Saturday, June 30, 2007 |
Pickoff Moves
Dodgers DFA Marlon Anderson
Not unexpected, considering they had to make room for Chin-Hui Tsao.Not Quite, Or, The Disadvantages Of The Running Game: Padres 7, Dodgers 5
Dino Ebel is another of the Angels' ex-Dodger coaches; Bill Shaikin recently interviewed him as part of a piece about the Angels' baserunning style:"From day one of spring training, Mike [Scioscia] tells them he wants them to go first to third, and it carries into the season," third base coach Dino Ebel said. "When I managed [triple-A] Salt Lake in 2005, that's what we did. These guys do it every day, from rookie ball on up, and they're not going to get yelled at if they're thrown out."Of course, all that stuff is problematic if you don't actually get runners on base. The Dodgers did their best Angels imitation for the first couple of innings or so, and actually cashed in two of their three base-stealers, but Chris Young did what he had to to kill the running game, namely, preventing guys from getting on base, mainly by whiffing nine Dodgers. Despite his seven hits and a walk, the guys he did let get on base past the first were mostly slow and aging (Kent, Nomar) or had those same guys in front of them, negating the running game (James Loney).Ebel spent 17 years in the Dodgers' organization as a minor league player, coach and manager before joining the Angels in 2005.
"What a difference … what a difference," he said. "The Dodgers wanted to go first to third, but it was always, 'Don't get thrown out at third.' Here, they encourage you to go. They make outfielders have to make a perfect throw. It's an aggressive style, and it works. I'm a true believer."
The Dodgers had a rousing eighth-inning comeback, but it was a case of too little, too late, and despite getting one more off Padres supercloser Trevor Hoffman in the ninth, Luis Gonzalez wasn't able to cash him in, and the crowd went home disappointed.
Tonight's matchup should be a good 'un, with two of the National League's top three ERA leaders facing off, Brad Penny (#1, 2.09) against Jake Peavy (#3, 2.14).
Labels: dodgers, padres, recaps
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