[PilotMan]

July to August 1993


We're gonna start this off by saying that Rene Arocha was selected National League Pitcher of the Month. He was 5-0 with a 1.85 ERA. He made 6 quality starts, and got 4.7 RS/G. This is the first player of the Month for the Dodgers in years. This is kind of a big deal.


LA also put together the best month of the year in July. We had out long winning streak and went 15-11 for the month. LA currently sits at 43-59, 22 games behind the Astros. We're in 5th place in the West, five games ahead of the Rockies and three behind the Reds for 4th.


Dodgers #3 prospect (#11 Overall) Scott Rolen was lost for the rest of the year with Post Concussion Syndrome symptoms. He was batting .387/.461/.595 with Rookie team, Yakima.


Fred McGriff had a great month. Like I said before he found his swing. He slashed .330/.393/.631 with 9 HR's and 25 RBI's. Now all we need is a couple more guys to find their swings!


Steve Buschele continues to be an embarrassment. His OPS+ of 67 was the lowest on the team in July and he slashed .218/.320/.299 with 0 HR and 11 RBI.


The Phillies Matt Williams hit for the cycle against the Pirates. Williams has 32 HR's and 102 RBI's on the year.


The Sporting News has the Dodgers ranked 16th in the ML Baseball Power Rankings. The surging Dodgers are ahead of the Giants, Marlins, Reds, Expos, Rockies and Brewers in the NL.


LA has lost C Hector Villanueva the same way he was aquired, via waivers. Villanueva played 183 games over 3 seasons for LA. The most of any club he's played for. He heads to Chicago to play for the Cubs. He brought us some reliable power off the bench and an occasional spark on offense. He was not playing well this year, hitting .141 in his 34 games played. His roster spot looks to be filled by Jose Valdez, a young prospect who is currently in his second stint with the club.


The career of Gary Redus might also be running out of time. Redus has been on a roster for 11 years, and even though his best year was back in '83 when he stole 63 bases, he had been playing well at AAA Albuquerque. Redus was batting .309/.396/.422 with 11 steals. It appears that after his call to the Dodgers, he refused his assignment after he cleared waivers and the team gave him his release. Best wishes to you Gary Redus.


Midway through August and LA has been playing above .500 ball STILL! We now have 3 players in double digits for home runs. That's a huge accomplishment for this late in the year. While still in last in every single offensive category, we're still pitching better and better and it's helping us get some W's. LA swept the Padres and slipped past the Padres for 5th place in the West, passing up the Reds. The Padres are only 2.5 games in front of us now. Third in the West is the best we can hope for this year. It's all down the Braves and Astros now.


The Dodgers lost their top bullpen arm after Todd Worrell left a game early. It's a shoulder strain, possible rotator cuff damage, but for now he's expected to return later this year. Andy Pettitte was recalled to fill the spot on the roster.


Rough series for LA against the Braves. We were swept by the Braves on the road with game scores of 7-1, 1-0, and 10-0. That last game saw Cy Young Shoo-in Randy Johnson mow us down. He picked up his 19th win of the season, struck out 14 and NO HIT THE DODGERS. I know it's not that hard with this team, but this is the 2nd time the Dodgers have been no-hit in this dynasty. I've literally been expecting it all year long. This is Johnson's 2nd career no-no. It was the top pitching performance to date in baseball this season. Johnson now owns 5 of the top 25 pitching performances on the year. Only the Astros Danny Darwin with his no-hitter and one-hitter is the only other pitcher with his name on the list twice. His last one was in 1990 against the Pirates. We've disappeared below the Reds again. So much for that little rally.


Edward Lindsey, 2-time All Star with the Mets, 20 game winner, 2-time MLB Champion, who had three pretty good seasons before his body started falling apart, has to be done. He can't stay healthy to save his season. 1988 was the first year that he started experiencing injuries, as he missed time with three different injuries that year. He lost three months with three other injuries in '89. Needed reconstructive surgery on his elbow in 1990 after an April injury. He made it to the All Star break in '91 until his third injury, this one to his shoulder, ended his season. He missed all of '92 with his 2nd elbow surgery that happened at the end of spring training. This year he has had NINE separate injuries to his back and arm. Today his season mercifully came to it's end. This time to a torn triceps muscle. I feel bad for him, and at one point he was the most dangerous pitcher in baseball, but at the age of 34, he has to consider calling it quits.


Looks like we're going to lose Rickey for a while. he left the game today with something and we still don't know the extent of it. Damn. Can't buy an offense with this team.