Garland Fits Right In For Dodgers
by Eric Stephen on Sep 3, 2009 10:22 PM PDT
in Dodgers Game Recaps
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PrintTonight was a night for Dodger newcomers, as the Dodgers beat the Diamondbacks 4-2 in the series finale at Dodger Stadium. Jon Garland welcomed himself quite nicely into the Dodger rotation tonight, throwing well over his seven innings, and fellow newcomer Ronnie Belliard drove in single runs in three separate innings, leading the Dodgers to victory.
Garland struggled early, allowing five hits and a walk by the third inning. In that frame, Stephen Drew hit a home run to right center field, a ball that hit off the top of the wall after nearly being caught by a leaping Matt Kemp, giving Arizona an early 2-1 lead. Ryan Roberts followed with a single, and Garland appeared to be on the ropes. However, Garland regrouped and retired the final 14 batters he faced. Garland induced 12 ground ball outs, a great sign from someone that doesn't strikeout many hitters.
However, tonight Garland did strikeout hitters! Garland, who hasn't struck out more than 4.8 batters per nine innings since 2003, fanned six Diamondbacks tonight, one shy of his season high. Since the beginning of June, Garland has pitched at least six innings in 17 of 18 starts.
Garland became the 21st Dodger pitcher to collect a win this season, extending the club record. The 2002 Padres hold the major league record with 23 different pitchers collecting a win.
Belliard had run-scoring singles in the second and fourth innings, and added a fielder's choice RBI in the sixth to pad the lead to 4-2. With the bases loaded and one out, Belliard grounded to third baseman Mark Reynolds in what looked like a possible inning ending double play. However, a great takeout slide at second base by James Loney (who also added two hits) coupled with good hustle out of the box allowed Belliard to beat the throw to first, allowing Manny Ramirez to score from third.
Manny also had a towering home run to dead center in the fourth inning, to go along with a nice line drive out to right field later in the game, perhaps assuaging those looking to pour dirt on his grave.
A win on a day with losses by the Rockies, Giants, and Cardinals makes today a good day for the Dodgers.
In San Bernardino tonight, three San Jose Giants combined to no-hit the Dodgers' Class A affiliate, the Inland Empire 66ers in their final home game of the season.
The Dodgers welcome the Padres to town for the weekend. Tomorrow's game features Clayton Kershaw pitching against Wade LeBlanc.
WP - Jon Garland (9-11): 7 IP, 5 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts
LP - Billy Buckner (2-6): 6 IP, 8 hits, 4 runs, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts
Sv - Jonathan Broxton (31): 1 IP, 1 hit, 2 strikeouts
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There was a fire near the Sunset Gate. I knew it!
by delias man on Sep 3, 2009 10:25 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
This puts a new wrinkle in the rotation.
With Kuroda coming back, I’d say Padilla should go to the ’pen. Garland is probably more dependable.
"I don't think we're talking about a repeat, a three-peat, or even a four-peat."
"That's right, we're talking a minimum eight-peat."
by Mr. LA Sports Fan on Sep 3, 2009 10:28 PM PDT reply actions
Bills and Kershaw will get rest days
when Hiroki comes back. I don’t see any of the starters being given relief rolls unless one of them is on rest in a long extra innings game.
i love that it is the Dodger/Dback Winning Pitcher-Losing pitcher-Save
on the scroll right then
by MammothDodger on Sep 4, 2009 3:33 PM PDT up reply actions
Oregon guy was walking past and the BSU guy came up to him and taunted him or w/e
Oregon guy gets pissed, turns back and down goes Frazier
damnnnn
he might get suspended for the whole year…. thats some crazy stuff…
Yep.
He definitely shouldn’t have done that, but this situation makes me wonder how much trash talking and how many insults a person can take before they snap. But hey, that’s why we have UFC! :)
Another quick little observation from watching the replay is how quickly the dudes that were talking trash to Blount as he was being taken to the locker room backed up away from him lol.
yeahhh
the fans were yelling fuck you and outta nowhere blunt tried to get them and they all backed up and were scared outta there asses
I'm surprised more athletes don't snap at the fans
I am glad it doesn’t happen but I’m not sure how many other venues there are that allow you to yell expletives and insult people freely and expect them not to respond in some way. At least in hockey there’s a bunch of plexiglass and in UFC there’s a cage lol.
