Hiroki Kuroda, L (6-13)
July 28, 2011 at 6:40 am | Posted in Hiroki Kuroda | 35 Comments
If Wednesday night’s loss to Colorado was indeed the final start as a Dodger for Hiroki Kuroda, it came in the most appropriate fashion possible: six innings of one-run ball, twice as many strikeouts (six) as walks (three)… and yet another loss, since the inept Dodger offense couldn’t be bothered to put a run on the board until Rod Barajas‘ solo homer with one out in the ninth. (On a side note, another strike for pitcher W/L records; Kuroda, Blake Hawksworth, and Mike MacDougal all allowed the same damage of one earned run. Kuroda allowed that much over six innings, while Hawksworth did it in one and MacDougal in one and a third. Yet Kuroda is the one with the blemish on his record. Uh, okay.)
That inspired Jon Weisman to pass along this astonishing note:
Since May 22, Kuroda is 1-10 with a 3.38 ERA.
Unbelievable. Let’s take a look at that stretch of games…
| Gm | Date | Opp | Rslt | Inngs | Dec | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | HR | 2B | 3B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | May 22 | CHW | L,3-8 | GS-6 | L(5-4) | 5.2 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | May 28 | FLA | L,1-6 | GS-6 | L(5-5) | 5.1 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 12 | Jun 3 | CIN | L,1-2 | GS-6 | L(5-6) | 6.0 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Jun 8 | PHI | L,0-2 | GS-6 | L(5-7) | 5.1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 14 | Jun 13 | CIN | L,4-6 | GS-7 | L(5-8) | 6.1 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Jun 19 | HOU | W,1-0 | GS-7 | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 16 | Jun 25 | LAA | L,1-6 | GS-5 | L(5-9) | 5.0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | Jul 1 | LAA | W,5-0 | GS-7 | W(6-9) | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | Jul 6 | NYM | L,3-5 | GS-6 | L(6-10) | 6.0 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 19 | Jul 16 | ARI | L,2-3 | GS-6 | L(6-11) | 6.0 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 20 | Jul 22 | WSN | L,2-7 | GS-7 | L(6-12) | 6.1 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | Jul 27 | COL | L,1-3 | GS-6 | L(6-13) | 6.0 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 133.0 | 128 | 46 | 36 | 103 | 14 |
Five times he allowed fewer than two earned runs, and still came away with the loss. In fact, the only two times in that entire stretch where he didn’t come down with an L were the two games in which he was essentially perfect – seven scoreless innings on June 19 against Houston (which didn’t even get him a win), and seven more scoreless innings on July 1 against the Angels.
And yet, from all we’ve heard, Kuroda has little interest in being freed from this trap, despite rumors that interest from the Red Sox and Yankees (in addition to the Rangers, Brewers, Indians, and Tigers) is growing. Kuroda’s comments to MLB.com show little inclination of a man preparing to leave town:
“My honest feeling is that I can’t fathom wearing another uniform than the Dodgers uniform right now,” Kuroda said through a translator. “I never thought about it, and it’s really hard to think.”
That may be, but Kuroda holds all the power in a potential deal, meaning he could have come out weeks ago and said he flat-out didn’t want to be traded.
“I haven’t really decided on anything, so I can’t really give you an answer,” Kuroda said. “Today I was wearing a Dodgers uniform, and I was playing here, to win, for this team. I have a few days before the Trade Deadline, so I’m going to think about it, I’m going to talk to my agent about it, and we’ll go on from there.”
Of course, Kuroda is a notoriously private person in the public eye, so it’s not in his personality to say anything that would take his focus away from the next start or even the next pitch. As the deadline nears, it’s becoming clear that the best thing for the Dodgers is to see him elsewhere. Whenever the Yankees and Red Sox are in on the same player, that can only mean good things for the seller, particularly since the Yankee rotation behind CC Sabathia continues to be a mess as Phil Hughes struggles to regain his form, and the injury concerns for Boston’s Clay Buchholz are growing.
Besides the big two, Milwaukee’s interest in working with the Dodgers may have only grown since second baseman Rickie Weeks injured his ankle last night. That, plus the death knells of Craig Counsell‘s career (0 for his last 43 [!!!]), the struggles of Casey McGehee, and Yuniesky Betancourt being Yuniesky Betancourt means that the Brewers ought to be in hard on Jamey Carroll, or even Rafael Furcal – or both. And Detroit and Cleveland are both rumored to still be extremely interested in adding Kuroda.
