Here are some June stats for you:
Andre Ethier: 4-for-22 (.182), two extra-base hits
Yasmani Grandal: 5-for-18 (.278), all singles
Jimmy Rollins: 5-for-18 (.278), one solo homer
Justin Turner: 6-for-21 (.287), one extra-base hit
Alex Guerrero: 3-for-12 (.250), one massive grand slam
Kike Hernandez: 7-for-20 (.350), one extra-base hit
Joc Pederson: 7-for-24 (.292), lots of big hits
Adrian Gonzalez: 10-for-22 (.455), quite a few big hits
What does this all mean?
Take away guys like Pederson, A-Gon, and for the most part Guerrero, the Dodgers have a whole bunch of single's hitters, and not much else. That is, if they even bother to get a hit in the first place.
Yes, the offense has been letting the Dodgers down tremendously of late. Take away the four games in Colorado to start June, and the Dodgers have scored 2, 0, 5, 1, 1, and 1 runs going back to the end of May. From May 16-24, they scored 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 2, 2, and 3 runs. Let's see here... 19 runs in 14 games means they've scored 1.4 runs/game in that span. That's really, really bad.
I don't know how much longer they can just shrug their shoulders and say "We're injured and we're tired." Yes, they are injured. Yes, they are tired, though so are countless other teams as well. And yes, we hope Yasiel Puig is healthy enough to return this weekend like he says.
But let's be realistic - if Puig can't even wake up this deadbeat offense, then it's time to make some changes.
Corey Seager and Hector Olivera, I hope you two are ready. You could (and should) be with the big club soon.
The baseball season is full of peaks and valleys. While it wasn't fair to expect the Dodgers to keep up their torrid pace to start the season, there's no way we should have expected them to go into complete hibernation either. There are way too many games this team just drags to the finish line.
Friday night was the perfect example. Brett Anderson was sensational, taking a shutout into the eighth inning. The problem? His team spotted him a mere 1-0 lead, and a couple of runs given up later, the Dodgers lost another one to the Cardinals 2-1. Call it pessimistic, but this was something I could see coming from a mile away - there was no way Anderson was going to pitch a complete game shutout. The Dodgers could not score more runs to save their lives, and it cost them. Again.
How many times are we going to watch guys like Rollins and Ethier groundout or strikeout? How many times are we going to watch a couple of guys reach base, then nothing come of it? If this team isn't hitting the long ball, then what? They're just stuck in place time and time again.
Which brings me back to the two young guns ready to be called up. Seager has played 32 games at Triple-A Oklahoma City, and is hitting .300 with seven doubles, a triple, four homers, and 17 RBIs. Before that, he tore apart Double-A Tulsa, prompting the promotion. How badly to the Dodgers need a jolt of life from him in their lineup? Beats the heck out of watching Rollins day in and day out.
Olivera is getting started at Tulsa, but by all accounts, his bat is THIS close to being Major League ready. He's playing third base, which just got a little less cluttered after the Juan Uribe trade. After he works the rust off, then he can get time at third with Turner, putting Guerrero to play more in left. Sounds good to me.
Before any of that happens, let's first see how the Dodgers look with Puig back at the top of the lineup. It's laughable when people talk about how he's suddenly tradeable with Ethier's play this season. It's true, Ethier has played well, but give me a break. There's no way anyone can expect Ethier to put up better numbers than Puig. That's just crazy. And a bit delusional, too.
Over the next couple of weeks, the Dodgers have series against the Diamondbacks, Padres, and Rangers before seeing the Giants again. And thankfully not the Cardinals. If Puig in the lineup is making little difference, then it's time to bring the kids up to LA and let them do their thing. If not, then the offense will continue spinning their wheels, and the Dodgers will continue to look average at best.
Yasiel, I hope you can go on a tear. This team should does need it.
Showing posts with label Seager. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Seager. Show all posts
Saturday, June 6, 2015
Sunday, May 10, 2015
The Rollins experiment isn't really working
Of the many offseason moves made by the Dodgers, one of the biggest ones was plucking Jimmy Rollins from the Phillies after spending 15 years there. Hanley Ramirez wasn't offered a contract extension, and Corey Seager wasn't quite ready yet to assume full-time shortstop duties with the big club.
