One of my favorite non - Dodger teams shows up at the Ravine tonight trying to right their ship after taking a few shots to the bow by the normally pacifistic Padres.

The team has possibly the best offensive tandem in the NL in Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder, along with the crazy bat of Casey McGehee.   Being the best Jewish player in baseball has put the moniker of the Hebrew Hammer on Braun, and he wears it just as well as Hank Greenberg did.  At this moment he is probably the best LA area kid playing in the major leagues.

Braun was a four-year letterman on the Granada Hills High School baseball team, and three-year team captain and MVP. He played shortstop, and until his junior year he also pitched. As a sophomore in 2000 he recorded the highest batting average of his prep career (.456), while posting a .654 on base percentage. During his junior year he hit .421, with a .668 OBP. Braun capped off his high school career by batting .451 as a senior, with an OBP of .675, and breaking the school record for career home runs (with 25).^[26]

The other side of the tandem is Prince Fielder who has already slugged 162 home runs before the age of 26. As you can see from the chart below Prince is in some special company. The list is by descending order of the most home runs by the age of 25.  In two separate years Prince has hit more home runs then James Loney has in his career. I can understand pining for Prince Fielder but it ain't happening.

Rk  	Player  	HR  	From  	To  	Age  	PA  	BA  	OBP  	SLG  	OPS  	Pos
1 	Alex Rodriguez 	241 	1994 	2001 	18-25 	4247 	.311 	.378 	.571 	.949 	*6/D
2 	Eddie Mathews 	222 	1952 	1957 	20-25 	3808 	.281 	.388 	.556 	.943 	*5/7
3 	Jimmie Foxx 	222 	1925 	1933 	17-25 	3938 	.339 	.435 	.638 	1.073 	*35/2967
4 	Mel Ott 	        211 	1926 	1934 	17-25 	4645 	.316 	.412 	.554 	.966 	*98/745
5 	Mickey Mantle 	207 	1951 	1957 	19-25 	4116 	.316 	.427 	.574 	1.002 	*89/645
6 	Frank Robinson 	202 	1956 	1961 	20-25 	3792 	.302 	.384 	.561 	.946 	*739/85
7 	Albert Pujols 	201 	2001 	2005 	21-25 	3428 	.332 	.416 	.621 	1.037 	*37/59D6
8 	Orlando Cepeda 	191 	1958 	1963 	20-25 	3847 	.310 	.352 	.537 	.889 	*37/95
9 	Ken Griffey 	189 	1989 	1995 	19-25 	3920 	.302 	.379 	.536 	.915 	*8/D39
10 	Andruw Jones 	185 	1996 	2002 	19-25 	3971 	.267 	.342 	.491 	.833 	*89/7D
11 	Johnny Bench 	179 	1967 	1973 	19-25 	3879 	.268 	.336 	.479 	.814 	*2/93758
12 	Hank Aaron 	179 	1954 	1959 	20-25 	3866 	.323 	.372 	.559 	.931 	*978/45
13 	Miguel Cabrera 	175 	2003 	2008 	20-25 	3756 	.309 	.381 	.541 	.921 	5739/D
14 	Joe DiMaggio 	168 	1936 	1940 	21-25 	3116 	.343 	.402 	.623 	1.025 	*8/79
15 	Juan Gonzalez 	167 	1989 	1995 	19-25 	2814 	.277 	.326 	.533 	.859 	*78D/9
16 	Jose Canseco 	165 	1985 	1990 	20-25 	2999 	.270 	.345 	.510 	.855 	*97/D8
17 	Prince Fielder 	160 	2005 	2009 	21-25 	2804 	.284 	.381 	.550 	.931 	*3/D
18 	Tony Conigliaro 	160 	1964 	1970 	19-25 	3230 	.270 	.333 	.493 	.826 	*9/78
19 	Adam Dunn 	158 	2001 	2005 	21-25 	2783 	.248 	.383 	.518 	.901 	*73/9D
20 	Bob Horner 	158 	1978 	1983 	20-25 	2716 	.282 	.341 	.521 	.862 	*5/3
21 	Hal Trosky   	155 	1933 	1938 	20-25 	3379 	.314 	.372 	.559 	.931 	*3/4
22 	Willie Mays 	152 	1951 	1956 	20-25 	2628 	.306 	.382 	.584 	.966 	*8

Casey McGehee is one of those guys who you point to when someone uses minor leagues stats as the end all for what a player's potential could be. Here is a guy who never had a minor league OPS higher then .770 and for over a year now he's been raking in the major leagues.  It is what we hope Blake DeWitt can become.

An interesting aside, the SB Nation blogger for Brew Crew Ball Kyle Lobner might have married into a family relation of mine. Her last name is Gurnee, and my family is originally from Appleton, Wisconsin so who knows. 

It is Clayton Kershaws job to tame this tandem and at home he should be upto the task. Historically Kershaw has not fared very well against the Brewers. They are one of six teams with an OPS > .700 against him (.706) and he's walked 12 with 16 K's. He has to reduce those walks unless he's walking Braun / Fielder. 

Dodger Notes for Todays Game:

► Milwaukee and Los Angeles tied their season series last year at three games apiece, with each club taking two of three on the road. Since 2000, the Dodgers are 39-22 (.639) against the Brewers, including a 21-10 mark at Dodger Stadium.  

How about this nugget?

On Sunday, Dodger second baseman Blake DeWitt went 4-for-4 and drove in three runs. DeWitt becomes the first Dodger second baseman to go 4-for-4 (or better) with three RBI in a game since Charlie Neal on June 30, 1960. Thanks to John Labombarda of the Elias Sports Bureau for this nugget. 

GOING GREEN – Today the Dodgers purchased the contract of shortstop Nick Green from Triple-A Albuquerque and placed shortstop Rafael Furcal on the 15-day disabled list. Green was hitting .219 with two homers and seven RBI in 20 games for the Isotopes while making just two errors on defense, despite playing shortstop, third base, second base and center field. He has not committed an error at shortstop this year and will wear No. 21. The Florida native was signed as a free agent on Jan. 22, 2010 and invited to Spring Training as a non-roster player. To make room for Green on the 40-man roster, right-handed pitcher Cory Wade was transferred to the 60-day DL. Furcal will be eligible to come off the DL on May 13.

BOWLED OVER – Last night at Lucky Strike Lanes L.A. Live, the State Farm Dodgers Dream Foundation Bowling Extravaganza hosted by James Loney raised more than $120,000 for the foundation. Loney was joined in the alley by many Dodger players and coaches, including Matt Kemp, Russell Martin, Clayton Kershaw, Blake DeWitt, George Sherrill, Ramon Troncoso, A.J. Ellis, John Ely, Xavier Paul, Don Mattingly, Mariano Duncan and Rick Honeycutt.

Los Angeles Dodgers’ Most HR in 1^st 25 Games of the Season by Any Left-Handed Hitter

 

2010 - Andre Ethier             9

1978 - Rick Monday              9

1961 - Wally Moon               9

1987 - Franklin Stubbs          7                    

 

►Since 2006, the Dodgers are 55-18 (.753) when Ethier homers and 265-265 when he doesn’t.

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