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19 hours ago
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Shaikin: Walker Buehler struggling to rediscover his Dodgers World Series magic with Red Sox
Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Walker Buehler delivers during a 9-5 loss to the Angels on Monday night at Angel Stadium. Buehler gave up five runs in the first inning. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Associated Press) Walker Buehler owned our city. When the Dodgers ran out of arms last fall, he instantly reimagined himself as a closer and slayed the mighty New York Yankees in the final inning of the World Series. In the championship parade, he donned the jersey of fellow Fall Classic hero Orel Hershiser. He and catcher Will Smith auctioned the ball used for the final out and donated the $414,000 in proceeds toward wildfire relief. From the day he arrived at Dodger Stadium as a rookie in 2017, Buehler exuded confidence. Tommy Lasorda had to goad Hershiser into becoming a bulldog. Buehler always had been one. Advertisement That made it shocking, frankly, to hear Buehler talk after the Angels dazed him in a five-run first inning Monday at Angel Stadium. They beat him, he beat himself, whatever. Read more: Max Muncy drives in seven runs off two homers in Dodgers' win over Nationals But among the words uttered by the one-time Dodgers ace with the supreme confidence were these: 'I think I can still pitch in the major leagues.' Buehler's earned-run average is 6.29, the highest of any American League pitcher with at least 60 innings. That leaves the Red Sox with this unsettling dilemma: They are a game and a half out of an American League wild card — and only a game ahead of the Angels — so can they afford to keep Buehler in their starting rotation? Advertisement 'We'll talk about it,' Boston manager Alex Cora said. Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Walker Buehler tosses his glove and cap into the dugout as he leaves the field after giving up five runs in the first inning of a 9-5 loss to the Angels at Angel Stadium on Monday. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Associated Press) Buehler does not shy from accountability, or from the question of whether he worries that the Red Sox might move him to the bullpen, at least for a spell. 'Yeah, I think you have to,' he said. 'At some point, there are 26 guys that are going to help this team hopefully make the playoffs. 'If you're not one of them, I don't really think it matters what you've done in years past.' In his previous start, Cora noted before the game, Buehler had failed to retire eight batters with two-strike counts. In this game, after the Red Sox handed him a 3-0 lead, Zach Neto hit Buehler's first pitch over the center-field fence. The Angels scored the remaining four runs with two outs. In all, the Angels scored five runs on two hits, two hit batters and four walks. Advertisement Buehler hit the Angels' No. 7 batter with two strikes, walked the No. 8 batter with two strikes, and walked the No. 9 batter with two strikes. Then he hit Neto to force home a run. Read more: 'It's going to be gradual.' Why Dodgers aren't rushing Shohei Ohtani's pitching buildup 'It's embarrassing,' Buehler said. 'It's just not who I want to be as a baseball player. Obviously, I'd rather get whacked around than do that. 'Somehow, this year, I've managed to do all the negative things you can. I'll keep working. It's just tough to let down our team, especially with the first inning that we had.' The Dodgers signed Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki to replace Buehler and Jack Flaherty in their rotation. Snell and Sasaki are on the injured list. Flaherty has a 4.83 ERA and an AL-high eight losses for the team with the best record in the majors, the Detroit Tigers. Advertisement Buehler has started 13 games, more than anyone on the Red Sox except Garrett Crochet and more than anyone on the Dodgers except Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Dustin May. Buehler's ERA in seven games since returning from an injured list stint for what the Red Sox called shoulder bursitis: 8.59. Cora insists that Buehler's stuff and velocity are fine, and that mechanics and execution are the issues. Buehler walked a career-high seven in his four innings on Monday, more than he walked in 15 innings in the 2024 postseason. Opposing batters have an OPS over 1.000 against his four-seam fastball. 'Honestly, his stuff is good. It's really good,' Cora said before the game. 'The one thing we always talk about is the misses. If you look at his four-seamer, when he goes up, it's actually a non-competitive pitch. 'If we can tighten that up — and that's with more repetitions, of course — he's going to be OK. Hopefully, it starts soon.' Advertisement After the game, Cora said he is '100%' sure Buehler is not pitching hurt. Buehler, asked if he is pitching through anything, said: 'I don't want to talk about it.' Read more: Shaikin: Why is Dodger Stadium SO LOUD? Buehler is in his first full season after his second Tommy John surgery. The track record for pitchers returning to their previous performance level after a second such surgery is not encouraging. Shohei Ohtani is trying the same thing this season. For the Dodgers last October, after returning for an abbreviated season, Buehler threw 10 shutout innings in the league championship series and the World Series. I asked him whether the comeback might be harder over the course of a full season. That was the context for volunteering his remark about his ability to pitch in the majors. Advertisement 'I think, in all honesty, it's a lot easier to stay good than to get good,' he said. 'The guys on the other side of the field from me drive nice cars, get paid a lot of money to be really good at what they do. Outside of a couple swings, I think largely I beat myself, which is just not something that you can do here. 