Look, Opening Day is just another game, and an Opening Day loss is just one of many that will happen this season. There's really not a whole lot that should be made of what happened today.
... That being said, I have some notes.
1. This isn't just reactionary as I've felt this way for a little while. I don't like Vicente Padilla. I've not really ever been a fan of his, even during the good times, for a couple reasons. One, I just straight up don't like the guy. He's a hothead, his ex-teammates tend to not like him, and (though this one is just something I feel and I have no plausible way of proving) he seems to carry a bad air around him, in that, he's the kind of guy who spends an off-season recovering from a bullet wound. Two, he's not that good a pitcher. We gave him a contract this offseason pretty much based on the 8 games he played for us at the end of last season, and the one good start he made in the playoffs, and we did this completely ignoring the fact he had a near five ERA in Texas before we picked him up. In fact, Padilla hasn't had a sub-4.00 ERA for a season since 2003. He hasn't been a good pitcher for a long time. Anyway, long story short, I'm not a Vicente Padilla fan.
But he probably doesn't like me much either, so it's ok.Now, here's the other problem. People are going to look at this game, see Padilla got shelled and claim the Dodgers don't have an ace. First off, "aces" aren't real things. You are either a good pitcher, or you aren't. "Aces" are just good pitchers dressed up by color commentators and newspaper columnists as mythical creatures. Second, just because Padilla started today, does not make him the Dodgers' "Ace" and frankly, if people we hinging their hopes for the season on the Vicente Padilla wagon, they deserve to be scared into thinking the season is already over.
2. I also don't like Ramon Ortiz and Russ Ortiz. This isn't too reactionary either as I didn't care for either when they were signed this offseason. Ramon had a bad game. Russ was better. I don't think either is a good fit for a major league team. Yes, both had good Springs, but that doesn't necessarily translate to regular season success.
...which brings me to:
3. Carlos Monasterios, who also had a good spring, and is someone I'm genuinely glad to see we kept on the roster. Monasterios had a good outing today, but again, I'm trying not to take too much from one game, so we'll have to see if he can keep up his success.
4. George Sherrill game up more runs in one inning today than he did in all 30 appearances combined that he made for us at the end of last season. Something is seriously up with Sherrill, and I'm thinking he might have a DL trip soon, if only just to work out his mechanical issues and not necessarily for an injury.
5. The hitting was ok today, but my God do we have to cut down on leaving all these runners in scoring position. The Dodgers went 2-13 with runners in scoring position today, and giving up 11 runs aside, that's no way to win a game.
6. ...and finally, I've come to a conclusion about all non-Vin Scully Dodger announcers. The Rick Monday - Charlie Steiner comedy hour is nearly impossible to listen to. If these two take over the booth when Vin hangs it up, I will watch games with a sharpened spoon jabbed in each ear.
Eric Collins is bearable when he doesn't say things that are stupid, which he's ok at, half of the time.
Steve Lyons is bearable when he doesn't say things that are stupid, which is a two-minute window that occurs only once a week. I was trying to think if I've heard Steve Lyons say something [interesting/meaningful/insightful/different/all of the above] in the four (five?) years he's been calling Dodger games. I can't think of an instance where I said to myself: "Thank God Steve Lyons was here to clear things up for me." ... Seriously, do we even need Steve Lyons anymore, or can we just stick someone in the booth with a Steve Lyons soundboard? Would anyone know the difference?
Alright, enough of that.
The game, like I said, is just one game, and there are 161 to go. They can't get much worse, right?
Although, I guess they can never get too much better.
2 comments:
Wow...I guess anyone can blog, even if they don't know what they're talking about.
Your take on Russ Ortiz. Do you have any idea what's up with him, since his stellar days with the Giants, where he served as a post-season ace? Do you know if he has that quality back? Does his 2.5 ERA in spring give you any indication. "I just don't like him" -- yah, that's really sharp sports talk.
So, he gets his three outs (four, if you count the error by Blake), and takes heat from a nimrod like you? Amazing...
You're talking about Russ Ortiz's stellar days with the Giants? 2002? Just because he might have been a half decent pitcher 8 years ago does not make him good now. In fact, anything anyone did in 2002 bears absolutely no relevance on the 2010 Dodgers team. Al Leiter had a good 2002, maybe we should pull him out of retirement. Kirk Rueter was on that Giants team, he had a 3.23 ERA that year, I wonder what he's up to.
Obviously, I don't know if he has that "quality" back, but in my opinion, he's far more likely to pitch like the Russ Ortiz of 2003-2009, than suddenly pitch like the Russ Ortiz of 2002.
Admittedly, he had a good day yesterday (in 1 inning of pitching) and had a good Spring, but my issue with him is as it has always been. He's not a great pitcher, and as good as he might be pitching now, I'm almost positive it's going to revert.
Sorry, but 19 innings of good pitching (18 in Spring + 1 yesterday) is not enough for me to ignore the fact that Russ hasn't had an ERA under 5.00 since 2004.
If we get half way through the season and Russ is anchoring the bullpen, he'll change my opinion, but I guess we'll have to cross that road when we get to it.
Oh, and yes, anyone can blog. It's easy. I'd love to see yours if you get one up and running.
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