NLDS Thread

[Neddy]

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.

If Nicasio is out because he has been struggling, I can understand. if it is a strategy, it could also mean we are bringing another starter to be a long man. this could also mean Pedro Baez flat out beat out Juan for a spot in the set up role.

now I see Jensen/Hatcher/JP/Garcia/Avilan/Baez as our pen with Kershaw/Greinke/Anderson/Wood as the starters.

if Peralta is our 11th pitcher, I would expect to see him only when we run out of options. I would have much rather have gone with Magic Mike to ensure an able arm if a game goes deep into extra innings, but hey I am not the GM.

My honest guess as of why Joel made the team is that he pitched for TBR's playoff teams in 2011 and 2013 and gave up no earned runs in 5.2 innings and Andrew trusts his proven vet.

[Neddy]

my personal pick/prediction of the tomorrow's lineup.

1. L 2B Utley (this one is my wish, not what I think would happen)
2. L SS Seager
3. R 3B Turner
4. L 1B Gonzo
5. L LF Ethier
6. R RF Puig
7. L CF Joc
8. R C Ellis
9. L P Kershaw

1. the reason is that Utley gives you a professional at bat, and is hitting .300 against DeGrom. once they go to bullpen and bring in a lefty, we can bring in Kendrick and he can surely hit ahead of Seager and rip the benefit.

2. I want Seager to bat second simply because right now, he is our best hitter.

3. Turner will split the lefties nicely.

4. Gonzo in the cleanup. who else?

5. Ethier is hot. if they bring in a lefty later, we have Ruggiano to pinch hit for him and not miss a beat.

6. why Puig? because Carl's lefty righty split doesn't favor him against DeGrom. Puig has hit .260 with .748 OPS against righty starters. Carl has done .256 with .679 OPS against righty starters this season.

7. Joc because he hits .790 OPS against right handed starters over **** who does .636. forget the BA, Joc flat out outperforms **** against right handed starters and provide better defense.

8. it's Kershaw starting. who else would catch the game 1?

[Quake Griffin]

I'd rather sit Puig and Crawford and put Enrique in LF. I really just hope **** is our LF moving forward into next year.
I'm all for Utley if the splits have him hitting deGrom better. I think his defense is slightly better than Howie's at this point as well.

But lettuce not forget Game 2 of the 2009 NLCS. Utley's terrible throw in that game might be the only reason we didn't get swept that year because Pedro was dealing.


Donnie made a good point in his presser. We had been in a position to play the Mets for over a month now. Farhan and Friedman had tons of time to look into the Mets, so I'm not going to question a single roster move at this point even if my gut tells me to.

Last…
Come on Kershaw. You're tough. You're a bull. It's a small sample size. You're not a mental midget like David Price. You can own October…go out there and do it.

^
I know the Giant fans who lurk the forum will like that one.

[Quake Griffin]

one more thing.

I can smell Turner bobbling my baseball at 3rd base and the unearned run going on the board is already pissing me off.
DONT DO THAT ****!

[Quake Griffin]

I want Joc in CF
**** in Left.
Andre in right.

but I know Donnie is gonna start Carl like always.

[Ranma]

Apparently, the Dodgers are uncomfortable with Nicasio's struggles with his command and are giving Peralta the benefit of the doubt for pitching through pain before going on the DL and his experience as a veteran. To be honest, neither really appeals to me more than Jim Johnson so I would have gone with Mike Bolsinger for that spot on the roster. Other than that, I can't really argue for the players named for postseason play in the opening round of the playoffs.

I still prefer Alex Wood over Brett Anderson for Game 3 and, while I recognize concerns about not having Kershaw and Greinke to start the next round of the playoffs, I don't want to take anything for granted and will go with my stallions as soon as possible and for as long as necessary. Of course, everything is fluid depending on circumstances but we have to take heed of the urgency that Kershaw has been trying to rally this team around. Greinke has stated that he's uncomfortable with pitching outside of his routine on short rest, so he has to pitch Games 2 and 5.

Starting Rotation
Game 1: Kershaw
Game 2: Greinke
Game 3: Wood
Game 4: Kershaw
Game 5: Greinke

Ideally, we'd have Joc Pederson and Yasiel Puig both healthy and consistently contributing in the outfield, but I don't have confidence to count on either right now with the added pressure to go along with their respective struggles and lack of regular playing time in recent games. Adrian Gonzalez's cold stretch is also a big concern representative of our team's struggles to produce consistent and timely offense, but we don't have a better option at 1B and can only hope for the best.

I'd like to see Chase Utley out there but he also hasn't been swinging the bat well since his acquisition, so I'll go with Howie Kendrick at 2B. While I'd prefer to have **** Hernandez off the bench as a super-utility guy, he'd start in CF for me at the moment until we see encouraging signs from Pederson and/or Puig. Likewise, Crawford gets the nod in LF for his speed and seemingly raising his game in the postseason, so I would ride him until he inevitably injures himself again.

