Sep 05

How many innings can one arm throw?

According to Dodgers.com Beckett is thinking about retirement.

Beckett needs surgery to repair a torn labrum and a lesion in his left hip, whether he pitches again or not.

[snip]

He’s a high-mileage 34-year-old, having thrown 2,051 innings in 13 big league seasons.

I don’t doubt Beckett might decline a four-month rehab, as the article suggests is needed. He hurts, he’s made more than $116M in his career and has a couple of small kids, so why not retire? Other than the no-hitter this year I suspect he hasn’t had much fun this season. He even says “It takes four hours of [therapy] work to do two hours on the field.”

I think baseball may have seen the last of Josh Beckett as a player. But that bit about his innings pitched raised a question for me — is 2,051 IP high-mileage? Over 13 years he’s averaged 209 IP over a 162-game period. He was a full-time starter when he was 22 years old. Among Dodger starters:

  • Dan Haren is 33 and has thrown 2,202 innings in 12 MLB seasons for a 162-game average of 215 IP.
  • Kevin Correia is 34 but has thrown only 1,397 MLB innings for a 162-game average of 168 IP in 12 seasons.
  • Roberto Hernandez is 34 with 1,248 MLB innings for a 162-game average of 190 IP over 9 seasons.
  • Hyun-Jin Ryu is 27, has 7 years of Korean League experience and 1,269 innings there in addition to the 336 he’s got in the big leagues, averaging roughly 178 IP (the Korean Leagues throw off the 162-game calculation).
  • Chad Billingsley is 30 and has 1,175 MLB innings for a 162-game average of 195 IP over 7 seasons (and 12 innings).
  • Kershaw, believe it or not, is 27 but has 1,349 MLB innings himself and has averaged 223 IP over a 162-game period in 7 seasons.

Of the three guys who are the same age as Beckett, Haren’s the closest in hard use. He’s always been a starter. Correia pitched his first five years in relief and as a spot starter. Hernandez was a full-time starter in his second year in the bigs.

If Beckett is high-mileage, then Haren, averaging 215 IP, and Kershaw, averaging 223 IP, are the two guys who could also be classified as such. We can only hope Kershaw doesn’t injure himself throwing that many innings every year.

Sep 02

Game 139, 2014

Nationals at Dodgers, 7:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA

Clayton Kershaw goes for win number 17 tonight against Doug Fister. Fister is 0-2 over his last three starts, but he won his first two in August. He’s 12-5 with a 2.55 ERA.

Lineup when available.

More callup news: Dodgers officially recall Carlos Frias, Miguel Rojas and Erisbel Arruebarrena. Active roster now has 33 players.

Aug 29

Game 135, 2014

Dodgers at Padres, 7:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA, FSSD

Dan Haren (11-10, 4.44 ERA) vs. Andrew Cashner (2-6, 2.43 ERA). Haren’s won three of his last four starts. Cashner is making his second start after a two-month hiatus due to shoulder soreness.

Via Twitter: The Dodgers sent RHP Victor Arano to @Phillies as second of two players to be named (Jesmuel Valentin) in trade for RHP Roberto Hernandez.

Lineup when available.

Aug 24

Game 132, 2014

132 was my company number in boot camp way back in 1972 at the now-closed Recruit Training Center in San Diego.

Mets at Dodgers, 1:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA

Bartolo Colon will start for the Mets, but the big news is that according to Fox Sports he’s been placed on revocable waivers (see here for a discussion of what that means), so tomorrow’s start might be his last wearing the Orange and Blue. He’s 11-10 with a 3.85 ERA on the season.

The Dodgers send Kevin Correia out to make his third start as a Dodger. He’s 2-0 with a 4.09 ERA in the NL after coming over from the Twins and 7-13 with a 4.87 ERA overall.

In news from the farm, multiple news sources are reporting that the Dodgers will move their AAA affiliation from Albuquerque to Oklahoma City next season. A Dodger-affiliated buyers group is finalizing a deal with the current owner of the OKC Redhawks, which announced it was selling its five minor league properties earlier this year.

Oklahoma City’s elevation is 1,201 feet, while Albuquerque’s is 5,312 feet. The reasoning seems to be that trying to judge players’ skills when they play their home games at the same elevation as Denver is difficult and can lead to disappointment.

In other AAA news,

With a stolen base Saturday night, Dodgers No. 3 prospect Joc Pederson did what no other player has done in the Pacific Coast League since 1934.

Already leading the league with 32 home runs, Pederson swiped his 30th base of the season to become the first 30-homer, 30-steal player in the PCL since Angels Minor Leaguer Frank Demaree did it 80 years ago.

Lineup when available.

Aug 13

Game 122, 2014

Dodgers at Braves, 4:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA

Hyun-Jin Ryu goes for the Dodgers. He’s 13-5 with a 3.21 ERA coming off a seven-inning two-hit performance against the Angels Thursday night. His opponent will be Ervin Santana, who’s 11-6 with a 3.69 ERA. His last outing wasn’t so scintillating: he was sailing along against the Nationals until the sixth inning when he gave up four runs, three on a dinger by Anthony Rendon (who?).

