Well, the first week of the MLB Season has past and our beloved blue crew is 3-3. So what have we learned about the Dogs?
1) Orlando Hudson was a huge pick up. Through 6 games O-Dog leads the team in total bases and stolen bases and is second in slugging percentage and runs. Not to mention his solid .370 OBP. His ability to get on base and his speed will be key if the Dogs are gonna put up the number of runs necessary to complement our young pitching staff.
2) The bullpen remains solid. With the losses of Saito and Beimel, the bullpen was supposed to be one of our weak spots. However, the young guys look real good so far. Broxton looked untouchable in his first outing and has so far given up 1 run in three innings while striking out 4. Perhaps the biggest surprise has been Ronald Belisario. Through 3 games and 4.2 innings he has yet to give up a run and has struck out 8 and walked only 1.
3) The front end of our rotation looks great. Kuroda, Billingsly and Kershaw all had excellent outings giving up a combined 4 runs.
4) The back end of our rotation is suspect. Wolf was hardly effective giving up 4 runs in 5 innings. He walked as many as he struck out, didn't get ahead of hitters and had a lot of trouble locating his offspeed pitches. We all know about McDonald. Torre remains confident that he can be a solid 5 for the Dodgers, but I am a little more skeptical. I know it was his first start in the bigs, but the dude looked frazzled. He had a lot of trouble throwing strikes, specifically early in the count. He's got the stuff to be successful, but he has to get his head straight. All this being said, Stults looked like a great 5 option in his one outing. I can almost guarantee that the back end of our staff will be different before the trading deadline, but until then Wolf and McDonald need to improve.
5) Manny is being Manny. He might not have a home run and he might only be batting .263, but Manbone has already had a huge effect on the dodger lineup. He has an OBP of .462, and leads the team in runs, doubles, and walks. Other players are seeing better pitches because of his presence in the lineup and they're taking advantage. He'll have 25 bombs and 100 RBIs by the end of the year, but his impact goes far beyond Home Runs and RBIs.
This is the end, beautiful friend.
11 years ago
premature bro. kuroda is hurt and opponents are hitting 190 vs. the Wolf Man. meanwhile kemp and loney are both hitting over .370, and you give them no love. but props for recognizing the O-Dog's impact. is that what we're calling him?
ReplyDeletewolf man looked great last night in his second start (i stand corrected). i mention kemp and loney indirectly in the manny section under the "other players" label. as for kuroda, his injury is minor and considering his performance in the playoffs last year, and his start this year, i think he's the least of our worries.
ReplyDelete