Holy Toledo Batman!: Dodgers Acquire Thome And Garland!
August 31, 2009 at 9:40 pm | Posted in Jim Thome, Jon Garland | 11 Comments
The analysis will come later, and we’re not sure yet who was involved in the deals, but just to getthe news up, according to MLBTR, the Dodgers have just acquired Jim Thome from the Chicago White Sox and Jon Garland from the team we’re trying to beat, as we speak.
No, those moves weren’t shocking, were they?
- Vin 
Now That’s A Lineup
August 31, 2009 at 5:15 pm | Posted in Jonathan Meloan, Russell Martin | 2 Comments
Not wasting any time with the “let’s give the infield a breather” initiative, are we?
DODGERS
Martin C
Ethier RF
Ramirez LF
Kemp CF
Blake 3B
Belliard 2B
Loretta 1B
Castro SS
Wolf P
This is Martin’s first time batting leadoff since September 21 of last year when… the Dodgers scored 0 runs in an 11 inning 1-0 loss to the Giants. D’oh. Fun fact: the middle infield that day consisted of Blake DeWitt and Angel Berroa. My, how far we’ve come. Actually, hitting Martin leadoff isn’t a terrible idea. Though his power has completely disappeared this year, his .358 OBP is 37 points higher than usual leadoff man Rafael Furcal and is actually better than any Dodger infielder. So even if he’s not hitting for extra bases anymore, perhaps he can at least get on for the big bats 2-5 to move him around. This is, of course, also the Dodger debut of Ronnie Belliard.
On another note, I know I’m a sucker for former Dodgers, but the Pirates DFA’d Jonathan Meloan today, making them the third team he’s been on since leaving the Dodgers in last year’s Casey Blake deal. It wasn’t that long ago that he was a highly-touted reliever in the Dodgers system (don’t forget his ridiculous 2007, in which he struck out 91 in 66.2 IP with a 2.02 ERA between AA and AAA) and he’s only just turned 25. He’s struggled a bit with his control since leaving the Dodgers, but he still looks to have good stuff (striking out 60 in 65 IP this year). If he goes unclaimed and it doesn’t cost a 40-man roster spot, why not bring him back and see if familiar surroundings can reclaim what he had going?
Ronnie Belliard, Eh?
August 30, 2009 at 5:19 pm | Posted in Ronnie Belliard | 5 CommentsChico Harlan of The Washington Post reports that the Nationals traded infielder Ronnie Belliard to the Dodgers following today’s game. Washington will receive A-ball pitcher Luis Garcia and a player to be named in the deal.
Well… I guess? I suppose this is related to Ken Gurnick’s report that the Dodgers were looking for a run-producing bat off the bench, but I’m not exactly sure that this qualifies. Though Belliard’s had a few roughly league-average seasons, he’s hitting a brutal .247/.297/.376 this season, almost exclusively as a second baseman and pinch-hitter. To be fair, since his OPS cratered at .459 (!!) on July 1, Belliard’s hit a nice .323/.380/.475 in 35 games (20 starts).
Bellliard is by all accounts a lousy fielder, so he’s not going to be getting much time at second base in place of Orlando Hudson or Juan Castro. Really, the success of this deal depends on what his role is going to be. Is Joe Torre really going to use him in place of Mark Loretta off the bench? Loretta’s been absolutely abysmal in what has to be his final major-league season, so if Belliard can keep up his hot streak and Torre’s willing to give him a shot, then this could be slightly useful. As for what was given up, this is no horrifying Carlos Santana-for-Casey Blake deal - Garcia didn’t even make Baseball America‘s top 30 Dodger prospects this year.
On the other hand, Nationals bloggers are thrilled to get something, anything, for Belliard. So I’m giving this a solid “meh” – it’s probably not going to make much of a difference either way.
Eric Karros Brings the Crazy
August 29, 2009 at 4:53 pm | Posted in Eric Karros, Juan Pierre sucks | 12 Comments
You may have seen my earlier post laughing at the FOX jokers, Eric Karros and Thom Brennaman. Rather than adding this as an update to that where it might get lost, what Karros and his crazy hair just said deserves its own post – because it’s just that ludicrous. Thanks to Vin and his quick DVRing, Karros goes off the deep end, in regards to what the Dodgers should do with Juan Pierre after the season.
“From a selfish standpoint, you keep him because he’s arguably been the most valuable player…
Well, with Manny being gone, that’s when a lot of teams felt that’s
when they could catch the Dodgers, make their push. During that period,
not only did he fill the void of Manny being gone, playing left field,
but he also filled the void at the top of the lineup, Furcal, because
he wasn’t playing well, created. So he goes to the top of the lineup,
he bunts, he gets over, he does things to ignite the offense. Dodgers
didn’t have another player who was capable of doing that and they could
have really fallen to the pack during that period.”
