Hiroki Kuroda Was Awful, and That’s The Least Of Our Problems
May 22, 2011 at 2:32 pm | Posted in Andre Ethier, Hiroki Kuroda, Jerry Sands, John Ely, Rafael Furcal, Rod Barajas | 49 Comments
At this point, if it weren’t so sad, it’d be funny.
Through three and a half innings, this was just another nondescript game in what’s quickly turning into a very forgettable season. The Dodgers were down 4-0, thanks to Hiroki Kuroda allowing first-inning homers to Alexei Ramirez and A.J. Pierzynski on his way to giving up nine hits and six runs (four earned) in 5.2 innings. (It should be noted that most of the last two innings fall under the category of “taking one for the team”, as mopup guys Lance Cormier and Ramon Troncoso each threw multiple innings yesterday.) With one out, the White Sox were threatening to add to the lead, having Gordon Beckham on first thanks to a Rafael Furcal error.
Pierre came up, and took a Kuroda meatball deep to right field. (The simple fact that Pierre was able to do that should tell you all you need to know about how ineffective Kuroda was today.) Andre Ethier went hard to the wall trying to come up with the ball, but was unable to, allowing Pierre to reach second. It was immediate from the moment it happened that Ether had injured himself, though while it initially appeared he’d hurt his shoulder, we later learned that it was a “right elbow contusion, lower right back contusion and sprained left big toe”. That’s three injuries for the price of one, apparently. Ethier stayed in for one more batter, a run-scoring single to right by Ramirez that Ethier clearly was hindered in getting to, before being replaced mid-inning by Tony Gwynn.
Pierre wasn’t done yet, however, apparently having decided he hadn’t caused enough damage to the Dodgers in his three years with the team. Having advanced to third on the Ramirez hit and standing firm while Adam Dunn walked, he took off for home on a Paul Konerko sacrifice fly to center. 95% of the time, Pierre scores on that ball without breaking a sweat, but Matt Kemp‘s laser throw made it a tight play. Kemp’s throw was just ever so slightly to the first base side, so Rod Barajas shifted to grab the ball and dove back to the plate to try and tag Pierre. He was unable to do so in time, but came away with a fun parting gift – Pierre’s spikes in his right wrist. Barajas stayed in for Pierzynski to strike out, and was hit for by Dioner Navarro in the next inning; while x-rays came back negative, he has a sprained right wrist and is “day to day”.
This was a day that had actually started with some optimism, as Furcal had returned and Casey Blake & Blake Hawksworth are each expected to within the next week. The Dodgers were one game away from finally winning a series in an AL park. Now? Now, they were just a Russ Mitchell last-second homer away from being swept, and have to quickly make some roster decisions. They’ve been playing shorthanded all weekend, with the combination of the extra hitter in the lineup at DH and the “active but unavailable” status of Aaron Miles & Juan Uribe before today meaning that the team had only two healthy bench players for the first two games of the series. That became three today when Furcal took Uribe’s spot, but while you can get away with that when you’re in the AL and not hitting for your pitchers, that’s not going to fly when they head back to the NL with a series in Houston tomorrow.
Uribe’s trip to the DL was the 15th disabling injury the Dodgers have had this season in less than two months, and it’s hard to believe that we won’t see at least one more in the next 24 hours, between the uncertain statuses of Miles, Ethier, and Barajas. Since the 40-man roster is pretty sparse at this point, the AAA call-ups would seem pretty straight forward: Ivan DeJesus for Miles, Jamie Hoffmann for Ethier, and A.J. Ellis for Barajas. My total speculative guess? Ethier and Barajas go to the DL, Miles does not. Barajas probably gets less leeway than Ethier does, because if he is unavailable for even a few days, you either have to call up Ellis or be comfortable with Mitchell as your backup catcher.
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Let’s not totally ignore some bright spots: As I joked on Twitter, James Loney is slowly moving into “not our biggest problem” territory, after reaching base three times today. That doesn’t mean that he’s suddenly become all that good or that I’ve changed my overall opinion on him, but he has doubled in three straight games and hit in 8 of 9 & 15 of 18, raising his line from an unbelievably bad .167/.191/.211 on April 23 to a more realistically poor line of .240/.283/.292 after today. With the rest of the injury and production issues mounting, and Loney still contributing his usual solid defense, he’s no longer the biggest concern. That said, he can’t afford any mental mistakes, like the one he made today by being doubled off of first on a Barajas pop-up caught by the second baseman in short right field.
