Week Recap: 04/06/09 - 04/13/09

I was debating when to start recaps, either after the end of the Diamondbacks series or the odd off-day today (or the normal off-day on Monday's). I'm thinking of doing it on Sunday's, after the weekend series ends (only issue would be four game series that go into Monday, but I guess I can work around that?). I don't know, I'll work it out.

In any case, let's recap the week that was with the Dodgers.

The week started out pretty good, with the Dodgers beating Jake Peavy and the Padres, but turned sour after they lost two of the next three to split the four game set.

The Dodgers then traveled to Arizona, where they lost their first game on Friday, before coming back to take the next two to win the series. And especially of note is the odd four-out play that occurred in Sunday's 3-1 win.

Finally, the Dodgers really put on a show for their Home Opener, beating down the Giants 11-1 to win their third straight.

The Dodgers went 5-3 for the week.

And now I present the first ever:

HOT, COLD, or ROOM TEMPERATURE.

COLD:

• Russell Martin - (For the week:) .207 (6-29), 5 RBIs, 9 Ks - Russell's been struggling, despite going 2-5 with two RBIs in Monday's game. That's not to say there isn't some improvement on the horizon. It's been a bad week, but he is riding a four-game hitting streak. That streak, admittedly, has gone like this: 1-5, 1-4, 1-4, 2-5 (Monday), but a streak's a streak.

• Rafael Furcal - .226 (7-31), 6 runs, 4 Ks - For a guy who started last season by tearing up the league in April, Furcal's start to 2009 has been a bit weak. He has scored six runs, which is his job, but that comes after he's only reached base 10 times this week. But, man, if he kicks it into gear, our offense will be even scarier.
  
  
• James McDonald - 0-1, 19.29 ERA (5 earned runs in 2.1 innings), 3 walks - A pretty bad first start for McDonald, and the biggest shame is that he was dealing through two innings on his April 10th start in Arizona (a 9-4 loss). But he all fell apart in the 3rd: A homerun, two walks, a hit batter, another walk, and another hit, and McDonald's first start that began so nicely (retiring six in a row) ended so poorly.

ROOM TEMPERATURE:

• Manny Ramírez - .304 (7-23), 4 RBIs, 11 walks - Question: When do you rate a guy who's batting .304 as average? Answer: When he's Manny Ramírez. Now, a .304 average is nothing to look down upon, but when you are paying a guy $25 million, you'd at least expect a homerun or two, or at least more than four RBIs. Still, Manny can't be faulted too much. It's obvious through this first week of the season that a lot of teams have decided they aren't going to let Manny beat them, so he's been getting more than a few unintentional-intentional walks. Manny did win a game for us already (a 5-2 win, April 8th in San Diego), so that's pretty good, but it's starting to look like we aren't going to be able to lean our offense on Manny much anymore. And he's going to have to make more out of the opportunities he does have to swing the bat.
  

• Randy Wolf - 1-1 (2 starts), 3.65 ERA (5 earned runs in 12.1 innings), 8 Ks - After a weak start in San Diego (4 earned runs in 5.1 innings during a 4-2 loss, April 7th), Randy more than redeemed himself on Saturday's start in Arizona (a 3-1 win, April 12th). At one point, Randy retired 16 batters in a row on his way to a 7.0 innings, one run performance. Which Randy will come out for the next start is yet to be seen, but I liked what I was seeing on Sunday.


• Andre Ethier - .250 (7-28), 2 homeruns, 8 RBIs, 7 walks - After going through the first seven games batting .208 with only one extra base hit (and getting demoted from the clean-up spot to the 6th spot), Ethier really came back with a strong performance on Monday. His game high four RBIs brought his total to eight for the week, and his two homeruns were well-hit. It's good to see some signs of life coming from Ethier after a pretty comatose start to the week.

HOT:

• Matt Kemp - .357 (10-28), 1 homerun, 5 RBIs - The only Dodger to collect a hit in every game this season, Kemp's come out of the gates strong. Again, admittedly, he's had a few 1-4's during the streak, but again, a streak's a streak. Add to that a couple of really nice defensive plays, and a monster homerun off Jake Peavy, and Kemp's had a pretty good week.

• Orlando Hudson - .333 (11-33), 2 homeruns, 5 RBIs, 7 runs, 3 stolen bases, 1.086 OPS - How do you make a good impression on the fans of your new team? Well, not only do you tie for the most hits on the team during the week, you complete the first cycle in almost 40 years by a Dodger, as well as being the first Dodger to hit for a cycle in Dodger Stadium history. At the HOME OPENER. Against THE GIANTS. Nice way to introduce yourself to the home crowd, Orlando.
  


• James Loney - .355 (11-31), 5 RBIs, 1 K - Not only did Loney tie Hudson for most hits during the week, he did it without striking out. One strikeout, Monday, 3rd inning. That's putting the bat to the ball. And he's not doing it against nobodies. The Dodgers have faced more than a couple quality pitchers this week (including Former Cy Young winner Jake Peavy, eh? Eh???) and Loney's done well against them. He's currently riding a four game hitting streak.


• Chad Billingsley - 2-0 (2 starts), 2.08 ERA (3 earned runs in 13.0 innings) 15 Ks - Billingsley showed this week he's ready to take on the season as a top of the rotation starter. While his start in San Diego was pretty strong (6.0 innings, 2 earned runs in a 5-2 win on April 8th), his start on Monday was downright impressive. He went 7.0 strong innings, giving up just one earned run while striking out 11. That includes striking out five Giants in a row at one point.

So there you have it. The first ever J's Dodger Blog Week Recap (Weekap? I don't like it). I'm thinking the next one will be coming after Sunday's game versus Colorado, but don't hold me to it.

I don't know what I'm doing...