34 games in, and I have some questions

The performance by the 1-2-3 starting pitching staff in the last few games have been kind of alarming. Lowe, Kuroda, and Penny have been getting rock and the inability to pitch past the 7th inning which puts more pressure on the bullpen is not good. Penny does not have the stamina or ability to pitch deep into games, it seems age is catching up to Lowe, and Kuroda is inexperience. I'm sure they'll bounce back, Lowe and Penny are veterans who been through it all but I just don't see them pitching into the 8th or 9th.

I also agree with Torre in that he has to play Jones everyday in order for him to get going. As bad as he has been why not place him in the 3rd spot in the line-up for a few games behind Kemp or Kent? That way at least he'll have some kind of protection. Just a suggestion.

I don't think Dewitt should be sent down just for the sake of him having a positive experience. What about if he doesn't stall (which will likely happen since all rookies hit a wall)? I think you leave Dewitt at 3rd until he starts struggling and then call-up LaRoche. Who cares if he has a positive experience or not that's why you have coaches to mentor these players. Sending Dewitt down right now specially when he's playing pretty good regardless of high expectations or not will be a mistake. Who knows he might win rookie of the year.

I wish these were the only questions we had this far, but in regard to the Torre havin a quick hook or not I think we saw his true colors, leavin Penny to hang on wed. to give up 10 runs. Granted our bullpen has been workin hard and needed some rest but how about clotting your bleeding opening-day and assumed ace's and retaining what little confidence he has left? And I know that baseball decisions arent made this way and you are probably correct the he will cool off, but right now I am in love with Blake DeWitt and the position that when Nomars ready he gets right back at it is irresponsible. For Laroche maybe, but for Nomar, who showed his age last season and is made of porcelin, DeWitt should have that job until he loses it for himself.

BK,
My answer to most of your questions is the same. If I were the manager, and I had the power to play whomever I choose, I would have a meeting with the team and say--'My goal is to put the best team out to play as much as possible. Everyone is expected tp contribute, but the players who are doing the best will play the most (with time to rest of course). So playing time will be determined by performance, not salary!!! Maybe this is a naive attitude, butI still like it. So let Dewitt play while he's hot. Play .300 Ethier, not .160 Jones. My example of how this is working is the play of Pierre. He was designated the forth outfielder. He stepped up his play, improved on some weaknesses, now he is playing every day. As for Jones, my method would force him to come up with something or else he sits. Your answer (and Torre's) lets him be mediocore or worse and still play. Also it hurts Ethier, because he has to wonder why .300 isn't good enough. So he gets his occasional start and presses to much, rather than being a relaxed everyday player. The 1988 Dodgers shuffled the players in and out and everyone contributed..
David

Pitching climate or not, 5.1 innings per start is definitely not going to cut it over the course of an entire season. Bullpens falter in August and September if they have been overused early in the season. The Dodgers are going to need a lot more mileage out of Penny and Billingsley.

Agree with Package completely -- keep DeWitt. Nomar can put on a coat and go sit next to Steve Lyons and the "Captain" in center field and La Roche can go somewhere else. He's not done anything to warrant bumping DeWitt, who has outplayed and outhit LaRoche since he came up. And will somebody explain to me why Young can't play somewhere in the infield over Hu? Hu is okay, but I have to believe with more AB's Young is the better hitter. He's never quite gotten over coming up last year, going 6-8 and embarrassing the hell out of Nomar and crew, and being immediately banished by Forrest back down to the minors for his gross insubordination. If anyone needs more at bats its Young.

DeWitt, the beneficiary of low expectations? I agree to a very, very limited extent. He's second on the team by win shares.

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/ten-things-i-didnt-know-last-week47/

Second! That's huge. Furthermore, as LaRoche's *further* injury last night emphasized, health is a skill and LaRoche doesn't have it. You guys may be right, this may be a streak, but I'm increasingly doubtful that's the case.

BK
DeWitt has had a grand total of 85 AB but he is hitting .306 with 18 RBIs and 2 HR, compared to 93AB, .226 avg. 1 HR, and just 10RBIs for LaRoche. He has played in 29 games as opposed to 35 for LaRoche. It would take a pretty large slump by DeWitt to acheive the poor stats that LaRoche has now. Just to assume that LaRoche is more Major League ready is very subjective, when the reality of it shown by stats is real. Perhaps LaRoche needs to stay in the minors to acheive better consistancy or until injury or slumping below .226, before being called up. Whats real is more important than potential.

Package

Maybe they should ask LaRoche to play 50 games without getting hurt and then call him up.

I can pratically goo ar an tee that aint gonna happen. The guy gets more band aids than my one year old.

