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The Opposing Viewpoint: Los Angeles Dodgers

Welcome back to The Opposing Viewpoint, the place to learn more about the Mets’ opponents from the bloggers who write about them. After a series win in Arizona, the Mets will be wrapping up their first West Coast road trip of the season with three games at Dodger Stadium, and so today’s guest is Nathaniel Edelstein, who blogs about the Dodgers over at MVN’s Rockin’ the Ravine. Read on for his take on the Dodgers’ major offseason acquisitions and the state of third base in LA.

As the Dodgers struggled down the stretch last year, a rift between the younger players and the veterans received a lot of attention, and it’s safe to say that the departure of Grady Little and the hiring of Joe Torre were connected to this issue. How would you evaluate Torre’s handling of the team thus far?

You’re correct to say there was something of a rift last year between the older and younger players, but it’s also safe to say that it was probably blown out of proportion by the media. That said, it was an issue that needed to be resolved and Little’s firing and Torre’s hiring were, along with the maturation of the younger players, a step in the right direction. It is no secret that Torre is considered a good clubhouse manager.

The bigger issue for Torre’s handling of the team so far has been getting to know the abilities of his players. During spring training Torre led some of the Dodgers on a trip to China, but most of the starters were left behind. This made it far more difficult for Torre to get to know the club. During this time he was in constant communication with third base coach Larry Bowa and bench coach Bob Schaefer to stay updated. Injuries to some players also slowed down his evaluation process. His most difficult task has been finding time for three capable outfielders- Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, and Juan Pierre- along with Andruw Jones, whom he can’t reason benching because Jones is earning $18 million a year.

As a result of all this it has taken Torre quite some time to settle on a lineup, but it looks like he has recently found one (or at least one with some relatively minor variations) that he likes. This has given players a better understanding of what is expected of them, which has probably played a large role in LA’s recent success. He’s had a difficult task, but now that he knows his players a little better I think he’s doing a good job. All things considered, I give him a ‘B’ grade so far.

Japanese free agent Hiroki Kuroda was the team’s biggest offseason pitching acquisition. How would you evaluate his performance thus far, and what do you expect from him this year?

Hiroki Kuroda was signed by the Dodgers to be the fourth starter and he has been much better than that. He is only 1-2, but he has a 3.82 ERA and has had some very quality starts. He’s gone at least six innings in five of his six starts and has allowed more than three runs in just one of his starts. At the age of 33 he is not a baby and this is evident by the poise he shows in getting himself out of trouble.

Andruw Jones, who was signed to a two-year deal this winter, has gotten off to a very poor start. What does he need to do in order to turn things around?

Andruw Jones has been the biggest problem for the Dodgers, even getting booed on a regular basis by the home fans. He doesn’t deserve to be starting, but as I said his contract seems to have demanded it so far. Although, he has been getting a little less playing time as of late. He and the Dodgers have tried just about everything, from opening up his batting stance to getting his eyesight evaluated. I can’t say it is the sole reason he has been so bad, but his weight is definitely an issue.

After what was the worst year of his career last year (.222 avg, 26 HR, 94 RBI), he came to spring training about 25 pounds overweight (we don’t know exactly how much because he won’t step on a scale). He claimed he put on the weight purposely after his poor year last year, but it certainly hasn’t helped any. After winning ten consecutive gold gloves it even appears he has lost a step in the field, unable to complete some spectacular plays he has made on a regular basis in years past.

But the weight is not the only issue. He is clearly not seeing the ball well and constantly finds himself behind in counts, striking out 34 times in 98 at-bats. Torre says he will stick with him, but you wonder how much longer he can when the other three outfielders are playing so well. At the same time, I’ve never heard of an $18 million bench player.

Injuries to Nomar Garciaparra and top prospect Andy LaRoche have led to an opportunity for Blake DeWitt and a few starts at third base for Russell Martin. What is the ultimate solution at third once everyone is healthy?

When Nomar Garciaparra and Andy LaRoche went down in the same game with similar injuries everyone panicked. General Manager Ned Colletti began looking for a free agent third baseman, but came up with nothing. Out of nowhere this 22-year-old kid who’d never played above Double-A and had no shot of making the big league club started playing pretty darn well. He was the opening day starter and has appeared in 26 games, starting in most of them. Aside from one bad defensive game against the Rockies he has been stellar with the glove while batting .293 with 13 RBI. He has yet to hit a homerun, which is obviously something we want from the hot corner.

It is hard to say what the ultimate solution is at third base. When Nomar came back from the DL DeWitt was eventually sent back down the minors to make room for a 12th pitcher. But when Nomar got injured again and Torre had no other third baseman, he soon learned that Martin was originally a third baseman converted to a catcher. This has led to a couple of starts at third in order to take advantage of matchups and also give Martin a break from behind the plate while still keeping his bat in the lineup.

After spending one game in the minors DeWitt was called back up when Nomar re-injured himself. It seems the third base job is DeWitt’s at least for now because LaRoche has come off the disabled list and is still in Triple-A. Of course, Nomar will be back eventually, but he cannot be counted on to stay healthy. Going into the season, LaRoche was the favorite to win the job, but in my mind DeWitt has proven himself and now has the inside track. If he can develop a little more power he could be a very good third baseman for a long time.

The Dodgers scored 95 runs in their first 22 games before scoring 70 over their recent eight-game winning streak. What were the biggest factors in that offensive outpouring?

Simply put, the Dodgers offense went off in the recent eight-game winning steak. Some of that had to do with a more consistent lineup. The success can also be credited to taking advantage of situations with runners in scoring position. Rafael Furcal has been hot all season long, but the player who has really come alive recently is Matt Kemp. He had a .273 average before the streak started and it is now up to .324. Also during the streak he had 16 RBI. Offensively, everyone with the exception of Andruw Jones has woken up and provided timely hitting.

Bonus Question: What is your favorite baseball food?

Easy question for a Dodgers fan. Dodger Dog!

This entry was posted on Monday, May 5th, 2008 at 12:35 pm and is filed under Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Hiroki Kuroda, Blake DeWitt, The Opposing Viewpoint, Russell Martin, Andruw Jones, Andy LaRoche, Nomar Garciaparra, Los Angeles Dodgers, Juan Pierre, Rafael Furcal, 7 Train. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.