Pregame – Page 24 – Dodger Thoughts

On August 27, 2014

Ear-Bending Cellmate: …and when there was no meat, we ate fowl and when there was no fowl, we ate crawdad and when there was no crawdad to be found, we ate sand.

H.I.: You ate what?

Ear-Bending Cellmate: We ate sand.

[pause]

H.I.: You ate SAND?

Ear-Bending Cellmate: That’s right.

Dodgers at Diamondbacks, 6:40 p.m.
Kershaw CIV: Kershawzing Arizona
Dee Gordon, 2B
Yasiel Puig, CF
Matt Kemp, RF
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Scott Van Slyke, LF
Justin Turner, 1B
A.J. Ellis, C
Miguel Rojas, 3B
Clayton Kershaw, P

By Jon Weisman

It’s true. These have been some rocky years for Clayton Kershaw at Arizona’s Chase Field: a five-game, three-year losing streak, the nadir being his five-out, seven-run outing May 17.

The losses haven’t all been equal. On September 11, 2012, he allowed an unearned run in seven innings and lost, 1-0. On April 12, 2013, he allowed one earned run in his first seven innings, then left with the bases loaded in the eighth and watched Shawn Tolleson, in his only game of 2013 and his last as a Dodger, walk home two runs in a 3-0 defeat.

Overall, Kershaw has had four quality starts out of nine in Arizona, plus a fifth in which he pitched shutout ball for 5 2/3 innings in a 14-1 Dodger victory. He hasn’t had his primo consistency there, but it’s hardly a guaranteed chamber of horrors.

Kershaw, of course, has been nearly untouchable since that May 17 debacle: 131 innings, 104 baserunners, 156 strikeouts, 1.37 ERA, .470 opponents’ OPS. One little piece of trivia: Kershaw, who allowed three triples in the second inning May 17, hasn’t allowed a triple since.

Hyun-Jin Ryu progressing toward return from disabled list this weekend

On August 26, 2014

In Awards, History, In case you missed it, Pregame

Dodgers at Diamondbacks, 6:40 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
Roberto Hernandez, P

By Jon Weisman

Hyun-Jin Ryu, eligible to come off the disabled list Friday, threw a bullpen session today, has a simulated game planned for Wednesday and could pitch as soon as Sunday, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reported on Twitter.

Right now, the Dodgers have Clayton Kershaw set up for Wednesday’s starting assignment, followed by an off day Thursday. Then, after Dan Haren and Zack Greinke pitch the first two games of the upcoming series at San Diego, Ryu could slot in.

Unlike most SP, Ryu does not throw in the bullpen between starts. Only to assure the staff after injuries.

— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) August 26, 2014

Ryu threw in bullpen but not at max effort. Will have a better idea of when he can return after a more intense bullpen session tomorrow.

— Dylan Hernandez (@dylanohernandez) August 26, 2014

If Ryu doesn’t start Sunday, then Roberto Hernandez will.

* * *

The National League West standings since June 7:

Yep, going back 11 weeks, the Dodgers’ opponents on this roadtrip, the Diamondbacks and Padres are tougher opponents than the Giants.

* * *

In other news and notes …

With his next stolen base, Dee Gordon will match the total of the 2005 Dodgers (58). That 2005 squad was led in steals by Jayson Werth and Antonio Perez with 11 each, in a year in which Oscar Robles went 0 for 8 and became MLB’s all-time leader in caught stealings without a stolen base.
Bryce Harper experimented with Yasiel Puig’s bat. Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post has the backstory.
Daniel Brim of Dodgers Digest analyzed Puig’s home run drought.
The Dodgers announced that they have signed two more outfielders on the international amateur market: 24-year-old Yadir Drake out of Matanzas, Cuba (signing scouts: Mike Tosar, Patrick Guerrero, Franklin Taveras) and 16-year-old Federico Giordani from Anzio, Italy (signing scouts: Marco Mazzieri, Bob Engle).
Great Lakes outfielder Joey Curletta made the Midwest League’s postseason All-Star team. Curletta has a .336 on-base percentage and .385 slugging percentage this season.
The honors continued for Joc Pederson, who was named the 2014 Pacific Coast League Rookie of the Year.
Corey Seager, Scott Schebler, Darnell Sweeney and Michael Thomas are among the initial selections from the Dodger organization to play in the Arizona Fall League. Dustin Nosler of Dodgers Digest and Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A. discuss the choices.
David Davis has a closer look at the Juan Marichal-John Roseboro incident at Deadspin.

