Doyers Thread

[Villain]

*Even though the Dodgers' is still slow to warm up, the team has begun the year with four consecutive quality starts for the first time since 1972. Kershaw is starting tonight so there's a pretty awesome chance that the streak grows to five. Ryu pitches Sunday. From TBLA: "Dodgers starting pitchers through four starts have a 1.30 ERA with 22 strikeouts and one walk in 27⅔ innings this season."

*Fun scoring fact from TBLA:

Paco Rodriguez followed Greinke on the mound and was greeted by A.J. Ellis throwing out McCutchen trying to steal second base. Rodriguez struck out Pedro Alvarez on three pitches and on the season has the distinction of facing four batters, yet recording five outs.

*Andre Ethier still can't hit lefties, but so far this season against LHP he's 3 for 7 with two doubles and a home run (and 3 strikeouts). Granted, one double and the home run came off of the venerable Jonathon Sanchez (who sucks) - but the other double was against Madison Bumgarner (who is good, and shut out the Dodgers that night). Against righties this year, he's 1 for 8 with 3 more Ks...

*Zack Greinke threw into the 7th inning and didn't let a runner reach second base. He gave up two hits - the first one almost ruled as an error. Without the second hit, Mattingly might have kept Greinke in the game longer to go for a possible no-hitter (some expected the offical scored to change the ruling on the first hit). Second hit was by Andrew McCutcheon and it was a no-doubter - then Donnie brought the hook.

Decide for yourself on the first hit:

 

*Chad Billingsley will likely make his 2013 debut on Wednesday. Lilly, Capuano, and Harang still need to be dealt with one way or another. FWIW, Lilly was horrid in a minor-league rehab start.

[Villain]

Clayton Kershaw: 16 IP, 6 H, 1 BB, 16 Ks, 0 ER, 1 CG, 1 SO
Hyun-Jin Ryu: 12.2 IP, 13 H, 2 BB, 11 Ks, 3 ER, 1 HR
Zach Greinke: 6.1 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 6 Ks, 0 ER
Josh Beckett: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks, 1 HR, 3 ER

Dodgers Bullpen: 13 IP, 1 H, 4 BB, 11 Ks, 0 ER

Chad Billingsley should be making his 2013 debut this week in San Diego.

[Villain]

http://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgersnow/la-sp-dn-dodgers-hanley-ramirez-cast-20130409,0,566799.story

Dodgers' Hanley Ramirez to get cast removed this week

By Dylan Hernandez
April 9, 2013, 3:04 p.m.

SAN DIEGO – Sidelined shortstop Hanley Ramirez said he expects to get the cast removed from his right hand this week.

With the cast stabilizing his surgically repaired right thumb, Ramirez is already taking grounders, throwing and hitting one-handed. He remains hopeful he could return to the lineup by the middle of next month.

“I’ve been doing everything,” said Ramirez, who underwent surgery March 21 to repair a torn ligament in his thumb.

Ramirez said he doesn’t know what he will and won’t be able to do once his cast is removed.

“Let’s see how everything feels when I get the cast off,” he said.

Ramirez said missing opening day was difficult.

“It’s my first time that I miss opening day,” he said. “It’s not easy.”

Ramirez acknowledged that he sometimes gets antsy.

“What I do is go in the gym and work,” he said.

Even though Ramirez was injured in the World Baseball Classic, he said playing for the tournament champion Dominican Republic marked the high point of his career.

“It’s got to be,” Ramirez said. “I won in the winter league a couple times, but it’s not the same. This is a thing where the whole world was watching. It was like the World Series.”

Ramirez has never reached the major league postseason.

“It’s a way different feeling when you have a trophy in your hands,” he said.

Ramirez has no regrets about playing in the tournament.

“It could have happened anywhere,” he said.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130409&content_id=44320290&notebook_id=44320292&vkey=notebook_la&c_id=la

Hanley declares himself ahead of schedule

By Ken Gurnick / MLB.com | 04/10/2013 12:02 AM ET

SAN DIEGO -- Nobody with the Dodgers will say Hanley Ramirez is ahead of schedule in his recovery from right thumb surgery, except Ramirez.

