Dee Gordon, SS
Mark Ellis, 2B
Matt Kemp, CF
Andre Ethier, RF
Bobby Abreu, LF
Juan Uribe, 3B
James Loney, 1B
A.J. Ellis, C
Aaron Harang, P
I’ve made a few references to Aaron Miles this year, wondering why, with all the issues the Dodgers have had at third base, the Dodgers didn’t take him for another spin. Not that Miles was a problem-solver – but compared with Adam Kennedy or Justin Sellers, it just seemed odd that he wasn’t invited to the party. He came to the plate a whopping 490 times for the Dodgers last year.
Well, here it is. Dylan Hernandez of the Times reports that Miles has signed a minor-league deal with the Dodgers and has begun working out at the team’s Arizona facility. Miles “misplayed the free-agent market,” Hernandez wrote, implying that his contract demands were too high after a .314 on-base percentage and .360 slugging percentage in 2011. Miles hit .231 after July 1.
In Friday’s game, the Dodgers never trailed and won, 7-3. Chris Capuano turned in another striking performance, extending his scoreless inning streak to what would have been the 25-inning mark before allowing a seventh-inning home run to Michael Cuddyer.
Mark Ellis was the Dodgers’ early hitting star with a home run and two-run double, and Andre Ethier came a triple shy of the cycle. Juan Uribe joined Ellis in hitting 2012 home run No. 1, while James Loney reached base three times and Matt Treanor had two singles.
Ellis has a .472 on-base percentage and .533 slugging percentage in 37 plate appearances this month. For the year, he is 10th in the National League in OBP (not counting A.J. Ellis, whose day off Friday left him two plate appearances short of the minimum), and he has yet to make an error.
Pitching with a 7-1 lead in the ninth, seldom-used Todd Coffey faced five batters and allowed three hits and a hard-hit sacrifice fly that Ethier caught with perhaps the best defensive play of his career, sliding into the wall in the corner of right field. Coffey has now allowed 13 baserunners in 3 1/3 innings this season.
There was some fear that Ethier might be hurt, but he professed to be fine.
“I just banged up my toe a little bit,” he told Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A.. “I was trying to avoid hitting my knee. I tried to kick the wall to avoid sliding into it.”
MIke MacDougal, by the way, is not coming back to the Dodgers. MacDougal “has cleared waivers and rejected an outright assignment to the minors,” according to Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com. “The Dodgers thusly have requested unconditional release waivers on him, meaning MacDougal’s time with the club is over.”
Matt Kemp, who was recovering from hamstring issues earlier this week, has gone hitless in consecutive starts for the first time this season. (Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports has more on Kemp.) In May, Kemp is 7 for 28 with a double, triple and seven walks (.746 OPS) – and is no longer the hottest player in baseball. That would be Texas outfielder Josh Hamilton, who in his past five games is 11 for 21 with four walks, a double and eight home runs. Shawn Green of the Dodgers was the last to hit more homers in such a short span.
underdog
Yeah, Miles seemed inevitable, and does make some sense. I know some fans will roll their eyes at the thought of him again, but would he really be worse than Kennedy? Maybe defensively slightly… Anyway, he’s just depth at this point. I’d still rather give IDJ the next shot if someone got injured but Dodgers always seem irritated with him.
Anthony Forkush
You are not alone. The fact that he has been sitting at home in his underwear since the last out of last season is rather mystifying. He clearly believed that he would be as valuable as his other half, Jamey Carroll, but that did not happen. This is a smart pickup for Kasten.
Anonymous
Hmm. Your comment made me think of DeJesus as this.
Anonymous
More like Miles!! (thought bubble – “why didn’t I take the 800, 000 offer, I was greedy, I just wanted a nice round million”)
Anonymous
Your comment makes me wonder how much Kasten has usurped Colletti’s decision-making role. My hope is “totally.”
Anonymous
Maybe I missed it, why is this a Kasten pickup and not a Ned signing?
Jon Weisman
I’m sure it had virtually nothing to do with Kasten, whose role is much more big picture right now.
Anonymous
Moves folks like = Kasten
Moves folks hate = Colletti
Anonymous
Miles have Jody Reed’s agent??
