Dodgers Diaries

The Dodgers today announced the Andre Ethier was named a finalist for the 2012 Hank Aaron Award, given to the outstanding hitter in each league. Matt Kemp won the award in 2011.

At first glance, the news is a shocker. Ethier, with his .284 average (and even more pitiful .222 vs. lefties) paltry 20 homers is a finalist for this coveted award? It's not until you read down a few paragraphs that you learn every team gets to submit a finalist. Even the Astros. So Jose Altuve, come on down. You are the least worst player on the Astros!

Ethier was no Jose Altuve, although the 22-year-old second baseman did compile a slightly higher average (.290). But to realize Ethier was the best hitter on the 2012 Dodgers is to understand why the team failed to make the playoffs. When Matt Kemp got hurt, the Dodgers fielded a middle-of-the-lineup that often featured hitters nomore imposing than Ethier, Jerry Hairston and Bobby Abreu. In that regard, Ethier was the least worst Dodger of the first half of 2012.

I suspect the competition for best Dodger hitter of 2013 will be a little more interesting with full seasons from Hanley Ramirez and Adrian Gonzalez. It’s too bad the 2012 team didn’t get them in time for them to make more of a difference.

-- JOHN ROSENTHAL

Before Gilligan's Island became popular, the opening theme song neglected to mention "the Professor and Mary Ann," relegating them to the catchall "and the rest," following "the movie star."

The theme song for the Dodgers 2012 offense might have to be written the same way. The headliners are impressive: Matt Kemp (the league’s most valuable player in 2011, even if the Baseball Writers didn’t see fit to give him the award because of the team he played for), and Andre Ethier, an All-Star and gold glover whose 2011 season was curtailed by injury.

After that, however, the Professor and Mary Ann might be better options, even at their advanced ages of 87 and 74 respectively. Kemp and Ethier have combined to hit 11 homers, drive in 18 runs apiece, and OPS a ridiculous 1.432 and 1.044 respectively. Those gaudy numbers have earned Kemp Player of the Week honors for the first two weeks of the season.

The offense tails off after the middle of the order, however. More like swan dives. "The Rest" collectively have just one home run (AJ Ellis) and 23 RBIS. Not counting pitchers, the other Dodger position players are bating .223, slugging .355, and OPSing .668.

Or, pretty much what I expected when this season started: Kemp would carry the offense, just like he did last year, and the Dodgers would be better than .500 if Ethier returned to form, and worse if he didn’t. The fact that they are 10-3 can be attributed to some lousy April opponents, and to Ethier and Kemp hitting the cover off the ball.

Projected over a full season, each man would have 224 RBIs. Kemp would have 87 homers, Ethier 50. Kemp's batting average of .451 would shatter this single season record of .439 set by Hugh Duffy of the Boston Beaneaters in 1894. Ethier would hit 62 doubles, more than any man since Paul Waner in 1932.

In other words, it can't go on like this forever. The heart of the Dodger order isn't going to stop beating, but it can’t keep hyperventilating like this for a full season. When Kemp and Ethier come back to earth, so will the Dodgers. Unless one of The Rest work their way into the credits.

-- JOHN ROSENTHAL

The Dodgers are featuring six bobblehead giveaways this season, and half of the figures (manager Don Mattingly, broadcaster Fernando Valenzuela and the late Hall of Famer Duke Snider) feature players whose careers ended more than a decade ago. A fourth, Hong-Chih Kuo, scheduled for 6/14, may never play baseball again after two Frank Jobe surgeries and a serious bout of the yips.

That leaves Clayton Kershaw (Tuesday night, above) and Andre Ethier (July 7), two of the only bright spots on the 2011 roster. Matt Kemp should be the third head on this triumvirate of Knights who say “Ni,” but he’s been featured on bobbleheads the past two years. No Dodger has been featured more than twice.

To that, I say, why not? How about an annual Matt Kemp bobblehead for as long as he’s a fixture in the Dodger lineup? Ditto for Ethier and the Claw, and Chad Billingsley too, who’s never been bobbleheaded. Joe Beimel, sure, but not Chad Billingsley!

It was less than a year ago that I thought the two bobbleheads I had so far collected might be the core of a strong Dodger lineup some day. Now, Russell Martin is a Yankee and Jonathan Broxton is a head case. Maybe I’ll see what that Beimel doll is fetching on eBay.

