Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell<\/b>. <\/p>\n
Are you a true-blue fan? <\/p>\n
Get our Dodgers Dugout newsletter for insights, news and much more.<\/p>\n
By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service<\/a>, which include arbitration and a class action waiver. You agree that we and our third-party vendors may collect and use your information, including through cookies, pixels and similar technologies, for the purposes set forth in our Privacy Policy<\/a> such as personalizing your experience and ads. <\/p>\n As we await the postseason and wonder if the Dodgers will get a first-round bye, here are some random thoughts.<\/p>\n \u2014It was very disappointing to get swept by the Braves. If someone forced me right now to bet on the World Series winner, I\u2019d bet on the Brewers. But none of that means the Dodgers aren\u2019t going to win. <\/p>\n \u2014However, there is no doubt they are playing poorly right now. Defensive miscues that don\u2019t always show up in the box score. Poor situational hitting. A couple of bad games by Tanner Scott<\/b>. <\/p>\n \u2014E-mails I have received:<\/p>\n \u201cYou need to stop going easy on this team. They will not win the World Series this year.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis team is a disgrace and plays with no heart.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cKnowledgeable fans know that this team is going nowhere.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey can\u2019t beat the good teams, so what chance do they have in the postseason?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere won\u2019t be any World Series dramatics this year. They are toast.\u201d<\/p>\n When did I get these emails? Last season in late August\/early September, when they had lost seven of eight to Arizona, Pittsburgh and Baltimore. <\/p>\n I got another flurry of them after each of the losses to Atlanta. Some people never learn. What happens in the regular season has no bearing on what happens in the postseason. Two of the Atlanta games were started by a blister-hampered Roki Sasaki <\/b>and and a first-game-back-in-weeks Tyler Glasnow<\/b>. That won\u2019t be the case in the postseason. So, yes, be disappointed, but don\u2019t throw in the towel.<\/p>\n \u2014Clayton Kershaw<\/b> did an excellent job in the broadcast booth with Joe Davis<\/b> on Tuesday. It would behoove the Dodgers to bring him back as often as he wants. (Editor\u2019s note: Behoove? Was the author of this newsletter born in the 1800s?)<\/p>\n \u2014OK, I\u2019ve said this before, but when you can\u2019t have a conversation with the person you are sitting next to at Dodger Stadium, then the in-game entertainment is too loud.<\/p>\n \u2014You know what the best in-game entertainment is? The actual game. Never has a sport had such a lack of faith in its own product that they feel the need to fill every moment with something so the actual game doesn\u2019t bore you. <\/p>\n \u2014And again, where are my Cool-A-Coos? <\/p>\n \u2014One of the big problems Kyle Tucker<\/b> has faced with fans this season is that he gives the appearance of not caring. He does care, but he looks like he doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u2014The Dodgers have played 13 one-run games this month. They are 6-7 in those games. They are 26-21 during the season in one-run games.<\/p>\n \u2014Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez<\/b> is actually getting worse as a fielder.<\/p>\n \u2014The Dodgers schedule the rest of the season:<\/p>\n at Detroit (3) \u2014The Dodgers are 40-26 at home, 40-28 on the road.<\/p>\n \u2014The Dodgers are 11-13 in August. Last August they were 15-13.<\/p>\n \u2014Hunter Feduccia<\/b> has become this season\u2019s Ben Rortvedt<\/b>. He\u2019s hitting .282\/.364\/.410 since joining the Dodgers and has had a few crucial hits.<\/p>\n \u2014How does ESPN manage to find the worst baseball announcers every season? The network is very good at it. It must be difficult to wade through all the candidates and pick the very worst ones.<\/p>\n \u2014One of the problems with the gondola that one day might take fans to Dodger Stadium: Do you really want to be in a gondola a couple of hundred feet over the sidewalk with a bunch of drunk Dodgers and Giants fans?<\/p>\n \u2014Kik\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez<\/b> was four for four before going on the IL. He is four for 33 since coming back.<\/p>\n \u2014If the season ended today, Pete Crow-Armstrong<\/b> of the Cubs would win the NL MVP award, with Shohei Ohtani <\/b>finishing second.<\/p>\n \u2014Does anyone else still cringe a little when Ohtani slides, thinking of his injury in the 2024 World Series? Just me? OK.<\/p>\n \u2014It\u2019s still a shame the Dodgers never put a patch on their uniforms for Davey Lopes<\/b>.