Have at it. Who’s on first? Which pitchers are on the roster, and whose dreams are crushed? Should Yasiel Puig be on the first-round roster? What about the injured Scott Van Slyke? Should Seager start at shortstop or should it be Rollins? Should Utley be on the 25-man roster?
Do the Mets’ starting pitchers hold a candle to the Greinke/Kershaw combination? Should it be Wood as the number three starter, or should it be Anderson? It’s ironic that gaining home field advantage means the Dodgers’ #3 starter, whether Wood or Anderson, will start on the road. Anderson was 7-4 away from Dodger Stadium with a 3.07 ERA while Wood was 2-4 with a 6.14 ERA.
https://twitter.com/Dodgers/status/652556626633711616
The Dodgers also will have a five-man traveling taxi squad, consisting of Alex Guerrero, Chris Heisey, Austin Barnes, Juan Nicasio and Carlos Frias, in case of unexpected changes. (This too from Gurnick. (Thought I better explain before WBB accuses me of plagiarism…)
The Roster:
PITCHERS (11)
Brett Anderson
Luis Avilan
Pedro Baez
Yimi Garcia
Zack Greinke
Chris Hatcher
J.P. Howell
Kenley Jansen
Clayton Kershaw
Joel Peralta
Alex Wood
CATCHERS (2)
A.J. Ellis
Yasmani Grandal
INFIELDERS (6)
Adrian Gonzalez
Howie Kendrick
Jimmy Rollins
Corey Seager
Justin Turner
Chase Utley
OUTFIELDERS (6)
Carl Crawford
Andre Ethier
Kiké Hernandez
Joc Pederson
Yasiel Puig
Justin Ruggiano
Additional comments by Gurnick: http://m.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article/153845912/yasiel-puig-joel-peralta-on-dodgers-roster
Sure rather have Schebler over Utley…
Utley seems to be double-switch bait, oh and emergency 1st base. Meh. Would have loved to have had Schebler as a PH late in the game.
Bleacher Report says Seager now linchpin of offense for Dodgers.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/la-sp-dodgers-dugout-playoff-roster-20151007-htmlstory.html LA Times writer roster selection. I don’t like it at all. Also a statement (the first) from Ross Porter about how he found out he was fired 11 years ago. I was not and am not a big Ross Porter fan but nobody deserves treatment like that after 28 years with an organization. May both the McCourts rot in you know where for all eternity.
That is truly an awful way to handle any personnel matter. Good grief.
Ruggiano in, Puig in, Peralta in, so sayeth Eric Stephen: http://www.truebluela.com/2015/10/8/9482051/justin-ruggiano-dodgers-nlds-roster-mets
If Puig and Rugs in, SVS probably isn’t, maybe for injury. Schleber probably isn’t either, but maybe he is, I would hope so…
Home teams are perhaps being too hospitable so far this playoffs. Looks like the away teams could make it a perfect 4-0 after tonight’s game.
Are we still glad the Dodgers gained home field advantage?
Exception proving rule, I hope.
Speaking of the roster – what time tomorrow does it get released?
I believe at 10am (don’t ask me what time zone).
Must be ET. Everything is ET.
Peralta on the roster. Thoughts?
Wait – are you saying he is on or are you asking about our thoughts regarding his potential inclusion? He has pitched well of late but I like guys who can bring it in the bullpen.
I read it on the la dodgers website: http://m.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article/153731000/dodgers-bullpen-big-question-mark-in-playoffs
There’s been no official announcement yet, apparently. Individual players have been told their status. The roster isn’t required to be set until the day of the opening game.
Where’d you see that?
http://m.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article/153731000/dodgers-bullpen-big-question-mark-in-playoffs
I wonder if an 88mph fastball pitched by someone who is somewhat calm is better than a 97mph fastball thrown by someone very nervous?
Unhappy news: Vinnie resting after medical procedure, will miss postseason.
Thanks for posting the news here Link. I didn’t get a chance to post the last few hours.
We played the Astros one series this season on August 21, 22 and 23. They swept us and Fiers threw a no-hitter in the first game.
