Daily Archives: August 27, 2011

Matt Kemp is the Hero, But James Loney Is the Conundrum

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Hey, remember earlier today, when I said that James Loney had hit six of his last eight homers against Colorado? Well, let’s make that seven of nine after his game-tying blast with one out in the ninth against Rockie righty Rafael Betancourt.

Back to Loney in a second, because let’s not skip how we got to that point: Chad Billingsley staked the Rockies to a 4-0 lead, allowing 10 hits in six innings (including  a Troy Tulowitzki dinger) in his continuing quest to confound us by throwing out starts that don’t seem to be effective yet add up to one of the better pitchers in the league. The Dodgers fought back to take the lead with five runs in the sixth, partially on five hits but also in part due to errors by catcher Chris Iannetta and third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff. (By the way, since Andre Ethier was thrown out at the plate trying to score on Casey Blake‘s double, that meant that both hitting outs were made by Trent Oeltjen, who popped out starting the inning hitting for Billingsley, and struck out to end it.) Hong-Chih Kuo gave the lead back by allowing Tulowitzki’s second homer of the day, a two-run job in the seventh, and that’s how the Dodgers found themselves down 6-5 headed into the 9th, where Loney tied the game.

Thanks to 4.1 scoreless innings from Matt Guerrier, Scott Elbert, Javy Guerra, and Mike MacDougal (who got the win, because of course he did), 6-6 was the score through the bottom of the 11th. Loney was unable to single-handedly make the earth cave in upon itself by hitting a walkoff, but it didn’t matter: Matt Kemp took up the slack by crushing a Jason Hammel pitch into the nearly empty bleachers for his 31st homer of the year and 100th RBI. MVP? MVP.

But back to Loney. I’ve been making jokes about his performance against the Rockies for some time now, chalking most of it up to the Coors Field effect. Clearly, that doesn’t hold water anymore; the last two have come at home. He’s now hit just two homers in the last 362 days that didn’t come against Colorado. The Dodgers finish off the series against the Rockies with Nathan Eovaldi against Jhoulys Chacin tomorrow, before welcoming San Diego into town. Has Loney really turned some kind of corner? Or will he turn back into a pumpkin as soon as Jim Tracy and crew leave town? More importantly, is this going to convince Ned Colletti to tender him a contract after the season? I still think it’s unlikely at the price he’d get in arbitration, but the last week or two has thrown some doubt into the conversation…

James Loney’s Obsession With the Rockies

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James Loney has seven homers this season. Anything stand out to you on the list below?

2011 HRs Date Pitcher RBI BOP WPA Play Description
1 2011-04-06 @ COL Jason Hammel 1 5 0.091 Home Run (Fly Ball to Deep RF)
2 2011-05-27 FLA Javier Vazquez 1 6 0.122 Home Run (Fly Ball to Deep RF Line)
3 2011-05-30 COL Jason Hammel 2 6 0.043 Home Run (Fly Ball to Deep RF); Ethier Scores
4 2011-06-12 @ COL Ubaldo Jimenez 4 5 0.329 Home Run (Fly Ball to Deep RF); Carroll, Miles, Kemp, Loney Score
5 2011-08-07 @ ARI Ian Kennedy 1 6 0.116 Home Run (Fly Ball to Deep CF-RF)
6 2011-08-21 @ COL Kevin Millwood 1 6 0.118 Home Run (Fly Ball to Deep RF)
7 2011-08-26 COL Matt Reynolds 2 2 0.078 Home Run (Fly Ball to Deep CF-RF); Sellers Scores
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/27/2011.

Five of the seven have come against the Rockies. That’s 71.4% of his 2011 dingers, despite the fact that only 12.9% of his 2011 plate appearances have come against Colorado. But it gets better; his final homer in 2010, the only one he hit from September 1 on… came in Colorado on September 28 against last night’s starter, Esmil Rogers, so six of Loney’s last eight dingers (you know, the eight whole homers he’s hit in nearly the last calendar year) have come against Colorado.

If you’re Colorado, how are you not making a low-risk play for Loney this winter, even with the presence of Todd Helton? Not only to get Loney hitting in Coors Field every day, but to stop having to see him in the opposing lineup.

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More confirmation of why Dioner Navarro got cut, from Tony Jackson:

Dioner Navarro’s ouster from the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier this week was hastened by a failure to devote the requisite time to game preparation that is expected of a catcher, multiple sources said before Friday night’s game against the Colorado Rockies. Navarro was designated for assignment on Tuesday, giving the Dodgers 10 days from that point to trade him, release him or outright him to the minors after he clears waivers.

Good riddance. For a guy who wasn’t performing at the plate, was having defensive issues, and had a history of locker room issues (quitting on Tampa Bay last year), the lack of effort is shocking. Fortunately, he’ll be someone else’s problem now.

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Steve Dilbeck of the LA Times wants the Dodgers to trade Jamey Carroll:

Work the deal. Get what you can, even if it’s precious little.

Carroll deserves the opportunity to play for a contender, to make a real postseason contribution. At his age, he may not get another chance. The Milwaukee Brewers had reportedly talked to the Dodgers about Carroll prior to the July 31 non-waiver trading deadline.

I agreed with this at the July 31 deadline. Carroll was a potentially valuable piece to a contender, and could have brought back a decent return. But now, I’m not even sure it’s worth it, since the Dodgers would only be able to talk to the team that claims him, preventing any sort of bidding war. (Such as it were.) It’d be nice for Carroll, I suppose, and I agree that he’s not a part of the team future. But I also understand the thought that with Juan Uribe out, Dee Gordon not back, and Casey Blake unreliable, you want to make sure you have more than just Aaron Miles and Justin Sellers to finish out the season. (Eugenio Velez doesn’t count. Eugenio Velez never counts.)

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Russ Mitchell, catcher? Don Mattingly noted that the team will try him behind the plate during winter ball in an effort to increase his versatility. Mitchell’s probably never going to hit enough to be an everyday player, so if he can make this stick, all the better for him. (It’s here where I’ll try to forget Ned Colletti’s claims that “catchers can’t be made”, at the time of the Trayvon Robinson deal.) Usually conversions like this happen in the low minors, though; I can’t think of another recent example where this kind of move has been tried (successfully) for a player who Mitchell’s age who has already seen big league time.