Blount and the BSU guy walked past each other
the BSU guy grabbed Blount by the chest and yelled something at him. so Blount punched him
by bucknellbruin on Sep 4, 2009 8:07 AM PDT up reply actions
dang, if our bullpen wasn’t eroding we might have a nice little lead in this division…. question if asked before the season… “so, we are playing arizona in a 4 game series in september. padilla and garland start 2 of the games. the other 2, we lose. how many games above .500 are we in this scenario?” answer: “over .500 lol… who’s leading off, rickey?”
by lchristmas on Sep 3, 2009 10:33 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
following that yellow brick road to October
by Eric Stephen on Sep 3, 2009 10:35 PM PDT up reply actions
Edwin Jackson
is having a terrific year. I am happy for him. He was already nearly a league average pitcher in 07 and 08. This year he is really good – already having reach over 3 WAR. Assuming he finishes near 4 WAR, that is pretty amazing. It would mean 7 WAR since Ned tossed him away for nothing (Baez).
pedro martinez
he has started 5 times this year and given up 3 lead off Home runs!!!!
i really cant remember a dodger starting pitcher giving up a leadoff home run this whole year and pedro has done it 3 times in 5 starts…
and by leadoff homerun
i mean first batter of the game…
Oregon - what a joke
Nice effort ass clowns. Way to handle defeat with class too.
the Giants
living here in giants country makes one appreciate the dodgers. it is incredible that they are “in the race” with their “lineup.” their offense is HISTORICALLY awful. they have one starter who would start for the dodgers – and he seems to operate on a diet of horchata and fat sandwiches. (seriously, sandoval, get in shape. I hate your team but I don’t want to see any 25 yr old baseball player die on tv of a heart attack) the ab’s in the 9th were so hilarious… sandoval hacking at lidges 6th straight slider (6 inches from hitting him in the foot) to strike out… molina (“cleanup hitter”) then lunging at a 3-1 slider out of the zone to pop up… fred lewis (not good enough to start in the worst outfield in baseball but good enough to pinch hit for your starting 1st baseman with the tying RISP in the 9th) grounding out weakly…. the greatest part is that this season is going to buy a couple more years for the incompetent boch and sabes – much to the chagrin of mccovey chronicles. great site (when they are railing on their own team – not when they are trying to out-cute each other with star wars references, supposedly witty puns and references, and lets say “flamboyant” little inside “jokes”)….. but I am willing to wade through it to get to the self-hate. oh and they traded their #3 prospect for a guy who is in fresno. did I mention that bengie molina hits cleanup? every single day?
by lchristmas on Sep 4, 2009 7:11 AM PDT via mobile reply actions 1 recs
This is one of the coolest things ever (found via Rob Neyer): a nice chart of the Mets 2009 roster. I sooo want to do this for the Dodgers.
http://www.seanengelhardt.com/files/gimgs/17_mets2009090209.gif
Talk about a roster
in need of a defrag
Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen
Top of the lineup went 1 - 14
with the only hit being Manny’s bomb. For once the 5-7 group chipped in with some timely hitting.
Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen
Loney
had a nice night all around. Getting on base, playing good defense, and even had a nice slide which kept Belliard out of the double play (and thus getting a run across.)
by Michael White on Sep 4, 2009 8:55 AM PDT up reply actions
Loney was good
but I told you Belliard was fun to watch play.
Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen
I was joking around last night that whether at bat or in the field, everything he does can be described as “lunging.” He just puts so much into that swing, it seems like there is always a body part or two flailing.
A week of flak for Ned for trading or picking up these guys
and in one week
Padilla has made two solid starts
Garland goes seven innings
Belliard has rested Blake and Hudson while contributing to the win last night.
Joe evidently has more faith in Belliard then Abreu and is not afraid to use him to rest his regulars. This should bode well for them. Ned continues to make moves that confound me that work out. Sure small sample size but I expected nothing out of Padilla so even if he sucks from now going in, he was already worth the pickup.
Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen
I’m curious about Monday. With the switch of Sunday to a night game, the Dodgers have to travel late Sunday night to AZ, then turnaround to play a 12:40 game against the D-Backs on Labor Day.
Plus we don’t even know who is starting that game yet. Padilla would be next in line, on an extra day of rest, but its kind of up in the air right now.
So how about this scenario???????
Garland continues to pitch at the level he’s continued to pitch at in the 2nd half. Billingsley continues to have trouble getting past the sixth. Do you even consider a rotation of something like this:
Kershaw/Billingsly for game one – tag team of epic proportions
Wolf – Kuo/Beliario/Sherril/Broxton –
Day Off
Kuroda – Kuo/Beliario/Sherril/Broxton -
Garland – McDonald/Troncoso/Sherrill(K’s Howard to end game)
Day Off
Kershaw/Billingsly for game Five – tag team of epic proportions if we need five games with Kuo/Belisario/Broxton available.
Just tell Clayton to throw as hard as he can for five innings. Have Billingsley ready to go to start the sixth with the idea he will pitch from the sixth – ninth.
Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen
I was taking with BHSportsGuy about something similar, before they got Garland. Basically just utilizing the bullpen depth and approach game 4 like an all-star game: J-Mac and Troncoso combine for the first 5 innings, then close it out with Beli/Kuo/Sherrill/Broxton.
I am very, very intrigued by your tag team concept. Its too outside the box for it to actually happen, but I like it.
Jason (LA)
Jayson, which lefty do you think has the brighter future, Clayton Kershaw or David Price? Kershaw does not get as much pub as Price but is dominating with just 2 pitches, thoughts?
