Dodger Thoughts

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

Page 54 of 381

Who’s coming to Old-Timers Day on July 2?

Steve Yeager, Pedro Guerrero and Ron Cey at the 2015 Old-Timers Game. (Juan Ocampo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

Steve Yeager, Pedro Guerrero and Ron Cey at the 2015 Old-Timers Game. (Juan Ocampo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

7.2.16 1981 Tri-MVP Bobblehead presented by Security BenefitBy Jon Weisman

The 1981 World Series tri-MVPs — Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager will be saluted at the annual Dodgers’ Old-Timers Day on July 2.

In that Fall Classic, Cey went 7 for 20 with a homer and three walks, Guerrero 7 for 21 with a double, triple, two homers and two walks, and Yeager 4 for 14 with two homers.

Cey’s biggest night was Game 3, when he hit a three-run homer in the first inning and started a double play with a diving catch of a bunt in foul territory in the eighth, backing a 40-batter complete game by Fernando Valenzuela in a 5-4 victory.

Guerrero and Yeager hit back-to-back, eighth-inning home runs off Ron Guidry to make a 2-1 winner of Jerry Reuss and the Dodgers in Game 5. In the Series finale, Guerrero singled, homered and tripled in the Dodgers’ 9-2 romp, making him the first player in 61 years to have all three of those hits in a World Series game.

Anyone else coming? Oh, you bet: Sandy Koufax, Tommy Lasorda, Don Newcombe, Tommy Davis, Maury Wills, Fernando Valenzuela, Orel Hershiser, Steve Garvey, Steve Sax, Bill Russell, Rick Monday, Nomar Garciaparra, Manny Mota, Al Ferrara, Shawn Green, Rick Honeycutt, Dave Roberts, Jerry Hairston Jr., Kevin Gross, Derrel Thomas, Mark Ellis, Nick Punto, Skip Schumaker, Jerry Royster, Kenny Lofton, Mickey Hatcher and Juan Castro are all scheduled to appear, with the tentative teams as follows:

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Vin Scully to rest sore throat at home tonight

Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers

Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers

By Jon Weisman

Vin Scully said during Monday’s Dodger broadcast that he wanted to broadcast the duel between Clayton Kershaw and Stephen Strasburg “so badly” that he pushed himself to work despite a sore throat. Though that matchup didn’t materialize, Kershaw didn’t disappoint, pitching the Dodgers to a 4-1 victory.

Tonight, however, Scully will give himself a night off to rest his golden voice. Charley Steiner and Orel Hershiser will provide play-by-play and color on SportsNet LA, and Rick Monday and Kevin Kennedy will call the game on AM 570.

To paraphrase Scully, he is day to day, and we’ll know if he’s coming back to work Wednesday, Wednesday.

Before tonight’s game, Kenley Jansen will be honored for breaking the franchise saves record, and former record-holder Eric Gagne is scheduled to participate in the ceremony.

Farm Fresh: Top pick Gavin Lux makes debut

By Jon Weisman

Newly signed Dodger first-round pick Gavin Lux has reported to Camelback Ranch, where he will play in the Arizona Fall League, as several members of the 2016 draft class got into their first action as pros Monday.

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Kenley Jansen breaks franchise save record

By Jon Weisman

With a grounder by Anthony Rendon to Justin Turner and a throw to first, Kenley Jansen closed out the Dodgers 4-1 victory over Washington tonight and set the Dodgers’ all-time saves record with the 162nd of his career.

Jansen broke the tie he had forged with Eric Gagne on June 15. It was also Jansen’s 20th save of the season, making him the first Dodger to have five such seasons.

As was the case for his first career save on July 25, 2010, Jansen sealed a victory for Clayton Kershaw, who pitched six shutout innings before allowing his only run in the seventh inning.

Despite pitching in unKershawly heat, the Dodger lefty’s ERA dipped from 1.58 to 1.57, but more dramatically, he fanned eight (including Bryce Harper thrice) while walking none, improving his dominant strikeout/walk ratio to 144/7, or 20.1 to you and me.

Emergency starter Yusmeiro Petit pitched admirably for Washington, going six innings on 90 minutes notice, but was victimized by four extra-base hits, including a pair of homers (by Justin Turner and Joc Pederson) and a pair of doubles (by Corey Seager and Corey Seager).

For Turner, it was his seventh homer of June (since June 7, in fact), giving him the team lead for the month over Seager. The last Dodger …

  • to hit more in June was Matt Kemp, with nine in 2011.
  • to hit double-digits in June was Shawn Green, with 12 in 2002.
  • to be Pedro Guerrero in June was Pedro Guerrero, with 15 in 1985.

Stephen Strasburg suddenly strained, scratched

Stephen Strasburg (upper back strain) will not make his scheduled showcase start for the Nationals against Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers tonight. Washington announced that Yusmeiro Petit (2.81 ERA, 1.09 WHIP) will take his place.

