Russ Mitchell Is Getting His Money’s Worth
September 10, 2010 at 5:44 pm | Posted in Russ Mitchell | 17 CommentsThe official Dodger Twitter feed has tonight’s lineup…
#Dodgers lineup: Furcal-6, Carroll-4, Blake-5, Ethier-9, Kemp-8, Johnson-7, Mitchell-3, Barajas-2, Kuroda-1
…and what’s notable here is that Russ Mitchell is getting his third straight start, two of which have come over James Loney. That’s the same Russ Mitchell who’s 0-5 with a K in his first two games, and who I said I didn’t have high hopes for. Don’t get me wrong; this is a good thing, since I’ve been saying that it’s time to see what the new guys can do for a while. It’s just very odd, especially on a Joe Torre team, to see a mid-level prospect like Mitchell get that sort of immediate treatment.
My prediction? Tonight’s the night they break out, because it’s the first time since July (I believe) that neither Scott Podsednik or Ryan Theriot are in the lineup. They’ll put up 11 runs on 14 hits, and then tomorrow Torre will play them both, saying, “runs are nice, but we need more grit.”
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Wear #9, get inexplicable love from Joe Torre.
Comment by Josh S.— September 10, 2010 #
I just noticed the Wallach in 2011. Awesome
Comment by Damon— September 10, 2010 #
That DOES sound like a typical Torre justification. Kinda like that circular argument of BS about why Manny wasn’t playing.
Comment by Jeff— September 10, 2010 #
Pods is a solid ballplayer. His batting average may be better than he is in actuality, and he is overpaid, but to act like he is bad is just wrong.
Comment by Jason— September 10, 2010 #
Pods is no better than a fourth outfielder on an any team that hopes to be a contender.
Comment by WBB— September 10, 2010 #
Whenever his OPS is near .800 or his OBP is near .360, he becomes almost acceptable in an everyday lineup. I say “almost” because, let’s face it, there’s only a handful of major league outfielders who are worse defensively than Pods.
Comment by The Dude Abides— September 10, 2010 #
HORRIBLE!!! I don’t get what people see in this guy, low OBP low SLG, the guy only hits singles! TERRIBLE outfielder, i told people “i don’t remember Manny ever giving up an inside the park home run”…….and was hitting .100 since Manny got dumped IIRC….just another Pierre, but he was better than Manny according to Joe and was supposed to be the “Catalyst” according to the media LMAO
Comment by DodgersKings323— September 11, 2010 #
Pods is a white Juan Pierre
Comment by Damon— September 10, 2010 #
This team was jacked up long before Pods became an issue. I do laugh at the fact that Pods can’t throw the ball on the fly “all the way to shortstop.” Ned thought it was ok to lose Hudson and Wolf and then replace them with Blake D aswell as a mystery guy to replace the fifth starter. This team was consistent all year long. They sucked from start to finish. Who could have predicted that Broxton, Kemp and Ethier would all have down years in the same year? Manny and Furcal being hurt was no surprise but it sure hurt the team. There is always next season. Let’s hope the Giants don’t get in the playoffs.
Comment by Adonis— September 11, 2010 #
You know, I get the point of the whole “gritty gamer” thing – it’s a protest against using the whole veteran dirt on the uniform thing to make your lineup instead of tangible measures that would favor younger players. And for the most part, I see the point and agree. (Really, I do.) I just happen to think it has become a cult religion that is used as the theory of the baseball universe, and that it just doesn’t cut it.
The way it is harped on in the blogosphere, you would think it is the reason the Dodgers have sucked this year. It isn’t. I know it would be nice to think that Scott Posednik and Garrett Anderson (and even George Sherrill) held the team back instead of the non-progression of Broxton, Kemp, Martin, Loney, and Ethier…or even the light contributions of oft injured Manny and Furcal. Those are the players we’ve watched develop, the “talent” we have counted on. This year, anyway, they COLLECTIVELY didn’t get it done. So, criticize Torre and Coletti and McCourt and Anderson and Theriot and anyone else you can think of….but this year, that core of a NLCS team did not perform well enough.
Comment by David Sheridan— September 11, 2010 #
I think it’s both, though. Yes, of course, the main reason this team failed is because Manny & Furcal & Ethier got hurt, and because Kemp & Broxton didn’t live up to expectations, and any number of other things. I also think that Torre/Colletti choosing to not put the best lineup out there everyday, in part because of “gritty veteranness”, hurt too.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— September 11, 2010 #
Well, I think with this site anyway I’m preaching to the choir a bit, because there tends to be a bit more balance. But there is this seeming need to deflect criticism from certain players, Kemp and Broxton specifically, because the mainstream media. (cough cough PLASCHKE, etc) are so irrational in their assessments, and have been so willing to run with any story of coach criticism of those players. The blog reaction in general, I have noticed, can be as constrained by it’s own brand of conventional wisdom (Torre this, Coletti that) as the people they criticize, and it becomes far more about being right than about being accurate. Just saying.
Comment by David sheridan— September 11, 2010 #
….by right I mean winning the argument, or even just the ability to self righteously vent, in a sense. I get venting with a season like this…
Comment by David sheridan— September 11, 2010 #
Right, there is plenty on this and the other blogs about how much the regression of Kemp, Ethier, and Broxton has contributed to this sorry season. We also know that it was Torre who destroyed Broxton this season. He’s at least 70% responsible, as it was his overuse during that five-day stretch in late June, culminating in that 48-pitch disaster against the Yankees in that fifth day of the five, a few hours after Torre told the press he was holding Ox out of that day’s game because he had pitched on three of the four previous days and warmed up hard the one day he didn’t pitch. I think Broxton’s ERA was around 0.85 before that Yankee game, and it’s been above 7.50 since.
Comment by The Dude Abides— September 11, 2010 #
You just said that Joe is 70 (seventy…. 7 followed by a zero). Percent responsible for Brox’s performance. I mean, think about that. I know you are loyal to a favorite player, and I like him too… But don’t you think that is a tad high? I mean, how do you “know” something like that…. Brox’s has been in the bigs since 05 call up…. Maybe 06 I can’t recall… And you are saying that one brief stretch months ago is responsible for several additional months of funk. I’m not even suggesting that was good bullpen management. I am suggesting that the player has to be accountable, even if his name is Broxton or Kemp. You aren’t all that different than the papers then, it’s just that your whipping boy is Torre instead. Truth is players have not gotten it done this time. Joe hasn’t helped them out of the funk either, so that’s on him.
Comment by David sheridan— September 12, 2010 #
But no Lindsey start as predicted eh?? Of course
Comment by DodgersKings323— September 11, 2010 #
Hey guys, I’ve been in the hospital for a few days so I’m behind the times. I was just wondering, did Joe Torre announce his retirement? Is that why we have the Wallach in 2011 sign up there?
Comment by Jorge— September 11, 2010 #