Jayson Stark
(1:28 PM)
I think I’d still take Price. But right now, Kershaw is the more advanced pitcher. Maybe the NL/AL issue skews this discussion. But Kershaw has been absolutely unhittable in about 10 starts this year. And Price still has a lot to figure out about changing speeds and locating his fastball before he becomes the big winner everyone still expects him to be.
http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/id/28149/mlb-with-jayson-stark
So to sum up. Clayton is probably better, but in Jayson’s mind the NL is so inferior so he’d take Price.
I mean, Price was a college pitcher. He is 24 compared to Clayton being 21. In AAA this year, Price had a FIP of 4.71. In the major leagues (if we still consider the NL major leagues) Clayton has a FIP this year of 3.18. Call me a homer, but I call the fight in Clayton’s favor.
by Michael White on Sep 4, 2009 10:42 AM PDT up reply actions
also Kershaw has more than 2 pitches now
I guess he is strictly fastball – breaking ball, but his breaking ball has about 3 speeds: 70-72, 76-78, and 80-82. Which makes him that much more effective
by bucknellbruin on Sep 4, 2009 11:19 AM PDT up reply actions
Clayton Kershaw
Kershaw’s FIP of 3.18 ranks 12 in MLB (Halladay is 11th) amongst starters. Kershaw ranks ahead of some “True Aces” like Dan Haren, CC Sabathia, Derek Lowe, Johan Santana, Josh Beckett, Roy Oswalt and John Lackey.
BTW, Billingsley’s FIP of 3.64 ranks 19th, ahead of all those listed above except Haren and Sabathia.
Too bad the Dodgers don’t have a “True Ace.”
http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=pit&lg=all&qual=130&type=1&season=2009&month=0
I just fanshotted this but it's worth repeating
MLB.com busted out the “Ace” moniker for Kershaw today:
Division leaders will be hoping to add on to their leads with several aces taking the mound on Friday with many new crucial weekend series starting up.
The Tigers’ Justin Verlander will try to tame the Rays, the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw will aim to top the Padres, the Cardinals’ Adam Wainwright will look to beat the Pirates and the Phillies’ Cliff Lee will try to continue his run of dominance in the NL against Astros.
by bucknellbruin on Sep 4, 2009 11:20 AM PDT up reply actions
that was all supposed to be blue...
and here’s the link to the fanshot
by bucknellbruin on Sep 4, 2009 11:21 AM PDT up reply actions
Eff this "True Ace" talk...
The media sucks. If they don’t average 10 highlights a year on Sports Center, they’re not an ace.
Thanks go to AOL writer Jeff Fletcher for complaing this.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/shareit/GwPPw
The Dodgers lead the NL in lowest BA allowed for opposing teams in RiSP.
imagine
what the cardinals pitchers do with RISP when you take away the stats against the Dodgers…
by bucknellbruin on Sep 4, 2009 11:21 AM PDT up reply actions
diamond83Tony Abreu came off the bench and played for Albuquerque last night. AZ Republic and MLB.com have reported he may or may not be the PTBNL.6 minutes ago from web
That’s good news! I sure hope the dodgers can keep Abreu and end up sending someone like Hu or Wade instead…
2009-10 LA Kings Hockey: Where Smyt Happens!!
by DodgerBlueBalls on Sep 4, 2009 11:48 AM PDT up reply actions
i would send 2 Hu's before Abreu
the guy simply can’t hit in the majors
by bucknellbruin on Sep 4, 2009 12:27 PM PDT up reply actions
His defense at SS is already MLB ready. It might be upper echalon good.
I can make an argument that if the Dodgers used Hu instead of Furcal this year, we wouldn’t notice any drop in production.
i dunno about that
Hu has been awful in the majors whenever he’s had the chance. 171 PA, OPS of .540
It’s not a huge sample size but it’s not that small either. Plus, the argument isn’t Hu vs. Furcal. It’s Hu vs. Abreu, and I’d much rather keep Abreu around than Hu
by bucknellbruin on Sep 4, 2009 12:41 PM PDT up reply actions
ct lion (ct): so in a perfect world, who does porcello become? brandon webb? kevin brown? and in my biggest nightmare he becomes chien ming wang?
Eric Seidman: A couple of chats ago, I was asked who I thought was better for the future between Kershaw and Porcello. I went with Kershaw as I see him becoming a legit #1 pitcher in the future. With Porcello, I simply don’t see that. Now, there’s nothing WRONG with being a #2 or #3 starter. People pay lots of money for those guys. But Brandon Webb and Kevin Brown each struck out a ton of guys in their first few years. Porcello is still young and if I’m wrong on this I’ll buy you a Porcello jersey (save this web URL and hold me to that), but I cannot see him becoming a a 7-8 K/9 guy.
Doc Halladay
almost won two Cy Youngs with K Rates below 6.
Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen
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