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.

Dodgers Retrospective - Week 12

Technically, this is supposed to be a week recap, but I really only want to talk about one game this week ... I think you know which one.

I don't know about you, but for me, there seems to be a time every year where I just want to throw out everybody. GM, coaches, players. Everyone. I want to get rid of them all and start over.

Eventually I settle down and come to my senses ... but Jesus, has this past week in a half been a punch in the gut. Or really, several punches.

Pictured: Gut punch.

Today's loss was so brutal because it was a game the Dodgers needed. I mean, I guess there really isn't such thing as a must win game in June, but taking two of three from the World Champion Yankees would be a step in the right direction for a team that's reeling.

Instead, a four run lead is blown. Then the rest of the bullpen serves up the game to the Yankees on a silver platter. And here we are, five games back of the Padres.

And I'm pissed.

And so, while I'm not going to throw out the whole Dodger organization, we do need change. Just a handful of things I want:

Move 1a. Ramon Troncoso to DL with anything. I don't care what it is, something is wrong with Troncoso and he needs to be on the DL. Honestly, it's probably a combination of overuse and Troncoso not really being as good as we once thought, but he has been horrible since April when he was used in 15 of the first 22 games of the season. Whatever the reason, since the beginning of May (and not including today because Baseball Reference hasn't been updated yet), Troncoso has a 6.86 ERA in 20 games. Opposing batters have hit .300 off him in that span and for a .889 OPS.

Move 1b: So, again, Troncoso to the DL. Bring up Travis Schlichting.


Move 2a. DFA George Sherrill. He's done. Everyone has figured him out. I mean, come on, he's giving up homeruns to lefties. If he's supposed to be able to get anyone out, it's supposed to be a left handed hitter.

Pictured: Not. Doing. Your. JOB.

Move 2b: Bring up Jon Link or wait for Carlos Monasterios to come off the DL. I realize this leaves just one lefty in the bullpen, Hong-Chih Kuo. Now, if you feel that he's too valuable to just be a left handed specialist, and you absolutely need one, then replace Sherrill with Juan Perez. Who?! Yeah, I don't know either. But scanning the Albuquerque roster, he's got a 3.19 ERA and 32 Ks in 31 innings, so he's not horrible. Admittedly, his stats against lefties aren't fantastic, but we're working with a coaching staff who insists on the lefty/lefty matchup rather than going with the most effective reliever at the time, so as long as he throws with his left arm, he should do the job for Torre and co.

Pictured: Lefty/Lefty matchup working out the right way.

Move 3a: DFA Garret Anderson. He still can't hit. After a good week, he reverted back to his old self with a 1-9 week.

Move 3b: Xavier Paul.


Move 4: Use Jonathan Broxton only when he is needed. (Broxton, by the way, isn't absolved of all blame for this recent incident, even with the overuse coming in.) Here's the thing, and maybe I just don't understand because I've never been a major league reliever, but does Broxton absolutely need to get his work in? If he doesn't pitch for four games, can't he throw a light bullpen session to keep the rust off? I mean, again, maybe I don't get it, but I just don't feel like Broxton is going to forget how to throw a fastball if he doesn't do it for a handful of days.


These are just a few things that could be changed immediately and improve the team. Some of this is with the front office, some of this is with the coaching staff.

Speaking of, I'm on the fence with Joe Torre. He obviously misuses the pitching staff, and he has such an unreasonable trust of aging veterans that it becomes increasingly more difficult to defend his choices.

On the other hand, he has led the Dodgers to two straight NLCS, which is impressive considering our playoff highlight reel before Joe Torre featured only Jose Lima and then JD Drew and Jeff Kent getting thrown out at home on the same play.

On the third hand, you have to wonder how much of our recent success is his influence, and how much is just the ability of the players. How many fewer (or more?) games would the Dodgers have won if the players just coached themselves? Torre might be gone when his contract is up at the end of the year, and at this point, I don't know if I'll miss him.

Anyway, I'm probably rambling. I'm tired, it's late, and I'm frustrated. Sometimes, it's just hard to be a fan.

Offseason Awards: Reliever of the Year

Award season continues at J's Dodger Blog, as we move on to Reliever of the Year. There are four big candidates for this prestigious award.

And the nominees are:


George Sherrill
-Ok, granted, Sherrill only pitched in 27.2 innings for the Dodgers. But what a fantastic 27.2 innings those were. A 0.65 ERA! That's two runs. Two runs spread out over thirty games, while holding opponents to a .192 BAA. He also picked up 11 Holds over that span, putting him fourth on the team behind only Hong-Chih Kuo, Troncoso, and Belisario.


