2009 Los Angeles Dodgers Batting, Pitching, & Fielding Statistics – Baseball-Reference.com
I don’t know how Torre does it, really I don’t. Look at this team. He hits his worst hitter (Furcal, and boy did we dodge a bullet there) leadoff, while Hudson, who has done literally everything better than Furcal, including steal bases, hits eighth. His biggest power threat hits second. He’s running Martin into the ground, even though he isn’t actually hitting well and has actually been outplayed by his backup. It works, for Torre, somehow… One thing I noticed in the past series, and shows up in the stats, is that he gets more long outings out of his bullpen; his top four righthanded relievers have all more innings pitched than appearances. Soriano’s the only top Braves reliever that’s true of, and by only one inning. It’s good strategy, in my opinion; most of the time you’re better off using two relievers in two innings than one in two — for that game. In the long term, you burn out your bullpen. But we’ve been over this.
Smoltz DFA’d by Red Sox. Wren looks like a genius now.
It’s not really a “low risk/high reward” signing when you end up paying a 40-something coming off major shoulder surgery seven million dollars in a down market where seven million could go a long way towards obtaining an actual useful player.
Epstein is supposed to be a good GM but he seems to have wasted a lot of money on Smoltz, Saito, Penny and Baldelli. What was the difference in total offers between the Yankees and Red Sox for Mark Teixeira again? Less than the total paid to those four?
So.
Is Smoltz in the bullpen a wise move?
Ethan at 77, previous thread,
Just one opinion. Chipper has raised his batting average by being more conscious of getting either a walk or single with runners in scoring position. If he is pitched outside and low, either hand, he can off field a single seemingly 60% of the time. And sure, if he muscled up, he might get more homers, but the runs he would leave on base he would rather not. Further, I think his annoying injuries at times have made his power suspect.
@3
That last part is really the only thing I could come up with. He can’t cut it loose because so he holds back; however, the act of doing this allows for him to make better controlled contact and therefore he hits for a higher average.
It’s funny though, I really can’t think of another player who has had a latter stage of his career quite like Chipper’s
Paul Molitor?
Re: the last thread,
We called it, ububba. Smoltz was really hard to watch and the Red Sox have no choice but to drop him. Five million dollars worth of sad.
Wow. I wonder who claimed Alexis Rios..
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4384253
He’s owed a ton of money, so someone just bought themselves a decent but vastly overpaid outfielder, I think. The Jays should definitely let him go. Right?
“Smoltz was apparently upset by the move and left the team without cleaning out his locker.”
Why am I not surprised? Sure, I didn’t expect him to be happy about it, but the Red Sox are in a pennant race. Does Smoltz believe he deserves special treatment? I’m glad he left Atlanta–it seems as if the only “happy” ending would have been if the Braves had let him get torched by MLB hitters until he finally gave it up and retired.
Does Smoltz believe he deserves special treatment? I’m glad he left Atlanta–it seems as if the only “happy” ending would have been if the Braves had let him get torched by MLB hitters until he finally gave it up and retired.
First of all, I think he deserves a bit more respect from Braves fans than that. Secondly, he’s a proud individual and I’m sure he’s more upset with his performance than the decision. He made the Red Sox’ (how the hell do you pluralize that word, by the way) decision very easy, I’m sure he knows that. The only “happy” ending would have been him coming back to whatever team he did and pitching well.
Per DOB:
McLouth – CF
Prado – 2B
C. Jones – 3B
McCann – C
Anderson – LF (Sigh.)
Escobar – SS
LaRoche – 1B (Sigh.)
Church – RF
Jurrjens – P
PWHjort,
What’s with the sighs? I’m not sure what you’re getting at.
well, since the Smoltz bit is a bit sad to read about, let us all laugh at the red sox for this: (taken from mlbtraderumors.com)
The Red Sox called up Junichi Tazawa, acquired Chris Woodward from the Mariners and designated Billy Traber for assignment this afternoon, according to DJ Bean of WEEI.com. Tazawa pitched well in the minors, striking out 88 in 98 AA innings before pitching twice in Triple A.
