Pregame – Page 28 – Dodger Thoughts

Who played first when Garvey didn’t?

On June 9, 2014

Dodgers at Reds, 4:10 p.m.
Chone Figgins, 2B
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Yasiel Puig, RF
Matt Kemp, LF
Scott Van Slyke, CF
Justin Turner, 3B
Jamie Romak, 1B
Tim Federowicz, C
Dan Haren, P

By Jon Weisman
Jamie Romak gets a surprising start at first base today at Cincinnati, as the Dodgers rest slumping Adrian Gonzalez, while keeping Scott Van Slyke in center field ahead of Andre Ethier.

Gonzalez has been such a mainstay at first base since coming over from Boston, and Van Slyke such a logical understudy, that you just don’t expect to see someone like Romak there. It got me wondering about other rare cameos at first base for the Dodgers — in particular, when Steve Garvey was around.

Garvey played nearly every game at first base for the Dodgers from 1974-82, but not every inning. Here’s who backed him up.

1974: Bill Buckner went 7 for 21 in six games at first base, while Gail Hopkins went 0 for 4 in two games and Tom Paciorek added two innings.
1975: Ken McMullen went 4 for 10 with a triple in three games, including starts on September 1 and 2.
1976: Garvey played all but six innings this year. On May 7, he was hit by a pitch in the eighth inning, and John Hale pinch-ran. Buckner moved over from left field to play first, and grounded out in the top of the ninth. Ed Goodson also played four defensive innings across three games.
1977: Four different subsitutes — Boog Powell (2 for 5 with a walk in four games), Ed Goodson (1 for 8 with a walk in five games), Rick Monday (0 for 5 in five games) and Joe Simpson (0 for 1). Goodson started on May 28, Powell on August 15.
1978: Garvey started alll 162 games, but it was a nice year for the backups. Pedro Guerrero went 4 for 7 with a triple in three games, Monday 1 for 3 and Vic Davalillo 1 for 1.
1979: Guerrero went 3 for 14 in eight games and became the first first baseman besides Garvey to homer since 1973. It was a late-September game that Garvey departed after two innings. Derrel Thomas and Gary Thomasson each got an inning at first base; Thomas went 0 for 1 at the plate.
1980: Guerrero sizzled at first base, going 3 for 4, while Thomasson struck out in his only at-bat as a first baseman. The 43-year-old Davalillo also picked up an inning in the last defensive appearance of his career.
1981: The Dodgers’ title year saw Mike Marshall, Jay Johnstone and Reggie Smith each go 1 for 4 at first base, while Guerrero went 0 for 1.
1982: In the final season before Garvey departed for San Diego, Marshall got the most playing time of anyone else at the position since 1973, going 8 for 28 with two homers and five walks. Monday went 2 for 10, and Garvey’s initial successor, Greg Brock, 0 for 4.

Innings by Dodger first basemen, 1974-82
Steve Garvey: 12,346 1/3 out of 12,724 1/3 (97.0 percent)
Mike Marshall: 90
Pedro Guerrero: 66
Bill Buckner: 49
Rick Monday: 44
Ed Goodson: 35
Ken McMullen: 19
Boog Powell: 15
Jay Johnstone: 13
Reggie Smith: 13
Gail Hopkins: 12
Greg Brock: 8 2/3
Vic Davalillo: 5 1/3
Gary Thomasson: 3
Tom Paciorek: 2
Joe Simpson: 2
Derrel Thomas: 1

* * *

Some trivia from Sunday’s game:

Jamie Romak and Miguel Rojas became the first Dodgers to get their first MLB hits back to back since Wilkin Ruan and David Ross in Arizona on September 2, 2002, noted SportsNet LA. Ross later hit a home run off Mark Grace in that game.
The Dodgers had their shortest victory since May 1, 1983 in Chicago, and their shortest complete game by a pitcher since Nick Willhite against the Mets on June 7, 1964 — 50 years and one day earlier. Via Dodgers PR.
Clayton Kershaw “is the only pitcher in baseball dating back to at least 1914 with four consecutive starts with exactly nine strikeouts,” notes Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A.

Here we are again: 9 1/2 games behind in the NL West

By Jon Weisman

On June 8, 2014

In Health/injuries, Pregame

[mlbvideo id=”33531683″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]

Dodgers at Rockies, 1:10 p.m.
Kershaw CXC: Kershawll the Right Moves
Chone Figgins, 2B
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, LF
Scott Van Slyke, CF
Jamie Romak, RF
Miguel Rojas, 3B
Drew Butera, C
Clayton Kershaw, P

By Jon Weisman

And there it is: 9 1/2 games.

