Hyun-Jin Ryu – Page 4 – Dodger Thoughts

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By Jon Weisman

Hyun-Jin Ryu’s MRI on Monday revealed no change from a 2012 MRI, the Dodgers announced today. Ryu is scheduled to rest and rehab for two weeks before being re-evaluated to determine his next steps.

In other news …

I hadn’t heard of the Teres Major muscle until 12 months ago when it was discovered injured in the body of Clayton Kershaw, but it turns out everyone’s got one. Erik Bedard is the latest to suffer a strain of said muscle, and is reported to be out for four to six weeks, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.
“I have the same injury as [Clayton] Kershaw, and I want the same rehab as Kershaw. And the same fastball.” — Bedard, via Steve Gilbert of MLB.com.
Brandon McCarthy threw five scoreless innings Monday in his minor-league game, covered by Gurnick.
Monday’s Cactus League game, featuring three hit batters and four ejections (all on Arizona’s side), was certainly a perplexing one, with everyone weighing the Dodger-Diamondback rivalry against the reminder that, you know this is Spring Training right? MLB.com’s Gilbert and Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A. run it down for us.
Daniel Coulombe became the latest Dodger to be optioned to the minors. He faced 21 batters and retired 18 this spring with three strikeouts, allowing a single and walking two.
Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles has a lengthy feature today talking to pitchers McCarthy, Juan Nicasio and David Huff, all of whom have been hit in the head by line drives.
Jimmy Rollins talked candidly with Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal about subjects including his transition to Dodger blue.
The Fangraphs positional rankings continue today, with the Dodgers sixth at first base and also at second base.
Joc Pederson’s swing is analyzed by Chad Moriyama at Dodgers Digest, with the conclusion being that he is now keeping the barrel of the bat in the strike zone longer, which should lead to better contact.
I tweeted this out Monday, so it’s a day late on here, but I still like it …

Two weeks
From today
Doors open
For Opening Day pic.twitter.com/UR4P6ZzXck

— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) March 24, 2015

Dodgers prepare to open 2015 without L.A.-bound Ryu

By Jon Weisman

On March 22, 2015

In Health/injuries

By Jon Weisman

Hyun-Jin Ryu’s inability to throw without discomfort today has sent him to Los Angeles to be examined by Dr. Neal ElAttrache and put Ryu out of the Dodgers’ opening-week plans.

Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A.:

Earlier Sunday, Ryu was optimistic to continue his throwing program, telling manager Don Mattingly he felt 100 percent after the injection. But after the shortened workout, Mattingly saw a different Ryu in the trainers room.

“I saw the look on his face, and it wasn’t typical Hyun-jin,” Mattingly said.

Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:

Mattingly said starting pitchers sent down earlier — specifically Zach Lee, Carlos Frias, Mike Bolsinger and Joe Wieland — are more likely options to replace Ryu as they have had their pitch counts stretched out in Minor League games. Those four also are already on the 40-man roster.

Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles:

“We’ve been looking for starting pitching depth all offseason and that’s kind of continued into camp,” Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi said. “This is just a hard time to go out there and acquire starting pitching depth. We’re fielding calls from teams that are asking us about our starting pitching depth, so there aren’t a lot of starting pitching sellers right now.”

Bill Plunkett of the Register:

“We really like what we’ve seen from (Joe) Wieland this spring. He was really good in San Antonio the other day,” Zaidi said Sunday. “(Carlos) Frias and (Mike) Bolsinger are guys that all along we felt comfortable with.

“You also want to create a situation where the guys you have internally who have been told they have a chance to compete – you want to give them the opportunity first if it arises.”

Bill Shaikin of the Times:

Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, said the team would consider acquiring “more depth (in) starting pitching, but that is no different than we have tried to get all off-season.”

Hyun-Jin Ryu could open season on disabled list

By Jon Weisman

On March 20, 2015

In Health/injuries

By Jon Weisman

Considering that Kenley Jansen’s foot surgery took place just before Spring Training began, it had been a relatively quiet time for injuries at Camelback Ranch in the month since pitchers and catchers reported.

