Uncategorized – Page 37 – Dodger Thoughts

Dodgers shut out for second time in five games

On April 5, 2011

Doug Pensinger/Getty ImagesClayton Kershaw doesn’t dig Chris Iannetta’s fifth-inning homer.

What is a quality start for the Dodgers this year?

Given the expectations for the offense in 2011, I’ve been thinking that the definition might need to be lowered to a maximum of two runs, not three, over at least six innings.

On the other hand, when playing in Colorado’s Coors Field, you’d think the Dodger offense might be able to step it up enough to let the starting pitcher allow that third run.

Three runs is what Clayton Kershaw allowed in six innings during his second start of the season, and it’s hard to be very critical. He struck out eight, walked none except for one batter intentionally. He did give up a few hard hits, not the least of which were solo home runs by Troy Tulowitzki in the fourth inning and Chris Iannetta in the fifth that ended Kershaw’s bid for a 0.00 ERA this season and put the Dodgers on the path to a 3-0 loss, their second shutout in five games this season.

Dominant? Not exactly. But quality? I’d say so.

Which brings ups back to the Dodger hitters. They had a few hard-hit balls of their own, but none that left the park, nor any that were particularly well-timed (the team went 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position and left six on base). Additionally, Colorado’s defense was stingy rather than generous like San Francisco’s fielders were most of the past weekend.

Tony Gwynn Jr. had a pretty nice game. He had the Dodgers’ only extra-base hit, a double, and also took a double away from Todd Helton with a barehanded grab of his drive off the wall and quick return throw to second base to nail him. He also came as close as any Dodger to driving in a run, but with Jamey Carroll on third base and two out in the fifth inning, third baseman Ty Wigginton made a nice play to barely throw Gwynn out at first.

Andre Ethier singled and walked twice (once intentionally after Gwynn’s double in the third), but Matt Kemp had his roughest night at the plate this year, going 0 for 4.

Dodger relievers Mike MacDougal and Blake Hawksworth slowed the Dodgers early season relief troubles with shutout innings of relief, keeping the game close, but Colorado pitchers Jhoulys Chacin (seven innings, seven baserunners, four strikeouts), Rafael Betancourt and Huston Street combined to retire the final 12 Dodgers in order. Carroll’s leadoff single in the fifth inning was the Dodgers’ last hit of the night.

* * *

From Tony Jackson’s ESPNLosAngeles.com notebook:

Casey Blake is likely, but not definitely, going to be activated from the disabled list before Wednesday’s day game, likely meaning that Ivan De Jesus Jr. won’t get his first major-league hit for a while.
Jon Garland is scheduled for a rehab start with Rancho Cucamonga on Sunday. John Ely looks likely to take the Dodgers’ major-league start in San Diego that day.
Vicente Padilla had a setback, hopefully a small one. He will see a doctor Wednesday after experiencing soreness following a 60-pitch simulated game.
Jay Gibbons will be with Albuquerque on a rehabilitation assignment, continuing to hope his newest pair of contact lenses solves his troubles.

Balk this way

By Jon Weisman

On April 3, 2011

In Uncategorized

Remember last year when Casey Blake wanted a balk called on Ted Lilly at a key moment in a Dodger loss? Well, today, a balk was called on Ted Lilly at a key moment (0:52 in this clip) in a Dodger loss.

* * *

As we had on Opening Day, we’re scheduled to have a Cover It Live chat for today’s 5 p.m. Dodger game. Stop by …

Midgame report: Dodgers trail 4-0 after five

By Jon Weisman

On April 2, 2011

In Uncategorized

Jae C. Hong/APTed Lilly allowed six hits and a walk in his 4 2/3 innings.

I won’t have a postgame writeup until late tonight, so here’s a midgame update.

At an overcast Dodger Stadium, Dodgers starting pitcher Ted Lilly was sunny for the first two innings – six innings, 22 pitches – before allowing hits to the Giants’ No. 7 and No. 8 hitters, Mark De Rosa and Aaron Rowand, leading to a second-inning run.

Then after an easy fourth, the Giants started another bottom’s-up rally in the fifth. Hits by Rowand, Miguel Tejada, Freddy Sanchez and Aubrey Huff delivered three more runs, putting the Dodgers behind, 4-0, and knocking Lilly out.

In the first four innings, the Dodgers had only two baserunners against Matt Cain – Matt Kemp’s second-inning leadoff double and an infield single by Andre Ethier in the fourth. James Loney, Hector Gimenez and Xavier Paul stranded Kemp, and Kemp’s double-play grounder eliminated Ethier.