In two contests decided by the final swing Saturday, the Dodgers lost and the Giants won, pushing the Dodger 9 1/2 games back in the National League West and matching their largest deficit in the 2013 season.

In addition to this moment coming two weeks earlier this year than last, there are two key differences. One is that unlike the 2013 Diamondbacks, who were seven games over .500 at the time, the Giants are roaring: 20 games over .500, 30-11 (.731) in their past 41 games.

The other is that unlike the 2013 Dodgers, who were 12 1/2 games behind in the wild-card race when they hit rock bottom, this year’s team is only a half-game behind Washington and Miami.

There is a growing similarity between this year’s and last year’s Dodgers, however, and that’s injuries. While the hip problems that developed Saturday for Dee Gordon and Yasiel Puig might not be serious, it’s becoming harder to find Dodgers who have escaped the trainer’s room. Already, pitchers Clayton Kershaw, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Brian Wilson have missed significant time. So have outfielder Carl Crawford, third baseman Juan Uribe and catcher A.J. Ellis, not to mention second baseman Alex Guerrero, who you expect would be with the Dodgers by now if he weren’t still recovering from his ear bite.

Saturday could have been a rousing day for Los Angeles: a four-run, seventh-inning comeback, capped by Tim Federowicz’s three-run home run, combined with a Giants loss. Instead, the Dodgers are as far back as they’ve been in 50 weeks, and try to fight back today with only five regular starters in the nine positions of today’s lineup.

Maury Wills’ advantage over Dee Gordon

By Jon Weisman

On June 7, 2014

In History, Pregame

[mlbvideo id=”33505693″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]

Dodgers at Rockies, 1:10 p.m.
Dee Gordon, 2B
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Yasiel Puig, RF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, LF
Andre Ethier, CF
Justin Turner, 3B
Tim Federowicz, C
Zack Greinke, P

By Jon Weisman

Dee Gordon is on pace for 93 steals and has an outside shot at Maury Wills’ team record of 104, but Wills ended up with an edge that Gordon won’t have.

Because the Dodgers played in a three-game playoff with the Giants that counted in the 1962 NL regular-season standings – and because Wills was an iron man that year – Wills played in 165 games in his record-setting season.

Wills stole four bases in those extra three games, with three of the steals coming in game 165, when he went 4 for 5 in the Dodgers’ ill-fated, thank-goodness-Twitter-didn’t-exist, 6-4 loss to San Francisco.

Wills scored the Dodgers’ final run of 1962 in classic fashion: he singled to left, stole second, stole third and came home on a throwing error by Giants catcher Ed Bailey.

MauryWills.com

That gave the Dodgers a 4-2 lead, which they took to the ninth before they allowed four crushing runs.

Dodgers replace Arruebarrena with Rojas

By Jon Weisman

On June 6, 2014

In Pregame, Transactions

Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers

Dodgers at Rockies, 5:40 p.m.
Dee Gordon, 2B
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Yasiel Puig, RF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, LF
Andre Ethier, CF
Justin Turner, 3B
Drew Butera, C
Hyun-Jin Ryu, P

By Jon Weisman

The Dodgers have called up Miguel Rojas and optioned Erisbel Arruebarrena, in a move no doubt partly designed to allow Arruebarrena to continue his development.

Arruebarrena went 4 for 13 with a double, walk and .742 OPS in four starts for the Dodgers, subbing in when Hanley Ramirez was sidelined, but had played only four innings with no plate appearances in the Dodgers’ nine games since May 26.

Dare we ask: Is the Dodger bullpen back?

By Jon Weisman

On June 3, 2014

In Bullpen, Pregame

Monday’s Jon SooHoo photo highlights can be found at LA Photog Blog.

White Sox at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.
Dee Gordon, 2B
Andre Ethier, CF
Yasiel Puig, RF
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, LF
Chone Figgins, 3B
Drew Butera, C
Dan Haren, P

By Jon Weisman

Drew Butera hasn’t pitched for the Dodgers since May 17, and while there was romance to the idea that he was an untapped weapon as a backup reliever, I think the Dodgers are happy that he hasn’t had to shed the catchers’ gear lately.

In fact, since the Dodgers were blown out by Arizona, 18-7, on that Saturday 17 nights ago, the Dodger bullpen has started to find itself.

The phenom’s curse

By Jon Weisman

On June 2, 2014

In History, Pregame

Sunday’s Jon SooHoo photo highlights can be found at LA Photog Blog.

