Hu Down; LaRoche Up?

So the Dodgers finally made a move today that was a long time coming...

From Dodgers.com:

"...the club [has] optioned rookie shortstop Chin-lung Hu to Triple-A Las Vegas."

I like Chin-lung Hu. He plays good defense and he might very well have some future with the Dodgers, but I think everyone, including Chin-lung himself could see he was just playing way over his head. He had collected just two hits in his last 34 at-bats and looked completely lost against any form of adequate big league pitching.

At the same time, however, Hu does deserve some applause. He was forced into starting for the Dodgers at shortstop due to injuries and he gave it his all every day. He never complained or whined, he just went out and played. Unfortunately, for all of us, it wasn't good enough. Hopefully, he'll get consistent playing time in AAA and fix his stroke. He can hit, he just hasn't been showing it.

Good luck, Chin-lung... Godspeed...

Anyway, on to other things.

Though it wasn't officially announced yet, all indications seem to say Andy LaRoche will be getting the call to replace Hu on the 25-man roster.

This simple roster move has accomplished two good things. We've got Hu back in the minors where he can work his issues out, and we're bringing LaRoche out of the minors, where he has nothing left to prove, so much so that LaRoche took to playing other positions while at Las Vegas to make himself more versatile for the big league team. He already can play 3rd, but in the last few weeks has played several games at both 1st and 2nd, and his hard work should pay off with more playing time.

LaRoche should be able to platoon with DeWitt at third for a couple games a week (though possibly not just against lefties, as DeWitt is hitting surprisingly worse against right handed pitchers than against southpaws: .274 vs. .348) and can also play 2nd on Jeff Kent's weekly day off. He can take over for Loney on his occasional day off, and can also be a good right-handed bat of the bench. Plus, the Dodgers will be in Detroit this Friday where they'll be able to use his bat with the DH rule in effect for three games.

The only thing left now to wonder is if LaRoche can prove he can hit big league pitching. He struggled in his 93 at-bats last year and turned some people off the from the idea that he is our long term solution at third base (though 93 at-bats isn't nearly enough to prove or disprove anything). If he can come up this time and not overly try to impress (like I get the feeling he did last year) he should be able to settle down and show everyone why he's likely to be a Dodger fixture for years to come.

Then again, even if he doesn't impress immediately, he still probably won't be any worse than Chin-lung Hu (parting shot)...