Is the wonder gone from John Ely? He struggles again as Dodgers fall to Cubs, 7-3
And here you were, just starting to get a tad comfy with the Dodgers rotation.
That’s one of the things about baseball, today’s strong starting five can quickly turn into four reliable starters … and now what?
John Elyhas found a way to shorten his name, or at least eliminate that Elymania part.
There was plenty of understated excitement when Ely unexpectedly burst upon the scene, going 3-2 with a 2.54 ERA in his first seven starts.
Alas, Ely went 1-5 with a 7.49 ERA in his next seven starts, the latest trouble leading to the Dodgers’ 7-3 loss to the Cubs on Saturday afternoon.
For the second consecutive start, Ely could not pitch out of the third inning. He left after allowing six runs on five hits, three walks and a hit batter in just 2 1/3 innings.
Overall he is now 4-7 with a 4.63 ERA. He is pitching like someone who needs to be replaced, though there remains no one remotely obvious to replace him in the rotation, either here or at triple-A Albuquerque.
Ely only found himself in the Dodgers rotation because they had been in such dire straits to begin with. Ely had never pitched above double-A before this season.
There’s still no one down in Albuquerque pitching particularly well. Unless you’re all geared up for Charlie Haeger, Take Four.
Ely recorded a scoreless first, and then did nothing but struggle.
He gave up a run-scoring single to Starlin Castro in the second, which was immediately followed by a Geovany Soto two-run homer.
He got one out in the third, followed by two singles, a hit batter and a walk to force in a run. Which ended his afternoon.
Travis Schlichting followed, allowed a pair of singles and Ely was tagged for six earned runs.
That pretty much took the air out of Dodger Stadium. The rest of the warm afternoon seemed labored and made for one of the more dull games of the first half.
The Dodgers just couldn’t get much going against Cubs starter Tom Gorzelanny (4-5), who held the Dodgers scoreless until the fifth. And even then, the Dodgers needed a couple of breaks.
Xavier Paul was ruled safe on a close play at first, though replays showed Gorzelanny just beat him covering the bag.
Rafael Furcal singled and then Andre Ethier blooped a hit to left that was played awkwardly by Alfonso Soriano. The ball bounced past him for a hit to score Paul and was scooped up by Marlon Byrd.
Byrd fired to third to try to nab Furcal, but no one was there. Furcal scored on the error.
Ethier also singled in a run in the ninth.
Still, the Dodgers were left not only with a loss but with a seeming hole in their rotation. And maybe just a bit more pressure on general manager Ned Colletti to land another starter.
-- Steve Dilbeck
That’s one of the things about baseball, today’s strong starting five can quickly turn into four reliable starters … and now what?
John Elyhas found a way to shorten his name, or at least eliminate that Elymania part.
There was plenty of understated excitement when Ely unexpectedly burst upon the scene, going 3-2 with a 2.54 ERA in his first seven starts.
Alas, Ely went 1-5 with a 7.49 ERA in his next seven starts, the latest trouble leading to the Dodgers’ 7-3 loss to the Cubs on Saturday afternoon.
For the second consecutive start, Ely could not pitch out of the third inning. He left after allowing six runs on five hits, three walks and a hit batter in just 2 1/3 innings.
Overall he is now 4-7 with a 4.63 ERA. He is pitching like someone who needs to be replaced, though there remains no one remotely obvious to replace him in the rotation, either here or at triple-A Albuquerque.
Ely only found himself in the Dodgers rotation because they had been in such dire straits to begin with. Ely had never pitched above double-A before this season.
There’s still no one down in Albuquerque pitching particularly well. Unless you’re all geared up for Charlie Haeger, Take Four.
Ely recorded a scoreless first, and then did nothing but struggle.
He gave up a run-scoring single to Starlin Castro in the second, which was immediately followed by a Geovany Soto two-run homer.
He got one out in the third, followed by two singles, a hit batter and a walk to force in a run. Which ended his afternoon.
Travis Schlichting followed, allowed a pair of singles and Ely was tagged for six earned runs.
That pretty much took the air out of Dodger Stadium. The rest of the warm afternoon seemed labored and made for one of the more dull games of the first half.
The Dodgers just couldn’t get much going against Cubs starter Tom Gorzelanny (4-5), who held the Dodgers scoreless until the fifth. And even then, the Dodgers needed a couple of breaks.
Xavier Paul was ruled safe on a close play at first, though replays showed Gorzelanny just beat him covering the bag.
Rafael Furcal singled and then Andre Ethier blooped a hit to left that was played awkwardly by Alfonso Soriano. The ball bounced past him for a hit to score Paul and was scooped up by Marlon Byrd.
Byrd fired to third to try to nab Furcal, but no one was there. Furcal scored on the error.
Ethier also singled in a run in the ninth.
Still, the Dodgers were left not only with a loss but with a seeming hole in their rotation. And maybe just a bit more pressure on general manager Ned Colletti to land another starter.
-- Steve Dilbeck
Dodgers need a new owner someone with baseball knowledge and compassion for fans and employees,
Posted by: Jack | 07/10/2010 at 07:51 PM
Dodgers need a new owner someone with baseball knowledge and compassion for fans and employees,
Posted by: Jack | 07/10/2010 at 07:51 PM
Dodgers need a new owner someone with baseball knowledge and compassion for fans and employees,
Posted by: Jack | 07/10/2010 at 07:51 PM
Dodgers need a new owner someone with baseball knowledge and compassion for fans and employees,
Posted by: Jack | 07/10/2010 at 07:51 PM
You hire a general manager to fix the problems with your team. The rotation has been a huge problem since the beginning of the year. You already passed on Cliff Lee, don't blow it with Oswalt or Haren.
Posted by: George Jones | 07/10/2010 at 09:16 PM
Welcome Back to Third Place, L.A. Doyers
Posted by: These Dodgers Suck! | 07/10/2010 at 10:32 PM
I think it's time to try James McDonald again. He's back from the DL and pitched pretty good in his two starts (sans the 7th inning of a doubleheader when he fell apart and gave up 4 runs when he was just 2 outs from having a CG shutout).
I hate to say it, but time to send Ely back to Albuquerque and see if he can get the fight back in him to make the Dodgers want to bring him back up.
Posted by: Robert S. | 07/11/2010 at 02:26 AM
Frank McMcHEAP the cheapest worst owner in MLB is a clown and cheat.Mark Cuban please buy the Dodgers from this fraud.
Posted by: Donald "South Beach " Jones | 07/11/2010 at 08:07 AM
Frank McMcHEAP the cheapest worst owner in MLB is a clown and cheat.Mark Cuban please buy the Dodgers from this fraud.
Posted by: Donald "South Beach " Jones | 07/11/2010 at 08:07 AM