April 5, 2017

Yasiel Puig hit his first home run of the season, and Rich Hill pitched 5 strong innings as the Dodgers defeated the Padres 3-1 on Wednesday night at the Ravine.

It’s was a rough spring training for Hill, but he got on track in his first start of the season.  He went 5 innings, giving up just 2 hits, and allowing only Hunter Renfroe’s solo home run in the 4th inning.  Hill also struck out 5 and walked 3.

“I only threw 75 pitches and I made one mistake on the home run, but it’s early, and I felt good tonight,” Hill said. “I made some mechanical adjustments, and I feel good about it.”

Sergio Romo, Alex Wood, and Kenley Jansen pitched the rest of the way, shutting down the Padres. Jansen picked up his first save of the season by pitching the 9th.

The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead on an RBI double from Adrian Gonzales, which scored Corey Seager.  Gonzales would score later in the inning on a fielding error from Padres 1st baseman Will Myers.

After Renfroe cut the lead in half in the 4th, Puig put the ball over the left field wall in the Dodgers half of the 4th.  It came on a 2-1 pitch to extend the Dodger lead to 3-1.

“I’m trying to make better swings,” Puig said through an interpreter. “I’m not used to batting that low in the order, but it keeps me in the lineup so I have to do my job.”

The 4th and final game of the series will be on Thursday night at the Ravine.  Brandon McCarthy gets the call for the boys in blue.  The Padres will counter with former Angel Jered Weaver.

April 4, 2017

The Padres got 8 shutout inning from Clayton Richard on Tuesday night, and they defeated the Dodgers 4-0 at Chavez Ravine.

Yangervis Solarte hit a home run and the Dodgers grounded into four double plays on this night.  The Dodgers were limited to just 5 hits after exploding for 14 hits and 14 runs the day before.

“Clayton’s goal is to put the ball on the ground and he’s a high percentage sinker,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “When he’s doing that, he’s going to be tough.”

Corey Seager went 0-4 for the boys in blue, with a strikeout, and hit into two double plays.  Kenta Maeda went 5 innings, and gave up 3 runs on 6 hits in the loss.

“It’s a long season,” Maeda said. “We still have a lot of games to play.  I was a little bit too excited, being the season opener,” he said through a translator. “(Richard) really moved the ball well and kept the hitters off balance. He kept the rhythm off balance, which is something I wasn’t able to do for my team.”

Solarte also had an RBI single in the 1st inning to put the Padres ahead 1-0.  As sacrifice fly from Ryan Schimpf made it 2-0 after the one inning.  After Solarte’s solo blast in the 3rd, Will Myers tacked on an RBI single in the 8th.  That was all the scoring the Padres needed.

The game brought back memories of the Dodgers’ struggles against left handers last year.  “I hate to go back to last year, but it feels like they were anxious at-bats against left-handers,” third baseman Justin Turner said. “Not waiting guys out, getting mistakes over the plate. But we’ll get better.”

Game 3 of the series is on Wednesday night at the Ravine.  Rich Hill will get his first start of the season for the Dodgers, and he’ll be opposed by Trevor Cahill.

April 3, 2017

The Dodgers started the 2017 season off on a positive note by pounding the Padres 14-3 on opening day at the Ravine.

Joc Pederson hit a grand slam home run in the 3rd inning, and Yasmani Grandal followed with his first of two homers after that, and the Boys in Blue cruised to victory.  Clayton Kershaw scattered just 2 hits in 7 innings of work for his first victory of the season.  Kershaw struck out 8, walked 1, and retired 19 straight batters before giving up a solo home run to Ryan Schimpf in the 7th.  It was the only earned run the Dodgers’ ace would allow.

The win was the 7th consecutive opening day victory for the Dodgers.  Corey Seager homered in the 5th inning for LA, a 3-run blast, and Justin Turner contributed 3 hits and 2 runs.  The Dodgers hit a  franchise-record four opening day home runs.

The Padres got on the board in the 1st inning, taking advantage of a two-base error by Seager.  A wild pitch, followed by a single from Yangervis Solarte gave the Padres a 1-0 lead.  However, a Pederson sacrifice fly in the bottom-half of the inning tied the score at 1-1.

