3 years ago
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It is September, the location agelong of the shot season, which means teams (like, for example, the 1 that plays its location games successful Chavez Ravine) tin present load up connected pitching reinforcements arsenic rosters expa—
Oops. I momentarily forgot.
The days of 40-man September rosters, of Triple-A callups crowding the dugouts and clubhouses and creating a antithetic crippled than was played the archetypal 5 months of the season? Those are over. Now rosters successful September spell from 26 to 28 players, which mightiness mean a mates of pitching reinforcements oregon possibly a pitcher and an other seat subordinate but thing more.
If your squad is battling for a championship, arsenic the Dodgers are, that’s not needfully a atrocious thing. If your squad is playing for the aboriginal … well, let’s look it. Teams successful that mode started tanking agelong earlier Sept. 1, truthful successful galore cases, they should already person a just thought of however their prospects tin grip the large leagues.
And, successful lawsuit you missed it, the Dodgers’ erstwhile No. 1 imaginable Keibert Ruiz made his debut with the Washington Nationals connected Monday and got an ovation the archetypal clip helium stepped to the sheet successful D.C., earlier popping up with the bases loaded. Ruiz went 1 for 4, portion batterymate and chap Dodger expatriate Josiah Gray lasted conscionable 4 innings and gave up six earned runs to the Phillies.
The guys the Dodgers got backmost successful that deadline deal? Trea Turner has a .322 batting average, .844 OPS and 17 runs scored successful 22 games arsenic a Dodger. Max Scherzer is 4-0 with a 1.55 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and .178 opponents batting mean successful 5 starts with Los Angeles, and archer maine again wherefore the rotation couldn’t person been altered to marque definite helium could transportation successful San Francisco this weekend.
(More connected that later.)
The main point? September shot is going to look person to the existent happening than it ever has. Trust me, the mode the crippled is played these days, if a manager has a 37-man roster disposable he’s going to instrumentality advantage.
“I americium supportive” of the caller limit, Dave Roberts said Tuesday, “as opposed to 40.”
There are immoderate further COVID-related wrinkles that volition marque this little awkward than it could person been. The insignificant leagues, which started astir a period late, volition widen their seasons done September, truthful the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers volition extremity their regular play against the El Paso Chihuahuas the aforesaid day the large nine finishes up against Milwaukee, Oct. 3.
So determination volition beryllium nary request for an alternate site, and the OKC/LAX explicit volition continue. The Dodgers person already made 108 insignificant league moves this play involving 28 antithetic players, with Edwin Uceta and Mitch White (12 moves apiece) having the astir acquisition with some those airports and those peculiar conversations with Roberts regarding their adjacent assignment.
“I deliberation a batch of those conversations, to their (the players’) credit, person been … not performance-driven,” the manager was saying the different day. “It’s managing the roster and what we request for that day, for the days coming. I deliberation successful that consciousness they recognize it and spot what’s benignant of happened this year.”
Roberts said helium made the constituent that it would instrumentality a (large, urban) colony successful 1 of his archetypal meetings astatine Camelback Ranch successful the spring: “When you look retired astatine a clubhouse of 57, 58 guys, there’s a bully percent of those guys that are going to beryllium playing for the large club. So we speech astir that and however everyone is simply a portion of it.
“… I’ve been successful that presumption (of going backmost and forth), but it’s conscionable that the barroom is precocious oregon america with the Dodgers. And you’ve got to perform, which those guys have. But to stick, it’s conscionable adjacent tougher.”
A emblematic Dodger twelvemonth nether the Andrew Friedman administration? Maybe a small much frenetic, fixed the organization’s consciousness of the hazard successful jumping from 60 games to 162 and the load it would spot connected pitchers successful particular. The Dodgers person already utilized 60 players connected the large league roster successful 2021, 36 of them pitchers. And no, that doesn’t see 3rd baseman Justin Turner, who pitched Sunday, oregon Andy Burns, a presumption subordinate who pitched the ninth inning June 12 against Texas … and was designated for duty 8 days later.
A coincidence, I’m sure. The Dodgers person made 13 DFA transactions this year, on with 28 injured database moves and 1 player, Trevor Bauer, inactive connected administrative leave arsenic a reminder of a vetting process that doesn’t look to person worked retired truthful well.)
On Tuesday nighttime against the Braves, Roberts submitted his 121st antithetic batting bid successful 133 games. To beryllium a Dodger is to beryllium adaptable, right?
But possibly a small much adaptability from the manager could person been successful order, too. By mandating a bullpen crippled this past Sunday against Colorado to springiness Julio Urías, Walker Buehler and Scherzer an other time of remainder betwixt starts, Roberts forfeited the accidental to person Scherzer disposable for this Sunday’s bid finale successful San Francisco.
Yes, remainder is good, and often preferable. But wouldn’t the last bid of the play against the squad you’re chasing beryllium the clip to wound the bullet? Even David Vassegh second-guessed that determination connected Sunday’s postgame call-in amusement connected KLAC, the team’s vigor flagship.
Time volition tell. But I’d anticipation the manager is arsenic determined to debar the one-game wild-card shootout arsenic is his team’s instrumentality base.
jalexander@scng.com
@Jim_Alexander connected Twitter
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