Just in case you glossed over that, let me reiterate in fancy bold capitalized letters. ERIC KARROS THINKS JUAN PIERRE HAS (ARGUABLY) BEEN THE MOST VALUABLE PLAYER IN LA. No, not Matt Kemp, who’s almost already the best center fielder in baseball. Not Andre Ethier, who’s going to end up with a 30 homer/100 RBI breakout season. Not Randy Wolf, who’s started more games than anyone in baseball, has held the rotation together and been dazzling lately while doing it. Not Jonathan Broxton, leading all of baseball in strikeouts by a reliever. Not Clayton Kershaw, who spent two months being arguably the best pitcher in baseball.
No,
according to Eric Karros, the most valuable player for the Dodgers this
year is a bench player who had an incredibly well-timed two week hot
streak, before spending the next three weeks sucking horribly. You
think that it was because of Pierre that the Dodgers didn’t fall back
to the pack? How about Casey Blake, who was unbelievably hot
while Manny was gone? And Eric, if Pierre was so important, how come
they only went 16-14 in the 30 games of Manny’s suspension that JP was
awful for? It’s because he was destroying the offense hitting leadoff every day.
I
know that we make fun of guys like Plaschke all the time, but the level
of complete ignorance displayed here is insane. You wonder why we bag
on Pierre all the time? It’s not because he’s not a good player,
because we knew exactly what we were getting when he was signed. It’s
because jokers like this act as though a powerless, OBP-challenged,
weak-armed speedster is the second coming of Babe Ruth’s lovechild with
Ghandi.
Eric – GET A CLUE.
Stop Making My Job Harder, Thom (updated)
August 29, 2009 at 2:00 pm | Posted in Eric Karros, Juan Pierre sucks, Thom Brennaman | 7 CommentsThis is not in any way meant to bag on Juan Pierre; he is what is, and we’ve spent far too many words on him at this point. I would have posted this no matter what player this was in reference to. It’s just that the constant ignorance we see in the “mainstream media” world of papers and television is mind-blowing, especially because we all know there’s a huge amount of casual fans who hear what these so-called “experts” have to say and regard it as gospel.
On FOX just now, announcers Thom Brennaman and Eric Karros had a conversation about Juan Pierre, including these statements presented as fact:
There’s Juan Pierre, who did such a great job filling in for Manny.
This is a pretty common misconception, because if you remember what actually happened:
Games 1-20: .425/.495/.598 1.093 OPS
Games 21-50: .244/.299/.283 .583 OPS
So if by “such a great job” you mean “had a killer hot streak for less than half of Manny’s absence and was worse than ever for the majority of it,” then yes – great job. (Again, not trying to kill Pierre for anything here. Just drawing attention to public figures talking out of their asses.)
He’d be starting for just about any other team in baseball.
Pierre’s career OPS is .721. Of all MLB outfielders with at least 200 at-bats this year, a .721 OPS would rank… 90th. Which is delightful that it came out that way, as it means that every single one of the 30 teams has 3 outfielders who are better hitters than he is. Considering that we haven’t even discussed his absurd salary or his terrible throwing arm, it’s probably more accurate to say that he’d be starting for zero other teams in baseball.
And he’s handled it with pure class.
Again, the point here isn’t to denigrate Pierre but facts are facts: he’s whined more than once about his situation. But hey, the D-list FOX announcers think he’s a “great guy” who’s “had an outstanding” career, so why not spout whatever comes to mind?
Update: after an inning spent talking about Brett Favre and expressing shock at the fact that Joe Torre isn’t managing the Yankees anymore, they discussed the Dodgers/Reds rivalry of the 70s. Brennaman then lets loose with this gem:
The Dodgers won a few World Series in that decade, too.
Ah, yes. I remember that 1977 victory parade fondly. Is it really that hard to find baseball announcers who know even a little about baseball?
It Only Gets Easier From Here
August 28, 2009 at 10:30 am | Posted in 2009 rules so far | 5 CommentsRemember two weeks ago, when everyone was worried about having to go into San Francisco and predicted impending doom for the “struggling” Dodgers? Hey, how’d that turn out? Oh, right – the Dodgers marched into the Bay Area and took 2 of 3, effectively ending the Giants’ divisions hopes.
Then there was this week, when once again – people were needlessly panicking about having to go into Denver and face the red-hot Rockies. Once again, the Dodgers storm into hostile territory and take 2 of 3.