Busy pregames at Dodger Stadium: Julius Randle, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Greg Louganis, Rafer Johnson

On August 25, 2014

In Celebrities, Dodger Stadium, Pregame

By Jon Weisman

Lots of cool names were coming through Dodger Stadium over the past few days, along with another big ThinkCure! Weekend, so I wanted to lasso a sample of it all.

Videos follow. For more highlights from Sunday, visit LA Photog Blog.

[mlbvideo id=”35563725″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]

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.

Van Slyke still playing against lefties, but lefties are few and far between

On August 22, 2014

[mlbvideo id=”35124307″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]

Mets at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.
Dee Gordon, 2B
Yasiel Puig, CF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, RF
Scott Van Slyke, LF
Justin Turner, 3B
A.J. Ellis, C
Erisbel Arruebarrena, SS
Dan Haren, P

By Jon Weisman

For a while now, Dodger manager Don Mattingly has made no secret of the fact that Scott Van Slyke is a regular starter against left-handed pitching. But the opportunities have been harder to come by in August.

Van Slyke made only four starts in the first 19 days of August, before getting the call Wednesday against San Diego and now tonight against the Mets. Combined with four appearances off the bench, that has left Van Slyke 5 for 19 in August with two walks, two doubles and a sacrifice fly, for a .716 OPS.

By comparison, Van Slyke averaged 50 plate appearances in June and July, with a .394 on-base percentage, .488 slugging percentage and .882 OPS.

Tonight marks one month since Van Slyke’s last home run, as he waits to become the fifth Dodger this year with 10 home runs. It appears unlikely that the Dodgers will end up with more than five players in double digits on the long ball, given that Juan Uribe is next on the team with six. From 2010-12, the Dodgers had four players with at least 10 homers each year, then had six such players in 2013.

A little notebook music

On August 21, 2014

[mlbvideo id=”35512143″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]

Padres at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.
Kershaw CCIII: Kershawsablanca
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

Some random facts to take your mind off the Dodgers’ injury woes:

Clayton Kershaw is by almost any definition a clutch pitcher. Did you know he’s also a career .304 hitter in 46 at-bats from the seventh inning on, including his Opening Day 2013 home run.
J.P. Howell crossed the 100-inning threshold as a Dodger this month, and with that as a minimum, became the Dodgers’ all-time leader in ERA at 1.75. Kershaw is 16th, but third if you up the minimum to 1,000 innings. Here’s the top 20:
Since June 1, the Dodgers have more victories (41) than home runs (36). The last time the Dodgers did that over a full season was 1976.
Left-handed batters are hitless against Kershaw’s slider this year, notes Daniel Brim of Dodgers Digest.
Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A. has a good piece putting the Dodgers’ late-inning performance at the plate in perspective. It’s similar to what I’ve written about the Dodgers’ struggles with the bases loaded coming while they lead the National League in on-base percentage with runners in scoring position — the latter situations coming far, far more often. A smaller negative shouldn’t outweigh a larger positive.
Dazzy Vance was “the ultimate outlier,” writes Tony Blengino at Fangraphs.

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.”

Dodgers flip Truinfel for Arruebarrena on active roster

On August 19, 2014

In Pregame, Transactions

Padres at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.
Dee Gordon, 2B
Yasiel Puig, CF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, RF
Carl Crawford, LF
Justin Turner, 3B
Erisbel Arruebarrena, SS
A.J. Ellis, C
Kevin Correia, P

By Jon Weisman

In an exchange of backup shortstops, the Dodgers have optioned Carlos Triunfel and recalled Erisbel Arruebarrena to and from Triple-A Albuquerque.

Triunfel had been brought up Saturday when Juan Uribe went on the disabled list. At the time, Arruebarrena was on the Isotopes’ DL with right shoulder inflammation and rehabbing with the Dodgers’ Arizona Rookie League team. He played rehab games Saturday through Monday, going 4 for 11 with two doubles, two homers and four RBI.

