Mark Ellis finally hit the 15-day DL, being placed on it Monday retroactive to April 27. The Dodgers activated Chris Capuano from the 15-day DL in a corresponding move.

It took the Dodgers about a week longer than it should have, but as expected Mark Ellis was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Monday with a strained right quad. The move clears a spot for Chris Capuano to be activated from the DL to start the series opener Monday night against the Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium.

Capuano returns from a strained left calf that sidelined him for 20 days. He made one rehab start, last Wednesday against Memphis with Triple-A Albuquerque, and allowed two runs in 5⅓ innings.

What a season. Also, why would you wait so long, Don and Ned? Does playing a position player short for an entire week with a team already lacking in offensive talent on the bench really sound like a good idea?

——

Jerry Hairston Jr. also joined the injury club, as he was placed on the disabled list due to a strained groin. Elian Herrera was recalled from AAA.

The Dodgers made it official on Tuesday, placing Jerry Hairston on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left groin. Elian Herrera was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque before the second game of a three-game series against the Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium.

I would call the Herrera promotion a surprise, as he is the weakest hitter of the four options from Triple-A Albuquerque, but he is also the only one of the four both healthy and on the 40-man roster.

“He’s and outfielder, pretty much. We feel like those are his best positions, the corners,” manager Don Mattingly said of Herrera. “He’s played the corners. He’s a right-handed bat.”

Herrera was the choice because he was on the 40-man and others weren’t, which led to the following move.

—–

Herrera was soon thereafter sent back to AAA, as Scott Van Slyke was recalled after being added to the 40-man roster.

Van Slyke, who was designated for assignment in December and outrighted off the 40-man roster, came into camp with something to prove this season, and showed it during the season’s first month. He hit .397/.503/.733 with nine home runs, 10 doubles, 32 runs scored, and 30 RBI in 34 games for Albuquerque.

Insurance with A-Gon battling his neck injury. It only makes sense, which begs the question of why they waited so long and had to deal with Juan Uribe and friends at first for multiple games.

—–

To allow SVS’s addition to the 40-man, Chad Billingsley was transferred from the 15-day DL to the 60-day disabled list.

—–

Tim Federowicz was recalled from Albuquerque, as Justin Sellers was sent down.

The Dodgers on Wednesday bolstered their bench by recalling red-hot catcher Tim Federowicz from Triple-A Albuquerque, and optioned infielder Justin Sellers to Triple-A before their series finale against the Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium.

“We had plenty of infielders,” said manager Don Mattingly. “We look at it from the standpoint of having a better hitting bench.”

Hey look, three catchers again. Ramon Hernandez‘s days could very well be numbered.

—–

Our own Dustin Nosler brings us the news that righty Ross Stripling was promoted from High-A to Double-A.

The Dodgers on Tuesday promoted right-handed pitcher Ross Stripling to Double-A Chattanooga from High-A Rancho Cucamonga. The 2012 fifth-round draft pick has been on a nearly meteoric rise since the Dodgers popped him last season.

Stripling, 23, posted some impressive numbers in the California League early this season. He struck out 34 batters in 33 2/3 innings, walked 11 batters and allowed just one home run. Those are numbers for anyone to hang his hat on, let alone a guy in his first full season in a hitter’s haven.

Due to his age and performance, he’s understandably being fast-tracked. If he performs at AA, and with the way injuries are going, who knows where he ends up in September.

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Greg Zakwin is the founder of the site Plaschke Thy Sweater Is Argyle. Follow him on Twitter @ArgyledPlaschke.

Zack Greinke is throwing from 90 feet in his recovery effort from a broken collarbone.

The Dodgers have been encouraged by Zack Greinke’s recovery from a broken left collarbone, and the right-hander is already throwing less than three weeks removed from surgery.

Greinke threw from 90 feet before Monday’s game against the Rockies. He had surgery on April 13 and had a metal plate inserted into his clavicle to stabilize the fracture. But that’s not prevented him from beginning a throwing program.

“It’s still a little achy here and there, but nothing worse than what you would expect, I think,” Greinke said. “You try not to have setbacks but at the same time do what you can.”

Greinke is likely to be sidelined until mid-June, but the Dodgers are still pleased with his progress.

“I was pretty excited when he walked through the weight room today,” manager Don Mattingly said before Monday’s game. “He’s feeling better. We’re getting closer. We’ll see if he’s sore tomorrow or feels good again.”

He doesn’t appear to be ahead of or behind the schedule.

—–

Ted Lilly is hurt … again. This time it’s back stiffness that has felled the southpaw.

In what is becoming an almost daily occurrence, another Dodgers pitcher is hurt. Ted Lilly, who lasted just three innings in Monday’s 12-2 loss to the Rockies, has stiffness in his back and will have an MRI exam on Tuesday to determine the extent of the injury.

Both Lilly and manager Don Mattingly downplayed the injury after the game.

“I think he’s okay. From what I heard afterwards, he got kind of tight somewhere in his back there,” Mattingly said. “It’s something that he’s had before. We didn’t hear anything about it before the game.”

Lilly said he first felt back tightness on Thursday, the day after his start in New York, when he gave up one run in five innings to the Mets. But he didn’t think it would last, as he had a similar issue that went away quickly at the beginning of the 2012 season.

Lilly received a cortisone injection in his rib cage and has been shut down for two days.

The Dodgers said Lilly will be reevaluated again on Thursday to determine the next course of action. If he is unable to start on Saturday against the Giants in San Francisco, it is likely that start will go to Matt Magill, who made his major league debut on Saturday against the Brewers.

“I think I have a few things to be concerned about. The back being one of them, and just ineffectiveness,” Lilly said on Monday night. “There are a lot of guys in this clubhouse not feeling as good as they’d like to, but you still expect to get the results you’re looking for.”

Matt Magill over Ted Lilly, healthy or otherwise.

—–

Carl Crawford was scratched from Tuesday’s game due to tightness in his right hamstring.

Carl Crawford was scratched from the lineup tonight for precautionary reasons due to tightness in his right hamstring.

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 30, 2013

Because … of course. Whether it’s serious or not is not yet known, but hamstring issues can linger, regardless.

—–

Hanley Ramirez and his thumb are back in action in The Show.

“I just want to play. I don’t want to wait any longer. I think I can play,” Ramirez said before Monday’s game with the Rockies. “If it’s tomorrow, it’s fine. If it’s tonight, it’s fine. It’s not my decision.”

The Dodgers activated Ramirez from the disabled list before Monday’s game, and placed Clayton Kershaw on the bereavement list.

Ramirez was 3-for-6 (.500) with a double and three runs batted in and a run scored in two minor league rehab games on Saturday and Sunday with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga. He didn’t make any throws on Sunday, but manager Don Mattingly was impressed with what he saw of Ramirez on tape.

Don’t dive head-first for a while, Hanley. :o

—–

Chad Billingsley does not regret the path he chose after learning his elbow was seriously injured late last season.

Chad Billingsley said he doesn’t regret choosing platelet-rich plasma injections over Tommy John surgery last year.

— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) April 30, 2013

He also said he thinks he’ll be ready for 2014 Opening Day. If that seems optimistic, it’s because it is. Realistically, hopefully he’s back and healthy by the 2014 All-Star Game break.

—–

Minor-league moves:

Placed on 7-day DL: C Webster Rivas, SS Ozzie Martinez
Reinstated from DL: C Pratt Maynard, SS Casio Grider, OF Brian Cavazos-Galvez

Also off the 7-day DL is Yasiel Puig.

—–

Alex Castellanos was also placed on the minor-league 7-day DL.

Those assumptions, however, proved incorrect as Castellanos was placed on the 7-day disabled list due to right forearm inflammation prior to Tuesday’s game.

“He’s got a little soreness in his forearm so we’re going to let it calm down a little bit,” manager Lorenzo Bundy said prior to the official DL announcement. “He could play, but we’re going to err on the safe side.”

So if something happens to Crawford, first call would probably go to Scott Van Slyke, even over Puig.

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Greg Zakwin is the founder of the site Plaschke Thy Sweater Is Argyle. Follow him on Twitter @ArgyledPlaschke.

Stephen Fife is having shoulder problems, because why wouldn’t he with the way the injuries have been going for the Dodgers.

Stephen Fife, who was scheduled to start Saturday night against the Brewers, was placed on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder bursitis. Matt Magill was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque and will make his major league debut in place of Fife.

The upside is that the Dodgers get to test out their top prospects, I guess.

—–

Will Carroll is reporting Zack Greinke will begin a scheduled throwing session next week.

— Will Carroll (@injuryexpert) April 25, 2013

While it certainly seems like a quick recovery, Carroll also notes that it was always expected Greinke would resume throwing following the broken collarbone at this time. Therefore, it doesn’t mean he’ll return to game action any earlier than the original timetable of eight weeks.

Eric Stephen caught up with Don Mattingly and reports that Greinke’s throwing will not be strenuous for the time being.

Don Mattingly said Zack Greinke has been playing catch but nothing strenuous just yet. “He’s not going to start throwing bullpens.”

— Eric Stephen (@truebluela) April 27, 2013

—–

Chad Billingsley‘s elbow finally went boom, and the righty underwent Tommy John surgery, which will sideline him until sometime next season.

Chad Billingsley met with team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Tuesday and the news was not good. The Dodgers’ right-hander will need Tommy John surgery to repair the partially torn ligament in his right elbow. An MRI taken Saturday revealed an injury to the ligament.

Billingsley had increased tightness and pain in his right elbow in a bullpen session on Apr. 19, and he was scratched on Sunday in Baltimore and placed on the disabled list.

The surgery went off as expected with no complications.

The Tommy John surgery performed on Chad Billingsley’s right elbow Wednesday night went as expected, and he could be sidelined for a year.

Should his rehab go well, I would figure no earlier than after the 2014 All-Star Game for Bills’ return.

—–

Hanley Ramirez will head out on a rehab assignment beginning Saturday, as he continues to be ahead of schedule in his return from a torn ligament in his thumb.

Shortstop Hanley Ramirez is likely to begin a Minor League rehab assignment within the next few days, but he’ll still need to wear a splint when he returns to the Dodgers, because the repaired ligament in his right thumb will still be healing.

