By Jon Weisman
Turnabout is fair play. Today, the other MLB teams get their turn, and we watch.
As far as the National League West goes, 1993 expansion partners Colorado and Miami (nee Florida) play at 4:05 p.m., with San Francisco at Arizona at 6:40 p.m.
Meanwhile, in the Dodgers’ world …
By Jon Weisman
Matt Kemp is looking like a better and better bet to be activated from the disabled list on his first day of eligibility, in time for the Dodgers’ home opener April 4.
“I’ve progressed a lot since they left for Australia,” Kemp said. “I’m ready to go. … All I’ve been doing is working. What they were doing in Spring Training, I kept doing in Arizona.
“I feel really good. I feel really confident. It’s going to be fun get back out here with the guys.”
Kemp indicated that he had checked off every box of his long rehab, including the last hurdle of running, and was even stealing bases in Arizona. He had been forced to learn patience through his long comeback process, and is eager to reap the benefits.
“I wouldn’t be playing if I wasn’t 100 percent,” Kemp said.
By Jon Weisman
While Matt Kemp could be activated in time for the Dodgers’ home opener April 4, it’s not clear when Hyun-Jin Ryu will next pitch.
Ryu injured his right Captain of the Toes on the play pictured above, making a sudden stop at third base on Dee Gordon’s double. As Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports, Ryu would slot in for the third game of the San Diego series April 2 (after Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke), but that start could go to Dan Haren or Paul Maholm.
Kemp, meanwhile, has had no setbacks, Gurnick reports, and is playing six innings a game now in minor-league affairs. The Dodgers just want to make sure he’s completely confident before activating him.
More from Gurnick:
The Dodgers will play a simulated game at Dodger Stadium, on Wednesday. Mattingly said it will last four or five innings, and it is mostly being held to keep the relievers sharp. He said his regulars will average three or four at-bats in the first two Freeway Series games Thursday and Friday, but they will back off in Saturday night’s game because the season resumes Sunday night in San Diego.
Elsewhere …
A look at Zach Lee and his phenomenal stirrup game: pic.twitter.com/VTFjDQ7GvP
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) March 12, 2014
By Jon Weisman
All that’s great and ugly about Spring Training, chapter whatever …
Zach Lee, looking stirrup-sharp, enters today’s Dodger game against the Diamondbacks in the top of the third inning and retires the first seven batters he faces. Five of the next six reach base, and what looks like a showcase outing turns into apparent mediocrity. But boy, he sure looked good before the roof (or, given the stakes, the pup tent) caved in.
This wasn’t the only classic Spring Training story of the day, which saw the Dodgers lose to Arizona, 9-2. (Ken Gurnick of MLB.com has the game recap.) We also saw and heard tale of multiple players trying to overcome injury.
Zack Greinke made it through two innings of his start today and threw 14 more pitches in the bullpen afterward, but acknowledged that he still has a corner or two left to turn in his recovery from a calf injury, according to Gurnick. A small excerpt:
“I’d thought I’d be fine that day (of the injury), like 100 percent in a day or two,” he said. “It just hasn’t gotten better, it’s a 10 percent pace from what I was expecting. You know it’s there. If I did more than I’m ready to do, I’d be right back where I started. But it’s getting better every day and that’s the key.”
Speaking of revelations: Josh Beckett revealed that he caught his right thumb in a clubhouse door 10 days ago and that it is sprained. Beckett, who threw mostly fastballs while giving up three home runs in his most recent Spring Training outing Sunday, might skip his next start. From Gurnick:
Beckett has had previous problems with the inside ligament of the thumb.
“I come back from thoracic outlet surgery and this happens,” he said in frustration.
Then there’s Matt Kemp. Weird, but in a good way? That seems to be how to interpret Kemp’s evaluation of his first action of any kind in center field this year, in today’s minor-league intrasquad game. Dylan Hernandez of the Times relays the quotes:
“I feel a little weird still being out there, but I’m having a lot of fun,” he said. “I’m excited to be back on the field, just playing. That’s the process. We’re taking our time.”
Kemp was in center field for two innings.
“I’m still trying to get my legs under me,” he said. “I just wanted to feel good. The legs feel a little heavy and tired at times, but that comes with getting back into shape. You can lift as many weights as you want, but nothing prepares for the game speed out there on the baseball field.
All part of another Spring Training day. Only four of them left before the big club leaves Arizona for Australia.