After Pederson and Grandal broke the game open in the 3rd, the Dodgers continued their onslaught in the 4th.  Justin Turner hit a two-run double, and LA would tack on two more runs off of two wild pitches from Padres pitcher Christian Bethancourt.  After Seager’s home run in the 5th, the Dodgers led 12-1.

Kershaw made only 84 pitches, and was replaced by Chris Hatcher, who pitched the last two innings.    Hatcher struggled in spring training, and gave up 1 run and 3 hits in his two innings of work.

Grandal’s 2nd home run of the game came in the 8th inning, and was a 2-run blast.

Game 2 of the four game set will be tomorrow night at Dodgers Stadium.  The Blue Crew will send Kenta Maeda to the mound, while the Padres will counter with Clayton Richard.

October 3rd, 2013

The Dodgers finally make a return to the post-season on Thursday, for the first time since 2009.  The Boys in Blue will be going up against the NL East Champion Atlanta Braves.  The Braves finished 96-66, while LA was 92-70.  Atlanta also won the season series with the Dodgers 5-2, but all of those games took place before LA’s historic winning streak.  The Dodgers cooled off quite a bit in September, going just 13-14, but they may have caught a break.  Atlanta cooled off just as much, going 12-15.  Even though the Braves have home field advantage and the best home record in baseball, the Dodgers posted baseball’s best road record.

THE PITCHING

This Dodgers have a major advantage here.  In games 1 through 3, they’ll be sending Clayton Kershaw, Zach Greinke, and Hyun-Jin Ryu to the mound.  The Braves will counter with Kris Medlen, Mike Minor, and Julio Teheran.  Medlen is nice, but he’s going up against the best pitcher in baseball, and Greinke is the best #2 starter in the game.  Any questions?

Advantage: LA

THE LINEUPS

The Braves have an explosive offense.  They have a notable advantage at catcher with all-star Brian McCann, who has great power, more consistency at 3rd base with Chris Johnson, and in the outfield with Justin Upton and Jayson Heyward.  Atlanta lead the National League in home runs, and they have two of the league’s top 3 hitters with Johnson and Freddie Freeman.  Meanwhile, the Dodgers are missing some power in their lineup with Matt Kemp out, and Andre Ethier limited to pinch hitting duties.  Even with Kemp, their offense has struggled to score runs in the last month.  They’ll need Hanley Ramirez, Yasiel Puig, and Adrian Gonzales to come through.

Advantage: Atlanta

THE BENCH

The Dodgers have quite a bit of depth here.  Andre Ethier can supply some solid hitting off the bench, and Michael Young can come in to play either corner infield spot.  Nick Punto is also a very solid utility player, who is capable of coming up with clutch hits.  The Braves don’t have much here.  Just BJ Upton, who has played more like Kate Upton this year.

Advantage: Dodgers

THE BULLPENS:

The Braves have had the best bullpen in baseball all season.  They posted the lowest ERA in the majors, and suffered just 15 losses all year.  Their bullpen is also anchored by Craig Kimbrel, who led all NL closers in saves and ERA.  If he gets the ball, the game is over.  The Dodgers bullpen isn’t exactly chopped liver though.  Kenley Jansen, Brian Wilson, and JP Howell were lights out in September.  The Dodgers are counting on their starters working deep into the game.

Advantage: Braves

PREDICTION:

The Braves are capable of hitting the ball out of the park, but they also struck out more than any other NL team.  This means they sit back and wait for the long ball, instead of manufacturing runs. This could be big problem against the best starting pitching staff in the game.  Remember, pitching has always been the great equalizer in the post season.  The Dodgers will also have to start Skip Schumaker in center field, with Andre Ethier injured.  However, Schumaker has championship post season experience with the Cardinals, and has even hit well against Medlen.  If the Dodgers can return to the timely hitting we saw in July and August, they should be able to win this series easily.  Dodgers in 4.

September 7th, 2013

Just when you think Matt Kemp is ready to play again, he suffers another injury.  I could almost feel Dodger fans collectively roll their eyes over all forms of social media on Friday, when they discovered Kemp pulled his hamstring again. This latest setback could end Kemp’s season, which has been a train wreck.  Even Andrew Bynum thinks Matt Kemp gets hurt a lot!

