Funny in all this talk of Hall of Fame nominations, it does not seem there is serious talk about Mike Piazza getting nominated. Everyone talks about Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Roger Clemens and their prospects of getting in (or not), but there is little talk about Piazza's prospects.
Why would a Dodger blogger talk about Piazza? His acrimonious departure in 1998, was akin to the folkies freaking out when Bob Dylan showed up to the Newport Folk Festival with an electric guitar. While most people blamed the Dodgers for that fiasco, Piazza's alleged greed had something to do with it.
Let bygones be bygones. It was a business deal that went horribly wrong, with all sides having something to do with it, plus it was 1998, almost fifteen years ago. Love or hate Piazza, he was the huge driving force for the Dodgers for much of the 1990's, and while he was here, he more than kept his part of the bargain.
Bottom line, he is the best offensive catcher to ever play the game. take nothing away from Johnny Bench or Carlton Fisk, Piazza shredded baseball in his time. He had nine years of 35+ home runs, six years of 100+ RBI's. His .308 lifetime batting average ( 9 seasons he hit .300+) dwarfs any other long time catcher with his power. His .377 OBP is simply ungodly. he was durable, lasting sixteen years where in all but two seasons catcher was his primary, if not his only position (The Mets played him at first a bit, and the A's used him as a DH in his final season, but other than that, he was a catcher). He had seven straight years of over 135 games caught. Nobody- not Fisk, not Bench, not anybody came close.
There are detractors- there are murmers he took steroids, but he was never called out in any reports, and although he was an effective catcher and hitter into his mid and late 'thirties, he had a more or less normal decline that players suffer. He never had the injury woes of a Mark McGwire or Ken Caminiti, nor did he have the logic-defying late career renissances of Clemens or Bonds. Aside from some minor leaguers, he has never been called out by former players or teammates. It still means he might have done it, but with no proof or even serious speculation, who is to say? He did play in a homer-happy era, but his well-rounded stats say he would've been a dominant player in any era.
It must be the steroid thing is why the writers are holding off. They might say "he didn't win a championship" or "he wasn't a strong defensive catcher" but that is hogwash. Anyone who had his stats over that period of time deserves serious consideration unless there are mtigating circumstances, Could steroids be that?
Friday, December 7, 2012
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Did Keshaw deserve to win the Cy Young?
Let me start this out by saying while I am a homer. I am objective about who wins awards, whether they are a Dodger or not. While I think Matt Kemp was a deserving MVP candidate in 2011, I'm not sure he was the winner.
How about the 2012 NL Cy Young? Clayton Kershaw had a worthy season, but he did not win. That obviously went to R.A. Dickey, no doubt the success story sympathy winner, but did he truly deserve to win based on his merits? Gio Gonzales, Craig Kimbrell, Kyle Lohse and Johnny Cueto also had very dominant years and should be part of the conversation.
Dickey had a great year, winning 20 games for a medicore Mets team. All these pitchers mentioned here, except him pitched for contenders, so their chances of winning, even when they did not pitch well, were much greater. Dickey pretty much had David Wright and a bunch of scrubs. His ERA of 2.73 was solid, and his 8.9 K/IP were truly outstanding for a knuckleballer. His WHIP of 1.05 said he did not walk alot of batters or give up alot of hits, so what had here was a very ace-type season from a guy who would be happy to be a fifth starter on most teams not that long ago. At 37, he is also at an age where most guys are either finished or playing mop-up on their career. He was most certainly the feel-good story of the year, no sarcasm intended
Gio Gonzales equaled Steven Strasburg in leading the Nationals out of irrelevance into being a viable contender. Strasburg got the press, Gonzales got the work done (as did Strasburg, but nobody expected Gonzales to rise up to be what he was.). He went 21-8, and while wins don't mean much as a pitchers stat, you do not hit 20 cherry-picking from your offense every time out. He had a 2.89 ERA pitching many games in a park not as friendly to pitchers as some of the other ones, he had a 9.3 K/9 which was positively dominating and his 1.12 WHIP showed a guy who was not walking near as many guys as a National as he was on the A's. Certainly worthy.
