Being dragged off the computer here so I can continue to move furniture. My wife and her best friend are literally closing down the computer as I speak. Before I do...
Before 41.495 fans at Candlestick Park, the Dodgers finished off a three game sweep of the Giants with a 3-2 win behind a four-hitter from Sandy Koufax and home runs from John Roseboro and Jim Gilliam. The win brought the Dodgers into a virtual tie for first place with the Giants. The Giants were 22-14 and the Dodgers were 20-12.
The Giants scored both their runs in the fourth. Felipe Alou led off with a single and went all the way to third on a hit-and-run ground out by Orlando Cepeda. Harvey Kuenn then lifted a fly ball to right fielder Ron Fairly. Alou tagged up and barely got in under a strong throw. Roseboro, Koufax, and manager Walter Alston argued with home plate umpire Tom Gorman, but to no avail. Tom Haller followed with a home run to put the Giants up 2-0.
In the fifth, former Dodger pitcher Billy Loes gave up a home run to Roseboro and after a walk to Maury Wills, Gilliam homered to give the Dodgers the lead. It was Gilliam's first home run in nearly one year. Koufax then settled down and retired the last 16 Giants in a row.
In 1961 Koufax was turning into SANDY KOUFAX. He led the NL in strikeouts with 269 and went 18-13 with a 3.52 ERA. A change in the size of the strike zone and the move from the Coliseum to Dodger Stadium would also help turn Koufax into a Los Angeles icon and create a nearly impossible standard for future Dodger pitchers to attain.
Wills led the National League in stolen bases with 35. He would have a few more in 1962. Wally Moon led the National League in OBP at .434 and would never have another season as good.
Making his debut with the Dodgers that year was left-handed reliever Ron Perranoski. In 53 appearances, Perranoski had a 7-5 record and a 2.65 ERA. Perranoski would pitch for the Dodgers until 1967 and would return for a brief appearance in 1972.
The 1961 Dodgers finished with an 89-65 record, four games behind by surprising pennant winner Cincinnati. The Reds finished the season winning 14 out of 22.
Thanks to the Los Angeles Times, BaseballReference.com and Retrosheet
First of all, if we had a major league level 3B last night, Kennedy's grounder is turned into a DP to end the top of the second.
That being said, Erickson is, to be kind, over the hill. Any comments from him assessing blame to others, diminishes whatever nice career he had in years past. Any future starts by him should be counted as strikes against Tracy.
Aside from Izturis and Bradley, the team seems to have lost its focus and zip. It's a shame, cause they need all they can get to be competitive, even in a weak division. This comes from the top, i.e., Tracy again.
Someone needs to tell the pitchers to throw strikes. If they are hit, so be it. But over 70% of the time, the batter will make out. I like those odds.
The hitters will come around, maybe not averaging 7 or 8 runs a game again, but they will hit okay, at least for now, thru the 7th batter in the lineup (6th when Bako plays).
Third base and manager...aside from that we are fine. Ouch...
If anyone saw replays of Beltre striking out against Peavy, last night, it was the old Beltre swinging & missing at that low and outside pitch out of the strike zone.
Yes, it was a "hot" Peavy pitching, but it looked like the "old" Beltre.
Howard -- I see you called the NL West a weak division. I sorely disagree. The Padres, DBacks, and Dodgers are much more impressive than the NL Central minus Cardinals (Milwaukee in second place), the AL West (sad performances), and the AL Central (Chicago and Minnesota, that's it). The only ones that are in the NL West's league are the NL and AL East.
So if you rank us 3rd out of 6, is that considered weak? I don't think so.
I'm wearing sunscreen and a UV protective shirt instead of "Ghame Over" today. It is now time for the ritual slathering on of the sunscreen. My seats will be in shade however.
