For those of us not in L.A., Extra Innings is not showing any of the three games this weekend.

This is why I hate it whenever we play the Angels or Padres.

What about making Erickson and Alvarez one starter. Maybe we could count on them for seven innings when we needed a fifth starter. That would leave Alvarez available for one or two situational lefty batters in between starts.

I know that this subject has been beaten to death in the past, but it always angers me this time of year..

In a division that is likely to come down to 2 or 3 games (like last year), is it really fair that we have to play 6 with ANA (23-17, .575), and the Padres get 6 with SEA (16-24, .400) and the DBacks get 6 with DET (19-20, .487)??

Isn't #2 basically what we've already been doing?

re: #3 - your point on fairness is only valid right now...a few years back when the Angels were so-so and the Mariners were winning 110 games, the argument could be made in reverse...

besides, the Mariners have the all time greatest third baseman in the history of the game, so they could explode at any moment...right?

Tough time to face a hot team (8-2 on the road this month). Their offense has sputtered; take out the 5/15 game and they've averaged less than 3 runs per game. Their pitching has been very solid (3 meltdowns notwithstanding).

Penny has had one start against the Halo's in his career and it wasn't good; Lowe has had mixed results. Erickson... let's just say I'm amazed he can make it twice through any opposing lineup.

Washburn has had mixed results against the Dodgers albeit more bad than good. Byrd has had some successes vs. LAD. Lackey has been dominant against the cross-town rivals. On a down note, both Byrd and Lackey have been in a groove this month.

The silver lining is no K-Rod for games 1 and 2, possibly the whole series. I'm not sure it will matter as I see a frustrating sweep on the horizon. I just hope it's not compounded by a Padres sweep of the Mariners.

Does anyone have information about our medical staff? Of course they're not to blame for players getting hurt, but it seems we've lost an awful lot of time to the DL this year. Is it possible that the med staff does a poor job of identifying and treating minor injuries, so they become more of a problem?

Dessens' shoulder, Gagne's elbow, Werth's wrist, Perez's hamstring, Alvarez's arm, Weaver's shoulder, Odalis' shoulder - and it's only May. This list doesn't count the "impact" injuries (with the exception of Werth's slow-healing wrist), either.

My point is not to lay any blame to the Dodgers med staff - certainly, there's some bad luck in play here and I don't have nearly enough knowledge or information to judge their performance. However, given the struggles we've had keeping key people healthy, the question of "is the med staff ineffective?" may be worth an investigation.

further on my point, look at the end of this season, others in our division have a tough second to last weekend while we host the Pirates...

... As for the Weaver situation -- I think Jim Tracy has many weaknesses as a manager, and we would be better served replacing him -- but I think Tracy shouldn't be the scapegoat for Weaver's collapse in the 6th on Wednesday. I expect these starters to at least go 6; perhaps Tracy is trying to get these pitchers to show a little grit, and work through some jams and some tough situations. If Weaver continues to insist that his shoulder is OK, then what's the problem? Either he's lying, or maybe -- to borrow a line from Dick Williams -- perhaps this is a case of "when the going gets tough, the tough get going, and the not-so-tough (like Weaver and Ortiz) decide to spit the bit".

The Dodgers have four quality starting pitchers, a quality setup man and closer, and by all evidence thus far, a quality offense and defense. They have a chance to do something special THIS SEASON, and they need Jeff Weaver to be a part of this. They can't afford to keep losing three-game series at home because their starting pitchers are making a habit of quitting on them. If they are injured, as is the case now with Perez, then they can rest and work the problem. If not, then they need to what the team requires.

As a pitcher, there's going to be days where you can't seem to buy a strikeout. There's going to be days where you can't get ahead in the count to 90% of the hitters you face. Those are the days where you have to buckle down and limit the damage. Be a competitor. Stay focused; keep your head in the damn game. Keep the ball in the ballpark, at least; give your defense a chance to get the outs you need. If I'm Jim Colborn, I'm out there every inning during a game like Wednesday, continually hounding Weaver and getting him back on track until he's convinced me that he's ready. Carlton Fisk used to do that to Bill Lee all the time, until Lee got sick of him -- but Lee would also be ready to keep his mind on the game.

