Yesterday, Don Mattingly had what I call a “Wu-Tang moment”, inspired by the “When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong” skit on Chappelle’s Show.

Humorous? Yes, but what it mean to me is that Mattingly basically dropped all the fronts and simply went in on the Dodgers players and front office in surprisingly pointed comments.

“We’re in last place in the National League West,” the skipper said. “Last year at this point, we played a lineup with nobody in it, but they fought, they competed and battled every inch. I felt like we got more out of our ability. I don’t know if that team was tougher. I don’t know why and it was only for a short period of time.

“Part of it is the mixture of competitiveness. It’s not just putting an All-Star team out there and the All-Star team wins. You try to find that balance of a team that’s got a little grit and fight, and has enough talent to get there also. It’s not all grit and not talent that gets there, and it’s not all talent and no grit. It’s a mixture of both.”
Mattingly wouldn’t say Ethier was guilty of anything. Instead, the manager said what he’s looking for.

“There’s a touch of a difference between saying you’re giving your best effort and you’re willing to fight for something,” Mattingly said. “Some guys go to another level for that price, will do whatever it takes to win a game … that inside, you’re not beating me today. There’s something there you can’t measure with Sabermetrics. You can’t put a number on it.”

The media expected saber-friendly bloggers like myself to be offended by his comments, but I don’t necessarily disagree with him. Yes, “grit” is practically a meme amongst bloggers, but his points about focus and effort and what not are all part of the evaluation process, and it’s the job of the manager and front office to get the best out of their players in anyway they can.

If this is part of it, then so be it. But it remains to be see if it’ll actually be an effective tactic or not.

—–

A lot of focus was put on Mattingly’s comments and how they related to Andre Ethier, who was benched against a right-hander and called out by Mattingly.

“For me, today, I’m putting out my lineup that I feel is going to be the most competitive and going to compete the hardest,” he said.

Asked if Ethier is no longer a player he automatically writes into the lineup every day, Mattingly said, “Well, he wasn’t today.”

Does Mattingly think Ethier won’t fight?

“I can’t really say that,” he said. “I don’t really want to say that, but we’ve got to compete.”

Asked if he was dissatisfied with Ethier’s toughness and mental approach, Mattingly said, “I want to put a club out there that I think for the long range that you can trust, that’s going to fight and compete the whole day.”

Has Mattingly not seen that from Ethier at times?

“Anything like that would need to be a conversation in-house,” he said.

Mattingly said he has had several conversations with Ethier about this over the years. After the 2011 season, Mattingly estimated that Ethier gave away 100 at-bats because of his inability to control his emotions. Asked if Ethier still had similar issues, Mattingly said, “Yeah, at times.”

Remember that hilarious stare-down from the other day? As funny as that was, it was a prime example of him giving away an at-bat (and his spot on team for the rest of that game), which may be part of the reason for this outburst. Either way, it’s certainly an example of what Mattingly is talking about.

Ethier, for his part, took the high road.

“Yeah, I take offense to that, without approaching me first,” said Ethier. “Other than that, I show up every day and find ways to compete, to work hard whether I’m going good or bad. Just like everyone here, I have to get a grip and a handle on what’s gone on. We can never lose hope to get back on top of the division. That’s my approach every day.”

“I don’t think there’s ever a question,” he said. “I made a commitment to what we’re doing. We all have tough times. We just have got to figure out what’s going on and battle through it. Quitting is not an option.”

People reading these comments and then citing Ethier’s stat line in comparison with Matt Kemp and others are sort of missing the boat on this, I think.

Normally, I wouldn’t support this kind of stuff, but I think this situation is more nuanced than “Ethier hitting now, so Mattingly dumb”, as it’s not just Mattingly that doesn’t support Ethier.

Over the years, basically everybody I’ve talked to that’s been close to the team has not exactly come away with a glowing impression of Ethier, and it wasn’t Mattingly that tried to eat the contract of a recently-extended Ethier just this past winter.

Mike Petriello affirms the same general feeling about Ethier, as well as the trade aspect of it.

I don’t know what happened with Ethier behind the scenes, though anyone surprised that he’s got a reputation as being difficult hasn’t been paying attention — and yes, they did try to trade him over the winter.

So while I’m not all that sure what happened behind closed doors, and I’m not saying it’s absolutely justified, I am leaving open the possibility that this was a necessary action due to something that might be happening behind the scenes.

More to the point, I don’t think commenting about Ethier is going to lead the front office to fire him.

—–

That said, what probably will get him fired is Mattingly effectively calling out Ned Colletti and Stan Kasten for roster construction.

When Mattingly spoke with reporters in Milwaukee on Wednesday, as the manager of a last-place team with the highest payroll in baseball history, he said this: “It’s not just all, ‘Let’s go put an All-Star team out there and play games, and the team with the All-Star team wins.’ … All grit and no talent is not going to get you there, and all talent and no grit is not going to get you there. There’s got to be a mixture of both.”

Mattingly benched outfielder Andre Ethier on Wednesday, explaining the decision thusly: “For me, today, I’m putting out my lineup that I feel is going to be the most competitive and going to compete the hardest.”

That is two “I,” one “my” and one “me” in an industry that emphasizes “us” and “we.” Players and the front office notice those words.

In stark contrast, this is how Mattingly explained the weekend decision to demote catcher Tim Federowicz rather than clear a roster spot by cutting either infielder Luis Cruz or catcher Ramon Hernandez: “That was the move that the organization thought was the best.”

And, as the Dodgers’ bullpen lost all three games last weekend in Atlanta, Mattingly appeared to point out how the front office stashed surplus starters in the bullpen, forcing the team to cut veteran relievers who might have been useful

“We had guys get away early who seemed to fit,” Mattingly said.

The disagreement over roster decisions was never more obvious than the decision to send down Tim Federowicz, who had been playing as the primary backup over Ramon Hernandez. Unlike the other stuff, this is a very real problem when the manager and front officer are thinking in very different direction.

On one hand, the disconnect is unhealthy and it seems like a death wish by Mattingly for him to rip his bosses. On the other hand, if it’s a fight between Mattingly and Colletti, I’m in Mattingly’s corner everyday of the week.

—–

But will all this really get him fired? One GM thinks so, but neither Kasten nor Colletti will be in town until Friday, which leaves me thinking two things: 1) Mattingly already knows he’s gonna get fired 2) neither Kasten nor Colletti are as sensitive to his critique as the media makes it out to be and don’t really care.

Either way, though, Mattingly appears to be safe for the upcoming series.

Don Mattingly will be managing the Dodgers on Friday when they open a three-game series at home against the St. Louis Cardinals, according to two people familiar with the team’s plans.

Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but certainly not one that seems to confirm the belief that Mattingly already knew he was fired when making his comments.

So it seems he’ll stick around a bit longer, for better or worse, and the only thing I’m certain of at this point is that a lot of words will be written about this situation.

