Body Language

I did not get to see much of the Dodgers 10-2 win last night over the Giants (I only got to see the seventh inning). What I did see, I did not particularly like. I hate to admit it but the ESPN announcing crew brought it to my attention. They were picking on Yasiel Puig and pointing out every shortcoming that he has. Puig seems to be every announcers favorite target when it comes to the Dodgers. Puig had a meltdown a few games ago and his ability has not caught up to his bad attitude yet.

Puig swung and missed at a pitch and he acted like someone had just punched his mother. The Dodgers had a 10-1 lead at the time. Then there are times when Puig will make a catch or hit a homerun and he makes you think "Wow! Where is that player on a consistent basis?" Then there are times when he forgets how many outs there are, loafs in the outfield and to first, or acts like he would rather be anywhere else other than roaming the outfield for the Dodgers.and you think "When is Mattingly going to bench his ass?"

Puig wasn't the only one with bad body language. Alex Guerrero hit a fly ball and was already halfway back to the dugout in a slow trot when the ball was caught. Joc Pederson fouled out to third base and he slowly walked back to the dugout. Left handed relief pitcher Daniel Coulombe issued a four pitch walk in the top of the seventh to left handed batter Brandon Crawford and did not come close to throwing a strike. All he has to do with a 10-1 lead is throw strikes. He ended up giving up a run in the top of the eighth. No wonder his ERA is 8.53. If you cn't trust him with a nine run lead why should you trust him with a one run lead?

Reggie Jackson is an example of a player's ability far outweighing his bad attitude. His battles with the Oakland A's, Baltimore Orioles, and especially the New York Yankees, were legendary. His attitude was just as bad with the California Angels but they were never in the spotlight of the World Series so it wasn't as blatant at the end of his career. His antics on the field, arguments in the dugout, and comments off the field could all be tolerated because he produced when it counted. Jackson was also the king of self promotion. He was "the straw that stirred the Yankee drink" and "Mr. October." He did not give himself that nickname but he did take it and run with it.

A Balkoff And A Walkoff

The Dodgers salvaged the final game of the series against the Texas Rangers in about the most unconventional way you can. The media is labeling it a "balkoff." With pinch runner Kike Hernandez on third base and two strikes on batter Jimmy Rollins, Third Base Coach Lorenzo Bundy urged Hernandez to fake a break towards home plate to try to rattle Rangers rookie pitcher Keone Kela. Hernandez is no Jackie Robinson but the fake was effective enough to cause Kela to flinch his right shoulder just enough to balk in Hernandez with the lone run of the game. Baseball purists would probably call the move bush league but the Dodgers needed the run and the win using whatever legal means necessary and it worked.

Dodgers starter Zach Greinke cannot get a break....or any run support. His line against the Rangers was seven innings pitched, four hits, and zero runs. He lowered his ERA to 1.81 and does not have a win since May 8 or eight straight starts. Greinke is heading into free agency next season and with the kind of season he is having and numbers he is putting up, the Dodgers probably will not make a serious run at him.

Looking At The Numbers

The Dodgers have been scuffling at the plate lately. I know they went through an eight game stretch in May where they only scored nine runs. The Dodgers have suffered through a stretch of three straight shutouts at the hands of the San Francisco Giants and 42 consecutive scoreless innings on the road. These games came against the San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals, two of the best pitching staffs in baseball.

I decided to take a look at the overall offensive numbers of the Dodgers. What I saw really surprised me. After 60 games, the Dodgers are first in Major League baseball in OBP, tied for first in home runs with the Houston Astros, second in OPS, fifth in runs scored, and ninth in batting average.

The Dodgers have racked up these numbers in spite of outfielders Yasiel Puig and Carl Crawford missing large chunks of the season and starting shortstop Jimmy Rollins being off to the worst start of his career.

