Missed the game, as I was in San Diego attending the Padres game against the Orioles. I picked up a spiffy Kyle Blanks Bobblehead, I'll include pictures of it in my recap of the game, hopefully coming soon to a computer screen near you by the end of the weekend of early next week at the latest.
Vicente Padilla, making his first start after a lengthy stay on the DL, went 5.1 innings (4 ER, 5 Hits, 4 K, 1 BB, 2 HR Allowed, 89 pitches - 56 for strikes).
Bullpen: 3.1 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 6 K, 1 BB.
Manny Ramirez hit his 8th HR of the season.
Russell Martin and Jamey Carroll each stole their 4th base of the season, while Manny somehow swiped his first. I need to see a replay of that rare occurrence.
Garret Anderson (?) (Double, 2 Singles) reached base 3 times, while Manny Being Manny (HR, Single) reached base twice.
The offense struck out 7 times, drew 3 walks, and had 3 extra-base hits.
I attended the Broxton Bobblehead game this past Tuesday. My buddies and I had infield reserve seats, third base side. We planned to get to the game around 6, and I wanted to go check out Autograph Alley in center field, having never been before.
Of course, my camera ran out of juice about 5 minutes after I entered the stadium, and try as I might, I couldn't take a picture after about 7:00. Remember kids, always charge the batteries for something you plan on using. Lesson learned.
This first response van was next to us at a light driving to the game. I imagine it was on its way to the stadium to pick up Garret Anderson's corpse.
On the way to the game, we passed by this huge billboard for Mannywood. Of course a huge bus got in my way, but you get the idea.
As we entered Dodger Stadium, we were given this nice booklet with Chad Billingsley on the cover.
We were parked right around 6:00, and made our way to center. I had no idea who would be at Autograph Alley, as the Dodgers hadn't announced it, and lo and behold I find Matt Luke there. Honestly, I have no recollection of Matt Luke as a Dodger, and had only heard his name maybe once before. I stand in a line of about 5 people, and Luke signs the card you see below for me. He was also nice enough to take a picture with me. Nice guy.
Loved seeing former Dodgers images immortalized on the pillars at the stadium. Though I unfortunately didn't run into any of the sons of the Sons Of Steve Garvey while at the game. Davey Lopes can be seen behind Garvey; I also saw Ron Cey, Bill Russell, and the amazingly awesome and exciting Mike Piazza.
The game was fantastic, a pitcher's duel from start to finish. There was a proposal (it seems there's one at every game I go to), and I thought it actually looked fairly fake, with the potential bride-to-be running away from her kneeling and ring-bearing boyfriend. She later returned and said yes, and we saw them walking in the parking lot after the game, having parked about two rows over from us. I clapped and said congrats, and they nodded and said thank you, then got in the same car and sat next to each other. So who knows, maybe it was real, maybe it wasn't. I hope it was real and they are getting married, but it did remind me of this other "marriage proposal" which was as fake as can be.
After Manny Ramirez's double to right to drive in the lone Dodger run (and the crowd was electric that whole inning), in walked the man of the day, Jonathan Broxton. As Iron Man blared throughout Dodger Stadium, the fans were going crazy, and Brox's first batter just so happened to be the best player in all of baseball, Albert Pujols. An epic at-bat followed, with Broxton finally striking out Pujols. Broxton closed the inning out, and the Dodgers went home with a 1-0 victory.
And I went home happy as well, having seen a great game and come away with an autograph and a sweet Broxton Bobblehead.
Carlos Monasterios went 5 innings (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 3 K, 0 BB, 81 pitches - 52 for strikes). He appeared to have an injured finger after coming out of the game, holding a bandage on his right (?) hand. Blister perhaps? Maybe a cut? He looked to be in some discomfort.
Chad Billingsley went innings 8 very, very good innings (4 ER, 6 Hits, 11 K, 0 BB, 3 HR Allowed, 120 pitches - 82 for strikes).
Bullpen: 1 IP, 0 Runs, 1 Hit, 2 K, 0 BB, 1 WP.
Manny Ramirez hit his 4th HR of the season.
Matt Kemp stole his 7th base of the season.
Kemp (Double, 2 Singles) reached base 3 times, and Rafael Furcal (Double, Single) reached base twice.
Andre Ethier was activated from the 15-day DL, healed enough from his pinkie injury. He failed to reach base in all 4 of his plate appearances. Xavier Paul was sent back to AAA, even though anyone with a brain or access to a computer knows Garret Anderson should have been designated for assignment. This is ridiculously ridiculous. Not unexpected, but awfully awful.