White Sox at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.
Kershaw CLXXXIX: Kershawnnie Get Your Gun
Chone Figgins, 2B
Matt Kemp, LF
Yasiel Puig, RF
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Scott Van Slyke, CF
Justin Turner, 3B
Drew Butera, C
Clayton Kershaw, P

By Jon Weisman

“I talked about this with Rickey Henderson. Rickey Henderson could do so many things, it’s almost a curse sometimes, because we always ask for more. Yasiel hits .350 — now we want him to be a perfect basestealer. He does that — now we want him to do this. With all that talent, you think there’s still more there, and at times, we ask a lot.”

— Don Mattingly, on Yasiel Puig

June 1 pregame: Notes, notes, everywhere

By Jon Weisman

On June 1, 2014

In History, Pregame

Saturday’s Jon SooHoo photo highlights can be found at LA Photog Blog.

Pirates at Dodgers, 5:10 p.m.
Dee Gordon, 2B
Andre Ethier, CF
Yasiel Puig, RF
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, LF
Justin Turner, 3B
Drew Butera, C
Zack Greinke, P

By Jon Weisman

We’re going full notebook for today’s pregame report:

After their 12-2 victory Saturday over Pittsburgh, I had some fun looking up the Dodgers’ record when scoring at least 12 runs since moving to Los Angeles. They are now 182-4 in those games.
Hanley Ramirez, who homered twice in a game for the second time this season, had the first 4 4 4 5 line in Dodger history (since at least 1914) and 17th in MLB history. He’s the first to do it with a stolen base in National League history.
Jamey Wright had the Dodgers’ first three-inning save since Ramon Troncoso in April 2009, and the first save in a game decided by at least 10 runs since Matt Herges on September 10, 2000.
There has been one five-inning save in Dodger history, by Charlie Hough on August 14, 1970. In his shortest start of the decade, Don Sutton was knocked out of the game after retiring only one batter and being charged with five runs. Los Angeles rallied to take the lead with Fred Norman on the mound, setting him up for the win, and then Hough allowed four runs over five innings, facing 24 batters, to pick up the unusual S.

In case you missed it: Koufax Motel

By Jon Weisman

On May 30, 2014

In History, In case you missed it, Pregame

[mlbvideo id=”33284197″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]

Pirates at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.
Dee Gordon, 2B
Chone Figgins, 3B
Yasiel Puig, RF
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Matt Kemp, LF
Scott Van Slyke, 1B
Andre Ethier, CF
Justin Turner, 3B
Drew Butera, C
Josh Beckett, P

By Jon Weisman

After you enjoy Vin Scully’s description of “maestro” Yasiel Puig

Well, if this headline doesn’t make you click, I don’t know what will: “How Sandy Koufax’s Motel Helped Lead to Baseball’s Big-Money Era.” Here’s the first paragraph from Michael Beschloss’ story for the New York Times …

In 1962, the star Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax invested in a West Hollywood motor inn, which was renamed “Sandy Koufax’s Tropicana Motel.” Down Santa Monica Boulevard from the famed Troubadour club, these “74 luxurious air-conditioned rooms” — rented at “popular prices” — came to lodge some of the biggest musical acts of the period: Alice Cooper, Bob Marley, the Mamas and the Papas, Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and the Doors. “I don’t know which made me more excited,” said one guest, “to be in Sandy’s motel or to be in a room right beside Sly Stone, from Sly and the Family Stone.”
Sports on Earth delivered a couple of great Dodger-related pieces this week: Jorge Arangure Jr. on Dee Gordon’s maturation and Howard Megdal bonding with A.J. Ellis over how each of their wives delivered babies in cars on their way to the hospital.
Here’s another eye-catching headline, found at The Bowery Boys: “The short shelf life of the Tip-Tops, the Brooklyn baseball team situated near the Gowanus River and named for bread.”/li>

Yasiel Puig: A plate discipline prodigy?

By Jon Weisman

On May 29, 2014

In Offense, Pregame

MLB Network graphic

Pirates at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.
Dee Gordon, 2B
Andre Ethier, CF
Yasiel Puig, RF
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, LF
Justin Turner, 3B
Tim Federowicz, C
Dan Haren, P

By Jon Weisman

In addition to his power, throwing arm and everything else, Yasiel Puig’s growing plate discipline (and the growth, to be clear, began in 2013) has been something else.

In fact, Puig is not only anything but a big hack at the plate, he’s fast becoming the opposite.

At age 23, Puig is on pace to draw 78 walks this year. Only one Dodger has drawn that many walks in a season at age 23 or under: Pee Wee Reese with 82 in 1942. The Los Angeles record is held by Ron Fairly, 75 in 1962.

Puig is walking in 12.0 percent of his plate appearances in 2014. That walk percentage is 12th in the National League this year, and among players 28 and under, it’s third in the Majors behind only Giancarlo Stanton (13.9 percent) and Mike Trout (12.5 percent).