* * *
Just saying: Devaris Strange-Gordon (L/L) anagrams to RARE GOLD/N GLOVED IN STARS #Dodgers pic.twitter.com/qmXF4FY7r6
— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) March 12, 2014
By Jon Weisman
Why yes, I have noticed that a certain Even Steven approach to the Dodger exhibition season. Cyndi Lauper is putting out her new single, “Tie After Tie,” as we speak.
Today’s 8-8 deadlock with Oakland widened the Dodgers’ Cactus League record to 4-6-4 and gave them ties in nearly 30 percent of their contests. In their past 10 games, the Dodgers are 2-4-4. Their past six games have been as easy as 1-2-3.
Last year, Los Angeles played 15 extra-inning games out of 162 in the regular season.
The Dodgers allowed a game-tying five runs in the eighth inning today, but it could have been worse. Brian Wilson, still mixing the occasional knuckleball, had a visit to the mound from an assistant trainer in the eighth inning (no, I’m not making a connection there), but the team reported no trouble to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.
Wilson was charged with two runs, while Carlos Frias, who retired none of his four batters, was charged with three.
Los Angeles looked great at the outset, with Andre Ethier lovingly smashing a three-run home run in the first inning, Juan Uribe following with a solo shot, and Hyun-Jin Ryu scattering a run and four baserunners over five innings, striking out four.
[mlbvideo id=”31494067″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /]
Miguel Olivo added a three-run double (not to mention a stolen base) in helping boost the Dodgers’ lead to 8-3. In addition, J.P. Howell and Dee Gordon each turned in fine defensive plays.
[mlbvideo id=”31496463″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /]
[mlbvideo id=”31495283″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /]
Following the game today, the Dodgers optioned pitcher Matt Magill and reassigned Frias, J.C. Boscan, Brendan Harris and Clint Robinson to minor-league camp. Harris is the second of the pre-Spring Training infield candidates to miss the cut, following Justin Sellers, who was sent to Cleveland.
Magill has had a nice exhibition season, with six strikeouts against five baserunners in 5 2/3 innings.
And, a postscript: I know the story here is Zack Greinke and Matt Kemp progressing in their rehab, but what really tantalized me was the thought of seeing Kemp bat against Julio Urias. The 17-year-old gave up a sacrifice fly to Kemp in the intrasquad game, but also struck him out.
In short, call it Even Steven.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prvm5ZFPIrE&w=550&h=413]
By Jon Weisman
It’s official: Clayton Kershaw has been named the Dodgers’ Opening Day starter in Australia on March 22, where he will be followed in the second game by Hyun-Jin Ryu.
“Kershaw will be the first Dodgers pitcher to make four consecutive Opening Day starts since Ramon Martinez from 1995-98,” writes Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. “Don Sutton has the Los Angeles record with seven (1972-78).”
Kershaw and Ryu are scheduled to face Patrick Corbin and Trevor Cahill.
In addition, though Matt Kemp isn’t expected to make the trip to Australia, Mattingly has said that the outfielder is close to making it into Spring Training action.
“We’re seeing him take fly balls, getting jumps,” said Mattingly (via Gurnick). “He’s swinging the bat good. It won’t be long before he’s in a game.”
A few other notes:
By Jon Weisman
Andre Ethier takes a turn at center field, while the wheel of Chone Figgins lands on third base. At this point, I won’t be satisfied unless Figgins plays at least eight positions this spring.
Scheduled to follow Clayton Kershaw on the mound today are Brandon League, Seth Rosin (he of the five strikeouts in two innings Wednesday), Pedro Baez, Carlos Frias and Jarret Martin.
By the way, with Zack Greinke missing his scheduled start Tuesday, that game against the Mariners will become a full bullpen day for the Dodgers, with Brian Wilson scheduled to be the first pitcher. Ken Gurnick has more on Greinke and other less-than-100-percent Dodgers at MLB.com.
One more link for the morning: Matt Kemp just needs those wheels unleashed, because his swing is back, writes Buster Olney of ESPN.com.
Mark McGwire joined the Dodgers as hitting coach more than a year after Matt Kemp nearly won the Most Valuable Player Award in 2011, and the swing McGwire saw last year was very different from the powerful and unusually high finish McGwire recalled from the past.
McGwire explains it this way: A right-handed hitter drives with his left arm — his lead arm – and steers with his right. When Kemp was at his best, he had been able to lift and drive the ball to right-center field. But last year, Kemp still seemed to be recovering from the shoulder surgery he had in the fall of 2012, and McGwire never really saw that classic Kemp finish. Rather, his front arm was noticeably lower in his follow-through, and, instead of lifting the ball, he tended to hit looping liners without much carry, a lingering sign that his repaired shoulder was not yet operating at 100 percent.