Yasmani Grandal gets the call to start off at C despite Kershaw's preference just to see if he can work himself back into form. While I'd like to see Corey Seager bat higher in the lineup at SS, I'm concerned about his trending downward towards the end of the regular season so I'd start him off lower in the batting order as a major league newbie until he shows comfort in the high-pressure postseason environment. Andre Ethier has arguably been our most consistent player throughout the regular season and his tendency for clutch hits will hopefully improve our timely hitting, so I'd have him bat clean-up in RF. Justin Turner has to be given the shot at 3B for now as well.

The appealing aspect of our roster is that we have viable options for players to take over at other positions should the named starting fielders struggle for whatever reason. Pederson, Ruggiano, and Puig for the outfield. Utley for 1B, 2B, and 3B. Grandal at 1B with Ellis at C. **** anywhere in the field except C. Rollins obviously at SS.

Starting Lineup
LF: Crawford
2B: Kendrick
3B: Turner
RF: Ethier
1B: Gonzalez
SS: Seager
C: Grandal
CF: Hernandez
P: Kershaw

[Ranma]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9-W66_zaa8[/youtube]

[Quake Griffin]

Did a LITTLE bit of homework.

Looks like Brett Anderson has never thrown against the Mets.
Looks like Alex Wood has been shaky against them this year.

Possibly Friedman and Farhan have info on how Brett has done against some of their individual hitters and it has inspired the move. But I'm not going to question the moves just yet.


Peralta had good numbers coming off his last DL stint…apparently he's tough on Cespedes and Granderson…still trying to hawk those numbers down (a friend said that to me while I was complaining).

[Quake Griffin]

Ellis is starting Ranma

[Ranma]

Ellis is starting Ranma

Thanks, Quake. Not surprising as I doubt my lineup would actually match Mattingly's. Still, I guess it's back to the old drawing board for me.

[Ranma]

Well, what do you know. I'm surprised and excited to see Mattingly pencil in Corey Seager 3rd in the batting order. I honestly didn't think he had the wherewithal to do it, but I'm glad to see him show that much faith in the kid. Kudos to Mattingly for doing this.

Also, I'm glad to see Pederson get the nod in CF as well. Outside of Joc and A.J., my guesses seem in line with the lineup card Mattingly will hand to the umpire. I actually prefer it to the one I made up.

Eric Stephen, TrueBlueLA.com (10/9/15)

Corey Seager Bats 3rd for Dodgers in his First Playoff Game

[Quake Griffin]

Mattingly/ Friedman has a lot of faith in Crawford.

[Neddy]

Well, what do you know. I'm surprised and excited to see Mattingly pencil in Corey Seager 3rd in the batting order. I honestly didn't think he had the wherewithal to do it, but I'm glad to see him show that much faith in the kid. Kudos to Mattingly for doing this.

Also, I'm glad to see Pederson get the nod in CF as well. Outside of Joc and A.J., my guesses seem in line with the lineup card Mattingly will hand to the umpire. I actually prefer it to the one I made up.

Eric Stephen, TrueBlueLA.com (10/9/15)

Corey Seager Bats 3rd for Dodgers in his First Playoff Game

I know what traditional meaning of batting 3rd is, but batting second is more impactful. I would rather have Kendrick bat third and move Seager second.

having said that, I am uber happy that Don Potato didn't relegate him to batting say, 6th or 7th.

[Quake Griffin]

deGrom is throwing a lot of pitches but he's dealing though.

Cuddyer helping us out.

[Neddy]

deGrom is throwing a lot of pitches but he's dealing though.

Cuddyer helping us out.

we better **** score some runs now

[Ranma]

I don't care that Kershaw gave up a long HR. Their manager said they basically just look for fastballs against Clayton because he's so good, so they're bound to get one. The Dodgers can't win if they don't score runs and the TBS broadcast team says that they are 0-4 with RISP in the 2nd and 3rd innings. There have been opportunities but the team needs to capitalize on them.

Ellis just banged a single, so we now have a runner on 1B and 2B with one out. Just another one of those opportunities to step up for timely hitting.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/BillPlaschke/status/652680339643482112[/tweet]


Update: Joc pops up for the out on the 1st pitch and Kershaw just lined out on a full count after going down 2 strikes and no balls. So the team is no 0-6 with RISP in the innings 2 through 4.

[Neddy]

goddamn it if we went with the lineup I proposed, we would have scored already with seager's double followed by Turner going two for two.

potentially even more if Utley would have gotten on base at least once.

[Ranma]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/BillShaikin/status/652683160774311936[/tweet]
[tweet]https://twitter.com/Joelsherman1/status/652684743335477248[/tweet]

[Quake Griffin]

Nice to see Kershaw get through David Wright again after the 12 pitch debacle in the 1st inning.

3rd time through the order is where you earn your money. Let's see what our ace has.
LET'S PUT SOME RUNS ON THE BOARD.

Crawford….cheat or do something….get on the base paths…we need ur speed on there.
Freakin Turner didn't go to 3rd on AJ Ellis's single.

[Ranma]

The Dodgers' offense doesn't just need Batman, it needs batmen.