Starting pitchers announced: https://twitter.com/SportsNetLA/status/651540740317777920?ref_src=twsrc^tfw
Verducci of SI ranks playoff teams. (Spoiler: Dodgers are #3)
SI itself has us winning the WS.
Wild Card Game Thread above. Comment or ignore as you like. Keep talking Dodgers’ playoff talk here.
Maybe the bullpen’s not so bad after all: http://www.truebluela.com/2015/10/6/9461493/dodgers-bullpen-postseason-nlds
Nice digging behind the numbers by Eric.
Actually, that was not Eric’s byline.
Don’t know why I felt compelled to list all this, but here we are – the 25 possible WS match-ups (of course, in less than 48 hours it will be down to 4×4 or 16 possible match-ups):
Los Angeles vs Toronto
Los Angeles vs NY Yankees
Los Angeles vs Kansas City
Los Angeles vs Texas
Los Angeles vs Houston
NY Mets vs Toronto
NY Mets vs NY Yankees
NY Mets vs Kansas City
NY Mets vs Texas
NY Mets vs Houston
St. Louis vs Toronto
St. Louis vs NY Yankees
St. Louis vs Kansas City
St. Louis vs Texas
St. Louis vs Houston
Pittsburgh vs Toronto
Pittsburgh vs NY Yankees
Pittsburgh vs Kansas City
Pittsburgh vs Texas
Pittsburgh vs Houston
Chicago Cubs vs Toronto
Chicago Cubs vs NY Yankees
Chicago Cubs vs Kansas City
Chicago Cubs vs Texas
Chicago Cubs vs Houston
A Dodgers-Yankees Series would arouse nostalgia but, in my opinion, second-place teams don’t deserve to go. I sorta like Toronto but, with all due respect to Canada, they’re disqualified until they get a ballpark with real grass. I have an aversion to Houston that dates from the Astrodome and Enron, somewhat less so with Texas, so I guess I’ll go with KC.
Ex-Met Ron Darling will be an analyst on the NLDS Dodgers-Mets series, along with Cal Ripken Jr. Ernie Johnson will do the play-by-play.
But no Vin.
Not anymore.
More’s the pity.
Wonder what Dodger narrative they will choose. Sometimes they drive me nuts in the one-off games. Hopefully they do their homework.
Puig seems ripe for the picking if he makes it on to the roster.
Oh, the would never pick on a guy who has been injured!
Mr Weisman is overflowing with game and parking information for the first two games this weekend.
I can’t imagine why anyone would want to go to a televised game, even before considering outrageously overpriced tickets, parking, and concessions. I wouldn’t go if it were all free.
I’m generally crowd-averse, though I did go to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass on Saturday and that’s getting more crowded every year. I did go to one game at Dodger Stadium last year, and things weren’t too bad, but the inadequate public transportation there is an issue.
To each his dagnab own. Some argue (and I’d be one of them) that the experience would be worth it, at least once. I’ve never been to a playoff or World Series game and I’d love to go. I’ve seen only one NFL game and that was an exhibition one played here at Aloha Stadium; I’ve never been to one in a team’s home city. I’ve never been to an NBA game, or an NHL one. All told I’ve (maybe) seen two dozen MLB games in LA and DC.
When I was in college I went to nearly every U of Arizona football game for my first couple of years, and those were wonderful. Hundreds of people walking down the streets to get to the on-campus stadium? That was great.
I haven’t been to a handegg game since I was in high school, and couldn’t care less – it only interested me when friends were playing. I’ve been to a few NBA games, but not for decades. I did go to the 1974 Series games in Oakland, which was the start of my eight-game losing streak here.
My dad got us two tickets to the fourth game of the 1965 World Series vs. Minnesota. We sat in the left-field pavilion (i.e. bleachers). My dad, gone 21 years now, decided to mail his request and money with a Special Delivery stamp (remember those?). He was convinced that’s why we got the tickets. I still have mine. It cost $4. It was Oct. 10, 1965. I don’t know who was happier–my father, a Brooklyn native and lifelong fan, or me, also a Brooklyn native. The day was a delight. The Dodgers won 7-2 to even the series 2-2. Lou Johnson, Wes Parker, Harmon Killebrew and Tony Oliva all homered. Don Drysdale went the distance, fanning 11. The organist played Happy Days Are Here Again at the end of the game. I have two tickets to the first playoff game on Friday and am flying from San Jose to attend. I know traffic will be a mess, the food will be overpriced, the concours will be jammed, but, for me, being at the game is something special.