"A couple weeks ahead," said Ramirez, who had surgery for a torn ligament on March 21, and was expected to miss eight weeks.

Ramirez has already had one longer cast replaced by a shorter one that allows him to throw a baseball. That cast comes off later this week, then he will begin strengthening exercises.

But Ramirez said when doctors took off the first cast, they performed a test that determined the ligament was healing well. Ramirez said he's been swinging one-handed in the cage, while taking ground balls regularly at shortstop during infield drills.

"I haven't heard any date. I haven't asked, either," manager Don Mattingly said. "He's still a ways away. He's not throwing-throwing, but he's been able to do a lot of stuff baseball-wise, one-handed stuff, quite a bit of baseball stuff. Hopefully that shortens the timetable of him being sharp when he comes back.'

(Don Newcome)

[Villain]

MSTI

Here’s a List of Players With Fewer Home Runs Than Juan Uribe:

1 Jacoby Ellsbury 1
2 Paul Konerko 1
3 Michael Saunders 1
4 Chris Heisey 1
5 Jason Heyward 1
6 Jarrod Saltalamacchia 1
7 Matt Holliday 1
8 Ryan Howard 1
9 Nick Hundley 1
10 Nate Schierholtz 1
11 Alex Gonzalez 1
12 Edwin Encarnacion 1
13 Alcides Escobar 1
14 Andre Ethier 1
15 Jeff Francoeur 1
16 Juan Francisco 1
17 Brett Gardner 1
18 Justin Sellers 1
19 Adrian Gonzalez 1
20 Justin Ruggiano 1
21 Jimmy Rollins 1
22 Jose Reyes 1
23 Trevor Plouffe 1
24 Joe Mauer 1
25 Andrew McCutchen 1
26 Yadier Molina 1
27 Miguel Montero 1
28 Kendrys Morales 1
29 Gerardo Parra 1
30 David Murphy 1
31 Nick Markakis 1
32 Manny Machado 1
33 Adam Jones 1
34 Ben Zobrist 1
35 Howie Kendrick 1
36 Josh Reddick 1
37 Alexei Ramirez 1
38 Martin Prado 1
39 Pete Kozma 1
40 Erik Kratz 1
41 Chris Parmelee 1
42 Brandon Crawford 1
43 Ike Davis 1
44 Nelson Cruz 1
45 Adrian Beltre 1
46 Carl Crawford 1
47 Will Venable 1
48 Lyle Overbay 1
49 Luis Valbuena 1
50 Jason Castro 1
51 Matt Carpenter 1
52 B.J. Upton 1
53 Alberto Callaspo 1
54 Mark Trumbo 1
55 Norichika Aoki 1
56 Alejandro De Aza 1
57 A.J. Ellis 1
58 Michael Bourn 1
59 Yonder Alonso 1
60 Jose Altuve 1
61 Rickie Weeks 1
62 Josh Donaldson 1
63 Miguel Cabrera 1
64 Greg Dobbs 1
65 Lance Berkman 1
66 Michael Young 1
67 Carlos Beltran 1
68 Ichiro Suzuki 1
69 Matt Wieters 1
70 Juan Pierre 0
71 Ben Revere 0
72 Jhonny Peralta 0
73 David Wright 0
74 Salvador Perez 0
75 Cliff Pennington 0
76 Carlos Pena 0
77 Ryan Zimmerman 0
78 Dustin Pedroia 0
79 Placido Polanco 0
80 Buster Posey 0
81 Donovan Solano 0
82 Alfonso Soriano 0
83 Justin Smoak 0
84 Andrelton Simmons 0
85 Giancarlo Stanton 0
86 Drew Stubbs 0
87 Kyle Seager 0
88 Marco Scutaro 0
89 Nick Swisher 0
90 Ruben Tejada 0
91 Brendan Ryan 0
92 Josh Rutledge 0
93 Denard Span 0
94 Shane Victorino 0
95 Joey Votto 0
96 Neil Walker 0
97 Mike Trout 0
98 Eric Sogard 0
99 Angel Pagan 0
100 Dustin Ackley 0
101 Allen Craig 0
102 Luis Cruz 0
103 David DeJesus 0
104 Daniel Descalso 0
105 Andy Dirks 0
106 Matt Dominguez 0
107 Ryan Doumit 0
108 Brian Dozier 0
109 Mark Ellis 0
110 Yunel Escobar 0
111 Starlin Castro 0
112 Lorenzo Cain 0
113 Melky Cabrera 0
114 Pedro Alvarez 0
115 Elvis Andrus 0
116 Erick Aybar 0
117 Brandon Belt 0
118 Emilio Bonifacio 0
119 Jackie Bradley 0
120 Michael Brantley 0
121 Jay Bruce 0
122 Marlon Byrd 0
123 Everth Cabrera 0
124 Danny Espinosa 0
125 Chris Getz 0
126 Carlos Gomez 0
127 Evan Longoria 0
128 Jonathan Lucroy 0
129 Starling Marte 0
130 Victor Martinez 0
131 Justin Maxwell 0
132 Cameron Maybin 0
133 Nate McLouth 0
134 Jesus Montero 0
135 Justin Morneau 0
136 Mike Moustakas 0
137 Josh Hamilton 0
138 Jason Kipnis 0
139 Jeff Keppinger 0
140 Alex Gordon 0
141 Jedd Gyorko 0
142 Adeiny Hechavarria 0
143 Aaron Hicks 0
144 Eric Hosmer 0
145 Torii Hunter 0
146 Omar Infante 0
147 Austin Jackson 0
148 Desmond Jennings 0
149 Matt Kemp 0
150 Chris Nelson 0

