Health/injuries – Page 17 – Dodger Thoughts

On September 1, 2014

Nationals at Dodgers, 5:10 p.m.
Dee Gordon, 2B
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, RF
Scott Van Slyke, LF
Yasiel Puig, CF
Juan Uribe, 3B
A.J. Ellis, C
Roberto Hernandez, P

By Jon Weisman

Joc is in the house.

In addition to Alex Guerrero, Tim Federowicz and Yimi Garcia, highly touted prospect Joc Pederson, fresh off his mega-season at Triple A, has joined the Dodgers on the first day of expanded rosters.

Pederson and Garcia, who had a 3.10 ERA with 69 strikeouts against 81 baserunners in 61 innings, will be making their Major League debuts if and when they enter a game.

Guerrero played in both Australia games for the Dodgers, striking out in his only at-bat. He ended his first Triple-A season with a .364 on-base percentage, .613 slugging percentage and 15 home runs.

Federowicz, 8 for 61 with three doubles, three walks and a homer as a Dodger earlier this season, OPSed .938 for Albuquerque.

The Dodgers also activated reliever Chris Perez from the disabled list.

Update: The Dodgers designated Carlos Triunfel for assignment to make room for Pederson on the 40-man roster.

Ryuribe lives!

On August 31, 2014

Dodgers at Padres, 1:10 p.m.
Yasiel Puig, CF
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, RF
Scott Van Slyke, LF
Juan Uribe, 3B
A.J. Ellis, C
Darwin Barney, 2B
Hyun-Jin Ryu, P

By Jon Weisman

Dodger pals Hyun-Jin Ryu and Juan Uribe do so many other things together, they might as well come off the disabled list together.

Ryu (out since August 13) and Uribe (out since August 15) are in the starting lineup for the Dodgers today, with Carlos Frias and Miguel Rojas taking the smallest of detours to the roster of Triple-A Albuquerque. Frias and Rojas can rejoin the Dodgers after the Isotopes’ play their final game of 2014 on Monday.

Other reinforcements from the minors can come as soon as Monday, when rosters expand to up to 40 players.

Before leaving his August 13 start with two outs in the sixth inning, Ryu had made five consecutive quality starts (averaging 6.5 innings with an ERA of 1.91), nine quality starts in his past 10 and 14 out of 16 since his previous DL stint ended May 21. He has a 3.28 ERA and 8.0 strikeouts per nine innings this season.

Uribe is batting .293 this year, albeit with only 12 walks, and is the National League’s top-ranked defensive third baseman, according to Fangraphs.

Dodgers’ fourtitude in 12th isn’t enough

On August 30, 2014

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By Jon Weisman

The radical, four-on-the-floor finish to one of the crazier 3-2 games you’ll see might not soon be forgotten. Then again it might, if these kinds of extreme defensive shifts become more commonplace.

Two things strike me about this moment of the Dodgers placing four fielders between first and second base:

How close it came to working to perfection. Even with Dee Gordon’s throw bouncing home, the Dodgers missed the inning-ending double play by a hair.
Because Andre Ethier was still officially a center fielder at this point even though he was stationed at first (with Adrian Gonzalez to his right), we just missed seeing a 4-2-8 double play.

Gordon had some rough times in Friday’s loss to the Padres, going 0 for 6 with a throwing error, though he hit a monster fly ball with one on in the fifth that deserved to be a go-ahead home run (inside or outside the park), only for Rymer Liriano to flag it at the top of the fence.

Actually, the lingering sensation from Friday’s game might center on Hanley Ramirez, who came within a triple of the cycle even though he injured himself again, this time slipping on a wet base – and then getting called out via replay on his attempt to make it back to first. Ramirez, who hit an even more monstrous fly ball in the eighth to actually tie the game, looked Pedro Guerreroesque circling the bases (fans of a certain age will recall Guerrero hurting his back on a home run swing and barely making it around the diamond).

The Dodgers have had a welcome week’s worth of good news on the injury front, but that’s now in jeopardy.

