My New Favorite Manager
I blame Joe Torre for a lot of things, but I also give him credit when it's due. The Dodgers won tonight 10-1 against the Padres thanks to a 6-run first produced by the newly "shaken" lineup. Strange that this lineup is suspiciously similar to a proposed lineup published just 2 days ago on this very blog.
Matt Kemp is not an ideal lead off hitter, his on-base percentage is too low. However, the Dodgers really have no one else that fits the definition of a lead off except for Juan Pierre, and he's riding the bench. I do like Russell Martin in the 2nd spot. He chases the occasional pitch in the dirt, but other than that he's a solid contact hitter, and he walks a lot. The two combined went 4-for-7 with 3 walks, which creates plenty of scoring opportunities. Manny Ramirez backed up by Andre Ethier worked as both were able to swing fairly freely. With a little more luck the game would have been a circus blowout as the duo fell a combined 25 feet short of 3 home runs. I still prefer Manny in the 4 spot, and think James Loney is capable enough of getting on base to warrant inserting him in the #3 ahead of Manny. When you're scoring 10 runs in a game, that's a minor detail, so I won't complain. Besides, Nomar Garciaparra hit a 3-run homer the way Joe Torre had things set up, so maybe that arrangement has just as many positives.
I also applaud Joe Torre for using that lead to enable Chad Billingsley to stay in the game in spite of his struggles. He had a hard time, giving up at least one hit every inning, and getting into trouble a couple of times. However, it was a great start for Billingsley. And I don't say that because he only gave up 1 run in 6 innings and got his 16th win. I say that because Billingsley went in without his best game, battled, and still won decisively, and those are the trademarks of an ace, which is exactly what he's shaping up to be.
Two days removed from that less-than-encouraging series against the Giants, and the landscape looks much brighter for the Dodgers. A magic number of 3 with 5 games to play sounds alot better than 5 with six to play. If their magic number is 1 going into San Francisco, I have little doubt they'll win the pennant, whereas 2 days ago I was pretty worried about their prospects. However, just to reinterate, for absolute emphasis... it would be most helpful if they Dodgers were to clinch before going to San Francisco.
Matt Kemp is not an ideal lead off hitter, his on-base percentage is too low. However, the Dodgers really have no one else that fits the definition of a lead off except for Juan Pierre, and he's riding the bench. I do like Russell Martin in the 2nd spot. He chases the occasional pitch in the dirt, but other than that he's a solid contact hitter, and he walks a lot. The two combined went 4-for-7 with 3 walks, which creates plenty of scoring opportunities. Manny Ramirez backed up by Andre Ethier worked as both were able to swing fairly freely. With a little more luck the game would have been a circus blowout as the duo fell a combined 25 feet short of 3 home runs. I still prefer Manny in the 4 spot, and think James Loney is capable enough of getting on base to warrant inserting him in the #3 ahead of Manny. When you're scoring 10 runs in a game, that's a minor detail, so I won't complain. Besides, Nomar Garciaparra hit a 3-run homer the way Joe Torre had things set up, so maybe that arrangement has just as many positives.
I also applaud Joe Torre for using that lead to enable Chad Billingsley to stay in the game in spite of his struggles. He had a hard time, giving up at least one hit every inning, and getting into trouble a couple of times. However, it was a great start for Billingsley. And I don't say that because he only gave up 1 run in 6 innings and got his 16th win. I say that because Billingsley went in without his best game, battled, and still won decisively, and those are the trademarks of an ace, which is exactly what he's shaping up to be.
Two days removed from that less-than-encouraging series against the Giants, and the landscape looks much brighter for the Dodgers. A magic number of 3 with 5 games to play sounds alot better than 5 with six to play. If their magic number is 1 going into San Francisco, I have little doubt they'll win the pennant, whereas 2 days ago I was pretty worried about their prospects. However, just to reinterate, for absolute emphasis... it would be most helpful if they Dodgers were to clinch before going to San Francisco.
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