No,that is not a typo. That was, indeed, the final score last night. In case you missed it, you missed history in the making last night. In the first game of a double-header against the Orioles at Camden Yards in Baltimore, the Rangers amassed 30 (yes, that's right, 30!) runs in a 30-3 beatdown of the Orioles. The Rangers, who trailed at one point 3-0 after three innings, scored in just four of the nine innings, scoring five runs in the 4th, nine in the 6th, 10 in the 8th and six more in the 9th, en route to the... well, rout! The 30 runs scored is a modern-day Major League record (110 years since the last 30-run outburst by one team in a nine inning game). The Rangers hit two grand slams, and they had two other hitters hit two home runs with 7 RBI... each! Some of the other numbers and tidbits are staggering! Want to see more of it? Check out ESPN.com's breakdown of the numbers here. There was even a save earned in this game!
Thursday, August 23, 2007
What A Difference...
A week makes. Still no winning streak of more than three games, but only two losses (one being the 14-inning affair last Saturday against the Rockies that saw them erase a 4-1 deficit in the 7th and 8th innings) since last Tuesday's bizarre ending. And despite the Dodgers insistence of still giving Gonzo regular playing time (more on this in a minute) despite his poor second half, and despite Kemp and Ethier's hot hitting of late, the offense has regained its groove. The pitching, minus Brett Tomko's start on Tuesday, has been brilliant in the last week. But could that have been his last start? He is scheduled to go Sunday, but that could change by tomorrow.
A follow-up to a Buster Olney of ESPN.com report I mentioned a week ago, according to the Newark Star-Ledger (via MLBTradeRumors.com and Rotoworld.com), David Wells might be close to signing with the Dodgers for the remainder of the season. If the deal gets done by tomorrow, he could start Sunday's game in NY at Shea against the Mets. At this point, I figure almost anyone might be a better option than Tomko.
Ok, back to Gonzo. For those who know me, I've been very skeptical of the Dodgers signings this past off-season since they happened, especially Gonzo's (mostly because they had already inked Juan Pierre to his ridiculous five-year deal). Now, I like the guy, and he's been a solid ballplayer for many years (and he showed some of this in the first half of the season, silencing me during that time), but there really is no excuse for him getting any regular playing time these days. Rotoworld had this to say abut Gonzo a couple hours ago, and I can't help but agree with it:
Gonzalez is batting just .224 with one homer in 107 at-bats since the All-Star break. He's even stopped walking, with just five base on balls in the second half after he had 41 in 293 at-bats before the break. Especially after factoring in defense, the Dodgers would seem to be quite a bit better off with both Ethier and Kemp playing regularly right now. Blame Grady Little for continuing to sign play Gonzalez, but also blame GM Ned Colletti, who gave the 39-year-old a $7.35 million contract when there was very little upside to the move. Plus, Colletti had to know Little would stick with him far too long if he wasn't any good.
A follow-up to a Buster Olney of ESPN.com report I mentioned a week ago, according to the Newark Star-Ledger (via MLBTradeRumors.com and Rotoworld.com), David Wells might be close to signing with the Dodgers for the remainder of the season. If the deal gets done by tomorrow, he could start Sunday's game in NY at Shea against the Mets. At this point, I figure almost anyone might be a better option than Tomko.
Ok, back to Gonzo. For those who know me, I've been very skeptical of the Dodgers signings this past off-season since they happened, especially Gonzo's (mostly because they had already inked Juan Pierre to his ridiculous five-year deal). Now, I like the guy, and he's been a solid ballplayer for many years (and he showed some of this in the first half of the season, silencing me during that time), but there really is no excuse for him getting any regular playing time these days. Rotoworld had this to say abut Gonzo a couple hours ago, and I can't help but agree with it:
Gonzalez is batting just .224 with one homer in 107 at-bats since the All-Star break. He's even stopped walking, with just five base on balls in the second half after he had 41 in 293 at-bats before the break. Especially after factoring in defense, the Dodgers would seem to be quite a bit better off with both Ethier and Kemp playing regularly right now. Blame Grady Little for continuing to sign play Gonzalez, but also blame GM Ned Colletti, who gave the 39-year-old a $7.35 million contract when there was very little upside to the move. Plus, Colletti had to know Little would stick with him far too long if he wasn't any good.
