September 2014 – Page 3 – Dodger Thoughts

On September 19, 2014

In Bullpen

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Saturday’s Chicago weather forecast

By Jon Weisman

If Roberto Hernandez goes out and throws a nifty five or six innings Saturday in Chicago, the Dodgers appear ready to turn Sunday’s game over to their bullpen and save Dan Haren for Monday against the Giants.

If Hernandez has an early exit, the relief corps — which has thrown a whopping 25 2/3 innings in the past five days — might once again be thrust into early action Saturday.

And if Mother Nature follows through on her threat of rain, who knows what the result will be?

No matter how you slice it, it looks like a big weekend for the guys in the pen. However, like farewell ceremonies for Derek Jeter, there are lots and lots of them.

This chart shows how many pitches each reliever has thrown in the past five games:

Noteworthy:

The Dodgers’ top two go-to relievers this season, Kenley Jansen and J.P. Howell, have worked the least over the past five games.
No one has pitched two days in a row since Wednesday, meaning that everyone is available to pitch in on Saturday, except whoever might be Sunday’s starting pitcher if it’s not Haren.
Not that it’s likely to break this cleanly, but if Hernandez pitched five innings Saturday, there are exactly 13 pitchers to cover the 13 regulation innings remaining in Chicago.

Tommy Lasorda, Bruce Froemming latest to join November’s Dodger Adult Baseball Camp

On September 19, 2014

In Uncategorized

Tommy Lasorda on the cover of the final Dodger Playbill of 2014, which will be handed out at Dodger Stadium beginning Monday, Lasorda’s birthday.

By Jon Weisman

Hall of Fame Manager Tommy Lasorda and former National League umpire Bruce Froemming have been added to the overflowing group of Dodger legends and guests who will serve as instructors for the 53rd Los Angeles Dodgers Adult Baseball Camp at Historic Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida from November 9-15.

“I’m looking forward to returning to Historic Dodgertown,” said Lasorda, who has a street there named after him. “It is such a special place in my heart, and I have so many great memories from my time there. We’ll have fun with the campers, sharing stories from our enjoyable days there.”

Previously, the Dodgers announced that Ron Cey, Tommy Davis, Steve Garvey, Mickey Hatcher, Rick Monday, Steve Sax, Don Sutton, Maury Wills and Steve Yeager would be in attendance as instructors.

“We are delighted to add legends Tommy and Bruce to our growing roster of guest instructors for the camp,” said Historic Dodgertown chairman and former Dodger owner Peter O’Malley. “Our campers will have a memorable experience spending time every day alongside some of the greatest names in Dodger history. For any baseball fan who has ever thought about a fantasy camp, this is the perfect one to attend.”

No, seriously — the Dodgers have a good offense

On September 19, 2014

In Offense

For more photo highlights from Thursday, visit the LA Photog Blog.

Dodgers at Cubs, 11:20 a.m.
Kershaw CCVIII: Kershawsm Buddies
Dee Gordon, 2B
Yasiel Puig, CF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, RF
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Carl Crawford, LF
Juan Uribe, 3B
A.J. Ellis, C
Clayton Kershaw, P

By Jon Weisman

I wouldn’t say I’m afraid of jinxing the Dodgers by what I’m write, but I’m certainly aware what I write can look shaky a few hours later. Zack Greinke certainly did me no favors Thursday, struggling through five innings before the Dodgers came back for their 8-4 victory.

The victory shocked those fixated on what was the Dodgers’ 1-54 record when trailing after six innings, as well as those who view the Dodgers as constantly scuffling and struggling to score runs.

My sense is that most people perceive the Dodger offense as a massive underachiever, the George Costanza of platesmen, characterized by singular bumbling and a laughable parade of opportunities wasted.

But at the risk of Edwin Jackson shutting them out over seven innings this afternoon at Wrigley, let me just point out again: The Dodgers just about have the best offense in the National League.

Here’s where the Dodgers rank, according to Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference.com:

WAR: first
Offense: second, behind Pittsburgh
Weighted runs created plus (wRC+): tied for first with Pittsburgh
Runs per game: fourth, behind Colorado, Pittsburgh and Washington
Adjusted OPS: tied for first with Pittsburgh
OBP and OPS with runners in scoring position: first

Take a moment to digest that. They are near the top in almost every major category. In runs per game, where they rank fourth, they are 0.04 runs per game (six runs in 153 games, or about one run per month) out of second place, behind only Coors Field-enhanced Colorado.

How is this possible, you ask? Well, the Dodgers are getting above-average production at nearly every position, as Fangraphs’ Offense stat shows: (Note: the list below was updated from earlier this morning to correct an error.)

First base: sixth in the NL
Second base: first
Shortstop: third
Third base: second
Outfield: second
Catcher: 15th
Pitcher: first

One thing you might notice is that for all the drama that surrounded it, much of it media-generated, the Dodger outfield has been an enormous success offensively.

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Matt Kemp has a .926 OPS since the All-Star Break, and Carl Crawford and Scott Van Slyke are both above .800. You might downgrade Yasiel Puig, who had a big second-half slump after a superb first half, but now Puig is heating up again, going 12 for 30 (.400) with two walks, two doubles and a home run in his past seven games.

