June Gloom

First a recap of the recent events on the Southern California sports scene. The Lakers have advanced to the NBA finals where they trail the Boston Celtics 2 games to 1 with Game 5 tonight. The Dodgers are floundering in the absence of Raphael Furcal and have drifted closer to 4th than 1st. The Padres are playing surprisingly well and have righted the ship to gain some respectability in the NL West. The Angels are playing great and have one of the best records in Major League Baseball despite a rash of injuries to key players such as Vladamir Guerrero, John Lackey, Chone Figgins among others.


First the Lakers - Kobe has been great showing that he well deserves the MVP awarded to him this year. Odom, Gasol, Radmonovich and Walton have been disappointing to say the least. Odom has been in constant foul trouble during the finals and has not been a factor scoring or rebounding. Gasol appears to be physically over matched by the Celtics' front line and has suddenly displayed an inability to hit free throws. Radmonovich - does he still play for the Lakers? The only statistic he has posted is fouls. Walton has been a real disappointment. We all knew he wouldn't be a great scorer but we were expecting heads up play, hustle, passing and rebounding. Unfortunately he has seemed lost during The Finals. He has passed up open shots including a wide open lay up under the basket in Game #1. The Celtics can pretty much ignore him when the Lakers have the ball and double-team Kobe or whomever has the hot hand at that point in the game. Pleasant surprises include Sasha Vujacic who was the difference in Game #3 and wasn't intimidated at all by the Big Stage. Also playing well with a ton of heart and hustle is Jordan Farmar. His play in drawing an offensive foul in the 4th Quarter of Game #3 was critical and really provided a lift. Another item of note has been all the conversation surrounding the referees both current and past. There has been a wide variance in the foul calls depending on the location of the games - the home team seems to get the substantial benefit of the trips to the line. The pattern isn't only recent has allegations have been made that this is mandated by the "powers that be" in the NBA with the most glaring example cited being that of 2002 Game #6 between the Lakers and the Sacramento Kings. The Lakers went to the line 27 times in the 4th Quarter of that pivotal game.


Next: The Dodgers . This has been a really tough month for the Dodgers as they stumble through the schedule. Very little offense, terrible starting pitching saved only by the excellent work of the bullpen. No power at all - Jeff Kent leads the team with 6 HR's; Furcal (after missing over 30 games) is currently tied for 2nd with 5 dingers. Raphie is a lead off hitter par excellance but he is not a power hitter.

Chad Billingsley is really maturing into a front line starter and each outing is of good quality. Derek Lowe is showing some signs of coming out of his funk and being more consistently effective. It has been exciting to watch the "2nd Coming" of Sandy Koufax in the form of Clayton Kershaw but he is more like the young Sandy than the great Sandy at this point. The Dodgers spent mucho dinero for the services of Hiroki Kuroda and have received mixed results on their investment. Starts like the one earlier this week against the Cubs make the Dodger management look like genius material. He was outstanding pitching a complete game and having the Cub batters totally confused and at his mercy. Then there are days like today against the Padres - 1st inning: single, single, HR, HR, walk, HBP, FC, Sac - 2/3 inning 5 earned runs, 4 hits. Before he was pulled after 2 1/3 innings his line was 6 runs (all earned) 5 hits and 4 walks. That wasn't going to cut it against Jake Peavy who continues to own the Dodgers upping his career mark against the Boys in Blue to 12-1.

Lastly, there is the disappointment we have come to know as Brad Penny. This is perhaps the most confusing aspect of the season to date. There is no apparent rationale that could explain Penny's ineffectiveness and he seems to be digressing instead of improving. The radar guns indicates his velocity is as good as ever, his breaking stuff still looks sharp, his command seems the same as before; and yet he barely makes it to the 5th inning in his good starts, he is giving up runs in bunches in games he seems to have under control. At the onset of this stretch I was inclined to think it was just bad luck - a blooper here, a seeing eye grounder there, an opposite field bleeder to start the merry go round the bases. However, this has become the pattern not the exception and Penny's reaction seems to be to try and throw harder with more of the same following as the opponents merely get their bat on the ball. It may be that as he throws harder the ball straightens out allowing the hitters to get a piece of the ball and putting it into play where bad things have been happening. The end result of all of this is that after starting 3-0 his current record is 3-6 and his E.R.A. has ballooned to 6.40 from the mid 2 range. His last 2 starts against Colorado & the Cubs have been decent but he is the #1 Starter, an All Star and "decent" isn't the expectation we have for a guy with his talent.

My last comments are about the group we have come to place all of our hopes upon: James Loney, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Russell Martin, Jonathon Broxton, Chad Billingsley, Andy LaRoche and recently Blake DeWitt & Clayton Kershaw. Poor Joe Torre is coming to realize that he is not in New York anymore. This bunch has been slow coming around. They have been OK and some are very good. They are kind of like the little girl with the curl: when they are good they are very very good but when they are bad they are very very bad.