On Friday morning, before the Dodgers’ exhibition against the White Sox, McGwire saw that old swing again. …
Dodgers vs. Brewers, 12:05 p.m.
Carl Crawford, DH
Chone Figgins, CF
Yasiel Puig, RF
Scott Van Slyke, 1B
Juan Uribe, 3B
A.J. Ellis, C
Brendan Harris, SS
Mike Baxter, LF
Dee Gordon, 2B
(Dan Haren, P)
By Jon Weisman
Matt Kemp will be able to take a step forward in his attempt to return to action, though there’s still a ways to go. Ken Gurnick has details at MLB.com:
… Kemp will increase his baseball activity after favorable results from an MRI of his healing left ankle, but there still is no timetable for his return to game action.
Kemp will step up agility work on the field, manager Don Mattingly said, and progressively ease into jogging.
“The main thing is, he’s got to speak up,” Mattingly said. “We expect some soreness, but it can’t be the wrong soreness. He’s at Step 5 of a seven-step progression.” …
Matt Kemp ran today, said he never thought running would be so fun.
— Dylan Hernandez (@dylanohernandez) March 1, 2014
Gurnick also has the latest on Zack Greinke here.
Rain is threatening play today, but if the game gets underway, Carl Crawford will return to the lineup (as designated hitter), while Chone Figgins will start at his third position in four games. Dan Haren is hoping to make his first Cactus League start of 2014.
By Jon Weisman
I look at the image of Seth Rosin above and it makes me ask … at the end of the day, what’s it like — what’s it really like — to take the mound knowing that with virtually every outing, your future is on the line?
Let’s talk about your day …
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGcv9KSZgvA&w=420&h=315]
“I wasn’t throwing the ball where I wanted to. There were some off-speed pitches I needed to throw better; the one to (Miguel) Montero that I struck him out on, even that was up,” Kershaw said. “There’s just a lot to work on.”
“I’m trying to establish (my changeup) as my out pitch. [Bullpen coach] Chuck Crim has given me tons of confidence with that,” Rosin said. “We’re working on that a lot, working on my mechanics daily. Everything is feeling like it’s getting better each day. Hopefully I can continue that trend, and keep improving.”
By Jon Weisman
One week until it’s time for Dodger (Spring Training) baseball …
… Kemp has had monthly MRI exams since having surgery to remove torn cartilage in his left ankle in October. Mattingly said the last exam was roughly two weeks ago, so we could have another two weeks or so before hearing anything new. …
… “I said, ‘Did you ever dream you’d be watching a guy with a beard like Brian Wilson pitch with Sandy Koufax standing 10 feet from you?’” Beckett said. “Dan Haren’s like, ‘Yeah, it seems like there should be a unicorn somewhere.’” …
“If (@HanleyRamirez) plays 130-140 games this year, you’re looking at the leading candidate for MVP.” –@AJEllis17
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) February 19, 2014
… “The way it works down there, [amateur] players come to tryouts at your camp, and we had a hard time getting players to come to the academy [in the Dominican Republic] until we signed Puig,” (Ned) Colletti said. “I was down there about three weeks ago or so, and it was probably the best group of players that I’ve seen. A lot of it has to do with our ability to spend, and we’ve increased our scouting internationally three-fold from where it was. We have the finances to be competitive with players from Cuba and amateurs in other countries. Puig was a very key sign for us in more ways than just his talent.”
Kenley Jansen blew a couple past Yasiel Puig — Puig responds: https://t.co/t6BsEqCpXZ
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) February 19, 2014
By Jon Weisman
The headline that came out of Camelback Ranch on Friday was Matt Kemp’s feelings about potentially being labeled a fourth outfielder, interpreted in different camps outside the clubhouse as an impending crisis or a declaration of confidence.
Putting aside the obvious that no one would want to be labeled below their potential — and at his maximum potential, Kemp isn’t a fourth outfielder but rather a starting outfielder at an All-Star Game — what’s most important about what Kemp said is when he said it.
On February 14.
We’re all eager to tap into the future and find out what this Dodger team is made of. But there’s no getting past the present — and the outfield, like second base, like the back of the starting rotation, like the back of the bullpen, like anything with the team, has several weeks to sort itself out.
It’s February. And yeah, soon it will be March, and this year, the season starts in March (for two games, anyway), and it’s true that time catches up with all of us and what is the meaning of life anyway?
Where was I? Oh yeah: It’s February.
