Hello,
I'm putting this blog in a little bit of a different format today. The Dodgers beat the Brewers 9-2 in the third and final game of their three game series. I'll be evaluating that game from both the good and bad things that happened yesterday and through the first 44 games of this season.
Good:
The Dodgers
- scored 9 runs and won the game. LA has now scored 156 runs on the season, which averages out to 3.54 runs a game. That's about right because usually when an opponent scores 4 runs against LA they'll win that game. The Dodgers remain in 29th place for runs in all of MLB. They are only 3 runs behind 28th place Washington though.
- had 12 hits in the game. That includes having 2 hits by Carl Crawford, who's back over .300. Matt Kemp also had two hits, LA desperately needs his bat. The other Dodgers with two hits were Scott Van Slyke, Ramon Hernandez and Nick Punto. Punto is hitting .330 this season, higher than the much more heralded Adrian Gonzalez.
- won 2 of 3 games, but that was against the Brewers.
- Hyun-Jin Ryu had another great game. He pitched 7 1/3 innings, only giving up 6 hits and 2 runs. Both runs were earned. Ryu is now 5-2 on the season and has a 3.30 ERA. Is he the Dodgers second best pitcher.
- were far enough ahead to not need Brandon League and his 5.19 ERA to try and save the game. He only needed 10 pitches to shut down the Brewers in the 9th inning.
- Don Mattingly actually managed this game. He put the underperforming Andre Ethier on the bench for the third time in six games. I never understood the idea that because someone is paid a lot of money they should play more. I could care less that the Dodgers are foolishly paying Ethier $13.5 million this season. Since he's ineffective he should be benched. Playing him would be nonsense! Shouldn't you play the players that gives your team the best chance to win, especially when rumors are swirling about you being fired soon?
- The disastrous McCourt ownership is over. (Feel free to use Disastrous McCourt Ownership as a band name. Sounds like either an emo or death metal band.)
- is willing to pay approximately $216 million for a season.
Bad:
The Dodgers:
- are only 19-26 and last place in the NL West. They trail the 4th place Padres by 2.5 games and trail the tied for first place Arizona and San Francisco by 7 games. The Dodgers only have a 3.6% chance of making the playoffs.
- it was great the Dodgers won and scored 9 runs, but it's still only one game.
- have Thursday off.
- open up a 7 game home stand on Friday. First they welcome the team with the best record in MLB, the 30-16 Cardinals. Next they play their cross town rivals, the Angels, a team that's been playing better of late. The Angels are also a team that have dominated the Dodgers in interleague play the last several years.
- have Chris Capuano (1-2, 4.84 ERA) pitching Friday, although his last start was pretty decent. I'm holding out hope that he can develop into the Dodgers 4th starter. Ted Lilly ($13 million, 8 total innings and 0-1 with a 5.63 ERA) is pitching Saturday.
- I'm glad to see the new ownership is willing to spend money to help the Dodgers be a winner. That's good. But what's bad is that the Dodgers seemed to have focused on getting a bunch of individual great players rather than players which will turn into a team. It seems they might need someone better at choosing players to form a team.
- if LA fires anyone, I suggest it be GM Ned Colleti and not the manager Mattingly.
themusicaddict
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