They acquired Woodward off of waivers, according to a team press release.
Enough of these jokes, bring Smoltzie back in September and let him throw his last pitch as a Brave.
What could be a more perfect cap on this season than to have the Braves enter the 9th inning of game 162 with a lead only to have somebody hit a game winning homerun off John Smoltz? Make it happen, Frank!
Nostlagia:
I don’t think the Braves should spend much money to do so, but if there was a way of doing it at essentially no cost, I’d love to see Smoltz throw one last inning for the Braves and retire. I know I’d buy a ticket to the game and stand up for him. I know I’ll do it when they retire his number and when they retire Glavine’s too (and looking into the future even more, I hope to make it for the retire Chipper’s number too). I was ticked off I had to be out of town for the Mad Dog # retirement game… that was THE game I wanted to be at this year *sigh*.
Long night of no sleep last night and even with a double espresso with dinner I don’t think I’m going to be staying up late enough to watch tonight’s game.
Commenter on the Arizona/Nats game (on mlb network) was just talking about talking to McGriff about Smoltz… *sigh*
Hell, the 1991 Braves brought back Rick Mahler and they were in a pennant race.
Might as well get Glavine and Maddux while we’re at it…
162th game of the season, three innings each for Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz. Can’t get better than that. It’s not like the Natspos will make the playoff!
Red Soces.
I hate some of Smoltz’s comments in the aftermath of his Red Sox signing…but I love the guy. And I’d love to get him back and let him pitch out of the pen. I think he can do it an inning or two at a time.
And if it doesn’t work out, then we might as well make it not work out as a Brave.
Last night really sucks…that’s 2 games in the last week like that. And those wins are irreplaceable at this point in the season.
Chipper SCRATCHED… oblique strain suffered during BP.
McLouth cf
KJ 2b
Prado 3b
McCann c
ACHE lf
Yuniescobar ss
LaRoche 1b
Not Francoeur rf
Jurrjens p
WTF? What a dumb lineup. I’m so tired of Bobby Cox.
Jo Jo pitching for Gwinnett tonight–1 run (a homer by Hessman) allowed in 5 innings but not very impressive (5 hits, 4 walks, and a WP).
Heyward with a BB and a K in two appearances so far tonight.
Rome Braves up 2-0 in 8th. R. Delgado went 7 allowing 0 hits, 1 walk, and striking out 9. Filthy.
Putting KJ anywhere but the 8th hole is stupid.
@24 Exactly.
Bobby must be on the blog…
REVISED lineup:
McLouth
Prado (3B)
Anderson
McCann
LaRoche
Escobar
Church
Johnson
Jurrjens
Maybe KJ begged him not to bat him 2nd…lol
Wow, that’s exactly how I wanted it. Amazing. I guess Bobby does have some common sense after all…
Heyward update–now 2 BB and a HR in 4 PA. He’s on an amazing tear but there’s no way he continues to hit .417.
I’d rather ACHE not bat 3rd, but that’s not bad.
The best hitter is batting 6th….oh well.
This guy throws way too many pitches….
If Don Sutton says “fisted” one more time, I may have to drop my pants and do some naughty websurfing.
I am still up… but I doubt I’ll make it to the end of this one, either. I hate West Coast night games.
McCann needs to be rested….he is doing nothing right now.
Jair will not last 5 innings…too many pitches.
Just got here…did I miss anything?
Oh great, the Oblique Strikes Back
Yunel singled to right, went to 2nd on wild pitch, Church blooped a single to center, Yunel scored.
Jair has thrown 48 pitches in two innings…
That’s a ton of pitches. Thanks Tony.
Joe says McCann needs some time off. It’s sad when everyone except the manager sees the obvious.
Wow.
another idiot ump
btw someone has a blog tracking Hohn’s dislike of the braves
Umpires can be such jackasses sometimes
Bull shit umpires. These guys have all been terrible. They should suspend this crew.
What the fuck is wrong with these umpires? Are they hiring retards?
Can the Braves protest this game?
lol it doesn’t even hurt anymore to watch these shitty umpires, it’s comedy
Unbelievable
That ump missed an obvious strike three in the first inning too. McCann had the baserunner thrown out in that case as well.
