By Jon Weisman
For seven innings today, the Dodgers were on their way to an unprecedented feat.
Month: March 2016 (Page 4 of 5)
Just seeing if you’re paying attention. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)
Dodgers at A’s, 12:05 p.m.
Carl Crawford, LF
Kiké Hernandez, SS
Chase Utley, 2B
Scott Van Slyke, 1B
Andre Ethier, DH
A.J. Ellis, C
Trayce Thompson, CF
Charlie Culberson, 3B
Rico Noel, RF
(Kenta Maeda, P)
Carl Crawford, LF
Kiké Hernandez, SS
Chase Utley, 2B
Scott Van Slyke, 1B
Andre Ethier, DH
A.J. Ellis, C
Trayce Thompson, CF
Charlie Culberson, 3B
Rico Noel, RF
(Kenta Maeda, P)
By Jon Weisman
Earlier this week, MLB.com, the Times, the Register, True Blue L.A. and ESPN.com all wrote about how the Dodgers don’t expect to have a full-time leadoff hitter in 2016.
“It’s still wide-open,” Dave Roberts said, according to Bill Plunkett of the Register. “It might change but I don’t foresee a designated leadoff guy – versus left, versus right, versus any type of pitcher – because any day is different, any pitcher is different. So whatever I feel is the best, which makes the most sense for that night or day, we’ll do.”
For some reason, this seems to get under the skin of some fans, who correlate a consistent presence atop the order with winning. And to be sure, if you’ve got guy who posts a .400 on-base percentage against all pitching and doesn’t have redwoods for legs, that’s a good head start toward victory.
But you’re not doomed if you don’t have that person, and it doesn’t serve anyone to pretend that you do. Whatever advantage might be derived from stubbornly batting the same player in the same batting slot, regardless of who the opposing pitcher is, is surely bettered by creating the best matchups.
Let’s look at the Dodgers’ potential leadoff hitters, casting a wide net …
[mlbvideo id=”549723983″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]
By Jon Weisman
Today, when Dave Roberts had to make his first mid-inning visit to the mound as Dodger manager, to relieve starter Scott Kazmir with two out in the second inning against the Angels, maybe it seemed like a big deal.
It wasn’t.
Time of the nine-inning game was 3:44. Total plate appearances: 96. Total baserunners: 44.
— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) March 10, 2016
Kazmir’s five runs allowed were matched by Jeff Weaver of the Angels, only the start of what became a 13-13 tie in Tempe — recapped at MLB.com.
“I honestly think I’m on the right path,” Kazmir said. “If you look at the game and not the box score, it tells a different story.”
But really, this was a day for the offense.
Joc Pederson, Austin Barnes (who had three hits) and Scott Van Slyke homered for the 4-1-2 Dodgers, who have increased their Spring Training OPS to a rather ridiculous .916.
The player who made the biggest impression today was 20-year-old first baseman Cody Bellinger, the theoretical heir to Adrian Gonzalez — if he can wait that long. Bellinger, who is also capable of playing outfield, went 3 for 3 and is impressing Roberts.
“The game doesn’t speed up on him,” Roberts told Ken Gurnick in this feature for MLB.com. “He looks comfortable out there. The more you see, the more you like.”
What else?
- Encouraging news on the injury front from Gurnick: Howie Kendrick and Alex Guerrero participated in fielding and hitting drills, Hyun-Jin Ryu threw for the third consecutive day, Justin Turner again played in a minor-league game and Julio Urias had a light bullpen session ahead of his anticipated Cactus League debut Friday.
- Brett Anderson spoke at length to Gurnick about beginning his latest rehab from surgery to repair a bulging disc.
- Bill Plunkett of the Register looks at the different ways Roberts tries to connect with his players.
- Kenta Maeda, who pitches Thursday for the Dodgers, talked to Doug Padilla of ESPN.com about what it would mean if he were able to face off against the Yankees’ Masahiro Tanaka when the Dodgers go to the Bronx in September.
