Welcome to day 5 of MSTI’s 2009 Year In Review.  Have a good Halloween?  Good!  So as you sit there with your coffee, trying to sober up after your heavy partying last night, pull up a chair and join us, as we tackle SS!  Let us begin:

Rafael Furcal = C-
(.269/.335/.375 9hr 47rbi)

You know, Rafael Furcal has now completed his fourth year as a Dodger (already?!) and, even despite that, it still feels a bit difficult at times to truly evaluate his tenure when you look at his numbers.  In 2006, he started off sub-par due to wrist and hand issues, only to finish the year as arguably the team’s MVP with a scorching second half.  Then in 2007, he comes back with arguably the worst season of his career     Then in 2008, he gets off to the best start of his career only to get sidelined for four months with more injuries.

Of course, he comes back in 2009 with one of his worst seasons (by the way, note the weird odd numbered year = bad year, even numbered year = good year?).  And, let’s face it, for as much as we like Furcal here at MSTI (his interviews are always such a hoot!), 2009 was a forgettable year for Furcal.  Comparing this season to his general career numbers (it wouldn’t be fair to compare them to his one insane month of 2008), we saw a decrease in pretty much all of the important numbers.  His .335 OBP this year is lower compared to his career .350 OBP, while his .375 SLG% was lower than his career .408 SLG%.  In terms of OPS+, it was a below average 88, while his actual OPS dropped from his career .758 to .711; his EqA of .259 was below his career .269.

Looking further than that, though, let’s compare him with his peers.  Amongst the qualified NL SS’s, he ranks 6th out of 9 in BA and OBP, while ranking 8th out of 10 in SLG%, and ranking 7th in MLVr, with a number of -.012.  Nonetheless, while Furcal performed poorly for most of the year, he did have a couple of great months, putting up a great July (.343/.395/.500) and really coming on strong at the end with a fantastic September (.330/.400/.491) and looking much more like the Furcal of old.  But one thing that didn’t look like the Furcal of old is that he didn’t really steal many bases this year.  This year, in his 150 games, we saw him attempt to steal only 18 bases, stealing 12 of them, though the decrease was more than likely an effect of being cautious after last year’s back injuries.

Defensively, Furcal, for the most part, was, well, Furcal and that’s a good thing.  His .967 fielding percentage is pretty much par for the course and, while low, it’s generally come from throwing errors throughout his career, as his arm can make him the Rick Vaughn of shortstops at times.  His Zone Rating was 5.786 which ranked him 6th amongst NL SS’s.  The interesting thing to note with Furcal is that over the past two years, we’ve seen a decrease in his range factor.  Through 2007, the worst number he ever had in this category was a 4.77, though since that period, he’s put up numbers of 4.20 and 4.25.  Again, 2008 must be noted for being a very short season for Furcal, and, as always the case, defensive stats can be a bit murky, but it is interesting to note the trend continuing into 2009, however much value you want to put into that…

Still, his defense wasn’t something that I had complaints with this year.  That was fine.  The problem was at the plate and, unfortunately, Furcal put up a year that is to rank amongst his worst, hence the low grade, but the encouraging thing going into 2010 is that he did end the season on very much a high note and finally seemed to start regaining form and hopefully this is something we can see A LOT more of next year.  Even if he can’t be the big stolen base threat he used to be, when he’s on as a hitter, he is a very valuable weapon to have, so we shall see what the future holds for him.  I mean, it’s an even numbered year next year: he’s gotta do well!

Juan Castro = C-
(.277/.311/.339 1hr 9rbi)

When Colletti signed him earlier this year, it seemed more of just Ned needing more porn to satisfy his fetish of signing light hitting shortstops, but you know what?  Even though I wasn’t thrilled with the signing, Castro didn’t embarrass himself this year, either.  Well, at least if “this year” is April – July, anyways.  During the first half of the season, Castro put up numbers of .357/.397/.437 with an .834 OPS!  Really, Juan Castro putting up those numbers?!  I mean, geez, what kind of stuff was he pulling out of Manny’s locker to do that?!  A welcome surprise, indeed.

Alas, it all crashed and burned in the second half, where Castro went .146/.146/.171 and a .317 OPS to go with it, which is more of the real Castro than what we saw in the first half.  Still, did I mention that, despite that second half, he still managed to finish with one of his very best OPS+ in his long and storied 15 year career?

Did I also mention that his career OPS+ is 52?!

Nonetheless, one great half with one awful one?  Well, that’s about one more great (or even good) half I thought we’d get from him, and he did play decent defense more times than not, so a C- for you, Fidel.

Chin-Lung Hu = Inc.
(.400/.333/.600 0hr 2rbi)

Given that Chin-Lung Hu had six, yes, count them, SIX plate appearances, do you know how tempted I was just to type in “Hu?” and leave it at that?

Still, even in these six at-bats, Hu managed to get a couple of hits, but he played hardly enough to warrant a great.  Though this year in Triple-A Albuquerque, Hu managed to have a slight improvement upon his 2008 year, hitting .294/.332/.393, with 6 HR’s and 53 RBI’s.  Not much else to say about the Hu-ster in Dodger Blue in 2009… except, well…

(crickets chirp)

Hey, did you know that, according to Wikipedia, always the crown jewel of credibility, that he has the shortest surname in MLB history?! (Note from MSTI: Or as Diamond Leung Tweeted to me, Hu is now tied with Tigers reliever Fu-Te Ni for that honor).

O.K., I think that means we’ve done enough on shortstop.  So tune in next time!

Next! Manny Ramirez’ fertility-fueled fun! Juan Pierre’s battle for relevance! It’s left field!

- Vin

Tied 1-1 after two games in Philadelphia, I highly doubt many people thought that the Phillies would take care of business and end their NLDS series in Colorado by sweeping the Rockies at Coors Field.

Well, they did it.

In doing so, I found a strange trend.

Two heart-wrenching games later, defined by clutch performances ranging from two tenuous Brad Lidge saves to Ryan Howard winning his battle against one of the NL’s most consistent closers this season in Houston Street (twice), the Phillies are now set to face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS  for the second time in, yes, the past two seasons.

Ironic isn’t it.

If only you could win a playoff series in two games, I would classify this coincidence as example of those above pulling for the Phillies to win their SECOND World Series in TWO years.

Harry the K is surely smiling from above right now.

With that said, here’s the Preview of the Phillies/Dodgers Series.

SCHEDULE

Game 1 (in LA): Thursday at 8:07 ET (Cole Hamels vs. Clayton Kershaw)

Game 2 (In LA): Friday at 4:07 PM ( Blanton/Happ/Pedro vs. Vicente Padilla)

Game 3 (In Philadelphia): Sunday at 8:07 ET (Cliff Lee vs. Hiroki Kuroda)

Game 4 (In Philadelphia): Monday at 8:07 ET (TBD vs. Randy Wolf)

Game 5 (If Necessary in Philadelphia): Wednesday at 8:07 ET (Hamels vs. Kershaw)

Game 6 (If Necessary in LA): Friday 10/22 at 8:07 ET (Blanton/Happ/Pedro vs. Padilla)

Game 7 (If Necessary in LA): Saturday 10/23 at 8:07 ET (Lee vs. Kuroda)

Defense

First of all, defensively, both teams are virtually even. In the infield, each team is solid around the diamond with one standout gold-glove caliber player (James Loney for the Dodgers and Jimmy Rollins for the Phillies). In the outfield, both teams have two tremendous defensive players (Matt Kemp and Andre Either for the Dodgers and Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth for the Phillies), and one defensive liability (Manny Ramirez for the Dodgers and Raul Ibanez). Just for the fact that Manny Ramirez is one of the worst defensive outfielders in recent memory, and the Phillies with Rollins and Victorino will probably have one more gold-glove award winner than the Dodgers in Matt Kemp, I have to go with ‘08 champs on this one.

