Diamondbacks 2, Dodgers 1
So far, for the Dodgers, this series has been long on style -- two days of Manny hype -- and short on substance. The two games were virtually identical, with the Dodgers scoring once in the sixth to take the lead, and the Diamondbacks scoring twice in the seventh to go on top for good. One day into his two-month stint with the Dodgers, Manny being Manny means going 2 for 4 with two singles and grounding into a double play in the bottom of the ninth. It was obvious from his first swing of that at-bat, when he practically came out of the box missing a pitch from Brandon Lyon, that he was trying for a walkoff, two-run homer. He didn't get it. The Dodgers have now lost the first two games of this series, leaving them with no chance to emerge with the division lead. They have also put themselves in a position where they almost have to win the next two in order to give themselves a decent chance of catching the Snakes, who now lead them by three games. Oh, and the boys are below .500 yet again at 54-55.
The media circus at 4 pm didn't help. From what I heard, Manny had 3 hours sleep after the trade. Why not let him arrive like any other new player without all the hype. I'm sure Manny would have been a lot better off with some time to get a little more sleep, or at least some relaxation. It probably didn't help any of the other Dodger players. But I guess the hype was more important than the game.
I agree, but try convincing approx. 250 media members, many of whom hadn't been out here all year, not to show up.
Tony...will someone ask Joe if this were the playoffs what his lineup would be? The best players don't appear to be playing and the batting order is suspect at best.
OK Tony. If the media had to have its day, why not have delayed the official welcoming until early this afternoon after Manny had some time to get a normal nights sleep, and not so close to game time. You know better than I, but I'm pretty certain that the Dodger PR people could have manipulated this event in a manner that would have made it less taxing on Manny and on the team in general. But then again, what do I know?
ManRam,
If Tony or anyone else asks Torre that question, I'm guessing the answer will be something like, "We'll cross that bridge when and if we get to it."
BD...respectfully I guess my point is that if we don't start looking at it that way now, we won't ever get to that bridge.
Ethier is a "gamer" and our future. AJ should not be playing and is counter-productive to the recent acquisitions. Addition by subtraction would serve this organization and fanbase well.
ManRam,
I agree with you. I posted earlier that I would prefer to see an everyday outfield that consisted of Manny in left, Kemp in center, and Ethier in right.
Jones may eventually find himself, but now is not the time to experiment. Let him go home over the winter, get his head together, and work himself into the best shape of his life, and then he can contend for an everyday job in the spring, at which time Manny is likely to be elsewhere.
As for Pierre. With Manny now in left, the last thing the Dodgers need is to have his rag arm exposed in center field.
This is from Keith Law at ESPN.com. It's a free Insider posting, so it's probably not necessary that you have a subscription to read it.
http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/insider/columns/story?columnist=law_keith&id=3516012
Wouldn't it be nice if Jones (maybe even Pierre) could be traded after clearing waivers. We can dream.