- Skip Schumaker, who had twin .332 on-base and slugging percentages for the Dodgers in 2014, has retired at age 36, ending an 11-year MLB career.
By Jon Weisman
Spring Training stats are never, ever to be taken seriously.
So it’s entirely in the spirit of fun and frolic that I point out the Dodgers have a .383 on-base percentage and .478 slugging percentage as a team, after reaching base 17 times in today’s 7-3 victory over the Cubs (recapped here by MLB.com).
Here are some postgame notes and news about the 4-1-1 Dodgers:
Dodgers at Cubs, 12:05 p.m.
Carl Crawford, LF
Yasiel Puig, RF
Chase Utley, 3B
Andre Ethier, DH
A.J. Ellis, C
Kiké Hernandez, SS
Trayce Thompson, CF
Rob Segedin, 1B
Micah Johnson, 2B
(Clayton Kershaw, P)
Carl Crawford, LF
Yasiel Puig, RF
Chase Utley, 3B
Andre Ethier, DH
A.J. Ellis, C
Kiké Hernandez, SS
Trayce Thompson, CF
Rob Segedin, 1B
Micah Johnson, 2B
(Clayton Kershaw, P)
By Jon Weisman
Dan Haren, the one-time Dodger right-hander, has been nothing but fun since his retirement from baseball following the 2015 season. (If you want an extended sample, check out his recent appearance on the Jonah Keri Podcast.)
Anyway, when the Dodgers announced Brett Anderson’s surgery last week, it set Haren’s Twitter wheels in motion, as MLB.com’s Cut4 notes.
We spend a lot of time here at Dodger Insider tracking how the major national media outlets rank Dodger prospects — you can see it all in out Minor League category — but there are also a pair of writers for two of the prime team blogs, Dustin Nosler of Dodgers Digest and David Hood of True Blue L.A., who go as deep as anyone on the Dodger farm system.
They’re not professional scouts, as they make perfectly clear in their disclaimers, but their observations are thoughtful and extensive.
Coincidentally (or not?), each site wrapped up its 2016 prospect picks today, so if you haven’t already, click the links to read their stuff.
— Jon Weisman
Nancy and Ronald Reagan watch Tommy Lasorda speak at the White House following the 1988 World Series. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)
By Jon Weisman
One time, Tommy Lasorda recalled today, Ronald and Nancy Reagan paid a visit to Dodger Stadium. It wasn’t their first time there, nor their last. But on this particular day, Mrs. Reagan told Lasorda that she wanted to see the clubhouse.
“She said, ‘Where’s the workout room?'” Lasorda said. “And I took her to the workout room, and we had a machine (she wanted to try). So Charlie Strasser, the trainer, and I, we put her on this thing, and she did it a little bit, and then we had to lift her off. I said, ‘Charlie, if only we had someone taking a picture of her on this thing,’ but there was no one around to take a picture. (But) she worked out with it. She thought it was great. We lifted her up to get on it, and we lifted her off to get off it.”
Speaking one day after the former first lady passed away at the age of 94, Lasorda had several presidential memories to share, especially of the Reagans, whom he was particularly close to.
They met at Frank Sinatra’s house when Ronald Reagan was governor of California, and on the November 1984 night that he was elected to his second term, Lasorda and his wife Jo were part of the celebration.
“(They) and my wife and I were dancing,” Lasorda said. “We stopped on the dance floor and talked to each other, because he wanted to make sure I was enjoying myself and was happy and everything else. He was proud of me.
“I’ve got this one letter that I really treasure that he wrote to me — how proud he was of me and what I accomplished and everything like that. So we were good friends, and I was proud of them both. She was a wonderful, sweet lady. I tell you, I really enjoyed being around her, really enjoyed meeting her and everything like that. She was great. And they loved each other real dearly.”
Lasorda said Nancy sent a birthday card to him every year until last year, when she had fallen ill.
