Dodger Thoughts

NL West stuck in neutral

On June 28, 2015

Dodgers at Marlins, 10:10 a.m.
Joc Pederson, CF
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Yasiel Puig, RF
Yasmani Grandal, C
Andre Ethier, RF
Alberto Callaspo, 3B
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Zack Greinke, P

By Jon Weisman

Here are the National League West standings since June 1, entering play today (with run differential in parentheses):

13-14 .481 Los Angeles (+12)
12-13 .480 Arizona (-25)
12-13 .480 San Diego (-22)
11-13 .458 San Francisco (+9)
11-15 .423 Colorado (-9)

The best and worst teams are separated by 1 1/2 games. And the Dodgers are even with the Diamondbacks and Padres even though they’ve essentially outscored those two teams by 37 and 34 runs. Los Angeles is 4-6 in one-run games this month.

The June division title will be at stake Monday through Wednesday, when the Dodgers finish their 10-game road trip and stretch of 34 games in 34 days at Arizona.

* * *

Zack Greinke enters today’s game with 13 consecutive scoreless innings, a 0.98 ERA in his past four starts and a 1.79 ERA with a .596 opponents’ OPS in the nine starts (60 1/3 innings) he has made since his last victory. The Dodgers are 4-5 in that period.

Greinke has pitched 59 full innings since his last win, and has shut out the opponent in 49 of them.

Victory tips away from Kershaw, Dodgers

By Jon Weisman

On June 27, 2015

In Postgame

Photos: Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers

By Jon Weisman

With one out in the first inning today at Miami, a few moments after the 11th home run of Justin Turner’s incredible 2015, Marlins left fielder Christian Yelich reached first base on an infield single.

The next batter, Adeiny Hechavarria, hit a blooper to right, and you thought, “Here we go again” with Clayton Kershaw.

That wasn’t even the half of it.

Andre Ethier’s throw to third base squirted past Turner and an admittedly poorly positioned Kershaw, allowing Yelich to score and Hechavarria to get three bases out of his hit.

Then came a wild pitch by Kershaw, and just like that, 210 feet of hits had yielded two runs.

In the next inning, Kershaw gave up a leadoff double but appeared ready to emerge unscathed three batters later, before Joc Pederson misjudged a drive to center by pitcher Tom Koehler. Pederson volleyball-set the ball into the air, but it spiked before he could find it, and the Marlins had a third run.

The kicker: The Dodgers had a franchise-record 13-game errorless streak entering the game. And Kershaw, who had been bitten by home runs recently, didn’t come close to allowing one out of the park.

And all it meant was the first three-start losing streak of Kershaw’s career, a 3-2 defeat, and the latest chapter of brilliance disguised.

Kershaw allowed five singles and two doubles, while walking none and striking out nine. No, Kershaw hasn’t been perfect. On the other hand, here’s his record over his past seven starts: 48 2/3 innings, 30 hits, nine walks, 67 strikeouts, 1.85 ERA. Even his maligned homer rate in that stretch is 0.9 per nine innings.

After Adrian Gonzalez’s RBI single (on a drive that befuddled Yelich about as much as Koehler’s confused Pederson) put Turner at second base with the tying run in the top of the fourth, Andre Ethier ripped a liner to second base that Dee Gordon snagged, and Hechecarria and Gordon than combined on a stylish double play off the bat of Yasmani Grandal.

Over the remaining five innings, the Dodgers got two baserunners, moved each of them to second base with two out, and stranded them there.

Kershaw kept the Dodgers close, even striking out the side after Marlins reached first and third with none out in the sixth, but the early fumbles were too much to overcome.

Surgery to sideline Paco Rodriguez for two more months

By Jon Weisman

On June 27, 2015

In Health/injuries

By Jon Weisman

Although Paco Rodriguez was seeing some progress in rehab, it was not enough.