In off-the-field news, the Dodgers asked for waivers on Chone Figgins for purposes of giving him his unconditional release. They also announced that minor-league reliever Colt Hynes, who had been designated for assignment by the Dodgers, has been claimed by the Blue Jays. Lastly, the team announced that Stephen Fife will undergo Tommy John surgery today. It will be performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache.

Lineup when available.

Aug 04

Game 113, 2014

Angels at Dodgers, 7:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA

I hadn’t realized this, but the Angels have the second-best record in the major leagues. Unfortunately for them, the team with the best record is also in the AL West, so the Angels are in a dogfight.

The Halos send Garrett Richards out to face the Dodgers’ Zack Greinke. Richards is in his third full year as a big leaguer and it’s his best by far: he’s 11-4 with a 2.74 ERA. His last two starts were stumbles, however: he lost to Detroit and Baltimore and gave up eight runs in 13 innings in the process.

Greinke’s last two starts, on the other hand, were excellent. He pitched 15 innings, gave up one run, lowered his ERA to 2.65 and raised his record to 12-6.

Lineup when available.


Update: From Twitter:

The Dodgers placed RHP Chris Perez on 15-day DL (bone spurs, right ankle) and selected contract of RHP Carlos Frias from AAA Albuquerque. To create room on the 40-man roster for Carlos Frias, the Dodgers transferred LHP Paul Maholm (right ACL tear) to the 60-day disabled list.

Jul 30

Game 108, 2014

Braves at Dodgers, 7:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA

Zack Greinke brings his sparkling home record of 6-1 with a 2.73 ERA to bear against the Braves. The last time he faced them he threw seven scoreless innings against them in June of 2013. He’ll be opposed by 23-year-old lefty Alex Wood, who’s 7-8 with a 3.44 ERA in his first full major league season.

The Dodgers optioned newly-acquired Darwin Barney to Albuquerque and sent Great Lakes pitcher Jonathan Martinez to the Cubs as the PTBNL.

Los Angeles is in uncharted territory. Tonight will be the first time it’s tried to extend a four-game winning streak to five all season.

Lineup when available.

Jul 18

Game 98, 2014

Dodgers at Cardinals, 5:15PM PT, TV: SPNLA, MLBN

Dan Haren (8-6, 4.23 ERA) starts for the Dodgers. He undoubtedly hopes to stop giving up home runs in great numbers (17 in his last 12 starts!) for the remainder of the season. Lance Lynn (10-6, 3.14 ERA) will pitch for the Redbirds.

Despite Yasiel Puig’s 3 Ks in the All Star Game and his goose egg in the HR Derby, he had a good first half:

The 23-year-old, second-year pro became one of six players in Dodgers history to record 100-plus hits, 40-plus extra-base hits and 50-plus RBIs before the All-Star break with 106 hits, 44 extra-base hits and 52 RBIs.

Other players in Dodgers history to accomplish the feat include Duke Snider (1954), Willie Davis (1973), Steve Garvey (1977), Gary Sheffield (2000) and Matt Kemp (2011).

That’s some pretty good company right there.

Lineup when available.

Also from Twitter: The #Dodgers today recalled Paco Rodriguez from @AbqTopes. They had roster space because they optioned Pedro Baez back to the Isotopes on July 13.

Jul 13

Game 97, 2014

Padres at Dodgers, 1:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA, FSSD

Hyun-Jin Ryu had a horrid start his last time out. Staked to a five-run lead against Justin Verlander and the Tigers, he promptly gave up that lead and two more runs besides in 2 1/3 innings. That performance was a shock, because he’s been so good this season. He’s lasted at least six innings in 13 of his 17 starts this year, going 9-5 with a 3.65 ERA.

He’ll face Tyson Ross, who’s 7-9 with a 2.93 ERA on the season. He’s gotten no help from his teammates — in four of his five June starts, Ross received just one run of support while he was on the mound and he took the loss in each. Ross is San Diego’s only All-Star Game representative, by the way.

Carl Crawford has been working out in center field, while Justin Turner starts a rehab assignment at Rancho Cucamonga today.

Jul 12

Game 96, 2014

I made a mistake the day before yesterday: Clint Robinson has been designated for assignment, not sent to Albuquerque.

Padres at Dodgers, 7:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA, MLBN, FSSD

Paul Maholm will pitch for the Dodgers, taking Josh Beckett’s place while he’s on the DL. Maholm has made seven starts this season, going 1-4 with a 5.50 ERA. Overall he’s 1-4 with a 5.18 ERA. He’ll face Ian Kennedy, who’s 7-9 with a 3.71 ERA. He’s gone 4-4 with a 3.49 ERA in nine starts on the road as he’ll be tonight.

Lineup when available.