Anonymous
From today’s WaPo: “Harper went 0 for 5 with three strikeouts. In his fourth at-bat, in the seventh inning, he grounded out to second base off Reds reliever Jose Arredondo. Back in the dugout, Harper took his bat down the tunnel that leads to the clubhouse and took out his frustration with a fierce swing against the wall. Baseball players release anger in the same manner on ballfields every day, at every level, but it rarely goes so wrong. The bat bounced off the wall and drilled Harper above his left eye, immediately drawing copious blood”.
Took ten stitches. Bryce one-upped Bills by beating himself up and not leaving it to a blogger.
Kyle MacGregor
Man, if that kid had blinded himself in his first couple weeks in the bigs because of a temper tantrum over a bad night…
KT
Bob I can always count on you to make me lugh at least once a day
Pass every “milestone” in order to be released…Hoping the doc shows up today so I can convice him to let me go
foul tip
Unlike MacDougal, you’re eager to be released?
KT
Oh yea trying to do some serious negotiations here…hate watching the game on gameday…spent many years overseas before mlbtv doing just that…It’s why I hate the statement “in play run/runs”
Anonymous
Way way back before the net, I had to rely on the results in the newspapers and hope occasionally they put the standings in. ;)
Anonymous
>> Coffey has now allowed 12 baserunners in 3 1/3 innings this season.
.
It’s 13, if you include the HBP along with the 3 BB and 9 H.
Anonymous
If Miles replaces Kennedy, OK; if we have to live with both of them, not.
Anonymous
I think it’s pretty clear that some infielders are there only as replacement players, guys who can hopefully field okay and probably won’t do much at the plate (think sub-.600 OPS). Kennedy, Sellers, and IDJ all fall into this category, and unfortunately so far Uribe and Gordon do too. You only play those guys if you have to have a warm body. You hope you can rely as much as possible on players like M Ellis, Hairston, and Miles, who may not be superstars but can consistently do more than the previous group.
Kyle MacGregor
Welcome back Aaron. I missed seeing your woolly-self spring down the line. You seem like a good guy; maybe you can help Adam pack his bags.
Anonymous
Miles may or may not be an answer, but it does send the message that Josh Fields definitely isn’t.
Kyle MacGregor
Could probably use more seasoning in the minors. His home away splits are pretty telling that high elevation is pretty crucial to his game at the moment. Maybe that’d cut it if he was called up for an away series against Colorado and immediately sent back down.
Anonymous
Depends on what the question is, but, yeah, Dodger pitchers might not be too happy with Ned if Fields got much play at third.
foul tip
Could a factor be that Fields pretty much is third or first, while Miles is more versatile?
bcmaiden
Coffey is really awful and IMO worse than Mac. Coffey was horrible the entire spring and nothing has changed. Ned just can’t get out his own way each year with his penchant for signing horrible relief pitchers. The one thing the Dodgers possess in the minors is pitching but Ned always goes in the opposite direction until he’s forced to promote one. The veterans vs. kids philosophy is getting old.
Jon Weisman
Even with Coffey, last night was a showcase for Ned acquisitions: Capuano, Ellis, Ethier, and even Uribe.
bcmaiden
Cap has been terrific and I love it. I live in NorCal and follow the A’s. I have always loved Markie, he’s so solid, but he has spent considerable time on the DL. Hope he avoids that in LA. Ned doesn’t get credit for EMan. I read it was a scout who went to Ned and convinced him to get him for Bradley. Uribe was a bad signing his HR last night notwithstanding.
Jon Weisman
I’m not seriously arguing Uribe was a good signing – just saying that I would give Ned a break for the night.
Ned does get credit for Ethier. Scouts make recommendations all the time. You judge a GM by the deals he makes and doesn’t make. I’m sure some scout thought Uribe would help the Dodgers, too.
bcmaiden
…like Brian Sabean
Anonymous
Agree, the Dodgers had a lot of players to choose from to hit 1, 2, 7, and 8 and needed another to choose from to maybe hit 3, 4, 5, and 6–He was kind of forced to try Uribe and hope for the best.
Anonymous
>> The veterans vs. kids philosophy is getting old.
.