The 24-year-old left was examined Thursday by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who recommended an arthroscopy to remove loose bodies in the back of Rodriguez’s elbow. Surgery will be performed July 2, with Rodriguez expected to be sidelined for 8-10 weeks. That figures to put Rodriguez out of action at least until rosters expand in September.

A Dodger second-round draft pick in 2012, Rodriguez became the first from that entire draft to reach the Major Leagues, and from in 61 innings (87 games) 2012-13, he had a 2.21 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings.

Rodriguez has thrown 24 1/3 big-league innings since, with a 3.33 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 8.9 K/9. He most recently pitched for the Dodgers on May 29.

Vin Scully’s ‘tryout’ with Brooklyn in center field

By Jon Weisman

On June 27, 2015

In History

By Jon Weisman

In his how-could-it-not-be-lovely feature on Vin Scully for the Washington Post, Chuck Culpepper passes along this anecdote from the legend.

… All along, he has sustained an appreciation for the skill on the field. That began in earnest his first year, 1950, in Brooklyn Dodgers days, when manager Burt Shotton had heard of Scully’s Fordham center-field days — good field, good throw, jammed too often as a hitter — and asked him to don a Gil Hodges uniform one day before an exhibition in Battle Creek, Mich.

“Gil Hodges was a marble statue,” Scully said. “And here I am, ‘Dodgers’ is down by the belt. My number is halfway down the back of my pants. But I got the uniform on, and I have a glove and all that. And I go out, and I remember, I played pepper with Carl Furillo, he was our right fielder, terrific guy. And it was just like college, playing pepper and everything. And then, I went out in the outfield, and Shotton said, ‘I want to see you shag some balls.’ And I said, ‘Okay.’

“I went out to center field, and there was a left-hand pitcher named Joe Hatten. And Joe and I were standing out there, maybe 300 feet from home plate during batting practice. And Roy Campanella got into the batting cage. And he swung, and he hit what I would call a high line drive. It just stayed straight. And I said, ‘Joe, I’ve got it.’ And he said, ‘Okay.’ And I caught it, but you know, the impact was like no impact I ever felt before. It was like maybe I was playing third base. And as soon as I caught it, I remember I turned to Joe and said, ‘Joe, I don’t belong out here.’ And you have no idea how fast that game is that they play.”

And: “And I watch them day after day and I think, ‘How good they are. Ho-oh-ly mackerel.’ And that’s what I love about it.” …

Read the entire piece here.

With Kershaw on tap, Anderson gives Dodgers savormetric start

By Jon Weisman

On June 27, 2015

In Postgame, Pregame

Dodgers at Marlins, 1:10 p.m.
Kershaw CCXXV: Kershawneymoon in Vegas
Joc Pederson, CF
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Andre Ethier, RF
Yasmani Grandal, C
Kiké Hernandez, LF
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Clayton Kershaw, P

By Jon Weisman

In this Back to the Future season, Brett Anderson has passed 2011 by. Next stop: 2010.

With his seven innings in Friday’s 7-1 Dodger victory, the 27-year-old left-hander has reached 89 in 2015, surpassing his 83 1/3 in 2011 for his biggest output in the past five seasons.

Anderson is now 23 1/3 innings from matching the second most durable season of his career, 112 1/3 innings in 2010.

Moreover, Anderson is rolling. Since May 1, he has averaged 6 1/3 innings per start with a 2.47 ERA, and has allowed more than two runs twice in his past 11 starts.

[mlbvideo id=”200628383″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]

Anderson not only set a Dodger record, according to research by Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A., by picking off two runners in the same inning, he also tied a career high with 10 strikeouts, admittedly against a Marlins team that went completely whifftastic Friday. Miami’s final 10 outs of the game came on strikeouts, interrupted only by an eighth-inning single by J.T. Realmulto, the only one of the Marlins’ 11 batters not to fan. According to the Elias Sports Bureau (via the Dodgers public relations department, it marked the first time in Los Angeles Dodger history that the club had finished a game by recording the final 10 outs via strikeout.