He put his hand up for strike three. Now he won’t call a strike.
fuck this
Out number 4
uncalled for Grst! My son has special needs and I don’t appreciate the derogatory comment.
Anyone else see that coming? The umpires have given the Dodgers four runs in the last two innings.
crikey
Jair has been terrible the whole night.
Holy shit. That is fuckin ridiculous
Let him have it, JJ.
Eric Cooper and Bill Hohn must be dating
that umpiring made no sense at all. even vin scully was siding with bobby.
oh, of course, a 3 run homer. that is such incredible BS. we are cursed.
Can you just take back a call like that on balls and strikes?
The pitch looked like a strike anyway. Wasn’t it just last week on the Yunel throwback on Hermida that the first base ump signaled safe and yelled out?
On that note, good night.
What is the rule about protesting a game?
That was a terrible call, but Jair was not good tonight at all.
@ 59 – More importantly, has protesting a game every altered the outcome of a game?
The only one I can think of was the pine tar game in KC
@50, I hear ya. I prefer “leotarded.”
And that call was totally leotarded.
on the bright side, chipper will probably have some great quotes to the reporters.
MLB Rule 4.19: “No protest shall ever be permitted on judgment decisions by the umpire.”
McCann’s struggles are becoming painful to watch….
what, then, are protests allowed for? what else would there be to protest?
I think Mike Port is the guy at MLB we need to get an email address for and see if we can get our umpiring questions answered.
Wonder if Mac could get him to come on here and answer our questions.
They just said JJ got ejected. Good for him.
Rule 4.19 is at the bottom of the page:
http://www.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/official_rules/start_end_4.jsp
Another good outing by Medlen–he’s allowed something like 2 runs in 11 IP over the last 2+ weeks.
@50 Are you serious? Grow some skin. I’ve got nothing against “special needs kids,” but that doesn’t mean I want them umpiring baseball games. MLB needs to stop recruiting umpires from special ed classes. That has nothing to do with your son.
The best I could do is find a section of the MLB website where you can submit a question and an umpire will answer it. I wonder if we all submit the same question like, “When is Major League Baseball going to do an investigation and see what Bill Hohn and Eric Cooper have against the Braves?”
Well, the rule is, when you call 3 strikes on a batter, he is out, he doesn’t get first base.
If I had been running the Braves when Jurrjens got tossed, I would have thrown such an epic fit I would have been sure this moron would be the lead story on SportsCenter. These fools need to be spotlighted.
There is no accoutabilty for these umpires.
@69–thanks
@73–maybe they can add Wellman to the coaching staff for such situations 🙂
edit–Heyward ended up 2 for 3 with a HR and 2 BB
Is that a home run, or did Eric Cooper call time out?
KJ’s HR is great but I hope it doesn’t lead to 10 posts on the pro/con of KJ–go easy tonight folks
The Dodgers are delaying the game.
way to go kelly! that homer gives us the non-bizarro lead (umpire gift runs do not count).
EDIT: nice catch by kemp
11,
You don’t think Adam LaRoche is a more productive offensive player than ACHE?
KJ!!
That’s as far as I got too, Smitty. This totally calls for an executive email carpet mob.
I am pro email carpet bomb
This sucks. We are losing this game because of an umpire.
Maybe it will be a Manny giveth, Manny taketh away night. We are due, for sure.
Edit: guess not.
I’m going to bed…damn, I’m sick of incompetent umpires.
Braves deserve to win this one at this point.
Manny is, and always has been, a joke in right field…and evidently, his main value is offense. And one is to wonder what would’ve been different if Manny had played clean.
Of course, we get back in the game and Acosta gives it back
Run, Nate, Run…
i didnt see that coming from ACHE. prolonging my madness, or a glimmer of hope?
Hey, a 2-out comeback. A little clutchness from ACHE.
what’s worse than a west coast game? one that goes extra innings
Gonzo out there falling down. His mechanics are terrible.
What are the chances we come back and win this one?
