Whoever they bring in becomes enemic in that uniform....
Predictable Dodger season:
Play well til about mid July, hanging around (maybe 5 back) then go on to lose 20 out of 25 averaging 1.3 runs a game...
How many years have I seen this movie....
Scoring runs in the Western division is like sucking a watermelon thru a straw....
Predictable Dodger season:
Play well til about mid July, hanging around (maybe 5 back) then go on to lose 20 out of 25 averaging 1.3 runs a game...
How many years have I seen this movie....
Scoring runs in the Western division is like sucking a watermelon thru a straw....
The reason they have such a problem scoring runs is they don't have that one big gun in their order. Take a look at the teams that produce runs in the NL. Braves - Sheffield, Cards - Pujols, Giants Bonds - Phils = Thome, Astros - Bagwell (or Berkman) - Rockies (Mile High don't count) Cubs - Sosa (of Late). What have the Dodgers got Burnitz? Green? LaDuca? See my point. You need that stud in the 3 or 4 hole to produce. Something is wrong with the way the Dodgers obtain players. Who was their last true slugger?
IMHO. wil.
IMHO. wil.
Starts with no legitimate power hitter because of Green's season long slump. Pitchers can nibble on corners to every hitter. If somebody walks, no one will move him across the plate anyway. Big innings become almost non-existent. Hitting slumps can be contagious as each player begins to feel undue pressure to produce. Bring in somebody new and you bring him into a pressure cooker where he must produce right now.
As the team slump continues it provides a huge psychological boost to opponent pitchers who begin to feel great positive expectations when facing this club. With each shutout or one run game this cycle just intensifies.
An individual slump, as one becomes mired in one, becomes an increasingly psychological burden which leads to mechanical breakdowns. Fortunately there is usually enough strength in a line up to pick up the individual [ie. Soriano and Yankees being a prime example] until he hits or sits his way out. In this case however, there is not. Eventually there comes the inevitable clubhouse rift between pichers and position players which further erodes team chemistry and confidence. Media and fans intensify the pressure. Even the Tigers were not quite as bad as what we saw in April and May.
These Dodger hitters, though assuredly not the best around, are individually BETTER than what they are producing as a whole right now.
"Ninety percent of this game is half mental"
As the team slump continues it provides a huge psychological boost to opponent pitchers who begin to feel great positive expectations when facing this club. With each shutout or one run game this cycle just intensifies.
An individual slump, as one becomes mired in one, becomes an increasingly psychological burden which leads to mechanical breakdowns. Fortunately there is usually enough strength in a line up to pick up the individual [ie. Soriano and Yankees being a prime example] until he hits or sits his way out. In this case however, there is not. Eventually there comes the inevitable clubhouse rift between pichers and position players which further erodes team chemistry and confidence. Media and fans intensify the pressure. Even the Tigers were not quite as bad as what we saw in April and May.
These Dodger hitters, though assuredly not the best around, are individually BETTER than what they are producing as a whole right now.
"Ninety percent of this game is half mental"