In addition, Jerry Sands followed up his first career homer on Saturday with his first career four-hit game today. His OBP is now up to .330, which is far from great, yet still miles better than anyone on this team not named Kemp, Ethier, or Carroll. In May alone, his line is .289/.407/.467, which is a great sign. Like the Saturday homer, the first three hits were pulled to left field, which could be a sign that he’s becoming more comfortable. It’s also a good sign that the first two of those hits came against righty Edwin Jackson, as recent comments from Don Mattingly had me worried that Sands would be in a strict lefty/righty platoon with Jay Gibbons.
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Yes, Furcal went 0-5 with three strikeouts and an error, far from the spark we’d all hoped for. Still, it reminded me that we’ve seen this before. Last season, he missed nearly a month starting in April due to injury, returning in late May. In his first game back on May 25, the Dodgers went into Chicago and lost 3-0 to the Cubs. Furcal went 0-4 with two strikeouts and two errors that day in his return to the lineup.
Sound familiar at all? The good news is that after that day, Furcal hit .319/.381/.518 through May, June, and July, before being injured again in early August. He’ll need to have another run like that if this team is going to stay afloat.
******
Bullet dodged: Ken Rosenthal reminds us that it could still be worse, passing along the news that Scott Podsednik signed a minor-league deal with the Phillies today. Frankly, I was shocked that Ned Colletti didn’t jump on him as soon as he was cut by Toronto a few weeks ago, and the timing here is key, particularly if Ethier is out for any significant period of time. Hey, remember when Podsednik turned down his half of a team option this winter? Yeah, me neither.
******
(Update) I meant to add this originally, but there was good news from Albuquerque today as well. John Ely throw a complete game three-hitter today, needing 107 pitches to beat Reno. He struck out seven and walked just one. Christopher Jackson has the full story.
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What’s Pierre’s problem? Why’s he causing so many injuries? I wonder if his last check from McCourt didn’t clear.
Comment by Jeff M.— May 22, 2011 #
The game recap actually had Furcal going 0-5, three strikeouts, a groundout and a foul out. Plus an error. Very auspicious return for the guy that the hopes of so many rest upon.
Furcal seems to be one of the guys who’s lost it at a relatively young age—injuries and overswinging, something he’s always done—will do it every time—and I think he and Loney need to be moved. Furcal’s defense isn’t all that great either, and Loney is pathetic in what’s been characterized as a “golden age for first basemen.” In what’s shaping up to be a lost season, I’d rather see some young talent—if there is any—showcased rather than guys making large salaries fumbling around out there. Maybe the team can save some bucks. Sure, Furcal and Loney will have their moments, but their train has left the station. Time for the Dodgers to actually be smart about player personnel.
Almost a third of the season gone and there is no reason to believe that the current roster can approach contention. Other than out of pity, I’ve never rooted for the Pirates or the Royals, but I’m beginning to appreciate what folks in Pittsburgh and Kansas
City live with if they’re MLB fans.
Comment by SC Dodger— May 22, 2011 #
Furcal usually sucks for a little while after coming back, and then he becomes really good.
Comment by Bip— May 22, 2011 #
It’s one game bro….Furcal’s defense has still been solid and above average the last couple of years and last year he hit pretty well, I expect IF he can stay injury free that he’ll hit and field pretty good. Just don’t think he’ll stay healthy the rest of the year…
Comment by Jon#7#22— May 22, 2011 #
Furcal’s range is so far superior to Jamey Carroll’s, it’s not even funny. He’s definitely a better option at SS. As a result of that extra range, he’s going to get more errors – when he boots a ball that Jamey wouldn’t have been close to. Of course, he also has a frustrating tendency to show off his cannon arm by firing the ball into the 1st base dugout.
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I hope nobody takes this as a bashing of Jamey. He’s not a SS, wasn’t signed to be an everyday SS, and has done better than we could’ve expected at that position.
Comment by Dave— May 23, 2011 #
when can we reasonably expect them to start selling players, in order to being preparing for next year? theres no shame in rebuilding.
Comment by format— May 22, 2011 #
probably never, sadly. Don’t see how McCourt would allow it. Our only hope is MLB seizes the team soon and Ned comes to grips with reality.
