Uncategorized – Page 29 – Dodger Thoughts

On August 6, 2011

In Game chat, Uncategorized

Jake Roth/US PresswireJuan Rivera

Dodgers at Diamondbacks, 5:10 p.m.

Dee Gordon, SS
Casey Blake, 3B
Andre Ethier, RF
Matt Kemp, CF
Juan Rivera, 1B
Aaron Miles, 2B
Rod Barajas, C
Tony Gwynn Jr.
Nathan Eovaldi, P

Here’s a tip of the hat to Juan Rivera, who has performed above my expectations (but not above those of the guy who hounded me on Twitter last month saying he was a great pickup).

Rivera has a .359 on-base percentage and .416 slugging percentage in 64 plate appearances since coming to Los Angeles, which is superb by 2011 Dodger standards. He has effectively become an everyday player with starts in 17 of 20 games, counting tonight, when he makes his eighth start at first base.

The Dodgers begin play tonight 9 1/2 games behind San Francisco and Atlanta, their narrowest deficit since June 27. The same team that has enabled them to get over the double-digit hump, Philadelphia, will travel from San Francisco to Los Angeles to be the Dodgers’ opponent Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, while the Giants travel to Pittsburgh and the Diamondbacks to Houston. If that somehow doesn’t provide a reality check, it will mean that someone has gone into the garage to try to jump-start their Miracle Machine. In the meantime, we’ll see what youngun Nathan Eovaldi can do.

Kershaw named NL Pitcher of the Month

On August 3, 2011

Clayton Kershaw started July by allowing six runs in his first four innings.

A month later, he was named National League Pitcher of the Month.

After Bobby Abreu’s two-run single in the bottom of the fourth inning in Anaheim, Kershaw pitched 32 innings in the remainder of July and allowed 25 hits, seven walks and two earned runs — an 0.56 ERA — while striking out 39.

That gave him a svelte enough 2.02 ERA for the month with 45 strikeouts in 35 2/3 innings, enough to beat competitors like Cincinnati’s Johnny Cueto (41 1/3 innings, 19 strikeouts, 1.52 ERA) and San Francisco’s Tim Lincecum (30 innings, 30 strikeouts, 1.80 ERA).

Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A. has a couple of added notes: Kershaw was second in fielding-independent ERA (1.96) and WAR 1.3), just behind Madison Bumgarner’s 1.92 and 1.5, first in expected FIP (2.15). Also, Stephen says Kershaw is the Dodgers’ first NLPiOM since Derek Lowe in August 2006.

Kershaw ended up allowing the same number earned runs in July as Edwin Jackson allowed in 2 1/2 hours this afternoon.

Despite De La Rosa’s injury, hope for the Dodger rotation

On August 3, 2011

In Farm system, Uncategorized

What, the Dodgers still have a future?

Despite the callup of John Ely when Rubby De La Rosa went on the disabled list, Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com reports that Nathan “What, no ‘U’?” Eovaldi might be the Dodgers’ next No. 5 starter when the rotation wheel turns that way on Tuesday. Mike Petriello of Mike Scioscia’s Tragic Illness provides a detailed introduction to Eovaldi, who has a 2.62 ERA for Chattanooga with 8.7 strikeouts per nine innings.

There are two things I want to add to Petriello’s post this morning. The first is to compare Eovaldi’s performance at Chattanooga this year to De La Rosa’s work there (spread over the 2010-11 seasons).

Eovaldi (born February 13, 1990): 103 innings, 6.6 hits per nine IP, 4.0 walks per nine IP, 8.7 strikeouts per nine IP, 2.62 ERA in 2011.
De La Rosa (born March 4, 1989): 91 innings, 6.7 hits per nine IP, 4.3 walks per nine IP, 11.7 strikeouts per nine IP, 2.08 ERA in 2010-11.

There are similarities, with the most noteworthy difference being De La Rosa’s dominant strikeout rate, which makes Eovaldi’s strong numbers smaller in stature. Given that Eovaldi is almost a year younger than De La Rosa but would be making his major-league debut fewer than three months later, I think we can be quite excited about him in the long term, but should certainly temper our expectations in the short run.

Is Eovaldi being rushed? Well, I think his potential callup should be looked at the same way that earlier stints for Jerry Sands and Dee Gordon were. It’s not a permanent or do-or-die situation. It’s an opportunity, given injuries at the major-league level, to provide a first look at the majors for a potentially important 2012 player. The pressure should be lower on Eovaldi, who unlike De La Rosa would not be making his debut while the Dodgers could still be considered in playoff contention.