As illiterate as Plaschke can be, if his "Trekkies" comment was aimed at the likes of us, then he's not far off. There has been a lot of "uh oh" on this blog lately. Maybe it's all been from avowed DePo skeptics, but I don't think so. Which leads to the next logical question. Since we know Plaschke can't read, who is his spy here? The traditional solution to hard times is to find a scapegoat, accuse him/her of being a witch, and proceeding with a ritual execution. Who is the witch? BURN HIM!!
Before the season I would have never believed it if someone told me that on May 21, JD Drew would have the lowest batting average in the Dodger starting lineup (besides the pitcher), especially a lineup that included Bako and Ledee.
re 29: I choose to believe that this means that things will get better, as Drew reverts (upward) to his expected level of performance. Of course, it could also be, in part, because Ledee, Bako, and others are OVERperforming, and their collapse might counteract any awakening by Drew. Then again, they're part-time players, so probably not.
"If anyone saw replays of Beltre striking out against Peavy, last night, it was the old Beltre swinging & missing at that low and outside pitch out of the strike zone."
How soon until Beltre goes under the knife to have the bone spurs returned to his left ankle?
Yeah, good point. I think the expectation of a platoon at 3B was based on Valentin's inability to hit lefties, but his ability to crush righties. With him out of the mix, my guess is that Tracy is playing it by ear. Odd, though, that he'd stick to a strict platoon at 1b, which means sitting one of his two best hitters (so far) every game, while just rotating spare parts at 3rd. Unless he's decided that Saenz is just too pathetic at 3rd to contemplate. I just noticed that Perez has the same birthday as my wife (albeit more years apart that she'd care to acknowledge), so he's my new favorite (well, other than Hee Seop).
By the time JD reverts to his previous ways Izturis and Choi will have stopped hitting and we will still have a problem. When our number 1 and 2 hitters are getting on pace at a .400 clip and our number 3 guy doesn't even have 20 runs batted in at this point in the season something is askew.
I think what the Giants have done without Bonds/Schimdt/Benetiz is amazing.
At the game last night Dodger fans hit a new low as they started lobbing water bottles and beer bottles and plastic cups full of beer during a melee in the reserved.
If Cesar is caught stealing one more time, I'm installing a stoplight - signal forever stuck on red - in the third-base coaching box. With luck, Glenn Hoffman will be rendered superfluous within a homestand.
I have an idea. Why doesn't he just try to stretch everything into a double, then we can have Repko sacrifice him to third, and then a "good situational hitter" like Edwards batting third to deliver the sac fly.
Molina's shot really just carried. I noticed that on the first foul ball that Izturis hit in the 1st. Just a little foul ball that went much farther than I expected coming off the bat. Unless the pitchers fool a lot of guys, this could be a HR fest.
Yeah, bad throw by Bako, but it didn't matter. Figgins was halfway there before Penny released the pitch. That's why Cesar sucks at SBs. He's plenty fast, but never gets a good jump. He apparently can't read pitchers yet.
Scary thought: Jon called walking Jarrod Washburn a "Grabowski Principle" for Erickson's career. What if hiring Steve Lyons was a GP for the 2005 season? Ominous. I need to find a basement.
OK, I don't care what else Lyons has said. He officially jumped the shark 30 seconds ago, when he touted Finley for the Hall of Fame. Ah, but they had a graphic ready. Maybe it's not Lyons's fault. He may have been ordered to start that conversation. Still. What a dumb conversation.
So Lyons just put Finley in the HOF. You could tell that as soon as he got into that idea, he realized how ridiculous it may be. But he had to keep with it because you can't just stop mid sentence and say 'oh, nevermind'.
Marty, the fact that they had a graphic ready, and Brennamen had that "stat" about how 16 of the 17 other guys with Finley's portfolio are in the HoF, leads me to believe that that was scripted. IT doesn't mean that Lyons isn't dumb, but I no longer think it was a spontaneous intervention.
Texas 10, Houston 0. Second Inning. Houston given up five HRs. Let us dance on others graves while life still remains. There will be plenty of time for others to dance on ours by July.
lol.. this is getting comical. seriously. the last few days i have reached that point to where you stop getting frustrated and start laughing at the way the Dodgers are playing right now.
