Rockies 10, Dodgers 4
Well, the boys weren't going to win EVERY game against the Rockies this season. They do play 18 times, after all. This one got away when Clayton Kershaw, who had dominated through the first two innings, walked Chris Iannetta to lead off the third and then gave up a first-pitch homer to Clint Barmes. Rox went on to score four in that inning and five more (all charged to Kershaw) in the fifth, and that was pretty much all she wrote.
In his past two starts, Kershaw has allowed 15 earned runs in exactly nine innings, which for the mathematically challenged is a 15.00 ERA. He was asked after the game if his mechanics are right.
``I think so,'' he said. ``It's frustrating to give up runs like that, but there is no excuse for falling behind and giving up hits. That isn't a mechanical thing. It's just pitching poorly.''
Big day for James Loney, who went 3 for 5 with two doubles and three RBI. Bad day for the rest of the Dodgers. They had to settle for two out of three here, and they are now 3-3 on the trip. Dodgers fall to 13-6 overall. At the Giants tomorrow night at 7:15. Couple of veteran lefties going in Randy Wolf and Barry Zito.
Journalists are supposed to be unbiased, but I couldn't help but sense Tony lobbying for Eric Milton's call-up in today's paper. That is such a ridiculous idea on so many levels, mainly because the justification is that he's been throwing scoreless innings. Well, let's examine that - both of his "good" outings came on the road, with yesterday's game being at an extreme pitchers' park. Couple that with facing inferior competition (the Marlins tend to keep their top prospects in AA), and we've got nothing more than a "4-A" type of performance (ala Mitch Jones hitting a ton of homers a few years back in Vegas).
But, somehow, these scoreless innings on the road (with Milton getting shelled at home in consecutive starts prior) warrant a call-up. High comedy.
One of the really nice things about blogs? They're less formal than print media and thus allow a journalist to sprinkle their opinions in from time to time...
I'm not going to cry if some of this spreads into Tony's traditional columns...b/c hearing different points of view helps people draw their own conclusions..
Keep up the good work Tony...
One of the really nice things about Marcel? His unwavering support for McDonald...
Still waiting for Phase II though...
I like McDonald a lot also, but I also know that we're dealing with a 21(ish?) year old. Just like Kershaw, if we are going to laud him for his brilliant outings we have to be willing to deal with the growing pains that come with being a college-age kid pitching against grown men.
James McDonald is 24 1/2 (Born: October 19, 1984). But obviously still inexperienced at the MLB level, and less experienced than other pitchers his age because he was a position player, not a pitcher, in 2004 and almost all of 2005.
Nonetheless, the growing pains comment is well-taken.
Actually we play the Rockies 21 times this season Tony.
Tony is correct, it's 18 games. The 21 games with Colorade was a Vin Scully mistake, which he acknowledged on the air. I think it had something to do with the Rockies coming to LA to play a 3 game series with Angels.
I also like McDonald, especially his change. Certainly there is no guarantee of ultimate success, but I seem to remember a young righthander named Billingsley who was also prone to innings where he lost focus and command. Seems to be the case with Kershaw as well. Also, for those who may have forgotten, or may be too young to remember, Orel Hershiser got bombed early on in his rookie year. I think the division is weak enough for the Dodgers to gamble a bit that their young pitchers will come around as the season progesses. If not, there will probably be someone available (i.e., a pitcher worth acquiring) later in the season.
Anyone interested in Eric Milton should go to baseball-reference.com and check out his stats. He's a HR throwing machine (e.g., 43 in 2004, 40 in 2005).
I'm wondering if not wanting to walk to many batters had anything to do with Kershaw being batted around for 9 runs. Maybe, in some ways challenging the hitters, like he said he would do, I know this sound odd, but maybe his pitches were to fat. Like I said under my other name, you're not giving enough credit to the fine work that Elbert, Ohman and Mota turned in. I missed the whole game but in my travels I met 2 Dodger fans from LA on the 7 train. They were on their way to Citi Field and I was on the NY Transit Museum Trip. We had a great conversation about the team, but unfortunately none of us asked about the blogs.
So if you 2 guys are out there and remember me let me know.