Floodgates Open On Dodgers In Loss To Braves

by Eric Stephen on Aug 9, 2009 4:25 PM PDT in Game Recaps Comment 23 comments

The Dodgers got good work out of their patchwork pitching staff on Sunday, but the offense couldn't score enough runs to keep up. The floodgates opened in the top of the ninth, turning a close game into an 8-2 Braves' rout, as the Dodgers closed out their worst homestand of the season.

Eric Stults, pressed into starting duty with only two days rest after throwing 61 pitches over three innings in a minor league start on Thursday, gave up three runs in five innings. Outside of a home run allowed to Matt Diaz, Stults was reasonably effective and efficient, throwing 75 pitches in his five innings. Jeff Weaver followed Stults by retiring all nine batters he faced, but it didn't matter as the Dodgers could only muster one run and five hits in eight innings off of Braves' starter Javier Vazquez.

The game was only 3-1 entering the ninth, but Ramon Troncoso was ineffective, giving up three straight hits to start a five-run rally that put the game away for Atlanta. After a one-out walk, Guillermo Mota relieved Troncoso and couldn't stop the bleeding, allowing two more hits and both inherited runners to score.

Before you go throwing dirt on a club with a 5½ game lead in it's division for losing 11 of their last 17 games, let's look at some other teams in recent years and their worst 17-game stretches:

2009 Dodgers: One 6-11 stretch, one 7-10 stretch
2008 World Champion Phillies: Three 5-12 stretches, seven 6-11 stretches, and eight 7-10 stretches
2007 World Champion Red Sox: Three 7-10 stretches
2006 World Champion Cardinals: Three 4-13 stretches, six 5-12 stretches, fifteen 6-11 stretches, and twenty-one 7-10 stretches
2005 World Champion White Sox: Six 6-11 stretches, and twelve 7-10 stretches
2004 World Champion Red Sox: Four 6-11 stretches, and five 7-10 stretches
2003 World Champion Marlins: Two 4-13 stretches, three 5-12 stretches, ten 6-11 stretches, and seven 7-10 stretches
2002 World Champion Angels: Four 5-12 stretches, three 6-11 stretches, and one 7-10 stretch
2001 World Champion D-Backs: Two 6-11 stretches, and twenty-four 7-10 stretches
2000 World Champion Yankees: Two 3-14 stretches, one 4-13 stretch, four 5-12 stretches, eight 6-11 stretches, and sixteen 7-10 stretches

The slumping Dodgers head to San Francisco for a pivotal series with the Giants starting tomorrow. A rested Hiroki Kuroda starts for the Dodgers, against Jonathan Sanchez of the Giants.

WP - Javier Vazquez (10-7): 8 IP, 5 hits, 1 run, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts

LP - Eric Stults (4-3): 5 IP, 5 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts

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Comments

I am completely confused

“twenty-one 7-10 stretches”

To me, that says 21 different sets of 17 games where the Cardinals went 7-10. But, since that would, all by itself, mean 357 games, then you must mean something different, but I cannot fathom what it is. Please help.

by Paul Scott on Aug 9, 2009 4:37 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I think he means

That on twenty-one different dates, one could look at the cardinals previous 17 games and discover a record of 7-10.

by Talka1ot on Aug 9, 2009 4:38 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I see.

So, for example, if on Date X the Cardinals previous 17 games resulted in a record of 7-10 AND the first of those games was a Win AND on date X+1 they Win, then dates X and X+1 both represent two different “stretches” of 7-10.

OK, I guess.

by Paul Scott on Aug 9, 2009 4:41 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, it’s not the best methodology, but its decent for an quick eyeball snapshot of prolonged stretches of ineptitude.

by Eric Stephen on Aug 9, 2009 4:42 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, I get it.

