Clayton Kershaw

After Clayton Kershaw‘s 2011 performance, for which he won the Cy Young Award, I wasn’t sure I could be more impressed with him going forward. That’s not to say I was certain he had peaked, but it would no longer come as a surprise to me or anyone else. What impressed me so much about his 2012 season though, was the fact that he had another fantastic season while pitching through physical adversity.

Kershaw had to deal with plantar fasciitis throughout most, if not all of, the campaign, on top of a late-season hip injury that could have led to surgery, and an early-season illness that forced him to last just three innings in his 2012 debut.

After 2011 bests in FIP (2.28), SIERA (2.81), xFIP (2.84), BB/9 IP (2.08), and WAR (7.2), Clayton followed with excellent marks across that spectrum yet again, with a 2.53 FIP, 3.24 SIERA, 3.25 xFIP, 2.49 free passes per nine, and a 6.3 WAR. His strikeouts remained above one per inning (9.57/9 IP in 2011, 9.05 in 2012), and he backed up his 0.98 WHIP last season with a 1.02 mark this year.

Kid K has made his living missing bats and inducing weak contact, and he continued that trend in 2012, inducing a mess of infield popups (12.2 IFFB%) and increasing the amount of ground balls he generates for a fourth consecutive season (39.4%/40.1%/43.2%/46.9%).

In line for his second consecutive Cy, and fresh off of winning the Roberto Clemente Award, Clayton heads into 2013 on the last year of the two-year deal he signed to avoid arbitration. Slated to make just $11 million in ’13, the underpaid Clayton should have already received a long-term extension. Locking up the young stud southpaw should be the primary objective of Ned Colletti and his staff going forward.

Chad Billingsley

Entering 2012, Chad Billingsley was coming off of a pair of interesting and contrasting seasons: 2010 was his best season ever, while 2011 saw him take a step back. Always the lightning rod for Dodgers fans, especially with Jonathan Broxton away in Kansas City, Bills was at somewhat of a crossroads, as a good campaign would go a long way with the organization, while a sub-par one could have easily landed him elsewhere.

Always a Billingsley fan myself, I was very optimistic about his 2012 prospects, with one caveat:

Bills struggles resulted in a WAR cut in half from the previous year (2.1, down from 4.5) and questions about his mechanics and health. Still shy of his 28th birthday, Billingsley has every chance to rebound, and much like his poor second half of 2009 led to his best professional season, said rebound in 2012 would not be the least surprising to me. In fact, I’ll call it right now, as I fully expect Chad to be productive as Kershaw’s running mate next season, provided he is in fact healthy.

And unfortunately, that caveat became reality, as Chad suffered from an elbow injury that sent him to the DL twice, felled him permanently from August 24th on, and may require Tommy John surgery if plasma injections and rest don’t suffice as a rehab method.

Prior to being shut down, Chad started 25 games, and in just shy of 150 innings, had been excellent. A FIP of 3.34, SIERA of 3.83, and HR/9 of just 0.66 worked to produce a 2.5 WAR. On pace for another 3.5 WAR season, what was most impressive about the 2012 version of Billingsley was the fact that he had cut down significantly on his walks, trimming a 4.02 BB/9 mark down to 2.71.

While Bills isn’t the pitcher Kershaw is, we saw what cutting down on free passes did for Clayton, and it was working well for Chad too before his elbow got in the way of what was shaping up to be one of his best seasons. The Dodgers were able to lock him up prior to the 2011 season for a team-friendly three-year contract with a club option for 2015, and Chad will make $11 million this upcoming year whether or not he can throw a pitch.

A 2013 prediction for Chad really can’t be accurately made, as we have little idea whether the treatments he’s presently undergoing will ultimately allow him to pitch, though the most recent news is very promising. Tommy John surgery would wipe out his entire season, but if the treatments work and he’s able to suit up for the Dodgers next year, there’s ample reason to expect another solid year.

