Monday, August 22, 2005 |
Hiring A Juggler: Marlins 5, Dodgers 2
Circus Manager: How long have you been juggling?That is, at some point we actually have to cease our reliance upon those merely telling us that the Dodgers have good players in their minor league system, and those players must actually start to perform at a major league level. Now, this isn't to say that I think today's exercise in futility wasn't a step in that direction; far from it. But having just gotten Jackson's feet wet in the minors with a taste or three of success after long bouts of ineffectiveness at AAA Las Vegas, they've possibly screwed him up for a while with another bruise on his already black-and-blue psychology. That is, you have to question how failing to escape the fifth can help him learn.
Candidate: Oh, about six years.
Manager: Can you handle three balls, four balls, and five balls?
Candidate: Yes, yes and yes.
Manager: Do you work with flaming objects?
Candidate: Sure.
Manager: ...knives, axes, open cigar boxes, floppy hats?
Candidate: I can juggle anything.
Manager: Do you have a line in funny patter that goes with your juggling?
Candidate: It's hilarious.
Manager: Well that sounds fine. I guess you're hired.
Candidate: Umm... Don't you want to see me juggle?
Manager: Gee, I never thought of that.
Jackson's command deserted him today:
Inn. B S 3-x 3-2 ======================== 1 13 21 3 3 2 6 7 1 1 3 6 9 1 1 4 10 17 2 1 5 10 8 1 1
Which is to say, he didn't have a single inning in which he failed to rack up at least one full count. On the other hand, he did manage a couple frames where he got through in fifteen pitches or less, overall throwing 62 of 107 pitches for strikes. It's not a bad total but still perilously close to the unity level that marks the wretched refuse of the league. He also managed to get first-pitch strikes in to only 10 of 23 batters faced, again not an encouraging sign.
However rickety Jackson may have been on the mound today, though, the Dodgers are stuck with him. With Odalis Perez likely lost for the season, a paucity of better options will force the Dodgers' hand, and play Jackson they will. Through September, young Edwin will provide batting practice to the rest of the league, at which time linksmanship will become the squad. (Actually, it does now, but the rest of the league objects to the extent that they're still minus a few easy wins.)
So if everything were right, true, and just in the world, Jackson would scamper off to AA, there to rattle some confidence of his opposition, while waiting for the Big Callup. It might not happen; big names in the minors can become big busts in the blink of a batter's eye. Flameouts happen regularly, as witness Jack Cust, Joe Thurston, and Greg Brock. I don't need to tell you that my foot's tapping impatiently waiting for that great young Dodgers team to come around, a situation made worse by observing that the Braves are getting useful production out of a phalanx of rookies, some of whom arrived in drafts far more recent than 2002. I'm waiting, Logan. I'm waiting.
Update: I forgot to mention that the recap below mentions Bradley's injured knee was why he left the game early, and it looks like he could end up on the DL as a result.
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