—–

All of this is to say I’m not sure exactly how significant of an issue the ranting on the team is going to affect Mattingly, but I do think that the disconnect between him and the front office is troublesome and will likely be the cause for his undoing with the Dodgers.

I’ve said again and again that my continued backing of him was based on how he handled relations with the players and the clubhouse, as it certainly wasn’t because of his decision-making acumen. Therefore, my support for him, meaningless as it may be, is actively in doubt now, as he may or may not have just lost the players. Additionally, even if he is right, it seems to be causing more distractions than anything else, which is rarely a net positive.

With that said, the final chapter is yet to be written, and Mattingly seems to have taken a gamble to see if a different approach will work to pull the Dodgers out of whatever horrid funk they’re in. We’ll see how it plays out with the team going forward, and we’ll see whether or not Mattingly deciding to keep it real will cause his tenure with the team to finally go wrong.

So you’ve heard a lot about Don Mattingly and his job security recently — hell, I just wrote about it — but this article from Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports spread around yesterday, and it touched on all the common refrains you’ve been hearing, including harping on the team’s hitting with RISP.

They wonder why the players don’t spend more time with hitting coach Mark McGwire, why they don’t play as hard as their opponents, why they continue to lose games in the little gray areas where good teams thrive. That is, why they don’t catch the ball as well as others, why they don’t toughen and produce with runners in scoring position, why they don’t finish hitters from the mound. These are supposed to be good players, right?

Is it Mattingly? Has this group of players gone soft under Mattingly, whose leadership method allows men to be men, and perhaps thins when the men refuse to live to that minimum standard?

So basically a compilation of complaints that I assume were gathered from fan rants on MLB.com and ESPN.com comments. Swell.

But besides the fact that basically every single Dodgers blogger has written a more complete and well-reasoned piece on Mattingly and his status, the consistent thing that always comes up from the mainstream media is the Dodgers’ ability (or inability) to hit with RISP.

Yes, the bullpen has been a mess lately. Yes, this here’s a team sport, and the Dodgers don’t look like a team that’s all that desperate to win. Still, Kemp and Ethier were a combined 15 for 81 with runners in scoring position going into the Milwaukee series, and just one of those 15 hits was for extra bases.

Standard stuff.

But the amusing thing about that type of narrative? Matt Kemp has actually been clutch on the season, and the Dodgers have been one of the most clutch teams in baseball over the past month.

Don’t believe me? I don’t blame you.

You’ve heard a lot about the Dodgers struggles with RISP because it’s everywhere: stories before the game, tweets during the game, stories after the game. And while the facts of the matter aren’t wrong in this case, the problem is that the statistic itself doesn’t account for their skill/performance outside of that specific situation.

In other words, put a regular fan at the plate with RISP and they will OPS .000, but it doesn’t mean they’re unclutch, it just means that they suck. That’s where the stat ‘Clutch’ comes into play, as it accounts for overall performance versus performance in clutch situations.

On the season, the Dodgers have done as poorly as you probably expected, checking in at 23rd in the MLB this year in Clutch, behind the Astros.

*Click To Enlarge*

So that appears to fit the narrative.

However, in the past 30 days, they’re fifth in the MLB in being so so so clutchy clutchy clutch.

*Click To Enlarge*

So if you wanted to fill in a narrative for this reality, you could. For example, “The Dodgers have been feeling the pressure mounting due to their terrible start to the year, but they are heroically responding under duress to fight for the manager they love dearly”, or some utter garbage like that.

As you probably figured out by now, though, creating an equally dumb counter-narrative isn’t my goal. Besides, the Dodgers still aren’t scoring more runs despite recently coming through when it matters, which is primarily due to that ‘WPA’ column barely being positive. Simply put, the Dodgers still aren’t able to put bodies across the plate because they still generally suck at hitting. The team didn’t suddenly become more clutch in the last 30 days, nor were they less clutch to start the season. Clutch is a statistic that fluctuates constantly because it’s not necessarily indicative of a skill, and the exact same caveat applies for hitting with RISP, as the team has a .296 BABIP overall, but a .263 BABIP with RISP.

Look, there’s always an ebb and flow to these situational numbers, so at the end of the day, the only thing you actually can rely on is the overall talent of hitters. The Dodgers struggles in the clutch or with RISP or whatever else are a result of a team that is simply struggling to hit in 2013, and it’s certainly not indicative of a squad that needs leadership or fire or whatever other garbage people are printing nowadays.

The painful reality is that there’s no Clutch or RISP coaching to be done, really. The players simply need to perform in the batter’s box, clutch situations or otherwise. Unfortunately, like most things, it’s easier said than done.

The discontent with the Dodgers was loud and clear after yesterday’s loss, and for good reason. The team is last in the NL West, have the sixth-worst record in the MLB, and are tied for the fourth-worst run differential in baseball.

It’s a horrible time to be the manager of the Dodgers right now, and we all know it, including Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, Mike Petriello at Mike Scioscia’s Tragic Illness, Jon Weisman at Dodger Thoughts, and even I’ve previously given my thoughts on Don Mattingly. However, the negativity certainly seems to have peaked after getting recently swept by the Braves in excruciating fashion, so the managerial issues merited a deeper look.

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On Don Mattingly’s Assumed Firing

For all the articles being written about Don Mattingly’s imminent demise, I haven’t actually seen anything of substance from the people that matter. Yes, he’s gotten variations of the dreaded vote of confidence, but all the talk has either been from people asking the upper management about his status or pure speculation by journalists, local and national alike.

Usually though, there’s some leak or sign that the higher-ups are unhappy with the job the manager’s doing and are about to drop the hammer. The running assumption seems to be that he’ll be fired today or sometime very soon, but that seems to be a lot of noise without much to actually indicate he’s going to be let go.

Obviously if things continue down this road he’ll be the fall guy no matter what, because that’s what managers and coaches exist for, but as of right now? I would have expected to hear at least one insider source say he’s close to done before anything final happens, so I’m not sure I see him being fired right away.

Then again, Craig Calcaterra of Hardball Talk seems to believe that Ken Rosenthal was teasing out inside info that Mattingly is about to be canned. So maybe I’m not reading between the lines enough, but either way, my point is that we’re all sort of guessing and speculating right now instead of going off anything reliable.

On A Need For “Fire” From The Manager

Many people — some who I respect and some who I don’t — seem to be of the belief that Mattingly isn’t right for the job because the team is flat and he’s not the yelling and screaming type. Judging by the complaints I’m fielding about Mattingly on Twitter, it’s the popular theory among fans as well.

Given the trend in what people seem to want out of a manager, it seems like a good time to remind everybody that yelling and screaming types generally don’t make the best authority figures, and the ones that do get appointed usually don’t last long. Give your boss at your job that personality and it’s not hard to figure out why it wears on people over time, and that rings especially true with the modern athlete, as they are even less responsive to the mad dictator personality.

