Baseball fans love to talk about clutch plays and clutch players, and Dodgers fans are no exception, but like with a pitcher’s best and worst pitches, there tends to be a lack of evidence presented. As such, I decided to find some basis for clutch plays and clutch players, courtesy of the WPA and Clutch statistics. WPA Most sabermetric statistics ... Read More »
Paco Rodriguez, Alfredo Amezaga, and Peter Moylan, three Dodgers with shots at making the Opening Day roster, have withdrawn from the World Baseball Classic to focus on making the club. With Scott Elbert rehabbing, Paco in particular is competing for the spot of left-handed reliever, though J.P. Howell would appear to be the front-runner there. Moylan is in the running ... Read More »
The Dodgers pitchers and catchers report to Camelback Ranch today, on Feb. 12, which officially kicks off the baseball season for the team, and tomorrow, on Feb. 13, they’ll have their first workout, in which I like to imagine Aaron Harang lumbering through conditioning drills like a monkey. The rest of the team will report to camp on Feb. 15, ... Read More »
The 2013 projection for the Dodgers from Dan Szymborski‘s ZiPS system was released last week, and given that it’s probably my favorite forecasting tool, it’s worth a look to see how the team fared. Forecasting is not a complete science, obviously, and I’ll address some of the potential pitfalls as we go along, but it’s better to use objective tools ... Read More »
As fans of the Dodgers, we’re always analyzing which pitchers have the best and worst pitches, but we normally base that on nothing but our own feelings at the moment, so I decided to take a more objective look at things. For a pitch to qualify for these rankings, I used a 200-pitch minimum for starters and a 50-pitch minimum ... Read More »
As fans of the Dodgers, we’re always analyzing which pitchers have the best and worst pitches, but we normally base that on nothing but our own feelings at the moment, so I decided to take a more objective look at things. For a pitch to qualify for these rankings, I used a 200-pitch minimum for starters and a 50-pitch minimum ... Read More »
The Dodgers came to terms on contracts with both A.J. Ellis (1-year, $2 million) and Ronald Belisario (1-year, $1.45 million) on Friday. Both players avoided arbitration by signing, as Chad covered. —– Austin Gallagher was released by the Dodgers. On Friday, he received a 50-game suspension from baseball for testing positive for methylhexaneamine, a banned substance. The team also released ... Read More »
Ronald Belisario & A.J. Ellis have agreed to terms with the Dodgers, thus avoiding arbitration, report Ken Gurnick of MLB.com and Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Belisario’s contract is for one year and $1.45 million, while Ellis signed on a one-year, $2 million contract. Assuming he can stay clear of trouble, Belisario figures to be a key component in the ... Read More »
Grantland: Jonah Keri on the riches of the Dodgers and the curse that comes along with it. That, in a nutshell, is The Curse of Plenty. The Dodgers have more money to spend than anyone, without enough top players to go after. They’ve clogged their roster with merely decent talent at multiple positions because their general manager is impulsive and ... Read More »
Kenley Jansen Kenley Jansen entered 2012 as the set-up man with elite stuff, freed up to face the opponents’ best hitters should they be due up before the ninth inning. It was the perfect scenario, considering the closer role is a vastly overrated entity. Though Jansen was slotted correctly, he quickly found himself as the closer following some early struggles ... Read More »
Much to the relief of Dodgers fans everywhere, it was Mike MacDougal who was designed for assignment to make room for the returning Ronald Belisario. ROSTER MOVE: The @Dodgers today designated RHP Mike MacDougal for assignment while MLB reinstated Ronald Belisario from the Restricted List. — Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 3, 2012 It’s a relief because, as I discussed ... Read More »
With yet another curiously timed injury to a bullpen arm, this time Matt Guerrier, the Dodgers have managed to avoid making a bullpen decision for at least 15 more days. Dodgers reliever Matt Guerrier, signed in part to be the bullpen workhorse, was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday because of right elbow flexor tendinitis. Guerrier had an MRI, ... Read More »
In about seven hours time, the Dodgers will open the season in San Diego against the Padres, finally giving us all what we’ve been craving for months: baseball that counts. —– The team made a trio of expected moves to finalize the roster before the season opens. Ted Lilly was placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to March 26. ... Read More »
Kenley Jansen Kenley Jansen is the epitome of an under-appreciated fireman in the pen, putting out any fire, no matter the size, intensity, or probability for continuation. Pitching full-time for just about three years, the 24-year-old fireballer fanned an out-of-this-world 16.10 batters per nine innings last season. Yes, he walked a few too many (4.36), but he has plenty of ... Read More »
Ramon Troncoso was released by the Los Angeles Dodgers to make room for Ronald Belisario, who has to serve his suspension while on the 40-man roster. The Dodgers are off on Thursday, but they did make one roster move. Ronald Belisario, who was on the restricted list all of last season, was reinstated, and to make room on the 40-man ... Read More »
Chad Moriyama Dodgers, Sabermetrics, Scouting