Outfield nomad Matt Kemp nears Dodger lead in home runs

On August 29, 2014

In Health/injuries, History, Pregame

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Dodgers at Padres, 7:10 p.m.
Dee Gordon, 2B
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, RF
Carl Crawford, LF
Andre Ethier, CF
Justin Turner, 3B
A.J. Ellis, C
Dan Haren, P

By Jon Weisman

Matt Kemp, who had eight home runs for the season one month ago, has moved in position to lead the Dodgers in circuit clouts.

Kemp has doubled his 2014 homer total since July 29, moving past Scott Van Slyke, Yasiel Puig and Hanley Ramirez to within two of Adrian Gonzalez. He has a .584 slugging percentage and .923 OPS in that time.

What’s weird about the potential of Kemp leading the Dodgers in home runs is that he won’t lead them in innings played at any position. He is all but guaranteed to finish behind Carl Crawford in left field, Yasiel Puig in right field and either Puig or Andre Ethier in center.

(That’s right: Puig could lead the Dodgers in time served in both center and right field, though Ethier is likely to prevail in center by at least a few innings. Puig, 0 for his last 18 with six walks, is not in tonight’s starting lineup. )

While Kemp has certainly been a regular in the outfield, his season will be split fairly neatly among the three positions. So far, Kemp has played 369 1/3 innings in left, 326 in center and 287 1/3 in right.

The last Dodger to lead the team in home runs without a regular position was Al Ferrara, who hit 16 homers in 1967 while playing fewer innings in right field than Ron Fairly and fewer in left than three other players. Ferrara led the Dodgers in home runs despite only starting 87 games that year.

Meanwhile, Van Slyke, who hit his 10th home run and first since July 22 on Wednesday, appears to have escaped serious injury after rolling his ankle. He told Ken Gurnick of MLB.com today that he was fine and ready to play.

Clayton Kershaw’ll be taking these Huggies and whatever cash ya got

On August 27, 2014

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By Jon Weisman

Avenging Arizona.

Clayton Kershaw returned to the scene of the biggest crime of his 2014 season and .. walked the first batter he faced on four pitches.

In the third inning, with one out, he pitched with the bases loaded for the first time all year.

In the fourth, he allowed a double and a single (with an error) to the first two batters he faced, leading to the first unearned run he’s allowed in the regular season since September 13.

In the fifth, the leadoff hitter hit a triple, the first triple off Kershaw since the May 17 disaster start.

But in the end, Kershaw was Kershaw.

Retiring 12 of the final 13 hitters he faced and striking out seven of them, Kershaw carried the Dodgers to a 3-1 victory at Arizona.

His 2014 ERA is now 1.73, its lowest mark since his second start of the season. He struck out 10 batters, giving him three consecutive games with at least 10 strikeouts for the first time since June 20-July 2, 2011.

His record since May 17: 139 innings, 85 hits, 20 walks, 166 strikeouts, 1.29 ERA.

In his past 750 innings, the 26-year-old left-hander has a 1.99 ERA.

Kenley Jansen struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 100th career save.

The down note for the Dodgers, who took the lead for good on Matt Kemp’s two-run double in the third inning, was an ankle injury to Scott Van Slyke. Van Slyke, who continued to destroy Arizona starter Wade Miley with a third-inning homer, his fourth (to go with three doubles) in 11 at-bats against the lefty this year, rolled his right ankle while making the aforementioned error, on a ricochet of the ball off Yasiel Puig, and had to leave the game. He is day to day.

Hello, Hanley

On August 24, 2014

For photo highlights from Saturday, visit LA Photog Blog.

Mets at Dodgers, 1:10 p.m.
Dee Gordon, 2B
Yasiel Puig, CF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, RF
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Carl Crawford, LF
Justin Turner, 3B
A.J. Ellis, C
Kevin Correia, P

By Jon Weisman

Yep, it’s consecutive days of players getting healthier.

The Dodgers follow Zack Greinke’s return to the mound in Saturday’s 7-4 victory over the Mets with Hanley Ramirez’s departure from the disabled list to the starting lineup today. Erisbel Arruebarrena has been optioned to Single-A Rancho Cucamonga.

When he has played, Ramirez has been a consistent hitter for some time now. Since going 4 for 4 with two home runs on May 31, Ramirez has had a .415 on-base percentage and .474 slugging percentage (.889 OPS) in 183 plate appearances.