I'll leave it at that for now.
Anyway... nice effort the last two games in Philly. D-Lowe and Billingsley finally each found the win column again, but it was more than just run support. They both pitched solid games last night and today, respectively. They both looked like they finally found their groove again. D-Lowe had been struggling since his hip injury a month ago, and while Billingsley had been pitching solidly even before today, it was good to seem him finally get some run support for a win. The Dodgers touched the dish 20 times (15 last night) in these two games, and hopefully they can carry this combo of timely hitting and solid, effective, consistent pitching into this weekend's showdown at Shea as they continue their push back into a playoff spot.
Anyway... nice effort the last two games in Philly. D-Lowe and Billingsley finally each found the win column again, but it was more than just run support. They both pitched solid games last night and today, respectively. They both looked like they finally found their groove again. D-Lowe had been struggling since his hip injury a month ago, and while Billingsley had been pitching solidly even before today, it was good to seem him finally get some run support for a win. The Dodgers touched the dish 20 times (15 last night) in these two games, and hopefully they can carry this combo of timely hitting and solid, effective, consistent pitching into this weekend's showdown at Shea as they continue their push back into a playoff spot.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
This Just In...
According to Buster Olney of ESPN.com, the Dodgers (and Rockies) are showing interest in starting pitcher David Wells. Wells cleared waivers and became a free agent Thursday. Stay tuned as this story continues to develop...
Taking A Break...
And a good break it is for the Dodgers. They finally seemed to put it all back together again last night and earned a well-deserved and much-needed victory last night. And a team effort it was, too. Martin had two home runs and three RBI, Kemp had two hits, an RBI and a stolen base, and Pierre had two hits and a couple of stolen bases. Penny pitch a solid six innings before turning it over to Proctor, Brox and Saito in the final three innings. The win exemplified the way the team was playing earlier in the season when they were winning games. Hopefully they can continue that tonight. In the words of the manager in the movie Major League 2, "We won a game yesterday. We win tonight, that's two in a row. We win tomorrow, that's called a winning streak. It has happened before."
Didn't get a chance to chime in after Tuesday night's bizarre ending. Unfortunately, the way that game ended truly exemplified how this team has played over the last three weeks. Really, it seemed like they were finding ways to lose games, rather than finding ways to win them. So hopefully, they'll avoid games like that, and use last night's win as a starting point to get some kind of long winning streak going. This team has yet to have a winning streak of more than five games all season.
Didn't get a chance to chime in after Tuesday night's bizarre ending. Unfortunately, the way that game ended truly exemplified how this team has played over the last three weeks. Really, it seemed like they were finding ways to lose games, rather than finding ways to win them. So hopefully, they'll avoid games like that, and use last night's win as a starting point to get some kind of long winning streak going. This team has yet to have a winning streak of more than five games all season.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
It's Been Awhile...
I've been busy the last two weeks studying for my insurance license here in the state of Texas, so my apologies for not having posted anything in 12 days. I'm going to try to keep this as short as possible for the time being, as well, for that reason.
I have been keeping up with what has happened to the team and I must say it doesn't surprise me in the least bit. Some of the holes and flaws in the lineup were obvious to me in Spring Training, and they were able to play through them and get away with them for three or four months. But it was only a matter of time before it finally all caught up to them.
The team has plummeted from a first place tie to fourth place, 6.5 games out, in a matter of less than three weeks. The offense is in shambles. Andre Ethier is the only guy hitting when it matters most. Matt Kemp went on a little lull at the end of July and hasn't been in the lineup much, since Grady pulled him. I'm still baffled by Grady's use of Gonzo over him, especially hitting him in the clean-up spot when Kent gets a day off. Gonzo's had just three extra base hits in almost six weeks. The team is in a 3-for-72 slide (or something to that affect) with RISP. The lineup looks a lit better now than it did say, a month ago. Pierre has been dropped to seventh. Martin bumped up to second, Loney to third. But still, no one is hitting when it matters most.