I do understand why people want to visually see “fire” though, because the fans are mad and frustrated, so it incenses them even more to see managers or coaches or players not as mad as they are. But we go through this discussion every time there’s a struggling player who doesn’t go around throwing stuff daily like Andre Ethier used to after a strikeout. No, it doesn’t mean they don’t care or they don’t try, it just means everybody internalizes disappointment differently and goes about trying to solve their problems differently. After all, remember that Ethier was told to tone down the outbursts, specifically because the coaches thought it was affecting his play. Now people want a manager doing all that?

Besides, it’s ironic timing to be complaining about Mattingly being soft when just yesterday he publicly called out Kenley Jansen and Dee Gordon for what he perceived as mistakes by them. But those types of things seem to be widely glossed over because it doesn’t fit the narrative people have of Mattingly’s persona.

Even disregarding all the above, I can’t honestly believe anybody thinks that Mattingly yelling at the team will reset Ethier’s aging curve, or loosen up Matt Kemp‘s shoulder, or magically work to prevent injuries, so what people really want is making a move just for the sake of making a move. I just can’t see the sense in that.

On Potential Replacements

If Mattingly is going to be replaced, then a replacement needs to be found. Everybody would want a Joe Maddon, but that’s obviously impossible at this point. Also, names like Brad Ausmus (who I find interesting) and others outside the organization have been suggested (please no Mike Scioscia or Tony LaRussa), but I can’t recall the last time a manager got canned and the team hired a high-profile candidate outside the system to swoop in.

As such, I have to assume any replacement will come internally, specifically either Tim Wallach or Trey Hillman. Wallach is an interesting candidate, though I’m not exactly sure what he’ll do differently to make the team better. He has no MLB managerial experience, so if an authority figure is what the team is lacking, I fail to see how he would help change things. Then there’s Hillman, whose track record includes a glorious stint with the Royals where he made much of the same mistakes Mattingly is ripped for, plus his players rebelled against him for being a phony. Since that disastrous stint with the Royals, maybe he’s learned? Who knows, but if you want to stick with track record and what we know so far, he’s a downgrade if anything.

So again, if you can give me a Joe Maddon-type candidate, I’m all for replacing Mattingly right this second. Unfortunately, that guy is not available, and I have more confidence in Mattingly’s ability to resist bunting with a runner in scoring position than I do relying on Ned Colletti to find the next progressive, genius manager.

—–

I’m personally of the belief that a move doesn’t have to be made. That said, do I care a ton if Mattingly gets fired or not? No, not really. I’m not a fan of Mattingly’s decision-making at all, so the clubhouse aspect is the only thing that’s keeping me on board right now. However, any replacement, especially one found by Colletti, is unlikely to be much more progressive in his handling of just about everything. Therefore, what I really don’t get is people who are passionate and insistent that Mattingly gets canned, as if changing the manager will magically make everybody better at baseball.

The fact of the matter is that this team is not this bad, and — barring even more injuries — they’ll be better in the future, with or without Mattingly. Why? Because players win and lose games, and as the people on the field begin to regress to the mean, so will the team’s record.

So focus on the manager all you want, but the roster is what will get the team over .500 or to the playoffs or to the World Series, and that responsibility lies above the authority of any coach.

The Dodgers handed Brandon League a three-year contract and the closer’s role heading into the 2013 season, but his predictable fall from temporary grace in the role has led to continued questions about his viability as the closer, especially with Kenley Jansen waiting in the wings.

It’s easy to see why questions are being asked, as any comparison between the two relievers’ resumes is comical, and it doesn’t matter if we’re talking about just 2013 or their entire careers.

By now, due to what you see in the chart above, I think most of the fan base has concluded that Kenley deserves the closer’s spot over League. However, that assumes that the closer’s spot is the place where the team should be putting their best reliever.

Don Mattingly doesn’t think that’s correct, and I’m inclined to agree.

Don Mattingly has adjusted his late-inning bullpen use recently by deploying Kenley Jansen to face the hitters posing the greatest threat, no matter the inning.

“I don’t like a committee of guys, that’s always unsettling, like every day is a tryout, and that’s not the environment I want for my pitchers,” said Mattingly. “I want them to know I’m confident in them and trust them. It’s not like you give up a run and you’re out.

“But the way it’s been going is the best way to do it. Kenley gets the tougher part of the order, and there’s a chance of anybody in the ninth. We don’t have Mariano [Rivera]. You see teams changing all the time in the last inning or two.”

For the moment, forget about statistics or the fact that you hate Mattingly or whatever else. Logically, what he’s saying makes absolute sense: Use your best reliever in the most important situations in the game against their best hitters.

Basically, Mattingly’s plan is to use Kenley as an ace reliever of old, a move which is only bolstered by the fact that Kenley has a history of being able to go multiple innings. Another reason it works is because the Dodger bullpen has been hit by injuries and ineffectiveness like the rest of the team, so despite League’s struggles, he’s still projected to get late-inning outs even if he’s removed as closer. And since blowing a lead in the eighth sucks just as much as in the ninth (or more since the closer doesn’t even get used then), simply stripping League of the overhyped title accomplishes little to solve the root problem.

Yes, League and Ronald Belisario and friends have to get it together somewhat for this to work, but that was always true to begin with. If they continue to tank, the bullpen fails miserably anyway, with or without this strategy, as Kenley is only one man. As such, it’s hard to see the downside to this move besides the risk for overwork (a temptation, regardless).

Whether you want to admit it or not, if Mattingly actually uses Kenley like he says, it’s quite the progressive move for a manager whose game decisions are generally regressive. I’ve been calling for Dodgers managers to use their best relievers in the most important situations forever now, and if Donnie sticks to what he’s saying, there may finally be progress on that front, even if it is partially out of desperation.

Mike Scioscia‘s job with the Angels is in jeopardy due to their slow start, much like people seem to think Don Mattingly‘s job is. Ken Rosenthal throws gas on both fires by suggesting that the Angels deal Scioscia to the Dodgers.

Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com believes Angels manager Mike Scioscia needs a fresh start and proposes the Dodgers as the most obvious possibility. Rosenthal notes owner Artie Moreno would recoil at the idea of Scioscia managing the crosstown rivals, but the Angels would be better for it if they could obtain a significant player or two in a John Farrell-style trade.

As a standalone rumor, this wouldn’t bother me that much, but this idea of somehow getting Scioscia to the Dodgers is gaining momentum for whatever reason, and I can’t express enough how much I hate the idea.

Why? I think he’s a downgrade.

——

My thoughts on this are certainly not out of any fanboyism over Mattingly, either.

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I frequently critique Mattingly’s game management style. His frequency of bunting, the odd personnel choices, and poor bullpen management are all things that I recognize as problematic from time to time.

That is to say that I’m not exactly calling him the best manager in the MLB, far from it. But as I’ve said before, I watch a lot of baseball around the league and follow a lot of other team’s bloggers, and I see similar issues/complaints about almost every manager, sans a few.

