Joe Torre Doesn’t Understand Irony
May 13, 2010 at 4:18 pm | Posted in Joe Torre, John Ely | 22 Comments
Since the team is 8-3 in July May and just swept Arizona, I won’t get overly negative. Still, I couldn’t help but chuckle at Joe Torre’s quote about how John Ely’s done well for the team:
“He’s one of our starters right now,” Torre said after Ely pitched six-plus innings. “[Vicente] Padilla is more than a month away. I don’t see where he’s [Ely] in any danger.” [...]
“His command has been terrific,” said Torre. “He makes it look — I don’t want to say easy — but simple. And that’s the thing that’s been escaping our club — getting deep into the game. He’s got us to the seventh inning each time.” (via Sons of Steve Garvey)
Hey, don’t get me wrong; Ely’s been great. But read that last line of Torre’s quote again. He sure does seem to place a lot of importance on a starter getting to the seventh inning, doesn’t he? I’d completely agree with that stance as well… if Joe Torre 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 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.
Which was nicely echoed by Eric Stephen at True Blue LA:
The narrative about Chad is one of the poor second half pitcher last season, not of his two solid years of performance prior to that. That narrative will never change if Billingsley is not given the opportunity to change it. If there was ever a time to let Billingsley work out of a tough spot — three run lead, well rested arm, an extra day of rest pending — this was it. Part of Billingsley pitching into the seventh is his manager giving him a chance.
Torre has stated on several occasions that he has confidence in Billingsley. It would be nice if he backs up those words with actions.
Well played, Joe.
*****
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Good stuff, Mike. I eagerly await the snapping of Billingsley’s lack of 7th innings this Sunday in the last place he pitched into the 7th (incidentally, also on a Sunday. Dun dun dunnnnnn)!
Comment by Eric Stephen— May 13, 2010 #
July? MSTI’s latest WordPress upgrade apparently includes a crystal ball!
Comment by Rob McMillin— May 13, 2010 #
I’ll bite, I’m confused. What are you talking about?
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— May 13, 2010 #
You said the Dodgers are 8-3 in July.
Comment by Throwdeuce— May 13, 2010 #
hah, so I did. What about the 90 inning mark?
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— May 13, 2010 #
I think you said that Bills had pitched 90 Innings, not 90 pitches in his game
Comment by Throwdeuce— May 13, 2010 #
ugh. I’m a mess lately. Stretched too thin.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— May 13, 2010 #
You just keep making good points. We can help with the editing.
Comment by Chris— May 14, 2010 #
Plus — 90 innings? Holy moly, talk about pitcher abuse! And we’re nowhere near the halfway mark!
Comment by Rob McMillin— May 13, 2010 #
It’s ok, MSTI — once in a serious business seminar in college, I was told to paraphrase key terms for a precise I had to write about a book we read. One of the terms, axis mundi, referred to the cultural center of the universe. In one instance, it was a very tall wooden pole that connected the people and earth to the heavens. So, writing under duress, I called it a “holy pole”. My TAs couldn’t stop laughing.
Comment by Madeleine— May 13, 2010 #
By which, I mean, your mistake is totally not embarrassing and completely understandable.
Comment by Madeleine— May 13, 2010 #
You should make the Sports Interaction logo itself clickable, you’ll probably get more clicks that way.
Comment by johnclevenger— May 13, 2010 #
I love how you cross out your mistakes. It adds likeability to your site. Also hope you got paid for your clickable ad.
Comment by ramo— May 13, 2010 #
Thought for tonight’s game:
I have little hope for Ortiz beating Garland anyways, so, after a nice little streak where Colletti and Torre know what good pitching looks like, how about Ortiz blowing it super hard and getting absolutely shelled so that they can release his sorry ass?
Comment by Harrison— May 14, 2010 #
Uh, no. I would rather he pitch a shutout and we win.
Comment by EephusBlue— May 14, 2010 #
Duh, dude. That’s like saying you’d prefer to see goodness prevail on earth. It was a stupid point about losing a small battle to win a moral victory.
Comment by Harrison— May 15, 2010 #
So it looks like Eyechart has opted out of his contract with the Marlins. Are we going to make a run at him again?
Comment by EephusBlue— May 14, 2010 #
WE WON! Ramon leads us to the promise land! Oh wait….its just a single win and it was Kemp and Kuo really. WE WON!
Comment by EephusBlue— May 15, 2010 #
Is there anyone willing to say Manny isn’t the most important player on our team. Not the best, but we play so much better with him in the lineup….
Comment by John Young— May 15, 2010 #
When healthy, he’s our best and most consistent offensive player. And he helps whoever is in front of him get better pitches.
The only one not willing to admit that is Bill Plaschke.
Comment by KempKershaw— May 15, 2010 #
The most recent Arizona game (Kuroda won 6-3) had a classic situation: Dodgers with runners on second and third, two outs, Ethier at the plate. Edwin Jackson intentionally walks AE (much to my surprise) to pitch to Manny with the bases loaded. Ramirez responds by ripping a double to center, driving in three.
Manny is an amazing hitter and, I suspect, a good influence on the young hitters on this team. For instance, I think he helped Ethier loosen up and relax, not only by hitting behind him, but also by example (Manny is Mr. Loose).
Comment by mk— May 15, 2010 #
Plaschke is a horse’s ass. Manny Ramirez is Manny Ramirez. He’s been hurting much better pitchers than Edwin Jackson for many years. Righty-lefty matchup? Doesn’t matter. Arizona should have had the righty pitch to Ethier. Letting the up-and-coming superstar beat you is one thing. Choosing to pitch to the hall-of-famer is another.
Ramirez is a primal force of nature. Walking anybody else to get to him isn’t smart. Nobody walked Gehrig to get to Ruth. He represents a good decision on the part of Colleti, who’s not known for good decisions. And it seems that whether sports writers like him or not, Manny is a positive influence in the clubhouse. If he stays healthy and the other guys perform as we hope they can, the Dodgers can ride Manny a long way.
Comment by sc dodger— May 15, 2010 #