Was listening to Kevin Kennedy and Rob Dibble on XM the past two days, and I've never heard Kevin as defiant and animated as he was in tearing the team to shreds for what has happened over the last few weeks. There were several points he made. First, he questioned some of Colletti's off-season moves as they have now come back to haunt the team. He also ripped Pierre to shreds for the kind of at-bats he's had all year: swinging at first pitches constantly, hitting the ball in the air too much, not hitting the ball on the ground enough, not bunting when he should, defensive lapses in the field. He criticized Grady for not playing Kemp enough, even after he had his little slump again. Instead of giving him a day off to clear his mind, Kemp's been sitting much of the three weeks. He chastised Grady for throwing Hendrickson back into the rotation, and continuing to use Tomko, when he should have gone to Colletti and suggested bringing up Hull, Stults or Houlton and giving them a shot. Today he made a point of saying they weren't out of it yet, but it's too late in the season to think about making up one game a week in the standings. They need to make up half the deficit NOW. They all need to stop trying to do it all themselves individually, and just PLAY!
They didn't get off to a great start on the home stand last night. They need these next three games against Houston before the Rockies come to town Friday night for the weekend.
I'm sure everyone is fully aware by now of the recent acquisitions since the non-waiver trade deadline passed. Since then, the Dodgers traded for pinch-hitting specialist Mark Sweeney from the rival Giants (first trade between the two teams since 1985, and it certainly helped that Colletti was the Giants' GM's right-hand man before coming to L.A., and the fact the Giants are buried in last place in the NL West), signed Shea Hillenbrand to a minor league deal and assigned him to Vegas, and acquired catcher Chad Moeller from Cincinnati and assigned him, too, to Vegas.
Couple of roster moves and notes... Nomar has been put on the 15-day DL with a strained left calf. Eric Hull has been recalled to take Nomar's spot on the roster. Hillendbrand, who was brought up yesterday when they sent Delwyn Young back down, will start in Nomar's place tonight. Schmidt was moved from the 15-day to the 60-day DL to make room on the 40-man roster for Hillendbrand. Speculation, as well, that LaRoche will be called back up on Friday, and rumors persist the Dodgers are showing interest in White Sox pitcher Jose Contreras. Contreras was told he was starting Friday, and then depending how he does, could end up in the pen thereafter. Contreras has told the Sox that he wants to be traded if he isn't going to be a starter there next season. Stay tuned. Contreras could be traded before the end of the month as he has cleared waivers.
I have been keeping up with what has happened to the team and I must say it doesn't surprise me in the least bit. Some of the holes and flaws in the lineup were obvious to me in Spring Training, and they were able to play through them and get away with them for three or four months. But it was only a matter of time before it finally all caught up to them.
The team has plummeted from a first place tie to fourth place, 6.5 games out, in a matter of less than three weeks. The offense is in shambles. Andre Ethier is the only guy hitting when it matters most. Matt Kemp went on a little lull at the end of July and hasn't been in the lineup much, since Grady pulled him. I'm still baffled by Grady's use of Gonzo over him, especially hitting him in the clean-up spot when Kent gets a day off. Gonzo's had just three extra base hits in almost six weeks. The team is in a 3-for-72 slide (or something to that affect) with RISP. The lineup looks a lit better now than it did say, a month ago. Pierre has been dropped to seventh. Martin bumped up to second, Loney to third. But still, no one is hitting when it matters most.
Was listening to Kevin Kennedy and Rob Dibble on XM the past two days, and I've never heard Kevin as defiant and animated as he was in tearing the team to shreds for what has happened over the last few weeks. There were several points he made. First, he questioned some of Colletti's off-season moves as they have now come back to haunt the team. He also ripped Pierre to shreds for the kind of at-bats he's had all year: swinging at first pitches constantly, hitting the ball in the air too much, not hitting the ball on the ground enough, not bunting when he should, defensive lapses in the field. He criticized Grady for not playing Kemp enough, even after he had his little slump again. Instead of giving him a day off to clear his mind, Kemp's been sitting much of the three weeks. He chastised Grady for throwing Hendrickson back into the rotation, and continuing to use Tomko, when he should have gone to Colletti and suggested bringing up Hull, Stults or Houlton and giving them a shot. Today he made a point of saying they weren't out of it yet, but it's too late in the season to think about making up one game a week in the standings. They need to make up half the deficit NOW. They all need to stop trying to do it all themselves individually, and just PLAY!
They didn't get off to a great start on the home stand last night. They need these next three games against Houston before the Rockies come to town Friday night for the weekend.