Chris Capuano

Chris Capuano was signed to a back-loaded two-year, $10 million deal with a 2014 mutual option, and while I wasn’t thrilled with the back-loaded nature of the deal, I was alright with him being brought on as a #4 starter. Granted, with the Dodgers #3 being Ted Lilly, they really had no #3 and a plethora of #4/#5 options, but with Cap there was at least some upside.

Coming off a bounce back 2011 season following injury issues, Capuano had a solid #3/#4 type season, whiffing 7.35/9 IP while issuing 2.45 BB/9. Like the two men to follow in this review, Chris struggled in limiting home runs, allowing over one per contest. Those walk and homer numbers were improvements over his 2011 season with the Mets, but he also struck out almost a batter less per nine than he did in his lone season in New York.

A look at his FIP, SIERA, and WAR don’t offer a clear picture beyond the aforementioned #3/#4 starter status, as he improved his FIP from 2011 (4.04/3.95), as well as his WAR (1.4/2.3), but saw a decently sharp increase in his SIERA (3.63/3.90). Cap allows a lot of hard contact (~20% LD career) and fly balls (~40% career), so pitching in a park like Dodger Stadium helps to mitigate the struggles associated with that.

Perhaps most interesting is Chris’ career pre- and post-ASG splits. In 2012, Capuano allowed a .232/.295/.374/.669 line to opponents pre-break, but that ballooned to .281/.317/.454/.770 following the mid-summer classic. Those numbers hold true for his career, as he’s always been more of a first-half pitcher (.257/.320/.414/.734 vs. .273/.331/.473/.804 with BABIP and K/BB marks that have remained steady).

He’ll enter 2013 as the #3 or #4 starter, and if he can up that strikeout rate a bit, he could be solid yet again.

Aaron Harang

Signed to a back-loaded two-year, $12 million deal with a mutual option for 2014 — a deal I was against at the time and still am upset with — Aaron Harang was exactly what he has been since Dusty Baker ruined his arm a few years back: an overpaid #4/#5 starter.

In 31 starts and just under 180 innings, Harang struck out a paltry 6.56 per nine while issuing an poor 4.26 free passes per nine. His shiny ERA may lead many to see his season as a success, but dig just a bit deeper and you find a 4.14 FIP, 4.87 SIERA, and just a 1.7 WAR.

Harang hasn’t exceeded 2.3 WAR since 2007, has not struck out more than seven per nine since 2009, and has seen his walk rate trend up in the last four seasons. That’s … uh … not good, and barring a trade, Harang will return and try to hold off age for another 30 or so starts.

Ted Lilly

Lilly only made eight starts in 2012, totaling under 50 innings, as the injury bug bit him hard in the form of a left shoulder ailment that would end up requiring arthroscopic surgery.

Prior to his injury, in an obviously small sample size, the veteran lefty posted a 3.92 FIP and 4.81 SIERA while seeing a sharp drop in his strikeout numbers from 2011 and his career rate (5.73 in ’12, 7.38 in ’11, 7.64 career).

Entering the final year of a back-loaded three-year-deal that will pay him $12 million in 2013, Lilly no longer has no-trade clause protection, but considering that he is coming off of an injury to his pitching shoulder and will be 37 for the duration of next season, there’s not much value to be had on the trade market anyway.

Lilly will reportedly be available for Spring Training barring any setback, and with a rotation already set, there’s a chance Lilly winds up in the pen to complement Scott Elbert and/or Paco Rodriguez, occupying a long-relief role and spot-starting when necessary.

Josh Beckett

Acquired in the massive deal with Boston, Josh Beckett arrived on the heels of an overblown but still bad 21 starts with the Red Sox in 2012. I say overblown because he was pitching like a #3 starter in 2012, but with all of the focus on his personality and the September collapse of 2011, you’d have thought he was pitching his way out of baseball entirely.

His results were terrible in Boston (5.23 ERA), but Beckett had posted a 4.26 FIP and 4.28 SIERA before the deal, while walking 2.7 per 9. Most concerning were his drop in strikeouts to roughly 6.5 per 9 after five straight seasons of over 8.0 per 9.

