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,” ... Read More »
Nowhere to start here but with Andre Ethier rumors, right? Well, last time we left off on this rumbling, I was tackling a scenario where Ethier gets dealt and the Dodgers sign Nick Swisher, but there was one other frequently brought up possibility: Michael Bourn. The Dodgers could pursue free agent center fielder Michael Bourn if they trade Andre Ethier, ... Read More »
Yes, this is the final installment of the 2012 Season Review for the Dodgers, and if you want to catch up on the others, then you can check out this tag here. Otherwise, in the tables listed below, I have calculated the WAR (along with its components), value, and surplus value of every player on the Dodgers payroll in 2012. ... Read More »
Grantland: Part 1 of Jonah Keri ranking the 50 best players in terms of trade value. No Dodgers here yet, but Carlos Santana finds a spot at #43. The other two catcher rankings are the ones likely to elicit the most hate mail. In the first draft of this list, I had Santana considerably higher. Twenty-six-year-old switch-hitting catcher, career .806 ... Read More »
Matt Kemp After an amazingly elite 2011 that saw him finish second in MVP voting — even though he was the best player in the National League last year — Matt Kemp had to spend far too much of 2012 as you see him above. Kemp’s season is really quite easy to break down: when healthy, he was elite, but ... Read More »
Left field has been, is, and will in all likelihood continue to be, a vast wasteland for the Dodgers. That is, unless Carl Crawford returns to his Tampa Bay form in 2013 or the Yasiel Puig era — whenever that actually begins — proves to be worth the wait. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s review 2012, which was ... Read More »
The Dodgers officially announced the hiring of Mark McGwire as hitting coach, replacing Dave Hansen. McGwire spent the past three years with the Cardinals as their hitting coach. Under his tutelage, the Cards offense was top-five in OBP in each of his seasons at the offensive helm, leading all of baseball last year. McGwire has stated that his philosophy includes ... Read More »
Adrian Gonzalez When the Dodgers acquired Adrian Gonzalez from the Boston Red Sox, I saw a plethora of Dodger fans begin to assert wild and crazy things. Not only were the Dodgers guaranteed of making the playoffs, but they were a lock to make the World Series on the back of a hero who was absolutely the right acquisition because ... Read More »
So THAT happened at a Clippers game yesterday, presumably because Matt Kemp was there to see Blake Griffin. Unfortunately, by the look in Kris Jenner‘s eyes, you can tell she’s thinking about him as a potential publicity marriage partner for one of her two younger daughters in a few years. As a Dodger fan, your initial reaction to this picture ... Read More »
Matt Kemp should move to a corner outfield spot and be replaced in center field by Carl Crawford, says Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles. When we talked to general manager Ned Colletti after the season, he said it’s something the team might revisit later, but is not considering for 2013. Why? Alternatives. Carl Crawford hasn’t played center field since ... Read More »
The Dodgers have announced that all members of the 2012 coaching staff will return in 2013 with the lone exception being hitting coach Dave Hansen, whom the club has parted ways with after he spent just over a season in the position. While it’s true that this squad was fairly terrible offensively for most of the season, I can’t and ... Read More »
The Dodgers outrighted both Blake Hawksworth and Matt Angle to AAA yesterday. Neither move is shocking nor particularly noteworthy, but it’s important nonetheless because it frees up a couple of spots on the 40-man roster that has to be set for the Rule 5 Draft by next month. Angle did little for the team both on the field and off ... Read More »
A.J. Ellis underwent knee surgery for a torn meniscus in his left knee. The information, as far as I can tell, was broken on Twitter by his wife. Surgery went well Friday. Recovering and flying home Tuesday! #pregnantwith3babies #ipadteddybear twitter.com/Cindyluellis/s… — Cindy Ellis (@Cindyluellis) October 8, 2012 The necessity of this surgery could probably explain a few of his late-season ... Read More »
Matt Kemp will undergo arthroscopic surgery tomorrow on his injured left shoulder to fix his frayed labrum. The rehab period could be weeks or months, depending on the extent of the damage. I said it when it was revealed to be a serious injury, but the fact that the Dodgers didn’t shut him down was ludicrous. He – along with ... Read More »
Barry Bloom of MLB.com revealed through an interview that Ned Colletti and the Dodger coaching staff got into a bit of an argument after Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to the Padres. MLB.com: So there was a little blowup in the clubhouse after Tuesday night’s loss here. We heard that was you. Colletti: I had a passionate exchange in the coach’s room. ... Read More »
Chad Moriyama Dodgers, Sabermetrics, Scouting