Dodgers Retrospective - Week 14

I don't know about you, but this week was kinda weird for me.

It felt like a pretty good week, right? And yet, I take look back at past seven games and see the Dodgers finished just a game over .500 (4-3).

Still, the Dodgers will head into the All-Star break 10 games over .500 and two games back of the Padres in the NL West, tied for the Wildcard lead with the Rockies, which ain't a bad place to be with half a season to go.


Today, We Spell Redemption: K-U-O.

A quick note before I jump into it this week, congrats to Rafael Furcal and Hong-Chih Kuo for making it into the All-Star game as reserves, replacing Jose Reyes and Jason Heyward, respectively. Doesn't really make up for the fact that Reyes shouldn't have ever made the team in the first place or that Heyward shouldn't have been voted in by the fans as a starter, but I'm done complaining about that. Better late than never. It's a nice thing for a couple of guys who've been through a lot.



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The retrospective this week is actually more a retrospective for the first half. I'm not going to go crazy in-depth into it, but I just wanted to touch on who I felt were the top 3 and bottom 3 MVPs of the first half.


First Half Anti-MVPs

3. Tie - Ramon Ortiz and Russ Ortiz

Oh yes, I haven't forgotten. I've covered my extreme dislike of the Ortizes several times on this blog, but I'll just remind you of some of their numbers. Russ Ortiz: 7.0 IP, 8 ER, and a sweet, sweet 2.143 WHIP. Ramon Ortiz stuck around for 30.0 IP over 16 games and posted a nice 6.30 ERA.


2. George Sherrill

He doesn't have the worst ERA of all the pitchers the Dodgers have used this year, but of all the pitchers, Sherrill has been, by far, the biggest disappointment. He has struggled to get outs all year and as such, has affected the entire bullpen.

I mean, could you imagine if Joe Torre had Sherrill in his bullpen pitching like he did last year. Imagine if he trusted Sherrill enough to use him when he's overworked Broxton. Then he could use Hong-Chih Kuo more sparingly. Wow. The idea having more than two go-to guys in the bullpen makes me doubly sad when I'm confronted with the reality of the situation.


1. Garret Anderson

Hey, maybe it was obvious, but how I can I not give it to him?

He finished his first half batting .179. And not just in 30 something at-bats. He went 24-134. That's twenty-four hits ... in one hundred and thirty four at-bats. He's also drawn three walks. I can't help but smile as I write this because that is so ludicrously absurd. It's insane. He can't hit and he has no patience. He can't play defense. He can't run. I just... I start talking about how bad Anderson is and I begin to ramble because there's so much ground to cover. My thoughts are rapid firing from one reason to the next as to why Anderson should have been released months ago. I'm want to express myself but I can't. I feel like I need to get a canvas and just start painting my feelings. Yes, Garret Anderson is so bad, he's inspiring me to create art.

To be honest though, I can't help but enjoy watching Anderson play. At this point, I almost don't know if I want him gone because I have to know how bad he can be. Mike at MSTI broke down Anderson's numbers to show that he's having one of the worst seasons in Dodger history. He might not have the worst season ever, but at this point, I kinda want to see how close he can get.

"Only three walks? That's hilarious! Manny had three walks in one game a week ago!"

First Half MVPs

3. Andre Ethier

Ethier is second on the team in batting average, leads the team in slugging, and is second in OPS, just four points behind Manny, but in almost 100 more at-bats. He's got 14 homers on the season, and, oh yeah, a starting job in the All-Star game. I have to wonder how good Ethier's season might be if he didn't break his finger when he was his hottest (.392, 1.201 OPS when he went down). I know expecting that kind of play over a full season is unrealistic, but when you are on a crazy hot streak, you got to ride it out.


2. Clayton Kershaw

Remember when Jon Heyman said Kershaw was regressing? Ha-ha-hah-ha-ha.

Kershaw in 18 starts: 112.1 IP, 2.96 ERA, 128 Ks. For record junkies, that translates to 9-4.

He polished off his first half with an excellent 8.0 innings against the Cubs on Thursday, striking out 12.


1. Rafael Furcal

Furcal leads the team in average, and more importantly, heart. That's right. I found a way to measure it. Still working on scrappy-ness, but that's for another day.

