So we'll start with the oldest news first.
Last Saturday, Takashi Saito came out of the game with what is now diagnosed as a sprained elbow ligament. He will undergo six weeks of treatment and therapy (no surgery is needed) and then be re-evaluated. What this means is he will be out until at least September and Jonathan Broxton takes over the closer's role in the bullpen.
I dunno about anyone else, but this scares the living daylights out of me right now. While Saito is 38, and who knows how much longer he can go beyond this season, Broxton has yet to prove to me he can handle the closer's role. He's got the stuff to be an effective closer, but I', still not convinced he's mentally ready for it. We've already seen him cough up a couple of leads this year in which he has inherited runners. One thing I will give him is when he comes in to start an inning, in almost every situation, he's gotten the job done. It's when he comes in and inherits runners in a close game that I worry about him.
So with Broxton likely to close the rest of the season, at the very least through August, I think Ned Colletti has to shift some of his focus approaching the trade deadline to finding some more pen depth. Remember, Scott Proctor is on the DL, although this might be a blessing in disguise! In any case, the strength of the team took a big hit.
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Meanwhile Chad Billingsley pitched a game for the ages on Sunday, striking out 13 Marlins while giving up just one hit over seven innings on Sunday. The 13 strikeouts were a career high for Billngsley, who now has 125 on the season, good for third in the NL. Billingsley also improved to 9-8 and lowered his ERA to a very solid 3.25. There is no question he has become the ace of the staff.
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And how about Russell Martin's performance last night in the All-Star Game? That was something special to see, wasn't it?
Martin came in the game in the 5th inning as a defensive replacement for starter Geovany Soto, and wound up playing through the 14th inning, a total of 10 innings. With the bat, Martin was 1-3 with a 9th inning single off Yankee closer Mariano Rivera. Martin single-handedly almost gave the NL the lead back in the 9th inning. With the score tied 3-3, Martin battled Rivera before singling to right field with one out. Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada followed with a base hit up the middle with Martin running on the pitch, and Martin wound up at third. But Florida's Dan Uggla (who also committed an All-Star Game record three errors, two on back-to-back plays) hit into an inning-ending double play to end the threat, and the game went into extra innings.
In extra innings, Martin was involved in two controversial but stellar plays that really had nothing to do with him rather than just two missed calls by the umpires. In the 11th inning, after Texas' Ian Kinsler singled, Martin threw him out trying to steal second base. The throw by Martin, and tag by Tejada combined for a great play even though Tejada actually never tagged Kinsler out. Later in the inning, after a walk by Tampa Bay catcher Dioner Navarro and a single by Boston's J.D. Drew, who would eventually earn the MVP honors in the game after hitting a game-tying two-run homerun in the seventh inning and getting on base four times in the game, Texas second baseman Michael Young singled to center. With Navarro coming around third trying to score from second, Pittsburgh's Nate McLouth through a one-hopper on target to Martin at the plate, who blocked Navarro and tagged him out to keep the game alive. However, again, replays showed Navarro got his foot on the plate before Martin could tag him. Still, two very good plays by Martin. And for the next couple of innings, Martin was praised for his defensive abilities by Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, who was a major league catcher in his days as a player.
In any case, it was great to see Martin play very well and play long enough for people to really get a good look at what a special player he really is for the Dodgers. What might have topped it all off is if he played third base for an inning!
Last Saturday, Takashi Saito came out of the game with what is now diagnosed as a sprained elbow ligament. He will undergo six weeks of treatment and therapy (no surgery is needed) and then be re-evaluated. What this means is he will be out until at least September and Jonathan Broxton takes over the closer's role in the bullpen.
I dunno about anyone else, but this scares the living daylights out of me right now. While Saito is 38, and who knows how much longer he can go beyond this season, Broxton has yet to prove to me he can handle the closer's role. He's got the stuff to be an effective closer, but I', still not convinced he's mentally ready for it. We've already seen him cough up a couple of leads this year in which he has inherited runners. One thing I will give him is when he comes in to start an inning, in almost every situation, he's gotten the job done. It's when he comes in and inherits runners in a close game that I worry about him.
So with Broxton likely to close the rest of the season, at the very least through August, I think Ned Colletti has to shift some of his focus approaching the trade deadline to finding some more pen depth. Remember, Scott Proctor is on the DL, although this might be a blessing in disguise! In any case, the strength of the team took a big hit.
**********
Meanwhile Chad Billingsley pitched a game for the ages on Sunday, striking out 13 Marlins while giving up just one hit over seven innings on Sunday. The 13 strikeouts were a career high for Billngsley, who now has 125 on the season, good for third in the NL. Billingsley also improved to 9-8 and lowered his ERA to a very solid 3.25. There is no question he has become the ace of the staff.
**********
And how about Russell Martin's performance last night in the All-Star Game? That was something special to see, wasn't it?
Martin came in the game in the 5th inning as a defensive replacement for starter Geovany Soto, and wound up playing through the 14th inning, a total of 10 innings. With the bat, Martin was 1-3 with a 9th inning single off Yankee closer Mariano Rivera. Martin single-handedly almost gave the NL the lead back in the 9th inning. With the score tied 3-3, Martin battled Rivera before singling to right field with one out. Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada followed with a base hit up the middle with Martin running on the pitch, and Martin wound up at third. But Florida's Dan Uggla (who also committed an All-Star Game record three errors, two on back-to-back plays) hit into an inning-ending double play to end the threat, and the game went into extra innings.
In extra innings, Martin was involved in two controversial but stellar plays that really had nothing to do with him rather than just two missed calls by the umpires. In the 11th inning, after Texas' Ian Kinsler singled, Martin threw him out trying to steal second base. The throw by Martin, and tag by Tejada combined for a great play even though Tejada actually never tagged Kinsler out. Later in the inning, after a walk by Tampa Bay catcher Dioner Navarro and a single by Boston's J.D. Drew, who would eventually earn the MVP honors in the game after hitting a game-tying two-run homerun in the seventh inning and getting on base four times in the game, Texas second baseman Michael Young singled to center. With Navarro coming around third trying to score from second, Pittsburgh's Nate McLouth through a one-hopper on target to Martin at the plate, who blocked Navarro and tagged him out to keep the game alive. However, again, replays showed Navarro got his foot on the plate before Martin could tag him. Still, two very good plays by Martin. And for the next couple of innings, Martin was praised for his defensive abilities by Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, who was a major league catcher in his days as a player.
In any case, it was great to see Martin play very well and play long enough for people to really get a good look at what a special player he really is for the Dodgers. What might have topped it all off is if he played third base for an inning!
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