Dodgers Notes From Wednesday's Game 6/23/2010

Anaheim 2, Dodgers 1

Box Score.

• John Ely went 7 excellent innings, rebounding from a string of bad starts (2 Runs [1 ER], 3 Hits, 6 K, 2 BB, 97 pitches - 58 for strikes).
• Bullpen: 1 IP, 0 Runs, 1 Hit, 2 K, 1 BB.
• Andre Ethier (2 Singles, BB) reached base 3 times.
  
• The offense struck out 7 times, drew 2 walks, and had 1 extra-base hit.
• Matt Kemp was robbed twice tonight, to go along with his final at-bat last night.
  
• Rafael Furcal returned from the bereavement list. Chin-lung Hu heads back to AAA Albuquerque.
• Ramon Ortiz is a Met, signing a minor league deal.
• That 9th inning was....interesting.
  

A Retrospect: Ramon Ortiz and Nick Green No Longer Dodgers

The baseball gods surely healed the Dodgers of some of what ailed them:



This is how I felt when I heard the wonderful news they had been DFA'd.

A little late (a lot late), but eh, the vigor with which I post this is still the same as when I heard the oh so glorious news that these gentlemen had been DFA'd.

What took Joe Torre and Ned Colletti so long? Green is useless on this team (and any other), while Ortiz is a veteran, and was a San Francisco Giant. Those two traits all but guarantee you a job and a semi-long to long stint with the Dodgers nowadays.

For what it's worth, Justin Miller is likely to not be much better, if better at all. And hey, what do you know, he's a veteran AND a former Giant.

Set for life I tell ya, set for life.

Dodgers Notes From Thursday's Game 5/27/2010

Chicago 1, Dodgers 0

Box Score.

• John Ely went 7.1 really good innings (1 ER, 4 Hits, 4 K, 2 BB, 98 pitches - 65 for strikes).
• Bullpen: 0.2 IP, 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 K, 0 BB.
• Russell Martin (Single, IBB), Casey Blake (2 Singles), and Reed Johnson (Single, BB) each reached base twice.
• Blake DeWitt struck out in 3 of his 4 plate appearances.
• The offense went down swinging 9 times, drew 4 walks, and had 0 extra-base hits for the third time in the last 4 games.
• Ramon Ortiz was designated for assignment, and Justin Miller was recalled from AAA.

"He [Justin Miller] can pitch every day. I saw him do that with the Giants last year," said Torre. "In Spring Training, we knew we couldn't take him, even though you want on your staff someone with durability."

So basically what Joe Torre is saying is that because Justin Miller wasn't on the team, he was obligated to burn through Ramon Troncoso. Lovely.

Dodgers Notes From Wednesday's Game 5/19/2010

San Diego 10, Dodgers 5

Box Score.

• Ramon Ortiz was atrocious again, getting pulled after 3.1 innings (5 ER, 6 Hits, 1 K, 3 BB [1 IBB], 1 Balk, 76 pitches - 45 for strikes). He's still on the team. Why, exactly? #ReleaseOrtiz
• Bullpen: 5.2 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 4 K, 5 BB [1 IBB], 2 HR Allowed, 1 WP, 1 Hit Batter. 4 Relievers.
• Casey Blake hit his 5th HR.
• Another Dodger goes down pregame: Manny Ramirez injured his left foot and was scratched, striking out in a pinch-hitting capacity. He's day-to-day.
• Russell Martin (Double, BB, HBP) and Blake (HR, 2 Singles) reached base 3 times, while Xavier Paul (Double, Single), Jamey Carroll (Single, BB), and Reed Johnson (2 Singles) each reached base twice.
• The offense struck out 5 times, drew 2 walks, and had 4 extra-base hits.
• The Padres stole 4 bases off of Martin and the pitching staff. Somehow Matt Stairs had a stolen base. I'm sad I missed what must have been awkward, clumsy, painful-looking glory.