Kemp had been recovering from a sprained right ankle, which he suffered on July 21st, against the Reds.  This was his third extended trip to the DL this season, as he has battled shoulder and hamstring issues all year.  He started a minor league rehab assignment about a week ago, but struggled harder than Charlie Sheen does after a Saturday night bender.  Kemp was 0-18 with 7 strikeouts while playing single A baseball.  His performance was so atrocious, he was sent to Arizona to rehab at the Dodgers spring training facility instead of being a part of the minor league playoff roster.

Kemp is hitting .263 with just 6 home runs and a career low .700 OPS.   It was only one year ago that he was considered one of the best all around players in baseball. After the Dodgers put together a historic two months of baseball without him, they sound like they are totally ok moving on without him.  With just 23 games left in the season, Kemp doesn’t have much time to get it together to make the Dodgers playoff roster.  “We’ve gotta move on.  We’ve gotta continue to play,” said GM Ned Colletti.  “They’re not going to stop the season for us or give us a bye.”

With Yasiel Puig in the Dodgers lineup it sounds like Colletti isn’t just moving on.  He sounds like he just dumped his girlfriend who’s gained a few pounds for Kate Upton.  Considering that Colletti signed Kemp to a 7 year $160 million deal last year, I’m not sure how easy that break up will be.

The Dodgers may feel that they can get by without Kemp for the rest of the year, but lets not lose perspective here Dodger fans.  Kemp is an unstoppable force when he’s healthy, and it sure would be nice to have his bat in the World Series, especially with the DH.  LA may be giving up on his return, but Kemp isn’t.  Today, he took 15 swings in Arizona, and might try running tomorrow.  Time is running out this season for Kemp to return and make an impact, but he certainly cares a great deal, and wants to help this team win the World Series.  You also can’t underestimate his leadership in the clubhouse, and how much his teammates respect him.

I keep hearing from Kemp’s critics that he doesn’t have good fundamentals, and doesn’t play hard.  I don’t hear any of these critics talk about Yasiel Puig’s game the same way, even though he never hits the cutoff man.  The Dodgers have the luxury of having 4 good outfielders, and that’s important because all 4 are very high risk to injury with their style of play.  I sure hope the Dodgers think long and hard about that before trading anyone this winter.

August 15th, 2013

In life, there are certain advantages that having more money gives you.  No, I’m not talking about rich Republicans using it to their advantage.  I’m talking about the Dodgers, and the advantage of their $220 million payroll.  LA is currently paying 4 outfielders a total of $55 million this year.  Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Carl Crawford, and Yasiel Puig.  Conveniently enough, all 4 have never been healthy enough to play at the same time.  So having 4 quality outfielders hasn’t been a problem……yet.

When Kemp gets healthy in the next two weeks, having this depth will be a luxury.  A perfect example was last night, when Don Mattingly summoned Andre Ethier off his bench to pinch-hit in the bottom of the 9th inning, and Ethier delivered a game tying 2-run homer.  In a few weeks, one of these stud outfielders will be coming off the bench and playing less.  However, if the Dodgers keep winning, everyone will remain happy.

But what about after this season?  Should the Dodgers keep all 4 of these guys or consider trading one?  Puig is already a superstar on a very affordable contract, so he can’t be traded.  Matt Kemp has the most trade value, but he’s only 28, and was playing like an MVP just one year ago.  Carl Crawford is still a useful leadoff hitter for LA, and his contract would be expensive for many other clubs.  Andre Ethier’s numbers have been down this year, and probably wouldn’t return much in a trade.  Why not keep all 4?

Trading the likes of Ethier or Crawford would probably bring back nothing more than an expensive, underachieving, veteran pitcher in return.  That is something the Dodgers don’t need.  What they will need in the winter is a 3rd baseman.  That’s why they need to teach Ethier to play 3rd.  Puig’s arm is to good to move from the outfield.  Kemp is still a gold glove center fielder.  And Crawford is a bit fragile at this stage of his career to play the hot corner.  That leaves Ethier, who has the arm and the athleticism to learn the position in the off-season.

All 4 of these outfielders are getting paid great money for the next several years, so keeping them happy shouldn’t be hard.  As long as the team continues to win, why not give a great lineup a chance to be even greater?  Moving Ethier to 3rd would mean an everyday lineup of Crawford-Puig-Kemp-Ramirez-Gonzales-Ethier, which would be the new “Murderer’s Row”.