As I wrote in January, we should be so fortunate if the Dodgers have a problem of four star-cailber outfielders who are healthy at the same time. A footnote: As Kemp spoke Friday, the Dodgers technically had no more than one of those. Kemp’s not running, Carl Crawford just had his wisdom teeth out and Yasiel Puig has a minor case of shoulder inflammation. Maybe not earthshattering, but it reminds you about the players’ vulnerabilities.
And it shouldn’t be lost that even Kemp realizes it’s early. As good as he feels with his swing …
Matt Kemp’s effortless power swing is back. He increased his baseball activity on Friday’s first full-squad workout, taking ground balls off the bat of first-base coach Davey Lopes and moving around like a healthy ballplayer. Then he matched every one of Yasiel Puig’s moonshots with the swing that’s been missing during two seasons of shoulder problems. Those seem to be over, based on the unrestricted follow-through of every swing. (Ken Gurnick, MLB.com)
… he knows he has to progress on his running.
“Me rushing back hasn’t helped any in the past two years, so I need to take a different approach,” Kemp said. “Rushing back I’m better, but when I come back other injuries happen from rushing back. I don’t want to be the player who comes back, feels good, gets hurt again, comes back. I want to be 100%. (Eric Stephen, True Blue L.A.)
For that matter, even Kemp understands that none of the four players in question wants to take a back seat.
“I get it. I think all of us four outfielders feel the same way. None of us are fourth outfielders, and everyone wants to play every day,” Kemp said, according to Stephen.
Opening Day is more than a month away, and even that is only the first of at least 162 games for the Dodgers. Kemp’s not rushing, and neither should we.
Carl Crawford congratulates Adrian Gonzalez at home plate in San Diego on April 11. (Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers, LLC 2013)
By Jon Weisman
You don’t even need to look at the numbers, do you? The Dodgers, even as they went all the way to the National League Championship Series in 2013, didn’t hit enough with men on base, right?
Well, maybe we should look at the numbers anyway. Because they’re kind of interesting.
Dodgers with men on base, 2013
(ordered by plate appearances)
| Rk | PA ▾ | HR | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adrian Gonzalez | 312 | 11 | .308 | .362 | .491 | .853 |
| 2 | Andre Ethier | 266 | 4 | .243 | .357 | .356 | .713 |
| 3 | A.J. Ellis | 232 | 5 | .247 | .320 | .354 | .674 |
| 4 | Mark Ellis | 209 | 4 | .295 | .340 | .421 | .761 |
| 5 | Juan Uribe | 195 | 6 | .280 | .328 | .463 | .791 |
| 6 | Yasiel Puig | 174 | 5 | .259 | .356 | .395 | .751 |
| 7 | Carl Crawford | 169 | 1 | .272 | .337 | .338 | .675 |
| 8 | Skip Schumaker | 165 | 2 | .278 | .354 | .354 | .708 |
| 9 | Hanley Ramirez | 149 | 10 | .351 | .416 | .679 | 1.095 |
| 10 | Matt Kemp | 145 | 2 | .246 | .303 | .346 | .650 |
| 11 | Nick Punto | 134 | 0 | .280 | .320 | .364 | .685 |
| 12 | Jerry Hairston | 106 | 1 | .217 | .272 | .283 | .554 |
| 13 | Tim Federowicz | 86 | 2 | .203 | .286 | .351 | .637 |
| 14 | Scott Van Slyke | 76 | 1 | .210 | .329 | .339 | .668 |
| 15 | Luis Cruz | 67 | 1 | .150 | .200 | .233 | .433 |
| Team Total | 2805 | 55 | .257 | .325 | .383 | .708 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
NL leader in OPS with runners on base: St. Louis (.839)
Collectively, the Dodgers had a .325 on-base percentage with men on base, nearly identical to their overall 2013 OBP of .326. And of the nine players who came up the most in those situations, none had a lower OBP than .320.
Key RBI guys like Adrian Gonzalez (.362), Andre Ethier (.357) and, holy cow, Hanley Ramirez (.416) kept coming through time and again, either driving in runs or extending innings. Matt Kemp, by contrast, was disappointing at .303, but we’re going to talk more about him in a minute.
Where the Dodgers showed more of a dip was in their slugging percentage – .383 with runners on base, compared to .396 overall in the season. The difference was more pronounced with runners in scoring position.
