At Least They Showed Some Life
May 19, 2011 at 5:45 am | Posted in Juan Castro, Lance Cormier | 41 Comments
After the Dodgers fell behind 4-0 in the 4th inning thanks to the Giants ground-ball singling Clayton Kershaw to death (I believe his BABIP last night was somewhere north of eleven billion), I admittedly all but gave up on the chances for a comeback, particularly with Matt Cain throwing a perfect game through four innings and Brian Wilson looming. I’m sure I wasn’t alone in that; I imagine the television ratings in the Los Angeles area fell by about 75% between the fourth and sixth innings.
While it didn’t work out in the end – and believe me, we’ll get to two of the worst players in baseball and an indefensible managerial decision in a second – with how dire things have been lately, let’s at least give some small amount of credit for at least crawling back to tie in the 8th inning. Leading off the fifth, Matt Kemp popped his second homer of the week to ruin Cain’s perfecto and get the Dodgers on the board. They got another one in the 7th on a Rod Barajas RBI double, and after Mike MacDougal allowed a fifth run to San Francisco in the top of the 8th, the Dodgers exploded for three runs in the bottom of the frame to tie it up. The Giants used three pitchers against the first four Dodger batters, allowing singles to Jamey Carroll and Kemp, but retiring Aaron Miles and Andre Ethier. In came Brian Wilson, against the two most disappointing Dodger hitters, Juan Uribe and James Loney. Yet Uribe doubled, scoring two, and Loney followed with a single, bringing in Uribe to tie the game.
That sequence alone counts as a minor miracle, and hopefully it’s something to build on, so I’ll take it. Here’s where it fell apart, however. Having exhausted all his pitchers, Don Mattingly was forced to use his “break glass in case of emergency” pitcher, Lance Cormier in a tie game in the 9th. Even before this game, Cormier had been completely putrid, but at least he’d done so in the lowest of low-leverage situations. Of the seven games he’d entered before yesterday, only one ended up being even as close as a four run game. I will absolutely support Tony Jackson’s premise that Cormier’s extremely rare usage (he hadn’t pitched in eight days, and just twice since April 22 – nearly a month) contributed to his poor performance last night, but that doesn’t change the fact that he hasn’t gotten the job done all season. Predictably, Cormier couldn’t get through the inning when it actually mattered, allowing two singles before a three-run blast by Cody Ross put the game away.
Cormier’s not very good, and that’s no surprise, but with Vicente Padilla injured and Matt Guerrier & Kenley Jansen both unavailable except for emergency, Mattingly’s choices were obviously limited. But let’s step back to the fifth inning to see how he got into that situation in the first place. Down 4-1 after Kemp’s homer, the Dodgers managed to load the bases on two walks and a hit batter. Barajas flew out, bringing up Kershaw with the bases loaded and one out.
At this point, Mattingly had a decision to make, and you can make a great argument for either side here. He could let Kershaw hit for himself, knowing that unless he grounded into a double play, he’d still have Carroll up with men on and would still have his starter in the game. Since Kershaw hadn’t been hit particularly hard, you never want to take him out that early, particularly in a game where you know your bullpen is shorthanded. Or, as he did, you can figure that the offense has been so awful that you need to take advantage of any run scoring chance you can get, especially when you’re already down a few runs. Mattingly decided to pinch hit for Kershaw, and while I’m not sure I would have done the same thing, I have no problem with his choice.
Here’s where the problem comes in. Mattingly’s choices to hit for Kershaw, assuming you don’t want to waste the backup catcher that early, were Jerry Sands, Russ Mitchell, Tony Gwynn… and Juan Castro. None, I will grant, are great options. The clear choice is Sands, who has at least shown some extra base pop and is third on the team in doubles. You could argue for Gwynn, to get a lefty in there against the righty Cain.
But Mattingly chose Castro, and that’s where things went sideways. Castro is historically, unbelievably, amazingly atrocious. He owns one of the worst bats in major league history, and he’s 39 years old. He’s not even a lefty, which you might possibly have been able to argue. Yet that’s who Mattingly chose to hit with the bases loaded. Castro flew out, Carroll grounded out, and that threat was over. If you’re going to hit for the pitcher, that’s fine, but it’s pointless to waste Kershaw if you’re not even going to replace him with someone appreciably better. It’s no guarantee that Sands or Gwynn would have gotten the job done, but it was all but guaranteed that Castro would not. He didn’t, and with Kershaw gone, that’s how we ended up with Cormier in the ninth.
Still, for a game that seemed all but over in the 4th, at least the Dodgers woke up and showed some effort. After what we’ve seen over the last few weeks, that’s progress, even if it didn’t work out.
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I’ll be honest, I turned the game off when I heard Vin say that Castro was on deck for Kershaw.
Woke up to be surprised they came back, then not at all surprised the bullpen blew it, then the least bit surprised at all that it was Cormier…
I have said and will continue saying this until its not the case: WHY IS CORMIER EVEN ON THE ROSTER? Performance alone dictates he isn’t effective, and considering his usage rate he’s basically a waste of a bullpen spot.