The Dodgers then tried to rally with two out in the bottom of the fifth on singles by Paul and Jamey Carroll, but Rod Barajas, batting for reliever Mike MacDougal, struck out.

* * *

Tony Jackson’s ESPNLosAngeles.com notebook includes the sad news that Dodger coach Davey Lopes had to leave the team this weekend because of a death in the family. All my best wishes.

Matt Kemp re-emerges like he never un-emerged

By Jon Weisman

On April 1, 2011

In Uncategorized

Kevork Djansezian/Getty ImagesMatt Kemp steals second base in the eighth inning with the Dodgers leading, 1-0.

Mostly lost in my Opening Day appreciation of Clayton Kershaw was the praise that Matt Kemp deserved for his single, three walks, stolen base and two runs. Fortunately, Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com came through with a postgame feature.

I want to discuss the walks for just a quick moment. There’s no doubt that they were a sign of discipline, but in my mind, they also reflected the fact that however maligned Kemp was for his 2010 backslide, the Giants clearly considered him the Dodgers’ most dangerous hitter. Kemp himself said after the game that he wasn’t given much to hit. I definitely got the sense that San Francisco was happy to face James Loney, even with Kemp on base, than take their chances on Kemp himself.

That of course could change, especially if we see more of what happened in Thursday’s eighth inning: Kemp stealing second base easily, and Loney (after going 0 for 3 with Kemp on base ahead of him in the first, third and sixth innings) lashing a double to the short wall down the right-field line. It will be very interesting to see how this develops.

Kershaw LXXXIV: Kershopening day game chat

By Jon Weisman

On March 31, 2011

In Uncategorized

Giants at Dodgers, 5 p.m.

Rafael Furcal, SS
Tony Gwynn Jr., LF
Andre Ethier, RF
Matt Kemp, CF
James Loney, 1B
Juan Uribe, 3B
Rod Barajas, C
Jamey Carroll, 2B
Clayton Kershaw, P

In the morning, Russell Martin singled in his first at-bat wearing pinstripes, later stole third and then scored the Yankees’ first run of 2011.

In the early afternoon, I looked up and saw the Padres, whom most predict will fall back to also-ran status, going spike-to-spike with the Cardinals, 2-2 in the eighth inning, two runners on. As a bystander said, with the ESPN daytime coverage and the full-house crowd, it seemed like a playoff game.

Down in the Dodger dugout, three hours before gametime, players in blue pregame shirts file in and out, sweating and hydrating even as their day has shifted into gear. This is a speculation-free zone. After six months of “what should we do, where will we finish,” it’s almost like an alarm waking up a groggy sleeper. These people are going to work. It’s all about the bottom line, a line that hasn’t been written.

Baseball fans love their past and live for their team’s future. But Opening Day is the present: 0-0. We’re not living on borrowed time – we’re just living.

It’s a fine thing. Here’s to a great day.

* * *

Matt Kemp is trying to homer in his sixth straight game.
Dodger clubhouse manager Mitch Poole gets his day in the sun, or more accurately, his day in the CNN.

<a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=4d563faa9a" >Dodgers Live! vs. Giants, 5 PT</a>

78º and sunny

By Jon Weisman

On March 31, 2011

In Dodger Stadium, Uncategorized

Jeff Gross/Getty ImagesIt’s time …

… for a beautiful Opening Day.

We’re going to be game-threading it Cover It Live-style later this afternoon, so the chat should flow fast and freely. (I hope.) Stick around … I’m heading out to the ballpark in an hour or so.

Nature of Dodger-Giant rivalry is changing

By Jon Weisman

On March 31, 2011

In Uncategorized

Here’s the difference between how Dodger fans and Giants fans feel about the rivalry between the two teams …

When the Giants are in the Dodgers’ rear-view mirror, they’re forgotten. When the Dodgers are in San Francisco’s rear-view mirror, Giants fans never seem to stop looking back.

Obviously this comes with the disclaimer that not all fans of a team are the same, but you get the sense from up north that, for a great many people, the most important thing about the Giants winning the World Series is that the Dodgers didn’t. And I have to say, I just find it bizarre.

In my four decades of personally watching the Dodgers win division titles, National League pennants and World Series, I can assure you that once the Giants were out of it, I never gave them a single thought, not when I was 6 or 10, not when I was 20 or 40. And yes, I certainly consider them the Dodgers’ No. 1 rival. But in Los Angeles, the winning alone has always brought complete satisfaction, and the Giants have nothing to do with it.

