ShareThisBy KEVIN PEARSON
The Press-Enterprise
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Grady Little said it's too early to put too much stock into some statistics. But when the bases are loaded, it's hard to deny that the Dodgers have struggled.
The club left the bases loaded in the eighth and ninth innings of Wednesday's win over Arizona, continuing a trend of struggling in that situation this season. The Dodgers are now 2 of 32 with the bases loaded, the only hits coming on a double by Olmedo Saenz and a grand slam by Russell Martin.
"It's one of those things where you might put more pressure on yourself to get something done and force the issue," outfielder Andre Ethier said. "We'll figure it out and get it done.
"Maybe we need a bases-clearing double to wipe off that stat. But you notice it and put it in the back of your memory bank, but you don't necessarily go up and say 'I'm going to be the guy to break us out of this.' "
The Dodgers left 10 men on base Wednesday and have stranded 47 runners in their past four games, though one of those was a 17-inning contest.
"Those are the types of stats you look at in September," Little said. "It will even itself out before it's all over."
Despite the bases loaded problems, the Dodgers rank sixth in the National League with 125 runs scored, though their .259 batting average puts them in a tie for eighth.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
