Postgame – Page 16 – Dodger Thoughts

The end unjustifies the means

On October 7, 2014

By Jon Weisman

From 1989-1994, the Dodgers didn’t play in a playoff game.

From 1997-2007, the Dodgers played in four postseason series, but didn’t come close to winning any of them, losing 12 of 13 games.

It was the next year that the numbness turned to pain. After sweeps in the 2008 and 2009 National League Division Series, the Dodgers entered two winnable National League Championship Series, but gave up gut-stabbing doubles and homers that led to their demise.

Last year came the slow torture of not being able to score when the pitching was superb, leaving no room to absorb an unexpected Clayton Kershaw beating in the sixth and final NLCS game.

This year, in the NLDS, I don’t even know what to say. Never have I seen four consecutive games with backbreaking home runs after the sixth inning. I could not even imagine it.

When singles in the seventh inning by Matt Holliday and Jhonny Peralta each eluded Dee Gordon and Hanley Ramirez by inches, I still couldn’t believe it.

When Matt Adams came up as the winning run, with Kershaw on the ropes, I wouldn’t believe it.

And when Kershaw let go of that pitch, and that curveball hung in the air like a child’s balloon waiting to be cruelly punctured, I shouted “No!”

No.

I truly believe this team deserved better.

It kills me that Kershaw will be scarlet-lettered for a postseason performance in which he tried to put the team on his back and held them up so high for so long.

That the most well-balanced offense the Dodgers have had in years would lose three games by one run and the other by two.

That a manager I respect, who isn’t perfect but who rarely gets enough credit for what he does well, couldn’t even luck into having one of many impossible decisions with the pitching staff end right.

Most of all, it kills me that fans who have been so passionate have been forced to wait another year for relief and release.

What might have been.

Thanks to everyone who has read Dodger Insider this year. We’ll be back Wednesday to kick off the offseason.

Dodgers must return from infinity and beyond

By Jon Weisman

On October 6, 2014

In Postgame, Postseason

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By Jon Weisman

Right now, it feels like it’s the uniform. I’m not sure Mariano Rivera wouldn’t give up a home run coming out of the Dodger bullpen right now.

I don’t really believe slumps are contagious, but right now, Dodger relievers are spreading illness like a certain disease the world is beginning to reckon with. Even by the most negative appraisal of their performance in the regular season, the bullpen has been unreal in how fast it has allowed critical runs this postseason.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a91WQYj0TXI&w=550&h=309]

In all three games of the National League Division Series, the bullpen has given up a homer before getting an out. That’s not normal, for anyone.

Tonight, in the seventh inning of Game 3, Scott Elbert used three pitches against his first three batters. Yadier Molina doubled on the first. John Jay sacrificed on the second. And Kolten Wong, while not exactly auditioning for the role of Ozzie Smith, hit his fourth career home run off a left-handed pitcher, putting St. Louis ahead to stay in a 3-1 victory.

I find my comfort in how ridiculous this has all been. Dodger relievers have allowed six runs on three home runs in 4 1/3 innings, a 12.47 ERA and 6.5 homers per nine innings which, I don’t think I’m wrong to say, is atypical. It’s not unlike Yasiel Puig’s stunning streak of seven straight strikeouts, followed by his booming triple to right that helped tie the game for the Dodgers in the sixth. Players performing at their worst don’t figure to stay at their worst.

Matt Kemp, grinder

By Jon Weisman

On October 4, 2014

In Postgame, Postseason

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By Jon Weisman

This was big. It was loud in here tonight. We continue to grind.

I just continue to grind. This is where I want to be. Last year, it was tough, battling the injuries, but I came back strong, I kept grinding, my teammates were behind me, my family was behind me, we kept grinding and here we are now.

This was big right here. On this stage, in the playoffs, this was a must win for us, we needed this. Gonna continue to grind, go to St. Louis and get two more wins.

We told each other when J.P gave up that home run, we’re gonna back him up. We were gonna find a way to win this game. That’s what good teams do. We back each other up when we make mistakes. We just keep on going.

