Welp, the Los Angeles Dodger season comes down to one game tomorrow. The San Diego Padres defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 2=1 in Game Three of the NLDS. In what was an embarrassing performance from the Dodger offense.
All Dodger fans following the past decade’s postseason runs are familiar with this. The inability to bring in RISP is quite embarrassing. It was awful. The strike was wide as it is, but the Dodgers rolled over. The Dodgers went 0-19 with RISP, the worst stretch in Dodgers postseason history. They’ve only scored four runs in the last 22 innings.
The Dodgers 3-5 batters went 1-11. You’re not going to win many games like that. The only Dodger hitter with multiple hits was Austin Barnes, who was pinch-hit for in the seventh inning. The pitching was good, only allowing two hits, but the Dodgers offense went missing. The same offense that was the best during the regular season looked nothing alike.
Things started shaky for Dodger starter Tony Gonsolin who only lasted one ⅔ inning. He allowed one run and four hits in that quick start. Left-hander Andrew Heaney followed with three innings giving up a solo home run to Trent Grisham. The bullpen then pitched a scoreless outing, but it didn’t matter how bad the offense was.
The solo home run to Trent Grisham ended up being the sole difference in the game, and The Padres bullpen has dominated the Dodgers offense. It almost seems like they’re complacent. I can’t figure it out. The Dodgers defeated the Padres all season long, and of course, when it matters the most, the Dodgers fold.
The 111-win Dodgers may put up the worst postseason performance by a team with that many regular season wins. They would be the first team to lose the Division Series. Last season, the Dodgers lost to the 88-win Braves; now they’re on the brink of losing to the 89-win Padres.
The atmosphere at Petco Park was unlike any other, and now it will be much turnt up for tomorrow. The Dodgers will rely on Tyler Anderson, who was a late signing. Anderson had a career year with the Dodgers and earned his first All-Star nod. The left-hander went 15-5 and posted a 2.57 ERA. Anderson could pitch a scoreless outing, but why will that matter if the offense can’t do anything?
It won’t be easy for the Dodgers. They will face Joe Musgrove, who posted a 2.93 ERA this season. In a decisive Game Three in the Wild Card series against the Mets, Musgrove went seven innings and only allowed one hit. So yeah no easy task.
The Dodger season comes down tomorrow. Either the offense wakes up, or it’s a wrap for 2022. It ain’t over til it’s over.
Think Blue Planning Committee 
Jose, for anyone who didn’t see the game, that was a pretty complete and honest appraisal. I’m glad I derive my enjoyment of the game during each regular season, and am ok with the playoffs being a game of chance, often disconnected in a variety of ways from the regular season.
BTW, none of those boxes checked below have ever worked for me. Mac OSMonterey 12.6.
LikeLike
The top 4 in the lineup plus JT gave hot to hit and put up some runs early and hold the lead rather than playing from behind. This will be very disappointing if we don’t win the next two.
Not making excuses but this expanded playoffs with best teams having a bye May not be good. Astros are only one looking good and that’s primarily due to Alvarez (looking like one of worst trades in Dodger history! Where is Josh Fields?).
LikeLike
Fields is warming up in the bullpen and will also be available for pinch hitting purposes tonight.
LikeLike
The reason I am not a Roberts fan is because he fosters a good buddy clubhouse. Competitive sports should be a meritocracy. Roberts does not foster the Team concept when it comes to his veterans. Allowing Bellinger last year to set records for futility is a legacy of the culture he sponsors. His management style rewards strikeouts and not moving the runner over. When you have a team that is more talented it does not matter in a long season. But! When you get to the playoffs and are playing teams that are close to on par his culture of not sacrificing, moving the man no matter and his poor substitutions of pinch hitters and pitchers causes losses. Unless the Dodgers play a team they are overwhelming superior to they will not win a WS with Roberts.
Winning the WS is not as big a deal to me. I enjoy watching baseball being played. Winning the playoffs are about momentum, injuries, luck and poor decisions.
LikeLike
In my opinion Roberts had very little to do with that loss. This is about the players, and as a team they are failing. 0 for 17 WRISP? I do question Gonsolin starting, but apparently he was only meant to go once through the lineup. This was a planed bullpen game, which I find weird in your third post season game, kinda tells you where the starting rotation is, but it actually worked. The Padres only scored 2. And you should win when you hold a team to 2 runs.
The Dodgers offense has gone to sleep. What can Roberts do about that? Yell at them? Good luck.