Tommy Lasorda, Nancy Reagan, Ronald Reagan and Fred Claire
Perhaps the most remarkable night came in 1980, before Reagan’s first term as president, the year he challenged incumbent Jimmy Carter. That day, Lasorda had a doubleheader — a speech in Iowa, followed by another in Chicago for the Italian-American Hall of Fame (which in 1989 would induct Lasorda himself).
Getting out of the hotel elevator in Chicago, there was a big crowd, and Lasorda was turning back when the center of the crowd spoke up.
“Reagan saw me — ‘Hey Tommy, how are you? Come over and give me a big hug!'” Lasorda remembered. “I said, ‘I got a good feeling you’re gonna win big.’ He said, ‘If I don’t, can you get me a job as an announcer?’
Reagan, of course, began his career after college in 1932 as a sports announcer, during which time he would re-create baseball games from telegraph reports.
“And then that night,” Lasorda continued, “at the big dinner at the Italian-American Hall of Fame, this guy was performing, singing, and all of a sudden somebody walks on the stage and stops the guy singing and takes the microphone away from him. There’s a thousand people in there — what’s going on? The guy says, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States.’ It was President Carter — he was there.
“So he got up and congratulated the honorees, and he said, ‘Where’s Tommy Lasorda?’ I was in the table right in front of him, and I raised my hand, and I said, ‘Here, Mr. President.’ He said, ‘Come up here — I want to talk to you up on the stage.’ So I go up on the stage, and he said, ‘When I was coming here, my mother said if I saw you, I have to give you a hug. And he gave me a hug.
“So I was hugged that day by the guy who was running for the presidency, and that night the president hugged me. Pretty unusual, huh?”
If you’re wondering why Carter singled Lasorda out for special treatment, it’s because the Dodger manager had also become close with the president’s mother, Lillian — another Dodger guest from time to time, at Dodger Stadium and elsewhere.
Tommy Lasorda introduces Lillian Carter to Charlie Hough before Game 4 of the 1977 World Series.
“One day, we’re playing in Atlanta, and Lillian and the president, they were with (Braves owner Ted) Turner. So those Secret Service guys come over — they knew me — and they said, ‘Hey, Tommy. Miss Lillian wants to see you. I walked across the field, and she was there with the president and Ted and everything. She gave me a hug, and she whispered in my ear, ‘I tell you right now, I’m pulling for you today.'”
For Dodger fans, perhaps the most meaningful link between the Dodgers, Lasorda and Nancy Reagan is this. On the most beloved night at Dodger Stadium in at least the past 50 years, the night of Kirk Gibson’s home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, it was Nancy Reagan who threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Lasorda takes credit for recommending her appearance, which she used to promote her “Just Say No” anti-drug campaign, with an assist from Vin Scully.
Chase Utley works out on February 29. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)
Indians at Dodgers, 12:05 p.m.
Joc Pederson, CF
Corey Seager, SS
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Scott Van Slyke, LF
Yasmani Grandal, C
Trayce Thompson, RF
Rob Segedin, 3B
Shawn Zarraga, DH
Charlie Culberson, 2B
(Alex Wood, P)
Joc Pederson, CF
Corey Seager, SS
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Scott Van Slyke, LF
Yasmani Grandal, C
Trayce Thompson, RF
Rob Segedin, 3B
Shawn Zarraga, DH
Charlie Culberson, 2B
(Alex Wood, P)
By Jon Weisman
Chase Utley spoke to reporters today about MLB rescinding his two-game suspension for his hard slide into Ruben Tejada at last year’s National League Division Series.
“At the end of the day, I believe that he believes the slide was not an illegal slide,” Utley said, according to Bill Plunkett of the Register.
Utley also spoke about Tejada, according to Doug Padilla of ESPN.com.
“I can’t say enough how terrible I felt for Ruben,” Utley said. “I had no intent to hurt him whatsoever. If anybody thinks I did, they’re completely wrong.”
Bill Shaikin and Mike DiGiovanna of the Times reported Sunday that the suspension would be withdrawn by MLB, which last month revised its rulebook about plays at second base.