I choose optimism today. I think they will get to Lackey. I just hope Penny and co. kepps it close. They should be able to, the Angels have their second string out there.
Well, they must be close. They can get together after games and talk about how the defense done them wrong, and share tips about how to get the opposing pitcher out.
because showing up late and leaving early implies apathy and fairweather-ness? it was nice of him to note that people tend not to do that so much anymore.
How could Penny not pitch decent, have you seen the lineup that is beating us?
AP should have nice range since he was a decent SS. The real test will come on the shots and if he has the arm to make the throw when he goes to his right. Still doesn't have the power to be a 3b but he might be a decent stopgap.
JD is about to have his slug% fall below 400. I wonder when the last time he had at least 100 plate appearances and a slug% below 400?
I would have never thought that in May, if you would have played "Who has a higher OPS, Izturis or Drew" the answer would have ever been Izturis. Not to mention that Drew hasn't even drawn a walk in a week.
I'm surprised to say this, but Brennamen is annoying me a lot more than Lyons is. He has adopted the Buck approach of serving as his own color guy - and his "analysis" is as bad as I've ever heard.
Yeah, OK. To reel it in a little, Perez hung tough and got a hit, but a lot of those foul ball had me remembering the bad Beltre. Pitches low and away, and he shouldn't have been swinging. I can see similar ABs ending in Ks next week against fresher pitchers. Still, Drew crushed the ball twice into 3 outs, so I'll take it. The luck has to even out eventually.
Horses on the track at Pimlico. Anyony got a pick? I'm going with the exacta box of longshot High Limit and Afleet Alex with a little WP money on High Limit
Good point about Grabs, tho. Saenz is a good idea just by not being Grabowski. OF course, Tracy's lesson from this will likely be "You really wish you'd had Grabowski in that situation."
Here's an idea. Since Carrara can't pitch any more, once he goes 3-1 to Chone Figgins (!), why don't you have him walk said Figgins, and bring in Wunsch to pitch to Erstad?
KABOOM! Here comes Wunsch to finish the deal, and Gagne gets plenty of rest in October, since we won't have to tax his arm with those nasty playoffs or anything.
Did you all hear Lyons/Brennemen pumping Finley for HOF consideration earlier today? "One of the best all around players in the last 30-40 years" accd to Brennemen.
255: Not me. Schmoll was fun to watch, and he has a blog-friendly name. But he isn't good enough for this level. At least not yet. Carrara is old, and sometimes ineffective, but I think he's a better pitcher than Schmoll right now.
259: Why? What's wrong with giving Gagne a little work? Unless you just mean that if he was going to pitch today, it should have been earlier (which I'd agree with, but would never happen). Gagne surely needs the work - he missed all of March and April.
264 -- THEN WHY DIDN'T HE COME IN WHEN THERE WERE RUNNERS ON IN THE EIGHTH! WHY IS FRICKING CARRARA, WHO COULDN'T THROW A STRIKE TO A TEAMSTER, WALKING JEFF DAVANON WHEN WE NEED OUTS, AND NOW HERE'S GAGNE STRIKING OUT THE PITCHER, THE BANJO HITTING CATCHER, AND THE ROOKIE, WHEN TWO RUNS HAVE ALREADY SCORED AND THE GAME IS VIRTUALLY OVER?
WHY!?!?!? WHY?!?!? EXPLAIN THIS?! SOMEONE START DEFENDING TRACY NOW! TELL ME IN WHICH BIZARRO SUPERMAN WORLD THIS MAKES SENSE. RIDICULOUS! IT MAKES NO SENSE! HOW CAN BASEBALL BE BUILT AROUND A CONVENTION SO OBVIOUSLY, STUPIDLY WRONG? WHY DO WE HAVE A MANAGER SO SLAVISHLY DEVOTED TO IT THAT HE'LL PURPOSELY TUBE GAMES JUST TO BRING GAGNE IN TO GET A "GAME FINISHED?" WHY? EXPLAIN THIS TO ME NOW!
of course, one of the best pitchers in baseball, a guy with incredible pitches who can strike a ton of guys out... he's of no use at all with the bases loaded and one out in a tie game in the 8th. no reason his manager would want him in the game at that point.
the 9th inning down by 2 runs, though. THAT'S where you gotta put him in.
