The 2017 Dodgers WORLD SERIES!!! Thread

[Quake Griffin]

NLCS starts Saturday.

My guess is Shaw gets the ball Game 1.
I want Rich Hill getting Game 2
Darvish for Game 3. Thus if we have a Game 7, we have our true #2 going.


Could go Hill Game 1 and Kershaw Game 2 to ensure Shaw gets Game6 at home if necessary.

My guess is the Cubs move on tomorrow.
Kershaw-Hendricks on Saturday.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

[Quake Griffin]

Still juiced from last night's win.


Is anybody else concerned about Darvish?
He was going just fine and seemed to unravel rather with in a matter of a few pitches. He did hang a slider to Descalso but there was nothing to suggest that he was gonna lose his control that quickly.

Luckily we could get him out of there with no damage but that does scare me going forward.

[Quake Griffin]

The victory was sweet but I think I’ll save vindicated for if we win it all without him.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

[Neddy]

Still juiced from last night's win.


Is anybody else concerned about Darvish?
He was going just fine and seemed to unravel rather with in a matter of a few pitches. He did hang a slider to Descalso but there was nothing to suggest that he was gonna lose his control that quickly.

Luckily we could get him out of there with no damage but that does scare me going forward.

his mental approach is a bit frail. it was the bean ball that did him in. he should be opposite and be a bastard, act like he is proud of the beanball, and make himself not only a pitcher with great stuff, but an intimidating one at that. just like Don Drysdale.

[Neddy]

and since i mentioned it at my drunken stupor, well... my diagnosis is incomplete. after 3 blood works, my blood work confirmed the presence of my condition, but I still need my MRI to know the extend of it. my doc which is a friend of mine, thinks I have a very good chance of it being benign and may not even need surgery. I am going in for an MRI soon to find out the size, as well as to confirm the location. thanks fellas, hope this isn't anything too serious.

[Kilroy]

Still juiced from last night's win.


Is anybody else concerned about Darvish?
He was going just fine and seemed to unravel rather with in a matter of a few pitches. He did hang a slider to Descalso but there was nothing to suggest that he was gonna lose his control that quickly.

Luckily we could get him out of there with no damage but that does scare me going forward.

his mental approach is a bit frail. it was the bean ball that did him in. he should be opposite and be a bastard, act like he is proud of the beanball, and make himself not only a pitcher with great stuff, but an intimidating one at that. just like Don Drysdale.

I'm sort of clueless, but is there some reason Yu would bean him? History?

I mean, loss of control is loss of control... He'd had a few missed pitches... One resulted in a homer, but losing it inside twice a few pitches apart is enough of a red flag to get the hook IMO...
It does kind of suck that he couldn't have gone out on a higher note, because I thought he'd been brilliant up to then... And I love a Drysdale style pitcher as much as the next guy... But I don't think he could 'claim' that one, and turn it into anything other than what it was.

[Kilroy]

and since i mentioned it at my drunken stupor, well... my diagnosis is incomplete. after 3 blood works, my blood work confirmed the presence of my condition, but I still need my MRI to know the extend of it. my doc which is a friend of mine, thinks I have a very good chance of it being benign and may not even need surgery. I am going in for an MRI soon to find out the size, as well as to confirm the location. thanks fellas, hope this isn't anything too serious.

I'm sorry for the scary news, but it sounds like you've got some reason to be positive. So I'll just wish you the best! I hope everything turns out as planned and you can put it behind you soon.

[Neddy]

Still juiced from last night's win.


Is anybody else concerned about Darvish?
He was going just fine and seemed to unravel rather with in a matter of a few pitches. He did hang a slider to Descalso but there was nothing to suggest that he was gonna lose his control that quickly.

Luckily we could get him out of there with no damage but that does scare me going forward.

his mental approach is a bit frail. it was the bean ball that did him in. he should be opposite and be a bastard, act like he is proud of the beanball, and make himself not only a pitcher with great stuff, but an intimidating one at that. just like Don Drysdale.

I'm sort of clueless, but is there some reason Yu would bean him? History?

I mean, loss of control is loss of control... He'd had a few missed pitches... One resulted in a homer, but losing it inside twice a few pitches apart is enough of a red flag to get the hook IMO...
It does kind of suck that he couldn't have gone out on a higher note, because I thought he'd been brilliant up to then... And I love a Drysdale style pitcher as much as the next guy... But I don't think he could 'claim' that one, and turn it into anything other than what it was.

naw there is no history. he was looking to throw heat the first time when it was close, and the second time was just missing the release point. fatigue was probably the reason. but once he hit the guy (technically didn't hit him, the ball hit the guy's hardhat's bill) he was mentally done. you could see it in his eyes when the camera zoomed in on his face.
the Drysdale suggestion was for the fact that both are big righties with nasty stuff. Drysdale pitched inside and wasn't afraid to hit the hitters. I was wishing for Yu not to unravel in guilt when he hits guys.

