August 1, 2008

New Dodger Manny Ramirez
by T.J. Kendrick
Arizona Diamondbacks at Los Angeles Dodgers - Saturday, August 2 at 10:10 p.m. ET
The Arizona Diamondbacks (56-52) are on a bit of a roll, having won eight of their last 10 games, including three straight in which they allowed just four runs. But all the talk in this series will be heavily concentrated on Manny Ramirez.
The Hall of Fame-worthy slugger was grabbing headlines this week after being dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers (54-54) at the trade deadline. He should inject instant offense into a weak Dodgers lineup that’s struggled to produce much power.
Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier have played well this season, hitting 11 and 12 homers, respectively. But they don’t bring the same presence to the middle of the order that Ramirez will. He’ll command respect from pitchers, not only doing damage with his bat but offering “protection” for players like Kemp and Ethier. Expect L.A. to rise from its second-last ranking in National League homers.
Hiroki Kuroda (5-8) will hope to benefit from Ramirez’s presence, as he’s Saturday’s starting pitcher for Los Angeles. The righty enjoyed a solid start to his Major League Baseball career, going 5-6 with a 3.43 ERA before the All-Star break. The wheels have come off since; he’s produced a stomach-churning 13.11 ERA in three starts since then.






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