To win the NL West, Dodgers don't need Manny

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

The Dodgers lost 4 out of their first 5 games after the suspension of Manny Ramirez. The team looked lost, and it looked as if the Mannyless Dodger's were going to go in the tank. Thanks in part to Joe Torre, and the resurgent Juan Pierre, this young Dodgers team was able to quickly turn things around and maintain the best record in the Major Leagues. Since that original 5 game stretch, the Los Angeles Dodgers are 12-4 giving them a 13-8 overall record without Manny Ramirez.

You might think a 13-8 record is not great, but that 12-4 stretch is. How have they been doing it without Manny? Well, offense for one. They've outscored their opponents 90-62, and have averaged 5.6 runs per game. That is fantastic for a team that's been offensively challenged for a few years prior to the Manny trade. Most experts, and baseball fans in general, expected the Dodgers to struggle scoring runs during Manny's absence. That has not happened so far, but they are scoring those runs much differently. Instead of Manny's home runs, the rest of the team is chipping in. They're running more and putting pressure on the opposing teams' defense.

Juan Pierre is hitting .397 with a .463 OPB on the season, and has been a revelation at bat and on the base paths. He already has 10 stolen bases and 25 runs scored in only 121 at bats. Orlando Hudson, now entrenched in the 3rd spot in the lineup, has been tremendous all year hitting .333 and is 3rd on the team with 30 RBI. With the exception of Pierre, Casey Blake has taken advantage the most of Manny's 50 game suspension. He's 2nd on the team with 33 RBI. He's had 18 RBI in the 18 games without Manny Ramirez. Not bad huh? You want a young player who's stepped up? Let's talk about James Loney. He leads the team with 36 RBI, 15 of them since Manny's 50 game departure. He's now batting .298 which is 20 points higher since Manny's last game. All this and Matt Kemp has been struggling of late, and Russ Martin has struggled all year. Watch out if they get hot!

Enough offense, let's talk pitching. They still have depth problems in the starting rotation, but Chad Billingsley has taken the role of staff ace to heart. Bills was the tough luck loser today, and is now 6-3 with a 2.80 ERA and 76 strike outs in 74 innings pitched. Randy Wolf has been far better than most thought as well. He is only 3-1, with 7 no decisions, but has a 2.84 ERA. Clayton Kershaw has been somewhat inconsistent, but always shows flashes of brilliance. He is the staff ace of the future. He's only 3-3, but has won 3 of his last 4. They've had good contributions from Jeff Weaver, 2-1 3.63, Eric Stults, 4-1 4.29, and even Eric Milton "pitched" in with a great start last time out allowing only 1 run in 5 innings. What's helped the most is the dominant bullpen. Jonathon Broxton has been fantastic converting 11 of 13 save chances so far. He has a 1.50 ERA and 37 strike outs in only 24 innings. Ramon Troncoso and Ronald Bellesario have been great as the main set up men this year. Troncoso even has 3 saves. Personally, I think the Dodgers need to make a move for a better lefty specialist than Will Ohman and add another quality starting pitcher at the deadline, but have a pretty good staff for the National League.

To be a legitimate contender you need a combination of good pitching, good defense and timely hitting. That is what the Dodgers have been doing without Manny. They are solid defensively up the middle with Martin, Furcal Hudson and Kemp. They've had pitchers performing above and beyond and they've had timely hitting from Hudson, Pierre, Blake and Loney. They haven't hit a ton of home runs, but you don't need power to win in the National League. Now the playoffs and The World Series are another matter. I never said they don't need Manny to win it all!

Sorry I'm Late

By Erik Pesta
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

I know I haven't posted in a couple of days - I've been on vacation from work and prepping for my daughter's second birthday party. I know it's no excuse, but hey, the women in my life like to run it. Anyhoo, some thoughts on the last couple of days:

• Holy crap, Dice-K. Throw another wild pitch in an awful situation, why don't you? It's hard enough to watch you pitch in the first place, you don't need to bring stuff like that into the equation. I honestly can't stand watching this guy throw for five innings (and God knows, that's all you're getting out of him). I'm sick and tired of all the three-ball counts, which half the time are full counts. This guy just doesn't get it. THROW STRIKES. I know he's won 33 games his first two years in the majors. He's not fooling anybody anymore. The Red Sox were crazy to invest $100M in this guy. He's not getting any better, his priorities are in the wrong place (opting for WBC over getting ready for the MLB season), and maybe - just maybe - the hype was just that. Hype.
• Jason Varitek took a lot of heat from a lot of people when he re-signed with Boston, myself included. I didn't think he had anything left in the tank. I was wrong. He's been tremendous during the first eight weeks of the season, capped off by a stunning two-homer game in Minnesota yesterday. His latest round-tripper was hit to a place that I'm guessing not too many fans expect a ball to land. That was a majestic shot, one that put the Sox ahead by a run, and showed off the awesome strength of the captain.
• Why can't Jonathan Papelbon just have a clean inning, like, once every five times out? I'm starting to worry about this. I understand that closers are going to give up runs and blow saves once in a while. But he's putting guys on and giving up home runs at an alarming rate. I want my closer to be lights out. Papelbon has been anything but this season, and it is going to come back to bite the Sox, mark my words. I used to have 100% confidence when he came into a game but not anymore. He still has the signature heat, but it seems like the league may have caught onto something. Hitters seem to be on his fastball more than they should be.
• This Red Sox team has a lot more holes than I originally thought. The starting pitching, quite honestly, has sucked. The offense has been OK, but not great. The defense hasn't exactly been stellar. The only constant has been the bullpen. If this team is going to have a shot at the division, not to mention the World Series, Theo needs to get going on some moves. This team, as currently constructed, doesn't have enough to win it all.