AK
Your take on Jones is "spot on".
Short leash as in Billy Barty short...

DeWitt had his best minor league season last year, and followed it up with a strong performance in the Arizona Fall League (AFL). He's a former supplemental first round pick (2004), and was rated the 5th best prospect in the Dodgers system. It is certainly true that his emergence this spring was the result of a fortuitous alignment of the stars, but it was probably also a continuation of the progress he began to exhibit last season and during his stint in the AFL. What impresses me most about DeWitt is his control and coolness under fire. He never looks overmatched when hitting, and doesn't allow a bad play in the field to linger in his mind. In all likelihood he will hit a bump or two in the road. When that happens, it will be interesting to see if he's able to make the appropriate adjustments. Only time will tell if he can. In the meantime, until he proves otherwise, DeWitt should remain on the team and in the lineup. In 2000, Rafael Furcal, nearly the same age as DeWitt is now, made the jump from A-ball the previous year, to a .295 year with the Braves. Who's to say DeWitt can't do the same? Also, from what I've observed, I doubt if DeWitt needs anymore positve experiences in the minors. If he stalls with the Dodgers, I believe he has the character and drive to bounce back, providing he has the requisite physical skills.

As for LaRoche, I believe he has the skills to succeed. He didn't hit a ton when he was called up last year, but, then again, his sample size was not only small, but his playing time was a lot more fractured that what's been afforded to DeWitt. I disagree with BK's assessment that his swing is long. From my observations, it's short and quick, allowing him to let the ball travel deep into the hitting zone. He's also patient, which allows him to work the count. However, as long as DeWitt is performing well, it would be hard to place LaRoche in front of him.

There is a difference between LaRoche's injury this spring and Nomar's recent calf injury. I didn't consider Nomar's injury during the spring to be the result of his being injury prone. He got hit on the wrist with a baseball, and as will happen in such instances, he fractured his wrist. That could happen to anyone. Same for LaRoche. His thumb got hit by a baseball, and the impact tore a ligament. Also, could happen to anyone.

Nomar on the other hand has been on the disabled list EVERY YEAR since 2004. I don't remember all of this injuries, but it does appear that just about all of them were the result of muscle pulls. I forget what his problems were with the Red Sox, but with the Cubs it was a severe groin pull, and with the Dodgers it's been a couple of calf pulls, a twisted knee, and a severely pulled quadriceps during the 2006 post-season series with the Mets. The number of muscle pulls he's had is an indication of a body that breakes down easily. He can simply no longer be relied on to play everyday. Nomar should either be relegated to a utility role, or the Dodgers should seek to trade him to an American League team where he could DH (because he still appears to be able to hit, even if his power has diminished).

BK,

I'm in favor of keeping DeWitt and letting him start to struggle before sending him down when he is hot. I think Torre said it too.. he plays the "hot" hand. Why mess with success?? The Dodgers are winning?! As I said last year, if it's working don't try to fix it. Grady did that too much. Stay with what is working and winning... and DeWitt is working.. and winning.

Also BK, you seem to imply that because DeWitt has only limited playing time in AA that he cannot or would not produce consistently... I think this reasoning is flawed. The guy is obviously talented physically enough to play professional baseball, so I think if he works hard and keeps his head straight and not listen to negative remarks like yours, he could and should succeed in major league baseball. Afterall, we're talking about a lucky squib hit a week that makes a .250 hitter a .300 hitter. I remember Steve Sax came up from AA and passed a solid AAA second baseman the Dodgers had in Jack Perconte and Sax had a very productive career. Blake has his head on straight and I hope all the pessimistic people don't cause him to lose confidence in himself.

Here's my take:
1) Dewitt sstays until he shows he can't make it through his first slump or drops below .250. laRoache can bide his time in AAA and show he can stay healthy.

2) Andrew fills in as the fourth outfielder to give the extra days rest. If he still can break out of his slump, put him through waivers and try to send him down to the minors to get better. If someone takes him so be it. They take his salary.

3) i would hold off on bringing Kershaw up until the month of June if possible that way he's fresh and won't be burnt out by the end of the season.

4) Not having to use the 5th starter for a while will help the average plus bringing Kershaw up when needed should also help. We have a good bullpen and our guys are hitting now so the starters can be left in a little longer and it shouldn't be a problem.

5) Already answered in question 2 with the stipulation that Young becomes the 4th outfielder once Jones is sent down.

Young should be our pinch hit specialist until the time when he is used as our 4th outfielder. Nomar should be used as our backup infielder and right handed pinch hitter off the bench. If Sweeney doesn't show some thing soon he also should be replaced.