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.
Showing posts with label Vicente Padilla. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vicente Padilla. Show all posts
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
On The Field
With all of the issues the Dodgers are facing off the field, it is hard to believe the Dodgers are playing .500 baseball. They are coming off a 3-3 road trip to Chicago and Florida, but they essentially gave two of those games away, one to Chicago when the relief pitching imploded and one to Florida when the defense booted the game. A 5-1 road trip really would have been sweet.
Jonathan Broxton has already lost his closers job twenty games into the season (which really came as no surprise) but a combination of Vicente Padilla and Hong-Chih Kuo as the closers? Padilla can't stay off the Disabled List, Kuo has about as brittle an arm as I have ever seen and I hope the Dodgers have a Plan C they can fall back on. Padilla did get his first save against the Marlins the other night and Kuo had a rocky rehab outing in Class A the other night that has most everyone questioning whether he is anywhere close to being ready to come back.
Casey Blake joined Rafael Furcal on the Disabled List (not really a surprise either) and it is believed that he will be out for probably about a month. The Dodgers called up Russ Mitchell to replace him on the roster with Aaron Miles probably getting the majority of the starts at Third Base.
My player Xavier Paul got claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates (I think they just wait around for the Dodgers to release players) and I hope he gets some playing time in the Pirates outfield. Paul's "replacement" Jerry Sands is off to a so-so start to his major league career but he has not provided the power so far that the Dodgers really need. I am hoping it will come later.
Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp are both rolling and it is good to see. Now if we can get a couple of more hitters to join them (James Loney please stand up- he has made it above the Mendoza line) maybe the Dodgers can have a kick-ass homestand.
Jonathan Broxton has already lost his closers job twenty games into the season (which really came as no surprise) but a combination of Vicente Padilla and Hong-Chih Kuo as the closers? Padilla can't stay off the Disabled List, Kuo has about as brittle an arm as I have ever seen and I hope the Dodgers have a Plan C they can fall back on. Padilla did get his first save against the Marlins the other night and Kuo had a rocky rehab outing in Class A the other night that has most everyone questioning whether he is anywhere close to being ready to come back.
Casey Blake joined Rafael Furcal on the Disabled List (not really a surprise either) and it is believed that he will be out for probably about a month. The Dodgers called up Russ Mitchell to replace him on the roster with Aaron Miles probably getting the majority of the starts at Third Base.
My player Xavier Paul got claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates (I think they just wait around for the Dodgers to release players) and I hope he gets some playing time in the Pirates outfield. Paul's "replacement" Jerry Sands is off to a so-so start to his major league career but he has not provided the power so far that the Dodgers really need. I am hoping it will come later.
Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp are both rolling and it is good to see. Now if we can get a couple of more hitters to join them (James Loney please stand up- he has made it above the Mendoza line) maybe the Dodgers can have a kick-ass homestand.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
The 5th Starter
The Dodgers started Spring Training with six starting pitchers but Jon Garland and Vicente Padilla have already gone down with injuries. Padilla will not back for two or three more weeks and Garland probably will not back until at least the middle of April and will start the season on the Disabled List.
The Dodgers probably will not need a fifth starter until the middle of April and if Padilla and Garland are not ready there are probably three likely canidates to choose from, all three of them right-handers. John Ely, who got work last year as both a starter and long reliever and sported a 4-10 record and a high ERA after looking good early, Tim Redding, owner of a career record of 37-57 and 144 career starts in the majors, and Carlos Monasterios, who also got some work in last year both starting and relieving.
Both Ely and Redding have had good camps and Monasterios has taken himself out of the running by getting lit up this Spring. I would like to see them give the spot to Ely for the simple reason that he brings a younger arm and more options to the table than does Redding. If it doesn't work out, he also has options.
The Dodgers probably will not need a fifth starter until the middle of April and if Padilla and Garland are not ready there are probably three likely canidates to choose from, all three of them right-handers. John Ely, who got work last year as both a starter and long reliever and sported a 4-10 record and a high ERA after looking good early, Tim Redding, owner of a career record of 37-57 and 144 career starts in the majors, and Carlos Monasterios, who also got some work in last year both starting and relieving.
Both Ely and Redding have had good camps and Monasterios has taken himself out of the running by getting lit up this Spring. I would like to see them give the spot to Ely for the simple reason that he brings a younger arm and more options to the table than does Redding. If it doesn't work out, he also has options.
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