Upon his arrival, Beckett was solid and showed improvement, striking out almost 8.0 per 9 with a 3.82 FIP and 3.81 SIERA. While some might attribute that to the new manager and new clubhouse environment, it’s far more likely due to the weaker league and weaker division, offensively-speaking.

Beckett is under contract for another two seasons, each at $15.75 million, and slots in as the #2 or #3 starter heading into 2013. Going into his age-33 season, Beckett is no sure thing to transform back into the front of the rotation starter he once was, though that’s what the Dodgers will need out of him if they don’t go out and get an arm in the off-season.

Joe Blanton

Acquired from the Phillies for a PTNBL that eventually became pitcher Ryan O’Sullivan, Joe Blanton turned in a solid ten starts for the Blue Crew, posting a 3.74 FIP and 3.61 SIERA while whiffing 8.0 per 9 and walking 2.5 per 9.

Blanton’s strikeouts were a pleasant surprise, as his career mark sits just above 6.0 per 9, though he did struggle with the home run, as usual, allowing over one per game as a Dodger. Blanton’s overall season numbers are fifth-starter material, as he posted a 1.7 WAR, though his peripherals were good enough to be a #4.

After making $8.5 million each of the last two seasons, Blanton heads to free agency, and entering his age-32 season, he’ll certainly be looking for at least a two-year commitment from a team. The Dodgers will be after an arm or two, and there are worse options than him, but with the Dodgers flush in cash I doubt he’ll be a target.

Odds & Ends

Nate Eovaldi made 10 starts for the Dodgers prior to being dealt to Florida for Hanley Ramirez. In those ten starts, the 22-year-old righty struck out just 5.4/9 IP while walking 3.2/9 IP. He put up an FIP of 4.11 and a SIERA of 4.67.

While some are high on his stuff and potential as a #3 starter, I always saw him as a reliever due to his low strikeout numbers, and for the chance that Hanley hits again, it was a great trade in my book.

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Stephen Fife, acquired in the Trayvon Robinson deal that made no sense at the time, made just five spot-starts for the Dodgers in 2012. Everything I saw from the 26-year-old profiles as a bullpen arm who can spot-start here and there.

With an FIP of 4.14 and a SIERA of 4.67, I suppose he could be a fifth starter, but again, he seems to profile as a fungible relief arm with his lack of swing and miss stuff and the decrease in strikeouts as he’s advanced levels to face more competent hitting.

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

NFL veteran Jarrad Page, who showed up to the Los Angeles Dodgers open tryout, was signed to a minor league contract by the team over the weekend.

Page, 27, played football and baseball at UCLA. He pursued an NFL career and played for the Kansas City Chiefs from 2006-09, for the New England Patriots in 2010 and for the Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings last season. He was not expected to be retained by the Vikings.

Page, an outfielder, attended the Dodgers’ open tryout on March 1.

He played baseball at UCLA in 2004-05. In 2005, he hit .149 with one home run and 48 strikeouts in 101 at-bats.

Obviously he’s an outstanding athlete, but the concern of everybody has to be whether or not he can hit.

I’d love to see him make it, but it’s admittedly a long shot.

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In injury news, Andre Ethier and Justin Sellers appear to be alright.

Outfielder Andre Ethier and infielder Justin Sellers resumed workouts on Sunday, an indication that their Saturday ailments were relatively minor.

Honestly, Sellers’ situation wasn’t as important because he’s a utility guy, but if Ethier’s injury became a lingering issue, it would cripple the offense. Hopefully this really is the end of it.

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Trayvon Robinson was not so happy about being traded by the Dodgers.

Trayvon Robinson was riding the team bus in New Orleans last July when his cellphone rang. The caller was DeJon Watson, the Dodgers’ assistant general manager.

“I’ve got good news and bad news,” Watson said. “You’ve been traded to the Boston Red Sox.”

“What’s the good news?” Robinson replied.

Still, the initial news of the trade “really hurt me,” he said. The Crenshaw High alum was hitting .293 with 26 home runs for the Dodgers’ triple-A team, one step from taking the field for his hometown team.

“Everything they told me to do, I did it,” he said. “I didn’t disrespect the uniform.