The fact that Lance Cormier was pitching the 9th inning last night after that rally, and Castro hitting for Kershaw pretty much sums up what is wrong with the Dodgers right now.
Comment by Mike G— May 19, 2011 #
“The fact that Lance Cormier was pitching the 9th inning last night after that rally, and Castro hitting for Kershaw pretty much sums up what is wrong with the Dodgers right now.”
yes everything
Comment by David S— May 19, 2011 #
One other quick point:
If Jay Gibbons is going to be starting against righties (as it appears lately), is it time to talk about sending Sands back to AAA where he can play every night? Mattingly clearly doesn’t trust him against righties (see: Juan Castro last night), and despite the doubles maybe it would be better for Sands to spend a couple weeks building some positive momentum in the minors.
I love Sands, I just feel if he’s not playing every day and you are choosing Castro over him there’s no point in being up with the Dodgers.
Comment by Mike G— May 19, 2011 #
Hard for me to blame Mattingly for anything as he is a rookie at the table playing with a bad hand, but lifting Kershaw early to PH Castro was goofy. Might as well let Kershaw hit in that situation, he pitches another 2 innings and you hope, with 4 more innings to hit, the offense wakes up.
Frankly it was surprising the Dodgers got back in it. I went to bed early, but, it wasn’t on t.v. here anyway.
Read the Power Rankings this morning. Depending on which one you read we are between 23 and 26. And now we are tied with the dbacks in the standings, so, we got that going for us.
Comment by Rory— May 19, 2011 #
The answer is the play Sands every day and use Gibbons as an occasional starter and a bat off the bench. Cut Castro immediately along with Crummier. By next year I want to see Sands at first, Kemp in right, Ethier in left and either Robinson or a proven hitter in centerfield.
Comment by west coast ram— May 19, 2011 #
I’d rather see Sands in left and one of the Princes (Fielder or Albert) at first base.
Comment by Dave— May 19, 2011 #
Actually, I take that back… I think I’d rather see Andre in left and Sands in right. He seems to be a little better defensively.
Comment by Dave— May 19, 2011 #
No, both are left fielders at best.
Comment by west coast ram— May 19, 2011 #
With the bullpen so depleted shouldn’t they have had one of the starters on their throw day ready to go in an emergency?
Comment by Pmac— May 19, 2011 #
Chalk it up as another learning experience for Mattingly. Although unpleasant, I think this trial-by-fire season may end up making Donny a better manager in the long run. He’s in a difficult position, essentially trying to squeeze blood from a turnip every game. Come to think of it, that might be a good name for the Dodgers this year: the Turnips.
.
The thing I don’t understand is Mattingly’s aversion to giving Gwynn a chance to play. Is Junior radioactive?
Comment by Penguin's Pornstache— May 19, 2011 #
That would make more sense to me. This lineup isn’t going to score runs anyways so you might as well give the pitchers the best chance to steal a game by putting the best defenders out there.
Comment by Blake— May 19, 2011 #
Totally unrelated, but I just realized that if/when Casey Blake comes back, not only will be getting more time at 3rd, he will also be platooning at 1st with Loney, and perhaps pushing him to the bench. It’s not much, but a healthy Furcal and Blake would be huge compared to Miles and Loney. However, the problem still lies in LF…
Comment by SteveT— May 19, 2011 #
Mags made a rookie mistake pulling Kershaw for a PH — and exaggerated it by sending Castro up there. In that situation, you want to send somebody to the plate who has, at the very least, some GAP power to clear the bases, somebody who can put Cain on the path to unravelling.
But, more to the point — you absolutely HAD to get 7 innings out of Kershaw last night, when you go in KNOWING you have 3 or 4 arms in the ‘pen that can’t be used.
I also had a problem with the infield D in that 9th inning. The second single should have been a double play ball — Carroll was about two steps closer to the 2nd base bag than he should have been in my opinion (I had to rewind the DVR to check, but he was playing “up the middle” when, after the 1st single, he should have been playing the hitter to pull) And then, I don’t understand how Miles doesn’t get the throw off to first on the grounder to Uribe. YOU HAVE TO TURN THE DOUBLE PLAY THERE. You have to at least get a throw off. I don’t care if Scherholtz is running down the line like Usain Bolt, get the GD throw off. Miles just ate it instead, and then Cody Ross slams the dinger and it’s ballgame.
All that said, it’s refreshing to see this team show a little heart with that 8th inning rally.
Comment by Vegas Blue— May 19, 2011 #
Agree, except on Miles, with a guy on 3rd you don’t want to make a hurried, wild throw and let the run score when they had little chance to get the DP anyway. Schierholtz is lefty and decent speed so no chance on that play. Why force a throw?
The rest you got right on, sure was a frustrating loss.
Comment by Jon#7#22— May 19, 2011 #
Mattingly has to deal with a roster where they could easily dump 10 or 11 guys and we’d never miss them. That said, his use of Castro with the bases loaded is indefensible. Of course using Gibbons or Navarro anytime is indefensible too. What worries me, among a thousand other things, is Mattingly being more comfortable playing veterans. This is a team crying to give what few young guys we have a chance. Sands should play period. DeJesus should be in L.A. playing every day. Frankly, I’m surprised Mattingly didn’t have Castro bunt with the bases loaded and then say he was trying to stay out of the double play.
