My sincere appreciation to those who gave themselves so that others could have a better life, and my best to you on this day.
Author: Jon Weisman (Page 301 of 379)
The Dodgers almost made it through their first two months without playing a first-place team in the National League West. They have played 20 games inside the division, but not counting Opening Day, only once was the team they were playing in first place at the time.
(Note – it’s very disappointing to me that I couldn’t say they hadn’t played a first-place team in the division at all. That would have been a much more impressive little-known fact, and it would have carried nicely into the Colorado series.)
The Dodgers’ only remaining games inside the division before the All-Star break are against the Rockies and Padres. They next play the Diamondbacks on July 15 and the Giants on July 18.
NL West opponents to date:
March 31: vs. San Francisco
April 1: vs. fifth-place San Francisco
April 2: vs. fifth-place San Francisco
April 3: vs. fifth-place San Francisco
April 5: vs. third-place Colorado
April 6: vs. second-place Colorado
April 8: vs. second-place San Diego
April 9: vs. third-place San Diego
April 10: vs. fourth-place San Diego
April 11: vs. fifth-place San Francisco
April 12: vs. fifth-place San Francisco
April 13: vs. fourth-place San Francisco
April 29: vs. fifth-place San Diego
April 30: vs. fifth-place San Diego
May 1: vs. fifth-place San Diego
May 13: vs. fourth-place Arizona
May 14: vs. fourth-place Arizona
May 15: vs. fourth-place Arizona
May 18: vs. second-place San Francisco
May 19: vs. first-place San Francisco
Jeff Gross/Getty ImagesClayton Kershaw
So that’s what a breeze feels like.
Sailing into a storm most of the season, the Dodgers enjoyed a day with the wind entirely at their backs, with Clayton Kershaw in near no-hit form and the offense practically an arcade, leading to an 8-0 breeze over the Marlins.
The Dodgers took two of three from Florida for their first series victory since April 22-24 in Chicago. If you’re any kind of believer – and praise be onto you if you are – this is where it starts, all the ifs and buts transforming into actual results.
Whether they can extend this one-game winning streak, matching their longest since May 13 (yes, that’s right), is of course up in the air, but if in fact it’s a blip on the losing radar, it was a blip to be savored.
Kershaw’s marquee game in my mind remains his showdown victory over Ubaldo Jimenez of Colorado 12 1/2 months ago, but as Mike Petriello of Mike Scioscia’s Tragic Illness points out, today was Kershaw’s finest statistical outing ever – a Kershawnal Best, if you will – allowing two hits and one walk while striking out 10 in his second career shutout. The second hit off Kershaw was a ball that Jay Gibbons lost in a battle with the sun and an unusually ferocious wind, which would have been exceedingly painful for fans had Omar Infante not singled softly to left in the third inning.
In any case, Kershaw, who lowered his ERA to 2.62 and now leads the major leagues with 87 strikeouts, was in complete control.
“He was hitting both sides of the plate and throwing inside on lefties, which you don’t see that much from a lefty,” Florida’s Wes Helms told The Associated Press. “Kershaw just commanded all of his pitches today, and he had above-average stuff. He knows how to bury his curveball and his slider. He’s not going to leave it over the middle of the plate. I mean, you get geared up for that heater, and his slider’s hard enough that you can’t hold up when it’s in the dirt.”
It was a Hershiseresque day all around for Kershaw, who had as many hits at the plate as he allowed. The 23-year-old, who was 10 for 132 entering this season, is 6 for 25 in 2011. His two hits were only 13 percent of the Dodgers’ 15 off Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco, who was forced to stick it out for five innings after Florida blew out its bullpen Saturday. The total tied a Los Angeles record for the most off a single starting pitcher (Mario Soto of Cincinnati was the last victim, in 1982).
Gibbons, Andre Ethier and Rafael Furcal each had three, including Furcal’s first homer of the year, a two-run shot to the right-field bullpen that gave the Dodgers their initial lead after Kershaw led off the bottom of the third with a single. Ethier reached base in all five plate appearances, while Dioner Navarro went 2 for 4 to complete a 7-for-18 week.
Dodger life is good today, for the second time in three days.
* * *
- Bob Timmermann has a great essay at L.A. Observed’s Native Intelligence about a simpler time, a simpler time when all we had to do was be mad at Tom Niedenfuer and Jack Clark.
- Zach Lee gave up six runs in one-third of an inning of his return to active duty with Great Lakes today. He allowed three hits, two walks and two hit batters, writes Hugh Bernreuter of the Saginaw News, who also had a nice piece on Ramon Martinez earlier this week.
