So, I guess that happened. That being the entire 2011 season. Anyway, I just had a couple of thoughts that were too long for Twitter and decided to post them here.
1. Before the season began, I thought to myself that if everything went right this season the Dodgers could get somewhere around 86 wins and (again, all things going right) that might allow them to win the division. That meant Casey Blake contributing (ha), getting quality innings from Jon Garland (Ha), getting a lot of scoreless outings from Broxton, Kuo, and Vicente Padilla (HA!), and getting a handful of homeruns and some solid defense from Juan Uribe (HAHAHA!). Obviously, things didn't go right.
Of course, I never imagined the Diamondbacks would win 94 games, so that really blew everything away anyway.
Still, for all the injuries and question marks, the Dodgers had a great second half and still ended up winning 82 games. Even though there's no reward for finishing in 3rd place in your division, there's still some pride to be had in having a winning record for this season, especially because a few months ago, winning 70 games seemed like a barely achievable goal.
This team deserves a lot of credit for the strong finish. And that means a lot coming from me, considering how cynical and "dead inside" I've been for the last several months.
2. Speaking of credit, James Loney deserves a bunch for saving himself from what was quickly becoming a horrific season. He somehow managed himself 12 homeruns and a line of .288/.339/.416. That's not that much worse than his career numbers. 2011 actually turned out to be a very James Loney year.
Does this mean he shouldn't still be non-tendered this offseason? Yes and no. I know that's not an answer. Let me explain.
If there is money to spend for free agents this offseason, 1st base is definitely in need of an upgrade. But let's be honest, the budget will probably be conservative. Where is McCourt going to get the money to sign big checks? If that's the case, might as well keep Loney (this route might include non-tendering him and resigning him cheaper). There's not a whole lot of sense in letting Loney go and creating a hole at first base if the front office isn't going to have the money available to replace him.
(Quickly, while I'm still partially on the subject, Rod Barajas had a totally Rod Barajas year as well: 16 homeruns and a line of .230/.287/.430. Compare that to his career line of .238/.284/.414. I guess you couldn't ask for more?)
3. Dee Gordon, Jerry Sands, and Rubby De La Rosa (may his 2012 season rest in peace) have me excited for the future. Flashes of brilliance from all three.
4. Finally, Clayton Kershaw and Matt Kemp.
Granted, I'm biased, but these two should be Cy Young and MVP, respectively. Both races are going to be close, and both players should be really proud of themselves no matter where they finish in the race.
A lot has been said about who should win what and for what reasons, so I won't get into it too heavily. I'll just say this about Matt Kemp:
If Matt Kemp had won the Triple Crown (ignoring how unimportant the stats that make up the Triple Crown are) he'd probably be a near unanimous MVP choice. Kemp finished the season at the top of the leaderboard in both homeruns and RBIs. He finished with a .324 batting average, coming in third to Ryan Braun (.332) and Jose Reyes (.337). Kemp was 195 for 602 on the season. If Kemp had gone 203 for 602, he would have finished the season batting .33721 to Reyes' .3371 (181 for 537).
What I'm saying is this: Kemp missed out on the batting title in the Triple Crown race by eight hits. Eight. This is over a six month season. That's something like just one more hit every three weeks of the season. One bloop single here or there. A lucky hop. A squib single towards a 3rd baseman who was playing too far back. A fly ball that an outfielder loses in the sun and never gets his glove on. A line drive or ground ball that stays fair instead of just drifting foul. Eight hits over the course of a long season is so, so minimal.
Point being, if you would have voted for Kemp had he won the Triple Crown but wouldn't now that he just missed out on it, consider how very slim the margin was here. If missing just eight hits over an entire season costs Kemp the MVP award, it would be a tremendous shame.
Last thing, still related to Kemp and Kershaw.
It is such a travesty that the Dodgers have, arguably, the best young starting pitcher and the best young position player in the league and the best they can do is finish 3rd in the NL West.
These two young players are in or entering their prime and they are being surrounded by players the likes of Juan Uribe and Eugenio Velez (not that Velez cost this team their shot at the playoffs, but I think you get my point). Frank McCourt won't, or can't, spend big to improve the team, and the small amount of money he does allot, Ned Colletti wastes on poor free agent signings (Matt Guerrier is still owed $7.5 million over the next two years).
They've turned what should be something great into a mess.
I guess if I were to point a single reason why I only went to one home game this season (and the tickets were bought by someone else) it'd be that. So, there you go, McCourt. If you are wondering why attendance is down so much this year, it's you. You are the face of a group of people that have turned this great franchise into one of constant upheaval, and one, worst of all, that has begun to squander some of the best years of its brightest young players.
Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw should be the center pieces of a 100 win team heading for the playoffs. Instead, they are heading home before the start of October while McCourt still sits in court trying to get control of a team no one wants him to have.
At least, that's just my reason for attending the fewest amount of Dodger games in season since I was a little kid ... though, what am I but just another fan?
God, this got depressing. I didn't mean for it to be, but whenever I get to thinking about the number McCourt has done to this franchise, I start to go to a dark place.
Sorry.
I'm going to take a couple of deep breaths and get myself ready for the offseason.
What's this? A blog post?! Yes it is. I should point out that I've pretty much abandoned this blog and moved my Dodger opining exclusively to Twitter.
Except, that is, for when I have thoughts longer than 140 characters (not often).
