It’d be nice if the Dodgers could figure out how to manufacture a run. I’m not asking for much here, just not striking out or grounding out in a way that can’t advance the runner.
The Sox bullpen now consists of Brazier and Barnes, plus whichever starter pitched two days ago, and Kimbrel if you positively need him.
So much this. All season long this has been killing me. It’s like they hit homers or nothing. I know this isn’t actually true, but it really feels this way.
It’s like the idea of small ball and productive outs is completely gone league-wide. I can’t decide if it’s because of the statisticians effect on the game or something else I can’t put my finger on.
Today’s NLCS game will determine the winner.
If (sigh…when…) the Dodgers win then they just have to win 1 more and they’re in. And that’s entirely possible.
If the Brewers somehow get a win then they just have to take 1 of 2 at home. And that’s entirely possible.
I feel this series ends in 6 with a Dodgers win where the blown game this past Saturday for Milwaukee will loom large and this team can join the 2011 team as a great “what if” in MIL baseball
Machado was a good pick for the Dodgers.
But his attitude grinds me. And he ain’t no gentleman.
Well, they did lead the NL in home runs. But they were second in the NL in on base percentage, too, second in doubles, and weren’t really BAD at anything. So it’s true the Dodgers are a homer-dependent offense, but that’s because they were very good at hitting homers, not because they are bad at other things.
These days there are so many strikeouts I wonder if fans of EVERY team thinks they’re homer-or-nothing. The Dodgers struck out 1436 times, a huge number - in effect, it makes the average opposing pitcher a strikeout artist equivalent to Mariano Rivera (in strikeouts, not anything else). And yet the Dodgers did not lead in the league in striking out - they weren’t even in the top five.
The FEWEST strikeouts by a team this season was by Cleveland, who whiffed 1189 times. Just 20 years ago, in 1998, that number would have led the American League. Ten years prior to that - and in fact most seasons in major league history up to that point - it would have led the majors by a huge margin.
I’m not John Smoltz bitching and whining about how much he hates everything about baseball, but sky high K rates is a trend I hope doesn’t continue.
Yeah, part of it does seem to be statistical probabilities ruling managerial decisions (which is, as I understand it, part of the reason why base stealing is out of fashion). But, part of it also seems to be the usage of more relievers, earlier in games, and defensive shifts, both of which make it harder to get hits (or, probably, “productive outs”) in general.
Last night’s game went 13 innings, and there were only 15 hits (but 32 strikeouts), as 16 pitchers were used. It’s an extreme example, but it’s what the game of baseball has become.
I hate base stealing. I’m sure there are stats which say it’s a smart move to get a guy on second and it works and blah blah, but the risk of gifting an out is not worth the reward of getting a guy on second.
What a waste of an out.
(Also, it’s about time Yelich plays like an MVP…aaaaaaand the half inning is over. Perfect)
Base stealing is more than just getting on second when you succeed. You also disrupt the pitcher a bit, rattle him even, and you change the game considerably by just getting into scoring position. The great ones like Ricky Henderson changed the game when he advanced, almost at will.
Sure there’s a risk, but the reward sometimes is greater.
I’ve watched the movie version of Moneyball too many times that I’m starting to believe all the things Brad Pitt says in it.
Wait…Miley gives up ONE walk and he’s pulled? What the hell? What kind of weird-ass shit is this?
ETA: So it’s lefty/righty BS apparently?
Also: I’ve now discovered I’m a terrible baseball fan
You can always second guess the managers that you’re watching, but never second guess yourself! A great thing about being a sports fan. Me? I am a legend in my own mind… 
This sounds like the reason it feels like it’s homer or nothing to me.
It IS crazy that strikeouts are so high right now. I wonder what’s causing that. Are pitchers that good or is it something else?
When I said I wanted the Dodgers to play more small ball, I didn’t mean “bunt it twenty feet in the air and fifty feet down the first base line.”
And way to start 0-2 with two double plays and show no effort, Machado. Yep, you’ll definitely never be “Johnny (sic) Hustle”.
Two separate innings where the Dodgers managed to move 'em over and bring 'em in? Be still my heart!
Oh shit I’d better stop reading this. I’ve taped the game and will start watching when I get home in an hour.
Go Brewers!!!
This. He’s a really good player, but he’s a bit dirty. He pretty much ended Dustin Pedrois’s career with a spike to the knee.
Pitchers are good, but my understanding is that a big chunk of it is that teams use relief pitchers earlier, and more often, now (and, have more relievers in their bullpen than they used to). The stats are pretty clear that, the more times a batter sees a pitcher during a game, the higher his batting average against that pitcher will be. So, managers are more likely these days to pull a starter after two times through the batting order (more or less). The complete game is just about extinct now.
Another factor that may be feeding into the strikeout rate is that, with the huge increase in the use of defensive shifts in recent years, batters are substantially more likely to be trying to hit the ball in the air (looking to get an extra-base hit), rather than trying to make contact for a ground ball / single.
Pulling Miley after one walk was the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen. I get the whole mind game thing, but it was just idiotic. And it’s not a hindsight thing, either. He shut out the Dodgers for 5 and 2/3 innings his last start. That was just a baffling move.
I don’t really see the issue. He’s going to start Game 6 in two days. So why not let him use this warm-up and single batter as a sort of side/bullpen session for Miley while slightly increasing the odds of retiring the Dodgers’ first batter at the same time? Woodruff is already used to coming in out of the pen, so it’s not like you’re hurting his rhythm in any way.
I just don’t see the downside for the Brewers in doing that.