Relievers Adam Liberatore and Pedro Baez (the latter in his first appearances since May 13) each struck out the side in their innings, giving Los Angeles pitchers 16 for the game.

Baez’s last six outs have been strikeouts, and he now has 13.8 strikeouts per nine innings and an 8.3 strikeout-walk ratio.

National League homer leader Giancarlo Stanton struck out three times, a prelude to the unfortunate report that he has a hamate fracture in his left hand that will sideline him for at least a month.

With the 16 strikeouts, two pickoffs and eight groundouts induced by Anderson, Dodger outfielders had an exceptionally quiet night. Alex Guerrero didn’t field a ball in play — neither a hit nor an out — and Scott Van Slyke didn’t touch a ball either until Realmulto’s single, which itself was deflected by Jimmy Rollins.

Four Dodgers recorded putouts: catcher A.J. Ellis (16), first baseman Adrian Gonzalez (eight), shortstop Rollins (two, both on the pickoffs) and a single catch by Joc Pederson in center field.

Van Slyke and Guerrero weren’t non-factors, though. Van Slyke hit a two-run homer in the second inning to give the Dodgers a lead after falling behind, 1-0, in the first inning on the Dee Gordon Manufacturer’s Special (infield single, stolen base, two groundouts). Guerrero added two hits, a run and an RBI.

Howie Kendrick had four of the 11 singles by the Dodgers, who put 18 men on base overall and went 5 for 10 with runners in scoring position.

Yasiel Puig’s right palm even felt well enough for him to pinch-hit and play the final two innings in right field.

In a 1 p.m. Pacific start today, Clayton Kershaw hopes to put his home-run woes behind him and extend the Dodgers’ road winning streak to four games. Kershaw, who has a 1.94 ERA in his past six starts dating to May 26, has 48 strikeouts this month. With 14 today, he would top his June 2014 performance for the most strikeouts by a Dodger in a calendar month since Sandy Koufax.

Pedro Baez returns from disabled list, Puig remains sidelined

By Jon Weisman

On June 26, 2015

In Health/injuries, Pregame, Transactions

Pedro Baez struck out the side in his most recent outing, May 13 against Miami. (Juan Ocampo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

Dodgers at Marlins, 4:10 p.m.
Joc Pederson, CF
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Justin Turner, 1B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Scott Van Slyke, RF
Alex Guerrero, LF
Jimmy Rollins, SS
A.J. Ellis, C
Brett Anderson, P

By Jon Weisman

The good news for the Dodgers is that after a six-week absence, righty reliever Pedro Baez has been activated from the disabled list.

Before suffering a right pectoral strain (while facing tonight’s Dodger opponent, the Miami Marlins), Baez had allowed 15 baserunners in 15 1/3 innings this season while striking out 22, with a 1.76 ERA and all 13 of his inherited runners stranded.

In his most recent 8 1/3 innings, from April 24 to May 13, Baez was unscored upon, allowing four hits and a walk while striking out 12 of the 30 batters he faced. He pitched three shutout innings in his three-game rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Ian Thomas, called up this week without making a pitch, has been sent back to Oklahoma City, whose starter tonight is the rehabbing Brandon Beachy. Beachy is expected to throw about 60 pitches. Another teammate, Brandon League, is scheduled for back-to-back rehab appearances this weekend.

Meanwhile, Yasiel Puig is still on the bench to allow a torn callous on the palm of his left hand to heal.

A.J. Ellis, who has reached base in 14 of his past 32 plate appearances with a .452 on-base percentage, is starting for the second day in a row. Yasmani Grandal was destined to get a day off in this series, and the Dodgers have decided to give it to him tonight so that Ellis can start against Marlins rookie lefty Justin Nicolino, who pitched seven shutout innings in his MLB debut June 20 against Cincinnati.