— Matt Kemp

Skyfall

By Jon Weisman

On October 3, 2014

In Postgame, Postseason

By Jon Weisman

The sky, like the game, didn’t know what color to be.

An afternoon that had been so bright and so cathartic turned into a night so humbling, so fast.

Retiring 16 batters in a row between solo home runs in the first and sixth innings, Clayton Kershaw was painting poetry. And the Dodger offense, put on edge again by another plunking by a St. Louis pitcher, responded gloriously, reaching base 13 of the 26 times they came to the plate against Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright, struggling from the first inning to his fifth and last, to build a 6-2 lead in Game 1 of the National League Division Series.

A.J. Ellis with hit after hit after hit, including a two-run home run. Matt Kemp with three hits. Yasiel Puig on base four times. Carl Crawford, Hanley Ramirez busting through with two hits apiece.

Then day turned into night, and blue turned into black.

From 1988 to 2014: 94 wins — is it magic?

By Jon Weisman

On September 28, 2014

In History, Postgame

Now let’s get ready for @Dodgers Playoff Baseball!

— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) September 28, 2014

With home runs by Matt Kemp, Adrian Gonzalez and Roger Bernadina, the 2014 Los Angeles Dodgers ended their regular season with their 94th victory, defeating the Rockies, 10-5.

The last year the Dodgers won 94 games: 1988.

— Jon Weisman

Turner bout is fair play: Utility sensation helps Dodgers clinch tie for division title

By Jon Weisman

On September 23, 2014

In Postgame

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By Jon Weisman

The past two nights, I couldn’t pre-write.

Normally, if I’m writing about a game or even just some aspect of a game, I’ll get it going in the middle innings. But in these games against the Giants, I was so sure the angle would keep switching that I couldn’t do it. And with Monday’s life-on-the-edge game, that anxiety was validated.

Then came tonight:

In the first inning, Zack Greinke shut out the Giants, and Justin Turner homered.
In the eighth inning, Zack Greinke shut out the Giants, and Justin Turner homered.

The Dodgers took the lead early, extended it late, and lo and behold, they clinched a tie for the National League West title tonight with a 4-2 victory over San Francisco.

The victory and share of the division comes with Clayton Kershaw taking the mound in his final start of the regular season Wednesday. That’s how soon the Dodgers can claim the NL West outright.

Against all reality, Turner’s dream season continues to get dreamier. His two home runs tonight matched his season totals in 2012 and again in 2013 for the New York Mets, who made Turner a castoff left unsigned by every Major League team until a week before his reporting date to Camelback Ranch. He now has a .397 on-base percentage and .482 slugging percentage in 315 plate appearances.

“Going around those bases, I was floating,” Turner said of his second homer to SportsNet LA’s Alanna Rizzo. “It was a good feeling, and the guys in here were beating the crap out of me and bubbles were flying everywhere. It was a good time.”

So many runs, so little time: Division title in sight for high-scoring Dodgers

By Jon Weisman

On September 21, 2014

In Postgame

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By Jon Weisman

Is this what life is like as a Colorado Rockies fan?

The average score of the 10 games on the Dodgers’ last regular-season roadtrip of 2014 was 7-6.

Despite beginning their travels with a shutout loss at San Francisco, the Dodgers scored 75 runs in the 10 games, averaging an ungodly 8.3 runs per game over their past nine, culminating in today’s 8-5 victory at Chicago.

The Dodgers, who reduced their magic number for clinching the National League West to four, went 6-4 on the trip and ended up gaining ground over the 10 games on San Francisco, which trailed San Diego, 1-0 3-0 5-0, in the sixth inning today.

If the Giants can’t rally, the Dodgers could clinch a tie for the NL West title as soon as Monday.

Dodger pitching allowed 62 runs on the trip and struggled almost the entire past week. In today’s game, Jamey Wright and Carlos Frias combined to allow four runs in their five innings, before some stability was brought in by a largely marginalized source: Chris Perez retired all four batters he faced and was rewarded with his first victory of 2014. Perez has pitched seven innings in September and allowed no runs on two hits while walking four and striking out nine with a 0.00 ERA.