Advantage: Phillies

Offense

Another tough one. Probably the two most potent, deep lineups in all of baseball. One through eight in the order, each team is flat out dangerous. On pure power numbers alone, the advantage the Phillies have is tough to ignore. Four guys over 30 homeruns, five all-stars in the middle of the lineup, and a former MVP at the top of the lineup sounds about as good as a Jim’s cheesesteak (wiz with) right now. However, the Dodgers might be a little more balanced at this point. Kemp, Either and Manny are stars in the middle of the order while Loney, Russell Martin, Rafael Furcal, and Casey Blake are all dangerous hitters who have had success in the playoffs.

Advantage: Push

Bench

This one is not even close. The Phillies do have Ben Francisco, who has been an x-factor down the stretch run for Philadelphia, and Matt Stairs, who I am sure still gives Dodgers fans and players nightmares from last season. But to be honest, the Dodgers  have a plethora of more than quality options to come off the bench. Most notably, 2009 all-star Orlando Hudson and future hall-of-famer Jim Thome are available for manager Joe Torre to pinch-hit, pinch-run, defensive switch, or whatever fits his fancy.

Advantage: Dodgers

Starting Pitching

This one is a little intriguing. Most people who see a potential rotation with Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Pedro Martinez (rumored starter for game 2) will say that team has the advantage in a seven-game series. Not so fast. While the Dodgers four-man rotation of Kershaw, Padilla, Kuroda, and Wolf (sounds like the name of a law firm) may not be nearly as dominant as Philadelphia’s, they have the potential to give the Phillies problems. Two left-handed starting pitchers who differ completely in they way they pitch (Kershaw: Young power pitcher; Wolf: Crafty veteran) for the Dodgers isn’t a good sign for Ryan Howard, who barely hit over .200 against lefties this year. Now, players don’t define teams, but this is the same Ryan Howard who was responsible for the producing the game-winning run in game 3 against the Rockies and the game 4 tying-run in the series clincher against the Rockies. With that said, I’ll take a rotation with a two different former Cy Young award winners (Martinez and Lee) and a World Series MVP (Hamels) any day over a team who’s game 1 starter is my age (21).

Adavantage: Phillies

Bullpen

Wow. The Dodgers actually dominate the Phillies in their best categories. The comparison with two bullpen’s is as drastic as they come. LA’s bullpen had the best E.R.A in the NL, while the Phillies bullpen was the main reason the Phillies had the most come from behind victories in the NL with 43. Next, Jonathan Broxton was an all-star closer this year for the Dodgers, while Brad Lidge blew 11 saves this year and lost his job for a three-week period at the end of the regular season. Lastly, the Dodgers George Sherill has been the best set-up man in baseball for the second half of the season (0.65 E.R.A), while the Phillies have struggled finding anyone consistent in the bullpen this year without an injury or some mechanical flaw. If the Dodgers are going to win this series, it’s going to be because of this.

Advantage: Dodgers

As I said in my last sentence, if the Dodgers win, it will be because of their bullpen. I’m not sure if it will get that far for them to play an important role in the series. I say if Hamels continues his dominance against the Dodgers (2-0 with a 0.65 E.R.A this season) starting in game 1, that the Phillies, riding that wave of confidence with a couple close calls in between, should have a good chance to go back to the World Series for the second time in as many years.

Prediction: Phillies in 6

Cliff Lee has been one of the best pitchers in the NL since he was traded from Cleveland. Can he do it in the NLCS?

The National League Championship Series is set to kick off tonight in Los Angeles as the Dodgers and Phillies meet in a rematch of last year’s playoff series.  Last year, the Phillies took care of business en route to their first World Series title in 28 years.  Will it be any different this year?

Catcher
At the outset of these playoffs, it was not a case of which of these two, Russell Martin or Carlos Ruiz, was better.  It was more a question of how much better Martin was than Ruiz.  However, in the NLDS, it was Ruiz who showed up for his team in a way that he usually doesn’t, coming up with key hits in the Phils’ 3-1 victory.  So, the gap has certainly narrowed. Still, Martin has shown a more consistent pattern of success, and there was never enough concern about him to make the Dodgers go out and get Paul Bako.

Advantage: Dodgers

First Baseman
Much like in the American League, this is a very big mismatch.  The Dodgers have a serviceable 1B in James Loney, who disappointed by not really having the breakout season that many were predicting, but still had a very respectable year.  The Phillies counter with the Big Man, Ryan Howard, who continues to rack up stunning power numbers, benefitting greatly from having a powerful lineup around him.  He also got his batting average up to a respectable level this year, making him even more dangerous to pitch to.

Advantage: Phillies

Second Baseman
Chase Utley is hands-down the best second baseman in the Majors today.  Not one other 2B gets it done batting and fielding quite like he does.  On top of that, he is the Phillies’ quiet team leader and a hero in the City of Brotherly Love.  The Dodgers have yet another solid presence at 2B in Ronnie Belliard, who I personally think is one of the more underrated second basemen in the Majors, but he’s not nearly in the same category as Utley.

Advantage: Phillies

Third Baseman
Moving to the left side of the infield makes it a lot tougher to determine who’s superior between these two teams.  The Phillies have Pedro Feliz at the hot corner, who is always solid, but far from spectacular, and isn’t the player you expect to get hurt by if you’re a Dodger fan.  Casey Blake has had a bit of a resurgence since leaving Cleveland for LA, but still is far from a superstar.  That being said, it’s hard to imagine either of these two having a major impact in this series.

Advantage: Push

Shortstop
Another slot in the infield that it’s truly unclear as to who has the advantage, but the difference is that both Jimmy Rollins and Rafael Furcal could have a major impact on this series.  Rollins has the ability to give the Phils a quick start, with his unusual power hitting from the leadoff spot, as well as good speed on the basepaths, and very good defensive skills.  Furcal has been one of the more clutch players for LA down the stretch, along with Andre Ethier, and isn’t a slouch out in the field, either.

Advantage: Push

Outfield
The Dodgers’ outfielders have certainly drawn the most attention this postseason, and that’s not a surprise when you have Manny Ramirez in left field.  The real surprises have been his supporting cast of Ethier and Matt Kemp, who have come up with numerous timely hits and home runs for LA down the stretch, and who both played very well in the sweep of the Cardinals.  The Phillies have a pretty good outfield, though, too, with Shane Victorino, Jayson Werth, and Raul Ibanez, all of whom could have been All-Stars this year in the NL.  The play of these groups in the field, as opposed to at the plate, might be a key to this series.

Advantage: Push

Starting Pitching
This is the separating point between these two teams. I feel it would be a dis-service to take the time and explain this, so I’ll just list the starting rotations for both teams.  For the Dodgers, it’ll be Clayton Kershaw, followed by Phillie outcasts Vincente Padilla and Randy Wolf, and finally either Hiroki Kuroda or Chad Billingsley.  These five have a combined season record of 51-39, and an ERA close to 4.00.  The Phils counter with Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, J.A. Happ, Pedro Martinez, and maybe Joe Blanton.  Lee should automatically give them two wins, Pedro has been a huge surprise and has always pitched well in the playoffs, and Hamels and Blanton have been here before and excelled.

Advantage: Phillies

Relief Pitching
Almost the complete opposite of starting pitching, with the Phillies having some major bullpen issues as they sit on the ledge whenever they need to call on Brad Lidge to close out a game.  The Dodgers, meanwhile, might have the best overall group of relievers in the playoffs, which is a huge advantage for the Dodgers if they get into a high-scoring game or an extra innings game with the Phils.  Not to mention, Johnathan Broxton has been lights out all year for Los Angeles.

Advantage: Dodgers

Taking all of these things into account, as well as a few other factors, including the Phillies success on the road and its similar success against left-handed pitchers.  This is why I am taking the Phillies in six.

