Jan 05

New Year, New Post

Rob Neyer at FoxSports:

The Dodgers were expected to spend WHATEVER IT COSTS to retain the services of Zack Greinke. Absent Greinke, or maybe even with Greinke, the Dodgers were expected to acquire one of the other big-time pitchers out there: David Price or Johnny Cueto.

Greinke signed with the Diamondbacks, Price with the Red Sox, and Cueto with the Giants. Ergo, the Dodgers had (or are having) a lousy winter. Right?

Before exploring that question in some detail, we should start with this salient fact: The Dodgers won 92 games last season.

Thank you, Mr. Neyer. The pundits and fans do somehow forget the team has won three titles in a row, and only two of them were Greinke-aided. It can survive without him.

Neyer points out that the Dodgers re-signed Anderson, who was pretty good and figures to be close to that again. They signed Kazmir, who figures to be better than Anderson. They signed Maeda, who only has to be an average pitcher for him to replace the 12 guys who tried to fill that role at the back end of the rotation last year. They also still have Wood, who’s young and whose history is better than his performance with the Dodgers last season. They’ll get Ryu back, and we don’t know yet how complete his recovery might be. Finally, they’ll get McCarthy back mid-season, and if he’s recovered most of his form that will be the equivalent of getting a mid-season trade for a starter done without giving up a player or two.

Neyer thinks the Dodgers will be pretty good this season. So do I.

Oct 12

ALDS Games Four, NLDS Games Three, 2015

Early AL game: Royals at Astros, 10:00AM PT, TV: FS1

The Astros have a 2-1 lead and send rookie Lance McCullers out to try to win the series. The Royals send first-game (but only two innings thanks to rain) starter Yordano Ventura out to keep the Astros from doing that.

Late AL Game: Blue Jays at Rangers, 1:00PM PT, TV: FS1

The Rangers lead the series 2-1 and hope to win at home. They’ll send out Derek Holland, who’s been in 13 post-season games in his career. He and the Rangers will face R.A. Dickey and his knuckleball. This will be Dickey’s first postseason start.

Early NL Game: Cardinals at Cubs 3:00PM PT, TV: TBS

The series is tied 1-1. The Cubs like their chances in this game, and who wouldn’t? They send All Second-Half pitcher Jake Arrieta to the mound to face the Cardinals, who counter with Michael Wacha.

Late NL Game: Dodgers at Mets, 5:30PM PT, TV: TBS

First, I think this game is going to start on TNT rather than TBS unless the Cubs-Cards game is a blowout; I don’t believe the first game will come in under 2 1/2 hours as it would have to for there to be a seamless switch at 5:30PM PT.

Second, Utley. The latest word is that his appeal is “unlikely to be heard today.”

Utley’s representatives and the Major League Baseball Players’ Association asked for time to prepare their case, which would make Utley eligible to play until a hearing takes place.

Now, the game itself. The Dodgers send Brett Anderson to the hill in his second postseason appearance (2012 for the As), while the Mets send Matt Harvey and his “will he or won’t he throw more than 180 innings this year?” controversy (he wound up throwing 189 1/3 in the regular season) to the mound. Anderson was the best ground-ball pitcher in the big leagues this year, inducing them at a 66.3% rate. Harvey was 8-3 with a 2.23 ERA at home, far better than he was on the road.

This will be the first postseason game ever played at Citi Field; all previous Mets’ appearances were at Shea Stadium.

Lineup when available.

What? No Utley?

Also:

Oct 04

Pre-playoff Palaver

Have at it. Who’s on first? Which pitchers are on the roster, and whose dreams are crushed? Should Yasiel Puig be on the first-round roster? What about the injured Scott Van Slyke? Should Seager start at shortstop or should it be Rollins? Should Utley be on the 25-man roster?

Do the Mets’ starting pitchers hold a candle to the Greinke/Kershaw combination? Should it be Wood as the number three starter, or should it be Anderson? It’s ironic that gaining home field advantage means the Dodgers’ #3 starter, whether Wood or Anderson, will start on the road. Anderson was 7-4 away from Dodger Stadium with a 3.07 ERA while Wood was 2-4 with a 6.14 ERA.

Oct 01

Game 159, 2015

Dodgers at Giants, 12:45PM PT, TV: SPNLA, CSN-BA

Businessman’s special today — baseball under the sun as Abner Doubleday meant it to be played!

Brett Anderson goes for the Dodgers. He’s looking for win number 10 on the year, but perhaps even more importantly, if he goes three innings he’ll surpass the 175 1/3 innings he pitched in his rookie year of 2009, the most he’s ever pitched in a single season. He’s had a tough September, though, going 1-1 with a 6.20 ERA for the month and 11 earned runs in only 8 2/3 innings in his last two starts.