Some players on the long road back from injuries, while others including J.P. Howell and Brandon League have been briefly slowed, but nothing of note had affected a starter.

That just changed, with the news, as Ken Gurnick of MLB.com notes, that Hyun-Jin Ryu has received an injection for left shoulder tightness, will be shut down for three days and could start the 2015 regular season on the disabled list.

On September 12, a left shoulder issue that cropped up during a nine-batter, one-inning start at San Francisco sidelined Ryu for 24 days, until he made his return in Game 3 of the National League Division Series. Speaking to reporters in Arizona today, Don Mattingly said Ryu’s current malady was very similar.

“It’d be a pretty safe assumption that this is going to set him back a little bit, and we’re definitely going to be cautious,” Mattingly said.

Here's Don Mattingly on Hyun-Jin Ryu's shoulder injury: http://t.co/xeaCxc9iRm

— J.P. Hoornstra (@jphoornstra) March 20, 2015

“I am frustrated,” Ryu said through an interpreter to J.P. Hoornstra of the Daily News. “For this year, I put in a lot of preparation. I’m just going to have to start all over. I’m a little frustrated I got stopped right now.”

It’s still 17 days until Opening Day, so an official decision could be far away and this could all quickly become a forgotten footnote to the preseason. But the Dodgers don’t need a fifth starter until April 14, which is 25 days from now — and in fact, that’s the only day the Dodgers need a fifth starter until April 25. So don’t be surprised if Los Angeles plays it cautiously with Ryu and begins the season with four starting pitchers and an extra reliever amid what has been a spirited competition for spots in the bullpen. (That, of course, assumes the Dodgers’ other four starting pitchers stay healthy.)

Mike Bolsinger, Erik Bedard, Carlos Frias and Joe Wieland are among the starting pitchers in the system that could take Ryu’s place, as well as swingmen including Chad Gaudin and David Huff.

In case you missed it: Blowin’ in the wind

By Jon Weisman

On March 18, 2015

In History, In case you missed it

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Cubs at Dodgers, 1:05 p.m.
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Carl Crawford, LF
Yasiel Puig, RF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Andre Ethier, DH
Juan Uribe, 3B
Joc Pederson, CF
A.J. Ellis, C
(Brandon McCarthy, P)

By Jon Weisman

How many steps must a man run down
Before he realizes he’s not going to catch that home run by Howie Kendrick?

The answer, my friend, is 11. That’s about how many footprints Rangers center fielder Leonys Martin made before he watched forlornly as Kendrick’s homer sailed about a first down or two beyond the outfield fence.

Here is some postgame reaction, from Pedro Moura of the Register:

It was 11 a.m. Tuesday, two hours before the Dodgers were to play the Texas Rangers here, 20 minutes away from their spring-training home, and Howie Kendrick and Jimmy Rollins had made plans to carpool.

Kendrick was dressed and ready to go; Rollins was still in his workout gear, needing to shower. They chided each other in the clubhouse, Rollins telling Kendrick to slow down, Kendrick telling Rollins to speed up. That’s the relationship the two men have developed in three weeks as teammates after almost a decade of mutual, cross-league admiration.

So, after Kendrick smashed perhaps the longest homer of his pro career Tuesday, at least 440 feet to dead center off Rangers left-hander Joe Beimel, no one in the Dodgers clubhouse was better suited than Rollins to provide perspective.

“Actually, I kind of thought I missed it a little bit,” Kendrick tried to say. “I guess the wind was blowing today.”