… Tejada, vulnerable because his back was turned toward Utley, suffered a fractured right fibula and was sidelined for the rest of the playoffs. In announcing the suspension for what an MLB statement called an “illegal slide,” (MLB chief baseball officer Joe) Torre cited Utley for a “rolling block … away from the base.”
However, such a slide was not explicitly outlawed until Feb. 25, when MLB adopted a new rule to protect middle infielders on slides into second. As a result, Torre said Sunday, the league might have faced difficulty upholding the suspension via an appeal hearing.
“I think it would have been an issue,” Torre said. “There wasn’t anything clear-cut to say that play violated a rule.”
Torre said the priority for the league was not in pursuing a suspension of Utley but in revising the rules to enhance player safety. …
Here are some more pregame news and notes …
- Howie Kendrick was going to make his first Spring Training start at third base today, but he was a late scratch because of right groin soreness. For the second time in three days, Shawn Zarraga was called upon to serve as emergency designated hitter, with Rob Segedin taking the start at third.
- Carl Crawford confirmed to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com that he has been told he will begin the season as a reserve left fielder behind Andre Ethier.
- Gurnick rounds up some more health updates, including two innings of live batting practice by Julio Urias and the resumption of Hyun-Jin Ryu’s throwing program after a week off.
- Also, Ethier has a right-hand contusion but was able to continue most baseball activities today, while Alex Guerrero is also back at it and is a candidate to start at designated hitter on Tuesday.
- Micah Johnson spoke to Padilla about his bid to carve out playing time for himself at what’s become a crowded second base for the Dodgers.
- SportsNet LA’s Alanna Rizzo was among those to speak with Richard Deitsch of SI.com in this comprehensive story about safety issues facing female sports reporters.
- The story of Clayton Kershaw’s Public Enemy No. 1 is introduced from the point of view of the batter, Sean Casey, in this Anthony Castrovince story for Sports on Earth.
- UCLA unveiled a Jackie Robinson statue on campus Sautrday, writes Chad Thornburg of MLB.com. In December, the Dodgers announced plans for their own Robinson statue at Dodger Stadium this year.
- Tom Knight, a preeminent Brooklyn baseball historian, is remembered in this obituary by Bruce Weber for the New York Times.
By Jon Weisman
Just like Jose De Leon and Chris Anderson on Saturday, homegrown Dodger pitching prospects Zach Lee and Ross Stripling each threw two shutout innings today.
Chase De Jong, acquired from Toronto in 2015, added two zeroes of his own in the Dodgers’ 5-2 road Cactus League victory over San Francisco, recapped by MLB com.
The first two Giant batters against Lee reached base on a single and an error, but the 24-year-old righty retired the remaining six batters he faced, striking out one and allowing only one more ball out of the infield.
Stripling, 26 and just about two years removed from Tommy John surgery, allowed three baserunners in his two innings, striking out one. De Jong did almost the same — just subtract one baserunner.
If you’re wondering where Julio Urias is in all this, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports that he is about a week behind the rest of the staff because of a tight groin muscle. After three days off, Urias threw a bullpen session Friday and is expected to throw another before entering Cactus League play near the end of this week.
The Dodgers are 3-0-1 through four games, with a team ERA of 1.75.
Dodgers at Giants, 12:05 p.m.
Carl Crawford, LF
Joc Pederson, CF
Yasiel Puig, RF
Chase Utley, 3B
Scott Van Slyke, DH
A.J. Ellis, C
Kiké Hernandez, SS
Micah Johnson, 2B
Cody Bellinger, 1B
(Zach Lee, P)
Carl Crawford, LF
Joc Pederson, CF
Yasiel Puig, RF
Chase Utley, 3B
Scott Van Slyke, DH
A.J. Ellis, C
Kiké Hernandez, SS
Micah Johnson, 2B
Cody Bellinger, 1B
(Zach Lee, P)
By Jon Weisman
Before the 2015 season, Austin Barnes had played 195 professional games at catcher, and nearly the same amount (166) at second base and third.