On the plus side Joc Pederson has been as advertised and Andre Ethier has shown flashes of his form of five or six seasons ago. Pederson leads Major League rookies in home runs with 17 and Ethier has already doubled his homerun output from last season. Alex Guerrero's emergence as a power hitter helped lead to Juan Uribe's trade.

Where is the consistency in the run scoring? It has always been said that good pitching beats good hitting and that is how the Giants and the Cardinals are taking it to the Dodgers this season and in last season's playoffs.. The Dodgers are also missing their third and fourth starters in Hyun Jin-Ryu and Brandon McCarthy and they have been piecing together the back end of their pitching staff since Opening Day. Right now Carlos Frias and Mike Bolsinger are doing the job and Brandon Beachy should be back in about another six weeks.

Clutch Hitting

Howie Kendrick came up clutch again as he hit a walk off single with one out driving in Yasiel Puig with the winning run in the Dodgers 7-6 victory over the Arizona Diamond Backs. Puig went four for four with a walk, hit a three run homer in the second inning, and has been en fuego since coming off the Disabled List a week ago. Kendrick's heroics would not have been needed but Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen gave up a game tying homer to A.J. Pollock in the top of the ninth. That was Jansen's first run allowed this season. Yasmani Grandal also homered for the Dodgers.

Kendrick Saves The Day

Howie Kendrick drove in all three runs, a solo homerun in the sixth inning and a two run single in the seventh, in the Dodgers 3-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Overall, it was another lackluster offensive performance by the Dodgers. The Dodgers only had seven hits last night but drew five walks.

The Dodgers wasted another great pitching performance by Carlos Frias who went 6 2/3 innings and only gave up the one run. Adam Liberatore pitched 1/3 of an inning (at least he struck the batter out- that looks much better in the box score than o foul out to the catcher) to get the victory. Kenley Jansen has almost pitched perfect relief this year- eight games, eight innings, one hit, no runs, 14 strikeouts, and no walks. He sealed Liberatore's win with a perfect ninth.

The Former Team

Mike Bolsinger got to face his former team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, and he pitched seven strong innings in the Dodgers 9-3 win. He only gave up two runs and improved his record to 4-1 with an ERA of 2.08. Bolsinger came up through the Diamondbacks system and went 1-6 for them last season in nine starts. He was purchased by the Los Angeles Dodgers from the Diamondbacks in November of last year. Being purchased seems much worse than being traded for and Bolsinger took the opportunity to show the Diamondbacks how much he had improved.

I always thought that it was a bad idea to let your players go to a division rival because you would be facing them quite often in the near future and that is why I hate the fact that the Dodgers traded Matt Kemp to the San Diego Padres. That trade could come back to haunt them this season.

A Broken Record

At least the Dodgers have been consistent lately. Another game of two or fewer runs scored, another great start and no decision by Zach Greinke, and another implosion by the Dodgers bullpen equals another Dodgers loss.

During this past off season the Dodgers tried to piece together their bullpen with young arms and veteran cast offs. That worked pretty well for the first month of the season and then injuries hit and the young arms started struggling and veteran cast offs reminded us of why they were cast offs.

I don't think a trade is possible at this point. Middle relief pitching is at a premium in Major League Baseball. Just about every team out there needs arms. The Dodgers could about fill out an entire staff with just what is on the Disabled list. I would hate to give up any of the Dodgers young positional talent for a middle reliever. I don't know of anyone that has ever said middle relieving wins championships but it sure does bridge the gap between the starters and the closer.

Getting Some Missing Pieces Back

Yasiel Puig came off the Disabled List yesterday after missing 39 games with hamstring issues meaning that Scott Schebler stay with the Dodgers only lasted one game. Puig immediately made his presence felt against the St. Louis Cardinals as he lined a double into the right centerfield gap to drive in Chris Heisey in the seventh inning for the Dodgers first run in the 2-0 win. Puig later scored on a Justin Turner infield single.

