NLDS Thread

[Quake Griffin]

Let's GO!!!!!!11

thoughts? ideas?
Ned….gonna take another jab at what our roster is gonna look like?
anybody care to take a gander at what our rotation will look like?

Looks like if we're in a crunch, Game 1 starter is going Game 4 on 3 days rest.
But the Game 2 starter can throw a potential Game 5 on normal rest.

[Ranma]

It sounds like Brett Anderson is getting the nod over Alex Wood, but that shouldn't be the case. Wood has pitched much better and more reliably of late. The concern with Wood is his postseason inexperience along with this youth and his short outings. However, Wood usually provides 5-6 quality innings, but an argument in favor of Anderson is that Wood pitches better at home while Game 3 will be on the road in New York.

Preferred Dodgers Rotation
Game 1: Clayton Kershaw
Game 2: Zack Greinke
Game 3: Alex Wood
Game 4: Clayton Kershaw (3 days rest)
Game 5: Zack Greinke (4 days rest)


I'm actually curious if Jim Johnson will make the postseason roster. He has yet to pitch in October with his last outing on 9/30/15; the team record in his last 10 appearances is 2-8 ending with a streak of 6 straight losses. I'm not aware of any injuries he may have.


Update: Apparently, he has been away from the team following the birth of his child.

[Neddy]

Let's GO!!!!!!11

thoughts? ideas?
Ned….gonna take another jab at what our roster is gonna look like?
anybody care to take a gander at what our rotation will look like?

Looks like if we're in a crunch, Game 1 starter is going Game 4 on 3 days rest.
But the Game 2 starter can throw a potential Game 5 on normal rest.

I hate the idea of going with 3 starters and a short rest for Kershaw in the first round. the game 4, if needed, is on Oct 13th. game 5 is Oct 15th. the game one of NLCS is Oct 17th and game 2 the next day. if Kershaw pitches a 100 pitches or more on say, both game 1 and game 4 and yet we needed game 5, then what? send Kersh out there on back to back 3 day rest? he will be more than willing, but his elbow is still attached to a human. if Greinke was really needed to close the NLDS, Greinke won't be available until game 3.

unless we are down 1-2 going into the game 4, it makes no sense what so ever to plan Kersh going game 4 if we plan to go deep, all the way to the world series. if we win 2 out of first 3, no matter what I am sending Alex out there.

having said that, I think the roster for the NLDS will be

1. Kershaw --- game 1 starter
2. Greinke --- game 2 starter
3. Anderson -- game 3 starter
4. Wood --- unless we are down 1-2, Alex should be the game 4 starter so we can have Greinke or Kershaw to start game 1 of NLCS.
5, Jensen - closer
6. JP - anytime lefty set up
7. Hatcher - 8th inning
8. Garcia - 7th inning
9. Avilan - lefty for middle innings before
10. Nicasio
for the last spot, the 11th pitcher, I am hoping for an unconventional pick of Magic Mike. I want Nicasio as a middle relief and I want Mike as an emergency/long relief.

12/C-- Grandal
13/1B- Gonzo
14/2B- Kendrick
15/3B- Turner
16/SS- Seager
17/LF- Ethier
18/CF- Joc
19/RF- Puig
20/CF-- ****
21/SS -- Jimmy
22/2B -- Utley
23/C --- Ellis
24/LHPH - Crawford
25/RHPH - Ruggiano

when we face right handed starter, we start Joc. when against lefty, ****. same for Ethier and Ruggiano. Ruggiano is a scrub but he has been on a red hot streak and we should ride it until proven cold... other than that, barring injury, starters should stay the same.

