Now Taking Applications…
May 20, 2010 at 11:09 am | Posted in Carlos Monasterios, Charlie Haeger, James McDonald, John Koronka, Josh Lindblom, Josh Towers, Scott Elbert | 24 CommentsIn my frustration over the horrendous yet predictable outing by Ramon Ortiz last night, I said that I didn’t know who should start the next time around, but that it couldn’t be him. That’s a little unfair of me; if I’m going to say there’s a problem, I should at least offer a solution, right? Well, in the comments of that post, I got to discussing alternatives to Ortiz and… well, it’s ugly.
First, the good news. The next time the 5th starter spot comes up again is Monday, which is conveniently an offday. So long as Joe Torre doesn’t do something stupid like push everyone back a day and just lets the Ortiz spot be skipped, we can avoid the issue for another turn through the rotation. The bad news is, that spot would next come up on May 29th, in Colorado of all places. So not only is no one beating down the door to get the job, it’s in the worst possible location. You’d think that with well-regarded prospects like James McDonald, Scott Elbert, and Josh Lindblom in AAA, at least one would be worthy of the job, but a quick look at their recent appearances says otherwise. Granted, ABQ is a hitter’s park, but that’s not enough to excuse numbers so ugly that McDonald’s 5.77 ERA is the best of the top four starters.
McDonald did throw five scoreless in the outing before this. But damn, these trends are not going in the right direction.
Elbert’s done a better job at keeping runs off the board, for sure… but look at the walk numbers and tell me that’s not terrifying. On the season he’s walked 28 batters in 32.1 innings. No wonder he’s not getting past five innings.
Lindblom’s interesting, because while his season stats look lousy (6.05 ERA), he’s got a nice 39/14 K/BB ratio. That said, he’s coming off two lousy starts himself (including walking six in four innings), so it’s not like he’s forcing the Dodgers’ hand here.
Ha! And to think I was worried about him getting a callup when I saw the team in New York. What an absolute disaster he’s been; if anything, he should be worried about sticking with the Isotopes, much less making it to the bigs.
The remaining starts in ABQ were split between John Ely, who we already know all about, and Tim Corcoran, who hasn’t been in the bigs since 2007 and has made just three starts in AAA. So there’s no help coming from there, and there’s no one in AA worth calling up (sidenote: all spring, I had my “NRI invite list” on the sidebar, and I’d cross names out as they got cut or shipped out. I could never figure out what happened to John Koronka, who I disliked even the non-roster signing of, and then never heard from again. At the time, I wrote, “Man, he sounds unqualified to even try out for the Isotopes.” So what happened to him? He’s in AA ball, allowing a 1.500 WHIP. It’s time to find a new career, I think.)
Granted: the start is still over a week away, so it’s possible that McDonald, Elbert, or Lindblom rip off a nice start or two and get back in the team’s good graces. Possible, but extremely unlikely, so help isn’t going to be coming from AAA.
That being the case, you’re left with two options. First, there’s Charlie Haeger, who will be nearing the end of his rehab stint by then. He’s been good but not great in his two starts for Inland Empire, and it seems that his “injury” has healed. That said, even I’m not dying to see him back in the rotation, and especially not in Coors Field.
So there’s only one right answer here, and it’s the answer Joe Torre dreads the most. You have to start Carlos Monasterios. The Rule 5 pick has been surprisingly effective as the team’s longman, not allowing more than one earned run in any of his twelve appearances. With the bullpen rounding back into form and Jeff Weaver back, Monasterios’ role as a reliever has lessened, and he already showed he could survive as an emergency starter, allowing one run in four innings against Pittsburgh.
Does anyone really think that Ortiz can outperform Monasterios right now? Of course not. With the limited options, it’s the only right choice – and then what you do is DFA Ortiz as soon as Haeger’s rehab stint is up, pushing Haeger to the bullpen and perhaps using him as a tag-team partner assuming that Monasterios won’t go deep into the games.
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I like this. The Monk is the only real option. He has been surprisingly effective. At the very least he can give u what Ortiz has, more than likely give you much better.
Man it sucks that Elbert and JMac have regressed so much this year. WTF is it with the Dodgers pitching prospects and their inability to throw strikes. It seems like an organizational plague. Ely, the control freak that he is, came up in the White Sox Organization. Is there something hinky in our system that causes this? Or is it the old BS about how guys with good stuff don’t need to learn to pitch because they rely on their stuff so much? Too much stuffness on the farm?