The point is, after months of coasting, the Dodgers have been tested. They’ve gone on the road to battle two of their closest rivals – who just happen to be the two NL Wild Card leaders – and in each case they’ve won the series. They’ve faced the competition and they’ve beat them down. And the reward for that (besides October, that is)? A remaining schedule that is the second-easiest in the National League, as the .467 winning percentage of remaining Dodger foes is second only to the .460 that the hopeless Cubs get to face.
Sure, that stat is slightly flawed because of course the Dodgers can’t play themselves, and therefore never have to see the team with the best record in the league inflating their opponents’ winning percentage. Still, the remaining schedule is littered with series against the Reds (the last time we saw them, they were getting swept and allowing the Bobbleslam), Diamondbacks (two), Pirates (two), Padres (two), and Nationals.
The Rockies are still only four behind, so you can’t completely cruise to the finish line, but teams like that offer fantastic opportunities to get Clayton Kershaw a breather and insert Eric Stults or Charlie Haeger in his place for a start or three.
———
Also, rosters expand on Tuesday. As there’s few things I enjoy more than guessing about roster moves, here’s a rough crack at who’s coming up for September 1. This is who I’m guessing at, not neccessarily what I’d do:
C A.J. Ellis
IF Blake DeWitt
IF Tony Abreu
IF Chin-Lung Hu
PH Doug Mientkiewicz (he can hit, but I don’t think he’s ready to field)
OF Jamie Hoffmann
OF Jason Repko
SP Hiroki Kuroda
SP Eric Stults
RP Cory Wade
RP Brent Leach
RP Scott Elbert
RP Will Ohman
Just missed: IF Hector Luna, IF/OF Mitch Jones, and RP Hyang-Nam Choi. They’re doing great in AAA, but they’re not on the 40-man and it’s going to be hard enough to get Ohman and Mientkiewicz spots back on the roster, which it sounds like they’re assured of.
Our Long National Nightmare is Over
August 27, 2009 at 11:44 am | Posted in Jason Schmidt, Tony Abreu, Vicente Padilla | 7 Comments(This has to be at least the third time I’ve used that line on this blog, right? Guess I’m just a sucker for Nixon references.)
Ken Gurnick with the news on today’s roster move:
To make room for Thursday starting pitcher Vicente Padilla on the 40-man roster, the Dodgers placed Jason Schmidt on the 60-day disabled list, effectively ending his tenure with the club. Schmidt is in the final season of a three-year deal and has hinted he will retire. He went 2-2 in four starts last month, but was placed on the disabled list with recurring shoulder problems. In three seasons with the Dodgers he won a total of three games and had two shoulder operations. The Dodgers also optioned infielder Tony Abreu to Triple-A and he is expected to return Sept. 1 when rosters expand.
Not that any of this was anything but completely expected, but it sure is good to know that we’ll never have to suffer through Jason Schmidt in Dodger blue again. No hard feelings, of course, because we know that he did everything he could to come back and it just wasn’t there – but man, was that some of the most painful pitching you’ve ever seen? Actually, I kind of wonder what he’s doing right now; if he’s still rehabbing or if he’s packed up and gone home.
It’s less than an hour until Padilla-time, and for the record, no – I don’t care that he’s a jerk. If he can pitch, great. If not, lose him.
By the way, how great would “Dodgers go into Coors Field and take two of three from baseball’s hottest team” look as a headline to all those who predicted impending doom?
Better, But Not Great
August 26, 2009 at 5:26 pm | Posted in George Sherrill, Joe Torre, Jonathan Broxton | 5 CommentsOkay, at least Joe Torre’s giving answers to the otherwise unexplainable decision to have James McDonald pitch to four lefties while George Sherrill and Jonathan Broxton sat and watched last night. Via Dodger Thoughts:
Now we hear: George Sherrill did not pitch for the Dodgers in Tuesday’s extra-inning loss to Colorado because of he “felt a little catch in his side,” Dodger manager Joe Torre told reporters before today’s game.
Sherrill had an MRI that was negative, with Stan Conte adding that Sherrill “threw hard today and is ok. We ruled out the oblique. He had no idea when he hurt it.”
Fine. That’s totally fair, and there’s going to be occasions when fans and bloggers just don’t have that information immediately. Really, half of what bothered me was that it didn’t seem any of the local media thought that was a question worth discussing after the game. So Joe gets some points back on this one. On this one, however…
Torre did declare that he was saving Jonathan Broxton for a save situation, and it doesn’t appear there was a follow-up question on that issue.