1. L Joc / R **** ( both Joc and **** have better OBP than Kendrick or Puig this season )
2. R Seager
3. L Gonzo
4. R Turner
5. L Ethier
6. R Kendick
7. S Grandal
8. R Puig ( erratic and inconsistent enough to warrant this, along with his questionable hammy, but just scary enough to walk him and put him on base with a pitchers spot coming up. as long as his hammy holds up, he should be able to not make an out on second with a pitcher's spot bunting, a la Ellis. )

Crawford has never been a good pinch hitter and I get that, but his defense in LF has gotten so bad in last couple of seasons that I would rather trust his sporadic bat than his insecure glove. but Carl and Ruggi gives us a decent L/R pinch hitters off the bench. SVS is the better player than both imo, but right now Ruggi is hotter and SVS isn't 100% healthy. if Ruggi cools down during this series, I fully expect SVS to replace him for the NLCS.

[Neddy]

It sounds like Brett Anderson is getting the nod over Alex Wood, but that shouldn't be the case. Wood has pitched much better and more reliably of late. The concern with Wood is his postseason inexperience along with this youth and his short outings. However, Wood usually provides 5-6 quality innings, but an argument in favor of Anderson is that Wood pitches better at home while Game 3 will be on the road in New York.

Preferred Dodgers Rotation
Game 1: Clayton Kershaw
Game 2: Zack Greinke
Game 3: Alex Wood
Game 4: Clayton Kershaw (3 days rest)
Game 5: Zack Greinke (4 days rest)


I'm actually curious if Jim Johnson will make the postseason roster. He has yet to pitch in October with his last outing on 9/30/15 the team record in his last 10 appearances is 2-8 ending streak of 6 straight losses. I'm not aware of any injuries he may have.


Update: Apparently, he has been away from the team following the birth of his child.

Jim isn't making the roster. he hasn't done anything in dodger blue to merit such move when guys like Bolsinger/Frias/Baez are the guys who got us here, and I truly believe one of the three righties I mentioned will make the roster over Jim.

But I want him back for next season. once he is over his slump, he should make a nice set up man.

[Ranma]

Jim isn't making the roster. he hasn't done anything in dodger blue to merit such move when guys like Bolsinger/Frias/Baez are the guys who got us here, and I truly believe one of the three righties I mentioned will make the roster over Jim.

But I want him back for next season. once he is over his slump, he should make a nice set up man.

Agreed. Johnson doesn't deserve a spot on the roster for the playoffs, but I'm not sure what Mattingly will do. Mattingly acknowledged that were it not for Rollins' injury (and Seager's emergence), Rollins would still be the Dodgers' starting SS heading into the postseason.

I'm willing to give Jim Johnson another shot with the team next season but I don't want to commit to him long-term, so I doubt he'll be inclined to come back as an unrestricted free agent who probably wants to either return to familiar surroundings back East (especially with a new bundle of joy in tow) or start anew with a bigger role (and paycheck) elsewhere.

[Quake Griffin]

Ned….is that no Rollins on the roster?

I doubt Mattingly doesnt put him on the roster

[Neddy]

Ned….is that no Rollins on the roster?

I doubt Mattingly doesnt put him on the roster

check the 21st member on my proposed roster. I used his first name.

[Quake Griffin]

One of the things I'm looking for this playoffs is to see how much Donnie trusts this pen.

I think we've all seen Kershaw pitching through trouble with a pitch count over 100 because Donnie didn't trust the pen. He was brilliant in both games through 6 innings last year and became undone during the 7th. I think Donnie will trust this pen more and wont hesitate to go to them in the event that Kershaw (or any SP) gets in a jam later in the game.

edit:
And I thought Kershaw should have been pulled in Game 1, not Game 4 last year….just to be clear.

[Quake Griffin]

Wonder why we haven't named a Game 1 starter yet.

hmph.

[Neddy]

One of the things I'm looking for this playoffs is to see how much Donnie trusts this pen.