Anyway, the Dodgers stand 6-4 after ten games, and I have some thoughts.
1. I'm still worried about this somewhat patchwork roster. Of the 25 men to make the roster, I'm still at unease with five of them.
Hector Gimenez had a good spring, but, frankly, he's looked overmatched more than a few times in the major leagues. He's on the DL now, with a phantom knee injury and I'm in no hurry to get him back.
Aaron Miles. I don't get the point. He's not a good hitter, not a great fielder. Jamey Carroll does everything he does and does it better. I guess with health questions hanging over the heads of both Rafael Furcal (who, as I'm writing this, it turns out has a broken thumb) and Casey Blake, you need another utility infielder around. I just wish we had better options than Miles. I'm no big fan of Ivan De Jesus, but at least he can provide the club some defensive value. And Mattingly won't be tempted to bat him leadoff or second.
Mike MacDougal and Lance Cormier. MacDougal was good at one point, but that was many moons ago. He's been ok so far in his relief appearances, giving up just a homerun over three innings of work. Cormier isn't a great option, barely squeaked onto the roster at the end of Spring Training, and has already given up four runs in four innings. I'm guessing Vicente Padilla, whenever he returns, kicks out Cormier and we just end up hoping MacDougal doesn't blow up in our faces, but that's really less than ideal.
AJ Ellis/Dioner Navarro. Ok, so this is more a technicality. Navarro wasn't really on the Opening Day roster and he's the one I have more of a problem with, but this is my blog, so deal with it. I'm not a big proponent of AJ Ellis. I like his on-base skills, but he has the power stroke of a four year old girl. Still, he seems to call a pretty decent game, and he's more than comfortable with our starting pitchers. And it's not like Dioner Navarro, who hit .258/.294/.323 in Spring Training (and .194/.270/.258 last year) is really a guaranteed offensive improvement. If Mattingly is intent on catching Rod Barajas almost every day (though in fairness to Mattingly, the way his roster was built, he has little choice), then I'm ok with Ellis as backup. Again, this is really less than ideal. It's an unfortunate by-product of the way this roster was put together.
2. If this team wants to continue to do well this season, we're going to need some players to not regress too much, and others to progress a whole lot more.
I love what Matt Kemp has done this first week and a half. He's been a man on fire. It's fantastic. But before we all freak out too much, let's not forget that Kemp, in his first 10 games last season, hit .333/.385/.756 with five homeruns, four doubles, and five walks. And we all remember how last season turned out. I'm not trying to be a downer, but I'm just reminding everyone that the .441 batting average Kemp has right not is almost certainly going to drop.
The key is making sure it doesn't drop too much.
The same goes for Tony Gwynn. He's had a pretty solid start to the season. And I really like the defense he provides in the outfield. But I have doubts we can trust him to continue hitting .333 like he has so far. However, if he can stay somewhere in the high .200s and continue with his excellent defense, I'll be ok with him taking a majority of the starts in left field.
On the flip side, Juan Uribe and James Loney are killing me. Both are hitting in the .100s (.129 and .154 respectively) and neither is drawing walks or getting extra base hits (0 BB, 1 2B for Uribe; 2 BB, 1 2B, 1 HR for Loney). These were the two guys expected to battle it out to be the third option behind Ethier and Kemp on offense. Instead, it feels like the entire offense is resting its hopes on Ethier, and more so Kemp to get anything done. The 5, 6, 7 spots in the lineup have been a black hole.
If these two can turn it on, I'll feel a lot better about our chances in 2011.
And isn't how I feel what really matters?
Week 4 was like two weeks in one. There was the really ugly part of the week where the Dodgers were swept by the Mets in New York before coming home and losing the series opener to the Pirates 2-0 on Thursday.
And then there was the second part of the week ... suddenly: Pitching! Hitting! Winning! The Dodgers suddenly turned it on and took the last three games from the Pirates.
Ultimately, though, the Dodgers still went under .500 on the week. The Dodgers are 4-11 on the road this season. On the bright side, they are 7-3 at home, so there's that.
Hiroki Kuroda - Kuroda had two good starts this week. In the first game of the doubleheader against the Mets, Kuroda surrendered just two runs in 6.0 innings. Then on Sunday, Kuroda went 8.0 strong innings against the Pirates allowing just one run. 14.0 innings, three runs. Kuroda has a 2.08 ERA on the season.
Andre Ethier - Andre went 9-26 this week with three walks, two doubles, and four homeruns.
Clayton Kershaw - Kershaw had one start this week, and like last week, it was pretty solid. 6.2 innings, two runs, and seven strikeouts.
Chad Billingsley - Billingsley had a similar week. In his one start, he went 6.0 innings, gave up two runs as well, though Billingsley only struck out four.
Carlos Monasterios - Monasterios had a start this week, too, the first of his major league career, and though he only went four innings, they were quality (just one run on a solo homerun). Plus, add to that the two innings of scoreless relief he pitched Tuesday, and his final line for the week comes to 6.0 innings, one run.
James Loney - Loney's hitting this week kind of paralleled the performance of the Dodgers in general. Loney during the four losses: 1-14 with four strikeouts. Loney during the three wins: 8-11, three doubles, a walk, and a homer. I know that ultimately makes Loney 9-25 on the week, but I'm giving him two stars for a half good week and a half bad week ... because I can.
The two faces of James Loney this week.