Craig Kimbrel had one of the most dominating years as a reliever, ever (sorry Eric Gagne). he had an ERA of 1.01. his 42 saves led the league for the second year in a row, his 16.7 K/9 brooked no arguement as to the fear he surely struck into batters when he showed up to nail a game down, and his WHIP of 0.65 was by far the best of any of these guys we're talking about.
Johnny Cueto won 19 games for a resurgent Reds team, he had a 2.78 ERA which is the best of any pitcher in this conversation who was not a reliever and not names Clayton, his WHIP of 1.17 was quite commendable, and his WAR of 5.8, was also higher than anyone not named Clayton. Ace-like? yes Cy Young? probably not. He was not as dominant as Kershaw or Kimbrel, and did not have Dickey's storyline.
Kyle Lohse found himself in the ace role when Chris Carpenter was injured and Adam Wainwright was not his usual dominant self. he won 16 games, had a 2.86 ERA and best of all, he had a 1.09 WHIP, better than anyone not named Clayton or Craig. Not a power guy, and while he was the main driver of a strong rotation, he was not the typical ace-type guy and although some of his numbers were quite outstanding, some of the others in this conversations had better numbers.
How about our man Clayton? His 14 wins were underwhelming for an ace, but as we can say, pitchers don't really have much to do with wins. His 2.53 ERA was easily the best among elite starters, as was his 1.02 WHIP. He only gave up 6.7 hits per nine innings, the best in the league. He also had 6.2 WAR, the most among all starters in the league. Except for wins, he either led or almost led every category. His only crime was he was slightly less dominant than he was the year before.
So call me homer, call me cold-blooded (or blue blooded for that matter), but Kershaw did deserve the Cy Young, if it was truly a numbers thing. Take nothing away from Dickey. A journeyman's journeyman, he had a strong 2011 to set this year up, but nothing else in his career pointed to this. Lohse, a once and former middle rotation guy, deserves something, while Gonzales and Cueto came in to their own as aces. Kimbrel? deserves it some level, but he is a relever, and while relievers have won it before, it is primarily a starter thing.
The writers will be writers and while stats are certainly important, other things certainly played into the conversation. Even then, it would still be hard to argue against Kershaw.
OTHER STUFF-
More than anything, the Dodgers need a #2 starter. If they are the front-runner for Zack Greinke, they need to "finish". A rotation core of Kershaw, Greinke and Josh Beckett would be quite formidable.
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How about the 2012 NL Cy Young? Clayton Kershaw had a worthy season, but he did not win. That obviously went to R.A. Dickey, no doubt the success story sympathy winner, but did he truly deserve to win based on his merits? Gio Gonzales, Craig Kimbrell, Kyle Lohse and Johnny Cueto also had very dominant years and should be part of the conversation.
Dickey had a great year, winning 20 games for a medicore Mets team. All these pitchers mentioned here, except him pitched for contenders, so their chances of winning, even when they did not pitch well, were much greater. Dickey pretty much had David Wright and a bunch of scrubs. His ERA of 2.73 was solid, and his 8.9 K/IP were truly outstanding for a knuckleballer. His WHIP of 1.05 said he did not walk alot of batters or give up alot of hits, so what had here was a very ace-type season from a guy who would be happy to be a fifth starter on most teams not that long ago. At 37, he is also at an age where most guys are either finished or playing mop-up on their career. He was most certainly the feel-good story of the year, no sarcasm intended
Gio Gonzales equaled Steven Strasburg in leading the Nationals out of irrelevance into being a viable contender. Strasburg got the press, Gonzales got the work done (as did Strasburg, but nobody expected Gonzales to rise up to be what he was.). He went 21-8, and while wins don't mean much as a pitchers stat, you do not hit 20 cherry-picking from your offense every time out. He had a 2.89 ERA pitching many games in a park not as friendly to pitchers as some of the other ones, he had a 9.3 K/9 which was positively dominating and his 1.12 WHIP showed a guy who was not walking near as many guys as a National as he was on the A's. Certainly worthy.