So while Don might not be ideal, I certainly think he’s average.

Furthermore, game management is a small part of what managers exist for. As this article points out, the universal standard for what comprises a quality manager is basically a jumble of intangibles. Therefore, their true value is keeping players happy, getting out of their way, and letting them play, which, hate him or not, Mattingly and his staff have been able to do with the core of the Dodgers team, unlike his predecessors Joe Torre and Grady Little.

That’s why, despite all my complaints, I still defend Mattingly’s position.

—–

But besides that, why don’t I like Scioscia, right? Former Dodgers catcher, supposedly the future Dodgers manager before he was passed over, and supported by Dodger fans.

Well, for starters, all of those things Dodger fans bash Mattingly for? Scioscia does them more often … much more often.

Credit to Jay Jaffe for both that chart and for coining #BuntFucked.

So do you hate when the Dodgers get #BuntFucked by Mattingly? Well, boy oh boy, are you in for a treat if Scioscia strolls into town.

Scioscia is the biggest proponent of small-ball in the MLB, and it’s not only bunting, as this extends to leading the league in hit-and-run attempts and placing in the top five in stolen base attempt rate. So if giving up free outs aren’t your thing, then Scioscia is a downgrade*.

*And we all remember the Mike Napoli/Jeff Mathis debate, yes? Yes.

Furthermore, at the start of his career, Scioscia seemed to have this aura surrounding his teams — primarily built through the media — because they seemed to outperform their expected wins year after year. Yet, without Joe Maddon on his bench, his teams have increasingly become less and less adept at outperforming their expectancies, which I doubt is a coincidence given what we now know about Maddon’s defensive shifts and managerial aptitude.

—–

So by all indications, trading for Scioscia over Mattingly would:

1) Put question marks in a clubhouse without them.

2) Exacerbate all of the game management flaws people already dislike in Mattingly.

3) Expose fans to a manager with a longer history of questionable personnel decisions.

But most importantly, the team would have to apparently give up “one or two” valuable assets for the joy of all of the above.

Nightmares, this scenario gives me them.

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.

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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

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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.

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.

Hanley Ramirez has resumed baseball activities, including hitting off of a tee and light toss. He plans to return earlier than the timetable originally given, but the Dodgers aren’t getting ahead of themselves.

Ramirez told reporters Tuesday he would be back ‘way sooner’ than May 17, and that “everybody is going to be shocked” at how quickly he returns.

Manager Don Mattingly was similarly excited but less specific than Ramirez.

“He was in there swinging, and he looks good. Hanley’s moving forward, that’s for sure,” Mattingly said. “I’m going out on a limb and saying it’s not going to be eight weeks.”

So basically he’s declaring himself a miracle, which is fine with me considering the infield situation on the left side.

The sooner he gets back, the better.

—–

Zack Greinke underwent surgery on his broken left collarbone, and the procedure went as expected.

Dodgers right-handed pitcher Zack Greinke had successful surgery to repair a broken left collarbone on Saturday in Los Angeles, the team announced. As previously thought, Greinke is expected to miss eight weeks after the procedure.

The surgery was performed on Saturday by Dr. John Itamura and Dr. Neal ElAttrache at White Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles. The 90-minute procedure fixed the fracture of Greinke’s left clavicle, and involved the placement of a metal plate to stabilize the fracture.

The timetable for Zack’s return is eight weeks, which is about as good as the team could have hoped for.

—–

Ted Lilly agreed to make yet another minor-league rehab start.

It appears that left-handed pitcher Ted Lilly and the Dodgers have agreed to extend their inconvenient arrangement a little while longer. Lilly has agreed to make another minor league start on his rehabilitation assignment, a change from his weekend stance.

“It’s really been above me, what’s going on. They’ve been working it out,” Mattingly said. “We just give our baseball opinion, on what we felt like he needed, and they worked it out.”

Then he made it and impressed Ken Howell.

If and when the Dodgers need a replacement for the injured Chris Capuano, Ted Lilly is ready, assistant pitching coach Ken Howell said Tuesday night.

“He looked tonight like a Major League pitcher,” said Howell. “He managed the game, his pitches were crisper, he competed better. That’s what I was looking for. He pitched better than the numbers indicate.”

Looks more and more likely that he’ll have to be ready, due to a sudden lack of rotation depth.

—–

Speaking of the devil, Chris Capuano, filling in for an injured Greinke, left Tuesday’s game with a left calf strain. He’s headed for an MRI on Friday, according to Don Mattingly.

Oh, this start to the season just keeps getting better and better.

—–

The recently called-up Shawn Tolleson made one appearance before hitting the 15-day DL with a lower back strain.

Tolleson was recalled on Friday when Zack Greinke went on the disabled list, and pitched in the series opener against the Diamondbacks. Tolleson came in with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth inning with the Dodgers trailing 1-0, but he walked both hitters he faced to force in two inherited runs.

The move is retroactive to April 13, so Tolleson can be activated April 28 if he’s healthy.

As far as his recovery goes, Tolleson has been shut down from throwing for the next week, and he actually felt something before stepping onto the field, but he didn’t address the issue until after putting himself at further risk.

He thinks the travel may have affected his back, but for whatever reason he felt tightness before the his appearance on Friday.

“It was kind of tight all day, and tight when I was warming up. I wasn’t worried about it when I was pitching, I was just trying to throw strikes,” Tolleson said. “But when I came out of the game it just really tightened up on me.”

Sounds iffy as to whether or not he’ll be back after his 15 days are up.

—–

In better news, Carl Crawford has been cleared to resume throwing normally.

Dodgers outfielder Carl Crawford continues to build arm strength following offseason Tommy John Surgery, enough for Dodgers trainers to give him the green light to bypass his cutoff man and throw to the bag when the situation calls for it.

“I’m glad to hear that, actually, because I think as much as anything, he’s been throwing the ball pretty good,” manager Don Mattingly said before Tuesday’s game against the Padres. “I just don’t think he’s been feeling like he should be letting it go. So when the trainers tell him it’s OK, I think it makes you feel better as a player. You can turn it loose.”

Guys have been taking advantage of his throwing arm, but I’m not sure how much of that is due to the surgery and how much of that is just normal for him.

Either way, he’s playing well enough overall for it not to matter.

—–

Scott Elbert, on the shelf following left elbow surgery, is progressing in his rehab and responding well to plasma-rich platelet injections.

After two offseason elbow operations, Elbert experienced a setback midway through Spring Training, received a PRP injection and has rebounded steadily since. He has been throwing hard on flat ground this weekend and could be pitching off a mound in a week or two.

“I’m definitely a lot better, either from the PRP or the shoulder exercises, which also help the elbow because everything is incorporated,” said Elbert. “I wasn’t able to throw more than 75 feet in Spring Training, but I’m up to 90 feet now and my mechanics are a lot better.”

Even if he’s behind two other lefties right now, with the way the season is going, the depth would be nice to have.

