Monthly Archives: August 2008

There’s a Lot of Good Info Here That No One’s Going to See Because It’s a Holiday Weekend

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After ten days or so in which it became really, really difficult to write this blog every day due to the overwhelming depression at watching the Dodgers flail around on the field… there is a lot going on today. So let’s get to it.

Don’t forget, tonight’s game is a nationally-televised affair on ESPN.

* Manny Ramirez is a beast. No better way to help your team out of an eight-game losing streak than putting two balls out of the yard yourself. Over the last week, Manny is hitting an even .500 (15-30) with 7 extra base hits, including three homers. But Bill Shaikin still isn’t happy. After his article a few days ago that seemed to imply that Juan Pierre should be back in the starting lineup (and kudos to Torre for saying that wasn’t going to happen), Shaikin goes back to Boston to dredge up bad feelings about Manny’s unhappy divorce with the Red Sox. Didn’t we get enough of these stories when the trade happened? And aren’t there more important things to be focusing on right now like, oh, I don’t know, a huge series against the division leaders?

* Is anyone still saying Chad Billingsley isn’t an ace? After blowing it on Friday, this was a game the Dodgers absolutely had to have. Billingsley simply out-dueled Dan Haren, giving up just 2 runs in 7 innings. Fortunately Manny and the bats showed up, because lately 2 runs over 7 innings has still been good for a loss. Let’s not forget to mention Hong-Chih Kuo, as well, who blew away the D-Backs to the tune of 5 strikeouts in 6 batters. The man has simply been dominating all year long, and he really helped keep the rest of the bullpen fresh for tonight’s rubber game.

* Enjoy being the 4th starter in Kansas City, Chan Ho. Chan Ho Park tells Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times that he’d prefer to be a starter next year than a reliever and would leave LA if that were the only way he could start – although he does add that he would relieve in Los Angeles next year, saying “I’m willing to sacrifice for this team.” Is there a team out there desperate enough to sign him to be a part of their rotation? Before this year, he hadn’t even been league-average (and I’m being charitiable by not saying “dreadfully horrible”) since 2001, which not so coincidentally is the last season he was with the Dodgers. Hey, Chan Ho? You’ve had 11 seasons in which you’ve gotten into more than 10 games. In 6 of those, your ERA+ has been over 100, and all 6 have been with the Dodgers. Why leave just to be a starter?

* Get ready to see the dugout get crowded. Tony Jackson has the likely callups once rosters expand. No real surprises here, but we’ll get into this further once they actually happen.

The list of players the Dodgers plan to activate or call up from the minors on Monday just keeps getting longer. It now includes Jones, Scott Proctor, Chin-lung Hu, A.J. Ellis, Delwyn Young, James McDonald, Eric Stults and Clayton Kershaw. There could be others.

* Neither Danys Baez nor Lance Carter have thrown a pitch this season anywhere. Want a real depressing read? ESPN.com’s Buster Olney has the story of Edwin Jackson and how he’s blossomed into an effective starter for Tampa Bay this season. So, you’re saying it’s a bad idea to give up on a 22-year old with talent? The hell you say! Here’s the takehome quote that will make you want to claw your eyes out:

Now Jackson and the Rays have been rewarded, with a solid starter who will likely be a weapon in the postseason.

On the list of comparables on Jackson’s baseball-reference.com page, by the way? Roy Halladay. Fantastic.

* Fun from Gotham! Over at MLBtraderumors, they’re already talking about the Yankees’ offseason plans. Why do we care? Because one of the articles linked to is that of Joel Sherman’s from the New York Post – and you might be interested in this paragraph:

ROBINSON CANO - If he is the second baseman next year, fine, he still has the capability to be both a batting champ and Gold Glove. But the Yanks should investigate his market in the way Tampa did in turning a high-end young hitter (Delmon Young) into a young front-of-the-rotation starter (Matt Garza) last offseason. Cano for Zach Greinke, Chad Billingsley or Matt Cain anyone?

Before you freak out, remember, this is just a reporter speculating, and there’s nothing from either side to back this idea up. But let’s just bite this one in the ass right here and say, there is absolutely no way on earth that Chad Billingsley ought to be dealt for anyone who’s not Albert Pujols. Don’t get me wrong, the Dodgers are going to have a gaping hole at 2B this offseason and I would love to fill it with Robinson Cano, as I said the last time his name came up around here. But absolutely not for a 23-year-old who’s already among the best pitchers in baseball. If not for his rough start to the year (thanks, crazy rain delay decisions!), his ERA would be under 3.00, which would be absolutely fantastic. So, Joel? Yeah, thanks but… well, get a clue.

* And the most horrifying thing for last… I had every intention of making fun of Arizona for this story from Ken Rosenthal:

The Diamondbacks are the favorites to acquire Blue Jays shortstop David Eckstein, forcing the Angels to consider other options, major-league sources say.

Eckstein, 33, is almost certain to be traded before the deadline for setting postseason rosters at midnight Sunday. While talks are fluid, the Jays currently are more inclined to trade with the D-backs, sources say.

Trust me, it was going to be good. There were going to plenty of references to “magical pixie” David Eckstein, and I was certainly going to reference this post we made a few months ago on him, where I said, amongst other things,

For a GM who loves veterans like Colletti does, you don’t think he’d love to add his “grittiness” or “hustle” or whatever euphemism you want to use for “short, modestly talented white guy”? Of course he would.

Yeah, it was going to be good. Arizona adding David Eckstein – there’s your answer! Except that then I saw this from Baseball Prospectus…

The Red Sox, Dodgers, and Rays also reportedly have interest in Eckstein.

Sweet Jesus. The end times may truly be upon us.

(Update: The D-Backs have indeed acquired Eckstein today. Crisis averted. I now expect to see him hit 9 home runs in 9 at-bats against LA the rest of the year.)

- Mike Scioscia’s tragic illness msti-face.jpg

Eight Is Enough

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There will be no more talk about “the playoffs” around here until the Dodgers actually, you know, win another game. Assuming that ever happens. Other than Manny Ramirez getting on base all 5 times he was up, you’ve just got another game in which there was nothing positive to take away. The offense, other than Manny, was stagnant as usual. The usually strong pitching gave up nine runs, led by Chan Ho Park immolating on the mound to the tune of 4 runs in 1/3 of an inning – although he was greatly helped by Nomar throwing away a double play ball into right field. Nomar’s now hitting .236 and made a second error last night as well. Someone explain to me again why he’s playing when he can’t hit or field, and why Chin-Lung Hu is still down in Las Vegas? He might not be a hitting improvement, but at least he can play shortstop.

At right: the Dodgers season.

Oh, and then there’s this:

Jeff Kent said he has played with pain in his left knee for the last month.

Friday, he said he couldn’t continue — not even with his team in the midst of a crisis that could push them out of contention.

Seven innings into a 9-3 loss to the NL West-leading Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field that extended the Dodgers’ season-long losing streak to eight games, the 40-year-old second baseman who has endured a wide range of physical problems this season had to be replaced by pinch-hitter Blake DeWitt.

The Dodgers are 4 1/2 games out of first place, they’re eight for 69 with runners in scoring position during their eight-game skid, but Kent said he probably wouldn’t play today. Kent, who will undergo an MRI exam, said he probably wouldn’t play Sunday, either.

Here’s the interesting thing, though. You would think that a knee injury so painful that he’s missing the biggest series of the year would explain why Kent’s having the worst season of his entire career, right? But Kent says that he’s been playing with pain for a month – a month in which he’s been excellent, hitting .357/.394/.439. Whether that’s Manny-aided or not, that’s impressive, but who gets hurt and then has their performance improve? It’s possible that Kent is just offhandedly saying “a month” when it’s in reality been more recent, and the numbers back that up since he’s got a .412 OPS over the last week. It’s hard to draw that conclusion when the entire team has been so bad at the plate over that time, though.

So I suppose we’re going to get to see what Blake DeWitt learned in Las Vegas about playing second base. With the season rapidly spiraling down the tubes, at least we’ll learn a bit more about what we have from DeWitt for next year.

One more thing… I’m still looking forward to tonight’s game. I know I’ve been a little negative around here lately; how could you not be? But playoffs or not, Chad Billingsley vs. Dan Haren is still a pretty marquee matchup, and if the Dodgers can touch Haren, who knows what could happen from there? That’s possible, right? Now if you’ll excuse me, Jessica Alba’s waiting outside for me in her Ferrari to drive me down to the lottery office to pick up my winnings.

- Mike Scioscia’s tragic illness msti-face.jpg

Have a Lot of Coffee on Hand For This Weekend

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So look, here’s the deal. The Dodgers have been awful the last week in getting swept in Philadelphia and Washington. They suck right now, and they don’t deserve to make the playoffs. I know it. You know it. By all rights, they ought to be 12 games back of the division lead and making October vacation plans. I don’t think any of us disagree with that.

But what I think has been somewhat lost in the depression over how foul the Dodgers are is the fact that Arizona isn’t really any good, either. Sure, the Dodgers just got swept by the worst team in baseball. But Arizona just got swept by a team with only two more wins than Washington, the Padres – so it’s not like the Blue are exactly walking into a buzzsaw this weekend. You think the Dodgers offense is weak right now? Arizona scored in just three of the twenty-seven innings they played in San Diego. Not only can neither team hit, they both have excellent pitching, so expect to see a total of about 8 runs combined over the three games.

Let’s not kid ourselves, though – this is the entire season right here. The Dodgers don’t neccessarily have to sweep (not with another series at home vs. the D-Backs in September), but they simply cannot lose any more ground. That means that if they don’t take two out of three in this series… we can all pack up and go home. With that in mind…

Friday: Hiroki Kuroda vs Doug Davis
Advantage: Dodgers. Davis has been pretty lousy over the last month, putting up a 7.50 ERA in 5 starts, while Kuroda’s been outstanding, posting a 2.50 ERA and a superb 25/5 K/BB ratio. I hate to say it, but this is the single most important game of the entire season right here, because it’s the only one where the Dodgers have a good advantage on the mound. If they blow this, they face the nearly impossible task of having to take down both Dan Haren and Brandon Webb. Basically, win tonight, or kiss 2008 goodbye. Is that too much pressure?

Saturday: Chad Billingsley vs Dan Haren
Advantage: Push. Talk about a marquee pitching matchup! We’re talking about two of the best young pitchers in baseball here, and they’ve nearly got the same ERA (3.16 to 3.10). However, Haren’s been lousy over the last month (5.29 ERA). But who are we kidding. This game, by every standard, should be 0-0 in the 10th inning. That said, my money’s on a 12-10 slugfest.

Sunday: Derek Lowe vs Brandon Webb.
Advantage: D-Backs. Yeah, this is where it gets a little difficult. Webb is almost certainly going to win the NL Cy Young Award this year, and if he gets the win on Sunday that’d be his 20th against only 5 losses. Really, the only hope the Dodgers have here is that Webb was bombed in his last start out (6 ER in 4.2 IP) against the Padres, who have an offense nearly as bad as LA does. As for Lowe, he’s been his typical Lowe self. His ERA’s in his 4 years in LA are 3.61, 3.63, 3.88, and 3.81 so far this season. Talk about consistency, but there’s no way he matches up with Webb.

So there it is. Win tonight. There’s no bigger game on the schedule.

- Mike Scioscia’s tragic illness msti-face.jpg

Scott Elbert, Please Pick Up the White Courtesy Phone

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First DeWitt recalled and now this – another move I did not see coming. From Tony Jackson (who I seem to quote here just about every other day, keep up the good work, TJ) via Rob @ 6-4-2:

The Dodgers are expected to purchase the contract of the left-hander and former first-round draft pick from Double-A Jacksonville. Corresponding move will be announced at that time. Once one of the organization’s top pitching prospects, Elbert missed most of last season with a shoulder injury that effectively turned him into a reliever, at least for now. At Jacksonville this season, he has made one start and 24 relief appearances and gone 4-1 with a 2.40 ERA. He has allowed just 22 hits in 41 1/3 innings, struck out 46 and walked 20.

Now that is interesting on a couple of levels. First off, September 1st will only be three days away. By waiting, you could call up Elbert without having to drop someone else off of the active roster. My other initial reaction was, “Elbert and not James McDonald? That’s surprising!” But that was with me still thinking of Elbert as a starter, which he had been before this season. He’s been almost strictly a reliever this year (one start), so he and McDonald don’t really fill the same roles. Anyway, about Elbert, here’s the writeup Baseball Prospectus had on him before the season in ranking him #4 in the system behind Kershaw, LaRoche, and Hu:

Year In Review: The outstanding lefty was blowing away Southern League batters before walking seven in his third start of the year and missing the rest of the season after surgery to clean up his labrum.
The Good: In terms of size, stuff, and projectability, Elbert ranks just a tick below Kershaw across the board, and that’s a strong compliment. His fastball sits in the low 90s and can touch 95 with late, explosive life, while his curveball is a spiraling plus-plus power breaker that is just as effective. He’s an outstanding athlete who fields his position well, and can contribute at times with the bat.
The Bad: Elbert has consistently struggled with his control, and his somewhat-complicated mechanics contribute to that, with the shoulder surgery creating even more concern about his delivery. He’s yet to really need much of a changeup, and the pitch still lags well behind his primary two offerings.
Fun Fact: During his far-too-brief 2007 season, batters facing Elbert with the bases empty went 1-for-32 with 18 strikeouts.
Perfect World Projection: An upper-echelon big-league starter.
Timetable: Elbert’s shoulder was not ready for the Dodgers’ instructional camp, but he was throwing off the mound as we expected to be ready for spring training. Assuming all goes as expected, he’ll return to Double-A in 2008. The Dodgers have no timetable for him until they see how his arm holds up.