Dodgers Links On A Sunday Night

Andre Ethier had a splint placed on his fractured right pinkie. He'll try to swing a bat, but if I were a guessing man, I think a DL stint is still more likely than not. [Ethier Has Splint Placed On Broken Finger]

"We're hoping he's able to function, but we'll see," Torre said before the exam. "It's sore today. The trainers have been in touch."

"Over the next couple days, we'll see if there's a comfort level for him. We'll give him a day or two to let the soreness out and see what he can do with it and decide if it's enough. The last thing we want is to have him go out and do something and get into bad habits and wind up with a bad situation."

Torre related how difficult it is for a hitter to swing a bat with a broken finger, even a pinkie like the right one Ethier broke Saturday night in batting practice. Ethier explained that the finger "contorted" under the knob of the bat during a swing and the pressure of the bat cracked the first knuckle.

Ramon Ortiz will get another start. He'll take the mound on Wednesday. OY. VEY. The moral of this story, again, is that being a veteran means your leash is ridiculously long with the Dodgers. Struggle n the majors as a veteran and you get shot after shot, but prove things in the bigs, as James McDonald and Scott Elbert have done in varying sample sizes, then struggle a bit in the minors, and you're doomed to minor league servitude. [Dodgers To Give Ortiz Second Start]

"Really, there's nobody other than him," said Torre. "Carlos Monasterios [who also made a spot start May 1] was under consideration. Probably because Ortiz is the most experienced guy. We started Monasterios one time and had Ortiz behind him. When [Ortiz] gave us 80-plus pitches [last Saturday], we had a better feel for what we'd get out of him."

Charlie Haeger made a rehab start for Class A Inland Empire on Saturday, going five solid innings. [Haeger Goes 5 Innings In Rehab Start]

He will need several bullpen sessions and at least three Minor League rehab starts before he returns, which manager Joe Torre said remains some time in July.

A great story about Dodger farmhands lending a helping hand to a downed motorcyclist. The minor leaguers included Rafael Ynoa and Elisaul Pimental. [Dodgers Farmhands Assist Motorcyclist]

Dodgers Notes From Saturday's Game 5/15/2010

Dodgers 4, San Diego 1

Missed the game and another great outing from Kershaw, as poker went long and Millions Of Milkshakes was a required stop. If you find yourself in Hollywood, be sure to stop there. It's heavenly. I'll probably miss most of tomorrow's game as well. I'm around and able to watch all of Ramon Ortiz's start, but I'm going to miss Kershaw and Billingsley. Funny how things like that work out.

Box Score.

• Clayton Kershaw, coming off of his best start of the season, went 7 fantastic innings (1 ER, 3 Hits, 7 K, 2 BB, 110 pitches - 70 for strikes). He struck out the side in the 2nd inning.
• Bullpen: 2 IP, 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 2 K, 0 BB.
• James Loney hit his 4th HR of the season, and also stole his 5th base.
• Loney (HR, BB) and Jamey Carroll (2 Singles) each reached base twice.
• Manny Ramirez went 0-4 with 3 Ks.
• The offense struck out 9 times, drew 2 walks, and had 2 extra-base hits
• Andre Ethier fractured his right pinkie during batting practice. Big loss, even considering Dre will eventually cool down.

Dodgers Notes From Friday's Game 5/14/2010

Dodgers 4, San Diego 3

Box Score.

• Ramon Ortiz made his first (and hopefully last) start of the season, going 4 innings (3 ER, 6 Hits, 4 K, 3 BB [1 IBB], 1 HR Allowed, 86 pitches - 54 for strikes).
• Bullpen: 5 IP, 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 5 K, 0 BB. 5 Relievers.
• Matt Kemp crushed his 8th HR of the season, a 2-run bomb to dead center.
• Kemp stole his 6th base of the season.
• Andre Ethier (Double, Single, 2 BB [1 IBB]) reached base 4 times, Kemp (HR, Single, BB) reached base 3 times, and Manny Ramirez (Single, BB), Russell Martin (Double, Single), and Jamey Carroll (Single, IBB) each reached base twice.
• The offense struck out 6 times, walked 6 times, and had 4 extra-base hits.
• Rafael Furcal was expected to be activated from the DL for today's game, but his hamstring didn't feel right in his rehab appearances, and he will most likely miss the entire weekend series in San Diego.

