DODGERS NOTEBOOK: LO DUCA BETTER SINCE DALY TALK.Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer On May 1, Dodgers chairman Bob Daly sidled up to 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). near the Dodger Stadium • • [ batting cage Noun 1. batting cage - a movable screen placed behind home base to catch balls during batting practice cage baseball equipment - equipment used in playing baseball and told the popular Dodgers catcher to relax. Lo Duca Lo Duca is the surname of the following people:
At the time of Daly's calculated chat, a frustrated Lo Duca was batting .300 with seven 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 with runners in scoring position In the sport of baseball, a baserunner is said to be in scoring position when he is on second or third base. The distinction between being on first base and second or third base is that a runner on first can usually only score if the batter hits an extra base hit, while a runner on . Entering Thursday's game against San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. , Lo Duca was tied for fifth in the National League with the Mets' Mike Piazza Michael Joseph Piazza (born September 4, 1968 in Norristown, Pennsylvania) is an American Major League Baseball player who currently plays for the Oakland Athletics. He began his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers and played for the Florida Marlins, New York Mets, San Diego Padres with a .372 batting average with runners in scoring position Batting Average with Runners in Scoring Position (abbreviated BA/RISP or BA/RSP) is a baseball statistic derived by dividing a players hits with runners on second or third base by his at bats with runners in scoring position. . He is batting .350 with runners in scoring position and two outs. ``With (Daly) coming to talk to me, it obviously helped,'' Lo Duca said. ``When you hear from your owner to go about your business the way you've always done it, it helps.'' Since an unfulfilling first month in which Lo Duca, traditionally tough on himself, batted a respectable .295 with one homer and nine RBI, he's flourished. He's batting .329 with four homers and 31 RBI since May 1 and is 10th in the league with a .320 average, which leads NL catchers. ``I felt like I was pressing early in the year and trying to do too much,'' Lo Duca said. ``I was realizing that if I kept pressing, it wasn't going to happen for me.'' Lo Duca, who batted .320 with 25 homers and 90 RBI last season, also had to deal with opposing clubs spending an offseason game-planning on how to stop him. ``I don't think I'm getting certain pitches to hit in certain counts,'' Lo Duca said. ``I have to be more patient than I was last year. They're not going to just lay it over.'' --Lineup adjustment: After watching his team score 16 runs in seven games since the All-Star break, Dodgers manager Jim Tracy
lineup, card , which allowed Tracy to drop Lo Duca into the run-producing spot of third. The rest of the batting order slid down a rung, with Shawn Green hitting cleanup for the first time since May 8, followed by Eric Karros and Brian Jordan. ``I have no interest whatsoever in completely overhauling that lineup,'' Tracy said. ``I just don't see the benefit of doing that. I don't think that it serves any purpose to do anything like that. I would like to try right now as many run-producing situations for Lo Duca and Green that I possibly can.'' However, it also appears to alter the lineup's approach. The switch- hitting Izturis, who was demoted from the No. 2 spot in mid-May, is a situational hitter from the left side. He was batting .224 (26 for 116) from the second spot. --Bobbled head: Green took his turn being immortalized with the latest craze with a bobblehead night in his honor Thursday. Lo Duca had his night this season and right-hander Hideo Nomo will also have his before the season ends. But what about the elder statesmen of the Dodgers, first baseman Eric Karros? Well, it might not happen. A cross-promotion with Unocal, which was to produce and sell a Karros bobblehead doll, hit a legal snag. Unocal ran into licensing problems with Major League Baseball "MLB" and "Major Leagues" redirect here. For other uses, see MLB (disambiguation) and Major Leagues (disambiguation). Major League Baseball (MLB) is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball. , which caused the cancellation of the promotion before it could begin. --Odds and ends: A limited number of tickets remained for tonight's and Sunday's homes games against San Francisco. ... Catcher David Ross, who spent two weeks with the Dodgers, has three multihomer games in his last four playing for Triple-A Las Vegas. DODGERS vs. SAN FRANCISCO Time: 7:10 p.m., Dodger Stadium. TV/Radio: Ch. 13; 1150-AM, 1330-AM (Spanish). Matchup: A pivotal three-game series begins as the Giants visit Chavez Ravine for the first time since they thrashed the Dodgers in the season- opening three-game series. Dodgers LH Kazuhisa Ishii (12-5, 3.32 ERA) thrived after getting more than a week between outings when he pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings in beating Arizona in his last start. No Giants batter has faced Ishii. The Giants counter with LH Kirk Rueter (7-6, 3.51), who is 3-4 with a 5.36 ERA in 10 games in L.A. 1B Eric Karros is batting .308 with three homers and 11 RBI against Rueter. Saturday - Dodgers LH Omar Daal (7-5, 4.29) vs. Giants RH Ryan Jensen (10-6, 4.40); Sunday - Dodgers RH Hideo Nomo (9-6, 3.10) vs. Giants RH Russ Ortiz (6-6, 3.66). - Brian Dohn CAPTION(S): box Box: DODGERS vs. SAN FRANCISCO (see text) |
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