Friday, May 27, 2005
Current Standings, and Mrs. Benson
The team to beat in the division looks more and more like San Diego. The Padres are 2nd best in the NL in runs scored while 6th best in runs allowed. (LA is 3rd best in runs scored and a miserable 15th best in runs allowed.) Prior to the SF series, LA finished a tough stretch against 4 potential playoff teams: St. Louis, Atlanta, Florida, and Anaheim. The team managed to win 4 out of 13. San Diego also faced St. Louis, Atlanta, and Florida, and won 9 out of 10.
LA has had numerous problems, and many are a duplicate of last year.
1) The pitching depth looks thin again after a surplus of arms in ST.
2) Werth has done a good impression of himself by missing most of April and May.
3) Erickson has been so thoroughly Nomo-like that I suspect that Mr. Lisa will break a fingernail and land on the DL soon.
The current record is also similar to last year.
2005: 12-2 on 4/20, 24-22 on 5/27
2004: 9-3 on 4/18, 24-21 on 5/27
Last year's team was only 2 games above .500 as late as June 26th. So there's hope.
The rotation is in shambles behind Lowe and Penny, but the schedule is relatively soft after 3 games against Arizona. The Cubs, Brewers, and Tigers have inferior offenses, as they have scored runs lower than the ML average. It's an opportune time for someone to step up and fill in until Odalis returns and Weaver recovers from "dead arm".
Things could be worse. It's possible that Ishii would be the #3 starter right now if it weren't for the Phillips trade. (As I stated a while ago, thanks, Omar! ) I wonder if the Mets are suffering from "Ishii-itis" yet: 16Ks and 18BBs in 29 innings. At least the Mets fans can enjoy the fine writing skills of Mrs. Kris Benson, among her other talents. A quick excerpt to display her writing talent:
They happened to lose Friday, but all I had to do is take my clothes off and Kris felt all better.Cute story. I wonder how long before the folks at Baseball Tonight/Yard Work jump on this one.
Comments:
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Yes, yes. We are currently in doom-and-gloom mode. However, the club isn't anywhere near that bad, and unfortunately it wasn't anywhere near as good as it's start.
The hole at 3B hurt for a while, but it looks like Perez will do a servicable job there. I know some are ready to label him mini-Beltre, but we all should understand the variability associated with small sample sizes.
The real problem, as you identify, is pitching -- especially starting pitching. Depo was right to give the Erickson fantasy a ride. It was fun in ST, but reality has set in. Now it's time to either acquire a SP by trade and/or bring up an arm from the farm.
The hole at 3B hurt for a while, but it looks like Perez will do a servicable job there. I know some are ready to label him mini-Beltre, but we all should understand the variability associated with small sample sizes.
The real problem, as you identify, is pitching -- especially starting pitching. Depo was right to give the Erickson fantasy a ride. It was fun in ST, but reality has set in. Now it's time to either acquire a SP by trade and/or bring up an arm from the farm.
it's just like last year - the team needs a SP. unfortunately, the pitching prospects look a year or two away, and jackson has regressed. a trade seems more likely, and another trade between 2 contending teams is a possibility. depodesta seems more comfortable trading ML level players for other ML level players, and not giving up blue chip prospects in the process.
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