Dodgers Face Uphill Battle for Wild Card
The Dodgers are in the thick of the tight NL Wild Card race (8 teams are within 6.5 games) but have quite a challenge ahead of them as they will have to climb over five teams to come out on top. Of the Dodgers remaining 13 series, 7 are against Wild Card contenders and 2 are against the West leading Giants.
The good news is that the Dodger offense has come alive in August. For the month, the Dodgers have scored 53 runs which is 7th best in the NL. Shawn Green is having his best month of the season (.375/.475/.500) despite not having hit a home run. Green has looked more patient since the arrival of Robin Ventura as Green has 10 walks and just 5 strikeouts in his last 58 plate appearances. Adrian Beltre's bat has also finally woke up to the clip of .267 with 4 homers and 14 RBI for August. Beltre hit two key home runs in victories against the Marlins this week.
Gagne's Quest for the Cy Young
Eric Gagne's brilliant season marches on and the Cy Young is a very real possiblity for the Dodger closer. In my twenty so years of watching the game of baseball, I've never seen such dominance from a closer. Gagne just toys with hitters with his pitches ranging from 98 to 68. He's allowed just 25 hits in 61 innings for a .121 BAA. He's struck out an incredible 103 batters for a 15.20 K/9 ratio. And oh yeah, he's a perfect 40 for 40 in save opportunities.
Gagne's only flaw has been in non-save situations where he is 1-3 with a 3.38 ERA and 0.99 WHIP. But in his 40 save chances, he's been virtually unhittable and he is as the Dodger Stadium scoreboard reads "game over." In 39.2 innings, he has struck out 70 and carries a 0.45 ERA and 0.48 WHIP.
Last week, Gagne told manager Jim Tracy that he is prepared to pitch as many as"six or seven days in a row, if that's what it takes" to help the Dodgers earn the NL Wild Card berth. Why not just have Gagne throw every inning?
Injuries Kazuhisa Ishii (SP) - 15-Day DL (sprained MCL)
The Dodgers are playing it safe with Ishii who has a sprained left knee. He will continue to throw bullpen sessions until he's totally comfortable. He may return sometime this week, but don't put him in your lineups until you see him in the boxscore.
Fred McGriff (1B) - 15-Day DL (strained groin)
McGriff's groin has improved to the point where he is ready to begin a rehab assignment. If all goes well, he should be ready to rejoin the team this week.
Andy Ashby (SP) - day-to-day (flu)
Ashby was scratched from his Wednesday start due to the flu. He should be ready to start again this week.
Brian Jordan (OF) - 15-Day DL (strained patella tendon) Darren Dreifort (SP) - 15-day DL (right knee) Todd Hundley (C) - Status: 15-day DL, irritation of sciatic nerve (back)
Troy Brohawn (RP) - Status: 15-day DL, tendinitis in rotator cuff
Hot (last 7 days)
Jolbert Cabrera (2B): .368 (7-19), 1R, 2-2B
Shawn Green (RF): .333 (9-27), 3R, 3-2B, 3RBI
Cesar Izturis (SS): .292 (7-24), 4R, 1-2B, 1RBI
Adrian Beltre (3B): .259 (7-27), 3R, 1-2B, 1-3B, 2HR, 8RBI
Check back every Friday for the latest Dodger news. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions about this column, please use the comments section below or feel free to e-mail me at dodgers@fantasyinfocentral.com
Posted by Chris Wang at August 15, 2003 08:41 AM
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