- Josh Lindblom officially arrived today, with Kenley Jansen going on the 15-day disabled list and Travis Schlichting being designated for assignment. Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com has details. That makes five top relievers on the Dodger disabled list: Jonathan Broxton, Hong-Chih Kuo, Vicente Padilla, Blake Hawksworth and Jansen.
- Gary Carter’s diagnosis is grim, but no one is giving up, writes Ian Begley for ESPNNewYork.com.
- Stadium Journey reviews the Chattanooga Lookouts ballpark.
There’s talk of Josh Lindblom being brought up to the majors, but no official announcement arrived as of 1 p.m. Hope your long weekend is treating you well.
Mark J. Terrill/APRejected “Lost” scripts: Smoke-monster attacks Chavez Ravine.
We should all be relieved that no one appears to have been harmed by the storage-area fire in the vicinity of the Dodger Stadium right field reserved level, but all the jokes people were able to make – “Something’s on fire, but it isn’t Dodger bats,” “McCourt’s burning the place down for the insurance money,” “Sure won’t be a problem finding empty seats for the fans to move to” – just tended to depress me. There’s too much to make fun of. The feckless 6-1 loss to the Marlins didn’t help.
Quite a pitchers duel between the Angel and Twins.
Mark J. Terrill/APDioner Navarro doesn’t mind this collision at home.
At the end, it was less a victory than an exorcism.
The anti-homer curse against James Loney – gone. Andre Ethier’s near-month-long power outage – gone.
And the electrified way the Dodgers poured out of the dugout after Dioner Navarro’s game-winning pinch-hit single in the bottom of the ninth gave them a 3-2 victory over Florida, the way Matt Kemp came over not just to praise Navarro but to bury him in his arms as well, showed a group of players keen and desperate to get about a thousand monkeys off their backs.
The easy argument is that the Dodgers have stopped caring, in the wake of their obvious flaws, ceaseless injuries and exhausting off-the-field drama. None of those issues have gone away, but if they didn’t care about winning, they wouldn’t have been so over the moon about a victory that only raised their record to 23-29.
They have been fighting – other teams as well as themselves. There were the two rallies against San Francisco last week, followed by the shocking, Russ Mitchell-led comeback against the White Sox. They were one strike away from victory against Houston on Monday, then lost in the bottom of the ninth, then did so again Wednesday.
They haven’t won a game by more than two runs since May 17. They haven’t won a game by more than three runs since May 10. They’ve still only won nine games in a month that has been uphill since it started with a 7-0 loss to San Diego.
They can’t even claim the most exhilarating win in the National League West on Friday – finishing third behind Arizona rallying from a 6-0 deficit against the Astros and the Giants riding a grand slam from a player in his first major-league game to a comeback victory over Milwaukee.
They just suit up with the understanding that every game counts.
When Ethier’s pinch-hit single gave the Dodgers a short-lived lead in Houston on Monday, Clayton Kershaw roared in elation. When Ethier hit his home run in the sixth inning, Aaron Miles lifted Jamey Carroll so high, he nearly threw him over the dugout. When Navarro delivered what was only the seventh hit all year by the Dodgers with the bases loaded, you’d have thought they’d broken the bank in Vegas.
They care as much as you do, if not more. This is a team dying to make something happen, if only it can.
Hoping he gets off to a faster start than Rafael Furcal, the Dodgers have activated Casey Blake from the disabled list. Russell Mitchell will head to Triple-A.
At 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, I’ll be appearing on a panel, “True Blue: Roundtable Discussion on the Future of the Dodgers,” at L.A. Live’s ESPN Zone with former Dodger Jay Johnstone and ESPN AM 710 personality A Martinez. Come on down …
What would your all-healthy Dodger 25-man roster look like, using players currently in the organization? Here’s mine:
Starting pitchers (5): Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Hiroki Kuroda, Ted Lilly, Rubby De La Rosa
Bullpen (7): Jonathan Broxton, Hong-Chih Kuo, Kenley Jansen, Matt Guerrier, Vicente Padilla, Javy Guerra, Scott Elbert
Starting lineup:
Jamey Carroll, 2B
Rafael Furcal, SS
Matt Kemp, CF
Andre Ethier, LF
Jerry Sands, RF
James Loney, 1B
Casey Blake, 3B
Rod Barajas, C
Bench (5): A.J. Ellis, Juan Uribe, Aaron Miles, Marcus Thames, Jay Gibbons
This was actually harder to do than I thought it would be, particularly with the pitching, where I left off Jon Garland, Blake Hawksworth and Mike MacDougal. All three have been decent-to-good this year, but I decided to go with the potential of youth. (Again, this is a world where no one gets hurt.)