Geez, Steve, I know it's Utah, but find something to drink, please. I offered that explanation in my question - that your objection was not to Gagne in the game, but to the timing of Gagne's appearance. And I said I agree that it would have been better to bring in the best reliever when he was most needed. But I also reminded you that no manager in baseball will use his closer as a smokejumper. Ever. Not since Goose Gossage.
It's just frustration, I share it. We are desperate for a win and our manager is doing stuff that only hurts those changes when he should be doing anything possible to maximize them. I feel like jumping off a cliff too.
Lyons was raving about what a great at bat that was for Bradley. If he'd lined out to second base do you think he would've talked about how Bradley should've worked the count since they're down two runs?
No sweat. I know it wasn't personal. But while I share your frustration at Tracy's moves, I just don't see that he's made big mistakes in this game. Asking him to use Gagne in the 7th is asking for the impossible in MLB. Carrara didn't look good today (in hindsight), but he's pitched pretty well this year. Bringing him in didn't seem dumb. Wunsch failed at something he's been great at all year. Sanchez WAS great. I'm not defending JT in general, but I don't think this is his fault today.
It was the eighth. Why can't you bring him in with first and second and one out and pitch to DaVanon and Finley. And why would you then use him when the cat's out of the bag?
Said it earlier in the week, glad to see #307 pick it up-will Tracy and Dep do it-move Drew to 5 and Bradley to the third spot. Ledee today looked like he did in SF last year, but infairness, he is being asked to play more than he should-he is a fourth outfielder and an ok pinch hitter. The pinch in the ninth was borderline, but you can not take that pitch. It needed to be fouled off....Didn't understand the eighth inning, unless they felt that Yahncy was shell shocked after last night. If Perez can't start on Tuesday-he usually pitches well against the Giants, I would give the ball to Wilson. The team is in a bit of a free fall and DePo needs to do something fairly soon-the schedule does not get easy for a while.
312: Fair enough. What should DePo do? It's easy to say "find better pitching," but where?
Clearly, even with Perez back, the bench stinks. That should be a little easier to fix, but it'll either be through overpaying for a "proven hitter" such as Polanco, or through luck, when one of these minor leaguers really pans out. But I'd be reluctant to call someone up to ride pine. Bench jobs are for the Ricky Ledees and Olmedo Saenzes of the world.
And if we're not ready to call up prospects, we might have to be ready to trade some. Which teams have redundant players (maybe guys who are sharing jobs?) who would make the Dodgers better?
But the real weakness, today notwithstanding, is pitching. And I don't see any good pitchers coming available any time soon.
I know we already have enough to worry about, but despite a nice performance today by Penny I'm a little concerned by his lack of strikeouts. How was his velocity, did anyone get a look at the gun?
I didn't get to see the gun, but the announcers talked about Penny having to "pitch" to make up for his lack of velocity today. I think against an average hitting team, he gives up 3 runs. The angels' lineup today had about 5 below average hitters.
Who is this K. Davies who is 21 and shutting out Boston for Atlanta tonight? Why can't we do this. Blah, blah, blah great minor leagues, ton of prospects, blah, blah, blah. Yet Scott Erickson will be pitching on Wednesday. Whatever.
First, part of the argument against Tracy's handling of our starting pitchers is that our pitchers are not this bad, but that he sets them up to fail by staying with them after they're gassed. Some of the time, our starters get in trouble early. But often, they collapse all at once, and JT is too slow with the hook. If he can be convinced to better read the tea-leaves and use his bullpen sooner, then things should improve.