Rollins interjected: “In other words, I’ve never hit one that well.” …

Click here to read the entire article. And now, here are some more morning links …

Baseball Prospectus gives the Dodgers an 89.7 percent chance of making the playoffs and 17.6 percent for winning the World Series, significantly higher than the other 29 teams. Will Leitch writes about the playoff odds today at Sports on Earth.
MLB.com offers a sortable Milestone Tracker (link via Openers), putting the spotlight on future achievements great and small. Here are the lists for Dodger hitters and for Dodger pitchers. Now you know when Jimmy Rollins will enter MLB’s all-time top 50 in steals.
J.P. Howell warmed up too long during the Dodgers’ seven-run fifth inning, the pitcher and Don Mattingly told Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. On the bright side, Howell a) learned his lesson and b) doesn’t figure to make many appearances after the Dodgers score seven runs in an inning.
Hyun-Jin Ryu’s fluctuating velocity (well, the fluctuating velocity of Ryu’s pitches, not Ryu himself) is the subject of this piece by Eric Stephen at True Blue L.A.
Andrew Friedman on meeting Sandy Koufax, via J.P. Hoornstra of the Daily News:

“It’s very rare in life where you have incredibly high expectations for someone and they actually exceed them,” Friedman said. “It’s really all encompassing — the type of person he is, the way he articulates his points, the knowledge he has, the way he’s able to question things in a very thoughtful way. I had so many different conversations over the span of that week that were incredibly thought-provoking and got me thinking.”
Today is the 60th anniversary of Koufax’s first game at Spring Training in Vero Beach, we were told by Historic Dodgertown in a press release. At age 19, he faced seven batters, walking two and striking out five. In the same game, 18-year-old Don Drysdale pitched four innings and struck out eight.
Brandon Beachy threw off a mound Tuesday for the first time since his second Tommy John operation, reports Gurnick, who adds that Beachy was both excited but keeping his enthusiasm in check.
Director of player development Gabe Kapler is a big booster of social media for athletes. At his blog Kaplifestyle, he explains why.
No more hanging chads at the ballpark: All-Star Game balloting is going all digital, notes Mike Oz at Big League Stew. End of an era …
Finally, we’re looking ahead to today’s biggest contest …

Pairings for today's clubhouse ping-pong finals: Kershaw/Seager vs. Turner/Coulombe.

— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) March 18, 2015

Update:

Kershaw/Seager won ping-pong tourney.

— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) March 18, 2015

In case you missed it: Soaking in Spring Training

By Jon Weisman

On February 26, 2015

In Health/injuries, In case you missed it

Sights and sounds from the first day of full-squad workouts. #DodgersST pic.twitter.com/qQeruLQqKz

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) February 27, 2015

By Jon Weisman

Man, it was a beautiful day in the neighborhood today. Here’s what’s percolating:

In case you missed it: Strike one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine …

By Jon Weisman

On February 25, 2015

In In case you missed it

For more photos from today, visit LA Photog Blog.

By Jon Weisman

The picture above, of a ball thrown by Clayton Kershaw, efficiently shows he is able to strike out the side at any given moment.

That was then, this is … also then:

Kershaw had identical strikeout-walk ratios to righty and lefty batters in 2014, a development that intrigued Alec Dopp at Gammons Daily.
Joel Peralta, who is behind on his throwing program, could join Kenley Jansen and Chris Withrow on the Opening Day disabled list, reports Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.
Hyun-Jin Ryu was held out of workouts today but is expected back Thursday, reports Gurnick.
Newly signed Chad Gaudin missed the 2014 season after having a rare surgical procedure, unprecedented for an MLB player, writes Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A.
Stephen also has an entertaining notebook of Week 1 Spring Training observations.
Ryu is the Dodgers’ fastest-working pitcher, and Peralta the slowest. Read more about it from Dustin Nosler at Dodgers Digest.
Paco Rodriguez talked about his offseason adjustments with Ron Cervenka of Think Blue LA.
Alex Guerrero’s thoughts about changing relations between U.S. and Cuba and his evolving status with the Dodgers can be found in this piece by Bill Plunkett of the Register.