Up north, strangely, either winning isn’t enough, unless the ones who are satisfied are having their voices drowned out. All winter long, I’ve seen taunts from Giant fans who, now that they’re finally having their day in the sun, can’t stop poking the guy in the next lounge chair instead of simply basking.

The latest evidence:

A group of Giants fans has apparently put together more than $8,000 to fly a banner over Dodger Stadium during three games this week, including Opening Day, to taunt Dodger fans over San Francisco winning the World Series last year.
My guess is, had the Dodgers won the World Series, no one would have thought the reverse was worth doing.

That doesn’t mean that, as a Dodger fan, I’ve forgotten the past. The Miracle on Coogan’s Bluff, the Marichal-Roseboro incident, the near riots at Candlestick Park during that 1988 doubleheader (Chapter 50). Morgan at the end of ’82, Piazza at the end of ’93, Finley at the end of ’04. It doesn’t get more intense. And so, when the Giants and Dodgers meet Thursday for Opening Day, I completely expect the stands will be as friendly as two airline passengers fighting over the same overhead bin. But there should be a limit.

The rivalry is a big part of Dodger baseball, but it’s never been the biggest. I hope it stays that way. The Dodgers are winners, regardless of what’s going on in the short term of the franchise’s history, and I hope Dodger fans never let what’s going on with San Francisco become their barometer.

Showcase for the kids

By Jon Weisman

On March 30, 2011

In Uncategorized

The spring ends on its highest note …

Dodgers 8, Mariners 1

Highlights:

Pitching in Dodger Stadium for the first time, Rubby De La Rosa struck out four of the six batters he faced and went on to dazzle with two-hit, no-walk shutout ball over 5 2/3 innings with six strikeouts. Legendary hitter Ichiro was two of those strikeouts.
Ivan DeJesus Jr. went 2 for 2.
Jerry Sands (1 for 2) and Dee Gordon each made diving catches.
Corey Smith completed his ridiculous spring with a three-run homer, leaving him 7 for 11 with four walks, two doubles and three home runs.
Andre Ethier doubled in the game’s first run, and James Loney followed with a two-run single to give the Dodgers a 3-0 first-inning lead.
Marcus Thames homered in the fourth.
Randy Keisler, who came out of the Dodgers’ open tryout camp four weeks ago to get a minor-league contract, retired all four batters he faced, striking out two, including Ichiro.
Allen Webster struck out the side in the ninth.
As a team, the Dodgers faced only 29 batters and struck out 12.

Lowlights:

Steven Ames allowed an eighth-inning homer to Michael Saunders to spoil the Dodgers’ shutout.
Aaron Miles hit into a double play and made an error on a foul pop-up.

Sidelights:

Andy LaRoche made the Oakland 25-man roster.

Exhibition finale chat

By Jon Weisman

On March 30, 2011

In Uncategorized

Ned Colletti spoke to Steve Mason and John Ireland on ESPN 710 AM about Andre Ethier. “I don’t have any interest in moving him, trading him, anything,” Colletti said.

Here are some ESPNLosAngeles.com and True Blue L.A. staff predictions on the Dodgers. I’m Scrooge.
The Dodgers have officially unveiled their memorial patch for Duke Snider and set August 9 as the date they will honor his memory at Dodger Stadium.
Tonight’s starting pitcher, Rubby De La Rosa, and Jerry Sands won the 2011 Jim and Dearie Mulvey Award, given to the top rookie in Dodger camp as voted on by the Dodger coaches.
Clayton Kershaw will donate $100 per 2011 strikeout to a nonprofit organization fighting poverty in Africa, where his wife has been deeply involved in charitable efforts.
The LADodgerTalk interview series with Logan White concludes with Part 4.
Lucas May, sent to Kansas City in last summer’s Scott Podsednik trade, was designated for assignment by the Royals.
Jamie Moyer will spend his age 48 year as an ESPN “Baseball Tonight” analyst before trying to complete his comeback from Tommy John surgery next year at age 49.
Cardboard Gods fought AT&T, and AT&T won — but so did Josh Wilker’s readers.

* * *

Mariners at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.

The emotional stakes

By Jon Weisman

On March 29, 2011

In Game wrap, Spring Training, Uncategorized

Dodger fans are going to have very little patience for games like tonight’s when the season starts. And they’ll come, as they always do. But if they come early and often, it’s going to get very ugly, very quickly.

