Things we learned from last night's game (8/9/11)

Ted Lilly?  He throws like a girl.

Overview: Lilly strong, Cliff Lee stronger.  Dodgers lose, 2-1.

Pros:  Ted Lilly gave up a home run to Cliff Lee, but was otherwise very solid.  He pitched 8 innings, giving up only 6 hits and a walk against a team with All-Stars starting at six of the eight positions.  It was the deepest Lilly has gone in a game for the Dodgers this season, and a well-earned quality start from a guy we've been pretty hard on this year.  Blake Hawksworth pitched a shutout ninth and has quietly gotten his ERA under three. Considering the Dodgers got him for the moldering corpse of Ryan Theriot, he has to go down as one of Ned Colletti's best trades. Casey Blake deserves some love too, following up Monday's two hit, two walk game with another 2 for 4.  He's gotten his average up almost twenty points in the last week- maybe he's playing his way into a waiver deal?

Cons:  It's hard to knock the offense for getting shut out by Cliff Lee, so the big story here is Dee Gordon.  He re-injured his right shoulder and had to leave mid at-bat, and is at the doctor's office getting an MRI as I type this.  As we've said before, any kind of injury to Dee is disasterous, and if this turns into a lingering issue for the rest of the season, the Dodgers are in serious trouble.  Here's hoping a cortisone injection and a couple of days off heal the kid.

What we learned:  The Dodgers have lost to the Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee by a combined three runs.  A loss is a loss is a loss, of course, but they've played hard and have been in both games until the final out.  It's nice to see the team fighting against the no-doubt best team in the NL, and it makes you wonder how the season would have gone had this group gelled earlier in the season. 

Things we Learned from Today's Game (7/17/11)

Ladies and gentlemen, your 2011 Los Angeles Isotopes


Overview: Lilly likes giving up long balls, Hudson hits homer. Diamond backs 4, Dodgers 1.

Pros: Lilly, despite giving up two more homeruns, one to D'Backs pitcher Daniel Hudson, was actually pretty sharp. He struck out 9 over 6 and 2/3 innings while walking just two and allowing just four hits. We start to get the feeling that if two or three times a game Lilly didn’t serve a meatball to some scrub, then he might actually still be a pretty good pitcher. Kemp continues to be pretty much the entire Dodgers offense, even when he has a mediocre game. Kenley Jansen struck out the side (around a hit) in his one inning of work, giving him 51 K’s in 31 and 2/3 innings. Daaaaammmn.

Cons: Offense. We’ve known this for some time, but other than Kemp and Ethier, there is just nothing on this team to scare people. Aaron Miles batted fifth today. We'll repeat that: Aaron Miles batted fifth today. The worst part is, as crazy as that may be, we don’t really have a better suggestion at this point for who should be hitting fifth. On a day where Matt Kemp only gets one hit (and scores the only Dodgers run on a wild pitch), the team just can’t get anything going. The bottom of the order is a black hole, and the top of the order isn’t doing much better. Even Jamey Carroll, who most agree has been a pleasant surprise since signing last year, has hit just .176/.276/.235 over the last month. What a time to go in a slump and kill your trade value.

What we learned: It’s tough to say if we learned anything by this game, other than the fact that Daniel Hudson is truly an up and coming star for the D-backs. What this game does is reinforce the idea that this team should not be buying at the deadline. There are simply too many holes on the roster that cannot be plugged up with enough talent to make any kind of run. When Aaron Miles is hitting fifth, a spot usually reserved for good hitters, it’s pretty much a white flag on the season.

Just for fun, here are some more pictures from today's game.

Kenley Jansen, being awesome.

Kemp, waiting for somebody else on this team to do something.

Kuroda wondering what the weather is like in New York right about now.

A pretty nice stadium over all, though with the feel of a mall more than a ballpark.


Sorry for the blurriness of some of these pictures. Just imagine you're looking at the field through my teary eyes.

Dioner never a goner

Apparently, when the Dodgers demoted Ellis to AAA they released JD Closser.  This is not a big deal for the most part.  Closser is not very good and despite good numbers in AAA this year (.297/.378/.864) he was never more than organizational depth.  What it does mean though, is that Dioner Navarro is most likely a Dodger for the remainder of the season.  Unless anybody seriously thinks Hector Gimenez will be given another chance.

In other news, I (Danny) am going to the game today so I will post some pictures and thoughts of my trip to Chase Field.  Maybe I'll get an action shot of Ted Lilly giving up a homerun.