Expect another one of these, Phillies fans.

The NLCS is a rematch of last year’s series, won by the Philadelphia Phillies. The Los Angeles Dodgers hope to avenge that series loss and advance to the World Series for the first time since 1988. Here is a breakdown of what should be a competitive series between two strong teams.

Lineups

The Phillies can do it all offensively. They have four 30 HR hitters this season: Ryan Howard (45 HR), Jayson Werth (36 HR), Raul Ibanez (34 HR), and Chase Utley (31 HR). They also boast having four players who had 20 or more stolen bases: Jimmy Rollins (31 SB), Shane Victorino (25 SB), Utley (23 SB without being caught) and Werth (20 SB). Collectively, the Phillies led the National League in runs scored and fare well against both right-handed and left-handed pitching.

The Dodgers have a good lineup core, but can’t match the Phillies’ firepower. Andre Ethier, Manny Ramirez, and Matt Kemp are a solid middle-of-the-order trio, but Casey Blake, Rafael Furcal, and James Loney provide less production around the Dodgers’ sluggers compared with Philadelphia’s supporting cast hitters. On the basepaths, the Dodgers have two main base-stealers: Kemp and Juan Pierre, who each topped 30 stolen bases. Since Phillies’ catcher Carlos Ruiz is not known for his defense or throwing arm, Rafael Furcal and Russell Martin could try to steal a base or two in the series.

Starting Rotations

On paper, Philadelphia has the better, more dynamic pitching rotation. Cole Hamels dominated the Dodgers in last year’s  NLCS (2-0, 1.93 ERA), and he’s got company. The Phillies can pick from Cliff Lee, Pedro Martinez, J.A. Happ, and Joe Blanton to fill out the rotation. Hamels will start game one, Lee will pitch game three, and it’s anyone’s guess who goes in games two and four. If I were Charlie Manuel, I’d gamble on Pedro Martinez and his Hall of Fame arm in game two, and use the “all hands on deck” approach in game four.

While the collective group that the Phillies will use is better than the Dodgers’ overall rotation, Los Angeles has the most talented single starting pitcher on either team: Clayton Kershaw. The 21-year old held opponents to a .200 batting average this year and averaged more than a strikeout per inning during the regular season. He will likely pitch in game one, and has the ability to match Hamels pitch for pitch. The rest of the Dodgers’ rotation features quality veterans such as Randy Wolf, Vicente Padilla, and Hiroki Kuroda. They are all good enough to give the Dodgers quality starts, but none are standout performers by any means.

Bullpens

Much has been made of Brad Lidge’s struggles this season. He only had 31 saves in 42 opportunities and caused the Phillies to wonder how to handle games in which they had close leads in the postseason. Their answer, thus far? Lidge, who managed to record two saves in the NLDS win over Colorado. Whether it’s due to enormous luck or a resurgence, Lidge appears to be the Phillies’ closer once again, which allows the likes of Ryan Madson, Brett Myers, Chad Durbin and Scott Eyre to be used in the regular roles. Unfortunately for the Phillies, only Madson (3.26 ERA in regular season) proved to be effective on a consistent basis this season.

In contract, the Dodgers’ bullpen is their greatest strength. Jonathan Broxton had a big year, saving 36 of 42 opportunities. He also struck out nearly four times as many batters as he walked, and averaged 13.5 strikeouts per nine innings. Setup men Hong Chih-Kuo, Ronald Belisario, Ramon Troncoso, and George Sherrill complement Broxton nicely, and give manager Joe Torre a nice balance of left-handed and right-handed relievers. Jeff Weaver, who has postseason experience and is flexible to start or relieve, is a nice luxury as a long reliever or emergency starter.

Benches

Neither team wants to be in a position to have to rely heavily on their benches, but in the National League, where pitching changes could bring on the occasional double switch, it is important to have one or two versatile players to go with one or two strong pinch-hitting options.

Philadelphia doesn’t have a great bench. Matt Stairs is their biggest threat off the bench. He can still draw walks, but hasn’t exhibited the same power he did last season. Greg Dobbs could see some time at 3B if Pedro Feliz continues to struggle in the postseason. Ben Francisco will be used in double-switches in the outfield, and Miguel Cairo may be involved in similar situations in the infield. When Francisco comes into the game, his passable offense and solid defense makes him a good replacement. Cairo is pretty useless though.

Between the two teams, the Dodgers have the biggest threat off the bench in Jim Thome. He’s a DH at this point, but deployed to have one at-bat a game in a key situation, he’s as dangerous as ever. Juan Pierre provides speed off the bench, and can play the outfield in double-switch situations. Either Ronnie Belliard or Orlando Hudson will be on the bench for this series, and whomever it is will allow Torre to double-switch on the infield if need be without losing much at the plate. Mark Loretta doesn’t have much range in the field, but is an effective pinch-hitter for contact.

Defenses

Defensive play can be an X-factor in determining who wins close games, and key plays or errors can be turning points in a series. Neither team is exceptional defensively, but the Phillies may have a slight edge.

The Phillies are above average defensively up the middle, with Utley and Rollins on the infield, and Shane Victorino in CF. Pedro Feliz is a solid defensive 3B, but Ryan Howard is basically a DH playing 1B. On the outfield corners, Jayson Weth is pretty athletic, surprising given that he is a converted catcher, but Raul Ibanez has lost some range. Carlos Ruiz threw out less than 30% of would-be base-stealers.

For Los Angeles, they receive superb defense from Kemp in CF and James Loney at 1B. Rafael Furcal has lost range at SS, and Casey Blake is serviceable at 3B. Andre Ethier is pretty good in RF, but Manny Ramirez’s defense is intermittent in LF.  Russell Martin threw out roughly 31% of those attempting to steal bases, a decent percentage.

Prediction

The Phillies are capable of outhitting, outscoring, and outpitching the Dodgers, while the Dodgers must rely on close games and late innings meltdowns in order to win this series. As much as I wanted to pick the Dodgers, I can’t fathom how they win four out of seven. They have a decided edge in the bullpen and with their bench players, and nothing else. I’ll take the Phillies to repeat as NL champs, winning this series in six games.

October 10, 2009

DODGERS VS. CARDINALS: In a desperate attempt to avoid elimination, St. Louis brought out Joel Piñeiro to help avenge L.A., whose Starting Pitcher for this Game 3 of their NLDS (in Busch Stadium) was Vicente Padilla, for a 2-0 NLDS deficit. Sadly, even Piñeiro couldn’t keep Dodger Blue from winning. Manny was the first to score: he produced an RBI 2B in the 1st inning. He later added another RBI single. Ethier scored a 2-run home run in the 3rd, and Furcal scored an RBI 1B in the 4th. All the while, Padilla held the Cardinals scoreless.

George Sherrill replaced Mr. Padilla in the 8th with the score 5-0 L.A. Jonathan Broxton quickly took Mr. Sherrill’s place and did extremely well. He got the save; he struck out Rick Ankiel; he won the Dodgers’ way into the National League Championship Series, being the first of the four potential Championship competitors to advance and awaiting either Philadelphia or Colorado.

Blah, blah, blah…and to think ESPN was all this “Cardinals this” and “Cardinals that.” None of the Baseball Tonight cast wanted the Dodgers to win…I didn’t, either. Well, this whole Dodgers thing proved us all wrong.

Oh, well…Pujols, schmujols.

Game 3 of the NLDS with Philles vs. Rockies in Coors Field was postponed for the following evening due to inclement pre-winter weather in Denver. Summaries of the game and the other two LDS games held on October 11 will be posted shortly.

In one of the most brutal postseason games to watch in quite some time, the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the St Louis Cardinals 5-3 in Game One of their National League Division Series.

This was three-hours and fifty three minutes of unwatchable baseball. Both starting pitchers–Chris Carpenter and Randy Wolf couldn’t have been worse and both teams left a combined 30 runners on base. The 30 runners left on base was a record for a nine-inning postseason game.