Jonathan Broxton
-The big man in his first full season as the Dodgers' closer wasn't bad. He picked up 36 saves over the course of the season, but more impressive are some of his other numbers. Just look at this stuff: 2.61 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and a .165 BAA. Plus: 114 strikeouts in 76.0 innings. Broxton's 114 strikeouts was good for fourth place on the entire team, and he did it in less than half the innings the starters did it in. That's just impressive.


Ramon Troncoso
-Where'd this guy come from?! He debuted in 2008 and posted a 4.26 ERA over 38 innings. It was unimpressive to say the least. Then, suddenly, this year, Troncoso appears in 73 games, pitching 82.2 innings, and posting a 2.72 ERA over that span. That, my friends, is a nice turn around.


Ronald Belisario
-Remember when I asked where Troncoso came from? Remember how I pointed out that he seemingly appeared from nowhere, the depths of mediocrity to become one of our best relievers this season? (I just wrote those things, you better have not forgotten by now.) Anyway, Ronald Belisario looks at Troncoso's surprising rise, and scoffs. MSTI wrote a pretty good piece summarizing the main question people had coming into the season: who the hell is Ronald Belisario?! He's had a sketchy baseball past to say the least, and his career stats weren't promising, so, it really is quite odd that Belisario posted a 2.04 ERA in 69 games for us this season. I mean, come on, those are some pretty great stats for a guy who almost literally came from nowhere.



...and the winner is...

Jonathan Broxton.

Sherrill was good, but didn't make enough impact over the full season. Belisario and Troncoso were both surprisingly excellent, but both suffered from fatigue late in the season, and saw their stats start to slide.

That's not to say Broxton didn't have his own struggles as well, but darn if I can't ignore how good his numbers are. 114 strikeouts?! A 0.96 WHIP?! Those numbers ain't right!

Unfortunately for Broxton, most people choose to ignore how great he was this year and focus on the blown saves. And yes, a closer's job is to get saves, but I think Broxton suffers for people's selective memories.

I mean, Broxton did pick up two big saves this postseason, but in the end, all people will remember is the one blown one.

Ultimately, that is part of being a closer. You are the easiest person to blame because your failures are so memorable and take place with you positioned on center stage.

That's why, I propose this to all Dodger fans, or baseball fans in general. Don't make any decisions on the team after a blown save. Those blown saves are the hardest to take, and you are often so emotionally charged after the game that your opinions and views are skewed. Take a couple of deep breaths, wait a couple days, then revisit it.

...that's why I'm rewarding Broxton with this award. Because if you step back from the emotion of the blown save and just look at Broxton's numbers, you realize how very good he was this year.

So, for all that, Jonathan Broxton is the "J's Dodger Blog 2009 Reliever of the Year."

This Offense Is Tearing Me Apart!

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...

Week Recap: 08/03/09 - 08/09/09

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?

The Beaning

Let's talk about the now infamous beaning from last night. Every discussion like this always seems to end up with the main question being: if one of the players on your team gets hit, is it your job to hit a player back?

Personally, I'm all for beaning a player, but you only do it if the timing is right.

All those people who were upset that Chad Billingsley didn't bean a member of the Phillies during the playoffs last year were wrong. Sorry, but there are more important things to focus on during a playoff game than playing macho man. Like winning the playoff game (which, unfortunately, Billingsley didn't do either, but I digress).

Which brings me to yesterday's game. The Dodgers were leading 17-4 with two outs in the 9th. Prince Fielder steps up to the plate, and Guillermo Mota nails him in the leg. Mota is promptly tossed out of the game while Fielder looks at him angrily.

Then, apparently, later, Fielder charged for the Dodger locker room, which itself is a dumb idea. But that's for later.

For now, I just want to discuss the beaning itself, and why it was so pointless.

1. Mota felt like the Dodgers needed to send the Brewers a message. You mean something like beating them by 13 runs? You mean like scoring more runs in the previous inning than they did all game? You mean like Mota himself driving in a run? The offensive beatdown, the biggest one at Dodger Stadium in decades, was a nice enough message to send.


2. Everyone notes that two Dodgers were hit. I'll give you Manny's case. It did seem like that was a message, but Pierre's hit? That guy was throwing 55 MPH. Seriously. Don't tell me that that hit was intentional.