“I always tried to wear the Dodger jersey the way Jackie Robinson did, with a lot of pride and courage.”

Understandable. I think most of us were wondering what the hell the Dodgers were doing.

In any case, hopefully Trayvon channels his anger into a productive career.

Jerry Sands

Left Field: Ned Colletti’s Folly.

This is the Season Review I’ve been least looking forward to because it’s by far the most depressing, and it’s therefore the one I have the least interest in writing.

Essentially, left field was a hot mess in 2011, as the Dodgers used basically everybody, the kitchen sink, and Eugenio Velez. I’ll focus on the main guys and then leave the rest to rot in baseball purgatory where they belong.

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I begin with Jerry Sands because of his status as a top prospect heading into 2011 and his likely status as the 2012 starting left fielder. Sands mashed at every minor league level, and it was just a matter of time before he made his major league debut, particularly with the way Ned Colletti had constructed the team, and especially with the way he constructed said team in left and at first base. What was surprising though was that Sands made his debut on April 18th, earlier than just about anyone anticipated.

Jerry’s first 30 games were not spectacular by any means, but he showed the tools necessary to succeed, as he slashed .239/.343/.413/.756 with 12 extra-base hits and a 22:15 K:BB mark. He went the other way, was willing to draw a walk, and displayed a solid arm in the field.

His next 10 games would be his undoing, however, as he hit just .091/.143/.091/.234 with 0 extra-base hits and 11 strikeouts against just 2 walks (although it should be noted his BABIP was an unhelpful .136). Sands was sent back to AAA and asked to make adjustments at the plate, and make adjustments he did.

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Upon his return to the show as a September call-up on the 8th, Jerry displayed the hitting prowess that Dodger fans everywhere were hoping would translate. In 20 games, he mashed at a .342/.415/.493/.908 clip with seven XBHs and an 18:8 K:BB mark. He hit in 14 straight and cemented himself as a starter somewhere on the diamond next season, barring any Uncle Ned funny business.

His home/road splits, as noted by Mike Petriello, were certainly something that needs noting, but with his minor league success, plate discipline, ability to use all fields, and raw power, I’m not concerned that he’ll morph into the right-handed version of James Loney.

Juan Rivera

After being picked up off of waivers from Toronto, Juan Rivera split time in right, left, and at first. Never more than a role player in Anaheim, Rivera tanked with the Jays before landing his new gig in Los Angeles by simply being better than Marcus Thames’ corpse. Juan started 32 games in left for the Dodgers and matched his solid reputation with the glove (2011 L.A. UZR/150 of 4.1, career 4.8).

However, despite a fast start, James Loney’s temporary caddy did not perform as admirably with the bat. During his 62 game stint, and almost 250 plate appearances after being signed, Juan slashed .274/.333/.406 with a .324 wOBA. Again, better than Marcus Thames, but not worthy of a starting gig with the Blue Crew in 2012.

As a right-handed platoon-mate for Ethier and Loney, Rivera could fit in nicely with the club. Beyond that, however, he’s not worthy of more than a one-year deal with a small salary of one to two million.

JaMarcus Gwybbons, Jr.

Coined by the aforementioned Petriello, this motley trio was Ned Colletti’s bright idea to begin the season in left.

Gwynn Jr. was a glove-only player to begin with, as well as being the only option to spell The Bison in center. He met those expectations, as his UZR/150 in left was a spectacular 20.9, with a 23.7 overall in 677 innings in the field. His bat was miniscule as usual, as he hit .256/.308/.353 with a .299 wOBA and checked in with a WAR of 1.6. As a backup outfielder playing for a million or so, he certainly has a place on the squad, as he was also successful on 22 of 28 stolen base attempts (79%).

Marcus Thames was hurt and ineffective before being DFA’d. A triple slash line of .197/.243/.333, a wOBA of .254, a wRC+ of 58, and a WAR of -0.3 will inevitably lead to your release. He also displayed a lead glove, with a UZR/150 of -14.6.

