I was going to subtitle this week in review "In Rod We Trust," in honor of the Dodgers' newest catcher, but the big news of the week was of course the end of the Manny Ramirez era in Los Angeles. The final three months, including the playoffs, of 2008 were the most exciting time I have had as a Dodger fan since the 1988 squad, and Manny was the reason why.
His subsequent time with the Dodgers was great when he played, but thanks to fragile legs and, at times, a fragile ego, Manny simply missed too much time in 2009-2010. Just like that, the Mannywood is no more. He will be missed, not only for what was, but also what might have been.
On the week, the Dodgers had some offense, and made quite an uphill climb, winning four in a row heading into Saturday's contest in Colorado. Then, the club dropped two straight to stop their playoff train dead in its tracks, again.
Dodger Batter of the Week: Rod Barajas welcomed himself to the Dodgers like no other, with three extra-base hits in his first three plate appearances with the club. On the week, he hit .462/.563/1.077 with two doubles and two home runs in four games. The Beard gets an honorable mention, as Casey Blake hit two homers this week, including a tiebreaking grand slam on Friday night in Colorado. A tip of the cap goes to Brad Ausmus as well, as the Dodger catchers brought their bats this week.
Dodger Pitcher of the Week: Clayton Kershaw opposed Ubaldo Jimenez on Friday night in Colorado, and had a very good night, allowing just one run. He threw a lot of pitches, and was done after six innings, but his performance was enough to garner the award this week. Honorable mention goes to Hiroki Kuroda, who gave up four runs in his seven innings on Wednesday, but also didn't walk a batter while striking out six.
Week 21 Record: 4-2
31 runs scored (5.17 per game)
25 runs allowed (4.17 per game)
.597 pythagorean winning percentage
Season Record: 67-64
571 runs scored (4.36 per game)
562 runs allowed (4.29 per game)
.507 pythagorean winning percentage (66-65)
Transactions:
There were technically no transactions this week, as A.J. Ellis was optioned to Triple A Albuquerque right after last Sunday's game. Also, Manny Ramirez was claimed on waivers by the White Sox, though his move to Chicago isn't expected until Monday, or possibly Tuesday.
Wednesday is September 1, when active roster limits are expanded to 40, so expect a few call-ups this week
Game Results:
- Tuesday: Dodgers 5, Brewers 3
- Wednesday: Dodgers 5, Brewers 4
- Thursday: Dodgers 7, Brewers 1
- Friday: Dodgers 6, Rockies 2
- Saturday: Rockies 5, Dodgers 3
- Sunday: Rockies 10, Dodgers 5
Upcoming Week: The Dodgers come back home to face the top two teams in the NL Wild Card race, the Phillies and the Giants, with an off day in between.
Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
30 vs Phi 7:10pm |
31 vs Phi 7:10pm |
1 vs Phi 12:10pm |
2 Off |
3 vs SF 7:10pm |
4 vs SF 7:10pm |
5 vs SF 5pm |
Previous Weeks in Review: Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | Wk 18 | Wk 19 | Wk 20
Week 21 Stats
Player | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SB/CS | BA/OBP/SLG | OPS |
Barajas | 16 | 13 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0/0 | .462/.563/1.077 | 1.639 |
Blake | 22 | 21 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0/0 | .333/.364/.762 | 1.126 |
Theriot | 29 | 26 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0/1 | .385/.448/.500 | .948 |
Podsednik | 21 | 20 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1/1 | .450/.476/.450 | .926 |
Ethier | 27 | 24 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1/0 | .250/.333/.500 | .833 |
Kemp | 28 | 23 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2/0 | .261/.357/.435 | .792 |
Carroll | 25 | 22 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1/1 | .227/.320/.273 | .593 |
Loney | 28 | 25 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0/0 | .200/.286/.280 | .566 |
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Manny | 9 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0/0 | .286/.444/.571 | 1.016 |
Ausmus | 9 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0/0 | .429/.556/.429 | .984 |
Belliard | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0/0 | .400/.400/.400 | .800 |
Gibbons | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0/0 | .250/.400/.250 | .650 |
Johnson | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0/0 | .250/.250/.250 | .500 |
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Pitchers | 15 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0/0 | .000/.071/.000 | .071 |
Totals | 243 | 214 | 31 | 63 | 17 | 0 | 6 | 30 | 25 | 5/3 | .294/.372/.458 | .830 |
Pitcher | G | W-L | Sv | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | ERA | WHIP | FIP* |
Kershaw | 1 | 0-0 | -- | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 1.50 | 1.167 | 3.87 |
Monasterios | 1 | 0-0 | -- | 4.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2.08 | 0.692 | 7.58 |
Billingsley | 1 | 0-1 | -- | 6.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 4.50 | 1.667 | 7.37 |
Kuroda | 1 | 1-0 | -- | 7.0 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 5.14 | 1.000 | 1.49 |
Lilly | 2 | 1-1 | -- | 10.1 | 16 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 8.71 | 1.742 | 5.62 |
Starters |
6 |
2-2 | -- | 33.2 | 35 | 19 | 19 | 10 | 25 | 5.08 | 1.337 | 5.01 |
Jansen | 2 | 0-0 | -- | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0.00 | 0.750 | 1.95 |
Kuo | 2 | 0-0 | 2 | 2.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.00 | 0.429 | 0.63 |
Weaver | 2 | 0-0 | -- | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.600 | 6.80 |
Sherrill | 3 | 0-0 | -- | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | 0.000 | 1.70 |
Broxton | 2 | 1-0 | -- | 2.2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3.38 | 0.750 | 1.70 |
Belisario | 5 | 1-0 | -- | 4.0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 6.75 | 1.250 | 10.45 |
Dotel | 3 | 0-0 | 1 | 2.1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 7.71 | 0.857 | (0.23) |
Relievers |
6 |
2-0 | 3 | 18.1 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 20 |
2.95 | 0.764 | 3.75 |
Totals |
6 |
4-2 | 3 | 52.0 | 44 | 25 | 25 | 15 | 45 | 4.33 | 1.135 | 4.57 |