* * *

Angels 5, Dodgers 1

Highlights:

Rod Barajas hit his third homer in the third inning.
Juan Uribe hit his team-high seventh double.
Hiroki Kuroda picked off Torii Hunter, and walked none while striking out four in four innings.
Michael Antonini, acquired in December for Chin-Lung Hu, pitched two shutout innings.

Lowlights:

Kuroda allowed three runs on seven hits.
Scott Elbert gave up a two-run homer to Hunter in his only inning – he faced six batters and allowed four baserunners.

Sidelights:

Spotlight man Andre Ethier went 1 for 3.
Molly Knight of ESPN the Magazine on Twitter: “When told of Ethier’s comments that he could be non-tendered after 2011, a visibly agitated Ned Colletti shook his head.”
Steve Mason and John Ireland of ESPN AM 710 had Chad Billingsley on today, then later, me. Mason and Ireland called me “the most mellow guy in the world.” If they only knew …
From The Associated Press: “Dodgers head trainer Stan Conte was not with the team, having spent Tuesday in San Francisco testifying in Barry Bonds’ perjury trial. The former Giants slugger is charged with lying to a grand jury when he denied knowingly taking performance-enhancing drugs. Conte, the Giants’ head trainer during seven of his 15 years with them, gave detailed and damaging accounts of Bonds’ daily activities with his personal trainers, Greg Anderson and Harvey Shields – whom Conte had attempted to ban from the clubhouse.”

Andre Ethier’s odd postgame comments

By Jon Weisman

On March 29, 2011

In Uncategorized

Preamble 1: Manny Ramirez, February 22, 2010:

“I won’t be here next year, so I just want to enjoy myself,” Ramirez said. “I don’t know [if I’ll play next year]. I just know I’m not going to be here. When the season is over, I will see where I’m at.”

Local/national reaction: Significant uproar over Ramirez stating the obvious.

Preamble 2: Chad Billingsley, March 28, 2011:

“I started my career here in 2003,” Billingsley said. “I love what this organization stands for. Hopefully, we can get something done.”

Reaction: Isn’t that nice?

Main event:

In its recap of Monday’s Dodgers-Angels game, The Associated Press has this from Andre Ethier:

Ethier is in the final season of a two-year, $15.25 million contract that will pay him $9.25 million this season. And the way he’s talking, the Dodgers might have a difficult time re-signing him next winter because of the uncertainty of the team’s payroll and subsequent ownership in the wake of owner Frank McCourt’s divorce from wife Jamie.

“This is my sixth one, and who knows? It might be my last one here with the Dodgers. You never know. A lot of signs are pointing that way, so we’ll have to see,” Ethier said. “Six years for a Dodger is a long time, in the era that we’re living in. So I’m going to cherish every moment I can, enjoy the season and try to make it my best one.”

Reaction: Huh?

OK, first of all, unless everything I’ve ever seen and calculated about him is false, Ethier can’t become a free agent until after the 2012 season. So there’s no issue with regard to the Dodgers’ ability to sign him for next season other than the possibility of having to go to an arbitration hearing, which they narrowly avoided the last time around.

Beyond that, why is Ethier talking about leaving now? It was one thing when Ramirez did it, because everyone with a brain knew that, short of a massive season, he wasn’t coming back to Los Angeles in 2011 after being suspended for 50 games in 2009. If Jonathan Broxton had said what Ethier said, it would be pretty disturbing (at least among those who aren’t aching for him to be gone), but at least you’d know where it was coming from.

Are we to believe that Ethier is so discombobulated by the McCourt divorce that he’s plotting his exit from Los Angeles 19 months before he has the ability to engineer it?

I’m wondering if somehow, something got lost in the translation, but otherwise, I think the most tranquil Dodger Spring Training in years might have just had its first rock thrown through the glass.

Epilogue:

For surprising comments, it might be hard to top this:

… Had (Walter) O’Malley known of this connection, he surely would have jumped at the chance to rename his team and the stadium in honor of the first Los Angeles residents. Visualize his portly body shaking with laughter at the thought of pitting his Los Angeles Yang-nas against their former bitter New York borough rivals, the Yankees, in a World Series in Yang-na Stadium. …

2011 Dodger X Factor: Left field

By Jon Weisman

On March 27, 2011

In Uncategorized

It took me an hour to think of how to start a post that captured my feelings about the Dodgers’ left fielders. I finally decided to go with madcap:

Fasten your seatbelts and get ready for fun. “The Left Field Rally” has begun!

