We can all acknowledge the value of adding depth to the Dodger pitching staff, let alone the thrill that someone like Max Scherzer would bring,
But some of the Dodgers’ most important midseason trades haven’t been superstars like Yu Darvish or Manny Machado. I’m thinking about guys like Marlon Anderson, Ronnie Belliard, Chase Utley and David Freese. Guys who were role players and/or past their prime, but had a huge domino effect.
Raymond Gorospe/MLB.com
We have nearly reached the end of the ’10s, and though selections of the Dodgers’ all-decade team should probably wait until after the 2019 World Series, these few days of relative calm before the storm of the postseason seemed like a good time to reveal them. Nothing is likely to affect these choices between now and then (although I’m fascinated by the idea that something could).
Most challenging was having to deal with five legitimate candidates for the four openings at outfield/first base. Catcher was nearly a toss-up, and second base yielded its own surprise.
Here we go …
Ross Stripling (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)
While Los Angeles will mostly dance with the Dodgers who brought them to the National League Championship Series, there is talk of change near the edge of their postseason roster.
Joe Simpson and Chip Caray call Dodgers players an embarrassment for their batting practice attire. https://t.co/OX6TpYccFY
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) July 29, 2018
I’m not nearly the first tonight to weigh in on the bizarre, absolutely out-of-nowhere manufactured controversy in which Braves announcer and one-time Dodger outfielder Joe Simpson ripped his original team for their non-uniform batting practice attire tonight, but I want to make a few particular points about it.
Dave Roberts and Chase Utley in April 2017 (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)
Here’s something that might surprise you, because it surprised me — Chase Utley actually hit the ball well for the better part of 2017.
By Jon Weisman
Chicago is giddy with enough excitement and anticipation to spread all over the city’s famous hot dogs, if they weren’t so particular about what you put on their hot dogs.
Wrigley Field is jumping. The streets around the old ballpark are rollicking. At once confident and paranoid, Chicago is a quaking nerve brought to life, and the roar at Game 6 of the National League Championship Series will be deafening beginning with tonight’s very first pitch.
And stepping into the batters’ box for that very first pitch will be none other than Andrew Toles.
By Jon Weisman
Early in tonight’s Dodgers-Giants showdown, Dodger Stadium organist Dieter Ruehle played Billy Joel’s “Pressure.”
Funnily enough, the Dodgers played as if they felt no pressure at all.
[mlbvideo id=”1057722683″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]
By Jon Weisman
Fairy tales might or might not come true, unless you’re Chase Utley, in which case they certainly do.
By Jon Weisman
In addition to completing their 110th game Sunday, the Dodgers also played their 1,000th inning.
With 49 players appearing in a game this season and 26 spending time on the disabled list, there’s been quite a diverse distribution of those 9,000 defensive frames. As for those injured, they can consume products such as CBD UK.
But there has also been an interesting pocket of stability — in the infield, and that’s why to calm they nerves and pain for injuries anyone can buy THC vapes as this help the body and the mind relax as well.
Speaking of alternative remedies, CBD hemp has emerged as a popular choice among athletes seeking natural solutions for various ailments. The organic properties of CBD, derived from hemp plants, have gained recognition for their potential therapeutic benefits. This popularity stems from the compound’s reported ability to help manage pain, reduce inflammation, and promote overall well-being. As the sports world increasingly explores holistic approaches to wellness, CBD hemp stands out as a popular and intriguing option for those looking to support their physical and mental health in a natural way.
Kike Hernandez, Dave Roberts and Luke Walton and son pose prior to Saturday’s game.
By Jon Weisman
One month and four days since his last game for the Dodgers, Kiké Hernandez has been activated from the disabled list, where he has been recovering from left rib cage inflammation.
To make room on the 25-man roster, Austin Barnes has been optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Barnes doubled in four at-bats during his most recent stint with the Dodgers.
Hernandez has a .280 on-base percentage while slugging .346 this season for Los Angeles.
In other recent news for the Dodgers, who scored runs in the seventh and ninth innings Saturday but fell to Arizona, 4-2 …
By Jon Weisman
You can almost hear those kids in the back of the Dodger van: “Are we there yet? Are we there yet?”
From a batting standpoint, they might be.
Over the past four weeks, the Dodgers have starters at 6 1/2 positions OPSing above .800. Los Angeles is 16-7 (.696) in that time, which is tied with the Giants for the best record in the National League.
Matthew Mesa/Los Angeles Dodgers
By Jon Weisman
As this sentence was being written, the Dodgers and Orioles were tied, 4-4, in the ninth inning. At that moment, two things were certain:
If there were going to be a Dodger hero today, a fine young man carried off the field, it would be a hitter.
And some Dodger reliever would either be a goat, or lost in the shuffle.