The second thing I want to do is check in on ballyhooed 2010 first-round pick Zach Lee, who was drafted with the potential of being a top counterpart to Clayton Kershaw in the Dodger starting rotation.

Kershaw reached the majors on May 25, 2008 – just shy of two years after he was drafted. If Lee matched the same exact path, he would be introduced to the Dodger rotation next May. The first hitch in that plan, however, was that Lee signed so late in 2010 that he didn’t play in the minors that year, while Kershaw pitched 37 innings (striking out 54 with a 1.95 ERA).

Still, let’s take a look at how each performed at age 19 for Single-A Great Lakes:

Lee (born September 13, 1991): 81 innings, 8.0 H/9, 2.8 BB/9, 8.1 K/9, 3.22 ERA in 2011.
Kershaw (born March 19, 1988): 97 1/3 innings, 6.7 H/9, 4.6 BB/9, 12.4 K/9, 2.77 ERA in 2007.

Kershaw was promoted before the end of the 2007 season to Double-A Jacksonville, where he had a 3.65 ERA and 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings in 24 2/3 innings. Lee, who was slowed briefly this year by elbow soreness, might remain a step behind Kershaw’s development path, given that aside from better control, he also hasn’t been as dominant.

Nevertheless, we could very well see Lee in the majors by a year from now. And if you can wait a bit longer – just 21 months from now – the Dodgers’ 2013 starting rotation could offer Kershaw, De La Rosa, Eovaldi, Lee and Chad Billingsley, not to mention Ted Lilly and other contenders from the farm system. Something to look forward to …

Dodger gloves sparkle as Kuroda finally gets a win, 1-0

On August 2, 2011

In Game wrap, Uncategorized

From James Loney’s fallaway fling in the first inning to Matt Kemp’s somersaulting catch in the ninth, the Dodger defense gave its all. And every bit of it was needed.

Without that defense, another sterling effort from Hiroki Kuroda would have gone for naught. Instead, Kuroda’s seven shutout innings stood up, and the pitcher who lowered his ERA to 2.96 (ninth in the National League) finally won his second game since May 17, 1-0 over San Diego.

Kemp had the only RBI of the game, driving in Dee Gordon with a fourth-inning single. He went 2 for 4, raising his batting average to .321 and cutting his deficit to the Mets’ Jose Reyes down to .018.

Subsequently, Kemp did see his streak of 20 consecutive stolen bases end when he was picked off second base and thrown out trying to make it to third. It was one of three times that Dodger runners were trapped off second base – Gordon was caught going leaning wrong way from second base on a first-inning comebacker to Padres pitcher Mat Latos, and Kemp was doubled off in the seventh on a Loney liner.

Plays like those made it paramount for the pitching and defense to do their job. Kuroda struck out eight against six baserunners, putting down a first-and-second, none-out threat in the fifth and a similar scenario with two out in the seventh. Mike MacDougal survived runners on first and second with one out in the eighth, and then Javy Guerra, with the help of Kemp’s collision-defying snag of Aaron Cunningham’s blooper between Kemp and Gwynn, retired the side perfectly in the ninth for his ninth save. Since July 8, Guerra has pitched eight innings with a 0.00 ERA, allowing six baserunners while striking out nine, and stranding all four inherited runners.

After the game, I took special pleasure in the smiles and happy body-thuds between the winning Dodgers. A feel-good moment was earned.

Rubby Bluesday

On August 2, 2011

In Game chat, Health/injuries, Uncategorized

Kirby Lee/Image of Sport/US PresswireRubby De La Rosa struck out 60 in 60 2/3 innings in his rookie season.

Dodgers at Padres, 7:10 p.m.

Dee Gordon, SS
Casey Blake, 3B
Aaron Miles, 2B
Matt Kemp, CF
Juan Rivera, RF
James Loney, 1B
Dioner Navarro, C
Tony Gwynn Jr., LF
Hiroki Kuroda, P

The statement from the Dodgers:

Dodger right-hander Rubby De la Rosa underwent an MRI on Monday that showed a partial tear of the Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL). After consultation with Dr. Neal ElAttrache and Dr. James Andrews, it was decided that reconstruction (Tommy John) surgery should be performed. The date and location of the surgery is yet to be determined.