"In my mind, I don't feel I can do it the way I want to do it," he said about playing through the injury. "It's 80, 85, 90 percent. I want to be aggressive. I don't want to play and they take me out after two innings and they lose me for 60 days."

Rafael Furcal, Charlie Haeger, and John Ely Updates

Rafael Furcal is ready to go on a rehab assignment. Hurry back Raffy, hurry back. The team hopes to have him back Friday.

--------------------------------------------------

As obvious as it was becoming by the day, the Dodgers finally placed a pitcher on the DL in order to recall John Ely in time to start Tuesday in Arizona. The pitcher is Charlie Haeger, the injury is plantar fasciitis, the foot injured is his right.

The same article mentions Ramon Ortiz will almost certainly start Friday.

John Ely Back To AAA, Ramon Ortiz Lucky To Be A Veteran

The Dodgers activated Jeff Weaver prior to Friday's game, and in order to do so had to clear a spot on the 25-man roster. The obvious guy to remove would be Ramon Ortiz, he of the general suckiness and awful pitching. Instead, they opted to send John Ely back down to AAA.

I, along with pretty much every other Dodger fan, saw this one coming. Most of us hoped differently, but knew that unless the Dodgers fundamentally change their approach to roster management, it was going to come to this.

Now I don't have a problem if the Dodgers feel AAA is the best spot for Ely for the time being. Ely isn't an elite prospect and doesn't have tremendous stuff, but I think if he reaches his ceiling he can be a solid contributor in the back end of the rotation, and if he were to surpass his ceiling, could potentially be a serviceable fringe Number 3 starter.

John Ely had minor league options left, and could be sent down without being exposed to waivers; Ramon Ortiz could not, and could be claimed if the club tried to send him down. Would he have been claimed? I wouldn't if the decision were mine, but he probably could have found work or at least the opportunity of work elsewhere. That being said, the Dodgers were actually scared to lose him, and thus kept him on the 25-man roster.

Let me repeat that: the Dodgers fear that without Ramon Ortiz pitching for them, the bullpen would suffer, and consequently the team would suffer. Life without Ramon Ortiz would be worse in the eyes of Dodgers brass with a say in this decision.

Ely could very well be recalled for Tuesday's game, but only if a pitcher is DL'd before then, and after Charlie Haeger's "start" Saturday and George Sherrill being George Sherrill, that seems more and more likely by the second.

Dodgers Notes From Saturday's Game 5/8/2010

Colorado 8, Dodgers 0

Box Score.

• Charlie Haeger, back in the rotation after a stint of literally just sitting in the bullpen, followed by a blowout long-relief appearance, did not record an out and was pulled after 4 batters (5 ER, 2 Hits, 0 K, 3 BB, 22 pitches - 8 for strikes). Ramon Ortiz was equally unappealing in relief.
• Haeger may have just signed his pink slip, though I would still keep him over Ortiz.
• Bullpen: 9 IP, 3 ER, 9 Hits, 10 K, 2 BB. 4 Relievers.
• Manny Ramirez returned after a 15-day DL stint with a right calf injury and singled. As mentioned yesterday, Xavier Paul returned to AAA Albuquerque and Garret Anderson remained the luckiest man on the face of the Earth, employed for another day. Hopefully not with the Dodgers for much longer.
• Andre Ethier (Double, 2 Singles) reached base 3 times.
• The offense struck out 7 times, walked 2 times, and had 1 extra-base hit.
• It appears someone will be DL'd, phantom injury or otherwise, to allow John Ely to be recalled and start Tuesday. Unless I'm missing something, which is quite possible. I guess Jeff Weaver could start even with having thrown an inning tonight, but two days rest is a recipe for awful. Either way, lot of dead weight on the team right now. But they're veterans, so it's seasoned dead weight.
• Iron Man 2 was pretty good, so that's a positive for the day.

