Dodgers Dugout: Well, that was humiliating.
Hello and welcome back to another episode of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell, and if you have any odd jobs around the house that need to be done, I know 26 guys who have cleared their schedule for the rest of the month.
The Dodgers did it once more.
They dominated the NL West, winning 100 games and outscoring the competition. They then slept through the postseason and returned home early.
There is no fire on the field. Most people don’t seem to want anything. There is no rage. Shouldn’t someone been upset after Game 2? Instead, it was the same drab quotes, as if it were Game 81 of the season.
Shouldn’t someone, someone, be upset?
Anyone above Andrew Friedman’s rank is unlikely to be upset. After all, when asked about offseason inactivity a couple of years ago, team president Stan Kasten stated, “You’re inventing a narrative that I don’t agree with because, like I said, I can almost tell you for sure, we’re going to lead the National League in attendance again.”
Message received: I don’t care what happens as long as we have more than 3 million people in attendance. However, that mindset has the potential to infect a team. And believe me, the Dodgers have played like a club that doesn’t care if it wins the previous three postseasons. Do the players give a damn? Without a doubt. Other teams, on the other hand, discover an extra level of emotion in the postseason, emotion that may invigorate a squad and make players focus a little better. The Dodgers appear to be playing at a team picnic, and while we didn’t beat our business rivals, the food was delicious, and didn’t we all laugh and have a fantastic time?
And I can assure you that the Dodgers will have a terrific regular-season club again next year, maybe with Shohei Ohtani, maybe not. They will almost certainly win the division again. And the stadium will be packed with about 3 million people. The postseason will then commence, and…
Prepare for the return of Friedman and Dave Roberts next season. While Roberts made a few dubious decisions this playoffs, Friedman bears a large portion of the blame for his team’s inability to acquire quality starting pitching at the trade deadline. Eduardo Rodriguez, the one player they wanted, told them he didn’t want to play for the Dodgers and refused to waive his no-trade clause. Oh, maybe attempt to find out ahead of time.
However, it would have been good if Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman had been able to get a hit in a critical moment, or in Betts’ case, a hit in any situation.
It’s a good thing for Betts that they vote for league MVP before the postseason starts, because he wouldn’t even come in second. And, forgive me if this seems petty, but the sense of doom in this series began when Betts stopped Arizona manager Torey Lovullo’s new press conference before Game 1 and hugged him. I was reminded of the day Pedro Guerrero invited a friend from the opposing team to see him in the Dodger clubhouse after a painful loss. Kirk Gibson was not pleased and requested that he go.
Or if the starters were able to get people out. As a result, there was a lot of blame to go around.
After Game 3, Roberts admitted, “I’ve got to do a better job of figuring out a way to get our guys better prepared for the postseason.” That will be my responsibility. I need to figure out how to get our guys ready for any format or series.”
However, if you have a lot of players who need to be encouraged to get ready for the postseason, you could need some new players. Maybe you can play them an old Tommy Lasorda motivational talk before the series starts. Maybe you can persuade Magic Johnson to tell about how, as a player, he inspired the Lakers to several championships.
However, the Dodgers must try something new. Because it’s not working.
Here are some random thoughts on Game 3:
—How can you let Lance Lynn, who is prone to home runs and normally gives them up in bunches, to give up four? Caleb Ferguson should have been in the bullpen after the first home run. Lynn should have been out of the game after the second home run.
—Roberts on why he left him in after the two home runs: “You’ve got two outs, nobody on base and a low pitch count, and you figure that this run of right-handed hitters, you’ve got to be able to navigate it somewhat. Then two homers later, you’re down 4-0.” Ferguson got up after the third homer. “I try not to be reactionary and get ahead of things,” Roberts said. “I just can’t predict the future. The way he was throwing the baseball, I didn’t expect that.”
—Why is Austin Barnes pinch-hitting in a key situation? I’d rather have David Peralta stay in, or if you had to pinch-hit, use James Outman. This is the style of push-button managing the Dodgers use that drives me crazy. “A lefty is coming in? Better send up a right-handed hitter.” How about you read the situation and realize Barnes hasn’t hit all year.
