Garland Caught Singing, My Take on Sands, the Closers

Do the players like the “I Love L.A.” song that is played after Dodger wins?  Judge it  for yourself.  Following Jon Garland’s last start and complete game victory against the Braves on Wednesday, take a look at this clip.  Specifically Garland at the 14-16 second mark.

Yes, Garland is singing along with Randy Newman about “rolling down Imperial Highway.”  Caught you on tape Jon.  Belt it out buddy, it’s a great tune!

Jerry Sands thus far

Yes, I know there have been times that he looks overmatched.  He has made mental mistakes by throwing to the wrong base and getting thrown out at third on a ground ball hit to his right.  All, rookie moves and expected mistakes, and there will be more.  But, the team is winning.  He’s getting his hacks.  He’s seeing that slider low and away, something he’ll have to learn to recognize and lay off of.

Then there is the occasional clutch hit and RBI.  The hustle in left field that he is handling admirably as a young rookie.  And the outfield assist as we saw today, (video clip below).  He is getting invaluable experience at the major league level.  He has the look of a real ballplayer to me, someone that will stick and be a key member of the Los Angeles Dodger for years to come. 

Now speaking of invaluable experience for youngsters.  For the life of me I can’t figure out why Ivan DeJesus isn’t getting some starts and Aaron Miles is leading off game after game.  It seems that all in Dodger management have agreed that DeJesus needs to get at bats and a good amount of playing time to grow as a player.  Though most preferably, they’d like him to gain that experience at Triple A ball.  Now that there is a spot to fill periodically, why are they going with Miles?  This is another case of the curse of a manager that believes in PVL (proven veteran leadership).  What I don't understand is why Mattingly plays Sands and refuses to put DeJesus in the lineup.

Broxton Concerns Continue

Jonathan Broxton fails to blow hitters away like he used to.  His fastball today was in the neighborhood of 91-92 MPH.  His defense saved him today with great plays consecutively by Loney and Miles.  There has to be something wrong with him physically.  I keep hoping for the same guy we saw in April-June last season and he hasn’t re-emerged.  What is most noticable is Broxton's failure to put hitters away with the strikeout.  Up until this season his strikeouts per 9 innings ratio was 11.6.  So far this season it is 6.6. 

Speaking of closers, as I type this I’m watching Brian Wilson get rocked in the 10th inning against Atlanta.  A game that the Braves eventually won 9-6 as  Wilson's "good vibrations" seem to be a thing of the past.  Wilson took the loss and now has an ERA of 9.82.  I can’t help but notice how much he looks like Beach Boy Brian Wilson from around 1976.  Maybe it's time for him to shave off the beard.

Beach Boy Brian wears a Kimono and a surfboard in 1976

Giant Brian Wilson wears the loss in today's outing against the Braves