wouldn't (read my original report here).
Well... we obviously know they didn't, so let's take a look at each key point and break it down.
Reasons They Will
1. Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke as the 1-2 punch. Everything was working out quite nicely for this... and then Game 6 of the NLCS hit. And that's when Kershaw had his worst start of the season with seven runs in four innings. Even with that clunker, he had a 3.13 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in four October starts, striking out 28 in 23 innings.
Greinke was also solid, recording a 2.57 ERA and 0.76 WHIP in three starts. The only downside is that he twice surrendered a 2-0 lead to the Cardinals, and on the losing end against the Braves, though that was hardly his fault. He was signed to be the ace right behind Kershaw, and that's what he did.
All in all, these guys definitely provided the punch, but their offense did not give them the love they needed. They both went in the first couple of games in St. Louis, and both were loses because of virtually no run support. In other words, there wasn't a whole lot more they could do.
2. Hanley Ramirez is the best hitter around. Absolutely yes for the NLDS. No way for the NLCS.
The reason? It's simple - Joe Kelly beaning him in the ribs in Game 1 of the NLCS. Ramirez was already banged up enough from the season, but this is the injury that caused his average to tumble from .500 after the NLDS to .323 five games later (he sat out Game 2). What a shame, too, because the offense was never able to overcome his lack of production.
3. Yasiel Puig on the big stage. Of the regular starters, Puig's .333 led the team for the postseason. He was much better in the NLDS, as he had a hit in all four games, including multi-hits in three of them, all wins.
With that said, he was pushed back to the #5 spot right before the start of the postseason, and he only had two RBIs the entire way. Not exactly the type of production you'd want from a guy in that spot.
4. Brian Wilson and Kenley Jansen closing out games. Both men brought the goods, and both more than delivered. Wilson did not allow any runs in six appearances, and showed the world that he's ready to close again in 2014. Of course, staying on to be the top setup man would be nice as well!
Jansen only had one slip-up in Game 5 of the NLCS by allowing a couple of runs, but the Dodgers still won, so it didn't matter. He had a whopping 10 strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings, good for an incredible 20.77 K/9. He collected a couple of saves as well.
5. Road Warriors. The Dodgers played four games away from home, and only won one of them. They split in Atlanta before wrapping it up at home, and lost all three games in St. Louis. The injury to Ramirez was definitely a big reason why, but for a team that finished tied for tops in the Majors with 45 wins away from home, their play on the road in the postseason was a disappointment.
Reasons They Won't
1. No Matt Kemp. Absolutely this turned out to be a big issue. There were countless amounts of times the Dodgers had runners on, failed to drive them in, and I'd think about Kemp getting the job done. Not the beat up Kemp, the version that is feeling good and the ball is jumping off his bat. As we saw in the NLCS, a run here or there could've meant a World Series trip for the Dodgers. We'll never know.
2. Injury prone. Oh boy, did I call this or what? Everything was going quite smoothly until Kelly plunked Ramirez, and the Dodgers were never the same.
The numbers don't lie: in the NLDS they averaged 6.5 runs a game, and in the NLCS they averaged 2.2, including two shutouts. Of course, it's not like everybody was hurt, as guys like Andre Ethier and Juan Uribe did a big pile of nothing against the Cardinals. It sure seemed like a trickle down effect once Ramirez was clearly not the same.
3. Yasiel Puig on the big stage. I already pointed out his solid .333 postseason average. But, there were bumps along the way. He started off 0-for-10 with six strikeouts through two games of the NLCS. When he did start to hit, he infuriated the Cardinals with his antics on the bases in celebration. Then there was his bad overthrows in the Game 6 blowout.
Bottom line is that you have to take the good with the bad with him, and hope there's more good. There was a lot of good against the Braves, but not so much with a World Series berth on the line.
4. Streaky offense. Just look at my numbers from above about the runs averaged per round. When you get to the NLCS and fall over four runs shy per game than the previous round, all the pitching in the world probably won't get you the wins needed to advance. That's exactly what happened.
5. Ricky Nolasco fading. In 10 games, Nolasco only made one start, which was Game 4 of the NLCS. With the Dodgers trailing in the series 2-1, he lasted only four innings and gave up three runs, taking the loss. He wasn't awful, but certainly wasn't good either.
He was lined up to start Game 4 of the NLDS, but Mattingly went with Kershaw on three days' rest instead. That move ended up working, but who knows if Kershaw felt some long-term effects from that. Maybe he had a dead arm in the last start? Nobody knows for sure, and he's definitely not telling anyone if he was less than 100%. It's just a shame that after such a fantastic start, Nolasco faded so badly that the rotation in the playoffs was thrown a bit out of whack.
Well... we obviously know they didn't, so let's take a look at each key point and break it down.
Reasons They Will
1. Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke as the 1-2 punch. Everything was working out quite nicely for this... and then Game 6 of the NLCS hit. And that's when Kershaw had his worst start of the season with seven runs in four innings. Even with that clunker, he had a 3.13 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in four October starts, striking out 28 in 23 innings.
Greinke was also solid, recording a 2.57 ERA and 0.76 WHIP in three starts. The only downside is that he twice surrendered a 2-0 lead to the Cardinals, and on the losing end against the Braves, though that was hardly his fault. He was signed to be the ace right behind Kershaw, and that's what he did.
All in all, these guys definitely provided the punch, but their offense did not give them the love they needed. They both went in the first couple of games in St. Louis, and both were loses because of virtually no run support. In other words, there wasn't a whole lot more they could do.
2. Hanley Ramirez is the best hitter around. Absolutely yes for the NLDS. No way for the NLCS.
The reason? It's simple - Joe Kelly beaning him in the ribs in Game 1 of the NLCS. Ramirez was already banged up enough from the season, but this is the injury that caused his average to tumble from .500 after the NLDS to .323 five games later (he sat out Game 2). What a shame, too, because the offense was never able to overcome his lack of production.
3. Yasiel Puig on the big stage. Of the regular starters, Puig's .333 led the team for the postseason. He was much better in the NLDS, as he had a hit in all four games, including multi-hits in three of them, all wins.
With that said, he was pushed back to the #5 spot right before the start of the postseason, and he only had two RBIs the entire way. Not exactly the type of production you'd want from a guy in that spot.
4. Brian Wilson and Kenley Jansen closing out games. Both men brought the goods, and both more than delivered. Wilson did not allow any runs in six appearances, and showed the world that he's ready to close again in 2014. Of course, staying on to be the top setup man would be nice as well!
Jansen only had one slip-up in Game 5 of the NLCS by allowing a couple of runs, but the Dodgers still won, so it didn't matter. He had a whopping 10 strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings, good for an incredible 20.77 K/9. He collected a couple of saves as well.
5. Road Warriors. The Dodgers played four games away from home, and only won one of them. They split in Atlanta before wrapping it up at home, and lost all three games in St. Louis. The injury to Ramirez was definitely a big reason why, but for a team that finished tied for tops in the Majors with 45 wins away from home, their play on the road in the postseason was a disappointment.
Reasons They Won't
1. No Matt Kemp. Absolutely this turned out to be a big issue. There were countless amounts of times the Dodgers had runners on, failed to drive them in, and I'd think about Kemp getting the job done. Not the beat up Kemp, the version that is feeling good and the ball is jumping off his bat. As we saw in the NLCS, a run here or there could've meant a World Series trip for the Dodgers. We'll never know.
