Chad Billingsley battled like a warrior on short rest, Casey Blake broke out of a long slump with a solo homer, and the Dodgers looked like they were going to get another narrow win.
Leave it to Jonathan Broxton to mess it all up.
Once again, Broxton could not get the big out when he needed it. Pat Burrell hit a two-out, two-run shot in the eighth to lift the Giants to a win, 2-1. While the Dodgers may not have much hopes of winning the NL West, their Wild Card aspirations also took a hit with the loss. They are 7 1/2 in back of the Padres and 5 1/2 behind the Giants.
As is typical with any Dodger game in the second half, there aren’t much offensive highlights to report on. Anytime the Dodgers got a threat, they’d strike out and generally look lost on how to get runners in. In other words, it was another day at the office for the bats.
Thanks to Billingsley, the Giants suffered much of the same. As I said before, he really battled and deserves a ton of credit for not only volunteering to pitch on three days rest for the first time in his career, but for putting forth a great start. He finished with 6 2/3 innings pitched, two hits, no runs, two walks, and five strikeouts. His ERA is down to 3.78.
The first threat for the Dodgers that they blew came in the fourth. Rafael Furcal reached on an infield hit, then stole his 18th base of the year. Matt Kemp hit third and drew a walk. Then bang, bang, bang: Casey Blake popped up, Raffy got caught trying to steal third, and James Loney grounded out.
With Bills and Barry Zito dealing, it took until the seventh to get the game’s first run. I listened to the game on XM Radio, and announcer Dave Campbell was saying how Blake was awful in the month of July against fastballs. Sure enough, Blake took a Zito fastball out to left for a solo home run for the 1-0 lead.
Things got interesting in the bottom of the seventh, but the Dodgers survived. Pablo Sandoval grounded out, but Raffy made a throwing error to let Edgar Renteria reach first. Eli Whiteside then struck out in Billingsley’s last batter.
In came Hong-Chih Kuo, who gave up a single to Aaron Rowand pinch-hitting. A wild pitch sent both to scoring position. Taking a page out of the Dodgers’ book, Andres Torres could not come through in the clutch by striking out to end the inning.
The Dodgers could have increased their lead in the eighth, but that would require getting a clutch hit with runners on. You didn’t think that would happen, did you? Foolish person, you. Anyway, Kuo (yes, Kuo) drew a walk with one out, and Scott Podsednik followed with another one.
Guillermo Mota came in and immediately struck out Raffy and Kemp.
The eighth is when the Giants took their first lead of the day, and for good. Kuo was still on, and he got Freddy Sanchez popping up and Aubrey Huff grounding out. Kuo then beaned Buster Posey. There was a question if it was on purpose considering the beanball war that’s been going on between these two teams. Who knows.
Joe Torre chose to go with Broxton to get Burrell. Like Broxton ALWAYS does, he couldn’t rise to the occasion. A two-run homer to left made it 2-1, and the Giants would never look back. Mota got the Dodgers in order to end the game.
It should be noted that Andre Ethier missed the game due to the birth of his second child. Congratulations to his family. But with all due respect to him, with the way he’s been hitting lately, I doubt it would have made any difference if he was there, especially against the lefty Zito.
Today was just the latest example of the ineptitude of the offense. They’ve played 16 games since the All-Star break, scoring 36 runs. That’s an average of 2.25 runs a game, which is downright pathetic. They simply don’t have the big run producers that can carry the team when times are tough.
Then there’s Broxton, who has a 6.75 ERA in July with two blown saves. He may have been an elite closer at one point, but that’s not at all the case now. I think Joe Torre needs to accept the fact that Broxton is not the same pitcher right now, and not use him in save situations for the time being. Let Kuo, Kenley Jansen, and newly acquired Octavio Dotel give it a shot. It can’t be any worse.
