Game of the Week: September 2: COL @ LAD

[Zigmo-Whitesox]

Colorado Rockies (71-67) @ Los Angeles Dodgers (88-51)


COL: Keith Nield (10-11, 5.26)

LAD: Grayson Rodriguez (10-4, 4.96)


Rockies 3 Key Stats

3-1: Colorados record vs LAD with Nield on the mound: Nield has taken the mound 3 times vs the dodgers at home this year.  The Rockies coming out on top in all 3 contests.  He has pitched to a 3.15 ERA and largely due to not allowing a ton of hits.  The dodgers have managed just 17 hits in 20 innings of work leading to a 1.10 WHIP.  If the Rockies are going to try to play spoiler they need the home version of Nield.  Not the one who went into dodger stadium and gave up 5 earned in 5 innings en route to a 7-5 loss.

288: Doubles hit by the Rockies: Unsurprisingly the team with the career doubles leader(Arenado) leads the league in doubles this year.  Arenado has been incredibly consistent whopping at least 28 in every year since 2017 and this year is no different.  Colorado also has the NL doubles leader in Alec Sanchez(43) and 5 players over 30.  While the Rockies have hit their fair share of homeruns(11th) their offense has been exceptional due to the double.

137: David Dahls projected runs scored:  At 36 years young dahl is having a monster season.  He's part of the aforementioned doubles club(34).  He is hitting safely above .300(.316).  With 29 bombs to boot.  If Lindor wasn't a thing and Ancrum(more on him later) wasn't having such a monster year.  We may be talking Dahl for MVP, or he would at least be in the conversation.  He has been leading off and his teammates have been driving him in... But he isn't a selfish guy.  No, in high leverage spots this year he has hit a sizzling .405 in 74 ABs.  In these situations he has drove in 35 runs and has an OPS of a ridiculous 1.185.  So if that lineup is about to turn over just a fair warning you may want to sit tight because if Dahl gets up things could happen. (Not rewriting this lol but don't expect much from dahl he is fatigued however the high leverage stuff is cool)



Dodgers 3 Key Stats

3.97: Grayson Rodriguez home ERA: Grayson has had his share of struggles this year but he has been fairly effective at home. He has limited opponents to 59 hits in 70.1 innings of work leading to a 1.22 WHIP(his road whip is 1.81). He has one home start vs Colorado this year going 5.2 innings and allowing 2 runs in a 5-3 victory. The dodgers should be thrilled if he could repeat this performance tonight.

1: Of the top 6 Dodgers hitters(by WAR) 1 is at full strength:  Jeren Kendall looks good to go for today however.  Star Jadon Ancrum is out with food poisoning.  Patrick Leonard is suffering through a cold drought(5 for his last 50).  Luis Urias and Alex Verdugo are day to day with minor back injuries.  And Tim Hendrickson looks fatigued.

777: It's the dodgers lucky number!  Also the number of runs they have scored this year:  They lead the league in BA, second in OBP, fifth in slugging and they don't strike out a ton (7th).  Only 14th in HRs but this team is moving guys around the bases they don't need a ton of bombs.  They are capable of putting up their fair share of runs tonight even if they aren't at full strength.


Questions for the GMs:

For Erick Blasco, You are just a few weeks away from Davis returning from his unfortunate injury.  Davis, Dahl, Salinas would have been a treat with how well your offense is performing.  Are you in the hunt for the wildcard if he is healthy this year?

According to FIP McCurley has had a much better season than his ERA indicates.  Are you pleased with how his sophomore campaign has went?  Pitching in Colorado can be a challenge.  Do you target specific types of pitchers?

Both the Dodgers and Rockies average player age is ancient.  Any youngsters getting the call with roster expansion? 

 
For Ben Vincent, You have had an excellent season thusfar.  Your leading the defending champs for the NL West title.  What team do you least want to face in October?

Your offseason acquisitions have really paid off.  Jadon Ancrum is having a monster year.  Pat Cypert is pitching like an ace.  Messina is doing very well.  Will we see Jadon or Pat in dodger blue next year or is the jury still out on that?

Both the Dodgers and Rockies average player age is ancient.  Any youngsters getting the call with roster expansion?


TRIVIA: 

[Ben_Dodgers]

For Ben Vincent, You have had an excellent season thusfar. Your leading the defending champs for the NL West title. What team do you least want to face in October?