2. Injury prone. Oh boy, did I call this or what? Everything was going quite smoothly until Kelly plunked Ramirez, and the Dodgers were never the same.
The numbers don't lie: in the NLDS they averaged 6.5 runs a game, and in the NLCS they averaged 2.2, including two shutouts. Of course, it's not like everybody was hurt, as guys like Andre Ethier and Juan Uribe did a big pile of nothing against the Cardinals. It sure seemed like a trickle down effect once Ramirez was clearly not the same.
3. Yasiel Puig on the big stage. I already pointed out his solid .333 postseason average. But, there were bumps along the way. He started off 0-for-10 with six strikeouts through two games of the NLCS. When he did start to hit, he infuriated the Cardinals with his antics on the bases in celebration. Then there was his bad overthrows in the Game 6 blowout.
Bottom line is that you have to take the good with the bad with him, and hope there's more good. There was a lot of good against the Braves, but not so much with a World Series berth on the line.
4. Streaky offense. Just look at my numbers from above about the runs averaged per round. When you get to the NLCS and fall over four runs shy per game than the previous round, all the pitching in the world probably won't get you the wins needed to advance. That's exactly what happened.
5. Ricky Nolasco fading. In 10 games, Nolasco only made one start, which was Game 4 of the NLCS. With the Dodgers trailing in the series 2-1, he lasted only four innings and gave up three runs, taking the loss. He wasn't awful, but certainly wasn't good either.
He was lined up to start Game 4 of the NLDS, but Mattingly went with Kershaw on three days' rest instead. That move ended up working, but who knows if Kershaw felt some long-term effects from that. Maybe he had a dead arm in the last start? Nobody knows for sure, and he's definitely not telling anyone if he was less than 100%. It's just a shame that after such a fantastic start, Nolasco faded so badly that the rotation in the playoffs was thrown a bit out of whack.
According to agent, Mattingly will be back
Whether it be for one year or beyond, the agent for Don Mattingly, Ray Schulte, said his client will indeed be back for the 2014 season.
Now it's up to the Dodgers to decide if Donnie Baseball will get his wish and not be a "lame-duck" manager with a one-year contract.
This news is a bit surprising to me, as the joint press conference Mattingly held with Ned Colletti on Monday sure seemed to suggest that both sides would split. Maybe a couple of days off has led to cooler heads, so a solution should come soon.
The Dodgers have said that no decision will be announced until after that World Series. That may be because Bug Selig prefers to hold off on such announcements so the attention isn't shifted away from the Fall Classic. Remember when news leaked a few years ago that Alex Rodriguez was opting out of his Yankees' contract (only to sign that horrible 10-year deal with them soon after) during the Series? That was awful timing.
I'm hoping there's a good solution to this, as Mattingly deserves more time in LA after leading the Dodgers to an NL West title and a trip to the NLCS. Plus, he did it without Matt Kemp for much of the season, along with the long list of other injuries he's had to get through from stars like Hanley Ramirez and Zack Greinke.
Now it's up to the Dodgers to decide if Donnie Baseball will get his wish and not be a "lame-duck" manager with a one-year contract.
This news is a bit surprising to me, as the joint press conference Mattingly held with Ned Colletti on Monday sure seemed to suggest that both sides would split. Maybe a couple of days off has led to cooler heads, so a solution should come soon.
The Dodgers have said that no decision will be announced until after that World Series. That may be because Bug Selig prefers to hold off on such announcements so the attention isn't shifted away from the Fall Classic. Remember when news leaked a few years ago that Alex Rodriguez was opting out of his Yankees' contract (only to sign that horrible 10-year deal with them soon after) during the Series? That was awful timing.
I'm hoping there's a good solution to this, as Mattingly deserves more time in LA after leading the Dodgers to an NL West title and a trip to the NLCS. Plus, he did it without Matt Kemp for much of the season, along with the long list of other injuries he's had to get through from stars like Hanley Ramirez and Zack Greinke.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Puig and Ryu named to Baseball America's All-Rookie team
Congratulations goes out to Yasiel Puig and Hyun-Jin Ryu for being named to Baseball America's All-Rookie team on Tuesday. The only other teams with multiple players chosen were the Cardinals (Matt Adams, Shelby Miller, Trevor Rosenthal) and the Braves (Evan Gattis, Julio Teheran).
Puig joins Wil Myers and A.J. Pollack in the outfield. He was called up on June 3, and proceeded to hit .319 with 19 homers, 42 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases. There's no doubt that his style of play was a big factor in turning a dreadful Dodgers' season around, which lasted until Game 6 of the NLCS. Plus, his cannon arm in right field made runners think twice about advancing an extra base, no matter where they were.
In addition to the Cardinals and Braves pitchers, Ryu is joined by Garrit Cole and Jose Fernandez (who took home the site's Rookie of the Year award). His 192 innings were the most for any rookie. He finished the season 14-8 with a 3.00 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and 154 K's. Control and off speed pitchers were the key to his success, which proved to be a great change of pace from more powerful pitchers Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke.
The official Rookie of the Year award by the BBWAA will come on November 11. Do either Puig or Ryu have a chance of winning the top award? For quite awhile I would've said yes to Puig, but probably not anymore. It's a combination of Puig cooling off a bit towards the season's end, his not-so-great relationship with opposing players and the media, and Fernandez's scorching hot close to the season which most likely favors the Marlins' ace.
Puig joins Wil Myers and A.J. Pollack in the outfield. He was called up on June 3, and proceeded to hit .319 with 19 homers, 42 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases. There's no doubt that his style of play was a big factor in turning a dreadful Dodgers' season around, which lasted until Game 6 of the NLCS. Plus, his cannon arm in right field made runners think twice about advancing an extra base, no matter where they were.
In addition to the Cardinals and Braves pitchers, Ryu is joined by Garrit Cole and Jose Fernandez (who took home the site's Rookie of the Year award). His 192 innings were the most for any rookie. He finished the season 14-8 with a 3.00 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and 154 K's. Control and off speed pitchers were the key to his success, which proved to be a great change of pace from more powerful pitchers Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke.
The official Rookie of the Year award by the BBWAA will come on November 11. Do either Puig or Ryu have a chance of winning the top award? For quite awhile I would've said yes to Puig, but probably not anymore. It's a combination of Puig cooling off a bit towards the season's end, his not-so-great relationship with opposing players and the media, and Fernandez's scorching hot close to the season which most likely favors the Marlins' ace.
Monday, October 21, 2013
Doubts surround Mattingly's possible return
Judging by today's joint press conference with Ned Colletti and Don Mattingly, something seems pretty obvious: Mattingly will only return with a multi-year contract, and nothing less.
Will he get what he wants? The jury is still out on that.
In what was probably a surprise to most people, his 2014 option has already vested (or, became permanent) after beating the Braves in the NLDS. Even with that, it's not a slam dunk that Mattingly will use that to return on what is basically a one-year deal. In fact, that appears unlikely.
Mattingly contests that a one-year deal basically gives him the dreaded "lame-duck" status, something his old boss Joe Torre desperately tried to avoid in his Yankee days. It's understandable given the intricacies of running a big league clubhouse.
Still, given the tone of his delivery, I'm not at all convinced that this thing will get figured out. Even with a run that lasted until Game 6 of the NLCS, fair or not, Mattingly's decision making was a subject of scrutiny all season long. Will that be enough to chase him out the door? It could be.