Dodgers with RISP
(ordered by plate appearances)
| Rk | PA ▾ | HR | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adrian Gonzalez | 188 | 7 | .323 | .378 | .532 | .909 |
| 2 | Andre Ethier | 156 | 2 | .228 | .372 | .325 | .697 |
| 3 | A.J. Ellis | 135 | 2 | .255 | .333 | .345 | .679 |
| 4 | Mark Ellis | 124 | 2 | .282 | .336 | .388 | .724 |
| 5 | Skip Schumaker | 110 | 2 | .268 | .336 | .351 | .687 |
| 6 | Juan Uribe | 105 | 2 | .278 | .340 | .433 | .773 |
| 7 | Carl Crawford | 103 | 1 | .289 | .359 | .356 | .715 |
| 8 | Yasiel Puig | 99 | 4 | .234 | .374 | .416 | .789 |
| 9 | Matt Kemp | 87 | 0 | .230 | .310 | .270 | .581 |
| 10 | Hanley Ramirez | 83 | 7 | .368 | .458 | .779 | 1.237 |
| 11 | Nick Punto | 67 | 0 | .246 | .297 | .351 | .648 |
| 12 | Jerry Hairston | 63 | 0 | .236 | .274 | .236 | .511 |
| 13 | Tim Federowicz | 51 | 0 | .122 | .245 | .171 | .416 |
| 14 | Scott Van Slyke | 43 | 0 | .229 | .326 | .314 | .640 |
| 15 | Luis Cruz | 42 | 0 | .128 | .146 | .154 | .300 |
| Team Total | 1639 | 29 | .252 | .330 | .367 | .697 |
If the Dodgers were swinging for the fences with runners in scoring position, the stats show they weren’t connecting. Their slugging percentage dipped 7 percent compared with their overall 2013 performance. On the other hand, their OBP inched up, with the eight guys most frequently batting with RISP doing their part to drive in runs or at least extend innings. And again, Hanley – wow.
In general, given the sample sizes at play and the variables in terms of situation, I’m not sure how significant these differences are. You’d expect pitchers to be more vulnerable with runners on base, if only because vulnerable pitchers tend to put more runners on base. But pitchers being more careful with runners on could also play a role.
Which leads me to latest favorite stat: In 2013, Clayton Kershaw allowed five extra-base hits with runners in scoring position all year.
Keep all this in mind as I present the Dodgers’ performance with the bases loaded in 2013. The sample size shrinks … and the offense shrinks even more.
Dodgers with bases loaded, 2013
(ordered by plate appearances)
| Rk | PA ▾ | HR | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A.J. Ellis | 17 | 0 | .143 | .176 | .214 | .391 |
| 2 | Mark Ellis | 14 | 0 | .417 | .357 | .417 | .774 |
| 3 | Juan Uribe | 14 | 0 | .154 | .143 | .385 | .527 |
| 4 | Skip Schumaker | 14 | 0 | .071 | .071 | .071 | .143 |
| 5 | Adrian Gonzalez | 10 | 0 | .375 | .300 | .500 | .800 |
| 6 | Carl Crawford | 10 | 0 | .333 | .300 | .444 | .744 |
| 7 | Andre Ethier | 9 | 0 | .143 | .222 | .286 | .508 |
| 8 | Matt Kemp | 9 | 0 | .125 | .111 | .125 | .236 |
| 9 | Tim Federowicz | 8 | 0 | .143 | .125 | .286 | .411 |
| 10 | Clayton Kershaw | 8 | 0 | .125 | .125 | .125 | .250 |
| 11 | Scott Van Slyke | 8 | 0 | .000 | .125 | .000 | .125 |
| 12 | Nick Punto | 7 | 0 | .200 | .429 | .200 | .629 |
| 13 | Yasiel Puig | 6 | 1 | .400 | .500 | 1.000 | 1.500 |
| 14 | Luis Cruz | 5 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| 15 | Jerry Hairston | 4 | 0 | .500 | .500 | .500 | 1.000 |
| Team Total | 156 | 1 | .190 | .205 | .270 | .475 |
Those numbers … well, they are numbers. I’ll give them that. The Dodgers were last in the NL in batting with the bases loaded, by a wide margin. Coming in at 15th was Pittsburgh, with a .591 OPS.
How wildly inconsistent are they from hitter to hitter? No one on that list has a batting average between .200 and .300.
Also, do you see who isn’t on the list? Our friend Mr. Ramirez, whose total number of plate appearances with the bases loaded in 2013 was … one. (He got out.)
Once more, I’d offer that the quantity of plate appearances is too small to derive too much into the Dodgers’ bases-loaded performance, but we can say this: If you’re looking for a way the Dodgers can improve in 2014, look no farther.
I promised to circle back to Matt Kemp, and circle back we shall. Kemp, as you might have noticed, struggled in all of these situations, yet another reason his 2013 was so frustrating. But is it possible that we’ve got this backward – that his frustrations were the reason he struggled with men on base?