It's time to get this ship right before they completely squander everything they did in the first 14 games. I still believe this team is clearly the best in the NL West. It's high time their pitching staff pulled their heads out of those small tunnels they are residing in and pitch the way I (and other Dodger fans) have SEEN them pitch. The series with the Angels would be a good time to start on the right road.

One thing that might help the Dodgers this weekend is that they will be facing the Angels hitters, who have never seen a pitch that wasn't bad enough to consider swinging at.

In the same number of games (40) the Dodgers have drawn 49 more walks than the Angels. Or just about 1.2 more per game. And the Dodgers have 41 more runs too.

Mike Scioscia would not say there is any corollary between the two figures.

The Angels are 35 out of 49 on steals, about 70% while the Dodgers are just 14 of 22, about 64%.

Don't forget the Dodgers secret weapon of HBPs. 25 of them!

Frankie Rodriguez will miss tonight's game and maybe longer. If the Dodgers can get to the Angels relievers who are not named Donnelly or Shields, I would be optimistic.

#8:
That doesn't matter though because each NL West team plays a home and away series with the Pirates so it evens out. Interleague "rival" games are the only ones that don't. You are right that over a 10 year span it will all even out, but that doesn't change the fact that this year we have a tougher schedule. On that same note - the DBacks have to play the White Sox while we get to skip them. Good for us, but in the fight for a fair and balanced schedule, you can't have it with interleague play. Plus, who wants to play with the DH? Ever?

I'm not looking to make Tracy a sole scapegoat - just pointing something out. I expect the starters to go seven, but ultimately this expectation is meaningless. Billy Martin would have expected them to go nine. Doesn't matter. If Weaver faltering in the fifth, as he was, then one should be prepared to pull him if the trouble is continuing in the next inning.

Yes, Delgado and Cabrera are great hitters, and there's no shame in allowing them a HR. Moreover, the pitch Weaver threw to Delgado was practically unhittable - fading down-and-away, as I remember it.

But the question is, given everything that had been going up to that point, and with an off day Thursday, were there better options available than Weaver? Did a fresh reliever give the Dodgers a better chance of escaping the inning - not a certainty, but a better chance? The answer seems to be yes.

Grit and buckling down are all fine things, but is it so bad if sometimes a guy just needs a reliever's shoulder to lean on before he falls over, rather than being carried out of the game after the fall?

re: #9 -

are the Dodgers as bad as the last 26 games, I don't think so...

are they as good as the first 14 games, I also don't think so....

are they clearly the class of the West, I don't think so there either...

the Dodgers are to me a better than average team that, to be successful must be firing on all cylinders...they did that last year, but so far it isn't happening this year, and with all the injuries, it may not this year...

RE: #7

You forgot to blame the med staff for Valentin's torn ACL...

The Dodgers do play Chicago. In Chicago from June 17-19. The Dodgers miss Cleveland.

re: #11 - when the schedules are made up, you don't know who will have up years and who will have down years...

is it fair that the Devil Rays played the Yankees when they were in a tailspin rather than when they won 10 in a row...its the luck of the draw...

GOOD NEWS

Werth had three hits last night, raising his average to .323 and driving in his first three RBI of the season

BAD NEWS

Still no extra base hits, and he has more K's(13) than hits (10)

re: Werth, from what I have read, he still has soreness in his wrist after games

Oh, and the DBacks play all five teams in the AL Central. That's because Detroit is their "rival".

Just like Seattle is San Diego's "rival".

The Rockies are the odd team out in the NL West and get 3 interleague series at home (Chicago, Detroit, and KC) and 2 on the road (Cleveland and Baltimore)

14 -

You forgot to read the sentence "Of course they're [the Med staff] not to blame for players getting hurt..."

I'm not blaming the med staff for Valentin''s torn ACL - which is why I noted that we've had some sudden "impact" injuries - Valentin's knee, Izturis' ankle, Werth's wrist (at least initially - letting him hit off a tee may or may not have made things worse). Maybe the sentence was awkwardly worded, implying that maybe they were. Of course, this was not my intention.

I'm not blaming the med staff for anything. Read more carefully in the future.

Thanks.