Ramirez is the No. 2 offensive shortstop in baseball this season behind injured Troy Tulowitzki of Colorado, according to Fangraphs.

Mattingly said Greinke felt good this morning – came out of Saturday’s start “pretty well.”

— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) August 24, 2014

For his part, Greinke gave a positive report to Dodger manager Don Mattingly this morning. He told Ken Gurnick of MLB.com he would tell the Dodgers if he were worried about his physical condition — but at this point he wasn’t.

“Weird circumstances gave me extra time, but I’ve been pretty good,” he said. “Between starts it hasn’t bothered me. I felt great again today. I hope that’s how it stays.

“You’re not going to believe me, but it really hasn’t bothered me when the game’s on the line. It didn’t affect any of my pitches. It really isn’t a big issue.”

He said he’d be honest with manager Don Mattingly if he didn’t feel physically able to help the team or if he thought he was putting himself at risk of serious injury.

“I have no desire to go out there and give up 10 runs or hurt myself more,” he said.

Arruebarrena figures to return to the Dodgers when rosters expand September 1. Miguel Rojas’ greater experience at third base was a main reason he was retained on the roster in the short term over Arruebarrena.

Off days enable Dodgers to move up Kershaw, rest Greinke

On August 20, 2014

In Health/injuries, Pregame

Zack Greinke on the mound against the Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium on July 30. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

Padres at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.
Darwin Barney, 2B
Yasiel Puig, CF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, RF
Scott Van Slyke, LF
Justin Turner, 3B
Erisbel Arruebarrena, SS
A.J. Ellis, C
Roberto Hernandez, P

Note: San Francisco won its protest of the decision to call Tuesday’s 4 1/2-inning game at Chicago complete. The Giants’ loss is taken off the standings, putting the Dodgers’ National League West lead at four games heading into tonight.

San Francisco and Chicago will resume their game at 2:05 p.m. Pacific on Thursday, with the regularly scheduled series finale to follow at 5:05 p.m.

By Jon Weisman

Making use of three off days between August 18-28, the Dodgers have tweaked their pitching rotation to buy Zack Greinke some extra rest for his tender elbow.

Clayton Kershaw, pitching on four days’ rest, will take Greinke’s turn Thursday against the Padres, while Greinke will be held back until Saturday against the Mets (with Dan Haren going Friday and Kevin Correia on Sunday).

An off day on Monday would then allow the Dodgers to give Kershaw & Co. the extra day of rest they thought they’d be getting this week.

Don Mattingly said that Greinke had a clean MRI on his elbow two weeks ago. Greinke didn’t want to postpone his start, but was convinced in a conversation with vice president of medical services Stan Conte to be prudent about his condition.

“If he keeps feeling like he’s feeling now, I don’t think he thinks or anyone thinks it’s a DL (situation),” Mattingly said. “With the off days … that will determine how he gets extra rest.”

Greinke’s elbow could further test Dodger depth

On August 20, 2014

In Health/injuries, Postgame, Status report

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All Wet

The Dodgers might well have caught a break Tuesday from the Wrigley Field grounds crew, whose struggle to effectively put down a tarp during a 10-minute rainstorm left the field unplayable, causing the Giants’ game against the Cubs to end after 4 1/2 innings in a 2-0 loss. There is talk of a protest, but at least for now, San Francisco fell to 4 1/2 games behind Los Angeles in the National League West.

By Jon Weisman

Teams don’t win or lose, organizations do.

Maybe that’s just a matter of semantics, but the point is, every aspect of your organization, top to bottom, plays a role in the fortunes of the team. And sometimes, you need the bottom to carry the top. Or, depending on your point of view, the middle.

That’s what the Dodgers face right now, given the possibility that Zack Greinke will become the fifth Dodger starting pitcher sidelined for at least the short term, following Chad Billingsley, Josh Beckett, Paul Maholm and Hyun-Jin Ryu.

And yes, I think it’s important to include Billingsley in these lists, because when the season began, he was considered likely to be in the rotation in the second half of 2014, certainly more likely than Beckett or Maholm.

