Dodger Thoughts

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

Yankees, miscues bury Dodgers, 6-4

Well, they could have won.

That’s the positive to take away from the Dodgers’ 6-4 loss to the New York Yankees in today’s doubleheader lidlifter. And if that positive sounds a little Little League, well, the shoe kinda fits.

Los Angeles actually scored four runs, and Hyun-Jin Ryu allowed three. But as you know by now, there’s going to be more to the story.

There was Andre Ethier’s line-drive 1-5 double play with runners on second and third and none out in the fourth inning. That would be the 2013 Dodger season in a nutshell, if that nutshell didn’t also need to account for someone ripping a tendon and a bullpen meltdown.

In the seventh inning, J.P. Howell and Ronald Belisario cooperated with the latter, which featured a double non-play – a bobble and a throwaway — that gave Los Angeles four errors on the day and helped the Yankees go from a 3-2 lead to 6-2.

Yasiel Puig and Hanley Ramirez did their best to help the Dodgers overcome their foibles. Puig was a very loud 2 for 5. He hit a grounder up the middle in the first inning for a single but was caught trying to stretch it into a double — a boneheaded running play except for the fact that he almost made it. In the sixth inning, he hit a thunderbolt up the middle that brought Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano to the ground before the out was completed at first.

And in the eighth, Puig legged a double and then, in a rare feat, actually scored on someone else’s RBI. Ramirez’s fourth straight hit was a home run to left field that would have been quite the thrill if the previous inning hadn’t put the Dodgers down by four.

Back-to-back walks by Ethier and Juan Uribe put the tying runs on base with one out, but Skip Schumaker (who, mind you, had two errors in the game) popped out, and A.J. Ellis grounded out.

The two walks did help guarantee that Puig would bat in the ninth inning for the Dodgers … against Mariano Rivera. That happened with the bases empty and two out, and after taking two balls and swinging at two strikes, Puig froze on a called strike three down the middle from Rivera to end the game.

Puig remains an astonishing 25 for 53 this season.

Hiroki Kuroda went 6 2/3 innings for the Yankees, allowing two runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out two.

Dodgers at Yankees, 4:05 p.m.

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Rare dominant victory for Dodgers, 6-0

89 Comments

  1. Anonymous

    Re the first paragraph, the Dodgers have often resembled a Little League team this year . . . but followers of LL teams have much more fun, I’m sure!

    • Anonymous

      Yes. I may need to drastically downgrade my expectations, so I can start having fun.

      • Anonymous

        Ditto that.
        At 11 games under .500, that’s the big goal of the season for me — “the rarefied air of .500” as Vinny described it in an equally pathetic year gone by.
        Meanwhile, enjoying Kershaw and Puig . . .

  2. Adam Luther

    Puig is playing a game that no else is playing right now. No way am I go to tell this guy to not take chances. Most exciting player to come along in a long, long, time.

  3. This shouldn’t surprise you, but with eight total bases, Hanley Ramirez had the greatest game for a #dodgers DH ever. http://www.baseball-reference.com/play-index/share.cgi?id=1alUo

    • Anonymous

      I am only surpised because I didn’t realize there was such a category! ;-)

      • Anonymous

        I don’t recall us ever having fantastic candidates during interleague games

        • Anonymous

          2 12-time All Stars on the list

          • Anonymous

            True, scrolling down the list I was thinking of players like Mark Loretta and Mark Sweeney

  4. Anonymous

    “Well, they could of won”, this is exactly how I watch these days.

  5. KT

    Gonzo!

  6. KT

    Hanley! 2-0

  7. Anonymous

    “The Dodgers just got four straight hits!”
    “Did they score a run?”

  8. KT

    Los Angeles Dodgers ‏@Dodgers 4m

    Upon telling Vin he is already trending in the United States, “Wow! Hot diggity dog. Well, Puig just bunted for a base hit.” -#VinScully

  9. KT

    JH Jr.!

  10. KT

    oh well you knew it couldn’t last

  11. KT

    Jon Weisman ‏@jonweisman 1m

    Deadline reporting that James Gandolfini has died.

  12. James Gandolfini has died.

  13. KT

    Well two out of my 3 jersey’s arrived today…still waiting on my Puig jersey which is supposed to come tomorrow in plenty of time for Saturday’s game at Petco

  14. KT

    Gonzo!!

  15. KT

    DRE!!!

  16. Anonymous

    Anyone else getting tired of the hand motions they make back at the dugout after getting a hit? We’re 11 under 500. Why the showboating?

    • Anonymous

      It’s not showboating since they do it for themselves not for an audience. All teams do it even Miami.
      Btw I think it’s silly but I also think your post is silly

      • Anonymous

        IDK what you would call it if not showboating, but define it how you want to. The point is this team is losing too much to be making any noise about a double here or there, whether or not the marlins or any other teams do it. It is silly, today notwithstanding.