“The Left Field Rally.” An all-out, anything goes, absolutely illegal race.

The players come in all shapes … sizes … and … sexes. (You never know.)

From all walks of life, all over the world.

In “The Left Field Rally,” the left fielders are the stars.

Thames. Paul. Gibbons. Gwynn. Gimenez. Oeltjen. Hoffmann. Kapler. Sands. Midseason Acquisition Guy. They go over … under … around … and through … anything that stands between them and the finish line.

Dodgers drop Camelback finale

By Jon Weisman

On March 27, 2011

In Game wrap, Spring Training, Uncategorized

Indians 6, Dodgers 1

Highlights:

Aaron Miles went 2 for 2.
Corey Smith hit a ground-rule double to dead center. In 14 plate appearances this spring: two singles, two doubles, two homers, four walks, four outs, 2.114 OPS. Smith, a third baseman who turns 29 next month, is shaping up to be this year’s John Lindsey. He’s an 11-year minor-league veteran who has never reached the majors.

Lowlights:

Chad Billingsley allowed a single, a walk, a hit batter and a double in a two-run second inning.
Ivan DeJesus Jr. was called out on strikes with two on and two out in the third.

Sidelights:

Ramon Troncoso was sent to the minors. As Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com says, the final spot in the bullpen is a two-man competition between lefty Scott Elbert and righty Lance Cormier. If the Dodgers were going on last year’s performance, however, Cormier would be a lock ahead of Mike MacDougal, who has apparently made the team. That being said, Cormier did walk more than he struck out last year as well.
Dylan Hernandez of the Times is suggesting that the Dodgers are now considering going to a fifth starter on April 10, to give Clayton Kershaw and Billingsley an early extra day of rest, and aree lining up Tim Redding for the slot.
Jerry Crowe of the Times tells the story of how Mike Brito discovered Bobby Castillo, which of course had a major effect on Fernando Valenzuela’s path in Los Angeles.

Kershaw perfect in warmup to regular season

By Jon Weisman

On March 26, 2011

In Game wrap, Spring Training, Uncategorized

Dodgers 5, Padres 4

Highlights:

In a scheduled short tune-up outing for Opening Day, Clayton Kershaw retired all 11 batters he faced (including one that reached on an error by Juan Uribe). Kershaw struck out three.
Dodger pitchers didn’t allow a hit until Jason Bartlett singled off Lance Cormier in the sixth inning.
Uribe doubled and homered, driving in four runs.
Jonathan Broxton hit a batter before retiring his next three, striking out one.
James Loney singled, walked and scored twice.

Lowlights:

With roster spots all but locked up, Scott Elbert gave up a homer and two singles to the four batters he faced …
… and then Mike MacDougal allowed both baserunners to score, giving up a single and two walks among his five batters.
Rafael Furcal went 0 for 3. For the spring, he has a .264 on-base percentage and .240 slugging percentage – 10 singles and a double in 50 at-bats.

Lowlights:

Furcal was hit by a pitch an inning after Broxton hit his batter, and both benches emptied. From The Associated Press:

… There were no pushes, punches or ejections during the dustup in the sixth inning.“That’s just players being players,” Padres manager Bud Black said. “It was a competitive game even though it was spring training. It was good, spirited play.”

The incident occurred after the Dodgers’ half-inning ended when Andre Ethier began shouting at the Padres dugout from the on-deck circle. Moments earlier, Furcal was hit by Padres reliever Brad Brach.

Ryan Ludwick was struck by Broxton’s pitch in the bottom of the fifth.

On his way back to the dugout, Ludwick stopped at home plate and began hollering at the Dodgers, but neither side got within 10 feet of each other as Black and Dodgers manager Don Mattingly broke up the dispute.

“I’ll tell you what, I don’t mind our boys stepping up,” Mattingly said. “I don’t mind at all.” …
With roster spots all but locked up, Scott Elbert gave up a homer and two singles to the four batters he faced …
As Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com reports, John Ely was optioned as planned – remaining a candidate to be called up for an April 12 start – and Ron Mahay was granted his release.
Travis Schlichting was reassigned to minor-league camp.
According to the Dodger press notes, Los Angeles is 13-9-1 this spring in full-squad games, which would mean they are 0-9 in split-squad games.