Maybe all of this talk is just what both sides need to hear to clear the air, and Mattingly will ink another three or four-year contract this week. Maybe it's his final words in Dodger blue, and he'll take over a club like the Nationals or Tigers with the retirements of Davey Johnson and Jim Leyland, respectively. Maybe he'll be out of baseball for the 2014 season.
Colletti said this week will be spent evaluating Mattingly, the coaching staff, and player evaluations for next season. So, we should soon find out if Donnie Baseball is locked in with the Dodgers for the foreseeable future.
Will he get what he wants? The jury is still out on that.
In what was probably a surprise to most people, his 2014 option has already vested (or, became permanent) after beating the Braves in the NLDS. Even with that, it's not a slam dunk that Mattingly will use that to return on what is basically a one-year deal. In fact, that appears unlikely.
Mattingly contests that a one-year deal basically gives him the dreaded "lame-duck" status, something his old boss Joe Torre desperately tried to avoid in his Yankee days. It's understandable given the intricacies of running a big league clubhouse.
Still, given the tone of his delivery, I'm not at all convinced that this thing will get figured out. Even with a run that lasted until Game 6 of the NLCS, fair or not, Mattingly's decision making was a subject of scrutiny all season long. Will that be enough to chase him out the door? It could be.
Maybe all of this talk is just what both sides need to hear to clear the air, and Mattingly will ink another three or four-year contract this week. Maybe it's his final words in Dodger blue, and he'll take over a club like the Nationals or Tigers with the retirements of Davey Johnson and Jim Leyland, respectively. Maybe he'll be out of baseball for the 2014 season.
Colletti said this week will be spent evaluating Mattingly, the coaching staff, and player evaluations for next season. So, we should soon find out if Donnie Baseball is locked in with the Dodgers for the foreseeable future.
Dodgers continue international splash by signing Guerrero
Just three days after being ousted in the NLCS by the Cardinals, the Dodgers are already back to work in upgrading their club.
In what has been rumored for most of the season, the Dodgers officially signed Cuban infielder Alexander Guerrero to a four-year, $28 million deal today. Based on plate appearances, that total could get bumped up $1 million per season, topping out at $32 million.
While it's very early to project just how good of a player Guerrero will end up being, it looks like a good signing on a few different levels. For starters, as we saw in the NLCS, the Dodgers really need to find ways to improve their offense up and down the lineup. While a healthy Matt Kemp and Hanley Ramirez obviously make a big difference, the book on Guerrero is that he has plenty of power and speed on the bases. So, if he pans out, that's a huge plus.
It also means that the days of Mark Ellis being the full-time starter would appear to be over. I'm not saying that he has no value, because if you watch the amount of games that I do, you have to respect how hard he works in the field and at the plate. But, the bottom line is that in 126 games this season, he hit .270 with 6 homers, 48 RBIs, and 4 stolen bases, which are not exactly eye-popping numbers.
What Ellis did have was a great glove, as his .989 fielding % ranked eighth in all of baseball at second base. He only committed six errors all season in 533 total chances. And we all know that in the National League, having a great defense is big if you want to win, so while Guerrero has been described as having a good glove, he'll have to prove it.
The last reason this will probably turn out to be a good signing has to do with a guy not even on the Dodgers, and that's Robinson Cano. Magic Johnson alluded to not signing Cano towards the end of the season, but with management's reputation for throwing a whole lot of bucks at the big names, it was hard to believe the door was closed. Now I think the door might only be open a slight crack, if at all.
It's hard to blame Ned Colletti for being aggressive in the international market based on the success of Hyun-Jin Ryu and Yasiel Puig this season. Plus, we all know of the strong history of international players in Dodger history, from guys like Fernando Valenzuela, Hideo Nomo, and Chan Ho Park. It's worked before, and it can work again. Guerrero can make that happen.
Sunday, October 20, 2013
In the end, Dodgers never could overcome Ramirez getting plunked
Even though the Dodgers lasted until Game 6 of the NLCS, the turning point occurred in the third batter of Game 1.
That's when Hanley Ramirez was beaned in the ribs by a Joe Kelly fastball. Adrian Gonzalez and Yasiel Puig struck out after that, and the Dodgers never were the same.
From there, Ramirez was practically in a no-win situation. If he sits out, people question if his mere presence is enough for the Dodgers to boost their chances of winning. If he plays, he's so banged up that he's essentially a singles hitter in the #3 spot. In other words, he's another version of Andre Ethier.
The numbers for HanRam this season are very telling. Let's break it down between regular season, NLDS, and NLCS.
Regular Season
.345 AVG, .402 OBP, 25 2B, 2 3B, 20 HR, 57 RBI, 10 SB
NLDS
.500 AVG, .556 OBP, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 1 SB
NLCS
.133 AVG, .316 OBP, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB
No surprise there.
Ramirez has played the entire season with some sort of injury, including his thumb, hamstring, back, and then his ribs. The fact that he was still able to put up such great numbers shows the talent he has.
But a broken rib is a broken rib, and any athlete would have a hard time playing through that. Add in the fact that he's a baseball player, and his ribs feel the pain each time he swings a bat and makes a throw, I don't think his 2-for-15 performance against the Cardinals is shocking at all.
The beaning also affected him on defense, as he was clearly reluctant, and possibly not even able to, dive for some hard grounders in his area. Who knows if he would've gotten to them anyway, but the Cardinals were able to knock Clayton Kershaw out of Game 6 early because of those hits, so his lack of range on those didn't help.
It's not fair to pin the entire series loss on just Ramirez getting hit, as plenty of other guys didn't step up when they were needed the most. But as the saying goes, Ramirez was "the straw that stirred the drink," and without his production, everybody else suffered as a result. He couldn't hit like his normal self, and the Dodgers averaged 2.2 runs per game.
That's what ultimately did them in.
That's when Hanley Ramirez was beaned in the ribs by a Joe Kelly fastball. Adrian Gonzalez and Yasiel Puig struck out after that, and the Dodgers never were the same.
From there, Ramirez was practically in a no-win situation. If he sits out, people question if his mere presence is enough for the Dodgers to boost their chances of winning. If he plays, he's so banged up that he's essentially a singles hitter in the #3 spot. In other words, he's another version of Andre Ethier.
The numbers for HanRam this season are very telling. Let's break it down between regular season, NLDS, and NLCS.
Regular Season
.345 AVG, .402 OBP, 25 2B, 2 3B, 20 HR, 57 RBI, 10 SB
NLDS
.500 AVG, .556 OBP, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 1 SB
NLCS
.133 AVG, .316 OBP, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB
No surprise there.
Ramirez has played the entire season with some sort of injury, including his thumb, hamstring, back, and then his ribs. The fact that he was still able to put up such great numbers shows the talent he has.
But a broken rib is a broken rib, and any athlete would have a hard time playing through that. Add in the fact that he's a baseball player, and his ribs feel the pain each time he swings a bat and makes a throw, I don't think his 2-for-15 performance against the Cardinals is shocking at all.
The beaning also affected him on defense, as he was clearly reluctant, and possibly not even able to, dive for some hard grounders in his area. Who knows if he would've gotten to them anyway, but the Cardinals were able to knock Clayton Kershaw out of Game 6 early because of those hits, so his lack of range on those didn't help.
