Thursday, May 24, 2007 |
Pickoff Moves
Welcome Back, Yhency: Dodgers 5, Brewers 1
Another game I watched as picture-in-picture (or is that pitcher-in-picture?), Penny cruised through seven, and an early four-run outburst in the first gave the Dodgers all the runs they'd need. The Brewers got on board thanks to Joe Beimel in the eighth, but a 1-6-3 double play got him out of the inning quickly thereafter.Maybe it was because I came in late, but for me, Yhency Brazoban's flamethrowing night was really the headliner of this game: striking out the side, he reminded me of those joke "Ghame Over" t-shirts somebody on the Dodger Thoughts board cooked up. It wasn't such a joke yesterday. Coming back from Tommy John surgery in a year and a month? And striking out the side on your first game? Man, that's impressive. Welcome back, Yhency, and look out all you starters moved to the bullpen to find some value.
Criticism Of Criticism Of Criticism
Via SOSG, The Trolley Dodger gives us nine reasons to breathe (as if eventual oxygen deprivation weren't enough). On that list are a couple of items that really chafe:1. Your failure to understand the logic of or not knowing the full story behind Dodger front office decisions does not mean there is no logic or reason behind those decisions.That's a preemptive blockade of front office criticism, and quite frankly, wrongheaded. Do we flinch recognizing that Luis Gonzalez was a late-career wonder, that his regression will be just as fast and hard, and that Matt Kemp would be a better choice over the duration of Gonzo's contract? Was there any justification whatsoever for the Juan Pierre signing? Is there a compelling reason why Russ Martin was buried so low in the batting order when he obviously had more value near its top? Thank you, Mr. T. Dodger, but all such requests will be cheerfully ignored so long as the Dodgers have only one postseason victory since 1988.2. It doesn’t matter if you have a subscription to Baseball America, obsessively monitor the news feeds, refresh the forums every 5 minutes, and Read Every Blog: you don’t know everything, and there is always more to the story than the public knows.
3. Does this mean the Dodger front office is always right? Absolutely not. But then, neither are you.
4. The Dodgers are hovering in first place in a dogfight division. We are likely to fall out of first place. If we do, we are likely to get back into first place. Jumping off a cliff in the interim is a bad idea — what are you, Cub fans?
5. Choosing dependable vets (yes, even dependably mediocre) over untested kids at the beginning of the season is insurance, not veteran deference, and definitely not willful obstinacy.
Meta: In The Land Of The Padres
We'll be out seeing the Cubbies in San Diego today. That's probably just as well given that the Angels are running Ervin Santana out there in Detroit today.Labels: brewers, dodgers, recaps
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