Chris Carpenter

Well, I’m back from Hawaii and ready for Game Four, baby!!  Wolf has been solid all year, and hopefully the Dodger bats will finally come through for the guy.

In thinking about stand-out pitchers from this season, I thought I’d weigh in with my picks for the 2009 NL Cy Young Award.  The competition has been hot and heavy this year with numerous candidates worthy of discussion, including Chris Carpenter, Jorge De La Rosa, Tim Lincecum, Javier Vazquez and Adam Wainwright (to name a few), but here are my top three picks:

Third Place: Tim Lincecum (San Francisco Giants)

The reigning NL Cy Young Award Winner, Tim Lincecum, put together another worthy season for the San Francisco Giants with a 15-7 record, a 2.48 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP  along with a league-leading 261 Ks.  Numbers wise, I just felt Lincecum didn’t quite stack up with the competition in Carpenter and Wainwright, despite having four complete games, two shutouts and allowing just 1o homer runs all year.  Nothing against Lincecum, but he just came in third in my book.

Second Place: Adam Wainwright (St. Louis Cardinals)

The bottom lie is that wins count, and nobody was better than Adam Wainwright in wins with 19 this year, and he pretty much was near the top of the NL wins category all year long.  Wainwright  also led the league in innings pitched with 233, averaging an impressive 6.8 innings per start.  The negatives on Wainwright include having just one complete game, and a WHIP of 1.21, placing him in second place to that of fellow St. Louis starter Chris Carpenter.  His 2.63 ERA also trailed Carpenter’s, and while he did have the edge on strikeouts (212 vs. 144), I don’t value these as much when thinking about the Cy Young Award, so am going to have to rank Wainwright a close second.

First Place: Chris Carpenter (St. Louis Cardinals)

And that leaves Chris Carpenter at the top of the heap.  He finished second in wins with 17, along with an incredible 2.24 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP.  Like Wainwright, Carpenter averaged 6.8 innings per start.  He also had three complete games, one shutout and was the ace of the team.  Carnpenter was the man La Russa turned to when he needed a big win, and he delivered.  Congratulations Chris, you get our vote for the 2009 NL Cy Young Award.

Now wouldn’t it be nice if the Dodgers had a true ace on their staff?  TJ Simers over at the LA Times has some interesting thoughts on the matter in today’s paper, noting that the last Dodger to win the Cy Young Award was 21 years ago when Orel “Bulldog” Hershiser won it in 1988.

Jim Tracy

As I sit here on one of Maui’s amazing beaches, I got to thinking about the manager of the year voting, and who I would vote for if given an opportunity.  There are certainly a number of worthy candidates with the favorites falling into two camps: the managers leading upstart teams on surprising runs, and those whose teams consistently deliver year after year.  I tend to favor the former category in MOY voting…there’s something to be said for teams that defy expectations and go on incredible runs deep into the regular season, but you can’t ignore managers that deliver contenders seemingly every year.

Finally, since I’ve tried to write this with minimal computer time, please excuse the lack of numbers…gotta get back to the beach and continue working on my playoff tan!  With that said, here are my votes:

3^rd Place: Tony La Russa

Sure, La Russa has the best player in the game in Albert Pujols and a stacked lineup.  But once the Cardinals added Matt Holliday, Mark DeRosa and others, he deftly put the pieces in place (including moving Skip Schumaker to second base from the outfield) to lock up the division early.  They did struggle down the stretch, but the competition was non-existent.  He deserves third place.

2^nd Place: Joe Torre

Like La Russa, I feel Joe Torre had a very strong lineup to start the season, but in my opinion, Joe deserves consideration for manager of the year due to how he handled the Manny Ramirez situation, and specifically his use of Juan Pierre.  In addition, he managed a shaky starting pitching roster that had to overcome numerous hurdles.  In the end, they finished with some on the best numbers in the National League.  And like Toy La Russa, Torre has proven he can deliver a contender year after year, seemingly with ease.

NL Manager of the Year: Jim Tracy

Jim Tracy gets our vote, as he literally turned this team around the Colorado Rockies after taking the reins following Clint Hurdle’s firing on May 29.  Consider the numbers: The Rockies were last in the NL West with a record of 18-28. After taking over as manager, he led them to a Wild Card playoff appearance and very nearly a division title.  Most importantly, Tracy gave his players (especially his bullpen) clear roles, and let them know how he intended to use them.  This in turn gave them confidence and the turnaround began.  Pretty incredible stuff.

So there are our votes…let us know what you think about our picks, or feel free to make a compelling argument for another manager.