Gibbons spent time on the DL with vision problems before not doing anything in the show and being DFA’d back to Albuquerque. His WAR was equivalent to Thames’, his wOBA was just .293, and he, like Marcus, doesn’t walk enough (8.1 BB%), strikes out too much (22.6% of the time), and couldn’t field a ball to save his or anyone else’s life (2011 UZR/150 in 100 innings of -46.5).

Totality Of The Situation

The Dodgers used 10 men in left, traded away their best defensive outfield prospect in Trayvon Robinson, and let Eugenio Velez start a game in left and appear in three more.

Matt Kemp

They call him The Bison for a reason: the man is a BEAST. And Beast Mode was certainly on display throughout 2011.

After a disappointing 2010, 2011 was clearly an important step for Matt Kemp, one way or the other. Another disappointing season, no matter how unlucky he may be, would almost certainly signal a trade. A good year, or better, and a new contract would be in his future as he entered his final year of arbitration. Whether that shiny new contract kept him in Los Angeles is an entirely different question, and one I don’t ever want to have to consider.

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In my 2010 review of Kemp, I said I had no doubts he would rebound and have a successful campaign, and from day one, when he stole a base and reached in all four of his plate appearances – walking in three of them – Kemp produced like he has never produced before.

Kemp’s numbers on the offensive side of things improved across the board from 2010. He set career bests in wOBA (.419), OBP (.399), SLG% (.586), ISO (.262), HR (39), SB (40), Total Bases (353), OPS+ (171), total BB (74), and unintentional walks (50). Kemp cut down on his strikeouts by almost two and a half percent, upped his BB% to double digits for the first time (10.7%), and appeared in every game yet again. He lost a game due to a rain out that was never made up, getting shorted in his attempt to become the fifth player to go 40/40.

In the field, Kemp improved as well, as his UZR/150 improved drastically (-27.5/-4.7), though he still makes his most important mark with the lumber. While he would certainly benefit from being a right fielder with his cannon of an arm and needs-some-improvement jumps on balls, you can do a lot worse in center, and with Trayvon Robinson’s trade, there’s no one to play every day and shift Matty to right.

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Whether it was hitting bombs on a balky hamstring, throwing out runners (11 outfield assists), or winning the Hank Aaron Award, Kemp put up a season for the ages, and one that should win him the 2011 NL MVP Award, what with him being the most valuable player to his team in 2011 and all. Kemp hit – with no protection in the lineup, mind you – .324/.399/.586/.986 with that aforementioned .419 wOBA, and led all NL players in both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference WAR calculations (8.7 and 10.0, respectively). He hit lefties – .341/.461/.682/1.142; he hit righties – .319/.380/.560/.939; he was the only one to hit on most nights, period.

In need of a new contract, Ned Colletti better get moving. Ned – or whomever is GM, should he be (mercifully) fired – must lock up Matty as he now enters his prime years. Hell, he should be on the phone with Dave Stewart as I type this. Even should he be moved to right field, Kemp is still the Dodgers best offensive player by a mile, and one of the elites in the game today. A Dodgers team sans Matt Kemp is a Dodgers team nobody wants to see.

Literally.

Rod Barajas

Rod Barajas subscribes to a simple theory: why be anyone but Rod Barajas when people will continue to give me a job regardless of the fact that I’m a pretty mediocre player? Not a bad idea, considering he doesn’t have many other options.

Since arriving in L.A. after being claimed off of waivers from the Mets, Barajas has been consistent. Outside of a hot first week with the Dodgers in 2010 that earned him a starting gig and way too much cash in 2011, Barajas was his usual self, failing to get on-base enough and playing poor defense, but hitting enough home runs to placate the people.

In 2010, he hit .240/.284/.447 with a .310 wOBA; in 2011, he slashed his way to a .230/.287/.430 line with a wOBA of .307. Barajas once again lost time due to injury, playing in just 98 games while amassing a WAR of 1.3 after posting a 0.9 WAR the previous year. He has never been above a 2.1 WAR, and that came way way back in 2005 with Texas. Barajas did up his BB% from 2010 (3.8% to 6.5%) but also struck out considerably more (15.9% to 21.1%). His ISO dipped from a 2010 mark of .208 to .200, and it fell considerably from what he did in his short stint with the Dodgers to close out the 2010 campaign, when it was an astonishingly high .281.

