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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
As everybody knew going into the game, it was literally a must-win contest for the Dodgers, as the magic number of the Cardinals was one for the final playoff spot in the National League. —– Buster Posey started the scoring in the top of second inning with a homer off Chris Capuano. A Luis Cruz RBI groundout knotted the game ... Read More »
Mark Ellis missed two games due to an illness this week, and was replaced by Nick Punto in the lineup. That’s for in case you were wondering why Punto was ever in the lineup to begin with. Though to be fair, he did do well in his limited playing time. —– Shane Victorino was scratched from Wednesday’s game with recurring ... Read More »
As is expected as the season winds down, there are few, if any, roster moves being made. Teams have already called up players following roster expansion, so most everybody is done for the year in this regard. However, the Dodgers did make one move this past week: The club completed the Shane Victorino trade, sending Stefan Jarrin – the grandson ... Read More »
Clayton Kershaw has an impingement of the right hip and threw off a mound on Friday prior to making the start Sunday. I’ve made my feelings on the topic known before: they should shut him down. Don Mattingly, via Dylan Hernandez, said: “The last thing I want to be involved with is pitching Clayton Kershaw hurt. If I knew something ... Read More »
Since the execution of The Trade on August 25th, the Dodgers have gone from scoring 4.0 runs per game to 3.1 runs per game. What was already a mediocre offense in the bottom third of the league has scored the second fewest runs in all of baseball since the start of September. Adrian Gonzalez was supposed to be the impact ... Read More »
Paco Rodriguez, the lefty reliever out of University Of Florida and the Dodgers‘ second round pick in 2012, was recalled to replace the injured Chad Billingsley, who found himself on the 60-day DL with his elbow injury that may require offseason surgery. Rodriguez becomes the first 2012 draftee to debut in The Show. He’ll help out with lefty reliever depth ... Read More »
Now that rosters have expanded, let the speculation on who gets the September call begin! Pump the brakes a bit though, because unfortunately for the people who wish to see young players show their stuff: 1) the 40-man roster is full 2) guys on the 60-day DL are due to return 3) um … the team just traded away all ... Read More »
Chad Billingsley is back on the 15-day DL for the second time this season, and once again it’s due to right elbow soreness. Bills had an MRI that revealed inflammation and will have further tests once the inflammation has subsided. Chad left his last start early after feeling something in the elbow on a pitch. He had been on quite ... Read More »
So Rubby De La Rosa is back with the Dodgers a little over a year after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and he certainly deserves every bit of the promotion. In the minors, he allowed 0 runs in 12 innings while striking out 12 and walking 3. More importantly, he was sitting in the mid-90s and touching the upper register when ... Read More »
As I wrote yesterday, the Dodgers acquired outfielder Shane Victorino from the Phillies in return for reliever Josh Lindblom, AA starter Ethan Martin, and either a player to be named later or cash. Shane Victorino is returning to the organization that drafted him in 1999. The Dodgers acquired Victorino from the Phillies today for starting pitching prospect Ethan Martin and ... Read More »
Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports says the Dodgers have traded Josh Lindblom and Ethan Martin to the Phillies for Shane Victorino. Phillies have traded Victorino to Dodgers for Lindblom and Ethan martin — Tim Brown (@TBrownYahoo) July 31, 2012 I’ll have analysis up later, but in the mean time, here’s Shane Victorino’s best contributions to baseball! Read More »
Chad Moriyama Dodgers, Sabermetrics, Scouting