The road to the World Series still goes through Milwaukee. We beat them in '25 and '26 and went on to win the Series; they beat us in '28 to win their second. It's the matchup I plan for all year. Not that there's a ton I can do to influence the outcome, but I definitely take it into account when constructing my roster. I'm pretty sure Luke does the same.

Your offseason acquisitions have really paid off. Jadon Ancrum is having a monster year. Pat Cypert is pitching like an ace. Messina is doing very well. Will we see Jadon or Pat in dodger blue next year or is the jury still out on that?

I tried extending Ancrum early in the season but he wasn't interested at that time. He's loving playing in LA though and has come back to the table. Both players have pretty high demands, but I'd like to keep them around so we'll see what we can work out.

Both the Dodgers and Rockies average player age is ancient. Any youngsters getting the call with roster expansion?

Not this year. We've had a lot of success signing and trading for veterans, but that's come at a cost of trading away much of our young talent over the years. We have some future stars in the minors now, but nobody quite ready to make a contribution this year.

[Commissioner Erick]

For Erick Blasco, You are just a few weeks away from Davis returning from his unfortunate injury. Davis, Dahl, Salinas would have been a treat with how well your offense is performing. Are you in the hunt for the wildcard if he is healthy this year?

We're just a few hours away. Davis will play today despite a short rehab process. We want to get him integrated as soon as possible. We're not sure if we'd be in the hunt. We struggled very early in the year when Davis was healthy and it took some time for us to find our groove. So many of our hitters struggled at the same time and we went 10-17 in April with a terrible offense. We still have had the chance to get into contention, but we've had some unfortunate struggles against some beatable teams, our pitching hasn't been great, and Charlie Dougan has melted down so much. Even if Davis would be worth 5 WAR over the very replaceable Steve Hutchinson, we'd still be out 8 games from St. Louis. However, we'd be firmly over .500, and that might have helped with our profitability as we set up for next year.

According to FIP McCurley has had a much better season than his ERA indicates. Are you pleased with how his sophomore campaign has went? Pitching in Colorado can be a challenge. Do you target specific types of pitchers?

McCurley's been better than his FIP the last two years, but he's been so different this year. He's done much better with cutting his walks, but he's allowed way more homers. His BABIP has also been sky high. Lefties have killed him this year after he was more neutral last year. He's young, he's cheap, and scouts like him, so he'll be around for some time. I don't have a specific type except that my park and defense make me want to target great stuff in the bullpen. Mostly I try to simply target as much talent as I can.

Both the Dodgers and Rockies average player age is ancient. Any youngsters getting the call with roster expansion?

Technically with Danny Davis coming off the IL, yes, him. The other spot will be Bobby McConnell coming off the IL to be a lefty arm.

[Zigmo-Whitesox]

Dodgers 7 - Rockies 2

WP: G. Rodriguez (11-4)

LP: K. Nield (10-12)


The Dodgers outmatched the Rockies 7-2 on Monday.  Nield really struggled to find the zone early and when he did the dodgers hit him hard.  Patrick Leonard awoke from his slump going 2-4 with a HR and 2 RBI.  Grayson Rodriguez turned in a magnificent performance against a Rockies team who rocked out their best lineup recalling Danny Davis from his AAA rehab stint.

"We took advantage of our opportunities," said Rodriguez. "It's as simple as that.'


Questions for the GMs:


For Erick Blasco, Rough one today.  Dahl had another nice game.  At 36 are you surprised he had this kind of season left in him?

Nolan Arenado getting pinch hit for what is the world coming to?  Will gunning be competing for the hot corner next year?  What about Perez?  He has been decent this year will you look to return him in 2031?

2031 looks to be a pretty big year almost maybe a passing of the baton from Dahl, Sanchez and Arenado to Danny Davis and Tom Gunning... I mean Raimfer Salinas..  How do you see the Rockies future unfolding?  Heck Dahl may have a few more big years left afterall.



For Ben Vincent, Good to see Patrick Leonard hit the ball well tonight.  With your team not being full of homerun hitters how important is it to your team that Patrick is swinging it well? 
 
Grayson Rodriguez had a fine outing today.  With him being so much better at home how important is it for you to run down the Brewers and potentially get that extra home game?  Or will you alter your rotation so Rodriguez only starts at home come October?

