Dodgers Dugout: Well, that was embarrassing

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell and if you have any odd jobs you need to do around the house, there are 26 guys I know who have cleared their schedule the rest of this month.

The Dodgers did it again.

They cruised through the season, winning 100 games and outdistancing the rest of the NL West. Then they sleepwalked through the postseason and went home early.

No fire on the field. No evident desire from most. No anger. Shouldn’t someone have gotten mad after Game 2? Instead it was the same lifeless quotes, like this was Game 81 of the season.

Really, shouldn’t someone, anyone, get mad?

Seems unlikely anyone above Andrew Friedman‘s level will be getting mad. After all, a couple of years ago, when asked about offseason inactivity, team president Stan Kasten said, “You’re inventing a narrative that I don’t agree with because, like I said, I can almost tell you for sure, we’re going to lead the National League in attendance again.”

Message received: As long as we get more than 3 million in attendance, I don’t care what happens. But that kind of attitude can infect a team. And believe me, for the last three postseasons the Dodgers have played like a team that doesn’t care if it wins. Do the players care? Of course. But other teams find that extra level of emotion in the postseason, emotion that can galvanize a team and make players focus a little better. The Dodgers come across like they are playing at a team picnic, and, gosh darn, we didn’t beat our business rivals, but the food was good and didn’t we all laugh and have fun?

And I can guarantee you that next year, the Dodgers will have a good regular-season team again, maybe with Shohei Ohtani, maybe not. They probably will win the division again. And more than 3 million fans will fill the stadium. And then the postseason will begin and ...

Friedman and Dave Roberts will be back next season, so prepare for that. And while Roberts had a couple of questionable decisions this postseason, a lot of the blame goes to Friedman, who was unable to acquire quality starting pitching at the trade deadline. And the one player they targeted, Eduardo Rodriguez, told them he didn’t want to play for the Dodgers and refused to waive his no-trade clause. Whoops, maybe try to find that out ahead of time.

Then again, it would be nice if Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman could have gotten a hit in a key situation, or in Betts’ case, a hit in any situation.

Good thing for Betts that they vote for league MVP before the postseason begins, otherwise he wouldn’t even finish second. And forgive me if this sounds petty, but the sense of doom about this series began the moment Betts interrupted Arizona manager Torey Lovullo‘s news conference before Game 1 and gave him a hug. I was reminded of the time, after a tough loss, Pedro Guerrero invited a friend of his on the other team to visit him in the Dodger clubhouse. Kirk Gibson did not like that and demanded he leave.

Or if the starting pitchers could get people out. So, there was plenty of blame to go around.

Roberts took his share of the blame, saying after Game 3: “I’ve got to do a better job of figuring out a way to get our guys better prepared for the postseason. I’ll own that. I’ve got to figure out a way to get our guys prepared for any format, any series.”

But if you have a bunch of players who need to be motivated to get up for the postseason, maybe you need some new players. Maybe you can play them an old pep talk of Tommy Lasorda‘s before the postseason begins. Maybe you can get Magic Johnson to talk about how he galvanized the Lakers to multiple titles when he was a player.

But, the Dodgers need to try something different. Because this isn’t working.

Some random thoughts on Game 3:

—How do you let Lance Lynn, prone to homers and who usually gives them up in bunches, give up four home runs? After the first homer, Caleb Ferguson should have been up in the bullpen. After the second homer, Lynn should have been out of the game.

—Roberts on why he left him in after the two home runs: “You’ve got two outs, nobody on base and a low pitch count, and you figure that this run of right-handed hitters, you’ve got to be able to navigate it somewhat. Then two homers later, you’re down 4-0.” Ferguson got up after the third homer. “I try not to be reactionary and get ahead of things,” Roberts said. “I just can’t predict the future. The way he was throwing the baseball, I didn’t expect that.”

—Why is Austin Barnes pinch-hitting in a key situation? I’d rather have David Peralta stay in, or if you had to pinch-hit, use James Outman. This is the style of push-button managing the Dodgers use that drives me crazy. “A lefty is coming in? Better send up a right-handed hitter.” How about you read the situation and realize Barnes hasn’t hit all year.

—By the way, Peralta hit .314 against lefties this year. Outman hit .254. Barnes hit .080.

—And I was saying the above when Barnes was walking to the plate, not when he made the out.

—The other push-button managing thing that drives me crazy: The insistence on having a right-handed hitter, followed by a left-handed hitter, followed by a righty, etc. Max Muncy should be hitting seventh. I said it during the middle of the season, I’m saying it again.