Clearly, it’s best for the Dodgers that Kuroda move on; depending on who they get back, it would help for the future, and in the short term, it’s not like Dana Eveland or John Ely couldn’t lose games as regularly as Kuroda has been. Professionally, it’s certainly best for Kuroda, who would go to a team that isn’t a total embarrassment and offer him a chance to play in October. It’s the personal issue that is the sticking block, though one would think that going on a two-month road trip before being free to choose whether to return to Los Angeles or even Japan wouldn’t be so much as to scuttle the entire idea.
With 3 days left before the deadline, I’m putting the odds at 70/30 that Kuroda stays in Los Angeles. Prove me wrong, Hiroki (and Ned). Prove me wrong.
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If Ned has the brains to pick up decent prospect(s) and Hiro is willing to take a two month vacation from this offensive drought, then something should get done that benefits all parties. How could it cost the Dodgers? They can lose 3-1 with Kuroda or lose 8-1 with Ely, et al.
Comment by SamAdams— July 28, 2011 #
Hey Mike,
Do you think there is any chance that the Dodgers could pick up Casey McGehee in a trade with the Brewers. He could be a nice buy low candidate since he’s having a down year. Seeing as he’s only 28 I think it wouldn’t be too surprising if he had a bit of a bounce back to his 2009/2010 performance.
Comment by Alex— July 28, 2011 #
Perhaps; not a bad idea, though he’s been brutal this season. Haven’t heard anything to that effect though.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— July 28, 2011 #
Any possibility that a package of Carroll and Furcal could get that done?
Comment by Alex— July 28, 2011 #
Can Ned trade Kuroda and Furcal for Dotel, please?
Comment by chewdogg101— July 28, 2011 #
Ned does not trade vets. He trades * for * vets.
Comment by jWerthFan— July 28, 2011 #
From mlbtraderumors.com: “Four factors limiting Kuroda’s trade value: since his signing bonus is yet to be paid, he’s owed almost $6.8MM of his $12MM contract still. Second, as a player with less than six years service time he’s not eligible for draft pick compensation. Third, he possesses leverage with a full no-trade clause, which I think may require additional compensation to waive. Fourth, he’s never pitched in the American League.” — Ok so all that plus despite what Mattingly says I bet Rubby gets shut down in Sept. With a minimal return and two holes in the rotation I’m ok with keeping Kuroda.
Comment by Warren— July 28, 2011 #
I know this is off subject but did the chances of the Dodgers trading Ethier increase after his performance last night? Not hustling on a groundout that was bobbled by Tulo? I don’t live in the LA area so I have to watch all the games on TV but I could have sworn I heard a smattering of boos from the crowd. It was the Rockies broadcast and they mentioned it briefly.
I like Andre but to me, he is the only commodity the Dodgers have who could bring but worthwhile prospects. I say send him to Boston to join his buddy Pedroa and see what you can get in return. He’s obviously not happy here and we’ll lose him if we don’t play our cards right.
Comment by Gordon Moody— July 28, 2011 #
I would be fine with trading Ethier (for the right deal, of course), but I don’t think any chances of dealing him or not dealing him were impacted in any way by last night’s game.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— July 28, 2011 #
He won’t be traded for not hustling. But here are some valid reasons. 1) He is about to be paid more than he is worth. 2) His power seems to have vanished. 3) He says dumb stuff at inappropriate times. 4) He is incredibly inconsistent. 5) His defense which was never very good is on the verge of being a liability. 6) His value elsewhere is greater than it is in LA. 7) Next year’s team will likely not content so his money could be better spent. 8) He has yet to get a handle on his emotions and hurts the team when he gets frustrated. I could probably come up with a few more. :)
Comment by Warren— July 28, 2011 #
can you imagine he is what most would consider our 2nd best position player on the team this year.
Comment by dodgers66— July 28, 2011 #
the fact that Kuroda wants to stay despite the problems shows his loyalty. you know my opinion on this one Mike. trading Kuroda is a very bad idea.
hes willing to stay through the good and the bad times, he bleeds blue. we dont need to be bank rolling Boston’s pennent drive, or the tigers division race, just so we can get whatever marginal prospects there willing to throw at us, which wont be anywhere near Kuroda’s worth. with Ely and or Eveland in the rotation for the last couple of months, we will lose 100 games. Kuroda should be a Dodger forever. if they want to trade Carroll or Furcal fine, I could live with that, but Kuroda should wear blue forever
Comment by format— July 28, 2011 #
I know we’re never going to agree on this, but I care much more about talented players than loyalty. If Kuroda really cared about the Dodgers so much, he’d agree to be traded so they can improve for the long term and then resign with LA in the offseason.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— July 28, 2011 #
I do believe that there are factors that are depressing Kuroda’s trade value (mentioned above) and I’m not in favor of moving him for organizational depth. If you can’t get a MLB contributor or high end prospect then keep him and work to get him signed for another year. With Weeks going down last night our monkey should be calling the Brewers with a deal for Furcal and Miles.
