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Guarding The Corner Episode 14 – More Than Cromulent: James and Bryan discuss the Cleveland Guardians winning ways, their series with the Twins, and trivia.
Tag Archives: Los Angeles Dodgers
Guardians take down Dodgers in L.A.
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The Cleveland Guardians took two of three games from the Dodgers in Los Angeles as their hot streak continues. It was a narrow 2-1 victory Friday night which seemingly put Cleveland in a very comfortable spot to take the series. It was later learned that Jose Ramirez was dealing with a thumb injury and would miss the final two games of the series. Predictably it was a Dodger bounce back Saturday, handing Cleveland a 7-1 loss. This game always felt like an automatic loss considering the team was unveiling Sandy Koufax’ statue that day. Add in the surrender lineup that started that game and it was all just a formality. All of this set the scene for Sunday.
Even without Ramirez and losing the second game in unspectacular fashion, the Guardians still had a chance to take down the Dodgers. Both teams traded runs like heavyweight fighters in a prize fight. Just when it felt like one team was going to create separation the other answered when given the opportunity. As the game progressed one thing became abundantly clear, it is going to come down who blinks first.
Luckily for Cleveland, Los Angeles blinked.
Opting to go with Craig Kimbrel in a 3-3 game in the ninth, the Dodgers committed the cardinal sin of pitching a closer in a non-save situation. This decision would come back to bit them as predictably Kimbrel did not have his best outing. Josh Naylor would follow Oscar Gonzalez’ one out walk with a double. Steven Kwan was issued an intentional walk which set the stage for Andres Gimenez. Gimenez would line a bases loaded single to drive in Gonzalez and give the Guardians a one run lead. Ernie Clement would follow with a sacrifice fly that allowed Naylor to score making it 5-3. This series events set up Emmanuel Clase well in the bottom half of the inning. Clase would face just three batters as he shut the door to secure the win.
What’s next?
This was the sixth straight series win for Cleveland as the team continues to build confidence. Before this run the Guardians were yet to win consecutive series this season. Being able to stack series wins on top of each other in this manner builds confidence and shows that this team is no pushover. Cleveland has won eight of their last 10 games and is 16-5 over the previous 21 which predates their series winning streak.
The Guardians find themselves one game behind of the Minnesota Twins at 34-28. Worth mentioning is that Minnesota has played six more games than Cleveland with two more losses than the Guardians. After an off day Monday it will be a three-game series with the division leading Twins which could see the American League Central have a new leader when all is said and done.
Who won and lost the MLB trade deadline?
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Winners and losers from the MLB Trade Deadline. Clips from OUTSPOKEN, airing Tuesday’s on All Sports Cleveland from 2-3:00 P.M. on www.northcoastunderground.com
MLB Trade Deadline Predictions
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I made some predictions prior to the MLB trade deadline and it turns out they did not go well as I reflected on them in the next show after the deadline. Clips from OUTSPOKEN, airing Tuesday’s on All Sports Cleveland from 2-3:00 P.M. on www.northcoastunderground.com
MLB Trade Deadline winners and losers
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The 2021 MLB trade deadline was one to remember as many franchise cornerstone players were on the move. As with any deadline, there are clear winners and losers of the day, let’s take a look.
Winners
Los Angeles Dodgers
This one is obvious. Los Angeles swung a deal with the Washington Nationals landing both Max Scherzer and Trea Turner. Adding Scherzer to their rotation when they are currently without Clayton Kershaw due to injury and the unknown status of Trevor Bauer, who may never throw another pitch as a Dodger, is a huge win. Inserting Turner into the mix lengthens their lineup and with another year of control after this season gives them a consistent presence beyond this season.
New York Yankees
There are two criticisms when evaluating the lineup of the New York Yankees, too right handed and too all or nothing. They addressed the two areas by acquiring Joey Gallo from the Texas Rangers and Anthony Rizzo from the Chicago Cubs, both are left-handed bats. While Gallo is another all-or-nothing guy, Rizzo has the ability to be more of a consistent source of at least decent batting average. Sure they have some work to do in regards to the playoff hunt, but they can’t be counted out just yet. Additionally, the short porch in right field should be quite nice for both new faces in The Bronx.
New York Mets
The Bronx Bombers were not the only team making moves in New York. The Mets made a big splash of their own, acquiring Javier Baez from the Cubs. At the moment the Mets are without Francisco Lindor, so Baez can slide into the shortstop position for the time being. When Lindor does return Baez can shift to a different position, something he said he would only do for Lindor. Are there concerns with the bat of Baez? Sure, but the Mets do not need him to be The Guy in their lineup, but just another contributor for their offense. While adding another starting pitcher could have helped, they did add Rich Hill and saw the debut of Carlos Carrasco Friday night, two options they could rely on in some capacity down the stretch. At the end of the day it was an overall great deadline for the Mets.
