Joe Torre says effort is not an issue in team’s slump
“This is a pivotal time for us.”
So said Manager Joe Torre on Monday as the Dodgers opened a critical four-game series against the first-place San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium.
With the Dodgers dropping fast in the National League West, Torre agreed “there’s a sense of urgency” for the club to start winning again. But he said that while his players were frustrated with their recent record, their effort remained intact.
“We’re not very good right now,” Torre said. “We certainly have to get it together. The pitching’s been great. We’ve certainly been keeping the games close, but we just haven’t been able to generate any offense.
“It’s become very frustrating for the guys, and it’s not that they’re not trying or don’t care, I know that’s not the cause,” he said. “I’d like all of them to think they’re not playing hard enough because that’s the kind of responsibility you need to have. But I’m satisfied with the effort.”
And it would be a mistake for the Dodgers to focus on how many games it will take to catch the Padres or any other NL West or wild-card contender, he said.
“In order to do something big, you basically have to start by just getting your house in order,” he said. “You have to go back there and establish yourself as opposed to worrying about how many games you’re behind and how many games you have to win.”
Theriot’s trade
Today’s world of instant communication was responsible for how Ryan Theriot found out that he’d been traded to the Dodgers from the Chicago Cubs on Saturday.
The second baseman was watching a television sports show at his Denver hotel, ahead of a Cubs game against the Colorado Rockies, when he heard how his life was about to change.
“We were just sitting there kind of messing around, getting dressed, getting ready to go to the field,” Theriot said. “I had the show on, the [trading] deadline was coming down, and there was a lady” on the show who “looked over at her computer, and she said, ‘My Twitter account says that the deal is done for [Ted] Lilly and Theriot going to the Dodgers.’ ”
What was Theriot’s reaction? “Let’s go,” he said, then repeated the phrase for emphasis: “Let’s go.”
Theriot also said he wasn’t disappointed that he didn’t first get confirmation from the Cubs. “We all know it’s a business, and I think a lot of that [trading] stuff was last-minute stuff, so they were probably pretty busy,” he said.
The Dodgers acquired Theriot and Lilly, scheduled to start Tuesday for the Dodgers, in exchange for second baseman Blake DeWitt and minor league pitchers Kyle Smit and Brett Wallach. Theriot, 30, entered Monday’s game batting .281 with one home run and 21 runs batted in this season.
“He’s my regular second baseman,” Torre said of Theriot. “I’m not saying that Jamey [Carroll] is not going to play second. Jamey’s going to be very valuable, he can do a lot of things.”
Theriot said “it’s an honor to be part of this organization” and he praised the Dodgers’ starting rotation, adding that “I’m just glad I don’t have to face these pitchers anymore.”
james.peltz@latimes.com
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