The thinking was that Rollins could set the table at the top of the order with some power, provide a good glove at short, and give his veteran leadership in a clubhouse that wasn't exactly harmonious last season.
The results thus far? EH... just OK.
That's my nice way of saying that Rollins hasn't exactly set the Dodgers on fire. At 36, he looks more like the guy on his last legs of life, rather than getting a career resurgence across the country in LA.
In the field, he's had pretty good results in comparison with the rest of the shortstops in the National League. Right now he has a 0.3 Defensive WAR, which ranks him fifth. His fielding %, however, is .951, putting him in the lower half at 12th. The one thing he definitely does have going for him is that he's a clear upgrade from Hanley, who was probably the worst defensive shortstop in all of baseball last year.
At the plate, it's been a completely different story. He enters Sunday's game against the Rockies, the team's 30th, hitting .167 with a .248 OBP, four doubles, one triple, three homers, and 11 RBIs. He's also struck out 24 times, and been 3-6 in stolen base attempts. Simply put, those numbers are pretty awful for hitting in the upper half of the lineup.
Yet, there's his name constantly being written in the #2 hole, and that was only because Don Mattingly finally yanked him from the leadoff spot for a much more exciting Joc Pederson. Young Joc has responded with six home runs and a .366 OBP. Rollins in the #2 hole? A .103 AVG, .122 OBP, and two homers. Those are some really pathetic numbers.
That leads us to this simple question - What should the Dodgers do now? It seems like a simple answer, but because of how much the Dodgers talked him up in the offseason, it's not quite as easy as it looks.
The simple way would be to move him lower in the order at the very least. There is no reason at all he should be hitting in the top half. He's absolutely stunk it up by striking out way too much, and not getting on base nearly enough. Hopefully Yasiel Puig comes back soon and can take that spot, but that shouldn't matter. Rollins needs to be dropped.
In the field, there's no clear cut replacement. Justin Turner could get some time there, but he's better off at other positions. Darwin Barney is in Triple-A, and Kike Hernandez is only a temporary replacement until guys like Puig get healthy again.
If you're a big follower of the Dodgers, you know that someone else is lurking in the Minor Leagues. That someone is Seager, who was just promoted to Triple-A after tearing up Double-A ball. In 20 games at Tulsa, he hit .375 with five homers and 15 RBIs. Oklahoma City has proven to be a little tougher so far, as he's 7-for-30 (.233) with no homers and four RBIs in eight games. It's a very small sample size, so you know he'll get adjusted soon.
And if Seager does get adjusted, then like Pederson last September, I have to wonder how much longer the Dodgers will let the #5 ranked prospect in all of baseball by Baseball America linger in Triple-A. Say Rollins continues to do... well, a big pile of nothing. And say Seager gets his power stroke going. I can definitely see the future getting in some action with the big club before this season is all said and done.
The bottom line is that, as great a career as Rollins had in Philadelphia, it's time for him to start putting up the numbers in LA. If he doesn't, then no matter how much "veteran leadership" he brings to the clubhouse, the Dodgers have to look to Plan B.
The thinking was that Rollins could set the table at the top of the order with some power, provide a good glove at short, and give his veteran leadership in a clubhouse that wasn't exactly harmonious last season.
The results thus far? EH... just OK.
That's my nice way of saying that Rollins hasn't exactly set the Dodgers on fire. At 36, he looks more like the guy on his last legs of life, rather than getting a career resurgence across the country in LA.
In the field, he's had pretty good results in comparison with the rest of the shortstops in the National League. Right now he has a 0.3 Defensive WAR, which ranks him fifth. His fielding %, however, is .951, putting him in the lower half at 12th. The one thing he definitely does have going for him is that he's a clear upgrade from Hanley, who was probably the worst defensive shortstop in all of baseball last year.
At the plate, it's been a completely different story. He enters Sunday's game against the Rockies, the team's 30th, hitting .167 with a .248 OBP, four doubles, one triple, three homers, and 11 RBIs. He's also struck out 24 times, and been 3-6 in stolen base attempts. Simply put, those numbers are pretty awful for hitting in the upper half of the lineup.