-- JOHN ROSENTHAL

Perhaps it’s only appropriate that the Dodgers commemorate Andre Ethier bobblehad night by featuring the team’s leading hitter in those horrible throwback pajama uniforms. The Dodgers' offensive ineptitude is enough to put all of their fans to sleep, and having your pajamas already on saves valuable time during the postgame show you don’t want to watch.

Ned Colletti would like to blame the team’s offensive woes on injuries. "I don't ever like to use injuries as an excuse, but if you have Furcal and Casey Blake back in, left field becomes less obvious," Colletti said Monday night.

Seriously? Injuries? Jamey Carroll has been more productive than Rafael Furcal ever was at shortstop except maybe for that short stint in 2008 when he was on fire. Aaron Miles hasn’t hit a home run since 2008 (I blame Barack Obama for this), but his .291 average is hardly the reason the Dodgers can’t score runs. OK, maybe his .308 OBP is. But he’s been an adequate replacement for Casey Blake.

No, Ned, the problem with the Dodgers’ offense is the players who AREN’T injured. James Loney, who’s slugging .270. Juan Uribe, who has grounded into double plays more often than hitting a home run. And Gwybbomesands, the revolving door of left fielders, none of whom is hitting above .224.

-- JOHN ROSENTHAL

Because I don’t follow basketball with any care, I usually look forward to the day the Lakers are eliminated from the NBA playoffs. It’s not just that I find this particular group of Lakers distasteful, and can’t wait until the spotlight stops shining on them. It’s also because their exploits always tend to overshadow the interesting stories taking root in the spring at Chavez Ravine.

This year, however, I'm not so sure I'd like more media scrutiny of the Dodgers. This is a team that wasn't expected to go very far, and so far, they’ve barely lived up to that expectation. Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley have delivered some fine performances, but the bullpen has been one of the worst in baseball. Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp are both OPS-ing over .950, but it feels like they're the only Dodgers who can hit. Even Ethier's 30-game hitting streak came to an end before the Lakers’ ignominious exit. The team lead in home runs belongs to Rod Barajas, he of the .216 batting average.

More sportswriters focusing on the Dodgers will only expose how horrendous the past 11 months of James Loney’s career have been. More broadcasters following the team will only shine the spotlight even more brightly on Jonathan Broxton's inabilities as closer. More talk on sports radio will only amplify the swing-hard-three-times-in-case-you-hit-it tendencies of Juan Uribe and Marcus Thames. Worst of all, more media attention on this team will undoubtedly focus on the travails of their duplicitous owner, Frank McCourt, who has overstayed his welcome a lot longer than Ron Artest has.

For now, I will content myself with the fact that the Lakers’ classless exit with dominate headlines and highlight shows for at least another week. And the dismantling of this team after the 4-0 sweep by Dallas is sure to keep the purple and gold in the limelight at least until LeBron and D-Wade waltz to the championship they assigned to themselves nearly a year ago.

But then it’ll be all Dodgers all the time. And the only team that will be good for is the Angels.

-- JOHN ROSENTHAL

It’s getting to the point where I don’t want to see the Dodgers enter the 9th inning with a one- or two-run lead because I know the remainder of my evening is going to be so depressing. Even on those rare occasions when Broxton does convert a save situation, it’s usually some roller coaster ride of an outing that makes me think, “Geez, what would he do if he were facing decent hitters.”

Sure, he was besieged by some bad defense. If Jamey Carroll comes up with that 26-hopper, the game’s over. And if Jerry Sands doesn’t come in before going back on the last ball, we’re in extra innings. But it’s always something. If you blow three strikes past Emilio Bonifacio instead of standing around on the mound thinking about what you’re going to throw, we’re talking about an otherwise happy evening.

We’re talking about Jerry Sands’ three hits. Ivan DeJesus’s two hits. James Loney finally gets an RBI, gift-wrapped as it was by the infield being in. We’re talking about Andre Ethier’s 22-game hitting streak. And we’re talking about another dominating performance by Jon Garland, who went seven strong before being lifted for Vicente Padilla (why was that, by the way).

It’s April, and there’s plenty of time to sort things out. For Broxton and for the rest of the Dodger pen. If it’s me, I’m holding auditions. By June, the team might actually need a reliable closer.

-- JOHN ROSENTHAL

It’s time to add another entry to the best games of Vicente Padilla’s career .

Wednesday night’s shutout of the Padres may be the best of all. Like the others, he gave up two hits. Unlike the others, Joe Torre actually left him in the game to finish the job. When the Dodgers tallied five times in the bottom of the 8th to put the game out of reach, you could smell Torre wondering whether he should bring in Travis Schlichting or Elmer Dessens to close out the ninth. Instead, he let Nicaragua’s second-greatest pitcher finish his 105-pitch outing and saved the bullpen for Thursday’s finale.

