What we learned from Tuesday's game (8/2/11)

Kuroda in 1914, the last time the Dodgers provided him with any run support.

Overview: Hiroki Kuroda learns what it takes to get a win.  Kemp does more great stuff.  Dodgers win, 1-0.

Pros: Fun fact- five of Hiroki Kuroda's seven wins have come via shutout.  Look, I think we were all a little disappointed when Kuroda invoked his no trade clause prior to the trade deadline, especially when it came out that the horrifying deadline trade of Trayvon Robinson (he's wearing a Tacoma Rainiers jersey in that link, which I guess means that whole thing wasn't a nightmare I had while laid up with a strained ligament and hopped up on my mother-in-law's arthritis meds) was kind of his fault.  But it's hard to be angry with him when he's pitching shutouts.  Matt Kemp shockingly provided the only offense for the Dodgers by knocking in Dee Gordon in the fourth inning.  Javy Guerra nailed down his ninth save- and yes, saves are overrated, and yes, Javy Guerra is probably not a great choice to be our closer long term, but dammit, he's a rookie who's been a bright spot this season, and I'm happy for his success.

Cons:  Outside of Gordon (2 for 4! get ready for your Profile in Courage, Dee!) and Kemp, no Dodger reached base more than once.  Also, they didn't work a single walk.  Mat Latos is a solid pitcher, but damn.  That's kind of embarrassing.  Good thing our new hitting coach has fixed everything.

What we learned:  Same story, different day.  If teams ever learn how to pitch around Matt Kemp, the Dodgers are screwed.  One interesting thing to note- Andre Ethier sat, with Rivera getting the start in RF.  Mattingly said he was frustrated after a tough game Monday and needed a breather.  But it certainly sounds like the frustration runs a little deeper than that- Roberto Baly of Vin Scully is My Homeboy had some first hand contact with just how frustrated Ethier is/was.  Sounds like those of us hoping to lock up Ethier long term might be out of luck...

Things We Learned from Today's Game (7/31/11)

We decided to feature a picture of Blake Hawksworth today because, well, when is he ever going to be featured again?




Overview:  Rubby's De La Roasted.  Diamondbacks 6 Dodgers 3

Pros:  Andre Ethier, before flying out to end the game, collected four hits in his first four hit game of the season.  Matt Kemp had a couple hits, though left 3 on base as well.  Juan Rivera, who started for the second time in a row at first base (is management finally realizing that James Loney is just not very good?), contributed two hits including an RBI single.  Dioner Navarro had something of a tale of two games in that he homered and threw out two runners attempting to steal second, but he also grounded into a double play, struck out to end a rally and lost a wild pitch in an embarrassing fashion, allowing Gerardo Parra to go from first all the way to third.  Kudos also go to Blake Hawksworth, who tossed two scoreless innings when De La Rosa failed to make it into the fifth.

Cons:  Speaking of De La rosa, he labored through four innings, needing 103 pitches to do it, while walking four and giving up 3 runs.  We've seen flashes of his potential, but clearly there's still some work to be done in his development.  Hong-Chih Kuo  didn't fare any better.  In his one inning he walked one, gave up 3 hits, one of them a two run homerun to Parra, his second of the game.  Kuo had a rough July, in which he only pitched 4 and 2/3 innings.  In that span he has walked 8 and given up 7 runs, good for a 13.50 ERA.  Clearly he's having some issues, but our question is this:  If you don't trust a guy enough to pitch more than a few innings a month, why even have him on the roster?  He's not going to pitch himself out of his slump while sitting in the bullpen.
 As for the other cons of today's game.  Well, Eugenio Velez is still inexplicably on the roster, Aaron Miles put up an 0fer and the Diamondbacks announcers (I live in Phoenix) are painful to listen to.  They chastised Rafael Furcal for about ten minutes because he never gave up his number 15 jersey, never mind that he'd been wearing the number in a Dodgers uniform for over 5 years, to Davey Lopes.  Then they urged the Diamondbacks to not look ahead to their big series starting tomorrow against San Francisco  until today's game was over, and then proceeded to talk about the big series against San Francisco for the entire game.  I miss Vin Scully everyday.

What we Learned:  That we're not any less upset about Ned Colletti's asinine trade now then we were five hours ago.  A team, who clearly desperately needs offense, can't just trade away one of their top offensive prospects because they're thin at catcher. 

Things we learned from last night's game (7/27)

Overview:  Still no run support for Mr. Kuroda.  Rockies 3 Dodgers 1.

Pros:  For the 142nd time this season,Hiroki Kuroda tossed a quality start, going six innings, allowing one run while striking out 6 and walking 3.  That he still got the loss is hardly a surprise anymore.  Other positives from last night?  Well, Kemp had two hits, including a double.  Furcal had two hits as well and actually seems to be heating up (.808 OPS over his last eight games), though he did get caught stealing as well.  The Dodgers, had 8 hits total and still managed just one run on a solo homerun by Rod Barajas in the 9th (what contender needs a catcher with some pop?).  Also, Scott Elbert pitched 2/3 of an inning and struck out one and allowed no runs.  Not really all  that exciting but we're grasping at straws here.

Cons:  The Dodgers were 0-4 with runners in scoring position, once again showing their remarkable ineptitude at driving in runs.  Hawksworth and Macdougal each gave up a run in their innings of  relief (Macdougal actually pitched 1 and 1/3).  Ethier went hitless which should not come as a surprise at this point.  He's been pretty awful in July, posting just a .664 OPS.  Really, there are so many cons here that it gets tiresome to list them.  On the bright side, the four game winning streak is over so hopefully that means nobody at all is convinced that the Dodgers can go on a run.

What we learned:  That once again, if your first or last name starts with a K, you're probably one of the bright spots of the 2011 Los Angeles Dodgers.