With Kershaw starting this series, the team has to win.....period. Anything else would put the team in a much tougher spot. With Greinke slated for the 2nd game winning both would be fracking awesome. During the season LA was 2-5 vs these MF'ers and Greinke was the only starter to beat them. In both series the Dodgers were outscored. These series did take place in the 1st half of the season however.
With the bad September, injury distractions, DSP crash, school/work overload, and the 3 off days it hasn't hit me until now that shit is going down.
At work tomorrow I bet the clock is going to be going even slower than usual. The game cannot start soon enough for me. Then again, I can't help fearing what could go wrong too and then I'm thinking I will regret this anticipation.
me too fordie then again... felt the same anxiety in 2008 before game 1 against the cubs, and again in 2009 vs the cards so idk
3 straight seasons of no post-season action for us Dodger fans. Let's kick some fucking ass and sweeeeep!!! :thumbsup:
I barely get to attend Dodger games since I live on the east coast, and Atlanta is about 5 hours away from me so I jumped on the chance to buy tickets for game 1 and 2. I'm beyond stoked and cannot believe I get to see the Dodgers in the playoffs in person. I think we take this series in 4 games.
I just get the feeling that Puig is going to blow up in the playoffs...don't know why, but he just seems like that special kind of player
All the idiots here keep mentioning how easy the series will be since they won 5 out of the 7 regular season meetings. They don't seem to understand that the best pitcher in baseball pitched zero of those games, and regular season games mean shit
and that we were still a sub-.500 team when they played us hell, we still had cruz and ramon hernandez on the roster and all those games came before we went on our roll we're not the same team that lost 5-of-7 to them -- hopefully they don't realize this in 1988, our record against the mets heading into the nlcs was 1-10 with them outscoring us 49 to 18 hmmm, can't seem to recall how that '88 team ended up... .
Executive decision, I have decided I'm not going to class today because I wouldn't be able to focus anyways.
How do you pitch to Freddie Freeman? By Jacob Nitzberg | ESPN.com -- October, 3, 2013 | 2:00 AM ET For each of the eight remaining postseason teams, the Stats & Information team will offer a look at a key hitter and use Next-Level data to analyze how he might best be approached by opposing pitchers. Freddie Freeman has emerged as an MVP candidate in the National League this season, pacing the first-place Braves with 176 hits, an .897 OPS and 109 RBI. Here’s a look at how Freeman has put together such a great season, and how his NLDS opponent should attempt to get him out. Jump Start Don’t give Freeman anything to hit early in the count. He hit .446 within the first two pitches of an at-bat this season, second-best in the major leagues (Joey Votto - .449). Freeman swung at the first pitch 46 percent of the time this season, the second-highest rate in the majors. When the first pitch was in the strike zone he swung 77 percent of the time, easily the highest rate in the majors. He led the majors with 44 first-pitch hits. Highest Swing % on 0-0 count in the Strike Zone 1. Freddie Freeman 77.1% 2. Carlos Gomez 72.6% 3. Yadier Molina 62.7% 4. Josh Hamilton 62.3% As a result, Freeman saw a lower percentage of pitches in the strike zone (42 percent) than almost any hitter in baseball. Only Pablo Sandoval and Josh Hamilton, two of the seven most frequent swingers in the game, saw a lower percentage of pitches in the zone this season among hitters who qualified for the batting title. Even that has not worked, as Freeman hit .272 against pitches out of the strike zone, the fourth-highest average in the majors. Fast and Furious Freeman mashed fastballs this season, hitting .367 in at-bats ending with the pitch. When he faces Clayton Kershaw in Game 1, it will be interesting to see if Kershaw works to Freeman's weakness-- inside fastballs. Freeman hit .156 against fastballs on the inner-third of the strike zone, or off the inside corner. But Kershaw rarely works there. If he throws 15 fastballs to lefties in a game, he'll only put two to three in that spot. He likes to work the middle and outer part of the plate with that pitch. That plays into something Freeman does very well. Against fastballs over the middle and outer third of the plate, he hit .415 with 15 home runs. Only Votto (.425) had a higher average on pitches to that area in 2013. Don’t Sweat the Soft Stuf Freeman’s batting average against off-speed pitches was .248, slightly above league average, but that doesn't necessarily mean that off-speed stuff is the way to go. Freeman's line-drive rate against those pitches was 27 percent, the highest in the NL. He’s All Right Right-handed pitchers had trouble getting Freeman out this season; he hit .334 against them, the fourth-best rate in the major leagues. Freeman's one weakness was dealing with righties with good sliders (he'll face one in Game 2-- Zack Greinke). Freeman missed on 44 percent of the swings he took against right-handers' sliders, and his issues were the same whether he was in a two-strike hole or not. Freeman made 41 outs and had only six hits against the pitch. Getting Defensive Freeman is not an ideal candidate for a defensive shift. He pulled 78 of his 165 ground balls this season (47 percent). The league average for left-handed hitters was 54 percent this season. Freeman pulls his fly balls slightly more than league average, so outfielders may want to play slightly towards the lines, but a significant defensive adjustment is probably not warranted by the numbers. __
Work exactly at 5 PM today. Gonna be spitting in people's popcorn who disrupt me from watching on my phone
over/under on people who show up at your work in dodger gear who know nothing about the team... 10, 20, 50, 100???