I don't think that the pitch to Delgado was sinking. I think it was supposed to, but it looked up to me. Which is the time when Jeff Weaver becomes useless as a pitcher, when he starts leaving pitches up that shouldn't be up.

Delgado had four homeruns coming into the Dodgers series. He's a decent hitter for a 33 year old with back problems, but I think that Colborn and Weaver are participating in some good old fashioned spin doctoring when they rave about how good that pitch was. Because it wasn't.

"the Dodgers are to me a better than average team that, to be successful must be firing on all cylinders...they did that last year, but so far it isn't happening this year, and with all the injuries, it may not this year..."
-------

Well, it's worth noting that through 40 games, last year's Dodgers were 22-18. Through 40 games, this year's Dodgers are also 22-18.

If I recall, our best starting pitcher was hurt for 2 months last year, and our best hitter was plagued with a nagging injury all year. We still managed to "fire on all cylinders"...

As some sappy country song about the Dodgers (http://tinyurl.com/davoq) once said, "on the other side of memory's fence, the grass is always green." I think Howard may be suffering from this phenomenon.

"For those of us not in L.A., Extra Innings is not showing any of the three games this weekend."

Making this one of the few times in a season I must reply up MLB.com's radio package. Which means it's a weekend of Steiner and Monday. Eww.

The pitch to Delgado was sinking and was a pretty darn good pitch.

The pitch to Cabrera was simply awful, however.

re: #20...yes Mr Oz, we will read more carefully in the future, sorry for any inconvenience we may have caused you

re: #22 - please give me a second while my vision clears and my head stops spinning

"Werth, from what I have read, he still has soreness in his wrist after games "

At what point do the Dodgers put Werth out of their plans? It's dangerous for a team to wait... wait... wait... for an expected key part to return from an injury.

Sinking from where? He hit it at his waist.

What kind of pitch was the pitch to Easley? :)

I think what he meant was a sinking feeling

I'm already looking at Werth the way Giants look at Bonds -- if he plays this year, it'll be a bonus. But I don't really expect him to.

I also think Oz posed a fair question about the medical staff. As Jon's pointed out before, there has been a consistent pattern over the last 3 years of either (a) badly underestimating the severity of injuries, or (b) willfully misleading the public regarding the true nature of said injuries.

I'm not sure whether (a) or (b) is true, but one of them HAS to be. The Cubs medical staff has also displayed the same pattern, and they've been much more harshly criticized for it than the Dodgers have.

I don't pay much attention to whatever the medical staff says anymore...I just assume that whatever they say, add a month to the rehab time...

My point is not to lay any blame to the Dodgers med staff

However, given the struggles we've had keeping key people healthy, the question of "is the med staff ineffective?" may be worth an investigation.

----------------------

Why would you recommend investigating someone if you don't think they are to blame?

In late '03, I sent Jon the following letter. Still applies...

"I'd like to register a complaint against the Dodger training staff. (I believe you have made similar comments.) Doesn't it seem to you that an above-average number of medical controversies seem to befall our boys in blue? Green's shoulder, McGriff's groin, Perez's finger, Beltre's appendix, the various - and expensive - disabilities of Brown and Dreifort.

Somewhere, within the nexus of players-trainers-coaches, is a dysfunction. Does Jim Tracy throw his top players on the field, no matter how poor their health? (Wow - imagine quiet ol' Jim, acting like Bear Bryant.) Is Stan Johnston's crew simply bad, misdiagnosing injuries? Budget cutbacks in the trainer's office? (Think "Major League," with the jury-rigged whirlpool. Also, Marge Schott's 14-year reich in Cincinnati had penny-wise pound-foolish training staff; remember the scandal over Eric Davis' lacerated kidney in the 1990 World Series?)

Is there mistrust between the players and Johnston, where they'd rather lie? The first man I'd like to testify on this topic is Odalis Perez.

Johnston, going off the media guide, is an organizational soldier, but behind the lines, if I may stretch the metaphor. He started with the Great Falls team in 1985 and has worked his way up the chain: Bakersfield, Albuquerque and assistant in The Show. I'm not going to lay everything at Johnston's feet - who knows what's happening behind closed doors. But this is a matter that needs to be addressed in the offseason. Will Dan Evans do it? This is his second year as Johnston's boss, so he should have formed an opinion by now. If the team is sold, with the new owners even look in that direction, or will they be too busy hiring architects and contractors so they can cram housing into Chavez Ravine, or lobbying for a downtown stadium? Good organizations are proactive about the health of their players - end of story."

