DODGERS NOTEBOOK: DODGERS FAIL TO WALK THE WALK.Byline: Kevin Acee Daily News Staff Writer There was a time not too long ago, but also for not too long a time, that the Dodgers were living large on the walk. Ranked near the bottom of the National League in walks taken this season, the Dodgers started taking the free passes with some regularity. It was a real weapon. In an eight-game period ending last Saturday in San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden , the Dodgers walked 32 times. Of those, 12 runners ended up scoring. Four more of the walks advanced a runner who eventually scored. The Dodgers were 5-3 in that span - no great run but two games better than .500, which they have not achieved in quite a while. ``There's a correlation,'' hitting coach Reggie Smith It did not take opposing teams long to figure out the scheme. Lately, while Wilton Guerrero Wilton Guerrero (born October 24, 1974 in the Don Gregorio, Dominican Republic) is a major league utility player who currently is a free agent. He previously played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1996-1998), Montreal Expos (1998-2000, 2002), Cincinnati Reds (2001-2002), Kansas City and Roger Cedeno are noticeably more patient at the plate, pitchers are making sure the ball is where the eager youngsters eventually have to swing. The Dodgers have walked just 20 times in the past seven games, and four of those walks have resulted in a run. ``It's time It's Time was a successful political campaign run by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) under Gough Whitlam at the 1972 election in Australia. Campaigning on the perceived need for change after 23 years of conservative (Liberal Party of Australia) government, Labor put forward a to do it again,'' Smith said of a walk-a-thon. ``I'd like to see us get a few more walks but not at the expense of being aggressive.'' More timing talk: Padres manager Bruce Bochy
``Part of this game is catching a team at the right time,'' Bochy said. ``I think in September, the Dodgers will be in there. We all go through our little funks.'' That the Dodgers will make yet another late-season run is a belief held by many around the league and still held onto in the Dodgers clubhouse. ``I believe just as strongly as I did the first day of the season that this team will get all the pistons firing at once,'' Todd Zeile He prefaced his remarks with a statement about the Dodgers saying for the past few weeks that a good win streak will get them right in the thick of the race. ``It's become a necessity now,'' he said. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Rickey Henderson
Terri Thuente / Daily News |
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