Action Jackson
Blue loyalists remember well the name "Edwin Jackson," a young, hot prospect the Dodgers decreed untouchable for what felt like 15 years. After passing on roughly a zillion deals, the pitcher was finally dealt to Tampa, where he hasn't looked nearly as talented as predicted. But during yesterday's 9-4 loss to the Rays, the kid finally showed some stuff. Snagging his first win in two years, Jackson gave up a two-run bomb to Luis Gonzalez during the first frame, a shot big enough to create Tampa baseball history. From there, he put the clamps on L.A., holding them to goose eggs for another five innings.
The other side of the coin was Hong-Chih Kuo's performance, which was equal parts good and "eh." On one hand, Kuo managed to fan 8 batters in just 5.1 innings of work. That's a lot of Tampa batters retired in a short amount of time. His appearance, however, wasn't brief enough to prevent three Rays from crossing home plate. Change that "three" to "five" and you've just described the tally surrendered up by Joe Beimel without even recording an out. Not a box score "enhancer" in a traditional sense.
It's a new day and a new series. Also an important one, what with the whole "Arizona plays in our division, so it would be nice if Brad Penny could out-toss Micah Owings" factor. There's a reason Little specifically tweaked the rotation to put Penny on the mound during this matchup. Owings is seeking back to back victories.
Raffy Furcal feels the need, the need for speed. Unfortunately, his left ankle either hates "Top Gun" or simply hurts to the point where it won't cooperate. He's swiping bags at a rate far below what he considers "par" and the situation in general leaves him uneasy. Then again, there really aren't many options other than "play on."
Nomar thanks y'all for the cards and flowers. They worked, too.
Boo!!! Did we scare ya?
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Raffy needs to be sat down for a couple of games (by force, if necessary) to let that ankle heal. But the Tampa Bay series would've been the time to do it, rather than against Arizona or San Diego. Too bad he has to be injured at a time when the Dodgers essentially have no backup shortstop.
So here's my radical solution -- Why not move Nomar over to SS once in a while to give Raffy some rest, and also let Loney in the lineup. Nomar probably couldn't handle it everyday, but the odd game here or there shouldn't hurt.
Posted by: Eric B. | June 25, 2007 at 11:45 AM
Eric B
Moving Nomar to SS or anywhere on the left side of the infield is not radical to me. But the inner circle of writers and Dodger staff think Nomar will get hurt if he plays anywhere but 1st. They must have a crystal ball or something. I wish their balls would tell them that Betemit should never play!! I agree with you, Raffy definitely looks like he is playing hurt and is not up to his old self.
Posted by: Package | June 25, 2007 at 01:04 PM
Package-
i don't know if I qualify as "inner circle" but the evidence seems to suggest that he's more fragile in other places. Granted, if he's not driving the ball, it doesn't necessarily matter. And a year+ into his position move only makes it tougher to start moving like that. I do agree with you that they've got some serious underperformers (Betemit obviously included). But the Abreu/Betemit platoon isn't as big an issue to me as the problems with Kent, Nomar, and Pierre. I'm planning on putting a post together for tomorrow that addresses some of these questions- the Dodgers really are an interesting team, because everything seems to be an option. In some ways, they're almost too fluid for their own good.
BK
Posted by: Brian Kamenetzky | June 25, 2007 at 02:55 PM
Eric B.
The solution to Raffy's ankle is not just a day off here and there. To allow a badly sprained ankle to heal would likely take more than 15 days on the DL (which may be worth it based on his production thus far)
cpark
Posted by: cpark | June 25, 2007 at 03:12 PM
BK
The Dodgers have a wonderful nucleaous but the reason the Betemit situation bothers me so much is because when other players do not seem to perform up to expected levels, ( and these are not huge differences, just notable) many bloggers, writers, other baseball notables are quick to be very critical. Betemit has not been able to get it going at all since the beginning of the season and no one thinks this is a serious problem. IT IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM!! He is not hitting except in a pinch hitting role. He is not just not contributing when starting, and hurting the team!! Nomar's lack of pop is a concern, just as Kent's dropoff is, but Betemit cannot hit when starting on a consistant basis. A couple of bad outings by a pitcher doesn't bother me near like an everyday player not ever performing does. Not one single other player that has played 3rd on any kind of regularity has been as bad as he is. RESPONSE PLEASE!! HELP ANYONE!!!!!
Posted by: Package | June 25, 2007 at 06:16 PM
Package-
Hey. I get what you're saying, but I still think the poor production from guys counted on to be a bigger part of the offense is a bigger deal. Don't take that to mean I think Betemit has played well, or even close to well, or that he hasn't been a major disappointment to me. They don't have a lot of great options over there right now. Abreu has understandably slowed down, LaRoche is hurt, and you know how I feel about Nomar over there(it's a last resort). If there's a better option available, Colletti should try to bring him in. It's not like I feel they need to ride him for the rest of the year. My point is they could carry an Abreu/Betemit platoon if the rest of the lineup was producing.
Unfortunately, he's still one of their only lefthanded batters with any sort of pop, so the bad performance hurts. It's a Catch 22- can't work through the problem without playing, can't play without potentially hurting the O.
Thanks for the nice words on the Gonzo interview, by the way. Sitting down with a guy for 25 minutes or so and being able to post the entire thing is one of my favorite parts about the job.
BK
Posted by: Brian Kamenetzky | June 25, 2007 at 06:48 PM