January 2016 – Page 3 – Dodger Thoughts

Alex Anthopoulos joins Dodger front office

On January 12, 2016

Richard Lautens/Toronto Star via Getty Images

By Jon Weisman

Alex Anthopoulos, named the 2015 MLB Executive of the Year by The Sporting News, has been hired by the Dodgers as vice president of baseball operations.

During the 2010-15 seasons, Anthopoulos was senior vice president and general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, who went to the American League Championship Series last year and won the AL East title.

The 38-year-old Anthopoulos will assist in all aspects of baseball operations, working with president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, general manager Farhan Zaidi and senior vice president of baseball operations Josh Byrnes.

“We are thrilled to be bringing Alex on board,” Friedman said. “Farhan (Zaidi, Josh, and myself all have longstanding relationships with him and believe his experience and perspective will be a tremendous asset to our organization.”

Anthopoulos began his baseball career with the Expos as a media relations intern in 2000 before transitioning to scouting for the club for the next three seasons. He joined Toronto following the 2003 season as a scouting coordinator and earned a promotion to vice president of baseball operations and assistant general manager in 2006, before taking over as general manager in October 2009.

Brandon McCarthy’s Players’ Tribune mailbag

By Jon Weisman

On January 12, 2016

In Uncategorized

Jill Weisleder/Los Angeles Dodgers

By Jon Weisman

When I think of the Players’ Tribune, my mind goes back to the old Players Club ads with Telly Savalas. This is where I picture all these athletes hanging out, catching a show in the lounge while writing their pieces for the PT.

Surely, that was the setting for this jaunty Players’ Tribune mailbag from Dodger pitcher Brandon McCarthy. It’s impossible to pick out my favorite response, but for Dodger fans of all ages, surely this recap of his first encounter with Sandy Koufax works:

First off, he looks about 25 years younger than he is, so my first thought was to ask him about his skin care regimen. Deciding that was too personal, I said something like, “Crazy weather we’re having,” because it was overcast in Arizona. He might have said something in response, but I forget what it was, and honestly it’s not relevant to my story.

Sensing that he was dealing with a social dunce, he asked me about my curveball grip. I showed him, and he quickly showed me a much better way to hold it. My instincts to talk about the weather almost kicked in again before he continued talking about how important the grip is and how he used to hold his depending on what type of curveball he wanted to throw. We talked about the curveball for about half an hour even though I was cold, because it was overcast in Arizona. It will forever be one of my favorite career experiences.

Here’s a short peek into his thoughts about his lost 2015 season:

I wish I had a funny or better answer to this question other than “I don’t know,” but I don’t. I forgot to pack my sinker when I came to spring training and I think I was fighting against that. I was unable to get ground balls so I had to throw more four-seamers, leading to more strikeouts and more fly balls. Sample size for the season was so small and I was hurt for two of the games, so I choose to not look at last season as much of anything.

Read the entire mailbag here.

Lance Rautzhan, 1952-2016

By Jon Weisman

On January 11, 2016

In Farewells

By Jon Weisman

We’re sorry to pass along the news that former Dodger reliever Lance Rautzhan has passed away at age 63.

Rautzhan was a rookie on the 1977 Dodgers, making his MLB debut that July and going all the way to the World Series both that year. In 1978, he returned to the postseason after delivering a 2.93 ERA in 61 1/3 regular-season innings.

As Ken Gurnick of MLB.com points out in his obituary for Rautzhan, the left-hander from Pottsville, Pennsylvania was the winning pitcher in one of the most famous Dodger playoff games ever, when Los Angeles scored three runs in the top of the ninth to defeat Philadelphia in Game 3 of the 1977 National League Championship Series. Rautzhan faced one batter, retiring Bake McBride to end the eighth inning.

Overall, Rautzhan pitched in 80 regular season games for the Dodgers with a 3.73 ERA. He finished his career with Milwaukee in 1979, shortly before his 27th birthday.

Rautzhan was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in November 2014.

Riddle me this, Yasiel Puig

By Jon Weisman

On January 9, 2016

In Hitting

By Jon Weisman

If you think you’ve got a firm idea of how Yasiel Puig will perform in 2016, you’re kidding yourself.

Video: Interview with Julio Urias

By Jon Weisman

On January 8, 2016

In Development

[mlbvideo id=”537910583″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]

Julio Urias spoke on a number of topics in this interview held at this week’s MLB Rookie Career Development Program near Washington D.C. For more on the program, see below.

— Jon Weisman

[mlbvideo id=”537815183″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]

Dodgers divvy up 2016 winter development program

By Jon Weisman

On January 8, 2016

In Catching, Development, Minor leagues

Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers

By Jon Weisman

Instead of a single Winter Development Program for minor leaguers this month, as they have had in recent years, the Dodgers will run three different smaller camps over the next three weeks.