It may all be too little too late for the Dodgers. But there are still 54 games to go. The Dodgers will have to win at least 35 of those games, and probably 40. But if the starting pitchers continue to put on performances like they’ve been doing since the All-Star Break, they have a chance.

Nice to see Andre Ethier wake up with a big game: Two doubles and a homer. With Matt Kemp taking a step back in his development, Furcal hurt, Martin possibly out for the season, Blake struggling, and Manny Ramirez returning who knows when, Ethier will have to carry the team offensively. James Loney will have to help.

-- JOHN ROSENTHAL

Sunday was Blogger Night at Dodger Stadium, a now annual occasion on which the Dodgers thank their loyal followers (myself included) for writing so diligently about the team’s exploits. I and about a dozen other bloggers had the opportunity to see the game from the corporate level, and also to interview GM Ned Colletti.

Colletti said he doesn’t read any of the blogs or any of the newspaper coverage of the team. “If I have to learn about my team from media accounts, I’m not doing my job,” he said. But he spent close to an hour taking our questions on subjects ranging from future Dodgers to Matt Kemp’s recent woes to the pleasant surprise that has been John Ely. There were no earth-shaking revelations in his comments; perhaps the most revealing part of the evening was when he refused to answer a question about whether beleaguered George Sherrill might accept a minor league assignment to work on his mechanics.

Colletti said a starting pitcher is still the team’s top priority going into the trading deadline, though a reliever is probably more likely. He’s disappointed in the team’s play so far, especially the slow start. But he’s optimistic that the Dodgers can catch the Padres. He’s still concerned that Russell Martin has stagnated in his development: “He plays the toughest position, and if one part of his game is off, it affects the others,” Colletti said.

The GM is still high on Blake DeWitt. “He’s never going to win a gold glove or a silver slugger award,” said Colletti, but he likes DeWitt’s character and his approach to the game.

Colletti also said he was wary about Vicente Padilla, but was willing to give him a chance. One slip-up and he would cut the Nicaraguan without giving him a second look. Padilla promised not to be a bad egg, and so far has not been one. “He’s one of the hardest workers on the team,” said Colletti. After the 2009 campaign, he decided to re-sign Padilla. “After hunting season,” he said, to laughs.

The game itself was less memorable. John Ely got hit. Not hard, but often. The Marlins scored two runs on four successive singles in the third, and chased Ely when opposing pitcher Nate Robertson drove in another run with a hard single up the middle. The Dodgers rallied back, narrowing the gap to 6-4 on a Rafael Furcal homer, and then closing within a run when James Loney drove in Andre Ethier with a double. But they just couldn’t dig out of the hole Ely had created.

-- JOHN ROSENTHAL

What a difference a three-game winning streak makes. Playing back in their own age group, the Dodgers smoked the lowly Giants three times in a row, with good pitching performances all around.

Are the Dodgers good, or the Giants bad? A little of both perhaps. Matt Cain seems able to beat every other team in the National League, but the Dodgers give him fits. Jonathan Sanchez has no-hit stuff some nights, but in Wednesday’s matinee, a team of supersubs (no Ethier, no Manny, no Blake, no Dewitt) found him thoroughly hittable. Oh, and did I mention the Dodgers evaded Tim Lincecum?

Matt Kemp’s return from his Joe Torre-imposed timeout has to hearten everyone. Kemp worked the count to three balls three times before collecting a single, a home run and a walk. Yes, he struck out, but he showed the kind of discipline that will make him a much more dangerous hitter.

I’d still trade him straight up for Cliff Lee, but only if the Dodgers can sign Lee to a long-term deal. Given everything we’ve heard about the team’s finances, that’s not going to happen during Divorce McCourt.

-- JOHN ROSENTHAL

Andre Ethier is hitting .350. Martin Prado is hitting .325. So why is Prado listed as the NL batting leader? Because Ethier lacks the necessary number of plate appearances to qualify for the batting title. It’s the same rule that prevents pitchers with one hit in two plate appearances from winning the title with a .500 average.

Baseball requires a minimum of 3.1 plate appearances per game to qualify. The Dodgers have played 58 games, so Ethier would need 180 appearances. He has 177, because he spent 15 days on the disabled list with his broken pinky. If he comes to the plate 6 times Tuesday night, he’ll take over as the NL batting leader. Yes, even if he goes 0-for-6. That would drop him to .337. Prado would have to go 5-for-5 to catch him.

