Jim Alexander: Well, we are both back at Dodger Stadium for this week’s Audible, and the circus just gets louder and crazier. More media members, more fanfare, more scrutiny. But if you are a player, coach or manager, this is where you want to be, at a stage when the eyes of the baseball world are on you (and, of course, your counterparts in the other league).
That said, we’re seeing some talk – and yeah, I fed into it in today’s column – that pitcher usage could be ready to swing in the other direction, at least in Los Angeles. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts acknowledged in his pregame briefing that he is, in fact, rethinking how he uses his starters at this point of the season – i.e., staying with them longer – though a good part of that might be because of a bullpen that was a strength a year ago to this point has been a weakness.
“I am (inclined to stay with a starter longer),” he said. “I think I’ve shown that. But, again, it still depends on each individual game – how the pitcher’s throwing, efficiency, how the hitters are taking at-bats versus that particular pitcher. I’m in read-and-react mode, but I think I’ve shown if they earn it, then I’ll run them out there deeper.”
On the other side of the field, meanwhile, Milwaukee is going with another bullpen game, with left-hander Aaron Ashby as the designated opener. The advantage: The Brewers’ bullpen is awfully good (and, significantly, the team traded away its last two closers, Josh Hader and Devin Williams, and didn’t lose a step). The disadvantage: It’s Game 3 and the Dodgers have already seen all of their leverage guys, and the longer a series goes the greater an advantage that is for hitters.
Mirjam, how far do you expect Roberts to go with Tyler Glasnow today? (Noting, of course, that no matter how Roberts handles his pitchers, a certain percentage of the fan base is going to give him grief for it, win or lose.)
Mirjam Swanson: Well … depends?
Even if Glasnow is pitching well – showing all the compete Roberts desires, and even if he isn’t cramping like we heard he was after going six innings in Game 4 against the Phillies, I doubt we’ll see eight or nine innings like we did from Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who were so incredibly clean and efficient.
So be prepared to hold your breath for maybe three innings, Dodgers fans? The people in blue might turn less blue (in the face) if the Dodgers’ hitters can, as you mentioned, capitalize on being so relatively well acquainted with the Brewers’ leverage guys.
One hitter we’re going to keep an eye on in particular: Shohei Ohtani – the Dodgers’ super-duper star who’s been slumping this postseason but who just took the rarest of outdoor batting practices.
Do you think that’ll help him, Jim?
Jim: The way they did it during Wednesday’s off-day workout – playing his regular walkup music as he stepped to the plate, etc. – might have been designed to get him feeling better about himself. And hitting one off the pavilion roof, even against BP pitching, can’t hurt.
Even so, there seemed to be signs during Game 2 that this would not last. Shohei was bedeviled by Philadelphia’s parade of left-handed pitchers in the last series, and as our colleague Bill Plunkett noted, pitches coming at him from a less elevated arm angle seemed to be the ones giving him the most trouble. But he did single Tuesday night, and he also hit a line drive to Jackson Chourio in the second inning that was measured at 115.2 mph.
I’m not going to predict a big day for Shohei today. But I won’t be surprised. And to those who scoff at Brewers manager Pat Murphy for continuing to walk him intentionally … well, would you take chances knowing that he could go on a heater any time?
The other thing about Ohtani’s slump is that, to this untrained eye, he seemed to be bailing out a bit and leaving himself susceptible to the low and outside breaking ball. Mark DeRosa made that point in an MLB Network segment yesterday, and I’m sure the Dodgers’ hitting coaches have been working with him on that.
And here’s a clue: If you see Shohei hitting the ball to left field, that’s a really good sign for the Dodgers.
Mirjam: Roberts seemed to appreciate Ohtani taking swings outside Wednesday, assuming visualization will help. I thought his answer was interesting.
Here’s what he said pregame: “Shohei doesn’t take BP on the field virtually ever, which I understand in the sense that a lot of times, in the cage, your focus is more narrowed because of the cage and you’re more line-drive driven.
“But to kind of change things up, to get on the field, to see the flight of the baseball is also important … but also I think, like I said, seeing the flight of the ball, seeing the ball back-spun and seeing what it’s doing and see it land on the roof in right field, that’s certainly not a bad thing.”
Also not a bad thing: Mookie Betts at shortstop. Dude’s a Gold Glove finalist at the position. I love this for him. I love this for the Dodgers. I love it for kids who look up to him.
I’ve always thought that Mookie’s super-power is his overall athleticism and versatility, the fact that he CAN play multiple positions at such a high level is crazy impressive. But the fact that he is able to do that is all a testament to his work ethic. Great players aren’t great players on accident – great players are great players because they put in the work to be great. And to stay great. And to become great in different ways.
There’s the Golden Rule and then there are golden lessons – and Betts’ commitment to continually push himself to be the best version of himself – THAT is crazy impressive.
What do you make of him being among the Gold Glove finalists? Did you see it coming?
Jim: I can’t say I predicted that, but watching him as the season continued – watching some of the instinctual plays he made at shortstop – I’m not surprised. And I was one of those who suggested early on that the position change was risky both from a defensive level and from the effect on his offense.
One of the unsung heroes of this transition might be a college coach. Troy Tulowitzki is an assistant coach at the University of Texas, but he was a big-league shortstop for 13 seasons (and before that was a stud at Long Beach State). Mookie sought him out in the offseason, and I’ve got to think those workouts helped a lot.
The athleticism was always there, and Betts started out in the Red Sox farm system as an infielder. But playing shortstop in the big leagues at an elite level is incredibly difficult. Being a finalist for a Gold Glove, whether he wins it or not, is an indication of just how much progress he has made.
On a sort of related subject, what I’m seeing right now on the field is interesting. Nobody in the big leagues takes pregame infield practice anymore, right? Teams quit making that a regular part of their routines decades ago. Yet the Brewers are … taking infield practice right now, a little less than two hours before first pitch and before BP.
Maybe that’s part of that “Average Joes” image. Or maybe it’s part of Murphy’s background, since he was a college coach for years.
Or maybe it’s an act of desperation?