“There’s room for us to do it a little more creatively this time and optimize for togetherness and development of our players, and also our staff members,” Dodger director of player development Gabe Kapler said.

Why Kenta Maeda offers high upside

By Jon Weisman

On January 7, 2016

In Front office, Health/injuries, Pitching

https://twitter.com/Dodgers/status/685209880018329601

By Jon Weisman

Twice during his introductory press conference today, speaking through a translator, new Dodger righty Kenta Maeda said he really looked forward to being in a “champagne fight” at the end of the season.

That Maeda acknowledged reported “irregularities” in the physical that was submitted to Major League teams pursuing the Japanese baseball star certainly affected the structure of the eight-year, incentive-laden deal he signed, but did not diminish the confidence that he or the Dodgers have that he’ll be in the thick of the championship bubbly.

“Obviously, we spent a lot of time evaluating and scouting Kenta over his very successful career in Japan,” Dodger president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “We feel like the pitch mix will play here — obviously the fastball, slider is kind of his out pitch, his changeup has really come on, very good feel for a curveball. The ability to show so many different pitches and command them, coupled with the kind of athlete he is — he’s a tremendous athlete, fields his position well, holds runners well, can hit — obviously helps in the National League.”

No one today would talk in specifics about what cropped up in Maeda’s physical, but Friedman said that he is “totally asymptomatic.”

The lowdown on new Dodger righty Kenta Maeda

By Jon Weisman

On January 7, 2016

In International, Transactions

Kenta Maeda pitches in the second inning against the MLB All-Stars at the Kyocera Dome during the Japan All-Star Series on November 12, 2014 in Osaka. (Yuki Taguchi/MLB Photos)

Kenta Maeda pitches in the second inning against the MLB All-Stars at Osaka’s Kyocera Dome during the Japan All-Star Series on November 12, 2014. (Yuki Taguchi/MLB Photos)

By Jon Weisman

Bolstering their starting rotation, the Dodgers have signed 27-year-old right-hander Kenta Maeda to a contract. Not just any contract, but an eight-year contract.

“We are excited to be bringing Kenta Maeda into the Dodger organization,” Dodger president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “We have had the chance to scout him extensively in Japan and on the international stage and believe he has all the tools to be a successful Major League starting pitcher. We were honored to hear of his strong desire to be a Dodger and that only added to our motivation to bring him on board. We look forward to Kenta adding another chapter to the Dodgers’ global legacy and to him strengthening our ballclub in the years ahead.”

Listed at a slender 6 feet, 154 pounds, Maeda follows a line of pitchers from Japan including Hideo Nomo, Kazuhisa Ishii, Takashi Saito and Hideki Kuroda. He has a 2.39 career ERA in 1,509 2/3 career innings with the Hiroshima Carp of the Japan Central League, striking out 7.4 batters per nine innings.

By comparison, Kuroda — who also pitched for Hiroshima, from 1997-2007 — had an ERA of 3.69 and 6.7 strikeouts per nine innings when he joined the Dodgers at age 33. Kuroda went on to have a 3.73 ERA (3.59 FIP) in his first season with Los Angeles and 3.45 ERA (3.55 FIP) in four seasons.

In 2015, Maeda’s ERA was 2.14 in 206 1/3 innings — his seventh consecutive season with at least 175 innings. He was fourth in the league in ERA and third in strikeouts, and won his second Sawamura Award, the Japanese equivalent of the Cy Young Award.

Fordham alumni Vin Scully and Pat Harrington Jr. appear on ‘It Takes Two’ in 1970

By Jon Weisman

On January 7, 2016

In Celebrities, Off the field, Television

Pat Harrington Jr., the longtime TV performer (“One Day at a Time”), passed away Wednesday at age 86. Harrington graduated from Fordham in 1950 — one year after Vin Scully — and was a guest on the Scully-hosted “It Takes Two” in June 1970.

— Jon Weisman

BABIP: Brandon Alan Beachy in play for Dodgers

By Jon Weisman

On January 6, 2016

In Transactions

On July 11, Brandon Beachy threw 78 pitches in his first MLB game since 2014. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

Brandon Beachy prepares to take the mound July 11 for his first MLB game since 2013. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

By Jon Weisman

Brandon Beachy, who made two starts for the Dodgers last year during his attempt to comeback from a second Tommy John surgery, has signed a one-year contract with Los Angeles for 2016.

The 29-year-old right-hander still has a 3.36 career ERA (3.41 FIP) with 9.1 strikeouts per nine innings and a 1.16 WHIP. However, he has made only seven Major League starts in the past three years, including a pair of four-inning efforts for the Dodgers in July.