Second, the other part of the FJT whinge is that there ARE some bad pitchers in the 'pen, and somehow they get used before and in more important spots than the good ones. I don't think Carrara is as bad as Steve (to name names) does, but the general point is of course correct, and the return of Alvarez and Gagne to full-time status ought to at least suck up the innings that were going to the worst of the group (Houlton, Carlyle, Schmoll). So again, if Tracy can better deploy these resources, things should improve.
Third, in looking high and low for a new 5th starter (and maybe a 4th as well) we should consider the flip-side of the Vegas effect. We can't believe Vegas hitting stats, but just as in the Albuquerque days, the pitchers should actually be better than their stats. I agree that the Erickson experiments should end forthwith, and we should choose wisely among the prospects (or, heck, give Mahomes the first shot). Things can't get worse than Erickson, so again, there is hope.
The only water I'd throw on the fire here is any hope that we're going to steal an ace from anyone before the deadline. He'd have to be either a huge contract (Clemens) or a guy who would benefit HUGELY from a change of scenery. Any nominees? I can't think of any.
I should have said that I don't think Tracy will change his stripes any time soon, and that the team will benefit most because returns from injuries will give him a better hand to play. (How's this for an analogy - Tracy is a bad poker player because he plays the cards instead of the opponents. Still, he can win if he gets good enough cards.) Also, DePodesta needs to continue to pick off and release the worst offenders. Erickson is obviously next. A trade of Sanchez or Brazoban or Weaver might produce one of those "everyone wins" deals if we can get quality in return (possibly lower quality, but also lower variance).
#325 Asks a good question, if pitching is the problem and a case can especially be made for the 5 starter and the dirth of quality pitching-what do you do? Once Dessens gets back, I think he should be given a shot at the 5 slot. WHile he is only a six inning pitcher, he seemed to improve at the end of last year and was OK in middle relief this year. If not him, then I say give Jackson a shot or perhaps Pat Mahomes. If Jackson flames out, then you have to move on and accept it, keeping him in triple A and struggling will also not allow the Dodgers to trade him. Mahomes as I recall was never great, but was not bad against the Dodgers, either in my mind are better than Erickson right now. Erickson maybe fine for mop up but going out every 5th day is not a good solution...As far as 3rd base goes I think Perez might do it, the defense will suffer a bit, he also adds some element of speed, which I still find attractive. Moving Drew to 5th, would also be a big improvement. If Perez shows he can hit I would also reccomend moving Choi to 6, Ledee to 7 and catcher to 8. When Repko plays he could go in Ledee's spot or in the 8th spot,neither of these decisions in my mind would make a big difference. Moving Drew to 5th will and giving someone else the 5th pitching slot will help the most.
Penny was hitting 91-93 MPH on his fastball. Gagne was about the same. I think Sanchez had the fastest pitch of the game at 94.
With the exception of the idiot who ran on the field (I wrote "idiot" on my scorecard when it happened right above Choi's single), the crowd was well-behaved, but I think the heat made everybody a bit logy.
When I got back to my car, there was a box of empty beer bottles next to one of the tires. That had to be a bad sign. There were people who were tailgating in the parking lot, but security people were coming by telling them that they had to drink inside their vehicles.
Living in Sacramento, I sometimes listen to the Giants postgame show when I need a little humor in my life. Tonight I got to hear the hosts compare Tyler Walker favorably to Eric Gagne.
The Giants announcers are now into a level of dellusion that is off the charts. Besides Jon Miller who is far better on the national broadcasts, the Giant broadcasters spend way too much time constantly rationalizing why they are losing and making bad jokes, which they think are hillarious. I am looking forward in the next month of getting sattelite radio and won't listen to them at all.....Edwin Jackson gave up 5 runs to Alberquque in the 3rd.
