Two Sweeps in One Night

I went to Shea Thursday night to check out some of my favorite non-Dodgers (Cole Hamels, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins) in a rivalry that is becoming one of my favorites in baseball. It was my second Mets-Phillies game this season, and it didn't dissapoint. After the most bizarre back-to-back-to-back home run sequence I have ever seen, and the only one I have ever seen in person, Pat Burrell hit a solo shot off Billy Wagner in the top of the ninth to tie the game at three.

When the game ended after the Phils put up three runs in the tenth, I had enjoyed an eventful night at the ballpark, full of exciting action on the field and even more in the stands. Punches were thrown, beers were tossed and spit flew, and I was ready to get home and watch Los Doyers attempt to salvage a victory in San Diego behind Hong-Chih Kuo.

I got home just in time to watch Chad Billingsley mow down the Padres in the seventh -- like he does -- and felt pretty content with the Dodgers' 5-1 cushion going into the ninth. Of course, I had no choice but to be comfortable with it because I couldn't watch the end. You see, MLB Extra Innings, carried by the same cable company that told me I had to buy the playoff basketball package in order to see the last five regular season games, decided to make the game the only one not televised, and my roommate had gone to sleep so I couldn't watch on his computer. Sweet.

So I check the score on my computer to see that Jonathan Broxton, who was shaky in Pittsburgh earlier in the week, was similarly struggling to close the game. Of course, this time he failed to do so and the game ended with a Padres sweep and the Dodgers looking like my men's league basketball team playing against a team full of Joakim Noahs - the Padres/Noahs being the aggressors and the Dodgers/Producers being over the hill and executing poorly.

I don't think anyone needs to worry about the bullpen, especially considering the impending return of Takashi Saito. Broxton wasn't his usual self in his appearances as interim closer, but he wasn't hit particularly hard, and he wasn't helped by his defense (Juan Pierre not getting to a fly ball in Pittsburgh and Nomar booting a routine grounder on Thursday). Rudy Seanez, who took the loss on Wednesday after giving up one run in the eighth, will also be fine. The performances of Jason Schmidt and Kuo are extremely encouraging, and those, combined with Saito's return alleviate any doubt I have in the pitching staff.

The offense, though, is still not good. Rafael Furcal came through on Thursday, as he continues to regain his form as the leadoff man who led the Dodgers to the playoffs last year. Tony Abreu batted second and got a hit. He's batting .327. Juan Pierre got the night off, thankfully, but was replaced by Brady Clark, he of the .228 batting average. Of course, Clark's OBP is still 20 points better than Pierre's, but he's not going to get the job done, either.

To me, the biggest problem for the Dodgers is not that they are underachieving offensively. In fact many Dodgers are performing as expected (Jeff Kent, Furcal, Luis Gonzalez, to some extent Andre Ethier) and others are even exceeding expectations (Russ Martin and Tony Abreu). But, unlike the struggling Yankees, for example, the Dodgers aren't fielding their best possible team on a nightly basis. Ideally a three-game sweep in San Diego will be enough to spark some changes, but given the connection Ned Colletti has to Pierre and Nomar (signed both to questionable contracts in the offseason), my money is on management's continued hopes that the current roster will play better.

Minor League Update

In what I hope to make an ongoing part of this blog, I will give updates on the young guys about whom I philosophize so much. Despite the combined 0-for-6 performance by Matt Kemp and James Loney on Thursday, there is an interesting connection for me. The pitcher who shut them down, Chris Begg, went all nine innings and gave up three hits. Begg, a right-hander for the Giants' triple-A Fresno team, played for the Connecticut Defenders (then the Norwich Navigators) two summers ago when I was working as a beat reporter for the New London Day. I have since seen a few guys that I covered (Fred Lewis, Eliezer Alfonzo, and Brian Burres, among others) make it to the bigs, and it was cool to see Begg do so well.

Stay Classy.