Look at how Kemp did in previous seasons:
Matt Kemp with men on base
| I | Year | PA | HR | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 85 | 4 | .295 | .318 | .513 | .830 | |
| 2007 | 144 | 4 | .373 | .396 | .560 | .956 | |
| 2008 | 296 | 6 | .282 | .342 | .417 | .760 | |
| 2009 | 321 | 13 | .279 | .336 | .463 | .800 | |
| 2010 | 324 | 15 | .238 | .299 | .462 | .761 | |
| 2011 | 347 | 21 | .344 | .424 | .626 | 1.049 | |
| 2012 | 204 | 14 | .331 | .412 | .651 | 1.063 | |
| 2013 | 145 | 2 | .246 | .303 | .346 | .650 | |
| Career Total | 1866 | 79 | .295 | .357 | .505 | .862 |
Matt Kemp with RISP
| I | Year | PA | HR | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 50 | 3 | .273 | .300 | .523 | .823 | |
| 2007 | 85 | 2 | .333 | .353 | .500 | .853 | |
| 2008 | 168 | 3 | .268 | .359 | .394 | .754 | |
| 2009 | 190 | 9 | .279 | .342 | .485 | .827 | |
| 2010 | 193 | 8 | .225 | .311 | .456 | .767 | |
| 2011 | 200 | 13 | .335 | .450 | .652 | 1.102 | |
| 2012 | 107 | 5 | .292 | .383 | .551 | .934 | |
| 2013 | 87 | 0 | .230 | .310 | .270 | .581 | |
| Career Total | 1080 | 43 | .279 | .360 | .486 | .846 |
Matt Kemp with bases loaded
| I | Year | PA | HR | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 7 | 0 | .167 | .143 | .167 | .310 | |
| 2007 | 10 | 0 | .000 | .100 | .000 | .100 | |
| 2008 | 18 | 1 | .250 | .222 | .500 | .722 | |
| 2009 | 19 | 3 | .313 | .316 | .938 | 1.253 | |
| 2010 | 15 | 1 | .300 | .333 | .600 | .933 | |
| 2011 | 10 | 1 | .571 | .500 | 1.000 | 1.500 | |
| 2012 | 9 | 0 | .250 | .222 | .250 | .472 | |
| 2013 | 9 | 0 | .125 | .111 | .125 | .236 | |
| Career Total | 97 | 6 | .250 | .258 | .500 | .758 |
Historically, Kemp has been good to great with runners on base, before falling off a cliff in 2013. (Weird stat No. 2: Kemp had more grand slams in 2009 than hits with the bases loaded in 2013). A healthier Kemp obviously makes the Dodgers a better team; this is but one example of the difference he might make.
The big question I have is how much control players really have over their performance with runners on base. In a conversation for the season preview story of the upcoming Dodgers’ March magazine (which you all are going to want to get), Dodger manager Don Mattingly shared his thoughts.
“You put an emphasis on it in Spring Training,” Mattingly said. “You continue to put guys in situations in camp and work on things. … Everyone tries to drive that run in, and a lot of times they do it really fast. Sometimes it’s just being willing to let the next guy do it, because they may not be willing to pitch to (you). So if they’re not going to give you anything to do it with … you’ve got to be willing to pass the baton and trust your teammate.”
Easier said than done? No doubt. But even though their performance with runners on base might be better than you realized — and certainly improved when they heated up in the summer — it remains something the Dodgers will think about.
By Jon Weisman
People will talk about Matt Kemp’s hurdles in 2014 coming back from multiple injuries, but Kemp would be the first to put those hurdles in perspective.
A surprise visitor today at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, joining Dodger alumni Ron Cey, Ken Landreaux, Matt Luke and Dennis Powell on the first day of the Dodgers Pitching in the Community Caravan (presented by State Farm), Kemp was eager to spread good cheer but had to take some deep breaths on the way.
“It’s definitely difficult,” Kemp said. “Kids honestly don’t deserve to go through this. They didn’t ask for this. Me growing up, I had a normal childhood, I was healthy … but some of the things these kids have been through, I wouldn’t know how to react or how to handle these situations. So yeah, it’s tough to come here, seeing some of these kids with their childhood taken away.
“There’s a little bit of a backstory to it. I had a little brother, growing up — he was sick, he was always in the hospital and he later passed. Just coming to the hospital for me is pretty tough. The smell of a hospital reminds me of my little brother. Coming to see some of these kids, hooked up to these machines, it just takes me back. It’s definitely tough just to come here and see some of this stuff. But it’s what I guess I was born to do, and it’s nice to do and puts everything in perspective.”