You also have an infield that is strong across the board offensively. Dee Gordon’s baserunning provides value even when his bat is suffering — which isn’t the case right now, given that he is hitting .366/.377/.442/.819 in his past 10 games (53 plate appearances). And while people keep wondering when Hanley Ramirez is going to get hot (staying healthy is another issue), he just happens to be hitting .439/.489/.537/1.086 in his past 12 games (45 plate appearances).

Then there’s the Dodgers increasingly not-so-secret weapon, Justin Turner, who with Van Slyke and Andre Ethier — who has quietly put together a .420 on-base percentage as a reserve — has given the Dodgers one of their best benches in recent memory.

Catcher has been a season-long disappointment offensively, and no one on the team will win a Silver Slugger award. But overall offensively, they simply excel.

Tonight, the #Dodgers had eight players with exactly one RBI for the first time since June 28, 1973. http://t.co/jr7fF0EqNf

— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) September 19, 2014

I get accused of being too positive about the Dodgers. But I find myself astounded sometimes by the negativity online toward a first-place team, a team that is one game away from the best record in the NL. With the stakes so high for a team that hasn’t been to the World Series in 25 years and 11 months, I know how vexing it is when the Dodger offense doesn’t come through. The fact remains that nearly without exception, this offense comes through more often than any other offense in the NL.

The Dodgers’ weaknesses aren’t lost on me at all, but I refuse to let them define a team that has so many strengths to consider. I know this won’t matter to anyone the next time the Dodgers strike out with the bases loaded, but this team wouldn’t be where it is today, with a magic number of two for a postseason berth and eight for a division title, if it were only a Clayton Kershaw solo act.

It’s hero time

In Pregame

Dodgers at Cubs, 5:05 p.m.
Dee Gordon, 2B
Yasiel Puig, CF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, RF
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Scott Van Slyke, LF
Carl Crawford, LF
Juan Uribe, 3B
A.J. Ellis, C
Zack Greinke, P

By Jon Weisman

Yes, the Dodgers proceeded with their annual rookie dress-up day Thursday after losing 16-2 to Colorado, and no, it doesn’t mean the Dodgers don’t take their pennant chase seriously.

Here’s a link to some pics, and honestly, I think the kids look rather sharp.

As for more conventional baseball costumes, Hanley Ramirez is in his and slated to return to the starting lineup tonight, at the site of his August 4, 2013 tumble into the stands in pursuit of a foul ball.

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The 4+1 Game turns eight

In History

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Today is the eighth anniversary of the Dodgers’ remarkable 4+1 game, which Sports Illustrated and Tom Verducci called the game of the year. SportsNet LA has produced a remembrance of the incredible night through the eyes of Vin Scully. You can also read my own essay about the game here.

— Jon Weisman

A Dodger fan saves a Giants fan

In Fans

.@Dodgers fan saves sick @SFGiants fan’s life. Rivals in stadium, but literally perfect bone marrow match. Retweet! pic.twitter.com/cCHxl2VJgw

— KTVU (@KTVU) September 18, 2014

Giants fan Ryan Clanton, suffering from Fabconi Anemia — which usually leads to bone marrow failure — received a bone marrow donation from Dodger fan Joey Hilburn. KTVU.com has more.

— Jon Weisman

The formula for winning the NL West

In Uncategorized

By Jon Weisman

A postscript to Thursday’s postgame post on the Dodgers starting pitching …

In both the 2013 National League Division Series and the National League Championship Series, the Dodgers only needed to win the games started by Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke to advance to the next round. It happened in the NLDS; it didn’t in the NLCS.

It’s nearly an identical story for this year’s final 10 games to clinch the NL West title.

Kershaw and Greinke each have two remaining scheduled starts, including one apiece against the Giants. If the Dodgers win those games, that alone would trim the magic number for clinching the division all the way from nine to three.

That means that in the Dodgers’ other six games, they would only need to go 3-3 to win the NL West, even if the Giants went 8-0 in the games they don’t face Kershaw and Greinke.

Consequently, every time the Giants lost, the pressure on the Dodgers would lessen. And as rough as the Dodgers’ No. 3-5 starters had it in Colorado this week, it’s a bit extreme to expect the Dodgers will get zero wins in their remaining six games.

Now obviously, if Greinke and Kershaw falter, or if the Dodger offense doesn’t support them, the Dodgers are in trouble – just like they were in last year’s NLCS. But that’s always been true. The team’s strength all year has been the front of the rotation (a rotation that Hyun-Jin Ryu should rejoin in the playoffs) and an offense that ranks first in the NL in wins above replacement.

It’s no different than saying that if Madison Bumgarner and Yusmeiro Petit falter or if the Giants offense doesn’t support them, the Giants are in trouble.

It’s no different than saying that if Team X’s best players don’t perform, Team X is in trouble.

But just think of it this way: If Greinke and Kershaw win their remaining starts and the Giants don’t play .750 ball in their other eight games, the NL West is over.