Broxton’s fastball is his calling card, but hitters no longer are in fear of him. The fastball is still a wicked pitch, but when hitters know it’s coming most of the time, they’re good enough to adjust at this level. He needs to go watch tapes of guys like Eric Gagne and Trevor Hoffman to see how effective off-speed pitches can be in getting the final outs. Relying exclusively on the hard stuff is not cutting it anymore.
All the Dodgers can hope for now is that their new players (Lilly, Theriot, Podsednik, and Dotel) give them a shot in the arm to get on a roll again. We all need to remember that there’s about two months left in the season, plenty of time to improve. But, that also means they can be out of pretty quickly as well if they keep losing.
Clayton Kershaw and Matt Cain will be the main event of ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. The Dodgers won right before the break on Sunday night, dismantling the Cubs. This time won’t be nearly as easy, so hopefully Kershaw is on fire and someone, ANYONE, carries the offense with a big night.
Aaron, at least you got one thing right. Broxton needs to end his almost exclusive reliance on his fastball. As I noted in a previous thread, this isn’t about choking. It’s about a pitcher who has become predictable. If Broxton’s fastball had some movement, that wouldn’t matter as much. But his fastball is straight, and, practically always down. He needs to regain the wicked slider he used to have, learn another offspeed pitch, improve his location. I saw a replay of the pitch he threw to Burrell. It was a fastball, down and in (but not far off from the middle of the plate), which is right in Burrell’s wheelhouse. And I’ll note that Martin appeared to have called for the pitch low and away, and Broxton missed his location. Same can be said of the hit that Sandoval had in the same inning. On that pitch Martin was sitting on the outside of the plate and Broxton came in, but caught too much of the plate. With Broxton it’s all about location and the need to throw something other than the fastball.
Broxton is neither a loser nor a choker. He’s a relatively young pitcher in need of something else than a predictable fastball. To me it’s more about coaching than anything else.
The offense did nothing, but Broxton is somehow the focus. This loss was mostly the result of an offense that has done nothing for weeks. Maybe that’s where are chokers are, and it’s certainly where the focus should have been.
Brooklyn,
I certainly appreciate your opinion. I did make a point of saying that the offense has been awful plenty of times lately. When you score a little over 2 runs a game, that’s just pathetic.
Maybe we’ll just agree to disagree on Broxton. You’re right by saying he’s young and maybe needs better coaching. But all I know is that when the game is tight, he comes up empty. “Choking” is a strong word but it’s just how I feel.
Trust me, I certainly know that if the Dodgers can get some damn hits, Broxton wouldn’t be the focus. I felt I made plenty of the focus about the offense, but maybe it didn’t come across that way.
I’m not sure where this team is heading but they desperately need someone to step up and be a hero. Broxton’s not that guy. Maybe someone else is.
Give me one day with Broxton and I believe I can fix the problem. I see him doing the same thing over and over and it’s maddening.
He MUST learn two things – 1. an off speed pitch. This is the Major Leagues, not Jr. High. and B. he needs to pitch inside. (and 1.5 C would be two seamer)
If he doesn’t do these things and do them now, this crap can get into his head (if it isn’t there already) and he will believe he is bad.
This man has too good an arm to let this happen to him. I’ll bet there are 29 teams that would make good offers for him. And I’ll bet there are 29 other pitching coaches that would immediately go to work on him.
Aaron,
I certainly know that you mentioned the offense (or lack thereof). However, the title creates the focus. “Your Basic Broxton Choke Job” puts all the onus on Broxton no matter what you say about the offense.
Badger,
I absolutely agree with you. In talking about Broxton’s lack of location I forgot to mention his tendency to pitch down in the strike zone. And he also doesn’t come inside as often as he needs to. If he had a natural sinker I could understand pitching down the vast majority of the time. But he doesn’t, so he needs to go upstairs more often.
How much of this is Broxton and how much is it coaching? Every once in a while you will see Martin call for a pitch upstairs, but mostly he sets himself up low and away. So who gets the blame? Broxton? Martin? Honeycutt? Torre? Howell? or whoever? And you;re right. If we trade him, another pitching coach will probably get right on the problem.
