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.

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 04

Game 134, 2015

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

The Dodgers start Mike Bolsinger (5-3, 2.38 ERA), back up from OKC. According to Mattingly he will remain in the rotation “beyond Friday.” His opponent will be James Shields (10-6, 3.78 ERA), who’s looking for his third win in his last four starts.

Justin Turner gets the day off at third base, and young Mr. Seager will replace him there. Jimmy Rollins is expected to play shortstop.

Lineup when available.

For scoreboard watchers: Giants at Rockies

Mar 18

Yet another cutdown day

The Dodgers sent six players to minor league camp after today’s game, including top prospect Corey Seager:

In addition to Seager, outfielder Scott Schebler was optioned, while infielder Buck Britton, utilityman Darnell Sweeney and catchers Shawn Zarraga and Chris O’Brien were assigned to Minor League camp.

The Dodgers have 42 active players in camp, plus injured pitchers Chris Withrow and Brandon Beachy.

Click the link if only to see what Seager looks like with his hat off. My lord, I think he’s 15 years old.

Jan 22

Open Thread #7

Update: Ernie Banks passed away today. The Hall of Famer and former Cub was 83 years old.

Baseball America has a recap of the Dodgers’ offseason moves, with some attention paid to the minor leaguers.

Aside from the Cubs, the Dodgers’ top three prospects are as strong as any other organization’s in baseball. Corey Seager, a shortstop for now who likely moves to third base, is one of the most talented hitters in the minors. Center fielder Joc Pederson is a 2015 Rookie of the Year frontrunner, while teenage lefthander Julio Urias has the makings of a future ace, combining plus stuff with feel for pitching beyond his years.

After the vaunted trio, the Dodgers farm system is in a better place than it was a year ago because of the emergence of depth beyond them. Their top 2014 draft picks—first-round righthander Grant Holmes and outfielder Alex Verdugo — both had strong debuts and look like potential impact talents.

We’re less than a month away from pitchers and catchers reporting. They do that on Feb. 19 and have their first workout Feb. 20. Position players report Feb. 24 and have their first workout Feb. 25.

Nov 28

Prospects now, prospects later

Throw ’em into the fire now or give ’em another year? It’s a question more and more teams are facing. With the Dodgers, it’s 20-year-old Corey Seager at shortstop. The cons, as determined by Richard Justice:

  • He’s 20 years old.
  • He’s played only 38 games above Class A.

The pros:

  • He’s scary good.
  • He’s passed every test so far

The Mets, Twins and Giants are facing similar decisions.

Obviously it’s a gamble. Sometimes it pays off, as when the Orioles brought up a 20-year-old named Cal Ripken in August of 1981. Probably more often than not it fails, or at least the kid has to go back down to the minors for more seasoning. Given the dearth of big league players looking for short-term deals (because the Dodgers don’t want to block Seager for years), they may decide they don’t have much choice.

Update: Vinnie turns 86 tomorrow. A couple of years ago ESPN celebrated his 84th birthday with a sequence of what it picked as his top five calls:

Jun 24

Game 79, 2014

Dodgers at Royals, 5:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA, MLBN (free game, possibly subject to blackout)

This will be Kershaw’s first outing since his no-hitter. He’s 7-2 with a 2.52 ERA. He’ll face Danny Duffy, who’s had four straight starts in which he’s given up fewer than three runs and two of them none. He’s 4-6 with a 2.80 ERA. Kershaw has never faced the Royals and Duffy has never faced the Dodgers.

In news of the Dodgers’ minor leaguers, Corey Seager and Julio Urias have been selected for the MLB Futures Game to be played on July 13 at Target Field in Minneapolis as part of the All-Star Game festivities.

Lineup when available.

In personnel news via Twitter: “Don Mattingly confirmed Hanley Ramirez is out of lineup because of the right AC Joint irritation that forced a cortisone shot in Cincy.”

Apr 02

Game Five, 2014

Dodgers v. Padres at Petco Park, on SPNLA TV at 7:10PM PST. The Dodgers send out Dan Haren for his first start for his new team in 2014 while the Padres send out Tyson Ross, a 26-year-old in his second year with San Diego.

Lineup:

In other news, the Dodgers claimed infielder Carlos Triunfel off waivers from Seattle. They’ve optioned him to Albuquerque. You may well ask why they need another middle infielder and shortstop, what with Hanley Ramirez, Corey Seager, Alex Guerrero (being moved to second base) and Erisbel Arruebarrena already on board.