It’s nto that bad now that I understand, though it does imply greater ineptitude just because a team does not return to total awsomeness after a bad spell. The Dodgers, for example, are going to have a ton of those 6-11 and 7-10 “stretches” unless they immediately return to a .667 team. If they go .500 for a while – which is hardly a terrible thing – or .550 – which is generally quite good – you will see a bunch of those “stretches.”

The reality, however, for the Dodgers is that the only reason we don’t have this division completely locked down is the play of Colorado and San Fran. It is pretty bad luck on our part that all the time we were playing above our heads (mind, I think we are a very good team – just not the best team in baseball) that BOTH the giants and the Rockies were doing the same.

by Paul Scott on Aug 9, 2009 4:49 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

It was bound to happen so lets just hope they get going again.

I am concerned about starting pitching, if Bills has an injury or just cramping and will Kuroda fine his way. We just need four in the end and an occasional fifth man!

Paul D. Kelley

BN is a myopic site

by so.cal.native1952 on Aug 9, 2009 4:49 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

In the end we need 3

I assume by “the end” you mean once we are in the playoffs. You never need a 5th man in the rotation to give everyone full rest in the playoffs. There is never a strech of 5 games without at least one off day. If you play aggressively with short rest (my preference) you need 3 starters. If you give full rest, you occasionally need a 4th.

by Paul Scott on Aug 9, 2009 4:52 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Actually I meant in the last 50 games

I know only 3 during playoffs but just in case of injury have to have a guy that is almost there. The coaches need to figure out bullpen now that we have Sherrill otherwise Torre will go hog wide with pen.

Paul D. Kelley

BN is a myopic site

by so.cal.native1952 on Aug 9, 2009 4:56 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Kuroda FTW

the bats better heat up tomorrow
this series vs the Giants is crucial
and they cant win on pitching alone….

by shaqfor3 on Aug 9, 2009 5:11 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

yeah, this is a nice, sane explanation

A few in the past few days have been freaking out, predictably. It actually seems a little bit MORE mellow now than a few days ago. I think people are starting to remember that slumps happen- it’s been so rare this year, when they started to slump this time (right as the Rockies & Giants were really picking it up), people freaked out.

They were saying on Dodger Talk how they like the way Bobby Cox sticks with his starters. By contrast, Torre has blown through the bullpen. To be fair, though, I think a lot of that is because games have been so close, and he needs pinch hitters in the 9th spot. Still, the way he throws Troncoso out there to the point where his arm is about to fall off is inexcusable. Criticizing him for Kuo going in 2 nights in a row isn’t second guessing- it’s first guessing. And now, I guess he plans on throwing Mota out there whenever possible. (Hopefully that ends today.)

Having said all this, there’s still way more bad than good. Let’s see what happens in SF, and take it from there…

by sarcastro9 on Aug 9, 2009 6:05 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

its just a slump i guess…the giants and rockies are bound to slump as well
hopefully when we play them… :)

by shaqfor3 on Aug 9, 2009 6:49 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Is it just me

Or does our season look like we’ve played the Nats almost all year? They’re 40-72, we’re 67-45. LA’s run differential was +113 coming into yesterday’s game, Washington’s was at -97. So now that they’ve won 8 in a row, we’re in a skid.

by StolenMonkey86 on Aug 9, 2009 8:24 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

well think of it this way

the nats have a few good winning streaks in the year while having a ton of slumps
while the dodgers have a few slumps in the year while having a lot of winning streaks
i’ll take the dodgers situation anyday
btw the phillies have been slumping too

by shaqfor3 on Aug 9, 2009 9:02 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

hello

i didnt watch the game today… but im wondering.. why did joe torre take Weaver out the game after only 25 pitches… it seemed like he was cruising

by matthewmafa on Aug 9, 2009 9:01 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

i dont know
one of his stranger moves
maybe to bring a pinch hitter to the plate to get some hits or something
i didnt see the game either but i think this is what happened

by shaqfor3 on Aug 9, 2009 9:04 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

His turn of the order came up.