Barajas made it through only 88 games, and at the age of 36 and with what can only be bum knees by this point, there is absolutely no way he should be starting anywhere next season, let alone in a Dodgers uniform. Of course, his inability to get on-base or defend should have that covered, but as a backup, you could do a lot worse. If he were willing to play for dirt cheap, I’d find him to be a fine backup to A.J. Ellis, so long as he truly did serve as a reserve and power off the bench.

A.J. Ellis

Ellis made the trip between Albuquerque and Los Angeles on a number of occasions in 2011, part due to injury and part due to the pure ineptitude of the man who will follow him in this review. A career minor leaguer save for some scraps of time in the bigs, Ellis was also a guy who could do one thing, and one thing really well: get on via the walk. And again kids, that’s a valuable skill to possess.

Though Ellis actually appeared in less games in 2011 than in 2010, he improved his offensive numbers across the board. His OBP (.363/.392), wOBA (.313/.346), SLG% (.324/.376), wRC+ (93/121), WAR (0.5/0.7), and BB% (10.9%/13.6%) all climbed as his catching mates faltered. Ellis also clubbed his first MLB home runs, hitting a pair in the bigs and adding a pair in AAA, serving as the first long-balls for the 30-year-old since 2008.

Ellis is a better defender than any catcher the Dodgers have trotted out since Russell Martin departed, and his ability to actually not make an out as often as others do (career big league OBP of .360, and a minor league mark that never dipped below .382 in a season) would serve the club well.

Ellis is out of options, so he’ll be a part of the club barring anything unforeseen, and Ned Colletti has already come out and said as much. Just how big of a role he’ll have is all that remains to be seen.

Dioner Navarro

What can be said about Dioner Navarro that hasn’t already been written? Living off of one solitary season back in 2008 (and even then, a 2.5 WAR and .330 wOBA are hardly world-shattering numbers), Navarro was picked up during Colletti’s annual dumpster-diving expedition and was signed to a one-year deal, and a guaranteed major league deal at that.

Navarro proved just why he had been residing in said dumpster, putting up an atrocious season in 64 games and 202 plate appearances. Dioner’s career numbers – which are bad enough to begin with – look Ruthian compared with what he “accomplished” in 2011: .193/.276/.324, a wOBA of just .261, -0.1 WAR, a wRC+ of 62, and a K% of over 17%. Add on to that the fact that Navarro was cut for a reported bad attitude and unwillingness to follow directions, when the Dodgers are catcher-thin and Ellis (bless his heart, with all his on-base skills) is the best option, and it’s clear that this was a marriage doomed to fail from the outset.

Tim Federowicz

Acquired from Boston in the ludicrous three-team deal that sent top prospect Trayvon Robinson to Seattle, Federowicz made his major league debut as a September call-up and proceeded to get just sixteen plate appearances over seven games, starting four of those games behind the dish.

Federowicz has been described by Colletti as a gem behind the plate and a work-in-progress with the bat. So basically, Brad Ausmus, except younger and arriving at the expense of a top prospect. Federowicz, as a member of the Red Sox minor league system, displayed solid plate discipline. However, with a line of just .278/.341/.424/.765, and only one season with a wOBA over .334 before arriving in the offense-rich environment of AAA Albuquerque, Federowicz could stand to get a full season in the minors.

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FUN FACT: Hector Gimenez started one game at catcher in 2011.

Baseball America: Shawn Tolleson was the only Dodgers prospect to make the 2011 Minor League All-Stars team, as he was awarded a spot on the second team as a reliever.

Baseball America: When naming All-Star teams per level though, former Dodgers prospect Trayvon Robinson lands at AAA, Scott Van Slyke checks in at AA, and Joc Pederson at R.

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MLB: Don Mattingly wants Tony Gwynn Jr. back next year, which is not surprising. If he comes back at around a million, he’s a solid reserve.

