6-4-2 — an Angels/Dodgers double play blog: Rule 5 Quality: Dodgers 2, Brewers 1

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Sunday, June 05, 2005

Rule 5 Quality: Dodgers 2, Brewers 1

As I write this, I'm grooving out to the swingin' sounds of 1937 Benny Goodman, thanks to RadioLovers.com. They have dozens of such shows, all for free, proving what a cool thing the public domain ought to be -- if we would only let it. Sadly, Congress keeps accepting bribes from the likes of Disney &c., and so the Mouse, who has made so much coin on the public domain works of the Brothers Grimm, denies the rest of us the opportunity to have some fun with its creations. The law, as Mr. Bumble observed, is an ass.

So, to the game. We had no reason to expect anything remotely like competence from D.J. Houlton, whom Vinny informs us has misappropriated a "J" (his middle name is actually Sean). His minor league numbers fluctuated wildly, as did his numbers with the Dodgers: a 2.08 ERA in April was immediately followed by a 12.96 ERA in May, mostly as the result of a horrible inning and two thirds against Cincinnati, and six earned runs over two games and two innings in St. Louis. Houlton, we learned in the postgame interview with Jim Tracy, will get another start; the team barely has a choice, but the decoration of a win to Houlton's young record certainly cemented things in short order. His five and a third innings, though, wasn't enough to convince Paul DePodesta that he should be a permanent fixture in the rotation. For one thing, DePo's actively looking for a starting pitcher, and whether it comes from DePo or not, the reference in that article to Houlton as a "mop-up man" means he's got a very, very short leash before he scurries back to the bullpen.

Once more, the Dodgers' offensive capabilities got a shakeout and were found wanting, especially versus a relatively mediocre mid-rotation starter from a mediocre team in the NL Central. Seven hits and four walks, and the only runs that scored were Kent's and Drew's solo homers. The team can't get Bradley back fast enough, but blaming his absence for the team's troubles is overwrought; he tends to go into slumps, as he was starting to with the last Angels series (he hit 6-34 in the last nine games he played in).

These kinds of problems won't go away with improvements in the team's reserves, though there's certainly a temptation to haul up some of the former castoffs and DL "victims". Along with an announcement that's certain to horribly disappoint Fire Jim Tracy, we learn that

Outfielder Jason Grabowski (shoulder) is batting .379 with five doubles in 29 at-bats at Las Vegas. He has nine days remaining in his rehab assignment. Infielder Norihiro Nakamura has 10 home runs in 22 games since being demoted to Las Vegas.

But who knows the quality of the pitchers those guys got their at bats against.

The Dodgers pitching, on the other hand, managed a mess of zero frames, and a win's a win, blah. No messy outcomes by middle relief, and though Gagné gave up a double and nearly the tying run, everyone got to go home happy, save for Scott Erickson, who no doubt wanted to at least try to keep a hand in the bullpen somehow. In the It Could Be Worse Dep't, I submit the following encounter between myself and Helen, who was following the Cubs game on MLB Gameday Audio:

Rob: Did I hear that right? The Padres are putting Brian Falkenborg out there?
Helen: (On the phone with her dad, talking about the game) Nods
Rob: Man, he's awful! I guess they've given up on this one. (Note: at this point in the game, the Cubs are up 4-1.)

Hilarity ensues as the Cubbies proceed to slaughter Falkenborg to the tune of six earned runs. He had actually managed to whittle his ERA down to 3.38 at the end of a June 1 game against Milwaukee. So, Dodger fans, it could be worse. Yes, much, much worse.

Recap

// posted by Rob @ 12:46 AM link // 0 comments