Dodgers Notes From Saturday's Game 5/1/2010

Dodgers 5, Pittsburgh 1

Box Score.

• Carlos Monasterios went 4 solid innings in his first big league start (1 ER, 3 Hits, 2 K, 2 BB, 2 Hit Batters, 1 HR Allowed, 73 pitches - 39 for strikes). He was definitely wild, but looked pretty good when he did find the strike zone. Still best suited to be a reliever, but a good spot start when the Dodgers needed one.
  
• Bullpen: 5 IP, 0 Runs, 3 Hits, 6 K, 0 BB.
  
• Andre Ethier hit his 7th HR of the season.
• Ethier (HR, 2 Doubles) reached base 3 times, while Matt Kemp (Single, BB), James Loney (2 Doubles), and Reed Johnson (Double, Single) each reached base twice.
• The offense drew just 2 walks and struck out 7 times.
• Somehow Ramon Ortiz threw 3 scoreless innings of relief and struck out 5 while allowing just 2 baserunners, including striking out the side swinging in the 6th. Hew should still immediately be designated for assignment and never pitch in a Dodger uniform again.
  

Monday's Dodgers Game: Rain FAIL

Today's game has been rained out, so our first doubleheader of the young season comes tomorrow. Rotation questions still to be answered by Joe Torre. Let's just remind him: NO RAMON ORTIZ.

Damn, now I have to actually do my other work. At least tonight brings us House and 24. Jack Bauer wouldn't let a little rain stop him from saving New York.

UPDATE: As I was about to post this, Dylan Hernandez Tweeted that Hiroki Kuroda will pitch Game 1 Tuesday and Charlie Haeger will in fact move up a day and pitch Game 2. Questions answered.


[Photo via The Season Experience]

Who Should Replace Vicente Padilla?

With the news that Vicente Padilla has been sidelined with a strained forearm and will hit the 15-day DL, the question becomes who will replace him in the Dodgers rotation? Who will Joe Torre and Rick Honeycutt deem worthy enough to replace our venerable Number 4 1/2 starter?

First, confirmation from the Dodgers that Padilla is Padidown (/wah wah), and a fairly troubling quote from Vicente:

"I can't even throw right now," Padilla said, declining to speculate on the severity of the injury.

The choices at their disposal, currently up in the bigs:

• Ramon Ortiz
• Jon Link, recalled to replace Padilla
• Carlos Monasterios

A few more choices, currently at AAA:

• James McDonald
• Scott Elbert
• Josh Lindblom
• Josh Towers
  

Eric Stults, where for art thou, Eric Stults? Oh yeah, you're turning Japanese. And Jeff Weaver, who would have undoubtedly gotten the spot-start, is DL'd with a bad back.

Two excellent rundowns of the options come from Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness, who fears we'll see Josh Towers (who I had thankfully forgotten about), and Eric Stephen at True Blue L.A., who prognosticates Elbert could get the call. One thing that's for sure: we're all just hoping it's not Ramon Ortiz.

If I were to guess, and that's all it really is, a guess, I would rank these gentlemen, in likelihood of getting the start:

1. Ramon Ortiz
2. Josh Towers
3. Scott Elbert
4. Josh Lindblom
5. James McDonald
6. Link/Monasterios
   

Whoever it is (and there is the possibility of rain in New York or Torre deciding to run a 4-man rotation for a short amount of time) the chosen one only needs to realistically go 5 innings or into the 6th, and not get completely shellacked.