Here’s the latest on Greinke from Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:

Greinke is only a “possibility” to make his scheduled start on Thursday, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said after Tuesday night’s 8-6 win over the Padres.

Greinke has been dealing with a tender elbow for the past three weeks, bypassing regular bullpen sessions to throw on flat ground, which puts less of a strain on the arm.

Mattingly would not elaborate on Greinke’s condition or who might replace him, although the Dodgers have few options besides rookie Carlos Frias, who pitched four innings in relief of Dan Haren on Sunday. …

If Greinke misses a start, that would mean each of the Dodgers’ six primary starting pitchers this season has missed at least one turn in the rotation, although Haren’s was outwardly labeled a rest stop.

And so the Dodgers have needed to step up in other places. They’ve made trades to bring in Kevin Correia (who was rocked for three runs before retiring a batter Tuesday, then held San Diego to one run over his next 19 batters) and Roberto Hernandez. They called up Stephen Fife and Red Patterson early in the season and now perhaps will use Frias as a starter as well.

About the only thing that hasn’t happened yet is a sustained turn in the rotation from a minor-leaguer, in part because someone like 2011 first-round pick Zach Lee, who turns 23 next month, hasn’t come on the fast track. Not that he’s been slow. Lee had made midseason leaps to the next level in 2011 (high school to Single-A Great Lakes) and 2012 (High-A Rancho Cucamonga to Double-A Chattanooga) before spending full seasons at Chattanooga in 2013 and, up to now, Triple-A Albuquerque in 2014.

Lee has struggled somewhat predictably in his first Pacific Coast League season (a league Clayton Kershaw bypassed on his way up). It would be nice to see the Dodgers get a youthful infusion in their rotation, but the timing might not be right for Lee. Maybe it will be the 24-year-old Frias, who retired the final 12 batters he faced in long relief Sunday after allowing a solo home run.

Happiest of all would be if Greinke wakes up healthy this morning or the next. But if someone takes Greinke’s turn Thursday, that pitcher will be the Dodgers’ No. 11 or No. 12 starter this season. You’re not expecting someone like that to dominate; you’re hoping he keeps you in the game enough for your offense to step up, as it did Tuesday, behind Carl Crawford’s three singles, walk and home run and the pairs of doubles from both Matt Kemp and Justin Turner. One player acquired by trade, one player acquired through the draft, one player a savvy pickup by the front office from the discard pile. Because, like we said, you win or lose with your entire organization.

Uribe becomes seventh Dodger to hit disabled list in August

On August 16, 2014

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Brewers at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.
Kershaw CCII: Kershawrk Passage
Dee Gordon, 2B
Yasiel Puig, CF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, RF
Carl Crawford, LF
Justin Turner, 3B
A.J. Ellis, C
Miguel Rojas, SS
Clayton Kershaw, P

By Jon Weisman

The starting left side of the infield is now on the disabled list, alongside five other Dodgers, with Juan Uribe landing there today with a right hamstring strain suffered in Friday’s game.

Dodger manager Don Mattingly told reporters that the team was taking the cautious approach with Uribe, hoping to prevent what happened earlier this season, when he seemed ready to come back within a week but then aggravated the injury and missed more than a month’s worth of games.

Mattingly did say he believe Hanley Ramirez would be ready to come off the disabled list when he’s eligible on August 24. And Adrian Gonzalez, who left Friday’s game with slight back stiffness, was ready to go today.

Carlos Triunfel has been called up to take Uribe’s roster spot. Triunfel has a .568 OPS with Albuquerque this year along with a single, a walk and a home run in 15 plate appearances with the Dodgers this season.

Sympathy pain? Uribe leaves loss with hamstring flare

On August 15, 2014

By Jon Weisman

For the second time in three nights, the Dodgers might have lost more than a lead and a game. After Hyun-Jin Ryu was hurt in Wednesday’s 3-2 loss at Atlanta, Ryu’s pal Juan Uribe had to leave tonight’s 6-3 defeat against Milwaukee with tightness in his right hamstring — in the same area that caused him to miss 34 games earlier this year, as Ken Gurnick of MLB.com notes. For now, Uribe is listed as day to day.

