Mike Scioscia's tragic illness

The Billingsley Dilemma

I can see tomorrow’s headlines today, and they’re going to read something like “what are we going to do with Chad Billingsley?” It’s a fair question, because after tonight’s disastrophe, Billingsley’s now up to a nice big 7.07 ERA on the season. Remember, that number really ought to be larger – only 4 of the 7 runs he allowed tonight were earned, but since it was Billingsley’s own error that led to the other 3, I’m putting them squarely on him as well.

On the heels of Billingsley’s lousy previous start (6 ER in 5.2 IP vs. Arizona), and particularly with the memories of last year’s second-half collapse still fresh in everyone’s minds, it’s starting to become  a real issue, and it’s a situation that demands a real in-depth look. Billingsley’s career path isn’t anywhere near where it was just one year ago, and in the meantime he’s destroying the bullpen and damaging the Dodger playoff hopes. 

So what do you do with him? I’ve got some ideas on the subject (mainly on pitch selection and pitch location), and why some popular suggestions would and wouldn’t work.  What I don’t have right now is the time to do a thorough investigation, and while I’m working through that, I want to know what you think. What would you do about Chad Billingsley?