Things We Learned from Today's Game (7/31/11)

We decided to feature a picture of Blake Hawksworth today because, well, when is he ever going to be featured again?




Overview:  Rubby's De La Roasted.  Diamondbacks 6 Dodgers 3

Pros:  Andre Ethier, before flying out to end the game, collected four hits in his first four hit game of the season.  Matt Kemp had a couple hits, though left 3 on base as well.  Juan Rivera, who started for the second time in a row at first base (is management finally realizing that James Loney is just not very good?), contributed two hits including an RBI single.  Dioner Navarro had something of a tale of two games in that he homered and threw out two runners attempting to steal second, but he also grounded into a double play, struck out to end a rally and lost a wild pitch in an embarrassing fashion, allowing Gerardo Parra to go from first all the way to third.  Kudos also go to Blake Hawksworth, who tossed two scoreless innings when De La Rosa failed to make it into the fifth.

Cons:  Speaking of De La rosa, he labored through four innings, needing 103 pitches to do it, while walking four and giving up 3 runs.  We've seen flashes of his potential, but clearly there's still some work to be done in his development.  Hong-Chih Kuo  didn't fare any better.  In his one inning he walked one, gave up 3 hits, one of them a two run homerun to Parra, his second of the game.  Kuo had a rough July, in which he only pitched 4 and 2/3 innings.  In that span he has walked 8 and given up 7 runs, good for a 13.50 ERA.  Clearly he's having some issues, but our question is this:  If you don't trust a guy enough to pitch more than a few innings a month, why even have him on the roster?  He's not going to pitch himself out of his slump while sitting in the bullpen.
 As for the other cons of today's game.  Well, Eugenio Velez is still inexplicably on the roster, Aaron Miles put up an 0fer and the Diamondbacks announcers (I live in Phoenix) are painful to listen to.  They chastised Rafael Furcal for about ten minutes because he never gave up his number 15 jersey, never mind that he'd been wearing the number in a Dodgers uniform for over 5 years, to Davey Lopes.  Then they urged the Diamondbacks to not look ahead to their big series starting tomorrow against San Francisco  until today's game was over, and then proceeded to talk about the big series against San Francisco for the entire game.  I miss Vin Scully everyday.

What we Learned:  That we're not any less upset about Ned Colletti's asinine trade now then we were five hours ago.  A team, who clearly desperately needs offense, can't just trade away one of their top offensive prospects because they're thin at catcher. 

We've changed our minds.

This deal was brilliant.  Just look at that stache.  AND his nickname is Fed Ex.  Ned Colletti probably assumes that A) they must be related, and B) Federowicz moonlights as a deliveryman.

Well, that came out of left field. And by that, I mean Trayvon Robinson.

You mean that was today?  Oh, shit. Guess I better trade my one good Minor League piece.

Right as the trade deadline passed, reports started coming in about Erik Bedard going to the Red Sox.  A strange pickup, considering he hasn't been healthy and is notoriously press and attention shy, but whatever.  I nodded and continued my write up about how the Dodgers blew their chance to acquire some IF/C prospects by spinning off their veteran pieces.

Oh, how stupid of me.  Why trade veterans when we can get rid of our highly regarded minor leaguers instead? The Dodgers have traded Trayvon Robinson in a very confusing three team deal that brings Boston C prospect Tim Federowicz and Seattle Mariners Red Sox pitching prospects Stephen Fife and Juan Rodriguez.

I'm just freestyling here, as info is still coming in and there hasn't really been time to adequately process this information, but my initial reaction to this deal is WHYGODWHYHAVEYOUFORSAKENUS?

Sorry about that.  This is just so ridiculously ill-conceived that I don't even know what to say.  Trayvon Robinson has improved every year he's played in the minor league system, going from org. depth to fringe prospect to legit future piece of the big-league future.  I don't think he was ever going to play in an All-Star game, but he profiled as a decent hitter with plus defense that could play all three outfield positions.  He was going to allow us to move Jerry Sands to move to first base to replace Loney and free up money to address our infield disaster.  He was cheap, young, productive, and healthy, things this team needs desperately.

And the return?  We get a guy that projects as a backup catcher, and two pitchers I can't even find scouting reports for.  

Look, I know that Ned's idea here was to deal from our strength in an effort to shore up a very weak position in the organization.  And maybe details will emerge that paint Fife & Rodriguez as more than just minor league cannon fodder.  But I can't help but see this as yet another example of Colletti's massive ineptitude towards his farm system.  You don't trade a plus prospect for a middling prospect.  Or two.  Or three.  You trade off guys with expiring contracts for middling prospects.  At least, that's what a GOOD GM does.  