Los Angeles Times Blog: Steve Dilbeck gives reasons to appreciate the 2011 Dodgers.

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Baseball Analytics: Kenley Jansen’s cutter is nasty.

True Blue LA: Eric Stephen looks at the connection between Chad Billingsley and A.J. Ellis. Despite Billingsley’s solid start yesterday, I agree that the catcher isn’t the issue here.

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Beyond The Box Score: I don’t understand why it’s so hard for people to grasp the concept that “Moneyball” was about this:

Essentially: find players with a skill set that most teams overlook and exploit the market deficiency.

No, it was not about signing low average, high on base, poor defending, slow players.

The Book: Tom Tango looks at whether time of day affects hitters and pitchers. Loved this.

I’ll just let you read the interview transcript for now, but I’ll give my thoughts on it afterwards.

What I’m saying is in bold, and the interview jumps around a lot, but that’s mainly because I suck.

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How does the talent in the Arizona Fall League compare to what you saw at the AA level?

It’s about AA because when I saw the rosters I saw a lot of AA or AAA guys, or guys that got called up, so I would compare it to about AA.

Is the environment at the AFL relaxed and casual between players or have you noticed a lot of competition between prospects?

It’s both casual and competitive. It’s not laid back or anything, but it’s like a big showcase like in high school or something.

I noticed that you just finished a game in which there were about 40 runs scored, do you believe that’s a reflection of the conditions up there?

No, I just think there’s a lot of good hitters in the game today. Just good players, basically.

I saw you play back in 2007 or so, and while you had tools to succeed, the performance never seemed to pan out as well as it it in 2009. Was there anything in particular that sparked the change in results?

I just made some adjustments. This year I just wanted to put out the full potential of what I can do. You know, I can run and hit, and I got a little bit of power, and this year I just wanted to put it all together.

I picked up a bigger bat and I really worked on my fear of getting caught baserunning. I think this year I didn’t have that fear.

On that note, I know there’s a lot of people that focus on, or are worried about, your stealing percentage, but in the minor leagues it seems like it’s more of a learning process than anything. Was it that way for you this past year, or is it just something you need to work on going forward?

I had the green light and every time I got caught I learned something new. I got caught 20 times this year and I learned something new every time. They gave me the green light to see if I could get better jumps, and especially stuff like running off of slide steps. Comparing the year before and this year, it was just like “don’t hold nothing back”.

Was it about running as much as possible to get used to it?

It was a learning process, but at the same time, I think I did well under the circumstances.

Addressing the change to the bigger bat, a concern is that the strikeouts will carryover to the advanced pitching in AA. Is that something we should be concerned about as fans, or are you confident that it won’t be an issue?

I would not put it on the big bat. I’ve been striking out for a while, and i’ve been striking out anyway, but when I got to AA, my strikeout to walk ratio actually got a little better. To me, I struck out 147 times, but it really didn’t register in my head until the end of the season. To me, a strikeout is like a line out, a pop out, a rollover, it doesn’t really matter to me.

Right, one out is one out regardless of how it comes.

Yeah. I mean, i’m not looking at no 10 for 10 in strikeouts, like strikeout-strikeout-strikeout, but one thing I tried to learn this year is to turn the page.

Is that a change in mentality or approach?

Oh yeah, even with a home run, you have to come up with another at-bat. There’s time I had 3 strikeouts and the winning run is on second base, so I gotta focus on that at-bat. I can’t care about the 3 strikeouts before and what it means. The more negative thoughts you have, the more it’s gonna come up negative.

Does that change reflect on your consistency? In another interview, you said that “consistency moves you up through the minor league levels”, so how have you tried to become more consistent?

It’s daily routines and approach, that’s what I think personally. I didn’t think so much about consistency in at-bats, but like game plan, what type of player you want to be, and not letting results change who you are.

Both on and off the field?

Yeah.

Later in the season, the Dodgers rewarded your performance by moving you up to AA. A lot of people view that league as a true test of a prospect because a lot of guys jump from that league to the majors.

That league is pretty good man (laughing).

