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.
No comments:
Post a Comment