NEWS/RUMORS Thread

Discussion in 'Los Angeles DODGERS' started by irish, Oct 2, 2015.

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How important is home field going to be?

  1. Huge

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  2. Meh, a bit

    63.6%
  3. No difference

    36.4%
  1. irish

    irish DSP Staff Member Administrator

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    we'll have a separate game thread when the time comes
     
  2. irish

    irish DSP Staff Member Administrator

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    Despite getting swept in Philly, Mets still aim for home-field advantage
    Adam Rubin, ESPN Staff Writer

    PHILADELPHIA -- Entering this week's series against the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets manager Terry Collins preached the importance of staying ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers and claiming home-field advantage in their National League Division Series. And the Mets ended up getting swept in the City of Brotherly Love.

    Making sure Game 1 of the NLDS will be played in Queens next Friday against the Dodgers will remain a goal for the Amazin's this weekend against the Washington Nationals.

    [​IMG]

    After Thursday's 3-0 loss to the Phillies, the Mets' lead over the Dodgers has been chiseled to a half-game. Los Angeles plays late Thursday afternoon at San Francisco. The Mets have the tiebreaker over the Dodgers by virtue of winning the season series.

    Collins said the Mets still are positioned well with Noah Syndergaard, Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom starting the weekend games against the Nationals. While their starts will be shorter than normal, Collins still will have them pitch a fair amount to stay sharp.

    "We brought that up here -- the importance of coming in here and winning games. We didn't win any," Collins said. "We're going to go back home. Our starting pitchers, they've got to throw upwards of 80 or 90 pitches, so they'll get us deep into a game. And we'll see where we are. As we've tried to say all year long, we can't worry about today. It's over. We'll worry about tomorrow and get ourselves ready to go. There's some guys who needed a break today."

    Collin cleared his bench to fill out Thursday's starting lineup. Several regulars needed time off. Daniel Murphy is beat up after fouling multiple balls off his feet and knees. Yoenis Cespedes' left hand remained a little sore after getting hit with a fastball from Justin De Fratus Wednesday night. And Wilmer Flores' back remained "pretty stiff," according to Collins. Left-handed reliever Eric O'Flaherty also is dealing with back stiffness. That's three players who developed back discomfort this week, including Steven Matz.

    "We've got to check these beds we're sleeping in," Collins said.

    Collins said it remains to be seen whether Cespedes returns to the starting lineup for Friday's series opener against the Nats.

    "Can he play tomorrow?" Collins said. "I don't know yet."

    As for getting swept in three games by the Phillies, Collins suggested it was perhaps inevitable after the energy required to sweep the preceding series in Cincinnati that included Saturday's playoff clincher.

    "If you've been down this path, you knew that there was going to be an energy drain," Collins said. "We rested the guys who needed the rest."
     
  3. irish

    irish DSP Staff Member Administrator

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    could make it interesting if the mets had to play those games on Mon/Tue
    would they be tired going into the lds?
    or could it perhaps benefit them by being/staying in game shape?

    Hurricane Joaquin could cause havoc with MLB playoff picture
    Associated Press — 8 hours ago

    Adrian Beltre, Carlos Correa or Andrew McCutchen certainly might deliver a big hit this weekend to improve his team's playoff position. But the most powerful wallop to affect the postseason could come from Hurricane Joaquin.

    Major League Baseball is already reviewing the possibilities with the storm threatening to bring a soaking rain to the East Coast.

    Whether or not it makes landfall, here's the havoc Joaquin could create with the playoff schedule:
    • The Mets and Dodgers are set to play in the best-of-five NL Division Series beginning next Friday. The team with the best record gets the edge -- with three games left, they're tied at 89-70, and the Mets would win the tiebreaker if they finished even.
    The Mets are ready to host Washington, and lots of rain is in the forecast at Citi Field. OK, suppose the Mets and Nationals can't play all three games by Sunday. And suppose the Mets need to win that last game to edge out the Dodgers.

    What then?

    MLB rules don't cover this contingency. There's no provision on whether the Nationals would have to spend an extra day in New York for a makeup -- or two -- on Monday.

