Chad Billingsley Is Not a Child
May 11, 2010 at 1:03 am | Posted in Andre Ethier, Chad Billingsley, Garret Anderson, Joe Torre, Ramon Troncoso | 35 CommentsFull disclosure: I spent most of tonight out sharing drinks with some friends, old and new, from Baseball Prospectus, Heater Magazine, and elsewhere, so I only caught the last two innings of tonight’s game. With it pushing 1am here in the East and work looming in the morning, it’s time to turn to every blogger’s favorite crutch: the lightning round.
I’m running out of adjectives to describe Andre Ethier. After three more hits and two RBI, he’s now up to .393/.452/.732. He’s leading all of baseball in batting average, slugging percentage, and OPS, and by quite a bit. We’re getting far enough into the season to almost consider this less of a “hot streak” and more of a “damned good player having a career year.” Of course, every hit increases the chance that the Dodgers won’t be able to afford him when he hits free agency after next year 2012. Hooray? Still, that’s a worry for another time, because what Ethier’s doing right now is historic, at least in Dodger terms.
Is this the most depressing seven-of-ten winning streak ever? A 70% clip will get you pretty far in baseball, but I’ll be damned if it feels that way. Then again, that’s what happens when you don’t know who’s starting the next night’s game half the time and those three losses have all been thanks to absolute disaster starts. While I think the negativity around here is well deserved, I also think it’s important to realize that this team is playing awfully, yet is still coming up with wins. Should they ever be able to put it all together at once, you might yet see something special.
What the hell is Joe Torre’s deal, part one? I love that Chad Billingsley was able to pull it together and get the win after his rough first inning the last time out. But he was clearly upset when leaving the mound, and I don’t blame him. He’d thrown only 90 innings, and while he certainly wasn’t Kershaw-level dominant, he was also up 4-1 when he left. Yes, he had put two men on base. But when you hear nonstop that Billingsley never works into the 7th inning… well, it’s pretty hard to do that when Torre apparently requires a no-hitter to be active before letting Billingsley get that far.
Garret Anderson may actually be dead. After another weak out today, his line is .122/.154/.204. That’s a .358 OPS. His OPS is almost 40 points lower than Ethier’s batting average. Can we please, please, please cut the cord already?
What the hell is Joe Torre’s deal, part two? Jonathan Broxton began warming in the 8th inning, with the Dodgers up 4-2. Fine. Yet the Dodgers put up 3 in the top of the 9th after RBI hits by Loney, Blake, and DeWitt, so Broxton sat down. Also fine. Yet with a five-run lead, who comes in? Not George Sherrill, who’s been horrible. Not Carlos Monasterios, who for all his success is still a Rule 5 pick. No, Torre inserts Ramon Troncoso, now on pace for over 90 games this year. I can’t even begin to explain how boned this team is if Troncoso, the most vital non-Broxton reliever, breaks down, so you’d think you’d want to save him for important situations. But wait! This gets better. Troncoso walked Chris Young, and then gave up an RBI single to Rusty Ryal… which gets Torre to warm Broxton up again.
Troncoso, of course, got the final three outs in the next two batters thanks to a strikeout and a game-ending double play. So Torre managed to work out both of his best relievers… in a five-run game. All this, while guys who practically have middle names of “put me in only in five-run games” sat and watched.
You’ve probably seen the stories floating around recently that say if the McCourt situation doesn’t get sorted out, Torre may not want to come back. Are we sure that’s such a bad thing?
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I have to disagree that Ramon is the second best reliever. That would Mr. Kuo.
Comment by KempKershaw— May 11, 2010 #
Okay, maybe “best” isn’t the right word – how about “counted on”.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— May 11, 2010 #
Considering Kuo’s injury, and Torre’s insistence on using Tron just about every damn game, I think counted on works.
Comment by KempKershaw— May 11, 2010 #
Even better news: Ethier will be here through 2012! :)
Comment by Eric Stephen— May 11, 2010 #
Never drink and blog, kids.