I like 335, GoBears. 334 seems hopelessly optimistic, particularly point 2. Tracy has historically made a hash of bullpen management (outside of a rare burst of sanity after DePo dumped Mota -- why this is considered a strength of his will remain a mystery to me), and he appears to have reverted to form. These arguments were all made when Gagne was on the DL, and now that he's off, Tracy is still overusing Carrara and replacement-level LOOGY in obscene situations. Why would Carrara, after giving up the go-ahead run, ever be pitching to DaVanon? I like Sanchez myself, and have defended him from the likes of my partner-in-crime Jerry. But by the time Tracy had already blown up the game, he could have brought in Bob Gibson to pitch to Rivera. Who cares at that point? As long as it isn't Gagne in a situation that Scott Boras wouldn't approve of.
What would have been wrong with, even if Tracy believes all that nonsense about fairies and the Easter Bunny and "Closers"(TM), just breaking the convention where your team is in free-fall, your offense can't hit John Lackey, you need somebody to step up in the 8th and say "You're not going to score here." What if it doesn't work? Then they beat our best, and you can bring in Houlton or Carrara or Choi after that.
I am sorely vexed. If all of you rational people are starting to question Tracy, you can only imagine what I'm going through.
In happier news, LaRoche is owning the Florida State League. He just hit another 2 HRs tonight and now has 14 on the season. His .337/.379/.614 line is gaudy. I no longer want to include him in a trade for Polanco.
#344: Perez made 2 good defensive plays at 3B (that I couldn't see Edwards getting to) and he went 2/4 at the plate. If Edwards ends up in the starting lineup tomorrow or sometime in the next week, someone needs to tell DePo to disappear him.
If Werth ever comes back, presumably, he'd take Edwards's spot, right? Unless Grabowski comes back first and does it. Although, I suppose Repko is really the most redunant player at that point (5th OFer).
Repko would be the logical person to go back to AAA upon Werth's return. He still has options doesn't he? Edwards would likely stay until Grabowski or Valentin returned.
I'm certain that Perez will start again Sunday. Unless he went and hurt himself. He looked surprisingly comfortable at third.
LET'S WIN ONE FOR THE DEPODESTA TREKKIES!!
Have a great chat, folks...
May 21, 1961
Before 41.495 fans at Candlestick Park, the Dodgers finished off a three game sweep of the Giants with a 3-2 win behind a four-hitter from Sandy Koufax and home runs from John Roseboro and Jim Gilliam. The win brought the Dodgers into a virtual tie for first place with the Giants. The Giants were 22-14 and the Dodgers were 20-12.
The Giants scored both their runs in the fourth. Felipe Alou led off with a single and went all the way to third on a hit-and-run ground out by Orlando Cepeda. Harvey Kuenn then lifted a fly ball to right fielder Ron Fairly. Alou tagged up and barely got in under a strong throw. Roseboro, Koufax, and manager Walter Alston argued with home plate umpire Tom Gorman, but to no avail. Tom Haller followed with a home run to put the Giants up 2-0.
In the fifth, former Dodger pitcher Billy Loes gave up a home run to Roseboro and after a walk to Maury Wills, Gilliam homered to give the Dodgers the lead. It was Gilliam's first home run in nearly one year. Koufax then settled down and retired the last 16 Giants in a row.
In 1961 Koufax was turning into SANDY KOUFAX. He led the NL in strikeouts with 269 and went 18-13 with a 3.52 ERA. A change in the size of the strike zone and the move from the Coliseum to Dodger Stadium would also help turn Koufax into a Los Angeles icon and create a nearly impossible standard for future Dodger pitchers to attain.
Wills led the National League in stolen bases with 35. He would have a few more in 1962. Wally Moon led the National League in OBP at .434 and would never have another season as good.
Making his debut with the Dodgers that year was left-handed reliever Ron Perranoski. In 53 appearances, Perranoski had a 7-5 record and a 2.65 ERA. Perranoski would pitch for the Dodgers until 1967 and would return for a brief appearance in 1972.