“Maybe by the end of next week I hope to be [active],” Ramirez said after an improved workout, watched by manager Don Mattingly. “It’s still swollen. It doesn’t look normal yet. I don’t want to come back and go back to the DL. It won’t be 100 percent, but it’ll be at a level I’m comfortable with.

“Right now I think about it a little bit. I still feel it. I have to wear the splint for six weeks. If I come back early, I still have to have it.”

After undergoing surgery on March 22, Ramirez was told his healing time would be six to eight weeks, but he’s been throwing and hitting for more than a week.

HanRam will head to Rancho Cucamonga for the assignment. His goal is to return by the time his “I See You” bobblehead is given out, which just so happens to be this Tuesday.

Rancho coming soon!!!!!

— Hanley Ramirez (@HanleyRamirez) April 25, 2013

—–

Mark Ellis left Friday’s game with a strained right quad suffered as he ran to first to try and beat out a grounder.

Ellis will have an MRI on Saturday and will likely hit the DL if the strain is confirmed.

“He kind of seemed to be optimistic, but we’ll just have to see. It’s tough to see that tonight. Tomorrow probably will be a better indicator.”

Mattingly didn’t want to speculate, but it does sound like an injury that will keep Ellis sidelined for the immediate future.

“If I had to guess, usually guys don’t come out of games like that and it not be something,” Mattingly said. “It’s usually something that’s not going to be a day or two.”

Much like with my fantasy team, the injuries are never-ending and one after another.

—–

Chris Capuano threw a bullpen session Thursday and will take the hill in a simulated game on Sunday. The lefty is on the mend after suffering a left calf strain in the Carlos Quentin Debacle and further aggravating the injury in his only start of the season.

“Cappy hasn’t had to stop at all because of his arm,” said Mattingly.

The next step for Capuano after the simulated game would be a minor league rehab start before he is ready to be activated. The date for Capuano to be activated figures to be May 8, the final game of a three-game series at Dodger Stadium against the Diamondbacks.

With Dodgers pitchers falling left and right, some good news is more than welcome.

—–

Shawn Tolleson had surgery on a herniated disk in his lower back and will be on the shelf for three to five months.

Dodgers reliever Shawn Tolleson was scheduled to undergo surgery for a herniated disk in his lower back Thursday. He will be out three to five months.

Tough break for a really talented guy.

—–

On the minor-league side of things, there were six DL moves made:

Placed on 7-day DL: C Webster Rivas, SS Ozzie Martinez, OF Yasiel Puig
Reinstated from DL: C Pratt Maynard, SS Casio Grider, OF Brian Cavazos-Galvez

Yasiel Puig obviously highlights that list.

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Greg Zakwin is the founder of the site Plaschke Thy Sweater Is Argyle. Follow him on Twitter @ArgyledPlaschke.

Ted Lilly will make his first start of the season on Wednesday, replacing the injured Chris Capuano, who had replaced the injured Zack Greinke.

Ted Lilly will start Wednesday night’s game against the Mets, manager Don Mattingly confirmed Friday. Lilly replaces the injured Chris Capuano, who previously replaced the injured Zack Greinke.

“That’s our plan,” said Mattingly. “Obviously, he’s got to come out of the bullpen today and one more [side session], but that’s the plan.”

Though the results of his rehab starts were not necessarily good, Lilly was happy with the progression of each start.

Lilly said each of his three rehab starts was better than the previous with his delivery and ability to adjust. He said he’s looking forward to competing again in the Major Leagues for the first time since last May.

He’s back to reclaim his homer-giver-upper throne!

In all seriousness, he better be ready.

—–

Chad Billingsley was placed on the 15-day DL with right elbow pain. Stephen Fife was recalled to replace Bills and he started in his place on Sunday.

What was once a ridiculously deep starting staff has now been decimated, with three guys injured and a fourth dealt.

—–

Tim Federowicz was recalled for a second time to replace the injured Capuano.

One day after he left his start in the third inning against the Padres with a left calf strain, Dodgers pitcher Chris Capuano was placed on the 15-day disabled list. To take his place on the roster, the Dodgers recalled catcher Tim Federowicz from Triple-A Albuquerque.

With a trip to the American League, the Dodgers decided to bring up another bat rather than replace an arm with an arm.

—–

Josh Wall was recalled once again, taking the place of an injured Shawn Tolleson.

Wall, who was among the final roster cuts of spring training, had a 2.08 ERA in four games with the Isotopes with one save, five strikeouts and three walks in 4⅓ innings.

The move was announced literally right before first pitch and at the time Wall was en route to Dodger Stadium, on Jackie Robinson Night.

Unfortunately, at the rate he’s going, he’ll be back down sooner than later.

—–

Jerry Hairston Jr., who had been appealing his one-game suspension stemming from the Carlos Quentin debacle, dropped the appeal and served the suspension on Wednesday.

—–

The Dodgers signed pitcher Anthony Ortega to a minor-league deal and assigned him to AAA to replace the recently called-up Stephen Fife.

—–

The Dodgers continue to pluck from the international pool of talent, signing RHP Osiris Ramirez (Puerto Plata), RHP Angel German, and 3B Jimy Perez (Bani).

—–

A slew of minor-league moves also went down:

Signed: RHP Victor Arano, 2B David Compton, OF Antonio Torres
Released: RHP Danny Carela
Loaned To Mexican League: RHP Javier Solano (Monterrey), LHP Thomas Melgarejo (Saltillo), 2B Jesus Alberto Arredondo (Monclova)

Biggest name on that list is probably relief pitcher Javier Solano.

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Greg Zakwin is the founder of the site Plaschke Thy Sweater Is Argyle. Follow him on Twitter @ArgyledPlaschke.

Chad Billingsley, with his elbow basically hanging by a thread and ready to explode at any moment, has been placed on the 15-day DL with right elbow pain. The move is retroactive to April 16 and it marks his second stint on the DL in the young season.

#Dodgers place RHP Chad Billingsley on 15-day DL (right elbow pain) retroactive to 4/16 and recall RHP Stephen Fife to make today’s start.

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 21, 2013

Billingsley underwent a MRI exam yesterday. Results still haven’t been reviewed by #DrNealElAttrache.

— Dylan Hernandez (@dylanohernandez) April 21, 2013

Billingsley said the feeling in his elbow isn’t the same as last year.This elbow pain didn’t happen on 1 pitch like last year

— David Vassegh (@THEREAL_DV) April 21, 2013

While it was an admirable attempt to help the team, at least in theory, he really should have gotten Tommy John surgery last August/September.

Stephen Fife was recalled to replace Bills and started Sunday in his place.

—–

Hanley Ramirez continues to progress with his rehab, though Don Mattingly doesn’t foresee a rehab assignment for another week or so.

Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez took live early batting practice at Camden Yards before Friday night’s game and hit with power, but manager Don Mattingly said a Minor League rehab assignment is still at least a week away.

“It’s still a little sore in the joint, three weeks without moving it,” said Ramirez, who appeared ginger on his throws to first base.

“What he’s been able to do has shocked all of us,” said Mattingly. “Taking BP, his swing is like normal. Is he able to do that without the brace? There’s still healing to be done. It seems his throwing, he still has trouble with the feel making all his throws. He asked if he could DH tonight and I couldn’t hardly argue. I wouldn’t mind it.”

The Dodgers are pleased with the power Ramirez has shown in BP, and the fact that he’s healing ahead of schedule bodes well for a team with offensive vortexes at both 3B and SS.

—–

Chris Capuano hit the 15-day DL with a left calf strain suffered during the Carlos Quentin/Zack Greinke incident two Thursdays ago.

#Dodgers place LHP Chris Capuano on 15-day DL (left calf strain); recall C Tim Federowicz from @abqtopes.

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 17, 2013

Capuano received treatment between the original injury and his spot-start on Tuesday, before re-injuring it during the game while running to cover first base.

The left calf strain that put Dodgers pitcher Chris Capuano on the disabled list on Wednesday originally surfaced on Thursday night during the benches-clearing incident in San Diego that sidelined Zack Greinke.

Capuano said he felt tightness before that game and felt it worsen while sprinting in from the bullpen during the fracas that was triggered when Greinke hit Padres outfielder Carlos Quentin with a pitch.

Capuano said he thought the injury had responded enough to four days of treatment to allow him to start Tuesday night in Greinke’s place, only for the muscle to partially tear when he sprinted off the mound to cover first base in the second inning.

Chris had an MRI and received an injection of platelet-rich plasma in the affected area on Thursday.

—–

Where is Yasiel Puig? On the DL.

The answer to why Dodgers outfield prospect Yasiel Puig didn’t play for Double-A Chattanooga on Friday night was the simplest of sorts. No, he wasn’t en route to Baltimore to join the Dodgers. Instead, Puig was placed on the seven-day disabled list with a sprained left thumb, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.

While this should serve to blunt the madness surrounding his name, he desperately needs the plate appearances.

—–

Down on the farm, five Dodgers got healthy and three more hit the DL.

RHP Matt Shelton, C Pratt Maynard, and OF Devin Shines were placed on the 7-day DL, while RHP Steve Ames, RHP Juan Noriega, C Jan Vazquez, SS Ozzie Martinez, and OF Pat Stover were reinstated from the DL.

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Greg Zakwin is the founder of the site Plaschke Thy Sweater Is Argyle. Follow him on Twitter @ArgyledPlaschke.

The Zack Greinke/Carlos Quentin/Dodgers/Padres debacle led to a lot of discussion and a couple of suspensions/fines: one for Quentin and one for Jerry Hairston Jr.

While Zack Greinke is expected to miss eight weeks after surgery to repair his broken left collarbone, Carlos Quentin of the Padres will miss eight games.

Jerry Hairston, who ran toward the Padres dugout after the initial melee died down, was suspended for one game.

Both Quentin and Hairston were fined an undisclosed amount, and both are appealing their suspensions. Both are starting in left field for their respective teams Friday night. Neither Greinke nor Matt Kemp, the other two players ejected, will be suspended.

For the best interests of both teams, MLB suggested to Quentin that he drop the appeal, and it was reported that he would. Yesterday, he did exactly that, and he will be suspended during the upcoming series.

—–

Tim Federowicz, as expected, was optioned to AAA to clear room on the 25-man roster for the returning Chad Billingsley.