Thanks for sharing that, Scoop.
As they say about memories . . . priceless!
Yes, I can appreciate the different strokes idea. I lived in the area 35 years and went maybe 10 times in the first 10 years, one of those being Fan Appreciation Day, the last game of the season. We were from small towns and farms, didn’t like crowds, still don’t. I’ll take television, thank you…
I am going both Friday and Saturday, with my son the first night and husband the second. I LOVE going to the stadium, and couldn’t be more excited for these games, unless maybe it was to see the Beatles live again. (I saw them at Shea Stadium years ago, and yea, I screamed.) I park north of Sunset and walk in and out of the stadium. It’s fantastic fun.
Sorry, I meant south of Sunset.
Someday I will get there. Maybe not a playoff game to start, but perhaps some July or August game. But I would also love to see postseason action at Dodger Stadium.
Seem like a trek!
Was it difficult to get tickets?
Not really. I have mini-season tickets (20 games that I share with my kids) so I got a chance to buy post season tix pretty early. You get a time to call and a code. For whatever games turn out to be redundant, you get your money back. We’ll see how far I get. I think mine were 41$ each.
$41 isn’t bad at all for post-season tickets, or so it seems to me. I’d balk if those were regular season prices unless I was in the lower level along a foul line, but for playoff seats? Not bad.
Great price! Since I only see my Bums when they come to DC (or at times Baltimore), I am willing to pay steep prices to be up close. Next year I plan to make a weekend of the Pittsburgh games. While Philadelphia is closer, haven’t heard good things about the treatment of visiting fans.
I believe that we have a couple of cricketeers around here. http://dodgers.mlblogs.com/2015/10/05/by-jiminy-cricket-coming-to-dodger-stadium-in-november/
wow that would be fun to see. Despite the 2 comments on the original site, it would be a great spectacle to see. 20/20 is much faster paced than test cricket, even though I enjoy both. If anyone from this site goes to see it, you won’t be disappointed.
I sorta admire cricket skills, because they resemble those of baseball, but I find the rules impenetrable. There were a handful of Caribbean cricketers who made the transition to baseball, most notably https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andre_Rodgers.
thanks for that, I like the part that says he had to learn not to jump away from curveballs, I’ve seen a few do that regularly when one of Kershaw’s gems are coming towards the plate.
In the clinching game, Kershaw threw one that made Jarrett Parker of the Gnats flinch visibly even as it dropped into the zone for a strike: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGQNS5jshlQ
CC to rehab, not to playoffs.
http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2015/10/5/9454905/cc-sabathia-rehab-yankees-mlb-playoffs
For the moment, I thought you meant that Puig was a lock for the post-season roster.
Thought you meant our CC for a second, as well.
Wow! Game 1 at 12am (EST)
Huh? Not according to MLB: Game Time 9:30PM ET.
The 12am is on my MLB app. (which may be set to Indonesia time – though that wouldn’t make sense either)
Well, if you insist on watching from Djakarta…
Grant Brisbee praises Clayton Kershaw, says “Give him the Cy Young already.”
Some here feel that Donnie might get the axe if we don’t at least make the WS. Nats just fired their manager and this article looks at who might be out there (includes a Maddon/TB guy, Dave Martinez, currently bench coach for the Cubs)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2015/10/05/the-likely-list-of-replacements-for-fired-nationals-manager-matt-williams/
That article made finding the next Nats Manager difficult ant that would be the same for the Dodgers should Mattingly not return.
Since KFAZ like to be creative and if the Yankees lose their one game playoff game and the Dodgers lose to the Mets or to their next opponent, maybe Mattingly goes to the Yankees and Girardi goes to the Nats.