Comment by Mike Scioscias tragic illness— May 11, 2010 #
God knows I could stand to take that advice …
Comment by Rob McMillin— May 11, 2010 #
Lightning response:
Have to agree RE: Torre going somewhere else. Lately his decisions have really made me pause and wonder: Are worms eating his brain? I mean yikes. Some of his choices are flat out confusing. The fact that we are entertaining Ramon Ortiz starting over bringing up JMac (with the corresponding Ortiz DFA) is laughable. Worms man. Its worms.
and then this:
“Garret Anderson may actually be dead.” Holy crap that made me laugh. It may be Weekend at Bernie’s. Did GA actually move the bat or did the batboy trot him out there and prop him up in the box? Either way, same end result.
Comment by EephusBlue— May 11, 2010 #
Kuo is probably a better pitcher than Tron as long as you don’t consider durability. I would argue that Belisario is better than Tron though.
Either way none of them should have been pitching the ninth inning of this game. And for f&*#s sake, warming up is throwing pitches too. Even if they aren’t recorded.
Comment by @fostermatt— May 11, 2010 #
One thing you have to remember about Bills – the 6th inning has rarely been kind to him. I don’t blame Joe’s quick hook there. (we did win) But, I agree 100% on wasting Tronc & Broxton when Sherril and Monasterios are available for a confidence boosting. It was good to see Kuo look great – and good to get the win!
Comment by BotFot— May 11, 2010 #
Bills had pitched 6 innings in each of his previous 3 starts, and would have pitched into the 7th if he had not been pinch-hit for. Those games were 1-0 (losing), 5-2 (winning, bases loaded), and 4-3 (losing) if memory serves, so this whole “can’t make it into the 7th” is misleading in a major way.
Comment by KempKershaw— May 11, 2010 #
I hope this is Torre’s last season. His bullpen management is giving me heart disease. When it counts the most (like the ’09 postseason), he unspools whole coils of rope. And then when we’ve got a lead in May against the team that’s going to finish last in the NL West (with an even worse bullpen than ours so far), you yank your starter in a situation that could give him the brass to turn around his weak start to the season, and then send in the artillery instead of the light brigade. It’s like you can only watch the middle innings this year without pulling your hair out.
Comment by brooklyndoyer— May 11, 2010 #
Wasn’t this the rap on him from his days operating the Yankee slot machine?
Comment by Rob McMillin— May 11, 2010 #
Yes, yes it was. And he used Paul Quantrill and Scott Proctor like he’s now using Troncoso.
Comment by KempKershaw— May 11, 2010 #
If there is truth to the denied (by Torre) report that he won’t be back if the McCourt regime remains, then that’s a silver lining to the McDivorceCourt cloud.
Comment by SamAdams— May 11, 2010 #
Completely off topic… am I crazy in my thinking that we’ve already gotten the better end of the Slappy McPopup trade? This Ely kid looks sharp.
Comment by Reese— May 11, 2010 #
I thought we got the better end about 30 seconds after the trade was finalized. The fact that Ely & Link might actually be able to play is just icing on the cake.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— May 11, 2010 #
Have to agree. As soon as I heard JP was gone I was giddy. That we got a pair of players that may actually have value, thats just nutty. I thought we would have to endure his constant weak pop ups for another three years. But that giddiness was quashed by the addition of GA. Really GA is worse than JP and I didnt think that would have been possible. I want GA gone before Ortiz. At least Ortiz can maybe get you an inning. GA is just embarrassing.
Comment by EephusBlue— May 11, 2010 #
Actually, I thought he was Slappy McDribbler.
Comment by WBB— May 11, 2010 #
The Slappy McPopup trade was a win from the word “go”, of the “Great trade! Who’d we get?” variety.
Comment by Rob McMillin— May 11, 2010 #
Juan Pierre: He hits the highest pop-ups and hardest ground balls you’ll ever see.
Comment by KempKershaw— May 11, 2010 #
I am not defending Torre’s actions by any means, however he seems to be up against the wall with the players they have given him. When you look at your team and some of your options are Ramon Ortiz and Garret Anderson, that might not let you think straight. Granted you are getting paid very (VERY) well to manage a baseball team, so take it seriously. But I think the blame should be shared by the McCourts for cutting payroll this year.
Comment by S.V.— May 11, 2010 #
I agree, there’s no way Bills is going to work through whatever issue (if it’s not random) of getting out of the 6th if he gives up a hit and is immediately yanked. Lame.
Comment by b.rock— May 11, 2010 #
Bills had pitched 6 innings in his 3 previous starts.