So what happened?
In the Dodgers’ longest game since they played 17 innings at San Diego on May 22 — on a day that Chase Utley became the first Dodger to have six hits since Shawn Green’s memorable day in Milwaukee on May 23, 2002 — Jonathan Schoop hit a two-out, sinking line drive in the 14th inning that barely eluded Trayce Thompson’s glove, driving in two runs for a 6-4 Baltimore win.
Chris Hatcher, who had thrown 31 pitches the previous night, took the loss. He also had the burden of making the final out, with the bases loaded, long after the Dodgers ran out of pinch-hitters.
Painful as that is for Dodger fans to process, the Dodger bullpen deserves a collective bow. In the six games of this homestand — in the midst of what has really become a rebirth for the relief core — Dodger relievers have done the following.
The bullpen has averaged approximately five innings and 80 pitches per game for the past six games, yet had a 0.94 ERA on the homestand before the game-winning hit.
Dodger relievers are on pace to throw 524 innings this year, which believe it or not, would not be a record. In 2009, a National League Championship Series season, the Dodger bullpen racked up 553 innings.
Footnote: The Dodgers and Orioles combined to set a Dodger Stadium single-game strikeout record with 36. The previous Dodger Stadium strikeout record of 32 was originally set by the Padres and Dodgers in a 17-inning game June 27, 1989, and matched in an 18-inning Braves-Dodgers game August 3, 1996.
Also, Adam Liberatore, who pitched a scoreless seventh inning of relief, has made 23 consecutive scoreless appearances, tying the franchise record set by John Candelaria in 1991.
Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers
By Jon Weisman
With the fan vote ending at 8:59 p.m. Thursday, Corey Seager remains approximately 700,000 votes removed from the starting shortstop spot for the National League All-Star team.
Seager has picked up 300,000 votes in the past six days, but needs a lot more to get himself over the Addison Russell hump.
[mlbvideo id=”847912183″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]
By Jon Weisman
So, you’re about to hit publish on a story that says the Dodgers’ eighth-inning magic has disappeared. And then, at the last moment, you look up — and in comes the magic, nearly past deadline but better late than never for Los Angeles.
With the Dodgers trailing by a run and two outs remaining, pinch-hitter Howie Kendrick reached first on a single. Yasiel Puig came up and lined a single to left field that — absolutely stunningly — went past Washington center fielder Michael Taylor, for a two-run Little League home run that gave the Dodgers a 4-3 victory over the Nationals.
Technically, it was a single plus a three-base error — plus that irresistible dash of Puig — that extended the Dodgers’ winning streak to six games.
It’s the fourth time the Dodgers have come from behind in the eighth inning or later during the streak. And it was the fourth completely bizarre play to take place at Dodger Stadium tonight.
Washington had taken the lead an inning earlier — but first, some context.
In the top of the eighth Tuesday, in pursuit of the Nationals’ third run of the game, catcher Wilson Ramos was thrown out at home by the Dodger left fielder.
In the top of the eighth inning tonight, in pursuit of the Nationals’ third run of the game, Ramos made it much easier on himself, launching a 421-foot homer over the Dodger left fielder and taking his time to circle the bases.
That shot broke a 2-2 tie that had lingered since the third inning and put the Dodgers in jeopardy, until Kendrick and Puig turned things around with the help of Taylor, whose night was a complete nightmare. In the top of the ninth, Taylor became the sixth player ever to earn a platinum sombrero against the Dodgers by striking out five times in a game.
[mlbvideo id=”843544883″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]
By Jon Weisman
If nothing else, it’s been a tough week to be cynical about the Dodgers.
Two days removed from his walkoff walk, Yasmani Grandal hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth, rallying the Dodgers to a 3-2 victory over National League East-leading Washington.
In the Dodgers’ five-game winning streak, this was the fourth time the Dodgers had come from behind, and the third time in the eighth inning.
What happens when three old friends in crisis fall into an unexpected love triangle? In The Catch, Maya, Henry and Daniel embark upon an emotional journey that forces them to confront unresolved pain, present-day traumas and powerful desires, leading them to question the very meaning of love and fulfillment. The Catch tells a tale of ordinary people seeking the extraordinary – or, if that’s asking too much, some damn peace of mind.
Thank You For Not ...
1) using profanity or any euphemisms for profanity
2) personally attacking other commenters
3) baiting other commenters
4) arguing for the sake of arguing
5) discussing politics
6) using hyperbole when something less will suffice
7) using sarcasm in a way that can be misinterpreted negatively
8) making the same point over and over again
9) typing "no-hitter" or "perfect game" to describe either in progress
10) being annoyed by the existence of this list
11) commenting under the obvious influence
12) claiming your opinion isn't allowed when it's just being disagreed with
Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén
