By Jon Weisman
As you might suspect, Major League trades — especially when there’s a deadline — don’t come in a neat and tidy process. It’s sloppy and time-consuming and anything but linear.
Tonight, Dodger general manager Farhan Zaidi spoke tonight the Dodgers’ deadline deals, and offered some interesting perspective about how they actually get approached and executed.
Here is a sampling of what he said. Well, not really a sampling — a rather large, detailed chunk …
By Jon Weisman
Greetings. A few quick morning notes …
… What is happening at this time is not relievers taking innings away from starting pitchers so much as it is relievers taking innings away from other relievers. The batters faced per game by relievers are declining, at this point, only because we switch more rapidly from one relief pitcher to another.
Actually, the historical trend toward fewer innings for starting pitchers appears to be over. Major league starting pitchers pitched more innings (and more innings per start) in 2014 than they did in 1999—fifteen years earlier. There is no decline in innings pitched by starting pitchers occurring at this time; if anything, the numbers are increasing.
In the year 2003, major league relievers pitched more innings than they did in 2014. However, in 2003 they pitched those 14,720 innings in 12,958 relief appearances. In 2014 the innings were down to 14,622—but the games were up to 14,461.
Um, @Cindyluellis, are you watching this? @IntentionalTalk pic.twitter.com/ZFjLEET6mz
— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) July 10, 2015
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Good feedback on @IntentionalTalk cameo except from LAD Strength Coach @bdmac23 who met me back at my locker with a new nutritional plan.
— AJ Ellis (@AJEllis17) July 10, 2015
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By Jon Weisman
How many fans are even aware that Zack Greinke leads the Major Leagues in ERA? Here’s more on Greinke’s super season so far, plus other news and notes:
In combination with his fastball, the changeup and slider have presented an unusual problem to the opposition. Ninety-three percent of Greinke’s pitches have been clocked within roughly 5 mph of each other. They’re released similarly, travel at unusually similar velocities, and then, approaching the plate, they split off in separate directions.
“It’s pretty hard for hitters when the three pitches come in and you don’t know which way they’re going to go,” Ellis said. “Is it going to come straight through? Is it going to run down and in? Is it going down and away?”
Greinke, whose fielding-independent ERA is higher than Clayton Kershaw’s, acknowledges he has been lucky on balls in play this season, in contrast to Kershaw and …
Hatcher’s ERA in May was 3.00 entering Wednesday night (it is 6.00 now), after a 7.56 mark in April. But if there is one glaring difference in the two months, it’s in strikeouts. In April Hatcher struck out 15 of 38 batters faced (39.5%), but in May just two of 31 batters he faced have struck out.
We are talking about all of 14⅓ innings on the season here, so take these numbers with a grain of salt. But peripherally Hatcher is having a fine season. Despite his 6.91 ERA, his 17 strikeout, five walks and no home runs allowed give him a 2.23 FIP and a 3.58 xFIP.
But waiting for the numbers to even out isn’t a luxury most relief pitchers have, nor does it make giving up actual runs any less annoying.
“I feel like every ball put in play is a hit off me, recently,” Hatcher said. “A couple of those were poor pitches. But what’s frustrating is when you execute your pitch and somehow the ball still finds the ground or the guy ends up on first.”
Update: Here’s more analysis from Dustin Nosler of Dodgers Digest.
At age 18, Julio Urias has a 3.00 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings for Double-A Tulsa this year. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)
By Jon Weisman
Sorry for the near silence the past couple days — deadline for the June issue of Dodger Insider magazine is coming in hard and fast. But let’s catch you up …
Urias will undergo elective cosmetic surgery on his left eye to repair a defect and be sidelined for about a month.
In the event of an unsuccessful surgery, it may be categorized as a medical malpractice, necessitating the engagement of legal counsel. A skilled medical malpractice lawyer specializes in seeking justice for individuals who have suffered injuries caused by doctors.Urias will have the procedure — peri orbital benign mass removal — on May 28 in Phoenix. He will resume baseball activity in the middle of June and is expected to be back in games by the end of the month.
“He deserves this level of support and we are thrilled to give it to him,” said director of player development Gabe Kapler.
Because the overpowering left-hander is only 18, the recovery time will also serve as an innings limiter that management welcomes. Conceivably, a freshened Urias could pitch for the Dodgers beyond the Minor League season, although the club has never given that indication. …
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By Jon Weisman
Though the Pacific Coast League has put a slight break on the rapid rise of Corey Seager, it wouldn’t be fair to say he’s lost all momentum.