'I think it's in there. I think my arm still moves good. I think I can still make the ball move. I think I can still pitch in the major leagues. 'At some point, the belief, it gets hard to keep tricking yourself. At some point, I have got to put some results up there, for myself, but also for this organization.' Walker Buehler sits in the dugout after being pulled in the fourth inning against the Seattle Mariners on June 17. (John Froschauer / Associated Press) That is the reality, and the reason for the talk about whether the Red Sox might remove him from their rotation. Advertisement 'I'm a guy open to doing whatever needs to be done,' he said. 'I'm a starting pitcher. I've been a starting pitcher my whole life. I don't necessarily think that changing that is going to somehow magically fix everything.' Something's gotta give. Could be his results, could be his role. Whatever the case, he'll always have last October. Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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29-03-2025
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Shaikin: Will Dodgers win a record 117 games? Orel Hershiser would like to see it
Shaikin: Will Dodgers win a record 117 games? Orel Hershiser would like to see it Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts, far right, celebrates with teammates after hitting a three-run, walk-off home run in the 10th inning of an 8-5 win over the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times) Tommy Lasorda had a lot of things to say, many of which still stick in our heads after all these decades. He exulted in the fruits of victory. He dubbed Dodger Stadium "Blue Heaven on Earth." He warned you might not get into the real heaven if you did not root for the Dodgers. Advertisement He also had a simple formula for success. 'No matter how good you are, you're going to lose one-third of your games,' Lasorda liked to say. 'No matter how bad you are, you're going to win one-third of your games. It's the other third that makes the difference.' If you believe the hype, these Dodgers are out to make a liar out of Lasorda. Under Lasorda's axiom, no team wins more than two-thirds of its games. For the Dodgers, that would be 108 games. '117 would be a nice number,' former Dodgers pitcher and current broadcaster Orel Hershiser said. 'Set the record.' The record indeed is 116, set by the Chicago Cubs in 1906 and tied by the Seattle Mariners in 2001. Advertisement 'There's just a lot of excitement,' Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, "probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base.' Nine teams in history have won 109 or more games. One of those teams: the 2022 Dodgers, winners of 111 games during the regular season, eliminated by the San Diego Padres in four games in October. Two Brooklyn Dodgers teams won more than two-thirds of their games: the 1953 team, which lost to the New York Yankees in the World Series; and the 1942 team, which lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League, at a time there were no divisions and the league champion advanced directly to the World Series. These Dodgers enjoyed a ring ceremony Friday. They plan to enjoy another one this time next year. Advertisement 'That's our only focus right now, to go back to back,' Roberts said. 'We have the best team.' Dodgers manager Dave Roberts show off his 2024 World Series championship ring before a win over the Tigers on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Hershiser pitched under Lasorda, who managed the Dodgers to two World Series championships in 20 years. In 1977, Lasorda's first year, the Dodgers won 98 games. In 1978 they won 95. Never again under Lasorda did the Dodgers win so many games. This is not a knock on Lasorda, who is in the Hall of Fame. Teams are not supposed to win two-thirds of their games, and yet here we are watching a team so talented and deep that not winning two-thirds of its games might be a letdown to its fans. 'It's going to be really hard to continue to think of glowing things to say about this team,' Hershiser said. 'I think the adjectives are going to get real thin.' Advertisement Hershiser has allowed himself a moment or two to have some fun with the anticipation of greatness. At the start of the season, he said, the Dodgers' broadcasters had a group text for predictions about how many games the team would win. Hershiser smiled as he told the story. The regular season features 162 games. His text read 162. It was a joke. The fans, he said, should have some fun too. 'I would hope it's fun,' he said. 'I guess it's less excitement when you win, and more disappointment when you lose. It's not quite as balanced of a feeling.' For fans of every other team, the exhibition season is over. For fans of the Dodgers, the exhibition season extends through September, and the meaningful games start in October. The last time the Dodgers failed to make the playoffs: 13 years ago. Advertisement Yet a baseball season is a book with 162 chapters. There is plenty to savor within, new players and surprise storylines, a bounty to celebrate and appreciate as the summer unfolds. Read more: Mookie Betts' walk-off homer in 10th keeps Dodgers undefeated: 'We just don't quit' This is not as easy as the Dodgers plan to make it look, even with their 4-0 start. When I asked Roberts what he would suggest to fans already counting down to October, he channeled one of the greatest champions in our city's history. 'My advice would be what Kobe said: The dream is a journey. And when we're in your living rooms every night, when you come to the ballpark — 4 million people come to the ballpark every year — enjoy the journey. Advertisement 'If you're just waiting to win a championship, and that defines the season for you and your joy, then you might want to find something else to root for, because you're missing a lot.' Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
