My lame ass fell asleep during the 4th inning (got back from Zac Brown at 4am Sat morning). Thank fuck for DVR.
Incredible to me that the reason I abhorred Utley in the past ( dirty attempted take out of Russell Martin), is the reason I'm pumped for what he did for us...was it dirty? Yeah, in my opinion. Not a bit of doubt in my mind. It was late, and you don't start your slide when you are on top of the base...did I care? Nope. Don't want Tejada with a fractured leg, but that's the game..the way it used to be. Check out Hal MacCrea back in the day...the mofo was in LF almost...seriously , a good 6 feet behind 2b. Whatever they do ( if anything) to Utley..fortunes of war ( and baseball). Rulebook wise, it was right the way it came out...100% Utley was always a dirty dog for the Phillies, and now he's one for us...that's the way it goes. And big kudos for the not so finooky Kike last night...it all started with his W and hustle. Huge SB.
Kike, Howie, AGon, Turner, Ethier, Seager, Puig, Ellis would be fine by me. Let Seager get his confidence before moving him to the top of a playoff line up
Sooo.... 2 Dodgers who have hit Harvey pretty well are Rollins (5-19, 2 HR) and Utley (6-18, 1 HR, 1 K). Then there are two in very small sample sizes, Joc (2-5, 1 HR, BB), Puig (3-5, BB, 2B). I love what Seager is doing this season, but man am I torn. Rollins gets off playing in NYC (lifetime .322/.392/.588, 11 HR in 50 GS) and I almost say, give it a shot next game and see if he can keep things going since the kid has looked overmatched thus far. Also, if there is some sort of retaliation, I'd rather it be Utley or Rollins and not Seager or Howie.
Didn't we play the Mets in the first half of the season though? I don't want Joc out there anymore. Let Kike start in CF. I'm fine with Dre in left and Puig in right. Puig is still rusty, but meh Crawford isn't doing anything at all.
Sports sites literally bungling the analysis. CBS Sports referencing the batted ball willful interference rule which isn't even relevant.
I wasn't advocating for Joc, just putting the number out there. The Joc Pederson that had success against this Mets team, was a different guy. I agree about both Kike and Puig getting in there.
What about 1. Kike CF 2. Kendrick 2B 3. AGon 1B 4. Turner 3B 5. Seager SS 6. Puig RF 7. Ethier LF 8. Grandal/Ellis C 9. Brett for Monday? Maybe I'd switch Ethier with Seager or Puig given how he's put in some good ABs so far.
They've nibbled around Corey thus far pounding away-away-away-away, but he's far from the only lefty that's been baffled and he's still one of the 5 guys with an extra base hit for us. I'd rather they put the 2 best ABs in front him and keep him in there. Let there be a chance to have multiple guys on base for once when he comes up and AGon looms behind him [no homo] Kendrick Turner Corey Adrian Ethier AJ Kike Puig If they hit Corey, that's the battle cry for the next 10-15 years in games vs the Mets.
Well, in case we suck again, DBB should put in Rollins so he can be blamed...as he certainly has been all year. Seriously, Jimmy has to play in NY, and I expect Donnie to have him in there.The "bad defense" take on him is a steaming pile of dung, not true at all. Good bad or indifferent, I hope the Utley hard ass play woke up the team...if it didn't , then they are a lost cause. Corey will have his day...but so far, he looks like what he is AB...a rookie. There will be a 4th game, so he can be out there again. Looks like Donnie made the right call with Utley as the PH, even though Finookike didn't score. That might have been RR at 3 b who stopped him, too....anyone know?
Kike held up on his own. Generally too fast a play to worry about looking at the 3B coach. He saw that the ball was blooped and that the 2B had a chance to jump and catch it, didn't wanna be doubled off. Wanted him to score, but he did right.
They're doing the exact same thing to Seager that the Giants were doing to him and pounding the outside of the strike zone. I wish he'd adjust and try to go oppo with a little authority.
I think we should put Utley for Kendrick given his success vs Harvey and the same for Rollins for Seager, in Seager's case, he's struggled the first two games this series.
I want Utley as our 3B coach when he hangs them up. That man is about that baserunning life. From the time that we got him, on the rare occasions that he's actually got on base, he's been great. Last night was just the culmination. Toughest SOB since Stone Cold. I hope they gave him all the beers he could handle after the game. I cannot believe that he stayed in.
I liked last night's lineup, but sub in AJ for Grandal. The latter is absolute garbage these days. Maybe even Puig for Crawford, but that depends on how they feel about Puig's timing right now. Matchup history doesn't matter as much for me, because Rollins and Utley are not what they used to be. Utley only went against Harvey once this year, and had an 0-fer game. Rollins did get a HR against Harvey in one game, but had an 0-fer against him in the other. Such small sample sizes to use to justify playing really shitty players. It's the playoffs. You put your best players out there and live and die with them. All this matchup bullshit is why Baez was in there instead of letting Kershaw clean up his own mess. So knowing that, I'm sure Donnie starts Utley and Rollins. And if Donnie wants to do it, that should tell you more than anything the quality of that idea
I thought so too...that Hernandez preserved the chance. Impatience would dictate that he kept going and force a throw, but bad baseball is bad baseball, no matter what the situation. Maybe if Juan Pierre is the OFer, but... BTW, the throw in from Granderson after Gonzo's big hit later on looked very weak to the cutoff man...does he have a weak arm?
Yeah, pretty much what the Gnats did. Just nibble around him and let his aggressiveness work against him. Corey chokes up on the bat and I'm assuming it's a way for him to police himself on chasing those balls outside. But what I see is that he wants it a little too bad, so...I'd just tell him to relax and take his walk in the 1st inning to get his HR in the 4th inning. That's really all it takes at times. I wouldn't move him down the order. I'd fortify him with more protection.