<\/p>\n \u2014With Sasaki going on the IL because of a blister, Eric Lauer<\/b> goes back into the starting rotation and reliever Seth Halvorsen<\/b> comes back from the minors.<\/p>\n \u2014Mookie Betts<\/b> has made only five errors at shortstop this season in 96 games. Hyeseong Kim<\/b> made four in 24 games. Miguel Rojas<\/b> has made no errors in 58 games in the infield.<\/p>\n \u2014When Will Smith<\/b> last played, the Dodgers were 41-23, a winning percentage of .640, on pace to win 104 games. Since then, they have gone 39-31, a winning percentage of .557, which would put them on pace to win 90 games. Coincidence? I think not. Smith stabilizes the lineup and the pitching staff.<\/p>\n \u2014Key Dodgers\u2019 batters with two out and runners in scoring position this season:<\/p>\n Alek Thomas, .667, 2 for 3 That\u2019s not good<\/p>\n How the Dodgers have fared against teams with winning and losing records:<\/p>\n .500 or better: 33-36 Forgotten Dodger: Dazzy Vance<\/p>\n Vance pitched for the Dodgers so long ago (1922-32) that he has been forgotten by many. The best comparison to Vance is Don Drysdale<\/b>.<\/p>\n Consider where he ranks among starting pitchers in Dodgers history: Second in WAR, eighth in ERA+, fourth in wins, fifth in strikeouts. If you were picking the all-time Dodgers rotation, he would have to be given strong consideration for a spot. <\/p>\n Charles Arthur Vance <\/b>was born March 4, 1891, in Orient, Iowa. His family moved to Pleasant Hill Township, Neb., when Vance was little. When he reached high school, he started pitching for a semipro team in the area and had what was described as a dazzling fastball. That\u2019s where he got his nickname, Dazzy.<\/p>\n Vance started playing professionally in 1912 in the class D Nebraska State League and quickly moved up the ranks, winning 26 games for St. Joseph (Mo.) of the class A Western League in 1914. Near the end of the season, he started four games in six days and hurt his arm. There were no MRIs then to determine his injury, but, because of how he described the way his arm felt, it is believed he suffered a torn UCL. Back then, the solution for these things was to rest your arm for a couple of weeks and try again.<\/p>\n Before the 1915 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates purchased his contract from St. Joseph. It is not known if they knew about his arm injury. Vance started one game for the Pirates and gave up three runs in 2 2\/3 innings. The Pirates then traded him to the New York Yankees and he pitched better, with a 3.54 ERA in 28 innings. But he went 0-3, and wins and losses were all that mattered back then, so the Yankees sent him back to St. Joseph.<\/p>\n His arm still was hurting, and he bounced around that decade\u2019s version of the minors for a few years. He returned to the Yankees in 1918 and had a 15.43 ERA. They got rid of him quickly and he ended up pitching in New Orleans.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s when fate stepped in. Vance was playing poker and after winning a hand, he banged his elbow against the edge of the table while celebrating. The result was immediate excruciating pain. He couldn\u2019t straighten his arm and couldn\u2019t stand the pain. The only option was exploratory surgery. What the surgeon did has been lost to the annals of time, but after he was done and Vance recovered, his arm was 100% again. No pain when he threw. \u201cIt was an odd thing,\u201d Vance said. \u201cMy arm came back just as quickly as it went sore on me in 1915. I awoke one morning and learned I could throw without pain again.\u201d<\/p>\n Vance won 21 games for New Orleans in 1921.<\/p>\n After the 1921 season, the Brooklyn Dodgers were interested in a New Orleans player, but it wasn\u2019t Vance. They wanted catcher Hank DeBerry<\/b>. The Dodgers sent scout Larry Sutton<\/b> to attempt to get DeBerry from the Pelicans, who told Sutton they had to take Vance too in order to get DeBerry.<\/p>\n According to the book \u201cThe Brooklyn Dodgers: An Informal History\u201d by Frank Graham<\/b>, this is what happened: \u201cWhen he found out that the pitcher in question was Vance, Dodgers owner Charles Ebbets<\/b> rebelled. \u2018Oh, no. I could have drafted him long ago if I wanted him. You go back and tell them if we have to take Vance, the deal is off.\u2019 Soon Sutton called his boss back. \u2018They say, no Vance, no DeBerry.\u2019 \u2018In that case,\u2019 Ebbets replied, \u2018tell them they can \u2026\u2019 Sutton interrupted: \u2018Wait a minute, Mr. Ebbets. I just talked to DeBerry. He wants to go to Brooklyn, naturally, but he says he don\u2019t want to go without Vance. He says to tell you that if he looks good down here, it\u2019s because Vance makes him look good. And, really, Daz is hot. He\u2019s knocked around a long time and he\u2019s learned how to pitch. And he has a fastball. A real good fastball. He\u2019s the best pitcher in the league.