It's been a while since I've had a chance to post anything here, but there really hasn't been anything spectacular to write about when it comes to the Dodgers. Since May 24th, the Dodgers have gone 9-17 and amazingly have not lost much ground on the division-leading Diamondbacks. The Dodgers had just come off a three-game sweep of Cincinnati, and conveniently enough, before last night's extra-inning loss to Cleveland, they just came off another three-game sweep of the Reds. The only other decent stretch during that time was a split of a four game series at home against the Cubs, who the league's best record.
The Dodgers are sorely missing Rafael Furcal's presence in the lineup. Unfortunately, his back injury turned out to be more serious than originally thought, and the bulging disk in his back causing the problems doesn't have him close to 100%. Furcal's injury, along with Chin-Lung Hu's struggles as a temporary replacement forced the Dodgers to trade for former AL Rookie of the Year winner, Angel Berroa. It also prompted the Dodgers to send Nomar on a rehab assignment from his calf injury; he was told to be prepared to play shortstop when he returns. However, there's no timetable for either of their returns.
Andruw Jones appears closer to returning from knee surgery. But in the meantime, Brad Penny and Hiroki Kuroda have since been DL'd with stiffness in their pitching shoulders. Penny had been God-awful in his last five starts before being disabled, and Kuroda had been inconsistent all year, going just 3-6 with an ERA around 4.
The bright side of all this is Andy LaRoche was activated and recalled from AAA Vegas, where he got some work in at first and second bases. The idea was to find more ways to get him in the lineup, and to make him more versatile around the infield, so he could occasionally spell Loney, Kent and DeWitt.
Back to the games themselves. The Dodgers, for whatever reason, just can't seem to find a way to win a game against an American League team. The Dodgers, who have struggled mightily during interleague play in recent years, are already 1-6 after last night's loss. Last night was a tough loss to swallow because after being shut down for 7 innings by Cliff Lee, the Dodgers erased a 4-0 deficit with two runs each in the 8th and 9th innings off the Indians bullpen. They actually had a good chance to win it in the 9th but LaRoche hit a rocket to center field to end the inning, leaving the bases loaded in the process. Then Saito gave the lead back in the 10th.
The Indians loaded the bases with no outs off Saito. Before Jhonny Peralta's game-winning two-run double, former Dodger Franklin Gutierrez hit into a very rare, but huge 6-2-5 double play. Unfortunately, the defensive web gem didn't help in the end. And as awful as he was in the 9th inning, Indians closer Joe Borowski was taken off the hook by the offense and he was credited with a win. Makes no sense to me.
Oh, and to add insult to injury, Indians starting pitcher CC Sabathia hit a 450-plus bomb for a home run this afternoon off Dodger starter Chan Ho Park. Park has 8 K's through 4 innings, but it's 1-0 Indians.
The Dodgers are sorely missing Rafael Furcal's presence in the lineup. Unfortunately, his back injury turned out to be more serious than originally thought, and the bulging disk in his back causing the problems doesn't have him close to 100%. Furcal's injury, along with Chin-Lung Hu's struggles as a temporary replacement forced the Dodgers to trade for former AL Rookie of the Year winner, Angel Berroa. It also prompted the Dodgers to send Nomar on a rehab assignment from his calf injury; he was told to be prepared to play shortstop when he returns. However, there's no timetable for either of their returns.
Andruw Jones appears closer to returning from knee surgery. But in the meantime, Brad Penny and Hiroki Kuroda have since been DL'd with stiffness in their pitching shoulders. Penny had been God-awful in his last five starts before being disabled, and Kuroda had been inconsistent all year, going just 3-6 with an ERA around 4.
The bright side of all this is Andy LaRoche was activated and recalled from AAA Vegas, where he got some work in at first and second bases. The idea was to find more ways to get him in the lineup, and to make him more versatile around the infield, so he could occasionally spell Loney, Kent and DeWitt.
Back to the games themselves. The Dodgers, for whatever reason, just can't seem to find a way to win a game against an American League team. The Dodgers, who have struggled mightily during interleague play in recent years, are already 1-6 after last night's loss. Last night was a tough loss to swallow because after being shut down for 7 innings by Cliff Lee, the Dodgers erased a 4-0 deficit with two runs each in the 8th and 9th innings off the Indians bullpen. They actually had a good chance to win it in the 9th but LaRoche hit a rocket to center field to end the inning, leaving the bases loaded in the process. Then Saito gave the lead back in the 10th.
The Indians loaded the bases with no outs off Saito. Before Jhonny Peralta's game-winning two-run double, former Dodger Franklin Gutierrez hit into a very rare, but huge 6-2-5 double play. Unfortunately, the defensive web gem didn't help in the end. And as awful as he was in the 9th inning, Indians closer Joe Borowski was taken off the hook by the offense and he was credited with a win. Makes no sense to me.
Oh, and to add insult to injury, Indians starting pitcher CC Sabathia hit a 450-plus bomb for a home run this afternoon off Dodger starter Chan Ho Park. Park has 8 K's through 4 innings, but it's 1-0 Indians.
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