Dodger Thoughts

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

Tag: Adrian Gonzalez (Page 4 of 9)

In case you missed it: Adrian Gonzalez the sportsman

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By Jon Weisman

During the day Monday, Adrian Gonzalez was named the Dodgers’ nominee for the 2015 Roberto Clemente Award, which honors “a player who best represents the game through positive contributions on and off the field, including sportsmanship and community involvement.”

Lately, Gonzalez has needed to display a great deal of sportsmanship alongside athleticism to come away foul balls. First there was the one in Chicago involving a Wrigley Field fan holding a baby. Then came Monday night’s fifth-inning foul ball, which Gonzalez caught despite a Boston-capped fan nearly tearing Gonzalez’s glove off.

Gonzalez not only came away triumphant on that play, he made a nifty defensive stab to record the final out of the Dodgers’ 4-1 victory over the Rockies.

Clayton Kershaw won the award in 2012, and Jimmy Rollins shared the honor with Paul Konerko in 2014.

Here are some other bits and bunts …

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  • Chef Dave Pearson, who passed away Saturday, received a tribute Monday before the National Anthem.
  • According to Stats LLC (via the Dodgers’ public relations department), the Dodgers’ 35-10 (.778) record in home games decided by three or fewer runs is currently the second-best in MLB history, behind only the 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers (35-9, .795).
  • Called upon to save Monday’s game with Kenley Jansen requiring a day off, Chris Hatcher did the trick, lowering his ERA to 1.35 since coming off the disabled list August 15. In 13 1/3 innings, he has struck out 16 and allowed 13 baserunners.
  • Yasmani Grandal ended his 0-for-36 (with eight walks) slump Monday with two hits, which themselves followed a sacrifice fly.
  • Fan voting has begun for the Esurance MLB Awards. Dodger nominees include Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw for Best Major Leaguer and Best Starting Pitcher (Kershaw won both in 2014), and Joc Pederson for Best Rookie. Many more categories will follow between now and when voting ends November 13. (Five different groups of voters — fans, members of the baseball media, club front-office personnel, former MLB players and Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) members — each count for 20 percent of the total.) T
  • The Institute for Baseball Studies is presenting, “The Dodgers Come to Los Angeles: Politics and Pennants in Paradise,” featuring Andy McCue and Wes Parker, at 7:00 p.m. September 27 at Villalobos Hall on the campus of Whittier College.
  • Justin Turner, nominated for the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award last week, is now a finalist, representing the National League West. Kershaw won last year.
  • I’ve seen some hard foul balls in my time, but I’m amazed this one Monday didn’t do some real damage to someone.

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Marathon win a well-earned celebration for Chris Hatcher

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By Jon Weisman

Chris Hatcher, man.

Everyone killed Chris Hatcher this year. Practically from the day after his Opening Day save to the days after he came off the disabled list in August, the abuse this guy took. It’s not that he pitched great. But it was the condemnation, the notion that he was hopeless. Forget about the potential. “DFA him!” Or worse.

Then comes a night like tonight, and this is why I love baseball. For the redemption. For the Juan Uribes. For the Chris Hatchers.

It’s why I’m always so shocked that people are so quick to give up on a player. Because the redemption is all around you.

The season wasn’t on the line tonight. But the psyche was. And Chris Hatcher stepped up and threw three shutout innings, the longest outing of his career, and long enough to get the Dodgers to the bottom of the 14th, when Adrian Gonzalez followed a walk and two singles with a game-winning hit to left field, for a 5-4 Dodger victory.

It was a win for Hatcher, but less of a fluke than many fans would realize. Since returning to action August 15, Hatcher has thrown 8 1/3 innings and allowed one run on eight baserunners while striking out 11.

It was a win for the bullpen — admittedly, after Juan Nicasio did surrender a 4-3 lead in the eighth inning. But maybe not so much of a fluke either.

Bullpen 9-1

That’s just a week of work, but what a week: 26 innings with a 0.69 ERA (plus one additional inherited run allowed to score) and 9.35 strikeouts per nine innings. The walks are still too high — and it was a walk that set up Nicasio for the blown save — but if you can’t see the blue sky there, you must live for clouds.

