Games 120-121: Dodgers vs Florida Marlins 4:0, 4:15
If you ever wanted to see this Dodger season in a nutshell, please watch these two games in a row. You will get almost every little thing that epitomizes the 2006 in LA. The ebbs and tides, the sinusoidal wave of emotions, the excitement and the frustration, the almost-perfection that comes about almost too easily and the struggle of "a bad hair day", when nothing goes right.
There are some obvious questions after the Florida series, though:
(1) What is the new role of Aaron Sele? Is he coming out of the bullpen in win-tie situations (as in the middle game)? Is he a mop-up long reliever (as in the final game)? Should he replace Mark Hendrickson in the rotation? If so, where does Hendrickson end up, since his only asset seems to be his left-handedness?
(2) Why o why is Nomar taking first pitch fastballs? I know that has been the case throughout most, if not all, his career, but can't he be taught to let the first two pitches go with his bat on his shoulder? After all, he would have seen two pitches from the pitcher and should be better off judging the stuff that's been coming at him. Also, with control resembling the recent breed of the Marlin pitchers, it's not entirely impossible he would not have been 2-and-0 and had a much better chance of doing something with a fastball for a strike...
(3) Don't look now, but Chad Billingsley's ERA has dropped to paltry 3.16 after his seven-innings nine-strikeouts effort two days ago. Will he finish the season at 3.50 ERA or less?
(4) Who gets annoyed by the way Julio Lugo gets shuffled from one in/out/field to another? I do. It's not because I like Lugo to play at one position primarily, but every time out he seems to replace a player I would much rather see in a lineup now (Betemit, Repko, Furcal). Perhaps, I don't like Julio, that's why...
(5) The series against the Giants starts tomorrow night. We're throwing Penny, Maddux and Lowe, right. Taking two out of three seems a must then.
There are some obvious questions after the Florida series, though:
(1) What is the new role of Aaron Sele? Is he coming out of the bullpen in win-tie situations (as in the middle game)? Is he a mop-up long reliever (as in the final game)? Should he replace Mark Hendrickson in the rotation? If so, where does Hendrickson end up, since his only asset seems to be his left-handedness?
(2) Why o why is Nomar taking first pitch fastballs? I know that has been the case throughout most, if not all, his career, but can't he be taught to let the first two pitches go with his bat on his shoulder? After all, he would have seen two pitches from the pitcher and should be better off judging the stuff that's been coming at him. Also, with control resembling the recent breed of the Marlin pitchers, it's not entirely impossible he would not have been 2-and-0 and had a much better chance of doing something with a fastball for a strike...
(3) Don't look now, but Chad Billingsley's ERA has dropped to paltry 3.16 after his seven-innings nine-strikeouts effort two days ago. Will he finish the season at 3.50 ERA or less?
(4) Who gets annoyed by the way Julio Lugo gets shuffled from one in/out/field to another? I do. It's not because I like Lugo to play at one position primarily, but every time out he seems to replace a player I would much rather see in a lineup now (Betemit, Repko, Furcal). Perhaps, I don't like Julio, that's why...
(5) The series against the Giants starts tomorrow night. We're throwing Penny, Maddux and Lowe, right. Taking two out of three seems a must then.
posted by Harry | 1:51 PM
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