Told that was a big responsibility, Kemp agreed but believed he could make a difference, saying that “if it’s me just saying ‘hello’ to a kid, giving a kid a Dodger hat or something that makes their day, that makes them eat” when they might otherwise feel too weak to do so, he was game.
As for himself, Kemp hasn’t completed his recovery from every injury that set him back in 2013 — namely the ankle — but feels he is right on track.
“I feel great. Just got done working out not too long ago. I’m pretty pumped up for the upcoming season and what’s going on, and hopefully be injury-free this whole year and have a great season.
“I’m not rushing it back, but I’m definitely going to come back 110 percent and try to be the best centerfielder I can be.”
Jon SooHoo/©Los Angeles Dodgers, LLC 2013
By Jon Weisman
At first, when the run that became the Dodgers’ 42-8 midseason gambol began last year, it merely solved the dilemma of “This team can’t be this bad.” Los Angeles had spent the better part of 2½ months taking jokes that it was the worst team money could buy, and so when the Dodgers won six in a row to just to improve to 36-42, there was a sense that a modicum of balance was being restored. Only six games below .500? OK, maybe the team could be that bad.
The Dodgers were in last place, a position that seemed further justified when a 16-1 trashing by Philadelphia on June 28 ended the initial winning streak, their first of the season longer than three games, with a tremendous thud. The Dodgers’ final pitcher that day was utility player Skip Schumaker, who threw an inning of shutout ball – for the second time in 2013. That the Dodgers had twice need to turn to Schumaker said a lot about their struggles, and yet didn’t begin to tell the full story.
Injuries were such a big part of it. Hanley Ramirez was only one of many. Matt Kemp, bothered sequentially by three separate injuries, including lingering effects on his labrum from a 2012 collision with a Coors Field outfield wall, had a year so star-crossed, he might as well have been considered to be on walkabout. Carl Crawford, himself recovering from 2012 Tommy John surgery, gingerly made it back to the lineup after missing much of 2012, though not without his own 30-day stay on the DL. Andre Ethier stayed on the active roster despite a trip to the hospital to investigate a slow-healing bruise that had prompted fears of serious, limb-threatening malady. With Yasiel Puig (a latter-day Pete Reiser in the way he seemed like a collision waiting to happen), the Dodgers had four starting outfielders on paper, but only once before rosters expanded in September were all four active for the same game – and in the ninth inning of that one, Kemp gnarled his ankle sliding into home with the Dodgers ahead, 9-2, not even completing his first game back from his second DL stint.
Dodger pitchers offered little in way of contrast. Starting pitcher Chad Billingsley, putting off surgery after his 2012 season was cut short in August, succumbed after two starts in 2013. Josh Beckett was shaky, allowing a 5.19 ERA in eight starts (6.75 in the final five) before going on the disabled list with both a groin injury and tingling in his right arm, diagnosed as thoracic outlet syndrome and culminating in season-ending surgery to remove a rib and relieve pressure on his nerves. Chris Capuano, slated for the bullpen in Spring Training because of a perceived overload of starting pitchers for Los Angeles (a perception, it is to laugh, that lasted about two seconds), made two trips to the disabled list in 2013, as did Stephen Fife, the 26-year-old ticketed to the minors who had a 2.47 ERA in his first nine major-league starts when he wasn’t sidelined with bursitis.
Most of these injuries were taken with resignation, the inevitability of baseball in general and the Dodgers in particular. Kemp’s status, given his importance in the lineup – especially before Puig and Ramirez began their dance in June – was the one genuine frustration. But nothing vexed more than what happened to Zack Greinke.
The most expensive pitcher in Dodger history to date, Greinke was critical in the Dodger plans to mitigate concerns about offense with tough moundswork. Despite a Spring Training that had some hint of elbow soreness, Greinke was ready to go when the regular season began, In his first start as a Dodger, Greinke shut out the Pirates for 6⅓ innings of a 3-0 victory and held a 2-1 lead going into the sixth inning of his second outing, in San Diego.
Carlos Quentin was the batter. Greinke alternated balls outside the zone with swinging strikes, and the count went full. The next pitch sailed inside. Quentin turned to his right, and the ball struck him on his left arm below the right shoulder. Although there had been an 0-2 pitch by Padres starter Jason Marquis near the head of Matt Kemp in the first inning, the game scenario didn’t indicate intent to harm on Greinke’s part. But as the baseball world was soon to learn, Quentin – in his mind, at least – had a running vendetta with Greinke. He took a step toward the mound. Greinke slung out an undisclosed word or three in response, and Quentin charged.