Comment by Brandon— May 22, 2011 #
Our only hope is MLB seizes the team soon and Ned gets fired.
There, fixed it for you!
Comment by Jeff M.— May 22, 2011 #
At this point in the season, teams are reluctant to trade and demand a premium. So the only trades to be made are generally bad ones. This point was made by Ned Colletti: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110520&content_id=19315440¬ebook_id=19323592&vkey=notebook_la&c_id=la&partnerId=rss_la
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It’s better to wait a couple of months, and then start dealing based on our needs at that point of this season and for the future.
Comment by nsxtasy— May 23, 2011 #
With today’s game, Sands OPS+ is over 100, making him the only one besides Carroll, Ethier and Kemp to manage that. That is enough to earn him a full time starting job on this team.
Comment by Bip— May 22, 2011 #
Sands has been my favorite part of this season. His homer yesterday somehow made the loss worth it.
Comment by Brandon— May 22, 2011 #
What I find most surprising by these developments is that anyone who has been following the Dodgers is surprised by any of this. Even with our regular starters in there, Uribe, Furcal, Blake, Barajas and JaMarcus Gwybbons, this team had .500 written all over it. Now, old age and bad luck makes it even worse.
Another question to ask, how the hell did a team with this little talent get over $100 million in payroll obligations? Yoiks. That is some bad money management. The persons responsible for that should be fired, stripped of all their connection to the team then run out of town.
Comment by Rory— May 22, 2011 #
We’re becoming the Cubs.
Comment by Bip— May 22, 2011 #
Easy to get over $100 mil in payroll when they’re paying Juan Pierre to injure Dodgers players, Manny Ramirez to laugh and count his money, Andruw Jones to give Russell Martin a familiar face on the Yankees, and Jason Schmidt to… I dunno, wtf is Jason Schmidt doing these days?
They’ve got over $16mil in payments to players not on the team, and just about $25 mil worth of DL right now.
Comment by Dave— May 23, 2011 #
From a long-term perspective, Ethier’s injuries may be a blessing in disguise. I’m not an Ethier-hater by any means but once he goes on the DL, that will make two DL trips in two seasons for a going-to-be 32 year old who can’t hit left-handers, plays mediocre defense, and who showed last year that he’s not the same after an injury (and it’s going to be harder to come back from injury as he ages). Hopefully, this puts the brakes on any idea of a ridiculously huge contract extension for him, instead allowing the Dodgers to focus on a contract extension for the younger, more talented Kemp and an overdue multi-year deal for Kershaw. With only $46.2 million on the books for next season (per Cot’s Baseball Contracts), the lowest by far of any other major market team, the Dodgers are in good position to lock up Kemp and Kershaw and also be active in the free agency market because there will be MANY holes to fill. SS, 3B, 1B (buh bye Loney), LF, and C, come to mind.
Comment by MaxPower— May 22, 2011 #
Ethier just turned 29. I do think that the Dodgers should look to move him for a ready for majors 3b or catching prospect as none look to be ready in our own system. Robinson will be ready by next year, Kemp in RF, Sands in LF and a big signing at 1b.
Comment by west coast ram— May 22, 2011 #
My bad on his age. Dunno why I thought he was 31 right now.
Comment by MaxPower— May 22, 2011 #
We’re freeing up 60 million between this year and next? Really? Also I’ve warmed up to the idea of dealing Ethier, because I think he needs to be in a less critical defensive position and I don’t know how he’ll react to being moved while on this team. And really, we should be thinking about the future, not the present, and he’s the kind of player who is probably valuable in the present and not as much in the future, at least not as much as the prospects we can probably get for him.
Comment by Bip— May 22, 2011 #
The Dodgers could be in the same situation as the Mets with Beltran if they try to keep Ethier. I believe that Dre is a good player and could be an important piece of a playoff/championship team but he can’t be the center piece. If the Dodgers try to keep him they will have to over pay for a player that will always have poor splits.
Comment by west coast ram— May 23, 2011 #
The reason the figure committed for next year is so low is that it doesn’t include players who are eligible for arbitration next year (e.g. Kemp, Ethier) or those who have options which may vest based on performance (Furcal, Garland). In fact, quite a bit more than that will be paid for players who are currently on the team.
Comment by nsxtasy— May 23, 2011 #
I’m pretty sure there’s almost no chance of Furcal’s option vesting at this point.