— Jon Weisman

Strasburg-Kershaw showdown at Dodger Stadium

Matt Hazlett (Getty Images)/Jill Weisleder (Los Angeles Dodgers)

Matt Hazlett (Getty Images)/Jill Weisleder (Los Angeles Dodgers)

Nationals at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.
Kershaw CCLVII: Kershawriots of Fire
Chase Utley, 2B
Corey Seager, SS
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrian González, 1B
Trayce Thompson, RF
Joc Pederson, CF
Howie Kendrick, LF
Yasmani Grandal,  C
Clayton Kershaw, P

By Jon Weisman

Here on this broiling first day of summer, Dodger Stadium showcases a red-hot pitching duel between Clayton Kershaw and Stephen Strasburg.

Strasburg is in his seventh big-league season, and he’s on his way to it being his finest: 2.90 ERA (2.83 FIP), 1.07 WHIP and 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings.

Kershaw, of course, has redefined remarkable: 1.58 ERA (1.64 FIP), 0.66 WHIP and 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings, plus that majestic 19.0 strikeout-walk ratio.

So far, the Nationals and Dodgers are each 13-1 when Strasburg and Kershaw start this season.

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Dusty’s Trail: A return to Baker’s Field

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By Jon Weisman

It’s been 40 years since Riverside native Dusty Baker made his debut in a Dodger uniform. He has also spent 40 seasons in the Major Leagues — 19 as a player (including eight with Los Angeles) and 21 as a manager, including this year’s debut season helming the Washington Nationals.

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Zach Lee traded to Seattle for infielder Chris Taylor

Otto Greule Jr./Getty Images

Otto Greule Jr./Getty Images

Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers

Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers

By Jon Weisman

Chris Taylor, a 25-year-old shortstop who has been OPSing .845 for Seattle’s Triple-A team in Tacoma, has been acquired by the Dodgers in exchange for pitcher Zach Lee.

Taylor has a .387 on-base percentage and .457 slugging percentage this season. In 256 career big-league plate appearances with the Mariners, he has twin .296 on-base and slugging percentages. The 2012 fifth-round draft pick out of Virginia has also played second and third.

Lee, the Dodgers No. 1 draft pick in 2010 and a two-time minor-league pitcher of the year for the organization, has a 1.49 WHIP and 4.89 ERA in 73 2/3 innings this season for Triple-A Oklahoma City, with 57 strikeouts.

The 24-year-old Lee made one start for Los Angeles, allowing seven runs on 11 hits in 4 2/3 innings against the Mets on July 25. He ended up pitching 725 innings in the organization, dating back to 2011.

Hernández delivers a Father’s Day he’ll never forget

Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers

By Jon Weisman

Kiké Hernández’s father, you might have heard by now, is battling cancer. For Hernandez to hit a home run, on Father’s Day, is pretty much all the story anyone would need on this day.

The fact that Hernández’s home run, the first of his career as a pinch-hitter, stopped a shutout and tied the game for the Dodgers in the bottom off the eighth inning, well, that’s just a gift for the rest of us.

“I don’t think I have any words to describe it,” Hernández told AM 570’s David Vassegh after the game. “I still have a little bit of goose bumps from it, and it was a little bit hard not to cry running the bases. I woke up this morning, and I was thinking about the same thing: I probably won’t start, but if I get a pinch-hit at-bat, it’s kind of like a movie. … I’m sure my dad loves every bit of it.”

Hernández’s homer set the stage for another pinch-hit RBI, Yasmani Grandal’s bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth, to give the Dodgers a 2-1 victory over Milwaukee.

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Dodgers recall Carlos Frias, option Mike Bolsinger

Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers

Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers

Brewers at Dodgers, 1:10 p.m.
Chase Utley, 2B
Corey Seager, SS
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrian González, 1B
Trayce Thompson, RF
Joc Pederson, CF
Howie Kendrick, LF
A.J. Ellis, C
Kenta Maeda, P

By Jon Weisman

Carlos Frias has been called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City to bring a fresh arm to a tired Dodger pitching staff, with Mike Bolsinger being optioned down.

This move materialized as a likely possibility when Frias didn’t make a scheduled long-relief appearance Saturday, shortly before Bolsinger struggled to get seven outs.

Frias presumably could take Bolsinger’s turn in the rotation, but could be needed out of the bullpen first. In the past seven days, Dodger relievers have needed to face 96 batters, an average of 13.7 per day. The Dodgers have an off day Thursday, when Bolsinger was next scheduled to start.

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Turner, Dodgers have got that bounce

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By Jon Weisman

Justin Turner’s weekend of heroics continued.

Turner’s third home run in two nights brought the Dodgers’ roaring back from a 5-2 deficit in the third inning, putting them on their way to a 10-6 victory over Milwaukee.