Chicago White Sox
The White Sox have essentially already won the division, so they were looking to solidify a few positions. Adding Cesar Hernandez was a solid option for a team that would later move the injured Nick Madrigal in a deal that saw Craig Kimbrel moving from the north to the south side of Chicago. Additionally, the team also acquired Ryan Tepera from the Cubs in a deal from the previous day. The White Sox are loading up on their bullpen and now have a three headed monster featuring Liam Hendriks in addition to their new acquisitions of Kimbrel and Tepera. Come playoff time the back end of the White Sox bullpen could be scary.
Chicago Cubs
Let’s face it, the Cubs had to blow it up. They had a roster full of extremely talented players on expiring contracts that extension talks had broken down with. Moving Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, Craig Kimbrel, and Ryan Tepera had to be done. While they could open up contact talks after the season when most of the aforementioned names become free agents. In the end the Cubs had to turn the page on the World Series winning core and begin a new era in Chicago.
Losers
Colorado Rockies
There was speculation that the Rockies could move Trevor Story and Jon Gray. Flash forward to after the deadline and both players remain in Colorado. If the Rockies were going to actually have a successful deadline they needed to move Story and Gray. The fact both are still on the roster is team building malpractice and they deserve all the criticism they get.
Boston Red Sox
This was an underwhelming deadline for the Boston Red Sox. They had the opportunity to bring two former players back in Anthony Rizzo and Craig Kimbrel, yet the only move they made was for Kyle Schwarber. Schwarber is currently injured, but when he comes back there will be a logjam of where to play him. As everyone knows, Schwarber is defensively challenged. There is another defensively challenged outfielder on the roster in JD Martinez, who is currently their designated hitter. Because of this, putting Schwarber at DH, an option that would make sense for most American League clubs, is not available to the Red Sox.
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres were on the cusp of acquiring Max Scherzer until the Dodgers swooped in and got the deal done for themselves. Missing out on a player like Scherzer is bad enough, but losing him to a division rival and one that is looking to create separation is not a great outcome.
St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals added two pitchers on expiring deals in Jon Lester and J.A .Happ. St. Louis is 9.5 games back in the division and trails by 6.5 games in the Wild Card race. The moves overall are confusing and don’t make a lot of sense. Neither pitcher has been necessarily good this season and are not the answer to fix a rotation they once were. This really seems like they made moves for the sake of making moves.
With A Jimmmitude: Trevor Bauer and MLB
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A report from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (subscription required) has stated that Major League Baseball has started their new crackdown on pitchers using foreign substances with the least surprising name, Trevor Bauer. Rosenthal reported that umpires in Bauer’s last start took multiple balls out of the game that were flagged. The balls reportedly had a sticky substance on them and are to be inspected further.
If this is not being petty I do not know what is. Bauer has previously stated on multiple occasions in regards to pitchers using foreign substances to increase their spin rate and effectively improve their performance. Well, MLB decided that they were going to use some questionable methods in order to police this matter and they decided to start with Bauer.
The problem is that does not seem to be a universal standard for this rule. Major League Baseball appears to be specifically targeting Trevor Bauer after he raked them over the coals multiple times for their lack of action.
Here’s the deal, if you believe that only one or two pitchers use foreign substances you probably believe Santa Claus is real too. In fact, use of foreign substances is not limited to just pitchers. Catchers, shortstops, second basemen, they use something to improve their grip that can make the difference between an out or a runner reaching base.
If MLB really wants to police this situation, do it across the board. Do not pick and choose which players to enforce this on while ignoring others who also violate the rule. The fact that Trevor Bauer was flagged by this rule first is hardly a surprise. MLB could have at least waited for one or two others to violate the rule before going after Bauer if they wanted to pretend that he was not a specific target. Although, that would mean that their methods were thought out and ideas fully formed, two things that are not synonymous with Major League Baseball.
At the end of the day this just seems to be another botched process by an organization that seems to be very mistake prone. Just like so many times in the past, MLB is in damage control mode due to an error in their own judgment.
With A Jimmmitude: Dodgers, Kershaw, Snell
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Dodgers win the World Series
The Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series for the first time since 1988. The last time the Dodgers won I was just over 1 month old. I am personally happy for them since they are team that has been so close so many times recently. Add in the fact they got screwed by facing the Houston Astros a few years ago and they really needed this one.
So happy for Clayton Kershaw
If there was one narrative that needed to die it was about Clayton Kershaw and his performance in the postseason. It was the old can’t pitch in the postseason or he doesn’t have a ring nonsense that was quite tiring. The Dodgers wining the World Series and Kershaw pitching well will go a long way for his legacy. At the end of the day, Clayton Kershaw deserved this.
Blake Snell was pulled too early
The Tampa Bay Rays had a chance to go to a Game 7. Instead a questionable pitching change was made and that didn’t happen. Blake Snell was flat out dominating and Kevin Cash decided to take him out of the game. While their plan was to not let Snell face the lineup for a third time, it is inexcusable for taking him out. The Dodgers couldn’t touch Snell and taking him out did Los Angeles a massive favor.