The offense struck out 4 times, drew 2 walks, and had 3 extra-base hits.
Matt Kemp hit his 10th HR, a bomb to just right of dead center, and Manny Ramirez added his 3rd HR.
Reed Johnson was the only Dodger to reach base more than once, with a single and HBP.
Rafael Furcal, aside from Monasterios, was the only starter to not reach base safely.
The offense, with no extra-base hits in 3 of its last 4 games, had 4 extra-base hits tonight. The offense struck out just 3 times while drawing just 2 walks.
Scott Elbert was recalled from AAA. Nick Green was designated for assignment. The useless veterans are falling quickly now. I'm sure it pains Torre and Colletti to their very cores. But for the rest of us: HOOOOOOORAYYYYYYY!!! Better watch out Garret Anderson: you should be next.
Russell Martin (Single, BB), Blake DeWitt (2 Singles), Xavier Paul (2 Singles), Jamey Carroll (2 Singles), Garret Anderson (2 Singles) each reached base twice.
The offense struck out 4 times, walked 3 times, and had 0 extra-base hits.
Garrett Anderson started in left and batted sixth. Neither of those things should happen. Ever.
With the news that Andre Ethier fractured his pinkie, the likely, and smart outcome, is a DL stint. There's no reason to send Ethier out with an injured finger, which Dre himself has said would be affected when holding the bat (via True Blue L.A.):
"It's a flexion thing,'' he said. "I kind of position that pinky right above the knob, and it's a leverage point in my swing.''
The next question is who replaces Andre in the line-up. Garret Anderson, Reed Johnson, and Xavier Paul are the options. Though Paul has spent most of the year in AAA, this is an extremely easy decision.
Anderson's OBP .161, Johnson checks in at .233, and Paul sports the high-water mark at .323. Paul is also the best defender, has an absolute cannon for an arm, can play all three outfield positions well, and has upside, even though his best chance to start would be as a one-year gap filler until other prospects are ready to advance.
Johnson is a decent 4th OF, and Anderson is, of course, awful. He's a bad defender, can't hit, doesn't get on-base, has never walked, and is a walking corpse of a man.
Do the right thing Joe, and start Xavier Paul, assuming his injury suffered the same day as Ethier's wasn't serious. And if by chance it was bad enough to prevent him from coming up and playing, start Johnson.
"I see a player struggling to adjust to a new role," general manager Ned Colletti said. "One at-bat five times a week, it's very tough."
Joe Torre decided to chime in as well:
"We're trying to get him as many at-bats to make it easier on him. I see a timing thing. Is he the same player he was at one time? No. But he comes out of the dugout with a couple men on base and he'll scare the heck out of me. That's a big part of having him as a weapon."
Joe, you're the only one scared of him. You should be scared of playing him and wasting plate appearances on him.
I can guarantee you of one thing: no one, and I mean no one, is remotely scared of Garret Anderson doing anything of value while at the dish. His OBP this year, coming into Tuesday, was a truly frightening (and fright-inducing, for Dodgers fans) .154, and his career OBP is .325, hardly warrior-like or productive.
He's barely been an average player for his career, and now, he's DONE. Finished, over, out of the game.
Charlie Haeger, back in the rotation after a stint of literally just sitting in the bullpen, followed by a blowout long-relief appearance, did not record an out and was pulled after 4 batters (5 ER, 2 Hits, 0 K, 3 BB, 22 pitches - 8 for strikes). Ramon Ortiz was equally unappealing in relief.
Haeger may have just signed his pink slip, though I would still keep him over Ortiz.
Manny Ramirez returned after a 15-day DL stint with a right calf injury and singled. As mentioned yesterday, Xavier Paul returned to AAA Albuquerque and Garret Anderson remained the luckiest man on the face of the Earth, employed for another day. Hopefully not with the Dodgers for much longer.
Andre Ethier (Double, 2 Singles) reached base 3 times.
The offense struck out 7 times, walked 2 times, and had 1 extra-base hit.
It appears someone will be DL'd, phantom injury or otherwise, to allow John Ely to be recalled and start Tuesday. Unless I'm missing something, which is quite possible. I guess Jeff Weaver could start even with having thrown an inning tonight, but two days rest is a recipe for awful. Either way, lot of dead weight on the team right now. But they're veterans, so it's seasoned dead weight.
Iron Man 2 was pretty good, so that's a positive for the day.