Seager, who turned 21 last week, is 5 for 20 with a double, a walk and four strikeouts since his promotion to Triple-A Oklahoma City from Double-A Tulsa. Seager had hits in two of his first three at-bats, then went 0 for 9 (with his one walk). But in his last two games, Seager is 3 for 8 with a double and two RBI, heading into tonight’s game against New Orleans.
On to this week’s roundup …
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By Jon Weisman
Mike Bolsinger, Corey Seager and Julio Urias and Mike Bolsinger each received Player or Pitcher of the Week honors in their minor leagues.
A candidate to be called up by the Dodgers to start in the next few days, Bolsinger pitched 11 innings and allowed three hits and three walks while striking out 17 to become Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week.
Seager, who turns 21 on April 27, is off to an extraordinary with Double-A Tulsa: 21 for 42 with a .762 slugging percentage and only four strikeouts, including 14 for 26 in the past seven days to become Texas League Player of the Week.
Meanwhile, the 18-year-old Urias struck out 10 in 5 2/3 innings while allowing five baserunners to earn Texas League Player of the Week recognition. At the outset of the season, Urias has a 0.00 ERA in 10 2/3 innings with 14 strikeouts against eight baserunners.
Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers
By Jon Weisman
Pitchers Julio Urias, Chris Anderson, Ryan Buchter and Josh Ravin — all non-roster invitees to Spring Training — today became the first four sent from Major League camp to the minor-league side this year.
Urias (18) and Anderson (22) are top starting pitching prospects, while Buchter (28) and Ravin (27) provide relief depth. The quartet had combined to allow four runs in 10 2/3 innings.
The Dodgers still have six non-roster relievers in camp, to go with 11 on the active roster, not to mention a few swingmen. Here’s the breakdown:
*Adams requires retention bonus if not added to Major League roster five days before Opening Day.
Most logically, the Dodgers would start the season with the six no-option relievers and one of the four remaining lefty relievers (with such other lefties as Erik Bedard and Joe Wieland working starter innings in the minors). But with three weeks and change remaining until the season opener, there’s still time for that logic to change.
For more photos from Thursday, visit LA Photog Blog.
By Jon Weisman
It was hard not to be a little skeptical about Thursday’s Will Ferrell stunt across Major League Baseball, but it helped knowing that it was for a good cause, and pretty quickly it became clear how much fun it was going to be.
It helped that Ferrell, while engaging in all the hijinx, displayed such a sincere love for the game himself. And he looked pretty good out there — for a 47-year-old. (I’m particularly sympathetic to that demographic.)
I’m sure it had to be a distraction on some level, but the memories seem to have been worth it.
But now, it’s back to the real players …
For more photos from Wednesday, visit LA Photog Blog.
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By Jon Weisman
Yasiel Puig certainly didn’t look uncomfortable in center field Wednesday, at least until he collided with the wall.
And sure, I held my breath as his back smacked, but all was well.
Puig not only continues to look both athletic and smart in the outfield, he helped get the Dodgers going on offense by beating out an infield single and later avoiding a sure force at third base to load the bases.
He’ll still draw howls every time he makes a mistake, but don’t be surprised if those mistakes come farther and farther apart.
Meanwhile …
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By Jon Weisman
At times, I felt silly about tweeting out batter-by-batter updates on Julio Urias’ outing today, but it just felt to me like the combination of the level of interest and it being his first Cactus League outing as a grown-up justified them.
What I felt badly about was the short shrift given the other noteworthy prospects on the mound for the Dodgers today. Chris Anderson pitched two perfect innings, Zach Lee walked one batter but retired the other six and Chris Reed had a perfect inning before two singles, a wild pitch and a ground out spoiled his second frame.
Nonetheless, our minds were already in full orbit around Urias.
Urias did display a bit of “Aw, shucks” fallibility that on one level was a welcome antidote to those of us who might be getting carried away with our star-gazing, as if he were a celestial body from light-years away that had already blossomed, while we were just now getting our first glimpse. Facing seven batters, he walked three and went to a full count in an eight-pitch at-bat with another.
His first inning of work, following Lee to the mound, was fairly scintillating — two strikeouts sandwiching his first walk, followed by a harmless ground out (18 pitches in all). Coming back to the mound after a long rest (the Dodgers ate up a lot of time on offense in producing their 10-1 victory over Milwaukee), Urias took eight pitches to retire Carlos Gomez, then used another eight pitches in walking Aramis Ramirez.
