So, What’d I Miss?
May 3, 2010 at 11:24 am | Posted in Andre Ethier, Andrew Lambo | 20 CommentsEvery time I go away, something amazing happens. In June 2008, I took a weekend off and the Dodgers got no-hit by the Angels… and won. A few weeks later, I went on tour with the band and came back to find that Manny Ramirez and Casey Blake were now wearing Dodger blue.
And this weekend? Andre Ethier is a destroyer of worlds, apparently, hitting 4 homers in the last 3 games. That guy? He’s good. Plus Carlos Monasterios was surpisingly effective in his first big league start, and Blake DeWitt and Xavier Paul really stepped up as well. DeWitt, after a four-hit, two-double game on Sunday, now has his OPS+ up to 110. He’s proven that he’s worth investing more time in, and that’s all you could have hoped for after the first month. Paul had two hits on Sunday, and now has at least one hit in 4 of the 5 games he’s appeared in this season. With Manny set to return this weekend, lets all keep our fingers crossed that Paul sticks while Garret Anderson is sent to the glue farm.
Of course, I suppose it wasn’t all fun and games, since Vicente Padilla won’t be back for at least a month, and top prospect Andrew Lambo got suspended for 50 games for a violation of the drug policy. This isn’t a Manny situation, though, since he’s had marijuana issues before. Whether or not I really think that marijuana is a drug worth getting suspended for aside (it’s certainly not enhancing your play, is it?), if that’s what it was then he’s a world-class idiot.
Finally, anyone who’s ever read this blog knows very well about my distaste for using wins as a stat for pitchers, since they’re about as useful for measuring success as knowing a guy’s horoscope. But last year’s AL Cy Young winner, Zack Greinke, is really going to the extreme on it, and Big League Stew explains why perfectly:
After six starts, Greinke is 0-3. He’s on pace to finish with 214 strikeouts, an 0.98 WHIP, an ERA of 2.27 … and a record of 0-19.
If you’re judging pitchers by wins, Ramon Ortiz (who picked up his first this weekend) is beating Zack Greinke. If that doesn’t tell you all you need to know, nothing will.
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So I’m guessing you can only be suspended if you test positive during the season? Because if it is marijuana, you’d think Lincecum would have had some mandatory off, too, even if it was the off-season.
Comment by Madeleine— May 3, 2010 #
I think the difference is that Lambo failed a test, while Lincecum didn’t – he was just found with it. Plus, this wasn’t Lambo’s first failure.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— May 3, 2010 #
Is there any doubt that Anderson will be kept around while Paul gets sent back to AAA? These are the things I have come to expect.
Comment by Stephen— May 3, 2010 #
I mean, I agree with you… but GA’s hitting .119 with lousy defense, while Paul is producing. That’s hard to get around.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— May 3, 2010 #
Glue Factory!!! hahahah!
Seriously though, we have so many roster problems outside of the usual DL issues, which (unless Rafael pulls a Furcal) have been mostly short stints with injuries that shouldn’t return during the summer if given proper rest time now.
I think glue factory needs to become a more generic Dodger term for our roster problems, since we won’t make it to the playoffs unless the following are packaged together to the glue factory asap:
1) Garret Anderson
2) Ra. Ortiz
3) Haeger
Although this list doesn’t seem that long, we gotta remember that we are keeping Monasterios in the ‘pen for the whole season and sometime this season, on a day when we really need a Win, he may come in and pitch like a glue factory candidate that we just can’t send away.
Although its only one month into MLB 2010, I just don’t see this team outperforming last year and getting into the Wold Series. I think we will have to make a deadline/summer trade for a front end starter. Personally I am watching the slow start of Seattle (Cliff Lee) and Chicago (Gavin Floyd) with muted optimism.
Comment by Ghost of Ortizii Present— May 4, 2010 #
Agree! Send GA to the glue factory along with Torre’s horse. Come to think of it, Torre can ride his horse and join them at the glue factory.
Comment by SamAdams— May 3, 2010 #
Is that the horse he rode in on?
Comment by Bill Grabarkewitz— May 4, 2010 #
One other nice thing this weekend was a quality (by any definition) start from Billingsley and a superb outing by Kuroda. We need to dredge up a decent SP from somewhere, though, because after those two and Kershaw, the dropoff is sharp. We can’t expect all that much from Monasterios, although he has major league stuff from what I’ve seen. Ely, Haeger, and some AAA call-up follows.
Comment by SamAdams— May 3, 2010 #
The Belliard DP made the whole weekend. One of the best I’ve seen.
