Forrest finally gets it!
Juan Pierre dropped to seventh, FINALLY. Too bad it took four months of sucking for anybody in the organization to realize he was killing rallies. And what does Pierre do in response? One for five with no walks.
Now if only we could do the same for Furcal. He lost the game for the Dodgers several times before he won it. The season isn't a total loss yet, but unless they reel off another 15-game winning streak soon, the Dodgers are done. That will free them to play the kids every dy in preparation for next year.
Sweeney is a decent addition, seeing as how they need a pinch hitter who does something other than swing and miss at anything offspeed (sorry, Olmedo, I, and half of Mexico, loves you, but you've been lost at the plate lately). We needn't worry about a roster spot, however. The Dodgers could use another bench player, even if it means sending down the 13th or 14th pitcher on the staff. That guy, be it Houlton or Stults or Hull or Roberto Hernandez, isn't getting anybody out anyway.
The Dodgers limp into St. Louis, home of dreaded manager Tony LaRussa. He’s the worst thing to happen to baseball aside from steroids, and I'm not so sure we can't blame that on him too. Notice where all the juiced up players played? Oakland and later St. Louis. Think Tony didn't know what was going on? Baloney.
The guy thinks he invented baseball, what with batting McGwire in the top half of road games, then subbing for him inthe bottom halff becuse he couldn't play the field. How dumb is that? You waste a power hitter in the top of the first, insted of having him on the bench to pinch hit in a key situation. But Tony smiles as if he's put one over on the lords of baseball.
But his most shameful contribution to the game is all this lefty righty crap at the end of a contest. What used to take 2 hours now drags on for 3 and a half because of three-pitcher innings and seven trips to the mound per side. It must work, because everybody has copied him. But does it?
Who is the middle-inning specialist, other than Paul Assenmacher, who's continued to get out big league batters over more than a two-year stretch? If these guys were any good, they'd be starters or closers. They used to have middle relievers back in the 50s and 60s too; they were the guys who weren't good enough to start. All this specilization has made baseball more like football. Pretty soon, none of the fielders will be required to hit. We'll just have juiced up Cansecos at every DH position and Furcal and Pierre playing the field.
Thank goodness for Tivo. A LaRussa trip to the mound is over in a heartbeat, and a three-pitcher inning flies by with just the touch of a fast forward button.
Now if only we could do the same for Furcal. He lost the game for the Dodgers several times before he won it. The season isn't a total loss yet, but unless they reel off another 15-game winning streak soon, the Dodgers are done. That will free them to play the kids every dy in preparation for next year.
Sweeney is a decent addition, seeing as how they need a pinch hitter who does something other than swing and miss at anything offspeed (sorry, Olmedo, I, and half of Mexico, loves you, but you've been lost at the plate lately). We needn't worry about a roster spot, however. The Dodgers could use another bench player, even if it means sending down the 13th or 14th pitcher on the staff. That guy, be it Houlton or Stults or Hull or Roberto Hernandez, isn't getting anybody out anyway.
The Dodgers limp into St. Louis, home of dreaded manager Tony LaRussa. He’s the worst thing to happen to baseball aside from steroids, and I'm not so sure we can't blame that on him too. Notice where all the juiced up players played? Oakland and later St. Louis. Think Tony didn't know what was going on? Baloney.
The guy thinks he invented baseball, what with batting McGwire in the top half of road games, then subbing for him inthe bottom halff becuse he couldn't play the field. How dumb is that? You waste a power hitter in the top of the first, insted of having him on the bench to pinch hit in a key situation. But Tony smiles as if he's put one over on the lords of baseball.
But his most shameful contribution to the game is all this lefty righty crap at the end of a contest. What used to take 2 hours now drags on for 3 and a half because of three-pitcher innings and seven trips to the mound per side. It must work, because everybody has copied him. But does it?
Who is the middle-inning specialist, other than Paul Assenmacher, who's continued to get out big league batters over more than a two-year stretch? If these guys were any good, they'd be starters or closers. They used to have middle relievers back in the 50s and 60s too; they were the guys who weren't good enough to start. All this specilization has made baseball more like football. Pretty soon, none of the fielders will be required to hit. We'll just have juiced up Cansecos at every DH position and Furcal and Pierre playing the field.
Thank goodness for Tivo. A LaRussa trip to the mound is over in a heartbeat, and a three-pitcher inning flies by with just the touch of a fast forward button.
posted by John Rosenthal @ 10:24 AM
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