A bit less publicly this time around, but still, Ned continues to show that he has no idea what constitutes a productive player or what logical team-building entails.
Blame me? No, it was that young productive player's fault.
Veterans, they're veterans you know.
After choosing to send Xavier Paul to AAA instead of the atrocious Garret Anderson (at the risk of losing Anderson on waivers - oh what a gift shame that would be), in order to activate Manny Ramirez from the DL, Colletti informed Paul of why he was the player on the short end of the stick. Via Ken Gurnick (and thanks to Josh S. for pointing me towards this article), Colletti told Paul:
Paul said he was told by general manager Ned Colletti to work on his mental approach to the game "and being a big leaguer."
For those of you who believe confidence is a key and something that can be lost in young players easily, this certainly can't help.
Paul said upon hearing the news:
"I don't fit here right now, that's it," Paul said after being consoled by teammates Casey Blake and Matt Kemp. "Right now, I just don't cut it here."
At least his mindset going forward is strong:
"As a player, I have to respect that. It's his team. At the end of the day, my thought is to keep working hard and keep playing like every day is my last. I know the situation with Manny coming back tomorrow. It is what it is. It's a decision they have to make."
What exactly constitutes a "big leaguer". Because Paul can play all three outfield positions, has a cannon for an arm, can steal a base, has some pop in his bat, a solid eye at the plate, and clearly has room to grow and improve. Garret Anderson, on the other hand, has proven over his long career that getting on-base is not something he excels at, there's no room for growth, he's not suddenly going to find the fountain of youth, and oh yeah, he's horrid on both sides of the ball now. Paul's OBP is .323, Anderson's is .167 in 17 more plate appearances. Paul has earned a roster spot, Anderson has not.
So tell me Ned, if Paul has to work on his mental approach, why not tell Anderson to work on his being a productive player approach? Oh yes, I forgot, you won't do that, because Anderson is a veteran, and if you criticize him or cut him, it makes you look bad.
And all this time, I thought it was the General Manager's job to put together a team with the best chance of making the playoffs. I thought it was his job to put together a team that would win games.
Jimmy Bramlett, via Twitter, reports awful news: Garret Anderson will keep his job while Xavier Paul is optioned back to AAA to make room on the 25-man roster for the return of Manny Ramirez.
Chad Billingsley went 6 innings (4 ER, 7 Hits, 3 K, 2 BB, 1 Hit Batter, 91 pitches - 58 for strikes). He really settled down after a rough first (about half of which I missed) in which he was charged with all 4 runs on 5 hits. He also took a shot off of the leg, but appeared no worse for wear.
Bullpen: 3 IP, 7 ER, 6 Hits, 2 K, 4 BB [1 IBB].
James Loney (2 Singles, 2 BB [1 IBB]) reached base 4 times, Andre Ethier (2 Singles, HBP) and Ronnie Belliard (2 Singles, BB) reached base 3 times, while Russell Martin (2 Singles) reached base twice.
I realize Garret Anderson got a base hit, but letting him pinch-hit instead of Blake DeWitt is a monumentally stupid decision.
Casey Blake committed 2 errors.
The offense struck out 9 times while drawing just 4 walks.
Clayton Kershaw went 6.1 innings (2 ER, 3 Hits, 7 K, 4 BB [1 IBB], 117 pitches - 75 for strikes). Outside of a shaky first inning where he threw 32 pitches and wasn't helped by a poor defensive play from Matt Kemp and a dropped third strike, I thought Kershaw was fantastic. Why he was trotted back out for the 7th is beyond me, considering he had thrown in excess of 100 pitches. But I just watch the games and give semi-educated opinions, I don't manage.
Bullpen: 2.2 IP, 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 3 K, 0 BB.
Andre Ethier (Single, BB) and Blake DeWitt (Double, Single) each reached base twice.
The offense struck out 6 times and drew 4 walks, and continued to leave men on-base. At least they're getting guys on-base, now they just need to bring them on home more consistently.
Jonathan Broxton pitched for the first time in seemingly forever, throwing a scoreless 9th inning and striking out one. Joe Torre's usage of Broxton is criminally insane. And further proof Joe Torre can't manage a pitching staff.
Why is Garret Anderson still on this team? And batting second at that? Being a veteran only means so much, namely nothing, when you utterly suck at actually playing the game.
Was Matt Kemp's "error" a bad play? Of course. He'd be the first to tell you that. Does it actually matter? Not when you score 0 runs, as his fielding miscue only allowed the second run to score. Of course it might have scored anyways, but when you score 0 runs, that's the issue that is most pressing, not getting caught in-between on whether to dive for a ball or not.