    At that point, home-field advantage between the Mets and Dodgers could be decided by best winning percentage, even if they don't play the same number of games.
    • The AL wild-card game is set for Tuesday, and it's looking as if it will be at Yankee Stadium. It could be rather wet if the remnants of Joaquin hang around. A rainout would push the game back, putting both wild-card matchups on the same day. The AL winner would then have to hustle to either Kansas City or Toronto to open the Division Series the next day.
    • It's supposed to be sunny, with temperatures near 100 degrees and zero chance of precipitation, when the Astros begin their series this weekend at Arizona. But playoff-hopeful Houston might be taking a peek at The Weather Channel.
    The Astros lead the race for the second AL wild-card spot. Trying to stay ahead, they're starting 19-game winner Dallas Keuchel vs. the Diamondbacks on Friday night.

    The left-handed Keuchel would be perfect for the Astros to pitch at Yankee Stadium in the wild-card game, if it comes to that. Only he's never started on three days' rest. A rainout in the Bronx, however, would line him up just right.​
     
  4. irish

    irish DSP Staff Member Administrator

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    Anderson, Grandal stress importance of Home-Field advantage
    by Luis Lopez | Dodgers Nation — 20 minutes ago

    There is no need to tell the Los Angeles Dodgers’ clubhouse how important the upcoming series is. Following their 3-2 win against the San Francisco Giants on Thursday, the National League West division champions matched the New York Mets with a record of 89-70.

    The two teams will face off in the first round of the playoffs. However the question still remains, who will have home-field advantage? With the Mets holding a tiebreaker over the Dodgers, as of Friday the clubs will meet in New York for the first two games of the NL Division Series.

    That could change should the Dodgers gain just one-half game on the Mets. According to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times, Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal is aware of the difficulty in starting the series away from Chavez Ravine:

    “Obviously, you hope to get that home-field advantage,” catcher Yasmani Grandal said. “You don’t want to go to New York more than once. Hopefully, we can sweep the Padres and give ourselves a chance to get that home-field advantage.”

    The San Diego Padres are visiting this weekend for the final three games of the season. While the Dodgers have beaten their divisional opponent 11 out of 16 games this year, there will be an obvious added intensity in the following games says Brett Anderson, via ESPN’s Mark Saxon:

    “These aren’t just games to play,” pitcher Brett Anderson said. “We want to get home-field advantage.”

    Anderson may have earned himself a spot as the No. 3 starter in the NLDS thanks to his excellent game Thursday afternoon. After struggling mightily in his previous two games, Anderson pitched one of his best games of the year and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

    Meanwhile the Dodgers hope to be in a position this weekend where they could use Kenley Jansen to close out games in the ninth inning. The right-hander hasn’t pitched many innings as of late, appearing in only five of the last 14 games. According to Dylan Hernandez, Jansen echoed his teammates’ response when discussing the final games of the season:

    We’re trying to get that home-field advantage,” Jansen said. “We still have something to do.”

    With a record of 52-26 at home this season the Dodgers would appear to have the advantage should the series start in Los Angeles. Of course they had home-field advantage in the NLDS last year against the St. Louis Cardinals and were eliminated in four games.
     
  5. Fall Winslow

    Fall Winslow McRib

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    Well, if LAD does get through the NLDS I think it goes without saying that they'll be pretty well prepared in terms of the starting pitching they'll see in the NLCS no matter who it is. Good God, the Mets' arms are " miraculous ".
     
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  6. Bluezoo

    Bluezoo Among the Pantheon

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    The weather here in NY/NJ (no one cares about NJ) is uh...frightful.
    Seriously nasty.
     
  7. KOUFAX0000

    KOUFAX0000 DSP Legend Damned

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    Andujar. Fucker still wreaking havoc in death!
     
  8. irish

    irish DSP Staff Member Administrator

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    spots still open???
    that is both miraculous and legendary

    Mattingly says handful of spots still open on NLDS Roster
    by Matthew Moreno | Dodgers Nation — 11 hours ago
    [​IMG]
    With the Los Angeles Dodgers in the midst of their final regular-season series, plenty of focus has already shifted over to the postseason and National League Division Series matchup against the New York Mets.

    Once Game 1 of the NLDS rolls around on Friday, Oct. 9, the Dodgers and others in the playoffs will have cut their rosters down to 25 men. That of course is a stark difference than the upwards of 30-35 players that littered MLB rosters during the final month of the regular season.

    For an organization such as the Dodgers that’s focused on carrying as much depth and talent as possible, settling on a postseason roster can make for difficult decisions. While that may hold true, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly indicated Friday only a handful of choices are left to be made.

    “I’d say we got 21-22 pretty well set,” he said. “There’s a few spots open.” Last season the Dodgers carried 12 pitches (four starters; eight relievers) and 13 position players for their NLDS matchup with the St. Louis Cardinals.