When you can afford a $220 million payroll, you can afford to have 4 expensive outfielders.  The Dodgers should make every effort to keep all 4 of them, and give them every opportunity to succeed together.  Ethier at 3rd not only allows all of them to play everyday, but provides great depth and flexibility for the Boys in Blue if one of their outfielders get hurt.  In that case, Ethier could move right back to the outfield.  In the meantime, this situation seems to be working itself out because the Dodgers are rolling,

July 17th, 2013

Trying to figure out what type of team the Dodgers are is about as hard as trying to keep Lindsay Lohan from getting drunk.  The Dodgers were just 30-42 after 74 games, and in last place in the NL West.  However, they went on to win 17 of their next 22 games, to even their record at 47-47, and are now just 2.5 games behind Arizona for first place in the division.  So is the glass half full or half empty?

It’s fair to say that with a $209 million payroll, LA has underachieved.  If you have the highest payroll in baseball, you shouldn’t be a .500 team.  If you have a $200 million payroll, you should probably have a closer that doesn’t wet the bed every night, and some consistency on the left side of your infield.  More importantly, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier, two of the teams highest paid players, should be hitting the ball out of the ballpark.    All of that has the makings of a team that is an expensive bust.

Then again, injuries have slowed the Dodgers down.  Hanley Ramirez has spent half the season on the DL, Matt Kemp’s been on it twice, and even when he’s been in the lineup, he’s been ailing.  Zach Greinke was a moron in San Diego, and spent nearly two months recovering from a broken collar bone.  Carl Crawford has recently spent time on the DL, as have starting pitchers Chris Capuano and Ted Lilly.

All of those things aside, since calling up Cuban phenom Yasiel Puig, the Dodgers have had the best record in the National League.  Their re-surgence has not only coincided with Puig doing his best Bo Jackson impersonation, but also, with Ramirez, Greinke, and others getting healthier.  Manager Don Mattingly also seems to have temporarily solved his bullpen issues by putting Kenley Jensen in that role, and exiling Brandon League to a remote desert island.

Nearly every team in the NL West has made a run thus far.  The D’Backs have been in first place for most of the season, but had one stretch where they lost 8 of 9, and their division lead over LA has shrunk from what was once 9.5 games.  The Giants spent some time in first place early in the season, then dropped 14 of their next 16 games.  The Rockies spent parts of April and May in first place, but came back to earth and are now 3 games under .500.  The Padres went 33-21 over a 54 game stretch and were in 2nd place in the division, but have only won 4 of their last 22 games.  In other words, the remaining 68 games figure to be crazier than Mr. Toads Wild Ride.

With Puig in the fold, the Dodgers are definitely a different team.  He has completely energized the entire ball club, and saved Don Mattingly’s job for the time being.  LA has one of the best starting pitching staff’s in baseball, led by Clayton Kershaw, who has the lowest ERA in the game.  Zach Greinke has looked very good of late, Hyun-Jin Ryu has been excellent for most of the season, and the newly acquired Ricky Nolasco looks reliable.  The bullpen remains a question mark, but with Jansen closing and the recent emergence of Paco Rodriguez, the Dodgers relief core has been stabilized for now.

The Boys in Blue seem like a good bet to make the playoffs at this point.  They are only 2.5 games back in the division, and 5.5 games out of the wild card.  If LA can remain reasonably healthy and Puig and Ramirez continue to tear it up, playing in October isn’t unreasonable.  For $209 million, the Dodgers aren’t the most well balanced, and well constructed ball club.  However, they can still become an elite team if Matt Kemp can get healthy again, and become the power hitter he was early last season.  As for Andre Ethier, he may just end up being an expensive 4th outfielder, but it’s just money and the Dodgers have plenty of it.

June 29th, 2013

Remember when the Dodgers had a surplus of starting pitching to start the season?  Now they are desperate just to find pitching.  LA got some bad news today, as right-hander Josh Beckett will undergo surgery and miss the remainder of the season.

Beckett has been diagnosed with Thoracic outlet syndrome, and has been experiencing nerve irritation in his neck, as well as numbness in his pitching fingers.  The surgery is expected to sideline Beckett for 3-5 months, and will be performed by Dr. Greg Pearl in Dallas.