LikeLike
The culture is the problem. With RISP and less than two outs the culture has to be instilled at the Start of the Season! The manager must have the mantra that “you must move the man over” no excuses, you must make the attempt! Its a Team game! Roberts does not foster that. When you are against elite pitching every run counts. Its not the same as the regular season. Roberts runs a cruise ship not a Meritocracy. You can deny my diagnosis but if the Dodgers continue to not win the WS with very talented teams it proves the diagnosis. When guys have two seasons around the Mendoza line that has to be addressed. The message is It’s OK to fail. Baseball is a competitive sport and its not OK…
LikeLike
Well, I don’t believe I would call that culture. I’d call it strategy. It has worked pretty well the last two regular seasons. The Dodgers have outscored the opposition by a thousand runs. You don’t do that with bad culture.
Look, I get it. It just feels wrong to those of us who grew up bunting, stealing, hitting behind runners, all of that old school small ball sh*t. Well that ain’t today’s Los Angeles Dodgers. They couldn’t bunt if there no infielders. Same with a hit run. Pull everyone off the field and have them hit a ground ball behind a stealing base runner. It would take everyone but Freddie Freeman 3 tries to do it. These guys are all exit velocity and launch angle, and it works great… until it doesn’t. And when it doesn’t, this is what you get.
LikeLike
Yep it works when you have a far superior team and 162 games. It demonstrably does not work except for the Covid season in the playoffs. The Roberts culture will continue to lose in the playoffs unless they have overwhelming talent. Critical Playoff games are contested usually against elite pitching. Every run is precious. You need a Team culture of grinding out the run. The Dodgers as you stated do not do that as it has not been stressed or taught. Swing hard in case you hit it does not work very often hence 200 and below averages.
LikeLike
Read today that Roberts is upset the Dodgers have not moved the RISP. He has fostered the Culture! I have stated this all year. I know many people on this blog do not like it but Roberts does not run a meritocracy. Players are not benched when they do not perform. That equates to the Dodgers losing against any team at or close to parity.
LikeLike
I’m sure by this time your mind is made up Tmax, but I will never buy the idea that managers win and lose baseball games. It’s the players. Has been the players since Babe Ruth was a minnow. The Dodgers are 0 for their last 17 WRISP. Dave Roberts hasn’t had one at bat all year. And you want to bench starters? Who do you plan to start in their place in an elimination game?
The guys who won 111 now have to win 2 in a row to keep playing. Dave Roberts will try to motivate them, fill out the lineup card, then ride the pine while he watches them succeed or fail.
LikeLike
Scoop you do not understand. There is nothing that can be done now. A culture is developed over time. Players need to buy into that culture. Culture is established over the season. I do not advocate any changes as it will not change the outcome. The Dodgers are stuck with the culture they have.
Roberts does not go to bat. But he fostered a culture that allowed players like Bellinger to continue to swing and miss and not sacrifice when it was appropriate. Roberts allows players to play despite their poor performance and lack of team play. Because he does not give negative feedback to continual poor performance he has fostered a culture that is not about grinding for every run.
Deny it all you want but the results are what count. The Dodgers have continually under-performed in the Playoffs under Roberts because of the culture he creates.
LikeLike
Not asking for anybody’s buy in. The history of Roberts managed teams in the playoffs is the evidence. I know in politics people dispute facts but in real life there are consequences to that. The facts are Roberts has had incredibly talented teams and they continually under-perform in the playoffs. If that’s not the manager’s responsibility whose is it? Please enlighten me! People do not like facts that do not fit their world view. You say my mind is made up. No. I see the facts and derive my opinion from them.
LikeLike
I’m not necessarily disputing your viewpoint that team culture may be holding us back, but I am disputing that this is all Doc’s fault.
That would be like a company holding a mid to upper management executive responsible for all of their lack of success when, in fact, it starts at the very top and works its way down.
That’s especially true with the Dodgers because everything is so collaborative. If you feel that the Dodger way of doing things is at fault, then the problem lies even more with Andrew and the front office than it does with Doc.
LikeLike
You are probably right Jeff. Kasten ran the Braves while they were dominant and how many WS did they win? Friedman won with Madden who is not completely analytic. As I have said before, I believe Roberts is a great guy. He would be an incredible friend or neighbor. But he runs his clubhouse like a country club and allows players to do what they want instead of what is necessary. Granted the Dodger Management would never hire a Lasorda but I maintain a Lasorda, Bochy, or Scioscia would have won a few more WS titles with the same team. Managers make a difference. As I have said Roberts gives the Dodgers a handicap of minus 1/2–1 as long as they play a team not as talented they win most of the time. So enjoy the regular season as I do. I will be ecstatic and shocked if the Dodgers win another WS title soon. But I doubt it.
