People are always asking me on Twitter whether Dee Gordon will be demoted. Demoted? Please. Don Mattingly won’t even budge on dropping him from the top spot in the lineup. For whatever reason, Mattingly absolutely refuses to consider dropping Gordon from the top, and judging by what he said to AJ Cassavell yesterday, it doesn’t seem like he’ll be changing ... Read More »
After posting a 2.43 ERA and 2.73 FIP in 33.1 innings out of the bullpen last year, it seemed as if former top prospect Scott Elbert had found his future in the bullpen. This year though, he has struggled, posting a 5.87 ERA and a 6.35 FIP. So what’s wrong? His slider, apparently. “I feel good,” Elbert said. “I’m pounding ... Read More »
Everybody wants to find the reason that Javy Guerra is struggling in 2012, especially after he burst onto the scene with a too-good-to-be-true 2011. One common theory? He’s throwing too many fastballs. @ChadMoriyama do you think guerra is throwing too many fastballs especially with 2 strikes? — Brian Rincon (@bmr209) April 26, 2012 I was skeptical at first, as I ... Read More »
Starting this year, I’ve made a habit of utilizing Twitter’s search function to find fan reactions to Dodgers events. The purpose of this is partially for laughs and partially for curiosity, but a larger part of the reason revolves around wanting to keep track of which players fans like and dislike … irrationally. So yeah, I willfully torture myself for ... Read More »
Juan Uribe is off to a miserable start for the Dodgers in 2012, putting up a .231/.259/.231/.490 line while playing a mediocre third base. After a particularly ugly swing in the bottom of the eighth inning of Friday’s game against the Padres, color guy Steve Lyons took at look at Uribe’s swing mechanics. Basically what Lyons pointed out is that ... Read More »
Andrew Ross Sorkin of the New York Times recently wrote an article about the new owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and it wasn’t exactly flattering. Mr. Walter, along with his colleague Todd Boehly, Guggenheim’s president, appear to be living out a childhood fantasy using other people’s money, some of whom may not even realize it. In addition to their ... Read More »
Between his Spring Training appearances and his appearance on Opening Day, Kenley Jansen was bitten by the home run ball four times in ten innings. In 80.2 IP prior to Opening Day, Jansen had only given up three homers, and the homer trend was concerning enough to make the Dodgers coaching staff address a supposed mechanical flaw they found. The ... Read More »
“Less” — the comparative effectiveness of the franchise’s free agent spending under his reign. “Most” — the production contributed by cost controlled players while he’s been in charge. —– Ned Colletti has been the GM for one of the most successful runs in Los Angeles Dodgers history, compiling at 511-460 record since the 2006 season, good for third in the ... Read More »
If you hadn’t noticed already, all of us contributors over at True Blue LA recently gave our predictions for the 2012 season. As you can see, I have the Dodgers at 81-81, finishing 3rd in the division, and missing the playoffs. I explained why in a few paragraphs. Chad Moriyama While a new era in Dodgers history has begun, the ... Read More »
Kenley Jansen Kenley Jansen is the epitome of an under-appreciated fireman in the pen, putting out any fire, no matter the size, intensity, or probability for continuation. Pitching full-time for just about three years, the 24-year-old fireballer fanned an out-of-this-world 16.10 batters per nine innings last season. Yes, he walked a few too many (4.36), but he has plenty of ... Read More »
Clayton Kershaw What more can I say about Clayton Kershaw other than that he has perhaps the brightest future of any player in baseball – and has already had more success than most - and all at just 24 years of age? Entering 2011, Kershaw was coming off of two 4+ WAR seasons (4.1, 4.7), had fanned over nine per ... Read More »
As the excitement from getting out from under Frank McCourt‘s reign dies down a bit, we’ll have to start analyzing exactly what the hell just happened, both good and bad. Well, in an effort to do exactly that, Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles talked to economists about the sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and he found that the ... Read More »
Coming off of a 2009 season full of late-game heroics, 2010 and beyond appeared to hold great promise offensively for Andre Ethier. However, a pinkie injury in ’10 followed by a knee injury last season – along with any existing offensive flaws and limitations that remained – threw a wrench in his plans. Limited to 139 and 135 games over ... Read More »
This is one of the few pieces in this 2012 Season Preview that I’m going to truly enjoy penning. How could I not find joy in recapping one of the greatest seasons in franchise history, one of the handful of players on the Los Angeles Dodgers who has a ton of promise, and the man who should have won the ... Read More »
When you’re a team full of over-the-hill or never-were veterans, a team that is offensively-challenged to the umpteenth degree beyond your dominating center fielder, and a team that has a broke owner, playing your top offensive prospect who doesn’t make a lot of money and has the most upside of any of your left field candidates is the obvious and ... Read More »
Chad Moriyama Dodgers, Sabermetrics, Scouting