Comment by KempKershaw— May 11, 2010 #
To talk about GA (even though it makes me vomit), at least he is only a pinch hitter and only ruins one AB. When Juan was here, he started and some how ruin 6 AB in only 4 plate appearances. So when you calculate Reed in their with by comparison god like defense it is a huge up grade. So if Link and Ely can stand on the mound this is the most one sided trade since the Manny trade.
Comment by ramo— May 11, 2010 #
I’ve noticed this line popping up a lot in Dodger blogs lately “the Dodgers cant afford him”. There is really no reason why this should be true, especially in Ethier’s case. He is not a pitcher with a bum shoulder from San Francisco, or a malcontent that was kicked out of Boston. He’s a young, dynamic hitter that’s improved every year in the big leagues. Pay the guy what it takes to keep him. I’m sure I dont need to mention ticket prices, parking, and concessions going up every year and payroll going from 120 million to around 90 million. Dont be fooled by the Dodgers “empty pockets”. They’re making more money now than they ever have
Comment by BlueCorona— May 11, 2010 #
Somebody’s gotta pay for the divorce, and that sombody would be … you, Mr. and Mrs. Dodger Fan from Anytown, U.S.A.!
Comment by Rob McMillin— May 11, 2010 #
I thought i was the only one cursing at the TV! Torre makes some boneheaded moves sometimes i wonder what people saw in him? Are the haters right in that it was the Yankee payroll that won them those championships? Going back to Game 3 or 4 of the 08 NLCS, we were rolling with Kuo striking out Philthies left and right, from what i remember he gets pulled and we go on to lose the game.
Comment by Astrozombie— May 11, 2010 #
Oh wow. Apparently Torre told reporters today that GA in the other dugout coming off the bench would scare him. Really? Really Joe? I wish we kept Eyechart. I keep thinking about that scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade with the knight when the bad guy drinks the wrong cup. “He chose…….poorly”. BOO! BOOOOO GA! BOOOOO!
Comment by EephusBlue— May 11, 2010 #
Couldn’t agree more. GA wouldn’t scare me if he was in the on deck circle with a hand grenade.
Comment by keithc13— May 11, 2010 #
“GA in the other dugout coming off the bench would scare him”
Scary in a dead-come-back-to-life zombie sort of way.
Comment by mk— May 11, 2010 #
Regarding Torre, I do think he’s a great manager in the same way Phil Jackson’s a great coach. A lot of what he does for this team doesn’t show up in the box score. But he needs to turn over the reigns to the bullpen. He’s proven over the years that he has no clue when it comes to managing a bullpen (odd trait for an ex-catcher.) And while we’re at it, I am not impressed in the least with Rick Honeycutt. Maybe a new pitching coach might be the answer. The batting coach, however, deserves heaps of praise. Those guys approach the plate with so much more patience now that Mattingly’s had them for a couple years. Kudos to him!
Comment by Doug Harris— May 12, 2010 #
[...] were not also the one making sure other starters don’t get into the seventh. For example, what I said after Chad Billingsley’s start on Monday: I love that Chad Billingsley was able to pull it together and get the win after his rough first [...]
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[...] just a few days later… I’m running out of adjectives to describe Andre Ethier. After three more hits and two RBI, [...]
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[...] of not going further than six innings – though it soon became apparent this was more of a Joe Torre problem than a Chad Billingsley problem: I love that Chad Billingsley was able to pull it together and get [...]
Pingback by MSTI’s 2010 in Review: Starting Pitchers, Part 1 « Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— November 2, 2010 #
[...] May 11: Jonathan Broxton began warming in the 8th inning, with the Dodgers up 4-2. Fine. Yet the Dodgers put up 3 in the top of the 9th after RBI hits by Loney, Blake, and DeWitt, so Broxton sat down. Also fine. Yet with a five-run lead, who comes in? Not George Sherrill, who’s been horrible. Not Carlos Monasterios, who for all his success is still a Rule 5 pick. No, Torre inserts Ramon Troncoso, now on pace for over 90 games this year. I can’t even begin to explain how boned this team is if Troncoso, the most vital non-Broxton reliever, breaks down, so you’d think you’d want to save him for important situations. But wait! This gets better. Troncoso walked Chris Young, and then gave up an RBI single to Rusty Ryal… which gets Torre to warm Broxton up again. [...]
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