And by the way, I have no problem with trading Broxton. In fact, I have no problem trading anyone. But if that’s what the Dodgers do, the return had better be stellar.
Broxton signed an $11 million contract earlier in the year. How soon before he hits the waiver wire?
Anybody want to establish an over/under (before/after) date on that?
Relax, time to celebrate. I have the NEW Secret Plan for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Simple: keep playing like they have since the All-Star Game, in other words, trash the season. Bring in Sherrill more often in tight situations. Hit Kemp third. Move Martin to the second spot. Tie some more weights to Casey Blake’s legs. Keep Manny on the DL. Those kinds of things. Bottom line: tank the rest of the season. They have a good start on it right now.
Here are the standings of those teams worse than the Dodgers right now. There are in fact, 16 teams with a worse records. Can you believe that !!!!
Colorado 53 – 50 .515
Detroit 52 – 51 .505
Oakland 52 – 51 .505
L.A. A 53 – 52 .505
Florida 52 – 51 .505
New York M 52 – 51 .505
Milwaukee 48 – 57 .457
Chicago C 46 – 57 .447
Washington 45 – 58 .437
Houston 44 – 59 .427
Kansas City44 – 60 .423
Cleveland 43 – 61 .413
Seattle 39 – 66 .371
Arizona 38 – 65 .369
Pittsburgh 36 – 66 .353
Baltimore 32 – 72 .308
The way the Dodgers have been playing, they should be able to drop at least – 12 teams below them, down to say, Seattle. They are only 16 games worse in the last column. That should be a cinch.
Why???? To be higher in the June draft next season. There is supposed to be a great crop of players on the list next June.
Also, looking at the Potential Free Agent list for next season; Dodgers on that list right now – that could walk to another team:
Alfredo Amezaga LAD
Vicente Padilla LAD
Hiroki Kuroda LAD (he was on 1 list but not another)
Manny Ramirez
For some reason I thought the list would be longer. But if any do, then another selection from the Draft.
If that were 15 teams with better records (meaning 14 teams with worse records), then the Dodgers would pick in the top half of the draft. Teams picking in the top half of the draft (i.e., the first 15 picks) are exempt from losing their first round draft pick if they sign a Type A free agent who has been offered arbitration. In that instance they surrender only their #2 pick.
That could be advantageous for a team prepared to sign a Type A free agent. Is that the Dodgers? We can only hope. Would the Dodgers actually want to hold onto their first round pick? We’ll get a partial answer to that between now and August 16th, when we know whether or not the Dodgers signed Zach Lee.
If you were Zach Lee, what would you do?
I think it will take more money than the Dodgers are willing to cough up to sign this kid. He has options.
The key date for me is still August 30th.
Again, it was a terrible game to watch. No runs and then Broxton blowing the save. I have said before on several post before, that Honeycutt needs to go. Broxton needs to learn to pitch and not just throw. That is Honeycutt’s job. He is the coach. He can demand that Broxton throw something else besides a fastball.
The trades will not help us unless the hitting starts to improve. We gave up a lot more in talent than we received. In all the television reports the reporters stated that the Dodgers could not take on any more salary. This tells me where ownership is and we will never get any better until the Dodgers are sold. All we are getting in these trades are a bunch of fringe ball players that will not make a difference. If I was a Dodger player, I would be upset. Ownership did not do anything to help this team.
I have not given up hope yet, but I am close. Nobody is playing well and after the trading of players, there is nothing to be happy about the results on or off the field.
Idaho al — on this Dodger fan site, you are at the end of a long line of folks that have been calling for Honey’s firing.
Mark thinks that Honey must have some pictures of McCourt that the boss does not want shown to the public — that keeps him in his job.
OK, time for us to just sit back and wait. Badger is correct about August 30th, although that’s just the start of the trial, not the decision date. Of course, I guess there’s always the possibility of a settlement before trial (or soon after it begins), especially if both sides are not entirely comfortable that the outcome will favor them.