Garret Anderson - Another week, another step closer to a DFA for Anderson. 0-7 with four strikeouts. He's now on a 1-26 tear since April 14th. Now, I know I advocated for putting Anderson on the roster when we signed him in Spring Training and I stand by that because the alternative was Doug Mientkiewicz and it seemed we were destined to have an old guy on the roster. However, Mientkiewicz is gone (somewhere) so we don't need to worry about him, and Xavier Paul has looked pretty good in the last week, so here's to hoping we keep Paul over Anderson when the next roster move comes.
Russell Martin - Martin started the year strong but has since seen his numbers starting to dip. He went 3-24 with a homerun and a couple walks.
Martin scoring on one of his hits this week ... because they don't take pictures of people not getting hits.
Casey Blake - Blake had an even worse week than Martin. 1-20 with a couple walks. Maybe it's time to start letting the beard grow again.
The Dodgers went 3-4 on the week, but it still feels like a win because you start to feel like the momentum has shifted.
Of course, it could just be because we played the Pirates, but I'd like to look on the positive side and say we've turned a corner.
Six games coming up at home this week against the Brewers and the Rockies, two teams that should be good but have gotten off to slow starts.
Is this the week? Is this finally the week we get over .500? A guy can hope, right?
Week 3 was a step back from Week 2.
2-4, losing two straight series on the road, just like Week 1. So for those of you keeping score at home, Dodgers are 4-2 in games at home against the NL West ... and they are 4-8 in games on the road against the rest of the league.
This week was particularly infuriating as the Dodgers were able to find new ways to lose, utilizing both slugfests (11-9 to the Reds on Tuesday) and pitchers' duels (1-0 to the Nationals on Sunday) to fall two games under .500 on the season.
At least a turn around can't be too far away, right? Alright, enough of that, it's time to hand out some stars.
Matt Kemp - Kemp went 7-24 on the week, with a two homeruns and a couple walks. He did go 0-4 on Friday, though, bringing the total amount of games this year in which Kemp has not collected a base hit to: 2.
Andre Ethier - Ethier went 7-23 this week, with three walks and a couple homeruns.
James Loney - Loney went 9-27 on the week with a walk and three doubles.
Rafael Furcal - Furcal went 8-28 this week with a double, two triples, two walks, and four stolen bases.
Carlos Monasterios - Monasterios pitched 4.1 scoreless innings this week in two appearances and collected his first career win.
Quality-Relief-High-Five!
Clayton Kershaw - Kershaw had a solid start this week. One start, nothing Earth-shattering, but he held the Nationals to two runs in 6.0 innings on Saturday.
Chad Billingsley - Chad Billingsley had two starts this week. One was of high quality, one was of suck quality. Billingsley went 6.0 strong innings against Washington Sunday, allowing just one run while striking out five ... and if that was his only start this week, he would've walked away with three stars. Except that on Tuesday he went just 3.0 innings and gave up 7 runs. Yeah, only four we're earned, but Billingsley's own error led to the other three, so really ... they count. Ironically, Billingsley took the loss in Sunday's start, but walked away with a no-decision on Tuesday. Either way, one bad start, one good start equals something like two stars.
Garret Anderson - First the positive: Anderson hit a pinch hit homerun this week. Now the negative: he went 1-12 this week, the one hit being, of course, the homerun. Anderson started the season 2-5, and has since gone 3-30. He's sporting a .441 OPS right now, which is just ... nifty.
Anderson, collecting a hit on April 11th, after which he's gone 1-19.
Week 1 = Bad. Week 2 = Good. Week 3 = Bad. Week 4 = ? It has to be good, right? Maybe this is the week we finally get above the .500 mark. Maybe.
Hey, look at that. A good week! Not a great week, but winning both series, and winning 4 of 6 during the week is still pretty good.
And more importantly, another week ticks off the season, and the teams chasing us slowly start running out of time.
On the bad side, for the first time in over a month, Dodger pitching surrendered more than four runs (in the first 9 innings) in Sunday's 7-2 loss to the Giants. Congrats, though, to the pitching staff for keeping it going that long.
In any case, let's do Round 19 of HOT, COLD, or ROOM TEMPERATURE:
COLD:
- Chad Billingsley - 0-1 (2 starts), 6.30 ERA (7 ER in 10.0 IP), 16 H - Two starts for Billingsley this week. His first was... ok... I guess. Four earned runs in 6.0 IP (8 hits, 3 BBs). His second start was less so. Three earned runs in only 4.0 IP (another 8 hits). Frankly, Billingsley has become hittable. Again, 16 hits in 10 innings. Either way, Billingsley is going to skip his next start, and I'm totally for it. He should sit back, relax, and clear his head a little bit. Something is off with Billingsley, here's to hoping he can get back on track.
ROOM TEMPERATURE:
- Matt Kemp - .259 (7-27), 2 2Bs, 3 RBIs, 1 BB, 6 Ks, 2 SBs, 1 GiDP - A better week for Kemp. He actually collected a hit in every game this week. Unfortunately, it ended up being pretty much only one per game (1-5, 1-5, 1-4, 2-4, 1-5, 1-4). Still, nice to see some improvement this week over last week.
HOT:
- Manny Ramírez - .400 (6-15), 1 3B, 2 HRs, 4 RBIs, 4 BBs, 4 Ks - I don't think I've awarded Manny a "HOT" since April, but he deserved it this week. Couple of homeruns, and a triple! Come on, you know how much those dreads weigh? It's hard to run with those.