Right, and you seemed relatively unfazed by any perceived gap in talent, but did you notice any significant differences between high-A and AA?

As far as talent, nah, not really I don’t think. There’s a lot of big names but not necessarily more talent. I would think the biggest difference is that the guys are smarter.

So the difference is more in the approach than being more talented players? Is it because they’re older?

Yeah, they’re older, and I thought about that too when I got to the locker room and a lot of guys were like 28 or 29. They know because they’ve been around the game a while.

On a random note, some people, including me, wanted to know if you’re faster than Devaris (Dee) Gordon.

(Laughs) Man, that’s one of my best friends, I don’t know. If you look at me and him, i’m twice his size (laughing). I don’t know, i’m a real big supporter of Dee, and I like the way he plays and works hard. I’m like his fan, so i’m gonna choose him.

So you guys aren’t gonna set up a race anytime soon in Spring Training or something?

You know what, maybe, but it’s gonna be private. It’s gonna be closed (laughing).

After your breakout year, you’re having a lot more attention being paid to you. Do you read what people say about you in print or on the internet?

I got my agent who tells me stuff, but I try not to pay attention because a lot of that stuff is negative. To be honest, I haven’t even looked at a computer in a while. They all talking about my temper and some stuff I can’t be worried about.

Even in 2008, I had a pretty good year as a 20-year-old in high-A, had no clue in my second year switch hitting, but I try not to think about stuff like that. Even my agent just said Baseball America said nothing good about me, so I can’t focus on that. I just gotta keep going.

You mentioned difficulty with switch hitting, so I was wondering whether that was something that came naturally or if it’s still a work in progress.

Not natural (laughs). I wasn’t forced to do it or nothing, and they gave me a choice to stop. I look back on it and I can probably say that I probably wanted to stop switch hitting at least 10 times.

Are you glad you stuck with it?

Yeah, because I got more power left-handed than right-handed (laughs).

People now have increased expectations of you, and some even want you to replace Manny Ramirez in 2011, does that kind of pressure affect you at all?

I don’t know. I mean, Manny Ramirez is a good player, and nobody should be saying that. I hope Dodgers fans wouldn’t want me to replace Manny Ramirez, but just be glad to have another Robinson in a Dodgers uniform (laughs).

I actually played with [Manny] when he came down to rehab, so that was fun, but to replace him is not something i’m thinking about (laughing). I’m just trying to get up there and play, you know? I’m just trying to get up there and be on a parade. I’m from [Los Angeles] so I want a parade.

People say a lot of things, but I just keep going. It seems like it’s more and more pressure each year. More and more challenges each year, but I try to stay the same.

I was pretty surprised that people were saying negative things about your makeup or whatever, because among Dodgers fans, there’s a pretty popular video circulating around of you beating up a gorilla mascot…

That was all fun man, thanks to Lake Elsinore Storm for letting that happen.

How did that come about? Because we all got a good laugh out of it.

The guys come into the dugout before the game and tell us what’s going on and gave us stuff to hit back with. So he comes into the dugout and everybody is whacking him, getting some pretty good hits on him, so he tries to leave the dugout. That’s when I ran out of the dugout, just ran out, and tripped him (laughing). After I tripped him running out of the dugout, they’ve been calling me the “Gorilla Killa” ever since.

As far as your teammates go, you obviously know a lot about them, but which pitcher in the organization would you least like to face?

Actually, he’s right next to me right now, Kenley Jansen, he just got turned into a pitcher, I would not like to face him (laughs).

Okay, I think that’s about it. Thanks for your time, Trayvon.

Alright. Hey, make sure you write some nice things about me (laughs). I’m not a mean guy (laughing). Okay, okay, bye.

—

Admittedly, I’m not yet a good interviewer, but it was a good experience. I also learned that transcribing an interview is a huge pain in the ass.

As far as Trayvon Robinson goes, he was great. Not only did he not seem to mind that he had to give an interview to some dumb site, he seemed genuinely happy to talk about stuff with me. He came off as a rather happy-go-lucky type of guy that was focused on reaching the major leagues.