Craig Kimbrel had one of the most dominating years as a reliever, ever (sorry Eric Gagne). he had an ERA of 1.01. his 42 saves led the league for the second year in a row, his 16.7 K/9 brooked no arguement as to the fear he surely struck into batters when he showed up to nail a game down, and his WHIP of 0.65 was by far the best of any of these guys we're talking about.
Johnny Cueto won 19 games for a resurgent Reds team, he had a 2.78 ERA which is the best of any pitcher in this conversation who was not a reliever and not names Clayton, his WHIP of 1.17 was quite commendable, and his WAR of 5.8, was also higher than anyone not named Clayton. Ace-like? yes Cy Young? probably not. He was not as dominant as Kershaw or Kimbrel, and did not have Dickey's storyline.
Kyle Lohse found himself in the ace role when Chris Carpenter was injured and Adam Wainwright was not his usual dominant self. he won 16 games, had a 2.86 ERA and best of all, he had a 1.09 WHIP, better than anyone not named Clayton or Craig. Not a power guy, and while he was the main driver of a strong rotation, he was not the typical ace-type guy and although some of his numbers were quite outstanding, some of the others in this conversations had better numbers.
How about our man Clayton? His 14 wins were underwhelming for an ace, but as we can say, pitchers don't really have much to do with wins. His 2.53 ERA was easily the best among elite starters, as was his 1.02 WHIP. He only gave up 6.7 hits per nine innings, the best in the league. He also had 6.2 WAR, the most among all starters in the league. Except for wins, he either led or almost led every category. His only crime was he was slightly less dominant than he was the year before.
So call me homer, call me cold-blooded (or blue blooded for that matter), but Kershaw did deserve the Cy Young, if it was truly a numbers thing. Take nothing away from Dickey. A journeyman's journeyman, he had a strong 2011 to set this year up, but nothing else in his career pointed to this. Lohse, a once and former middle rotation guy, deserves something, while Gonzales and Cueto came in to their own as aces. Kimbrel? deserves it some level, but he is a relever, and while relievers have won it before, it is primarily a starter thing.
The writers will be writers and while stats are certainly important, other things certainly played into the conversation. Even then, it would still be hard to argue against Kershaw.
OTHER STUFF-
More than anything, the Dodgers need a #2 starter. If they are the front-runner for Zack Greinke, they need to "finish". A rotation core of Kershaw, Greinke and Josh Beckett would be quite formidable.
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Saturday, November 17, 2012
Ned Colletti the Gunslimger
Ned Colletti the gunslinger, or shall we say Stan Kasten, Magic Johnson and the Guggenheim group as gunslingers?
They pluck Hanley Ramirez away from the Marlins in the latest Jeffery Loria fire sale, they get Adrain Gonzales, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto from last year's Valentine/Boston fiasco, and now, they pay 25 million to a Korean team for negotiating rights to Ryu Hyu-Jin, a guy they forsee as their third starter should everything go right, we're talking negotiation here, not even the actual contract.
Not that I'm objecting. The generally underwhelming performance by the post-trade Dodgers is overshadowed, in my view, by the fact that their are owners who actually want to win, by owners who will invest in the franchise, by owners who see the Dodgers as what they are, a classic baseball franchise who needs to always be in champion contnetion conversations.
The genius of Ned Colletti has always been his ability to scrape together successful teams with limited means at his disposal. For many years he was a thorn in the dodgers side, working his magic with the Giants. For the last few years, he has kept the Dodgers competitive almost every year, despite the ownersjip shenanigans.
Now he has money to play with. Now he has a solid baseball guy, Kasten, behind him. he also has Mr. Los Angeles himself, Magic Johnson behind him. he also has the big bucks of Guggenheim behind him. It will be interesting to see how he does. it will be interesting to be baseball be relevant in L.A. again, instead of the faded, mis-used relic it had become.
Go for it, Ned!