Comment by EephusBlue— May 20, 2010 #
Could the reverse happen, with Weaver getting the start, and Monasterios ready to go should things go south? I’m not suggesting this as saying I prefer it this way– it’s just Torre’s recent comments regarding starting Ortiz instead, saying he’s a vet and knows his arm better than a rookie would, makes me wonder if this isn’t at least a possibility.
Comment by Ryan— May 20, 2010 #
That’s actually a good thought, Ryan, I hadn’t considered that. That said, I wonder if Torre sees Weaver as so much of a comfort blanket at various points in the pen that he wouldn’t want to upset that?
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— May 20, 2010 #
You’re overlooking the obvious. Clueless Joe has yet ONE MORE USE in mind for Ramon Troncoso. I mean, what the heck. He’s the ninth inning guy with a four run lead, the sixth/eighth inning setup guy in closer games, the middle man in certain situations, the fourth inning guy during an Ortiz sighting. So, there is one more role left for the Tron man before his arm is shipped off to the natural science museum.
Comment by SamAdams— May 20, 2010 #
This was the perfect year for Stults. Why did they not just keep him over Russ Ortiz?
Comment by Table— May 20, 2010 #
Isnt he getting shelled……in Japan?
Comment by EephusBlue— May 20, 2010 #
It’s hard to find the Japanese stats mid season, but last I saw he was doing pretty mediocre. Mid 4ish era, so he certainly wasn’t dominating.
Comment by Table— May 21, 2010 #
Weaver seems like an option Torre would consider.
Comment by Table— May 20, 2010 #
Never mind, it’s been said….
Comment by Table— May 20, 2010 #
WTF is up with Elbert? Does he need a GPS to find the plate? Those numbers are shouting “mechanics problem” to me. Anyway, Joe has said Mononucleosis isn’t starting because he doesn’t have enough pitches in his arm. Maybe he doesn’t need as many. I predict that Haeger falls right back in the 5 hole. I hope Ortiz finds a hole to fall in.
Comment by carolinabluedodger— May 20, 2010 #
Thank goodness Ely the Efficient showed up when he did; otherwise, we’d really be scrambling! Here’s hoping Ely is not a temporary mirage. I like having a finesse pitcher on the staff. It shows the fireballers there are other ways to skin the cat.
Comment by mk— May 20, 2010 #
I made a fanpost at TBLA, but I was told by a very inside source that Elbert has changed his arm slot to put more sink on his fastball. So this would explain his lack of control. They want him to throw only fastball right now, so he isn’t throwing his slider much at all…..
Comment by RxApple— May 20, 2010 #
If not Monasterios it’s got to be Weaver.
Comment by Rudy— May 20, 2010 #
DEMONS BEGONE!!!!! The Ox strikes out Stairs!
Comment by EephusBlue— May 21, 2010 #
Too bad Brox couldn’t do that Game 4.
Comment by Juan Pierre— May 21, 2010 #
Dont rain on the parade
Comment by EephusBlue— May 21, 2010 #
Said it before and i’ll say it again, Eric Stults is laughing his tail off somewhere, guy was decent and gets the boot. Mono is decent and i won’t be surprised if he gets the boot, Weaver was also a decent starter maybe Torre can get his head out of his you know what now. Hehe as long as it’s a regular season game, he’s wearing a Padre uni and batting a buck and change Brox isn’t afraid of Stairs…..eesh..
Comment by DodgersFan323— May 21, 2010 #
Josh Lindblom is a reliever. Dodgers just don’t use him that way. :o
Comment by Chad— May 21, 2010 #
I agree he SHOULD be. But like you said, they don’t treat him like that.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— May 21, 2010 #
It feels like trying to shove a square peg in a round hole. They are really stubborn.
Comment by EephusBlue— May 21, 2010 #
[...] Now Taking Applications… [...]
Pingback by This Is Going To Ruin Your Day « Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— May 21, 2010 #
Gotta go with the Monk –
I know Joe has gotta be a smart baseball guy, but golly jeeze, I mean, c’mon!
Let’s see if the Monk can bring ‘em to their knees.
(sorry, but someone had to say it)
Comment by BotFot— May 22, 2010 #
Just imagine our staff with Oswalt…..
Comment by BotFot— May 22, 2010 #
[...] the year in the ABQ rotation, but missed time in April with a broken fingernail, had a 5.77 ERA as late as May 20, and missed much of June with a hamstring pull. Still, with the Dodger rotation in need, he was [...]
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