Clayton Kershaw seems to be back on track with his second straight scoreless performance, pitching eight innings and only giving up one hit. He struck out 11 and walked 2. He improved his record to 5-3. Kenley Jansen pitched a scoreless ninth for his 6th save.

The St. Louis Cardinals have owned Clayton Kershaw like no other team in baseball. Over his last nine starts against them including the post season, he has a 1-7 record. Last night his location on his pitches was much better, he was snapping off the curveball, and he was getting ahead in the counts. He threw first pitch strikes to 20 out of the 27 batters he faced and 75 strikes out of 106 pitches overall. He looked like the Cy Young and MVP winner he was last year.

Baseball Tradition

One of the things I love about baseball is the tradition of the game. Dodgers rookie Scott Schebler got his first major league hit last night on the first pitch he ever saw in the Majors. Cardinals starter and right hander threw a fastball that was running away from him and Schebler hit a line drive between third base and shortstop for a single. The Cardinals immediately threw the ball in and tossed it to Dodgers third base coach Alonzo Bundy and he passed it on to the dugout for Schebler to keep the ball he hit for his first major league hit. Dodgers Hall Of Fame announcer Vin Scully commented that hopefully Schebler had "10 or 15 more years" of those left in him.

Missing In Action

The Dodgers gave up three runs in the ninth inning to the Colorado Rockies to lose the game the other night. Closer Kenley Jansen was "unavailable" for an unannounced reason in a game that he should have shut the door on. Jansen had only made one appearance in the past week where he threw 16 pitches and got the save. Evidently Jansen's status changed during the course of the came and Manager Don Mattingly was being very tight lipped about Jansen's non-appearance after the game.

The Dodgers personnel people seemed to be uninformed as to exactly what the issue was and only were able to offer up "he didn't feel well." Injuries and the Dodgers bullpen issues are beginning to catch up with them.

Two Teams

Take away two teams from the Los Angeles Dodgers season thus far and the Dodgers would be having a great season. The Dodgers cannot seem to get past the San Francisco Giants or the St. Louis Cardinals. If the Dodgers do get as far as the post season, they will more than likely be dealing with both of those teams. In the Dodgers defense, everyday seems to bring a new injury or a new personnel issue.

Outfielder Scott Schebler is the latest player to make his major league debut as Scott Van Slyke hit the Disabled List. Schebler went 1 for 3 last night. Schebler has hit at every minor league stop he has been at and hit with some power but he has struggled at AAA Oklahoma City this season.

Alex To The Rescue

Just as the Dodgers were about to get swept in a doubleheader by the Colorado Rockies, rookie Alex Guerrero came to the rescue. Trailing 8-5 in the top of the ninth inning with the bases loaded and a 1-2 count on him, Guerrero drove a fastball over the centerfield wall for a grand slam and an eventual 9-8 Dodgers win. It was his 10th homerun on the season. Kenley Jansen put a Rockies runner on third base before striking out the last Rockies batter to earn the save.

Guerrero has played in the outfield and third base for the Dodgers this season and he will probably never win any Gold Gloves. He has made two errors in left field and none at third base. However, he does provide power at the plate no matter where he plays or even as a pinch hitter coming off the bench. He is another one of the Dodgers "Cuban Connection" and the first to make a contribution.

Kershaw At The Bat

Clayton Kershaw pitched seven strong innings against the Colorado Rockies last night in the Dodgers 11-4 win and he also had the first three hit game of his career, driving in a run in the process. He improved his record to 4-3 and his batting average to .185. It was also his first road win on the season. He has always had a tougher time pitching in Coors Field, with an ERA about twice that of his career ERA but that was his eighth straight win against the Rockies.

The Dodgers had been suffering from a team wide slump for about the past two weeks but broke out of it in a big way last night. They hit four homeruns- Ethier, Rollins, Pederson, and Kendrick. Joc Pederson leads all major league rookie with 14 homeruns although his average has fell into the .250's from a high of the low .300's.