Not for nothing, the maligned Jim Johnson pitched two shutout innings (despite hitting his fourth batter as a Dodger). Fellow former Brave reliever Luis Avilan pitched a perfect inning and has retired 10 batters in a row over his last five games, all in crucial situations. Pedro Baez and Kenley Jansen also had shutout innings.

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Don’t let me leave Gonzalez out of this party. It was the slugging first baseman who, after Marlon Byrd’s unfathomable two-run infield single in the third inning gave the Giants the lead, tied this game in the sixth with a two-run home run, his 25th of the year. (One batter later, Andre Ethier’s home run put the Dodgers ahead.)

And it was Gonzalez who, rather than let the Giants start to think they might sneak out of their bases-loaded, none-out jam in the 15th, delivered the first-pitch, no-doubt game-winner.

Moments like Gonzalez’s are the reasons baseball thrills me. Moments like Hatcher’s are the reasons baseball makes me care.

So much, that I don’t even completely regret missing this …

Gonzalez, Puig leave game with injuries

By Jon Weisman

Two key parts of the Dodger offense didn’t make it through today’s game at Cincinnati.

Adrian Gonzalez fouled a ball off his knee in the third inning and departed the contest in the fifth. He is day to day with a contusion, as Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Potentially more serious is the condition of Yasiel Puig, who came up limping after beating out an infield hit in the ninth inning,. With a 2-for-4 day today, Puig has a 10-game hitting streak in which he has a .390 on-base percentage, .526 slugging percentage and .916 OPS.

Shoulder sidelines Yasmani Grandal

Juan Ocampo/Los Angeles Dodgers

Juan Ocampo/Los Angeles Dodgers

Dodgers at Reds, 4:10 p.m.
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Yasiel Puig, RF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Justin Turner, 3B
Scott Van Slyke, LF
Chase Utley, 2B
A.J. Ellis, C
Kiké Hernandez, CF
Alex Wood, P

By Jon Weisman

Yasmani Grandal is not expected to start before Thursday at the earliest because of an ailing left shoulder, Don Mattingly told reporters today.

Grandal is third on the Dodgers with 140 weighted runs created (wRC+), but he is 3 for 30 with five walks and no extra-base hits in his past 35 plate appearances. Mattingly said there is worry the shoulder condition is altering Grandal’s swing.

The 26-year-old catcher isn’t expected to go on the disabled list, especially with rosters expanding one week from today. But it will mean more work than usual for A.J. Ellis, who is quietly posting his best averages at the plate (.356 on-base percentage, .360 slugging percentage) since 2012.

The Dodgers need improvement from several players as they look to win their first game since August 16. During the current five-game losing streak …

  • Justin Turner is 1 for 18 with two walks and two errors.
  • Jimmy Rollins has a single, double and homer in 22 plate appearances.
  • Adrian Gonzalez has four singles and a walk in 20 plate appearances.
  • Scott Van Slyke, Carl Crawford and Alex Guerrero are a combined 1 for 28 with one walk.

Rollins’ third-inning home run six days ago at Oakland is the Dodgers’ most recent four-base hit.

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Alex Wood, who takes the mound today for the Dodgers, has been charged with exactly three runs on five hits with three walks in each of his past three starts.

Mat Latos pitched a five-inning simulated game Monday, and is scheduled to start Saturday against the Cubs, with Brett Anderson, Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw taking the starts between now and then.  Juan Nicasio, as noted Monday, has been activated from the disabled list.

 

Greinke’s ‘Believe It or Not’ game yields an even more unbelievable finish

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ZG1By Jon Weisman

How weird was Zack Greinke’s day?

His third-inning home run in the Dodgers’ 10-8 victory at Philadelphia ranked about fifth on the list of today’s most unlikely events.