- Russell Martin - .286 (6-21), 1 2B, 2 HRs, 9 RBIs, 3 BBs - Yeah, not too many hits, but hits when they counted. And RBIs. Oh, so many RBIs. Good week for Martin, who like Manny, hasn't had too many.
- Vicente Padilla - 2-0 (2 starts), 1.50 ERA (2 ER in 12.0 IP), 8 Ks - Who would of thought Padilla would be such a good pickup? I mean seriously. He's made four starts for us, and each has been pretty good. Vicente Padilla? Good? ...what in the world?
- Hiroki Kuroda - 1-0 (1 start), 2.25 ERA (2 ER in 8.0 IP), 5 Ks - It's really nice when Kuroda whips out one of these fantastic performances. It's doubly nice when he does it in just his second start back from a horrific head injury.
- James Loney - .381 (8-21), 1 2B, 3 HRs, 8 RBIs, 4 BBs, 1.319 OPS - Seriously, what's going on this week? Manny, Martin, now Loney? All these guys who have been quietly floating through this season have suddenly showed up this week. I guess it doesn't matter why it's happening, just that it is. If everyone starts to contribute on this team, and the offense starts going at all gears, we might finally return to being that scary team we were at the beginning of the year.
Alright folks, Pirates come into town for a three game set. Then we get the Giants again, for the last time this season. Another good week would do real well for our playoff hopes.
Meanwhile, I'm going to the game tonight, and I got to get going. Free Dodger Dogs await me.
In this instance, the Dodger offense is Lisa. And I'm the crazy foreign guy.
The Dodgers went down 4-3 today to the Arizona Diamondbacks. And while most of today's blame lays at the feet of Ramon Troncoso, the struggling Dodger offense can not go unnoticed.
Take a look at our results from the last month. At first glance, they look pretty average. In fact, since August 9th, we have gone 16-13. Talk about uninspired baseball.
So what? Yeah, we've been playing kind of lame, but we still went three games over .500 over that span. What's the big deal? The big deal is that we could have done so much more.
Here's the kicker. In the 29 games we've played the last month, Dodgers pitching has not surrendered more than four runs in any game during the nine regulation innings. Yes, there were two instances where the pitching gave up five runs, both coming in the 10th inning. Ok, fine. But let me repeat that first fact, because it bears repeating. No more than four runs a game. For an entire month.
Basically, the Dodgers, if they scored 5 or more runs in the first nine innings a game, could be guaranteed, with 100% accuracy, of winning said game. A guarantee. For an entire month.
I mean, look at it like this. Say, at the beginning of the season, I told you that for a whole month during the season, Dodger pitching would not give up more than four runs in a game. If you looked at our lineup, what would you expect our team would go over that span? 24-5? 25-4? Little better? Little worse? Something like that right? How could a lineup as stacked as ours, from 1-8, not manage to scrape together just five runs a game? Manny is good for one or two. Ethier? Kemp? Blake? They could add one. Maybe Furcal. Or Hudson. Even Loney and Martin. Someone could step up and contribute. Five runs is nothing.
And this is what is tearing me apart. We shouldn't be just 2.5 games in front of Colorado. We shouldn't be playing just above .500 baseball.
With the kind of pitching we're getting, and the kind of offense we're supposed to be getting, we should be destroying the league. Instead, the playoff race is getting uncomfortably close. Like, smelly guy on the bus sitting next to you close.
And the worst part about all this: what do you do about it? What do you say to these guys to make them start getting timely hits again? It's infuriating.
Here's the silver lining, I guess: we still have a 6.5 game lead on the Giants for the wild card.
I just hope we don't have to use it...
Whew. That was not a good week. Let's take a look at it.
The Dodgers started the week splitting two with the Brewers, before losing the third game, and the series.
They came back to win the first game in the series against Atlanta, in walk-off fashion. Then, they proceeded to lose the next three, and the series.
The Dodgers went 2-5 on the week.
Wow, we're already to Round 15 of HOT, COLD, or ROOM TEMPERATURE. Time is just flying by.
COLD:
- Guillermo Mota - 0-1 (4 games), 9.00 ERA (4 ER in 4.0 IP), 5 H, 3 BBs, 3 Ks - Is this it?! Is this the meltdown?! I knew it was coming!!! Ok, I'll calm down. I'm not saying Mota is regressing. I'm just upset that I was finally starting to trust him, and now he's gone and abused my trust. Still, it was a bad week, and I'm willing to forgive. I just need an performace upgrade from Mota.
- Ramon Troncoso - 0-1 (4 games), 27.00 ERA (6 ER in 2.0 IP), 5 H, 1 BB, 1 K - Hey, guess who else had a bad week? Yeah, Troncoso got lit up this week. You have to wonder if this is a sign that possibly Troncoso has already been used too much this year.
- James Loney - .125 (3-24), 1 2B, 2 RBIs, 4 BBs, 7 Ks - Loney didn't hit this week. There you have it. Ok, let me rephrase. Loney hasn't hit since Wednesday. 0 for his last 13. 1 for his last 20. Those are just some ugly, ugly numbers.
- Jason Schmidt - 0-1 (1 start), Bad. - Schmidt is gone, almost as fast as he came. On the DL with bad.