Comment by Dave— May 23, 2011 #
No way Furcal’s option vests….it requires 600 plate appearances. The $12 million saved there will/should go to Kemp, preferably as part of a long term deal. Garland’s $8 million club option automatically vests at 190 innings which is still possible. The really sad part is that $11.5 million is going to Ghosts of Players Past, Manny Ramirez and Andruw Jones. But hey, at least Juan Pierre is finally off the books.
Comment by MaxPower— May 23, 2011 #
As for Ethier, “we’ll see how he wakes up,” Mattingly said. “I’m sure he feels like he’s been in a car wreck.”
Don’t we all?
Comment by Wil— May 22, 2011 #
BTW, is there a website that lists the quantity of moves a team makes to the DL as well as the total days missed by the teams’ players to the DL? I’d be curious to see where the Dodgers rank on that type of a list. They seem to be more snakebitten then most teams and not just this year. Although this year has been exceptionally high in DL stints even by Dodgers standards.
Comment by Wil— May 22, 2011 #
Baseball Prospectus has a great injury database by individual player, not sure of one by team total though.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— May 23, 2011 #
Ethier to the DL for running into a fence? He didn’t even go down. He couldn’t have hit it that hard. Come on man, cowboy up, rub some dirt on it and get back in the lineup.
Furcal and Blake to the DL is no surprise. Broxon either really, as some of us suspected something was wrong with him. Uribe has looked like a hammie waiting to happen since Day 1. This is an older group of geezers and with PED’s no longer allowed, stuff like this is going to happen – especially to those who already have a history of it.
The good news is, Dodger Stadium might finally empty out forcing a sale. Hold on fans, this can’t go on for long. It’s one season, well two counting last year, but to be rid of McCockroach will make it all worthwhile.
Comment by Rory— May 22, 2011 #
Ethier to the DL for running into a fence? He didn’t even go down. He couldn’t have hit it that hard. Come on man, cowboy up, rub some dirt on it and get back in the lineup.
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Sounds like you’ve never played baseball at a competitive level. Or, at least, you’ve never played hard.
Comment by nsxtasy— May 23, 2011 #
Nice call. I was a draft choice out of high school but joined the Marines and played briefly for them. I played college baseball, SS and LF and coached there as well. I played tournament softball for 35 years, MABL until I was 54. I crashed into fences regularly, was known as “Derby” for years because of my destruction derby style. I once went over a fence, into a quad-runner, out the other side and into a creek. And you?
You sound like a guy who has taken too much xtasy. Lay off the drugs man, they are not the answer.
I saw the play. It sure didn’t look like anything other than he misjudged the ball and bumped into the fence. There are players every day that dive after balls and go crashing into walls and into the stands. I think Ethier is a girly sissy boy if bumping a fence can put him on the DL. In fact, I think Ethier is a girly sissy boy even if he stays in the lineup. Got anything to say about that?
Comment by Rory— May 23, 2011 #
Okay, play nice, everyone. Don’t forget, Ethier was also dealing with a sore left elbow before all of this, and hasn’t been hitting all that well since that came out. He’s clearly banged up, whether it’s all due to the wall crash or not, and if he goes on the DL it surely won’t be a measure of his manliness.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— May 23, 2011 #
Ethier’s “bruise” is on his right elbow and he jammed his toe. It was a chain link fence (very forgiving as those of you with experience crashing into them know) and he basically walked right into it, standing up the whole time. He should be fine. Players play through these kind of injuries every day. Well, real players do. I don’t know about Andre.
Comment by Rory— May 23, 2011 #
I know he bruised his right elbow yesterday, he also had a sore left elbow previously. Haven’t we seen a million times before guys trying to play through minor injuries and not only hurting the team by being ineffective, but hurting themselves by not allowing the minor injuries to heal, thus turning them into larger ones?
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— May 23, 2011 #
Just comparing the fence plants, Gibbons crash last week was much more violent and he actually caught the ball and stayed in the game. Dre needs several days off but not due to injuries but to get his swing straighten out. He looks totally lost.
Comment by west coast ram— May 23, 2011 #
From what I heard, if Ethier goes to the DL, or even misses a single game, it won’t be by his choice. He says he wants to play. I didn’t see the play, so I can’t comment beyond that, other than to say I too play a rather reckless form of defense, and chain link fences are my favorite, because they give so much.