Paco Rodriguez followed by retiring both batters he faced to bridge the Dodgers to Pedro Baez (who allowed a solo home run) and Kenley Jansen, who allowed a walk and a double but then set down the Cubs’ No. 2-4 hitters.

But again, the Dodger bats carried the day. Matt Kemp went 4 for 5 with four RBI and his 15th home run since the All-Star Break — that’s one every four games. Yasiel Puig went 2 for 5 with four runs and managed to avoid breaking his ankle on an aborted slide into second base midgame.

Starting pitching becomes startling pitching

By Jon Weisman

On September 17, 2014

In History, Pitching, Postgame

By Jon Weisman

Ten games to go. Ten games to find starting pitchers for.

That’s the puzzle I imagine most Dodger fans are trying to solve after Carlos Frias managed the near unthinkable – a game score of 0 – in today’s 16-2 loss at Colorado.

In allowing eight runs on 10 hits in two-thirds of an inning, Frias produced the lowest game score by a Dodger starting pitcher in 28 years, since Jerry Reuss allowed nine earned runs and 15 baserunners in four innings against the Phillies. Frias also recorded the fewest outs by any Major League starting pitcher who allowed at least 10 hits since at least 1901.

And Frias might have been lucky to get those two outs. One was an inexplicable caught stealing on a 2-0 pitch after the first five Rockies had combined for three singles, a double and a home run, the other an equally inexplicable squeeze bunt attempt when the team was 7 for 7 off Frias.

Asked to mop up, Kevin Correia fared well only by comparison, allowing five earned runs on seven hits and a walk in three innings without a strikeout.

The Dodgers have allowed at least 10 runs in three of their past six games, a disturbing ratio to be sure, though I would argue that in defeat, it doesn’t matter whether you lose by one run or 10.

Milwaukee lost its game to St. Louis tonight, lowering the Dodgers’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot to four. But San Francisco cut the Dodgers’ National League West lead to two games by scoring two in the ninth to defeat Arizona, and with the divisional magic number at 9, it’s natural to wonder how the Dodgers will play out the final 10 games of the season.

Well, that was unusual

By Jon Weisman

On September 16, 2014

In History, Postgame

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By Jon Weisman

Tonight wasn’t the Dodgers night — it was a 10-4 over-and-out night — but it wasn’t for lack of baseunners. The National League’s No. 1 team with runners in scoring position had three hits but 11 outs, stranding 10 runners and wasting most of their 16 hits, including three by Justin Turner and Yasiel Puig’s first home run since July 31.

That was more than unfortunate — that was very rare.

The last two times the Dodgers had at least 16 hits without scoring more than four runs, the games went more than 20 innings: their 1-0 victory in 22 innings at Montreal on August 23, 1989 and their 21-inning victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field that took two days to complete, August 17-18, 1982.

Before that was a 14-inning victory over Pittsburgh on September 1, 1981, a 15-inning win over St. Louis on July 20, 1973, a memorable 19-inning, 7-3 loss to the Mets on May 24, 1973 (Willie Davis went 6 for 9) and a 12-inning loss to the Astros on April 10, 1973.

You get my drift? Before tonight, the last nine-inning game in which the Dodgers had at least 16 hits and at most four runs was June 20, 1970, when they lost at Cincinnati, 5-4. Nine Dodgers had hits and five had multiple hits, led by Wes Parker with three. They even went 4 for 13 with runners in scoring position and, like tonight, had a ninth-inning home run. But it wasn’t enough.

My philosophy: It’s better to have had baserunners and lost than never to have had baserunners at all.

It’s another wild night for the Dodger offense

By Jon Weisman

On September 15, 2014

In Health/injuries, Postgame

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By Jon Weisman

For the second time in three nights, the Dodgers showed off some bench-clearing brawn.

An eight-run sixth inning, the Dodgers’ biggest single-frame scoring outburst of the season, allowed the Dodgers to rest their starters again in what became an 11-3 victory at Colorado.

With 32 runs in their past three games, Los Angeles reduced its magic number for clinching a National League playoff spot to five and the NL West title to 10 – and stood to whittle off another digit with San Francisco losing to Arizona in the eighth inning, 6-2. Washington remained a half-game ahead of the Dodgers, who have won eight of their past 10 games, for the best record in the NL.