3. When you are up 13 runs in the 9th, you want to use as few pitchers as possible. But because we needed to send the Brewers a message, we had to use another pitcher. So Troncoso, who should have had the night off, had to warm up and get in the game to get a single out. With a 13 run lead.


4. Now, despite the fact that the Dodgers saw the beaning as a retaliation, the Brewers won't feel that way. So, what could have ended will now continue on into today's game and in all likelihood, another Dodger will get hit in today's game. And then what? The benches will clear, players will grunt in each other's faces, nothing will happen, and we'll go back to the game all feeling a little better about ourselves? Come on.
   

Now, that's not to say the Dodgers were all at fault. The beaning was pointless and ridiculous, but the reaction from the Brewers was almost as bad.

Prince Fielder went to the Dodger clubhouse. For what? You are going to pick a fight against a guy while 24 of his teammates stand around and watch? What the hell are you thinking?

And Milwaukee Manager Ken Macha? He had this nugget: "So, to me, giving a guy a $500 fine and a two-day suspension is not enough. This type of stuff should be cleaned up."

Oh, shut up. If there's one thing I can't stand is an old school guy like Macha complaining about an old school ideology. He acts like he's taking the high road. His team fired the first shot across the bow! And you want to tell me, Ken, that if two of your guys got hit, you wouldn't order a retaliation? Just shut up.

To sum it all up:

If the Dodgers wanted to retaliate, they should have done it sooner, the next inning after Manny got hit. Waiting for the very last out of the game is idiotic.

And Brewers? Shut up. Don't give us this whole "Why would they do this to us?" routine. No one is buying your righteous indignation so get over it.

Basically, what I'm saying is, everybody is wrong and stupid.

First Half Recap - Pitchers

Alright folks, there's your first half. No week recap this week. Instead, we'll take a look back at the first half.

And what better way to do that than with a little HOT, COLD, or ROOM TEMPERATURE?

We'll start with pitchers:

COLD:

• Will Ohman - 1-0, 5 HLDs (21 games), 5.84 ERA (8 ER in 12.1 IP), 4 HRs - I was totally for the Ohman signing when it happened near the end of Spring Training. I thought he could be a helpful lefty out of the pen, I thought he could eat a few innings. I thought wrong. Ohman stunk. He gave almost a hit per inning, and more walks than strikeouts. And way too many homeruns per innings pitched. In any case, Ohman now sits on the DL and it's unknown when he'll be back. Though frankly, it's become a moot point anyway.

• Hiroki Kuroda - 3-5 (10 games, 9 starts), 4.67 ERA (28 ER in 54.0 IP) - Yeah, this was the guy that started Opening Day for us. Well, unfortunatly, that's all he started for us until June. And since that return in June, he's been sub-par. He did have two quality starts, peaking with a 8.2 IP, 2 ER, 9 K performance against the White Sox on June 23rd. But, since that point, his starts have gotten progressively shorter, and his ERA continues to rise. His stats aren't too bad (less hits than innings pitched, and a better than 3:1 K to BB ratio) but he's just giving up runs. Here's to hoping for a better second half for a guy who's supposed to be our 2nd or 3rd starter.

• Cory Wade - 2-3, 7 HLDs(27 games), 5.53 ERA (17 ER in 27.2 IP) - Talk about a fall from grace. Cory Wade was going to be our setup guy for our setup guy this year. Simply put, he hasn't been. He's in a bad position for a guy who throws the way he does. He relies on movement of pitches and placement of pitches. The pitches aren't finding the zone enough (less than 2:1 K to BB) and when they do, he's getting hit too often (28 hits in 27.2 IP). Luckily for the Dodgers, other pitchers have stepped up and filled Troncoso's role (more on that later).

ROOM TEMPERATURE:

• Guillermo Mota - 3-2 (38 games), 3.51 ERA (16 ER in 41.0 IP) - Mota has had two seasons in one. Before May 18th Season: 15 games, 9.00 ERA. After May 18th Season: 23 games, 0.35 ERA. Yeah. What In The World?! I've always been indifferent to Mota, and I still am. I won't deny how excellent he's been these last two months, but do I trust him? No. Do I want him in, in big pressure sitations? No. But if I can have it so the 12th guy out of the bullpen for the Dodgers has a mid-3.00 ERA then I'll be a happy man.