On the bench, I dropped Tony Gwynn, Jr., on the theory that the Dodgers couldn’t afford the luxury of a defensive replacement/pinch-runner who couldn’t even out-hit Miles. I went the on-base talents of Ellis, and (given mostly few alternatives) the power potential of Uribe, Thames and Gibbons.
It’s not such a bad team if it could stay healthy, and if Loney could ever start to hit like he’s capable of. Too bad both of those things aren’t likely to happen, especially with Colorado, San Francisco and San Diego reeling. (Arizona is the one team taking advantage.)
What would you do differently?
Kevork Djansezian/Getty ImagesRamon Troncoso – rising.
So, by now you know that the Dodger Cogs and Dogs rankings have always been a mixture of subjectivity and objectivity. For today’s batch, there was an additional factor throw into the mix: exasperation.
In more cheerful news, Single-A Rancho Cucamonga scored 25 runs Wednesday, with Angelo Songco hitting for the cycle.
| Today | 5/5 | 4/28 | 4/7 | Player | Comment |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | Matt Kemp | According to Fangraphs, the best CF in the NL in 2011. |
| 2 | 4 | 4 | 1 | Clayton Kershaw | Will contend for NL strikeout title, but I’m guessing not wins. |
| 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | Hiroki Kuroda | Rough outing Sunday lifted his ERA above 3.00 and slowed his All-Star bid. |
| 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | Andre Ethier | Enters the final days of May with one homer, no doubles in the month. |
| 5 | 9 | 6 | 5 | Jamey Carroll | Leads MLB shortstops in OBP. |
| 6 | 6 | 7 | 18 | Chad Billingsley | His 0.64 HR/9 is best by a Dodger since Hershiser (minimum 800 IP). |
| 7 | 16 | 14 | — | Jerry Sands | Fourth on the team in RBI, and closing in on Uribe. |
| 8 | 11 | 11 | 13 | Mike MacDougal | Pitched three consecutive days for first time since September ’09. |
| 9 | 13 | 9 | 6 | Rod Barajas | Kemp and Barajas have combined for 19 of Dodgers’ 36 HR. |
| 10 | 17 | 18 | 14 | Ted Lilly | Despite allowing 10th homer in 11th start, moved ahead of Garland in ERA. |
| 11 | 5 | 8 | — | Jon Garland | ERA rose from 3.55 to 4.75 in last start. |
| 12 | 8 | 10 | 25 | Juan Uribe | From May 13-18, went from five to 11 walks. |
| 13 | 20 | 21 | 20 | Aaron Miles | Last Dodger to bat at least .280 with OBP below .300: Wilton Guerrero. |
| 14 | 12 | 12 | 8 | Matt Guerrier | Gave up first extra-base hit of 2011 to a lefty in ninth inning Weds. |
| 15 | 10 | 15 | 22 | Blake Hawksworth | Struck out two in shutout inning Wednesday for Rancho Cucamonga. |
| 16 | 7 | 5 | 10 | Casey Blake | Reached base 29 times in his 14 games. |
| 17 | 18 | 20 | 24 | Kenley Jansen | Ferocious strikeout rate should help him avoid pulling a Yhency. |
| 18 | 30 | — | — | Jay Gibbons | Second-most total bases (51) in Dodger history for player with below 30 career hits. (Marlon Anderson) |
| 19 | — | — | — | Javy Guerra | Unscored upon in five of six appearances. |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 15 | A.J. Ellis | .443 OBP in Albuquerque, 12 walks, four strikeouts. |
| 21 | — | — | — | Scott Elbert | Opponents are 1 for 11 with one walk this year. |
| 22 | — | — | — | Rubby De La Rosa | Pedro Martinez shut out Reds in eighth and ninth inning of MLB debut. |
| 23 | 32 | 23 | 17 | James Loney | 0-for-4 Wednesday ended 10-game hitting streak. |
| 24 | 15 | 19 | — | Vicente Padilla | June will come with only 8 2/3 innings under his belt. |
| 25 | 19 | 16 | 9 | Jonathan Broxton | For a guy who claimed not to be hurt for so long, sure out a long time. |
| 26 | 22 | 13 | 19 | Marcus Thames | Gibbons has surged ahead with eight hits to Thames’ six. |
| 27 | 27 | 29 | — | Dioner Navarro | Went 4 for 12 subbing for Barajas in Houston. |
| 28 | 14 | 17 | 12 | Tony Gwynn Jr. | This month: 1 for 24 with two walks, one steal. |
| 29 | 25 | 27 | 11 | Xavier Paul | In 3-for-25 slump for Pittsburgh. |
| 30 | 29 | — | — | Russ Mitchell | Most total bases (19) in Dodger history for player with below 10 career hits. |
| 31 | — | — | — | Juan Castro | In 17th MLB season, got 600th career hit Saturday. |
| 32 | 26 | 26 | — | John Ely | Has 3.78 ERA, compared to 6.19 for spring rival Redding. |