They pluck Hanley Ramirez away from the Marlins in the latest Jeffery Loria fire sale, they get Adrain Gonzales, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto from last year's Valentine/Boston fiasco, and now, they pay 25 million to a Korean team for negotiating rights to Ryu Hyu-Jin, a guy they forsee as their third starter should everything go right, we're talking negotiation here, not even the actual contract.
Not that I'm objecting. The generally underwhelming performance by the post-trade Dodgers is overshadowed, in my view, by the fact that their are owners who actually want to win, by owners who will invest in the franchise, by owners who see the Dodgers as what they are, a classic baseball franchise who needs to always be in champion contnetion conversations.
The genius of Ned Colletti has always been his ability to scrape together successful teams with limited means at his disposal. For many years he was a thorn in the dodgers side, working his magic with the Giants. For the last few years, he has kept the Dodgers competitive almost every year, despite the ownersjip shenanigans.
Now he has money to play with. Now he has a solid baseball guy, Kasten, behind him. he also has Mr. Los Angeles himself, Magic Johnson behind him. he also has the big bucks of Guggenheim behind him. It will be interesting to see how he does. it will be interesting to be baseball be relevant in L.A. again, instead of the faded, mis-used relic it had become.
Go for it, Ned!
Friday, April 20, 2012
As far as moral victories go, we'll take it.
For the Dodgers, moral victories are not worth much.
Even in their transitory state, they are in a very winnable division and they are still one of the cornerstone franchises in baseball, Frank Mc Court mis-adventures aside.
That being said, going up to Milwaukee and taking one out of three wasn't bad at all. they played tough in all three games, and were in position to win all three. They pitched well, they hit the ball well, and at leat in one case were victimized by a brutal call.
''Really, we came in and could have got swept - but we could have swept them just as easily,'' coach Don Mattingly said.
You can say that it is something the Pittsburgh Pirates or Oakland A's would say, two bad teams who happened to play competitively on the road, but the Dodgers, not so much. But to a team that won 9 out of it's first 10, the naysayers (including the skeptic in my gut) said well........they beat up on two bad teams. True enough, though wins are wins last time I heard, and bad teams often play spoiler to good teams's playoff hopes.
This was the Brewers........granted the Cecil Fielder-less Brewers, but still a more than viable playoff contender in a stronger division than the Dodgers. in Game 1 they overcame a great start by Yovani Gallardo, beat up Francisco Rodriguez, only for Javy Guerra to blow a save, his only one this year.
You saw another strong start by Chad Billingsley, who overcame some early trouble and you saw Andre Ethier hit a homer and double, the homer a two-runner that chased KRod. These are two guys who need to perform this season for the Dodgers to have a shot.
Thursday saw Chris Capuano match up with Zack Greinke on two quality starts, only to see Nyjer Morgan score on a bad call when he tagged up on Ryan Braun's foul ball. Mattingly said after the game ''I had the luxury of seeing the replay.... we should still be playing.'' he went on to call it "another argument for instant replay"
Facing a sweep, they followed up with Matt Kemp and Ethier getting two hits apiece (including a Kemp homer) to win 4-3. Among the highlights were two great defensive plays by newly acquired utility guy Jerry Hairston, throwing out Alex Gonzales from 3rd on an off-balance throw in the 8th, then in the 9th charging a bunt and throwing out Travis Ishikawa> I was personally sad they let Jamey Carroll go, but Hairston seems like a younger, more athletic version of Carroll.
So moral victories do not mean much, but playing a good Brewers team to a standstill on the road, shows this Dodgers team has some steel.
Kemp remains unbelievable with 7 homeruns in 13 games, with 18 RBI's and hitting .45, you also have to like Ethier's 4 HR, 5 2B, 18 RBI and .300 average. Dee Gordon has 8 steals, but he does need to get on base more. a .192 AVG and a .263 OBP will not get it done.
Billingsley and Clayton Kershaw seem to be staarting off as a nice 1-2 punch, and it was nice to see Ted Lilly come back and pitch well. Guerra, despite blowing the recent save has been successful in all of his other save attmepts, and the rest of the bullpen has been looking good.