“It’s tough. It’s one of those things as a young player. I have options left, and that’s just the way it is,” Federowicz said before Tuesday’s game. “You need some protection at the catchers spot if someone were to get hurt. We only had two on the roster, so they figured they had to do something.”

Ramon Hernandez will now serve as A.J. Ellis‘ backup, but give me Timmy every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

—–

Shawn Tolleson was recalled from AAA to replace the injured Greinke.

His stay on the team depends on what the Dodgers decide to do with Ted Lilly…

…and speaking of the devil, Lilly refused an assignment to continue rehabbing in the minors.

The Dodgers on Saturday asked Lilly to continue his Minor League rehab assignment with two more starts and he declined. He can’t be sent out without his permission and he declared himself healthy and ready to pitch in the Major Leagues.

The club disagrees.

“We laid out a plan and, obviously, he just didn’t like the plan,” said manager Don Mattingly, who put Chris Capuano in the starting rotation, and not Lilly, to replace the injured Zack Greinke. “From a baseball standpoint, we felt he wasn’t quite ready for what we want him to do, to start.”

“We laid out a plan and Teddy doesn’t want to be part of the plan. It’s out of my hands. We didn’t feel he was ready to pitch at the Major League level. For me, it’s a baseball decision. It’s nothing personal in any way, shape or form. We’re giving him our baseball thoughts, what we think is best for him and the team.”

In two rehab starts between the A+ and AAA levels, Lilly has a 7.50 ERA in 12 innings. Combine that with a horrible Spring Training and it’s hard to disagree with the team here.

But besides his performance why do they want to keep him in the minors, right? Well, Chris Capuano will make the start Tuesday in place of the injured Greinke.

Capuano has pitched two games in relief, including Thursday night directly following Greinke after he broke his left collarbone in a brawl against the Padres. In 2⅔ innings, Capuano allowed only two hits, a walk, and no runs, with four strikeouts. Capuano was 12-12 with a 3.72 ERA in 33 starts for the Dodgers in 2012.

So basically there’s no room in the rotation for Lilly, and Capuano is the right choice here.

—–

The Dodgers signed first baseman Sean Burroughs to a minor-league deal. Frankly, it was surprising to find out he was even still in baseball.

Just minor-league depth though.

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Greg Zakwin is the founder of the site Plaschke Thy Sweater Is Argyle. Follow him on Twitter @ArgyledPlaschke.

Zack Greinke has a broken left collarbone because Carlos Quentin is an imbecile.

The initial timetable is eight weeks following surgery, and Greinke has traveled back to LA to visit with team doctor Neal ElAttrache and go under the knife.

A CT scan of the left clavicle showed that Greinke needs a rod placed to stabilize and align the fracture. The surgery will be performed Saturday by team physicians Dr. ElAttrache and Dr. John Itamura, at White Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles.

This whole situation was just … unnecessary and terrible for the Dodgers. Quentin just has to walk 90 feet to first.

—–

Hanley Ramirez is progressing with his rehab following surgery on his torn thumb ligament suffered during the World Baseball Classic, as he had his cast removed.

“He’s actually been able to do quite a bit of baseball stuff. Hopefully that will shorten the timetable for when he comes back, to be sharper,” said manager Don Mattingly.

Ramirez isn’t what he used to be, but compared to what the Dodgers are currently trotting out on the left side of the infield, he would be a savior.

—–

The heart ailment that has felled Kenley Jansen numerous times over the last couple of seasons is now fully healed, and Jansen does not have to worry about a recurrence.

“It was a fairly successful operation to begin with, but it was very successful on him,” said Stan Conte, the Dodgers’ head of medical services. “His conditioning has improved, which, I think, is a direct reflection of the surgery. Now, he has a normal heart.”

“When I got an a-fib, my heart rate was like 200,” Jansen said. “It’s crazy. It’s beating quick and out of rhythm, and you get tired. That’s the scary part, that you’re tired. You feel like you’re running all the time.”

“It’s finally fixed,” Jansen, 25, said with a smile.

Excellent news for Kenley both on and off the field.

—–

Chad Billingsley‘s return to The Show from an injured finger on his pitching hand went pretty well, as he went six in his first start of the season. He fanned three and allowed eight baserunners.

Most importantly though, Chad’s elbow, finger, and groin did not give him trouble, and the bit of rust was to be expected considering he hadn’t pitched in a major-league game since late August of last year.

—–

Ted Lilly went six in a rehab start with the AAA Albuquerque Isotopes.

He seems to be close to “ready”.

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Greg Zakwin is the founder of the site Plaschke Thy Sweater Is Argyle. Follow him on Twitter @ArgyledPlaschke.

Aaron Harang was traded to the Rockies in exchange for catcher Ramon Hernandez and cash. Chad has more on the deal here.

It was just a matter of time before the Dodgers traded one of the Harang/Chris Capuano to help clear a crowded pen and open up a spot on the 25-man roster for the soon-to-return Chad Billingsley.

Hernandez will serve as the backup to A.J. Ellis in all likelihood, which would push Tim Federowicz back to AAA, but I’d prefer to have the younger player with upside.

—–

The Dodgers released non-roster invitee Kevin Gregg.

A former closer who couldn’t find a big league job as a free agent over the winter, Gregg signed a Minor League contract with the Dodgers that did not have an opt-out clause. Earlier last week, Gregg said he felt there was a mutual “understanding” that the club would release him to find another job if there wasn’t room on the Major League roster.

With three extra starters (Aaron Harang, Chris Capuano and Ted Lilly) still candidates for trade, the Dodgers were hoping to have Gregg pitch regularly at Triple-A Albuquerque to be ready when they needed him.

Gregg had been in limbo since not making the team out of Spring Training, as he had been assigned to the minors but did not want to pitch in the minors.

After his solid spring, he now has an opportunity to catch on with a team, and thankfully that team will not be the Dodgers.

—–

The team also released Cole St. Clair, P.J. Phillips, and Joe Becker, per Matt Eddy of Baseball America.

The only noteworthy name in that troika is St. Clair, who had some heavy buzz around him following three excellent campaigns from 2008-2010 when he was whiffing over 11 per nine and had a K/BB ratio that was hovering around 4/1.

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Greg Zakwin is the founder of the site Plaschke Thy Sweater Is Argyle. Follow him on Twitter @ArgyledPlaschke.

While Don Mattingly believes Matt Kemp‘s shoulder may be a mental hurdle he’ll have to get past, he and the Dodgers staff are not concerned about it affecting Kemp physically, as the injury hasn’t cropped back up after off-season surgery and there have been no lingering side effects.

“He may be thinking about [the shoulder], but it doesn’t seem like it any more,” manager Don Mattingly said before Tuesday’s game against the Giants. “I think when we assessed Spring Training, we felt like that was one of the hurdles that we crossed that was successful.”

The injury will likely temper Kemp’s power early in the season, but hopefully his shoulder responds better than Adrian Gonzalez‘s did after a similar injury during his time in Boston.

It’s a situation worth monitoring, but it certainly doesn’t seem worthy of panic.

—–

Chad Billingsley had a successful rehab start in Rancho and is in line to start in the bigs on Wednesday.

Chad Billingsley allowed four runs in four innings in his minor league rehab assignment with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga on Thursday night, but more importantly the Dodgers right-hander is healthy and his curve ball was unhindered by the contusion on his right index finger. Billingsley’s next start will likely by Wednesday in San Diego against the Padres.

“My curve was a lot sharper. In the last outing I was throwing 50-foot curve balls. Tonight they were more on top of the plate, I got a double play ball out of one. It was definitely worth it coming back here,” Billingsley said. “I’m ready for the next outing.”

Bills’ finger was fine and he was able to throw his curve.

“It went well. I accomplished everything I needed to to get ready for my next start,” Billingsley said on Friday at Dodger Stadium. “I’ve got no issues with the finger. I’m anxious to get back out there, compete and win some ballgames.”

It’s something to watch for during his start this week, for sure.

—–

Ted Lilly went six innings in a minor-league rehab start.

Lilly is expected to make at least one more rehab start before he’s ready to start in the Major Leagues, and then the Dodgers must find room for him. Manager Don Mattingly earlier said Lilly is not a likely candidate for the bullpen, where the Dodgers already have stashed starting pitchers Chris Capuano and Aaron Harang.

Not shockingly, Lilly allowed a few dingers.

The odds are still good that Lilly will be dealt or released when he’s healthy enough to return, as the Dodgers already have three superior lefties in the pen and could get Scott Elbert back at some point around the middle of this season.

—–

The Dodgers placed minor leaguers Juan Abreu, Juan Noriega, Matt Palmer, Mario Santiago, Steve Cilladi, Jan Vazquez, Pedro Guerrero, Casio Grider, Ozzie Martinez, Brian Cavazos-Galvez, Jeremy Moore, Pat Stover, and Joey Winker on the 7-day DL.

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Greg Zakwin is the founder of the site Plaschke Thy Sweater Is Argyle. Follow him on Twitter @ArgyledPlaschke.

Yesterday, the Dodgers dealt Aaron Harang to the Rockies for catcher Ramon Hernandez and effectively cleared room in their bullpen for the return of Chad Billingsley on Wednesday.

The Dodgers on Saturday made official their trade of pitcher Aaron Harang and cash to the Rockies for catcher Ramon Hernandez.

Oddly enough though, the Rockies designated Harang for assignment immediately, so he’ll likely be elsewhere soon.

As for Hernandez himself, he’s certainly a more proven option than Tim Federowicz, though better is arguable. He’s about a league-average hitter (96 OPS+) for his career, but he’s 37 now and at age 36 he hit .217/.247/.353/.605 with the Rockies. He used to be a solid defender, but that has fallen off considerably with age and is probably a downgrade from T-Fed in that regard. Essentially, he has to hit to be useful, and the Dodgers are banking that he can regain his form, because he could be useful in relieving A.J. Ellis and providing much needed pop off the bench if he’s right.

More than anything though, this was about dumping Harang to clear room in the bullpen so that the return of Billingsley wouldn’t result in something like Paco Rodriguez having to be sent down. So from that perspective, even if Hernandez tanks, they still have T-Fed in the minors and it doesn’t affect the team much.

Money-wise, as you would imagine, the Dodgers are eating salary.

