Injury, Prone
Did anybody besides me think Darin Erstad’s open field tackle of Johnny Estrada was stupid?
We can argue all day whether the hit was excessive. Estrada was blocking the front half of the plate, leaving Erstad plenty of room to slide across the back half of the plate without being tagged. But we’re all told that contact is part of the game, and it’s appropriate to bowl over the catcher if he’s blocking the plate.
In going for Estrada, Erstad missed the plate entirely. He went back and touched it with his hand as the ball trickled out of the Estrada’s glove as he lay there in pain.
Erstad is a guy who is oft-injured, and now we have an inkling why. He plays the game without regard for his body, and that means his body sometimes breaks down. Depending on the severity of the injury to Estrada, I full expect that the annoyed Braves team will be taking aim at him in tonight’s game.
He should tighten his chin strap before going up to the plate.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers feasted on another mediocre team, the Detroit Tigers. Tiger starter Jeremy Bonderman gives up home runs on the road that would be harmless flyouts at spacious Comerica Park, so it’s no surprise that the Dodgers tagged him twice.
Two of the three Tiger runs were unearned, following infield errors by Antonio Perez and Jeff Kent. Perez atoned for the error later in the game with a sparkling defensive play, throwing out a runner on a ball hit deep down the third base line. And Kent has been quite surprisingly good at second base all year.
Fox showed an interesting stat last night—Perez is the best hitter in the league with two strikes. He has also shown a remarkable propensity for getting on base. It’s too early to decide whether he’s the real deal, but if he blossoms the way the Dodgers hope, I can see him as the team’s leadoff hitter and base stealer. Dropping Cesar Izturis to second exploits his ability as a situational hitter and minimizes the fact that he doesn’t walk enough or steal enough bases.
We can argue all day whether the hit was excessive. Estrada was blocking the front half of the plate, leaving Erstad plenty of room to slide across the back half of the plate without being tagged. But we’re all told that contact is part of the game, and it’s appropriate to bowl over the catcher if he’s blocking the plate.
In going for Estrada, Erstad missed the plate entirely. He went back and touched it with his hand as the ball trickled out of the Estrada’s glove as he lay there in pain.
Erstad is a guy who is oft-injured, and now we have an inkling why. He plays the game without regard for his body, and that means his body sometimes breaks down. Depending on the severity of the injury to Estrada, I full expect that the annoyed Braves team will be taking aim at him in tonight’s game.
He should tighten his chin strap before going up to the plate.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers feasted on another mediocre team, the Detroit Tigers. Tiger starter Jeremy Bonderman gives up home runs on the road that would be harmless flyouts at spacious Comerica Park, so it’s no surprise that the Dodgers tagged him twice.
Two of the three Tiger runs were unearned, following infield errors by Antonio Perez and Jeff Kent. Perez atoned for the error later in the game with a sparkling defensive play, throwing out a runner on a ball hit deep down the third base line. And Kent has been quite surprisingly good at second base all year.
Fox showed an interesting stat last night—Perez is the best hitter in the league with two strikes. He has also shown a remarkable propensity for getting on base. It’s too early to decide whether he’s the real deal, but if he blossoms the way the Dodgers hope, I can see him as the team’s leadoff hitter and base stealer. Dropping Cesar Izturis to second exploits his ability as a situational hitter and minimizes the fact that he doesn’t walk enough or steal enough bases.
posted by John Rosenthal @ 9:05 AM
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