Although Beckett wasn’t slamming fried chicken in the clubhouse like his days in Boston, this season he’s been more abused than a battered housewife.  He went 0-5 with a 5.19 ERA.  He’s also owed $15.75 million this year and next year.

Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter underwent the same operation last July, and is currently experiencing a slow recovery one year later.  This means the Dodgers will now have two pitchers under contract next year, who may miss time recovering from injury in Chad Billingsley, and Beckett.

June 12th, 2013

These brawls never seem to go well for the Dodgers.  The boys in blue got into another brawl with a division rival on Tuesday night at the Ravine, but this time, Zach Greinke wasn’t dumb enough to charge into somebody and break his collarbone.  Even though nobody was injured and the Dodgers won the game, that doesn’t mean it won’t prove to be costly for LA.

The Dodgers rookie sensation Yasiel Puig may be suspended for his role in the brawl, which would be another blow to a team that has been sinking faster than the Titanic.  Puig has suddenly become the team’s best player, which explains why his teammates protected him after he was hit in the nose in the 6th inning on a pitch by D’Backs ace Ian Kennedy.  Zach Greinke does deserve credit for fearlessly plunking Miguel Montero in the next inning, but the game of revenge should have stopped there.  Greinke was plunked by Kennedy near his head in the bottom of the inning, which resulted in the bench clearing brawl.

The best part of the brawl was the fact that the old-timers on both sides took center stage.  Mark McGwire tossed around Matt Williams, and Don Mattingly took down Alan Trammell.  The only thing that would have made this more entertaining is if Charlie Steiner had stormed into the Diamondbacks broadcast booth and body slammed Bob Brenly.

Why the hell is baseball the only sport that allows this nonsense to go on?  Even in hockey, where they allow fighting, they never allow the benches to clear.  Then again, I’m trying to rationalize the rules of a league that refuses to eliminate cheating and use more instant replay to help its umpires.    I forgot that Bud Selig must be trying to preserve “the purity of the game”.

Regardless of this ridiculous culture, pitchers should never throw at anyone’s head.  They are messing with players careers when they do it, and they need to be punished for it.  Ian Kennedy should be suspended for at least a month for doing this not once, but twice!

As for the Dodgers, the notion that “they finally put up a fight” is absurd.  Most of the fight was handled by the old-timers on their bench anyway.  That’s like your grandpa standing up for you when you’re getting your ass kicked in a bar by somebody half your size.   The real fight these guys need to put up is in the batters box, where with the exception of Puig, the Dodgers have been getting a beat down.

June 5th, 2013

Can Yasiel Puig save the Dodgers?  It’s only been two games, but he’s already 5 for 8 with 2 home runs, 5 RBI, and 3 extra base hits.  Just to put that in perspective, Puig already has as many home runs as Matt Kemp.  He has more extra base hits than Luis Cruz, and nearly half as many hits in 34 fewer games!  This dude can play, and he probably should have been playing in the majors 20 games ago.

Puig is much less polished than Angels outfielder Mike Trout was when the Halos called him up last year.  However, he is already creating a tremendous buzz at Dodger Stadium that we haven’t seen since everyone was sporting those Manny Ramirez wigs.  Puig is going to make mistakes, but there is no doubt the Dodgers need to keep him in the lineup as long as possible because he is currently their best chance to win.

The Dodgers are 7.5 games back in the NL West, and 8.5 games back of the wild card.  These are  deficits that aren’t insurmountable, but they’ll need Puig and Hanley Ramirez to carry the load offensively.  That jolt could pull the Dodgers out of the NL West basement, but at some point Puig figures to regress toward the mean.  He may end up being a great player for LA, but he’ll take some time to put it all together.

Puig reminds me of a young Raul Mondesi, which is actually scary because he has the same maturity issues as Mondesi.  Nevertheless, every time this guy comes to the plate, everyone stops what they are doing to see how special Puig could really be.

At some point, if the Dodgers are going to do any damage, Matt Kemp or Andre Ethier will have to pull their games out of the crapper.  Everyone wants Andre Ethier ejected from the universe immediately after just two solid games from Puig.  I say ride the wave until his hot streak ends, and maybe it will push Ethier and Kemp to get their games together.  Until then then, enjoy the Puig Party!