Counting Sunday, Mar. 31, six days of the 183-day season have lapsed. That means the Dodgers are on the hook for $3,095,082 of Hernandez’s salary, and the Rockies responsible for $6,770,492 for Harang, plus the $2 million buyout in 2014, though Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported the Dodgers would send $4.25 million to Colorado.

So, instead of having $9 million guaranteed to Harang, the Dodgers will instead pay approximately $7,574,590 ($3,095,082 for Hernandez, $229,508 for Harang, and $4.25 million to Colorado). Subtract the major league salary that would have been paid to Tim Federowicz and the Dodgers save approximately $2 million and upgraded their catching depth.

So the team saves ~$2 million but will pay yet another player to perform elsewhere. It’s not a significant deal in terms of impact, but I get the feeling that when all is said and done about the pre-Richie Rich Ned Colletti era, boy are a lot of the contracts that were handed out going to look ridiculous in retrospect.

Hyun Jin Ryu made his Dodgers and MLB debut yesterday, and in the bottom of the six inning he came to bat and did … well … that.

Some people on Twitter didn’t take too kindly to him dogging it, and the fans at the field booed him for it, but most importantly, the dugout didn’t seem to appreciate it, including Don Mattingly.

One message that Ryu figures to receive in the next 24 hours or so will come from manager Don Mattingly, who wasn’t all that thrilled with his effort level after grounding out to third base in the sixth inning. Ryu barely advanced out of the batter’s box before he was thrown out by Pablo Sandoval. Mattingly said he planned to discuss the matter with his new pitcher, the first player jumping directly from the Korean Baseball Organization to the majors.

“He’s slow down to first base, but he can’t be that slow,” Mattingly said.

Personally though, I didn’t and still don’t see the big deal.

Ryu apologized to Dodgers fans for his effort on that play, saying he was “embarrassed,” after hearing some boos from the crowd. Pitchers in Korea don’t bat and Ryu said he was just trying to conserve some energy after realizing the ball was mishit.

To me, that’s a completely logical explanation for what he did.

People reacted like he failed to score on a single from third or got thrown out at first from the outfield or something, but he just jogged on a play that results in an out for a runner like him 99% of the time.

His job isn’t to bust out of the box for infield singles, and the last thing the team needs is for him to pull a Chad Billingsley and tear a hammy trying to beat out a routine grounder for god knows what reason.

Regardless, now he’ll be brainwashed into “correcting” this mistake, and from now on we’ll be robbed of entertainment from his lack of care for running and what I think is actually sound logic as to why he doesn’t bother.

Chad Billingsley turned in an impressive minor-league outing on Friday in which he was able to throw his curve sans any finger or elbow issues.

Manager Don Mattingly said Billingsley remains in his starting rotation, but it will just be a matter of when. The Dodgers don’t technically need a fifth starter until Apr. 13, their 11th game of the season. But Billingsley could be mixed into the rotation earlier, perhaps as early as Apr. 7.

“There are a couple of issues with Bills. Making sure he’s ready is one. The nail is one. But the biggest issue is any kind of small changes messing with that elbow,” Mattingly said. “That’s our biggest concern with him, making sure we’re not putting him in a bad spot.”

The nail was never a serious issue, but it’s encouraging to see the Dodgers not pushing him to tough it out and risk further injury.

He’s slated to start a minor-league game this Thursday and is tentatively scheduled to be back in the bigs on April 10.

—–

Scott Elbert received plasma rich platelet injections in his ailing left elbow as he attempts to return from an elbow injury.

“Scott hasn’t thrown in a while. He was having some tenderness so he was shut down for quite a bit. His timetable has definitely been changing,” said manager Don Mattingly. “It was a little bit like Carl (Crawford), just starting that program up but he wasn’t quite ready yet. So we’ll wait, PRP, and start back up.”

There’s no timetable set for his return, and considering that Elbert has had an unhealthy off-season, plus the fact that the Dodgers are already three lefty relievers deep in the pen, there’s no reason to rush him until he’s 100%.

—–

Andre Ethier left last Tuesday’s Spring Training game with soreness in his right hamstring.

“[Dodgers trainer Sue Falsone] warned me before the game and [Ethier] didn’t say it after the hit, but I didn’t want to see it after that. He’d had enough,” Mattingly said. “It’s been a long camp.”

He made the Opening Day roster and played in yesterday’s game, and he looked fine, but it’s notable anyway. Doesn’t seem like much, but hamstring injuries can be tricky (See: Matt Kemp, 2012).

—–

Ted Lilly was placed on the 15-day DL retroactive to March 28 as he continues his recovery from off-season labrum surgery on his pitching shoulder.

While I’m sure a part of that is true, the reality is that he was just atrocious looking in Spring Training.

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Greg Zakwin is the founder of the site Plaschke Thy Sweater Is Argyle. Follow him on Twitter @ArgyledPlaschke.

The Dodgers officially finalized their Opening Day 25-man roster.

The 25-man roster, as broken down by position:

Pitchers (12):
Josh Beckett
Ronald Belisario
Chris Capuano (L)
Zack Greinke
Matt Guerrier
Aaron Harang
J.P. Howell (L)
Kenley Jansen
Clayton Kershaw (L)
Brandon League
Paco Rodriguez (L)
Hyun-Jin Ryu (L)

Catchers (2):
A.J. Ellis
Tim Federowicz

Infielders (6):
Luis Cruz
Mark Ellis
Adrian Gonzalez (L)
Nick Punto (S)
Justin Sellers
Juan Uribe

Outfielders (3):
Carl Crawford (L)
Andre Ethier (L)
Matt Kemp

Infielder/Outfielder (2):
Jerry Hairston, Jr.
Skip Schumaker (L)

The team placed Chad Billingsley, Scott Elbert, Hanley Ramirez, and Ted Lilly officially on the disabled list.

—–

Prior to the disabled list moves, the team cut eight players to essentially set the Opening Day roster. Chad has more details on that here.

—–

The team released right-handed pitchers Florencio Bustillos, Brock Mansion, and Joe Robinson, along with left-handed pitchers Mike Antonini, Fabio Castro, and Alfredo Unzue.

Outfielder Nick Akins was also released, and he’s the biggest name of the seven because he once generated buzz by putting up ridiculous numbers in Rookie-ball. Unfortunately, none of that carried over to full-season ball, leading to this step in his career.

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Greg Zakwin is the founder of the site Plaschke Thy Sweater Is Argyle. Follow him on Twitter @ArgyledPlaschke.

The Dodgers announced the cuts of eight players yesterday, moves that essentially set the Opening Day roster for the team.

The club reassigned right-handers Kevin Gregg and Peter Moylan, utility man Alfredo Amezaga and catcher Matt Wallach to Minor League camp.

In addition, the Dodgers optioned outfielder Alex Castellanos, right-hander Stephen Fife, utility man Elian Herrera and right-hander Josh Wall to Minor League camp.

Welp, this turned out completely differently than what I had assumed was going to happen, with some moves for the better and some for the worse. However, the primary reason that happened was because the Dodgers basically pushed back the tough decisions for a week or two.

—–

Lineup

C – A.J. Ellis
1B – Adrian Gonzalez
2B – Mark Ellis
3B – Luis Cruz
SS – Justin Sellers
LF – Carl Crawford
CF – Matt Kemp
RF – Andre Ethier

Bench

B – Tim Federowicz
B – Nick Punto
B – Juan Uribe
B – Jerry Hairston Jr.
B – Skip Schumaker

DL – Hanley Ramirez

Rotation

1 – Clayton Kershaw
2 – Zack Greinke
3 – Josh Beckett
4 – Hyun Jin Ryu

Bullpen

CL – Brandon League
ST – Kenley Jansen
RP – Ronald Belisario
RP – J.P. Howell
RP – Paco Rodriguez
RP – Matt Guerrier
RP – Chris Capuano
RP – Aaron Harang

DL – Chad Billingsley
DL – Scott Elbert
DL – Ted Lilly

—–

So that’s the Opening Day roster barring a sudden injury or trade.

I still don’t understand why Justin Sellers needs to be the starter when a platoon at third would work just fine. Regardless, nothing we can do about it now except hope that Sellers hits a lot of balls on the ground and those balls find holes over the next couple of months.

Pleasantly surprised though that Paco Rodriguez makes the staff over Kevin Gregg and friends, as he’s probably the fourth-best reliever on this team right now.

As I alluded to earlier though, the bad part is that this is temporary. Scott Elbert and Hanley Ramirez are out months, but Chad Billingsley and Ted Lilly can come off the DL soon because their stints are retroactive, so moves will need to be made similar to what I speculated earlier.

Basically, trades needs to happen, and soon. I struggle to see a way they make carrying seven or eight starters work long-term without damaging the potential of the bullpen, because they’d have to make moves like sending Paco down because he has options.

So all in all, while the Opening Day roster is set, what the team has really done is just push the tough decisions back, so it’s now in a week or two that we’ll see what the team truly plans on doing for the rest of the season.

Opening Day for the Dodgers is Monday, and since Spring Training feels like it has taken forever, it’s about damn time. Given the closeness of the start of the season though, it’s a bit odd that there are so many question marks as to what will happen with the roster.

Every team has to deal with decisions on the 24th and 25th man, but it’s rare that a team with World Series hopes is still deciding on the rotation and the left side of the starting infield. Since the team’s starting SS is out for two months and there’s a surplus with eight starting pitchers, it’s anybody’s guess as to how it all shakes out.

Personally though, I have to figure the Opening Day 25-man roster looks something like what you see below.

—–

Starting Lineup

C – A.J. Ellis
1B – Adrian Gonzalez
2B – Mark Ellis
3B – Jerry Hairston Jr.
SS – Luis Cruz
LF – Carl Crawford
CF – Matt Kemp
RF – Andre Ethier

SS – Luis Cruz is a relatively easy choice for me at this spot. He plays solid defense at the position and is the best option available at the moment.

Yes, I’ve read the recent chatter about Justin Sellers getting this spot, which I suppose is possible. However, realistically I can only see that happening if they release Juan Uribe, or they trade both Aaron Harang and Chris Capuano AND go with 11 pitchers, or they roll with no real backup outfielder (Jerry Hairston Jr./Skip Schumaker).

My experience with Ned Colletti and Dodgers roster decision-making has led me to always go with the player who has experience, who is being paid by the team, and who is currently on the 40-man roster. Thus, no Sellers for me.