[Neddy]

and since i mentioned it at my drunken stupor, well... my diagnosis is incomplete. after 3 blood works, my blood work confirmed the presence of my condition, but I still need my MRI to know the extend of it. my doc which is a friend of mine, thinks I have a very good chance of it being benign and may not even need surgery. I am going in for an MRI soon to find out the size, as well as to confirm the location. thanks fellas, hope this isn't anything too serious.

I'm sorry for the scary news, but it sounds like you've got some reason to be positive. So I'll just wish you the best! I hope everything turns out as planned and you can put it behind you soon.

thanks man. I really mean it.

[Neddy]

Hey I will update you guys about my brain, but for now, Let's Celebrate the Divisional series win and get ready for the NLCS! come dudes, no downer here man!

[Ranma]

The victory was sweet but I think I’ll save vindicated for if we win it all without him.

With regards to vindication over not signing Greinke to that oversized long-term contract, Friedman has already proven with little doubt that he made the right call. That deal will look even worse over the 4 remaining years left on the contract.

The Dodgers went out and addressed our pitching woes at an inexpensive cost both in terms of money spent and trade assets. Friedman traded for Darvish, Cingrani, Watson, and Wood while also signing Maeda to quite the team-friendly deal. Plus, we got Morrow on the cheap as well as securing Hill to a reasonable contract. Every one of those acquired players has already paid dividends in the playoffs so far with the exception of Wood, but he turned in an All-Star performance during the regular season.

The Dodgers are clearly better off now without Greinke than we were when we had him. That's not to say that we couldn't use him on the pitching staff, but it was cost prohibitive to continue to employ his diminished services.

[Ranma]

The Dodgers have been working with Darvish and he's shown improvement. I already mentioned limiting his pitch selection, but Kershaw has also preached to him about changing his mentality to focus less on worrying about how to get batters out and more on believing that he will get them out and then just executing. Everyone basically acknowledges that he has tremendous stuff, so it's just a matter of control and command for him.

Another aspect about Darvish's pitching that I forgot to mention was being addressed was that the coaching staff has also worked on his mechanics. Roberts mentioned prior to Darvish's outing last night how he exhibited signs of losing his feel for pitches when the ball starts tailing to his arm side and, lo and behold, Yu ran into trouble when he practically plunked Walker twice in a single at-bat. I've also heard talk about squaring his shoulders as well.

And Darvish is a smart guy. In the post-game press conference, he mentioned how he knew he had to have pinpoint control because the open dome in Arizona limited the movement break on his pitches, which is why he went with mostly fastballs and sliders rather than employing his wicked curve ball.

His teammates also mentioned how he seems more relaxed and under control prior to the game as well and Darvish himself acknowledged how the organization has gone out of its way to make him feel comfortable in integrating him into the clubhouse. This has to be encouraging for another prominent Japanese pitcher to hear and witness how Darvish has benefited greatly under the Dodgers' watch.

Darvish will is unlikely to ever fully adopt the Drysdale mentality but the Dodgers--from executives to coaches and players--are all supporting him to be the best he can be and it seems to be working. He's obviously still susceptible to a mental breakdown but he's showing promising progress.

Given that he's had the best pitching performance as a Dodgers starting pitcher in the postseason, I'm actually contemplating elevating him up to 2nd in the rotation for the NLCS. However, it might serve us well to keep him as the 3rd starter to gain a huge advantage regardless of who our opponent will be. While Hill has been reliable and steady, Darvish presents such a tantalizing proposition for a high payoff.

Read on Twitter

[Quake Griffin]

Glad Yu was brought into the fold and glad he is able to adjust like that. I did want to stand pat at the deadline (before there was a Gray v. Yu discussion) but I can admit readily that I was much more comfortable with Yu out there than Wood at this point.

NLCS starts Saturday.

My guess is Shaw gets the ball Game 1.
I want Rich Hill getting Game 2
Darvish for Game 3. Thus if we have a Game 7, we have our true #2 going.


Could go Hill Game 1 and Kershaw Game 2 to ensure Shaw gets Game6 at home if necessary.

My guess is the Cubs move on tomorrow.
Kershaw-Hendricks on Saturday.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

Any comments on how you'd like to setup the rotation?
The more I think about it, the more I want Kershaw starting Game 2.

