DODGERS NOTEBOOK: KREUTER WILL STAY BEHIND THE PLATE.Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer Catcher Paul Lo Duca Paul Anthony Lo Duca (born April 12, 1972 in Brooklyn, New York) is a catcher in Major League Baseball who plays for the New York Mets. Previously, Lo Duca played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1998-2004) and Florida Marlins (2004-2005). is the Dodgers' most consistent offensive player and Chad Kreuter Chadden Michael Kreuter (born August 26 1964 in Greenbrae, California) is a former catcher in Major League Baseball and the current head coach of the USC Trojans baseball team. had two hits in July, but manager Jim Tracy
quest after, go after, pursue look for, search, seek - try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of; "The police are searching for clues"; "They are searching for the more offense. The relationship between Park and Kreuter was forged early last season and it hasn't been broken in 2001. Park, who starts tonight against the Chicago Cubs, has thrown 157 2/3 innings this season and all but one has been caught by Kreuter. Has Tracy given thought to a breakup? ``No. No. Kreuter will catch him,'' Tracy said. ``In the case of Paul, it doesn't hurt him, two times out of every 10 days to get a chance to get away from it because, from a durability standpoint and us needing him strong and healthy down the stretch, I think it's served him well where he's gotten a day off occassionally when Chan Ho does pitch.'' Park is 11-6 and his 2.85 ERA ranks fourth in the National League. Opponents are batting .200 against him and he's fourth in the league with 163 strikeouts. With the Dodgers clinging to first place in the West division, Tracy doesn't believe it is time to experiment by tinkering with the Kreuter-Park connection. Tracy conducted a litmus test litmus test n. A test for chemical acidity or basicity using litmus paper. in spring training as to what would happen if Lo Duca Lo Duca is the surname of the following people:
Park's biggest problem has been run support. The Dodgers have scored 99 runs in his 23 starts (a 4.3 average) and have scored three or less runs eight times. In the rest of their games, the Dodgers are averaging 5.0 runs. Lo Duca batting .338 with 17 homers and 53 RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in . Kreuter is batting .235 with two homers and nine RBI. The coaching staff has thought of various ways to get Lo Duca in the lineup when Park pitches, but it would involve shifting Shawn Green Shawn David Green (born November 10, 1972, in Des Plaines, Illinois) is a 6' 4" left-handed Major League Baseball player. Green is the starting right fielder for the New York Mets.[1] Green was a 1st round draft pick, and has been a two-time major league All-Star. to center field or sitting first baseman Eric Karros ``We'd always think about that, but it's just a matter of who it would be for, what the matchups look like and how important we feel it is to have him in the game from the get-go,'' Tracy said. ``But, ya' know, it's also occassionally a nice commodity to have his bat sitting there on the bench in the latter third of the game, which would probably deter the opposition from bringing in a particular guy from the bullpen, knowing we have him sitting there.'' Lineup lingo Lingo - An animation scripting language. [MacroMind Director V3.0 Interactivity Manual, MacroMind 1991]. : Karros, who is batting .200 (13 for 65) since the All-Star break, was dropped to sixth in the lineup for the fifth time this season, enabling Lo Duca to bat fifth. Second baseman second baseman n. Baseball The infielder who is positioned near and to the first-base side of second base. Noun 1. second baseman - (baseball) the person who plays second base second sacker Mark Grudzielanek Mark James Grudzielanek (born June 30, 1970 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is a second baseman in Major League Baseball who currently plays for the Kansas City Royals. Previously, Grudzielanek played with the Montreal Expos (1995-1998), Los Angeles Dodgers (1998-2002), Chicago Cubs , who's batting .217 (18 for 83) since the All-Star break, wasn't even in the lineup. Hiram Bocachica started at second. It's Tracy's way of trying to jump-start pivotal pieces of a lineup. ``My (right) hamstring is acting up a little bit. I tweaked it a little bit (Wednesday) so we have to be careful we don't blow it out,'' Grudzielanek said. ``I don't feel like I'm struggling up there. There's guys everywhere I'm hitting it. The other day I hit the ball hard four times and came away with nothing. I'm not gettin' much lovin' out there.'' Grudzielanek was batting .300 at the All-Star break, but his recent slump knocked his average to .280. --Odds and ends: Lo Duca has struck out 17 times in 278 at-bats. He also has 17 homers. Since 1960, George Brett is the only player to have more homers (minimum 10) than strikeouts. He hit 24 homers and struck out 22 times in 1980. ... Shortstop Alex Cora extended his hitting streak to a career-high 11 games with an infield single in the third inning. DODGERS vs. CHICAGO Time: 7:10 p.m., at Dodger Stadium. TV/Radio: Fox Sports Net 2;1150-AM, KWKW-AM (1330 Spanish). Matchup: Perhaps the best pitching matchup of the Dodgers' season will be on display as Dodgers RH Chan Ho Park (11-6, 2.85 ERA) faces Cubs RH Kerry Wood (9-6, 3.64) in the beginning of a three-game series. Park has won his last three starts, though he allowed five runs in seven innings to beat Colorado his last time out. He is 8-1 with a 1.67 ERA in 12 home starts. Wood is 5-2 with a 4.57 ERA in 11 road starts. He hasn't pitched more than six innings in any of his last five starts. Saturday - Dodgers RH James Baldwin (0-0, 2.25) vs. Cubs RH Julian Tavarez(8-6, 3.83); Sunday - Dodgers RH Eric Gagne (4-4, 4.99) vs. Cubs RH Jon Leiber (14-5, 3.46). - Brian Dohn CAPTION(S): box Box: DODGERS vs. CHICAGO (see text) |
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