The recovery time of approximately one year, give or take, puts De La Rosa out of the Dodgers plans in any meaningful way until 2013.

Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com has more.

* * *

In case you missed it, there was more sad and stunning news in the Bryan Stow case Monday. From Andrew Blankstein of the Times:

A key witness in the beating case of Giants fan Bryan Stow at Dodger Stadium may have died of a peanut allergy, though officials have not determined a positive cause of death.

Matthew Lee attended the Dodgers’ home opener on March 31 with Stow and was cited in court papers filed Monday involving the two suspects charged in the beating.
According to law enforcement sources familiar with the case, Lee died Sunday after eating a salad that apparently contained nuts, which caused an allergic reaction. The sources said Lee had a peanut allergy.

It’s unclear how this will affect the case against Stow’s alleged attackers, but the sources said Lee was an important witness.

However, officials have said they have physical evidence in addition to the evidence provided by eyewitnesses to the beating.

Los Angeles police detectives said Monday they were trying to find additional Giants fans from the Bay Area who were assaulted by the suspects. …

Spoiler alert: Surgery looms as possibility for De La Rosa

On August 1, 2011

In Game wrap, Health/injuries, Uncategorized

Clayton Kershaw only starts about 20 percent of the Dodgers’ games, so you hate to see them spoiled.

But on a night that Kershaw pitched his fourth complete game of the season and Matt Kemp had a double and triple in a 6-2 victory over San Diego, the Dodgers took what I would consider to be their worst blow of the season, non-ownership division, as well as their first big blow of 2012.

Rubby De La Rosa, the prized rookie who figured to be a significant cog of the 2012 Dodger starting rotation, has a sprained ligament in his right elbow and will miss considerable time, with surgery a distinct possibility. Here’s Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com:

… De La Rosa faces the possibility of season-ending elbow surgery after an MRI exam on Monday revealed a sprained ulnar-collateral ligament. A team spokesman said De La Rosa and the medical staff presently are considering a handful of treatment options, one of which would be surgery.

Even if De La Rosa were to decide against surgery, he could be done for the year. The Dodgers have only 54 games remaining, and De La Rosa’s innings were being closely monitored anyway because he is considered such an important part of the franchise’s future. Between the minors and majors, he has pitched 100 2/3 so far this season. …

Dodgers medical-services director Stan Conte said De La Rosa reported tightness in his elbow immediately after leaving the game, but that he initially had felt it while throwing a pitch in the third inning. De La Rosa saw team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who recommended he undergo an MRI exam.

Conte said the decision to put De La Rosa on the DL so quickly came because he likely would have missed his next start anyway. Mattingly said Ely initially will pitch out of the bullpen and that with an off-day on Thursday and De La Rosa’s rotation spot not due to come up again until Saturday night at Arizona, the Dodgers might simply skip that spot. That would mean they wouldn’t need a fifth starter again until Aug. 9 against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Aside from losing the treat of seeing De La Rosa pitch, what this may well mean is that more of the money that is needed to rebuild the Dodger offense in the offseason might now have to be reallocated to pitching.

* * *

Alex Castellanos went 0 for 4 with a walk in his debut in the Dodger organization, in a 6-4 Chattanooga victory. Juan Rodriguez pitched two shutout innings for Great Lakes in a 9-2 win.

Road boosts Kemp’s Triple Crown hopes

On August 1, 2011

In Offense, Uncategorized

Kirby Lee/US PresswireMatt Kemp (shown above wearing his airplane headset around his neck) is the Dodgers’ best Triple Crown candidate since Adrian Beltre, who led the NL in homers in 2004 and finished fourth in batting average and RBI.

No, we don’t value RBI much as a stat in these parts — not without context anyway — and we value batting average even less.

Unless they give us something fun to root for.

Here we are on August 1, and Matt Kemp still is plumb in the thick of Triple Crown contention.

The thing I like most in Kemp’s favor is that 33 of the Dodgers’ remaining 55 games are on the road, where Kemp is batting .335 with 15 homers and 45 RBI in 48 games.

Admittedly, some of those games will be in pitcher paradises like San Diego, where the Dodgers begin a three-game series tonight. But most of them are in ballparks where Kemp’s bat will feel much more footloose and fancy-free than it has in Dodger Stadium this year, where he is batting .301 with 11 homers and 42 RBI in 59 games.