Ivan DeJesus Jr. likely to start at second base while Blake is out

By Jon Weisman

On March 25, 2011

In Game chat, Game wrap, Health/injuries, Uncategorized

Rob Tringali/Getty ImagesIvan De Jesus Jr. has a .380 on-base percentage this spring.

“Barring an injury,” writes Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com, “infielder Ivan DeJesus looks like a strong bet to make the club and remain in the big leagues until Blake returns from back injury. DeJesus, who will be making his major league debut, likely will get the bulk of the starts at second base during that time, while Juan Uribe will move to third.”

It’s a pretty impressive feat for the infielder, who has remaining options, who had to come back from a 2009 broken leg and was even said by some to be in the Dodgers’ doghouse last year.

Jackson also writes that the Dodgers will carry four starting pitchers on their Opening Day roster, and will call up a fifth starter from the minors April 12. That pitcher figures to be John Ely, especially if Tim Redding’s back ailment today proves to be serious. Jackson:

… Redding returned to Camelback Ranch, the team’s spring-training complex in Glendale, for further examination. No diagnosis or prognosis was immediately available. …

The season opener for Triple-A Albuquerque isn’t until April 7, so whomever the Dodgers choose to start in place of Garland could start that game and then be perfectly lined up to pitch for the Dodgers on April 12 in San Francisco. …

* * *

Diamondbacks 6, Dodgers 3

Highlights:

Coming in to relieve the injured Redding with one on and none out in the fourth, Rubby De La Rosa got a double-play grounder and only allowed a bunt single in his first three innings.
Backup catchers A.J. Ellis and Hector Gimenez each went 1 for 2.
Xavier Paul thew out a runner at the plate.
Doubles by Aaron Miles and Justin Sellers’ sandwiched Ellis’ single and gave the Dodgers an early 2-0 lead.

Lowlights:

Redding allowed a two-run homer in the third and six hits total in his three-plus innings, before leaving with the back trouble.
De La Rosa allowed three runs in his fourth inning of work.
Tony Gwynn Jr. went 0 for 4, his spring OPS falling to .689.

Sidelights:

Christina Taylor Green’s brother Dallas and Tucson shooting victim Ken Dorushka threw out first pitches before today’s game.
Nick Charles, who has terminal cancer, will call the opening bout on HBO’s “Boxing After Dark” on Saturday, says Sports Business Daily.
Rafael Furcal has been recovering from an offseason illness, reports Dylan Hernandez of the Times in this feature.
Great pics of Fernando Valenzuela pitching in Mexico last week, shared by Roberto Baly of Vin Scully Is My Homeboy.
Another great item, this from Eric Nusbaum at Pitchers & Poets, gives us Ken Levine talking about Vin Scully: “Normally I can look over somebody’s shoulders, I can pick up their scorecard and I can kind of figure it out. With one exception – Vin Scully. He’s got lines and dots and stuff. I have no idea. You need Navajo code breakers to figure out Vin’s scorebook. I have no idea.”
Here’s part 3 of Mark Timmons’ LADodgerTalk.com interview with Logan White.
The Dodgers aren’t the only ones with injuries, by any means. The shoulder of Phillies closer Brad Lidge is hurting, and so is Philadelphia’s bullpen, writes David Schoenfield of ESPN.com.
Padres starting pitcher Mat Latos is also ailing, notes Aaron Gleeman of Hardball Talk.
Will Leitch on the Mets (via Rob Neyer): “Even if this year is a write-off, the team will be more enjoyable to watch than it has been the last four years, if only because the franchise is finally moving forward. It’s going to get better, soon. I promise, this isn’t a scam. You are forgiven for fearing otherwise. This is, after all, the Mets.”

* * *

Dodgers at Mariners, 7:05 p.m.

Dodger Thoughts

Jon Weisman's outlet for dealing psychologically with the Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball and life

Category: Uncategorized (Page 37 of 63)

Dodgers shut out for second time in five games

Balk this way

Midgame report: Dodgers trail 4-0 after five

Matt Kemp re-emerges like he never un-emerged

Kershaw LXXXIV: Kershopening day game chat

Giants at Dodgers, 5 p.m.

78º and sunny

Nature of Dodger-Giant rivalry is changing

Showcase for the kids

Exhibition finale chat

The emotional stakes

Andre Ethier’s odd postgame comments

2011 Dodger X Factor: Left field

Dodgers drop Camelback finale

Kershaw perfect in warmup to regular season

Ivan DeJesus Jr. likely to start at second base while Blake is out

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