Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno was removed from Game 3 of the NLCS in the fifth inning with a right hand contusion, the team confirmed. The D-backs will hope the injury doesn’t prove to be more serious.
Moreno was hit on the hand with a foul tip bunt, and while he initially remained in the game, he was replaced with a pinch hitter before his next at-bat. This is the second time Moreno has exited a game early this postseason, the first coming when he was hit in the head by Brice Turang’s backswing during the Wild Card round. Fortunately, that incident didn’t lead to a concussion, and the young catcher was back on the field for Arizona’s next game. He has played in all five of the Diamondbacks’ postseason matchups thus far.
The 23-year-old catcher is enjoying a breakout season, proving himself to be a strong defensive player and a capable hitter. He improved at the plate as the year went on, too, batting .313 with an .894 OPS after the All-Star break.
In other news from the West divisions…
- Gary Sánchez is set to reach free agency after the World Series, but the Padres are reportedly interested in bringing him back, and the interest appears to be mutual, according to Dennis Lin of The Athletic. The 30-year-old had a difficult year at the plate in 2022, but he bounced back this season after the Padres claimed him on waivers in May. In 72 games with San Diego, he hit 19 home runs and posted a .792 OPS before a wrist fracture ended his season in early September.
- Sarah Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Times named Angels infield coach Benji Gil as a potential managerial candidate, reporting that the Angels have expressed interest in him as their next manager. Valenzuela also included Buck Showalter on the list of candidates, although that comes as less of a revelation; the team’s interest in Showalter has already been widely reported. Gil has been a coach in the majors for the past two seasons, and he served as the manager for Team Mexico in the 2020 Summer Olympics and the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Few guarantees in life
Life
Death
Taxes
Dodgers choking in the playoffs
Let the excuses begin
Let the fire Dave Roberts chants start
Here come dodger fans complaining about playoff format. 2nd best regular season team gets swept by the last team allowed in the playoffs on the NL side. Lmao.
Always the bridesmaid never the bride. Enjoy your worse draft position again. Really all Dodgers have to show for the 2023 season.
Enjoy your schadenfreude.
Original take NoSubs.
It’s been happening every year since Dave Roberts has been hired.
Dodger fans were mad at the playoff format when Atlanta beat them and went on to win it all.
If it looks like a duck quacks like a duck. Must be a duck.
Sarah Langs had an interesting take and graphic on her Twitter about it.
twitter.com/SlangsOnSports/status/1712317589655888…
2021, 2022, 2023 – Dodgers lost to teams they had a huge regular season win margin over. 3 of the 6 largest margins in MLB history.
I love how you throw worst draft position into every post you make. Who cares? It’s even more of a crapshoot than the postseason if you aren’t drafting 10A. Kumar Rocker and Elijah Green were awful top 6 picks that was just last year. Meanwhile Rushing who the Dodgers got in the 30s is really good. So who cares about draft position lmao
Every team that ever tanked cared about draft position.
And with the draft lottery the big market Dodgers cant even be in the lottery for more than 2 straight years. So this guy is rambling about them preferring playoff exits to the 10th overall pick? Lmao
Lottery paying teams can only be in one season. Revenue sharing recipients 2 seasons. Still a benefit to be in the lottery or they would not have made rules to limit tanking.
For someone who asked who cares you sure do seem to be investing a lot of time into this topic. Glad you care.
And you should care. Had the dodgers drafted as well as the Dbacks maybe they’d have won at least 1 game this series.
You clearly care. Which is why you commented, multiple times.
What do the dodgers have to show for 2023 exactly? Nothing but worse draft position.. Which, lower draft position also affects draft spending. But leave it to a dodger fan to not realize that.
“we made the playoffs” Getting swept in the 1st round of the playoffs in what was a lopsided NLDS isnt something id brag about exactly. Especially when Dodgers spent 210.6 mill and Dbacks spent 117 million.
I said who cares about draft position in regards to your comical narrative about contending teams, elimination and draft position. You still haven’t answered that. Whats funny is since the new CBA, draft position is now determined by elimination order. The Dodgers 2023 season is a failure but it bumps them up a bit so what are you trying to get on them for, not tanking for being in the lotter ONE time? Not a single one of the Dbacks 4 HR barrage yesterday was by a player they drafted. They also didn’t draft Kelly or Gallen. Your narrative about money to spend by draft position is even more comical. Dodgers were able to snag the 30th ranked prospect with their 2nd rounder this draft so they are doing just fine working with the position they have. Yes, the Dodgers playoff series was a disaster but they are still set up insanely well with a top farm system and a mountain of payroll room.