Dodger bullpen asserts itself in saving Chicago split

By Jon Weisman

On June 25, 2015

In Bullpen, Postgame

FINAL: #Dodgers 4, Cubs 0. #WeLoveLA #LetsGoDodgers #Whiff pic.twitter.com/84eFyR9zK3

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 25, 2015

By Jon Weisman

Probably all anyone will remember about the Dodger bullpen from this series at Chicago was the 10th-inning loss Tuesday.

But here are the Dodger reliever totals from the four games: 13 innings, 12 baserunners, nine strikeouts, 1.38 ERA, five inherited runners, four stranded.

That includes 8 1/3 shutout innings in the past 20 hours to help the Dodgers come away with a 4-0 victory today and a (drum roll) a split on the road against (cymbal crash) a winning team.

In all of 2015, no bullpen in the National League has allowed a lower on-base percentage or slugging percentage than the Dodger bullpen. And no NL bullpen has a higher strikeout rate or strikeout-walk ratio in 2015 than the Dodger bullpen.

It is still not a top-of-the-line group when it comes to run prevention: fourth-best in ERA (2.99), eighth in stranding inherited runners (26 percent). The latter is compounded by the fact that only the Giants have bequeathed more runners to their relievers this year.

And after throwing more than 50 pitches each of the past three games, the relievers could use a bit of relief themselves.

So there is still room for improvement. But as I wrote earlier this month, the Dodger bullpen has come a long way.

Backstage Baristas: The Dodgers’ annual Wrigley coffee run

By Jon Weisman

On June 25, 2015

In Uncategorized

[wpvideo zht8BBqc]

Though not strictly a rookie move — Mike Bolsinger is technically a veteran — the Dodgers renewed their tradition of sending a newbie or three out into the streets near Wrigley Field to get coffee and coffee-like drinks. SportsNet LA’s “Backstage Dodgers” shared a clip.

— Jon Weisman

Coffee run! pic.twitter.com/SKuKTTKoPC

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 25, 2015

Album dropping soon. pic.twitter.com/wPHdbAU0qR

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 25, 2015

The daymares of Carlos Frias

By Jon Weisman

On June 25, 2015

In Pregame

Carlos Frias xxx. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

Carlos Frias allowed more earned runs in his fifth daytime start than in all the night starts of his career. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

Dodgers at Cubs, 11:20 a.m.
Kiké Hernandez, CF
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Justin Turner, 1B
Scott Van Slyke, RF
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Alex Guerrero, LF
Alberto Callaspo, 3B
A.J. Ellis, C
Carlos Frias, P

By Jon Weisman

The grand ol’ game of baseball has been primarily a night sport for decades and decades now — even Wrigley Field has been playing ‘neath the lights (when they’re working) for almost 30 years.

In his short MLB career, Carlos Frias has somehow defied that trend. The 25-year-old righty is making his 13th big-league start today — and his seventh in the sunshine.

Confidence is scary, don’t you think?

By Jon Weisman

On June 24, 2015

In Pregame

Dodgers at Cubs, 5:05 p.m.
Kiké Hernandez, 2B
Joc Pederson, CF
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Yasiel Puig, RF
Andre Ethier, LF
Yasmani Grandal, C
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Mike Bolsinger, P

By Jon Weisman

Long before the Dodgers allowed a run in the 10th inning Tuesday to lose at Chicago came this instantly celebrated as well as befuddling moment of Cubs fan Keith Hartley reaching out to catch a foul ball while holding — and still feeding — his baby son Isaac.

I was reasonably confident that the Dodgers would get credit for the out, because Hartley had so clearly reached into the field of play, interfering with first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. But the confidence that Hartley had in his ability to catch the ball — and, more to the point, not allow his son to be hurt — is the kind I’ll never experience. Man.

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Here’s what Hartley had to say, via Jon Greenberg of ESPN.com:

“Baseball is not a new thing to me,” he said. “I didn’t want it to hit the ledge and hit him, so I wanted to make first contact, I think.”