Farewell, Max Stone

In Farewells

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We received word that Max Stone, a longtime fixture at Dodger Stadium, has passed away. Our deepest condolences to his friends and family. In addition to the video above, you can read more about Stone in this Kevin Modesti story from the Daily News in 2011.

– Jon Weisman

Starting pitching becomes startling pitching

In History, Pitching, Postgame

By Jon Weisman

Ten games to go. Ten games to find starting pitchers for.

That’s the puzzle I imagine most Dodger fans are trying to solve after Carlos Frias managed the near unthinkable – a game score of 0 – in today’s 16-2 loss at Colorado.

In allowing eight runs on 10 hits in two-thirds of an inning, Frias produced the lowest game score by a Dodger starting pitcher in 28 years, since Jerry Reuss allowed nine earned runs and 15 baserunners in four innings against the Phillies. Frias also recorded the fewest outs by any Major League starting pitcher who allowed at least 10 hits since at least 1901.

And Frias might have been lucky to get those two outs. One was an inexplicable caught stealing on a 2-0 pitch after the first five Rockies had combined for three singles, a double and a home run, the other an equally inexplicable squeeze bunt attempt when the team was 7 for 7 off Frias.

Asked to mop up, Kevin Correia fared well only by comparison, allowing five earned runs on seven hits and a walk in three innings without a strikeout.

The Dodgers have allowed at least 10 runs in three of their past six games, a disturbing ratio to be sure, though I would argue that in defeat, it doesn’t matter whether you lose by one run or 10.

Milwaukee lost its game to St. Louis tonight, lowering the Dodgers’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot to four. But San Francisco cut the Dodgers’ National League West lead to two games by scoring two in the ninth to defeat Arizona, and with the divisional magic number at 9, it’s natural to wonder how the Dodgers will play out the final 10 games of the season.

Oklahoma will host two Dodger minor-league teams: Dodgers bring Double-A affiliation to Tulsa

In Uncategorized

By Jon Weisman

Moving their Double-A affiliation from Chattanooga after six seasons, the Dodgers have signed a working agreement with the Tulsa Drillers of the Texas League for the 2015 and 2016 seasons.

Owned by Dale and Jeff Hubbard, the Drillers are the oldest professional sports franchise in Tulsa — dating back to 1905 — but play at ONEOK Field, which opened in 2010.

The distance between Chattanooga and the Dodgers’ Triple-A team in Albuquerque was approximately 1,300 miles. From Tulsa to their new Triple-A team in Oklahoma City, it’s barely 100 miles.

“We are thrilled to be working with the Hubbard family and making Tulsa our home for the Dodgers’ double-A team,” Dodger president & CEO Stan Kasten said. “Having our top two minor league teams within the state of Oklahoma will certainly be great for our organization and for the Dodger fans in the state.”

Carl Crawford lifts his numbers against lefties

In Pregame

For highlights from Tuesday, visit LA Photog Blog.

Dodgers at Rockies, 12:10 p.m.
Darwin Barney, 2B
Yasiel Puig, CF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, RF
Juan Uribe, 3B
Carl Crawford, LF
Tim Federowicz, C
Miguel Rojas, SS
Carlos Frias, P

By Jon Weisman

Carl Crawford’s current hot streak, in which he has a .467 on-base percentage and .617 slugging percentage in 105 plate appearances since August 10, will be tested today when he faces left-handed Colorado starter Jorge De La Rosa.

Even during his batting surge, Crawford has rarely faced lefty pitching — in fact, today marks only his fourth start against a southpaw this year.

But Crawford’s numbers against left-handers this year are surprisingly good, though they’re out of left field, so to speak. He is 16 for 50 with four walks and two home runs, for an .886 OPS. Against lefties last year, Crawford had a .551 OPS and his career mark is .685.

Crawford homered off San Diego lefty relievers Alex Torres on August 19 and Frank Garces on September 8. Lifetime against De La Rosa, Crawford is 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

It’s a rare lineup for Don Mattingly against a left-handed starter that doesn’t have Scott Van Slyke, who has a 1.016 OPS against lefties in 2014. Though Dee Gordon is on the bench to start today’s game, Adrian Gonzalez and Crawford are both in. Tim Federowicz, whose only MLB homer of 2014 was in daylight at Colorado on June 7, is also starting, as is Miguel Rojas at short while Hanley Ramirez rests his injured elbow.

At the scene of the shine: Hideo Nomo’s no-hitter in Colorado, 18 years ago today

In History

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Today, the Dodgers are in Colorado, where they can celebrate the 18th anniversary of what for 17 1/2 years was the most recent no-hitter in Dodger history — and to this day, given the site and the gloomy weather, was perhaps the least likely.

— Jon Weisman

Dodgers officially move Triple-A affiliation to Oklahoma City

In Minor leagues

By Jon Weisman

The Oklahoma City RedHawks will succeed the Albuquerque Isotopes as the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate, the team has officially announced.

Previously affiliated with the Houston Astros, Oklahoma City plays in the American Northern Division of the Pacific Coast League. The Dodgers had been affiliated with Albuquerque for a total of of 44 years (1963-71 Double-A, 1972-2000 Triple-A and 2009-2014 Triple-A).

Well, that was unusual