3B – Jerry Hairston Jr. and Skip Schumaker should platoon here. Hairston doesn’t actually have much of a split (.712 LHP/.694 RHP), but Schumaker does (.762 RHP/.521 LHP). If Don Mattingly plays his cards right here, there an off-chance the Dodgers don’t actually lose much except upside for the two months Hanley’s out, primarily because he plays terrible defense.

The alternative of Sellers’ .607 career MLB OPS, or his ~.700 career MILB OPS outside of the moon base in Albuquerque, is not appealing at all in lieu of an option like this. That logic HAS to win out, right? RIGHT?!

LF – Carl Crawford certainly looks on pace even though his already weak throwing arm looks pathetic right now. Still, he’s swinging a bat and nothing is wrong with his legs, so I can’t see him starting the year on the DL.

—–

Bench

B – Tim Federowicz
B – Nick Punto
B – Skip Schumaker
B – Juan Uribe
B – Alex Castellanos

DL – Hanley Ramirez

IF Bench – The trio of Nick Punto, Schumaker, and Uribe meet Colletti’s three standards, as reviewed above, so they’re basically locks to me. Tim Federowicz makes the team because they cut every other catcher in camp except Matt Wallach, and he’s not making the roster.

OF Bench – Why Alex Castellanos, right? Why over Elian Herrera and Alfredo Amezaga? Amezaga is simple, as he’s not on the 40-man. Herrera, who I don’t think is a quality player anyway, doesn’t provide the potential pop off the bench the Dodgers SORELY lack at the moment. Not putting Castellanos on the bench means the Dodgers would have four hitters with no power … and Uribe, who can’t hit at all.

—–

Starting Rotation

1 – Clayton Kershaw
2 – Zack Greinke
3 – Josh Beckett
4 – Chad Billingsley
5 – Hyun Jin Ryu

The order is jumbled because of injury and what not, but this is what was projected at the end of the off-season, and while it’s been an adventure to get here, it’s basically worked out how it was supposed to.

That said, given the way the schedule looks, it’s possible that Chad Billingsley or Zack Greinke could be put on the DL and have their turn skipped a couple times while they work into shape (Greinke) or recover from injury (Billingsley). Either way though, that would only buy the team 10 games or so to do something before a roster decision would be forced.

—–

Bullpen

CL – Brandon League
ST – Kenley Jansen
RP – Ronald Belisario
RP – J.P Howell
RP – Matt Guerrier
RP – Kevin Gregg
RP – Aaron Harang

DL – Scott Elbert
DL – Ted Lilly

Lefty Reliever – Sorry Paco Rodriguez, you might be better than two, three, or even four pitchers in the bullpen, but you have options, so bye bye.

Veteran Reliever – Kevin Gregg has a 0.87 ERA over 10.1 IP this spring, while Peter Moylan is at a 7.56 ERA in 8.1 IP. Colletti must have a NRI veteran reliever on the team, so it is Gregg. Plus, he has closing experience, which automatically makes him the best!

Starter Turned Reliever – Ted Lilly has to end up on the DL because he looks fucking terrible. Don’t whine to me about language. It is what it is.

What happened to Chris Capuano? I think he gets traded and soon. I picked him to get dealt over Aaron Harang because he’s a better pitcher and more valuable to teams. That said, there’s an extremely compelling case for Capuano to be in the pen over Harang. It consists of Capuano saying that he can come out of the pen, while Mattingly said he sees Harang as a starter only. I get that, but unless the Dodgers want to get nothing in return, I can’t see why a team would settle for Harang when they could have Capuano, especially given their handedness.

Either way, I’m confident something of significance happens with a trade, because if not, I’m unsure how the pen would shake out unless they carry 13 pitchers. As mentioned earlier, an option would be putting Bills or Greinke on the DL, but that’s a stop-gap solution at best. I suppose Gregg could be let go, but we all know that would burn Ned’s soul, so I figure one of the two healthy excess starters won’t be a Dodger for long.

—–

Now we just wait for the announcement that Harang has been traded, Gregg has been cut, and Sellers will start at SS because … of course it would happen.

Chad Billingsley reported no pain in his injured finger following a minor-league start on Saturday.

“In the past few days there haven’t been any issues with any tenderness. The only issue is with my curve ball because I spike it with my fingertip, which pushes the nail back into the finger,” Billingsley said. “I didn’t throw anything yesterday, and didn’t throw any (curves) today. I’m just let[ting] it have more time to rest or heal, without worrying about swelling or the nail falling off.”

The Dodgers continue to be cautious with Chad, but he’s been able to swing the bat since the injury occurred.

Billingsley later threw seven curves in a bullpen session Monday and was pleased with the results.

“I was happy with them,” Billingsley said of the quality of his curveballs.

Don Mattingly wants Chad to have all of his weapons when starting, although Billingsley seems willing to pitch even if he can’t physically throw his curve much or at all.

“You want a guy to have all his weapons,” said Mattingly. “It’s tough enough without having all of them.”

Billingsley said he would “cross that bridge when we come to it” when asked if he’d be comfortable pitching in a Major League game without a curveball, but also said there are games when he doesn’t feel he has other pitches and still competes.

Bills expects to make his first scheduled start of the season on April 2 should no issues crop up before then.

“The way it’s going now, as long as there are no setbacks, I plan to be ready,” said Billingsley, who is nursing a bruised right index finger.

—–

Carl Crawford is swinging the bat and throwing without pain.

“For Carl, it was a matter of timing. But the good thing for us was the three throws,” said manager Don Mattingly. “To see him not too much in a hurry on that last one, kind of one of those where there could be a play but he knew better.”

“I had caught for him out there before Stan (Conte, director of medical services) was bringing him back, and the ball had carry on it,” Mattingly said. “The ball was coming through me, and that was 10 days ago. I knew if that was the worst it was, we were going to be okay.”

Good signs, of course, though Crawford’s arm has always been suspect. Carl will continue to play the field during the remainder of Spring Training with a day-off thrown in.

Crawford is happy with his progress thus far and is encouraged that he’ll be in left field on Opening Day.

“Every time I get to do something, it’s a step in the right direction,” said Crawford, who will be ready for Opening Day barring a setback.

—–

Juan Uribe was scratched from Saturday’s lineup due to tightness in his right hamstring.

Doing everything he can to discourage the team from keeping him. I like.

—–

Zack Greinke wasn’t very good in his return, but the important part is that he came out of it healthy.

Greinke said his elbow felt fine after pitching in his first Major League exhibition game since March 1 and he should be ready to start the season on time.

“I should be. I think so,” he said. “I’ll definitely be there, if I can build up endurance. I need some improvement.”

So he thinks he’ll be ready, but I dunno, seems like a pointless risk to throw a guy out there who hasn’t properly built up strength.

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Greg Zakwin is the founder of the site Plaschke Thy Sweater Is Argyle. Follow him on Twitter @ArgyledPlaschke.

Hanley Ramirez needs surgery on his injured right thumb.

Sources: Hanley needs surgery on his right thumb. #Dodgers.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) March 21, 2013

Lame.

The timetable for Hanley is eight weeks following the surgery, meaning at-best we’re probably looking at mid-May for Hanley’s 2013 debut.

Well … say hello to a starting left side of the infield featuring Luis Cruz and some combination of Juan Uribe, Dee Gordon, Nick Punto, or Skip Schumaker.

Honestly, if those are the only options, I’m going with Uribe – and I can’t believe I’m typing that – as he’s at least excellent with the glove.

—–

Zack Greinke took to the mound Wednesday and reported no pain in his elbow following a four-inning, 43-pitch outing.

“Elbow wasn’t an issue today. I wasn’t worried about it. My arm felt really good and strong but the pitches aren’t 100% crisp yet.” -Greinke

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) March 20, 2013

And here are further details on the outing, including the possibility that he could avoid the DL.

Greinke threw 43 pitches in four scoreless innings, and Mattingly got good reports. He said Greinke was able to use all of his pitches and was sitting around 91-93 mph.

Greinke will next start Monday, and though there is a possibility that the Dodgers may have him throw in a minor league game in order to have the option to back date him on the disabled list, Mattingly hinted that might not be needed.

“We’ll keep playing all the scenarios as we go. The health theory is that we’d like to see him on the front fields. I think he wants to be on the front fields, too,” Mattingly said. “At this point if something flares up it’s probably more than a start anyway, so the DL is not going to matter.”

So he’s either going to be ready for the season from the start or head to the DL and miss multiple starts, depending on how the rest of Spring Training goes for him.

The Dodgers will need Greinke at 100% for as much of the season as possible, so caution would be the way to go here.

—–

Chad Billingsley threw a bullpen session Wednesday – minus his curve – and reported feeling no pain in his elbow, groin, and finger.

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Greg Zakwin is the founder of the site Plaschke Thy Sweater Is Argyle. Follow him on Twitter @ArgyledPlaschke.

Dodgers designated hitter third baseman first baseman shortstop Hanley Ramirez jammed his right thumb while diving for a groundball in the World Baseball Classic and he’ll get an MRI today at the Camelback Ranch.

His WBC manager and general manager gave differing takes on the severity of it.

“I don’t think it’s bad,” Dominican coach Alfredo Griffin said.

Ramirez, playing third base for the Dominican, jammed the thumb while diving for a ground ball in the third inning. He remained in the game, even delivering a single in the fourth inning, but left after five innings.

Ramirez declined comment through a team spokesman. Dominican Manager Tony Pena said he removed Ramirez for precautionary reasons, even though Ramirez told Pena he could have gone on.

So Tony Pena didn’t think it was bad, but it’s odd to me that Hanley declined comment on it if he wasn’t worried, and maybe it’s because he is a bit, as Moises Alou sounded.

“Hanley, he jammed his thumb when he dove for that ball,” Alou said after the Dominican Republic ran off eight consecutive wins to go undefeated and win the Classic for the first time. “It was pretty swollen. He’s going to have an MRI on it [Wednesday] in Arizona.”

I guess there are differing versions of ‘serious’ at play here.

Just recently, Stan Conte spoke and although he hasn’t had an MRI yet, they’ve already ruled Hanley out for a couple weeks.

Director of medical services Stan Conte spoke with the doctor at AT&T Park, and team trainer Sue Falsone was in contact with Ramirez on Tuesday night. Both relayed their information to manager Don Mattingly.

