Hitting Is Contagious

Chad Billingsley got more run support last night against the Minnesota Twins than he has had all season and I hope the Dodgers didn't pack it all into one game. Billingsley (7-6) and three other relievers combined for the shutout in the 15-0 win.

I believe hitting is contagious and the Dodgers had a Major League Baseball high 25 hits. They were led by Matt Kemp's 4 for 5 with his team leading 22nd Homerun and a pair of RBI's (team leading 62-nobody else is even close) and all of the starter had at least two hits in the game.

Tony Gwynn Jr. had 4 hits from the leadoff position and Dee Gordon had a pair of hits from the "second leadoff" position (9th in the batting order) and Andre Ethier was the Designated Hitter since the game was played in an American League park.

Ted Lilly goes tonight for the Dodgers and the main thing he has going for him is his previous American League experience. It would be really nice to have that kind of run support again and I hope the contagion wasn't just a 24 hour hitting virus.

Clayton Kershaw The Finisher

Clayton Kershaw pitched his second straight complete game yesterday that allowed the Dodgers to salvage the final game of a three-game series against the Angels or whatever they happened to be called this week. He struck out eleven and only threw 114 pitches. That is a very economical outing for a power pitcher. He took over the league lead in strikeouts with 128 and improved his record to 8-3. With any run support they would be talking potential Cy Young right about now. He also extended his hitting streak to four games and scored the first run in the 3-2 Dodgers victory.

Dee Gordon stole the show for the Dodgers last night as a pinch runner in the bottom of the ninth inning, stealing a base and scoring the tieing run on an Aaron Miles sacrifice fly to short center. Both calls could have gone either way and if I was to rule on either play I would have to say he was more out on the steal than he was on the slide into home. I am not sure Angels Catcher Jeff Mathis ever tagged him with the ball on the slide home.

If you play the "what if" game, I wonder if Angels catcher Jeff Mathis would have been blocking home plate in that manner if it was Matt Kemp coming home compared to 150 pound Dee Gordon? Jeff Mathis was asking to be tattooed on that throw home, and the play was completely legal according to the rules, and I wonder if there would have been any out cry if Gordon would have gone head hunting? What if....

Two Out Of Three From The Tigers

The Dodgers took a badly needed two out of three from the Detroit Tigers, only giving up one run in the first two games but Ted Lilly got smacked around a little bit in the third game. He gave up three home runs in 4 2/3 innings and his ERA rose to 4.63. His record fell to 5-7 and he is not having an $11 million season.

The Dodgers still had a chance in the bottom of the ninth, loading the bases with one out, but failed to deliver in the clutch and left the bases loaded.

Kenley Jansen is off the Disabled List and he pitched 1 2/3 innings, striking out 4 and walking 2. I would like to see him work his way back into the fold because the Dodgers need to find a dependable closer. This bullpen by committee really isn't working for me.

The Shutout Magic Is Working

Clayton Kershaw pitched a two-hit shutout last night and drove in a pair in a 4-0 Interleague victory over the Detroit Tigers. He struckout 11, including striking out the side in the ninth inning to finish the game off, and walked only one. He was still throwing in the mid-90s in the ninth inning.

My advice to the Dodgers is to lock Kershaw up to a long term contract now and avoid the possibility of losing him later. Unfortunately until the United States Judicial System sorts out the divorce and the ownership situation of the Dodgers, and the finances are solidified, that may not be possible.

I think changes are in store for the Dodgers. I think the McCourts will be removed in one way or another by major league baseball, I think Ned Colletti needs to be canned, and I am really not a big fan of Don Mattingly as Manager. I think Tim Wallach should have gotten the job to begin with and I hope they don't lose him to another team before they decide to give him a chance.

As far as player personnel goes, I believe that James Loney and Andre Ethier are gone either during this season or sometime in the off season. They are both fairly young players but they are just not producing. Furcal is history but he spends so much time on the Disabled List I really don't think I would notice the difference.

The Dodgers need so many positions filled after the season- Catcher, Third Base, Left Field, a quality closer- and that is without making any trades. Building the team back up thru free agency is the best option and we need a new ownership group with deep pockets.

Where Are The Bats?

The Dodgers broke a five game losing streak against the Houston Astros, giving them a good sound thrashing by the score of 1-0. I hope the sarcasm was noted.

Huroki Kuroda had another solid outing (he has had 3 or 4 in a row) only to have nothing to show for it with a no decision. Matt Guerrier go the win in relief and Javy Guerra racked up his second save. I would say it is bullpen by committee but the Dodgers have not had the lead enough in the last inning to even worry about it. Guerra hasn't been knocked around here lately so they gave him the opportunity.