"Goodbye LA. Off to Arizona #SpringTraining." –@tommy2lasorda

A post shared by Los Angeles Dodgers (@dodgers) on Feb 25, 2015 at 4:08pm PST

In case you missed it: Let’s blog two

By Jon Weisman

On February 19, 2015

In In case you missed it

For more photos from today, visit LA Photog Blog.

By Jon Weisman

On the first official day of Spring Training, there’s enough material for two batches of ICYMI — thanks in part to the dual, shirt-dazzling presence of Andrew Friedman and Don Mattingly. Let the bullet points begin …

New Dodger starting pitcher Brett Anderson has tested his surgically repaired lower back through several bullpen sessions and so far, so good, reports MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick, who adds that “Anderson said he might be on a slightly modified workload early in camp, but his goal is to train at the same pace as the other starting pitchers.”
Per Gurnick, “Hyun Jin-Ryu said on Thursday that he’s in better shape to throw than he was his first two springs with the Dodgers, having already thrown more bullpen sessions in an attempt to avoid the shoulder problems that plagued him last year.”
Clayton Kershaw juxtaposed his regular-season success with his postseason disappointment, reports Gurnick.
More on Kershaw comes from Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles, including this note on fatherhood.

… “I feel like I’m a decent dad at this point. It was tough to leave them, obviously, but Ellen’s a champ. She can handle it,” Kershaw said. “I’ve definitely changed some diapers and I’ve gotten up. I mean, there’s only so much you can do, but I’ve offered some moral support.” …
Saxon also quotes Friedman on the bullpen situation:

… “Right now, the guys we’ve had some trade discussions about, the guys that are freely available, we’re going to continue to try to sift through it and figure out what actually makes sense as opposed to a reactionary move that may look good in the moment,” Friedman said. …
A.J. Ellis told J.P. Hoornstra of the Daily News that he worked with a coach during the offseason on trying to improve his pitch framing, which he takes seriously.

… “It’s definitely real,” Ellis said. “I think it’s something that people are giving a lot more credence to. People are looking at it. Catching is such a hard position to evaluate because there’s so many intangibles that you can’t put a measurement on.

“People love lists, and this is one way you can see a list of rankings and make judgments on who belongs where. There’s no stat right now for a catcher’s value in calling a game.” …
This quote from Chris Hatcher is part of Eric Stephen’s notebook at True Blue L.A.:

…”First and foremost, I just want to make the team. Second of all, just to be ready when they call my name,” Hatcher said. “They haven’t really expressed anything to me, and I’m not expecting [to close]. I’m just preparing to be ready to take the ball.”‘ …
Longtime Dodger fans remember Ron Cey’s incomparable single, “Third Base Bag.” Cey talks to Dan Epstein about it at Fox Sports’ Just a Bit Outside.

In case you missed it: Gonzalez on Puig’s heels

By Jon Weisman

On February 4, 2015

In History, In case you missed it

By Jon Weisman

With Spring Training barely a fortnight away, workouts at Dodger Stadium are gaining steam, as you can see from this photo by Jon SooHoo. More at LA Photog Blog.

What else is going on? See below …

In case you missed it: Dodgers playing baseball

By Jon Weisman

On January 13, 2015

In Dodger Stadium, In case you missed it

Let’s go righty-lefty at Winter Development Camp with Grant Holmes and Julio Urias. https://t.co/KQPcqV9Jge

— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) January 13, 2015

By Jon Weisman

It was fun to see pitching prospects Julio Urias and Grant Holmes side by side this morning at the first full day of the Dodgers’ Winter Development Program. Here’s another video of them in tandem:

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Elsewhere around the Internet …

In case you missed it: Live from Fogtown

By Jon Weisman

On January 12, 2015

In In case you missed it

By Jon Weisman

With this post, we bring back Dodger Insider’s “In case you missed it” feature, highlighting noteworthy content from around the web. Here’s today’s edition …

Single-game Spring Training tickets for Dodger games at Camelback Ranch are now on sale at dodgers.com.
Just how underrated is Hyun-Jin Ryu? Mike Petriello provides the analysis at Fangraphs.
Howie Kendrick has not popped out since September 2013. For real. Jeff Sullivan has more at Fox Sports’ Just a Bit Outside.
Kenny Lofton and Kevin Brown made David Schoenfield’s all-time all-underrated team at ESPN.com’s Sweet Spot, along with Dodger villains Graig Nettles and Jose Cruz.