“They painted both pictures. The optimistic side is that he had another at-bat and it’s just a sprain and it could be a couple of weeks,” Mattingly said. “The pessimistic side is that it could be something major and he’s out 8-10 weeks.”

So he’s going to miss time, regardless, and they’re obviously worried. If he misses two months of the regular season … welcome Juan Uribe.

—–

Zack Greinke threw a bullpen session on Sunday and reported no pain in his right elbow, which had been bothering him recently and been diagnosed as inflamed.

“I guess I could have something, but I’m assuming it’s going to fine to be on track to do whatever, but I don’t know for sure,” Greinke said.

“I probably threw a little more (than expected). I felt good. I was working on stuff, and trying to make sure I’m ready for a game,” Greinke said. “I’m just trying to get ready. I don’t think about it as a rehab.”

“I’m just doing what’s laid out, to give us the best chance. On our team we have other starting pitchers, and we have to be ready. They’re going to weigh all that in,” Greinke said. “I just want to do what’s best for the team. It’s not important what day [I make my first start of the season].”

It’s encouraging to see Greinke make it through a session without pain, and he’ll start a minor-league affair today with a strict pitch count in place. A.J. Ellis will catch Greinke instead of suiting up with the rest of the squad.

Manager Don Mattingly said that Greinke will pitch in a Minor League game in the afternoon, with A.J. Ellis staying back to catch instead of playing in the Dodgers’ Cactus League game against Kansas City.

The team should not feel rushed to get him back by Opening Day if he needs an extra week or two to get healthy for a long, long, long season.

—–

Chad Billingsley‘s elbow has held up all Spring Training, but unfortunately he hasn’t escaped the injury bug as a sore groin is now accompanied by a bruised index finger on his pitching hand.

The finger forced Bills out of his scheduled outing.

“I’m just taking it day by day, seeing how I feel,” Billingsley said. “I’m still playing catch, but the command is just not there because it’s bruised and swollen.”

“(We’re not) trying to force him into this one. We’re concerned about the finger from the standpoint of changing a grip, then not having a grip pressure then changing an arm angle. With everything that has gone on, we really don’t want that,” Mattingly said. “The one thing with Bills, we want to make sure he’s able to throw.”

Glad to see Don Mattingly and his staff aren’t putting pressure on Chad to tough it out and are cognizant of the fact that doing so could lead to a change in mechanics.

But how did Billingsley injure himself, you might ask?

Bunting.

Yes, Matt, bunting.

Billingsley was scratched from Wednesday’s scheduled outing due to the finger. He’s scheduled for a bullpen session instead, and game action on Saturday.

—–

Carl Crawford, who has been dealing with elbow issues during Spring Training, saw improvement Monday in his ability to swing the bat and throw the ball.

“It’s good to see him get a couple of hits, which makes him feel better and more part of it. But even better today for me was him throwing, and Stan (Conte, team director of medical services) working with him on the cuts,” Mattingly said. “He had a lot on the ball. That was really positive today.”

“I’m throwing a little bit harder at (75-80) feet,” Crawford said. “At some point the goal is to be able to hit the cut off man, I’m not sure how many feet that is but that’s the goal.”

Once Crawford can hit the cutoff man, he’ll be cleared by the staff to play left field. Until such an event actually occurs, Carl will continue to DH.

It’s great that there’s no serious issue at play here, but the quotes on his throwing aren’t exactly glowing.

Though Crawford has also made progress throwing, it seems that won’t return until the regular season. But as long as Crawford is ready with the bat, that will determine when he’s ready.

“I don’t think he’s going to be 100% (throwing). When I asked Stan (Conte, director of medical services) when is he ready to really throw and he said, ‘May.’ So it’s going to be a work in progress,” Mattingly said. “But we’re building to a point where we’re comfortable with him being out there. We’re feeling good about everything about Carl right now.”

I couldn’t imagine a worse-throwing outfielder than Juan Pierre, but it looks like we might see it.

—–

Josh Beckett has the flu, which I can only imagine he caught from Ted Lilly.

Regardless, Beckett did start a simulated game against three minor-leaguers and Jerry Hairston Jr..

“Everything went good,” manager Don Mattingly reported. “He got better as the game went on. He was happy about being able to get it in. He was worried that if he did it in a [Cactus League] game and he had a long inning, he wouldn’t get his pitch count up and the up-and-downs. He seemed to be happy with it.”

Beckett threw 76 pitches and went through the up-and-down of six innings, pitching and resting in between.

Beckett’s had an excellent spring, so hopefully he won’t miss too much time – he’s been under the weather two days thus far – as he looks to carry his exhibition success into the meaningful regular season.

—–

Chris Withrow, who had been out with back spasms all Spring Training, returned briefly only to be injured by a liner off the shin.

Withrow escaped with a bruise from the Paul Goldschmidt shot, and he said he expects to be back in action in a couple of days.

“It’s been a pretty adventurous spring,” said Withrow. “I came in ready to go. For my back to go out the second day was kind of frustrating. Then the second batter, after seven months off, that’s not ideal either. Things happen for a reason.”

The guy just can’t seem to stay healthy, even when it comes to living life off the field, as a recent close-call indicates.

Things were adventurous for Withrow even before Spring Training started. He and his wife survived an offseason rollover auto accident with only minor injuries.

Hopefully he can find some good health in his future, as you can never have enough live arms with strikeout stuff.

—–

Dee Gordon is day-to-day after slightly spraining his ankle in a collision at home, according to Don Mattingly.

The shortstop walked off the field and back to the clubhouse on his own, and the injury isn’t believed to be serious.

Chad provided us with visual proof of Gordon attempting to run over (?) Miguel Montero on an overall laughable play.

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Greg Zakwin is the founder of the site Plaschke Thy Sweater Is Argyle. Follow him on Twitter @ArgyledPlaschke.

Zack Greinke, who was out with elbow discomfort and forearm stiffness, received an injection after being examined by Dr. Neal ElAttrache.

The team doctor gave Greinke an injection of platelet-rich plasma and anti-inflammatory medication. The pitcher has been prescribed rest for two to three days and then a return to a progressive throwing program.

ElAttrache’s diagnosis confirmed an MRI taken last week that Greinke had no structural ligament or tendon damage in the elbow, which has bothered him since his last start March 1.

Greinke has told the team he’s dealt with similar elbow issues in the past that never kept him from missing a start.

Greinke was set to rest for a couple of days before beginning a progressive throwing program.

For his part, Greinke chose not to speculate on the exact extent of the injury or self-diagnose:

“I didn’t really know exactly what the problem is, and I still don’t. They might, but I don’t. I’m not a doctor, I’m just kind of going what they are saying to me,” Greinke said. “I don’t have any definitive stuff to tell you guys. I don’t know if it’s the same problem as I’ve had in the past, and I don’t know if it’s a little different.”

On Friday, Greinke played catch, the first time he’s thrown since receiving an injection of plasma in his elbow. Afterwards, He reported no pain.

As it stands, the Dodgers are unsure of whether Greinke will be right by Opening Day and are looking into roster possibilities should he not be ready by then.

“Will Zack be able to make opening day? We don’t know that,” said manager Don Mattingly on Thursday.

Honestly, who cares about Opening Day though? It’s just an arbitrary date.

Obviously the primary goal should be getting him healthy, period, just like Carl Crawford.

—–

Carl Crawford is once again taking batting practice against live pitching.

Carl Crawford took the next step in his rehabilitation on Tuesday, as he faced live pitchers at Camelback Ranch. It was the sixth consecutive day Crawford has taken batting practice of some sort, and his quantity has increased from 50 swings each day to start up to over 120 on Tuesday.

He then hit against live pitching in a game and could be DHing soon in Spring Training.

“Carl was good again today. We’ll see how he does tomorrow. We’re talking about him possibly DH-ing soon. We’ll see how he pops out of these two days. We know he was sore today, body wise. Just regular soreness that you’ll have playing, and in a different gear,” Mattingly said. “We’ll see how he is tomorrow, and make some decisions.”

There is no rush to bring him back, so however long the process needs to take is how long the Dodgers and Carl should be willing to see it through.

—–

Chad Billingsley made a minor-league start on Wednesday even though he’s dealing with some mild groin tightness.

Billingsley had the right leg wrapped for his Sunday bullpen session and manager Don Mattingly said it is nothing major. Billingsley has a history of groin tightness in previous Spring Trainings.

The Dodgers had the day off but Bills carried on with his preparation as he looks towards the beginning of the season.

He ended up clearing the latest test with flying colors, just like all the others.

“Everything felt great with the groin, I had no issues with that. My arm felt great today, everything was good,” Billingsley said. “I had good command of all my pitches.”

It’s hard to not start to get encouraged by this.

—–

Javy Guerra‘s groin issue is more serious than Bills’.

The groin issue that hampered Javy Guerra in his one inning of a Minor League game Sunday, however, will “slow him down a bit, that’s for sure,” Mattingly said. Guerra, in his return from a week off because of World Baseball Classic issues, has downplayed the injury, which he didn’t reveal until after his Sunday outing.

“He’s telling me he feels good,” said Mattingly. “We’re going to be cautious. I don’t think it will be for an extended time, but we’ll be cautious for a day.”

In a crowded bullpen, especially if the team keeps eight starters, it’s not out of the question that he could start on the DL or in AAA.

—–

Shawn Tolleson suffered an injury for the second time this spring after he took a liner off his elbow.

Luckily, it should be fine and he won’t even go in for x-rays.

Tolleson previously dealt with a knee injury a week or so ago.

—–

Ted Lilly missed a bullpen session due to illness, the second instance this spring in which sickness has felled him.

It’s not a big deal, but for a guy who’s coming back from shoulder surgery and needs reps, the sickness throws him off schedule and puts him behind.

—–

Matt Palmer went under the knife for arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and is out for roughly six to eight weeks.

The surgery to clean up a medial meniscus was performed by Dr. Brian Shafer. Palmer’s knee locked up while walking after playing catch on Saturday.

Palmer had a 3.60 ERA in three spring appearances, having allowed nine runs (seven unearned) in five innings, his outings marred by several errant pickoff throws. He allowed nine hits.

The non-roster invitee had no shot of making the team, but it’s unfortunate that he suffered a non-contact injury and couldn’t at least compete and make a larger impression, one way or the other, on the club.

