Dodgers Diaries

The Dodgers played the first five innings of Sunday’s game like they were mailing it in. Orlando Hudson got himself doubled off first base on a long out by Andre Ethier. Rafael Furcal didn’t hustle after a relay throw, allowing Hanley Ramirez to advance to third. And Jason Schmidt, who worked so hard to get back to the big leagues, looked like he was throwing batting practice.

So it was comforting to see them refuse to roll over in the last four innings. Teams trailing often like to say “let’s cut it in half,” which is exactly what the blue did in the sixth. Down 8-0, James Loney doubled in two and Russell Martin did likewise with a home run.

The Dodgers threatened again in the seventh, and scored two more times in the ninth, ultimately bringing Matt Kemp to the plate as the tying run. But he popped up softly to end the game. In the end, the hole that Jason Schmidt created and Jeff Weaver dug deeper was just too big.

In a season as successful as this one, there have been few infuriating managerial decisions. But a couple continue to annoy me. The pitcher batting eighth cost the Dodgers a legitimate shot at a run in the second inning. After Kemp singled and stole second, Martin struck out for the second out. The Marlins then walked Mark Loretta to get to Schmidt, hitting eighth, who weakly grounded into a fielder’s choice. There’s no guarantee that Juan Pierre gets a hit in that situation, but it’s a lot more likely than Schmidt delivering a run.

The other is the treatment of Blake DeWitt. Did he spit in Joe Torre’s Bigelow green tea? The guy has been up and down more often than the stock market this year, and each time he gets called up to the big league club, he languishes on the bench in pinch-hitting duty. Yesterday was a perfect opportunity to give him four at-bats, as Casey Blake took the day off. Instead, Torre played Loretta, a veteran who’s accustomed to sitting for days on end. If DeWitt is to be used as trade bait, all the more reason to get him some face time. --- John Rosenthal.