Of course, by definition, LOL! And sometimes it works out. Remember, the veterans vs kids philosophy also gave us Chris Capuano and Jerry Hairston Jr.
bcmaiden
Can’t compare starters to relievers. Ned doesn’t hand out starting jobs to kids and, of course, utility infielders are almost always vets. Jerry was a good signing Kennedy not so much. Abreu so far so good, but I like to call this the ‘honeymoon period’ with a player who gets either traded or DFA’d and his new team. They always seem to produce but at some point return to the unproductive player who was released or traded. Hopefully, Abreu can still be productive due to his plate discipline and OBP.
Anonymous
Too much TJ surgery going on to push a young player to the majors. It is tough enough to have a prolonged career in the majors for most so the ability to hang on a few years by bouncing around the league make baseball a little better career choice for those that will never get a hall of fame vote.
foul tip
Apparently the planned night off Wednesday for one M. Ellis was a pause that refreshed.
Anonymous
He was doing pretty well, recently, even without the night off.
Anonymous
Brief article in the Times about the Dodgers: http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/12/dodgers-are-starting-to-see-better-days
Ian Miller
Coffey is awful. What are we waiting for with Shawn Tolleson? The argument with Ethier is a point in Ned’s favor, but he legitimately whiffs on 90-95% of his acquisitions. This is what worries me going forward, it doesn’t matter how much money we have if we still have Ned obsessing over former Giants and scrappy white infielders.
Kyle MacGregor
He got touched up for 3 runs in his first game at Albuquerque. He’s already ascending pretty quickly and its not like the big club is falling apart without another ace reliever. We’ll probably see him sooner or later.
Anonymous
While I completely agreed with your sentiments, Kyle, I wouldn’t have used touched up for 2 of the runs scoring each on a WP.
Anonymous
I wouldn’t say Ned whiffs most of the time. Some big whiffs, sure (Pierre, Jones, Schmidt). But most of the time, he’s like Pierre. He shows up early, stays late, makes contact and runs hard down the line to show he cares, but it’s still an out.
At this point, like it or not, nearly everyone on the squad is “Ned’s guy.” I’d say Kemp, Kershaw, Billingsley, and Loney are about the only guys left who were in the system when Ned arrived, and his major contribution (despite some harrowing moments) was to not trade them away. OTOH, Loney’s continued presence at first base is not exactly a sign of a good GM.
Anonymous
A.J. Ellis has been in the system since 2003. Might have made it to the Bigs sooner, but Ned went with vets such as Ausmus and Navarro as backups.
Anonymous
Good point. I don’t blame anyone for giving Martin and even Navarro a shot before Ellis, but once those guys flamed out, lots of PVL (including the second coming of Navarro) blocked AJ. That’s to the GM’s discredit.
Anonymous
Oh, come on. NOBODY expected AJ to be hitting like he is doing this season. His OPS with the Dodgers is better than any of his 9 seasons in the minors. Which is why he was never rated all that highly as a prospect. This is NOT something you can blame on Ned.
Anonymous
Of course I can blame this on Ned. No, I didn’t expect Ellis to do as well as he has so far. Nor do I expect this to continue, with the exception of his terrific (and time-tested) on-base skills. But I absolutely did expect he could do every bit as well as the rest of the post-Martin dreck that Colletti paid big money for. .785 OPS (based mostly on OBP) would be just fine, thanks, at these prices. He’d still be better than Loney.
Scott Griffee
Exactly.
Now that McCourt is out of town, Ned is the resident whipping boy.
People seem to forget the good transactions he has made – Ethier, Carroll, Miles, Manny Ramirez, and so far this year – Hairston, Ellis, and Capuono. Or the trades he didn’t make involving Kemp, Ethier, etc. in pursuit of trade-deadline help.
You think he wanted to include Carlos Santana (a .245 MLB hitter, btw) instead of paying for Casey Blake? And how could he trade the “can’t miss” Trayvon Robinson (a .210 MLB hitter hitting .255 in AAA)?
Yes, he has signed some flops. But who hasn’t? Look at the Zito signing. Pujols? Or other players the Angels have eaten contacts of late – Abreu, Matthews Jr., Kazmir, Speir. Not to mention what they pay Welss ($21M) to hit .223 or Torii Hunter ($18M) to hit .263
Scott Griffee
Go Bears
Strictly speaking of C’s, who exactly was Ned spending “big money” on?
