Dodgers postmortem: Grading the hitters

Russell Martin: It's hard to argue with his consistency.  Until a September swoon, the lowest average Martin had in any given month was .284, with his low OBP (.327) coming the same month.  And while the power numbers were down in the second half (.492 vs. .438 SLG pre- and post-break), Martin consistently found his way on base, and was huge in August after it looked like he might have been cooked for the year.  And it's fair to say he helped carry the Dodgers through the first half.  Add all that to yeoman's work behind the plate and the respect of pitchers young and old who universally admire how he calls a game, and it's hard to find much fault.  Grade- A.

James Loney: No doubt the Dodgers offense would have benefited from his presence all season. The infield wouldn't have minded having his glove around, either.  Call it hindsight being 20/20 or just a bad call, but either way Loney showed over his 96 games and 344 ABs that he's a legitimate Major League hitter who, with his ability to hit to all fields and behind in the count, could contend for multiple batting titles.  And his September (.382/.429/.709, 9 HR, 32 RBI) was about as good as any month could be.  Grade: A.

Matt Kemp: He's frustrating, he's headstrong, he makes a lot of mistakes.  He's not a particularly good outfielder and it's pretty clear at this point that conventional means are not enough to keep him from rounding home through a coach's stop sign.  But Matt Kemp also showed that he's a big time Major League talent.  .342 BA, 10 HR, 42 RBIs in 292 ABs.  The encouraging thing about Kemp is that, despite his power, he's willing to go up the middle and the other way.  That he can hit homers to the opposite field is a nice touch.  He's got a lot to learn, but it's hard not to get excited about Kemp's potential.  If he grows and matures a little, watch out.  Grade: B+ (higher for hitting, lower for glove work, baserunning). 

Andre Ethier: Quietly, he put together another solid, reasonably consistent year.  The average dropped from .308 to .284 from '06 to '07- hardly a big problem- and in 50 or so ABs, Ethier had two more homers and nine additional runs batted in.  He was also L.A.'s best outfielder.  As he did last season, Ethier tailed off late, but I think he showed the ability to be a solid everyday player.  I don't know if he'll ever be a superstar, but should he round out around .290/20/90, that's pretty good.  And I anticipate stats like those next year, when Ethier will (barring trade, injury, or potentially bizarre signing) be the everyday left fielder.  The sort of guy that can be plugged in, then forgotten about.  Like a clock radio.  Grade: B/B+.

Juan Pierre: Wow.  Where to begin?  This one has a lot of levels.  First, it's not his fault he was offered and signed the contract he got, which I thought then and think now was an overreaction to the tight spot Ned Colletti found himself in after J.D. Drew jumped ship.  So try not to hold that against him.  Beyond that, Pierre had a very tough first half, adjusting to the expectations brought on by the deal, and to the whole "new city-new park" thing.  In the second half, however, the historically strong Pierre played well, with OBPs of .361 and .377 in August and September.  When it was all said and done, Pierre's final numbers (.293/.331, 196 hits, 64 stolen bases) were very similar to the ones he's put up for the last couple years.  Almost identical, actually.  He is, it seems, what he is.  Which gets you back to the first part, about the contract.  If Pierre can somehow get back to his .370 OBP days of yore, it'll make up for his lack of pop and pea shooter arm. Until then, he'll be the target of much fan ire.  Grade: first half, C/C-.  Second half, B/B+.  Overall, C+/B-.

Rafael Furcal: Nomar notwithstanding, there may not have been a bigger factor in the offensive drop off between '06 and '07 than Furcal.  Even taking into account that he only played in 138 games this season (vs. 159 the year before) every offensive number that matters was down for Raffy.  Average, runs, homers, steals, OBP, doubles, slugging.  The entire kit and caboodle.  In fairness, there is a MAJOR mitigating factor in this listing of foul numbers, namely that Furcal was not healthy almost literally from Day 1.  His spring training collision with Jason Repko basically derailed his season before it got going.  Given how ankles heal, it's hard to say whether extended time off would have done the trick, or what sort of impact it would have had on the Dodgers.  The thinking was 75-80% of Furcal was better than whoever would have replaced him.  There may be some truth to that.  But however you slice it, an ineffective Raffy made a huge difference in the Dodgers' offense this year.  Remember, we're talking about the guy who was very likely the team's '06 MVP.  Grade: An injury related C+.