The odds are against Kemp, but it’s not ridiculous to think he could do it. Here’s the breakdown:

Batting average
.341 Jose Reyes
.322 Ryan Braun
.319 Daniel Murphy
.319 Joey Votto
.317 Matt Kemp

Kemp’s greatest deficit is in batting average, but it’s also the only category where the leaders can come back down to you. Kemp is currently hitting 27 points above his career average, but Reyes is 50 points above his and hasn’t batted over .300 since his rookie year in 2003.

Home runs
28 Lance Berkman
26 Matt Kemp
24 Albert Pujols
24 Prince Fielder
24 Mike Stanton

Comeback Player of the Year candidate Berkman is 35 and has been battling shoulder issues. Kemp’s bigger challenge might come from the guys behind him: renowned tater-trotters Pujols and Fielder as well as the up-and-coming Stanton.

Runs batted in
82 Matt Kemp
81 Ryan Howard
76 Prince Fielder
73 Troy Tulowitzki
72 Lance Berkman

How close is it to a miracle that Kemp is leading the National League in RBI? His team’s No. 1 and No. 2 hitters are combining for a .327 on-base percentage, which is 10th in the NL and worst among the five teams represented here. But he’s come this far … why stop now?

‘Get used to disappointment’

On July 31, 2011

I’m not gonna brave-face this one.

Today’s Dodger game got off to a bitter start for me with the first-inning news that Trayvon Robinson, a Dodger prospect I had been eager to see for some time, had been traded away.

The hope that the bitter might turn to a short-term burst of sweet mostly ended right after shortstop Dee Gordon’s acrobatic catch-and-tag of leadoff batter Willie Bloomquist trying to steal second base in the first inning. The rest was a slog: a 6-3 Dodger defeat.

Rubby De La Rosa allowed two home runs in the second inning and remarkably reached the 100-pitch mark before his fourth inning ended. He finished with 103 pitches, but his relievers hardly accelerated the pace. By the time it was over, five Dodger pitchers had sent a whopping (and I don’t use that word recklessly) 209 pitches to get through the afternoon.

The nadir was another lost performance by Hong-Chih Kuo, who allowed four baserunnners in his 28-pitch inning, including a two-run homer to left-handed Gerardo Parra, his second blast of the game and 15th of his career in 343 games. Kuo is lost like a castaway, an unfortunate metaphor for this adrift 2011 Dodger team.

Of course, just like those any of those three newly acquired prospects could surprise and become useful major-leaguers, the Dodgers could surprise and come back today. Even on a dismal day, is there anything better to do than hope?

Down 6-1, Los Angeles scored once in the bottom of the eighth. In the bottom of the ninth, Jamey Carroll walked and Gordon singled. One out later, Tony Gwynn Jr. singled home Carroll, meaning that, after Aaron Miles flies out, a 4-for-4 Andre Ethier was the tying run and a 2-for-4 Matt Kemp was the winning run.

Ethier flied to right.

There will always be bright spots, and it’s good to keep the faith. But I’m now with my kids watching “The Princess Bride” (the source of the headline above), and sometimes it’s a matter of believing, as Westley does, “I can cope with torture.”

Rafael Furcal’s legacy in the Dominican Republic

On July 31, 2011

It doesn’t relate to the Dodgers’ on-field performance, but this post from Josh Rawitch at Inside the Dodgers on Rafael Furcal is still worth noting:

… Not only did he donate huge amounts of money to the Dodgers Dream Foundation over the last six years, but I will always recall a conversation we had at the sushi bar in our Pittsburgh hotel at the end of the 2008 season. He never really tells anyone about all that he does back home in his hometown of Loma de Cabrera, but we got to talking about the poverty he grew up around. He made a passing comment about the local hospital and how the residents know that if they can’t afford their bills, the hospital just bills him. It was unfathomable, but in his mind it was simply what he is supposed to do.

That’s also the first time he mentioned that his hometown doesn’t have a firetruck, another concept that’s hard to believe for those of us in the States. When a fire burns here, we pick up the phone, call 911 and people come and help put it out. Down there, they simply don’t have that luxury. That’s when we talked about the fact that if he returned to the Dodgers as a free agent, we would make sure that his hometown gets a firetruck.

