NLCS Dodgers vs Cardinals

[Silas]

Looks like AZ is reflecting on his Diamondbacks

 

[mutigers1fan]

WOW! What a game. I'm just getting home from watching the game at a friends house. I'll try and cover all game 1 topics real quick. My thoughts:

Dodgers CF: I thought before the game it may be better for us to see Ethier out there. I think Skip makes that catch and holds STL scoreless. Ethier fully healthy may make that play also but I haven't seen nearly as much of him as I have of Skip so I wouldn't be an expert on this topic.

Pitching: Great showing by both sides, what else to say?

The play at the plate: Ellis initiated contact with Yadi. Because of this Yadi is going to get the benefit of the doubt if its close to a tag. Not saying its the rule, just that because the runner ran into him the ump will generally give the catcher that call. It's similar to the "in the area" call on a double play.

The throw to the plate: Veteran play be Carlos to call off Jay, mature play by Jay to back off.

Pulling Gonzo/pinch hitting for Lynn: This worked to our advantage in the end. If Gordon had scored though it would have been worth it. If DD had not been able to get a hit and score when he was inserted for Lynn we would have been really short on pitchers. Our risk paid off, yours didn't.

What this means for the rest of the series: Most obviously we are up 1-0, lots of series to go though. Additionally, Shelby Miller is starting game 4 for us and Lynn is a bullpen guy.

Thanks for hosting this convo guys! This board is more lively than ours. Hope you guys are enjoying the chatter as much as I am.

 

[sublime4eva]

Knew Mattingly was gonna pull AGon for a pinch runner, was too obvious, what I don't understand is why we didn't even attempt to move either the pinch runner or Puig over, just bad managing, but Eithier should of caught that ball off the wall also cause that was a big error, Grienke made 2 bad pitches and we paid dearly, I can't believe we only got 2 runs off Kelly too, just an awful game all-around. And what about the out at home? don't you actually have to TAG the runner?

And Michael Young has been useless since we got him.

 

[mutigers1fan]

Mark Ellis commented on the play saying, "Yeah, I was out. It was pretty obvious. ... It's a collision at home plate, they're going to call you out every time. You're out. You run into him, you're out, that's what they're going to call."

Also, Lynn has been named Game 4 starter.

 

[OutlawImmortal]

Mark Ellis commented on the play saying, "Yeah, I was out. It was pretty obvious. ... It's a collision at home plate, they're going to call you out every time. You're out. You run into him, you're out, that's what they're going to call."

Also, Lynn has been named Game 4 starter.

Yeah, I understand that's an out 100% of the time in that situation but I'm sure you can understand the utter frustration of yesterday from a Dodgers fan's point of view. Luckily, the game's only a couple hours away, that's the good part about a loss like that. No time to dwell on it, let's just get to work.

 

[sublime4eva]

Puig is stinking it up, how does Mr. 0fer not get a run in there...smdh!

 

[The Derski]

 

[OutlawImmortal]

Reflecting on your Dbacks again? Don't worry they're still butthurt about the pool.

 

[LASports96]

How are the links?

 

[CatsTopPac]

I think LA's biggest problem is BA with RISP. LA has out-hit the opponent in every game in the postseason, and yet they are 3-3. In only one game (the loss in ATL) have the pitchers given up more ERs than the opponent. And really, other than Ryu's start, the two ER given up by Paco in the same game, and the 2 ER given up by Withrow in ATL, the pitching has been very solid. All pitching besides those instances has yielded a .90 staff ERA. The point is that Kershaw's ERA in the playoff is .47 as he's only given up one ER. And yet, his only win is in the game where he gave up his only ER. LA is 1-16 with RISP in the NLCS.

 

[Old1949]

I think LA's biggest problem is BA with RISP. LA has out-hit the opponent in every game in the postseason, and yet they are 3-3. In only one game (the loss in ATL) have the pitchers given up more ERs than the opponent. And really, other than Ryu's start, the two ER given up by Paco in the same game, and the 2 ER given up by Withrow in ATL, the pitching has been very solid. All pitching besides those instances has yielded a .90 staff ERA. The point is that Kershaw's ERA in the playoff is .47 as he's only given up one ER. And yet, his only win is in the game where he gave up his only ER. LA is 1-16 with RISP in the NLCS.

That pretty much hits the nail on the head. The Dodgers don't hit under pressure.

Mattingly made mistakes that cost us games in the regular season, and possibly in the post season as well, but he is human and all managers occasionally make mistakes. What concerns me about him, though, is that he tends to deny and justify his mistakes rather than fessing up and learning from them. The problem is, who would you replace him with? The front office has to be thinking about that. Overall he has done a credible job, and it would be hard to fire a manager who led his team to be one of the last 4 standing. I think he will be around next year unless Kasten feels there is an outstanding replacement available. If that were to occur, though, I don't believe any loyalty to Mattingly would prevent letting him go.

The Dodgers need to win 4 of the next 5 games, and that's a tall order. I don't see it happening against the Cardinals. None the less, it's been a good year overall that they can be proud of. They've done better than 26 out of 30 teams. The post season has brought out some weaknesses that need to be worked on for next year.

 

[CatsTopPac]

That pretty much hits the nail on the head. The Dodgers don't hit under pressure.

Mattingly made mistakes that cost us games in the regular season, and possibly in the post season as well, but he is human and all managers occasionally make mistakes. What concerns me about him, though, is that he tends to deny and justify his mistakes rather than fessing up and learning from them. The problem is, who would you replace him with? The front office has to be thinking about that. Overall he has done a credible job, and it would be hard to fire a manager who led his team to be one of the last 4 standing. I think he will be around next year unless Kasten feels there is an outstanding replacement available. If that were to occur, though, I don't believe any loyalty to Mattingly would prevent letting him go.

The Dodgers need to win 4 of the next 5 games, and that's a tall order. I don't see it happening against the Cardinals. None the less, it's been a good year overall that they can be proud of. They've done better than 26 out of 30 teams. The post season has brought out some weaknesses that need to be worked on for next year.

I agree with all of that. I was talking to a friend of mine who is a huge Dodger fan and he is calling for Donnie's head. I think we could do better, but I don't see who that is right now. I think if a change in staff is to be made, I think Donnie needs to find a better hitting coach. I don't see how McGuire, as a lifetime .263 hitter, is a viable hitting coach. I think we need an actual hitter if he is to be a former player, not someone who depended on HGH to pave his way. That does nothing for his ability to coach hitting.

 

[OutlawImmortal]

I'm not counting the Dodgers out just yet, let's see if the Magic Castle has any magic left in it.

 

[Rambunctious]

THINK DODGER HITS.....GO DODGER BLUE!

 

[Rambunctious]

THINK BLUE

 

[Rambunctious]

GO DODGERS!!!

 

[Rambunctious]

GO DODGERS

 

[sublime4eva]

Damn we going to ever score again?

 

[OutlawImmortal]

Damn we going to ever score again?

Yes.

 

[Rambunctious]

What a night for RYU