Beachy’s July 11 start for the Dodgers, in which he allowed three runs, was his first MLB outing in nearly 23 months. In his second game July 20, he was one strike away from retiring his eighth batter in a row before faltering. Each time, he blamed his inability to execute his pitches rather than his stuff.

Video: Ellis and Kershaw take Green Bay

By Jon Weisman

On January 5, 2016

In Humor, Off the field, Other sports

[mlbvideo id=”537534483″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]

Courtesy of SportsNet LA, here’s a fun video of Clayton Kershaw joining A.J. Ellis at a Cowboys-Packers game in Green Bay last month — a day that includes Kershaw picking up the football and sending a pass too deep, and yet shallow, all at once.

— Jon Weisman

Setbacks only made Scott Kazmir stronger

By Jon Weisman

On January 5, 2016

In Uncategorized

[mlbvideo id=”290961283″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]

(Denis Poroy/Getty Images)

By Jon Weisman

Technically, the only big-league season Scott Kazmir missed in his career was in 2012.

But the new Dodger left-hander actually went from September 2010 to May 2013 without a quality start, as he went through the challenges of tearing himself down and building himself back up.

After the Angels parted ways with him in June 2011, Kazmir began his comeback with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League — registering a 5.34 ERA in 64 innings — and winter ball with Gigantes de Carolina of the Puerto Rican Winter League (where he was a teammate with Kiké Hernandez).

Eventually, he was rewarded with a successful comeback season for the Cleveland Indians (4.04 ERA, 3.51 FIP) at age 29 in 2013.

“It was a long process,” Kazmir said in a conference call with reporters today. “It was definitely a low point of me getting released by the Angels. I knd of wanted to take a step back and start from scratch — go back to fundamentals and really give myself great habits, and get away from those bad habits I created. Just hard work, going through winter ball and independent ball and slowly getting things back, slowly feeling comfortable and just getting to know my body more – I think that was the big difference for me.”

Happy New Year: 16 for ’16

By Jon Weisman

On January 1, 2016

In History

By Jon Weisman

Andre Ethier (2006-present) has worn No. 16 as a Dodger player longer than anyone except Ron Perranoski (1961-72).
Van Lingle Mungo also wore No. 16 for 10 Dodger seasons, from 1932-41. It would have been longer, but Brooklyn didn’t wear uniform numbers before 1932.
Yasmani Grandal hit 16 homers and into 16 double plays for the Dodgers last season.
Rick Monday, arguably the most famous Dodger No. 16, struck out exactly 16 times in his first big-league season (1966) and his last (1984).
The last ’16 Dodgers — more accurately, the 1916 Brooklyn Robins — went to the World Series but lost in five games to Boston.
Clayton Kershaw has won 16 games two of the past three years.
Los Angeles hasn’t scored exactly 16 runs in a game since May 25, 2009, most recently topping that figure with the 17-0 shutout of the Giants in September 2014.
When he was first acquired from St. Louis in 1976, Reggie Smith wore No. 16, before switching to No. 8.
On the other hand, Hideo Nomo was originally No. 16 in his first stint as a Dodger, before taking No. 10 the second time around.
Nomo is the last Dodger to strike out 16 in a game (June 14, 1995) — as well as the last to strike out more than 16 (April 13, 1996).
Two Dodgers have been hit by 16 pitches in a season: Lou Johnson (1965) and Mike Kinkade (2003). Only Alex Cora (18 in 2004) has had more.
New manager Dave Roberts was hit by a pitch 16 times in his MLB career.
Last season, the Dodgers used 16 starting pitchers, but that wasn’t a franchise record. The 1944 Dodgers used 19.
In 12 seasons as a Dodger, Ron Fairly stole 16 bases.
Willie Davis is the last Dodger with 16 triples, in 1970.
In the past 16 seasons since 2000, the Dodgers have had winning records 14 times, trailing only the Yankees (16) and Cardinals (15).

Happy New Year from Dodger Insider!

Dodger Thoughts

Jon Weisman's outlet for dealing psychologically with the Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball and life

Month: January 2016 (Page 3 of 3)

Alex Anthopoulos joins Dodger front office

Brandon McCarthy’s Players’ Tribune mailbag

Lance Rautzhan, 1952-2016

Riddle me this, Yasiel Puig

Video: Interview with Julio Urias

Dodgers divvy up 2016 winter development program

Why Kenta Maeda offers high upside

The lowdown on new Dodger righty Kenta Maeda

Fordham alumni Vin Scully and Pat Harrington Jr. appear on ‘It Takes Two’ in 1970

BABIP: Brandon Alan Beachy in play for Dodgers

Video: Ellis and Kershaw take Green Bay

Setbacks only made Scott Kazmir stronger

Happy New Year: 16 for ’16

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