In O-Swing%, or the percentage of pitches outside the strike zone at which a batter swings, Puig is at 26.9 percent for the season. That’s 24th among all qualified NL players, 10th among NL players 28 and under and the best among Dodger regulars.

Puig completes his first year in the Major Leagues on Monday.

Don Mattingly on Matt Kemp: ‘We know it’s gonna get better’

By Jon Weisman

On May 27, 2014

In Defense, Health/injuries, Pregame

Clayton Kershaw appears on MTV’s “Off the Bat” tonight at 11 p.m.

Reds at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.
Dee Gordon, 2B
Carl Crawford, LF
Yasiel Puig, RF
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Andre Ethier, CF
Drew Butera, C
Chone Figgins, 3B
Zack Greinke, P

By Jon Weisman

For a Dodger team whose defense has been maligned much of 2014, Monday brought a welcome reversal.

Not only did Los Angeles benefit from two key errors by the Reds, leading to three unearned runs, but the Dodger defense was airtight in support of Hyun-Jin Ryu’s perfect game bid.

In particular, Juan Uribe’s understudy, Justin Turner, was sparkling at third, and Erisbel Arruebarrena was smooth at shortstop.

Speaking today, Don Mattingly said he didn’t feel that Monday’s game was unique, but that the defense has been coming together for the past few games. That continues to be a priority, even as the defense-first Arruebarrena returns to the bench to make way for Hanley Ramirez, back into the starting lineup following a four-game absence.

But the biggest discussion point on the team this week remains in the outfield. Matt Kemp took fly balls in left field in early workouts today, but still is on the bench. Mattingly, who said Kemp looked “really good” in that workout, was grilled about Kemp’s fifth straight game on the sidelines.

Notebook: More Josh Beckett goodness

By Jon Weisman

On May 26, 2014

In History, Pregame

Reds at Dodgers, 5:10 p.m.
Dee Gordon, 2B
Carl Crawford, LF
Yasiel Puig, RF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Andre Ethier, CF
Justin Turner, 3B
Drew Butera, C
Erisbel Arruebarrena, SS
Hyun-Jin Ryu, P

By Jon Weisman

Here’s a bunch of news, notes, links and quotes in the afterglow of the past 24 hours:

Beckett’s no-hitter, in case you didn’t notice, was the Dodgers’ first complete game of the season and first since Hyun-Jin Ryu threw an eight-inning complete game in a 2-1 loss to Colorado on September 16. The Dodgers hadn’t had an individual shutout since Zack Greinke’s two-hit masterpiece on July 13.
At age 34 and 10 days, Beckett is the third-oldest no-hit pitcher in Dodger history, behind Sal Maglie (39) and Dazzy Vance (34 and 193 days).

Hanley Ramirez could be out a while

By Jon Weisman

On May 25, 2014

In Health/injuries, Pregame

Saturday in Jon SooHoo can be found at the LA Photog Blog.

Dodgers at Phillies, 10:35 a.m.
Dee Gordon, 2B
Carl Crawford, LF
Yasiel Puig, RF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Andre Ethier, CF
Justin Turner, 3B
Drew Butera, C
Erisbel Arruebarrena, SS
Dan Haren, P

By Jon Weisman

Don Mattingly told reporters in Philadelphia today that Hanley Ramirez’s lower calf injury is continuing to receive treatment but that an MRI could be in the future.

Mattingly said he didn’t want to speculate yet on whether Ramirez, who missed Friday’s game and was a late scratch Saturday, would go on the disabled list.

Mattingly didn’t rule out Hanley’s injury being an Achilles injury. More tests to come in LA.

— David Vassegh (@THEREAL_DV) May 25, 2014

As for Matt Kemp, also out of the starting lineup for the third game in a row (but a pinch-hitter Saturday), Mattingly said he will be worked in left field as well as center. Mattingly said Kemp would participate and that it wouldn’t be an issue, and that Kemp remained a big part of the team, but that Mattingly likes Ethier’s routes in center field, even if Ethier isn’t a prototypical center fielder from a speed standpoint.

Crawford still not walking, but swinging hot bat

By Jon Weisman

On May 24, 2014

In Pregame

Jon SooHoo’s Friday shoot can be found at the LA Photog Blog.

Dodgers at Phillies, 12:05 p.m.
Dee Gordon, 2B
Yasiel Puig, RF
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Carl Crawford, LF
Andre Ethier, CF
Justin Turner, 3B
A.J. Ellis, C
Dan Haren, P

By Jon Weisman

In addition to his key diving catch in the seventh inning Friday, Carl Crawford singled and homered, raising his OPS since May 3 to 1.097.