—–

Our very own Dustin Nosler is on the scene at Camelback Ranch and reports that Justin Sellers left practice with what appeared to be a lower-leg injury.

Ken Gurnick updates us on Sellers and confirms Nosler’s report, as he says Sellers suffered a sprained ankle.

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Greg Zakwin is the founder of the site Plaschke Thy Sweater Is Argyle. Follow him on Twitter @ArgyledPlaschke.

After previously reporting forearm tightness to the Dodgers, it’s been relayed that Zack Greinke is now dealing with elbow discomfort, which will force him to miss his latest Spring Training outing.

“Doctors have ruled out serious injuries such as ligament damage,” wrote Gurnick, who called the move precautionary. “Greinke has told the club he’s dealt with similar elbow issues in the past that never kept him from missing a start.”

Greinke skipped a bullpen session on Mar. 3 with elbow discomfort, something manager Don Mattingly referred to later in the week as “the little stuff with the elbow the other day.”

Missing a start is nothing, and the news about no serious damage is fantastic, but it’s a bit concerning that Greinke has dealt with two arm issues already, and the season hasn’t even begun yet.

Worse yet is news that he’s now on his way to have his arm checked out by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles, who is the Dodger equivalent of Dr. James Andrews.

#Dodgers sending Greinke to LA today so Dr Neal ElAttrache can examine sore elbow.

— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) March 11, 2013

The team continues to downplay the severity of the situation, but we have to wonder if they aren’t revealing the extent of their concern.

—–

Carl Crawford is back working out after being shut down for seven days due to elbow irritation.

The Dodgers will take it slow with Crawford now, limiting him to one activity at a time. He will begin with hitting off a tee or via light toss in the batting cage on Thursday.

“He’s doing good, but he’ll be monitored, more on a rehab program,” manager Don Mattingly said. “If we don’t have trouble in one area, then we can keep moving to the next area. If something flares up, we want to know what’s causing it.”

That next area will be throwing for Crawford, which will likely take the longest of his skills to return to normal. But there is still no timetable for when Crawford will be able to play in a spring game, even as designated hitter.

Crawford still believes he’ll not only be available for Opening Day, but will be starting.

The calendar says it’s now unlikely for Carl Crawford to be ready for Opening Day, but he disagrees.

“I haven’t accepted that at all,” Crawford said on Thursday after ending a week-long shutdown by hitting off a tee. “I don’t know who is putting that stuff out there. Even with a slower approach, there’s still a chance I’ll be ready.”

Still don’t understand why there’s this grand incentive for him to rush back in his mind. Not like it’s the start of the playoffs or something.

—–

The Dodgers are pleased with Chad Billingsley‘s progress.

“If you didn’t know anything, does he look any different to you than he looked any other time?” manager Don Mattingly said he asked pitching coach Rick Honeycutt. “And the answer is no. It’s really good news for us, the way he’s bouncing back and the way his arm is.”

“I’m feeling good, throwing hard, throwing everything,” Billingsley said. “They monitor everything, especially with me. In my whole rehab process that I went through last year, I had velocities I had to hit. The ball feels good coming out of my hand, that’s all that matters.”

Also of note is that Bills is dealing with a sore groin muscle.

Meanwhile, Billingsley is dealing with a sore right groin muscle, an injury he’s had in previous springs.

Not a concern for now, but injuries to the lower half can put additional stress on the arm.

—–

Javy Guerra is dealing with a minor groin strain but has been pitching through it.

Guerra downplayed the injury, calling it “something minor” that cropped up Sunday and led to a mechanical flaw. He said a “simple adjustment” made while throwing in the bullpen after his outing brought pitches that sailed high during the game back into the strike zone.

Don’t let him pitch through it, team with a reputation for playing guys who are injured which then subsequently exacerbates the injury and ends up making it worse.

The fact that he’s changing his pitching mechanics to compensate for it says it all, really.

—–

Shawn Tolleson, who injured his knee recently, has been cleared to return to action.

“I just felt something move in my knee and felt a pain, so it kind of spooked me. I didn’t want to test it or throw another pitch or anything. I came out of the game and they checked it out,” Tolleson said. “Everything checked out good and clean. Today there is no swelling, no soreness, no nothing.”

Tolleson participated in workouts on Wednesday, but only did light tossing, and no pitchers fielding practice.

Tolleson wasn’t able to duplicate the pain he had felt…

Shawn Tolleson, who left Tuesday’s game after experiencing a twinge in his left knee, tested it in a shortened bullpen session and said he couldn’t duplicate the pain. He’s been cleared to pitch an inning Friday.

…so everything seems good to go.

—–

Scott Elbert has begun throwing following two off-season elbow surgeries.

—–

Chris Withrow, out with lower back pain all of Spring Training, has begun a throwing program.

—–

Non-roster invitee Matt Palmer suffered ligament damage in his knee and will miss 6-8 weeks after surgery.

“We hadn’t heard anything about anything, but Sue (Falsone, team trainer) said this morning said he mentioned there was some swelling. It sounded like there were signs that he didn’t look at as signs at the time,” Mattingly said. “The fact that this thing just went while walking, it was going to go anyway, in my mind.”

Palmer was an extreme long-shot to make the team anyway, but it sucks to see him go out like that.

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Greg Zakwin is the founder of the site Plaschke Thy Sweater Is Argyle. Follow him on Twitter @ArgyledPlaschke.

Baseball fans love to talk about clutch plays and clutch players, and Dodgers fans are no exception, but like with a pitcher’s best and worst pitches, there tends to be a lack of evidence presented. As such, I decided to find some basis for clutch plays and clutch players, courtesy of the WPA and Clutch statistics.

WPA

Most sabermetric statistics are context neutral — they do not consider the situation of a particular event or how some plays are more crucial to a win than others. While wOBA rates all home runs as equal, we know intuitively that a home run in the third inning of a blowout is less important to that win than a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of a close game. Win Probability Added (WPA) captures this difference by measuring how individual players affect their team’s win expectancy on a per-play basis.

Clutch

In the words of David Appelman, this calculation measures, “…how much better or worse a player does in high leverage situations than he would have done in a context neutral environment.” It also compares a player against himself, so a player who hits .300 in high leverage situations when he’s an overall .300 hitter is not considered clutch.

So that’s the foundation for this post, and since that’s now been established, let’s get on with it, shall we?

As always, visuals have been provided because, let’s be honest, everything is better with visuals.

—–

I feel like it’s necessary to point out that none of this is predictive of the future or telling of the past. It’s a post about stuff that happened in 2012. That’s all.

In other words, please don’t link back to this while saying, “LOOK! THIS DUDE IS SUCH A CHOKER, BRO!” No.

—–

Top Five David Carradine Choke Pitches Of 2012

1. Kenley Jansen – -65.2%

Still amuses me that the umpire called the first runner out initially.

Anyway, so technically this wasn’t a pitch, but … uh … it was one of the most ridiculous ways to allow two runs I have ever seen.

It was the ninth inning and there were runners on second and third with two down. The Dodgers were clinging to a one-run lead, so it’s not like they weren’t in trouble since a hit would have had a similar result, but this was certainly more creative.

2. Javy Guerra – -64.8%

Two-run walk-off doubles tend to result in being on this list.

3. Kenley Jansen – -45.2%

Giving up a two-run single with a one-run lead in the top of eighth is not good, but it would have been worse had Matt Kemp not gunned a runner down at third.

Oh, and it was Hunter Pence who did the damage, thus making it ten times worse.

4. Javy Guerra – -44.5%

Deja vu.

5. Javy Guerra – -43.7%

Remember when people scoffed at the notion that Kenley Jansen was the better reliever? Oops.

To be fair, this was the game where he got his face destroyed, which seems like a legit excuse for giving up a game-tying one-run single.

—–

Kenley Jansen might be an idiot, but boy did the closer role not suit Javy Guerra.

—–

Top Five Chokeiest Dodgers Of 2012 – Ball Thrower Division

1. Javy Guerra – -1.44
2. Joe Blanton – -0.43
3. Chad Billingsley – -0.36
4. Clayton Kershaw – -0.25
5. Kenley Jansen – -0.23

Carl Crawford took live batting practice against an actual pitcher for the first time since elbow surgery last August. However, yesterday he reported forearm soreness and was held out of batting practice and drills.

Crawford, rehabbing from Tommy John surgery on his left elbow last Aug. 23, took batting practice against live pitchers on Monday, but hasn’t been able to do so in the last two days. On Thursday morning when hitting off the tee in the batting cage, Crawford felt tightness in his forearm, and was shut down.

I wouldn’t overreact to it, but forearm stiffness is usually indicative of elbow ligament problems, which does seem normal since he’s rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, but it’s probably an indication that he’s moving a bit too quickly.

Update

Mattingly: @carlcrawford_ will not hit or throw for seven days due to nerve irritation in his elbow.

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) March 1, 2013

Indeed, the problem was elbow related and it seems it was a more serious setback than they initially let on.

—–

Chad Billingsley and his balky right elbow made it through his first start of Spring Training without any complications.

“After the first couple of throws I’m like, ‘Yeah this is fun’,” Billingsley said.

“Normally when you sit for a long half-inning, your arm gets tight and your body starts tightening up. But I went out there and had no problem getting loose or anything, so that’s great.”

“As soon as I left (Arizona) in October, I felt I was ready to go,” he said.

The news is, of course, positive, but whether they want to admit it or not, his condition will be speculated on all year long unless he never falters in terms of both performance and health.

—–

Matt Kemp continues rehabbing and could see live game action sooner than later.

No official date has been set for Kemp’s Spring Training debut, but he’s taking batting practice without issue.

Kemp, who underwent right shoulder surgery in October, hit in the cages Wednesday morning and felt good enough to take on-field batting practice — off of Mattingly — later in the workout. Mattingly said Kemp was fine and his extension, even on full swings and misses, caused no pain.

Seems like he’ll be ready to go once the season starts.

—–

Tony Gwynn Jr. was sidelined with a sore left groin muscle and had to miss a few days of workouts. He later said he expects to be back today, which is a positive since he’s battling desperately for a roster spot.

Gwynn is the only potential bench player with significant center field experience in the majors, so this setback can only hurt him and his chances, especially if it lingers at all like his 2012 injury did.

