Dodgers, Cody Bellinger, Giants discussed on Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

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I'm curious you know you had you have this team that in some ways has underperformed because we didn't expect them to have a competitive race. At least not this competitive race. And certainly not with san francisco that perhaps of san diego and cody bellinger's been bellinger but obscures from your perspective if there are any pleasant surprises among the dodgers the sierra there any guys who have sort of outperformed your expectations of them are performed in a different and new way that has been an asset to the team. Yeah absolutely and just a to pile on a little bit back too far hunts. id for second e he came to the dodgers with andrew freedman after the two thousand fourteen season so they were in a in a spot where the dodgers had won the last two divisions but the giants were coming up three world series in five years and everyone was trying to figure out like how they did that and he's struck me as someone who is very curious. I believe one of the first Sort of informal meetings we had with him he was he was like everyone was asking. What is the giants back. Then you know. What was their secret sauce of winning. And he said you can't really overlook what they're doing because they won rights he that's his job to sort of figure that out and i think he's he's curious and open to anything and like just figuring out what works and i think that's sort of been the key for for both him and i guess andrew friedman with the dodgers and that's been one of their underlying philosophies they brought in a lot of like new relievers this year. They they traded. Dylan floro and adam cleric. Who were used a reasonable amount last year But not necessarily the key relievers but some of the relievers they brought in like. It just didn't work right away. Like alex was pretty wild in the first part of the year. And then now he's one of their best relievers. He just absolutely challenges. Everybody in zone celebrates wildly every time he gets through beginning which is hilarious and fun to watch mostly because he's always by pumping his fist and yelling and then immediately to stop and take off his hat and gloves and handed to the umpire after for tax at. That's pretty fun and phil bickford. They claimed off waivers to have basically. I would say those two are like. They're among their four best relievers right now which i obviously would not have guests at the beginning of the year but it took growing pains to get there. They lost so many extra inning games earlier in the year like garrett cleanser another rookie who was like getting better as the season went on. But he's hurt right now. He lost four extra inning. Games alone. Just they weren't having a lot of guys who were inexperienced or young in very high leverage situations because they ran a relievers earlier and So that was that was the thing. But yeah i think a- and bickford sort of standing out are probably the two biggest surprises at least on the pitching side for me and grant. We could probably do a whole episode where we just went name by name on the jets and like wait what that guy did that. How is there like an epitome of that for you. Would it be like one of the older guys who somehow reached a new level like your brandon crawford or would it be someone who like no one had heard of prior to this year last year. That has suddenly performed you. I will say that. Four as surprising as the giants are donovan. Solano alex dickerson mike extremity. They put like all right. You know like if you had told me before the season in september they're going to be fighting for the national league west. I would have thought okay solano's hitting three thirty years. Trump's got fifteen forty home runs a dickerson has not base percentage close to four hundred so that it's not all sunshine and rainbows. But i think the two that really stick with me. Crawford is amazing but he was showing this a little bit at the second half of last year. So i'm gonna go with lamont. Way junior in darren rough because they are filling complimentary rules. Where wade complete left field. He can also play. First baseman brandon belt was heard weighed in rough. Were forming a platoon. They're both of those guys have been really really good. Way has had excellent late inning. Timing he he's had some really big hits for the giants but he's also just good. He's got seventeen home runs. He's playing defense all over the field. He runs well. Darren rough has morphed into like his opium is nine thirty leads the team in adjusted dopey in opie s He is he's hitting righties. he's hitting lefties. I was really curious. About when he came back from the k b o and i was like oh this you know this is interesting signing and i wrote about it in a to like preface it with like look. I know that you guys don't wanna read about this. I'm so sorry at the same time like this might be something. He has just been shown much better. He is such a lynchpin for this offense because it can pinch hit iki knees in their against left. Handed pitchers as outfielder as a first baseman. His defense is fine like he has been to me the most surprising player of the last two seasons. What would you say has been the signature. Giants dodgers moment of the season. So far like the most dramatic game the most dramatic moment..

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