ROOM TEMPERATURE:
- Andre Ethier - .241 (7-29), 2 2Bs, 1 3B, 1 HR, 6 RBIs, 5 BBs, 5 Ks - Ethier has certainly slowed down. That's not to say he's come to a halt. Despite the .241 batting average, he still had an OPS of .854. Plus, 6 RBIs on 7 hits? He's getting the hits when they count. That includes getting the big three run, game winning homerun in the first game against Atlanta, which eventually turned out the be the only way we avoided a four game sweep against Atlanta.
- Manny Ramírez - .320 (8-25), 3 2Bs, 1 HR, 4 RBIs, 2 BBs, 7 Ks - Sure, .320 doesn't look to bad, but it's all in context. Manny had three good games this week, and three bad games. And in between it all, he managed to leave 14 runners on base during the week, so the 4 RBIs does seem kinda weak in comparison.
- Clayton Kershaw - 0-1 (2 starts), 2.45 ERA (3 ER in 11.0 IP), 7 BBs, 16 Ks - Again, all in context. Kershaw had a bad start this week, only going 4.0 IP, while giving up three runs on four hits and SIX walks. He did rebound, however, and go seven scoreless innings against Atlanta, walking one, and striking out 10. I've explained this before, but just to remind you: Good start + Bad start = Room Temperature week.
HOT:
- James McDonald - 0-0 (3 games), 0.00 ERA (6.1 IP), 4 Ks - A nice week for McDonald, which is good because he hasn't had a lot of those this year. Also nice: He hasn't surrendered a run in his last 9.1 IP.
- Casey Blake - .375 (9-24), 3 2Bs, 1 HR, 6 RBIs, 3 BBs, 1 SB, 1.054 OPS - The real reason Prince Fielder charged the Dodger clubhouse? Casey Blake slapped him across the face with a white glove and challenged him to a knife fight. Fielder would get a knife. Blake would use his hands. This all happened because Blake felt Fielder gave him a weird look after Blake drew a 6th inning walk, and that is something that you do not do. Casey Blake is... the most interesting 3rd Baseman in the World.
That's how bad a week it was, only two people in the HOT column. This week is a big one for us. Three games in San Francisco against the Giants, who now find themselves 5.5 games back in the division. A series win would be a nice showing. A sweep? That would be a Casey Blake white glove slap to the face.
Who's ready for a knife fight?
Ok, let's do the hitters now.
And again, we'll use the good old system of COLD, HOT, or ROOM TEMPERATURE:
COLD:
- Rafael Furcal - .256, 4 HR, 21 RBIs, 36 BBs, 49 Ks, 5-9 SBs, .682 OPS - What happened to the guy who came out of the gates last year as a potential MVP candidate? He just hasn't been there this year. At least, on the bright side, he's been better since Manny's return. Take a look at our offense now, and imagine adding a Furcal in full swing. It could be scary.
- Russell Martin - .258, 2 HR, 27 RBIs, 48 BBs, 54 Ks, 8-12 SBs, .688 OPS - The really sad thing is that you look at our struggling lead-off hitter's numbers and realize they're almost the same numbers as another guy who most people thought would be a strong part of our offense this season. Neither one is really hitting. Both have more strikeouts than walks. Neither are stealing bases at a high enough percentage. Very few homeruns and RBIs, bad averages and OPS. These are ugly numbers.
ROOM TEMPERATURE:
- Manny Ramírez - .355, 9 HR, 29 RBIs, 31 BBs, 21 Ks, 1.156 OPS - This is a weird one. Yes, Manny was gone for 50 games. And yes, it probably hurt us. But for God's sake, he's out-hitting Martin! I can't label him "COLD." He was gone, sure, but whenever he is here, he's still an amazing hitter.
- Orlando Hudson - .283, 7 HR, 48 RBIs, 38 BBs, 64 Ks, 6 SBs, .779 OPS - Hudson's had two seasons. There was All-Star Hudson, who in April and May hit .332, had a .877 OPS, and hit for the cycle. Then there's flailing Hudson, who after the beginning of June has hit .205, with a .618 OPS. On the bright side, he has hit more homeruns in the second part, so... that's something.
- Andre Ethier - .250, 18 HR, 56 RBIs, 39 BBs, 69 Ks, .813 OPS - It's so weird how I love some parts of Either's stats, and hate other parts. I love the 18 HRs and 56 RBIs. I hate the .250 average, and the 69 strikeouts. Ethier isn't looking like Andre Ethier, so much as he's looking like Adam Dunn. And it's a little odd.
HOT:
- Juan Pierre - .328, 19 BBs, 19 Ks, 23-31 SBs, .804 OPS - Pierre's two seasons have been well documented. I won't rehash them. The point remains, Pierre took over well during Manny's absence. And look at the OPS. It's not great compared to other people, but it's 83 points higher than his career average, so... that's something.
- Casey Blake - .285, 12 HRs, 55 RBIs, 36 BBs, 62 Ks, .850 OPS - Blake even added two stolen bases this first half, in one game! Which reminds me... He could steal 100 bases in a season, but chooses not to, because he doesn't like to dirty his beard. Casey Blake is... the Most Interesting 3rd Baseman in the World.
- James Loney - .281, 7 HRs, 54 RBIs, 37 BBs, 36 Ks, 6-7 SBs, .752 OPS - The OPS is ugly, but I like the RBI numbers and I like the BB to K ratio. I even like the stolen bases. Not bad. And call it a hunch, but I'm feeling a good second half coming for Loney.