Odd fact of the night: while it seems like the Dodgers have been losing a lot on the road as of late, a win tonight would be the Dodgers’ 46th win of the seaso away from Chavez Ravine, tying them for the most road wins since the 2002 season.

There’s nothing like a three game series against the hated San Francisco Giants to get the blood going, and Vincente Padilla (3-0, 2.01) starts the series off against Jonathan Sanchez (6-12, 4.16).  According to the Giants media notes, Sanchez has been pitching well as of late, going 2-1 with a 1.16 ERA, holding opponents to a .154 average in his last five starts on the road against the Mets, Phillies, Rockies, Astros and Brewers.  Sanchez also has the lowest ERA of any pitcher in the NL on the road since August 4th (the next closest is Chris Carpenter with a 1.69 ERA, and Randy Wolf is fourth with an ERA of 1.96).

On another note, Ken Gurnick has a good article on Ned Colletti and his shrewd wheeling and dealing, that has brought George Sherrill, Ronnie Belliard, Vincente Padilla, Jon Garland and Jim Thome to Los Angeles.  From the story:

“Frank McCourt owns the Dodgers and Joe Torre manages them, but this is Ned Colletti’s club. He traded for Andre Ethier and Manny Ramirez, he refused to trade away Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw, and he signed Randy Wolf and Vicente Padilla.

Since the general manager took over four years ago, the only team in the league with more wins is Philadelphia. Colletti inherited a club that finished 20 games below .500, and in four years, the Dodgers are 50 games above .500. Colletti’s best win-loss record of the four seasons will be this year — after trimming the payroll by $20 million.”

Here’s hoping that Ned’s work will finally lead this team back to the World Series.

Photo Credit: Examiner.com

- The Dodgers have won a season-high three straight road series for the third time.  Their 40 road wins are third in the NL behind St. Louis (41) and Philadelphia (43).

- Since August 10, the Dodgers team ERA is 2.67 – a Major League best over a 29 game span.  Despite these numbers, the team is just 16-13 in these games.

- The Dodgers have played in 45 one-run games this season, going 26-19.  If I recall correctly, the Dodgers record in one-run games to start the season was amazing and they’ve since tailed off.   I’ll try and dig those numbers up.

- With both Kershaw and Wolf out for this weekend’s games, the Dodgers will start Kuroda (5-6, 4.15), Padilla (2-0, 2.76) and Billingsley (12-9, 3.93) against The Hated Ones.

And one other small note: Sunday’s game should be entertaining, as the Dodgers will be facing Brad Penny once again, but this time, in a Giants uniform!

Wolf told the team he thought he hurt himself swinging the bat in a game. He reported discomfort in his elbow during a bullpen session on Tuesday.

“He really didn’t have a whole lot of pain, just a little bit of tightness,” trainer Stan Conte said before the Dodgers faced the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday night. “It doesn’t seem to be really serious.”

Phew.  With Wolf being one of the Dodgers most consistent starters and Kershaw missing a start (although claiming he’s ready to roll), having Randy out for multiple games would be a very big deal at this point in the season. 

And tonight, the Dodgers lost in Arizona in the bottom of the ninth when Troncoso gave up a bases loaded walk, while Colorado notched their sixth consecutive win when Seth Smith JUST eeks out a bases loaded infield single.  Colorado is definitely catching the breaks right now.  Time to man up, boys!

Photo Credit: Boston.com

Rookie pitcher Wade Leblanc and the NL West basement dwelling Padres got one off the Dodgers last night. LeBlanc himself looked pretty strong, giving up only two hits in six innings pitched while the Padres offense got up 2-0 early in the game which turned out to be enough to hand the Dodgers a loss.

Kershaw looked OK overall, but racked up a lot of pitches early, needing 27 to get out of both the first and second innings.

Jim Thome finally got a chance to pinch hit for the Dodgers and managed a single in the 8th inning. The Dodger faithful are clearly glad he’s on board as they gave him a standing “O” as he headed to the plate.

The Padres (60-76) have won four in a row and 8 of their last 10 games after previously losing 8 of 11. Padres skipper Bud Black is clearly focused on racking up as many wins as possible despite not being playoff bound. “Even though we’re not headed toward the playoffs, the other team is playing with high intensity – and we’re going to match that intensity…It’s also important to play in these types of games against teams that are possibly headed to the playoffs, because it gives you the experience.”

Hopefully Dodger stalwart Randy Wolf will change things tonight as the Dodgers hit the field at 7:10 PM.

Wow.  Was just watching tonight’s game when Vin Scully made the announcement: “The Dodgers have just announced that they have aquired Jim Thome for a player to be named later.  Big Jim with 23 home runs this year…wow, will he fit in.  Imagine the lineup with Manny Ramirez, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Jim Thome.  Whoa.”