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Ebbets acquiesced and agreed to take Vance too. And with that, the Dodgers acquired one of their best pitchers ever, a pitcher who didn\u2019t really star in the majors until he was 31. Starting in 1922, Vance led the NL in strikeouts for seven straight seasons. He led in wins twice and ERA three times. He went 28-6 with a 2.16 ERA and 30 complete games in 34 starts in 1924 and was named NL MVP. If the Cy Young had existed back then, he would have won at least three. With Brooklyn from 1922-32, he completed 213 of 328 starts, with a 190-131 record and a 3.17 ERA. He also had eight saves.<\/p>\n Vance also used a secret weapon: He wore the same sweatshirt for every game and had cut the sleeves into several strips lengthwise, so when he released the ball, the batter often lost sight of it briefly as the tattered sleeves flapped with the pitch. Vance, of course, denied doing this on purpose. When opponents demanded he buy a new shirt, as Graham recounts in his book, Vance responded, \u201cOh, no! This is my lucky shirt. I\u2019ve had it since I was in New Orleans, and I ain\u2019t even washed it.\u201d<\/p>\n The Dodgers traded Vance to St. Louis before the 1933 season. He was 42 and his best pitching days were behind him. He went 6-2 with a 3.55 ERA but pitched only 99 innings. He was released after the season and signed with Cincinnati, which released him after he had a 7.50 ERA in six games. The Cardinals re-signed him and he finished the season with them. His final season was in 1935, when he returned to Brooklyn, going 4-2 with a 4.41 ERA in 20 games, all in relief. He was 44. He retired after the season.<\/p>\n Before he retired, Vance moved himself and his family (wife Edythe<\/b>, son Donald<\/b> and daughter Dorothy<\/b>) to Homosassa Springs, Fla., where he opened a hunting and fishing camp and a hotel. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1955. He learned he was elected when a highway patrolman pulled him over while he was driving near his home. The policeman told him people were waiting at his house to tell him the news.<\/p>\n Vance died of a heart attack on Feb. 16, 1961 and is buried<\/a> at Stage Stand Cemetery just outside Homosassa Springs.<\/p>\n Dodgers poll<\/p>\n Let\u2019s take the temperature of the readers. How do you think the Dodgers will do in the postseason this year?<\/p>\n They will lose in the wild-card series Click here to vote in our survey<\/a>.<\/p>\n Up next<\/p>\n Friday<\/b>: Dodgers (*Tarik Skubal<\/b>, 8-7, 2.91 ERA [1-2, 3.38 ERA with Dodgers]) at Detroit (Drew Anderson<\/b>, 4-5, 4.09 ERA), 3:40 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020<\/p>\n Saturday<\/b>: Dodgers (*Blake Snell<\/b>, 2-1, 2.57 ERA) at Detroit (Keider Montero<\/b>, 9-8, 3.30 ERA), 4:15 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020<\/p>\n Sunday<\/b>: Dodgers (Tyler Glasnow<\/b>, 3-0, 3.02 ERA) at Detroit (*Framber Valdez<\/b>, 8-9, 4.35 ERA), 10:40 a.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020<\/p>\n All times Pacific<\/p>\n *-left-handed<\/p>\n In case you missed it<\/p>\n Tarik Skubal returns to Detroit to face the Tigers. His focus is on the task at hand<\/a><\/p>\n Mark Walter\u2019s company TWG Global defends Dodgers financing and Lakers sale<\/a><\/p>\n How two decades of friendship have shaped Freddie Freeman and Jason Heyward<\/a><\/p>\n And finally<\/p>\n Rare footage of Dazzy Vance<\/b>, demonstrating his pitches. Watch and listen here.<\/a> <\/p>\n Until next time …<\/p>\n Have a comment or something you\u2019d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com.<\/a> To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. 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vs. St. Louis (3)
vs. Washington (3)
vs. Cincinnati (3)
at Miami (3)
at Cincinnati (4)
vs. San Francisco (3)
vs. San Diego (3)
at San Francisco (3)<\/p>\n
Hunter Feduccia, .500, 3 for 6
Kik\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez, .333, 1 for 3
Hyeseong Kim, .316, 6 for 19
Dalton Rushing, .304, 7 for 23
Alex Call, .304, 7 for 23
Andy Pages, .294, 15 for 51
Kyle Tucker, .283, 15 for 53
Freddie Freeman, .282, 11 for 39
Shohei Ohtani, .263, 10 for 38
Ben Rortvedt, .250, 1 for 4
Tommy Edman, .250, 6 for 24
Miguel Rojas, .200, 3 for 15
Mookie Betts, .178, 8 for 45
Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez, .171, 7 for 41
Max Muncy, .170, 9 for 53
Will Smith, .118, 2 for 17
Team, .242
MLB average, .230<\/p>\n
Below .500: 47-18<\/p>\n
They will lose in the NLDS
They will lose in the NLCS
They will lose in the World Series
They will win the World Series
They won\u2019t make the postseason<\/p>\n