Even in their transitory state, they are in a very winnable division and they are still one of the cornerstone franchises in baseball, Frank Mc Court mis-adventures aside.
That being said, going up to Milwaukee and taking one out of three wasn't bad at all. they played tough in all three games, and were in position to win all three. They pitched well, they hit the ball well, and at leat in one case were victimized by a brutal call.
''Really, we came in and could have got swept - but we could have swept them just as easily,'' coach Don Mattingly said.
You can say that it is something the Pittsburgh Pirates or Oakland A's would say, two bad teams who happened to play competitively on the road, but the Dodgers, not so much. But to a team that won 9 out of it's first 10, the naysayers (including the skeptic in my gut) said well........they beat up on two bad teams. True enough, though wins are wins last time I heard, and bad teams often play spoiler to good teams's playoff hopes.
This was the Brewers........granted the Cecil Fielder-less Brewers, but still a more than viable playoff contender in a stronger division than the Dodgers. in Game 1 they overcame a great start by Yovani Gallardo, beat up Francisco Rodriguez, only for Javy Guerra to blow a save, his only one this year.
You saw another strong start by Chad Billingsley, who overcame some early trouble and you saw Andre Ethier hit a homer and double, the homer a two-runner that chased KRod. These are two guys who need to perform this season for the Dodgers to have a shot.
Thursday saw Chris Capuano match up with Zack Greinke on two quality starts, only to see Nyjer Morgan score on a bad call when he tagged up on Ryan Braun's foul ball. Mattingly said after the game ''I had the luxury of seeing the replay.... we should still be playing.'' he went on to call it "another argument for instant replay"
Facing a sweep, they followed up with Matt Kemp and Ethier getting two hits apiece (including a Kemp homer) to win 4-3. Among the highlights were two great defensive plays by newly acquired utility guy Jerry Hairston, throwing out Alex Gonzales from 3rd on an off-balance throw in the 8th, then in the 9th charging a bunt and throwing out Travis Ishikawa> I was personally sad they let Jamey Carroll go, but Hairston seems like a younger, more athletic version of Carroll.
So moral victories do not mean much, but playing a good Brewers team to a standstill on the road, shows this Dodgers team has some steel.
Kemp remains unbelievable with 7 homeruns in 13 games, with 18 RBI's and hitting .45, you also have to like Ethier's 4 HR, 5 2B, 18 RBI and .300 average. Dee Gordon has 8 steals, but he does need to get on base more. a .192 AVG and a .263 OBP will not get it done.
Billingsley and Clayton Kershaw seem to be staarting off as a nice 1-2 punch, and it was nice to see Ted Lilly come back and pitch well. Guerra, despite blowing the recent save has been successful in all of his other save attmepts, and the rest of the bullpen has been looking good.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
To be or not to be........extension for Ethier?
Nice start for the Dodgers.....
The holier-than-thous can say well....it's just the Pirates and Padres, two teams in perpetual rebuilding mode, but W's are W's, and you need all you can get when October rolls around.
We are also seeing another strong start from Andre Ethier. Can this be a contract-chasing big year for the guy who will be a free agent after the season, or is it a strong start by a guy who will break down physically and/or mentally by season's end?
The speculation is there because contract watchers are wondering if the Dodgers will give Ethier an extension this year. Should they or shouldn't they, and how much for how many years?
Put it this way.......I wouldn't want to be Ned Colletti or the guy on the Dodgers ownership (Stan Kasten?) who makes this decision. I wouldn't want to be Ethier either. It seems to me, unless one side gives away way more than they expect, this will not end well.
Ethier is in that free agent no man's land called age 30. Not old enough to be one of those thirtysomethings who live on the one-to-three year contracts, but not so young where you'll give him a Luis Pujols, Matt Kemp or Joey Votto-style long-term deal. Perhaps three to five years, twelve million or threabouts sounds sensible, but what does Ethier and his agent think?