Clearly it upsets you. Thats the best part.
Anyways. 210 million and you wind up with nothing but a late 20 something pick.
Another year. Another 200+ mill wasted. How many billions have dodgers wasted to win absolutely nothing of relevance?
“2024 will be our year!” Dodger fans are starting to sound awfully similar to cowboy fans.
Do you think a professional sports team in Los Angeles is not making money? Their TV deal is worth 8 billion and you think some of the richest people in America lost money on payroll? lmao
*wasting money
Just because you make money doesn’t mean you’re immune to wasting money.
You think billionaires like wasting money? Nobody likes wasting money. Which that’s all the dodgers have done last 20 something years. Billions spent on nothing.
Could have had the exact same outcome for cheaper. You dont need 200 mill+ payroll to win nothing.
Other than Bauer, the players Dodgers spend on are productive. I guess you missed how much people have got on the Red Sox for trading Mookie Betts. If that’s your qualifications for wasting money than the Padres are burning it
A lot of teams are burning money. Sure. No disputing that.
Are you paying players to build their brand or to win championships? Be kind of stupid to pay guys to look good and win nothing.
But dodgers have been burning money the longest.
Did baseball history start in 2012 when Dodgers got actual owners and no a frugal borderline con-man? There are teams who have never won a world series. Therfore every cent has been a waste by yout amazing logic!
Dodgers have had a 100, nore like 120, mill plus payroll since 2001
statista.com/statistics/205526/los-angeles-dodgers…
So billions of wasted dollars spent, nothing to show for it, and your best comeback is ” oh yeah! Teams that wasted significantly less money also wasted money.” Lmao
.
That’s just sad. Whatever helps you feel better I guess.
Nothing will change the fact dodgers have wasted more money than anyone.
Least mookie and Freddie got ws rings already. Never gonna see actual championship with the dodgers.
For every billion spent they make billions in profit. There are sooo many things you can get on the Dodgers about and you choose draft picks and spending. Beyond deranged view. I guess you’re a fan of frugal small market teams who’s owners would have no business owning the club if their daddy didn’t pass it down to them. Mookie and Freddie going 1-25 is whats pathetic about this team. Not how much the Dodgers are paying them. Any team in baseball that needs a 1B wish they had Freddie Freeman for <200 million. Heck he just put up a better season than any full one with the Braves at age 34
I’m a fan of sensible spending.
I think players make way too much money overall. Be nice to cap top earners and build more competitive teams.
I’d like to see upper level guys take less money so lower level guys can actually make a living. The way minor leaguers have been treated and paid for years is just sad.
I’d also like to see owners invest in collegiate programs and help players have a fall back option (a worth while degree) in the event baseball careers don’t pan out. But that’ll probably never happen.
@NoSubscriptions4Lyfe
“The way minor leaguers have been treated and paid for years is just sad.”
Just take a look at those minor league signing bonuses. Not so sad.
Dodgers do not win full season World Series for the 35th consecutive year.
Or, Dodgers do not win World Series for 3rd consecutive year.
Somebody had to win in 2020, and they had to win more playoff series and games than any other team before them.
D’backs sweep the Dodgers out of the postseason for the first time since 2006. The Diamondbacks also get some payback for being swept by the Dodgers in 2017. Bill Plaschke must be eating his words right now seeing as just one week ago he guaranteed the Dodgers would win the World Series. Might have to wait for the next 60 game season Bill…
SP and clutch hitting wins in the playoffs, LA lacked both.
Hats off to Dbacks though, they’re playing great and deserve to be where they are now.
That’s the Dodgers M.O. In 2017 when they had it “stolen” from them, they couldn’t get any hits, much less clutch ones. Their pitching, especially at home in that WS, was not good. Same with every season since, except the 10 game season in 2020.
@Beff Jagwell
The problem with the “stolen” narrative is that they lost two games at home (including the decisive game 7) where there were no trash cans. If they took care of business at home they would have won and Dodger fans wouldn’t have “but, but the trash cans” to use as an excuse
This ^^^
I am sure your team would have rejected the trophy in 2020 if they had won, right? They all played the games in 2020. Why did the other 29 teams bother to play?
Sour grapes…
“Why did the other 29 teams bother to play?”
That would be the almighty dollar with engaging fan interest a distant last place
Who’s Bill Plashke?? No, I would not have accepted the 2020 Trophy. That entire clown car tournament & two month “season” needs to be eradicated from the statistical record. So many anomalies. No fans. Players opting out. No minor leagues. Etc etc etc
All teams were involved and had the same exact parameters. The season counts just like all the others
In the record books and the minds of Dodger fans, sure. But not so much in the court of public opinion.