What this decision will trigger is a discussion about analytics and the intangible aspect of feel. While feel is not something that cannot be quantified with a number, there are plenty of managers who would have left Snell in the game. Why? Because of feel.
There are numbers that say that Snell is not quite the same pitcher at a certain point in the game. The important thing to keep in mind is that numbers are a record of what previously happened and not necessarily something that can predict the future. Sure, they can give you a pretty good idea, but it is far from a lock from actually happening. There are exceptions to the rule and last night was one of them. It’s about understanding the balance between statistics and feel, with last night being a complete failure in that regard.
With A Jimmmitude: Mike McCarthy and Dodgers
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Dallas hiring Mike McCarthy seems like a mistake
For some bizarre reason there was a campaign last season about how Mike McCarthy was changing and adapting to the modern NFL. People bought it and that was a huge mistake. McCarthy pretty much admitted he lied during the interview process during his introductory press conference. Six games in the Cowboys are a disaster with players anonymously making their shortcomings known. I knew this whole “New Mike McCarthy” was a sham from the start and I’m glad the Cleveland Browns dodged that bullet.
Dodgers take Game 1 of the World Series
Clayton Kershaw pitched well and helped the Dodgers take Game 1. Kershaw has had times where he has struggled in the postseason and that has become the first thing people talk about, even during the regular season. Seeing Kershaw being able to pitch at the level everyone knows he is capable of is encouraging. If anyone deserves to win a World Series it is Clayton Kershaw.
Tampa is definitely a good team and they will not simply roll over. The Rays are going to be able to put up one heck of a fight as they try to win their first World Series title in franchise history.
Blake Snell vs. Tony Gonsolin should be an exciting pitching matchup for Game 2.
With A Jimmmitude: World Series and NBA 2K21
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We finally have our World Series matchup
With the ALCS and NLCS over we have our long awaited World Series matchup, the Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers. This is a David vs. Goliath World Series when comparing the payrolls of the two teams. I like how much that Tampa is able to get out of so little, but at the same time I think their success leads to other teams being financially conservative when they don’t have to. The Rays are the best at what they do and eventually they will win a World Series. Whether that is this year is the question, the Dodgers are an extremely talented team and seem primed to finally win their first championship since 1988. The Dodgers are the favorite as they should be, but I do not believe that the Rays will be a pushover. My pick is Dodgers in 6.
Adventures in NBA 2K21
I had a little fun while playing NBA 2K21 this past weekend, deciding to play a game featuring two of the best teams of all-time. I used the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls and faced the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors. Early on the Warriors were giving me problems, their lineup was simply too quick and Steph Curry was draining three-pointers with ease. I made a few moves to improve my chances.
First off I took Luc Longley out of the game because he was too slow for Golden State’s fast paced offense. I subbed in Steve Kerr as the shooting guard and moved Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman one position down. I had Pippen as the only person to guard Curry and MJ locked down Klay Thompson. My thought was let Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, and Harrison Barnes beat me but not those two. Lucky for me Kerr caught fire and made six shots from deep en route to a team-high 25 points. The subs and defensive matchup changes I made were the reason I ended up winning the game. That and having MJ pass to a teammate when the game was on the line also helped (cough, cough, terrible LeBron James passing to Danny Green take cough, cough).
With A Jimmmitude: Wednesday 9/30/20
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With A Jimmmitude post for Wednesday, September 30, 2020: Thoughts about the MLB Playoffs and the NBA Finals.
1. Home Field Advantage?
Only one home team won on Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Rays. Minnesota, Cleveland, and Oakland all lost and any sort of home field advantage is being tested after only one game. Now three teams who were the higher seed in the first round of the playoffs could be eliminated today. If home field advantage is going to be a thing in the first round of the playoffs it has to start today.
2. National League Playoffs begin
The American League got the spotlight on Tuesday, but the National League begins Wednesday. Three intriguing matchups and one that seems to be a foregone conclusion, let’s start there. The Los Angeles Dodgers are taking on the Milwaukee Brewers in a series that should be an easy win for L.A. Stranger things have happened, but a Dodgers win seems like a lock.
Now for the intriguing matchups. Reds vs. Braves, Marlins vs. Cubs, Cardinals vs. Padres. These series could really go either way, the differences between these teams do not appear to be as large as the difference between the Brewers and Dodgers. Any upset that occurs with these teams would not be surprising in the least bit. Let the chaos begin.
3. NBA Finals
Lakers and Heat, what matchup for the 2020 NBA Finals. Will LeBron James be able to win his fourth ring and build his legacy? Can the Los Angeles Lakers win another title in what would be a fitting tribute to Kobe Bryant? Can Jimmy Butler change the narrative that has surrounded him throughout his career and build a legacy of his own? Whatever happens in The Finals it is sure to be entertaining. It feels like the Lakers should win, but never count out the Heat. Miami just has that feel of a championship caliber team, but the Lakers seem to be a team of destiny.