Do they see him as the 2009 guy who played 160 games, hit 31 HR, had 106 RBI's and hit .272/.361/.508/.869, or a guy whose slugging percentage has declined each year since 2008, and hit only 11 HR last year? he was playing hurt much of the second half of last season, and played in less than 140 games the last two seasons?
Let's put it in persepective here- most teams would love to have a guy who will play in 135 games, hit 20+ homers and have a .370 OBP. But do you want to break the bank for him in hopes he'll have a couple of 2009-style years? It all comes down to what Ethier and his agent sees himself as, and of course, what the Dodgers brain trust see also.
It's hard to know what the new Dodger brass thinks, but it seems to me that they would sooner or later want to lock up Clayton Kershaw to a long-term deal, and perhaps in the off-season lock up another top-tier free agent pitcher (there are a few good ones- Cole Hamels, Matt Cain and Zack greinke come to mind...), so there probably isn't money to sign extra-long term a guy whose job will be to protect Kemp in the order.
Here's my hope- a three or four year deal worth 12-15 million (ha ha like I'm writing the checks here!), for a guy who is great protection for Kemp and when healthy an all-star caliber player in his own right. It all comes down to, what Ethier sees himself as, and what the new Dodger ownership see him as also.
My guess is, though, Ethier will want more years and money (which someone may very well pay him in the offseason), and the Dodger management will not see it that way, and things will not end well with those two.
We shall see....
The holier-than-thous can say well....it's just the Pirates and Padres, two teams in perpetual rebuilding mode, but W's are W's, and you need all you can get when October rolls around.
We are also seeing another strong start from Andre Ethier. Can this be a contract-chasing big year for the guy who will be a free agent after the season, or is it a strong start by a guy who will break down physically and/or mentally by season's end?
The speculation is there because contract watchers are wondering if the Dodgers will give Ethier an extension this year. Should they or shouldn't they, and how much for how many years?
Put it this way.......I wouldn't want to be Ned Colletti or the guy on the Dodgers ownership (Stan Kasten?) who makes this decision. I wouldn't want to be Ethier either. It seems to me, unless one side gives away way more than they expect, this will not end well.
Ethier is in that free agent no man's land called age 30. Not old enough to be one of those thirtysomethings who live on the one-to-three year contracts, but not so young where you'll give him a Luis Pujols, Matt Kemp or Joey Votto-style long-term deal. Perhaps three to five years, twelve million or threabouts sounds sensible, but what does Ethier and his agent think?
Do they see him as the 2009 guy who played 160 games, hit 31 HR, had 106 RBI's and hit .272/.361/.508/.869, or a guy whose slugging percentage has declined each year since 2008, and hit only 11 HR last year? he was playing hurt much of the second half of last season, and played in less than 140 games the last two seasons?
Let's put it in persepective here- most teams would love to have a guy who will play in 135 games, hit 20+ homers and have a .370 OBP. But do you want to break the bank for him in hopes he'll have a couple of 2009-style years? It all comes down to what Ethier and his agent sees himself as, and of course, what the Dodgers brain trust see also.
It's hard to know what the new Dodger brass thinks, but it seems to me that they would sooner or later want to lock up Clayton Kershaw to a long-term deal, and perhaps in the off-season lock up another top-tier free agent pitcher (there are a few good ones- Cole Hamels, Matt Cain and Zack greinke come to mind...), so there probably isn't money to sign extra-long term a guy whose job will be to protect Kemp in the order.
Here's my hope- a three or four year deal worth 12-15 million (ha ha like I'm writing the checks here!), for a guy who is great protection for Kemp and when healthy an all-star caliber player in his own right. It all comes down to, what Ethier sees himself as, and what the new Dodger ownership see him as also.
My guess is, though, Ethier will want more years and money (which someone may very well pay him in the offseason), and the Dodger management will not see it that way, and things will not end well with those two.
We shall see....
Sunday, April 8, 2012
It's going to be the pitching this year
Wins are wins- whether they are over the Phillies or the Padres, wins are wins.