He is 22 for 53 with a double and four home runs in his past 16 games (13 starts). Crawford has tied Hanley Ramirez and Adrian Gonzalez with four home runs this month, trailing only Yasiel Puig’s seven, and he is second behind Puig in May OPS (.971).

Crawford is still walking at a low rate – 3.6 percent of his plate appearances – though this isn’t that big a change. His career walk rate is 5.3 percent and his career-high is 7.6 percent in 2009. Puig, by comparison, walked 8.3 percent of the time last year and has done so 11.7 percent this year.

Arrueready for Arruebarrena?

By Jon Weisman

On May 23, 2014

In Defense, Pregame

Jon SooHoo was all over the Yasiel Puig catch Friday. Check out his photos at LA Photog Blog.

Dodgers at Phillies, 4:05 p.m.
Kershaw CLXXXVII: Kershawue Detective
Dee Gordon, 2B
Chone Figgins, 3B
Yasiel Puig, RF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Andre Ethier, CF
Carl Crawford, LF
A.J. Ellis, C
Erisbel Arruebarrena, SS
Clayton Kershaw, P

By Jon Weisman

Erisbel Arruebarrena gets his first Major League start tonight, as Hanley Ramirez takes a day off.

Andre Ethier is starting in center field, and there are hints that we might see more of him out there, as concern over Matt Kemp’s defensive performance has become more explicit. From Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:

“We continue to look at it and give Matt the opportunity to keep working and get better,” Mattingly said. “He doesn’t look the same. The burst, the outrun-the-ball thing. We’ve talked to Matt and don’t hear anything medically that he’s not feeling good. We just want to see the same burst. We don’t know if it’s a matter of him being out a few years. He’s trying, been working and we’ll continue to go from there.”

Four extra-base hits cleared Kemp’s head, contributing to all four Mets runs, one of them scoring because Kemp dropped a ball he picked up off the warning track.

“I just need to play better defense,” said Kemp. “Burst or anything, I’m not getting as good a jump as I need to. I cost us one run bobbling the ball, and it’s nobody’s fault but mine. No excuses. I’ve made a couple bad plays in the outfield. It happens.”

Either’s on-base percentage fell to .247 on April 24. Since then, in 62 plate appearances, he has a .419 on-base percentage and .455 slugging, with no home runs but six doubles and six walks. He has started 12 of the Dodgers’ 23 games in that stretch.

It’s a bright, bright Chone Chiny day

By Jon Weisman

On May 22, 2014

In Bench, Pregame

Dodgers at Mets, 4:10 p.m.
Chone Figgins, 2B
Yasiel Puig, RF
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, CF
Scott Van Slyke, LF
Justin Turner, 3B
A.J. Ellis, C
Zack Greinke, P

By Jon Weisman

There was some scoffing when Chone Figgins signed on to reboot his Major League career with the Dodgers, but so far, so good.

Figgins has developed a fairly specific role with the Dodgers: Come off the bench to lead off an inning and, without any seeming threat of power, get on base.

In his 27 plate appearances so far this season, 16 of them have been as the first batter of an inning, and he has a .500 on-base percentage (and .455 slugging percentage) in those situations. He also has a .474 OBP as a pinch-hitter.

Tonight, in the Dodgers’ 48th game, Figgins makes only his third start of the year, though his rate should increase now that Juan Uribe is on the disabled list and Justin Turner will be needed over there. Dee Gordon still hasn’t been a convincing hitter against left-handed pitchers, registering a .200 on-base percentage (8 for 40 with no walks) and .250 slugging percentage this year. It would be going too far to say he can’t improve those numbers, but against Mets lefty Jonathon Niese (2.54 ERA, .446 right-handed opponents’ OPS), it’s a sensible enough time to let Gordon come off the bench.

Dodger Thoughts

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

Category: Pregame (Page 28 of 32)

Who played first when Garvey didn’t?

Here we are again: 9 1/2 games behind in the NL West

Maury Wills’ advantage over Dee Gordon

Dodgers replace Arruebarrena with Rojas

Dare we ask: Is the Dodger bullpen back?

The phenom’s curse

June 1 pregame: Notes, notes, everywhere

In case you missed it: Koufax Motel

Yasiel Puig: A plate discipline prodigy?

Don Mattingly on Matt Kemp: ‘We know it’s gonna get better’

Notebook: More Josh Beckett goodness

Hanley Ramirez could be out a while

Crawford still not walking, but swinging hot bat

Arrueready for Arruebarrena?

It’s a bright, bright Chone Chiny day

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