That alone doesn’t help the Dodgers but for those wanting a different Manager for the Dodgers it is a good start. I am not one of those btw. I am waiting for Ellis to be the next Dodger Manager.
What would KFAZ and it’s “creativity” have to do with where Mattingly and Girardi might go?
I started out thinking about a three way trade of managers or possibly getting a player instead of a manager and posted when my phone rang.
Martínez is an ex-Gnat, immediately disqualified.
The Dodger have won at least 13 games every month so far this season. Eleven more doesn’t sound out of reach.
Even though both Pittsburgh and Chicago had better records than us, if the winner of their Wild Card game goes on to beat the Cardinals in the NLDS, the Dodgers (or Mets) would get HFA in the NLCS. That could be very helpful.
Little historical correlation, but would make me feel better as well. But it’s more complicated than that for, as you say, wild cards with better regular season records don’t get HFA. Then there are numbers that show that wild card teams have a playoff series record of 46-39. But these numbers may include the playoff game between them, Although one team wins and the other one loses, this would seem to present an upward bias in the record of wild card teams. Additional “noise” would be the use of the ASG for HFA. So, in the end HFA may seem to mean less because it is not based on the “better” team (a defined by regular season record). Now, of course the meaning of “better” record is muddled, obviously AL and NL teams can’t be compared, but within a league this is biased by greater divisional playing, as well as interleague play.
Jeez, let’s start already!
What you said. Let’s get it going. Friday can’t come soon enough.
Any guess about the start time? 5pm Pacific Coast? Last year 6:30 against the Cards.
I would love to hear people’s predictions on what the Dodgers playoffs’ win-loss
record will be.
Poor KC from last year – they had the best possible winning percentage you can have without actually winning the World Series: 10-4 for a .714 winning percentage.
And my prediction for the Dodgers is 11-5 (3-2, 4-2, 4-1). Don’t know why but I think they get on a roll and get stronger as the playoffs go on. Very optimistic thinking obviously, but now’s the time for hope and starry-eyed dreaming I suppose.
So friends, choose a number between 0 (ouch!!) and 11 (we win!!).
lets try 3-1, 4-3 and 4-2 = 11- 6
That would be just fine. My nerves might get to me in the NLCS, but the payoff would be sweet in the end.
well I just checked our old ‘predictions’ post, I got the pre season prediction right at 92-70 :), hopefully I am right with my playoff prediction too!
Well done. I didn’t make a prediction, and although I was hoping we would keep the losses below 70, I am not complaining.
scores are now back to 0-0 and we start again
Fun! Congrats on your keen regular season predicting. I think I predicted 95 wins or something like that. I’ll have to go back and take a look later today.
I think I went with 95.
That sounds like a best-case scenario to me. I am concerned about the offense.
me too, the prediction may be more heart than head
I go with you.
So I wonder if this is the first ever playoff series where both teams have been no-hit twice in the regular season.
Who’s got stuff? And what is it? http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/04/sports/baseball/the-mysteries-of-pitching-and-all-that-stuff.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0
I was looking at the Dodgers roster and I noticed Howie Kendrick is 5’11” and Agon is 6’2″ but they both weigh 220 pounds. Allegedly. Do you think someone is misrepresenting their actual weight?
As I recall the heights and weights are from when they first make the Bigs.
Are people thinking Utley over Rollins because of Utley’s ability to play third as well? I want Seager, but would love to have Rollins off the bench. He could also pinch run.
I’m sure DM would choose Rollins over Utley. He did for manager today. And I’m sure both will make roster.
For some reason my eyes skipped over Rollins below. Thanks.
Nothing wrong with your eyes. After I read your post, I noticed I had left Rollins off “my roster” so I edited him into it. If it were only that easy to correct the other mistakes I’ve made in the last 74 years…
If SVS is out, then there should be room for Puig. Ethier, Pederson, Crawford, Puig, Schebler and either Ruggiano or Heisey. Infielders: Agon, Kendrick, Seaver, Turner, KiKi, Utley, 2 catchers and 11 pitchers.
I like Puig a lot, but I lean against his inclusion on the post-season roster because of rust. That said, it wouldn’t upset me if he makes it.