Justin Turner’s pinch-hit, two-run double with somewhere between two and four runners on base broke a 3-3 tie, and the Dodgers poured it on thereafter.

The NL’s best-hitting team with runners in scoring position finished the game 8 for 18 in those situations.

Matt Kemp got the Dodgers on the board in the first inning with a two-run home run. Juan Uribe had three hits, while Dee Gordon, Yasiel Puig, Adrian Gonzalez and Hanley Ramirez each had two. Carl Crawford became the second Dodger in three nights to be hit by two pitches.

In 30 days of June, the #Dodgers hit 13 home runs. In 15 days of September, the Dodgers have 17 home runs.

— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) September 16, 2014

Gonzalez leapfrogged injured Miami outfielder Giancarlo Stanton to take the NL lead in RBI. Gonzalez would be the third Los Angeles Dodger to lead the NL in RBI, after Tommy Davis (1962) and Matt Kemp (2011).

A big moment in the game might be forgotten in the short term but could be meaningful in the long. Paco Rodriguez pitched in his first game since August 3, relieving Roberto Hernandez with the bases loaded and two out, and induced an inning-ending groundout.

Earlier Monday, the Dodgers confirmed following an MRI that Hyun-Jin Ryu would miss his next start, but they are optimistic he’ll be ready to go for any playoff games. Ken Gurnick of MLB.com has more.

Romper room: Dodgers are the answer men with 17-0 rout

By Jon Weisman

On September 13, 2014

In History, Offense, Postgame

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By Jon Weisman

Tonight’s combination of Augustus Gloop, Mr. Creosote, Charles Bronson and Ed Grimley is brought to you by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In a dish of revenge as cold and overflowing as a jammed frozen yogurt machine, the Dodgers avenged Friday’s 9-0 loss to the Giants with a record-shattering 17-0 victory over San Francisco.

The Dodgers scored the most runs ever by an opponent at San Francisco’s AT&T Park and shattered the record for the biggest shutout in the history of the Dodgers-Giants series — by either team. Los Angeles came within two of its franchise record for largest shutout victory, a 19-0 defeat of the Padres on June 28, 1969.

For the Dodgers, their biggest shutout ever of the Giants was 12-0 on April 19, 1940. For the Giants, it was 16-0 over the Dodgers on July 3, 1949. Tonight’s game also happened to come 40 years and one day after an 11-0 Dodger victory at Candlestick Park.

The last time San Francisco lost, 17-0, the winning points came on November 19, 1950 on a George Blanda field goal.

The Dodgers scored four runs apiece in the first and second innings to knock out Giants starter Tim Hudson before he recorded his fourth out, the shortest start of his career, an event eerily similar to Hyun-Jin Ryu’s the night before. In their first two trips through the lineup, the Dodgers were 11 for 16 with a walk, a sacrifice fly and four doubles — two by Matt Kemp, who had three hits and three RBI in the first three innings, while also throwing out Angel Pagan at the plate (mid-bubble!) in the first inning to stop the Giants’ most significant scoring threat.

And that’s where the difference from Friday was. As bad as the San Francisco rout was, the Dodgers nearly doubled it, like a sudden shift in a backgammon game.

Yasiel Puig, who ignited the Dodgers with the first hit of the game, stretching an apparent single into a leg double (pictured), had three hits and was hit by a pitch. Hanley Ramirez had three singles and a double. Juan Uribe had a single and a home run. Dee Gordon had two singles and his 60th stolen base of the season while becoming the first player in Los Angeles Dodger history to record seven at-bats in a nine-inning game.

And Zack Greinke was more than the beneficiary. In addition to six shutout innings on 84 pitches, Greinke walked, doubled off the top of the wall and hit his fourth career home run, his first as a Dodger.

Don’t expect Greinke (.204/.271/.352) to catch Madison Bumgarner (.242/.273/.419) in the Silver Slugger race, but he made up a chunk of ground tonight. Greinke is 5 for 10 with a walk and a .900 slugging percentage in his past five games.