When you look at your roster this year what was your best move/s?  The Ancrum signing?  Trading for your top rotation pieces?  Bringing back Kendall?

[Ben_Dodgers]

For Ben Vincent, Good to see Patrick Leonard hit the ball well tonight. With your team not being full of homerun hitters how important is it to your team that Patrick is swinging it well?

It's more important now than at the beginning of the season, when I had Pando as another power threat. The great thing about Leonard though is he's also been hitting for average this year. He's just a solid run producer.

Grayson Rodriguez had a fine outing today. With him being so much better at home how important is it for you to run down the Brewers and potentially get that extra home game? Or will you alter your rotation so Rodriguez only starts at home come October?

I haven't thought about that too much yet. After Cypert and Messina the other spots are up for grabs. GRod has the home/road splits. ERod has had a number of gems, and a number of clunkers. Wentz has a history of playoff heroics. But if the season comes down to the wire we may not have a lot of flexibility to adjust the rotation, so we'll see what things look like in a couple weeks.

When you look at your roster this year what was your best move/s? The Ancrum signing? Trading for your top rotation pieces? Bringing back Kendall?

I guess it has to be Ancrum. He should be the MVP this year, and he's doing it for $6.5 million. But almost all of my off season acquisitions have paid off. Leonard is having one of the best seasons of his career. Kendall is having the best season of his career. Cypert and Messina have both been great and really rejuvenated the pitching staff. Even Dan Cabrera, who came over in on a minor league deal in a trade with Oakland, has had a measurable impact. I'm quite fortunate to have had so many hits on roster moves this year.

[Commissioner Erick]

For Erick Blasco, Rough one today. Dahl had another nice game. At 36 are you surprised he had this kind of season left in him?

Honestly yes. I thought he'd be good, but not fringe MVP candidate good. The lowered mound has helped, as has been an effort to get him more rest, plus less wear on his body now that he's mainly a corner outfielder. Our staff has done well with veterans, and Dahl's taken care of himself, and avoided major injury over his career. This doesn't seem repeatable though, but it's a testament to his skill as a World-Class baseball player. He'll be in the Hall of Fame and we're ecstatic for the career he's had.

Nolan Arenado getting pinch hit for what is the world coming to? Will gunning be competing for the hot corner next year? What about Perez? He has been decent this year will you look to return him in 2031?

A few weeks ago, we allowed Arenado to be pinch hit for as his slower bat gives him trouble against righties now. We hoped it would never come, and the way his career has unfolded, it was possible to dream that age would never affect him, but alas, he's 39 and has played a lot of baseball. Next year, Arenado is in the last year of his contact so he has reason to play one more year with $24 million coming his way. We plan to use him as a platoon bat against lefties. As for the starter, we're not sure. Michael Perez is a nice Shortstop, but he's asking for nearly $20 million a season, which is more than he's worth. Alec Sanchez is an option to move to Third Base next year as his bat would still provide value there, but we don't have a lot of infielders in our upper minors so no matter what, we'll have to look elsewhere. The market may have to determine our options next year. We may extend a Qualifying Offer to Perez to suppress his market, then snap him up in Spring Training as the Shortstop market looks rough for teams without budget room, as it does every year.

2031 looks to be a pretty big year almost maybe a passing of the baton from Dahl, Sanchez and Arenado to Danny Davis and Tom Gunning... I mean Raimfer Salinas.. How do you see the Rockies future unfolding? Heck Dahl may have a few more big years left afterall.

Honestly, next year, we'll likely be worse. Dominic Smith wants to test Free Agency after coming aboard on a budget deal, as does Jake Burger as he was a minor league contract guy we claimed with the Rule V. Ralph Porter expects a big pay day, and a Qualifying Offer may not keep teams from signing him as he provides a power, defense, and speed component. We may have a huge hole in the infield as well if Perez doesn't come back, and our bullpen aside from Charlie Dougan has been a bit over its head. We'll give it another go as for the first time in forever, we may have 5 starting pitching spots locked up and First Base-only sluggers tend to come at a discount (plus we have a ton of Quad-A sluggers who may take a step), but we expect a big exodus in 2032 as some contracts expire, some youngsters reach arbitration, and our development won't keep up. Arenado will likely have retired and we'll have to rebuild. We'll have some contracts like Salinas and Szapucki that may fetch value at that time to help.