No, the Padres so not inspire much fear this year. When Edinson Volquez is your Opening Day starter, you don't exactly have stars in your eyes. But the Dodgers will take them. Until Magic and his merry men establish their foothold, the Dodgers have to do the best they can with basically a Frank McCourt team, and three out four ain't bad.
Matt Kemp looks to be living up to his near-MVP hype with a couple of bombs and a .412 average over the weekend, and Andre Ethier seems to have brought his power stroke, with two doubles, a triple and a homer over the weekend. You also have to like Chad Billingsley's start on Friday, he looked like the pre-Kershaw would-be ace that Dodger fans have been hoping for years, which Billingsley has teased, but never totally come through on.
You have to worry about the rest of the pitching, though. Neither Chris Capauano or Aaron Harang looked very good in their first starts, both against a hardly awe-inspiring Padre lineup. Ted Lilly is hurt, and while Clayton Kershaw is looking like an ace, we're not sold on Billingsley yet, and Harang and Capauano didn't exactly leave great first impressions, it means the Dodgers starting pitching is a big question mark.
Yes, I give Ned Colletti, his scouts and the generous pitchers park that is Dodger stadium the benefit of the doubt- it is a long season- but both guys have miles and injury histories, so we'll see. It will take top-grade pitching for the Dodgers to have a chance to be relevant this year, and we're not just talking Kershaw. Billingsley needs to look like that guy we saw on Friday, while Harang and Capauano need to look better than they did this weekend for the Dodgers to have a chance.
No, the Padres so not inspire much fear this year. When Edinson Volquez is your Opening Day starter, you don't exactly have stars in your eyes. But the Dodgers will take them. Until Magic and his merry men establish their foothold, the Dodgers have to do the best they can with basically a Frank McCourt team, and three out four ain't bad.
Matt Kemp looks to be living up to his near-MVP hype with a couple of bombs and a .412 average over the weekend, and Andre Ethier seems to have brought his power stroke, with two doubles, a triple and a homer over the weekend. You also have to like Chad Billingsley's start on Friday, he looked like the pre-Kershaw would-be ace that Dodger fans have been hoping for years, which Billingsley has teased, but never totally come through on.
You have to worry about the rest of the pitching, though. Neither Chris Capauano or Aaron Harang looked very good in their first starts, both against a hardly awe-inspiring Padre lineup. Ted Lilly is hurt, and while Clayton Kershaw is looking like an ace, we're not sold on Billingsley yet, and Harang and Capauano didn't exactly leave great first impressions, it means the Dodgers starting pitching is a big question mark.
Yes, I give Ned Colletti, his scouts and the generous pitchers park that is Dodger stadium the benefit of the doubt- it is a long season- but both guys have miles and injury histories, so we'll see. It will take top-grade pitching for the Dodgers to have a chance to be relevant this year, and we're not just talking Kershaw. Billingsley needs to look like that guy we saw on Friday, while Harang and Capauano need to look better than they did this weekend for the Dodgers to have a chance.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Kershaw brings the lunch pail
I've overdosed on the NBA.
Andrew Bynum acting stupid. Stan Van Gundy and Dwight Howard go back and forth. Le Bron James complaining about how bad his life is.
Thank God for Opening Day. Thank God for the Dodgers. Thank God McCourt is gone.
Nice to see Clayton Kershaw battle the flu and still figure out a way to dominate the Padres.
Nice to see Matt Kemp hitting a two-run homerun.
While they had their rocky moments, it was nice to see the bullpen hold it together.
Opening Day is great.
Andrew Bynum acting stupid. Stan Van Gundy and Dwight Howard go back and forth. Le Bron James complaining about how bad his life is.
Thank God for Opening Day. Thank God for the Dodgers. Thank God McCourt is gone.
Nice to see Clayton Kershaw battle the flu and still figure out a way to dominate the Padres.
Nice to see Matt Kemp hitting a two-run homerun.
While they had their rocky moments, it was nice to see the bullpen hold it together.
Opening Day is great.
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