June 16, 2016 – The day of the most embarrassing loss of the year. And it is not without competition. The Dodgers could not possibly ask for a better start than the one they got from Emmet Sheehan. 6.0 no hit innings. Brusdar Graterol gives up a single on a 1-2 pitch to the 1st batter he faces, and then a one out 2-run HR to Wilmer Flores, also on a 1-2 pitch, about as close to middle middle as one can get. On a 1-2 pitch???? How does that happen? I may be in the minority here, but I am not much of a Brusdar Graterol fan.
Why Victor Gonzalez, Tayler Scott, and Alex Vesia are still on the 26-man, I HAVE NO BLOODY CLUE!! How does Gonzalez and Vesia walk Luis Matos, a .200 hitter? Gonzalez was not close on most of his pitches. He threw 19 pitches and 7 were strikes. How does Vesia find the plate on a pitch to Brandon Crawford on a 1-1 pitch. These relievers have no clue where their pitch is going. Absolutely NO COMMAND.
AF cannot continue to spin that he believes he has the right bullpen. Doc has to say something other than…”They have to do better.” How about a few DFAs and give MiLB pitchers a chance. How about the executives support the starting pitchers and the position players by doing something about the continual failure of the relievers. Why not give Bryan Hudson, Mark Washington, and Landon Knack an opportunity. Can they really do worse than who is pitching now? I understand why Grove was optioned over Scott, but maybe the Dodgers could have done better with Ferguson coming in earlier and leaving Scott in the pen. Scott has appeared in 6 games, and has not had one clean inning yet. That is not acceptable.
Sheehan has earned a second start, and the Dodgers should not consider Grove again in a starting role until Sheehan has proven he cannot continue to be effective. Might as well try Grove in a relief role. Once Julio Urías returns to the rotation, Sheehan should remain with the team in a relief role. It is time to admit that the plan to keep the 2022 relievers in tact except Shelby Miller over Craig Kimbrel did not work.
Adjust the thinking and try to stay relevant until Daniel Hudson returns and the deadline provides opportunities. The DBacks are not going away, and apparently neither are the Giants. The Dodgers are now tied with Miami for the #1 WC, and the Giants are only 1.5 games behind both teams. Philadelphia is now 3.0 GB the Dodgers, and Cincinnati and Pittsburgh are now 4 games behind LAD.
Don’t tell me that the Dodgers are clearly better than either the Pirates, Phillies or Reds, They certainly did not show it when LAD played them head to head.
The Dodgers are 5-8 in June. 7 of the 8 losses had the relief pitcher with the loss. Quit with the spin. That is not acceptable.
Hopefully when I get on the Ship on Saturday afternoon, I can forget about this one. This one is hard. By the time we get to our room, I hope there will be a change in the bullpen. Can this team really wait 6 weeks for the bullpen to turn the page?
I apologize for being a bit cranky. It took us 10 hours to get from El Dorado Hills to Long Beach. We get to dinner and the Dodgers were up 4-0. Then Graterol and his crew blew another one. As I said…unacceptable.
Sheehan was fun to watch. Freeman, Rojas, and Betts made great plays. Outman with 2 opposite field hits and a clutch hit.
Giants are good.
5 runs is just not enough. With our pitching we have to score 8? That won’t work.
Time to make some moves, but, we’ve already got 6 rookies out there. Add more? Yeah, maybe so. We’ve got 6 starters and 5 relievers on the IL. Nobody but rookies left to call on.
It would appear, for the time being, this is who we are.
Gulp.
Jeff,
Wishing you fair winds and following seas. Enjoy your vacation.
What a crying shame. These are the kind of things that have caused dissension for some teams in the past (Bullpen). Things can start to fester
Roberts’ is known for being a players manager and handling the clubhouse,but he’s never had a situation like this before.
When Urias returns we’ll have him, Kershaw, Gonsolin,Miller and Sheehan. Re the bullpen they might get Hudson back doon. Can they depend on minor leaguers to replace guys? Thats a guess so then they need to go out and get 1 or 2 proven pitchers. Use them to replace the 3 worst relievers we have
Enjoy your cruise, Jeff! I’ve never been on a boat ride longer than LA to Catalina, so a cruise has been on my bucket list for a while now.
Hope you have a great cruise Jeff.
Very disappointing performance last night. The bullpen definitely needs a huge makeover. Still striking out too much. 26% last night. And Mookie’s boneheaded base running was just the cherry on the shit sundae we were served last night for dessert after a wonderful entree by Sheehan. Not a fun team to watch right now.
Jeff D I feel your crankiness. I didn’t watch the game, but by the end of the season will be one of the most frustrating losses of the year. It’s like the Dodgers left midway through the game and someone else showed up. You know….people who can’t play or know baseball.
I read comments about Taylor and Peralta getting injured. And watch a video of Rojas pull a hammy sliding into home. So, I went to the MLB.com’s Juan Toribio column to find out some details on their injuries. Nothing. I think he wrote the article from home. He went on and on about Sheehan’s performance and Roberts reaction to it. Sheehan’s performance was obviously warranted, but there’s a video of Roberts’ post game thoughts right below his article. Aboslutely nothing about the BP diaster or the mindless plays made by several Dodger players late in the game. This guy is a journalist? Sad
So, can anyone give me some info on the injuries to Taylor, Peralta, and Rojas? I would appreciate it. If both Rojas and Taylor are down the team is in a world of hurt. It’s one the negatives of having such an old roster. The experience is valuable only when it’s able to be on the field. Blaming no one. Just saying.
I guess Mookie plays SS for several games if necessary. A position lineup might look like this:
C – Smith
1B- Freeman
2B- Vargas
SS- Betts
3B- Busch
LF- LaDuca
CF- Outman
RF- Heyward
DH- Martinez
So, four rookies and a veteran who are having offensive issues. Yikes.
Things could be heading south short term if this BP doesn’t get it’s shit together.
Carry on.
So much negativity here today. Relax folks.
Enjoy the good stuff (Sheehan, Miller, etc.) and wait out the bad.
The D’backs have been playing fantastic ball and they’re only 3 ahead of us.
The Padres spent money like the had the key to Ft Knox and they’re 5.5 games behind us.
We have 11 guys on the 60-day IL and 4 on the 10/15 day IL and those 4 might soon be joined by any or all of Peralta, Rojas and CT3.
The Braves, Nats and Phillies all got off to starts like this, or worse, within the last few years and all came back to win the WS.
We got this! No problem! It’s in the bag!
Tippecanoe and Tyler too………………oh, sorry, it’s early for campaign slogans.
By the way, Jeff, you were upset that Vgon and Vesia walked Luis Matos, whom you described as a .200 hitter. That stat was accumulated over 5 at bats. When he was in the minors this year, in 223 at bats, he had a batting avg of .350 with an OPS of .976. He was probably one of the 2 or 3 best hitters in the Giants lineup last night. Doesn’t excuse walking him but he’s a pretty good hitter.
Enjoy your cruise. Keep your eyes open. Maybe you can find us a relief pitcher out there.
Uggggggggggh!!
This team has become unwatchable.