Sunday, October 3, 2010

Hasta la vista, Mr. Torre

Joe Torre's Dodger career started with a win in 2008, and it has ended with another victory to close out the 2010 season.

Ted Lilly went seven strong, Matt Kemp homered for the fifth straight game, and Hong-Chih Kuo picked up another save as the Dodgers beat the Diamondbacks, 3-1. The Dodgers have ended the 2010 year with an 80-82 record, good for fourth place in the NL West.

Today was obviously all about Torre, who has guided the Dodgers to a three-year record of 259-227 for a .533 winning %. He also won two NL West titles and was a perfect 6-0 in the NLDS. The final hurdle was never cleared, as the Phillies won the NLCS the last two seasons by a 4-1 margin both times.

As for this one, the Dodgers wasted no time in getting on the board. Rafael Furcal and Jamey Carroll both struck out to begin. Andre Ethier then singled. Kemp has been on a tear lately, and it continued with a two-run blast to left center, a 423 foot bomb, making it 2-0.

The Diamondbacks got a run in the fourth, their only one of the day. Rusty Ryal hit a ground rule double to start the inning. Two outs later, Gerardo Parra hit an RBI single, slashing the lead to 2-1.

The final run of the game, and the season, came in the seventh. With Leo Rosales in to pitch, Reed Johnson greeted him with a single. An out later, Ryan Theriot reached on an infield single, and Carroll walked to load 'em up.

Mike Hampton relieved. Yes, THAT Mike Hampton, the guy who was once one of the best lefties in the league. I'll give him credit for sticking with it and still finding a job after all this time. Well, Ethier took a pitch off the right field wall to score one, but Theriot was easily gunned out at home. Kemp was put on base intentionally, and James Loney grounded out to end the inning up 3-1.

Kenley Jansen took over for Lilly in the eighth and made quick work of the Diamondbacks. Tony Abreu grounded out, and Augie Ojeda and Ryal struck out. Jansen ended this season with an impressive 0.67 ERA, four holds, and three saves. Actually, "impressive" doesn't cut it. He was flat out awesome in the short time he was here.

Kuo came in for the save, and he needed a clean inning for a 1.20 ERA. He got it, as a leadoff walk to Brandon Allen didn't hurt, with Kelly Schmidt grounding out to Loney to end the game. It was Kuo's 12th save.

Why is a 1.20 ERA a big deal? Because Kuo passed Eric Gagne for first place in the all-time Dodgers' list for lowest ERA in a season with at least 50 innings pitched. Gagne also had a 1.20 ERA in 2003, but Kuo's was statistically a bit better. Anytime you get mentioned in the same breath as doing something better than Gagne, that's a great accomplishment.

Plenty of other stories took place during this game. The first was Brad Ausmus, as this was the last game of his 18-year career. He had a good game, too. In the second he led off with a double, and singled in his last at-bat in the ninth. Not a bad way to go out. I can only hope the Dodgers try to keep him around as a coach, as he can be a great addition to Don Mattingly's staff.

Another story was John Lindsey. If you recall, Lindsey is the guy who finally made it to the big leagues after spending 16 years in the minors. Torre made sure he shared the spotlight, as he got to pinch-hit in the seventh to get an ovation before being lifted. He also took part in the pre-game lineup card exchange. A class move all around by Torre.

Kemp certainly ended the year with flair (and rewarded those who are in fantasy baseball championships this week). Over the last five games, he's hit five homers and 12 RBIs. Dodger fans can only hope it carries over into next year and he can lead the team. We shall see.

Lilly perhaps finished his brief Dodgers' career with another gem. He went seven innings for four hits, one run, two walks, and nine strikeouts. Even with the Dodgers tanking in the second half, he was a great trade deadline addition. Too bad it really didn't matter. A high price tag puts plenty of doubt into his future in L.A., but maybe the Dodgers pull it off. Doesn't seem too likely, though.

So this is it for the 2010 season. Plenty will be written in the offseason about what went wrong and what should be done going forward. For now, I'll take the time to commend Torre for helping make the Dodgers relevant again. This year wasn't so hot, but the previous two years have been. When it was all said and done, I'm glad he came, even if he didn't end this year on the greatest note.

Now the Dodgers get turned over to Mattingly and his zero managing experience. The roster will undoubtedly feature changes, perhaps many. This offseason will definitely be an exciting one.

Finally, to everyone reading this, thanks again. This has marked my third year writing about the boys in blue, and I'm looking forward to many more. See you soon!

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