I'm fairly positive they all can do it once or twice, but I'll admit it, I'm terrified of a Ramon Ortiz start. Josh Towers doesn't make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside either, but they're both veterans, so it will more than likely be one of them getting the ball handed to them in New York next week.

Still, my vote, if I had one, would go to James McDonald. Then Scott Elbert. Somehow, I think Josh Towers would get the bronze from me. I guess it's because he kind of reminds me of Dave Bush. And that is........well, it's something alright.

Dodgers Notes From Saturday's Game 4/24/2010

Dodgers 4, Washington 3

Box Score.

• Clayton Kershaw went 6 innings (2 ER, 8 Hits, 6 K, 3 BB, 1 WP, 1 Balk, 111 pitches - 69 for strikes). A fielding miscue added on at least a dozen pitches, but another good outing from Clayton.
  
• Bullpen: 7 IP, 1 Run [0 ER], 6 Hits, 5 K, 0 BB, 1 Hit Batter.
• Carlos Monasterios pitched very well over the final 2.2 innings allotted to him, and in doing so saved us from Ramon Ortiz trying to close out a game.
  
• Casey Blake knocked out his 2nd and 3rd HRs of the season.
• Rafael Furcal stole his 8th base, while Russell Martin stole his 1st base of the season.
  
• Blake (2 HRs, Single) and Furcal (Triple, Single, BB) reached base 3 times, while Matt Kemp (2 Singles), Andre Ethier (Single, IBB), and James Loney (2 Singles) each reached base twice.
  
• Martin and Furcal made bad errors, as the Dodger defense continues to struggle mightily.
  
• Xavier Paul got the start in left for the injured Manny Ramirez, seeing his first action of the young season. I had hoped for this to happen, and hopefully it will continue to happen over the extent of Manny's DL stint. Xavier should really be in RF though, with Ethier in LF. A nice relay from XP to cut down a runner at third and save a run.
• I'm not a fan of EVER double-switching out your best player.
• The offense struck out 8 times while drawing just 2 walks, one of them intentional.
  

Dodgers Notes From Friday's Game 4/23/2010

Washington 5, Dodgers 1

Box Score.

• Charlie Haeger went 5.1 IP (4 Runs [3 ER], 5 Hits, 3 K, 2 BB, 2 HR Allowed, 110 pitches - 67 for strikes). Two HRs from Adam Dunn did him in, but there's no shame in being taken yard by Dunn. Dunn's first long-ball was truly a majestic shot.
• Bullpen: 2.2 IP, 1 ER, 1 Hit, O K, 4 BB. All Ramon Ortiz, still hanging on to that valuable roster spot.
  
• Ronnie Belliard (2 Singles, BB) reached base 3 times, while Blake DeWitt (Double, IBB) reached twice.
• Matt Kemp did not reach base, the first time all season he has failed to reach base in a game.
• Manny Ramirez hit the 15-day DL due to his right calf injury, and is replaced on the roster by Xavier Paul.
• Russell Martin and Casey Blake had the day off. Both made appearances late in the contest as pinch-hitters.
• The offense drew just 2 walks, one of which was intentional.
  

Notes From Monday's Game, 4/5/2010

Opening Day, the most glorious of glorious days.

Pittsburgh 11, Dodgers 5

Box Score.

• Vicente Padilla was his usual mediocre, at best, bad self, going 4.1 putrid innings (7 ER, 6 Hits, 2 K, 3 BB [1 IBB], 2 HR Allowed, 2 HBP, 93 pitches - 55 for strikes). Again, this is not a surprise. Padilla's never been great, and never even been that good. He's much more likely to pitch like this than to pitch like he did for a few starts at the end of last season.
• Bullpen: 3.2 IP, 4 ER, 4 Hits, 1 K, 1 BB, 1 WP, 1 HR Allowed. 5 Relievers.
  
• Ramon Ortiz appeared in his first game since 2007. He went 2/3rds of an inning, allowing 2 Hits and giving up 1 ER. He also allowed 3 inherited runners to score.
  