Seriously though. Furcal returned from family tragedy and started putting it all out on the field. Since June 23th, Furcal has been hitting .397, with a 1.109 OPS. He's hit six doubles, a triple, four homeruns, and has driven in 14 runs over the 17 game span. More importantly, though, for a leadoff hitter, he's scored 21 runs in those 17 games. Oh, and he's also stolen five bases.

All this is for a guy who was already hitting .305 coming in.

Furcal is playing out of his mind, and when he plays like that, the Dodgers play like a different team.

...and so, for all that, Furcal got named to the All-Star team.

...and for all that, he's my first half MVP.

Dodgers Retrospective - Week 13

Wow. A 5-1 roadtrip and the Dodgers are suddenly back to nine games over .500.

Was this the same team that lost eight of their last ten at the end of last Sunday's game?

The Dodgers just eat up the NL West, which is a very good thing. Especially because the Dodgers will spend most of September playing those teams.

Alright, just a couple more things to cover this week.


Comings And Goings

The Dodgers made a couple of roster moves this week that I can get behind.

First off, like I suggested in the Dodger Retrospective last week, Ramon Troncoso was taken off the roster in favor of Travis Schlichting. I suggested Troncoso be put on the DL because I wanted him to rest his arm and just not pitch for a little while, but a demotion to AAA isn't bad either. Management hopes he can work on his mechanics while he's down there, but honestly, I'm not sure if it's a mechanics issue with Troncoso so much as an inflated expectations issue. He was probably not ever going to be as good as he was in 2009, and those expectations might have hurt him as much as his poor performance in 2010.

Secondly, with Manny put on the DL, the Dodgers called up Xavier Paul. Sure, the news isn't as good as Paul being called up to replace a DFA'd Garret Anderson, but it's a step in the right direction. I mean, who knows, maybe this time when Manny comes back, Paul will get to stay instead of Anderson.

Here's a fun fact: Xavier Paul and Garret Anderson have the same amount of multi-hit games (1) since May 30th. The only difference is that Xavier Paul didn't play in the majors from May 31st through July 2nd.

On the other hand: Garret Anderson provided 40+ professional at-bats over the span of May 31st through July 2nd, including such gems as Wednesday's 0-5 with 4 Ks game.

Also, Paul makes this goofy face when he slides into home, so there's that as well...

Last one. I know last week I called for George Sherrill's head, but I've calmed down on that. I'm ok with keeping Sherrill under the condition that he only come in during blowouts or only to face one or two left handed batters before the 8th inning. Never a right handed batter, and never in the 8th inning or later.

Meanwhile, I'm now done with Justin Miller. He's finally pitching like ... well, Justin Miller. Carlos Monasterios should be off the DL soon, he's a good choice to replace Miller.


The All-Star Game Is A Great Showcase (For How Stupid People Are)

So, the All-Star Game selections were announced this morning, and they've already been discussed to death, but I still have to complain about this stupidity.

And no, I'm not just talking about Omar Infante. Yes, Infante is a dumb choice. And yes, leaving Joey Votto off the team was equally as dumb. But these two stupid decisions (among a few others) are laid solely at the feet of one guy: Charlie Manuel. I'm not saying Manuel is stupid, but he's an old baseball guy ... the kind who goes with his gut rather than fancy new-fan-dangled statistics like ... OPS (rhymes with cops), so I'm not expecting every decision he makes to be a great baseball one.

The two biggest issues I have with the All Star team this year are both fan selections.

One, Jason Heyward. Look, I get it. Dude's having a solid year for a rookie. .251, 11 homers, .821 OPS. Solid. But you're telling me there's not at least ten more qualified outfielders in the National League than Heyward? (Because if that's what you're telling me then...)

But, ok. Heyward is a popular guy surrounded by a ton of hype. Then explain this one to me: Yadier Molina.

I mean, check some of these numbers: .229 BA, 3 HR, .611 OPS.

Compare his numbers versus the three other guys in the National League with enough at-bats to qualify for the batting title. Molina is the worst in almost every major offensive category: BA, OBP, SLG, OPS, HR. The only leg he has to stand on is RBI, which is as much a function of his team as of Molina himself.


So I ask you, fans of baseball, what the hell were you thinking? Don't you know that this one counts?!

It's got to stop. If the league insists on making something as inane as the All-Star game count for homefield advantage in the World Series, then take the vote out of the hands of the fans who have little to no idea what they are doing. Just let all the voting be done by (and I might regret this eventually) players. Or if you insist on letting the fans vote, then take the meaning out of the game.

Because this "having it both ways" thing is not working.