The Dodgers banged out three hits, two of which were by Catcher Dioner Navarro including a solo homerun (his second) that provided all of the scoring. A couple of weeks ago Manager Don Mattingly said that he wanted to get Dioner Navarro more at bats and when that statement was made he was batting in the .220's. With the increased at bats his average has fallen to .175 making the Mendoza Line look like Hall Of Fame caliber numbers.

This has not been the homestand I had in mind after pulling off a .500 road trip. More Interleague play is up next with the Detroit Tigers coming to town. Interleague play may be the worst thing major league baseball has ever done to the Dodgers, outside of approving Frank McCourt to buy the team.

A .500 Road Trip

When you are several games back in the National League West standings like the Dodgers are a .500 road trip is really not acceptable. If they were leading by 5 games, I could live with it. They had to win the final two games against the Colorado Rockies just to pull even on the road trip. They needed to make a statement with this road trip and unfortunately, I think they did.

James Loney came alive yesterday as he usually does when he enters the Denver City Limits with three hits topped off by a Grand Slam and Juan Uribe and Rod Barajas also had three hits. Rubby De La Rosa got the win (3-0) going 5 innings giving up 3 runs but leaving after the 5th with what was described as a forearm cramp. I don't think I have ever heard of a pitcher leaving with that one before.

The bullpen tried giving it away as Ramon Troncoso got mauled but lefty Scott Elbert came in and got the final out for his first save on the season and I believe the 8th Dodger to record a save this year.

They need a very solid homestand starting with the Cincinnati Reds tonight. The Dodgers are sending out Hiroki Kuroda against Brandon Arroyo. Arroyo always gives the Dodgers fits for some reason.

Another Solid Pitching Effort Wasted

The Dodgers wasted another solid pitching effort by their pitching staff last night as they were shutout by left-hander Cole Hamels and the Philadelphia Phillies 2-0. Ted Lilly and Hiroshi kuroda seemed to be earmarked this year to get no run support from the Dodger bats. Kuroda went 5 1/3 innings and gave up a solo homerun to Ryan Howard.

The Dodgers sent rookie outfielder Jerry Sands down to AAA Albuquerque today in a move that came a day later than most thought it would. He has been slumping very badly of late and his average fell to .200 and his power never materialized against major league pitching. He had only hit two homeruns in over 100 at bats. His playing time was becoming more sporadic. He didn't even get in the game against lefty Hamels last night. The Dodgers called up left-handed hitting Trent Oeltjen to replace Sands on the roster. He has logged some major league service time with the Milwaukee Brewers and with the LA Dodgers last year.

I look for Sands to go down to the minors, get his stroke back (I am still not a big fan of his swing), and be one of the September call ups by the Dodgers.

And The Rookies Shall Lead Them

Both Rubby De La Rosa and Dee Gordon got their first major league starts last night in a 6-2 Dodgers win over the Phillies.

De La Rosa had a shaky but effective outing. His stat line read 5 IP, 4 K's, 5 BB's, and only 1 Earned Run. I am hoping the uncustomary wildness can be attributed to nerves. He got the win and and it was his second in the majors. He threw 96 pitches, topping out at 98 MPH. He also walked and scored a run.

Dee Gordon singled in his first three at-bats (finishing 3 for 5), stole his first major league base, and scored a run. They batted him in the lead off position and he had the reputation of being a burner in the minors so I say let's turn him loose and see what he can do. He was batting over .300 at AAA Albuquerque with 20 Stolen Bases so he has the skills.

Dee Gordon Gets The Call

The Los Angeles Dodgers #1 Prospect, Shortstop Dee Gordon, got the call to the major leagues yesterday in a move that kind of surprised me. It was one of several moves made by the Dodgers yesterday. Juan Uribe, Marcus Thames, and pitcher Blake Hawksworth were all activated from the Disabled List yesterday. The Dodgers basically cut infielder Juan Castro and outfielder Jay Gibbons loose and optioned out infielder Ivan DeJesus and pitcher John Ely. Castro and Gibbons could still possible end up in Albuquerque if they clear waivers. By cutting Gibbons loose that means that the Dodgers have decided to keep Jerry Sands on the major league roster. Sands has also played some First Base this season.

Gordon got into his first game last night, a 3-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, as a pinch runner and scored the Dodgers lone run. I believed that Gordon would be a September call up but I guess the Dodgers brass believed the future is now especially with Rafael Furcal ending up on the Disabled List every other week.

Billingsley Taking Matters Into His Own Hands

Chad Billingsley's pitching stat line Yesterday against the Cincinnati Reds (5 IP, 4 ER) would have ordinarily gotten him an ugly looking "L" beside his name but his stat line at the plate made up for it (2 for 3 with a homerun, a double, and a bases loaded walk and 3 RBI's).

He pitched long enough to qualify for the win and John Ely came in and didn't exactly shut the door but he didn't open the floodgates either (3 IP, 2 ER). Josh Lindblom came in and pitched a scoreless ninth inning.

