DeWow, that was inKuodible
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One thing is for sure- Blake DeWitt knows how to make up for an error. The young Dodgers 3B, doing his best to chain himself to the hot corner gig like an environmentalist to an endangered tree, kicked a ball to start New York's half of the third, putting a runner on first that would eventually score. He must have felt guilty. In the bottom half of the inning, DeWitt ripped a single to right that scored Jeff Kent and James Loney. Then in the fifth, again with outs, he ripped a shot to right over the head of Ryan Church, who slammed into the wall as the ball rolled away. DeWitt kept running, and the result was an inside the park homer and his fourth RBI of the night. At this pace he could keep Andy LaRoche waiting in Vegas for a while. DeWitt's play, though, wasn't the only highlight of LA's 5-4 win over the Mets Tuesday night.
Hong-Chih Kuo relieved a very shaky Hiroki Kuroda in the fourth, and completely obliterated the Amazin's. In only 3.2 innings, Kuo tied a career high with eight strikeouts, earning the win and bailing out the Blue for the second time in past four games.
No wonder Joe Torre is so pleased with his efforts, and has no plans to put him back in the rotation. Having the second lefty in the pen is too valuable. All told, the Dodger pen pitched 5.2 of scoreless ball.
The toughest news of the night came before the game, when Rafael Furcal was scratched from the lineup with a sore lower back. The injury isn't believed to be serious (no word yet on whether or not he'll play this afternoon with an off day tomorrow), a good thing since Furcal has been so freakishly good that missing him for any length of time would definitely hurt.
Jason Schmidt's scheduled bullpen session yesterday was scuttled, but don't be alarmed. No fresh arm troubles, just caution when Schmidt felt he wasn't quite fully recovered from his last stretch of work. The Dodgers believe he'll throw today, then do more rehab work this weekend.
TODAY'S GAME: 12:10 start time, with Brad Penny (5-2, 3.19) facing John Maine (3-2, 3.48). The Dodgers will be looking for their 11th win in 12 tries, their third sweep in their last four series, and a chance to creep a step closer to the first place D-Backs.
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Another good win. DeWitt is going to make it hard for Torre.
Torre mentioned it wasn't Nomar's fault he got hurt so he shouldn't lose his job. As it was pointed out in the last thread, tell that to Navarro and Martin, so that argument is bogus.
But here is what scares me about Torre. He is basically putting the whole season on Jones by saying he must get him going and nothing special will happen this season without him.
What a vote of confidence for the rest of the team. Torre will go with Jones and if we lose, we lose.
Andruw Jones or nothing. Perfect...
I see Kuroda is giving some competition for the 5th spot in the starting rotation. Maybe he should join the bullpen too. Starters by committee.
Don't get me wrong, I'm pulling for him, he's a Dodger. Is he still adjusting to MLB hitters?
Every time someone gets hurt they should call it an "Abreu"
Posted by: Andy B | May 07, 2008 at 12:53 PM
Ok... this is strange, but I'll take the heat. Didn't Jones sit on the bench the last time we lost?
Penny should never pitch in the daylight... he's Brad "Nosferatu" Penny.
Posted by: benzo jones | May 07, 2008 at 01:40 PM
The only good thing about this game is getting to hear Jim Joyce call balls and strikes. His strike call sounds like a klaxon sounding the alarm on a submarine in a World War II movie.
Posted by: MBS | May 07, 2008 at 02:18 PM
MBS,
That's funny. I was thinking that Jim Joyce's Strike call sounds more like the car horn of a Pink Dot Grocery Delivery Truck pulling up into Andruw Jones' driveway!!!
http://www.pinkdot.com/images/driver-w_bag.jpg
Posted by: DodgerBlueBalls | May 07, 2008 at 03:12 PM
DBB,
Hahaha! But I think that the little compact in the picture is too small to carry AJ's deliveries. I bet they have to use something like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KjypQzvzJg
Posted by: MBS | May 07, 2008 at 03:59 PM
Not much to say when the Dodgers get blown out so badly. However, will Penny ever last past the 5th inning without being on fumes? Throws 'way too many pitches.
Posted by: Chunkdog | May 07, 2008 at 03:59 PM
The comments in the previous thread concerning Martin/Navarro and LaRoche/DeWitt are simply not accurate. Martin and DeWitt were not under appreciated by the Dodgers, and their talents were not unrecognized. In both cases, they were initially held back due to lack of experience.
When Navarro was given the starting job at the beginning of 2006, it wasn't because he was considered a better player than Martin. He was handed the job because he had more experience than Martin, having played at the AAA level, whereas Martin had never played above AA. I recall reading at the time, that within the Dodger organization the consensus opinion was that Martin was the better player, and would ultimately wrest the job away from Navarro. Also, I believe that Navarro was hitting about .280 when he got hurt, so he wasn't doing too badly.
The DeWitt/LaRoche thing is pretty much the same. Prior to this year Blake DeWitt's highest level of play consisted of about 45 games at AA last year, and his play in the Arizona Fall League following the 2007 season. DeWitt was rated in Baseball America as the Dodgers # 5 prospect, and is a former 2004 supplemental first round pick. In fact, when he was drafted, DeWitt was considered the best pure high school hitting prospect in the nation. LaRoche on the other hand had made steady progress through the Dodgers system, and prior to his injury, had a strong spring this year (I believe he was hitting .350 in the spring at the time he was hurt).
DeWitt's minor league stats over 4 years have never been eye opening (.279 lifetime minor league average with modest power). However, that's not unusual for players drafted out of high school, and it's possible he's finally reached the level of maturity he will need to be successful at the major league level. However, as good as he looks now, DeWitt still needs to prove that he can make the inevitable adjustments that will keep him playing at a high level. I have no reason to think that he won't, but there are likely to be bumps in the road.
As for LaRoche, the fact that DeWitt has done well does not diminish him in any way. LaRoche may still turn out to be a good player, even a very good player. Whether it's with the Dodgers or somewhere else, only time will tell.
Posted by: Brooklyn Dodger | May 07, 2008 at 04:14 PM
This is from Tony Jackson's blog.
http://www.insidesocal.com/dodgers/
Since a 5th starter isn't needed until May 17, I wonder if the Dodgers will bring up a pitcher or a position player. The Dodgers have tomorrow and Monday off, so I doubt if they will call up Kershaw, unless they would just like him to get his feet wet. I'm guessing Meloan is a possibility, or even LaRoche if they deem that a 12th pitcher is unnecessary in the short term. I'm not sure when he's eligible to come off the DL, or when he will actually be ready, but Nomar could also factor into this.
I am really not making any predictions at this time, but it will be interesting to see what happens. Hopefully this is the prelude to eating Loaiza's contract.
Posted by: Brooklyn Dodger | May 07, 2008 at 04:45 PM