It's not fair to pin the entire series loss on just Ramirez getting hit, as plenty of other guys didn't step up when they were needed the most. But as the saying goes, Ramirez was "the straw that stirred the drink," and without his production, everybody else suffered as a result. He couldn't hit like his normal self, and the Dodgers averaged 2.2 runs per game.
That's what ultimately did them in.
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Dodgers rocked, season ends in blowout Game 6 loss
Clayton Kershaw on the mound. Hanley Ramirez a late addition to the lineup. Some momentum after winning Game 5 with four home runs a couple of days before.
None of it mattered.
The Cardinals scored four in the third and five in the fifth, and the Dodgers had two hits the entire game in getting absolutely creamed, 9-0. That's it for this season, as the Dodgers deepest run since 1988 ended with a 4-2 series loss.
A sign of bad things to come happened in the first. Carl Crawford legged out an infield single to short, but was quickly erased on a double play ball from Mark Ellis, who was pretty bad all around in this one. Kershaw gave up a one-out double to Carlos Beltran, but nothing came of it.
Kershaw again wiggled out of trouble in the second when Shane Robinson hit a two-out single, then went ahead to third on two straight wild pitches. Again, Kershaw got out of trouble by striking out Peter Kozma.
The third inning? No such luck. The season was essentially lost here, as the Cardinals sent 10 batters to the plate, a completely shocking sight against someone of Kershaw's caliber. A double by Matt Carpenter with two outs led to an RBI single from Beltran for the 1-0 lead.
What's probably forgotten is that Matt Holliday struck out to make two down. Six batters came to the plate afterwards, as Yadier Molina started it on an RBI single up the middle. Kershaw didn't get the outside corner on a full count to Matt Adams, as home plate umpire Greg Gibson was squeezing him for whatever reason. Oh, I know the reason... the game was in St. Louis. Robinson's two-run single with the bases loaded made it 4-0.
Chances were slim, but at least Crawford led off the fourth with a walk against the red hot Michael Wacha. Three straight popups came next, as the bats were just pitiful all night long.
In the fifth, Kershaw was KO'd. An RBI double from Adams is what finally did him in. Ronald Belisario came in, and with the bases loaded, Wacha's grounder to Ellis at second was inexplicably thrown home late, making it 6-0.
A sacrifice fly from Carpenter, a wild pitch by J.P. Howell, and a single by Beltran scored the other runs, as the Cardinals completely ran away with this one at 9-0.
The last hit of the game for the Dodgers came in the sixth, as A.J. Ellis doubled leading off. Shocker of shocks, he was stranded right there.
It's a shame this game turned out to be such a trainwreck, as it was obviously not a reflection for the type of season the Dodgers put together. They came such a long way from being in last place in June, had the 42-8 run, won the NL West, beat the Braves in the NLDS, then couldn't come through when most needed in the NLCS.
As you can see, there were many positives, but Game 6 was anything but that. Kershaw lasted only four innings for 10 hits, seven runs, two walks, and five strikeouts. He couldn't locate his fastball well, and they took advantage of it. What also didn't help was a small strike zone by Gibson, and even though that ultimately didn't matter because of the offense, it still affected him enough to throw him off his game. And that's the truth.
Two things that I knew had to happen if the Dodgers wanted to win coming into this game: the offense had to give some support, and Beltran couldn't do the damage. Um... no check and no check. Adrian Gonzalez, Ramirez, Andre Ethier, Yasiel Puig, and Juan Uribe combined to go 0-for-15 hitting in the 3-7 spots. Wow, I knew they were bad during the game, but it didn't hit me just how bad until I just looked at the box score.
A lot of Cardinals did damage, but it started with Beltran. He went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. That's something I'll never understand about this series, the way the Dodgers stubbornly gave him pitches to hit, and he certainly did. He's so good in the postseason, yet in the first and last game, he was so big in leading his team to wins. I'm still shaking my head.
Now the offseason is upon us, and with that, some question marks that come with it. Will Don Mattingly be brought back? Will Kershaw sign a massive extension? Will the front office bring in another star like Robinson Cano? Will recovering arms like Chad Billingsley and Josh Beckett be ready to go for next year? We will soon find out.
***
On a personal note, this has been my sixth year covering the action day in and day out on this blog. This season has been the most fun, and craziest for that matter, and I've enjoyed every second of it. Stay tuned for a season review, plus for all the news that comes in the Hot Stove season. Thanks again!
None of it mattered.
The Cardinals scored four in the third and five in the fifth, and the Dodgers had two hits the entire game in getting absolutely creamed, 9-0. That's it for this season, as the Dodgers deepest run since 1988 ended with a 4-2 series loss.
A sign of bad things to come happened in the first. Carl Crawford legged out an infield single to short, but was quickly erased on a double play ball from Mark Ellis, who was pretty bad all around in this one. Kershaw gave up a one-out double to Carlos Beltran, but nothing came of it.
Kershaw again wiggled out of trouble in the second when Shane Robinson hit a two-out single, then went ahead to third on two straight wild pitches. Again, Kershaw got out of trouble by striking out Peter Kozma.
The third inning? No such luck. The season was essentially lost here, as the Cardinals sent 10 batters to the plate, a completely shocking sight against someone of Kershaw's caliber. A double by Matt Carpenter with two outs led to an RBI single from Beltran for the 1-0 lead.
What's probably forgotten is that Matt Holliday struck out to make two down. Six batters came to the plate afterwards, as Yadier Molina started it on an RBI single up the middle. Kershaw didn't get the outside corner on a full count to Matt Adams, as home plate umpire Greg Gibson was squeezing him for whatever reason. Oh, I know the reason... the game was in St. Louis. Robinson's two-run single with the bases loaded made it 4-0.
Chances were slim, but at least Crawford led off the fourth with a walk against the red hot Michael Wacha. Three straight popups came next, as the bats were just pitiful all night long.
In the fifth, Kershaw was KO'd. An RBI double from Adams is what finally did him in. Ronald Belisario came in, and with the bases loaded, Wacha's grounder to Ellis at second was inexplicably thrown home late, making it 6-0.
A sacrifice fly from Carpenter, a wild pitch by J.P. Howell, and a single by Beltran scored the other runs, as the Cardinals completely ran away with this one at 9-0.
The last hit of the game for the Dodgers came in the sixth, as A.J. Ellis doubled leading off. Shocker of shocks, he was stranded right there.
It's a shame this game turned out to be such a trainwreck, as it was obviously not a reflection for the type of season the Dodgers put together. They came such a long way from being in last place in June, had the 42-8 run, won the NL West, beat the Braves in the NLDS, then couldn't come through when most needed in the NLCS.
As you can see, there were many positives, but Game 6 was anything but that. Kershaw lasted only four innings for 10 hits, seven runs, two walks, and five strikeouts. He couldn't locate his fastball well, and they took advantage of it. What also didn't help was a small strike zone by Gibson, and even though that ultimately didn't matter because of the offense, it still affected him enough to throw him off his game. And that's the truth.
Two things that I knew had to happen if the Dodgers wanted to win coming into this game: the offense had to give some support, and Beltran couldn't do the damage. Um... no check and no check. Adrian Gonzalez, Ramirez, Andre Ethier, Yasiel Puig, and Juan Uribe combined to go 0-for-15 hitting in the 3-7 spots. Wow, I knew they were bad during the game, but it didn't hit me just how bad until I just looked at the box score.