—–

Steven Ames was placed on the minor-league 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.

So in case you were under a rock yesterday, Zack Greinke has a broken collarbone and is out for a while, essentially because Carlos Quentin is an idiot.

As one would imagine, the reactions to what went down from the Dodgers dugout, media, and bloggers weren’t the most pleasant towards Quentin.

=====

Don Mattingly called him an idiot and said he should be suspended for however long Greinke is out.

“I don’t understand it either. We’re in a 2-1 game, and on a 3-2 pitch to guy I saw on the board set a record for the Padres by getting hit, a guy that basically dives into the plate. In a 2-1 game we’re trying to hit him 3-2? It’s just stupid, is what it is,” said manager Don Mattingly. “He should not play a game until Greinke can throw a pitch. If he plays before Greinke pitches, something is wrong.”

“He caused the whole thing,” Mattingly said of Quentin. “Nothing happens if you go to first base like in baseball you know you do, because you know he’s not throwing at you 3-2, in a 2-1 game. That’s zero understanding of the game of baseball.”

I don’t disagree.

—–

Matt Kemp went the extra mile to try and find out why Quentin charged the mound.

Kemp and Quentin were nose-to-nose before Richard stepped in. Kemp kept asking Quentin why he did it.

Matt Kemp confronted Carlos Quentin as the 2 were leaving Petco Park. Clayton Richard, cops, security broke it up.

Pretty stupid when you think about it. Last thing the team needs is for him to get hurt and/or suspended for dealing with that asshole.

While on the field though, Kemp lost it after he heard about Greinke being hurt.

Mattingly on Matt Kemp, one of three ejected: “once he knew Zack was hurt, he lost it

That reaction is more understandable to me.

—–

A.J. Ellis said that even a Padres player thought it was bullshit.

A.J. Ellis said #Padres players apologized for Quentin’s actions. “It’s not right, it’s not right,” he said one player told him.

Amusing that people are defending Quentin when people on his own team don’t even agree … off the record, of course.

—–

Speaking of the Padres, in a move of sheer class, Jerry Hairston Jr. relays that the reason he ran over to the Padres dugout, after things had seemingly settled a bit, was to confront a player making fun of the injured Greinke.

“It’s terrible. It’s unacceptable, and I lost it. If a guy’s going to hit you, he’s going to hit you on the very first pitch. This is The Show, you don’t do that stuff. My teammate now has a broken f—ing collarbone, because he hit you on a 3-2 pitch?” Hairston said. “I don’t know Carlos at all, I really don’t, but he was wrong.”

Hairston was ejected for going after one of the Padres after the initial melee had died down.

“I was playing peacemaker, just trying to break it up. Obviously Zack was hurt. One of the guys was chirping the whole time, making fun of him for having the hurt shoulder, broken collarbone, or whatever,” Hairston said.

Losing Zack stings, but we ll pick each other up. Zacks like my little brother. Saw someone making fun of him being injured. Not cool!!

Hairston said it wasn’t Yonder Alonso, and I’ve heard it was John Baker, which would make perfect sense since he’s a backup catcher nobody that will never have to answer for running his mouth. Who knows what the truth is, but it would explain why Hairston lost it.

=====

As far Quentin goes, his excuses after the game were about as irrational as you’d expect.

Quentin blames Greinke for history of HBP. Quentin said he has led league in HBP 2 years running and has never charged mound in MLB.

Translation: “I always lead the league in being hit, but never charge the mound. I did this time though! Why? His fault! But I won’t tell you why.”

Quentin, asked if any remorse: “I did what I did. It could have been avoided.”

Yeah, by you not charging the mound.

Look, I mentioned this in the other post, but Quentin gets hit a lot because of how he dives into the plate, so him getting hit multiple times by pitchers he faced a ton shouldn’t be surprising. In fact, if getting hit by Greinke often was his rationale for being upset, then Jon Weisman found a list of players Quentin should have been raging at before tonight:

The short list of pitchers who clearly have it in for Carlos Quentin: twitter.com/jonweisman/sta…

— Jon Weisman (@jonweisman) April 12, 2013

It’s a long list for a reason, put it that way.

So, hear my plea Carlos Quentin: FUCKING MOVE!

Move out of the way. Just don’t be in that place when the pitch comes at you. I know some plunkings are unavoidable. But surely you can cut down on a lot of them. Duck, or spin away, or bend backward or something. Just fucking move. Take your walk the traditional way.

A post written in jest, but prophetic nevertheless.

—–

For his part, Greinke said he didn’t hit Quentin on purpose but knows Quentin thinks he did.

“The only thing I’ll say about that is that I’ve never hit him on purpose,” Greinke said. “He always seems to think I hit him on purpose, but that’s not the case.”

It was the third time in 31 career plate appearances that Greinke hit Quentin. But he is hardly alone in that regard, as Quentin leads the majors with 97 HBP since the beginning of 2008.

“I thought it was a ploy to get people to not throw inside to him, so he can lean out away,” Greinke said. “I don’t know anyone who has hit him on purpose.”

Quentin maintained Greinke hit him intentionally.

“Myself and Greinke have a history, it dates back to a few years ago. You guys could look it up. It’s documented. It’s unfortunate about the situation. It could have been avoided. You can ask Zack about that,” Quentin said. “I can tell you I’ve never responded in that fashion before.”

Speaking of Quentin complaining about getting hit while diving over the plate, Giants pitcher Ryan Vogelsong gave a quote last year when Quentin got mad at him for throwing inside that basically sums Quentin’s attitude up.

A reminder after taking in the brawl last night between the Dodgers and Padres after Zack Greinke hit Carlos Quentin, who then charged the pitcher and broke his collarbone: Last Aug. 19 in San Diego, Ryan Vogelsong had a beef with Quentin after hitting him with a pitch, and Clayton Richard retaliating by hitting Brandon Belt.

Vogelsong fumed after the game that Quentin crowds the plate and should not react the way he does.

“Go look at the video,” Vogelsong fumed. “It was a two-seamer that ran of the plate. That guy hammers balls over the plate and he gets pissed when you throw the ball inside. It doesn’t make sense. Every time you hit a guy in this game now they think you did it on purpose. It’s tired.”

Sounds familiar.

—–

As far as the accusation that Greinke was trying to instigate a fight:

Zack Greinke was asked if he wanted to fight Carlos Quentin. “I can’t remember the last time I wanted to get in a fight with someone.”

I think most would agree that he seems like the last person who would want to start anything physical.

=====

As for the opposing side, Padres fans are handling this extremely classy … hahahaha no.

This doesn’t even scratch the surface of it, but just to give you a taste:

*Click To Enlarge*

*Click To Enlarge*

*Click To Enlarge*

My take: you never want to see a player charging the mound, but it’s not like it’s never happened before. (1/2)

— Nathan Veale (@The_NV) April 12, 2013

Greinke intentionally moved his body into harm’s way and charged at Quentin. He didn’t have to. That’s his own fault. (2/2)

— Nathan Veale (@The_NV) April 12, 2013

Quentin may have started it, but Greinke’s response was “challenge accepted.” You get what you ask for in this world.

