What I liked-I was very proud of Kershaw, who powered through 3 scoreless innings despite what can only be described as a nasty flu. He worked out of a bases loaded jam that he put himself into and seemed to hit his spots. Obviously his velocity was down, but that was to be expected. I was also pretty impressed with Josh Lindblom. It's all but certain that he's going to be sent down to the minors within the next week or so, but today I think he showed that he can be a valuable arm out of the bullpen. Also, Matt Kemp put those who were worried about all of his Spring Training strikeouts at ease. His opposite field 2-run bomb was a sight for sore eyes. Dee Gordon looked good too. There is no way he shouldn't make Web Gems and the SportsCenter Top 10 with his diving stop and putout. He also hit a ball further than I think anyone thought was possible, and if it had a little more angle on it, he probably could have legged out an inside the park home run.
What I Didn't Like-Simply put, Juan Uribe. He swings out of shoes on every single pitch no matter the situation. There is just no need for an approach like that on this team. Sure, he'll probably hit 15 home runs, but I'll be shocked if he hits above .230 without a change in his mindset. Also, I feel like there was no reason for him to waive home Ethier on that wild pitch. Granted, it looked like the umpire got the call wrong, but it was very close. Either way, Uribe should have recognized that the ball was straight behind the catcher and not waived Andre home. I must admit that Tim Wallach may have sent Ethier and I just don't know about it, but I'll take any chance I can to complain about Uribe, I just don't think he's good for the Dodgers. I'm also not thrilled with James Loney. Although I was happy to see him not chase pitches with the bases loaded and he made a couple really good defensive plays; he just looks timid at the plate. Loney should be attacking the ball. Not necessarily swinging for the fence, but swing with some authority James. Lastly, I didn't like Kemp's stolen base attempt. I'm thrilled that he's willing to run, especially with Davey Lopes there to guide him. However he looked very lackadaisical when taking his lead, he didn't look ready to run at all. Not to take away from the throw though, it was absolutely perfect and they had Kemp nailed by 3 steps.
Again, I have no idea if anyone is reading this. If you are, let me know either through the comments or on Twitter. If you have a subject you'd like me to write about, send it my way. If you hate what I'm doing, well that's fine too, it is what it is.
Follow me on Twitter- @TwittinSports
No comments:
Post a Comment