Results tagged ‘ JamesMcDonald ’
Six home runs and the Dodgers were still in it
Six home runs! You know you are in an American League ballpark when… I am impressed how this team is in most every game. The Dodger win percentage says they should be but it is still impressive. It definitely shows the depth and strength of the team.
It was a disappointing outing for Wolf and Wade too. They weren’t keeping the ball down and they didn’t have their stuff working. McDonald and Mota did well. It is good to see McDonald back. I don’t think it will be long until he is getting starts again. perhaps keeping a rotation spot for a pitcher acquired from a trade. I think Roy Oswalt or Cliff Lee would be welcome.
Matt Kemp’s ninth was a beauty. He took advantage of a bad reliever in Jimmy Gobble (who hit Juan Pierre on purpose by the way) and put them back in it. I am not impressed with Rafael Furcal. He still has that cannon for an arm but his bat is not the one it was in early 2008. He has a track record such that we can assume that he can turn it around. I think he is healthy. Really, all it matters is that he can hit in October. He is not hitting at a level that is detrimental to the Dodgers. Perhaps he is batting second but he will probably turn it around. Until then, I think he can be moved down in the lineup.
Clayton Richard pitches for the Sox tomorrow and he faces CBills. I like the Dodgers’ chances of winning the series.
Dodger Division Dominance
So far, the Dodgers have shown that the division is theirs to take. There will be many more division games but you have to like what you see thus far. The lineup is very strong, their fielding is superb, the starting rotation is holding together and the bullpen has few holes though it may not being tested ln the early going.
The Dodgers still don’t have a weak link in the lineup and their depth is impeccable at the moment.
Joe Torre is hesitant to let anyone besides Broxton and Belisario touch the ball although he seems to be warming up to Will Ohman lately. Cory Wade is back and Jeff Weaver did well in his first appearance as a Dodger this year. We may be seeing Weaver making a start.
In the rotation, I am alright with James McDonald making a few more starts. Hopefully Kuroda is back in 2-3 weeks and is healthy. The dominance will continue if the rest of the team can stay healthy as well. Obvious statement I know and one that rings true for any team in contention.
Will Ohman’s a Dodger
I consider this a good move. He will probably be the left-handed set-up man for the Dodgers but will join Hong-Chih Kuo, who may be #1a LH set-up man. Both pitchers have had Tommy John surgery (Kuo twice) so, when speaking of Ohman, it will be good if Kup spells Ohman or vice versa so that both pitchers can have a better chance of staying healthy this year. With Scott Elbert out of the picture, the duo should be set for late-inning left-handed relief.
Here are some of Ohman’s stats I find interesting. He struck out 53 in 58.2 innings last year with the Braves and 33 in 36.1 innings with the Cubs in 2007 but the previous two seasons, he recorded 74 K’s in 65.1 innings in 20066 and 45 K’s in 43.1 innings in 2005 with the Cubs. At age 31, he may come back and have a higher K/9 than 9 but I wouldn’t count on it. He was tied for fourth in holds in the NL with 23. That is more of a fantasy stat than a saberemetric one so take it for what it’s worth. He appeared in 83 games, which was the second-most in the NL last year. He also let 17.1% of inherited runners score which was the second-lowest percentage in the NL. Last year, his ERA was 3.68, which was the second best of his career. However, his ERC was 2.87, which was the best of his career. His non-intentional walks the last four years were 21, 32,12 and 18. All of these stats are from the BJH2009.
These are all good things. This guy is legit and Ned got him cheap. We will have to wait for him to warm up in the minors but he will be in a Dodger uniform soon enough. I have to admit – I am not worried about the rotation because of the run provention and the bullpen, which hasn’t lost much really. The rotation is a factor but if they stay healthy, the four starters will do well enough to keep the team in a position to win and may be joined by a nidseason acquisition.
This team is going to be fun to watch. The pitching the Dodgers have had in the past has been solid and it will be again with the young pitchers still on the rise. In the meantime, the Dodgers will have the runs to make up the extra runs that will score from losing Derek Lowe. James McDonald seems to be the Dodgers fifth starter. It is true that he is the Dodgers fifth-best starter and that is why is seems so apparent that he has to be the guy. Despite not showing any signs of growing pains last postseason and, less importantly, this preseason, he may still have some of those growing pains. As is always the case, if they stay healthy…
Sign Pedro?
I can say that Pedro Martinez could contribute as a starter for the Dodgers. However, the odds are not very good that he can stay healthy, so for him to be worth an investment for the Dodgers, the price is going to come down. If Pedro has a good season, the Dodgers would be happy to pay him 10 million dollars but the risk is high enough that the amount of guaranteed money is low. If Pedro cuts the guaranteed money down to 2 or 3 million, I am sure that more incentives would be built into the contract so that in the event of a good season, he will get paid. There should be no rush to sign him since he is not a guarantee by any means despite the dismal prospects that are the competitors for the fifth starter.
Let’s look at Pedro just to ascertain how far away we are from good Pedro. The last full good season for Pedro was in, 2005, his first year with the Mets. He recorded 31 starts where he pitched 208K’s in 217 IP and he had 4 CG and a 0.95 WHIP. In 2006, Pedro still put up good numbers but he only started 23 games where he struck out 137 guys in 132 IP. In 2007, he started 5 games and last year started 20 games and was not the pitcher he was in his first two years with the Mets. His performance in 2006 is worth a couple million and his 2005 effort is worth more than what they are asking. What he did in 2007 and 2008 is not worth much. So what Pedro will we get? At 37 years old, there is not much hope for a bounceback. The best chance for the Dodgers to get good Pedro right now is to go back in time and give the Expos Delino DeShields back. Otherwise, the price is going to have to drop even further than what Pedro wants.
One guy who won’t be the fifth starter is a guy whose name I don’t want to mention. You know him as a right-handed starter that pitched for the Giants before being signed by the Dodgers for 3 years and 46 million dollars and has won only a single game as a Dodger. He is not going to be ready at the start of the season. I am not surprised and if I were to quantify my disappointment, I could not express it below 46,000,000.
As far as the other candidates go, nobody seems to have emerged as an overwhelming favorite. The Dodgers will have to pick somebody to take the ball for a while until they make a trade in midseason or bring up James McDonald when they believe that he is ready to take a spot in the rotation. It does not look good but if there is no trouble or injury with the other four starters, it won’t hinder the team that much.
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