Suh-Weep!
That's the beauty of playing the Pittsburgh Pirates. Such headlines are always a strong possibility. And in the case of today's 7-4 win over the Bucs, such expectations became a reality. The boys in Blue went out of their way to give their opponents props (Grady Little: "We respect everybody we play." Rafael Furcal: "They've got a lot of good players." Kenny Lofton: "Any team can be a pretty good team on any given day."), but I'm not on their payroll, so there's no need for me to apply tact.
The Pirates stink.
The Dodgers should be brooming the likes of them.
There. I said it.
Brad Penny picked up another win, despite his steadily growing tag as the "Highest Pitch Count in the West." In what's become more rule than exception, Penny racked up 95 pitches in just five innings of work. While it might be a bit much to label the trend "alarming" (after all, the guy does have eight wins under his belt), "frustrating" would certainly be in order. "I need to get more than five innings," acknowledged Penny. "I didn't want to come out, but how could you not take me out?" But as Little reminded, "every game has to be looked at individually." Unfortunate factors often come into play and today's ugly humidity did Penny little favors.
Luckily for Penny, the Dodger batsmen more than came through (Russell Martin was the only "0-fer" among the starters, five guys managed multiple knocks, and Andre Ethier's 3-4 day closed a weekend where he batted a devilish .666). There was even a little history on the afternoon. Nomar got his 200th career jack, Furcal his 1000th career base hit and Martin even had a two-swipe day (for many a catcher, this could end up a career-making day). That makes three stolen bases in two games for the rook, which led me to ask Little the obvious question: Does Martin now have the "green light?"
"Not yet," smiled Little.
"I'm gonna keep bugging him," joked Martin. "Maybe he'll give it to me one day."
More to come later.
—AK
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Martin has got to be in the running for Rookie of the Year. 33 RBIs from the 8th spot? Gotta love this kid.
Or how about Tri-Rookies Of The Year with Martin, Either, & Kemp?
I hope the bullpen can keep it going. Some of these guys really can pitch, they just need some consistency.
It looks like Izzy is inspiring Furcal's defense. A little healthy competition never hurt anyone...
Posted by: Andy B | June 25, 2006 at 06:04 PM
Nothing like playing a last place team to turn around a bad week. Let's hope the Dodgers can continue to play well against a hot Minnesota team.
By the way, has anyone been keeping track of the number of RBI groundouts that Martin has? It seems like every time he's at the plate with a man on third, he comes through with a sacrifice. Gotta love those productive outs coming from the 8 hole.
Posted by: Makoto Ueno | June 25, 2006 at 06:32 PM
Very good series for the Dodgers against the Pirates. Hope this carries through against the Twins. Because the Dodgers are going to face two aces Francico Liriano on Tuesday and Johan Santana on Wednesday. So very tough series coming up for the Dodgers. Lets try to get 2 out 3 from the Twins! GO BLUE!
Posted by: Anthony T. | June 25, 2006 at 10:46 PM
With eight wins so far and more than half the season still left to play, Brad Penny may have a chance to become the Dodgers' first 20 game winner in a long time. The Dodgers' last 20 game winner was Ramon Martinez, who went 20-6 back in 1990.
I am very impressed with the way Grady Little is handling the Dodgers' outfield situation. He's getting rest for J.D. Drew and Kenny Lofton, and both of the veteran players are having good years. Youngsters Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp are getting their feet wet and are showing that they might be special players. Even Jose Cruz Jr. has contributed, particularly against left-handed pitchers against whom he has a 1.039 OPS (unfortunately, his OPS against righties is .603).
Posted by: Tim H | June 26, 2006 at 04:10 AM
Penny -
I watched the game yesterday and noticed he immediately called for Little after his pitch following Randa's home run. Is he hurt? What is his status healthwise?
Thanks
Frank
Posted by: Frank Venezia | June 26, 2006 at 07:44 AM