A lot of Cardinals did damage, but it started with Beltran. He went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. That's something I'll never understand about this series, the way the Dodgers stubbornly gave him pitches to hit, and he certainly did. He's so good in the postseason, yet in the first and last game, he was so big in leading his team to wins. I'm still shaking my head.
Now the offseason is upon us, and with that, some question marks that come with it. Will Don Mattingly be brought back? Will Kershaw sign a massive extension? Will the front office bring in another star like Robinson Cano? Will recovering arms like Chad Billingsley and Josh Beckett be ready to go for next year? We will soon find out.
***
On a personal note, this has been my sixth year covering the action day in and day out on this blog. This season has been the most fun, and craziest for that matter, and I've enjoyed every second of it. Stay tuned for a season review, plus for all the news that comes in the Hot Stove season. Thanks again!
Friday, October 18, 2013
Hanley Ramirez out for Game 6
A tough blow for the Dodgers - Hanley Ramirez will not be in the starting lineup for Game 6 in St. Louis. It'll be Nick Punto playing short instead and hitting eighth.
Ouch.
Nothing against Punto, but he obviously doesn't have nearly the impact bat that Ramirez has. I don't think anyone does. As we saw in the NLDS against the Braves, even a banged up Ramirez can carry a team, hitting .500. After getting beaned in the ribs in Game 1, he's just not the same player, hitting only .167. For once he's just not able to overcome all of the injuries.
Don Mattingly has set his lineup, and it'll feature Adrian Gonzalez hitting third, Yasiel Puig in the cleanup spot, and Andre Ethier hitting fifth. I like this move because Puig should hit in front of Ethier, as I stated on a post yesterday. If there's two outs in the ninth and the #4 spot up, I'd much rather see Puig than Ethier.
If you're Clayton Kershaw, you feel a lot more pressure to put up blanks now. He's definitely up to the task, but hopefully he doesn't have to be perfect to win. Tonight is a game where it would be great to see someone like Juan Uribe drive in runs to get to Saturday night.
One other factor that may help the Dodgers is the weather. As of now, there's possible rain in the forecast around 9 p.m. It'll also be in the 40s, so bundle up! A rainout will only help get Ramirez back in the lineup, so maybe Mother Nature will assist them a bit.
Ouch.
Nothing against Punto, but he obviously doesn't have nearly the impact bat that Ramirez has. I don't think anyone does. As we saw in the NLDS against the Braves, even a banged up Ramirez can carry a team, hitting .500. After getting beaned in the ribs in Game 1, he's just not the same player, hitting only .167. For once he's just not able to overcome all of the injuries.
Don Mattingly has set his lineup, and it'll feature Adrian Gonzalez hitting third, Yasiel Puig in the cleanup spot, and Andre Ethier hitting fifth. I like this move because Puig should hit in front of Ethier, as I stated on a post yesterday. If there's two outs in the ninth and the #4 spot up, I'd much rather see Puig than Ethier.
If you're Clayton Kershaw, you feel a lot more pressure to put up blanks now. He's definitely up to the task, but hopefully he doesn't have to be perfect to win. Tonight is a game where it would be great to see someone like Juan Uribe drive in runs to get to Saturday night.
One other factor that may help the Dodgers is the weather. As of now, there's possible rain in the forecast around 9 p.m. It'll also be in the 40s, so bundle up! A rainout will only help get Ramirez back in the lineup, so maybe Mother Nature will assist them a bit.
To win in St. Louis, Dodgers can't mess with Beltran
As we near the finish line in the NLCS, the Dodgers face a tall task in winning two straight in St. Louis. The first two games saw Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw pitch... and two straight loses. So, it's obviously not an easy thing to do.
What the Dodgers did do right, however, was win two of three at home, so here we are back in Missouri for Game 6. Kershaw takes the mound on Friday, and if all goes right, Hyun-Jin Ryu in Game 7.
How can the Dodgers pull this thing off? One thing if very clear: don't let Carlos Beltran do the damage.
Here's what people probably don't realize: Beltran is hitting only .200 this postseason, and a measly .176 against the Dodgers. So, he's basically been held in check.
But, it's hard to forget the Dodgers stubbornly pitching to him with bases open in Game 1. With two on and two out in third, he hit a two-run double off of Greinke. In the 13th with two on and one down, Kenley Jansen pitched to him and watched the game end on a single. Three RBIs for Beltran, 3-2 win for the Cardinals. Not exactly the smartest night in Dodger organizational history.
Since then he's only had one hit, an RBI triple in Game 5. What the Dodgers have smartly done is walk him instead of challenge him, with five in total. I don't care how good of a pitching staff they have, this guy is one of the best hitters in postseason history, and shouldn't be messed with.
With that in mind, Kershaw would be wise tonight to pick and choose his battles. If the bases are empty, go after him (at least somewhat). If runners are on and a base is open, don't give him anything to hit. There's no reason to risk leaving something over the plate to hammer, because he will. He's that good.
When the NLCS is all over with, win or lose, the Dodgers need to make sure they had the best gameplan they could to win. Pitching to a guy who's capable of carrying a team himself is not the way to get it done. Making the other guys around him get the big hits is.
What the Dodgers did do right, however, was win two of three at home, so here we are back in Missouri for Game 6. Kershaw takes the mound on Friday, and if all goes right, Hyun-Jin Ryu in Game 7.
How can the Dodgers pull this thing off? One thing if very clear: don't let Carlos Beltran do the damage.
Here's what people probably don't realize: Beltran is hitting only .200 this postseason, and a measly .176 against the Dodgers. So, he's basically been held in check.
But, it's hard to forget the Dodgers stubbornly pitching to him with bases open in Game 1. With two on and two out in third, he hit a two-run double off of Greinke. In the 13th with two on and one down, Kenley Jansen pitched to him and watched the game end on a single. Three RBIs for Beltran, 3-2 win for the Cardinals. Not exactly the smartest night in Dodger organizational history.
Since then he's only had one hit, an RBI triple in Game 5. What the Dodgers have smartly done is walk him instead of challenge him, with five in total. I don't care how good of a pitching staff they have, this guy is one of the best hitters in postseason history, and shouldn't be messed with.
With that in mind, Kershaw would be wise tonight to pick and choose his battles. If the bases are empty, go after him (at least somewhat). If runners are on and a base is open, don't give him anything to hit. There's no reason to risk leaving something over the plate to hammer, because he will. He's that good.
When the NLCS is all over with, win or lose, the Dodgers need to make sure they had the best gameplan they could to win. Pitching to a guy who's capable of carrying a team himself is not the way to get it done. Making the other guys around him get the big hits is.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
For Game 6, Mattingly should swap Puig and Ethier
As the Dodgers get ready for Game 6 in St. Louis, Don Mattingly stated today that he fully expects Andre Ethier and Hanley Ramirez to be in the lineup. There's more confidence in Ethier than there is in Ramirez, and understandably so considering everything hurts for Ramirez right now. But, with a couple of days off between the last pitch of Game 5 and the first pitch of Game 6, hopefully he'll be in better shape.
With that said, if I was Mattingly, I would make one lineup adjustment: hit Yasiel Puig in the #5 spot, swapping spots with Ethier, who would move to #6.