I like that they went with Ellis this year. Look around MLB – there was something like 8 C’s with 400 AB’s last year that hit .250 or better. Why not save $ and go with Ellis?
Anonymous
As non-entertained as I am with Loney’s hitting I will take his defense for now and hope he gets it going soon. I would love to see Mattingly try to jump-start Loney though. A line up of Ellis, Loney, Kemp, Ethier, Uribe, Abreu, Ellis, Gordon gives the dodgers a RLRLRLRL lineup and lets Loney hit in front of kemp for a week or so.
Anonymous
Great quote from Bay Area writer Andrew Baggarly on the Gnats: “So much of Fresno is already on the roster, you wonder if there’s anyone left to pick the table grapes.”
Anonymous
Treanor’s two hits last night show just how much luck is involved in baseball. Off the bat, both balls had DP written all over them – routine grounders to short. Luckily, Tulowitzki was playing up the middle and both snuck through. Bad luck for Moyer, good for the Dodgers. Kemp, on the other hand, hit a couple hard, but right at guys. I’m not complaining – just reminding myself that baseball, like life, is stochastic.
Anonymous
Is that Greek for something?
Anonymous
So our infield has a total of 4 HR’s, one each, is that correct?
Anonymous
unless you count AJ. he has 2.
Anonymous
Just the simple fact that AH has the same number of HR’s as Loney and Uribe combined is…fill in the adjective.
Anonymous
Or twice the number of a certain 250MM player
Jon Weisman
This will be the game chat thread.
Anonymous
IOW, NNPUT.
Scott Griffee
Dee Gordon is really looking like an 8th hitter (but more likely a AAA hitter). I wonder if Ned is calling teams about a leadoff-type LF/CF. Maybe Bourjos?
Anonymous
Given that we’re trying out two new left fielders, and we already have a pretty good guy playing center every day, I doubt it.
.
Sounds like you’re wishing for the return of Juan Pierre. And that is NOT a good thing. :)
Scott Griffee
Our “pretty good” CF would be better served playing LF. I wouldn’t mind a Juan Pierre-type hitter at all.
Gordon’s OBP is about .250, and since he has erased himself 5 times in 17 attempts stealing, his effective OBP is even lower.
If the Dodgers were getting production from 1B/3B/LF, Gordon’s struggles could be hidden. But since that isn’t the case, (and the best hope in LF for the next couple of months is probably 38 year old Abreu) it is time to explore a different leadoff hitter in an OF spot, IMO.
Anonymous
You’re welcome to your opinion. I don’t agree with a word of it…
Jason Ungar
What’s not to agree with exactly? The guy with the most plate appearances as a dodger this year is hitting .218/.258/.282/.540 and that’s before his 0-3 so far. A bat like that shouldn’t be anywhere in the line up, let alone receiving the most at bats
Scott Griffee
Well get used to a lot of hand-wringing 1-0, 2-1 games for a while.
I like it when my leadoff hitter gets on base.
Scott Griffee
And ANOTHER first pitch popup by Dee. He really should be in AAA, or at the very least, 8th in the order.
Anonymous
Happy Mother’s Day Jon.
Anonymous
For what it’s worth, the Gnats’ starting infield has a grand total of one home run among them.
Their starting outfield has a grand total of six.
Anonymous
In all fairness, the ‘ants also have twice as many players (4 vs 2) with more than 2 HR than we do…
Anonymous
I wonder if I’m the only one for whom Aaron Miles’s apparent overestimate of his value in the marketplace, and inability to find that value, reminds me of the same phenomenon by his predecessor at second base, Ryan Theriot?
Anonymous
I was hoping to see SVS in the starting lineup. :(
Anonymous
But the Rockies pitcher had worse splits vs LHH
Anonymous
Harang has basically had 3 out-of-this-world innings for us. Other than that his ERA is above 5.00, both away and at home, where he might have expected to do better. He didn’t even do well in PETCO. (so he must be due).
Anonymous
True. He’s the least reliable starter in the rotation. OTOH it’s pretty unusual to have four starters all doing as well as the other four are.
.
Maybe he’s getting better, though; his last start – for which I was at the game – was a season low in runs allowed.
Anonymous
Hope so. Some of those other guys are likely to come down, so it would be nice to get some indication that Harang has an upside.
