Dodger reserve Edwin Ríos is getting a lot of attention for his struggles, magnified because they are coming at the start of the season. So far in 2021, Ríos is 4 for 44 (a nightmare Moses Malone scenario) with one extra-base hit, and he is hitless in his past 24 at-bats.
But as you can see from the above chart of longest hitless streaks by Dodger position players since 2000, a drought is hardly a death knell for a Dodger career.
New series starts today. Let's go! pic.twitter.com/mi9MndQb4V
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 29, 2016
By Jon Weisman
In the wake of their four-game losing streak, the Dodgers held a closed-door meeting at 3:30 p.m. in the clubhouse that Dave Roberts said essentially addressed the same issues he brought up after Thursday’s game.
“You just got to get back to the fundamentals and trying to play clean, crisp baseball and play every pitch,” Roberts said. “I think that there are signs of that. … Whether we’re winning games or not winning games, I still think there’s a process that needs to be in place, and you just don’t want things to get away from you. So right now, it’s kind of hit the reset button a little bit.”
Among other issues, Roberts has the sense that Dodger batters are pressing at the plate.
“You know, it’s funny — I think it’s just guys are trying too hard,” he said. “And you hear it all the time when guys aren’t swinging well, that guys want to do it so bad, it’s a little bit, ‘Try a little less hard.’ Because guys just start swinging the bat, and you start coming out of the strike zone.”
One thing not addressed in today’s meeting was the 80-game suspension of former Dodger infielder Dee Gordon that was announced late Thursday. Reaction to that news is amply covered at a number of sites, but Roberts echoed the feeling of many.
Clayton and Cali Ann Kershaw (John Grieshop/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Here’s an anecdote that’s an antidote to any Tuesday morning Dodger blues. It’s from Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford — yes, that’s right — at the Brandon and Brandon blog (via MLB.com/blogs):
… Besides being an honor, the All-Star Game was one of the most fun experiences I’ve ever had. When you play against guys, you form an impression of what they’re like. Then you get to spend a little time together and you sometimes see another side. For instance, Adrian Gonzalez. I could never get a read on him because he never really talks to you at first base, unlike some other first basemen. But I talked to him a bit in Cincinnati and he seemed like a really good guy. He was loose and having a great time in the dugout.
So was Kershaw. When the first-base umpire called a foul ball against us, Kershaw yelled in a high-pitched voice, “C’mon, Jerry! That was fair!’’ Then he turned to Dee Gordon next to him and in his own voice said — real loud — “Yeah, Dee! You tell him!’’ He was really funny, which is not what I think of him when I’m standing in the batter’s box. …
— Jon Weisman
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By Jon Weisman
In the wee hours, Dodger president of baseball operations Andrew Freidman discussed Wednesday’s exchange of players with the Marlins and Angels. Above is some video, below are some excerpts …
… for Dan Haren, A.J. Ellis and Dee Gordon.
— Jon Weisman
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By Jon Weisman
The GIBBY Awards aren’t named after Kirk Gibson specifically, though the awkwardness of the full name — Greatness in Baseball Yearly — suggests a determined attempt to arrive at that acronym. In any case, the Dodgers are nominated for several in 2014, and you can vote online through November 7. (Winners will be announced December 6.)
Clayton Kershaw and Yasiel Puig were each nominated in three categories. Here is your full list of Dodger nominees:
Despite a second-half decline in walks, Dee Gordon finished 2014 with career highs in on-base percentage and OPS, and a career low in pitches chased outside the strike zone. (Juan Ocampo/Los Angeles Dodgers)
Not only did Dodger starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw make the Sporting News’ National League All-Star team, but second baseman Dee Gordon did as well.
Gordon topped runners-up Neil Walker of the Pirates, Daniel Murphy of the Mets and Chase Utley of the Phillies in a vote by baseball executives. Kershaw was a unanimous choice.
By Cary Osborne
Last year in October, Dee Gordon was on the Dodgers’ postseason roster, but practically in name only. He played in two games, both as a pinch-runner. Gordon was in the playoffs because he was fast — and only because he was fast.