Sweet. And Broxton is done. And if no one hits, they can leave in Gonzo for another inning.
Wow, did Adam look helpless there or what?
lots of innings out of the pen tonight and KK going tomorrow isn’t a good combination
Gonzo looked great. It’s nice that at least one of he and Soriano has been in top form at all times. Now we’ve just got to get some runs…
Wow. How crazy-good is that Dodger ‘pen? McDonald’s stuff was crazy-good. And he’s, what, their 5th guy? Jeebus.
Walked Juan Peirre?!
Ok, we have to get something going here!!
Marathon game. Yeesh.
why am i still watching this?
YUNEL!
RYAN CHURCH!
yess… Ryan Church!!!
SWEEET!
Can we hang onto this one?
Dunno if I should be disappointed that we don’t get that guy for a full start on Sunday because he had to pitch tonight. 🙂
Guess I’ll just be happy with the 4 runs and hope we can get the win tonight.
I’m not especially worried up 4 runs, but Sori’s velo just hasn’t been there the past few outings. Going forward, I’d just as soon have Gonzo closing. Or at least playing the matchups like Cox was doing early.
Well, at least there’s a K. 🙂
You gotta be smilin you gotta be dancin you gotta be shakin that ass!!!!
If Sori needs a four-run lead, then what’s the difference between him and Kolbstma?
Great win!
@110: Soriano wins with the 4-run lead. Kolbtsma doesn’t.
so 4 innings of boone logan relief tomorrow?
@111 That’s funny. I am also glad that we have Church instead of Frenchy. It sure feels good to win one tonight after what happened yesterday.
Let’s worry about tomorrrow tomorrow (or today, I guess).
Tonight’s game never felt like it was going to be a win. But ACHE & Esco had huge hits & Church put ’em away.
After last night’s gut punch, let’s hope this’ll mean something down the road.
Vin Scully is the greatest announcer in the world. Man what a job he did on Bobby’s ejection. He tells it like it is.
Since the trade:
Francoeur .281/.309/.449/.759 in 98 PA
Church .256/.408/.333/.741 in 49 PA
And yet there is no way in hell I’d want Jeffy back.
Woohoo… After last nights disappointment, way to come back! I still dont think the Braves will make it to the postseason but I really like the character they are displaying this season as opposed to the last years. They got screwed badly by the umps. What a disgrace! But great hitting by ACHE and Escobar!
Sweet win, nice to see Medlen and Acosta get the job done to bail out JJ who looks very tired right now.
It would be good to give him a start off if possible.
Grst, I don’t believe that any of us are qualified to be Major League umps either. But, to use the term “retards” when referring to people with Special Needs, as you obviously don’t mind doing, is unacceptable. I’ve got thick skin. If you happened to be black, would it be okay for me to refer to you as a N****R from here on out?
Grst, there is no place for the likes of you on a civilized board like this, especially when you don’t think it is an issue to use the term “retard” when referring to people with Special Needs.
Mac, I’m asking for a edit of his post at the least.
What a win!
I love all the love Smoltz is getting.
Last night made me extremely proud to be a Braves fan. Fuck the Dodgers and the awful umpires. We’ll win anyway.
Can someone detail the latest offenses of the collective “umpires?” I missed the game, and this sounds like more than your average missed call.
Parish,
Try this link. If it doesn’t work, you can find the video on the Braves’ MLB site.
http://tinyurl.com/kn5n5h
EDIT: Bobby’s ejection is featured below the Anderson highlight.
Pretty bad umpiring last night, huh? good thing we won
So does Dodgers Journal have the term “hibernation mode” in its’ glossary?
I was watching the game at a bar, so no sound, but it seemed to me like the home plate ump thought it was a ball and just messed up the gesture. And to be honest, it didn’t look like that much of a strike to begin with. Bobby had to get thrown out because it was such a pivotal moment in the game, but these things happen.
Thanks Remy for posting the link to the mlb.com highlights. Dodger fans are lucky to have Vin Scully.
That is absolutely ridiculous. How can an umpire change his call on balls-and-strikes? If that’s the case, then they should do it more often!
Recap is up. Umpires suck.