Jim French Stepstool

I think part of it is Ashby has been nothing if not durable. They believe he can handle the workload. So far he has. The other part is if you get into a tight spot, maybe protecting a late lead, they trust Koenig a little more to come in & throw strikes. Walking Ohtani to open the game might not cost you. Coming in leading by a run w/runners at 1st & 2nd and one out & say, Freeman at the plate is different. You know damn well in that situation, any pitch on the edges Freeman decides not to swing at is going to be called a ball unless the count is 3-0.

It's far from just Yelich. But yeah, in a big series like this he's one of the people you hope/expect to step up & in this series he's not done so, and in a very uninspiring way. It's a bad time for him to settle into one of his chasing & rollover ground ball stretches. I wonder if the passel of HRs hit in the previous series has affected the team negatively AFA discipline is concerned. Yeah, we jumped on Boyd early in game one & had success, but people forget that in the very same opening inning we reverted, had some lengthy ABs & that helped turn a 2-3 run inning into 6. It's not even in having to take a ton of pitches, although that's what you want to see if strikes aren't being thrown. Snell & Yamamoto were consistently getting ahead, but I didn't see too much of the so-called 'humble approach' where you commit to going oppo. In game five vs Chicago, three solo shots but nothing else, and very few baserunners. As challenging as it is, we need to try to start 'moving the line' again, maybe create some havoc on the bases. If a Chourio or a Vaughn or a Contreras leans into one it has to occur w/a runner or two on. Gotta figure out some way to get into their pen.

Alliegro?

I think Quintana & Miz are the best options the next two days AFA bulk innings are concerned, and I don't like the idea of being swept without giving them the ball. So for me Q tomorrow for as long as he can keep us in the game, and Miz on Friday (after a probable opener). My only deviation would be if Quintana has to be removed after somethng like 2 innings, then you might roll with Miz & game four becomes a fire drill.

I prefer a few minutes later: "You see?? You cut him!!!!! He's NOT a machine!!!! He's a MAN!!!

It won't seem to upload for me (new computer), but if anyone can insert this short from youtube It would fit. ---We need speed, Rocky 2--- Plus if you squint, Stallone looks a little bit like Quinn Priester.

Moreso than in game one, yeah I'd agree with that.

When I advocated for him, it was as a depth piece for the latter stages of the '25 season, for the reasons @ReverendBrewmeisteralluded to. I never thought about him for '26 & beyond, so I agree with you there.

I was one of the posters who brought up IKF this summer. You pretty much nailed the reasons why. Except I was thinking rental, not long term.

Glasnow can be tough, but if he goes more than six it'll be real disappointing. Hell, if he goes 7 or more & LA wins, maybe they'll only WANT Ohtani to go 4-5 innings. They'll be up 3-0 & the pen might need work.

Not just the guys you mentioned, either. Not barreling many balls, hitting a few "at 'em" balls, not getting hits on a blooper or a swinging bunt---that stuff happens. But it's a killer when you compound it like we have. The lengthy ABs & the walks drawn has been a huge part of the teams' success this year. Without looking it up it seems like the walks have dried up considerably since the 14 game streak. Great point about the chasing, too. Lots of 1-1 counts lately that should become 2-1 but are 1-2 due to over-aggressiveness. When you compare it to some of the ABs you saw from LA last night it was glaring. The # of quality pitches Dodger hitters have taken this series---not strikes, but still quality pitches---it's frustrating but still so impressive. Both the Muncy & Hernandez HRs were fully earned--not so much by the swing that put the ball over the wall, but how the AB was constructed before the final swing.

Yes, from Durbin & frankly other guys, too. Durbin, Collins, Frelick epitomized that but haven't been able to replicate it in quite some time. Even with all his struggles, Ortiz seemed to foul off more pitches & go deeper into counts than he is now. I thought Turang showed elements of that this summer, then started hitting HRs & now almost looks like someone that HAS to hit the long ball to be effective. I think the next stage for him is to at least partially get back to discipline & contact & when the HRs come, they come but don't make that your signature. Contreras has been mostly consistent all year afa AB quality is concerned. And with everything else a catcher has on his plate, too. Team MVP.

