May 25th, 2023 at 8:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka Allow me to preface this by saying that the Dodgers are still in first place in the National League West with a 1.5-game lead over the second-place Arizona Diamondbacks, a 6.0-game lead over the third-place San Francisco Giants, an 8.0-game lead over the fourth-place San Diego Padres, and a 9.5-game lead over the last place Colorado Rockies.
That’s the good news.
The bad news is that it should be 2.0, 6.5, 8.5, and 10.0 games respectively.
In other words, the Dodgers should have beaten the NL East first-place Atlanta Braves on Wednesday evening at Truist Park in downtown Atlanta but instead lost to them by a score of 4-3, leaving town having taken two of three from the Tribe instead of what should have been a three-game sweep.
In a nutshell, here’s why:
You simply cannot do this and expect to win – especially against a very good team.
“I think the first three innings we had two runners on base in each of the first three innings and we just couldn’t get that knock,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts accurately told reporters after his team’s should-have-won loss. “It wasn’t, you know, bad at-bats or anything, we just didn’t get a hit. And unfortunately, (Braves right-hander Bryce) Elder pitched his way out of some trouble. But, you know, it was good, I mean as far as our guys situation, I thought we still did some things well, some big hits, obviously with two outs, and we made it a game, and that’s a good club over there, and so, I thought we fought to the end and, you know, we lost a baseball game and that’s gonna happen.”
How’s that for an explanation?
But wait, there’s more.
When asked what his overall take on the three-game series was, the Dodgers skipper answered with this:
“Solid. Coming off a grind of a series in St. Louis, you know, being on the road for seven straight days, time difference, and all that stuff, and the way we bounced back, I thought collectively we did a fantastic job.”
Actually, taking three of three would have been “solid” and “fantastic.”
Although baseball is every bit a team sport, it’s hard not to look a little deeper into that 1-for-10 RISP / 10 LOB thing.
It’s no secret that Dodgers popular utility infielder/outfielder Chris Taylor is struggling at the plate right now. In fact, he entered play on Wednesday slashing a dismal .191 / .250 / .445 / .695. After his 1-for-4 (with two strikeouts) night on Wednesday, it’s now .189 / .248 / .441 / .689. The killer is that one of his two strikeouts came in the top of the second inning with runners on first and second.
But the real killer was Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy, who stranded runners on first and third in the top of the first inning, a runner on first in the eighth, and the go-ahead run on third base (and an insurance run on first) in the top of the ninth, when he popped out weakly to Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia to end the inning and keeping the game tied 3-3. The Braves then scored in the bottom of the ninth for the 4-3 walk-off win. When you do the math, Muncy was responsible for five of those 10 LOBs.
You simply cannot do this and expect to win – especially against a very good team.
…and it most certainly isn’t “solid” and “fantastic.”
Play Ball!
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Posted in 
@Dodgers A guy batting 250 should not make over 25 million a year! I’m a big betts fan but have been disappointed by his average
It was difficult for me to break free from the years of placing far too much weight on a players batting average, but I finally have moved to accepting and appreciating stats like OPS, OPS+, and my favorite wRC+(weighted runs created – Fangraphs). Presently, Mookie is the 20th ranked player of all qualified players in wRC+ at 142 (e.g., 42% better than the MLB average). And, Betts defense in RF, 2b, and SS makes him even more valuable. IMO, he is worth every penny the Dodgers are paying him.
I am constantly blown away at how often Mookie comes up with enormous game-changing (or game-winning) hits when one is absolutely needed. It’s almost as though he lie in wait for such moments.
I agree, Jesse. I believe he is worth every penny the Dodgers are paying him.
We’re talking Mookie “freaking” Betts (sung to the tune of Bennie and the Jets). Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but I would guess that 99.999% would say that Mookie is worth at least what he is being paid if not maybe a little more. Aside from all of the clutch production, he is definitely first class. When he got that bogus called strike to end the game the other night, I felt the dagger, but was so amazed at Mookie’s poise; he has the ability to stay in the moment and not lose it when most would. Mookie, Freeman, Kershaw, all class acts and even if they don’t win the world series this year, I will stand by the team. I am also liking a lot James Outman (even though I felt so bad for Cody after all the awesome moments that he had provided us over the years, I still have hanging up my autographed photo of him making the a”May”zing catch against the Padres) and Miguel Vargas, and I am crossing my fingers with Bobby Miller. A totally awesome team that made a big financial mistake with Bauer that cost them probably being able to keep Corey Seager (still not completely sure how it turned out like it did, I mean Trea was great for one year, but Seager would have been a life long Dodger with maybe a potential HOF at the end). I love/hate both Muncy and Taylor. For what it’s worth, we better not lose Will Smith, another super class act, and yes Ozuna, stop acting like you have to throw your bat around like you just hit your 500th career homerun, I love most all players that didn’t play for the fraudulent Astros, but stay out of Will Smith’s grill for crying out loud! Finally, this team more than any other has a super large payroll…..that is on the injured reserve! Imagine how this team might look with a healthy Bueller, Treinen, Hudson, Lux and now May and Urias (albeit Lux and May are not a huge hit to the payroll). Is there enough payroll to land Shohei after this season?
Well said!
GREAT reply, Cid. Thanks!
Muncy batting clean up was a joke. KT3 is just pathetic.
Very frustrating loss.
And why Bickford instead of Ferguson?
That was my first question … well, after ‘Why are Chris Taylor and Trayce Thompson still Dodgers?,’ of course.
Last yr Betts had
269 average.
35hr 40 doubles 117 runs scored.
Pretty much Elite.
Add phenomenal defense, base running, and a great attitude and teammate, I’m fine with Mookie making some bucks.