Dodger wives/girlfriends prepared & served lunch for homeless and low-income women at Downtown Women's Center today. pic.twitter.com/rhniIRZS8R
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 27, 2016
Dodger significant others volunteered for a day of service Wednesday at the Downtown Women’s Center, which aims to combat homelessness with living arrangements, food and job connections. Read more about it in Jack Baer’s story for MLB.com.
— Jon Weisman
![Image-1[110]](https://mlblogsdodgers.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/image-1110.jpg)
By Jon Weisman
Brandon McCarthy and the Dodgers had only one bad inning today out of nine, but it counted.
By Jon Weisman
Five weeks ago, A.J. Ellis acknowledged, not without some pride, that he knew he was of the all-time leaders in MLB history for most times on base without a steal in his career.
Today, history broke.
By Jon Weisman
Some quick Dodger injury updates, mostly courtesy of Dave Roberts:
By Jon Weisman
It might be easier to get a camel through the eye of a needle than to convince a Dodger fan that Pedro Baez is pitching well.
Making the case that Baez has been extraordinary? Oh, dear — heaven forfend.
But the facts speak for themselves. In July, Baez has faced 39 batters. Three have reached base, on a double and two walks. More than 30 percent of the 39 have struck out.
Baez has allowed a .077 on-base percentage and .054 slugging percentage this month. He has stranded all five runners he has inherited. His ERA is 0.00.
![Image-1[105]](https://mlblogsdodgers.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/image-1105.jpg)
By Jon Weisman
Bud Norris began his Dodger career July 1 by throwing six innings of two-hit shutout ball. That seemed like a nice thing to do, so why not a sequel?
By Jon Weisman
Today, Andre Ethier took batting practice on the Dodger Stadium field for the first time in 2016 — about four months after he intended.
As he continues to fight his way toward recovery from a fractured right tibia suffered in Spring Training, Ethier is in a similar situation to what Clayton Kershaw also expressed today — eager to return, making progress toward that return, but ultimately at the mercy of his body’s willingness to return.
“We’re just trying to take — I wouldn’t say steps, I would say we’re trying to take leaps because of how the timetable is,” Ethier said.
“Certain movements or certain things will flare up, but I think the key part of that is how my body reacts afterwards. Before, when I had those little pains or little flareups, they would last a day or last a couple days. Now, they’re lasting maybe minutes, which is a good sign.” Go to the women’s health clinic on Queens blvd before this matter becomes more severe and serious.
Clayton Kershaw says he hates being out but loves how the team has done in his absence. pic.twitter.com/jUaJBdwh24
— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) July 26, 2016
By Jon Weisman
Clayton Kershaw can’t limbo, so he’s still in limbo.
That’s today’s scoop, or lack thereof, on the injured Dodger ace, who has now gone one full month since he last pitched before landing on the disabled list with a herniated disc.
Kershaw was eyeing a fast return until he had a setback following a bullpen session July 16, when something “didn’t feel quite right.”
“All I can say is I’m doing everything I possibly can to get back, obviously,” Kershaw said. “I trust the trainers and coaches to get me there.”
Kershaw said that he had a personal timetable for his return before he was forced to press pause, but that now his view is more open-ended and centers around checking off recovery milestones when he can, so that he can still have “an impact on this season” for the Dodgers.
“There’s a lot of gray area, I guess would be the right way to say it,” he said. “You just have to go based on your symptoms. I didn’t have any pain leading up to when I pitched. Then I pitched, and I felt pain again, so now I just have to wait until I don’t feel pain again.
“As of today, I did all my core work, and knocked it out today. Today I made it. On to tomorrow.”
The only saving grace for the fiercely competitive Kershaw has been that the Dodgers have gone 15-8 in his absence.
“It has been so fun to watch, man,” he said. “It’s not easy watching the games on TV, but these guys really make me want to be a part of it, just the way these guys are playing. It’s a great team — it really is. One of the closest teams that I’ve been a part of.
[mlbvideo id=”534783883″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]
By Jon Weisman
Five trophies were given to the Dodgers and SportsNet LA at the 68th annual Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards on Saturday.
