Dodgers Week 5 in Review: Treading Water

Saw the last few innings in the archive and breathed a sigh of relief when Martin homered. Had visions of a great pitching performance wasted (visions of John Ely the other night, though of course Kershaw was even more dominating). Anyway, he sure picked a good time to right himself.

So if we can forget last night’s Slacks pitching performance, the Dodgers have otherwise been getting some good starting pitching this week. Figure out that spot, which presumably they are going to try to do soon (Ely again?), and things may not be as apocalyptic as we might have felt just last night.

Is very distressing to me. Has he regressed that much in one year?

So I owe a note on what I heard from other fans about Broxton at today’s game.

I chatted with the guy in front of me quite a bit during the game. He made some disparaging comment about Broxton’s performance so far this year. I said, “That’s not true. He’s been great, except for the other night. Other than that one time, the other night, he’s been great.” Yes, I repeated it like that.

He dropped it a bit, saying, “I just want my closer to throw strikes. When my closer walks guys, that makes me nervous.” Since he’d dropped it, and I didn’t really want to argue with him, I said, “Well I can agree with that. I don’t like to see my closer walk guys.”

I wish I’d had google with me.

Jonathan Broxton has faced 41 batters this year (before today) in 10.2 innings of work.

He has walked one.

• * *

As I was walking out of the stadium, light as a feather and unable to believe the team had beaten Jimenez, I heard another fan say, “I was nervous when Broxton was in in the ninth.” Then he said, “Broxton,” repeating the name, his voice dripping with disgust.

• * *

I, for one, was not at all nervous when Broxton was in. I saw two outs, one clean single, one dribbler…. there was no doubt in my mind that he’d close it. And even the fly ball to Ethier looked catchable to me from the moment it left the bat, and I’m really not at all a good judge of these things. Maybe I was seeing it with my heart, but this time, my heart had good eyes.

"I went to congratulate [Clayton] after the eighth inning and he said: ‘I have one more in me.’ I said ‘I’m sure you do. Nice going.’ The kid’s special. The indication of that is how he rebounds from disaster, so to speak."

This start from Kershaw was just what I needed to put my heart at east as this week ends.

Did Kershaw get a Standing O from most of the crowd?

The guy in front of me and I certainly stood and cheered, but my section of the loge — down by the LF foul pole — mostly stayed in their seats. I was disappointed by them.

Also this: Dodger Stadium ran a recap of the final out of Dallas Braden’s perfecto.

My first reaction: “Wow!”

My second raction: I shouted, “Hey, ARod, I bet you know who Braden is now!”

No one laughed. My question:

Is this actually not funny, or were the people around me clueless?

What’s up with Kuo? He hasn’t pitched much recently, has he?

Haeger also said, “I’m not going to be heading out on the road trip,” which the Dodgers start Monday in Phoenix against the Arizona Diamondbacks. “I’ll probably end up going to the doctor tomorrow and then I don’t know what the plan will be from there.”

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dodgers-fyi-20100510,0,4543668.story

Catching up on other baseball via MLB Network, and during the Giants-Mets highlights, there was this classic exchange between Mets’ announcers Gary Cohen and (I’m) Keith Hernandez:

Cohen [exasperated]: “Well, let’s see, that’s 11 out of the last 12 batters with a 3-ball count. 97 pitches with one out in the fourth. Do you know how hard that is to do?”

Hernandez: “Do you know how hard that is to watch?”

Classic

Not sure whether or not I like the 5:35 start in San Diego next Saturday. I think I like it.

Since I’m often wrong, especially making predictions in game threads, I thought I would point out what I said after the Jamey Carroll RBI single today:

and there’s a run.

Ball game.

Anyone notice that Vin still calls the team that plays in Tampa the “Devil Rays.” Oops. :)

and you said 100% correctly – “100% yes” so you also hit that right. Even if the score was 2 – 0 we could have won 1 – 0.

As much as I like Broxton I won’t say I wasn’t worried when Ian Stewart was representing the wining run and when he hit the fly ball I was holding my breatch.

I evened my record in the press box today.

I’m 8-8; after 4-6 last season, the Dodgers are 4-2 this year.

I was 3-6 on Sundays last year, but am 3-0 this year.

Has Blake faced Wilson since?

Look, I don’t care if you say it is to honor your faith and your late father – it looks self-congratulatory and like you’re trying to promote yourself. Why wouldn’t you just do something simple like point at the sky?

My word, CK’s 12/6 curve was on like donkey kong. I remember when Vin called it “Public enemy #1”. It was great to see. G

What are the odds the Dodgers will, or can, make a play for him? Can’t afford it I presume, but maybe the time he’s officially available – June or July?. I ran across this SI.com piece from Jon Hey, Man:

Pedro Martinez’s agent, Fern Cuza, is meeting with the Hall-of-Fame-bound pitcher in the Dominican to discuss his opportunities, Cuza said. The plan is for Martinez to pitch at least as much as he did last year with the Phillies, when he didn’t debut until August but wound up pitching 61.2 innings combined between the regular and postseasons.

‘Mr. Squirrel,’ I said, ’I’m sorry,
But the problem can’t be solved
If there’s no one here to help, and no one to get involved
Always look to the positive and never drop your head
For the water will engulf us if we do not dare to tread
So let’s tread water’

I’m worried about Haeger’s heel.

But maybe the recent trend of starters being better starts with a new staff philosophy of working faster. The first thing I noticed about Ely’s performance the other night was how quickly he worked. It then seemed like Kershaw was working quickly yesterday. Maybe the guys will pitch better if they are thinking on the fly and maybe the umpires will give them the “consistently in the strike zone” advantage if they are working quickly. Yesterday was good for Kershaw because he got some fringe strike calls, where I can remember some of the games that Billingsley got bombed, it seemed like he was getting jobbed on balls that should have been called fringe strikes. Equal to the starters for both teams throwing good games, was the umpire calling a good game yesterday.

Maybe the Dodgers are getting all their bad luck outta the way early this year, and will benefit from here on out.

Just thinking out loud. If we sign Jayson Werth, how does the OF defense shape up in 2011?

LF: Werth
CF: Kemp
RF: Ethier

LF: Ethier
CF: Kemp
RF: Werth

LF: Ethier
CF: Werth
RF: Kemp

After the perfect game, Braden hugged his grandmother

Peggy Lindsey, a Mother’s Day moment that was especially touching because Lindsey raised Braden after his mother, Jodie Atwood, died of skin cancer when he was a high school senior. Apparently, Lindsey is just as feisty as her grandson. When she met with reporters after the game, she said, "Stick it, A-Rod!"

BNightengale‎: #mlb Dodgers The Dodgers have quietly decided to start John Ely, who was sent to the minors last week, on Tuesday against the D-backs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7qEvGUP0Ew

He smacks a triple, then acts like a dick to the 3rd baseman. Funny stuff.

Chin-Lung Hu has a hit in seven straight ABs

ESPNs CFB Gameday is here at my school (long beach state) to shoot a commercial. No idea why, we don’t even have a football team. Anyway, after observing the production crew a golf cart comes by behind me only to see coach Mack Brown and Nick Saban. Pretty surreal. I guess they’re going to play jenga

I heard that Junior may get released soon. It was said that he fell asleep in the middle of a game in the clubhouse.

http://www.truebluela.com/2010/5/10/1466032/dodgers-make-it-official-haeger-to