(It’s here that we pause and remember, that’s an 18-year-old pitcher facing two 2014 National League All-Stars. Anyone else but Urias or Clayton Kershaw would have simply dug a hole on the mound.)
That put Urias at 34 pitches with four outs on his ledger, and a pitch-count limit was nigh. Urias staved it his departure — and showcased another exciting element of his game — by picking off pinch-runner Elian Herrera.
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But after getting ahead of Khris Davis 1-2, Urias couldn’t finish him off. Davis fouled off two pitches and took three more, and that was that.
Part of me couldn’t help but wonder, “Shoot, if the guy can throw 42 pitches on March 6, couldn’t he throw 21 on August 6?” My takeaway, however, was that whatever was meant to be for Urias in a Major League uniform would all come in due time.
And flying under the radar, despite their own impressive pedigrees, Anderson, Lee and Reed should have their chances to romance us.
* * *
Reporters naturally sought out Urias for comment afterward, and it was nice to see his enthusiastic reaction.
“It was awesome to face (Gomez) and get an out against him (on a popup) at this early stage,” Urias told MLB.com’s Lyle Spencer, who noted that the pitcher’s father, grandfather and brother were watching. “I felt good, comfortable.”
Also weighing in was the man himself, Fernando Valenzuela.
“He was relaxed, nice and loose,” Valenzuela said, via Spencer. “He’s got a lot of confidence in himself. He has a good fastball with life and throws a nice curveball and changeup. He got ahead (in counts), but they didn’t chase. He looks like he can be something special.”
A.J. Ellis put the outing in perspective, in Eric Stephen’s writeup at True Blue L.A.
“He looked like a guy making his first start of spring training. A little bit erratic, a little bit anxious,” Ellis said. “When you’re erratic and anxious, but still have electric stuff, you can get away with a lot of things. We saw a little bit of everything.”
* * *
Andre Ethier and Joc Pederson come together before splitting off for today’s split-squad games. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)
It was also another fine day for the Dodger bats, mainly against the Brewers but also in their 7-4 split-squad victory over the Mariners.
In support of Lee, Urias, Reed and Associates, Ellis had a walk and a three-run home run, Yasiel Puig had a single and two walks. Joc Pederson and Alex Guerrero each went 2 for 3 with an extra-base hit (double for Pederson, home run for Guerrero) to keep them a matched set with .714 batting averages this month.
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“There is a very short window to make the team,” Guerrero told Stephen. “I’ve prepared a lot in the offseason, so I have to jump right in with a short time to prove myself. Mentally I’m confident, I’m relaxed, so that’s a difference too.”
Scott Schebler had two doubles, and Kyle Jensen followed up Thursday’s home run with two singles today. Darnell Sweeney got in the act, hitting a single and the Dodgers’ third home run off Milwaukee pitching. The Dodgers had 22 baserunners in that game, while Milwaukee ended up with a runs-hits-errors linescore of 1 2 3.
Joey Curletta ended the rout with a diving catch in right field.
Joey Curletta knows how to end a game. #DodgersST pic.twitter.com/7qytUA0dCr
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) March 6, 2015
Back at Camelback, O’Koyea Dickson hit his second home run of Spring Training, after Adrian Gonzalez went 1 for 2 at first base. Erisbel Arruebarrena had two hits, after Jimmy Rollins went 1 for 2 at short. Howie Kendrick, Andre Ethier and Shawn Zarraga gave the Dodgers a total of six 1-for-2 batters in the game.
By Jon Weisman
Thirty-five Spring Training games in 32 days. You asked for baseball — now you’re gonna get it. The only scheduled off day is March 24, and there are four split-squad days.
Here’s some pregame reading:
Ben Platt/MLB.com
By Jon Weisman
There was no jaw-dropping curveball or Vin Scully christening. There was no TV — there wasn’t even a game.
There was only a back field at Camelback Ranch with heightened interest and expectations, and the young man of 18 years, six months, two weeks and three days who calmly faced them all.
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:
(Matthew Mesa/Los Angeles Dodgers)
By Jon Weisman
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Highlight of Spring Training/2015/Dodger life and Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax is at Camelback Ranch, and a reporter asked him today if the juices were still flowing when he put on the Dodger uniform.
“The juices have gotten very thick,” Koufax joked. “They don’t flow.”
Nevertheless, the joy of the annual ritual wasn’t lost on the great lefty.