- Matt Kemp - .320, 11 HR, 50 RBIs, 34 BBs, 78 Ks, 19-23 SBs, .879 OPS - I don't care that you didn't get named to the team, you're my All-Star, Kemp. Those are some excellent numbers. The one black mark being the 78 strikeouts. However, he makes up for it in my book with another nice stat: 10 outfield assists so far this season. Nice. Kemp is slowly blossoming into the guy we all thought he could be. A true 5-tool player.
Okey dokey folks. There's your first half. Now, to enjoy the All-Star game.
By the way, in case you haven't noticed it yet, I've started a Twitter account. I'm going to try and live-blog during Dodger games and other baseball events. If you have a Twitter account, follow me. Please. Don't make me beg.
Hey people, welcome back. Let's talk about the week.
Compared to last week, this one was a considerably better.
The Dodgers started the week by splitting the first two games against Colorado, before shutting them out in the third game to take the series.
They followed this with the return of the Dreadlocked one on Friday, a game in which they beat the Padres. The bullpen blew a lead Saturday to allow the Padres to even up the series. Sunday could have ended worse than Saturday, with the bullpen blowing an even bigger lead, but the Dodgers pulled it out in extra innings to secure the game and the series.
They went 4-2 on the week.
Ok, that's settled, let's get to the meat. Round 12 of HOT, COLD, or ROOM TEMPERATURE:
COLD:
- Orlando Hudson - .000 (0-16), 6 Ks - Now, admittedly, Hudson's had a pretty weak month as it is, but this week was of Russell Martin-esque proportions. Hudson isn't making solid contact, if he's even making contact at all. Interestingly enough, he was named to the All-Star team just in time for Joe Torre to bench him for several games. If I could offer some advice to Hudson, look for that silver lining.
ROOM TEMPERATURE:
- Russell Martin - .263 (5-19), 2 BBs, 2 RBIs, 5 Ks - Week 2 of the Martin Leg Lift Watch. He was actually benched earlier in the week, a la Hudson, in an attempt to, I don't know, wake his bat up? It almost worked. He went 4-8 in his first two games back, before going 0-6 in Sunday's game. Yew.
- Rafael Furcal - .364 (9-26), 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB, 4 R - How do I label a guy who batted .364 "ROOM TEMPERATURE"? Watch me. Well, honestly, I do this because Furcal has had two weeks in one. The first three games of the week? Furcal went 1-10. The last three games of the week Furcal hit .500 (8-16). Which Furcal will show up next week? Who the hell knows?
- Jonathan Broxton - 0-0, 2-3 save opportunities (4 games), 6.75 ERA (3 ER in 4.0 IP), 8 Ks - Guess who else had an up-and-down week? No, not Brad Ausmus. Broxton started the week going three scoreless innings, striking out seven out of nine batters, collecting two saves. Then Sunday? Broxton. What was that? One inning pitched, three walks, two hits, three earned runs, and one very blown save. It's weird, it's like he and Hudson both had negative reactions to being named to the All-Star team.
HOT:
- Chad Billingsley - 0-1 (2 starts), 3.45 ERA (6 ER in 15.2 IP), 16 Ks / .333 (2-6), 1 2B, 1 HR - You know who didn't have a negative reaction to being named to the All-Star team? Stop guessing Brad Ausmus, he's not in this week's article. Billingsley had two nice, quality starts this week, but really became a victim of his circumstance. He went 7.2 innings against Colorado in his first start of the week, allowing only three runs over that span. Unfortunately for Chad, his counterpart Jason Marquis was dominating the Dodgers that game, and Chad ended up taking the loss. Then, in Billingsley's second start, he held the Padres to one run for eight innings, before allowing a homerun to start the 9th. He followed that up by allowing a double before getting pulled. Who was he pulled for? Ausmus? No. Broxton, who proceeded to allow not only Billingsley's runner to score, but three more runners after that, to effectively cancel out almost everything Billingsley did that game. Everything, that is, except for Billingsley's first career homerun, which gave the Dodgers an extra run that was, ultimately, pretty important.
- Brent Leach - 0-0 (5 games), 0.00 ERA (0 ER in 2.1 IP), 1 HLD, 1 K - Talk about being a workhorse. Oh, you weren't talking about being a workhorse? Well, start talking about it so I can interject with this point: Brent Leach appeared in five of the Dodgers' six games this week. And he did well. And he's been doing well. And I'd like to acknowledge that. After struggling when first being called up, Leach has settled into his role, and since the beginning of June, has posted a 1.80 ERA. He's the left handed reliever we were actually looking for.
- Jeff Weaver - 1-0 (2 games), 0.00 ERA (0 ER in 4.0 IP), 5 Ks - A nice week for Weaver. He had a Rocky inning against Colorado (see what I did there? Yeah, I'm ashamed of it, too) but battled out a jam by striking out the side. He then went three scoreless innings on Sunday to hold the Padres at bay while the Dodgers took a 13th inning lead. This was especially important, because it would have been a bad game to lose. It was the difference between winning or losing a series to the lowly Padres. The difference between finishing the week over .500, or just at .500. It was big, and Weaver came up big for us.