Comment by west coast ram— July 28, 2011 #
if your hoping for Craig Counsel in return
Comment by dodgers66— July 28, 2011 #
This occurred to me also, but barring a whole shitload of favorable developments, what are the odds of 2012 being any better than this year? That said, I’d still trade Kuroda for prospects. You have to do what’s best for the team.
Comment by brooklyndoyer— July 28, 2011 #
[...] percentages, I put the chances of a Kuroda deal at 50-50 the other day. My brother-in-arithmetic, Mike Petriello (who’s my second favorite Dodger blogger, by the way) ventured a 70-30 guess that [...]
Pingback by Kuroda is going, going, almost gone - Dodger Blue Baseball Blog - The Orange County Register— July 28, 2011 #
I see the Giants have spoken to LA about Furcal. Just watch, Uncle Ned will net us Pat Burrell to fix our LF “problem”. Terrific.
Comment by Gibby's Limp— July 28, 2011 #
Do you think the dodgers are going to offer him
a deal in the off-season? There’s no guarantee to that either…
Comment by Blue4ever— July 28, 2011 #
Does anybody else like that Kuroda doesn’t want to leave? I mean, it’s bizarre, but still, it genuinely seems like he loves it here. He signed for less, and is hesitant to wave his no-trade clause. I think he’s been a great Dodger either way, but part of me will like him even more if he stays.
Comment by BMcD— July 28, 2011 #
Kuroda sees himself as a Dodger, period. That’s one of the reasons everyone (from teammates, manager, front office, fans, me) really likes him. He really wants to stay. Lilly really wants to stay as well. That’s one of the reasons I hate him.
Comment by The Dude Abides— July 28, 2011 #
I’d like to see Kuroda stay as well. Who are we really going to get other than a marginal prospect? I don’t think Kuroda is too concerned with being on a team headed for the World Series. His allegiance is to the Dodgers, and as a fan I truly appreciate that sentiment. Yes, we need to look towards the future, but until McCourt is out of the picture I’m afraid this team can’t truly succeed. I’m also not for trading Ethier. His 30 game hit streak was one of the few bright spots during an otherwise awful season. I think they will trade Carroll or Furcal. With Gordon in the wings they are both expendable.
Comment by Stacie Wheeler— July 28, 2011 #
Rosenthal just tweeted that the Dodgers are asking for a near-major league ready pitching prospect for Kuroda. Sigh….
Also, they’re looking to trade either Carroll or Furcal, not both. Sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Comment by The Dude Abides— July 28, 2011 #
Rosenthal has like a 15% success rate with his rumors.
Comment by Doppel— July 28, 2011 #
Turns out the first rumor was Stark’s, the second was Rosenthal’s.
Comment by The Dude Abides— July 28, 2011 #
Kuroda and Furcal to the Giants for Zito and Burrell. Giants pick up the contracts for Kuroda and Furcal. Dodgers pick up the contracts for Zito and Burrell.
.
This is a fair deal. We’re not going anywhere this year, but my friend Brian Sabean has promised me he’ll look out for the Dodgers in the future. And I always believe my friend Brian. After all, he helped me a lot with Jason Schmidt and Juan Uribe. We wouldn’t have been able to make those deals if it weren’t for my friendship with Brian. Brian has assured me that Barry Zito will recapture his winning ways once he’s closer to his beloved SoCal beaches and has Rick Honeycutt to guide him.
Comment by Ned Colletti— July 28, 2011 #
dammit Ned dont do it!
Comment by format— July 28, 2011 #
Ned, step away from the phone.
Comment by The Dude Abides— July 28, 2011 #
Ned, I know that you realize that is a totally unfair deal and you’re holding out for your friend Brian to sweeten the deal with Aaron Rowand!
Comment by west coast ram— July 28, 2011 #
Ned wants to make it a three team deal and swap Aaron Rowand to the Cubs for Soriano left field problem solved! Neds a genius
Comment by dodgers66— July 28, 2011 #
Soriano isnt an ex-Giant. no way Ned would rather have him than Rowand
Comment by Joey E.— July 29, 2011 #
I knew that Ned couldn’t resist getting involved with a contract as bad as Zito’s.
Comment by Bip— July 29, 2011 #
Kuroda and Guerra to the Yankees for Jesus Montero!
Comment by Justin— July 29, 2011 #
that would be a good trade for Dodgers will never happen while Ned is our GM.
Comment by dodgers66— July 29, 2011 #
[...] yet again on July 28: If Wednesday night’s loss to Colorado was indeed the final start as a Dodger for Hiroki Kuroda, [...]
Pingback by MSTI’s 2011 in Review: Starting Pitchers, Part 3 « Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— November 4, 2011 #