— Nathan Veale (@The_NV) April 12, 2013

Remember guys, Quentin started it, we can all agree on that, but once Quentin started walking toward Greinke and then charged, Greinke didn’t run away, therefore, any injury suffered is HIS fault.

I’d hate for that guy to be in charge of the law. If you got assaulted on the street, his advice would be to not fight back or else you deserve everything that happens to you.

Logic.

=====

Anyway, reading through my Twitter timeline, seems like the consensus among even non-Dodger fans is “fuck Quentin”, so in conclusion:

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Dodgers have sent Matt Magill, Steven Ames, and Matt Palmer to minor-league camp, removing them from contention for a 25-man roster spot.

Not surprising for any of the three, as Magill and Ames are still a year-plus away from being legitimate roster contenders – especially considering the depth of the Dodgers staff and pen – and Palmer recently underwent knee surgery and was never a true threat to begin with.

Additionally, Brian Barden, Hector Luna, and Jeremy Moore all got their tickets to minor-league camp as well. Like the other trio, all three were slated to be in Albuquerque in 2013.

—–

In addition to the cuts, the team released left-handed pitchers Victor Garate and Wilmin Rodriguez, along with catcher Angelo Ponte and right-handed pitcher Hector Correa.

—–

The team inked right-hander Pablo Gonzalez and outfielder Robbie Garvey, presumably to minor-league deals.

—–

Shocker of all shockers: Don Mattingly doesn’t consider Yasiel Puig a candidate to make the big-league squad out of Spring Training.

Is Yasiel Puig a candidate for opening day roster? “Not really in my mind,” said Don Mattingly

Anyone who thought a guy with just 23 games and 95 plate appearances of professional ball – none above high-A, to boot – was a real threat to start the season in the bigs was just kidding themselves and focused on Puig’s freakish physique.

“It’s probably not the best thing for him. People probably don’t want to hear that, but realistically it’s not the best thing for him,” said manager Don Mattingly. “I don’t think our organization thinks it would be the best thing for a guy with as few at-bats as he’s gotten.”

He should be good, but he needs time in the minors to learn and grow like anybody else.

—–

Speaking of roster decisions, Tim Federowicz appears to have the inside track on the backup catcher job, which is what the team was probably hoping for all along.

—–

Watch Kenley Jansen in the World Baseball Classic tomorrow against the Dominican Republic, as he was called up to the Netherlands squad for the semi-finals.

—–

Dylan Hernandez relays the 2013 salaries of Dodgers with under three years of major-league service time. The salaries apply only when these players are up in The Show, as they make significantly less if sent down to the minors.

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

Matt Kemp represented the Dodgers in a commercial for MLB 13: The Show recently, and I … sorry, just got lost in his eyes.

—–

Use this every time Don Mattingly decides to bunt…

…and this every time Matt Kemp does something dreamy.

It’s a flawless plan.

The Dodgers made their first four cuts of Spring Training, with Dallas McPherson, Nick Evans, Ozzie Martinez, and Kelvin De La Cruz getting their assignments to minor-league camp.

Later, Gregory Infante was reassigned to minor-league camp, and the club released lefty Wander Beras.

—–

44-year-old lefty Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi worked out at the open tryouts the Dodgers held at Camelback Ranch. He failed that tryout and wasn’t offered a contract.

—–

Javy Guerra decided to play for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic.

Dodgers reliever Javy Guerra said he will be a late addition to Team Mexico’s entry in the World Baseball Classic after Cleveland closer Chris Perez left the roster for Team USA due to injury.

However, he later had to drop out because of liability concerns involving his shoulder.

Guerra, who was added to the Mexican team last week because other pitchers dropped out, was taken off the roster Wednesday because of liability issues resulting from his offseason shoulder surgery, Guerra said.

It’s for the better anyway.

—–

Don Mattingly is trying Juan Uribe out at first base in Spring Training as the Dodgers appear desperate to find some way to keep him on the 25-man roster.

“I expect it to really be pretty good, other than not necessarily having played there being a little uncomfortable for him,” Mattingly said. “His hands work. He’s always had a good feel for the game, and timing. I really expect him to be pretty good and be able to do this if he’ll put a little time on it, and pay attention to what he’s doing.”

So Mattingly doesn’t see Uribe struggling during the transition to a position he’s never played before, which is funny, considering this GIF.

“Unless we have a better option, he is under contract so it’s not one of those situations where I can just say this doesn’t work,” Mattingly said. “My job is to get everyone prepared the best we can with the guys that we have. I’m going to try to take the roster as we see it or the possibilities of it, and try to get the absolute most out of that.”

So Mattingly doesn’t seem interested in suggesting the release of Uribe.

Swell.

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

Zack Greinke missed a bullpen session on Sunday due to forearm tightness.

Greinke had “a little forearm tightness and thought it best to give it a day to let it rest,” pitching coach Rick Honeycutt said. “It’s nothing to be alarmed about. He’s had it before and he’s still expected to make his next start [Wednesday].”

Fortunately, it’s not anything to be concerned with at this point, especially considering Greinke was still participating in baseball activities prior to the game.

Greinke didn’t miss the pre-game workout, shagging in the outfield but making very few overhand throws.

Team is just being extra cautious with their new signing.

—–

The last time we mentioned Carl Crawford he was dealing with elbow soreness and was held out of drills as a precaution.

The Dodgers soon thereafter updated us with further precautionary measures, namely seven days off from throwing and hitting due to nerve irritation in his surgically-repaired left elbow.

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting a whole lot from Crawford this year, and my overall expectations for him in Los Angeles are very much tempered, but the fact that his elbow seems to still be balky is particularly concerning, especially now that even the Dodgers are saying Opening Day is iffy.

—–

Andre Ethier missed some Camelback Ranch action due to a callus on his right hand.

Ethier suffered from the same ailment last August, and Don Mattingly wants to be pro-active this time around.

“It’s kind of a callus that turned into nastiness last year by not paying attention. I don’t want to do that again,” said manager Don Mattingly. “It’s starting to get big. They’re trying to let it dry out, and not let it turn into what it turned into last year.”

Mattingly said if this were a regular season game Ethier would play, but given the luxury of spring training and a full month before opening day, the team is playing it cautiously.

I like that the Dodgers and Mattingly are trying to get ahead of this so that it doesn’t become a more serious concern, but why would he play Dre in a regular-season game and risk further injury when the implication is that the callus could become quite bad and detrimental to him without rest?

That’s how they’ve gotten into messes before, no?

—–

Shawn Tolleson hurt his left knee yesterday, and the injury is being reported as “left knee soreness”.

