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Saturday, July 01, 2006 |
Joe Saunders, Bill Stoneman's On Line One: Dodgers 6, Angels 1
Did Bill Stoneman wonder if he DFA'd the wrong guy today? The way things are going, you can see how it turns out in a month or so. Bartolo was a little better than awful, missing velocity (again), sometimes location (again), failing to fool anybody for an inning or three (again), and recording a loss (again). According to Vin Scully on yesterday's broadcast, it was the first time in his career he's gone 0-4 to start a season, and that trend shows no signs of abating.
Of course, the other way to read it is that Andre Ethier loves Angels pitching this year, though that's hardly fair; had you caught them back in May, everybody was feasting on Halo hurlers. What about Cesar Izturis, who went 0-4 — his fourth consecutive 0-fer game? Yet, he was one of only two Dodgers, the other being Jose Cruz, Jr., who didn't at least get a hit in the proceedings.
Jered Weaver will help, to be sure. He should be better than his brother, we hope and trust, though I have my skepticism that will last. Still, the problem remains of the Angels' ice cold bats:
- Figgins isn't getting on base at anything like a reasonable pace — .322 OBP, good for last place in the AL.
- Anderson's old and creaky in the field, and slumping at the plate. He will continue to stumble through the season, a man half alive and half injured.
- Kennedy's in the worst slump I've ever seen.
- Juan Rivera is a nice fourth outfielder, but hardly a starter.
- Similarly, Maicer Izturis shouldn't be starting.
- It's a coin flip as to whether 25-year-old Dallas McPherson will ever amount to anything; between his injuries and his status as a mistake hitter in a league where he strikes out before the other guys make any mistakes, it's questionable whether he'll even be in a major league uniform in five years.
- Kendry Morales is slumping because he's learning. His 2-4 night represents his first multi-hit night in over a week.
Comments:
And the sad part is ... Oakland is so mediocre - it must be tempting to that front office to just roll the dice, make some trades and try to storm back and take it... (not advocating this position, just underscoring the desire that a weak division creates)
# posted by 
: 7/01/2006 02:10:00 AM
: 7/01/2006 02:10:00 AM
Yup. See the disastrous A.J. Pierzynski for Liriano and Nathan trade two years ago, or the Dodgers' trades of some of their top-shelf prospects for a handful of magic beans this year.
How many more times are they going to run Colon out there before they realize that he's just not healthy? It was perfectly obvious to me after reading the results of his rehab stint. It's perfectly obvious to me through three starts. Upon his return, I predicted that he'd last five starts before they realized he can't do it. He has done absolutely nothing to change my opinion, yet the team seems to be bumbling along with blissful ignorance. He's done for the year. Get him the surgery he obviously needs now, so that maybe he can be ready early next year. Every day they wait only cuts into his availability next year. Jeez.
# posted by : 7/01/2006 11:46:00 AM
: 7/01/2006 11:46:00 AM
I don't think Colon is that far off, actually. He looked pretty sharp through the middle innings yesterday, touching 95 at one point. He may not be 100%, but he's getting there. His problem, and we've all been through it, appears to be confidence. Once he can trust his stuff, and realize he won't reinjure himself, I think he'll be alright. But as the reigning Cy Young award winner, I think he deserves the opportunity. He gets one more start before the All-Star break, then at least nine days off, depending on how Scioscia sets up the second half rotation. I'm going to go out on a limb and predict a strong second half for the guy, a la 2004.
# posted by : 7/01/2006 05:13:00 PM
: 7/01/2006 05:13:00 PM
I'd give him another 2-3 starts to show some improvement in velocity. If he can't put it together by then, I don't think he will this season.
Yeah, I think that's a fair statement. Although I'm bullish on Colon, we can't wait all year, either.
# posted by : 7/01/2006 10:47:00 PM
: 7/01/2006 10:47:00 PMNewer› ‹Older
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