“It’s fun,” he said. “It’s fun to be around the players. This is a nice time of year — nobody’s lost their job, everybody’s got a job coming. Everybody’s positive. It’s a good time to be around baseball players.
Koufax shared thoughts on a variety of subjects — here’s a snapshot …
On Clayton Kershaw and the 2014 postseason:
“If somebody had told me that anybody would beat Clayton twice in one series, I’d have said ‘No way.’ I probably would have cursed and said ‘No way.’ But it happens. And I have to say, I don’t know if you heard his (award) acceptance speech in New York, but that last line was as classy as it gets. On a night where you’re being honored, to bring up what didn’t go right is pretty classy, pretty special.
“I don’t know if he has any extra fire (heading into 2015), because I think he always has fire. I think he’s a great competitor. So would it be any extra? I hope not, because extra might destroy you. You can just go so far. … I think he’ll be in a lot more postseasons, and I think it’ll be totally turned around.”
On Julio Urias:
“He’s impressive. He’s very impressive. This is the first time I’ve seen him throw. It’s a long way from the driving range to the golf course, and it’s a long way from side sessions to the game. He has all the requisites — we just have to see what happens. Physically, he’s very impressive.”
On Yasiel Puig:
“I think probably he’s never played against talent that might be his equal, so he’s thought, ‘OK, they’ll make a mistake. I can keep running, and they’ll screw it up.’ It doesn’t happen here. I think he’s learned that. … I think there’s a lot of progress. When you’re struggling at the plate, everything looks bad.”
On Tommy John surgery:
“They just wouldn’t operate on an arthritic elbow in those days. It would be a simple surgery. I had arthritic hooks that would be scratching, and my elbow would blow up, fill up with fluid. Then they’d drain it, send you back out there. Surgery would have been easy, they would have done it when the season was over and be fine in Spring Training. They wouldn’t have cut anything — just hammer and chisel.
“I have a lot of theories (on the epidemic of surgeries). Mechanics. I think a lot of people don’t use the lower half of their body as much as people used to. They’re much more straight up and down. Plus, people are doing it prophylactically — before they have a bad elbow, they’re doing Tommy John.
On pace of play:
“I’m not sure what pace of play is bad. It’s slower than it used to be, but you get three more pitching changes than you used to get, so that takes time. I think the strike zone has changed shape — I think it’s gotten narrower and taller and lower. I think a wider strike zone and not necessarily and not necessarily higher and lower would speed up the game. That’s just my opinion — by no means humble opinion.
“It’s not so much the time of the game. I find it hard to watch a pitcher go two strikes and no balls and end up 3-2, and that happens much more than it should.
On the new front-office leadership:
“From everything that everybody’s said, they’re analytic but they’re listening to the players and manager and coaches. You talk about the analytic thing and this all started in Oakland, but no one makes mention of the fact that (Billy Beane) was a player. So he could see talent, and if the analytical was one thing, but if he didn’t like what he saw, he didn’t sign him. It’s a combination of both that’s important.”
On clubhouse atmosphere:
“People pooh-pooh clubhouse (issues), but I think clubhouses are important. I think it’s important players like each other. … You’re together probably eight months out of the year, so if you don’t like each other, it is a grind.”
On the tough finish to the 1962 season:
“It was a strange year. I missed three or four months, whatever it is. There’s a chance we might have won. Not saying that I was that good, but there was a chance we might have won and it would have been a different year. If you lose key players, it affects your team.”
On the absence of Maury Wills and Gil Hodges from the Hall of Fame:
“I think Maury changed the game. He revolutionized the game. He was the most dominant offensive force in baseball, even though (Hank) Aaron might have been the best hitter. Every time Maury got on, it was a double or a triple.
“Gil’s contribution was not only as a player, but as a manager, and a lot of people have been elected because they did both.”
And one more … on picking up a baseball and throwing:
“I don’t throw a thing. Never. That was a long time ago in a land far away. It does not happen. I don’t even throw first balls anymore without moving up to where Vinny is.”
Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers
For more photos from today, visit LA Photog Blog.
By Jon Weisman
All my bags aren’t packed, I’m not ready to go. (Reference lost on anyone under 40 …)
Today’s short stack:
What happens when three old friends in crisis fall into an unexpected love triangle? In The Catch, Maya, Henry and Daniel embark upon an emotional journey that forces them to confront unresolved pain, present-day traumas and powerful desires, leading them to question the very meaning of love and fulfillment. The Catch tells a tale of ordinary people seeking the extraordinary – or, if that’s asking too much, some damn peace of mind.
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