I am a big supporter of Russell Martin - I think he is the real deal especially the way he has rebounded after such a slow start in April. Unless I have totally lost touch he will be a perennial All Star and one of the best we have ever had here in LA. I hope we don't lose him like we did with Mike Piazza and to a lesser extent Paul LoDuca. My only concern is what I call the Wendell Clark syndrome. Clark was a hockey player of about the same size as Martin who played in the NHL from 1985 to 2000. When he first came up as a 19 year old with the Toronto Maple Leafs he was their dominant player. He was called upon to score all the big goals, make all the big hits and fight the other team's tough guy. He was their leader and the youngest on the squad. The Leafs were good but never champions during his time on the team. After his first 2 seasons in that role his production tailed off and he began to physically break down.

James Loney seems like a pretty passive guy to me; he looks like he is evolving into a .280, 15 home, 80 RBI player. I am hoping for more as he seems to have good size and great skills. As I watch his swing he reminds me a lot of an old Toronto Blue Jay named Lloyd Moseby a career .257 hitter who averaged around 17 homers and 75 RBI's.

Matt Kemp may be the group's most talented while at the same time being the worst "baseball player" of the bunch at this moment in time. He is clearly learning on the job and while he has incredible natural power he also is close to leading the league in being struck out. But he is a real specimen - great speed, size, power, arm etc. - a 24 carat 5 tool player.

Andre Ethier is kind of an enigma - he is a very solid player in almost every aspect of the game. I believe he should be a regular front line player but he isn't getting that chance as yet on a consistent basis. I think he has to be watched every day to be appreciated. But, I also think he would really benefit from a "hot streak" where he can start to blossom into a star both in the minds of the public and in his own mind.

Jonathon Broxton is a LOAD!!! Great stuff, intimidating presence and a professional make-up. All that seems to be needed is time and an opportunity. I am sure he is the closer in waiting and should be "the guy" for years to come.

As mentioned above Chad Billingsley is really coming into his own. I know it may seem strange but he reminds me of a young Tom Seaver. Now wouldn't that be something.

I wish Andy LaRoche hadn't been hurt in Spring Training but then again we wouldn't have had the pleasure of being introduced to Blake DeWitt. LaRoche is back with the big team and I really hope he gets a chance to shine after such a bad break. Blake DeWitt has taken his opportunity and really shone. Rookie of the Month for May and showing great maturity. He has been compared to Bill Mueller a former batting champion and I think that is a fair comparison.

Sanity Returning

What a week! First I get frozen out of making entries into this Blog because of some weird investigation by Blogger that I was spamming???? No one even knows about this Blog except me & I have had no one read it except me; seems eerie.

Anyways, in the interim the Dodgers tanked, the Angels & Padres floundered and the Lakers lost 2 in a row in Salt Lake City. Things are looking up however, as the Dodgers rallied in the 9th inning last night and won convincingly today in Milwaukee. The Lakers rebounded to a Game #5 win last night and now lead the series 3-2 after holding serve at the Staples Center.

"Backs" are the main topic in L.A. this week. Kobe's back started acting up while the Lakers were on the road losing 2 to the Jazz. Raphael Furcal (Dodgers MVP and maybe the League MVP to this point) went on the DL with back spasms retroactive to the start of the 5 game slide.

Lastly, today, minutes before the 1st pitch Blake DeWitt went down with back problems requiring Russel Martin to start at 3rd and Gary Bennett to catch. Now that worked out well as Bennett went 2 for 4, 3-run homer and RBI double - 4 RBI's in total. It was all good news as Andruw Jones & Jeff Kent homered in support of Craig Billingsley's excellent start.

Starters have been weak for the Dodgers over the past stretch and the usually dominant Jonathon Broxton has been a little shaky. Two recent good outings by Billingsley and Hiroki Kuroda give some reason for optimism but we need both Derek Lowe and Brad Penney to step it up to their previous standards. The Dodgers missed 3 opportunities in a row to pare the D'Backs lead to 2 1/2 games and finally, with their 5th loss in a row fell 4 1/2 back. Next up - the Angels at the Big A over the week-end. Chan Ho Park will make a start in the series - he sure has earned it as he has been great in long relief all season.

The Padres are floundering - they cut loose Jim Edmunds who landed on his feet with the Cubbies (a legitimate World Series contender) and went 1 for 4 today against his former team. Greg Maddux achieved win #350 before losing today to the Cubs at Wrigley. The Pads have lost 7 of the last 10 and there is no reason to believe anything will change soon. They have the worst record in major league baseball.