I’ve been on juries for two civil cases in my life, and both were settled. The first was settled before actually going to trial, and the second was settled after one day of testimony. I realize that this case is probably a whole other animal, but you never know. And before anyone tells me that I don’t have a clue, I’ll say it myself. I know as much about divorce cases as I do about soccer, of which I know nothing (other than the fact that for me it’s like watching grass grow or paint dry).
I have heard many people, including the judge in the case, say they are surprised they don’t just settle. The only winners in a long trial are the lawyers.
http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2010/07/15/judge-in-mccourt-divorce-suggests-selling-the-dodgers/
These are just the wrong people to have the pink slip on the Dodgers.
I do think we need to wait until Manny comes back. If we are not in it by the end of August, we need to trade Manny to an American League team. We are going to lose him anyway. I doubt we will get much for him, but we have to try.
Thanks Roger Dodger for the comments.
I am really concerned about losing some of our pitching prospects like McDonald. When they get a good pitching coach to work under, they will do much better. I am really down on Honeycutt.
al, we have until August 31 to trade Manny. After that date he is no good to anyone in the play-offs. So you are right, if we aren’t in this by the last week of August, and Manny is still hitting, it might be time to move him – provided of course whoever is interested will actually be willing to deal. I read today the White Sox just called to say they would take him off our hands if we would help pay for it. I also read (Simer’s column) that that call was probably instigated by Borass.
I am confused about Honeycutt. The Dodgers have had good pitching with him coaching, but, I just don’t understand some of what is going on. How come McDonald can’t get ML hitters out, and how come Broxton doesn’t do what needs to be done? If I can see it, Honeycutt should be able to see it. Maybe Honey has lost it.
Badger, good point about Honeycutt. We have had better pitching as of late, and I might add, Billingsley has certainly stepped up. So maybe it’s Honeycutt, and maybe it’s the players themselves. But Idaho al makes a good point about the pitches being called. Is that Honeycutt, maybe Martin, maybe even Broxton? And I would think that Ken Howell has some say in these matters. And Torre can’t have his head completely in the sand (or can he?).
Talking about pitches called, I was beside myself when Monasterios was pitching in the opener against the Giants. When the Giants got to him (I forget exactly what inning) I noticed that he was throwing one fastball after the other. On at least three consecutive hitters he had two strikes on fastballs, and then surrendered hits on fastballs. I saw nary a change-up, which happens to be his signature pitch.
And in all fairness, if we’re questioning Honeycutt, what about Mattingly and Pentland? As of late the hitting has been a lot worse than the pitching. Why can’t Kemp consistently try to hit through the middle and to right? Why has Russell Martin been swinging for the fences for two years, with the same predictable results? Why does Ethier have problems against lefthanders that he has shown in the past that he can hit when going to left? And so on.
What’s really necessary, is probably to bring in a new manager with new coaches. No doubt that could be worse, but I’ll take my chances. And if Mattingly should become the manager, does he become his own man, or does he continue with the same staff? Guess we’ll have to wait until it all plays out.
Finally, if Manny comes back and starts to hit, and the opportunity to move him heats up, what do the Dodgers do? Do they move him, or do they suddenly decide to hold onto him in the hopes of making it to the playoffs. Maybe we would be so far out that moving him would become a no-brainer for our braintrust (sorry for associating brains with our management). However, if Manny gets hot, and we continue to get pitching, chances are that we begin to start winning. What then?
I agree with Brooklyn Dodger and Badger. The starting pitching has become much better lately and the hitting is terrible. The bull pen still has its problems.
Either used to go deep into the count and now he swings many times at the first pitch. When Either went deep into the count he was hitting very well. Having Manny hit behind Either certainly helps him. Martin keeps swinging for the fence. He has not changed. I am not sure where Kemp’s head it most of the time. Getting picked off first today is an example. I am just wondering if the coaching staff has lost it or are these guys not very coachable. I am also wondering about the leadership among the players. Something is very wrong with this team. I just hope they come out of this pretty soon. I still have not given up.