Well, it took some time and effort from a lot of people, but there’s now an LAFD firetruck in customs in the Dominican, en route to his hometown and Raffy’s efforts in that regard will truly save lives. And his generosity at the local hospital saves lives. And for those who saw his “Before the Bigs” on Prime Ticket, you truly get a sense of the heartache he’s experienced in his life.

I’m sure he feels like there was unfinished business here on the field, but off the field he’s made his mark and on the field, he was truly a lineup changer whenever he was healthy. And if you’ve had the pleasure of watching a five-year-old Raffy Jr. in a batting cage at Camelback Ranch, you get the sense we’ll be seeing that kid someday in the big leagues. …

Arizona walks away with victory on distracting day

In Game wrap, Uncategorized

Gus Ruelas/APAndre Ethier, seen here fielding a second-inning single, later made a catch that saved two runs.

This looked like it would be another game that the Dodgers might win while people’s minds were elsewhere.

There’s nothing scientific to it, but I can think of a few times when the Dodgers have cruised to victory this season while they were making headlines in other ways, whether with the McCourts or with today’s trade news. Tonight, Chad Billingsley settled down after Andre Ethier’s great catch saved him from getting blasted in the second inning, and Matt Kemp hit another home run to put the Dodgers ahead in the third, and soon it looked like the game was on cruise control.

But smart drivers stay alert. After the Dodgers built a 4-1 lead, Billingsley allowed a leadoff single in the sixth inning, then threw balls on 12 of his next 16 pitches to force home a run. Xavier Nady hit a sacrifice fly to make it a one-run game. Willie Bloomquist struck out, but Kelly Johnson became Billingsley’s fourth walk of the inning, loading the bases, and the Dodger starter was done.

It took Matt Guerrier one batter to make it hurt even worse: a bases-clearing double from Justin Upton that propelled Arizona to a 6-4 victory.

Billingsley had pitched into at least the sixth inning 16 times this year and allowed only six total runs in that frame before the five sixth-inning runs he was charged with tonight.

Uribe finally returns to DL, Blake finally comes off

In Health/injuries, Uncategorized

Juan Uribe, who hasn’t played for the Dodgers since July 23, has been placed on the disabled list, while Casey Blake, who hasn’t played since July 2, has been activated.

Uribe could be activated as soon as August 8 – you can resume the Eugenio Velez Watch then.

Kuroda says he’s staying

According to Jim Bowden and Jayson Stark of ESPN.com, Hiroki Kuroda has told Ned Colletti he prefers to stay in Los Angeles and is not going to waive his no-trade clause.

It’s debatable what the Dodgers might have gained from trading Kuroda, but it’s hard not to be more than a little happy with someone who, amid all that has happened with the Dodgers this year, actually wants to be here in this city and/or with this team.

Update: Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com has more …

… “I told Ned through my agent (Steve Hilliard) that I will be wearing this uniform throughout the season,” Kuroda said, with Kenji Nimura interpreting. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Kuroda said Colletti hadn’t submitted any specific trades to any teams for his approval.

“Through my agent, I had heard a lot of things about some teams having interest in me,” Kuroda said. “Last year, after thinking about it a lot, I decided to play for the Dodgers for one year, and that is still my plan.”

Kuroda cited affection for, and loyalty to, his teammates as the reason for his decision.

“A key factor in me staying here is that it’s really important for me to play with the same guys I started with,” Kuroda said. …

… Kuroda could choose to return to Japan after the season, when he again will be a free agent, but he said he hasn’t made that decision yet.

“I haven’t really thought about next year at all,” he said. “Like I always say, it’s one game at a time, and I’m concentrating on my next start.”

Dodgers close to trading Furcal to Cardinals

In Transactions, Uncategorized

As a player with 10 years in the majors and five with his current team, Rafael Furcal would have to approve any trade involving him. But there’s little reason to think he would block the deal that is close to being made, according to Jayson Stark of ESPN.com, that would send Furcal to St. Louis.

The Dodgers, who are currently committed to paying Furcal’s 2011 salary, would reportedly end up paying a good portion of it even if the trade goes through. But it would give them the chance of receiving some immediate player compensation, while fully launching the Dee Gordon opera into its overture.

St. Louis would be hoping it gets the Furcal who played well enough (and enough, period) to make the All-Star Game just last year.

Mondesi’s son signs with Kansas City

On July 27, 2011