Jeff Kent: At this point in his career, it's not reasonable to expect Kent to be the 35/120 masher he used to be.  Yes, there's still some power there, but not what there once was.  But aside from a torrid July (.447/.500/.737), Kent did little beyond what you'd expect from almost any player who bats cleanup in a Major League lineup for 494 ABs.  Obviously, threw were long stretches where Kent didn't have anyone to knock in, which impacts his numbers, but it's fair to say that the Dodgers need an upgrade from this spot in the order to compete.  Defensively, Kent still catches most balls he can reach, but unfortunately that describes an ever-shrinking number.  And the late season pop off combined with well established behavior patterns shows the Blue definitely need to make sure Kent's not in a position to fill any leadership vacuum next year, assuming he's still around.  Grade- C+/B-.

Luis Gonzalez: More fallout from the Drew defection, Gonzo was bought in to help buy time for guys like Kemp to mature at AAA.  Unfortunately, while the veteran left fielder still thinks of himself as an everyday player, the numbers don't reflect it.  Or at the very least, they don't support the notion that he's anything other than a pretty ordinary one.  Granted, Gonzo had over 120 fewer ABs than he did in '06 with Arizona, but he's clearly becoming more and more of a singles hitter.  His homers stayed consistent at 15- not a huge number- but his doubles dropped from 52 in '06 to 23 this season.  Again, it's not that Gonzalez can't hack it in Major League baseball anymore, but the days of him being a truly special player are done.  Guys who aren't household names put up similar if not better production (Ryan Ludwick?)  Over the summer, when the Blue were short OFs and the kids still seemed to need more seasoning, it looked like a no harm, no foul type move.  But on the field or in the locker room, where Gonzo grew increasingly disappointed with his lack of everyday playing time, it just didn't work.  Grade: C+

Nomar Garciaparra: For a while, it looked like '07 would be a tale of two locations- home and away- as Nomar struggled to hit anywhere that wasn't Dodger Stadium.  Then it became a question of whether or not he was going to hit, or even play, anywhere.  Nomar's power numbers were down across the board, with only seven homers, 17 doubles, and 59 RBIs.  That's down from 20, 31, and 93 in '06, in only 68 fewer at bats and one less game.  He did hit .373 with runners in scoring position, but it's hard to say this year was anything but ugly for Nomar.  Worse, the idea that keeping him healthy and in the lineup would matter is, in part, what kept Loney in AAA earlier in the year.  Grade: C-/D+.

Others:

Tony Abreu:  It was a promising introduction to the bigs for Abreu, who showed flashes of a potentially dynamic offensive game in 166 '07 ABs.  It's still way too early to say he's the future, but having him around next year will benefit the club.  Grade: B-.

Mike Lieberthal: 38 games and 77 ABs over a 162 game Major League season?  Can I have that job?  Grade: C. 

Andy LaRoche: Finished strong, or at least stronger, which should give him some confidence going into '08.  It's hard to learn too much from 96 at bats, but it does look like LaRoche isn't quite there yet.  More worrisome is his inability to stay healthy.  Grade: C-.

Olmedo Saenz: The one thing he's supposed to do is pinch hit, and in 62 tries he managed to squeak out a .226 average... which was great in comparison to his .191 overall BA. There's no denying that '07 was a disaster for Saenz, whose bat seemed to slow down considerably.  Great guy, great run in L.A., but it's clear his time has come. Grade: D.

Mark Sweeney: Hit .273 in 33 Dodger ABs.  He'll be valuable off the bench in '08.  Grade: Inc.

Ramon Martinez: May have been the most productive .194 hitter in the history of the game, as he was a full .100 points higher with RISP, and had some very big hits for the Blue.  Provided a steady glove as well, and has the added bonus of looking like skateboarder Bob Burnquist, but like Saenz, it looks like his time in L.A. has come and gone.  Grade: C-.

-- BK