I thought the National League was known for fast-paced, crisp baseball?

Let’s start with the Cardinals. What on earth happened to Carpenter in this game? He looked like Carpenter on the Toronto Blue Jays, circa 2001.

I couldn’t get over how badly Carpenter was missing his spots. If Yadier Molina was setting up inside, Carpenter threw the ball six inches outside. If Molina wanted the ball low, Carpenter threw the ball at a batter’s letters.

I don’t know if it was playoff nerves or what? But I have never seen Carpenter off like that in a Cardinals uniform.

The other Cardinal I am going to get on is Matt Holliday. I know it was only one AB, but his first inning AB with the bases loaded was terrible.

We got a clear indication early on that Joe Torre is not going to let Albert Pujols beat him in this series. That means that Holliday is going to have to step up.

Bases loaded, nobody out, Wolf already on the ropes, and Holliday stands there with the bat on his shoulders looking at the same pitch–not once, but twice.

That just can’t happen in that spot.

Now let’s talk about the lesser of two evils last night–the Dodgers. Just as I suspected Wolf was, well, Wolf. Six hits, two runs, and five walks in three-and-two-thirds of less than stellar pitching.

The Dodgers’ offense helped him out with a solid 12-hit attack led by Rafael Furcal (3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored) and Matt Kemp (two-run HR in the first that set the tempo for the game). But the real stars of this game for the Dodgers was their bullpen.

Jeff Weaver (yes, Jeff Weaver), Ronald Belisario, Hong-Chih Kuo, George Sherrill (very underrated pickup at the trade deadline), and closer Jonathan Broxton combined to shut down the Cardinals for five-and-one-third innings.

Weaver did to the Cardinals last night, what he did to other teams in a Cardinals’ uniform in 2006. Somehow, in his last 31 postseason innings Jeff Weaver has a 2.32 ERA. How is that possible?

The Cardinals did have a rally going in the ninth against Broxton. Mark DeRosa doubled home Ryan Ludwick to make the score 5-3. But Broxton got pinch-hitter Rick Ankiel looking at a pitch literally right down the middle to end the game.

Honestly, what on earth was Ankiel looking for in that situation? He really has no excuse on that one.

Dodgers lead the series 1-0. Game Two is Thursday at 6:07 ET.

Let’s hope Game Two is better to watch than Game One. It can’t get much worse.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twiter @ theghostofmlg

Well, that just really screwed up plans, today.  Here I was, getting ready to celebrate the 2nd straight divisional crown and already looking forward to it, and thinking of the champagne drenched celebrations… 

Unfortunately, by the looks of the bottom of the 9th inning, so were the Dodgers.  I’m not sure there’s much to say about today’s game that hasn’t already been said.  What looked to be another nice comeback by the Dodgers in late innings ended in a total nightmare, as Jonathan Broxton came in and helped cough up four runs to the freaking Pirates, who came back to win 6-5, after trailing 5-2 to begin the bottom of the ninth. 

As can be the case when Broxton loses a lead, he had some big help in this, and today he was assisted by a botched double play attempt by Rafael Furcal and then Andre Ethier capped off the whole thing by missing the ball on the single by Lastings Miledge, which enabled the winning run to score.  Quite an ugly inning and just about everything that you could imagine going wrong, well, just about did. 

Despite the magic number still remaining one and the Dodgers still probably winning the NL West (and can still do it today, if Colorado loses, by the way), it’s still anything but a meaningless loss.  It counts, folks, and precisely due to the Dodgers trying to still hold on to home field advantage in the playoffs.  As things look right now, Philadelphia has just beaten Milwaukee 6-5 to narrow in on the Dodgers by 2.5 games, with the Rockies currently leading the Cardinals 4-3 in the 7th.

For as nice as it would be to wrap up the division as soon as possible and just have Colorado lose today, it would be in the Dodgers’ best interest if the Rockies beat St. Louis, today.  If St. Louis wins, they will then be 2 behind the Dodgers in the home field advantage race.  It’s a bit of a tough spot, which is why the Dodgers needed this win: on one hand, you want the Rockies to lose to just end this, on the other hand, you need them to win to keep St. Louis off your back, but wait, no, you also want the Braves to surpass the Rockies and… ARGH!! 

So, either way, the Dodgers will be back out there tomorrow, although remember: it’s a 9:35 A.M., PST, start time. 

The Nats are terrible, but they were gnats for us the last two seasons.

• They swept a 4-game series against us last August.
• They overcame a 6-0 deficit to beat us on May 6 of this year.
• They overcame a 3-0 deficit to beat us Wednesday.
• They tied Thursday’s game at 6-6 after trailing 4-0.

Fortunately, Rafael Furcal hit the go-ahead home run in the eighth inning and Andre Ethier made a perfect throw to cut down Willie Harris at home plate in the bottom half of the eighth.

Dodgers 7, Nationals 6. Washington’s 100th loss.

Furcal is red hot. He was 10-for-14 in that 3-game series. Matt Kemp hit a three-run homer in the first inning.

Colorado is trailing 5-4 heading into the bottom of the ninth. Our magic number to win the West is five as I type this. It’ll be four if the Rox lose.

Washington Nationals center fielder Justin Maxwell (center) celebrates with Cristian Guzman after scoring the wining run that handed Russell Martin (left), and the Los Angeles Dodgers a stunning defeat. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

The Los Angeles Dodgers, with 91 wins, had a tremendous chance to put away the Washington Nationals and hand the NL East bottom-dweller their 100th defeat.

With the Dodgers behind by one, Orlando Hudson reached on an errant throw by Nationals shortstop Cristian Guzman to begin the top of the ninth inning.

Future Hall of Famer Jim Thome, who is now designated to pinch hitting, hit for relief pitcher George Sherrill and grounded a single up the middle, putting runners and first and second to give Los Angeles the opportunity for a big inning.

Their chances of not only scoring the tying run but multiple runs increased as Washington reliever Mike MacDougal, who was once a very dependable closer for the Kansas City Royals, lost the control of his fastball. Rafael Furcal watched four of the seven fastballs he saw miss to walk, loading the bases with nobody out.

The pre-All Star break Dodgers that had the majors best record at 56-32 would have scored the tying run and multiple go-ahead runs in this situation. The post All-Star break Dodgers whose record was an underwhelming 35-29 entering tonight’s play? Maybe one run would come of it.

That’s all they would get, too–the minimum–and they were lucky to get that. With the infield in, Ronnie Belliard hit a groundball right at Guzman. The shortstop had plenty of time to make a solid throw home and get the necessary out, but his throw was off the plate and forced catcher Josh Bard to dive to his left and take his foot off the plate. As a result, a run scored without an out being recorded.

Now, they still had the bases loaded and nobody out, but couldn’t put across the go-ahead run: the usually clutch Andre Ethier struck out, Guzman redeemed himself on Manny Ramirez’s groundball, gunning the runner out at home, then Matt Kemp sharply lined out to (who else?) Guzman.

The Nationals, a team overflowing with young offensive talent, took advantage of the Dodgers ineptness.

Justin Maxwell, a beastly 6-foot 5-inch, 235-pound 26-year old center fielder with five-tool talent, led off the bottom of the ninth. He was named Washington’s ninth-ranked prospect after the 2008 season, despite hitting just .233 in the year-long Double-A stint. The Nationals didn’t look at stats, they looked at his physique, focused on his bright spots, and saw tons of potential. So, he made a jump that was once rare, skipping Triple-A to join the Nationals. His offensive struggles continued, as his batting average was a paltry .203 entering the second game of this three-game set against the Dodgers, but his ninth inning at-bat showed Washington what he could be.