With all the woodpecker this, woodpecker that stuff re our offensive makeup, they really out-woodpeckered us tonight. As talented a lineup as they have, the quality of the ABs LA puts up---from the neck up----was just really impressive. All game, it felt like the only guy you might get a chase from was Ohtani. I don't know how often we chased but even if it was a somewhat respectable number it pales in comparison when the other team is at not much more than zero. Muncy going from 0-2 to 3-2 in the HR AB exemplified it, but there were many other examples. Hernandez gets to 3-0 by taking three breaking balls, all over the plate but low, and not by much. He takes all three. Then, goes yard. Pretty incredible. Did not expect Yamamoto to be that much on point, but he was great. Everyone loves the aggressive "attack early" mindset, but this is the flip side if it doesn't result in baserunners--the one possible achilles heel of LA is the pen, and we never saw it. That said, it looked like there was no way we were driving up his pitch count unless we happened to foul off about 45 more pitches. Kind of amazing to see a team go through nine innings w/so few balls being barreled up. If I'm Mark Pryor the only thing I'd rail on him about is why he would ever throw anything reachable to Yelich because right now you don't need to do that to get him out. Not much else to say. They're playing their best ball at the right time, Muncy & Smith are back, and when you get starts like this you obviously don't need to overstress your pen.,

My guess is Megill would be held back until later in all likelihood. Like you said, we'll see. I DID wonder about Patrick, just due to his having been a starter & not sure about the bounce back-ability over a # of days.

Thanks. But I was just wondering about the number of times a #9 hitter comes to the plate w/the bases loaded in a full season. A lot of folks were talking about Ortiz' failures in that situation & I was wondering if his PAs in those times were an average amount compared to the league average. Seemed more than normal to me, I dunno.

My gut tells me Uribe won't pitch tonite. I think that's the only definite 'no' among the BP guys.

I'm glad you credited BRef. I was ready to assume you just knew that.😁 Anything about the avg # of plate appearances in a season for a #9 hitter?

If Yelich can play the OF............. But like I said, I wonder if post-season we might hear something about how he couldn't go out there.🤷‍♂️

In the post-season, yeah, probably. But I hear ya. It's been my stance for a long time on here but I'll say it again: compared to the 'big bats' on other teams, when he's bad he's exceptionally bad. In (IIRC) his first AB yesterday when Snell K'd him, not only the swing decision on a pitch off the plate, but how much he missed it by, was just astounding. One thing with Yelich though, it can turn in a hurry. At this point I think you have to hang your hat on that. Facing the RHP tonite that we handled last tine might be a shot in the arm.

AFA tonites' game is concerned: Looking back to when we had the 2-0 lead in the last series. I think our lack of post-season savvy showed a little. From the way Priester came out in game 3, to the sudden dearth of runs after games 1 & 2, there seemed to be a little bit of an exhale after the terrific start to the series & we paid dearly the next two games. Today, my biggest fear is an experienced, battle-tested bunch knowing they've already clinched, at minimum, a split going back home. They can now play w/o whatever tension they may have had in game one & come out loose. Smell blood. I know it's a bunch of cliches' but I really think Peralta needs to guard against early runs & come out hot. Keep them off the scoreboard for the 1st 3-4 innings & I like our chances.

Randy Wright. Sorgi.

Ahhhhh, Gary Sanchez returns!!!! I think he'd see virtually no FBs from Snell except off the plate, but it's not a bad idea. It would sort of fill the role Hoskins would fill, had me made the roster. Jansen certainly seemed to get his stroke together late in the season. I'm just not sure Yelich is a go in the OF; not basing that on anything other than they could've easily flipped him with Chourio when his hammy was acting up & didn't.

Good stuff in here. The struggles of the everyday LHH & a couple of the others are the big issue & aren't going to be alleviated by playing Monasterio; rather what needs to happen is for the collective ABs one thru seven to get more to the norm so this isn't a discussion. And I think they're right in putting a lot of weight on the defensive side of the ball, in this particular spot on the field. The time when you DON'T need to emphasize that is when you're scoring runs. We haven't been. I'd be OK with Monasterio getting a start, but I understand why he hasn't. Hoskins is a great point; I mentioned awhile back how I raised my eyebrows a little when he didn't get more ABs after returning, just to see if there might be a bench fit there.

OK, I didn't know the LF ump made a quick determination. In that case some weight falls on the 3B coach to notice that & respond properly. But you're right about Hernandez. Having no runners in front of him it should've been elementary.

The part about the runner being able to tag up when the fielder makes contact with the ball, rather than when it's secured------I would be willing to bet there are MLB players who aren't even aware of that, or once knew it & forgot. That's where your 3B coach comes in, but I'm guessing he wasn't even sure the ball hit the glove, then the wall.