[Hasselbeck]

Will become a Doyers supporter this year more than ever thanks to MLB.tv and my Scully love

[Villain]

If you study that list closely enough, you'll see every other Dodgers hitter.

[Hasselbeck]

If you study that list closely enough, you'll see every other Dodgers hitter.

Yeah as a Matt Kemp fake team owner/fanboy .. I am well aware of the Doyers struggles on offense right now.

[Villain]

Yeah as a Matt Kemp fake team owner/fanboy .. I am well aware of the Doyers struggles on offense right now.

Just remember that the Dodgers are getting men on base. The RBIs will come.

[Villain]

Jackie Robinson Day = Vin Scully gold:

http://www.truebluela.com/2013/4/16/4231070/vin-scully-branch-rickey-video

Click above link for a video.

One of the great things about having Vin Scully as an announcer is his unique ability to tell firsthand stories of some of the great moments in both Dodgers and baseball history, the benefit of 64 years behind the microphone. On Jackie Robinson Night on Monday, Scully during the Prime Ticket broadcast reflected on interviewing for his job with Branch Rickey.

The story was gold:

"It was a big day, Jackie Robinson singing with the Brooklyn Dodgers and Branch Rickey, which reminds us to compliment Harrison Ford, who did a terrific job as Branch Rickey. I can say that because I interviewed for the job scared to death sitting on the other side of the desk looking at Mr. Rickey, wondering what he was going to ask me and how it was going to go.

"He wound up the discussion by asking me questions The questions were, 'Are you married?'

"No sir.

'Are you engaged?'

"No sir.

'Are you going steady?'

"Then he lit that little cigar, and said 'Get a girl, go steady, get engaged, and get married.' Yes sir. It scared me to death, but he was right."

[Villain]

MSTI

Why Can’t Money Hit the Ball?
Posted on April 17, 2013 by Mike Petriello

As we continue what now appears to be a daily series of “what fans think is wrong with the Dodgers,” let’s move away from Dodger blue and into big, stinky Guggenheim green. Yes, for as many people asking for Dee Gordon & Yasiel Puig to come up, there’s a nearly equal amount attempting to point out — whether in disgust or joy — that a team with a $230 million payroll has some holes in it.

While frustration is understandable, it is of course ludicrous to expect that any team, no matter how expensive, is going to win all 162 games. With 93% of the season remaining, the Dodgers are at 7-7, just two games behind the Giants. (Yes, you heard me. The Rockies are 10-4, and they’re not for real. Mark it.) That’s with the handicap of losing their starting shortstop and #2 pitcher, so you’ll excuse me if I’m not ready to raise the white flag yet with a team that doesn’t even have a losing record.