Same here, bro. Since I am the Kenley of my store, I'm damn near going to miss every game. Will be seeing Friday's game, though.
I'd say at least 100 haha. I feel you Grizz. I'm working from 9-5 tomorrow too so I'll miss that game as well. But Sunday I'll be at the stadium!
Advance Scouting Report Filed by: Chris Rodriguez Player Name: Yasiel Puig Context: 10 Games; 9/11-14, 9/16-19, 9/21-22 PA AB H 1st P K BB TB Hard AVE OBP SLG OPS TOTALS 45 38 9 17 8 6 20 12 .237 .356 .526 .882 Sample vs. Season: Substantial difference in average to overall season; went on slump during span due to pitching adjustments; on-base is slightly down; slugging is a .020 difference due to the three home runs during the sample; could have been much lower. SCOUTING BREAKDOWN Physical/Health: Built like a linebacker; visibly leaner than previous months; probably 6’1”, 230~; lost nothing but fat it seems; incredibly strong in his upper body; huge biceps and forearms; strong in his core and legs; extremely coordinated; elite athlete; dealt with knee and hip issues in early-mid Sept; hasn’t affected him at the plate much, if at all. Hit Tool Very good hitter; simple load; hands drift into hitting position; quiet in the box; long leg stride into the baseball at times; bat speed is exceptional; hip turn is excellent and rarely late; clears hips and allows hands and wrists to explode bat to the ball; can get caught out in front on off-speed offerings; plate coverage is excellent; handles outside pitches, especially pitches breaking away; laid off several late-breaking sliders; goes the other way often; can get tripped up on breaking balls away during a good sequence of pitches; raw bat-to-ball ability is very good; sees the ball very well; barrel stays in the hitting zone extraordinary long; exploding fastballs up in the zone are tough pitches for him to get to; arms and hands can get away from his body and it can be difficult for him to put the barrel on pitches inside; raw strength allows him to inside-out pitches; makes adjustments at-bat to at-bat; loves to attack the first pitch; recognized off-speed well except when he was sitting dead red on the first pitch; very aggressive hitter; plenty of swing-and-miss in his game; can get in his head during at-bats; gets visibly frustrated when he misses a pitch or fouls one back; extremely talented hitter with huge tools and the beginnings of a plan at the plate; should get better with age and repetitions; can see him being a 7 hitter soon due to raw athleticism and knowledge of hitting. - Grade: 6 vs. LHP vs. RHP Don’t throw him a FB on the outer third of the plate on the first pitch; can be caught swinging over the top of a changeup or curve; can and will adjust to off-speed and breaking; loves the slider down and in, kind of like a left-handed batter; bust him inside with hard fastballs to get him off the plate; bring in a RHP in big situations. Showed a slightly more patient approach vs. RHP; he knows they will try to go away on him a lot with sliders and he has begun to spit on that pitch; still susceptible to chase during a good sequence; he understands when the pitcher is pitching around him and he won’t expand the zone. Notable At-bats Date Description 9/11/13 Second AB vs. Corbin (LHP): Corbin started him with a changeup down in the zone which he barely fouled off; took a FB inside for a ball; then fouled three hard breaking sliders down the left field line; Corbin came back inside with a FB and he didn’t budge; final pitch of the sequence was a FB middle-away at 92 mph which he lined to a diving Goldschmidt at first base; saw the kitchen sink and didn’t seem uncomfortable; was able to fight off tough breaking stuff and still crush his fastball. 9/13/13 First AB vs. Bumgarner (LHP): First pitch Puig squared to bunt but pulled away on a ball; took another FB for a ball inside; fouled the next inside FB back to the screen; the next two pitches were FBs up and in for strike at 94 mph; the last one was up and out of the zone which Puig swung through for a K; pattern starting to take shape vs. Puig; didn’t throw one off-speed pitch because Puig couldn’t catch up to Bumgarner’s plus FB, especially with pinpoint location. 