The biggest of the 14 Dodger hits that also included homers by Howie Kendrick and Joc Pederson, Turner’s blast — his sixth homer in his past 12 starts — marked the halfway point in the Dodgers’ six-run inning, their biggest of 2016. And it salvaged a night in which starting pitcher Mike Bolsinger couldn’t make it out of the third inning.

In fact, Bolsinger and Milwaukee’s Chase Anderson, childhood friends who were best men at each other’s weddings, each threw exactly 29 balls and 44 strikes in 2 1/3 innings tonight. Anderson took the loss, while Chris Hatcher, who threw 2 1/3 shutout innings, was the Dodgers’ winning pitcher.

Hatcher, who made his MLB debut as a catcher in 2010 but went 0 for 6, also picked up his first career hit, an RBI single in the third.

[mlbvideo id=”831523083″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]

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How did Turner turn his season around?

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Brewers at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.
Joc Pederson, CF
Corey Seager, SS
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrian González, 1B
Trayce Thompson, RF
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Yasmani Grandal, C
Kiké Hernández, RF
Mike Bolsinger, P

By Jon Weisman

It’s been two weeks since Dave Roberts offered his diagnosis of what was holding back Justin Turner’s offense.

“When I know Justin is at his best, (it’s) when he’s elevating to the pull side,” Roberts said. “For me, right now there’s too many balls in the air the other way. The contact point’s a little deep, (and) he might be getting underneath the baseball a little bit.

“When you’re not getting hits, it’s kind of a natural move to try to see the ball longer. It’s just a natural move to back the baseball up a little bit … but sometimes it can be a little bit counter-productive.”

In 12 games (11 starts) since that moment, Turner is 15 for 45 with three walks, three doubles and five homers, including the pair he hit Friday before he won the game with a walkoff single in the 10th inning. The 31-year-old is third in the National League in wins above replacement in that time and tied for second in home runs.

As for whether Turner is elevating to the pull side? You be the judge. Here’s his spray chart since June 4 …

Justin Turner 2

 

What kind of a teammate is Julio Urías?

https://twitter.com/LosDodgers/status/743906979999940608

Brewers at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.
Chase Utley, 2B
Corey Seager, SS
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrian González, 1B
Trayce Thompson, LF
Joc Pederson, CF
Yasmani Grandal, C
Will Venable, RF
Julio Urías, P

By Jon Weisman

For a couple hours every five days, Julio Urías takes the mound under the spotlight, standing alone on the mound.

For the remaining 118 hours of each cycle through the Dodger starting rotation, (for however long he’s in it this season), the teenage rookie is just another Dodger teammate, spending his days and nights with players who are anywhere from three to 18 years older.

“That’s where that confidence has to come through — and has,” Dave Roberts said.

So what’s he been like?

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In case you missed it: Old glove, new Kershaw

Roberts glove 061616js414

By Jon Weisman

In this video clip, Vin Scully talks about how new Dodger outfielder Will Venable is using an actual old glove of Dave Roberts from 2005, seen above.

[mlbvideo id=”822737883″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]
Here are some more notes and news from the past week …

  • Cali Ann’s getting a sibling. Clayton and Ellen Kershaw have a second baby on the way, due in November. Andy McCullough of the Times has the news in this Father’s Day-themed interview with Kershaw, which talks at length about the softening effect parenthood has had on the Dodger ace.
  • Monday’s nationally televised series-opener (ESPN) against the Washington Nationals figures to match Stephen Strasburg (2.90 ERA) against Clayton Kershaw (1.58 ERA). I’m not into win-loss records, but even a cynic like me about them finds it a little glamorous that the two pitchers are a combined 20-1.  Reminder: Strasburg is four months and one day younger than Kershaw.
  • The Dodgers officially announced the signing of the following draft picks: shortstop Errol Robinson (sixth round), right-hander Andre Scrubb (eighth round), right-hander Dean Kremer (14th round), outfielder Darien Tubbs (16th round), third basemen Brock Carpenter (20th round), right-hander Jeff Paschke  (22nd round), second baseman Brandon Montgomery (26th round) and catcher Steve Berman (31st round).
  • Ross Stripling gave a progress report to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com regarding his current hiatus from game action.
  • Chad Billingsley said he hasn’t given up, but the former Dodger right-hander, who hasn’t thrown a competitive pitch in 11 months, told Bruce Hefflinger of the Defiance Crescent-News (his hometown newspaper) that it was “most likely” that his career was over.
  • Scott Radinsky, the one-time Dodger reliever who is the Angels’ bullpen coach, is thankfully recovering from April open-heart surgery after a big scare.
  • Former Dodger catcher Tim Federowicz was designated for assignment by the Cubs.

Scully, Dodgers remember victims of Orlando tragedy

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By Jon Weisman

Flags flew at half staff Thursday at Dodger Stadium in tribute to the victims of the mass murder early Sunday morning in Orlando. Before Thursday’s game, Vin Scully led those in attendance at Dodger Stadium into a moment of silence. Here is the text of what he said:

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