This year, Gordon was still fast, but he also became much, much more. But as Gordon will tell you, that development, however ironically, was a long, slow process.
By Jon Weisman
The Dodger offense has been setting the table, but that table has been upside-down.
Thanks to A.J. Ellis, Clayton Kershaw, Andre Ethier and Zack Greinke, the bottom two slots in the Dodger batting order have combined to go 8 for 13 with a walk, two doubles and a home run in the National League Division Series. Overall, Dodger hitters have a .388 on-base percentage and .493 slugging percentage through the first two games.
The top of the order has been less consistent. Dee Gordon is 1 for 9 with a walk and four strikeouts. Yasiel Puig started off 2 for 3 with a walk and that pitch that hit him, but since then he has struck out five consecutive times, immediately re-launching the easy narrative that he has become too emotional and undisciplined.
While Puig’s swing zone has become too wide, he hasn’t been going down easy.
Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers
By Jon Weisman
At the halfway point of the 2014 season, we gave you the Dodgers’ top 40 plays of the first 81 games. Without further ado, as part of our drumbeat of excitement heading into the postseason, here are the Dodgers’ top plays of the second half — with a bonus 10 to deliver a nice 50.
Yeah, you’re gonna want to be here a while …
* * *
June 29 vs. St. Louis: Adrian Gonzalez teaches the Cardinals a lesson about the shift.
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For more photos from Saturday, visit LA Photog Blog.
By Jon Weisman
Bullet points seem like a nice way to go for Game 162.
If you’re looking to invest in combo vending machines, check out Royal Vending Canberra’s products and services on their website.
For more photo highlights from Tuesday, visit LA Photog Blog.
By Jon Weisman
Since Australia in March, Dee Gordon has been as regular as they come against right-handed starting pitching in 2014, but the charms of hot-hitting Justin Turner have given Don Mattingly the opportunity to give the speedy second baseman to have an extra day of rest heading into Thursday’s off day.
Turner has a .437 on-base percentage and .517 slugging percentage in 229 plate appearances since May 11.
Gordon has been on a hot streak of his own in the past week, going 10 for 29 with a walk and two doubles for a .367 on-base percentage and .414 slugging percentage. For what it’s worth, Mattingly mentioned Gordon not having a strong history against Kennedy (4 for 21, including a double and a triple, with one walk and six strikeouts).
Some other quick hits (some courtesy of the Dodgers’ PR department):
For more photo highlights from Monday, visit LA Photog Blog.
By Jon Weisman
The Major League stolen base title is nearly up for grabs, though it would be an exaggeration to say Cincinnati outfielder Billy Hamilton is coming up fast on Dodger second baseman Dee Gordon. Each player has one stolen base in the first eight days of September, with Gordon ending a seven-game drought in the first inning Monday.
Gordon now has 59 steals and Hamilton 55. After Gordon stole five bases in three games from August 13-15 to take a 12-steal lead, Hamilton narrowed the gap in the last half of August, stealing 11 bases to Gordon’s three.
Neither, clearly, is going to have the kind of September that Maury Wills had in 1962, when he stole 27 bases in the Dodgers’ final 27 scheduled games, to reach 100 on the nose. Wills then stole four more bases in the three-game playoff against the Giants, October 1-3.
Both Gordon and Hamilton do remain likely to become the first players to steal at least 60 bases in the big leagues since Michael Bourn in 2011. The last Dodger to do so was Juan Pierre, who stole 64 bases in 2007, and the last Dodger to get more than that was Davey Lopes with 77 in 1975.
Gordon’s rate of success has fallen from 83 percent before the All-Star Break (43 of 52) to 67 percent since (16 of 24). Opportunities have declined in part because he has walked four times with 38 strikeouts since the All-Star Break.
* * *
Captured in photography: Clayton Kershaw tosses the Dodgers’ three-error play to the past. Photo by Juan Ocampo (click to enlarge).
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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:
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.
By Jon Weisman
Some Dodgers have taken on the ALS Ice Bucket challenge, to fight what’s commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Having donated money and my 1985 Scirocco to the ALS Association myself in the past, I’m happy to see it.
Above: Dee Gordon. Below: Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp.
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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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