I think this is a job for Congress.

#12

Jon, I know you're not making Tracy the only scapegoat. A lot of others were, though. Hey, his in-game mistakes cause me to yell at him through my TV screen a lot. But in this case, I find it hard to blame him as much as I blame Weaver.

I know that Delgado hit a good pitch; I should have quantified that. And that leads to my point, in a way: he was still able to make good pitches, but seemed to throw up his hands and quit after he gave up that homer. Apparently, he even said "'bout time" when he got pulled, and that's the LAST thing I want to hear from my pitcher.

There have been an avalanche of homers hit against the Dodgers in the past several games, and most of them have been poor pitches from pitchers who looked to be throwing in the towel. I suppose I'm just frustrated, as a lot here are ... I'm going to the game tonight, and I'm excited to be there; there's a lot of pride and bragging rights among many of those I know. All I'm looking for is the Dodgers to play to their ability, and make a good fight out of this.

I've been a fan of this team for a long time, as you have; I'm not giving up on them. Those that are getting on Tracy have very valid points; I'll go so far as to say that if the Dodgers win the division this season, they will do it largely in spite of Tracy's ineptitude. I just feel that the Dodger pitching staff is better than this, and that this is a prime example of why they are underachieving.

I agree with the proposal about yanking starters after five. I wonder if Tracy is still operating on the notion that Gagne is still not himself, so he has to be slow with the hook.

I am concerned about SD but I don't think they'll run away with it. Bochy is not a very good manager, and their line-up is packed with injury-prone players.

On another note, one could say that SD's 10-0 record against FL, Atl., and St.L. is a very bad sign. However, they played those three teams in the midst of a very good streak. I sincerely think that if the Dodgers had played those three teams in the midst of THEIR early streak, they would've fared much better.

When you're that hot, as both LA was and SD is now, you can beat any opponent. Conversely, when you're struggling, you have trouble with just about anybody.

My prediction for tonight: three HR's in four innings by Erickson. If he pitches five innings, then make that 4 HR's.

33 - To determine whether there's a pattern of mismanagement. If we don't know for sure (and I certainly don't), it would be nice to find out. If they're doing fine and players get hurt because they're unlucky, then fine. If they are being poorly diagnosed and treated, then maybe a change should be made, either to medical policy or medical personnel.

http://dodgerthoughts.baseballtoaster.com/archives/158816.html

"Ultimately, one wants to give the benefit of the doubt to the Dodger coaching and medical staff, although their denial of injury reality with such players Hideo Nomo and Shawn Green in the past calls for some scrutiny. On the other hand, Adrian Beltre thrived in 2004 on his bum extremities.

"Personally, I have faith that Gagne will be fine this season. But I've learned over time that just because a Dodger tells the media that everything is okay doesn't mean that it is."

I also am a long time Dodger fan, thru thick and thin...

My suspicion is we are bordering on thin right now, but that doesn't stop me from root, root, rooting for the Dodgers...

the responsibility for the lineup, for the condition of the players, for recovery from injuries, for most of what we complain about should rightly fall at the feet of Tracy...after all, he is the manager, he picks his staff, supposedly...if conditioning coaches or trainers or whomever is not performing to the proper level, he needs to be the one to answer for it...

back to a previous point, the 22-18 record this year is a lot different than the 22-18 last year...our fundamentals are bad this year and that has caused a lot of the in-game failures this year...poor fundamentals compound themselves as the year progresses...

it's kind of like when the drain in the bathrub doesn't seal, no matter what you do, there is always some of it leaking away...that is what our poor fundamentals are doing to us right now...

Yeah, I'll take the under tonight.

37 -- that may be true, but it is hard to see how that makes any sense, unless Tracy is excited to see Gagne come in to a lot of 8-2 games.