Blame compliance, not Cal

By Brendan Hall
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Not surprisingly, things have metaphorically hit the fan with a John Calipari-coached team.

Yesterday, a forest fire was lit in the mid-South when it was revealed that the Memphis Tigers are under investigation for “known fraudulence or misconduct” on a player’s SAT exam and providing more than $2,000 worth of free travel of an associate of the player.

The Memphis Commercial Appeal released the official documentation here Wednesday night. The names have been redacted, but the language of the document indicates that Derrick Rose is the main culprit, that somebody took his SATs and got the minimum qualifying score.

Nobody who’s followed Calipari is shocked by this. He does whatever it takes to win, and get the most out of his players, and sometimes that includes pushing the envelope. Believe me, you should hear some of the recruiting trail stories about him floating around. He hasn’t made a lot of friends on the way, but like his counterpart Rick Pitino, he knows how to play the media and the public very well. Few know how to drum up the masses like Coach Cal.

The University of Kentucky has already come out and said that Cal will not be charged with anything (of course), but that he will need to be present at the June 6 hearing. But the wolfpack has already thrown its daggers in his direction.

After all, he “had nothing to do” with the UMass fracas back in the 90's either. Really, there was no way he could have known that three starters were playing with below a 2.0 GPA; or that Marcus Camby was walking around with $28,000 and a big platinum “21” chain around his neck; or that Calipari was giving tickets to agents. So much did he have nothing to do with the problem that he’s inducted into the UMass Hall of Fame, and has a room dedicated in his name at the library.

But I digress. These are two different beasts.

Amongst all this talk of accountability regarding Calipari, RC Johnson and the UK athletic department, here’s the question I want answered: where’s the compliance auditor in all this?

We can talk all we want about Cal’s cutthroat recruiting tactics, win-at-all-costs mentality or his constant modern-day Othello with the national media. But at the end of the day, this is a problem that demands the accountability of the athletic department’s compliance office. Just because there is no “lack of institutional control” charge does not mean these guys are off the hook. Let’s remember, people, that it is ultimately up to the compliance office to make sure these kids are eligible to participate in college athletics, and that their status as an amateur athlete is not in jeopardy. THEY have the final say.

Now, I’m not dismissing the fact that Cal could have used his clout to strong-arm the department. But let’s remember to see the forest through the trees when explosive stories like these hit the streets.

On a lighter note, the Memphis women’s golf team is SCREWED.

Lakers, Cavs not invincible...but their alpha dogs are

By Brendan Hall
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Last night's playoff game was one of those "Where were you?" moments.

I was at my Boston apartment, relaxing big-time, even though there's like seven Irish pubs within a two-block radius. Incredibly lame, I realize that now.

Anyways...

Not since the Trail Blazers' 2000 playoffs meltdown have we seen such a polarizing string of events in professional basketball. LeBron James scored 32 straight points to carry the Cavaliers to a 10-point victory over Orlando and keep their season alive for at least another two days.

And not since the days of Jordan have we felt so compelled to write such passionate prose about a singular player. This, of course, can be a good AND bad thing.

By propping up LeBron as a damn near Deity, we've created this illusion that the man can win every game by himself. Don't get it twisted, Mo Williams and Boobie Gibson had tremendous nights as well, but this series has been all about LeBron, LeBron, LeBron.

I've always harped on the man through the years for what I see as a flawed game. Primarily, he lacks that defensive tenacity that complete Jordan, and his long-range shooting had been a few notches above abysmal. But I'm not going to diss the guy's game any more after this series -- at least, most of the time.

Sometimes, a win can be discouraging, and that's what I saw last night. You cannot go 1-on-5 the entire night, every night, and expect to come away victorious.

LeBron's freakish game masks what I see as two major flaws in the team:

1) The ol' "stand around and watch somebody" gameplan

This is the standard Cavs' offensive play: high screen for the ball carrier out of a 1-4 set, give the ball to LeBron somewhere on the wing and let him do something. That might work in college or high school, but at the NBA level it's vital that all five guys are moving around, creating space and calling for the ball. Sure, Varejao, Szcerbiak and Ilgauskas have been great, but in the crunch they are often setting picks.

2) Lack of toughness

Dwight Howard's sixth foul on a driving LeBron will be debated much over the next 24 hours. It's a tough call to make, but I wouldn't have blown the whistle on that one, and Dwight has reason to be somewhat outraged. I bring this us up because this is LeBron's style of play more often than not: take off from the wing, barrel into the lane, throw yourself at the basket and hope they call a foul. The Cavs, in my opinion, get more calls than they should, and they spend more time complaining about calls than any other team still playing right now.

The Lakers, in my opinion, have often gone through these two aforementioned phases this postseason (ahem, Houston). The difference between the Lakers and the Cavs is they don't stay still for long. Phil Jackson's gameplan is based on perpetual motion; he makes sure the ball gets distributed evenly around the court before letting Kobe run free out of the triangle for the final quarter.

That's the major difference between the Cavs and Lakers.

Magic in six. Lakers in seven.