He is… the most important man in the Dodger rotation

Twitter regular and fellow ThinkBlueLA forum member Gordon Moody had a field day this past Tuesday.

Leading up to the Dodgers vs. Padres game in San Diego in which Chad Billingsley would make his 2013 season debut following a brief stint on the disabled list, Moody posted a series of tweets that were a spoof on the popular Dos Equis commercials featuring “The most interesting man in the world” character – an ad campaign that never seems to grow old and has undoubtedly been a gold mine for Dos Equis. Here are some of Moody’s humorous tweets:

  • Chad Billingsley puts the laughter in slaughter.
  • Chad Billingsley doesn’t wear a watch, he decides what time it is.
  • Superman wears Chad Billingsley underpants.
  • Chad Billingsley can sneeze with his eyes open.
  • If Chad Billingsley is running late, time better slow down.
  • Chad Billingsley is suing Law & Order claiming it is the trademarked names of his left and right leg.
  • Chad Billingsley doesn’t read books, he just stares them down until he gets the information he wants out of them.
  • Darth Vader dresses up as Chad Billingsley for Halloween.
  • Chad Billingsley’s tears can cure cancer. Too bad he has never cried.
  • Chad Billingsley’s beard is barbed wire soaked in ox blood and held together by the souls of mortals.
  • Some men pee their names in the snow. Chad Billingsley can pee his name in concrete.
  • Chad Billingsley doesn’t breath, he holds air hostage.
  • Chad Billingsley could strangle a man with a cordless phone.
  • Chad Billingsley counted to infinity… twice.

While Gordon Moody’s “Most interesting man” tweets about Chad Billingsley are extremely humorous and very original, the truth of the matter is that Chad Billingsley isn’t just the most interesting man in the Dodger rotation, he has just become the most important man in the Dodger rotation; and he must… absolutely must step up and fill the void created by the injury to Zack Greinke in Wednesday night’s brawl at Petco Park.

"I broke it" Greinke told teammates immediately after Wednesday night's brawl in San Diego. (Photo credit - Jake Roth)

“I broke it” Greinke told teammates about his left collarbone immediately after Wednesday night’s brawl in San Diego. (Photo credit – Jake Roth)

Billingsley pitched exceptionally well in his season debut allowing only 1 run on 5 hits, while striking out 3 and walking 3 in his 6.0 innings of work. And even though the final score of the game was 4-3, it was the bullpen that made the game a nail biter, not Chad Billingsley.

Chad Billingsley pitched exceptionally well in his season debut against the Padres on Tuesday night - something that he absolutely must do with Zack Greinke lost for at least two months. (Photo credit - Ron Cervenka)

Chad Billingsley pitched exceptionally well in his season debut against the Padres on Tuesday night – something that he absolutely must do every outing with Zack Greinke lost for the next two months. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Billingsley actually has had an interesting eight-year major league career. In spite of his very impressive 81-61 career record and his excellent 3.65 career ERA, it is his trademark meltdown inning that has prevented Chad from becoming the staff ace that he was always projected (and expected) to be. In fact, Billingsley has taken a no-hitter or one-hitter into the fourth or fifth innings on a number of occasions during his career only to give up four or five runs in a single frame and then return to form just as quickly. Exactly why this happens is a complete mystery to pitching coach Rick Honeycutt, and everyone else for that matter.

With Zack Greinke now on the shelf for (at least) eight weeks, Billingsley must now step up and finally meet those projections and expectations that have eluded him throughout his eight-year career if the Dodgers are to have any chance of making it into the post season – and he is more than capable of doing so, as evidenced by how well Chad pitched after the All-Star break last season before landing on the DL with a partially torn labrum in his right elbow.

That season-ending injury became the center of much controversy when Billingsley opted for a platelet rich plasma injection into the elbow rather than undergoing the more frequently preferred Tommy John surgery. Since the PRP treatment is still relatively new and its long-term effectiveness unknown, the Dodgers made the bold decision to sign left-handed Korean phenom Hyun-jin Ryu for a total of $66.7 million and Zack Greinke for a staggering $147 million. These acquisitions (plus the acquisition of Josh Beckett in the blockbuster trade with the Red Sox last August) gave the Dodgers an abundance of starting pitching, which now makes Ned Colletti and Stan Kasten look like geniuses, this in spite of Ted Lilly beginning the season on the DL and the recent trade of Aaron Harang.

Chad enjoys some laughs with Tim Watson and Steve Lyons during an interview the day after  winning his season debut 4-3 over the Padres. (Photo credit - Ron Cervenka)

Chad enjoys some laughs with Jim Watson and Steve Lyons during an interview the day after winning his season debut. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Although it will most likely be either Chris Capuano or Ted Lilly who will takeover Greinke’s spot in the starting rotation, it absolutely must be Chad Billingsley who replaces Greinke as the number two starter behind Clayton Kershaw.

 

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5 Responses to “He is… the most important man in the Dodger rotation”

  1. Bluenose Dodger says:

    I couldn’t agree more. I have felt that way about Chad’s importance to the Dodger staff since last fall. To me his was/is the bridge between Kershaw/Greinke and Ryu/Beckett/Capuano. With Greinke out, Chad does move up next to Clayton.

    I wrote:
    December 8 when Greinke signed: ” Good to have it done. Chad Billingsley is still a major player in the rotation. In or out he has a major effect.”

    December 9 in Greinke Update :” Chad is all important and part of the reason for the scramble for pitchers.”

    December 27: ” If he isn’t healthy, the staff is considerably weaker. If he is healthy, it is a top notch staff. It isn’t an expectation from Chad. Just a statement of how important I think he is to the staff. For me it was/is the most important question mark coming into the 2013 season.”

    December 27: ” Chad is the difference maker on the Dodger staff. He could be the reason, if not healthy, that the team is looking for a pitcher at the trade deadline. If healthy he is the reason the Dodgers will challenge for a WS championship.”

  2. OldBrooklynFan says:

    Greinke was fantastic on Thusday night, just before the fight. He’s a big loss, especially to a team that has to rely heavily on pitching, at least until it finds a way to score runs a little more often.
    Billingsley had his bad inning on Wednesday night, showing some lack of control after a good start but seemed to have finished off looking a lot better.
    I agree, we need good performances from him, now that Greinke will be out for at least 8 weeks.

  3. CRANBROOK MIKE says:

    Here’s another…..”At night, the boogy man checks under his bed for chad Bilingsley”

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