“Looking, looking, looking… Bingo.”
Comment by brooklyndoyer— May 3, 2010 #
Not to rain on the parade here, but, all this happened against the Pirates. And, frankly, they suck HomeBoyKris $^#%.
That said, they are also the perfect team to play to help get the ship righted in LA. And, MSTI — Look ahead on the schedule for May. The Dodgers play just 6 games away from Chavez Ravine — In San Diego & Arizona — simple bunny hops from LA (no jet lag, no long road trips back east, no major time zone differences, and players get a lot of time in their own beds).
The next 30 days are HUGE.
Comment by Vegas Blue— May 3, 2010 #
The next 30 days are HUGE? How bout the next 7 days are HUGE?! Not only do we need to win series against Milwaukee and the Rox, but we are going to get Ubaldo this weekend. Has anyone been watching him this season?? That guy has been nasty with a capital NASTY.
Comment by Ghost of Ortizii Present— May 4, 2010 #
My paper carried a piece today from the Seattle Times where a guy named Larry Stone provides his rankings of MLB teams. He’s got the Dodgers at number 28, with only the Royals and Orioles below them. Stone’s comment: “This would never have happened if Joe Torre were still alive.”
If you wonder why Anderson keeps popping up in critical situations, just check his salary out. Lots of teams do business with Rent-A-Wreck.
Comment by SC Dodger— May 3, 2010 #
Really, 3rd from the bottom? In a world with the Pirates and Astros? That’s harsh.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— May 3, 2010 #
He’s got the Pirates at #22 and the Astros at #27. More pertinent for the Dodgers, he’s got the Padres at #5 (comment: Bud Black is unanimous “manager of the one-eighth of a year”), the Giants at #8 (Comment: when it comes to Big3s, Lincecum-Cain-Zito supplants Zito-Hudson-Mulder), the Rockies at #14 and the D-Backs at #21. In short, Dodgers at the bottom of the food chain in the NL West.
Before I moved to South Carolina, I lived for 17 years in the SF Bay Area. Because of my born-and-bred L.A. background, I only followed the Giants to root for them to lose. My daughter got me into the A’s and they became my AL team. Loved Zito. Went to back-to-back games where Hardin took a perfect game into the 8th and Zito took a no-hitter into the 8th. Hardin has always been iffy, but Zito was the real deal. When he cashed in with the Giants, I wrote him off and reveled in his crappiness the first three years of the big contract.
IMO, if Zito is somehow back to the ’02-’05 Zito, the Dodgers are in trouble. They’ve got nothing to match the Giants’ big three. Not even close. Hitting, sure. But I always think of the Dodgers’ teams of the 60s. No Ramirez, Kemp or Ethier, but the two Hall of Fame pitchers and their friends found a way.
If you don’t have reliable pitching, you might find yourself ranked #28.
Comment by SC Dodger— May 3, 2010 #
You can be suspended during the off-season; the suspension begins when the season starts.
Comment by ecp— May 3, 2010 #
Before I even visited this page this morning, I KNEW you would allude to the fact that they do great things whenever you leave town…I was thinking the exact same thing. Time for you to pack up and leave town, Mike.
I was at the game Saturday night. Bummer they didn’t let Carlos try to get a 5th inning in. I’d like to see what he could do over a few starts.
Comment by Harrison— May 3, 2010 #
Hah. I don’t know whether to say “damn, I’m predictable” or “thanks for paying attention!”
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— May 3, 2010 #
Can you pencil in a vacation in October? You know, just in case?
Comment by Stephen— May 3, 2010 #
Ditto on the Giants’ pitching staff. If their starters remain healthy, this team could pull away from the pack. Lincecum may earn a third consecutive Cy Young this year. Cain is solid and continues to improve. And now it appears that Zito might be getting his mojo back. That would give them a very impressive top three. Behind them is Jonathan Sanchez, who is inconsistent, but has shown flashes of brilliance. If he were to also settle in, this team could rack up a lot of wins, especially now that they have a little more firepower at the plate.
The Dodgers have their work cut out. Thank goodness they’ve got Ethier, currently leading the National League in BA, HR, RBI, SLG, and OPS. How sweet is that!
Comment by mk— May 3, 2010 #
Times is saying Furcal to the DL and Nick Green gets the call. I will say it now, Neddie is a freakin’ idiot. Green is not exactly channeling Jose Offerman at Albuqueque, so let’s call the clown up because we need two offensive black holes on the bench.
I never thought I would pine for Alfredo Amezaga.
Comment by grabarkewitz— May 4, 2010 #