Well, there should have been, because this flies directly in the face of his inspired decision to use Broxton in the 8th inning against the meat of the Cubs lineup last week. This is a shining example of why the save rule has really destroyed bullpen management. Sure, if you use Broxton here, score in the 11th or 14th or 19th inning and you don’t have him to close out the game, that’s a little unfortunate. But it’s way less unfortunate than not having ever used him at all, because in holding out your best reliever for a save situation, you allowed the opposition to face a righty rookie while four lefties in a row were up.
Forget “saves”. Ever. Use your best pitcher when the situation called for it, and that situation did. Hell, even if you really really felt the need to allow James McDonald to start the inning, why not bring in Broxton when the situation got dire? It may not go in the books as a “save”, but that would have absolutely saved the game.
Things aren’t as bad as they seemed in the aftermath of last night’s loss when it comes to managerial decisions, but Torre’s not free of blame on this one.
It’s Time to Make Some Moves
August 26, 2009 at 9:50 am | Posted in Delwyn Young, James Loney, Matt Kemp, Mitch Jones, Rafael Furcal | 7 CommentsNo, this isn’t “panic”. Yes, the Dodgers have been thoroughly mediocre over the last three months, but the fact that this is now a race is almost entirely due to the Rockies being an otherworldly 52-25 over their last 77 games. If the Rockies don’t go crazy, the Dodgers are still 6-7 games up.
Still, what they’re doing isn’t working, and it’s time to do something about it. For everyone who was freaking out about the pitching, don’t overlook the fact that the arms have been fantastic. Last night marked the 14th game in a row that the Dodgers have allowed 4 runs or less (in the first 9 innings, anyway), and it came on the heels of 9 in a row allowing 3 or less. That’s not just a staff you can win with; that’s a staff you should be winning a lot with. It just goes to show how awful the offense has been that they’re now 3 games under .500 for the month at 10-13.
No, despite all of the assertions earlier this year – on both this site and many others – that the 2009 Dodger offense was the best we’d seen in decades, the bats have been absolutely horrible. As much as we’ve enjoying having a stable lineup for the first time in, well, ever, it’s time for Joe Torre to stop just penciling in the same lineup every night and hope for something new. It’s time to shake things up, and while I have faith in exactly zero of these things happening, here’s what I would do:
1) Make Matt Kemp the new leadoff hitter. Kemp’s got it all – something for the new school (.370 OBP, best non-Manny OBP among the starting 8) and something for the old school (27 SB). Rafael Furcal’s just not getting it done from the leadoff spot, and his abysmal .321 OBP is really killing rallies before they even get started. Kemp’s been consistently good all season, but he’s really been hot over the last 14 days (.986 OPS), and why wouldn’t you want your best hitter getting the most at-bats? In 43 career starts at the top, he’s got a .304/.360/.490 line, so I don’t want to hear any arguments that he couldn’t do it.
Conversely, Furcal’s been lousy all season and has been at his coldest at the worst possible time – .182/.200/.227 in the last 14 days. Furcal’s not getting it done. Kemp, by almost any measure, would be a huge improvement. What’s the problem here?
2) Free Mitch Jones! – and take time away from James Loney to play him. I was originally going to say “DFA Mark Loretta” to make room, since he’s been downright Sweeneytastic, but since the rosters expand in just a few days that’s probably unnecessary. However, Loney’s been downright putrid. You can split his stats any way you like, and you’re not going to get anything good. Over the last 28 days? .188/.270/.225. The last 7 days? 1 whole hit for a line of .083/.154/.083 – and he somehow looks even worse than that.
Look, there’s going to be a lot of conversation in the offseason about whether Loney should be our first baseman in 2010 and beyond, but that’s not important right now. What’s important now is that the offense is wasting a ton of good pitching, and Loney is Offender #1. Loretta’s no better, so while I’m not going to be so unreasonable as to suggest that career minor leaguer Jones should be the new starting first baseman in a pennant race, you also just can’t let Loney keep sucking up outs.
Jones continues to destroy AAA pitching (.282/.356/.622 with 30 HR and 86 RBI) and it’s not as though we haven’t seen other older minor leaguers come up and get absurdly hot this year – just look at Garrett Jones and Randy Ruiz. So call up Jones. Don’t make him the everyday starter, but at least put him in a semi-platoon with Loney until one or the other gets hot. It’s not ideal, but neither is letting Loney play every day right now, either.
3) If you’re the manager, stop doing stupid things. I know I harped on this last night, but I’m still not over it. There’s no rational explanation for it. Worse, we haven’t seen any explanation from Torre about why Sherrill and Broxton sat idly by, nor have any of the reporters asked the question. Dylan Hernandez wrote a standard game recap, T.J. Simers has a puff piece on Jim Tracy, and Bill Plaschke is MIA (though, that’s probably a good thing). Way to ask the tough questions, guys.