There's a few reasons for this. One, Ethier is 3-for-17 in this series (.176 AVG). I don't care if the Cardinals have right-handed Michael Wacha as the starter, Mattingly can't keep overvaluing what side of the mound the pitcher delivers from. Right now Ethier is a singles hitter and nothing more. It doesn't matter if the pitcher is right of left-handed, he's still pretty bad.
The second reason ties into the first one, in that Puig is a much better option to drive in runs from the middle of the order. He was as bad as they came in the first two games, but after putting up an 0-for-10 spot, he's since gone 5-for-9 with a triple and two RBIs. Give him a chance to get an extra-base hit against a really good pitcher.
The last reason has to do with Ramirez. The last two games he's had to leave early because of his fractured ribs, to go along with various other ailments. He even missed all of Game 2. Say he needs to leave early in Game 6 as well and Nick Punto has to take his spot in the #3 hole. Then say the Dodgers are down by at least one in the ninth. Whom would you rather have up with two outs: Puig or Ethier? I don't care how many strikeouts Puig gets, one swing from him can make a heck of a lot more difference than Ethier.
Mattingly has used basically the same lineup during both rounds in the playoffs, with the only real difference where Puig has hit. As the Tigers and Red Sox have shown, making some changes can be a positive thing. Make the heart of the order Ramirez, Adrian Gonzalez, and Puig, and that strikes much more fear in the Cardinals than Ethier hitting behind A-Gon.
With that said, if I was Mattingly, I would make one lineup adjustment: hit Yasiel Puig in the #5 spot, swapping spots with Ethier, who would move to #6.
There's a few reasons for this. One, Ethier is 3-for-17 in this series (.176 AVG). I don't care if the Cardinals have right-handed Michael Wacha as the starter, Mattingly can't keep overvaluing what side of the mound the pitcher delivers from. Right now Ethier is a singles hitter and nothing more. It doesn't matter if the pitcher is right of left-handed, he's still pretty bad.
The second reason ties into the first one, in that Puig is a much better option to drive in runs from the middle of the order. He was as bad as they came in the first two games, but after putting up an 0-for-10 spot, he's since gone 5-for-9 with a triple and two RBIs. Give him a chance to get an extra-base hit against a really good pitcher.
The last reason has to do with Ramirez. The last two games he's had to leave early because of his fractured ribs, to go along with various other ailments. He even missed all of Game 2. Say he needs to leave early in Game 6 as well and Nick Punto has to take his spot in the #3 hole. Then say the Dodgers are down by at least one in the ninth. Whom would you rather have up with two outs: Puig or Ethier? I don't care how many strikeouts Puig gets, one swing from him can make a heck of a lot more difference than Ethier.
Mattingly has used basically the same lineup during both rounds in the playoffs, with the only real difference where Puig has hit. As the Tigers and Red Sox have shown, making some changes can be a positive thing. Make the heart of the order Ramirez, Adrian Gonzalez, and Puig, and that strikes much more fear in the Cardinals than Ethier hitting behind A-Gon.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
A-Gon powers Dodgers to deepest run since '88
The old mantra "One game at a time" never rang so true than for these Dodgers. Needing to win three straight games to fight off elimination, they put their best foot forward on Wednesday afternoon. The result was an offense that found a spark, and a trip back to the Midwest.
Powered by two homers from Adrian Gonzalez, plus solo shots from Carl Crawford and A.J. Ellis, the Dodgers took down the Cardinals, 6-4. The Cardinals are still in control of these series at 3-2, as the setting will shift back to Busch Stadium.
Both teams have been plagued by poor hitting throughout the series, but more so for the Dodgers, who seemed to make failing in the clutch a new hobby. In Game 4, they hit into three double plays and had a guy picked off of second in the late innings. Not exactly the recipe for how to win in the postseason.
What the Dodgers have been able to count on has been their pitching, but right away, Zack Greinke found himself in a whole lot of trouble. Matt Carpenter led off with a single, Carlos Beltran walked, and Matt Holliday singled to load the bases with nobody out.
How did Greinke respond? Beautifully. He struck out Matt Adams swinging, then got Yadier Molina to ground to Juan Uribe at third, who turned the easy 5-3 double play. As announcer Ron Darling correctly pointed out, sometimes pitchers provide a spark by striking out the side, but this time it was by wiggling out of a bases loaded, nobody out jam.
The offense went down in order in the first, but got going in the second. It started on a single by Adrian Gonzalez, who was awesome on both sides of the field. Andre Ethier flew out (no surprise there), but Yasiel Puig's single to right put two on. Uribe's RBI single up the middle made it 1-0.
After A.J. Ellis fouled out, Greinke pulled the old "help himself out" thing by sneaking an RBI single to left, and it was 2-0.
If you found the score and situation to be eerily similar to Game 1, then you would be right, because it was. Just like the first game, Greinke came right back to the mound with a 2-0 lead and faced Joe Kelly. Unlike last time, Kelly grounded back to the mound, and Greinke was ready to put up a zero, right?
Wrong. Four straight hits came next, and it started on another single by Carpenter. Beltran smacked an RBI triple off the very top of the centerfield wall, making it 2-1. Then came the second run on a double by Holliday, and it was a new game. Thankfully Molina grounded into another double play to end the threat.
When this happened in Game 1, the Dodgers failed to score the entire rest of the night, which went 13 innings. This time, Gonzalez made sure to erase the bad memory of a double play grounded into by Hanley Ramirez, as A-Gon's 450-foot monster shot to right made it 3-2.
From there, simply put, Greinke was fantastic. He retired the side in the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh. Add it all up, and he put down the final 13 batters he faced for a final line of seven innings, six hits, two runs, one walk, and four strikeouts. In three postseason starts, his ERA is a healthy 2.40.
The Dodgers kept adding to their lead with the longball. Yes, really! Crawford demolished one into right in the fifth to go up 4-2. In the seventh, it was Ellis's turn, hitting one out to left to make it 5-2. And just for fun, Gonzo hit one more in the seventh to give Kenley Jansen a 6-2 lead.
Jansen's ninth was interesting, to say the least. I wouldn't say the Cardinals pounded him, but little hits here and there made the home crowd much more nervous than they thought it would. And the guy typing this!
It all started on a double by Holliday, who had a good day with three hits and two doubles. Adams made it 6-3 on an RBI single. As good as Holliday was, Molina was not, as he struck out for one down, putting him at two K's and two DP's on a dreadful day at the plate. Jon Jay singled, but David Freese struck out on some high cheese.
When light hitting Peter Kozma came up, it looked like game over. Only it wasn't. He hit an RBI single, and it was 6-4. At this point Jansen had already given up more hits in one inning than he did all season (four), but everyone exhaled when he struck out Adron Chambers to end the game.
Guess what? Jansen still struck out the side, giving him 10 in 4 1/3 playoff innings.
So here the Dodgers find themselves on their longest run since that famous 1988 championship season. They've made the NLCS a couple of other times, but lost in five games to the Phillies in both 2008 and 2009. At least they got over the dreaded Game 5 hump. You have to start somewhere.
What's working for the Dodgers is that they get a day off to rest Ramirez, who left again in the seventh for Nick Punto. Actually, because of the day game on the West Coast, it'll end up being just over two full days off, which can only help him get back on track after injuries have slowed him down to .167 in the NLCS.