Yet, there's his name constantly being written in the #2 hole, and that was only because Don Mattingly finally yanked him from the leadoff spot for a much more exciting Joc Pederson. Young Joc has responded with six home runs and a .366 OBP. Rollins in the #2 hole? A .103 AVG, .122 OBP, and two homers. Those are some really pathetic numbers.
That leads us to this simple question - What should the Dodgers do now? It seems like a simple answer, but because of how much the Dodgers talked him up in the offseason, it's not quite as easy as it looks.
The simple way would be to move him lower in the order at the very least. There is no reason at all he should be hitting in the top half. He's absolutely stunk it up by striking out way too much, and not getting on base nearly enough. Hopefully Yasiel Puig comes back soon and can take that spot, but that shouldn't matter. Rollins needs to be dropped.
In the field, there's no clear cut replacement. Justin Turner could get some time there, but he's better off at other positions. Darwin Barney is in Triple-A, and Kike Hernandez is only a temporary replacement until guys like Puig get healthy again.
If you're a big follower of the Dodgers, you know that someone else is lurking in the Minor Leagues. That someone is Seager, who was just promoted to Triple-A after tearing up Double-A ball. In 20 games at Tulsa, he hit .375 with five homers and 15 RBIs. Oklahoma City has proven to be a little tougher so far, as he's 7-for-30 (.233) with no homers and four RBIs in eight games. It's a very small sample size, so you know he'll get adjusted soon.
And if Seager does get adjusted, then like Pederson last September, I have to wonder how much longer the Dodgers will let the #5 ranked prospect in all of baseball by Baseball America linger in Triple-A. Say Rollins continues to do... well, a big pile of nothing. And say Seager gets his power stroke going. I can definitely see the future getting in some action with the big club before this season is all said and done.
The bottom line is that, as great a career as Rollins had in Philadelphia, it's time for him to start putting up the numbers in LA. If he doesn't, then no matter how much "veteran leadership" he brings to the clubhouse, the Dodgers have to look to Plan B.
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Jimmy Rollins: Dodgers shortstop
With Hanley Ramirez gone, the Dodgers had a big hole to fill at shortstop. Sure, they have in-house replacements like Alex Guerrero, Erisbel Arruebarrena, and Justin Turner. Then there's the 20-year-old top prospect Corey Seager, who is indeed the future, but not necessarily the current.
What did the Dodgers decide to do? Trade for a three-time All-Star, MVP, and World Series champion.
That man is Jimmy Rollins, who has been acquired from the Phillies. He's entering the final year of his contract paying him $11 million, which is practically chump change to the rich Dodgers. What is not yet known is whom the Dodgers gave in return, but stay tuned for that.
Right away, a few things come to mind when seeing this trade. There's no disputing that the Rollins of 2007 is not walking through that door, as that guy hit .296 with 30 homers, 94 RBIs, and 41 stolen bases on his way to an MVP, Silver Slugger, and Gold Glove awards. Not a bad season, to say the least.
This version of Rollins is past his prime, no doubt. But even with that, I think there's plenty of things to like about this deal. Last season he hit .243 with 17 homers, 55 RBIs, and 28 steals in 126 games. Hanley hit .283 with 13 homers, 71 RBIs, and 14 steals in 128 games. Those are surprisingly even numbers, with Rollins getting the edge in the speed department. That will come in handy for a team that doesn't rely on the long ball to score the majority of their runs.
The other major difference is on defense. Simply put, Rollins is good, and Hanley is not. Last season Rollins had a .988 fielding %, seven errors, and a 1.1 Defensive WAR. Hanley had a .961/16/-0.6 line. It's not hard to figure out that Rollins is clearly the better choice at short.
When this deal went down, one of the first things the baseball reporters were saying is that Rollins still has something left in the tank, and is still a very good defensive player to boot. He brings instant credibility to a team that is on the verge of taking the next step, and getting a second ring while leading a new team has to mean a lot to him.
Of course, if Rollins starts off the year slowly and isn't getting any big hits, then I'm sure plenty of fans won't be afraid to express their displeasure at not re-signing Hanley. I can understand that. But everyone needs to remember that Hanley made a very smart decision for his career as well, as going to the American League and getting his big money contract is exactly what he wanted to happen. Good for him.
In the meantime, let's enjoy the top shortstop in Phillies' history coming to the Dodgers for a year (or more, who knows), while Seager continues his climb to the Majors.
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