More importantly, what was going through wife Kari’s head?

“I was a little bit nervous, a little bit scared he was going to drop the baby,” she said. “Fortunately he held on tight to both the ball and Isaac, so we were OK.”

I also wondered about Hartley not getting ejected from the ballpark, but the good-time, no-harm vibe prevailed.

Meanwhile, Dodger team photographer Jon SooHoo was in the right city, camera well and position to catch the catch. He spoke to Mark Newman of MLB.com Blogs Central about how it all happened. Give it a read …

* * *

Before Tuesday, the Cubs hadn’t shut out the Dodgers in an extra-inning game in Chicago for 99 years, nine months and seven days. The last extra-inning shutout by the Cubs against the Dodgers was September 16, 1915, when Hippo Vaughn outdueled Jeff Pfeffer at the West Side Grounds.

Surprise friends, family with Ribbon Board message at Dodger Stadium

By Jon Weisman

On June 24, 2015

In Community, Dodger Stadium

By Erin Edwards

Do you know a Dodger fan who is about to celebrate a birthday, anniversary or promotion? Why not honor them in front of upwards of 50,000 people at Dodger Stadium?

You can do just that by displaying your message at Dodger Stadium on the Ribbon Board, located below the left-field Dodger Vision screen.

Ribbon Board messages can be purchased online for a cost of $75. This purchase will delight the recipient, and all proceeds go to the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation for its mission is to aide underserved youth in the greater L. A. area.

Ribbon Board message details:

The message will appear once during the game, at the end of the fifth inning.
In approximately six to eight weeks, you will receive a 5×7 color photo of the message.
Two lines of text each limited to 34 characters.
Purchase online at dodgers.com/ribbonboard.

Dodger dog: $5.50, Ribbon Board message: $75. Seeing your name in lights: priceless.

Olivera hectored by hamstring

By Jon Weisman

On June 23, 2015

In Health/injuries, Pregame

Photo: Oklahoma City Dodgers

Dodgers at Cubs, 5:05 p.m.
Yasiel Puig, RF
Joc Pederson, CF
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Yasmani Grandal, C
Andre Ethier, LF
Alberto Callaspo, 3B
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Zack Greinke, P

By Jon Weisman

The Dodgers have said that Cuban infielder Hector Olivera is in the equivalent of Spring Training as he plays his minor-league games this month. Now, they have the Spring Training injury to back that up.

Olivera has been placed on the Triple-A seven-day disabled list by Oklahoma City with a left hamstring strain, and Don Mattingly told reporters that Olivera would be going to Camelback Ranch for rehab.

The 30-year-old has a .387 on-base percentage and .581 slugging percentage in 31 plate appearances for Oklahoma City. He is 12 for 31 with a double, triple and home run. He has also been a man of action, striking out only three times and walking none.

Manufacturing a World Series champion

By Jon Weisman

On June 23, 2015

In Other teams, Postseason

Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers

By Jon Weisman

I’m going to discuss the Dodger offense from a different direction than I typically do.

The 2015 Dodgers lead the National League in walks, home runs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, adjusted OPS and weighted runs created.

Despite this — and understandably, I’ll concede, given how inconsistent it has been for the past month — many have criticized the Dodger offense as incapable of generating runs in the pressure cooker of October.

Among other things, Los Angeles is the worst basestealing team around, and it gets less value from its baserunning than any NL team, according to Fangraphs. A hit-and-run dynamo, the Dodgers are not.

In contrast, you don’t get very far chatting about the World Champion San Francisco Giants without hearing praise for how their ability to manufacture runs carried them to the top.

So what I wanted to look at was how the rival Giants won the 2014 World Series, against a Kansas City Royals team that was also lauded for making things happen through smart, aggressive play on its way to the American League pennant. I’ve broken down every single run of last year’s Fall Classic — seven games, 57 runs — to see how important manufacturing runs was.