I think we've all seen Kershaw pitching through trouble with a pitch count over 100 because Donnie didn't trust the pen. He was brilliant in both games through 6 innings last year and became undone during the 7th. I think Donnie will trust this pen more and wont hesitate to go to them in the event that Kershaw (or any SP) gets in a jam later in the game.

edit:
And I thought Kershaw should have been pulled in Game 1, not Game 4 last year….just to be clear.

that's basically it. Donny enlarged prostate Mattingly does not know when enough is enough. now with all the talk about Kershaw going on a short rest for game 4, I sure hope we score 4 runs or more before the end of six with a usual Kershaw gem and we pull him out.

we may not have a household name outside of Jensen in our pen, but if used correctly, they can get the job done.

one of the thoughts i had was to use one of the starters who may be the 4th guy, to be a set up man. say we bring Alex Wood or Mike Bolsinger for the 7th inning in the game 1, then use Hatcher in the 8th to bridge to Jensen. it's very plausible, if you think about the ability of a starter with diverse pitching repertoire, then not saving anything and go full throttle for one inning only. if we win the game 1, then I would stash him away for the game 4, and rely on the rest of the bullpen (I only want Kershaw to get through 6 in game 1, but I would fully expect Greinke who will get the full 4 day rest until game 5, if needed, to go up to 8th) to handle a short work in game 2 and go all out for the game 3 to close it before we need to waste Kershaw and Greinke again until the start of the NLCS.

[Neddy]

Wonder why we haven't named a Game 1 starter yet.

hmph.

I would think this has to do with FO's psychology. one school of thought (the old school) would be to look at the ERA and win total and say, it is Greinke's right to start the divisional series against deGrom and the Mets. strength of this thought is, that Greinke is more proven in the post season with a whopping 3.6 something career post season ERA with a 1.0 something WHIP that i can remember from top of my head, as Kershaw has gone beyond 5 in post season ERA.

but another school of thought would be ( the SABR school ) to start Kershaw who clearly was the best pitcher accounting for BABIP luck factor, and see the most dominant pitcher in terms of pure stuff and stats a pitcher has a control over. the disparity of post season stats simply points to an extremely small sample size, as Kershaw is prone to have a slow start in the beginning of the season and if we were to judge him by those April games, he won't be the Kershaw we have all come to know and love.

the way I see it, do we want Kershaw to have extra pressure in case Greinke loses the first game? or do we want Greinke to test his BABIP luck against the best pitcher the Mets has to offer?

I want Kershaw in game 1. I think Donny Prostate Cancer wants Greinke. I think that might be the hold up in terms of announcements or lack there of.

[Ranma]

Jon Weisman, DodgerInsider.com (10/6/15)

Clayton Kershaw will start Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the Mets on Friday, the Dodgers have announced, followed by Zack Greinke in Game 2 on Saturday and Brett Anderson in Game 3 at New York on Monday.

Kershaw to Start NLDS Game 1, Followed by Greinke and Anderson

[Quake Griffin]

I'd think of rolling the dice here man.

If we get Game 1, I'd throw Greinke in Queens for Game 3.

I think Brett can match Syndergaard in a Game 2 scenario.
Very risky move but I'm about it.

[Quake Griffin]

Jim Johnson has been sent home. Club says it's not fair to have him in the next man up role.

SVS is sore and wont be available for the 1st round….looks like Puig is getting that spot.

apparently the guys know who is on the roster but that wont be revealed to the media yet

[Quake Griffin]

Joel Peralta made our postseason roster?

Guys.
I'm gonna need a minute.
no words….just a minute...

[Ranma]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/MLB/status/652238186089832448[/tweet]

[Quake Griffin]

kinda scary.

sick for the end of the season.
procedure for the postseason.

hope he's ok.
wouldn't be the 1st time someone has sugar coated an elderly person's exit.

[Neddy]

win it all for Vinny!

[Quake Griffin]

i guess nobody cares that the worst pitcher in a Dodger uniform this year, save for Jim Johnson, is going to be on our NLDS roster.

We're in trouble.

[Ranma]

I'm waiting for the final roster before I weigh in. I'm glad Ruggiano and Puig have reportedly made it as I like them as bench options. I don't know what to make of our bullpen. I'm hopeful that Chris Hatcher's recent improvements can be sustained, but I'm not sure what to make of Peralta over Nicasio. I guess Mattingly's preference for vets is showing up here with that decision.