    In 2013 against the Atlanta Braves, the Dodgers elected to go with 11 pitchers (four starters; seven relievers) and 14 positions players. Andre Ethier was battling a sprained ankle when the NLDS began, and it limited him to pinch-hit duty in the four-game series.

    Corey Seager has presumably played his way onto the roster, leaving the outfield picture and bullpen as the most unsettled. Which outfielders to carry has been muddied in a sense with Yasiel Puig making a dramatic turn in his recovery from a sprained hamstring.

    Puig is set join the club at some point over the weekend. Though, whether that means he’ll be activated to play in the remaining games against the Padres is unknown. Mattingly will spend the weekend looking to get a final glimpse at those who are in contention for one of the final spots on the NLDS roster.

    “I think we kind of know for the most part, but we’ll try to keep looking at a couple different guys to see where they are at,” the fifth-year manager said. “The last couple spots are tough ones, depends if you go extra player or extra pitcher. You’re just trying to look at guys that you feel are on the bubble.”

    Clubs are permitted to alter their 25-man roster prior to the start of each series.​
     
  9. irish

    irish DSP Staff Member Administrator

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    nice effort/gesture by cubs fans
    and it really shows how traumatized bartman still is...

    Campaign fails to convince Bartman to attend wild-card game
    by Jesse Rogers | ESPN Staff Writer — 9 hours ago

    [​IMG]

    MILWAUKEE -- Steve Bartman will not attend the Chicago Cubs' first playoff game in seven years despite a campaign designed to raise money to get him there.

    A GoFundMe page started by Keque Escobedo was more than halfway to its goal of $5,000. Reached Friday, a longtime spokesman for Bartman said thanks, but no thanks.

    "It's nice of these people to think of Steve, but he won't be taking advantage of the offer," Frank Murtha said. "He's perfectly capable of attending the game on his own, though he has no intention of being at the wild-card game."

    Bartman hasn't spoken publicly since becoming part of baseball lore in October 2003. With the Cubs leading the Marlins 3-0 in the eighth inning of Game 6 of the NL Championship Series, Bartman was vilified for putting his hands on a foul ball that appeared to be a potential catch by Cubs left fielder Moises Alou. The Cubs went on to lose the game and blow a 3-2 series lead, and they haven't won a postseason contest since.

    The wild-card game is likely to be played in Pittsburgh, though there is still a chance the Cubs could host it depending on the outcome of games this weekend.

    Either way, Bartman will not be there.

    Escobedo's GoFundMe page, which was created Monday, read: "Lifelong Cubs fan wants to make amends for 2003, let's make it happen. First we need to find him to get him to the big game. If anyone knows where he is at, tell him we are looking for him. The money would pay for his expenses including his ticket, hotel room, flights and a little spending money.

    "If he cannot be found by time of the big game all the proceeds raised will be donated to the Alzheimer's Association."

    Murtha said Bartman is happy to hear the money would go to charity.

    "Steve is glad the money will go to a good cause and will be cheering on the Cubs as always," Murtha said.​
     
  10. irish

    irish DSP Staff Member Administrator

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    Mattingly views rest as key factor in Home-Field advantage
    by Matthew Moreno | Dodgers Nation — 10 hours ago

    [​IMG]

    The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets began Friday tied in the standings with only three regular-season games remaining for both clubs. The Mets had their series opener on Friday against the Washington Nationals postponed to Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. as part of a day-night doubleheader.

    Meanwhile the Dodgers won Friday night, and are one-half game ahead of the Mets in the standings entering play Saturday. What’s currently known is Los Angeles and New York will square off in Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Friday, Oct. 9.

    However, where that contest, Game 2, and a potential Game 5 will be played, is still unknown. Brett Anderson, Yasmani Grandal and Kenley Jansen have all touched on the importance of the Dodgers securing home-field advantage in the first round, which manager Don Mattingly also did on Friday.

    “I think that final game — Game 5 or Game 7 situation, you’d like to be at home,” he said. While Mattingly specifically pointed to the benefit of a potential elimination game being played at home, he also sees value in players being in the comfort of their own homes.

    “Right now, it would be nice just for the fact that we’d have a chance to be home for a while. Guys can get some rest and get settled in,” the fifth-year manager explained. Mattingly added the Dodgers were a strong home team throughout the season and the general rule of thumb is you’re better served having home-field advantage than not.