—Dodgers starting pitching: 4.2 IP, 16 hits, 13 ER, 3 walks, 2 Ks. ERA: 25.11.

—Dodgers relievers: 21.1 IP, 13 hits, 6 ER, 8 walks, 24 Ks. ERA: 2.53.

—Dodgers starting pitchers got 14 of the 78 outs in the series. Dodgers relievers got 64. That’s not the best way to win a series.

—And let’s take a look at the offense:

Will Smith, 5 for 12, 1 double, 1 triple, 2 RBIs, 1 K
Kiké Hernández, 3 for 8, 2 RBIs
Miguel Rojas, 2 for 6
J.D. Martinez, 2 for 10, 1 homer, 1 RBI, 2 walks, 4 Ks
Max Muncy, 2 for 11, 1 walk, 4 Ks
David Peralta, 1 for 6, 1 double, 1 K
Chris Taylor, 1 for 6, 1 RBI, 1 walk, 2 Ks
Freddie Freeman, 1 for 10, 2 walks, 2 K’s
Mookie Betts, 0 for 11, 1 walk, 2 Ks
Jason Heyward, 0 for 7, 4 K’s
James Outman, 0 for 5, 1 walk, 3 Ks
Kolten Wong, 0 for 3, 1 walk
Austin Barnes, 0 for 1
Team, .177, 17 for 96, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 1 homer, 9 walks, 23 Ks

—Again, the offense didn’t do what it did during the season: have patience. Batters were swinging at pitches out of the zone and taking pitches down the middle. This happens every postseason.

—For those of you who want to blame the new format that gave the Dodgers five days off, that doesn’t explain 2021. Or 2019. Or ... The Dodgers did what they do almost every postseason, whether they had five days off or not. This is on the players, not the schedule. It doesn’t appear to be bothering the Astros, and there are examples of teams in the past getting four or five days off between the LCS and World Series (when they sweep and the other LCS goes seven games) and still winning the title. Great teams are prepared for almost any occasion.

—Bob Costas managed to give us a history of Steve Bartman and the Cubs and a rundown on the Oakland A’s issues with moving to Vegas or staying. Meanwhile, the game is going on and plays are being called late. We get it, you know a lot about baseball and its history. But you’re not hosting “This Week in Baseball.”

—Ron Darling seems to think if there’s any time Costas isn’t talking, he should fill that dead air immediately, even if he doesn’t have anything interesting to say. Two minutes after Costas mentioned Smith and Martinez had flipped spots in the order, Darling brought it up like it was breaking news.

—All that being said, I think Clayton Kershaw will have a strong start in Game 4 tonight.

—I’ve received emails from some of you who are depressed or unhappy about the Dodgers’ loss. Believe me, it’s not worth it. Be sad for a while, sure. Be frustrated. But if you are reading this and you still are angry, sad or depressed, do me a favor. Take a deep breath. Think about all the good things in your life. Call a friend. Call your mom or dad. Talk to your family. Those are the important things in life. Smile at a stranger. Go to the store and thank the cashier for their hard work. All these things can help change your mind-set. What would Vin Scully say?

Up next

That concludes the ninth season of chronicling the Dodgers in this newsletter. I hope you enjoyed it. We may have disagreed at times, but part of the fun of baseball is debate and second-guessing (probably not so fun if you are Dave Roberts).

Barring catastrophe, Dodgers Dugout will return for its 10th season next year. But we’re not going away in the offseason. There’s still the “25 greatest Dodgers” to conclude early next week. And we will discuss any offseason moves the team makes. Plus, there’s our annual Hall of Fame voting.

Thanks for sticking with me, especially those of you who subscribed way back in 2015. It’s always a pleasure to write this, and I appreciate all the emails I get, even if I can’t respond to every one. I read them all.

In case you missed it

Another 100-win Dodgers season ends with a shocking NLDS loss

Plaschke: Splat! Humiliated Dodgers swept into next season

Hernández: Playoff implosion of Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman a bad omen for Dodgers’ future

Clayton Kershaw ‘not sure’ about what comes next in his Dodgers future

Why did Dave Roberts leave Lance Lynn in the game? Dodgers manager explains

Don’t blame the playoff format on another Dodgers playoff fiasco

Bob Costas saves friend’s life with Heimlich. Who does he think can save the Dodgers?

And finally

Tommy Lasorda giving a pep talk. Watch and listen here.

Or this one, after the 1988 Dodgers won the World Series. Watch and listen here.