“Obviously we don’t know anything for sure, but it sounded like Sue was ruling out the big stuff,” said manager Don Mattingly after the game. “He still felt something that scared him, I know that. But it would be premature for me to speculate on what it might be.”

The Dodgers staff will run more tests and hopefully it’s nothing serious as Tolleson has a great arm and could be a part of the pen this year with health and a bit more seasoning.

—–

Matt Kemp made his Spring Training game debut following his off-season shoulder surgery.

“I swung and fouled a changeup. Last year, that would have made my left shoulder hurt,” he said. “I didn’t hurt today. That’s a really good sign that my shoulder is well and responding to the rehab.”

It’s good to see Kemp back in action after a serious injury, as the team’s 2013 fate will hinge largely on how quickly Kemp can regain his MVP form.

—–

Nothing major here, but Ted Lilly has missed time due to sickness.

Lilly, 37, one of four starters likely battling for the final spot in the Dodger rotation, was to follow Clayton Kershaw to the mound Tuesday but he has been out of camp a couple of days with illness.

Manager Don Mattingly said Lilly’s wife, Natasha, and 2-year-old son Theodore Roosevelt (really) were treated last week for flu-like symptoms, after which Lilly became sick.

Sure, sure, blame the wife and kid.

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

Andre Ethier is growing rather sick and tired of questions regarding his inability to hit left-handed pitchers and whether or not he’s going to be platooned, and he recently stated that the difference between people nagging him about it and not is an extra five hits a year.

It was only one at-bat, and it was only spring training. But it was Andre Ethier’s first at-bat of spring training against a left-handed pitcher, so naturally it commanded a lot of attention.

Ethier stroked an opposite-field triple in the fourth inning Saturday against Chicago White Sox southpaw Leyson Septimo. He finished the exhibition opener 1-for-2, and after the game cautioned against making too much out of a small sample size.

“(If I) get five extra hits in the year, you guys aren’t going to talk to me about it,” Ethier said. “It’s that simple.”

Well … yeah, that would help, but it’s not like five hits a year in this context is a minor improvement or a tiny adjustment or something.

Over his seven-year career, Ethier has had 1010 at-bats against southpaws, which is about 144 per year. So he’s asking for five hits per 144 at-bats, which is ridiculous.

To put that into perspective, the much-maligned James Loney has 3170 at-bats over the exact same seven years. Giving him five hits for every 144 at-bats results in 110 additional hits, and his career batting average jumps from .282 to .317 and his career OPS goes from .758 to around .830. That turns him from a punch-line into an above-average regular.

Keep that fact in mind going forward, because even giving Ethier the free hits he thinks would help him avoid criticism, I don’t think it would help as much as he thinks. Add 35 hits to his numbers against lefties over those seven years and you get a career line that goes from .238/.296/.352/.649 to .272/.328/.389/.717, which isn’t exactly stellar considering the league-average OPS from 2006 to 2012 was .743.

Point being, his batting average would be solid enough, but that doesn’t address the walk rate (10.8%/6.2%), strikeout rate (15.3%/21.4%), nor power (.215 ISO/.115 ISO). So even granting him five hits against lefties every year, which is just silly, I’m gonna guess people would still ask questions about a ~.200 OPS difference in split. Like fans/media wouldn’t ask why he goes from Josh Hamilton to Juan Uribe based on the handedness of the pitcher?

Look, I can imagine it’s frustrating for Ethier to hear the same questions over and over again, and I get that it’s not his fault that Don Mattingly and friends refuse to platoon him. However, for $85 million, people tend to want more than a guy who just crushes righties, and the reality for now is that he’s an excellent platoon guy masquerading as an everyday regular, five annually gifted hits or not.

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 fans have assumed for a while now that 2013 would determine how much longer Don Mattingly would be with the club (maybe Ned Colletti as well), and now that’s all but official.

Last fall, Mattingly politely asked the club to exercise its one-year option before this final year of his contract. The Dodgers politely refused. He will thus begin the summer as a lame duck, except nothing about Donnie Baseball is ever lame, so let’s just say he will be paddling upstream in a situation that could get absolutely daffy.

“It was a 30-second conversation about the option, they said that wasn’t the plan for me or my coaches, it was a moot point, and I’m fine with that,” Mattingly said in a phone interview. “But you would have liked for them to pick up the extensions so the players could be shown confidence. You never want it to be like, after a couple of bad games, people are saying, ‘Oh, are they gonna change managers now?”

Not all that surprising since it was only late in 2012 that he was even confirmed to be returning in 2013, but the way the quotes were phrased, they might as well have told him directly, “Win the World Series or you’re gone, thanks.”

It makes sense, of course, because with a payroll well north of $200 million, not making it deep in the playoffs would be a huge disappointment in relation to fan expectations, and the ownership/front office are simply planning ahead by having a pre-determined fall guy to protect themselves if things go awry.

Matt Kemp has begun upper-body workouts for the first time since offseason shoulder surgery. Kemp’s agent, Dave Stewart, relays that The Bison is pain-free three months after his surgery.

—–

Chad Billingsley continues to progress from his elbow injury and has reported no setbacks thus far, according to Ken Gurnick.

“Physically, Chad’s doing great, and he’s excited about the year,” said Stewart. “He sounds confident. I’m not in his head, but he sounds like he’s relieved that the throwing program worked out well. He’s pain-free. He said he’s right where he needs to be.”

Promising news, but again, the reason for the rotation depth is that nobody really knows how he’ll hold up until he gets out there on the mound and goes full bore.

—–

Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles has an update on Carl Crawford‘s offseason progress and Don Mattingly‘s expectations of his continued recovery from Tommy John surgery.

“It’s all positive, nothing negative,” Mattingly said. “His throwing will probably be a little behind at first, but as I recall, he wasn’t a guy who had a cannon to begin with. He can go get the ball and he’s a good defender, but his defense isn’t really built around having a good arm.”

Probably one of the most important players for the Dodgers going forward, at least in terms of boom-or-bust potential. He can be anything from a 4-5 win player to a complete non-factor due to injury like he was the last two years, so obviously the status of his health looms large.

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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 their full coaching staff for 2013:

Don Mattingly – Manager (3rd Season)
Chuck Crim – Bullpen Coach (1st Season)
Trey Hillman – Bench Coach (3rd Season)
Rick Honeycutt – Pitching Coach (8th Season)
Davey Lopes – First Base Coach (3rd Season)
Mark McGwire – Hitting Coach (1st Season)
Tim Wallach – Third Base Coach (3rd Season)
Ken Howell – Assistant Pitching Coach (1st Season, 6th On Staff)
John Valentin – Assistant Hitting Coach (1st Season)
Manny Mota – Coach (34th Season)
Steve Yeager – Coach (2nd Season)

—–

As Chad noted, the Dodgers recently hired a slew of international scouts. Credit to the new ownership group for their renewed emphasis on building a farm system that includes international players.

—–

Matt Magill and Steven Ames were added to the 40-man roster, bringing the total for the club to 38.