    Last season the Dodgers hosted Games 1 and 2 against the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS, and split them. The Cardinals went on to win the series in four games. The Dodgers opened the postseason on the road in 2013, split the two games at Turner Field, and advanced to the NL Championship Series behind a Juan Uribe home run in Game 4 of the NLDS.
     
  11. irish

    irish DSP Staff Member Administrator

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    Mattingly pleased with professional attitude of clubhouse
    by Eric Avakian | Dodgers Nation — 20 minutes ago

    In a matter of a few months, drastic changes were made within the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. In an effort to get the team over the hump in the postseason, significant changes were made to the roster so that it better suited the vision of a revamped front office.

    With the 2015 campaign in its final days, comparisons have been made constantly between the 2014 and 2013 clubs that were similarly talented, but ultimately fell short in October. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly hasn’t always been willing to detail the similarities — or differences — when comparing the teams he’s had these last three seasons, but did so on Friday.

    “We’re a little different mentality-wise,” Mattingly said. “More of a team that is more professional, not such the craziness around us. It’s a little bit more business-like. They have a lot of fun, most teams do, but I think at game time, this team has been pretty good about getting down to business. A lot more bread-and-butter, day in, day out type of team.”

    Veterans like Jimmy Rollins, Howie Kendrick, and Chase Utley have brought with them a business-like approach that Mattingly has previously remarked been a good influence on the clubhouse.

    Now that the Dodgers have officially clinched the National League West, their focus lies on attempting to secure home-field advantage for an NL Division Series matchup with the New York Mets.

    The Mets had their game Friday night against the Washington Nationals rained out, and are playing a day-night doubleheader on Saturday. The Dodgers’ win against the San Diego Padres moved them one-half game ahead of the Mets in the standings as of Saturday morning.

    Mattingly acknowledged home-field advantage is better had than not, but doesn’t believe it guarantees anything. “It’s always a crapshoot,” said Mattingly when describing postseason baseball and how it differs from the struggles of the regular season.

    The fifth-year manager also expressed confidence in the 2015 Dodgers, which he’s had over the last two postseasons as well. “I think we were capable enough the last two years. We just haven’t played well enough,” Mattingly said.

    “We’re going to have to go play well. Just go out and play our best baseball. If we do that, we’re capable of going a long way.” Game 1 of the NLDS is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 9.
     
  12. Fall Winslow

    Fall Winslow McRib

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    I have my suspicions. Part of me feels like a good amount of Cubs' fans would treat it like one of those " reverse the curse " episodes. Similar to how they've brought goats back and all that other BS. Bartman probably should ride this one out and watch them fail from afar.
     
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  13. carolinabluedodger

    carolinabluedodger DSP Legend

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    I'm not 100% sure it was a Cubs fan who started the campaign.
     
  14. irish

    irish DSP Staff Member Administrator

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    tell you what...
    if the angels sneak into the wildcard game, watch out
    they're the proverbial hot team no one would want to face
    thankfully they're in the GAYL
     
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  15. THINKBLUE

    THINKBLUE DSP Gigolo

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    lol
     
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  16. irish

    irish DSP Staff Member Administrator

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    hmmm... who could the ScRubs possibly counter with?... :sarcasm:

    Pirates to start ace Gerrit Cole in wild-card game against Cubs
    Associated Press — 4 minutes ago

    PITTSBURGH -- Gerrit Cole isn't going to miss the NL wild-card game this time around.

    The Pirates announced Saturday their All-Star ace will start Wednesday's elimination game against the Chicago Cubs. Cole is third in the National League with 19 wins. He went 2-1 with a 2.13 ERA in four starts against Chicago during the regular season.

    Cole did not start last year's 8-0 wild-card loss to San Francisco after Pirates manager Clint Hurdle opted to go with Cole in the regular-season finale in the hope of catching St. Louis for the NL Central title.

    The No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 amateur draft went 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA in two playoff starts for the Pirates during the 2013 NL Division Series against the Cardinals.​
     
  17. LASports96

    LASports96 DSP Legend

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    Dan Haren
     
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  18. irish

    irish DSP Staff Member Administrator

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    :giggle:
    too bad they didn't pick up :latos:
     
  19. Bluezoo

    Bluezoo Among the Pantheon

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    I sure hope Harvey gets his great game out of his system...because he's pitching one right now. Unbelievable.
     
  20. THINKBLUE

    THINKBLUE DSP Gigolo

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    It's been 2 innings. He could get lit up any minute.
     

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