Who Needs Pitching and Defense?
April 21, 2010 at 10:56 pm | Posted in Andre Ethier, Carlos Monasterios, Casey Blake, James Loney, Jeff Weaver, Manny Ramirez, Rafael Furcal, Russell Martin | 17 Comments
Okay, so maybe this team can’t pitch. Maybe they can’t field. Almost certainly, those weaknesses are going to come back to bite them in a big, stinking, painful way. There’s going to be plenty of time to discuss that, but tonight we’re going to focus on what just might be the most high-powered offense any of us have ever seen wearing the Dodger blue. It’s getting to absurd levels, and I mean that in the best way possible. Look at the lineup, and realize that 7 of the 8 regulars are carrying batting averages over .300. 7! And the one who isn’t – Blake DeWitt – merely has a .404 OBP.
Matt Kemp may be the single most dangerous hitter in baseball right now, to the point where I’m getting prettttty close to not issuing my standard “non-Pujols division” disclaimer. He’s tied for the MLB lead in homers, he leads MLB in RBI, and he’s one game short of having a hit on every single day of the season. (And even in that game, on April 9 in Florida, he had a walk and three deep flyballs.) He’s homered in 5 of the last 8 games, and his slugging percentage right now is .750. If that number doesn’t mean anything to you, just know that if he was able to keep it up throughout the season, it’d be tied for the 11th highest mark in baseball. Ever.
Here’s the thing, though. Kemp’s OPS is 1.141. That’s pretty damn good, good enough for 9th in baseball (and yes, I realize that small sample size bells are screaming in my ear. But you watch the pitching staff give up dingers and the defense make errors, and tell me I can’t enjoy this.) But 9th in baseball also makes him 3rd in his own outfield. Andre Ethier, slacking tonight with only 3 hits including a homer, is 7th on that list at 1.149. Manny Ramirez, who only got on base 8 times in a row, is 5th at 1.194. Again, I know it’s early, but Manny’s line right now is .421/.510/.684. Where are all the cries about how he’s no good after his suspension now? It’s almost like exactly what we all said had happened – that the ball he took off the hand from Homer Bailey had injured him – was true. Who’d have thought?
But it’s not just the outfield, which we all knew was going to be great. Russell Martin got two hits tonight, pushing his line to .317/.442/.439. Rafael Furcal, who many of us were worried had seen his best days, had 3 hits and 4 RBI tonight – he’s hitting .362/.439/.483. James Loney still hasn’t homered, but he’s at .306 after his 2 hit, 2 RBI night. And don’t forget Casey Blake, at .319/.373/.532.
The point is, this group is good. Real good - perhaps historically so. So while no, Manny’s not going to hit .421, and Kemp’s not going to keep up the 81-homer pace he’s currently on, we could be in for a hell of a season. At the very least, a lot of 4-hour, 12-8 games, since the pitching and defense will make us want to step in front of a bus.
*******
I hate to ask, but I have to – particularly because I did on Twitter before it happened. Why, when you’re up 7 runs in a laugher of a game, did Joe Torre need to bring in Jeff Weaver in the 8th? Carlos Monasterios hadn’t pitched since Saturday, and it’s the perfect opportunity to allow him to eat up some low-pressure innings. But no, Torre had to go to Weaver for approximately the billionth time (okay, 9th), and Weaver made it through exactly one batter before straining what looked to be his hamstring. I get that managers don’t like Rule 5 picks, and prefer to avoid them at all costs, but if a 7-run lead in the 8th inning isn’t good enough, what is?
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What upset me most in this game was Torre’s placid demeanor when the umpires ridiculously reversed a judgment call on the trapped fly ball in right field. Yes, I think it was a trap, but once it’s called an out, that is the end of the inning. With a 266 pound pitcher running to first base and Ethier shallow, who is to say Andre doesn’t throw him out at first, IF he gets an immediate no out call. Torre stood there and quietly let the umps make a reversal that should never be allowed, instead of fighting for his team. Does he give a crap? I think he is more interested in his race horse, since after all, he gets emotional about seeing it run.
Comment by SamAdams— April 21, 2010 #
Iwas watching the game and thought the same thing. I was wondering WHY he wasn’t complaining or arguing…I just have felt like he seems tired this year and sometimes overmanages especially with his bullpen.
Comment by blue4life— April 22, 2010 #
Remember when we watched this team blow great pitching performances night after night a few years ago? This teams slogan should be: Dodger Baseball, Where No Lead is Safe — Not Yours, Not Ours.
Obviously, all this offense is fun and the pitching — if you can call it that — is frightening. I have no words to say about the defense, but, “GUHHHH” seems to suffice at this point.
They’ve turned into the Texas Rangers, circa 2004-05. Hits like Mays, Pitches like Hayes.
Comment by Vegas Blue— April 22, 2010 #
Just read the Steve Delbick piece in the LA Times about why the Dodgers should have DFA’D Ramon Ortiz instead of sending down Link. In the article he says that the Dodgers could offer to buy Carlos Monasterios from the Phillies rather than just giving him back to them.
Is this possible, and if the Phillies accepted what do we think it would cost. If we could buy him and then send him down to Triple A, then we could bring up Link and that might help the bullpen.
Comment by Louis— April 22, 2010 #
Any idea from Phillies fans on how highly regarded was Monasterios? If he was a fringe pitcher then i could see this happening. Man he has to stick with the club as payback for Victorino and Werth. Balance must be reestablished!
Comment by EephusBlue— April 22, 2010 #
I doubt they’d want to let the Dodgers keep him, since he’s been pretty decent in the bigs. The dollar figure wouldn’t be close to what a good prospect is worth.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— April 22, 2010 #
Couldn’t agree with you more about the use of Monasterios.
Comment by Greg— April 22, 2010 #
At this point, I’m just happy it wasn’t Ortiz.
Comment by Madeleine— April 22, 2010 #
Since this is possibly the last time I’m going to be living in the L.A. area (I live in Long Beach), I used my meager student loans to buy tickets to 6 games throughout the year (about 1 a month). Since I’ll be going to the games, I’d much rather watch 9-6 games than 3-1 games. It’s impossible to appreciate good pitching from the reserve deck, but it’s really easy to appreciate doubles and home runs.
Comment by johnclevenger— April 22, 2010 #
johnclevenger – I was at Kuroda’s near-perfect game, watching from the 1 section of the Infield Reserve. It was a 3-0 game, with all the runs coming from a combination of Blake DeWitt and Matt Kemp. It was amazing, and easy to appreciate.
Comment by Alireza— April 22, 2010 #
You can appreciate the result of the pitching, but you can’t really appreciate the pitching per se. Well, I can’t, perhaps you can. I can’t because I can’t see pitch placement. I can’t see how the pitcher approaches the hitter. I can’t see if the pitcher is hitting his spot. I _can_ see the hitter swing and miss, and I _can_ see the ump call balls and strikes, but I really can’t see the quality of the pitching.
Comment by johnclevenger— April 22, 2010 #
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