He’s been pretty impressive in 2008: in 25 games at Jacksonville, he’s 4-1 with a 2.40 ERA. He’s struck out 46 in 41.1 innings, and opponents are only hitting .158 against him.
The other question, then, is who goes down for him? Rob suggested Angel Berroa, but I think that’s unlikely since the Dodgers already are carrying 12 pitchers, and with Ozuna gone, there’s no backup for Nomar at short until Hu (most likely) gets recalled next week. No, it’s got to be a pitcher, and that leaves three options, barring a late-breaking injury we don’t know about.
1) Ramon Troncoso. Has to be the most likely option for a few reasons. First of all, he can be sent down without having to be exposed to waivers, which is always a consideration. But also, he got bombed tonight, giving up three runs and five hits in just three innings. Considering that going three innings probably puts him out for a few days anyway and that he hasn’t been all that great, I’m betting on him. 85%.
2) Jason Johnson. The definition of a veteran retread, he’s been awful in August, giving up 11 earned runs in 12.2 innings entering tonight. Losing him really wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but the fact that he can’t be outrighted to Las Vegas probably saves him. 10%.
3) Clayton Kershaw. Almost certainly won’t be him, but there are factors that make him worth mentioning. He’s now had two pretty awful starts in a row, and he’s getting extremely close to his innings limit. It might not be a terrible idea to start getting him off of the regular rotation schedule, although I doubt this is how they’ll do it. 5%.
Update: okay, Diamond Leung’s got the details and it is in fact Kershaw going down. One of the reasons I didn’t think it would be him because of the rule that once sent down, you can’t be recalled for ten days. But I didn’t realize that, as Leung says, that rule doesn’t apply once minor league seasons end. So this move makes a lot a sense, then.

After the game, it was announced the Dodgers would purchase the contract of former first-round draft pick Scott Elbert to make his major league debut. Clayton Kershaw was optioned to Class AAA Las Vegas, but it was more of a procedural move, and he is expected to make his next start. This way, the Dodgers get an extra arm in their bullpen while Kershaw can spend the next few days working on some things in Las Vegas. He doesn’t have to stay in the minors 10 days because the minor league season will be over by then.

- Mike Scioscia’s tragic illness msti-face.jpg

It’s About Time

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Looks like Joe’s finally wising up because believe it or not, Russell Martin’s getting a day off tonight. Not playing third, but a real live day off! We’ll see how late in the game Torre can hold off putting him in, but still, it’s a step in the right direction. Would you believe that Martin hasn’t had a full day off that wasn’t a scheduled team off day since August 7? That’s three weeks ago. I have to take issue with Tony Jackson’s comment on the day off, though:

Martin isn’t slumping, but he needs a day off, and the Dodgers don’t have any day games after night games coming up.

Not slumping? Martin’s put up a .577 OPS over the last week and a .660 mark over the last month. That’s not so much “good” as it is “lousy”, or as we like to put it, “in a slump because Torre’s trying to kill him!”

Oh, and there’s the whole thing about not getting swept by the worst team in baseball. Let’s get on that, too. Like the poster says, I want to believe this team can still overtake Arizona, who’s pretty lousy themselves. I want to. But if you go into Arizona coming off of two consecutive sweeps, including one by the hideously bad Nationals? They’re not making it easy on me.

Also, as of just five minutes ago, per Diamond:

Cory Wade was activated from the disabled list, and Tanyon Sturtze was designated for assignment. The 60-man roster spots Sturtze and Pablo Ozuna free up are earmarked for Scott Proctor and A.J. Ellis.

No surprise here, but I’m still not sure why this had to be put off another day, and why they told Sturtze and then changed their minds. It just put Sturtze in a really awkward position for another day, which sounds a little rotten. Oh well. Thanks for stopping by, Tanyon. Welcome back, Cory. 

- Mike Scioscia’s tragic illness msti-face.jpg