| 33 | 35 | 33 | — | Ramon Troncoso | The impossible dream – out of last place. |
| 34 | 28 | 30 | 21 | Hector Gimenez | Has same birthday as my brother, and one more career hit. |
| 35 | 31 | 31 | — | Jamie Hoffmann | Isotopes’ HR leader with nine this year. |
| 36 | 23 | 24 | 7 | Rafael Furcal | They say he was rushed back, but he was 5 for 13 with three walks in Alb. |
| 37 | 33 | 27 | 26 | Ivan De Jesus Jr. | Has one double, no HR in 51 AB for Albuquerque. |
| 38 | 24 | 25 | 16 | Hong-Chih Kuo | Last May, pitched 10 2/3 innings, six baserunners, no runs, 15 K. |
| 39 | 34 | 32 | 23 | Lance Cormier | Lefties were 5 for 28 against him. |
Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com passes along the following:
HOUSTON — Veteran major league right-hander Ian Snell signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, barely two months after he retired during spring training. Snell had gone to camp with the St. Louis Cardinals but failed to make the club.
DeJon Watson, the Dodgers’ assistant general manager for player development who signed Snell, said Snell initially will go to the team’s spring-training complex in Glendale, Ariz., to get his arm back into shape after the two-month layoff, then eventually will report to the Dodgers’ Triple-A Albuquerque affiliate.
Snell, 29, last pitched in the majors last season for the Seattle Mariners, going 0-5 with a 6.41 ERA in eight starts and four relief appearances and also spending some time in Triple-A. Originally a 26th-round draft pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates, Snell has a career major league mark of 38-53 in seven seasons, with a 4.80 ERA.
From 2004-2008, Snell struck out 7.7 batters per nine innings in the majors. That fell to 5.4 over the past two years, covering 191 1/3 innings.
David J. Phillip/APDioner Navarro dove just in time to tag J.R. Towles and rescue a later defeat from the jaws of an earlier defeat.
There were some bright spots today. And most days this year with the Dodgers, isn’t that all we can look for?
Matt Kemp singled, doubled and homered. Dioner Navarro went 2 for 4 and made a run-saving tag at the plate on a potential wild pitch. Javy Guerra came right back from his Tuesday save with a shutout inning.
But even though the sun occasionally peeks through, just for a moment here and there, the fog won’t lift on this Dodger team, which fell to 22-29 with a 2-1 loss in the bottom of the ninth.
J.R. Towles, who had the game-winning hit and went 3 for 4, had been in an 0-for-32 slump entering the game.
Get slapped in the face enough times, it can even make you laugh …
Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com has an update on Hong-Chih Kuo:
… (Kuo) appears to have regained his command while throwing off a mound at the team’s spring-training facility in Glendale, Ariz.
“He has been throwing a lot,” Dodgers manager Ned Colletti said. “He is at about 90 percent intensity and having no problems with his command. We’ll see where we go from here.”
Colletti said Kuo eventually will face hitters in extended spring-training games, but that there is no target date for that to happen, nor is there a target date for Kuo to begin a minor league rehabilitation assignment, which would be a necessary precursor to him coming off the disabled list and rejoining the Dodgers bullpen. …
Elsewhere …
- Don Mattingly told reporters today that he expects Casey Blake to be activated by this weekend, and that Andre Ethier and Rod Barajas will end their day-to-day period and return to the starting lineup Friday.
- Josh Wilker writes about former Dodger Joe Simpson, Albuquerque and impending fatherhood at Cardboard Gods.
- While the Dodgers were winning in the great indoors of Houston, it got quite hairy at the Lone Star State’s other major-league ballpark Tuesday.
New commenting system for Dodger Thoughts – feedback welcome
By Jon Weisman
On May 25, 2011
In Commenting
After a brief trial run Tuesday, ESPN.com introduced a new commenting interface today that Dodger Thoughts now will use. If you haven’t tried it out, please do. And once you have, here’s a dedicated thread where you can offer your feedback, your praise or pique, about the new system. Your reactions and suggestions will be passed along to the folks behind the scenes.