The Dodgers’ biggest December deals of the 2000s

By Jon Weisman

On December 1, 2014

In History, Transactions

Magic Johnson welcomes Zack Greinke to the Dodgers on December 11, 2012. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

Magic Johnson welcomes Zack Greinke to the Dodgers in December 2012. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

By Jon Weisman

Numerous Dodger fans are on the edge of their seats waiting for the team’s next big move. That might or might not come in December, a month that has brought huge transactions in some years but relative tranquility in others. Here’s a look at the biggest Dodger transactions of December that have taken place in the 21st century:

Hyun-Jin Ryu vows to increase innings in 2015

By Jon Weisman

On October 14, 2014

In Uncategorized

By Jon Weisman

With his second Dodger season behind him, Hyun-Jin Ryu returned early today to Seoul, where he was greeted by approximately 150 reporters and 1,000 fans in person and a live TV audience.

Martin Kim, the Dodgers’ international partnerships account director who doubles as Ryu’s translator here, noted that Ryu received a full security and military escort to his residence. Kim also passed along these Ryu quotes from the Korean press.

“Overall it was a good year, but unfortunate I missed many starts due to my injuries,” Ryu said. “My offseason goal will be to stay in shape. I’m already focusing on next season.”

Injuries limited Ryu, who turns 28 in March, to 152 innings in the 2014 regular season after he threw 192 in 2013.

“My goal next season is to pitch close to 200 innings. I’ve done that consistently during my professional career, and this was the first time it was low due to injury. I will start working this offseason so I can get my inning count up for next season.”

Ryu added that he will also work on the new slider he picked up this season.

Think positive: NLCS Game 1 starter Hyun-Jin Ryu makes strong return in NLDS Game 3

By Jon Weisman

On October 6, 2014

In Pitching, Postseason

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By Jon Weisman

It was a delight while he lasted.

Pitching in his first game in 24 days and making an actual full-fledged start for the first time in exactly a month, Hyun-Jin Ryu shone for the Dodgers in Game 3 of the National League Division Series.

Ryu only allowed the requisite Matt Carpenter home run over his six innings of work, plus five singles and a walk, while striking out four. And he seemed to only improve after facing his biggest challenge of the ninth.

One out after Carpenter’s leadoff homer in the third, Matt Holliday singled and Jhonny Peralta worked the count to 3-1. At this point in the game, Ryu had thrown 57 pitches and only had eight outs to show for it.

But Ryu struck out Peralta on consecutive changeups, then got Matt Adams to pop out (with Hanley Ramirez making an over-the-shoulder catch in no man’s land).

Ryu needed only 15 pitches total to sail through the next two innings, then finished his night with a perfect sixth. His final 10 outs came on 37 pitches.

Clayton Kershaw to start Game 4, Dan Haren part of nine-man bullpen in Game 3

By Jon Weisman

On October 6, 2014

In Pitching, Postseason, Pregame

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Dodgers at Cardinals, 6:37 p.m.
Dodgers
Dee Gordon, 2B
Yasiel Puig, CF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, RF
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Carl Crawford, LF
Juan Uribe, 3B
A.J. Ellis, C
Hyun-Jin Ryu, P
–
Cardinals
Matt Carpenter, 3B
Randal Grichuk, RF
Matt Holliday, LF
Jhonny Peralta, SS
Matt Adams, 1B
Yadier Molina, C
Jon Jay, CF
Kolten Wong, 2B
John Lackey, P

By Jon Weisman

All remaining mystery about Dan Haren’s role in the 2014 National League Division Series has been eliminated. He has been set up as tonight’s long reliever, and Clayton Kershaw has been announced by Don Mattingly as the Game 4 starter.