Oh ya, there's that Clayton Kershaw guy getting the ball in Game 6 as well. It's hard not to be excited about their chances, even on the road.
The pressure is still on the Dodgers, as they're the ones in a do-or-die situation on Friday. But suppose they get the win, then what? Definitely, the pressure shifts to the home team, as the Cardinals would be looking at two straight years of blowing 3-1 series leads. No team has ever done that in MLB history...
...or in the NBA or NHL as well.
Powered by two homers from Adrian Gonzalez, plus solo shots from Carl Crawford and A.J. Ellis, the Dodgers took down the Cardinals, 6-4. The Cardinals are still in control of these series at 3-2, as the setting will shift back to Busch Stadium.
Both teams have been plagued by poor hitting throughout the series, but more so for the Dodgers, who seemed to make failing in the clutch a new hobby. In Game 4, they hit into three double plays and had a guy picked off of second in the late innings. Not exactly the recipe for how to win in the postseason.
What the Dodgers have been able to count on has been their pitching, but right away, Zack Greinke found himself in a whole lot of trouble. Matt Carpenter led off with a single, Carlos Beltran walked, and Matt Holliday singled to load the bases with nobody out.
How did Greinke respond? Beautifully. He struck out Matt Adams swinging, then got Yadier Molina to ground to Juan Uribe at third, who turned the easy 5-3 double play. As announcer Ron Darling correctly pointed out, sometimes pitchers provide a spark by striking out the side, but this time it was by wiggling out of a bases loaded, nobody out jam.
The offense went down in order in the first, but got going in the second. It started on a single by Adrian Gonzalez, who was awesome on both sides of the field. Andre Ethier flew out (no surprise there), but Yasiel Puig's single to right put two on. Uribe's RBI single up the middle made it 1-0.
After A.J. Ellis fouled out, Greinke pulled the old "help himself out" thing by sneaking an RBI single to left, and it was 2-0.
If you found the score and situation to be eerily similar to Game 1, then you would be right, because it was. Just like the first game, Greinke came right back to the mound with a 2-0 lead and faced Joe Kelly. Unlike last time, Kelly grounded back to the mound, and Greinke was ready to put up a zero, right?
Wrong. Four straight hits came next, and it started on another single by Carpenter. Beltran smacked an RBI triple off the very top of the centerfield wall, making it 2-1. Then came the second run on a double by Holliday, and it was a new game. Thankfully Molina grounded into another double play to end the threat.
When this happened in Game 1, the Dodgers failed to score the entire rest of the night, which went 13 innings. This time, Gonzalez made sure to erase the bad memory of a double play grounded into by Hanley Ramirez, as A-Gon's 450-foot monster shot to right made it 3-2.
From there, simply put, Greinke was fantastic. He retired the side in the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh. Add it all up, and he put down the final 13 batters he faced for a final line of seven innings, six hits, two runs, one walk, and four strikeouts. In three postseason starts, his ERA is a healthy 2.40.
The Dodgers kept adding to their lead with the longball. Yes, really! Crawford demolished one into right in the fifth to go up 4-2. In the seventh, it was Ellis's turn, hitting one out to left to make it 5-2. And just for fun, Gonzo hit one more in the seventh to give Kenley Jansen a 6-2 lead.
Jansen's ninth was interesting, to say the least. I wouldn't say the Cardinals pounded him, but little hits here and there made the home crowd much more nervous than they thought it would. And the guy typing this!
It all started on a double by Holliday, who had a good day with three hits and two doubles. Adams made it 6-3 on an RBI single. As good as Holliday was, Molina was not, as he struck out for one down, putting him at two K's and two DP's on a dreadful day at the plate. Jon Jay singled, but David Freese struck out on some high cheese.
When light hitting Peter Kozma came up, it looked like game over. Only it wasn't. He hit an RBI single, and it was 6-4. At this point Jansen had already given up more hits in one inning than he did all season (four), but everyone exhaled when he struck out Adron Chambers to end the game.
Guess what? Jansen still struck out the side, giving him 10 in 4 1/3 playoff innings.
So here the Dodgers find themselves on their longest run since that famous 1988 championship season. They've made the NLCS a couple of other times, but lost in five games to the Phillies in both 2008 and 2009. At least they got over the dreaded Game 5 hump. You have to start somewhere.
What's working for the Dodgers is that they get a day off to rest Ramirez, who left again in the seventh for Nick Punto. Actually, because of the day game on the West Coast, it'll end up being just over two full days off, which can only help him get back on track after injuries have slowed him down to .167 in the NLCS.
Oh ya, there's that Clayton Kershaw guy getting the ball in Game 6 as well. It's hard not to be excited about their chances, even on the road.
The pressure is still on the Dodgers, as they're the ones in a do-or-die situation on Friday. But suppose they get the win, then what? Definitely, the pressure shifts to the home team, as the Cardinals would be looking at two straight years of blowing 3-1 series leads. No team has ever done that in MLB history...
...or in the NBA or NHL as well.
Dodgers a step behind in falling to 3-1 hole
On a night where the Dodgers celebrated the 25-year anniversary of Kirk Gibson's dramatic home run in the 1988 World Series, and where they grabbed back momentum from a big 3-0 win the previous night, they were looking to even up the NLCS.
Then they went out and laid an egg.
One miscue after another was too much for the Dodgers to overcome, and a mammoth 423-foot two-run shot by Matt Holliday put the Cardinals in control for an eventual win, 4-2. The Cardinals are up 3-1 in this series, with the Dodgers getting one last game at home on Wednesday afternoon with Game 1 starters Zack Greinke and Joe Kelly taking the hill.
If the Dodgers were looking for a positive sign from Ricky Nolasco, then they got it with a great first inning including two popups in foul territory and a grounder to first. Then he got through the second with only a walk and a couple strikeouts. Too bad this positivity didn't last.
The start of the frustration for the Dodgers began in the second, when they couldn't capitalize with the bases loaded. Andre Ethier singled, Yasiel Puig walked (yes, walked), and A.J. Ellis walked with two outs. The problem was that this meant Nolasco was up next, and Lance Lynn easily struck him out.
Sure enough, the Cardinals made the Dodgers pay in the third. Daniel Descalsco singled leading off, and Lynn sacrificed him over to second on a great bunt. The ice cold Matt Carpenter hit an RBI double to left center for the 1-0 lead. Carlos Beltran grounded out for two down.
Had Nolasco kept the deficit at only one run, then things would've been fine. But, Holliday took a flat inside fastball and just unloaded on a two-run bomb to left, going up 3-0. You had a feeling that that could be a dagger.
The only time the Dodgers managed to get runners not only on but in was in the fourth. It started when Adrian "Mickey Mouse" Gonzalez doubled to right. Ethier then walked, which set up an RBI single up the middle from Puig to make it 3-1. Juan Uribe flied out to deep right, which advanced Ethier to third, and Ellis's RBI single made it 3-2.
Don Mattingly then called upon Skip Schumaker to hit for Nolasco in the big spot, even this early in the game. It didn't work. Schumaker bounced into an easy double play to end the inning. Looking back, having Nolasco lay down the sacrifice bunt would've been better, or maybe calling on Scott Van Slyke to swing for the fences and at least getting a sacrifice fly.
Chris Withrow pitched the fifth and sixth, and the bottom line is that he didn't give up a run. It wasn't pretty, as he had three walks and a balk. Even Ellis got nailed for catcher's interference. A double play from David Freese ended the sixth.