        • Anonymous

          I call it supporting each other. All MLB teams do it.
          How can it be showboating if both teams do it and would do it if there was no audience?

          • Anonymous

            The guy who gets the hit makes the motion/sign. Who is supporting who in this scenario? If it were only coming from the dugout out to the field, I’d agree with you. I don’t get where the no audience take comes into this – it’s the opposing pitcher who gets shown up as much as anyone, forget the crowd.

            I understand what you’re saying, and I understand everyone is doing it. That doesn’t make it any easier to watch when you’re team isn’t winning games.

  17. Anonymous

    Not a bad start!

  18. KT

    DRE with the throw!!

  19. KT

    Los Angeles Dodgers ‏@Dodgers 21s

    I think Andre Ethier has done a really good job in Center Field. Especially for someone who has played Right Field for years. -#VinScully

  20. Anonymous

    Good recovery

  21. Anonymous

    Time to add to the lead

  22. KT

    Just checked my Puig jersey arrived in Vernon this morning…it will be here in SD tomorrow afternoon

    • Anonymous

      Why do I assume that everything that goes through Vernon has some kickback involved?

      • KT

        That where the rails bring in the trailers from the east coast for UPS

  23. Anonymous

    Wasn’t in the nose, was it? :)

  24. KT

    PUIG!!…now that he’s in scoring position drive him in Hanley

  25. KT

    Nice Hanley!

  26. Anonymous

    Nice, first pitch, no waiting, no delay, excellent

  27. Anonymous

    and that’s how you score when, like us, the long ball doesn’t come regularly

  28. KT

    Hanley still running a little rough

  29. Anonymous

    The Dodgers are presently at 100 straight games without scoring 10 in a game. Could this be the end of that streak?

    Probably not.

  30. Anonymous

    Should have Eithier done a ‘better attempt than Cano’ or was he right to stay. I’m always suspicious when the description says ‘singles to deep………….’

    • KT

      short porch…if the throw went into second he would have been out…the throw came into 1st but Dre didn’t know that was going to happen….good decision

  31. KT

    Fed has been atrocious with the bat tonight

  32. KT

    Nice job Cappy!!

  33. KT

    More Runs!!

  34. Anonymous

    Lee and Magill both pitched badly today.

  35. Anonymous

    Puig has the highest batting average in major league history of any player with at least 50 career at bats. He is currently at .473 with 26 hits in 55 at bats. The old mark was held by Terry Forster, yes, that is correct, who had 31 hits in 78 career at bats for a .397 average. If this was reported previously, I missed it.

    • Anonymous

      Dodgers gave him 14 PA during 5 seasons

      • Anonymous

        Interesting. With our good hitting teams of those years, I guess Tommy didn’t consider him as a pinch-hitter. In 86 career plate appearances, Forster struck out only 9 times.

        • Anonymous

          It’s tough to use a reliever as a pinch hitter because you may need him for something he’s actually good at.

          • The Dodgers also had both Mota and Davalillo for most of the same years they had Forster on the staff; who needs a pitcher pinch-hitting when you’ve got those two guys?

          • Anonymous

            Yes and no. Forster was with the club 1978-1982. Mota was with the team 1969-1980, but had only 7 ABs in 1980. He reappeared at the plate again in 1982 for 1 AB. Davallilo was with the Dodgers 1977-1980, but he was used sparingly in 1980.

          • Anonymous

            Good point.

  36. KT

    Nice play Cappy

  37. Anonymous

    Good day from Cap.

  38. KT

    PUIG!!!!

  39. Anonymous

    Oh my.

  40. KT

    Los Angeles Dodgers ‏@Dodgers 1m

    Yasiel Puig has got a bunt single, a stolen base, and a home run. He is unbelievable. His talent is absolutely breathtaking. -#VinScully

    • Anonymous

      To have Vin Scully say someone’s talent is breathtaking is breathtaking in and of itself.

  41. KT

    Talking about all the people who own Puig jerseys…fastest moving jersey in Dodger history

  42. Anonymous

    Even League looks good.

  43. KT

    Ball Game!!

  44. Anonymous

    Now that looked like a team!

  45. Anonymous

    Ethier absolutely charming in the post-game interview. He seems to genuinely like Yasiel.

  46. KT

    Have a good day/night everyone

  47. Anonymous

    Looks like I chose the wrong game for which to be unavailable.
    Glad for the split . . . wondering — like soo many other times this season — how easily things could’ve been better/

    But like mentioned in the exchange with RBI earlier, gotta take the good things whenever/wherever we can.

    Silver Lining Dept: if it had to be a split, I’m glad Kuroda got the win.

    • Anonymous

      If it had to be a split, I’m glad more people saw the second one, too.

  48. Anonymous

    Well, we scored ten runs today.

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