He worked the count full against Dodgers reliever James McDonald, laying off three close pitches in doing so, then found his pitch and laced it into left field for a single. Alberto Gonzalez, their utility man, bunted him over to second. Maxwell has a huge build, but surprisingly, he’s a gazelle on the basepaths, with the speed of a normal sized center-fielder. He showed off that speed, taking third for his fifth stolen base during Jorge Padilla’s at-bat that resulted in a walk. Washington, like the Dodgers, now had the go-ahead run ninety feet away, and unlike the Dodgers, they executed.

All pinch-hitter Pete Orr needed to do was hit a flyball to score Maxwell, so that’s what he did. After bunting an attempted suicide squeeze foul and taking a curveball high and outside, he lifted a fastball into right field. Ethier, who possesses a strong throwing arm, hovered over it, but was thinking too much about an accurate throw home that he forgot to do the most important thing: catch the ball. It glanced off the top of his glove and trickled behind him, allowing Maxwell to scamper in for the winning run.

Maxwell crossed home-plate and slapped hands with Guzman, then sprinted out to join his other teammates in celebration. Orr was halfway between first and second and, once he saw his jubilant teammates leap over the railing, he playfully tried to run away. They quickly caught up and mobbed him, celebrating as if they won the Pennant instead of a victory that delayed their 100th loss.

The Nationals will reach this unfortunate number soon, but there is a considerable amount of light at the end of this dark and dreary tunnel, as they have young talent other teams would die for. Ryan Zimmerman, 24, is a perennial .300 hitter and gold-glove third baseman; Elijah Dukes, 25, is a gifted power hitter who has yet to harness his talents,; Ian Desmond, 24, hitting .333 in his short career, is their shortstop of the future; Adam Dunn, the offense’s veteran at the young age of 29, has had four 40-plus home-run seasons in his career and, in this his first year with the Nationals, is hitting .280, 29 points higher that his career mark.

These four, not to mention Maxwell, are only the beginning. They have some noteworthy young pitchers, too: 24-year old John Lannan is their ace, 22-year old Shairon Martis and 23-year olds Ross Detwiler and Jordan Zimmermann are blossoming, and top-pick Stephen Strasburg is on the horizon.

The Florida Marlins, their division foe, have a similar crop of talent, and a few of their youth were behind a dramatic victory of their own.

Jorge Cantu watches his game-tying single fall, a hit that kept the Marlins alive and set the scene for Brett Carroll's heroics. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

The Nationals were fueled by the Dodgers missed opportunities in the ninth, while the Marlins, down one run entering the bottom the ninth against the NL-East leading Philadelphia Phillies, were motivated when they saw Brad Lidge warming up in the bullpen.

Lidge, the Phillies closer, has had a terrible season. He entered this appearance having blown ten saves and accounting for a 0-7 record. After the Marlins were done with him, he had eleven blown saves and a 0-8 record.

Ross Gload led off the frame with a ringing double scoured past Ryan Howard at first base and into the right-field corner. Chris Coghlan, the front-runner for NL Rookie of the Year, crushed a Lidge offering as well, but was a loud out that moved Gload to third.

John Baker, their 28-year old backup catcher, pinch-hit for 22-year old Cameron Maybin, their version of Maxwell, and had a frustrating at-bat, to no fault of his own. He fell behind 1-2, then Lidge’s fourth straight slider missed to even the count. Baker got a piece of Lidge’s fifth slider and took a fastball inside for a full count before being squeezed by home-plate umpire Sam Holbrook. The seventh pitch of the battle was a slider and clearly low and outside, but, after being called a ball during the first eight innings, Holbrook rung him up. He argued, as did his manager, but the Marlins would soon get the last laugh.

Lidge unintentionally intentionally walked 25-year old shortstop Hanley Ramirez, Florida’s best hitter, to put all the pressure on Jorge Cantu, their 27-year old third baseman who already had three hits to his credit. He handled it well, lacing the second offering from Lidge into center-field to score the tying run. Lidge now had the blown save. All he needed was the loss to go with it.

That was left to Brett Carroll, who was pinch-hitting for reliever Dan Meyer. The 26-year old swung through two sliders before connecting with a hanger. He lined it into left-center field.

The fans–the few that were there–cheered as the ball dropped. Ramirez, as Maxwell did approximately an hour earlier in Washington, glided home, then beat most of his teammates to the middle of the diamond, where Carroll gleefully stood. Carroll, who was an unexpected hero like Orr, was mobbed, laughing and smiling as his teammates swarmed around him.

The Nationals will lose a hundred games. The Marlins, though still in the Wild-Card, will most likely miss out on the postseason. But neither team’s year has been as disappointing as it seems. Both are successfully building for the future, and, if their budding talent and the passion they showed in celebrating their respective game-winners are any indication, the Nationals and Marlins will have more meaningful victories to celebrate in the coming years.

No, this isn’t “panic”. Yes, the Dodgers have been thoroughly mediocre over the last three months, but the fact that this is now a race is almost entirely due to the Rockies being an otherworldly 52-25 over their last 77 games. If the Rockies don’t go crazy, the Dodgers are still 6-7 games up. 

Still, what they’re doing isn’t working, and it’s time to do something about it. For everyone who was freaking out about the pitching, don’t overlook the fact that the arms have been fantastic. Last night marked the 14th game in a row that the Dodgers have allowed 4 runs or less (in the first 9 innings, anyway), and it came on the heels of 9 in a row allowing 3 or less. That’s not just a staff you can win with; that’s a staff you should be winning a lot with. It just goes to show how awful the offense has been that they’re now 3 games under .500 for the month at 10-13.

No, despite all of the assertions earlier this year – on both this site and many others – that the 2009 Dodger offense was the best we’d seen in decades, the bats have been absolutely horrible. As much as we’ve enjoying having a stable lineup for the first time in, well, ever, it’s time for Joe Torre to stop just penciling in the same lineup every night and hope for something new. It’s time to shake things up, and while I have faith in exactly zero of these things happening, here’s what I would do:

1) Make Matt Kemp the new leadoff hitter. Kemp’s got it all – something for the new school (.370 OBP, best non-Manny OBP among the starting and something for the old school (27 SB). Rafael Furcal’s just not getting it done from the leadoff spot, and his abysmal .321 OBP is really killing rallies before they even get started. Kemp’s been consistently good all season, but he’s really been hot over the last 14 days (.986 OPS), and why wouldn’t you want your best hitter getting the most at-bats? In 43 career starts at the top, he’s got a .304/.360/.490 line, so I don’t want to hear any arguments that he couldn’t do it.

Conversely, Furcal’s been lousy all season and has been at his coldest at the worst possible time – .182/.200/.227 in the last 14 days. Furcal’s not getting it done. Kemp, by almost any measure, would be a huge improvement. What’s the problem here?

2) Free Mitch Jones! – and take time away from James Loney to play him. I was originally going to say “DFA Mark Loretta” to make room, since he’s been downright Sweeneytastic, but since the rosters expand in just a few days that’s probably unnecessary. However, Loney’s been downright putrid. You can split his stats any way you like, and you’re not going to get anything good. Over the last 28 days? .188/.270/.225. The last 7 days? 1 whole hit for a line of .083/.154/.083 – and he somehow looks even worse than that.

Look, there’s going to be a lot of conversation in the offseason about whether Loney should be our first baseman in 2010 and beyond, but that’s not important right now. What’s important now is that the offense is wasting a ton of good pitching, and Loney is Offender #1. Loretta’s no better, so while I’m not going to be so unreasonable as to suggest that career minor leaguer Jones should be the new starting first baseman in a pennant race, you also just can’t let Loney keep sucking up outs.

Jones continues to destroy AAA pitching (.282/.356/.622 with 30 HR and 86 RBI) and it’s not as though we haven’t seen other older minor leaguers come up and get absurdly hot this year – just look at Garrett Jones and Randy Ruiz. So call up Jones. Don’t make him the everyday starter, but at least put him in a semi-platoon with Loney until one or the other gets hot. It’s not ideal, but neither is letting Loney play every day right now, either. 

