There’s a strange phenomenon that occurs at Dodger stadium, and at most ballparks for that matter, where the hometown fans boo the opposition’s decision to issue an intentional walk. Intentional walks are almost always a bad idea, because they put additional runners on base and this opens up the possibility of scoring more runs. Why in baseball’s name do fans boo something that is advantageous for their team?
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Back when Mattingly was good at his job.
Don Mattingly was a great player. Injuries might have limited his place amongst Yankee greats, but this is a player who put up spectacular numbers during his peak years. From 1984-1989, Mattingly averaged 27 home runs, 43 doubles and 203 hits. From ’84-’87, his worst OPS was .918, and for his career, he walked 588 times, which is nothing to write home about, but he only struck out 444 times in 7722 plate appearances. Exceptional performance.
He’s not a very good manager, though. Continue reading
Frank McCourt is an evil genius. Wait, check that. Frank McCourt’s legal representation and negotiating team are the geniuses. McCourt is simply evil. The man took ownership of the Dodgers in 2004 and every season since has been worse for Dodger fans. It’s not all his fault, of course, but that doesn’t make him exempt from blame.
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An earlier incarnation of the team since I couldn't find a good photo of the 2012 Texas Rangers.
The Dodgers have the second best record in MLB at the end of April. This is especially impressive in that little was expected of the Dodgers, but really shouldn’t be all that surprising given the small sample size. The best record in baseball belongs to the Texas Rangers over in the American League, and unlike the Dodgers, I seriously doubt anyone is surrpised about their quick jump out of the gate.
The Rangers have outscored their opponents by 56 runs so far, an outstanding pace, in their sprint to a .739 winning percentage and first place in the American League West by 6.5 games (and 9 games over the underachieving Angels). Continue reading
There is much to take away from the Brave’s comeback victory in the rubber match of the series, not the least of which is the overpowering strength of the Atlanta bullpen, but for my money it’s the nature of Manager Mattingly – the guy seems both timid and conventional, styles that can work well when you walk into a knife fight with a gun, but tend to work less well when you have the talent level of the 2012 Los Angeles Dodgers. Continue reading
The Dodgers go for a league leading 14th win. Spoiler: They do not succeed.
Much of any team’s success is dependent on the back end of the rotation, so while we justly praise players like Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels (All on the same team? Really?) the reality is you still need about 70 starts and 350+ innings from guys who aren’t ever going to be on the cover of Sports illustrated. Continue reading
L.A. is off to an impressive start at 12-4 entering a six-game homestand against the Braves of Atlanta and the Nationals. This is partly a result of playing the Padres and Pirates, but still, the best record in baseball is the best record in baseball. It is also perhaps more directly the result of Matt Kemp’s early season barrage on National League pitching. Some numbers through Monday’s game:
Matt Kemp 2012 League Ranks:
• 1st in NL in BA (.460)
• 1st in NL in HR (9)
• 1st in NL in RBI (22)
• 1st in NL in R (18)
• 1st in NL in OBP (.514)
• 1st in NL in SLG (.952)
• 1st in NL in OPS (1.466)
At this pace, Kemp is on pace to hit 347 home runs and drive in 1,798. These numbers may be wrong given that I just made them up instead of doing actual math. But still, I think we all can all agree Kemp is not a terrible player.
The Dodgers opened the game with a three-run first inning. A walk, a hit batter, a double, two singles, and it’s 3-0. The Dodger starter, Capuano, a lefty with mid-level stuff, struck out five of the first eight batters he faced. It looked like a blowout in the making, but L.A. failed to put Pittsburgh away, and after the first two innings, the Pirates dominated the game. Pitt left a bunch of guys on base, clawed to within one run at 3-2 in the sixth, but couldn’t get over the hump and dropped another one-run game, which probably didn’t hurt as much as the one Halladay and the Phillies inflicted on them earlier in the week, but still, it was a rough trip to Chavez Ravine. Continue reading
Life begins on opening day. Except I sold my opening day tickets on stubhub and missed out on Kershaw and Co. defeating the hapless Pirates 2-1. So for me, life begins on the day after opening day. Continue reading
Summer of Baseball 