- James Loney - .304 (7-23), 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBIs, 3 BB, 1 SB - You know who else came up big for us Sunday? Aus... never mind. Loney did. A big 13th inning homerun to put the Dodgers up for good. Loney also collected a hit in every game this week, so there's also that.
- Randy Wolf - 0-0 (2 starts), 2.25 ERA (3 ER in 12.0 IP), 12 Ks - Wolf bounced back from an ugly week to put up two quality starts this week. Not much else to say other than good work.
- Juan Pierre - .381 (8-21), 1 BB, 1 RBI, 5-7 SBs - This is not just for Juan Pierre's week. It's for the last 50 games. Listen, Juan, I really appreciate you filling in admirably during the suspension. I'll ignore the fact that after your nice May, you batted .264 during June (.319 OBP). You were put in a bad position. This is the second year you thought you'd be a starter and the Dodgers have brought someone in to replace you. And for the most part, you've handled it in a classy way. Yeah, there was some trade demanding and a little complaining, but you never stopped showing up to play. And yes, your reward is a trip back to the bench with the occasional start. It's tough, I can imagine. So this is just to say: Thanks. Thanks for doing what you do. And who knows, maybe we'll find you a nice home somewhere else, where you can start and be free to run where you please. But for now, please quietly return to the bench and readjust to your role. I know you will, that's what you do.
Ok then folks. That's it. One last road trip this week before the All-Star break. Here's to finishing the first half strong.
...and we're back. Took a week off there, but I'm back now and ready to jump into a good old recap.
To start, we swept the Mets in a three game series in Dodger Stadium, and followed that excellent series by losing two out of three to the Angels.
The Dodgers then went into Colorado and swept a three game set there before going into Chicago, where they split a four game weekend series.
The Dodgers went 10-4 over the two weeks.
And with that, let's do Round 7 of HOT, COLD, or ROOM TEMPERATURE:
COLD:
- Jeff Weaver - 0-0 (3 games, 2 starts), 6.23 ERA (6 earned runs in 8.2 innings) - How did Jeff Weaver respond to losing his spot in the rotation? Badly. 1.1 innings, 2 earned runs. 2.1 innings, 3 earned runs. The ERA is rising. Not good.
- Andre Ethier - .189 (7-37), 3 2Bs, 1 RBI, 4 BBs, 6 Ks - The slump continues. One RBI in two weeks isn't good. Here's the good news, Manny's suspension is almost half-way through.
ROOM TEMPERATURE:
- Russell Martin - .250 (12-48), 3 2Bs, 5 RBIs, 5 BBs, 7 Ks, 2 SBs - Martin was showing some signs of life for a little bit, but he's gone back average-ness. Oddly enough, he's still probably in the top 5 catchers in the National League.
- Rafael Furcal - .294 (10-34), 2 2Bs, 1 RBI, 3 runs, 5 BBs, 4 Ks - He's hitting a little better, but he's still hovering around .250 for the season. His OPS on the season is .613, not pretty.
HOT:
- Ronald Belisario - 0-0 (7 games), 1.04 ERA (1 earned run in 8.2 innings) - Belisario had a pretty good week, but what I like to do is give people credit when they've been consistently good all year. Belisario has been a workhorse in the pen, and a quality workhorse at that. Here's to hoping he keeps it up.
- James Loney - .333 (18-54), 4 2Bs, 11 RBIs, 7 runs, 2 SBs - Loney has really been knocking them in these last few weeks, without the use of the homerun. That means he's coming through a lot when given the opportunity. And that's good for us.
- Matt Kemp - .360 (18-50), 2 HRs, 5 RBIs, 8 runs, 4 SBs - Kemp flashed a little power this last series with the Cubs. He's definitely got the potential to hit a ton of homerun, but his patience needs a little work. His over-agression at the plate does cost him a little (10 Ks in 50 at-bats).
- Juan Pierre - .316 (18-57), 10 runs, 2 2Bs, 2 3Bs, 8 RBIs, 3-4 SBs - Pierre is not playing out of this world like he has been (He's 1 for his last 13) but he's still contributing with a nice mix of RBIs and runs scored.
- Casey Blake - .389 (14-36), 5 2Bs, 1 HR, 10 RBIs, 6 runs, 5 walks - Blake has had some hamstring issues the last week or so, so he has missed a few games, but in the time he has played, he's made an impact.
- Randy Wolf - 1-0 (3 starts), 3.00 ERA (7 earned runs in 21.0 innings), 13 Ks - Wolf hasn't had his best stretch these last couple weeks, but this "HOT" is awarded in part for his week, but more for the year. When we got Wolf, I was just expecting him to be a nice number four starter, but he's really turned into a solid number two guy behind Billingsley. His 3-1 record doesn't nearly reflect how good he's really been.
Alrighty then, Dodgers are back home for a 9 game homestand. First game is tonight against the D-Backs.
I'm feeling good about this.
With the win today, the Dodgers completed a second sweep in their last three series. Of course, the non-sweep was actually a series loss against the Angels. But let's not discuss that.
Let's discuss what is really going on with the Dodgers.
The offense.
For an offense that was already considered good, they've outdone themselves these last few games.
Run outputs of 16, 7, and 8? I know they were playing in Coors Field, but this is ridiculous.
Just some quick numbers for this series:
Juan Pierre: .500 (8-16)
Orlando Hudson: .416 (5-12)
Casey Blake: .333 (4-12)
Matt Kemp: .385 (5-13)
James Loney: .429 (6-14)
and...