36 -- As one of whom you speak, in my case personally, I have completely given up on our pitching staff. So to criticize them for giving up homeruns on bad pitches is, for me, like criticizing a zebra for having stripes. It's who they are. It's what they do. Sure, they deserve blame for it, but it's Tracy who has to take that mess and add value to it and maximize our chances despite it. And as you appear to agree, he's doing a lousy job of it. So you can divide the "blame" in any portion you want, but the fact remains that Jim Tracy is giving us less of a chance to win games than otherwise. And that's not acceptable at any level.

Count me among those who don't believe Weaver shouted "bout time," (I went back on the TiVo when it came up here, and saw him shout something, but don't think it was that), but even if he did, it was "bout time," so I'm not sure what the problem would be.

40 -- and I also think our 22-18 is different this year, but I would put most of the difference on our lousier pitching which is trending even lousier with Tracy providing enough rope with which to hang ourselves every single game.

our fundamentals are bad this year and that has caused a lot of the in-game failures this year...poor fundamentals compound themselves as the year progresses...

Well, those bad fundamentals still enabled us to post the same record, so it must follow that there are some things the v.2005 Dodgers do better than last year's version, right?

Or are you saying that teams with bad fundamentals, even winning ones, are all destined to become losers before the end of the season? That sounds like filler from a rejected Joe Morgan column.

I don't mean to be confrontational, Howard; I really am trying (futilely) to understand where you're coming from.

#16 - the fact that the toughness of the schedule is the "luck of the draw" is exactly what is stupid about these schedules. Everyone should play a fair schedule. Which to me means dumping the stupid interleague play.

I agree with #37, SD won't run away with it. I have Padre fans telling me that they are going to win 105 games, since they have the best pitching in the NL. Give me a break.

And I agree with the idea of pulling pitchers earlier. Isn't that why we are carrying a bazillion pitchers? But I don't get all the Tracy haters. Have you always hated him, or is it just recently, with his pitcher handling? Personally, I've never had huge feelings about him one way or the other. He seems to do some things well, like get everyone involved and move people around for good matchups (caveats abound, but you know what I mean).

where I am coming from is that last year we did the little things right almost all year, were never a terrific team, but we good consistently

while this year we do the little things wrong, and my fear is we are a lot closer to the 10-16 team than the 12-2 team...

I hope I am wrong...but I go to a lot of games, probably 65-70 a year, and there are things you don't see on TV or in the box scores that are indicaters of a team not being prepared or well schooled

#41 - do you think that the Dodgers' pitchers give up more homeruns than other staffs? I think they are about average. They've given up 44, which puts them 10th in the league, which is not horrible. It's in the middle somewhere.

"I go to a lot of games, probably 65-70 a year, and there are things you don't see on TV or in the box scores that are indicaters of a team not being prepared or well schooled."
-----------------------

Just for kicks, Howard, care to share an example or two of those things I can't tell from watching on TV?

Also, your claim that we "were good consistently" last year is undermined by the fact that by this time in 2004 we'd already had an 8-game losing streak, far worse than anything that's gone on this year. My contention is still, Howard, that you are choosing to remember only the good things about 2004 while forgetting the bad ones -- and for the 2005 team, vice versa.

yeah well, you may be right...

#41

"So to criticize them for giving up homeruns on bad pitches is, for me, like criticizing a zebra for having stripes. It's who they are. It's what they do."

It's been a recent phenomenon, though.

Dodgers' pitching, 1st 34 games:

301 IP, 30 HR allowed

Dodgers' pitching, last 6 games:

54 IP, 14 HR allowed

So in other words, it's very possibly a sample size issue.

OT: We've lost our first farmhands to steroids!
¶ NEW YORK (AP) _ Los Angeles pitchers Heath Totten and Tom Farmer and Arizona pitcher Chad Scarbery were suspended for 15 games Friday for violating baseball's minor league steroids policy.
¶ There have been 66 players penalized under the minor league program and five players suspended under the major league policy.
¶ Totten, Farmer and Scarbery are all right-handers and have spent their entire careers in the minors.
¶ Totten, 26, was 5-2 with a 4.97 ERA in eight starts for Triple-A Las Vegas. Farmer, 25, was 1-1 with a 14.58 ERA in 15 games for Las Vegas.