The Giants won’t get extra credit for drawing a walk or bashing extra-base hits. Rather, my question today is this: Where did bunting, stolen bases, productive outs and taking the extra base on a hit play a role? (The Royals’ performance in these areas will also be noted — after all, they were within 90 feet of sending Game 7 into extra innings.)

What I found was rather diverse — games where manufacturing runs was key, games where it was irrelevant and games in between. And then there was the small matter of Madison Bumgarner having the postseason of the century.

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Long ball leaves Kershaw on short end at Wrigley

By Jon Weisman

On June 22, 2015

In Postgame

Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers

By Jon Weisman

In 41 2/3 innings over the past month, Clayton Kershaw has allowed one earned run that wasn’t the result of a home run.

May 26 vs. Atlanta: seven innings, no runs
June 1 at Colorado: seven innings, two runs (two-run homer by Nolan Arenado)
June 6 vs. St. Louis: eight innings, no runs
June 12 at San Diego: 6 2/3 innings, one run (solo homer by Clint Barmes)
June 17 vs. Texas: six innings, four runs (two-run homer by Joey Gallo, fielder’s choice RBI by Rougned Odor, unearned run on RBI single by Odor)
June 22 at Chicago: seven innings, three runs (two-run homer by Kris Bryant, solo homer by Matt Sczur)

Over those six starts, Kershaw has given up 23 hits, walked nine and struck out 58.

For the year, Kershaw has pitched exactly 100 innings and allowed 11 homers, or 0.99 per nine innings, which is a career-high rate alongside his career-high 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings. Kershaw lives to challenge hitters, and really the only problem for him for the past month is that for all of five times in the past 30 days, hitters have met the challenge with a hearty handshake.

Kershaw on his highest HR rate since rookie year: "If you make a bad pitch you make a bad pitch. Hopefully, they just stay in the ballpark.”

— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) June 23, 2015

Kershaw called his June 17 loss to Texas his most frustrating, but he might have found a topper in tonight’s 4-2 defeat at Wrigley Field, where Kershaw was sure he had Bryant struck out on an 0-2, two-out, 94 mph fastball in the third inning (right), only for it to be ruled a ball.

The next pitch was a 73 mph curve that didn’t give Kershaw the break he needed, literally or figuratively, and Bryant jumped on it for the first of his two home runs.

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Kershaw then stewed while the lights at Wrigley Field went wonky in the sixth inning, which finally passed without the Cubs scoring, only for Chicago to tally what became the difference-making run in the seventh on Sczur’s home run.

On a night that Chicago turned three double plays against the Dodgers while also picking Yasiel Puig — the only runner in scoring position either team had — from second base, yeah, I’d say that had to be vexing.

Update: Ken Gurnick of MLB.com has more, including quotes from Kershaw.

Justin Turner’s unique All-Star case

By Jon Weisman

On June 22, 2015

In All-Star Game

[mlbvideo id=”186889783″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]

By Jon Weisman

From non-roster player … to valuable bench piece … to starting third baseman … to All-Star?

Each step of Justin Turner’s journey in the past 18 months has seemed improbable, but his showstopping offensive performance as a Dodger has turned the most unlikely step of all into potential reality.

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

Page 111 of 381

NL West stuck in neutral

Victory tips away from Kershaw, Dodgers

Surgery to sideline Paco Rodriguez for two more months

Vin Scully’s ‘tryout’ with Brooklyn in center field

With Kershaw on tap, Anderson gives Dodgers savormetric start

Pedro Baez returns from disabled list, Puig remains sidelined

Dodger bullpen asserts itself in saving Chicago split

Backstage Baristas: The Dodgers’ annual Wrigley coffee run

The daymares of Carlos Frias

Confidence is scary, don’t you think?

Surprise friends, family with Ribbon Board message at Dodger Stadium

Olivera hectored by hamstring

Manufacturing a World Series champion

Long ball leaves Kershaw on short end at Wrigley

Justin Turner’s unique All-Star case

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