Juan Castro?: .462 (6-13)
I mean, come on. This isn't just ridiculous. This is redonkulous.
How come we couldn't do this against the Angels?
Yeah, I didn't post for a week. Doesn't mean I wasn't paying attention.
Been updating my computer, working to get all my programs back and running, yadda yadda, so I didn't have time for posts.
But I'm here now, so let's do this.
This week, the Dodgers started and completed a 6 game East Coast road trip. And did pretty damn well.
They started out slow, losing the first game in Philadelphia to Chan Ho Park, of all people. They came back, however, to win the next two. They then went to Florida, where they split the first two games, but followed that up by winning the rubber game to take that series as well.
The Dodgers went 4-2 on the road trip. Oh, and by the way, they have the best record in baseball.
Round 6 of HOT, COLD, or ROOM TEMPERATURE? Already. Wow, time is flying by. Ok, here we go.
COLD:
- Rafael Furcal - .167 (4-24), 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 Runs, 2 Ks, 1 CS - As bad as Furcal has been this year, he's really hit a low this week. He's striking out, he's not drawing walks, and he got caught stealing. What happened to the Furcal of last year? He's got to turn it on at some point.
- Guillermo Mota - 21.60 ERA (4 ER in 1.2 innings, 1 game) - It seems like I'm picking on Mota. I mean, after all, he only had one bad outing this week (the 12-5 win at Florida, May 17th). But honestly, folks, this was just another bad outing in a series of bad outings. I mean, for God's sake. It's 12-1, 9th inning. All you have to do is get out of the inning so we can all go home. You get two outs. Alright, good start. 10 minutes later, you've somehow loaded the bases, given up a Grand Slam, and forced the manager to pull you. How can you mess up an inning so damn badly? Why is he still on this team?!
ROOM TEMPERATURE:
- Eric Milton - 4.50 ERA (2 ER in 4.0 innings), 2 hits, 4 walks, 3 Ks - So, Eric Milton made his first start in the majors since 2007, and how'd he do? Meh. He wasn't terrible, but he was by no stretch of the imagination, good. He was making way too many pitches, and for the kind of stuff he has, he was giving up way too many walks. He made 84 pitches (only 43 strikes) and was pulled before the 5th. But hey, at least he didn't give up a Grand Slam or something like that.
- Andre Ethier - .200 (4-20), 1 2B, 2 walks, 2 RBIs, 5 Ks, 1 SB - Ethier continues his luke-warmness. I feel like he's the Champ Kind to Manny's Ron Burgundy: "I need you. I'm a mess without you. I miss you so damn much. I miss being with you, I miss being near you. I miss your laugh. I miss your scent; I miss your musk. When this all gets sorted out, I think you and me should get an apartment together." Ok, maybe it's not that bad. But Ethier has been hurting, and whether that's Manny related or not, I'd like it to stop. You hear me, Ethier? Stop it.
HOT:
- Russell Martin - .333 (6-18), 1 2B, 1 RBI, 3 runs, 5 walks, 2 SBs - Nice Martin, a 2nd week of "HOT" in a row. All I can say is, keep it up. Oh, and maybe, let's notch a homerun or two.
- James Loney - .308 (8-26), 2 HRs, 6 RBIs, 1 walk, 4 runs - Well, it took long enough for Loney to get out of the homerless category. And once he did, he came back for more. Sure, they were both in Philly, but I won't hold that against him. A homer is a homer.
- Casey Blake - .368 (7-19), 2 2Bs, 2 HRs, 5 RBIs, 1 walk, 6 Ks - That's actually quite a few strike outs for just 19 at-bats, but still, extra base hits and RBIs are good stuff.
- Mark Loretta - .500 (4-8), 1 2B, 4 RBIs, 2 walks - I just wanted to give Mark Loretta some credit for what he's been doing this year. He's been a solid pinch hitter and spot start all year, and this week was really a good microcosm of that. I can't remember a year when we've had a bench of this quality, and he's a big part of that.
- Clayton Kershaw - 1-1 (2 games), 3.75 ERA (5 ER in 12.0 innings), 14 Ks, 8 walks - Yes, those stats look pretty pedestrian, but if you've watched Kershaw, you know he has pitched better than his stats indicate. He was pretty hitable in Philly (a 5-3 loss, May 12th), but was almost the opposite of that in Florida (a 12-5 win, May 17th). 7.0 innings of no-hit ball only to finally give up a hit in the 8th, collecting nine strikeouts along the way. He's been up and down this year, but this was definitely an up.
- Juan Pierre - .407 (11-27), 4 2Bs, 1 3B, 5 RBIs, 2 walks, 4-5 SBs, 7 runs - Juan Pierre is a man on fire! I mean, he's playing like a man who's trying to prove he can still be a starter somewhere and that when a certain outfielder returns in early July, another team should take a flier on him. Yeah, a little long winded, and kinda a cheap shot, but what are you gonna do? Pierre's been go, and I like it. So good, in fact, he's started a grassroots movement. Yep, Juan Pierre is in BeastMode, and that's a good thing for us.
Ok, hopefully I'll get in some more posts this week than last week. We'll see.
3 game series against the Mets in L.A. starts later today. See you then.
On the bright side, Uribe did end up the star of one of the best baseball memes of the season.