With Albuquerque, Arruebarrena has a .400 on-base percentage and .452 slugging percentage in 95 plate appearances. As a Dodger, he is 5 for 16 with a double, a walk and a .728 OPS. He is a more highly regarded fielder than Triunfel, who hit a comebacker for an out in the only at-bat of his recent recall.

Troop reinforcements in two weeks?

On August 17, 2014

In Pregame, Transactions

For more photo highlights from Saturday’s game, visit LA Photog Blog.

Brewers at Dodgers, 1:10 p.m.
Dee Gordon, 2B
Yasiel Puig, CF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, RF
Carl Crawford, LF
Justin Turner, 3B
Darwin Barney, SS
Drew Butera, C
Dan Haren, P

By Jon Weisman

It’s been a frustrating 40 hours, with two defeats compounded by the recognition that practically every day, the Dodger roster gets thinner and thinner because of injuries. But in two weeks, the pendulum could swing the other way.

Hanley Ramirez, Juan Uribe, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Josh Beckett, Paco Rodriguez and Chris Perez will all be eligible to come off the disabled list before August 31, and while not all figure to, enough could to make a difference.

The following day, team rosters expand to up to 40 players, enabling the Dodgers to improve their overall depth. This could not only mean adding a third catcher like Tim Federowicz or extra arms in the bullpen, there could also be another bat off the bench like Alex Guerrero (though Guerrero has only OPSed .545 since his return from the minor-league disabled list).

Speedly slugger Joc Pederson is where the most intrigue for a September callup probably rests. Pederson offers multiple tools off the bench, though he isn’t currently on the 40-man roster.

For now, the Dodgers will hope to stop the bleeding — figuratively and literally. The team remains 4 1/2 games ahead of San Francisco in the National League West heading into play today.

* * *

Saturday, the Dodgers sent infielder Jesmuel Valentin, the 51st overall pick in the 2012 draft, to the Phillies as one of two players to be named (or cash considerations in lieu of the second one) in the August 7 trade for Roberto Hernandez. The 20-year-old Valentin had a .349 on-base percentage and .430 slugging percentage with 24 steals in 31 attempts for Single-A Great Lakes this year.

Uribe becomes seventh Dodger to hit disabled list in August

On August 16, 2014

[mlbvideo id=”35408093″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]

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.

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.

Kershaw being Kershaw

On August 14, 2014

[mlbvideo id=”35268181″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]

Dodgers at Braves, 9:10 a.m.
Dee Gordon, 2B
Yasiel Puig, CF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, RF
Andre Ethier, LF
Juan Uribe, 3B
Miguel Rojas, SS
Drew Butera, C
Roberto Hernandez, P

By Jon Weisman

A.J. Ellis has a guest piece for ESPN.com today in which he details the preparation Clayton Kershaw makes before a start. Here’s an excerpt:

Interleague play usually takes away the most valuable tool of setting any game plan: data on head-to-head matchups. In the recent Freeway Series with the Angels, Kersh and I both fell victim to this trap. Kershaw hadn’t faced the Angels since 2011, and had a limited history with the majority of the Halos. It’s no secret across baseball that Kersh loves to pound right-handed hitters inside. His combination of angle, deception and command make it extremely hard to square up an executed fastball on the inside corner.

The trouble is the Angels have a bunch of great hitters who feast on pitches on the inner half. So in our pregame meeting, we decided to scrap Kersh’s strength and try to work the outer half of the plate toward those hitters’ statistical weaknesses. Three innings and three earned runs later, we both realized we compromised our typical game plan in favor of the numbers our computer spewed out regarding hitters’ results versus left-handed pitchers who probably do not own two Cy Young Awards or pitch with the will and ferocity Kersh does.

Realizing the error of our ways, we went back to what Kersh does well, and he cruised the rest of the way. After giving up seven hits and striking out just one batter in his first three innings because of our dumb game plan, Kersh allowed no hits and struck out six in his final four frames. Lesson learned

There’s more, including a discussion of Zack Greinke’s approach to preparation.

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.

Gonzalez, Gordon and Rojas rest, while Crawford bats leadoff against lefty for first time in 2014

On August 12, 2014