Earning top billing among Greinke’s exploits were …

  • A throwing error on the first batter of the game — Greinke’s third as a Dodger and sixth of his MLB career.
  • Five runs allowed to the first five batters — raising Greinke’s 2015 ERA from 1.41 to 1.72.
  • A bases-loaded single by Ryan Howard — the first bases-loaded hit Greinke had allowed all season, and only the fourth in three seasons as a Dodger.
  • Three runs scored — making Greinke the first Dodger pitcher to score thrice in a game since Claude Osteen in 1970.

And then, there was the final play of the game … but we’ll get to that.

When the Dodgers took a 3-0 lead after two were out in the top of the first inning, you could be excused for thinking the game was all but over. It had been 10 starts since Greinke last allowed three runs in a game, and only on June 2 at Colorado had he exceeded that amount.

But after fielding Cesar Hernandez’s tapper in front of the plate, Greinke threw wildly to first base — and seemed discombobulated through Howard’s two-run single and Dominic Brown’s three-run homer.

Greinke retired the next three batters, then vented some aggression by leading off the second inning with the first of his three hits and six total bases (tying July 8, 2013 for his career best). Greinke would come around to score on an Adrian Gonzalez’s three-run homer that put the Dodgers ahead to stay.

It would be Greinke’s own blast to left field, the fifth homer of his career, that would give the Dodgers’ their seventh run and help ensure he left the game with the lead.

Greinke now has a .231 on-base percentage and .300 slugging percentage this season. San Francisco’s Madison Bumgarner, who has three homers this year, is at .265/.426.

After Brown’s homer, Greinke retired 18 of his remaining 22 batters, with one run scoring. Greinke has allowed 30 runs all season, and 20 percent of them were scored today.

Every Dodger starter had a hit in this game, with Gonzalez, Howie Kendrick, Yasmani Grandal, Andre Ethier and Alberto Callaspo reaching base twice.

J.P. Howell and Juan Nicasio combined for two shutout innings. However, the Phillies scored two runs in the ninth, charged to Joel Peralta, meaning that the Dodger bullpen has allowed runs in seven straight games and 10 of its past 11.

Brown came to the plate as the winning run with one out. He ripped a liner down the line that Gonzalez dived to catch with his body on first base, to double off Howard and end the game.

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Analysis: Going deep on Adrian Gonzalez going deep

Los Angeles Dodgers vs Atlanta Braves

By Robert Tagorda

When Adrian Gonzalez made the All-Star team earlier this month, it capped a prodigious first half in which he batted .283/.355/.520 with 18 home runs. But it also recognized a longer trend of elite production — one that reflected a return of his power.

Over the past calendar year, Gonzalez has amassed a .395 weighted on-base average, following the likes of Mike Trout, Buster Posey and Jose Bautista in the Major League top eight. He has created 58 percent more runs than the average hitter. If we adjust for park and league factors, we can say that he’s been the fifth-most productive batter over his last 640 plate appearances.

Throughout this timeframe, Gonzalez has done well in many aspects of the hitting game, but his power numbers have really stood out. While his .369 on-base percentage has ranked 19th among qualified hitters, his 34 home runs have placed him in the top 10, and his .559 slugging percentage has cracked the top five. In the National League, only Giancarlo Stanton, Nolan Arenado, and Bryce Harper have exceeded his .255 isolated power.

So it’s evident that, since last year’s Midsummer Classic, Gonzalez has slugged with the best of them. But is it just a temporary surge? Or does it represent a more enduring reemergence of his power?

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Clayton Kershaw, All-Star jokester

Clayton and Cali Ann Kershaw (John Grieshop/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Clayton and Cali Ann Kershaw (John Grieshop/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Here’s an anecdote that’s an antidote to any Tuesday morning Dodger blues. It’s from Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford — yes, that’s right — at the Brandon and Brandon blog (via MLB.com/blogs):

… Besides being an honor, the All-Star Game was one of the most fun experiences I’ve ever had. When you play against guys, you form an impression of what they’re like. Then you get to spend a little time together and you sometimes see another side. For instance, Adrian Gonzalez. I could never get a read on him because he never really talks to you at first base, unlike some other first basemen. But I talked to him a bit in Cincinnati and he seemed like a really good guy. He was loose and having a great time in the dugout.

