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Monday, July 02, 2007 |
Dodgers, Pooh: On Negativity
Why are people down on the Dodgers? It's not so inexplicable.
- Juan Pierre. A guy with his speed should be batting leadoff, yet he cannot because he gets on base so little. His arm is terrible, and he takes... creative routes to fly balls. His acquisition as a long-term, high-dollar free agent was clearly a mistake. (This is not universally recognized, but a large portion of the fan base does.)
- Schedule. Since June 1, the Dodgers have lost 5 of 6 to the Angels at home and away, lost the month's series to the Padres by the same count. Worse, they lost badly a dispiriting series to the lowly Devil Rays; beating the Blue Jays on the road was good, but inadequate. Arizona has yet to be perceived (and from what I gather, has yet to be perceived by its own fans) as being a real contender, and so wins against that club go somewhat discounted, despite the fact that the Dodgers took a four-game road series against them. Against very good teams, the Dodgers have had a lot of trouble, and that never helps in your evaluation of the
- Pitching troubles everywhere. Brett Tomko left the rotation just before the month started, and had a hand in some of the more impressive implosions, including Saturday's meltdown against the Padres. Hong-Chih Kuo found himself chased back to AAA after a less-than-successful stretch with the club, and had a hand in almost all the embarrassing losses mentioned above, including the biggest blowout of the year to date, the 12-1 slaughter at the hands of the Blue Jays on June 20. The rotation has suffered from inconsistency, poor run support, or both.
- Sputtering offense. The Dodgers' lineup was really a patch job with too many years pasted on for guys like Nomar Garciaparra and Jeff Kent, who you can almost hear as they age.
Labels: dodgers
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