3) If you’re the manager, stop doing stupid things. I know I harped on this last night, but I’m still not over it. There’s no rational explanation for it. Worse, we haven’t seen any explanation from Torre about why Sherrill and Broxton sat idly by, nor have any of the reporters asked the question. Dylan Hernandez wrote a standard game recap, T.J. Simers has a puff piece on Jim Tracy, and Bill Plaschke is MIA (though, that’s probably a good thing). Way to ask the tough questions, guys.

—————–

Speaking of which, I’ve been following Delwyn Young’s Pirates career ever since his ill-advised trade, and while I know that at some point I’ll have to let it go, I found something in the comments of the Dodger Thoughts post that linked to my Mets/Dodgers injury post that intrigued me:

Ok, who is the best hitting 2nd baseman in the NL? Well, after Chase.

OPS+

Pee Wee 117
Uggla 108
Castillo 108
Hudson 106

This informational interlude is courtesy of the Pee Wee Marching and Chowder Society

Posted by: Bob Hendley | August 25, 2009 at 12:04 PM

“But he’s a lousy second baseman,” you might say. Well, hitting like that will cure a lot of ills, and besides, we have this from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

At second base, Delwyn Young has plenty of work ahead to reach the point of being average defensively, but he clearly is willing to put in that work — he and Hill are on the field early every day — and his .312 average and power have the Pirates sounding like they would sacrifice a little defense to keep him in the lineup.

But hey! At least we traded him for a 24-year-old pitcher who can’t get out of A-ball and a 25-year-old pitcher who keeps destroying his arm. Yeah. That worked out well.

The New York Mets lost today 9-7 to the Philadelphia Phillies on an amazing last play of the game. For only the 15th time in the history of major league baseball, there was an unassisted triple play. And it was only the second time that an unassisted triple play ended a game, the other one being on May 31, 1927.

What happened today was the usual way an unassisted triple play occurs: a line drive is hit and an infielder catches it (for one out) and steps on a base where a runner prematurely ran from to record the second out, and then tags out an advancing runner who couldn’t head back to his previous base in time (for the third out).  Jeff Francoeur of the Mets hit the liner, caught by the Phillies 2nd baseman Eric Bruntlett who then stepped on second to put out the Mets Luis Castillo, and then tagged out Daniel Murphy who tried backpedaling to elude the tag but was unsuccessful.

The other way to record a triple play is to run around on a beach with a group of bikini-clad women and guys dressed as Pirates, and not the kind from Pittsburgh. The move is tricky though. Whereas the triple today was recorded as a 4-4-4 (2nd basemen making all 3 outs) this other triple play is called an Optimum triple play and it’s recorded as an 8-7-7-3-9-3-4-4-4-8.  And on the last move you hold your hands on your hips and thrust your pelvis forward abruptly. Then enjoy High Speed Internet, Digital Cable TV & Digital Phone Services.

Here’s a list of all those triple plays recorded in the history of Major League Baseball’s modern era:
 
In the 2nd inning on July 19, 1909, shortstop Neal Ball of the Cleveland Naps caught a line drive, touched 2nd, tagged runner.
In the 5th inning of Game 5 of the 1920 World Series on October 10, 1920, 2nd baseman Bill Wambsganss of the Cleveland Indians caught a line drive, touched 2nd, tagged runner.
In the 2nd inning on September 14, 1923 1st baseman George Burns of the Boston Red Sox caught line drive, tagged runner off 1st, touched 2nd.
In the 4th inning on October 6, 1923, shortstop Ernie Padgett of the Boston Braves caught a line drive, touched 2nd, tagged runner.
In the 9th inning on May 7, 1925 shortstop Glenn Wright of the Pittsburgh Pirates caught a line drive, touched 2nd, tagged runner.
In the 4th inning on May 30, 1927 shortstop Jimmy Cooney of the Chicago Cubs caught a line drive, touched 2nd, tagged runner.
In the 9th inning on May 31, 1927 1st baseman Johnny Neun of the Detroit Tigers caught a line drive, tagged runner, touched 2nd to end the game.
In the 1st inning on July 30, 1968 shortstop Ron Hansen of the Washington Senators caught a line drive, touched 2nd, tagged runner.
In the 6th inning on September 20, 1992 2nd baseman Mickey Morandini of the Philadelphia Phillies caught a line drive, touched 2nd, tagged runner.
In the 6th inning on July 8, 1994 shortstop John Valentin of the Boston Red Sox caught a line drive, touched 2nd, tagged runner.
In the 6th inning May 29, 2000 2nd baseman Randy Velarde of the Oakland Athletics caught a line drive, tagged runner, touched 2nd.
In the 5th inning August 10, 2003 shortstop Rafael Furcal of the Atlanta Braves caught a line drive, touched 2nd, tagged runner.
In the 7th inning on April 29, 2007 shortstop Troy Tulowitzki of the Colorado Rockies caught a line drive, touched 2nd, tagged runner.
In the 5th inning on May 12, 2008 2nd baseman Asdrúbal Cabrera of the Cleveland Indians caught a line drive, touched 2nd, tagged runner.
In the 9th inning August 23, 2009 2nd baseman Eric Bruntlett of the Philadelphia Phillies caught a line drive, touched 2nd, tagged runner, to end the game.

*On May 8, 1878, Paul Hines of the Providence Grays was credited with a triple play but by modern rules it would have been ruled an unassisted double play with a throw to second base for the third out. So it doesn’t count.

And neither does Neil Simon’s autobiographical trilogy of plays Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, Broadway Bound.

(Sources:  Newsday.com; baseball-almanac.com; wikipedia.org)

Braves General Manager Frank Wren

If there’s one thing for certain that Frank Wren has done for the Braves, it is he has gotten fans talking again.

Braves fans have often gained the reputation, fairly or unfairly, of being indifferent and not vocal.

Chalk it up to the unprecedented success that the team enjoyed in the 1990’s, or to the fact that the fans had grown accustomed to former General Manager John Schuerholz’s operations over the years.

Saavy. Professional. Tight-lipped.

Brilliant.

So, whether you are pro or anti-Wren and his personnel decisions, there is no question that the man had impossible shoes to fill.

Legendary shoes.

John Schuerholz was a visionary. A true architect who knew exactly the type of team he wanted to assemble.

He originated and then solidified the Atlanta Braves blueprint that turned a fumbling franchise into an iconic one.

Schuerholz targeted the same type of personalities and looked for a certain make-up in every player. He would never sign or trade for a player who he didn’t feel could fit into Bobby Cox’s clubhouse.

No egos. No attitudes. No drama.

The Atlanta Braves became a well-oiled machine, run with the utmost class and professionalism

Schuerholz’s model worked with precision. Under him, the Braves won fourteen consecutive division titles and a World Championship.

He stressed the importance of developing a strong farm system and as a result the Braves saw many homegrown products come up within the organization and become superstars.

So, the day Schuerholz announced he was leaving his duties as Braves General Manager and taking the reigns as president of the club, many were worried about who would be his successor, and how he would fare.

Enter Frank Wren.

Wren served as Assistant General Manager to John Schuerholz for almost eight years.

Fans had hoped for a seamless transition, assuming Schuerholz’s style and technique would carry over to Wren.

However, Wren’s early tenure as Braves GM has been met with very mixed reviews, and often a great deal of criticism.

Wren lost out on some prominent free agents this past off-season.

He failed to complete a trade for then-Padres ace Jake Peavy and then let A.J. Burnett slip through his fingers and sign with the New York Yankees.

Shortly thereafter, it was reported that Wren had come to terms with former Brave and fan favorite, Rafael Furcal. It turned ugly fast when Furcal apparently reneged on the deal and ended up re-signing with Los Angeles.