9/16/13 Third AB vs. Cahill (RHP): Bases loaded situation; sinker (89) down and in swung and missed; sinker in the dirt; slider (81) didn’t bite; then two more sinkers down in the zone for balls; Puig knew he wasn’t getting a pitch to hit, and while these pitches were great chase pitches he didn’t expand his zone. Power Huge raw power; bat speed and strength are top notch; swings the bat with a purpose; slight uppercut swing designed for backspin and carry; awesome power to any part of the ballpark; can get caught on his front foot and keep the barrel in the zone long enough to hook it down the left field line for a home run; loves the pitch up and away from him; can extend him arms and attack the pitch; plus FB’s can jam him on the inside corner; tempted to put an 8 because of his ridiculous strength, but I can’t put him in the Cabrera and Davis category quite yet; hit two 450+ ft. home runs in the sample- Grade: 7 vs. LHP vs. RHP Loves lefties; .594 slugging percentage this year vs. LHP; sees the ball very well; six home runs in 101 ABs; be very careful when attacking Puig with a LHP; bring in a RHP when you can. Still a very dangerous hitter; .514 slugging against them; only 9 RHH have a higher slugging against RHP over the course of the season; doesn’t mind going the other way, bust inside when you can to try and sap his power. Notable At-bats Date Description 9/18/13 Second AB vs. McCarthy (RHP): First pitch was a fastball at 89 mph taken for a ball up and away; next pitch was a fastball in roughly the same spot and Puig cleared his hips beautifully and hit it out to deep LCF; pitch would have been a ball most likely; McCarthy doesn’t have a plus FB so he couldn’t go inside with it; he tried to in his first AB and Puig laced it for a double; resulted in trying to nibble away, missing his spot and got caught. 9/21/13 Fourth AB vs. Stauffer (RHP): First pitch was 92 mph up and away and he hit the second-longest home run in Petco Park history by one foot; attacked the first pitch; Vin Scully said after the home run that Puig is hitting .552 with 8 home runs on the first pitch. Speed/Baserunning Plus-plus speed; runs like a bat out of hell; clocked 4.04 to first in spring training; sprints on groundballs out of the box; will try and take an extra base so make sure outfielders are aware; recent hip and knee injuries have tempered his aggressiveness on the basepaths; will still go all out to try and stretch a single into a double; not a very good basestealer; speed takes a while to get going; 11 for 19 this season on stolen bases; Conclusions and Means of Attack Pitchers are already starting to make adjustments; they were going away very often with FB and were getting punished; his power comes with extending his arms and clearing his hips; with either a RHP or LHP on the bump, pound Puig inside with fastballs early assuming your pitcher has at least a plus fastball; Two-seamers or cutters in and off the plate; brush him back; get him angry so he can get himself out; change the eye level with a show-me chase pitch like a SL or CB; will chase SL and CB from RHP if thrown down and away; make sure he can’t do anything with it; then come back up and out of the zone with a hard fastball; sequence must be executed very well; change pitching approach at-bat to at-bat; start him with a SL or CB with the first pitch; then come back with FB; hyper-aggressiveness early in the count will get him into trouble; walk rate is higher than that of teammates Adrian Gonzalez and Hanley Ramirez; understands when pitchers are pitching around him and doesn’t mind passing the baton; during high-leverage and late game situations, bring in a reliever with an exploding FB and at least one quality secondary offering, preferably a plus SL. Matchup Stats at a Glance First Pitch Swing 17/45; 37.7 percent Bunt Threat (Sac, Push, Drag) Shows bunt once in a while leading off an inning/game; rarely drops one down. Defensive Positioning Straight-up; normal depth; goes the other way often; no advantage gained. Outfield Straight-up; deep to all fields; pay attention to Puig trying to take extra base. Splits vs. LHP .347/.421/.594 vs. RHP .312/.381/.516