We had already lost Jon Weber before, although that was a 10-game suspension IIRC.

Not sure why the penalty was bumped up to 15 games from 10; Weber, Totten, and Farmer all failed their tests under the same minor league steroid policy.

The Red Sox really never did "the little things" right last year and they did OK for themselves. They just put a bunch of guys on base and got some good starting pitching.

Unless you subscribe to the theory that the Red Sox won solely because Dave Roberts stole a base and Orlando Cabrera fielded the shortstop better than Nomar Garciaparra.

The problem isn't "little things", which I'm not sure what those things consist, but rather "big things". Like having starting pitchers who don't give up lots and lots of home runs.

The two top teams in MLB history in LOB are the 1976 Reds, who went 102-60, and the 1941 Browns, who went 70-84.

I'm guessing that the Dodgers record will be somewhere in between those two.

To follow up on Bob's point, it's GOOD to leave a lot of runners on base. That means you're actually GETTING a lot of of runners on base, which is the main point. Generally, teams don't differ too much in the percentage of baserunners that end up scoring. If you get lots of guys on base, you will both score lots of runs and have lots of LOB. And be a winning team.

This is the same reason that having a high GIDP rate as a team is not necessarily bad. It's a direct function of having lots of guys on base. This is why the infielders who lead the league in DPs almost always play for crappy teams; those lousy pitchers are putting more guys on first.

"This is why the infielders who lead the league in DPs almost always play for crappy teams"
Call this the Glenn Hubbard Effect.

#41: I have completely given up on our pitching staff. So to criticize them for giving up homeruns on bad pitches is, for me, like criticizing a zebra for having stripes

I concur.

I will clarify that it's starting pitching that I'm concerned with. All the talk last year about Quality Starts and how Weaver should have been considered for the Cy Young last year got to Tracy's head. Our starters outperformed expectations last year, and are underperforming so far this year. In the end it's a group of guys who are slightly better than league average.

Does it make me mad when our pitchers don't perform? Absolutely, but I don't think it's because of focus, chemistry, or heart and soul. It's because they're not as good as we'd all like them to be.

I believe the two lowest GIDP totals in the majors belong to the LAA and the A's (I'm a vowel mood).

Both of these teams have impotent offenses. Although I think one of them will become more potent after drinking Dr. Erickson's Bat Feel Good Now Potion.

#52: Since Totten and Farmer were not on the 40-man roster, they would have been penalized under the minor league testing rules. Could Weber have been on the 40-man roster when he was caught?

If Bob was really in a vowel mood, the last graf of #57 would read:

"o o ee ea ae ioe oee. Aou I i oe o e i eoe oe oe ae ii Eio' a ee oo o oio."

"Could Weber have been on the 40-man roster when he was caught?"
--------

No, he wasn't. That's why the discrepancy is so puzzling to me.

Maybe there's a different penalty if you fail an in-season test vs an off-season one.

Or it's very possibly a bad pitching issue:

12th in the NL in ERA

13th in the NL in BA against (you can keep your DIPS -- the opposition is hitting ropes)

12th in the NL in SLG against (so you can definitely keep your DIPS)

10th in the NL in OBP against

12th in the NL in OPS against

9th in the NL in DIPS ERA (virtually tied with Arizona for 10th)

Tied 4th (with Colorado!) in Total Bases Allowed

3rd in Hits Allowed

2nd in the National League in RUN SUPPORT (ahead of Colorado and behind only St. Louis)

Of course, you can play the sample size game all you want -- though it wasn't the pitching that helped us start 12-2 (the Giants home opener, the Arizona series, etc.), but we have the sample size we have -- it's one quarter of the season, and our pitchers are not very good. Furthermore, Perez is injured, Penny is supposedly not injured but not convincing me, Weaver's top fastball is 87, and Erickson is Erickson. I'm comfortable with the Tiger/stripes assertion, and would like to see Jim Tracy recognize reality and deal with it for what it is, and not what he would wish it to be.

I thought Weber was with Sacramento when he tested positive, for what it's worth.

The Dodgers are 10th in the Majors in HR allowed, tied with Colorado. That's bad, right?

Has anyone used MLB.TV? I'm considering signing up, but I was hoping to get some feedback first.