Comment by Dave— May 23, 2011 #
You can’t tell what really happened to his body just by looking at the play. Players have been injured from sneezing. One guy might crash into the wall and be fine and the other might crash into the wall in a way that looks the same, but something we can’t see might get messed up.
Comment by Bip— May 23, 2011 #
Dodger Stadium is having it’s worst year in a decade.
Comment by Brian— May 23, 2011 #
Is it time to finally put egos aside, stop screwing around with the outfield and stick Gwynn permanently in center for his defensive upside, Kemp in right and Ethier in left? In this scenario, it could also push Sands to first base and get Loney out of the lineup once and for all.
With a team built on quality starting pitching, I would think you would want your best defense out there. Sands, Carroll, Furcal and Uribe manning the infield seems like it would be a pretty good defensive alignment with Sands being the wildcard since we haven’t seen him play the position at the ML level much. Kemp and Gwynn should both be well above average in right and center respectively and Ethier should become serviceable if moved to left.
The manager needs to give this team a chance to win and that’s not gonna happen when some players aren’t being used to the their full potential while others have been given chances over and over and have not been able to produce at their current positions. The players are never going to admit that they’re over their heads…it’s the job of the manager to see this and make the necessary adjustments.
Comment by Wil— May 22, 2011 #
Who’s a better outfielder, Ethier or Sands? Also, can Ethier play first, or do people just call for him to play first with the expectation that he could easily learn it?
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I think Mattingly knows Gwynn is a better fielder than Kemp, but I think that with Kemp coming off a down year which many blamed on conflicts with Colletti and the coaching staff, everyone is worried that taking away Kemp’s center field throne might cause tension, and that he’s the kind of player that lets tension affect his performance. With the team playing the way it is, this could be the perfect breeding ground for malcontents.
Comment by Bip— May 22, 2011 #
I got Sands as the better outfielder, but am not sure about that. Ethier has an owie on his toe now, and that could slow him down.
Does it make much difference between Gwynn and Kemp in CF? And, is CF defense a problem with this team? This team needs an infusion of offense and there isn’t a logical place to get it. As long as we throw guys like Mitchell, Gwynn, Navarro, Gibbons, and Miles out there, it will be tough to score runs.
Comment by Rory— May 23, 2011 #
I think that since Loney’s been mildly better lately, Mattingly’s not going to push him out of the lineup for the sake of getting Gwynn in. It’s not like Gwynn’s been forcing his way in, anyway. I think what’ll happen is we’ll continue on like this for a few more weeks/months until eventually Trayvon Robinson comes up and pushes Sands to first.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— May 23, 2011 #
I’m all for Robinson pushing Sands to first. What’s Loney’s ultimate fate then: DFA, traded, or just put on the bench?
Comment by MaxPower— May 23, 2011 #
I think Loney is gonna be the starter for the rest of the year, unless Ned can sucker somebody into a trade.
Comment by Dave— May 23, 2011 #
As MSTI has pointed out, Loney might have value for any team not named the Dodgers due to his ridiculous home-road splits. Unfortunately, as history shows, Ned tends to be the sucker in most deals.
Comment by MaxPower— May 23, 2011 #
Hey Independentbaseball,I was wenodring on a similar note,, I once read an article about a kid that was like 11 or 12 years old that was the general manager of an independent league baseball team. I think I read it in The Sporting News or one of those publications but I can’t seem to find it. Has anyone seen or heard of anything about this?Keep up the posts!
Comment by Anabel— February 1, 2012 #
Watch Gwynn when he’s batting. He reminds me of a pitcher at the plate, flailing at anything and rarely making any contact.
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It makes sense to use him as a late-inning defensive replacement when the Dodgers already have a lead. You can’t count on him to help create that lead.
Comment by nsxtasy— May 23, 2011 #
Well the dodgers didn’t in last by Monday but 23/33 is still there. Wil the dodgers be buyer or sellers. Hoopeful sellers can’t stand NC.
Comment by Jaydavis— May 23, 2011 #
Rory
Hey I ran into the wall playing raquetball ball, mad the shot, and did not fall down 30 years ago. And yes my right big toe has not bent ever since. Standing up like a man!
Why worry about the Dodgers? It is still Spring Training isn’t it? If not then we must be watching Major League – LA version. Go Jamie! Go Commissioner Gordon! Go Bud! and GoGoGo IRS!
Comment by Ken— May 23, 2011 #
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