—–

The Dodgers signed former Mets first/third baseman Nick Evans to a minor-league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, as reported first by Chris Jackson. Evans will likely be stationed in AAA, as Jackson notes, but could feasibly find himself at the back of the bench with a monster Spring or if an injury arises.

Additionally, the Dodgers added RHP Juan Abreu, RHP Hector Correa, RHP Greg Infante, LHP Kelvin De La Cruz, LHP Thomas Melgarejo, C Wilkin Castillo, and SS Miguel Rojas on minor-league deals. Also, 3B C.J. Retherford was re-signed.

Andre Ethier

Andre Ethier, in his age-30 season and coming off a couple of years in which he had to deal with injuries, spent time on the DL again this past season, which limited him to just 146 games. Oblique injury aside, Dre actually had one of his best campaigns as a pro, posting a ~3.1 WAR that included average baserunning (~0.0) and below-average fielding (~-3.0).

—–

With the bat, Ethier posted a .284/.351/.460/.811 slash line with a .350 wOBA and 124 wRC+. While his power did jump from the previous year (.129 to .176 ISO), which should have been expected with his ’11 pinkie injury healed, he did display a troubling tendency at the plate, as he walked less (10.5/8.1 BB%) and struck out more (18.7/20.1 K%) than in 2011. His 2012 BABIP of .333 is consistent with his career mark of .324 and his average on balls-in-play in all but one of his major league seasons, so luck doesn’t really factor into the larger picture for Andre.

While his walks and strikeouts make one pause, what doesn’t shock us anymore is his continued ineptitude against southpaws. In 2012, Andre hit – if we can even use that word – .222/.276/.330/.606 against lefty hurlers, and he was somehow worse than his career slash line of .238/.296/.352/.649. Simply put, Ethier can’t, won’t, and never will hit lefties with the amount of consistency that an everyday player should. Sure, he’ll garner the occasional base-knock against one of his own kind, but Don Mattingly would be wise to institute a firmer platoon in right if Ned Colletti could ever actually provide him with a platoon partner who isn’t as putrid as your Juan Rivera-types Uncle Ned always gravitates towards.

—–

Heading into year one of a 5-year, $85 million dollar contract that has a great chance of becoming a $100 million deal, Andre Ethier no longer needs to be the second-best bat on the squad, but if struggles in the box continue for a couple of new additions, he could end up being the second-best offensive player once again in 2013 … which might not be a good thing.

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

Hanley Ramirez

Hanley Ramirez was once a stud shortstop (based solely on his bat, of course), a young player a franchise could build around. Fast forward to 2012 and Han-Ram was just a struggling player acquired by the Dodgers in an effort to upgrade at a position of need and make a run at 2012.

Acquired for Nate Eovaldi and Scott McGough, Hanley arrived as a third baseman swinging the lumber to the tune of a paltry .246/.322/.428/.750 slash line with a .326 wOBA. For the defense-first position of shortstop, that’s acceptable, but for a player of Ramirez’s offensive stature and talent, that’s a far cry from a franchise building block. Additionally, even though he plays a defense-first position, fielding prowess is the last thing anyone would ever note Hanley for.

While he hit better with the Dodgers, primarily as a shortstop, it wasn’t by much, and that came with a worse BB%, a higher K%, and a 48-point bump in BABIP from his 2012 Marlins stint. While his BABIP with the Dodgers moved closer to his career mark, he’s suffered a drop in that area the last couple of years, as it was once routinely north of .325. Factoring in a loss of speed with age, I wouldn’t bet on that BABIP magically leaping back to its earlier resting place. Why? Because with age, attrition, his injury history, and his loss of speed, he won’t exactly be beating them out in droves.

As I touched upon previously, Hanley is a terror with the glove, and it really shows when you take a look at the advanced metrics. Taking on that task reveals a mind-boggling 14 runs that Hanley cost his 2012 employers while manning both short and third. The eye test? Judging by Twitter reactions, I doubt there’s anybody who would argue with the metrics. It’s important, because that strikingly bad showing left Hanley with a paltry ~2.4 WAR, a slight bounce back from his 2011 WAR of ~1.1, but nothing to write home about after a previous string of five seasons in which his WAR never fell below 4.0 and reached as high as 7.5.

The Dodgers best bet moving forward is to have Hanley play third and an actual shortstop who can field the position play short. How Ned Colletti would go about acquiring that shortstop is a different question though, so for now, the best options would appear to be either Dee Gordon or Luis Cruz.

Dee Gordon

Dee Gordon began the 2012 season as the starting shortstop, spent much of the middle portion of the year on the DL with a thumb injury, and ended the year as a pinch-runner. While his offensive limitations were obvious, and his defense was in serious need of improvement, it was hoped that he could scrape by and get on enough to use his fantastic speed to wreak havoc on opposing pitchers and catchers.

Unfortunately for Dee, the Dodgers, and OBP-lovers everywhere, 2012 was a lost season for the 24-year-old. Prior to his injury, Dee was a mess at the plate, with a slash line of just .229/.280/.282/.562 due to his low walk rate (6.1 %), severe lack of power (.053 ISO in 330 PA), and a propensity to hit the ball weakly on the ground (58.9 GB%). Dee returned from injury and headed straight for the minors, and upon his return after rosters expanded, garnered just three plate appearances.

And yet, Don Mattingly allowed Dee to lead-off for much of his 2012 season. A.J. Ellis silently weeps.

Anyway, Dee was just as abominable in the field, costing the Dodgers ~10.5 runs with his glove. His range aside, Dee must work on his hands and accuracy, because becoming a defensive asset at short is his path to being an MLB regular. For now though, his weak bat and weak glove worked to produce a WAR right around -1.0.

The sole area where Dee did contribute was, not surprisingly, the basepaths, where he was worth around ~3.0 runs and stole 32 bases. However, he swiped bags at just an average rate (~76%), so there’s plenty of room for Dee to grow in that respect, unless he wants to be Juan Pierre and steal a lot of bags while not being a great basestealer.

Dee’s role in 2013 is not yet clear. While he could remain in the bigs as a bench player, pinch-runner, or spot-starter, it seems more likely that he would begin the season as the starting shortstop in AAA so the Dodgers can work with him on his offensive, defensive, and basestealing shortcomings.

The upside is still there, but 2012 clearly showed there was a long way to go.

Luis Cruz

As Cruz started 23 games at short — mostly after Gordon’s injury but before Ramirez’s acquisition — he’ll get a brief mention here, although his full write-up can be found in the Season Review for third base.

Despite his overall solid year, Cruz hit a mediocre .235/.267/.388/.655 while captaining the infield, though almost half of his 20 hits in his 85 plate appearances went for extra-bases (two homers and seven doubles). In the field, he was solid, clocking in at ~0.7 runs saved.

If the Dodgers start Cruz at short, he helps the club most there because his defense far surpasses Hanley’s.

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