Mike Bolsinger has allowed two runs in nine Spring Training innings. (Matthew Mesa/Los Angeles Dodgers)
By Jon Weisman
Mike Bolsinger shone in the spotlight for the Dodgers, while Scott Kazmir and Hyun-Jin Ryu had interesting days behind the scenes.
Tag: Scott Kazmir (Page 3 of 3)
Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers
By Jon Weisman
In his two-inning Cactus League debut for the Dodgers, Scott Kazmir hit the highs (two strikeouts, two double-play grounders) and the lows (six hits, two runs) — and predictably found a middle ground in his analysis.
[mlbvideo id=”290961283″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]
(Denis Poroy/Getty Images)
By Jon Weisman
Technically, the only big-league season Scott Kazmir missed in his career was in 2012.
But the new Dodger left-hander actually went from September 2010 to May 2013 without a quality start, as he went through the challenges of tearing himself down and building himself back up.
After the Angels parted ways with him in June 2011, Kazmir began his comeback with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League — registering a 5.34 ERA in 64 innings — and winter ball with Gigantes de Carolina of the Puerto Rican Winter League (where he was a teammate with Kiké Hernandez).
Eventually, he was rewarded with a successful comeback season for the Cleveland Indians (4.04 ERA, 3.51 FIP) at age 29 in 2013.
“It was a long process,” Kazmir said in a conference call with reporters today. “It was definitely a low point of me getting released by the Angels. I knd of wanted to take a step back and start from scratch — go back to fundamentals and really give myself great habits, and get away from those bad habits I created. Just hard work, going through winter ball and independent ball and slowly getting things back, slowly feeling comfortable and just getting to know my body more – I think that was the big difference for me.”
Scott Kazmir is joining his sixth MLB team. Above are three of them. (Getty Images)
By Jon Weisman
Though Scott Kazmir potentially gives the Dodgers an all-lefty starting rotation, the newest Dodger isn’t your usual southpaw.
Over the past two seasons, right-handed batters have a .643 OPS against Kazmir. That’s the seventh-best figure in baseball for lefties, just ahead of Madison Bumgarner. (Clayton Kershaw, not surprisingly, is No. 1, while Alex Wood and Brett Anderson are in the top 15.)
“Kaz is a guy who’s got a very balanced split,” Dodger general manager Farhan Zaidi said in a conference call with reporters today, shortly after the Dodgers announced the acquisition of the soon-to-be 32-year-old. “His best pitch is his changeup, which really neutralizes righties. He’s not a lefty in the conventional sense.”
Ed Zurga/Getty Images
By Jon Weisman
Three-time All-Star left-hander Scott Kazmir has signed a three-year deal with the Dodgers.
