My bad again -- and my apologies to D-Lowe
Turns out he was NOT loafing it up the line on that 9-3 groundout. He was running as hard as he could run -- on the left groin he had injured warming up for his relief appearance on Sunday against the Mets. Yet another example of the fallout of this team's overworked bullpen. He'll have an MRI tomorrow morning in Denver, after which more will be known about his condition. He says it only hurts when he lands while pitching. Meanwhile, the Dodgers have lost six of eight since winning their first four out of the break, and this would be a devastating loss if D-Lowe is out for a long period. We'll see. Good night.
Tony Jackson is in his fourth season covering the Dodgers for the 
Comments
Tony, you wrote earlier in a comment, "... [Betemit] doesn't elicit a lot of confidence when he is at the plate in a key situation"
Betemit 2007: BA OBP Slg
RISP .256 .407 .436
Men on .313 .447 .516
2 out, RISP .294 .478 .471
Late&Close .280 .471 .600
Tie game .231 .429 .462
1Run game .274 .427 .629
Yes, he is still young (25) and can be made to look bad (like Kemp), but he IS producing as well. He is outslugging all but Kemp, Loney and Kent.
Posted by: El Lay Dave | July 26, 2007 12:21 AM
Well those #s are fine but I dont think it tells the whole story. Watching his ABs does not inspire a great deal of confidence sometimes. He is very frustrating. Sometime he cannot out a good at bat together to save his life. As much as I resented Nomar's RISP hype (mostly b/c I wanted him to make way for Loney) I trust Nomar far more in key situations, because he can usually at least put the ball in play. The fact the Betemit still has not forced an everday spot for himself at his age tells me something. Sure he could have a breakout season but I don't see it being with the Dodgers and I don't blame them for not giving him another opportunity. When your giving a starting job (which he was) you do everything you can to hold onto it. He didn't.
Posted by: J.L. | July 26, 2007 12:55 AM
Man Lowe better not be hurt bad. That would be a significant blow.
By the way, since the 4 game winning streak to start the second half we have lost 6 of 9, not 6 of 8. But it's been 5 losses in 7 games. Too bad we can't take advantage of the Pods struggles.
Posted by: Calgator1865 | July 26, 2007 5:09 AM
Juan Pierre "can usually at least put the ball in play" - do you "trust" him more in key situations?
Betemit certainly stunk it up at the beginning of the season - pretty bad timing for a horrendous slump - but that was 74 PAs. And yes he slumped from mid-August last year.
Not that they are similar batters, but Ron Cey was handed the everyday job at age 25. His first year: .245 .338 .385 OPS+ of 104. Betemit this year, even with the slump: .235 .362 .484 OPS+ of 119. I still think that's a lot of potential to give up on.
Posted by: El Lay Dave | July 26, 2007 1:33 PM
Penny was still in the game why? 6 innings 90 pitches and a rough final inning. Brilliant move.
Posted by: The_Great_Arcade_Fire | July 26, 2007 8:11 PM