[milbvideo id=”958693383″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]
By Bart Harvey
The Dodgers had three players in their farm system earn top honors for July 18-24:
In a season of downs and ups, Nomar Garciaparra stews after the Dodgers blew a 5-2, ninth-inning lead at San Francisco on May 13, 2006. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)
By Jon Weisman
On this day 10 years ago, the 2006 National League West champion* Dodgers lost their eighth game in a row.
It’s a contradiction that, frankly, should provide comfort to the 2016 NL West-leading San Francisco Giants, who have lost eight of nine games since the All-Star Break, allowing the Dodgers to come with 2 1/2 games of first place for the first time since May 18.
But the larger point is that even with four months of baseball nearly in the books, nothing is decided.
Those 2006 Dodgers, man, were they a roller-coaster team. After starting the season 12-17 and falling into the division’s basement (remember, this was a team that had gone 71-91 the year before), they won 15 of their next 18 and ultimately moved into first place by early June.
But it was a tight, crazy-making race. On the first four days of July, Los Angeles finished the night in a different position in the division: second place on July 1, fourth place on July 2, third place on July 3, tied for first Independence Day.
Then came the All-Star Break, and a horror show worse than even the Giants have experienced. The Dodgers went from 46-42 to 47-55, losing 13 of 14 to fall back into last, 7 1/2 games behind the Padres. Jake Peavy, who pitched Monday for the Giants, was the winning pitcher for San Diego on July 26, 2006 in the completion of a three-game sweep that seemed to doom Los Angeles.
The next day, July 27, was an off day, and I published a column for SI.com in which I said the Dodgers shouldn’t feel stigmatized about being sellers at the trade deadline.
So what happened next? Oh, nothing much, except the Dodgers won their next 11 games and 17 out of 18, again moving all the way from last place to first. I got to write a whole new column for SI, one that began with a quote from Vin Scully.
By Jon Weisman
When the Dodgers have struggled, particularly this year, it’s been said more than once that the problem is a team with no identity outside of Clayton Kershaw.
Fans and media do a lot of weird things when they are frustrated with a team. There’s probably no topping accusing a team of having no heart when it loses a game, no matter how close — this idea that if they didn’t win, they must not have been trying.
But in the ongoing need to psychoanalyze the absence of perfection, the “no identity” crisis is a fine runner-up.
“No identity” wins points because it’s just such an obscure idea to begin with. What player walks into the batter’s box and then stops short, wondering, “Wait. I don’t really know what defines us as a club. So how do I hit that slider? Should I even try? It’s just all so confusing!”
Team identity is make-believe, one of those retroactive rationalizations that insists on turning a game of bats and balls into a Beckett play. You’ve either got guys who can do the job or you don’t.
And so, the idea of the Dodgers having no identity outside of Kershaw was always ridiculously reductive. There’s no denying that Kershaw is the Dodgers’ most valuable, most talented, most everything player — that he has been the face of the franchise for some time now. But it doesn’t mean that the others on the team stop existing.
If there’s one positive that has come in the four weeks that have come since a disc herniation sidelined Kershaw, it’s that it has exposed the lie that the 2016 Dodgers were Kershaw and nothing else.
As Hall of Fame induction weekend takes place, the Dodgers once again salute Mike Piazza on his ascension to baseball’s pinnacle place. The official ceremony will happen Sunday. Congratulations!
— Jon Weisman
By Jon Weisman
Left-handed reliever Grant Dayton has joined the Dodgers from Triple-A Oklahoma City, and Julio Urías was also officially recalled to start today’s game at Washington.
To make room, Charlie Culberson and Zach Walters are returning to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Chris Hatcher was moved to the 60-day disabled list to make room on the 40-man roster for Dayton.
The 28-year-old Dayton has a 2.51 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP with 57 strikeouts (15.9 K/9) against seven walks in 32 1/3 innings since being promoted to Oklahoma City from Double-A Tulsa.
Culberson went 1 for 3 with an RBI single in the Dodgers’ 8-1 loss Wednesday to Washington.
What happens when three old friends in crisis fall into an unexpected love triangle? In The Catch, Maya, Henry and Daniel embark upon an emotional journey that forces them to confront unresolved pain, present-day traumas and powerful desires, leading them to question the very meaning of love and fulfillment. The Catch tells a tale of ordinary people seeking the extraordinary – or, if that’s asking too much, some damn peace of mind.
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