The double play ball struck again in the sixth, as Uribe grounded into one to the end inning, wasting Puig's one-out single.
The most unlikely sight took place in the seventh, as the Cardinals added a solo home from Shane Robinson on a ball that bounced off the top of the wall in left and into the crowd. How unlikely was it? Robinson has five home runs in 342 career at-bats, and then this happened. Unbelievable.
Nick Punto took over for a clearly hurting Hanley Ramirez to start the seventh, and in his first at-bat, doubled with an out in the bottom of the inning. That was great, right? Well, it was until he was picked off of second in a truly pitiful sight. It wasn't even close.
Nothing happened for the Dodgers in the eighth, but Ethier greeted closer Trevor Rosenthal with a single in the ninth. Puig came up next, already looking like a new man after a disastrous first two games. Here, though, he hit into... you guessed it, a double freakin' play. Uribe struck out to end it.
There are quite a few ways the Dodgers could've at least tied the game, but time and time again, they came up short. Nolasco was a bit of a mixed bag, as he certainly wasn't awful, but not very good either. He lasted four innings for three hits, three runs, one walk, and four strikeouts.
The middle relief only gave up one run in five innings, even if it was a bumpy ride along the way. J.P. Howell was the one who gave up the homer to the weak-hitting Robinson, not that it mattered in the end since the Cardinals had enough of a lead anyway. Carlos Marmol saw his first playoff action by getting five outs and only allowing one walk, striking out three.
So while the pitching ranged from decent to good, the offense was terrible again. They simply are not doing what it takes to win games at this level. They gathered eight hits, which is actually two more than the Cardinals. But, they grounded into three double plays, which were just killer. Schumaker's and Uribe's both ended innings, and Puig's came in the ninth.
What's even more interesting is that the Cardinals are hitting .148 this series, yet are in full control. The Dodgers aren't much better at .223, so it's safe to say both teams have been pretty bad at the plate. Yet, when the big play has to be made, there's the Cardinals executing, and the Dodgers not.
All the Dodgers can now ask for is to win three straight games, which they're certainly capable of doing. If Mattingly was given the choice of lining up his three best pitchers for a situation like this, he would definitely choose Greinke, Clayton Kershaw, and Hyun-Jin Ryu. That's who we'll see as they desperately try to stay alive.
A win on Wednesday would also start to put some doubt in the Cardinals' heads about blowing a 3-1 lead to the Giants last year. But if that's ever going to happen, the offense has got to score more than the 1.8 runs they've averaged through four games. If they can't support their pitchers, then the season will be over.
Then they went out and laid an egg.
One miscue after another was too much for the Dodgers to overcome, and a mammoth 423-foot two-run shot by Matt Holliday put the Cardinals in control for an eventual win, 4-2. The Cardinals are up 3-1 in this series, with the Dodgers getting one last game at home on Wednesday afternoon with Game 1 starters Zack Greinke and Joe Kelly taking the hill.
If the Dodgers were looking for a positive sign from Ricky Nolasco, then they got it with a great first inning including two popups in foul territory and a grounder to first. Then he got through the second with only a walk and a couple strikeouts. Too bad this positivity didn't last.
The start of the frustration for the Dodgers began in the second, when they couldn't capitalize with the bases loaded. Andre Ethier singled, Yasiel Puig walked (yes, walked), and A.J. Ellis walked with two outs. The problem was that this meant Nolasco was up next, and Lance Lynn easily struck him out.
Sure enough, the Cardinals made the Dodgers pay in the third. Daniel Descalsco singled leading off, and Lynn sacrificed him over to second on a great bunt. The ice cold Matt Carpenter hit an RBI double to left center for the 1-0 lead. Carlos Beltran grounded out for two down.
Had Nolasco kept the deficit at only one run, then things would've been fine. But, Holliday took a flat inside fastball and just unloaded on a two-run bomb to left, going up 3-0. You had a feeling that that could be a dagger.
The only time the Dodgers managed to get runners not only on but in was in the fourth. It started when Adrian "Mickey Mouse" Gonzalez doubled to right. Ethier then walked, which set up an RBI single up the middle from Puig to make it 3-1. Juan Uribe flied out to deep right, which advanced Ethier to third, and Ellis's RBI single made it 3-2.
Don Mattingly then called upon Skip Schumaker to hit for Nolasco in the big spot, even this early in the game. It didn't work. Schumaker bounced into an easy double play to end the inning. Looking back, having Nolasco lay down the sacrifice bunt would've been better, or maybe calling on Scott Van Slyke to swing for the fences and at least getting a sacrifice fly.
Chris Withrow pitched the fifth and sixth, and the bottom line is that he didn't give up a run. It wasn't pretty, as he had three walks and a balk. Even Ellis got nailed for catcher's interference. A double play from David Freese ended the sixth.
The double play ball struck again in the sixth, as Uribe grounded into one to the end inning, wasting Puig's one-out single.
The most unlikely sight took place in the seventh, as the Cardinals added a solo home from Shane Robinson on a ball that bounced off the top of the wall in left and into the crowd. How unlikely was it? Robinson has five home runs in 342 career at-bats, and then this happened. Unbelievable.
Nick Punto took over for a clearly hurting Hanley Ramirez to start the seventh, and in his first at-bat, doubled with an out in the bottom of the inning. That was great, right? Well, it was until he was picked off of second in a truly pitiful sight. It wasn't even close.
Nothing happened for the Dodgers in the eighth, but Ethier greeted closer Trevor Rosenthal with a single in the ninth. Puig came up next, already looking like a new man after a disastrous first two games. Here, though, he hit into... you guessed it, a double freakin' play. Uribe struck out to end it.
There are quite a few ways the Dodgers could've at least tied the game, but time and time again, they came up short. Nolasco was a bit of a mixed bag, as he certainly wasn't awful, but not very good either. He lasted four innings for three hits, three runs, one walk, and four strikeouts.
The middle relief only gave up one run in five innings, even if it was a bumpy ride along the way. J.P. Howell was the one who gave up the homer to the weak-hitting Robinson, not that it mattered in the end since the Cardinals had enough of a lead anyway. Carlos Marmol saw his first playoff action by getting five outs and only allowing one walk, striking out three.
So while the pitching ranged from decent to good, the offense was terrible again. They simply are not doing what it takes to win games at this level. They gathered eight hits, which is actually two more than the Cardinals. But, they grounded into three double plays, which were just killer. Schumaker's and Uribe's both ended innings, and Puig's came in the ninth.
What's even more interesting is that the Cardinals are hitting .148 this series, yet are in full control. The Dodgers aren't much better at .223, so it's safe to say both teams have been pretty bad at the plate. Yet, when the big play has to be made, there's the Cardinals executing, and the Dodgers not.
All the Dodgers can now ask for is to win three straight games, which they're certainly capable of doing. If Mattingly was given the choice of lining up his three best pitchers for a situation like this, he would definitely choose Greinke, Clayton Kershaw, and Hyun-Jin Ryu. That's who we'll see as they desperately try to stay alive.
A win on Wednesday would also start to put some doubt in the Cardinals' heads about blowing a 3-1 lead to the Giants last year. But if that's ever going to happen, the offense has got to score more than the 1.8 runs they've averaged through four games. If they can't support their pitchers, then the season will be over.
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