Giants at Dodgers, 4:15PM PT, TV: SPNLA, MLBN
The Giants have won 8 of the 10 games between the two teams so far this season. They’ll ask Tim Hudson, 4-6 with a 4.65 ERA, to keep the mastery going. The Dodgers are hoping their bats will come alive and they’re hoping that Carlos Frias, 4-4 with a 4.14 ERA, can stop the Giants.
Lineup when available.
Today's #Dodgers lineup vs. Giants:
Puig RF
Pederson CF
Turner 3B
Gonzalez 1B
Kendrick 2B
Ethier LF
Grandal C
Rollins SS
Frias P
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 20, 2015
NPUT
Interesting read: http://fromduke2joc.sportsblog.com/posts/2645726/la-s-secret-weapon–mark-mcgwire-and-why-we-want-bud-black.html
http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/giants-manager-bruce-bochy-left-behind-by-team-bus/ar-AAbT5l6 For some reason this makes me feel better.
It’s hard to have any animosity toward Bochy. In a just world, this would have happened to a Pagán or Brandi Crawford.
No knock against Bochy just showing what a bunch of ungrateful players he has on this dysfunctional team!
Jon, with his usual sky-is-not-falling-gosh-have-a-little-perspective-people retort to all the gloom:
http://dodgers.mlblogs.com/2015/06/20/giant-shadows/
And this might be worth a re-read.
http://dodgers.mlblogs.com/2015/05/20/worrying-about-winning-opponents-it-just-doesnt-matter/
Woke up this morning, cuz what else am I supposed to do. Here, cuz misery loves company.
Then today is a very good day. Because the alternative to waking up….
The bums will recover, I just know it.
Steve Martin in My Blue Heaven instructing the workers laying the sod on the baseball diamond “Remember, green side up!” No idea what that has to do with this, but I just love that quote, and reading Jon’s article brought that to mind for some reason.
Ha! Thanks. Had forgotten that one.
Maybe these are the sluggish dog days of August, which have come 2 months early. If we get through them here, perhaps we don’t face them there. (That last sentence sounds a bit Dr. Seuss-ish.)
They are definitely going through some kind of funk.
We can only hope this is the lowest point and everything gets better from now on.
BTW, Dave, you definitely have regained the presidency of the Optimists Club. 🙂
If we lose today, and with that first place…
It may be time to change my handle again, Bob_in_Vegas. Any suggestions?
ROBI, for Runs “Occasionally” Batted In.
unfortunately, your old one is more applicable to what this team is doing now.
that other change came to make it more positive, so Package`s Woo Hoo, if anything.
I wish I would’ve seen all these additional posts when I checked in last night … probably should’ve refreshed the browser.
If the fans are frustrated, imagine how the team feels.
Call me callous and a cynic, but there is, I expect, some consolation to the fact that the average MLB salary is about $4 million.
Ha!!
As requested: you are callous and a cynic.
Let’s just leave it at boo.
Oh man. Checking in late again. Doesn’t look like it will be Dodgers day again today.
When will it end? (Glad I had my grandson to play with today. Eased the sting of yet another futile game against a team I can’t stand.)
Ravin down, West up.
Two HRs for each side — dodgers get the least for their buck and so far no situational hitting . . . which is a moot point when you give up 6.
Ball fooled Puig, which fooled Vin.
Whereas everything fools Steiner.
And again.
Bah again.
Bah. HRs, yes, hits with RISP, nah.
Let’s win this one 13-12.
Joc rediscovers his home run swing.
Methinks that Bolsinger and Frias have run their course.
Scherzer no-hits the Pirates. Had a perfect game until he hit the potential 27th out in the ninth. Got the next guy for the no-hitter.
The batter appeared to move his shielded elbow into the path of the ball instead of out of the way.
You must have seen the same replay Vinnie was talking about. The NBC radio guys (I was on the wrong station for a minute) were expecting the hitter to get hit pretty hard his first time up tomorrow because of that seemingly-deliberate HBP.
He got away with the failed Dick Dietz strategy.
Habemus lineup: https://twitter.com/truebluela/status/612346841108082688
Are you reverting to altar boy days with the Latin?
I am an atheist who believes in irony.
Major outfield shift for lefties. Hope they don’t hit anything to left.
Heh. See corrected version in original post.
Thanks! My other thought was that Donnie decided not to have a left fielder in order to avoid people getting on his case for not have Alex start there.
Guerrero is a terrible OFer. I’d rather see him get some time at 3B.
Call the FBI, Guerrero’s been kidnapped.
Retrospectively, I wish last night’s game had been blacked out instead of tonight’s and tomorrow’s.
Can’t blame the bats for last night’s game.
Odd to say that, but gotta give ’em their due . . . when they’re due for props, rather than just due to come through.
Yes, on average we did better than the giants in hitting with RISP. It’s also possible to score without RISP. Wonder where our lumber has been recently in the dinger department.
I didn’t mean any stat other than the # of runs; they haven’t been getting many “quality offensive” games lately (since a “quality” game for a pitcher is 3 runs or less in 6 innings, I figure a “quality” game for the offense is 4 runs or more).
Yes, it’s possible to score with an HR, but you shouldn’t have to count on that. You “should” be able to count on at least getting a sac fly or just putting the ball in play, or knowing when to tag up and take the extra base, etc. The small things. That’s how they won in the ’60s, wasn’t it? Of course, it helped to have someone like Maury Wills, who turned the SB into a potent offensive weapon.
As Jon has pointed out, we are 2-36 (0.56) as regards BABIP in the prior seven games, when the overall league average is around .280. Just not possible to make up for this in the ways that you offer.
I’m offering that they should at least be “average,” not 200 points below it. If they were, they’d be winning.
That average is the league average for balls put into play. Being more than .200 below suggests more than their share of bad luck over that stretch.