Off the bench, Scott Van Slyke hit the Dodgers’ other home run, Alex Guerrero played left field and got his first Major League hit, and Roger Bernadina became the third Dodger to be hit by two pitches in his only two plate appearances of the game.

With 24 hits, the Dodgers were one away from the Los Angeles record for a nine-inning game. The Dodgers went 11 for 19 with runners in scoring position.

Oh — and not to be forgotten, Scott Elbert pitched a shutout inning in his first Major League game in 25 months. So very happy for him.

I know there are bigger fish to fry, but the #Dodgers magic number to clinch a playoff spot is down to 7.

— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) September 14, 2014

The More You Know …

The educational moment from tonight’s game is that while they don’t often come back from an in-game deficit, you can hardly do better after a defeat than the Dodgers. Tonight, the Dodgers improved their record to 43-21 after a loss.

It’s not as dramatic as coming back in a game, but it’s more meaningful.

… The More You Know

The Dodgers won, life (and Kershaw) is good …

By Jon Weisman

On September 8, 2014

In Postgame

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… so how could we not show the above video.

The Dodgers had made two errors in their previous 91 innings before making three on that one play in the sixth inning tonight.

— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) September 9, 2014

Needing only 89 pitches in eight innings, Clayton Kershaw allowed one earned run in addition to these two unearned runs, lowering his ERA to 1.68 while boosting his strikeout count by eight to 210 in the Dodgers’ 9-4 victory over San Diego tonight. Hanley Ramirez went 4 for 5 with two run-scoring hits, while Carl Crawford had two singles and a three-run home run.

Los Angeles leads the National League West by 3 1/2 games with 18 to play.

– Jon Weisman

Gone Guys: Gonzalez, Dodgers blast their way to victory

By Jon Weisman

On September 7, 2014

In History, Postgame

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By Jon Weisman

For the first five innings, the Dodgers were being no-hit. Before the next two innings were over, Oliver Perez was throwing at Andre Ethier (one might have concluded) because the Dodgers were hitting too many home runs.

There were three homers in all, two of them three-run blasts in back-to-back innings by Adrian Gonzalez, who became the first Dodger since Eric Karros in 1993 to hit two trifecta round-trippers. (Cody Ross, a Dodger opponent today, had a three-run home run and a grand slam for Los Angeles in 2006, in his final start with the team).

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Fortunes change, don’t ya know? It’s all about piling up more good than bad. And that is what the Dodgers have done in 2014.

Saturday, I interviewed Dodger general manager Ned Colletti for the print edition of Dodger Insider, and I asked him if there had been a defining moment for the 2014 Dodgers. He didn’t immediately see one, acknowledging at least so far that this year, the team was more methodical than dramatic. That lack of drama has come to be considered a strike against the Dodgers, as if the pennant race were a beauty contest rather than a measurement of which team has the most victories at the end of season.

Today, the Dodgers moved 19 games about .500, tied with Washington for the best in the National League.

But those insisting on an observable spark certainly have to like what they saw from the Dodgers this afternoon, when, after waiting until the sixth inning to gather kindling, they lit a fire. Dee Gordon broke up Trevor Cahill’s no-hitter with a one-out double, Hanley Ramirez walked, and Gonzalez absolutely smashed a ball over the fence in to dead center.

Though this won’t qualify as a late-inning clutch hit, it was a huge one, and comes a day after Gordon’s tiebreaking RBI single in the bottom of the eighth Saturday. Yes, Virginia, this team does come through.

An inning later, it was the same trio. Perez walked Gordon, then Ramirez reached base on an error by shortstop Cliff Pennington. Gonzalez hit his third home run of the past 21 hours and second homer of the year off a lefty, giving him his seventh 100-RBI season of his career and matching his 2013 total as a Dodger. And then for good measure, Matt Kemp hit his 19th of the year. (This article seems timely.)

Perez then smacked Ethier in the back (making him the Dodgers’ all-time leader in HBPs with 53), and when umpire Laz Diaz warned both benches, that didn’t sit well with Don Mattingly and Monday’s starting pitcher, Clayton Kershaw, both of whom were ejected. Thankfully, Kershaw isn’t pitching against Arizona again this year, which saves us the worry about him retaliating and getting thrown out himself.