• Garrett Jones's 1st inning mammoth HR is still traveling. Not only has it left Pittsburgh, but it's also left the state of Pennsylvania, heading towards points unknown. It wishes Vicente well. Jones also had a second HR and a couple of nice catches out in right field.
• Matt Kemp drove in the first runs of the season for the Dodgers with a 2-run single in the 1st inning.
  
• Russell Martin (Double, BB, HBP) reached base 3 times, while Kemp (Single, Double), Manny (Single, Double), Blake DeWitt (2 Singles), Rafael Furcal (Single, BB), and Casey Blake (2 Singles) each reached base twice.
  
• Martin had himself an interesting first game after missing much of Spring Training due to injury. He committed an error and a base running mistake, taking himself out of scoring position, but also lined a nice opposite-field double in the 5th inning.
• Carlos Monasterios made his Major League and Dodger debut, throwing a scoreless 6th inning (O Hits, O K, O BB, 8 pitches- 6 for strikes). Congrats on the nice debut.
• Russ Ortiz appeared in a Dodgers uniform and pitched. I took a picture with my cell phone camera, and the phone then proceeded to die.
• The offense drew just 2 walks while striking out 5 times.
• Blake also made an error on a routine grounder.
  
• Steve Lyons, just shut up already. Stop talking about wins and losses, about stats, and generally, about anything and everything.
  
• Nice 3rd inning interview with Clayton Kershaw, very interesting.
  

Torre Announces Some Roster Moves

Joe Torre confirms that Garret Anderson, Ramon Ortiz, and Jeff Weaver will all make the team.

"Barring anything unforeseen, Garret Anderson will make the team," Torre said. "And so will Jeff Weaver and Ramon Ortiz"

2 roster spots remain, barring anything unforeseen.

Dodgers' 5th Rotation Spot

Ned Colletti is looking for a "bona fide No. 5 starter", according to an interview he gave to Buster Olney. Colletti is of course overlooking the fact that a number 5 starter really just needs to be able to eat innings and not crap himself every time he steps on the mound. Any upside from that number 5 starter is a bonus, as the spot is usually just a revolving door of mediocrity and washed-up old veterans.

Especially, when it comes to the Dodgers, of the "washed-up old veterans" variety.

Ned, if you can't feel comfortable letting James McDonald, Charlie Haeger, Scott Elbert, Eric Stults, or some truly crappy veteran you, for some strange reason, decided to pick up off of the scrap heap, hold down the number 5 spot, then you really need to give up your job.

It's not like we can go out and acquire a Johan Santana or even an Oliver Perez, someone who has been more than a number 5. We have the classic set-up of number 5 starter candidates: young guys, rookies, and old messes like Russ Ortiz, Ramon Ortiz, and Josh Towers.

Oh, and I'd be down to see you not be GM regardless of who is the number five starter. Who's with me?

Ramon Ortiz, Hop On Board

Ramon Ortiz has inked a 1-year minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training.

Ortiz, 37 in March, has pitched for Anaheim, Cincinnati, Washington, Minnesota, and Colorado over 9 big league seasons, throwing 1359.2 innings in that span.

Ortiz has not thrown a pitch in a big league game since 2007, and sports a career 5.07 FIP, as well as a career 5.97 FIP in the postseason. His career strikeout and walk totals are unimpressive, to say the least, as well: 5.6 K/9 IP, 3.1 BB/9 IP.

A good friend of mine is a huge Angels fan, and a fan of Ramon Ortiz as well. Consequently (as to the first point), he hates the Dodgers, and has been poking some fun at me regarding all of the Dodgers' crappy signings. It's nice to have someone to silently commiserate with, though neither of us have been particular silent (a quick jaunt through the recent archives here will attest to that).

I'm quite interested to hear what he thinks about this one.

Torn, I'm sure he is.