—————–
Speaking of which, I’ve been following Delwyn Young’s Pirates career ever since his ill-advised trade, and while I know that at some point I’ll have to let it go, I found something in the comments of the Dodger Thoughts post that linked to my Mets/Dodgers injury post that intrigued me:
Ok, who is the best hitting 2nd baseman in the NL? Well, after Chase.
OPS+
Pee Wee 117
Uggla 108
Castillo 108
Hudson 106This informational interlude is courtesy of the Pee Wee Marching and Chowder Society
At second base, Delwyn Young has plenty of work ahead to reach the point of being average defensively, but he clearly is willing to put in that work — he and Hill are on the field early every day — and his .312 average and power have the Pirates sounding like they would sacrifice a little defense to keep him in the lineup.
Anyone Want Joe Torre?
August 25, 2009 at 9:02 pm | Posted in George Sherrill, James McDonald, Joe Torre, Jonathan Broxton | 12 CommentsNot 30 minutes ago, I wrote about how Jim Tracy screwed himself by going blindly by “the book” and choosing to pitch to Manny Ramirez rather than James Loney. But you know what makes baseball such an endlessly interesting game? The fact that no two games or situations are ever the same; the fact that each pitch and plate appearance has its own strategy to go along with it. And while sometimes you do have to realize that the accepted play in a given situation may not be the right one, 
SOMETIMES THE BOOK IS THE GOD DAMN BOOK FOR A REASON. Sometimes the choice is so glaringly obvious that to do anything but go with that choice is so insane that it defies explanation.
May I present to you the Rockies coming to the plate in the 10th inning:
Ian Stewart
Carlos Gonzalez
Omar Quintanilla
Todd Helton
Now, what do those four fine gentleman have in common? They’re all left-handed hitters. Keep that in mind. So you’re Joe Torre. You look into your bullpen. You see George Sherrill. You look past his goofy flat-brimmed hat and you see these three undeniable facts:
He’s well rested. Sherrill hasn’t pitched since Saturday, meaning he’s had nearly 72 hours off.
He’s been dominating since coming to LA. “Dominating” isn’t a word you usually throw around too lightly, but he’s given up exactly zero runs in the 11 games he’s been a Dodger. So, yeah: he’s sorta good.
I said three things… what was that last one? Oh, yes. That’s right.
When George Sherrill faces lefties, he reaches into their hearts and shows it to them, still beating, in the brief moments until they die. Sherrill’s line against LHB this year (combined for the O’s and Dodgers) is an absolutely absurd .117/.160/.150.
Is there really a better situation for your unhittable lefty-destroying reliever with closing experience than four lefty batters in a row in the 10th inning? Isn’t that why the Dodgers had to give up Josh Bell to get him in the first place – for situations exactly like this? And even if for some reason you don’t go with Sherrill there – I don’t know, maybe he hit on Torre’s daughter today, put shaving cream in his shoes, who knows – how about at least going with Jonathan Broxton, who’s also had two days of rest and is death on lefties (.134/.232/.196)?
The choice here could not be simpler. So what does Torre do? He trots out… James McDonald. Figures, doesn’t it? We’re always dying for Torre to not pick a veteran just because he’s a veteran and to go with the kids, and he does it in completely the wrong situation. Don’t take this as me dumping on McDonald, but he is A) not nearly as effective against lefties (.261/.366/.304, which isn’t bad but hardly as great as the other two) B) not as rested, having thrown 30 pitches on Sunday, while again neither of the other two had thrown since Saturday, and C) NOT A LEFTY KILLING ALL STAR CLOSER. OF WHICH YOU HAVE TWO.
I won’t kill McDonald for this, because he made the best of a bad situation. Walking the leadoff man is always a killer, but after that the sequence went: dribbler back to the mound that Loney threw away, uncontested stolen base, strikeout, intentional walk, single. He wasn’t great, nor was he awful. He just shouldn’t have been there in the first place.
I’ve been pleasantly surprised with Joe Torre this year, but unless I find out that Broxton and Sherrill each blew off the game to go snowboarding and are stuck in an avalanche in the Rocky Mountains somewhere, this decision was completely indefensible. Considering how hot the Rockies have been and how down the Dodgers have been, this race is all about momentum, and if you can go into their house, tie it up in the 9th and win it in extra innings, that deflates that big purple balloon.
But this? Joe. JOE. Please. It’s one thing to lose a game. It’s quite another to lose it while your best options sit unused on the sidelines.
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