It wasn’t a season, it was barely two months of baseball. Lol more like spring training, with some stars opting to not play at all!
That’s false.
Teams were constantly missing players due to being ineligible to play creating disadvantages. Having 1 team miss star players cause he caught the rona while another team didn’t definitely impacted outcomes.
Not to mention some areas had high rona rates while others didn’t. So teams going to certain cities were more at risk while others weren’t. In addition. Not all state mandates were the same.
Toronto wasn’t allowed to play in its home stadium.
Not trying to get political but saying “Same parameters” is just laughable. For many mentions in addition to the ones listed above.
Hey don’t get sick or we won’t let you play.
Hey you’re more at risk to get exposed while other teams arent
Toronto play in your aaa stadium
“Same parameters”
I’m not a Dodger fan. 2020 counts like any other season. Such a strange take
Do you have the mlb app? Article by mlb has a great article about the Dodgers woes with consecutive playoff appearances with one shortened Covid season championship. I’m not saying I wouldn’t want my favorite team to win it but to say it’s comparable is laughable.
@johnrealtime
Not a strange take at all… a popular take, actually.
60 games is not even half a real season. The Dodgers won a sprint, not the usual marathon.
Not a Dodgers fan, but the idea that the 2020 season doesn’t count is dumb af.
@Ignorant: no team would have turned down the 2020 WS trophy…..
2020 was an exhibition season.
Playing all playoff games in neutral parks. Stats for 50% of players were 40% or more off their career averages. So many more.
@Ignorant Son-of-a-b
Bill Plaschke is a long time LA Times hack sports writer who is also an ESPN hack and one of the biggest Dodgers/Lakers apologists you could ever (also should never) read
The Dodgers offense is soft after Freeman, Betts, JDM and Will Smith. Unless pitching was about to come through and shut down teams in October, hard to see them go anywhere. Bit surprised how they put up little fight against Zona.
Let’s all make fun of the Dodgers & their delusional fanbase!!! Love seeing these people suffer.
As much complaining we’ve read here about the Angels, tonight they are no different than the Dodgers.
Just 3 less games… and that’s about it!
But, but they’re the superior team and that’s where Ohtani is going.
yeah right
If the angels sign another bench coach as a manager I’m gonna lose it when Buck already said he is interested in the angels
Other than Nevin who were the BC’s named Manager? Unless you’re going way ,way waaaay back to Marcel Lacheman and the ones before him.
People just comment to comment, love a good fair weather fan
Nevin was the third base coach if you were thinking he was the bench coach
Manager decision should be impacted by the direction of the team.
Showalter is the guy for the usual patchwork of free agents we squint and pray can compete.
If there’s a rebuild, I’d go with a younger guy who can weather a couple years, build a core, and hopefully lead it when it is actually ready.
Doesn’t appear to be a rebuild. Probably comes down to whether Arte wants to spend money on an experienced manager.
So I would have to believe that this is the end of Dave Roberts in LA. So where is the Dodger fan that when I said the Dodgers made a huge mistake not keeping Bellinger said what was it? Oh yeah, That they won 100 games without him so it wasn’t a mistake. After trotting out Hernandez and Taylor in CF you could of said, What if….? Yeah they won a 100 games again and are sitting at home. I’ve been racking my brain trying to remember who Corbin Carroll reminds me of and it hit me tonight. Freddie Lynn. Lynn had more power and Carroll is faster but there are a lot of similarities to like. Thumbs up to the D-Backs.
I’m predisposed from birth to root against the Dodgers, but I don’t know how Roberts could have done more. The SP staff was a glaring mess this year yet they won 100 games. They just got outplayed against the Dbacks and again SP wasn’t there.
Yes to the pitching staff was a mess. Kershaw led the team in innings pitched with just over 131. Just think about that—the leading pitcher only pitched 131 innings. They trotted out 39 different guys to pitch this year. 39!
The Dodgers are not built to last more than 162 games. They run out of gas after that.
He could have pulled Lynn after 2 HR instead of 4?
Two outs, bases empty, guy who has plenty of post season experience (although not great numbers), and hopefully a game to play tomorrow…I can see leaving him in until he gave up the third.
The one thing I disagree with Roberts about was he said he had to manage the game as though there was going to be a game the following day. Wrong. You have to manage that game like there’s no tomorrow because with a loss there isn’t.
