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.