I'm sure everyone is fully aware by now of the recent acquisitions since the non-waiver trade deadline passed. Since then, the Dodgers traded for pinch-hitting specialist Mark Sweeney from the rival Giants (first trade between the two teams since 1985, and it certainly helped that Colletti was the Giants' GM's right-hand man before coming to L.A., and the fact the Giants are buried in last place in the NL West), signed Shea Hillenbrand to a minor league deal and assigned him to Vegas, and acquired catcher Chad Moeller from Cincinnati and assigned him, too, to Vegas.
Couple of roster moves and notes... Nomar has been put on the 15-day DL with a strained left calf. Eric Hull has been recalled to take Nomar's spot on the roster. Hillendbrand, who was brought up yesterday when they sent Delwyn Young back down, will start in Nomar's place tonight. Schmidt was moved from the 15-day to the 60-day DL to make room on the 40-man roster for Hillendbrand. Speculation, as well, that LaRoche will be called back up on Friday, and rumors persist the Dodgers are showing interest in White Sox pitcher Jose Contreras. Contreras was told he was starting Friday, and then depending how he does, could end up in the pen thereafter. Contreras has told the Sox that he wants to be traded if he isn't going to be a starter there next season. Stay tuned. Contreras could be traded before the end of the month as he has cleared waivers.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Still no home runs for Bonds. Still stuck on 754. Hendrickson did a great job last night keep him off balance, and keeping the game close. After losing the first game, Dodgers finally became the first home team to win a game between the two teams this year. Thanks to Furcal and Pierre for the win. They both had clutch bunt hits that made it all the way to Omar Vizquel at shortstop, and Omar's throw to get Pierre was late and got away from Aurilia at first, allowing Furcal to get to third. Pierre then stole second, and after Martin popped out, Gonzo sliced a hit inside third that scored both Furcal and Pierre to tie the game. Then Nomar put it away with his 5th home run of the year. Saito got the side out in order and the Dodgers walked away with a win. Proctor came in and made his Dodger debut (he never played for them before he was traded four years ago to the Yanks in the Robin Ventura deal). He made one pitch and Martin threw out a runner trying to steal second to end the seventh. A slow paced game that turned into a fun game to watch.
Meanwhile, great game in San Diego, too. Chris Young stole a grand slam away from the Padres with a web gem in the middle of the game. Then, up 5-1 in the bottom of the ninth with Jose Valverde on the hill, the Padres rallied for four runs capped off by a Milton Bradley home run. Game went to extras and Arizona scored four in the 11th capped off by a Chad Tracy three-run pinch-hit home run. Arizona won to remain one game up on the Dodgers in the NL West, but the Dodger remain even in the loss column.
Finale tonight between Dodgers and Giants. Zito vs. Tomko. Could be a slugfest with those two going. No official word on whether Bonds is playing or not, but Giants manager Bochy suggested last night if Bonds is feeling good, he'll be in there. We shall see. ESPN is picking up the game again, but hopefully I'll be lucky enough to be able to catch Vin Scully on FSN Prime tonight. (I was lucky enough to get stuck with Chris Berman and Joe Morgan, or Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow on the Giants broadcast on Extra Innings since the game was carried by KCAL in L.A.)
Meanwhile, great game in San Diego, too. Chris Young stole a grand slam away from the Padres with a web gem in the middle of the game. Then, up 5-1 in the bottom of the ninth with Jose Valverde on the hill, the Padres rallied for four runs capped off by a Milton Bradley home run. Game went to extras and Arizona scored four in the 11th capped off by a Chad Tracy three-run pinch-hit home run. Arizona won to remain one game up on the Dodgers in the NL West, but the Dodger remain even in the loss column.
Finale tonight between Dodgers and Giants. Zito vs. Tomko. Could be a slugfest with those two going. No official word on whether Bonds is playing or not, but Giants manager Bochy suggested last night if Bonds is feeling good, he'll be in there. We shall see. ESPN is picking up the game again, but hopefully I'll be lucky enough to be able to catch Vin Scully on FSN Prime tonight. (I was lucky enough to get stuck with Chris Berman and Joe Morgan, or Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow on the Giants broadcast on Extra Innings since the game was carried by KCAL in L.A.)
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