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Greinke’s options at that moment were few and far from ideal. He could run away, at least until others were able to protect him. He could cock a fist and fight fire with fire. What he chose was what seemed the least horrible of horrible choices – he dropped his glove, lowered his upper torso as if he were about to go bodysurfing in the Pacific, and faced the charging Quentin, who drove into him with the same arm that had been hit by the baseball four seconds earlier.
From the melee that followed, Greinke emerged with what the Dodgers announced after the game was a fractured left collarbone. Though the Dodgers had won the game to improve their record to 6-3 on the season, the postgame was filled with anger and depression. Los Angeles then lost seven of its next eight games and went 10-19 with Greinke sidelined.
Greinke returned to the mound three weeks sooner than the initial eight-week forecast suggested, but he wasn’t a consistent pitcher. From May 15 through Independence Day, Greinke had a 4.84 ERA in 10 starts, averaging 5⅔ innings per start. He, like his teammates, had to figure it out, to dig themselves out of a hole.
Baseball doesn’t play like the lottery. You don’t change your fortunes in one play. You can have the game of your life, or the week of your life, but it’s just one game, just one week. You have to keep grinding, day after day after day. The excuses don’t matter. They are explanations, but no one’s really interested in explanations. People want results.
Injuries? Yeah, we understand that injuries hurt. What else is new? You need to beat your opponent, and if you can’t do that, we’ll see you next year. Get better at the game, get some luck, get whatever it takes. Baseball’s Shawshankism: Get busy winning, or get busy losing.
Somehow, the Dodgers got busy winning. Day after day after day.
By Jon Weisman
I worry. A lot. Which makes me a pretty good barometer for not worrying. If it doesn’t bother me, it probably shouldn’t bother you.
This fear that the Dodgers have one too many starting outfielders, I’ve pretty much dismissed. Not just that there are worse problems to have, but that this isn’t even a problem.
Whether it’s the timing of Matt Kemp’s return to regular action, fear that Yasiel Puig will run into one wall too many or general concern over the vulnerability of Carl Crawford and Andre Ethier, the chances that the Dodgers will have four healthy outfielders for the entire year seem about as likely as the 2013-14 Lakers will string together four wins in a row the entire season. (Yeah, I went there.)
Worrying about a surplus is so Spring 2013. There was the Dodgers’ so-called overload of starting pitchers, and we know how that turned out.
But since no one’s rooting for bad health or bad karma, and it is possible that Kemp and Co. hit April at full strength — even if Kemp were to sit out the Dodgers’ Australia games — how uncomfortable could it be?
Let’s start by defining some kind of ideal. In 2011, the year of his near-Most Valuable Player campaign, Kemp played 1,380 innings in the outfield and had 689 plate appearances. Let’s call those the benchmarks of happiness – or to make them easier to remember, the Benchmarks of Happiness.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers can expect to have no more than 4,400 innings to pass around the outfield this year (162 games x three outfielders x nine innings = 4,374). That number’s on the high side, even allowing for extra innings, if you factor in that some games will require only eight outfield innings unless the Dodgers go undefeated on the road. Plus, there will be 10 games in American League parks in which a healthy starting outfielder might be the designated hitter.
That means that if all four outfielders were completely healthy and Don Mattingly divided their time equally, they could each get 1,100 innings, or 80 percent of the Benchmark of Happiness. Not bad, especially considering how good their bodies would feel under this scenario.
Of course, this isn’t the scenario that worried people. That was the scenario where there were four healthy outfielders but one got the short straw, the straw that, to paraphrase Reggie Jackson, doesn’t stir the drink, unless that drink is in a shot glass.
If three teammates each took 1,300 innings in the outfield and left you with only 500, that’s a pretty big difference, especially if you consider yourself All-Star caliber, as Kemp, Ethier and Crawford have been and Puig is poised to be.
Lazy as I can be, I wouldn’t want to be the 500-inning guy, not if I felt I could do more.
Nevertheless, to that, I say the following:
The bottom line is this: Would it be worth it for the Dodgers to weaken their outfield depth, in the face of potential injuries, just to ward off this potential of pouting so powerful that it would derail the team? I don’t see it.
When Spring Training arrives next month, we’ll no doubt see a round of stories addressing the four-outfielder dilemma, and the Dodgers’ position, I suspect, will be as it’s been this offseason – that there is no dilemma. And they’ll be right. True, one of these guys will be on the bench for the first pitch of the season. What happens next is anyone’s guess, which is why it’s not worth worrying about.
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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