Anonymous
harang isn’t a slow starter, so that’s not it. last year, his era was under two through his first four starts. last season, he appeared to pitch well against the dodgers, so maybe ned made that classic mistake of signing a guy that played well against his club, but was really mediocre (and getting nothing but worse) otherwise.
Anonymous
Yeah, but I guess we should give Harang credit for those three good games he would have otherwise pitched against us if we hadn’t acquired him.
Anonymous
exactly.
Anonymous
I thought he looked familiar. angel hernandez is behind the plate tonight. nothing good can come of this.
Anonymous
Magnificent play by Loney!
Anonymous
A.J.’s block made that happen.
Anonymous
Good show, Juan.
Anonymous
Bobby showing his patience, listening to Juan on the bench.
Anonymous
Chilling vignette by Vin on RFK and Drysdale.
Anonymous
The ump was kind enough to give Nicasio a timeout. He was standing in the box while staring down at the thirdbase coach (and missed the sign to boot, I guess).
Anonymous
A.J. Ellis looking better and better!!! Unfortunately Harang looking worse. But if you buy high on Cappo and Harang, and one of them turns golden, you win!!! So if new ownership influences a slow removal of bad vet contracts and a slow accumulation of good young players, it will be a wonderful thing(per Steely Dan).!
Anonymous
I wish our pitchers always looked as bad as six shutout innings with four baserunners. :)
Anonymous
Angel, baby?
Anonymous
Uribe comes through?
Anonymous
Guy should have just thrown him three change ups in a row.
Anonymous
You need an eephus pitch specialist against him.
Anonymous
I doubt poor Uribe could hit above A-level at this point—But when he shuts his eyes and swings hard, good things can happen. Just please run for the big guy.
Anonymous
indeed. every time he gets on base, donnie should pinch run for him. it just doesn’t happen enough to deplete the bench.
Anonymous
The pitcher actually only threw one strike to James. Where has his discipline gone? (booted that ball probably thinking about his AB)
Jason Ungar
I just hope we get the best hitter available at the break. Hopefully he plays 1b.
Scott Griffee
Paul Konerko?
Jason Ungar
crazy to think (and sure it is rare) he could still be mashing for us. Whenever I talk about players traded away I always think Piazza and Pedro and rightly so, but Konerko is sitting on 2000 hits and 400 bombs. currently OPSing .978 which would be 2nd on the dodgers
Anonymous
QS for Aaron? (second in a row, but this time it feels like one)
Anonymous
Horrendous bunting by Harang.
Anonymous
Mr. Gopher, meet Mr. Ball.
Anonymous
In fairness, Harang has pitched well, but I think letting him go any farther is risky.
Scott Griffee
Agreed.
He has made some good pitches, got away with a handful of bad pitches, and couldn’t get a bunt down.
Bring in Belisario.
Anonymous
Not a swipe at Harang, just an observation. Certainly a quality start for him.
Anonymous
dodger stadium 2, matt kemp 0
Anonymous
is there a gale blowing in from center field tonight?
Anonymous
Angel Hernandez and the Incredible Expanding Strike Zone.
Anonymous
it’s inconsistent. umpires with big strike zones usually always have big strike zones. hernandez is just all over the map.
Anonymous
Angel Hernandez and the Irritatingly Inconsistent Strike Zone.
Modifier trouble.
Anonymous
there was nothing wrong with kenley’s first pitch to cargo, by the way.
Anonymous
Jon… I absolutely loved your “Home Run” posting…
….
Not to be negative on an otherwise great Saturday night…
However, I cannot stand Angel Hernandez.
“Angel…dude…you’re an ump. I shouldn’t even know your name. Why do your brutal calls make you a household name? Also, what’s with taking off your mask so often? Looking for as much ‘face time’ as you can get?”
…..
Now, as Vinny says, “Let’s get back to this one…” …. :-)
Scott Griffee
Let’s start the “should the dodgers be bunting with the guy that gets on base 40% + ” debate!
Anonymous
Well, it worked this time.
Scott Griffee
Shouldn’t Dee be taking a few pitches as a leadoff hitter?
Anonymous
big test for kenley. 1 run lead, and the heart of their order coming up.
Anonymous
Gordon really needs a night off.