This definitely was one move I  was not expecting the Dodgers to make.  I guess if you can’t get more starting pitching, the next best thing is add more power, right?  A free agent after this season, Thome must have waived his no trade clause.  Speaking of new Dodgers, Ronnie Belliard went deep in his first at bat as a Dodger (and fifth time this year!) while turning two double plays – very nice.

So where exactly is Thome (normally a DH) going to play?  It definitely sounds like more moves are coming…is Thome really a fourth or fifth outfielder?  A left hander off the bench?  Maybe.  Can  he play first base?  I doubt it…he hasn’t played in the field for nearly two full years.

UPDATE: Just learned that Jon Garland has also been traded to the Dodgers for a player to be named later.  Garland is 8-11 this year with a 4.29 ERA, but he is traditionally known as an “innings eater”, a guy who has won his last two starts and I believe is someone the Dodgers were considering making a run at before last season.  Interesting to note that Garland and Thome were teammates on the White Sox a few seasons ago.  Even more interesting to note that Garland was supposed to start against the Dodgers on Thursday, and now could start the same night against his old team that same night.

Ned Colletti on “Dodgers Live” after tonight’s game:

“Jim Thome is a great hitter, a home run hittter.  Is he in the twilight of his career?  No question…he’ll tell you the same thing.  He’s also a great leader and we felt that we needed as much leadership as you can have, especially late in the season.  He (Thome) called me about 8:30 tonight and said, ‘Look I wanted to call you.  I know you guys have interest and I want you to know that me playing first base is probably not going to be an option, but I’ll come off the bench and I’ll do everything I can to help this team win.’  I says, if you’re in, we’re in.  He says, ‘I’m all in.’  And I says, lets go do it.”

Well, say what you will about Ned, but he’s certainly going for it.  Frankly, he had to as the team in it’s composition yesterday was simply not good enough to advance far in the playoffs.  These moves were needed.  The Dodgers have only three pinch hit home runs all year, and craved power from the reserves.  Thome and Belliard are huge upgrades and veteran leadership.  Plus, what a DH the Dodgers have in Thome if they go to the World Series.

So what do you think?  Good moves for the post season or not the right moves?  Let’s hear your thoughts!

3 games at Arizona (52-63)

3 games vs. St. Louis (64-52)

4 games vs. Chicago (58-54)

3 games at Colorado (63-51)

3 games at Cincinnati (49-64)

1 game vs. Arizona (52-63)

Not so bad, right?  Now let’s look at September and early October:

3 games vs. Arizona (52-63)

3 games vs. San Diego (49-66)

3 games at Arizona (52-63)

3 games at San Francisco (62-52)

3 games vs. Pittsburgh (46-67)

3 games vs. San Francisco (62-52)

3 games at Washington (40-74)

3 games at Pittsburgh (46-67)

2 games at San Diego (49-66)

3 games vs. Colorado (63-51)

That’s 283 combined games under .500.  Yes, that’s right, 283 games under .500, thanks to two sets with the Pirates, one with the Nationals and one with the Padres.  Seems almost unbelievable, doesn’t it?  Hopefully the Dodgers will use this time to get healthy and have their starting pitching develop some much needed confidence as they learn to go deep into each game, preserving the bullpen for the postseason.

And while I love Joe Torre, I was slightly surprised to see him pull Sherrill, after an efficient seven-pitch 8th inning, for Broxton in the 9th.  I know it’s Torre’s style to go with his closer when the game is tied in the 9th at home (giving his team’s bats the chance to win the game), but it just seems that he would have allowed Sherrill to go a little longer, knowing we very well could be headed to extra innings.  At least that would have prolonged the entry of Mota into the game.  Sherrill is a former closer, and isn’t that why we got the guy?  Sherrill did throw 31 pitches the night before in one and 2/3 innings, so I understand the added rationale for pulling him on Saturday , but I still would have rather seen him stick around a little longer given that the big guy did not appear fatigued.

But it was that damn Yunel Escobar who clinched it for the Braves.  The shortstop was one of the heroes of Friday’s night game for the Braves with a huge hit in the 12th inning.  And then last night he did with his defense, diving for a Kemp infield shot, gettng up and making a spectacular throw to first to just nab the Bison.  Pretty spectacular stuff.  Given the Dodgers record at home in one-run games (which I think was 17-3 going into the game) and with 11 walk-off wins this season, you can understand the crowd’s shock at seeing Kemp thrown out at first to end the game.

The Dodgers now try and salvage a series split this afternoon, while ending a recent slide that has them losing three of their last four, five of their last eight and 10 of their last 16.  Ewww…

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Lori Shepler