In the past two weeks, Ryu, Hanley Ramirez, Josh Beckett, Paul Maholm, Chris Perez and Paco Rodriguez have gone on the disabled list.

Hyun-Jin Ryu headed to disabled list

On August 15, 2014

Juan Uribe cuddles with @HyunJinRyu99 while the pitcher talks about his injury pic.twitter.com/b9NMDXCSV9

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 15, 2014

Brewers at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.
Dee Gordon, 2B
Yasiel Puig, CF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, RF
Carl Crawford, LF
Juan Uribe, 3B
A.J. Ellis, C
Miguel Rojas, SS
Zack Greinke, P

By Jon Weisman

Hyun-Jin Ryu will miss more than his next start due to the right gluteus muscle strain he suffered Wednesday. He has been placed on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to Thursday), with the Dodgers recalling Pedro Baez for the fourth time this year.

Kevin Correia will take Ryu’s turn in the rotation beginning Tuesday against San Diego.

This is the second trip to the DL this year for Ryu, who was sidelined for 3 1/2 weeks with shoulder inflammation from April 28-May 20. Ryu had a 3.39 ERA with 91 strikeouts in 98 1/3 innings since being activated the last time, nearly three months ago. His overall ERA in 2014 is 3.28.

Ryu will be eligible to come off the DL on August 29, three days before rosters expand, though it’s unclear if he’ll be ready at that time. Don Mattingly told reporters today that the medical staff hadn’t seen a lot of this type of injury before.

Ryu’s MRI showed a Grade 1-2 strain of the gluteus medius and piriformis muscles of his right posterior hip area, muscles that help stabilize the hip and leg during the throwing motion, according to the Dodgers’ public relations department. Ryu will be reevaluated in a few days to determine his progression.

Baez most recently pitched for the Dodgers on August 7 and August 9, throwing shutout innings each time. He hasn’t pitched for Triple-A Albuquerque since he was optioned Monday.

Ryu suffers muscle strain in narrow Dodger loss

On August 13, 2014

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By Jon Weisman

The Dodgers came oh so close to rallying in the ninth to victory, loading the bases against Atlanta closer Craig Kimbrel, before Matt Kemp’s sharp grounder went to the wrong spot for a game-ending 4-6-3 double play and a 3-2 loss to the Braves.

Los Angeles is hoping that was the only loss of the night, after Hyun-Jin Ryu left his start with two out in the sixth with a right gluteus muscle strain. He is day to day, according to Joe Morgan of MLB.com, and with Kevin Correia in the bullpen and a long-awaited off day Monday, could theoretically miss a start.

Jamey Wright retired the final seven batters of the game, preserving the rest of the Dodger bullpen for Thursday’s game, which has a 9:10 a.m. Pacific first pitch.

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Farewells to Figgins and Hynes, and surgery for Fife

On August 13, 2014

Dodgers at Braves, 4:10 p.m.
Dee Gordon, 2B
Yasiel Puig, CF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, RF
Carl Crawford, LF
Juan Uribe, 3B
A.J. Ellis, C
Miguel Rojas, SS
Hyun-Jin Ryu, P

By Jon Weisman

Chone Figgins and the Dodgers have parted ways, while Stephen Fife has heard the dreaded words, “Tommy John surgery.”

The Dodgers asked for unconditional release waivers on Figgins, determining that they were content with their current reserve infield depth of Justin Turner, Miguel Rojas and Darwin Barney, not to mention Alex Guerrero, Erisbel Arruebarrena and Carlos Triunfel.

Also leaving the organization was minor-league reliever Colt Hynes, who had been designated for assignment and was claimed by the Toronto Blue Jays.

Fife, meanwhile, saw his most challenging season come to a difficult end. He made 11 appearances (nine starts) for Triple-A Albuquerque, battling injuries on his way to a 7.01 ERA with a 1.83 WHIP, along with one of the two starts by minor-league callups for the Dodgers this year. Dr. Neal ElAttrache was scheduled to operate today to repair Fife’s ulnar collateral ligament.

Hanley Ramirez placed on disabled list, Darwin Barney recalled

On August 10, 2014