The 1961 Dodgers finished with an 89-65 record, four games behind by surprising pennant winner Cincinnati. The Reds finished the season winning 14 out of 22.
Thanks to the Los Angeles Times, BaseballReference.com and Retrosheet
What was the change to the strikezone?
That being said, Erickson is, to be kind, over the hill. Any comments from him assessing blame to others, diminishes whatever nice career he had in years past. Any future starts by him should be counted as strikes against Tracy.
Aside from Izturis and Bradley, the team seems to have lost its focus and zip. It's a shame, cause they need all they can get to be competitive, even in a weak division. This comes from the top, i.e., Tracy again.
Someone needs to tell the pitchers to throw strikes. If they are hit, so be it. But over 70% of the time, the batter will make out. I like those odds.
The hitters will come around, maybe not averaging 7 or 8 runs a game again, but they will hit okay, at least for now, thru the 7th batter in the lineup (6th when Bako plays).
Third base and manager...aside from that we are fine. Ouch...
Yes, it was a "hot" Peavy pitching, but it looked like the "old" Beltre.
So if you rank us 3rd out of 6, is that considered weak? I don't think so.
Nevertheless, I'm not going to take any chances.
First initial then last name at gmail.com
The good: Choi @ 1b, Perez @ 3B
The bad: Bako behind the plate
The ugly: Bako during his PAs.
Won't this effect his performance?
How soon until Beltre goes under the knife to have the bone spurs returned to his left ankle?
Got my Team Depo uni on. Ready to rumble...
1) NL East +14 games
2) AL East +9 games
3) NL West +4 games
4) AL Central +0 games
5) AL West -9 games
6) NL Central -20 games
DaVanon can actually take walks, so maybe we should fear him.
I think what the Giants have done without Bonds/Schimdt/Benetiz is amazing.
At the game last night Dodger fans hit a new low as they started lobbing water bottles and beer bottles and plastic cups full of beer during a melee in the reserved.
No stealing!
He's getting hit at a Kinkadian rate.
Erstad certainly doesn't see play for his offense.
According to it, the lineup is
Figgins
Erstad
Rivera
DaVanon
Rivera
Finley
Rivera
Sure looks hot at DS
IZTURIS! #(&^%#(*Y#^(%$#&%#^
We have the Grabowski principle applying to someone else for once.
Steve Lyons. Worst mistake the Dodgers have made yet.
hee seop choi
hee seop choi
last dodger consecutive wins - 3 weeks ago.
JD Drew sucks.
Ask and you shall receive. Let's see if this works...
Drew RBIs = 0
that was a good time for penny's first K.
AP should have nice range since he was a decent SS. The real test will come on the shots and if he has the arm to make the throw when he goes to his right. Still doesn't have the power to be a 3b but he might be a decent stopgap.
JD is about to have his slug% fall below 400. I wonder when the last time he had at least 100 plate appearances and a slug% below 400?
Choi starts against LHPs = 0
Seop
Choi!
Anyone else sold on Antonio?
.357 .438 .429 in 28 ab's
Come on, Cesar, draw the walk and bring up Choi!
Gio.
FJT
Get 'em tomorrow, maybe.
i'll settle for the three runs however they come though.
If Gagne pitches the ninth, I am going to go ballistic.
This is egregious.
Add K-Rod to that list. And consider they were scoring 2.5/gm for a month even with those two.
WHY!?!?!? WHY?!?!? EXPLAIN THIS?! SOMEONE START DEFENDING TRACY NOW! TELL ME IN WHICH BIZARRO SUPERMAN WORLD THIS MAKES SENSE. RIDICULOUS! IT MAKES NO SENSE! HOW CAN BASEBALL BE BUILT AROUND A CONVENTION SO OBVIOUSLY, STUPIDLY WRONG? WHY DO WE HAVE A MANAGER SO SLAVISHLY DEVOTED TO IT THAT HE'LL PURPOSELY TUBE GAMES JUST TO BRING GAGNE IN TO GET A "GAME FINISHED?" WHY? EXPLAIN THIS TO ME NOW!
the 9th inning down by 2 runs, though. THAT'S where you gotta put him in.