• Randy Wolf - 4-3 (19 starts), 3.45 ERA (44 ER in 114.2 IP) - Well, Wolf's been consistent to say the least. Over his 19 starts, he's averaging 6.0 IP a start, about 2.5 ER, and about 4.5 Ks. And really, if you take a look at his game log, most of his starts are around that area. Some are better, a few are worse, but really, most are about the same. It's ok, not great, though I suppose it's what you want out of your number four starter. And consistancy is nice in many ways.

HOT:

• Ronald Belisario - 1-3, 10 HLDs, (43 games), 2.42 ERA (13 ER in 48.1 IP) - Belisario has been solid as the 7th inning guy a good portion of this year. Unfortunately, he might have been used too much, too fast. He's on the DL now, indefinitely, and that could spell some trouble for us in the near future.

• Ramon Troncoso - 3-0, 5 SVs, 8 HLDs (41 games), 1.75 ERA (11 ER in 56.2 IP) - For a guy who was pretty much an afterthought last year, he's really established himself as an excellent setup man this year. And honestly, it's surprising how he does it. He gives up a lot of hits and a lot of walks. But he's been getting the well timed strikeout or double play, and as long as he keeps it up, he'll keep his ERA low.

• Clayton Kershaw - 7-5 (18 starts), 3.16 ERA (35 ER in 99.2 IP), 99 Ks - Kershaw actually leads the starting staff in ERA, and that's due to a recent streak where he has really been locked in. Since June 16th, Kershaw is 4-0 in 6 starts with a 0.76 ERA. Not bad for a 21 year old.

• Jonathan Broxton - 6-0, 20-22 SVs (38 games), 3.10 ERA (14 ER in 40.2 IP), 65 Ks - Broxton has been crazy good this year as the Dodger closer. 65 Ks in 40.2 IP? Crazy. Good. Unfortunately, he's hurting a little bit right now. His toe could be causing him problems, and now there is some talk it could be a year long problem. With Belisario out, and Broxton maybe not at 100%, the bullpen could be in a little trouble.

• Chad Billingsley - 9-4 (19 starts), 3.38 ERA (47 ER in 125.1 IP), 119 Ks - Billingsley has really taken over as ace of the staff. He's been a little up and down recently, but his body of work over the whole year has been fantastic. He's near the top in many of the major statistics in the National League, and for it, he was rewarded with a trip to the All-Star game.

Ok, there's the pitchers. Home Run Derby is tonight.

First Half Recap for Hitters is tomorrow. See you then.

Week Recap: 06/08/09 - 06/14/09

Ok, folks. I'm back.

I won't lie to you, I've been a little distracted.

First and foremost, the Dodgers are my #1 love. I'm a baseball fan and a Dodgers fan. They are my team.

However, the Lakers are a pretty close second. And in case you weren't paying attention at all recently, the Lakers won their 15th NBA Championship yesterday. And I've been pretty invested in their journey.

Hence my distraction.

But now that's all over. The Lakers played, the Lakers won, the playoffs are over. The Lakers are World Champions. Hoo-rah.

...and now I can focus on baseball again. Not to say I haven't been paying attention this last week. In fact, I'm ready for another week recap. So let's talk about this.

Dodgers started the week with a two game series against the Padres that went, well, less than ideal. A split with the Padres? Come on...

We did follow that up, though, by beating the AL West First Place Texas Rangers, two out of three games in Texas. Nice.

Dodgers went 3-2 on the week.

HOT, COLD, or ROOM TEMPERATURE. Round 9. Start!

COLD:

• Russell Martin - .167 (3-18), 3 BBs, 2 Ks - Russell! Russell! What is going on?! Russell was already struggling coming into the month of June. How's he doing in June? He has four hits. That's it. Four hits in the whole month of June. That's good for a .111 average. I have to believe something is wrong with him health-wise. I have no other explanation for what he's doing (or not doing) this year.

• Mark Loretta - .125 (1-8), 1 BB, 1 run - After starting the year doing so well off the bench for us, Loretta has really seen his numbers drop. In fact, remember how bad Martin has been in June? Loretta has been worse. He's 1-22 in June (.045).

• Clayton Kershaw - 0-1 (1 start), 10.13 ERA (3 ER in 2.2 IP), 4 BBs, 5 hits, 81 pitches - If I could use one word to describe Kershaw's start this week, I think I'd use ineffective. He couldn't find the strikezone, and when he did, he gave up hits. He threw 81 pitches and couldn't make it out of the 3rd inning! I mean, wow, Kershaw. Where was almost no-hitter Kershaw from the Marlins start from three weeks ago?

ROOM TEMPERATURE:

• Juan Pierre - .200 (4-20), 2 BBs, 3 SBs, 4 runs - My second week in a row of just one Room Temperature guy, and this week, Pierre fits the bill. Now, granted, Juan is still fourth in average for the National League (.343, good!), but he's actually been fairly pedestrian in June (.260, meh!) and this week has been his worst in a long time.

HOT:

• Chad Billingsley - 2-0 (2 starts), 3.55 ERA (5 ER in 12.2 IP), 8 Ks - Sure, this hasn't been Billingsley's greatest week, but his two wins this week placed him first, atop the National League in wins (tied with Matt Cain). Very nice.

• Casey Blake - .368 (7-19), 3 2Bs, 1 HR, 4 RBIs, 3 runs - I think, instead of posting nice stuff about Blake when he does well, I'll just make a the Most Interesting Man in the World quip. When he swings his bat, he generates a lot of power with his legs, and even more with his beard. I hope Blake keeps it up so I can do this again.

• Ramon Troncoso - 0-0 (4 games), 3 Holds, 0.00 ERA (0 ER in 4.1 IP) - I don't know how he does it. He's given up almost as many hits as innings pitched (37 in 41.2 IP), and his strikeout-to-walk ratio is only 2:1, but he's still posting a 1.51 ERA on the season, and he hasn't given up a run since May 24th, and only two since May 8th. That's fantastic.

• Jonathan Broxton - 0-0 (3 games) 3 saves, 3.00 ERA (1 ER in 3.0 IP), 6 Ks, 1 baby - Broxton gave up one run this week, but it was a gimme-run. He had a three run lead and wasn't holding runners, so I'm not really counting it. With the three saves this week, he brought his total up to 16 on the season, tied for third in the National League. Also, he had a baby this week, so congrats on that. I haven't heard much about the baby, but just basing it on the fact that Broxton is his father, I'm guessing the baby was born weighing 40 pounds and throwing a 85 MPH heater.

• Rafael Furcal - .313 (5-16), 2 2Bs, 2 RBIs, 3 BBs, 3 Ks, 1 SB, 1 run - Ok, so this wasn't the greatest week ever. And it probably wasn't even the best week on the team. But for Rafael Furcal, it was a sign of life, and that's good enough for me. Furcal was bumped down to the 7th spot in the lineup earlier this week, and responded by stringing together a nice little hitting streak (it's up to 8 games). He's not striking out as much, he's drawing a few more walks, he's got a couple extra base hits, and he's even driven in a few runs. I got to give him props. I just hope that this is the beginning of getting better for Furcal, and not just a blip of "HOT" on an otherwise "COLD" season.

Ok, so we got more interleague, nice. I still enjoy this stuff. Some people say it has run it's course but I (and attendance at the games) disagree. And as much as I despise the DH, it's still fun to get to use one every now and then.

A's and Angels this week. See you then.

Week Recap: 04/20/09 - 04/26/09

Hey everybody. I'm back from Vegas and turns out, nothing great happened while I was gone, which is really kinda odd. I had a pretty good streak going last year where every time I left the city, something good happened for the Dodgers. This time... eh...

Anyway, let's take a look at the week.

It started pretty badly. The pitching fell apart and the Astros took the first two games of the series, handing the Dodgers their first series loss of the year.

The Dodgers came back, however, and won the next three games. That winning streak was snapped on Sunday, though, when the Rockies were mean to Dodger pitching, and beat us to avoid their 2nd sweep in just over a week.

The Dodgers went 3-3 on the road trip for the week.

And with that, let's do Round 3 of HOT, COLD, or ROOM TEMPERATURE.

COLD:

• Hong-Chih Kuo - 1-0 (1 game), 1 blown save, 18.00 ERA (2 earned runs in 1.0 innings) - What is going on with Kuo? Or with Torre's usage of him for that matter? Kuo made one appearance this week, which is weird because there was more than a few occasions where he could have been used. And what did Kuo do in his one appearance? He gave up a two-run game tying homerun to Clint Barmes. And then he hit a batter. Uh-oh.

• Clayton Kershaw - 0-2 (2 games), 15.00 ERA (15 earned runs in 9.0 innings), 6 walks, 7 Ks, 3 homeruns, .432 Batting Average Against - Oh Clayton, what's happened to you? After the best performance of your young career, you follow it up with your worst performance. And then you follow that performance, with an even worse performance (though admittedly, three runs were allowed once he was out of the game in the 10-4 loss to Colorado, April 26th). His ERA jumped from 1.50 to 7.29 this week. Plain and simple: he got lit up. I mean, I know it's a lot of pressure to put on a 21-year old in his first full season in the majors, but we need him this year. He's our number three starter. No more of these kinds of starts, please.

ROOM TEMPERATURE:

• Matt Kemp - .182 (4-22), 1 3B, 3 walks, 1 SB, 7 Ks - I was debating with myself whether or not to drop Kemp to "COLD" or not. It's been a pretty bad week for Kemp following a pretty great week. I'll say he's "ROOM TEMPERATURE" just due to the residual heat from last week. His hitting streak got to 14 games this week before being snapped, and then he fell into an almost immediate slump, highlighted with an 0-5 night with three Ks and seven runners left-on-base (a 6-5 win, April 24th in Colorado). Kemp cooled off quick, so maybe there's hope he'll heat up quick as well? Who knows...

• Orlando Hudson - .280 (7-25), 2 2Bs, 4 walks, 2 Ks - Hudson, like Kemp, has cooled down. Now, mind you, .280 ain't bad. It ain't great, but it ain't bad. It's "ROOM TEMPERATURE." Ahhhh, see what I did there? Anyway, point is, Hudson's not raking like he was last week.

HOT:

• James Loney - .375 (9-24), 5 2Bs, 4 walks, 5 RBIs - The resurrection of James Loney! Ok, too dramatic, but Loney's had a nice week. Still waiting on a homerun, a little power would be nice, but if he can keep driving in the runs, I can live with a little lack of power.

• Manny Ramírez - .333 (7-21), 2 HRs, 6 RBIs, 7 Ks - Even with his nasty 0-5 day with 3 Ks (a 6-5 win, April 25th in Colorado), Manny's continued to hit and drive in runs this week, even though he is striking out at a high rate.

• Ramon Troncoso - 0-0, 1 save (2 games), 0.00 ERA (0 runs in 5.2 innings), .052 BAA - What? Troncoso? Yeah Troncoso! Ramon Troncoso has been on this week. Not just on, he's been clutch. He came in in the bottom of the 6th inning in the April 21st game (an 8-5 loss in Houston) with the bases loaded and one out. Not only did he get out of that inning unscathed, he pitched another clean inning in relief. And how did he follow up that performance? He went 4.0 scoreless innings in relief in the 6-5 win on April 25th in Colorado. That's right, he had a one run margin to protect in Coors Field for almost half a game and he dominated the Rockies. He's been a real nice surprise out of the bullpen so far this year.

• Chad Billingsley - 1-0, 0.00 ERA (0 runs in 7.1 innings), 5 Ks - Yeah, Billingsley only had one start this week, but boy was it a good one. He put an end to the two-game losing streak we were on by completely stopping the Astros offense, who had given us trouble the previous two games. And by doing that, he picked up the win and brought his record to 4-0 (a tie for the major league high).

• Jonathan Broxton - 0-0, 2 saves (2 games), 0.00 ERA (2.2 innings), 4 Ks - Ok, so Broxton hasn't had the most amazing week ever. He's been good, but I have to acknowledge how great he's been this year. 1-0, 6-6 in save opportunities, 0.96 ERA, 15 Ks in 9.1 innings. On top of that all, he's picked up a couple of 1.0+ inning saves. He's been very good this year, even better than expected.

Alrighty then. That's actually a lot of "HOT" players for a team that went .500 during the week. Let's hope for a few more wins out of those "HOT" players this week.

I like doing this on Monday, I think I'll stick with it.

Let's see if I make it for next week.

The Calm Before The Storm

Man it's been a quiet week. Yeah, Ohman was signed, and we're slowly narrowing down who's going to make the roster, but otherwise, the Dodgers haven't been up to much this week.

And I'm excited. I'm starting to get the feeling that we might see some stuff go down soon.

Well, for one, we are obviously gonna get some cuts. Who's going to make it into the back of the bullpen? Weaver? Troncoso? Sturtze? NO! And, who'll be our utility guy? It's kinda cool. Those cuts should be coming in any day now.

Secondly, I'm getting the feeling a trade is going to go down. Call it a hunch, but I think someone is going to go. We've got an abundance of outfielders, and I'm thinking Jason Repko could be on the move, which is too bad cause I like the guy, but the outfield is full. Unless of course someone else goes. Pierre? PIERRE? Who knows? Exciting.

Third: the season! It's coming! The season is almost here! Monday! MONDAY!!! The season! Am I clear? (The season.)

Look, I know this article was basically me frantically babbling on about nothing, but there's not much to talk about.

At least not yet.

WHAT?!?

Whilst reading the articles on Dodgers.com, something struck me as rather odd, and perhaps disturbing.

You see, the Dodgers are looking at possibly carrying up to five non-roster players on the Opening Day 25-man.

That's good, I do like the occasional reclamation project. Five might be too many, but still, I can live with it.

Let's take a look at who's in the running: Doug Mientkiewicz and Juan Castro. Ok... I'd rather keep Delwyn Young around, but Mientkiewicz and Castro are having good Springs, they are pretty good defensively, and they are versatile. I can live with these two on the roster.

Who else do we have?

Either Erick Threets or Brian Mazone will probably make the roster as the second left handed reliever. I did read another story that Will Ohman was working out for the Dodgers, and I'd like to go with him, but if we don't sign him, Mazone has had an excellent Spring and Threets is young and has some good stuff. I'd be ok with either as the lefty outta da pen.

Oh, here's a name: Jeff Weaver. He's not had a great Spring, a 7.00 ERA in eight appearances over 9.0 innings. Ummm... maybe not a great choice to make it off the non-roster invitee list. Especially because there's a couple of guys who've had better Springs as reliever, but hey, maybe Torre wants to go with a proven (kinda) name like Weaver over a Nick DeBarr (5.06 ERA in eight games, 5.1 innings), Jesus Castillo (3.86 ERA in four games, 4.2 innings), or Charlie Haeger (2.08 ERA in four games, 4.1 innings). Fine. I guess we can go with Weaver as the long relief/12th guy out of the bullpen kinda role. Why not? How much damage can he do?

Alright, that's four. Who's the fifth guy...

What? WHAT?

"The way manager Joe Torre is talking... Tanyon Sturtze... [is] alive in competition for [a job] as Spring Training winds down."

WHAT?!?

No!

"Oh hai dere! I'm just here to ruin your 25-man roster."

NO!!!

No Tanyon Sturtze! This was the guy last year, that when Designated for Assignment, opted instead to linger around with the club than pitch in the minors or look for another job.

He was the pitching coach last year in the final game of the season, which I thought meant he had practically retired.

Sturtze has a 5.14 ERA in nine games (7.0 innings) this Spring, which admittedly sounds not bad (though not really good for that matter, either). He's been better than Jeff Weaver, but still not better than any of the three names I previously mentioned (DeBarr, Castillo, Haeger).

Hell, if we're going down this road, I'd rather give Ramon Troncoso the job. He's got near similar numbers, but I think he's still got something left in the tank. He's got a 5.19 ERA in eight games (8.2 innings) this Spring.

But if we're going with Sturtze, here's the thing you don't get from Sturtze in his ERA, he's given up two walks and 11 HITS in his 7.0 innings of work. He's only given up four earned runs, but SIX runs overall. Sturtze's 5.14 ERA is much better than his performance indicates.

So why in the world is Sturtze getting possible consideration for a spot on the 25-man roster and in the bullpen?

This is the thing about Joe Torre that absolutely kills me. He plays favorites to no end. The article inadvertently (maybe not?) admits it.

"Three of them -- Weaver, Sturtze and Mientkiewicz -- played for Torre with the Yankees."

It's this crazy inclination on going with the veteran who doesn't have a lot left in the tank over a kid who shows promise. And while this is great for guys like Mientkiewicz, Weaver, and (*shiver*) Sturtze, guys like Delwyn Young and Charlie Haeger are screwed out of jobs, their only crime being that they aren't old enough to have played under Torre before.

And sometimes that just makes you stop and say: "What?!?"

Player Profiles: Relief Pitchers - Ramon Troncoso

Player: Ramon Troncoso

2008 Stats: 1-1, 4.26 ERA (32 games)

2008 Analysis: Meh, Troncoso was ok. He started the year on the major league roster, but went up and down to AAA a couple times.

He had a couple bad games, and a couple good games, so he was average? He did go two innings, while striking out five and collecting the win on July 20th in what was probably the best game of his year.

2009 Outlook: Reports out of the Winter League say Troncoso has been excellent, posting an ERA in the 2.00's. If that's the case, I'd be willing to leave a spot open in the bullpen for Troncoso in 2009.

Dodgers 10, Padres 1

The Dodgers score 10 runs to beat the Padres in the first game of the three game series.

Chad Billingsley got the win, he's 16-10. Wade LeBlanc took the loss, he's 1-2.