So was Kershaw. When the first-base umpire called a foul ball against us, Kershaw yelled in a high-pitched voice, “C’mon, Jerry! That was fair!’’ Then he turned to Dee Gordon next to him and in his own voice said — real loud — “Yeah, Dee! You tell him!’’  He was really funny, which is not what I think of him when I’m standing in the batter’s box. …

— Jon Weisman

Dodgers tease, then tumble in Atlanta

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By Jon Weisman

It’s not much of a secret — something that anyone might assume with any amount of time spent thinking about it — but covering a live event, you start crafting your thoughts in advance, in anticipation of what seems probable, or even possible.

Even if you’re never going to use them.

So there’s Brandon Beachy on the mound in the bottom fourth inning for the Dodgers. After allowing a two-run homer (the first of the year by Nick Markakis) in the first inning, and despite some control problems, he’s on a bit of a roll. He’s retired his last (let me count) one, two, three, four, five, six, seven hitters, he’s got a 1-2 count on No. 7 hitter Eury Perez, and he’s one strike away from “Beachy has settled down to retire eight Braves in a row.”

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The night the lights went out in Georgetown

Darkness YYBy Jon Weisman

It wasn’t too long ago that you would never have found a Major League team playing baseball in the nation’s capital at any time of day. So I guess we shouldn’t complain.

But on a night that began the night with bright sobriety, before a bar crawl to the darkly ridiculous, the Dodgers and Nationals found themselves going to bed five innings into a suspended game, with the Nationals leading, 3-2.

The third power outage in the stadium lights, coming shortly before 10:45 p.m. at Nationals Park, proved one too many — although it left the Dodgers disconcertingly on the short end of a game they had led during the first two delays.

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Dodger hitters go hitless in NL All-Star loss

The 2015 Dodger All-Stars  (Ben Platt/MLB.com)

The 2015 Dodger All-Stars (Ben Platt/MLB.com)

By Jon Weisman

Yasmani Grandal saved Dodger hitters from a quadruple-whiffing at tonight’s All-Star Game.

On a 1-2 pitch from Kansas City reliever extraordinaire Wade Davis with two out in the bottom of the eighth inning, Grandal’s bid for an RBI single was flagged down deep in the hole at shortstop by Jose Iglesias, who threw Grandal out.

Davis struck out the previous batter, Adrian Gonzalez, on four pitches. Earlier in the game, Joc Pederson was fanned twice, by Dallas Keuchel in the second inning and Chris Archer in the fifth.

The three Dodgers combined for nine innings in the field: Pederson for the first five innings in left, Gonzalez the last three at first base and Grandal the ninth inning at catcher. Grandal might have had it the hardest, with Reds reliever Aroldis Chapman throwing 12 of his 14 pitches at 100 mph or more.

Clayton Kershaw took the loss for the National League, which was trailing 3-1 when the Dodger lefty left the game before losing, 6-3. And yes, that means the American League will have home-field advantage in a potential Game 7 of the World Series.

AL 100 020 210 — 6 7 2
NL 010 001 001 — 3 6 0

Gonzalez, Grandal, Greinke and Pederson join NL All-Star roster

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By Jon Weisman

For the second year in a row, four Dodgers have been named to the National League All-Star team.

Adrian Gonzalez, Yasmani Grandal, Zack Greinke and Joc Pederson were selected by a combination of player vote and NL All-Star manager Bruce Bochy. (Pederson and Greinke were by player vote, Gonzalez and Grandal by Bochy.)

As noted Sunday, Greinke and Pederson are each in the running to end up as All-Star Game starters. Greinke is probably the No. 1 alternative to Washington’s Max Scherzer, while Pederson is one of the top candidates to be an injury replacement for either Giancarlo Stanton or Matt Holliday.

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Shutout Sunday won’t extend to All-Star selections Monday

LOS ANGELES DODGERS V NEW YORK METS

By Jon Weisman

The Dodgers were shut out today by the Mets and the National League All-Star voters, who didn’t put any Dodger position players among the league’s elected starters.

