Well, the Dodgers and their fans got a chance to see both sides of Manny Being Manny today. Ramirez homered in his first at-bat off Aaron Cook to end his eleven game homerless streak. Then in the top of the second inning Ramirez dropped a routine fly ball and was bailed out when Chad Billingsley got out of the jam with a strikeout of Troy Tulowitzki and a Yorvit Torrealba fly out. Then in Manny's second at-bat he drilled a line drive over the short fence down the left-field line. Later in the game Ramirez misplayed a Brad Hawpe looper into a triple, momentarily allowing the Rockies back into the game. I guess this is what Red Sox fans were used to seeing during their 7 1/2 year run with Manny. Unfortunately for Chad Billingsley, the defense behind him was less than stellar. A Matt Kemp misplay (put your glasses on Matt!) was the Rockies only hit through the first five innings, yet Kemp's misplay and Manny's error caused Bills to labor in the heat much more than he would have if they made the routine plays. The other ball Manny misplayed (Hawpe's triple) would probably have been caught by just about every other Major League left fielder, and the least Manny could have done was to keep it in front of him. But this is part of Manny Being Manny, and as long as he hits I think every one of us will put up with the little, let's say, intricacies of Manny's game. Andre Ethier continued his impressive start with another two-homer game, including an absolute shot half way up the pavilion in right-center field. The Dodgers stretch their winning streak to seven games and have a chance to go undefeated on the home stand with a win tomorrow over the Rockies. James McDonald gets the opportunity to avenge his first start. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you think he will do) for James, it will probably be in relative anonymity as the Lakers start their playoff run against the Utah Jazz tomorrow afternoon as well. It's safe to say the eyes of Los Angeles will probably be on that game. Anyways, another impressive win for the Dodgers as they prepare to close out the homestand.
One other note since I didn't get to talk about yesterday's game. I just wanted to say that Jon "The Bull" Broxton was incredible last night. He came into the game with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth and was asked to protect a one-run lead. Brox proceeded to strike out Tulo on a heater and then he got Chris Iannetta on a vicious slider to end the inning. In the top of the ninth, Broxton retired the side in order while striking out two more Rockies. For a guy who seems to get no love, Broxton is very good. What he did last night was mighty impressive and I think we are going to continue to see more of it this year. The guy has great stuff and amazing composure, and he showed it on Friday. Bravo Jonathan.
Lakers? I'll be at DS tomorrow to combat the anonymity.
ReplyDeleteI can accept Manny's defense considering what he brings to the plate (although my Bills-led fantasy team took a hit). And I don't understand the glasses-on-cap defense by Kemp. If you're not going to wear them in the field on a clear, sunny day, why would you have them out there with you?
Ya I have Bills as the ace of my fantasy staff too. I agree completely about Kemp. The sunglasses on head thing was a bit weird. I understand some guys don't like wearing them when the ball is off the bat but that's why they have flip down glasses. Great game yesterday BTW
ReplyDeleteBoys Boys, thats the cool thing to do, not wear your glasses and make errors. Its even better when guys wear there glasses on top of there hats when its cloudy out. It just looks cool i guess.... lol
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you heard Vin talk about it, but it seems that Kemp is using those performance enhancing contact lenses like Loney. Maybe we can thank them for this awesome display of hitting Matt has spoiled with. Oh and simply put, Ethier=Stud.
ReplyDeleteI had heard about Kemp correcting his vision. He's also been working with Mattingly a ton. Whatever it is, I hope it keeps working. Looks like this may be the year that Kemp becomes the superstar we've been expecting him to become.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny that the national media has been forced to talk about the "kids" given the Dodgers hot start and Manny's power outage. Obviously, Manny is getting on base a ton and his presence alone makes the lineup better and deeper, but the other guys still have to come through. I even heard sportscaster say the Dodgers might have the best 1-8 in baseball. Sounds familiar.
I know as a contact lense wearer how important that can be. In a sport like baseball, the importance of vision is even more important. I know it sounds like a cute story and all but I really think it might be helping him out. Also, allegedly he is buying into the Torre/Mattingly hitting approach. I just love that he has hit all three of his homers to center and right. If he continues to use the middle of the field, the sky is the limit for Matt Kemp
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