So it came as something of a surprise that the Dodgers had him dedicate last season exclusively to playing behind the plate, save for single appearances at second and third with the big-league club in September.
The year paid off in terms of Barnes’ development as a backstop, and now, the Dodgers have put the other positions back on the table — all good news for Barnes’ Major League aspirations.
https://twitter.com/Dodgers/status/706249816687259648
By Jon Weisman
Jamey Wright, born in 1974, pitched the fifth inning for the Dodgers today.
Jose De Leon, born in 1992, pitched the sixth inning for the Dodgers today.
As wide as that age gap was, both could feel pleased with their performances.
By Jon Weisman
Kenta Maeda looked composed and pitched like a composer, conducting with confidence in his Dodger rooster song, his cockatoo debut, his stork salute, his robin’s reverie, his canon of the condor.
“Not really,” the 27-year-old said when asked if he were nervous. “Maybe a little bit, right before I got on the mound, but while I was on the mound, not really.
In two innings before 13,122 at Camelback Ranch, Maeda retired six batters on 28 pitches, striking out two (Jake Lamb and Brandon Drury).
“I thought I was able to add and subtract with the velocity, and also I was able to command all my pitches well today,” Maeda said through a translator. “It was my first opportunity to be able to pitch in front of the fans, so I wanted to make a good impression.”
Diamondbacks at Dodgers, 12:05 p.m.
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Andre Ethier, LF
Yasiel Puig, RF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Yasmani Grandal, C
Corey Seager, SS
Shawn Zarraga, DH
Elian Herrera, 3B
Corey Brown, CF
(Kenta Maeda, P)
Update: Alex Guerrero, originally listed at DH, was a late scratch with left knee soreness.
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Andre Ethier, LF
Yasiel Puig, RF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Yasmani Grandal, C
Corey Seager, SS
Shawn Zarraga, DH
Elian Herrera, 3B
Corey Brown, CF
(Kenta Maeda, P)
Update: Alex Guerrero, originally listed at DH, was a late scratch with left knee soreness.
By Jon Weisman
A sizable media contingent, soon to be followed by a sellout Camelback Ranch crowd, greets Kenta Maeda today for his first start in a Dodger uniform.
“We’re all excited to get him out there,” Dave Roberts said this morning. “He’s excited to get out there. And it’s just more of getting an up-and-down — two innings — controlling those emotions, and just the fastball command. He’s gonna mix in some breaking balls, but I think for the most part it’s that fastball command.”
With Adrian Gonzalez making his first exhibition start today, Roberts also gave an update on Justin Turner, the only likely Opening Day position player who has yet to see Cactus League action.
“He’s doing everything right now as a baseball player, and I think the first thing we’re gonna do is get him in a game as a designated hitter,” Roberts said. “There’s no date yet — as I said early, he wasn’t going to be playing the first week. … But he’s gonna have time to get at-bats, whether on this side or the (minor-league) side, and he’s taking all the grounders, doing everything he needs to do.”
Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers
By Jon Weisman
The first four times this year that the Dodgers faced their opponents’ starting No. 3 hitter — Jose Abreu on Thursday, Prince Fielder today — they got four strikeouts, by four different pitchers.
The fourth came today from Mike Bolsinger, whose fate for the second spring in a row has become much more interesting, in the wake of injuries to more established starting pitchers.
Through his first 16 starts in 2015, Bolsinger had a 2.83 ERA with 78 strikeouts in 89 innings. He didn’t pitch in the Majors in August, after the Dodgers’ big trade deadline moves, and by the time he returned in September, things weren’t the same. In his final five starts, he lasted 20 1/3 innings and allowed 20 runs (16 earned).
Some say that the August disruption to his routine did him in, but Bolsinger does admit that by the time September came around, he was worn down.
“I think it was just wear on my body,” he said after throwing two shutout innings against Texas today. “If you look at what my curveball was at the beginning of the year to what my curveball was at the end of the year, it didn’t have that life in it and that tumble. I don’t think my arm had that life in it.
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.