Anonymous
Apparently the secret to offense this late in the evening is to go short.
Anonymous
One of the cheapest runs I’ve seen in a while.
Anonymous
I don’t think I have ever seen a ball move on the grass like it was on a pool table. not quite like that, anyway.
Scott Griffee
Kenley needs a tough entrance song. You think AC/DC or Guns N’ Roses record something with a Caribbean flavor?
Anonymous
How about Mighty Sparrow’s “Big Bamboo?”
Anonymous
Toots and the Maytals “Pressure Drop”?
Anonymous
Or Toots’s “Sweet and Dandy?”
Anonymous
dee finally got run off by an outfielder. heh
Anonymous
And then by an infielder.
Anonymous
Likely trying to over-compensate for his non-contribution with the bat.
Anonymous
AND and infielder. Dee needs to switch to decaf maybe?
KT
one more Kenley
Andrew Shimmin
Those mean older boys wouldn’t let Gordon play at all, that inning.
Anonymous
Hey… T-Gwynn, Jr. is becoming quite the little pinch hitter….
Well, he’s got a great coach in Dave Hansen…
And, on second thought, he’s probably picked up a few pointers from his Pop! …
…
Also, way to take care of some important NL West Business tonight, Blue!
Anonymous
Hey DTers… enjoy your Mothers’ Day!
Give your Moms a big hug.
Anonymous
22-11 (.667), it has a nice symmetry, don’t you think?
Anonymous
Yep. That would translate nicely over a whole season….
Christopher Staaf
Not feeling scared when being up by 1 run in the 9th? Yes please. Here is hoping Kenley indeed is the new closer for good.
Great job by Harang today. It’s about time some breaks went his way.
Anonymous
The Dodgers once again have the best record in the majors, at 22-11.
Anonymous
The O’s having the next best at 22-12 should givve us some reason to pause, no?
Anonymous
No. What should give us reason to pause is that there are still 129 games to go. What should give us reason for hope is that we have such a good record in the first 33 games. And that we’re so far ahead of the rest of our division.
Old Bear
If Harang is out weakest starter, we have a very fine starting rotation. The best one through five in years. I remember when Hendrickson and Tomko were in the mix.
Anonymous
Last year’s Kershaw-Kuroda-Billingsley-Lilly-De La Rosa was as good as this one IMHO.
Eric Enders
It’s a great rotation, but only because nobody’s gotten hurt yet. The Dodgers have had other rotations that were this good when all 5 guys were healthy at the same time. The real litmus test for this year’s rotation will be how Eovaldi or Ely or Withrow performs when a couple of starters go down.
Anonymous
Wonder if they try Wright before going to the farm.
Anonymous
Remember, De La Rosa may be recovered and available at some point after the break.
Anonymous
another good win (sorry I missed it today)
Anonymous
Dodger pitching now has a 3.19 ERA, second in MLB only to the Nats. So is the rotation, with its 2.82 ERA. The bullpen, not so much, 19th with a 4.01 ERA.
Anonymous
The pen, though, has gone through some trial and error, and is probably better than the numbers suggest. The subtraction of Macdougal and addition of Belisario is a good example.
Anonymous
I agree. I also think it’s likely to continue to get better going forward, as Guerrier and then Hawksworth return, maybe Tolleson and/or Wall, and the couple of marginal relievers either get better or move out.
KT
Doc just said I can go home (2 1/2 hrs processing time) so maybe I’ll make it home by the 3rd-4th inning
Anonymous
Enjoy your recovery watching the game.
foul tip
Hope 2 1/2 is all it is. Hospital time often is measured in we’ll-get-around-to-it hours. At least you’re out. ;-])
Anonymous
Terrific! I assume that’s good news. Glad to hear it!
Anonymous
Happy mother’s day to all of those in DT land. And for the rest of us if it wasn’t for our mothers we wouldn’t have had the chance to become Dodger fans :)
foul tip
A recent Verducci effort from si.com. Praises Buck Showalter’s turnaround ability, touches on managerial cookie cutter use of closers (recently discussed here), and quotes AL scouts who say the Rangers may be the AL’s best over the last 10-12 years.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/tom_verducci/05/11/showalter.closers.rangers/index.html?eref=sihp&sct=hp_wr_a5
Jon Weisman
NPUT