LikeLike
I really don’t understand everyone’s fascination with Bochy, who seems like a very nice guy, just like Doc although with a more subdued personality.
Bochy is considered a Hall of Fame manager. He won 3 world championships over 25 seasons. If Doc sticks around that long, let’s see how many he gets.
And as far as those 3 championships are concerned, Madbum put those teams on his back or Bochy wouldn’t have those either. His lifetime managerial record is BELOW .500.
LikeLike
“Scoop you do not understand.”
Well, you’re right about that. I don’t understand how anyone can blame a Manager for team slumps.
And there’s this: The Dodgers are an analytics driven organization. The offensive approach comes from levels above above Dave Roberts. He’s just following orders. Blame Roberts if it makes you feel better. I will continue to look to the players for performance.
LikeLike
Doesn’t really matter. This team is built for a long season, that beats up on below 500 teams and is slightly better than most 500 teams. But in the post season you play mostly good teams with 2 or 3 good starters and strong bullpen. Kind of evens the odds. After 9/10 years of post season futility might be a good time to change the culture, develope a farm system and and quit trying to rehab over the hill guys, including bellinger. For every Turner, we’ve had 20 failures.
We’ve been handed a bye to the world series this year, (NY and braves out), surely we won’t blow this opportunity. Remember we were hanging by a thread down 3 to 1 against the braves
LikeLike
Who wants to bet that, our great trade deadline acquisition Joey Gallo starts in LF tonight hoping it’s his time to run into a 3 run homer?
LikeLike
How many hitting Gurus do the Dodgers employ? If they can’t help the likes of Bellinger, Taylor, Muncy, Thompson and Gallo. Who can?
LikeLike
Bochy managed some very bad teams. When Bochy’s teams had the talent his teams did well. He won Manager of the year a couple of times. Yes when MadBum got hot he rode him to the title. When players get hot for Roberts he sits them down. And that is the difference! Lasorda, Scioscia, came through the Dodger system. That system stressed fundamentals. As Scoop said these guys couldn’t bunt if you held a gun to their heads. Roberts did not come through the Dodger system. I have said all year Lasorda would have stroked out if guys continually struck out with less than two outs and RISP.
LikeLike
When Roberts’ teams had the talent, his teams did well (7 for 7).
Bochy won MoY twice in 25 years (once every 12.5 years). Doc has won once in 7 (I’m assuming he won’t get it this year).
Seager got hot in 2020. Doc rode him to the title.
Now, to be honest Tmax, I can think of at least 3 or 4 guys I’d rather see as manager than Doc, but if we lose this series, it’s 80% on the offense, not the manager. He didn’t bench Mookie, Trea, Freddie, Smith, JT or Max. They’re the guts of the offense and they haven’t come through……………yet. But it ain’t over yet. Let’s see how tonight goes.
LikeLike
Do you know how many times you’ve repeated yourself today, not to mention how many times you’ve gotten bent out of shape the past two years over Roberts? For some reason you think that repeating yourself scores of times gives you greater credibility. It doesn’t work that way. You’ve made your bitchy points about Roberts enough. Come back when you are not repeating the same ideas everybody knows you have.
LikeLike
Don’t know Waldo. When you breeze through 162 games 10 years in a row and win nothing in the post season you think something might be wrong here? Different players, same management.
LikeLike
World Series victories are really quite random.
Last time a team repeated was over 20 years ago.
Since the Braves were eliminated today, that will mean there will be 9 different World Series winners in the last 9 years.
LikeLike
Gee Wally I have said before if you don’t like my posts…DON”T READ THEM!
If Dennis, Andy or Jose want me to stop posting I certainly will. No problem.
Yes the problem continues so I repeat sorry Wally…
LikeLike
I wouldn’t want to quit reading you. This is the internet, so people will read and evaluate what you say. If you are an on-line poster, that goes with the territory.
But you are fascinating for a couple of reasons. One is what you said about baseball strategy appears often inconsistent with what are accepted baseball ideas based on physics and probability. I’m trying to decide if you actually know something others don’t.
But constantly repeating yourself is a trait you probably don’t want to display if you are interested in credibilty (and not boring others).
LikeLike