The Furcal saga humiliated the organization and Wren felt the brunt of the heat.

But, it didn’t end there.

Wren was then vilified in the media for his decision to let Braves icon John Smoltz leave the organization and sign with Boston and for releasing 300-game winner and 1995 World Series MVP Tom Glavine.

Two Braves legends were shown the door and both accused the Braves of handling the situation poorly and for being unprofessional.

Unprofessional and the Braves? These were two words that were never synonymous with each other.

So, the whispers began… John Schuerholz would never let this happen on his watch.

The witch hunt for Wren began to gain steam.

The Braves were all over the media, and getting negative publicity. Even Braves players, specifically Chipper Jones, were also critical of the organization’s handling of these personnel matters.

Wren appeared to be a marked man.

Yet, despite the controversy that surrounded these moves, Wren had quietly assembled a contending team on the field.

After losing out on Peavy and Burnett, he spent the off-season feverishly rebuilding a starting rotation that was plagued with injuries in 2008.

And, his acquisitions of Derek Lowe, Javier Vazquez and Kenshin Kawakami have thus far paid dividends.

Wren addressed the team’s offensive woes by aggressively pursuing a bat –Nate McLouth– and acquiring him earlier then many expected this season.

He wasn’t afraid to pull the trigger on a Jeff Francoeur trade, signaling the end of the underachieving but talented right fielder’s time with Atlanta.

Then, on deadline day, he added another bat in Adam LaRoche, attempting to improve the team’s power at first base heading into the stretch drive.

As a result, Wren has rebuilt a team that had lost 90 games last season and has put them back on the map and in a position to make a run at a playoff berth.

How can one not be impressed by his tireless effort, dedication and desire to make the Braves relevant again — and to bring them back on top?

Right or wrong, the debate about Frank Wren will surely rage on as the season winds down.

Regardless of what side of the fence you stand on, I think there’s one thing about Wren all Braves fans have to learn to accept.

He is not John Schuerholz.

He never will be.

And, it is not fair to compare him to a man that has done and could do no wrong in the eyes of Braves Nation.

Wren is a different personality.

Fiery. Risky. Vocal.

And, not quite nostalgic.

The team has a different leader now, with a different voice and a different style.

Whether he’s the popular choice or not, and more importantly, his longevity with the team, will ultimately be determined by how his team fares in the end.

If the Braves become winners again… Wren will become the toast of the town.

With the first “half” in the books after 88 games of the best record in the majors, it’s time to revive an MSTI tradition and do a quick first half review. Today we run through the offense, Tuesday it’s pitching, and Wednesday it’s the coaching and overall review.

Just like last year…

First, some quick ground rules. Completely unscientific and arbitrary, this is how we’ve seen the results of the season. One important distinction, is that the letter grade is based upon what we reasonably could have expected of the player entering the year, not comparing him to other MLB players at his position.

That last part’s important, because otherwise no one who’s not Albert Pujols would be getting an A. Anything less than 50 at-bats get you an “incomplete”.

Catcher
Russell Martin (.258/.373/.314 2hr 27rbi) (F…. ML)
Holy hell. Where do you even start here? It’s inconcievable to me that in last year’s first half review, Martin got an A+ and the high praise of “Without question, the best offensive player so far.” Turtle nose-dived through the rest of 2008, and fell so far this year that by mid-June, I was openly wondering how long we could stick with him. Seriously, how lousy has he been? This is what I wrote last month:

OPS!
Martin is at: .625
Which puts him: 160th in MLB (of 172 qualifiers)
Behind the likes of: Howie Kendrick (just demoted to AAA), Jhonny Peralta (just benched), and magical pixie elf David Eckstein (is David Eckstein). 
And that means… what’s worse, that he’s hitting worse than guys who are losing their jobs, or that he’s less potent than David Eckstein? The truly scary part here is that his .347 OBP is still pretty respectable thanks to the walks he draws, which means that when you look at just his slugging percentage…

Granted, Martin’s been much better over the last month (.308/.438/.397), but it’s taken just that to get him to 17th in catching VORP. Is that enough to kick him up from an F? No, it just kicks him up to an F, rather than the jokey non-letter grade he might have otherwise received.

Brad Ausmus (.286/.355/.375 1hr 5rbi) (B)
Well, he’s not Gary Bennett or Danny Ardoin, so that’s something. I didn’t really like the idea of giving a million dollars to the geriatric Ausmus, and he’s been predictably punchless, with just three extra base hits. That’d all be a recipe for a solid “C”, as in, “exactly what I’d thought he’d be”, but he may have actually turned Guillermo Mota around, so that’s worth a kick in the grading pants.

And hey, if Bill Shaikin gets his way, he’ll be the starting catcher!

A.J. Ellis (.000/.000/.000 0hr 0rbi) (inc.)
Three games, four at-bats. I’m sure there was a reason I decided to grade every player, but talk about being the definition of “incomplete”. But hey, at least his AAA OPS has dropped 162 points from last year’s impressive figure!

First Base

James Loney (.281/.350/.402 7hr 54 rbi) (C-)
Loney continues on his “not bad, but not all that great, either” streak of last year. It’s odd when you think about it, because a .281 BA is acceptable, and a .350 OBP is fine. But they’re not enough to overcome the .402 SLG – especially when you consider how stacked 1B is otherwise. Quick, off the top of your head – how far down the list of 1B do you have to go before you get to Loney? In a league that has guys like Pujols, Gonzalez, Howard, Fielder, Votto and Berkman right at the top, it’s not hard to see that Loney’s below-average. The stats back it up; he’s 11th of 13 NL 1B in OPS, and 14th in VORP. Even worse, this is the third year in a row his stats have declined. Sure, his glove has been great, and he’s never been killing the team at any point… but first base is hardly a highlight of the Dodgers right now.

Second Base
Orlando Hudson (.283/.353/.426 7hr 48rbi) (B)
Okay, I’m not above admitting I may have been wrong, and when I was so fervently against giving up a first-round pick to sign Hudson this offseason, that may have not been a high point on this blog. In my defense, there were still huge questions about his health (remember when we were reading that he couldn’t even bend his left wrist back?) and no one could have predicted the hot start he’d get off to. Plus, while his defense may not be what it was at his peak, compared to what we’d seen from Jeff Kent in years past, it’s like upgrading from Jessica Lange to Jessica Alba.

So why just the B grade? Because while Hudson may have made an enormous first impression (come on, a cycle in your first home game for your new team? Who does that?) I think it may have obscured just how horrible he’s been over the second half of the first half. (Shut up, that’s a thing.)

Apr. 6 – May 13: 35 games, .348/.429/.539
May 14 – Jul. 10: 49 games, .237/.300/.320

For some reason baseball-reference hasn’t updated to include yesterday’s games yet, so I am missing his 2-homer outburst in that latter section, but still: the difference is glaring. You’d like to think that was the start of something, because at some point he’s going to need to turn this around, or all of the good feelings of April are going to dissipate.

Third Base
Casey Blake (.285/.364/.486 12hr 55rbi) (B+)
Say this for Casey Blake, the man knows that timing is everything. On May 6, the day before Manny was suspended, Blake was hitting just .225/.324/.427. In the 46 games Blake played during Manny’s absence, Blake really stepped up, putting up a .319/.371/.530 line, with 6 homers. As the 11th most valuable 3B in MLB by VORP, the Most Interesting Man in the World has been more than serviceable at the hot corner.

Fortunately for Blake, we’re just grading the first half, because he’s notorious for running out of steam down the stretch – losing 50 points of OPS in the second half over his career. At least he’s still got that beard!