—–

Luis Cruz missed a couple days of Spring Training action with flu-like symptoms.

Cruz was in urgent care most of Tuesday, where he received IV treatment. He has returned to the lineup and the issue isn’t a concern, unless he actually has the plague or something ridiculous.

Nothing to see here.

—–

Ted Lilly made his Spring Training debut Thursday after an off-season of recovery from shoulder surgery.

Lilly reported no setbacks as he worked his way back into shape.

—–

Matt Guerrier is healthy and ready to contribute to the pen following an injury-plagued 2012.

He opted to not have elbow surgery in the off-season, a la Billingsley, and instead received plasma-rich injections.

Guerrier’s curveball was especially sharp, a sure sign that, like Chad Billingsley, Guerrier has recovered from his injury because of platelet-rich plasma injections to avoid surgery.

“Curveballs hurt me last year when I threw them,” Guerrier said. “Today, it feels completely normal.”

“I was fairly optimistic after that,” he said. “Then once I started to throw in the offseason it felt completely different.”

Guerrier’s health may help us avoid Kevin Gregg, but Matt has never been anything more than a meh reliever, with just one season of an FIP below 3.9, and a K/9 mark that has never reached 7. The Dodgers don’t need to rely upon Guerrier to have a successful pen, but any avoidance of Gregg and the likes is a win, let’s be honest.

—–

Justin Sellers missed workouts because of an ingrown toenail, which he got removed, but he expects to be back today.

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Greg Zakwin is the founder of the site Plaschke Thy Sweater Is Argyle. Follow him on Twitter @ArgyledPlaschke.

The Dodgers begin their 2013 Spring Training with a ton of injury concerns, and now that the whole team has reported, it’s time for an update on player statuses.

No better way to start this off than with Chad Billingsley, who might be the biggest question mark of all even if the depth acquired has mitigated the consequences if he does falter. Coaches say he looks normal, trainers have him on his normal schedule, and he says he feels normal.

“I feel normal,” said Billingsley, who chose platelet-rich plasma injections over Tommy John surgery, as Takashi Saito did successfully five years ago. “There wasn’t a time in the offseason when I felt like I didn’t know if it would hold up,” Billingsley said. “I know some people think it’s an issue, but I don’t. I came to Spring Training not worried about it.”

“They pushed me, basically gave me a chance to blow it out, figuring if it was going to fail, it would be better to know then,” said Billingsley. “In the simulated game, I felt awesome. I’m really excited.”

Billingsley is on a regular schedule and he has no restrictions. “There hasn’t been any mention in any of the medical reports or anything else. His name’s not on a list, it’s not on anything. He’s just like one of the guys getting ready. We’re really getting to the point where we’re just assuming he’s going to be ready, and he’s going to be fine,” Mattingly said.

Difficult not to be encouraged, but we’ve heard this song and dance before with a lot of injuries, and it’s hard to argue against the previous science of trying to rehab partially torn elbow ligaments.

Remember, not if, but when.

—–

Carl Crawford is another gigantic question mark for 2013, and he doesn’t seem to be coming along quite as quickly as he planned.

Carl Crawford, though, is not as far along in his recovery from August Tommy John surgery on his left (throwing) elbow. He’s throwing up to 90 feet, hitting off a tee and hopes to graduate in the next few days to live pitching, which Kemp did weeks ago.

Crawford said he’s “confident” he’ll be ready by Opening Day, depending on what the Dodgers “want to see.”

“I think I can hit the cutoff man, but I don’t know if that’s where they want me to come back,” he said. “I think I’m an everyday guy, but I understand the thought of easing me back in.”

Crawford said he has no pain in his elbow, “just typical muscle fatigue,” and that his arthritic left wrist hasn’t given him trouble, but “it’s something to stay on top of throughout the season.”

Depending on what the Dodgers want to see? They want to see a healthy outfielder, not a guy who is 75% and lobbing the ball in to the cutoff man. He has a noodle arm as it is, after all.

On the positive side of things, Don Mattingly seems encouraged by his progress.

Mattingly was very pleased with Carl Crawford, who participated in batting practice today. ” Carl was good, I was really surprised.” “With Carl being out on the field for the first time, he’d been swinging,” but today was the first time he was out on the field in a while.

All three outfielders spent time hurt last year, so it seems weird they have three backups for the rotation, but don’t even have a platoon partner for Andre Ethier yet.

—–

Scott Elbert sounds encouraged even though he’s coming off elbow surgery that necessitated the signing of lefty relievers to ensure that the team isn’t just relying on Paco Rodriguez.

“They didn’t give me a time frame, but it looks like May,” said Elbert, whose second surgery led to the signing of free-agent reliever J.P. Howell for $2.85 million.

On Sept. 19, Elbert underwent a first procedure to remove scar tissue in the back of the elbow. But after beginning a throwing program, he developed pain in a different area that led to a Jan. 23 arthroscopic procedure involving “a new area of cartilage damage [that] was discovered and debrided” by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, according to Elbert.

“It feels a lot better now,” Elbert said of the elbow. “After the first surgery, I tried throwing for two weeks but had to shut it down. It never calmed down; it just hurt.”

Elbow surgery isn’t as significant a deal anymore, but when they start piling up, there has to be some concern there for the future a la Hong Chih Kuo.

—–

Kenley Jansen had a minor issue with an ingrown toenail, which doesn’t seem to be anything to worry about. Hell, I was almost glad the issue was that and not something related to his heart.

—–

In more worrisome news, Chris Withrow needs an MRI on his ailing back, the same problem that has plagued him in the minors.

It’s becoming a chronic issue, and while he’s converted to a relief role in an attempt to reign in his stuff, this injury might be a bigger obstacle to his progress than his command at this point.

Dodgers starter Josh Beckett is one of many high-risk, high-reward types of players coming into 2013, and at the time of his acquisition, he was seen as somewhat of a throw-in. This was partially because of his contract, but the fact is that both the statistics and the scouting reports matched up to say that he looked more like a #5 than a #1.

The velocity he once had (as high as 94.7 mph in 2006) is now generally gone (91.4 mph in 2012), so my primary concern was whether or not he was going to be able to adjust to not having his go-to gas anymore. Given his reputation as a hard-head in Boston, the fact that he gained a reputation for pumping fastball after fastball into the strike zone (as high as 69%/top 5 in MLB), and that his fastball performed so miserably in 2012, I had my doubts about whether he was even willing to adjust, much less able to make the transition successful.

However, recently during Spring Training, he acknowledged his loss of velocity and that he’s been working on adjusting to his new reality.

Instead, as Beckett has learned in recent years, he must do things differently. His velocity has declined, so he’s throwing more cutters and curveballs, fretting more about location than at any point before.

“I think velocity is something that leaves you at some point in your career,” Beckett said. “It’s a game of adjustments anyway. We all have to make ‘em. I think I have to rely more on location instead of trying to throw it through a wall. That’s something where you have to set your ego aside. You still have the same mentality. You go about it the same way. But there are certain times where you think, ‘I’m going to throw this ball by this guy.’ Then you think, ‘Wait a minute, I can’t do that. All right, I’m going to throw the ball off the corner and have it work just off the corner.’”

I found this interesting because: 1) he specifically mentioned putting ego aside to do the right thing for success and 2) he seemed aware that some type of adjustments were necessary, which made me take a look at his past pitch distribution.

*Click To Enlarge*

Basically, how he attacks hitters has been a work in progress since at least 2010, which is when his fastball usage came down to about league average. Granted, that’s not all positive, as he’s had up and down results in spite of his efforts, posting FIPs of 3.63, 4.54, 3.57, and 4.15 over the last four years.

The promising thing though is that I don’t think getting him to mix pitches will be as significant of a task as I originally thought, because it’s clear he has already bought in. Thus, if he can stave off further fastball regression, and given the success of his curve in 2012, I feel a lot more comfortable with him potentially achieving his #3 upside, or at least remaining a solid rotation piece, either of which is what the team really needs due to the ticking time bomb in Chad Billingsley‘s right elbow.

Rick Honeycutt provided a bunch of updates on the health of Clayton Kershaw, Javy Guerra, Chad Billingsley, Shawn Tolleson, Josh Wall, and Kenley Jansen.

“Clayton was great, outstanding,” said Honeycutt. “But he was outstanding his last three starts, so that wasn’t a surprise. Shawn Tolleson had a little back tightness, but he threw a ‘pen. So did Josh Wall and Javy Guerra, who isn’t as far behind as I thought he’d be. Belisario was there, he threw twice, looked real good.”

Guerra seems healthy after off-season shoulder surgery, which is a positive for the pen, but there’s not much else that seems serious … except that Belisario is already in camp, which seems as much a miracle as Billingsley’s elbow holding up all year.

Speaking of which…

Billingsley was not at the minicamp, remaining at home in Pennsylvania, but he hasn’t had a setback after responding well to platelet-rich plasma injections. There is no way to know if his elbow will hold up until it is tested in Spring Training.

“He has to be smart and be open if he feels something so he doesn’t push it past the point,” said Honeycutt. “There’s a fine line between being really hurt or having something you can deal with. Chad tends to pitch through whatever is going on, and he’s not always open about what’s going on. He needs to be honest with himself.”

An athlete being honest about being hurt? Yeah, let’s rely on that because it has such a rich history of working.

Honeycutt didn’t see Kenley Jansen throw, but the reliever arrived the day Honeycutt left and has been throwing bullpens with no ill effects from the surgery he had to fix an irregular heartbeat.

Probably one of the most worrying health concerns because of the unknown/random nature of it.

—–

Hanley Ramirez injured his knee sliding into second base in the finale of the Caribbean Series, but the injury isn’t considered serious or long-term.

@chadmoriyama Awkward slide into second base to break up double play. Couldn’t tell which leg he was favoring afterward.

— Chris Jackson (@TopesWriter) February 8, 2013

Hanley stayed in the game and it didn’t even warrant any real followup other than people on Twitter mentioning that he’s fine, so it doesn’t seem to be anything to worry about going forward.

In a weird way though, him having a minor injury that put him out of the World Baseball Classic might have been a blessing in disguise because then he could play shortstop in Spring Training.

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Greg Zakwin is the founder of the site Plaschke Thy Sweater Is Argyle. Follow him on Twitter @ArgyledPlaschke.