Los Angeles still has a chance to make an impression on the All-Star roster when reserves are announced Monday afternoon, with Zack Greinke, Clayton Kershaw, Kenley Jansen and J.P. Howell in consideration for the pitching staff and Joc Pederson, Adrian Gonzalez, Yasmani Grandal and Justin Turner for the bench. Pederson and Greinke could still even end up in the starting lineup.

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Southpaw starters sort of stymie Dodgers

Los Angeles Dodgers during game against the Miami Marlins Sunday, June 28, 2015 at Marlins Park in Miami, Florida. The  Dodgers beat the Marlins 2-0 . Photo by Jon SooHoo/©Los Angeles Dodgers,LLC 2015

Kiké Hernandez is 14 for 41 with five doubles, two triples, a homer and three walks against left-handed starting pitching this season. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

Mets at Dodgers, 1:10 p.m.
Kiké Hernandez, SS
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Yasiel Puig, RF
Soctt Van Slyke, LF
Joc Pederson, CF
A.J. Ellis, C
Mike Bolsinger, P

By Jon Weisman

It’s more like a bug bite than a debilitating injury, but the Dodgers could be happier, healthier and heartier facing left-handed starters this year.

Going into today’s game against left-handed Mets rookie Steven Matz, the Dodgers are 7-8 (.467) against southpaw starters in 2015, compared with 39-28 (.582) against righties.

In those eight losses, the Dodgers have scored a combined 14 runs. Three of those eight losses have come in games started by San Francisco’s Madison Bumgarner, who has a 1.31 ERA against Los Angeles in 2015.

In their seven wins against lefty starters, the Dodgers have scored 35 runs (five per game).

Lefty starters have held the Dodgers to a .668 OPS, as opposed to their .783 OPS against righty starters. Confounding expectations, Dodger right-handed batters have hit better against righties than lefties in 2015.

Yasiel Puig (1.082 OPS) and Kiké Hernandez (1.034 OPS) have been the Dodgers’ best hitters against lefty starters this year, which helps explain why Hernandez is batting leadoff today. Joc Pederson is starting in the No. 7 spot for the first time since April, though his OPS against lefty starters (.875) is third on the team, ahead of Scott Van Slyke (.744).

One problem for the Dodgers is that the typical No. 3 and No. 4 hitters, Justin Turner (.559) and Adrian Gonzalez (.601) have not done well in their small samples against lefty starters this year. The right-handed hitting Turner’s career platoon splits actually favor him against right-handed pitching (.681 OPS vs. all lefties, .816 OPS vs. all righties).

Further, Dodger catchers A.J. Ellis, Yasmani Grandal and Austin Barnes are 7 for 44 with two doubles and no home runs against southpaw starters this year (.204 slugging percentage), though Ellis does have 10 walks to give him a .356 on-base percentage.

Even Alex Guerrero only has a .239 on-base percentage against left-handed starters, though he has two homers in 45 at-bats.

One other piece of trivia: The Dodgers have one stolen base all season against a left-handed starter, and that was by Zack Greinke.

Adrian Gonzalez’s place in history: A Dodger Insider special

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By Jon Weisman

You know Adrian Gonzalez had a great start to 2015. You know he has had a great career.

But do you really appreciate how high Gonzalez is rising among the best first basemen in the history of the game?

Answering that question was a main goal of Cary Osborne’s Dodger Insider feature, which was our May cover story and is now the latest in our new series of online specials.

What we found might surprise you: Gonzalez is already a top-40 first baseman all-time, and aside from Eddie Murray and (for now) Gil Hodges, he is well positioned to finish his career as the greatest first baseman to spend any significant time in a Dodger uniform. But read the entire story to get the details.

Our inaugural special, “Inside the #RallyBanana,” can be accessed here, our “Meet the Originals” package on the 50th anniversary of the MLB draft can be found here and our “What Wood You Do” bat feature can be found here.

Confidence is scary, don’t you think?

catch

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.

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