He’ll face Tim Hudson, who is the major leagues’ active leader in wins with 222 against 132 losses. He’s got a career ERA of 3.49. He’s retiring at the end of this season, during which he’s 8-8 with a 4.30 ERA. His last start was not good; he went only 1 1/3 innings against the As on Saturday.

Lineup:

Sep 26

Game 154, 2015

Dodgers at Rockies, 5:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA

Brett Anderson tries to get past his worst start of the year. He gave up five runs including two home runs in 4 2/3 innings against the D-Backs on September 21. He’ll face right-hander Kyle Kendrick, who had a bad outing himself his last time out on Sunday against the Padres, giving up six runs in four innings. Anderson’s looking for win number ten to go above .500 for the season; Kendrick is looking for win number seven against thirteen losses.

Lineup when available.

Update: New Lineup:

Adrian rests back, Grandal moves to first base.

Sep 21

Game 149, 2015

Point of fact: up until this Pirates series the Dodgers had won seven consecutive series. They’ve been playing very well. Sometimes we don’t realize it.

Diamondbacks at Dodgers, 7:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA, FS-A

Brett Anderson is 9-8 with a 3.35 ERA and hunting win number 10. The lefty hasn’t won that many since his rookie year of 2009, thanks to injuries. He’s made four starts against the D-Backs this season, going 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA. His opponent will be Jhoulys Chacin, who’s 0-1 with a 2.95 ERA in the big leagues this season. He was signed to a minor league contract by the Diamondbacks in June. He pitched for the Rockies for six years amassing a record of 38-48 and an ERA of 3.78.

Lineup when available.

The grand experiment of putting Chase Utley at third base begins.

Sep 15

Game 144, 2015

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

Two lefties face one another: Brett Anderson for the Dodgers (9-8, 3.36 ERA in 158 innings this season, more than he’s had since his rookie year of 2009) and Chris Rusin for the Rockies (5-8, 5.14 ERA in 110 innings). Rusin started off well this year, going 3-2 through June, but he’s 2-6 in 18 starts since. Anderson left his last start after 5 2/3 innings with a calf cramp and has had three extra days of rest to help it heal. He’s done well limiting opponents: he’s given up three runs or fewer in 24 of his 27 starts.

Lineup:

Sep 06

Game 136, 2015

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

Brett Anderson (8-8, 3.43 ERA) goes for the Dodgers, while Andrew Cashner (5-13, 4.15 ERA) pitches for the Padres. Anderson is looking for his third straight win and fourth in his last five starts. He’ll have to do it against a lineup he’s mostly never seen; the last time he faced the Padres was in 2009 when he was with Oakland. Cashner’s record is a little misleading; he’s had 22 unearned runs scored against him in his 26 starts.

Anderson is in uncharted territory. He’s pitched more innings (152 1/3) than he has since his rookie year in 2009 when he threw 175 1/3. He’s got more quality starts this year (16) than he’s ever had in a season. The difference is that he’s been healthy all year.

“It takes a while to get this body going,” Anderson joked. “I have to get here a little bit earlier than most guys and do my core stuff and back stuff. It’s not fun, but it’s one of those necessary evils. I’d rather not have to do it, but it’s the cards I was dealt with.”

Lineup:


Huh. Turner at second, Seager at third. Oh well, why not?

Sep 03

Game 133, 2015

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

The Dodgers send out Mat Latos, who’s 4-9 with a 4.76 ERA overall and 0-2 with a 6.05 ERA since coming over to the Dodgers. Worse, he hasn’t made it past the fifth inning in any of his last three starts. I think it’s fair to say he has not performed to their expectations. He’ll be opposed by Colin Rea of the Padres, who’s 2-2 with a 5.95 ERA in his rookie season.

The Dodgers have an 8-4 lead in the season series and the Padres lost three players to injury during Tuesday’s game: starting first baseman Yonder Alonso (back tightness), catcher Derek Norris (hyperextension of left shoulder and elbow) and reliever Shawn Kelley (right forearm tightness).

Lineup when available.

Check out the Dodgers’ repostings of tweets sent out by Brandon McCarthy, Kiké Hernandez and Brett Anderson, all reflecting on Kershaw’s performance last night.

Aug 31

Game 130, 2015

Giants at Dodgers, 7:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA, MLBN, CSN-BA

Dodger killer Jake Peavy goes for the Giants. He’s 14-3 with a 2.30 ERA in 27 career starts against the LA team. He began the 2015 season on the DL, however, and didn’t make his first start until July 3. Since then he’s 4-6 with a 4.21 ERA. He’ll be opposed by Brett Anderson, whose every next start is somewhat of a surprise, since he’s not had a full healthy season since 2010. In fact, his 147 1/3 innings is the most he’s pitched since his rookie year with Oakland in 2009, when he threw 175 1/3. He’s 8-8 with a 3.36 ERA. Against the Giants this season he’s 1-2 with a 4.71 ERA and hasn’t gotten past the fifth inning in two of his four starts against them.

Lineup when available.