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Since August 29, San Francisco has won six of its past eight games. If the Giants don’t win tonight in Detroit, they’ll have gained no ground on the Dodgers in that stretch.

Dodgers get some runs in their stalking of Nationals

By Jon Weisman

On September 2, 2014

In Defense, Postgame

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By Jon Weisman

Throwing out Matt Kemp at home in the bottom of the fourth inning emboldened the Washington Nationals, who then threw on wings of wax too close to the sun.

The Dodgers broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth with some beyond-daring baserunning, then added a two-run Juan Uribe homer in the sixth to give Clayton Kershaw more than enough support for a 4-1 victory Wednesday.

After Kershaw singled to start the inning, he dared to go from first to third on Dee Gordon’s single to center fielder Bryce Harper. Harper’s throw was offline, which led third baseman Asdrubal Cabrera to try to nail Gordon at second base, a fool’s errand if there ever was one.

One out later, with runners then on second and third, Adrian Gonzalez grounded to the hole at short. Ian Desmond bobbled it as Kershaw crossed the plate, then nearly pierced the sky with a wild throw home that freed Gordon to score.

It was weird, wild stuff, man.

Kershaw, who became the only Dodger besides Sandy Koufax to reach the 200-strikeout mark for five consecutive seasons (Koufax did it for six, from 1961-66), once again managed the near-impossible, lowering his already ant-high ERA, from 1.73 to 1.70. He gave up a second-inning single and walks in the first and third innings, before retiring 12 in a row until Bryce Harper hit a two-out homer just before the seventh inning stretch.

The Dodger Insider cover boy allowed one more hit before leaving after eight innings with eight strikeouts, throwing 108 pitches.

Dodgers’ fourtitude in 12th isn’t enough

By Jon Weisman

On August 30, 2014

In Health/injuries, Postgame

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By Jon Weisman

The radical, four-on-the-floor finish to one of the crazier 3-2 games you’ll see might not soon be forgotten. Then again it might, if these kinds of extreme defensive shifts become more commonplace.

Two things strike me about this moment of the Dodgers placing four fielders between first and second base:

How close it came to working to perfection. Even with Dee Gordon’s throw bouncing home, the Dodgers missed the inning-ending double play by a hair.
Because Andre Ethier was still officially a center fielder at this point even though he was stationed at first (with Adrian Gonzalez to his right), we just missed seeing a 4-2-8 double play.

Gordon had some rough times in Friday’s loss to the Padres, going 0 for 6 with a throwing error, though he hit a monster fly ball with one on in the fifth that deserved to be a go-ahead home run (inside or outside the park), only for Rymer Liriano to flag it at the top of the fence.

Actually, the lingering sensation from Friday’s game might center on Hanley Ramirez, who came within a triple of the cycle even though he injured himself again, this time slipping on a wet base – and then getting called out via replay on his attempt to make it back to first. Ramirez, who hit an even more monstrous fly ball in the eighth to actually tie the game, looked Pedro Guerreroesque circling the bases (fans of a certain age will recall Guerrero hurting his back on a home run swing and barely making it around the diamond).

The Dodgers have had a welcome week’s worth of good news on the injury front, but that’s now in jeopardy.

Dodger Thoughts

Jon Weisman's outlet for dealing psychologically with the Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball and life

Category: Postgame (Page 16 of 21)

The end unjustifies the means

Dodgers must return from infinity and beyond

Matt Kemp, grinder

Skyfall

From 1988 to 2014: 94 wins — is it magic?

Turner bout is fair play: Utility sensation helps Dodgers clinch tie for division title

So many runs, so little time: Division title in sight for high-scoring Dodgers

Starting pitching becomes startling pitching

Well, that was unusual

It’s another wild night for the Dodger offense

Romper room: Dodgers are the answer men with 17-0 rout

The Dodgers won, life (and Kershaw) is good …

Gone Guys: Gonzalez, Dodgers blast their way to victory

Dodgers get some runs in their stalking of Nationals

Dodgers’ fourtitude in 12th isn’t enough

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