[Ranma]

Read on Twitter

[Ranma]

Glad Yu was brought into the fold and glad he is able to adjust like that. I did want to stand pat at the deadline (before there was a Gray v. Yu discussion) but I can admit readily that I was much more comfortable with Yu out there than Wood at this point.

Given Darvish's previous postseason track record prior to joining the Dodgers, I was in the Gray camp because of his bulldog mentality. It's only one playoff game, but Darvish was so impressive that I want to see more from him, which means that I'm leaning towards moving him up in the rotation in order to ensure more appearances should our series extend beyond 4 games.

Any comments on how you'd like to setup the rotation?
The more I think about it, the more I want Kershaw starting Game 2.

I might want to wait until our NLCS opponent is determined, but with Strasburg now pitching tonight, that presumably takes him out of consideration for Saturday or Sunday should the Nationals advance. I'd prefer to avoid lining Darvish up against Scherzer or Strasburg and having him pitch at home could be a boost for him rather than being surrounded by the confines of Wrigley Field should the Cubs advance.

As of right now, I'm leaning towards the following starting rotation:

Clayton Kershaw - Game 1
Yu Darvish - Game 2
Rich Hill - Game 3
Alex Wood - Game 4
Clayton Kershaw - Game 5 (if necessary)
Yu Darvish - Game 6 (if necessary)
Rich Hill - Game 7 (if necessary)

I want to avoid going to Kershaw on short rest until maybe Game 6 and/or 7 of the World Series should the Dodgers get there. Darvish would only be pitching at Chavez Ravine in this scenario and we'd have Hill lined up for a Game 7 if needed, which I feel good about.

[Quake Griffin]

You'd even avoid a scenario of Kershaw pitching Game 7 of the NLCS on 2 days rest?

For more context, Game 7 of the NLCS would be 10-22-17.
Game 1 of the WS would be 10-24-17.
If we had that kind of tough series with the Nats/Cubs and we used Kershaw in game 7 on 2 days rest, he'd be in line to start Game 3 of the WS in someone else's park.

I'm not married to any idea here. I think it is interesting and I'm comfortable either way.

and I'm anxious for the Dodgers to come back on, so I'll discuss ANYTHING Dodger related at this point.

[Ranma]

Also, with the emergence of Maeda as a right-handed specialist in the bullpen our relief corps looks downright dominant now.

RHP Kenley Jansen
RHP Brandon Morrow
LHP Tony Cingrani
RHP Kenta Maeda
LHP Tony Watson

That's five strong relievers who would theoretically provide at least 5 strong innings of relief. Plus, with Wood as a Game 4 starter, it opens the door for him to serve as another relief option in either Game 6 or 7 of the World Series should we advance to the title series. That also doesn't factor in Kershaw weaving some short-rest magic with the championship on the line.

[Quake Griffin]

Super disappointed in Strasburg not wanting to take the ball today and IMO getting publicly shamed into taking the ball.

It's one thing if you're truly hurt but IMO, I agree on having a bulldog mentality.
I want my $175 million ace to be tough as nails and to not let ANYTHING get between him and an opportunity to pitch.

Kershaw isn't an October Juggernaut but my guy wants the ball every time and puts forth his best effort which sometimes results in him answering the bell.

[Ranma]

You'd even avoid a scenario of Kershaw pitching Game 7 of the NLCS on 2 days rest?

For more context, Game 7 of the NLCS would be 10-22-17.
Game 1 of the WS would be 10-24-17.
If we had that kind of tough series with the Nats/Cubs and we used Kershaw in game 7 on 2 days rest, he'd be in line to start Game 3 of the WS in someone else's park.

I'm not married to any idea here. I think it is interesting and I'm comfortable either way.

and I'm anxious for the Dodgers to come back on, so I'll discuss ANYTHING Dodger related at this point.

Yeah, that's the plan. I want to avoid going to Kershaw on short rest until the World Series. He's proven less effective more often than not and it hurts us for the next series even if we do advance. Obviously, this is easier said than done if elimination is on the line. I'd like to stick to my guns, but admittedly, I might just panic and go with Kershaw out of desperation.

But in your scenario, we'd have Kershaw at less than optimal conditions and if we survived that encounter, we'd limit his availability with the risk of having him only pitching once during the World Series even if it extends beyond 4 games. Even if he were to come in on short rest for a Game 5, 6 or 7, he'd again be at less than 100%.

This just compounds the problem and puts us in a situation that hindered the Diamondbacks when we faced them. Add in Kershaw's back concerns and it gives me more pause to go to the Clayton well too often on short rest.

[Ranma]

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter