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.
Week 2 in the books for the Dodgers, and we witnessed a nice improvement.
The Dodgers went 4-2 on the week, beating both the D-backs and the Giants in three game sets.
But, like always, there were ups and downs, and luckily, I have a 4 Star system to deal with just that!
Clayton Kershaw - Two good starts for Kershaw this week. On Tuesday, he went 5.1 innings against Arizona surrendering only two runs, and followed that up by going 7.0 strong against the Giants, giving up just one solo homerun while striking out nine.
Andre Ethier - Ethier went 11-26 this week, with three homeruns, and nine RBIs. He had a multi-homer game and a walk-off hit.
Matt Kemp - Kemp went 8-25, with a double and four homeruns, which came on four consectutive days. Meanwhile, Kemp is also riding a eight game hitting streak and has collected a base hit in all but one game this season.
Jonathan Broxton - Broxton threw four scoreless innings of relief this week, bring his season total to 5.2 scoreless innings. He hasn't gotten a lot of work, but he's looked solid when he's gotten it.
Vicente Padilla - How nice of Vicente to show up in his third start of the year: 7.0 innings, 7 Ks, three runs. Solid. He lowered his ERA from 11.42 to a sparkling ... 8.04. Good start, but I'd like to see that just a little bit lower. Little bit.
Hiroki Kuroda - Speaking of solid, Kuroda's one outing this week: 3 runs (2 earned) in 7.0 innings against Arizona.
Chad Billingsley - Chad Billingsley had three good scoreless innings, and then fell apart. He surrendered six runs in his next three innings.
Charlie Haeger - Haegar was put in the Arizona game for relief on Wednesday, despite making 117 pitches on Sunday. Now, I know the idea is that knuckleballers can pretty much pitch any day because they aren't straining themselves that much, but 117 pitches is still 117 pitches, whether he was throwing knuckleballs or not. I'm not saying it necessarily affected him, but he did then proceed to give up seven runs (five earned) in 3.0 innings against San Francisco on Saturday. The knuckleball wasn't working and tired or not, Haeger still got lit up.
Russ Ortiz - Tough week for Russ Ortiz. Six earned runs in 3.2 innings. I was never a big fan of Russ Ortiz ... and apparently, neither was the front office. They designated Russ for assignment on Sunday, recalling pitcher Jon Link. He leaves the Dodgers with an 0-1 record, and a 10.29 ERA in six games. So long, Russ.
So, overall, nice turnaround for the Dodgers, but a 4-2 week still only puts the Dodgers at .500.
And here's the bad news: the Dodgers head back East for a nine game road trip. You know what that means? More Steve Lyons. Sigh.
Well, one week in the books for the Dodgers and they are off to a 2-4 start, which is a bit unexpected. I mean, when you looked at the schedule and saw the Dodgers were starting the season against Pittsburgh and Florida, you thought that we'd at least finish this week 4-2, right? Sure you did. And no one blamed you for it.
But here we are, several bullpen implosions later, and the Dodgers finish a road trip that they could have hypothetically gone 5-1 on, with a record of 2-4.
Anyway, enough of what could have been. Let's look at what really was. Last season, on my weekly reviews, you might remember I had a "HOT" "COLD" and "ROOM TEMPERATURE" system. Well, I'm tired of that. I now introduce my new system: a Four Star rating! With real stars!
What's the difference? Now there's four tiers instead of three!
Does it change much? No!
Does it mean anything? No!
Am I having flashbacks of Jim Tracy interviews right now? Yes!
Enough of that, let's do this!
Hiroki Kuroda - Kuroda only had one start this week, but went 8.0 innings and surrendered only one unearned run while striking out seven.
Matt Kemp - Painful error in Sunday's game aside, Kemp went 9-28 this week, with three doubles and a (monster) homerun. A side note: maybe it's just me, but does it seem like Kemp is chasing more bad breaking balls this year? He was definitely showing improvement on that aspect of his game last season, but so far this week, he's taken some bad hacks at sliders he'll never get to. Chalk it up to Opening Week nerves?
Ronnie Belliard - Belliard made the most of his playing time this week, going 6-12. He went 3-5 on Thursday with a double, a triple, and a homerun, just missing out on the cycle. If he keeps this up, he might make a case for more playing time.
Charlie Haeger - Haeger went 6.0 solid innings in his start, striking out 12 ... 12 (!) Marlins. He did surrender a pretty ugly three run homerun to Jorge Cantú and allowed a fourth unearned run (see aforementioned painful Matt Kemp error) but I won't hold that against him. Six innings, three runs is almost exactly what you'd hope for from a 5th starter.
Chad Billingsley - Billingsley went 5.1 innings in his only start this week, and was solid. He only gave up one run while striking out seven. Still, he gave up five hits and four walks in just those 5.1 innings, and saw his pitch count over 100 by the 6th inning, and that my friends, is not pitching effectively.
Russ Ortiz - Ortiz had two good outings (three innings) to start the season before imploding on Friday. Ortiz came into the game in the 9th inning, with a 7-1 lead, gave up a single, retired one batter, and gave up two walks to load the bases, bringing Joe Torre out of the dugout to pull him.
Ramon Ortiz - The other half of the Ortiz power hour, Ramon had almost the opposite week of Russ. Ramon went two scoreless innings in his third outing on Saturday. This, unfortunately, was only after his first outing, when he allowed three inherited runners to score before giving up a run of his own, and his second outing, in which he allowed the Pirates to score the winning run in the 10th inning on Wednesday.
Clayton Kershaw - Kershaw struggled a lot in his first start. A LOT. He only made it 4.2 innings while giving up five hits and walking six. By the time Kershaw was pulled with two outs in the 5th inning, he had made 109 pitches and left with the bases loaded. Jeff Weaver came in and got out of the inning without any more damage. It was not a good start to the season for Kershaw. On the other hand, he still managed to only give up three runs, so I can't bump him down to 1 STAR.
Vicente Padilla - Padilla made two starts this week in which he only made it 4.1 innings into the game. In his first start, he was charged with seven runs (three given up by Ramon Ortiz). In his second start, he gave up four runs and left with two runners on in the 5th before Weaver came in to bail him out.
George Sherrill - Sherrill gave up two runs in 27.2 innings of work last year for us. In three games this year (two innings), Sherrill has given up five runs. On Monday, he gave up a big three run homerun that basically closed the door on any hope of a comeback in that game. On Saturday, he blew a save and gave the Marlins a win by surrendering two runs in the bottom of the 9th.
Ok, there you have it. The Stars and lesser Stars of the first week that was. 2-4. Sigh.
So... that happened. 11-5 to the Pirates.
Look, Opening Day is just another game, and an Opening Day loss is just one of many that will happen this season. There's really not a whole lot that should be made of what happened today.
... That being said, I have some notes.
1. This isn't just reactionary as I've felt this way for a little while. I don't like Vicente Padilla. I've not really ever been a fan of his, even during the good times, for a couple reasons. One, I just straight up don't like the guy. He's a hothead, his ex-teammates tend to not like him, and (though this one is just something I feel and I have no plausible way of proving) he seems to carry a bad air around him, in that, he's the kind of guy who spends an off-season recovering from a bullet wound. Two, he's not that good a pitcher. We gave him a contract this offseason pretty much based on the 8 games he played for us at the end of last season, and the one good start he made in the playoffs, and we did this completely ignoring the fact he had a near five ERA in Texas before we picked him up. In fact, Padilla hasn't had a sub-4.00 ERA for a season since 2003. He hasn't been a good pitcher for a long time. Anyway, long story short, I'm not a Vicente Padilla fan.
But he probably doesn't like me much either, so it's ok.
Now, here's the other problem. People are going to look at this game, see Padilla got shelled and claim the Dodgers don't have an ace. First off, "aces" aren't real things. You are either a good pitcher, or you aren't. "Aces" are just good pitchers dressed up by color commentators and newspaper columnists as mythical creatures. Second, just because Padilla started today, does not make him the Dodgers' "Ace" and frankly, if people we hinging their hopes for the season on the Vicente Padilla wagon, they deserve to be scared into thinking the season is already over.
2. I also don't like Ramon Ortiz and Russ Ortiz. This isn't too reactionary either as I didn't care for either when they were signed this offseason. Ramon had a bad game. Russ was better. I don't think either is a good fit for a major league team. Yes, both had good Springs, but that doesn't necessarily translate to regular season success.
...which brings me to:
3. Carlos Monasterios, who also had a good spring, and is someone I'm genuinely glad to see we kept on the roster. Monasterios had a good outing today, but again, I'm trying not to take too much from one game, so we'll have to see if he can keep up his success.
4. George Sherrill game up more runs in one inning today than he did in all 30 appearances combined that he made for us at the end of last season. Something is seriously up with Sherrill, and I'm thinking he might have a DL trip soon, if only just to work out his mechanical issues and not necessarily for an injury.
5. The hitting was ok today, but my God do we have to cut down on leaving all these runners in scoring position. The Dodgers went 2-13 with runners in scoring position today, and giving up 11 runs aside, that's no way to win a game.
6. ...and finally, I've come to a conclusion about all non-Vin Scully Dodger announcers. The Rick Monday - Charlie Steiner comedy hour is nearly impossible to listen to. If these two take over the booth when Vin hangs it up, I will watch games with a sharpened spoon jabbed in each ear.
Eric Collins is bearable when he doesn't say things that are stupid, which he's ok at, half of the time.
Steve Lyons is bearable when he doesn't say things that are stupid, which is a two-minute window that occurs only once a week. I was trying to think if I've heard Steve Lyons say something [interesting/meaningful/insightful/different/all of the above] in the four (five?) years he's been calling Dodger games. I can't think of an instance where I said to myself: "Thank God Steve Lyons was here to clear things up for me." ... Seriously, do we even need Steve Lyons anymore, or can we just stick someone in the booth with a Steve Lyons soundboard? Would anyone know the difference?
Alright, enough of that.
The game, like I said, is just one game, and there are 161 to go. They can't get much worse, right?
Although, I guess they can never get too much better.
It was apparently decided a few days back that Garret Anderson would be taking the left handed pinch hitting role over Doug Mientkiewicz.
Now, this really shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone, but a still shocked Mientkiewicz supposedly left camp when he heard the news ... which is interesting because I just read this blurb in ESPN Magazine from Kim Ng on cutting players:
"Reactions vary. Young guys are rarely rattled; they expect it. Vets who know it's time to hang it up go proudly. But some guys do get upset. We tell them to take the day off and talk with friends."
Now, you would think a guy like Mientkiewicz would be one of the vets who knows it's time to hang it up. Nope, turns out he's more a guy who gets upset. And apparently, Mientkiewicz went and talked with his friends, and they decided his battle plan should be to act like a douche.
Mientkiewicz came back today demanding his release, which would be well and good, if he didn't follow that up by making a scene.
"...they won't give me [my release] because they say if Garret Anderson blows out his hamstring, I'm the pinch-hitter.
...So I'm not bitter or pouting, but I feel like the Shawshank Redemption. Let me go. No place I'd rather be than with the Los Angeles Dodgers. But I'm not one of the 25. I'm OK with that. I get it. Then, why hold onto me?"
First of all, nice job of throwing the coaching staff under the bus with Anderson. Somewhere, Garret is sobbing to himself, wondering why nobody has faith in his hamstring.
"Don't I have feelings, too?"
Second, why is this so hard to understand? They want to keep you around as an insurance policy, in case, as you so delicately put it, Anderson blows out his hamstring. Is that really that crazy an idea? What?! A backup?! This is unheard of!
Third, what's the motivation to keep playing? The fact that Torre wants to keep you around in case something happens to Anderson is actually pretty high praise.
I mean, you haven't shown any indication that you can throw anything other than lobs with that injured shoulder of yours ... so there's no way that could be problematic; is there anything stopping a runner from going 1st to 3rd on a fielder's choice when you are playing?
On the other hand, you went 7-24 (with two doubles!) this Spring (mostly as a late inning replacement, so really that's against the #83s and #97s of the world), so at least the mediocre hitting is still there.
At least you can still catch a ball ... I guess you've got that going for you...
Oh, and finally, Shawshank Redemption?! Really? You have an opt-out clause in your contract that can be enacted on Friday, so yeah, that's a lot like serving consecutive life sentences in a depressing prison with only Morgan Freeman to help you get through your ordeal.
He can probably make throws across the diamond better than Mientkiewicz.
What I'm saying is, give it a rest Doug.
If there's strong interest today amongst other teams in a 35 year old first baseman who can't throw and can only hit .292 against scrubs, but who can catch the ball like the dickens, then they'll still be interest on Friday.
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EDIT: It's Friday. Mientkiewicz was released. Good luck in finding a job, Doug. Hope these last six days didn't ruin your blossoming career.
As Dylan Hernandez reported:
"Brian Giles announced his retirement today."
With the Giles era over in Los Angeles, you know what this means...
The Garret Anderson for old-busted-lefty-off-the-bench-train is picking up steam.
"I'm still your man."
What is going on?!
On the heels of Russell Martin announcing he'd be out 4-6 weeks, Cory Wade is going to be out 2 weeks with a shoulder issue, and Casey Blake had to leave today's game because of a strained side muscle.
We're less than a week into Spring Training and everyone is breaking down! Luckily, Blake's injury doesn't seem serious, and Wade will be back before Spring Training is over, but I don't like the bad vibes we're starting this season with.
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In other news, this headline from Dodgers.com forced me to come up with a bad joke, that I know I shouldn't share with the outside world, but I just can't help myself.
Well, sure, Martin is easy. Let's see him spell Mientkiewicz.
Quality-Relief-High-Five!
Anderson, collecting a hit on April 11th, after which he's gone 1-19.