Name wOBA $
Gonzalez .438 $21m
Crawford .436 $20m
A.Ellis .358 $2m
Ethier .337 $13.5m
M.Ellis .283 $5.25m
Sellers .244 494k
Kemp .215 $22m
Cruz .089 505k

Besides, if this is really about money, let’s look at the regular roster and see which group of salaries is lagging behind, shall we?

Check out the chart at right. Adrian Gonzalez & Carl Crawford, making a combined $41 million this year, are more than pulling their weight. A.J. Ellis is off to a fine start as well; Andre Ethier is somewhat behind his career norms, yet still safely above the current NL average for non-pitchers, which is .324.

It’s the second half of the chart that’s the problem, though Mark Ellis has long been expected to contribute far more on defense than on offense. What you have here is two of the three lowest-paid players doing the worst, while two of the three highest-paid players doing the best — and Justin Sellers is only in the discussion because Hanley Ramirez injured his thumb, a situation which will be rectified in the next few weeks. That seems like basically the scenario you’d expect.

We could do the same for the pitching staff, but the rotation is generally both well-paid and productive, with Chris Capuano‘s injury-shortened bomb last night being the first truly awful outing of the year. (And not only was he in a tough spot having sat in the bullpen for weeks, he was deemed not good enough to make the rotation in the first place, pitching only due to the crimes of Carlos Quentin.)

What this really comes down to are the same two things we’ve been talking about for a while. First, Matt Kemp is off to an atrocious start, and second, Luis Cruz has been awful. Kemp’s struggles have been beyond frustrating, and it seems likely that he’ll get the night off tonight to give him two days free before the team heads to Baltimore (!) to begin an east coast trip. I can’t say I know the answer to what his problem is — though I’ll note, again, how serious his shoulder surgery was and how foolish it was that he continued playing for a full month after being hurt last year — but there’s little we can do other than give him time to work it out. No, you can’t demote him to Triple-A — and yes, that’s a real suggestion I’ve heard, which is insane even if the team could legally do it, which they can’t — and if you must drop him in the lineup that’s fine, but it’s unlikely to have much impact. Whatever Kemp’s problem is, it’s not something related to his wallet.

As for Cruz, well, we’ve spent more than enough time talking about him. He was stuck in the minors for more than a decade for a reason, after all; the Dodgers gave him a chance, and it hasn’t worked out. Even then, I’m not sure what the team could reasonably have expected to do, given the market last winter. Did you really want Kevin Youkilis? Yunel Escobar? To give every non-Puig prospect on the farm for Chase Headley? It’s one thing to have money, and it’s quite another to have a viable option to spend it on.

I know we’re all frustrated by how this season has started off, but it’s really not about how much money was spent. So far, the expensive players have produced — other than Kemp — and the cheaper placeholders haven’t. The offense is still getting its share of players on base (8th best in MLB), so it’s really a matter of getting hits with men in scoring position. That, sadly, is not a tangible skill, inasmuch as a player is no more likely to get a hit with a man on than he is otherwise. It’ll even out. It has to, and simply getting Kemp right and either Sellers or Cruz replaced with Ramirez will go a long, long way towards that.

[Villain]

Start season with 9 starting pitchers. Trade one and then lose 3 to the DL in 10 days... //Dodgers

[Villain]

I've been in denial about this... Not really surprised now that it is a reality.

[Villain]

I believe this decision was made last night as they added Matt Magill to the 40-man roster mid-game and a call from Los Angeles took him out of a decent start down in AAA Albuquerque. He didn't know why until later when he was informed of his new status.

SP Depth Chart:
1. Kershaw
2. Ryu
3. Beckett
4. Lilly
5. Fife
------
6. Matt Magill (AAA)
7. Zach Lee (AA)

DL: Zack Grienke (broken collar bone), Chris Capuano (calf strain), Chad Billingsley (Tommy John, out for year)

[Villain]

Of course, Chris Capuano's calf strain was from the Greinke/Quentin fight.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/chris-capuano-aggravated-calf-injury-during-greinke-quentin-155050588--mlb.html

[Villain]