Rookie Manager Dave Roberts made his toughest decision of the young season against the San Francisco Giants. Rookie pitcher Ross Stripling had a no hitter through 7 1/3 innings even though he had walked four and gave up a run. Stripling is two years removed from Tommy John surgery and was making his major league debut. He made 100 pitches and Dave Roberts called the decision to remove Stripling a "no brainer." He cited Stripling's health and the fact that it is a long season. After the game, Stripling admitted that he was getting tired.
There is a lot of fans and baseball purists that believe that Stripling should have been allowed to try to finish the no hitter. Whether or not to remove a pitcher or not while he is pitching a no hitter has been long debated and is often included in the discussion of baseball's unwritten rules or "the code." Ross Stripling had the opportunity to make baseball history as well by pitching a no hitter in his major league debut.
I believe that Roberts made the right call and it would be less of an issue if the Dodgers would have held on to win the game. Stripling left in the bottom of the eighth inning with a 2-1 lead and the Dodgers lost 3-2 in ten innings. That is just the first decision by Roberts in a season full of decisions that will be second guessed by fans and the media.
Showing posts with label Dave Roberts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dave Roberts. Show all posts
Saturday, April 9, 2016
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Kazmir Comes Through
I have to admit, I had my doubts about Scott Kazmir all the way through spring training. He got lit up in his first couple of spring training starts and the way Dodgers pitchers were going down with one injury or another, I thought the Dodgers may have to trade for more starting pitching. He started pitching better towards the end of spring training and being a veteran pitcher, he seems to have been able to flip the switch. I know that one great regular season outing is just the beginning of a long season but Kazmir took a step towards easing my doubts. Kazmir came as close as he could come to matching Clayton Kershaw's opening day performance allowing only one hit in six innings with five strikeouts and no walks. He only threw 75 pitches and 49 of those were strikes.
The Dodgers offense was not the offensive juggernaut that it was in the first game but they are never going to be confused with the 1927 New York Yankees. Yasiel Puig needed to get a strong start to the season and he has done just that. He hit his second triple in two games, driving in the first two runs of the game and scored the final run when Carl Crawford drove him in.
New Manager Dave Roberts moves have been minimal in his first two games. With the pitching the Dodgers have had in the first two games, he hasn't had to make many decisions. Outside of inserting a few pinch hitters, making a few pitching changes to keep the bullpen sharp, and inserting Trayce Thompson as a defensive replacement, the Dodgers are almost managing themselves. The offense has scored 18 runs in two games, the pitching has two shutouts and has only allowed six hits.
The Dodgers offense was not the offensive juggernaut that it was in the first game but they are never going to be confused with the 1927 New York Yankees. Yasiel Puig needed to get a strong start to the season and he has done just that. He hit his second triple in two games, driving in the first two runs of the game and scored the final run when Carl Crawford drove him in.
New Manager Dave Roberts moves have been minimal in his first two games. With the pitching the Dodgers have had in the first two games, he hasn't had to make many decisions. Outside of inserting a few pinch hitters, making a few pitching changes to keep the bullpen sharp, and inserting Trayce Thompson as a defensive replacement, the Dodgers are almost managing themselves. The offense has scored 18 runs in two games, the pitching has two shutouts and has only allowed six hits.
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
Run Support
The Los Angeles Dodgers gave Opening Day starter Clayton Kershaw a month's worth of run support to the tune of 15 runs in the 15-0 rout of the San Diego Padres. Kershaw has often been the victim of lack of run support in his career but he was staked to an early 2-0 lead after the first inning and the Dodgers were just getting warmed up setting a few Opening Day records along the way. The 15-0 shutout win were the most runs scored in a shutout in Opening Day history.
The Dodgers used 37 year old second baseman Chase Utley in the leadoff spot and he had three hits and drove in two, rookie shortstop Corey Seager had a double that drove in the first Dodgers run, and first baseman Adrian Gonzalez had three hits and drove in three as he continued to torment his original team. Catcher A.J. Ellis also drove in three, two of those coming on a bouncer over a Padres drawn in infield in a five run sixth inning.
Kershaw was outstanding as he only gave up one hit and a walk in seven innings pitched and struck out nine. He improved his Opening Day record to 4-0 with a 0.93 ERA, one point behind Rick Mahler's Opening Day record of 0.92.
Dave Roberts did not have to do much managing in his managerial debut. The best move he made was pulling Kershaw after seven innings and 96 pitches. I believe the only way Kershaw is left out there is if he had a no-hitter going. Roberts did get some of the younger players in the game as Austin Barnes got in an inning at second base but had no fielding chances and outfielder Trayce Thompson doubled in a run in his only at official at bat and scored two runs.
