In six short days with the team in 2013, Dee Gordon has already showcased everything that once made him a top prospect and everything that made him one of the worst players in the MLB last year. It’s a tiny sample, yet he’s managed to fit in so much amazement and failure that his performance has been noteworthy, regardless. In ... Read More »
Matt Magill, who was rocked in his his last start against the rival Giants, will still be in the rotation come his next turn: Rookie pitcher Matt Magill, who lasted only 1 1/3 innings in Saturday night’s start, will remain in the rotation for at least one more start Friday night, manager Don Mattingly said Sunday. The Dodgers could have ... Read More »
I like Yasiel Puig. I like him a lot, actually. I even ranked him as the top prospect in the Dodgers system for 2013. However, if you follow me on Twitter, most of what I tweet about him is sort of dismissive. That’s not because I’m not excited about him, but rather because he seems to make people incredibly stupid. ... Read More »
The “Yasiel Puig Should Start & Bat Cleanup Movement” took a major but obvious and expected blow Tuesday, as the young Cuban outfielder was optioned to AA Chattanooga. “I told him he had a great camp. It’s an organizational decision of what we think is best for him, now and in the long term,” said manager Don Mattingly. “We think ... Read More »
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 ... Read More »
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. Your browser does not support iframes. His WBC manager and general manager gave differing takes on the severity of it. “I don’t think it’s bad,” Dominican ... Read More »
Why hasn’t Dee Gordon emerged as a useful MLB player yet, right? Well one play from yesterday’s game sort of summed up why he’s having so much difficulty. On a clean single to left-center from Carl Crawford (yes, really), Dee freezes like it’s hit to the shortstop or something, then completely turns his left shoulder to look at the ball ... Read More »
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 ... Read More »
The 2013 projection for the Dodgers from Dan Szymborski‘s ZiPS system was released last week, and given that it’s probably my favorite forecasting tool, it’s worth a look to see how the team fared. Forecasting is not a complete science, obviously, and I’ll address some of the potential pitfalls as we go along, but it’s better to use objective tools ... Read More »
The Dodgers have talked about moving Dee Gordon off shortstop and into the outfield, according to Dylan Hernandez. The Dodgers have talked about moving the fleet-footed Gordon to the outfield but appear inclined to keep him at shortstop for now. Gordon figures to start the season at triple-A Albuquerque. “I hate to give up on him at short,” Mattingly said. ... Read More »
The Dodgers have sent a lot of guys to play in winter ball following the conclusion of the Arizona Fall League. They are well represented in the Caribbean Winter Leagues and it’s nice to see some guys getting consistent playing time. —– Dominican Winter League Geison Aguasviva has a 7.71 ERA in 2 1/3 innings. Juan Abreu has thrown 6 2/3 ... Read More »
Yes, this is the final installment of the 2012 Season Review for the Dodgers, and if you want to catch up on the others, then you can check out this tag here. Otherwise, in the tables listed below, I have calculated the WAR (along with its components), value, and surplus value of every player on the Dodgers payroll in 2012. ... Read More »
The tide has shifted completely in the Zack Greinke sweepstakes with sources now almost universally agreeing that the Rangers are the favorites. Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi speculate that their push for Justin Upton is born out of confidence regarding Greinke. The Rangers’ fervent push for Upton, according to one rival executive, is an indication of their confidence in ... Read More »
The Zack Greinke saga is the story of the Winter Meetings, not only because he’s the top free agent out there, but also because he’s holding up the deals of other free agents, as they’re all waiting on him. Whatever he decides, it figures to be at least borderline historical, as Jon Heyman notes. Strong belief by people close to ... Read More »
The Dodgers made an offer to Hyun Jin Ryu, but it was rejected by Scott Boras, according to Ned Colletti. The Dodgers made a long-term offer to Korean pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin on Tuesday, but it was rejected by agent Scott Boras. “Predictably, it fell a tad short,” said general manager Ned Colletti. The Dodgers have until Sunday to sign Ryu ... Read More »
Chad Moriyama Dodgers, Sabermetrics, Scouting