—By the way, Peralta hit .314 against lefties this year. Outman hit .254. Barnes hit .080.
—And I was saying the above when Barnes was walking to the plate, not when he made the out.
—The other push-button managing thing that drives me crazy: The insistence on having a right-handed hitter, followed by a left-handed hitter, followed by a righty, etc. Max Muncy should be hitting seventh. I said it during the middle of the season, I’m saying it again.
—Dodgers starting pitching: 4.2 IP, 16 hits, 13 ER, 3 walks, 2 Ks. ERA: 25.11.
—Dodgers relievers: 21.1 IP, 13 hits, 6 ER, 8 walks, 24 Ks. ERA: 2.53.
—Dodgers starting pitchers got 14 of the 78 outs in the series. Dodgers relievers got 64. That’s not the best way to win a series.
—And let’s take a look at the offense:
Will Smith, 5 for 12, 1 double, 1 triple, 2 RBIs, 1 K
Kiké Hernández, 3 for 8, 2 RBIs
Miguel Rojas, 2 for 6
J.D. Martinez, 2 for 10, 1 homer, 1 RBI, 2 walks, 4 Ks
Max Muncy, 2 for 11, 1 walk, 4 Ks
David Peralta, 1 for 6, 1 double, 1 K
Chris Taylor, 1 for 6, 1 RBI, 1 walk, 2 Ks
Freddie Freeman, 1 for 10, 2 walks, 2 K’s
Mookie Betts, 0 for 11, 1 walk, 2 Ks
Jason Heyward, 0 for 7, 4 K’s
James Outman, 0 for 5, 1 walk, 3 Ks
Kolten Wong, 0 for 3, 1 walk
Austin Barnes, 0 for 1
Team, .177, 17 for 96, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 1 homer, 9 walks, 23 Ks
—Again, the offense didn’t do what it did during the season: have patience. Batters were swinging at pitches out of the zone and taking pitches down the middle. This happens every postseason.
—For those of you who want to blame the new format that gave the Dodgers five days off, that doesn’t explain 2021. Or 2019. Or … The Dodgers did what they do almost every postseason, whether they had five days off or not. This is on the players, not the schedule. It doesn’t appear to be bothering the Astros, and there are examples of teams in the past getting four or five days off between the LCS and World Series (when they sweep and the other LCS goes seven games) and still winning the title. Great teams are prepared for almost any occasion.
—Bob Costas managed to give us a history of Steve Bartman and the Cubs and a rundown on the Oakland A’s issues with moving to Vegas or staying. Meanwhile, the game is going on and plays are being called late. We get it, you know a lot about baseball and its history. But you’re not hosting “This Week in Baseball.”
—Ron Darling seems to think if there’s any time Costas isn’t talking, he should fill that dead air immediately, even if he doesn’t have anything interesting to say. Two minutes after Costas mentioned Smith and Martinez had flipped spots in the order, Darling brought it up like it was breaking news.
—All that being said, I think Clayton Kershaw will have a strong start in Game 4 tonight.
—I’ve received emails from some of you who are depressed or unhappy about the Dodgers’ loss. Believe me, it’s not worth it. Be sad for a while, sure. Be frustrated. But if you are reading this and you still are angry, sad or depressed, do me a favor. Take a deep breath. Think about all the good things in your life. Call a friend. Call your mom or dad. Talk to your family. Those are the important things in life. Smile at a stranger. Go to the store and thank the cashier for their hard work. All these things can help change your mind-set. What would Vin Scully say?
Up next
This newsletter’s ninth season of covering the Dodgers has come to an end. I hope you liked it. We may have disagreed at times, but debate and second-guessing are part of the joy of baseball (although not so much if you’re Dave Roberts).
If all goes well, Dodgers Dugout will return for its tenth season next year. But we’re not going away for the summer. The “25 greatest Dodgers” will be completed early next week. We’ll also talk about any offseason moves the team makes. There’s also our annual Hall of Fame voting.
Thank you for staying with me, especially those of you who signed up in 2015. It’s always a pleasure to write this, and I appreciate all of the emails I receive, even if I can’t reply to them all. I read all of them.