Deep breath, buddy.
Please tell me Phillips and not Repko or Edwards.
IS TO
PHILLIPS BATTING BEHIND BAKO
AS...
brad lidge is now pitching in an 18-3 game over in texas.
why wilson alvarez, when you've got eric-freaking-gagne, who ended up pitching in the 9th anyway?
Are you guys going to any of the games this week at SBC?
Clearly, even with Perez back, the bench stinks. That should be a little easier to fix, but it'll either be through overpaying for a "proven hitter" such as Polanco, or through luck, when one of these minor leaguers really pans out. But I'd be reluctant to call someone up to ride pine. Bench jobs are for the Ricky Ledees and Olmedo Saenzes of the world.
And if we're not ready to call up prospects, we might have to be ready to trade some. Which teams have redundant players (maybe guys who are sharing jobs?) who would make the Dodgers better?
But the real weakness, today notwithstanding, is pitching. And I don't see any good pitchers coming available any time soon.
My next game will be on Memorial Day against the Cubs.
And one idiot running on the field.
Do you think the average person who runs on the field already has a criminal record?
Does mismanaging your bullpen count as criminal?
Kudos to the Angels for beating the Dodgers with a bunch of bench players and far superior pitching.
First, part of the argument against Tracy's handling of our starting pitchers is that our pitchers are not this bad, but that he sets them up to fail by staying with them after they're gassed. Some of the time, our starters get in trouble early. But often, they collapse all at once, and JT is too slow with the hook. If he can be convinced to better read the tea-leaves and use his bullpen sooner, then things should improve.
Second, the other part of the FJT whinge is that there ARE some bad pitchers in the 'pen, and somehow they get used before and in more important spots than the good ones. I don't think Carrara is as bad as Steve (to name names) does, but the general point is of course correct, and the return of Alvarez and Gagne to full-time status ought to at least suck up the innings that were going to the worst of the group (Houlton, Carlyle, Schmoll). So again, if Tracy can better deploy these resources, things should improve.
Third, in looking high and low for a new 5th starter (and maybe a 4th as well) we should consider the flip-side of the Vegas effect. We can't believe Vegas hitting stats, but just as in the Albuquerque days, the pitchers should actually be better than their stats. I agree that the Erickson experiments should end forthwith, and we should choose wisely among the prospects (or, heck, give Mahomes the first shot). Things can't get worse than Erickson, so again, there is hope.
The only water I'd throw on the fire here is any hope that we're going to steal an ace from anyone before the deadline. He'd have to be either a huge contract (Clemens) or a guy who would benefit HUGELY from a change of scenery. Any nominees? I can't think of any.
With the exception of the idiot who ran on the field (I wrote "idiot" on my scorecard when it happened right above Choi's single), the crowd was well-behaved, but I think the heat made everybody a bit logy.
When I got back to my car, there was a box of empty beer bottles next to one of the tires. That had to be a bad sign. There were people who were tailgating in the parking lot, but security people were coming by telling them that they had to drink inside their vehicles.
What would have been wrong with, even if Tracy believes all that nonsense about fairies and the Easter Bunny and "Closers"(TM), just breaking the convention where your team is in free-fall, your offense can't hit John Lackey, you need somebody to step up in the 8th and say "You're not going to score here." What if it doesn't work? Then they beat our best, and you can bring in Houlton or Carrara or Choi after that.
I am sorely vexed. If all of you rational people are starting to question Tracy, you can only imagine what I'm going through.
Tracy could have started Edwards at third again.
OK, I'll admit it. I don't know.
I'm certain that Perez will start again Sunday. Unless he went and hurt himself. He looked surprisingly comfortable at third.
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