John Ely, in his big league debut, went 6 innings (5 ER, 6 Hits, 4 K, 3 BB [1 IBB], 1 WP, 1 Hit Batter, 117 pitches - 69 for strikes).
His 2nd inning looks like this: 4 ER, 4 Hits, 1 Hit Batter, 0 K, 0 BB. Innings 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 show a different story: 1 ER, 2 Hits, 4 K, 3 BB [1 IBB], 1 WP.
I would give Ely another start, but we'll just have to wait and see if management is impressed. Ely's not an elite prospect, never was, and doesn't have overpowering stuff, but he looked good at times and is a fresh arm.
Bullpen: 2 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 K, 0 BB.
Russell Martin hit his 2nd HR of the season, a 2-run shot to left.
Matt Kemp stole his 3rd base of the season.
Jamey Carroll (Single, 2 BB) reached base 3 times, while Ronnie Belliard (2 BB) reached base twice.
Andre Ethier: 0-4, 3 K.
Rafael Furcal missed the game due to a tight hamstring. Jamey Carroll started in his place.
Blake DeWitt sat today, even with a righty on the mound. I guess a .377 OBP doesn't mean much to some people.
The offense struck out 13 times while drawing just 4 walks.
Why does Garret Anderson get to pinch-hit over Blake DeWitt. Even if DeWitt were injured, his .377 OBP belongs in that situation.
Chad Billingsley was very, very good over 6 innings (1 ER, 4 Hits, 5 K, 2 BB [1 IBB], 86 pitches - 55 for strikes).
Bullpen: 2 IP, O Runs, O Hits, 2 K, 1 BB.
Casey Blake (Double, Single) and James Loney (2 Singles) reached base twice.
Garret Anderson: 0-4, 3 K. -- FREE XAVIER PAUL --
Andre Ethier and Blake DeWitt, with the Nats throwing a lefty, got the day off.
The Dodgers loaded the bases on 3 consecutive singles with one out in the 1st inning, then followed that with a K and flyout.
The offense drew 1 walk while striking out 9 times.
With the players he decided to suit up today, I thought Joe Torre put together a good lineup, keeping the low-OBP guys down at the bottom of the order. Russell Martin in the 2-hole was nice, though in reality I'd like to see him leading off with a hot Rafael Furcal second, and a stumbling Furcal in the 8-hole.
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Some site changes, look-wise, the next day or so. At least that's the plan.
Reviewing recent roster moves made by the club, we find:
Manny Ramirez heads to the 15-day DL due to a right calf strain. Xavier Paul has been recalled to take ManRam's place, though it is likely he will serve in a reserve role and spell the tandem of Garrett Anderson and Reed Johnson, with Anderson likely to get the bulk of the playing time.
I would personally like to see Paul get the majority of the starts over the next 2 week. Highest upside, clearly, and what's the point of calling him up to be a reserve when he could be playing full-time in AAA? Isn't that the reason why he wasn't our 4th OF to begin the season? Paul's AAA numbers: .361/.409/.574/.983through 15 Games and 66 plate appearances.
FREE XAVIER PAUL
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Ronald Belisario returns, and Jon Link heads back to AAA after making one appearance and throwing 2 scoreless innings. Link looked good, and will probably see time up in the show again this season, certainly when rosters expand, if not sooner.
Vicente Padilla went 6 innings (4 Runs [3 ER], 8 Hits, 8 K, o BB, 1 HR Allowed, 94 pitches - 67 for strikes, 1 throwing error and 1 fielding error {in my book}). I heard our terrible announcing tandem say the fielding error had been taken away, and it was. But it really was a terrible play by Padilla, even if he probably would have been beaten to first base.
Andre Ethier hit his 5th HR of the season, and Garret Anderson chipped in with a pinch-hit, 2-run shot, his 1st of the season.
Matt Kemp (Single, BB), Russell Martin (2 Singles), and Blake DeWitt (Single, BB) each reached base twice.
Manny left the game after re-aggravating his right calf on a single. Joe Torre says he'll miss most if not all of the weekend series.
Hong-Chih Kuo made his season debut, and Ronald Belisario pitched on back-to-back days, making his second appearance. I don't particularly care how they pitch now, considering the time they missed. Just the fact that they're back is, for the time being, good enough for me.
The offense struck out 8 times, drew just 2 walks, and only had 2 extra-base hits.