Matt Kemp hit his 16th Homerun and I bet he really hates to leave Cincinnati with 3 HR's and 8 RBI's in the three games. Rod Barajas drove in a couple and Jerry Sands drove in one as well.

Taking two out of three in Cincinnati is a nice way to start the road trip. They travel to Philadelphia next and the Dodgers will not be sending out their top three starters as Kuroda, Kershaw, and Billingsley all faced the Reds. I am hoping that with John Ely pitching long relief last night it means that they are going to let Rubby De La Rosa take Garland's spot in the rotation and possibly get his first major league start against the Phillies.

A Comeback Win For The Ages

The Dodgers came from five runs down in the 8th inning yesterday to tie the game against the Cincinnati Reds and nailed down the win with a four run 11th inning. The final score was 11-8. That was the first time since 1994 that the Dodgers had come back from being down five runs or more after the 7th inning and win the game.

Matt Kemp was the star as he hit his 14th and 15th homeruns of the season, his last one being a grand slam that tied it up in the top of the 8th inning, 7-7. He had six RBI's for the game on three hits. Matt Kemp has so much athletic ability but he is not a natural baseball player. His best sport in high school was basketball. I hope he is still playing with the Dodgers when he puts the athletic ability together with a natural feel for the game.

One account I read of the game made the statement that in the 11th inning the Dodgers "singles" hitters went to work and drove in the clinching runs. For the Dodgers offense to start clicking the "singles" hitters need to do this on a more consistent basis. The only player on the team that has shown any consistent power is Matt Kemp. Barajas has 7 homeruns, Ethier has 5, Loney has 3, Blake has spent almost the majority of the season on the DL, and highly touted rookie Jerry Sands power has disappeared against major league pitching.

The stat line on starter Clayton Kershaw for this game looks pretty rough (6 2/3 IP, 6 runs) but it is very misleading. The Dodgers bullpen came in and held down the fort for 4 + innings, only giving up one run in the bottom of the 11th by eventual winning pitcher Javy Guerra. That was Guerra's first major league win.

There are more Dodgers injuries to report. It might be bigger news if there were no injuries to report. Jon Garland and Rafael Furcal are headed back to the Disabled list and John Ely and Ivan DeJesus were brought back up to replace them on the roster. I don't know why the Dodgers just don't pencil Furcal on to the DL about once a month whether he's hurt or not. It would save themselves some time and aggravation. I would rather see the Dodgers start Rubby De La Rosa now and bring Ely in in middle relief out of the pen.

So Much For The Offensive Explosion

The offensive explosion only lasted for three games as Ubaldo Gimenez of the Colorado Rockies pitched a four-hit shutout against the Dodgers last night. Jon Garland took another loss (1-5) for the Dodgers. I do not think Garland has been pitching badly but he can't seem to catch a break. The Dodgers now embark on a ten game road trip. You hate to say this road trip only a third of the way thru their season might make or break their season but if they do poorly, it will have a huge impact.

The only news of note that came out of last nights game was the major league debut of Josh Lindblom, a right-handed reliever out of Purdue. He almost made the Dodgers coming out of spring training in 2009 and 2010 but was sent down and did very poorly in AAA last season and started out the year in AA Chattanooga this year. He gave up two hits in his inning pitched but didn't allow a run.

Vicente Padilla is due to come back Friday night and it has been widely speculated that he will be inserted back into the closer's role for the Dodgers. That might mean Lindblom will be sent back down but at least he got his debut out of the way.

An Offensive Explosion

The Dodgers are finally putting some runs up on the board (23 in their past three games) and have a three-game winning streak to show for it. Matt Kemp (4 RBI's) and Casey Blake (3 RBI's) were the offensive stars last night in their 8-2 win over the Colorado Rockies. As badly as they have played this year and as many players that have been on the Disabled List, they are still only 4 1/2 games out of first place.

Ted Lilly was the winning pitcher last night and I have never been completely sold on him as a major league starting pitcher (especially one worth $11 million a year) because of his style of pitching. He is a great change of pace pitcher to throw in the middle of Kershaw and Billingsley because of their power, but for Lilly to be successful in any game, alot of factors have to come together. His location has to be on, his mechanics have to be almost perfect, and he has to be able to effectively change speeds. If one thing is off, the chances of balls sailing out of the park are pretty good. His stats are never going to be sexy with alot of strikeouts or shutouts, or even a very low ERA but the Dodgers need him to eat up alot innings this year, maybe be a few games over .500, and it will be a successful season for him.

Rubby De La Rosa pitched a couple of more shutout innings last night, dropping his ERA to 1.80 (he has only pitched 5 innings). He has looked impressive so far and I would love to see the Dodgers send a spot start his way.