The Angels got John Lackey back and he was very impressive last night - however, the Angels lost when Scott Shields imploded. The Halos have gone 2 and 4 since the last post and have held their ground in the race so far. Injuries to Chone Figgins and Howie Kendrick haven't helped and Vlad is just now coming out of his recent funk. I think they will be fine, this is a quality team that plays great fundamental baseball and should be near or at the top at the end of the season.

Lastly, how about those Devil Rays or is it D-Rays no, wait ... its the Rays! They are making franchise history and are perched atop the AL East ahead of the BoSox & Yankees. Ya gotta love it - how can you not feel good for Troy Percival. Today they beat the Yankees 5-2 with Scott Kazmir pitching a brilliant game and Troy getting his 10th save. They took 3 of 4 from the Bronx Bombers - unfortunately there were only 19,976 in attendance. Yet, it was a Thursday getaway game at an odd hour; the post game radio guys in Tampa are quite excited and are praising those that showed up at the game.

Lakers Basketball Rules

Since yesterday's post all of the Southern California major league baseball teams have been on a losing streak. The Angels lost to KC as Jerrod Weaver had an unimpressive performance. The Padres lost both last night & today to the Braves.

All the Padre buzz is about the impending release of Jim Edmonds, a 5 time All Star and recent expensive acquisition. The Braves broadcasters were thrilled with today's win as it was their 1st 1-run win of the season. I am glad that the Padres were able to accommodate the home team. Clutch hitting by the Braves and a bull pen collapse by the Padres will be the main story.

On a better note the Lakers won game 2 last night and are now up 2-0 on the Utah Jazz. Kobe played like an MVP and the Lakers seemed to win in a breeze. Soon we will be inundated with Laker flags flying from every car in Southern California. The bandwagon is rolling into town and the locals are anxious to jump on board.

The Dodgers entertain Houston on the week end and strangely I feel that this may be an important early season series. Loaiza is on the DL, Kuo looked great against the Mets and there is talk of bringing up Kershaw. This spot in the rotation is being skipped in this series and it will be interesting to see who eventually gets the call. Derek Lowe goes Friday after a rough outing last time out, Craig Billingsley Saturday after a pretty good outing although his strike outs were down, and Kuroda Sunday after his shortest outing of the year. This is followed by Brad Penny Monday in Milwaukee after a disastrous performance yesterday. The starting rotation will be under the microscope over these 4 days and by & large needs to rebound from their recent less than stellar efforts.

Going into tonight's game against the Washington Nationals the Astros have won 5 in a row and 6 of 7. Lance Bergman has been "en fuego" but at least we avoid Roy Oswalt. I kind of have a soft spot for the Nats (formerly the Les Expos de Montreal). They were Canada's 1st major league baseball team and I happened to be in Washington DC their opening week end as they christened their new stadium. The community appears to be quite supportive of them despite their struggles.

Mets Find an Unlucky Penny

WOW! UGH! Mets 12 Dodgers 1 - and it wasn't even that close.

Let's hope the Boys in Blue got that out of their system and can quickly get back to their winning ways. It's been a great ride over the past couple of weeks and I think this is just a bump in the road. Bright spots included ...... well not much - James Loney made a great defensive play. Andruw Jones got a hit, Matt Kemp kept his hitting streak going and ...... Vin Scully was his usual brilliant self.

Tonight it's the Lakers in Game 2 of the Western Semis and Kobe's 1st game as the reigning MVP of the NBA. Wouldn't it be something to see Lakers vs. Celtics? Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar & Magic Johnson vs. Bill Russell, John Havlicek, the Jones Boys & Larry Bird - we can only dream. Maybe this time we win and start a streak that compares to that of those great Celtic teams. Let them lose to us in the finals 6 out of the next 8 years and we will be even.

The Angels are in KC on a nice hot streak; Vlad's bat is waking up and injuries haven't slowed down Mike's troops. The Padres are in Atlanta living down to expectations; worst record in the Major Leagues and little sign of life. That makes it even harder to take the ramblings of Matt & sidekick and Teddy with his entourage. Thank goodness for XM radio & MLB Premium services.

Don't miss Don Cherry's debut on ESPN Friday night; I hope he translates well into the USA market. He is a legend on Hockey Night in Canada - go get 'em Grapes! Detroit v. Dallas - I like the Wings; Philly v. Pens - I like Crosby et al. Then again I thought it would be the Ducks vs. Habs in the Cup Finals.

Lastly, I am cheering for ex-Dodger Eric Gagne to turn it around. I like the Brew Crew and (despite the drug allegations) I admire Gagne for his efforts to get back to where he was with the Blue Crew. Unfortunately he has looked too much like "Wild Thing" - "just a bit outside".