Nine of Haren’s 11 career relief appearances came 10 seasons ago as a newbie with the Cardinals. The 10th came 2 1/2 years ago in the 14th inning with the Angels, and he pitched a perfect inning. The 11th was in August 2013 with Washington, and he gave up a single while throwing another shutout inning.

In neither of those two recent occasions was he asked to rush into the game. So if Hyun-Jin Ryu got into any trouble early tonight in his first outing in nearly a month, you would no doubt see a short reliever in for damage control, while Haren took his time in the bullpen to get himself ready for the start of an inning.

Haren’s last competitive action came September 27, so he’s on eight days’ rest right now. He had a 2.43 ERA in his final 10 starts of the regular season with 7.6 strikeouts per nine innings and 50 baserunners in 59 1/3 innings. He had seven quality starts out of those 10.

Closing out Game 1, moving on to Game 2

By Jon Weisman

On October 4, 2014

In Bullpen, In case you missed it, Pitching, Postseason

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By Jon Weisman

Over in the far-off reaches of the American League, the Detroit Tigers bullpen has been absolutely battered. In both his playoff games, Detroit manager Brad Ausmus has been ripped for removing a pitcher too soon.

Neither of those occasions came with Clayton Kershaw on the mound. Neither of them came in an inning that began after Clayton Kershaw had retired 16 of his last 17 batters with eight strikeouts, using only 74 pitches over that stretch and 81 in the game to that point.

I’m sympathetic to the argument that by the time nemesis Matt Carpenter came to bat in the seventh inning of Friday’s loss to the Cardinals, 21 pitches later, Kershaw was on thin ice. But I’m having trouble believing that anytime before that, Don Mattingly would have received less criticism for turning the final seven, eight or nine outs of the game to middle relief that has been darkly questioned all year long.

That’s not at all to say the bullpen would have failed, though the walk and home run surrendered by Pedro Baez to his first two batters was not reassuring — and J.P. Howell, who would have faced John Jay with the bases loaded in the seventh if many had had their way, allowed a leadoff single to Jay in the ninth.

It’s simply that between 1) a Kershaw that was allowing singles but also striking batters out, or 2) a fresh Howell or Baez, not only is the choice basically a tossup, but choosing the bullpen is betting against the player that has come through more often than any other pitcher in the game.

Put more bluntly: Imagine the reaction if Clayton Kershaw was in the dugout, having thrown 102 pitches on eight days’ rest, if and when the Dodgers lost their lead.

No one knows better than Kershaw that he didn’t come through. But if you think that he was destined to fail, or if you think he can’t win in the playoffs, or if you don’t think he can come back in his next start from the rare adversity that strikes, I don’t know what pitcher you’ve been watching all this time.

As for the struggles of the 2014 bullpen itself …

Dodger Thoughts

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

Tag: Hyun-Jin Ryu (Page 4 of 7)

In case you missed it: No new Ryu news to rue

Dodgers prepare to open 2015 without L.A.-bound Ryu

Hyun-Jin Ryu could open season on disabled list

In case you missed it: Blowin’ in the wind

In case you missed it: Soaking in Spring Training

In case you missed it: Strike one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine …

In case you missed it: Let’s blog two

In case you missed it: Gonzalez on Puig’s heels

In case you missed it: Dodgers playing baseball

In case you missed it: Live from Fogtown

The Dodgers’ biggest December deals of the 2000s

Hyun-Jin Ryu vows to increase innings in 2015

Think positive: NLCS Game 1 starter Hyun-Jin Ryu makes strong return in NLDS Game 3

Clayton Kershaw to start Game 4, Dan Haren part of nine-man bullpen in Game 3

Closing out Game 1, moving on to Game 2

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