Comment by Denver Dodger— May 19, 2011 #
Can someone explain to me why Mattingly replaced Gibbons with Sands for the top of the Ninth, instead of switching him with the pitchers spot so that Sands would lead off the bottom of the Ninth instead of Russ “no hit” Mitchell, and save a player for the bench?
Comment by JasonG— May 19, 2011 #
Because there was no pitcher change….Cormier came in in the 8th so you can’t just plug a fielder in to the pitcher’s spot without taking the pitcher out of the game.
Comment by Jon#7#22— May 19, 2011 #
When I heard Castro was on deck I was just hoping that Barajas did something, anything, and hopefully hit a HR, cuz then I was thinking Kershaw might get to bat and stay in the game…..
Comment by Jon#7#22— May 19, 2011 #
I think we have bigger things to worry about then who plays in the OF and where. I’m fine with Kemp in CF, Ethier in RF, and would like to see Sands at 1B and Gwynn in LF.
Letting Cormier pitch the 9th inning in a tie game was profoundly ludicrous. We finally come back in a game and score 5 runs and Donnie couldn’t use Jansen or Guerrier in this “emergency” situation? Hadn’t Guerrier pitched in like every game anyways?
Comment by rudegirl3— May 19, 2011 #
Actually, not going to Gurrier or Jansen was probably the smartest thing Donnie did last night. Doing so would risk losing them for a lot more than one game. The problems are Cormier being on the roster over a more worthy pitcher, and all the injuries.
Comment by Dave— May 19, 2011 #
right.
Comment by Jon#7#22— May 19, 2011 #
This lineup needs help. More specifically, Kemp needs protection. I’m guessing that he was getting pitched around more often early in the season, and when pitchers found out that there’s no one behind him they started attacking him more. Kemp has 6 walks in his past 14 games, 2 in the last 7 days. Kemp is expanding his zone because he knows there’s no one else behind him who can take care of things. He’s putting too much on his shoulders. With the way he’s been striking out lately over the past 7 days, he’s on pace for 189 SO’s. Yeah, pretty bad. So who’s there to help him out? Uribe’s not doing it. Loney’s not going to and Barajas is not going to. This lineup desperately needs Blake and Furcal back. Then at least you could have Blake behind Kemp for some semblance of protection.
Comment by Tony Fernandez— May 19, 2011 #
who do you bat 2nd then?
Comment by Jon#7#22— May 19, 2011 #
Carroll 1st
Furcal 2nd
Kemp 3rd
Ethier 4th 1b
Uribe 5th
Sands 6th
Gwynn 7th
Ellis 8th
SP 9th
Comment by Jaydavis— May 19, 2011 #
When Blake and Furcal come back, I’d like to see this lineup:
Furcal
Carroll
Ethier
Kemp
Blake
Uribe
Barajas
Sands
But I realize that Loney will not be taken out of this lineup, so it’s just a pipedream.
Comment by Tony Fernandez— May 19, 2011 #
By the way, who wants Carlos Santana’s .360 OBP and 6 home runs over Barajas’ 7 HR and .270 OBP. That’s a tough one to get over.
Comment by Tony Fernandez— May 19, 2011 #
good news is we can be in last place come monday
Comment by jaydavis— May 19, 2011 #
“at least the showed some life” yea right..the next time they’re probably going to get at least five or more runs will be in the next couple of weeks…no no wait MONTHS! I gave up on them a while ago…like I said before just give up now, get the good draft pick, and be sellers at the deadline so we can at least get some decent players back.
Comment by GP— May 19, 2011 #
News from ABQ: Troncoso and Furcal are headed back to LA. Smith isn’t hurt bad, he’s back in the lineup at 3B. For more:
http://www.examiner.com/baseball-in-albuquerque/isotopes-notebook-pitching-short-supply-at-worst-time
Comment by Chris Jackson— May 19, 2011 #
Don’t tell me Padilla is going down now too.
Broxton
Kuo
Hawksworth
Padilla
Has there ever been a bullpen that was this decimated by injury (presumably)?
Comment by Tony Fernandez— May 19, 2011 #
Yup, Padilla is going on the DL.
In another note that wasn’t in there, Trayvon Robinson is playing LF from here on in ABQ. Dodgers’ orders.
Comment by Chris Jackson— May 19, 2011 #
Just another supid move for the Dodgers. Their goal should be to get Ethier out of right and move Kemp over there.
Comment by west coast ram— May 19, 2011 #
Castro bats second. There was really no one in the lineup that was better suited for the spot?
Comment by Tony Fernandez— May 19, 2011 #
…and the very next day, that life is gone.
Comment by Bip— May 19, 2011 #
The dodgers need a DH starting tonight. 100 bucks says mattingly started castro as DH
Comment by chris s— May 20, 2011 #
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