Roberts is just Friedman’s puppet. Only way he goes is if Friedman gets replaced.
Dodgers might have been better off having Freddie pitch tonight instead of Lance!
just relieved ( as a compassionate human being) that Kershaw didn’t have to go out there and try to pitch again.
Time for a change…who would u bring in to manage?
Dodgers problem was having too much time off. Orioles and Braves also suffered same fate. MLB needs to redefine their poorly designed playoff system
The obvious solution would be to rank the Playoff teams from 1-6 and everyone starts playing right away. 1-6, 2-5, 3-4. Problem solved.
You’d need 8 teams for that. Personally, I’d expand to 32 teams with every team making the playoffs and 7-game series. First round would be 7 games at the higher seeds home park. Second round, lower seed gets 1 home game. Third round, lower seed gets 2 home games. Then for the LCS and world series, lower seed gets 3 home games. Shorten spring training and the season. Start playoffs beginning of September. It’ll definitely increase fan interest….
So I guess we agree that the format as constructed stinks and we’re doomed to playing WS games maybe in Minnesota, Chicago, Boston or Pittsburgh in November in the snow. Sigh
Change the entire league season and have everu team make the playoffs is the worst idea I have heard in awhile
So those teams are never allowed to be in the World Series?
It’d be easy to cut 20 games off the schedule. People get bored by the trade deadline anyways. Might as well add some excitement to the entire mlb fan base with an expanded, all-inclusive playoff system. It’s like the basketball and hockey playoffs taken to the next level.
Yeah sorry no, that’s a terrible idea for me my man. Why have a season at all if every team makes the playoffs, what would they be playing for playoff positioning? There so many facets of why that’s a bad idea
Playoff positioning is why they play the season regardless. The incentive being an overwhelming home field advantage for the first few rounds. I get you’re a traditionalist, but this would’ve been way better than Manfred changing the fundamental rules of the game.
I’m guessing climate is the only thing that will change
@bluebludd
No such thing as overwhelming home field advantage in baseball, especially in the playoffs.
Home teams win 52% of post-season games. Hardly overwhelming.
It’s a terrible idea, there does need to be change to the playoff format but having every team make it is not a solution fans would entertain. It isn’t just about playoff seeding, it’s about making it thru the 162 game grind to have the right to play in the playoffs and achieve the ultimate goal, with your plan we run the chance of a team like the royals/rockies getting hot for a month and winning the ultimate prize with a AAA team and that’s something nobody wants to watch. Earn your right to play!
So do the winners of those series play in a triple threat LCS to determine the pennant winner?
That is just an excuse. These teams just need to play better. Execute more efficiently. Learn how to productively make use of those off-days. They are supposed to be of benefit to help the team rest up & set their rotation.
The evidence doesn’t support your theory.
blogs.fangraphs.com/layoffs-havent-hindered-playof…
@notagain27
Too much time off?
So what was their excuse in 1995, 1996, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022?
Coming into this season teams with a bye went 24-11 in the post season. Having time off is not a bad thing.
What happens in the next round?
The Phillies will sweep the upstart Diamondbacks in 4 games. The Phillies will be the last team standing. They have it working on all cylinders this postseason.
Working on all cylinders? Uh, Arizona hasn’t lost a game this postseason.
They play a best-of-seven series.
@gbs42
A sweep in a best-of-seven is 4 games.
B U C K
B E N J I
Ross Atkins deserves Exec of the Year credit for his efforts in helping the Diamondbacks. No chance Zona makes the playoffs without the trade with the Jays.
In Turang’s defense, he doesn’t swing the bat hard enough to do much damage to the ball, let alone the catcher’s helmet on the follow through. Hoping Moreno is alright nonetheless.
What is San Diego’s issue with giving Campusano a fair crack?
They need to get better in other spots. Not giving Sanchez 7-8MM a year would help plug up those other holes.
They need a second catcher
@Brian. Campy went into 2023 as their primary starting catcher (60-40 share with Nola) but got hurt and missed the next 3-4 months. What more can the Pads do to be fair to him other than that?
God what is this, 1978?
“He improved at the plate as the year went on, too, batting .313 with an .894 OPS after the All-Star break.”
NEVER PUT A COMMA BEFORE “TOO.” THERE IS LITERALLY NO NEED. STOP WASTING COMMAS. LEARN HOW TO WRITE, DUMMIES.
@MLBTR Keeps Getting Worse
LEARN HOW TO USE THE WORD “LITERALLY,” DUMMY.