Shortstop

Rafael Furcal (.256/.331/.350 4hr 21rbi) (D)
Well, the good news is he hasn’t had to hit the DL with any back problems, so that’s nice. Look, I never expected him to repeat last year’s ridiculous hot start, but I think we were all hoping for a little more than this, right? He’s just 12th in the NL in VORP, which is bad enough in a 16 team league – until you realize that Juan Castro is 11th, and that’s just downright depressing. Furcal’s OPS of .681 would be the worst of any season of his career, if it holds.

Now, the good news is that he finally seems to be turning the corner, hitting .417/.488/.556 in July. Whatever it is, he’d better keep it up – you just can’t have a guy who struggled as hard as he did hitting leadoff for a playoff team. Not exactly what we expected when we all celebrated his signing in December, is it?

Oddly enough, he’s split his year pretty equally between hitting first and hitting second, and while he was dreadful batting second behind Juan Pierre (.548 OPS), he’s been pretty effective as the leadoff man (.719 OPS). I have no idea why that would be, but with Manny’s return, Pierre is of course nailed to the bench, so Furcal should get plenty more leadoff at-bats.

Infield
Mark Loretta (.245/.344/.292 0hr 16rbi) (D)
You know, when Loretta signed, I was totally in favor of it - a quality veteran, crushes lefties, can play all over the infield? Considering the deal was only for $1.4m over one year, it was perfect. But here’s the funny thing; I never really noticed it until just now, but Loretta hasn’t even been all that great. If it holds, his 73 OPS+ would be the worst he’s had since his second year, back in 1996. Actually, part of the problem may lie with Joe Torre, because while Loretta’s still doing pretty well against lefties (.792 OPS), he’s been terrible against righties (.600 OPS). I know the D seems harsh, but remember our grading scale – he’s not been as good as we’d hoped, so that counts as below average.

Juan Castro (.352/.397/.437 1hr 9rbi) (A….re you kidding me?!)
Where’s the outcry for drug testing of Juan Castro? We’ve got a guy with a career OBP of .271 who has never put up an OPS+ of more than 79 in his entire life. Now, at 37, he’s putting up Manny numbers? Don’t get me wrong, I dig it, and I know it’s a small sample size of 70 at-bats; I just can’t concieve of a reality in which Juan Castro may possibly be a better shortstop than Rafael Furcal – and that’s without even considering that Castro is absolutely the better defender.

What a world we live in. You better believe that’s an A.

Blake DeWitt (.174/.240/.304 1hr 1rbi) (inc.)
Talk about a guy who’s seen his fortunes change from last year; here’s part of what I had to say about him in 2008’s mid-year review:

Just like Kent, this is a tough grade to assign. I know it seems like a long time ago now, but do you remember how desperate this team was at the hot corner at the end of March? Nomar was hurt, LaRoche was hurt, Abreu was hurt, and the trade options were either unavailable or unappealing. So we turn over the job to the guy who was guaranteed to put up Hu-like offensive numbers. Except that.. he was good. Really good, slugging .517 in May. He was a lock for Rookie of the Year and surprise of the year. Go Blake!

Of course, he couldn’t keep it up, got sent down, replaced by Casey Blake at 3B, and then resurfaced as the 2B in the playoffs, before getting replaced there by Orlando Hudson. So far in 2009, he’s spent more time traveling between LA and Albuquerque than he’s actually spent playing in either place.

My prediction? He gets traded before the month is out as part of a deal for a pitcher.

Doug Mientiewicz (.400/.400/.600 0hr 2rbi) (inc.)
If Eyechart was getting a grade, it’d probably be a 5.8 for the swan dive into second base that caused him to get injured in the first place. More importantly, it gives him plenty of time to be the most active athlete on Twitter I’ve ever seen. He had to fly through Detroit to get to Miami from Milwaukee yesterday!

Mitch Jones (.308/.400/.385 0hr 0rbi) (inc.)
If you remember Mitch Jones’ sad, sad song, then the fact that he even got a big league at-bat should be considered a huge victory. In fact, he got thirteen of them – eleven as PH or DH – and actually put up some production in that short time, before he was DFA’d to make room for Manny. See? If Manny doesn’t get himself suspended, Mitch Jones might still be waiting for that first at-bat. Last I heard, Jones cleared waivers and reported back to Albuquerque, so we might yet get to see him again.

Left Field
Manny Ramirez (.355/.487/.669 9hr 29rbi) (D… cup)
Without question, the most difficult grade to assign by far. I mean, when Manny’s played, he’s been all you could have asked for, and more. Just look at those numbers; if he had enough at-bats to qualify, that SLG would be second only to alien cyborg Albert Pujols. He’s 5th among NL LF in VORP, which is nice enough until you remember that VORP isn’t a rate, it’s a counting stat, which means that he’s been done that even despite missing half the season. 

Of course, you can’t ignore the fact that the fifty games he missed were, you know, entirely his own fault. (Though, I haven’t ruled out the idea that Bill Plaschke planted the test results, worried that he might have nothing to complain about all season otherwise.) So yeah, huge demerits for that, and that’s how a guy who’s continued to terrorize NL pitching ends up with a D for dumbass. 

Juan Pierre (.328/.387/.417 0hr 25rbi 23sb) (A)
I was so tempted to give Pierre a lousy grade, just to be contrary to all of the writers who act as though his three week hot streak overrides two and a half years of overpaid futility. Remember, just because Pierre was great right after Manny was lost in May, you can’t forget that he was completely horrible in June – worse than usual.

But then I realized something important; the three great weeks Pierre gave us is about four more good weeks than I ever could have reasonably expected from him. So, screw it! Give the man an A.

Center Field
Matt Kemp (.320/.384/.495 11hr 50rbi) (HOF. I mean, A+)
Well, I did call him the best center fielder in baseball just a few days ago, so there’s that. What more can you say? He’s striking out less, he’s walking and hitting more, and his defense and baserunning have improved markedly. Plus, he’s shown the rare ability that few players have to completely take over a game – and yes, I am talking about the “extra-inning grand slam/over-the-shoulder basket catch” in Milwaukee from the other day.

I’m sure there’s a reason that he’s still hitting 8th and not forming an absolutely brutal middle of the order combo with Manny, right? Right?!

Right Field

Andre Ethier (.250/.338/.475 18rbi 56rbi) (B-)
If Ethier knows anything, it’s a fantastic sense of drama. The man loves his walk-off homers, and of his 18 homers, 11 have come in just 5 games. The only thing is, his season has been unbelievably up-and-down.

April: .976 OPS
May: .601 OPS
June: .952 OPS
July: .612 OPS

So how do you grade that? The unexpected power barrage (10th in the NL, but it’s almost not fair that there’s four Phillies ahead of him, playing in that park) has been a very pleasant surprise, and it’s likely that he’s going to be the first 30-homer Dodger since Adrian Beltre in 2004. And as you can see by his monthly breakdown, there’s been stretches where he’s absolutely carried this team. Unfortunately, there’s also been just as many times where he’s completely buried the offense, and if you don’t know which Andre you’re going to get, that could be a serious problem come playoff time.

Still, it’s hard to give a bad grade to a guy who’s finally put some power into the offense – and, really, is there anything more fun than walkoff wins?

Outfield
Jamie Hoffmann (.182/.167/.409 1hr 7rbi) (inc.)
Xavier Paul (.214/.313/.500 1hr 1rbi) (inc.)
I’m grouping these two guys together, because the Dodgers have used their backup outfielders so rarely this year there’s not all that much to differentiate them. These two combined for just 36 plate appearances, and save for one start and two at-bats by Mitch Jones in right field, that represents the sum of the backup outfield work in LA this year. As for their play, each had their moments, putting up their first major league homers and displaying excellent arms in the outfield. Paul is still on the disabled list thanks to the crazy staph infection he suffered in May in Florida, and when he’s ready, he’ll join Hoffmann down in Albuquerque.

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Don’t forget to come back tomorrow, when Vin checks in with the pitching grades. Remember the simpler times of yore, when I could just bash Brian Falkenborg all day?