San Francisco Sweep
Baseball folk are quick to remind everyone that it's early. Wins and losses matter, but there's no reason to get worked up about much of anything at this point. The water's flowing, and will eventually seek its level. All of that may be true, but for the Dodgers and their fans, there's never a bad time to sweep the Giants, something they completed in Sunday's 10-4 win in San Francisco. It was a solid game for turnarounds. First for Randy Wolf, who was butter knife dull early and escaped a gnarly second inning jam on his way to six strong innings and his first Blue win. Then for Luis Gonzalez, who had made a big (and bad) impression with the leather through five games, but broke out the stick Sunday with three hits, two homers, and four RBI. The box score says stars of the game also included Wilson Valdez and Matt Kemp, with three hits each, good enough to play themselves into the lineup for this afternoon's home opener, with Colorado's Jeff Francis facing L.A.'s Jason Schmidt (who has had some scares in his life and was apparently the biggest eighth-grader, like, ever). Sure, the outfield defense was still an issue Sunday, but four wins in a row takes the edge off that problem. For now.
Especially since there's a lot to be happy about. The Dodgers starters have generally pitched well, and reserves like Valdez and Ramon Martinez have been strong in relief of the injured Rafael Furcal. Enough to keep Wilson Betemit on the bench for one more day. With Furcal slated to return in the next few days, the optionless Valdez is pushing for a job, and the Dodgers will have to decide what to do. If they want to keep him, one of the young OFs may have to join James Loney back in Vegas. Misery loves company.
Coming to the game today? Here are some helpful parking guidelines. Carpoolers who arrive early will score some free tix.
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Randy Wolf was really on the ropes yesterday. In the 2nd, the AARPs had the bases loaded, nobody out. Fortunately, the $600 million man was batting. One out. Then came the turning point with an inning ending double play, started by former Giant, Ramon Martinez, to another former Giant, Jeff Kent, to Nomar, who made a nice pick to complete the DP.
5 days earlier, the Dodgers probably wouldn't have completed it. But what a nice time to get it together. They have played much better the last 2 games and the contributions from Wilson Valdez and Matt Kemp are quite welcome.
As AK/BK (distraught over the loss of Chris Carpenter) wrote, there's never a bad time to sweep the Giants. Although things could change, they certainly didn't offer much opposition and we were rarely treated to "Beat L.A." chants. Even their fans knew.
Posted by: Chunkdog32 | April 09, 2007 at 08:54 AM
Roster solution?
As much as he helped us last year, Marlon Anderson has a history of being solid, but not irreplaceable. I wonder if the Dodgers will entertain the thought of releasing/trading Anderson when Furcal comes back in order to keep the younger, more athletic Valdez on the team? It would probably be the best move, but knowing Ned's penchant for "veterans at all costs", look for Kemp, Ethier, or Valdez to get the boot in the next few days. And would someone tell me again why we have Brady Clark on the roster???
Posted by: dodgerskip | April 09, 2007 at 11:21 AM
How to solve the roster issues when Furcal comes back should in part be predicated on how much they think Kemp and Ethier will play. If those guys are going to be sitting a lot, then one should head back to Vegas. But as well as he's played so far, and as good a spring as he had, I don't think you have to bend over backwards to accomodate Valdez. Yes, guys do sometimes break out in their late 20s, but there's nothing in his career to suggest that he's going to become a high quality major leaguer (or at least a player that can't be replaced). With Furcal in the lineup, it really is redundant to have Martinez and Valdez.
But I'd rather keep him if it means Ethier or Kemp sitting more than they should.
BK
Posted by: Brian Kamenetzky | April 09, 2007 at 12:24 PM