Chad Billingsley seemed a little shaky. He went six innings and gave up only one run, however, he also gave up nine hits and two walks over that span. James McDonald, Ramon Troncoso, and Scott Elbert added a scoreless inning each.

Offensively, the Dodgers did much better than they did Sunday. Eight of the nine Dodgers in the starting lineup collected a hit, seven scored a run, and four had RBIs, even Chad Billingsley added a hit, a squeeze bunt, and two RBIs. They had a big 1st inning, in which they batted through the lineup and scored six runs in the process. The top three performers in the game were probably Russell Martin, Nomar Garciaparra, and Blake DeWitt. Russell Martin went 2-3 with a double, two walks, and a run scored, Nomar Garciaparra went 1-2 with a walk, a homerun, three RBIs, and a run scored, and Blake DeWitt went 2-3 with a walk, a homerun, three RBIs, and two runs scored.

The Arizona Diamondbacks lost today, so with the win, the Dodgers move back to a three game lead in the NL West. The Dodgers will try tomorrow for their second straight win, and a chance to knock another point off the Magic Number. The game starts at 7:10 L.A. time.

Also: With the win, the Dodgers move back up to seven games over .500 (82-75)... With the win and the Diamondbacks' loss, the Dodger Magic Number is now 3... With their 82nd win, the Dodgers guarantee themselves a winning season... Chad Billingsley's win is his 16th, good for first place on the Dodgers.

Opinion: This was a pretty good statement win. After looking a little lackluster in the weekend series, the Dodgers came out firing. I like it... In any case, now that my last prediction (the one about us clinching on Sunday) was obliterated, I'd like to make a new one. We have two more games against the Padres, the Diamondbacks have two more against the Cardinals. Our Magic Number is three. My prediction is simple: we clinch it at home on Thursday. Hopefully, the Cardinals will keep up their end by causing the Diamondbacks trouble in St. Louis. I'm fairly certain that if we keep playing like we did tonight, our end shouldn't be a problem. I guess we'll see. 3 and counting...

Giants 7, Dodgers 1

The Dodgers beat up on Greg Maddux and hand the Dodgers a loss in the first game of this three game weekend series.

Barry Zito got the win, he's 10-16. Greg Maddux took the loss, he's 7-13.

Greg Maddux was pretty hittable in his five innings of work. He gave up seven runs on nine hits over that span. James McDonald made his second career appearance and pitched two scoreless innings, though he did give up two hits and a walk over that span. Ramon Troncoso and Jason Johnson added a scoreless inning each.

The Dodger offense couldn't manage much during the game. They collected only six hits and two walks, the only run coming off a Pablo Ozuna homerun in the 8th. Other than that, the only other offensive output came from the top three in the lineup. Matt Kemp went 2-4, Andre Ethier went 1-3 with a walk, and Manny Ramírez went 2-4 with a double. And that was pretty much it for the day.

The Arizona Diamondbacks also lost today, so even with the loss the Dodgers remain 3.5 games up on the Diamondbacks in the NL West. The Dodgers will try to even up the series against the Giants tomorrow at 7:10 L.A. time.

Also: With the loss, the Dodgers record falls back to six games over .500 (80-74)... Arizona's loss brings the Dodger Magic Number to 6... Pablo Ozuna's homerun was hit first in over two years (his last one was August 17th, 2006). This comes just four days after Juan Pierre hit his first homerun in about two years as well (his prior homerun came on September 18th, 2006).

Opinion: I get the feeling the Giants would like us to not get to the postseason. It doesn't help that we spotted them seven runs. I'm starting to wonder whether or not Greg Maddux is a solid option for the fifth starter down this final stretch. Maddux now has a 1-4 record with the Dodgers in six starts. Knowing Joe Torre, I wouldn't expect to see a change, but I am a bit uncomfortable with Maddux on the mound... Also, what's up with our offense? We could only manage four runs against the Pirates in 12 innings yesterday, and now we can only scratch across one run against Barry Zito (who had a 5.48 ERA coming into today)? I said it yesterday, but that excitement that seemed to be in the dugout seems to be absent. It's feeling a little lifeless these last few days. We gotta get that loving feeling back, if you know what I mean... First things first, can we get a little production out of our 4-9 hitters? A combination of nine different players in those spots went a combined 1-21, with a walk. The one hit was Pablo Ozuna's homerun. Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, and Manny can't be the only ones who are hitting on the team, otherwise... well... otherwise this happens. We play the Giants five more times this season, no more losses please...