The Dodgers used 37 year old second baseman Chase Utley in the leadoff spot and he had three hits and drove in two, rookie shortstop Corey Seager had a double that drove in the first Dodgers run, and first baseman Adrian Gonzalez had three hits and drove in three as he continued to torment his original team. Catcher A.J. Ellis also drove in three, two of those coming on a bouncer over a Padres drawn in infield in a five run sixth inning.
Kershaw was outstanding as he only gave up one hit and a walk in seven innings pitched and struck out nine. He improved his Opening Day record to 4-0 with a 0.93 ERA, one point behind Rick Mahler's Opening Day record of 0.92.
Dave Roberts did not have to do much managing in his managerial debut. The best move he made was pulling Kershaw after seven innings and 96 pitches. I believe the only way Kershaw is left out there is if he had a no-hitter going. Roberts did get some of the younger players in the game as Austin Barnes got in an inning at second base but had no fielding chances and outfielder Trayce Thompson doubled in a run in his only at official at bat and scored two runs.
Friday, November 27, 2015
Dave Roberts
"We're extremely excited to bring Dave Roberts on board as the next manager of the Dodgers." With that simple statement, president of baseball operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers Andrew Friedman announced the hiring of Dave Roberts. Roberts is a former player for the Dodgers in the early 2000's but has no managerial experience at any level of professional baseball.
The two finalists, Gabe Kapler and Roberts, were a surprise because I believed that the Dodgers would go after someone with more experience. I also believed that Kapler had the advantage because of his relationship with Friedman but Roberts knocked it out of the park during his interview and a managerial career was born.
The two finalists, Gabe Kapler and Roberts, were a surprise because I believed that the Dodgers would go after someone with more experience. I also believed that Kapler had the advantage because of his relationship with Friedman but Roberts knocked it out of the park during his interview and a managerial career was born.
Sunday, November 22, 2015
Crashing To Earth
It has taken me more than a month to be able to write about the Dodgers again. The New York Mets were a bad matchup for the Dodgers because of their young power arms. The Dodgers hung tough but their just wasn't enough hitting. The series loss to the Mets ended up costing Don Mattingly his job.
Three National League West titles in a row (for the first time in Dodgers history) were not enough so the Dodgers and Mattingly had a "mutual parting of the ways." That allows both sides to save face and I guess it beats "Mattingly did not meet expectations", "we have a $300 million payroll and can't get out of the first round", and "what the **** was he thinking" when he made that move. Mattingly could just not get them over the hump.
Mattingly had the talent in place but injuries derailed the Dodgers season early on as two of their starting pitchers were out for the season by May, Yasiel Puig missed half the season because of hamstring problems, the bullpen was a shambles because of misuse, overuse, and not enough quality arms. The Dodgers rode Greinke and Kershaw as long as they could but it was not enough. I always thought Mattingly was at his best when he had to cobble together a lineup or a pitching staff but not this season.
The Dodgers had a $300 million payroll and the current Dodgers ownership would settle for nothing less than a World Series title. Mattingly barely got them out of the first round in three playoff appearances. Mattingly is still a hot commodity in managerial circles and had no problems finding another job as the Miami Marlins snapped him up after about two weeks.
The Los Angeles Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman wants to put his stamp on the Dodgers with the new manager and it is down to two men, Gabe Kapler, who is already in the Dodgers organization, and Dave Roberts, currently with the San Diego Padres and who broke in with the Dodgers as a player. Kapler is Friedman's guy so my money would be on Kapler getting the job. Kapler is the only one that has any managerial experience as he managed one season of Class A baseball
Three National League West titles in a row (for the first time in Dodgers history) were not enough so the Dodgers and Mattingly had a "mutual parting of the ways." That allows both sides to save face and I guess it beats "Mattingly did not meet expectations", "we have a $300 million payroll and can't get out of the first round", and "what the **** was he thinking" when he made that move. Mattingly could just not get them over the hump.
Mattingly had the talent in place but injuries derailed the Dodgers season early on as two of their starting pitchers were out for the season by May, Yasiel Puig missed half the season because of hamstring problems, the bullpen was a shambles because of misuse, overuse, and not enough quality arms. The Dodgers rode Greinke and Kershaw as long as they could but it was not enough. I always thought Mattingly was at his best when he had to cobble together a lineup or a pitching staff but not this season.
The Dodgers had a $300 million payroll and the current Dodgers ownership would settle for nothing less than a World Series title. Mattingly barely got them out of the first round in three playoff appearances. Mattingly is still a hot commodity in managerial circles and had no problems finding another job as the Miami Marlins snapped him up after about two weeks.
The Los Angeles Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman wants to put his stamp on the Dodgers with the new manager and it is down to two men, Gabe Kapler, who is already in the Dodgers organization, and Dave Roberts, currently with the San Diego Padres and who broke in with the Dodgers as a player. Kapler is Friedman's guy so my money would be on Kapler getting the job. Kapler is the only one that has any managerial experience as he managed one season of Class A baseball
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