Dodgers’ hesitation cost them dearly
The Dodgers aren’t likely to see Jon Lester again — not unless he pitches emergency relief if a Game 7 is necessary in the National League Championship Series — and they must be relieved. In trying to get inside Lester’s head Thursday night, they plowed a trough directly into their own.
Game 5 was a tribute to Lester’s pinpoint pitching, but it revealed a strategical weakness in, for most of the Dodgers, the biggest game of their lives. They had a plan, all about exposing Lester’s blatant phobia of throwing to the bases, but they backed off at nearly every moment of truth.
There are two ways to unnerve Lester. The first is to run wild, as the Kansas City Royals did during Lester’s unraveling two years ago, when the A’s gagged away the wild-card playoff game. The Dodgers reached base and took absurdly big leads, knowing Lester hasn’t made a pickoff throw in three months, but mostly froze (notably Kiké Hernandez and Corey Seager).
They did take advantage once, when Howie Kendrick stole third in the fourth inning and then scored the tying run, but in general, they seemed terrified to actually follow through with a good idea. Did you notice Lester occasionally shouting in defiance toward the L.A. dugout? If you make all these threats and then do nothing, that only makes him stronger.
The second option is bunting. The Dodgers “showed” bunt all night but dropped only one in front of Lester, forcing him to make a throw, and he uncorked a terrible one-hopper to luckily throw out Joc Pederson. Other than that, nothing. In a game of this magnitude, wouldn’t you want Adrian Gonzalez looking to drive the ball deep? Gonzalez tried a drag bunt to the right side — something almost guaranteed to get past Lester — and got thrown out by second baseman Javier Baez.
“I’m seeing all this and I couldn’t believe it,” said Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow, who watched from home. “You take a 30-foot lead and don’t run? What happened to the plan? And this has happened all year. The Giants didn’t really take advantage, either. I think every team in the Cubs’ division should take at least a day in spring training to address this issue specifically.”
Cubs manager Joe Maddon made a good point: Expert bunters — think Rod Carew, Matty
Alou or Brett Butler — would have great success against Lester, but it’s a “lost art.” Perhaps the Cleveland Indians, a team with speed and ingenuity, will craft a different story line if the Cubs reach the World Series. A scene of perfection
The majesty of the postseason gets no better than Clayton
Kershaw pitching Game 6 for the Dodgers, at Wrigley Field, with the Cubs trying to reach their first World Series since 1945. Concerns about the atmosphere? “It’ll be the same thing we had in Games 1 and 2,” Gonzalez said. “They can’t put more people in the stands, and they can’t cheer any louder. It’s not like it’s a loud stadium.” It really won’t be loud if the Dodgers go up three or four runs, especially in a Game 7. Too much weight. Too much wretched history ... No surprise: The Dodgers’ setup bullpen, a collection of journeymen who somehow managed a solid second-half run, has become a burden. Joe
Blanton, who spent his first 10 seasons in mediocrity, has regressed so badly (three homers, two doubles over the space of eight hitters), he’s a big reason the team trails 3-2. Dawdlin’
Pedro Baez allowed five runs in Game 5 and has taken up to 35 seconds between pitches, a preposterous violation of the rule (12 seconds, never enforced) and an irritation to those playing behind him. Throw the damn ball or get out of the game ... Closer Kenley Jansen is an entirely different story. In the grand tradition of Larry Sherry, Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage and other postseason closers, he’ll pitch as many innings as necessary. Would Jansen consider the Giants if they blew him away with an offer? Changing teams isn’t always easy within that rivalry ... Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has made some unusual moves with his bullpen, many of them aggressively smart, but removing Kenta Maeda (six strikeouts) after 32⁄3 innings Thursday with the pitcher (Lester) coming up? Absolutely not. There’s no defense for that.
Stanford has a long-standing football policy of withholding injury details, more for the sake of confidentiality than the fear of revealing valuable information. It’s an annoying stance in general (Cal teams are more forthcoming) and downright irritating in the case of Christian McCaffrey, who walks the sideline with no apparent limp. Must-see Heisman Trophy candidate, absolute man of the hour, and two weeks after his injury we still have no idea what’s wrong? That ventures into the realm of paranoia ... The Warriors’ Klay Thompson admitted being “pissed” at Friday’s practice, and he should be, along with anyone who played in the Game 5 loss to Cleveland in last season’s Finals. An ESPN article quoted a “team official” accusing the Warriors of being “cowardly” in that game, with
Draymond Green sidelined by suspension, and that’s a serious breach of cohesion within a tight-knit organization. Thompson should be especially riled; he scored 37 points that night ... Good for Cal coach
Sonny Dykes, ridiculing Pac-12 weekday games that place a burden on travel, preparation, injury recovery, academics, everything. In a perfect world, starting next season, nobody plays on Thursday or Friday nights — ever ... So very dumb: networks cluttering up the screen with a huge, green “FG Target Line,” as if that’s the exact spot where a field goal comes into play. It wouldn’t be so bad to sync it up with an announcer’s comment, but no, it just sits there, rotting, like a stale avocado outdoors.