Remember, the Dodgers play in the NL

by Tripon on Aug 9, 2009 9:05 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

It was a close game

and a runner was on base when Weaver’s spot in the order came up. Torre (understandably) elected to pinch hit for him.

by Michael White on Aug 9, 2009 9:06 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

ohh ok

if only we had someone decent that could pinch hit

by matthewmafa on Aug 9, 2009 9:23 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

What happened to Troncoso?

I assume that Mota was being his assholeness self by allowing all of Troncoso’s runners.

by Tripon on Aug 9, 2009 9:17 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Its not how you start...

…its how you finish. The middle counts, but not as much as people think.

The World Series winner will be the hottest team in October, I am glad the Dodgers are hitting their bump in the road now with plenty of time to get hot of October.

by ibleedbloo on Aug 10, 2009 12:44 AM PDT via mobile reply actions 0 recs

There really isnt much more that can be said, we're in a funk, and lets hope and pray that we put it together tomorrow

this is a really important series, here’s to good mojo!

William Doolittle at your service, a.k.a. will do.

by Ollie on Aug 10, 2009 1:25 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Our pinch hitters are not doing the job all of a sudden!

In the beginning all our pinch hitters were doing fine but now they are not seeing it, I can’t even think who in 3a could help out. Well they did have a closed door meating so maybe the boys can get there heads out and start thinking as a team. Maybe it is time for Torre to keep a set line-up for a week or two, and for the leaders to step up.

Paul D. Kelley

BN is a myopic site

by so.cal.native1952 on Aug 10, 2009 4:06 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

We're not used to losing...

Everyone is freaking out because we hadn’t had a stretch like this all year, but it happens to everyone, our team isn’t perfect. Stretches like these help a team, I think. It could fuel motivation, don’t worry, our team will bounce back, they always do.

This series with the Giant’s is CRUCIAL, no one wants to go 5.5 to 2.5 in 3 days. We got to get our bats going.

I do question the calls Torre has made in the past 3 series. Not his best, no way.

by PHAT JULIO on Aug 10, 2009 6:47 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

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2010 Dodger Payroll

Pos	No	Player	2010 Salary
C	55	Martin	$5,050,000
1B	7	Loney	$3,100,000
2B	33	DeWitt	$410,000*
3B	23	Blake	$6,000,000
SS	15	Furcal	$8,500,000
LF	99	Manny	$7,267,760
CF	27	Kemp	$4,000,000
RF	16	Ethier	$6,000,000

2B/3B	14	Carroll	$1,350,000
2B/3B/1B	3	Belliard	$825,000
C	12	Ausmus	$850,000
OF	5	Johnson	$800,000
SS	60	Hu	$405,000*

SP	22	Kershaw	$425,000*
SP	58	Billingsley	$3,850,000
SP	18	Kuroda	$14,100,000
SP	44	Padilla	$4,025,000
SP	50	Stults	$405,000*

CL	51	Broxton	$4,000,000
LHP	52	Sherrill	$4,500,000
LHP	56	Kuo	$950,000
RHP	67	Troncoso	$425,000*
RHP	54	Belisario	$425,000*
RHP	31	McDonald	$425,000*
RHP	68	Monasterios	$460,000*

		Pierre	$4,000,000
		Andruw	$3,600,000
		Schmidt	$2,000,000
		Wolf	$2,000,000
		Hudson	$1,440,000
		Nomar	$1,250,000
		Ohman	$200,000
		Zerpa	$35,000
		Hoffmann	($50,000)

Others on 40-man roster (total: 39)
RHP	37	Haeger
RHP	73	Link
RHP	47	Wade
C	9	Ellis
C	71	May
SS	87	DeJesus
OF	75	Paul
OF	17	Repko	$500,000
RHP	64	Guerra**
RHP	74	Jansen**
LHP	59	Leach**
RHP	49	Schlichting**
LHP	57	Elbert**
OF	62	Robinson**

Totals			$93,522,760
Red = arbitration Asterisk () = estimated * = currently in minor league camp
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