6-4-2 — an Angels/Dodgers double play blog

• It was a blowout, and blowouts are frequently lame. Even if you're cheering for the home team, face it, a good deal of the energy of a ballgame comes from the tension inherent in what happens next. If what happens next doesn't matter (and it didn't), you end up with guys like Hector Carrasco and Darren Oliver pitching frames.
• Shea Hillenbrand got a double, and in exactly the manner you'd think he would: hitting a little bouncer down the line to Nomar Garciaparra — and off his glove. Hillenbrand initially gave up on the ball but as soon as it skipped past Nomar, down to second he scooted. He had a legitimate line-drive single, too, so his evening wasn't a total loss, but from the point of view of an Angels fan, it's just the sort of thing that will keep him getting playing time, no matter how little power he brings to the affair.
• Brad Penny kept getting knocked around. Of the Dodgers' current staff, I have to say that I think I like Penny the best of all of them. In a row of more-or-less indistinguishable number two and number three pitchers, Penny has shown some character by recovering well from some serious medical setbacks. His second half last year was pretty terrible, though, and once again he got a hot start out of the gate. He made noises in the offseason that he really wanted to stay in LA, and for that I have to give him some props. For that reason, it's hard to watch him struggle like this in a death-by-a-thousand-singles game.
• Ervin Santana got a free win in a home night game. Yeah, the Chronicler will chide me because it'll all come out in the wash, and in three years we'll be laughing at this. But this game does exactly nothing to get him back on track on the road. The Dodgers will get another crack at him in Chavez Ravine on June 15, so we shall see how he reacts to that.
• Jeff Kent, Olmedo Saenz, Andre Ethier, Chone Figgins, and Vlad Guerrero: 0-4. With the exceptions of Saenz (who is a really useful pinch hitter) and 3.5 (Ethier), all of these guys are expected to produce on a regular basis. Kent is scuffling some, and I'm just not giving Vlad any slack at all. No 0-fer nights for you, buddy!
• Darren Oliver had a scoreless inning, thus forestalling his inevitable DFA.
• Dino Ebel couldn't or wouldn't send baserunners home on Juan Pierre. Of course, Casey Kotchman is the exception, but there were a couple of baserunners even Helen was going, "Does he not know this is Juan Pierre?"

• The Angels' offense put a crooked number on the board. Sure, the Angels' big inning didn't have anything harder hit than the Hillendouble (see above), which, if there were any justice in the world, would have left Shea stranded somewhere between first and second. Nevertheless, the sixth operated as a sort of platonic ideal for the Angels' offense, squeaking as much as humanly possible out of a collection of slap-hitting singles hitters.
• Mike Napoli. Napoli did better than his usual not-a-whole-lot, going 1-for-3 and driving in a run on an RBI single; he even stole third base off Rudy Seanez. Even better, he managed to nab speedster Juan Pierre trying to steal third to end the third inning in a strike-'em-out, throw-'em-out double play.
• Reggie Willits. Willits got on base three times, with two hits and a walk, and drove in a pair of runs. He's starting to get to Rookie of the Year territory; he already leads rookies in VORP with an 11.6 score (though the blazing hot Hunter Pence might give him a run for his money).

  Another Chronicler piece about Willits is definitely worth reading: as a .275 hitter, a line of .275/.378/.312 makes some sense. As of the close of the game tonight, Reggie has the highest OBP on the team with .455. It may well just be a high-water mark for him; Vlad's .450 seems a lot more sustainable, especially given the itch pitchers have to walk him and get to whoever is behind him in the order. And once he falls a little, his lack of power will be hard to justify in a corner spot, and then we're back to lineup juggling again, or optioning Willits to AAA, or a trade. In the meantime, Willits is just white hot.

• Ervin Santana got a win. Sure, it's at home, but so what? After his beatings on the road, he needs something to straighten him out again. Moreover, he's got the .248 WPA to prove it.
• Diamond Club. My in-laws are in town. You splurge.
• Fireworks. I'm a sucker for postgame fireworks. So sue me.

Labels: angels, dodgers, recaps

// posted by Rob @ 12:10 AM link  //  3 comments