-- JOHN ROSENTHAL

With their second straight victory over the Tigers, and their 16th in the past 20 games, the Dodgers are finally playing the way we all thought they could. Maybe even better than they could. During their nine-game win streak May 9-18), starting pitchers took the victory eight times, the lone exception being Jeff Weaver’s opportune entrance into the May 14 game against San Diego right before Matt Kemp hit a two-run homer.

That masked a mediocre performance by Ramon Ortiz, the fifth starter and lone weak spot in the rotation now that John Ely has solidified his hold on the No. 4 spot. Ely was his usual self again Saturday, mixing pitches and speeds to baffle the Detroit lineup for six-plus innings. His streak of 89 batters without a walk ended in the first inning, when he gave up two runs. He scattered hits over the next five innings without giving up another walk or a run to keep the Dodgers in the game, and the offense was up to the task, scoring their usual six runs.

In Andre Ethier’s absence, the load has been shouldered by a variety of players. Saturday, it was Casey Blake with three hits and a standout defensive play to help Jonathan Broxton preserve the lead, James Loney with two hits, Matt Kemp with his first homer in over a week, and Blake Dewitt with a two-RBI triple. We don’t hear much about Ronnie Belliard taking over at 2B these days, as Dewitt has quietly done a good job. Still no homers, but a .359 OBP is impressive enough from a guy who still hasn’t celebrated his 25th birthday.

With an off day Monday, the Dodgers don’t have to worry about a fifth starter until Saturday, May 29 at Colorado. I’d love to see Carlos Monasterios get another shot. He might not give you six innings, the way the rest of the rotation has been doing of late. But if he can go four or even five, the bullpen has been getting plenty of rest, and should be able to carry things the rest of the way.

-- JOHN ROSENTHAL

Joe Torre’s over-managing in Saturday’s 13-inning, 4-3 win over the Nationals almost cost the Dodgers the game. Only Jim Riggleman’s failure to run for the lame and slow-footed Ivan Rodriguez prevented Washington from scoring the tying run in the bottom of the 13th.

But out of bad decisions on both sides came a shining light for the Dodgers: The performance of Rule 5 draftee Carlos Monasterios, who threw scoreless ball over the last 2.2 innings for his first big league win. Monasterios looked like the pitcher the Dodgers liked so much in spring training.

The game never should have gone this far, however. With the Dodgers clinging to a 3-2 lead in the 8th, Ramon Troncoso put a runner on base, and got a grounder that was a little too tough to get a double play on. But instead of letting Troncoso get the last out of the 8th, Torre went straight to Jonathan Broxton for a four-out save. Broxton and Russell Martin then compounded the situation. They held a conference on the mound during which the radio announcer speculated that Martin was telling Broxton not to worry about the runner on first, Adam Kennedy.

Here’s how Martin’s end of the conversation must have gone: “Don’t worry about the runner. I’ll make sure he steals second, and I’ll throw the ball into the outfield so he can take third.” Well, that’s what happened, even if they didn’t plan it that way. Nyjer Morgan’s single brought home the tie, and Torre was left with three relievers going into the 9th inning. One of whom was Ramon Ortiz, basically unavailable because of his lengthy outing the night before.

Here’s how Torre again overplayed his hand in the 11th, after Matt Kemp made the last out trying to steal second base. He brought in Reed Johnson as part of a double switch, removing Kemp from the game. What? WTF? The pitcher wasn’t dues to bat until the fifth man up in the 12th, yet he removed his best player from the game? Makes no sense.

Now here’s how Riggleman made the even bigger mistake, as Eric Collins outlined on the broadcast: With the pitcher batting in Kemp’s spot, and no real pitchers left in Torre’s bullpen, Riggleman should have walked Martin and Andre Ethier in the top of the 13th to bring Monasterios to the plate. Instead, he pitched to Martin, who drove home Rafael Furcal with the go-ahead run. Riggleman compounded his mistake by not having a pitcher of his own (say, last night’s starter) run for Rodriguez. A healthy runner, even a pitcher, would have scored easily on Morgan’s double. Instead, the tying run never came in, despite Pudge’s best attempt to score on a ground ball to third.

The Dodgers will count this one as a win, since any win has to feel good right now. And I’ll give them a pass because it’s still April. But I still don’t like what I see.

-- JOHN ROSENTHAL