Things we learned from last night's game (7/30/11)

Chad Billingsley, having a catch with a fan in the middle of the sixth inning.

Overview: Billingsley loses control, Mattingly lets him.  Kemp still good.  Dodgers lose, 6-4.

Pros: Matt Kemp makes baseball look easy.  He had a little help from the offense, as well- Tony Gwynn Jr. had a couple of hits, including a triple, and Jamey Carroll reached base twice as well.  Casey Blake, back from the DL, went 0 for 3, but had a sacrifice fly and made the D'backs pitchers work, which was a pleasant change of pace from Uribe.  On the pitching side, Scott Elbert went two scoreless and Josh Lindblom, called up when Kenley Jansen went on the DL for heart arrythmia, pitched a scoreless ninth.

Cons: Don Mattingly.  I'm usually a Donnie Baseball supporter- aside from his weird fascination with Dioner Navarro, that is.  But leaving Billingsley out to die on the vine in the sixth inning was inexcusable.  Bills started the game pretty shaky, allowing two hits in the first and then loading the bases with no outs in the second.  After that, though, he buckled down, allowing only a sac fly in that frame and then getting through the fifth with only two more singles.  As soon as he took the mound in the sixth, though, it was obvious he was done.  Something happened mechanically, to the point that Chad was literally falling over after every pitch, and he just couldn't find the strike zone at all.  So what did Mattingly do?  He left him in to face the next seven batters.  Bills got two outs, walked four and gave up a RBI single, finally (but not mercifully) being pulled after walking Kelly Johnson to load the bases for a second time.  In came Matt Guerrier to face Justin Upton, and if you think Guerrier mowed him down to end the threat, you haven't been watching the Dodgers in 2011.  One bases clearing double later, the D'backs had all the offense they'd need, and that was it.

What we learned: That Billingsley should not have been left in to face seven guys in the sixth.  Seriously.  Everyone- even Vin Scully- knew there was something wrong immediately in the inning, yet Mattingly and Honeycutt didn't make a move until far too late.  It was near heartbreaking watching Billingsley implode on the mound, as he obviously knew he had lost his rhythm and couldn't get it back.  Also, we learned that Mike McDougal and Matt Guerrier have some sort of perverse game going on to see who can allow more inherited runners to score.

******

In other news, Ned Colletti said yesterday that he isn't planning on making any more deadline deals, so this might be a quiet few hours leading to the deadline.  We're still waiting to hear what the return is in the Furcal to STL deal, but Octavio Dotel hasn't checked out of his hotel yet, so it doesn't look like Ned got his guy.

Blake activated from DL stint for neck stiffness; Uribe to DL with groin strain. Related?

"Lower... lower..."

Amidst the flurry of activity leading up to tomorrow's trade deadline, the Dodgers have made a different kind of roster move: Casey Blake has been activated from the DL, with Juan Uribe replacing him there after trying- and failing- to play through a groin strain.

Sexual innuendo aside, I'm all for anything that gets Juan Uribe out of the lineup, and it's nice to see Blake again in what will almost certainly be his last season in Dodger blue.  While it'd be nice to pay lip service to the idea that this will hurt Uribe's chances to get picked up as a waiver claim in the next few weeks, well... that's not going to happen.  So enjoy having Casey Blake back on the field, for as long as his body will allow, and try to pretend for the next 15 or so days that we don't have Juan Uribe signed for the next two seasons.  Ugh.

Hiroki Kuroda says the East Coast can F off, will remain a Dodger for remainder of season.

Kuroda, preparing to show Ned Colletti just how strong his pimp hand is.

Broken simultaneously on twitter by Ken Gurnick and Dylan Hernandez a few minutes ago: Hiroki Kuroda has reportedly informed the Dodgers that he will NOT approve a trade, and will remain with the team for the rest of the season.  We love Hiroki, but damn.  There goes the (admittedly faint) hopes of spinning the ONE legit trade piece on the Dodgers for a top flight prospect.  While this certainly bodes well for his possible return this offseason, it would have been nice to add some 3B/C/1B prospects to the farm system.  Ah, well.

UPDATED: The End of the Rafael Fucal Era

Um, yeah.  About that...

UPDATE: Dodgers receive Alex Castellanos, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  Castellanos, a 10th round pick in the 2008 draft, is having a pretty good season in AA this year, hitting .319/.379/.562/.941 overall, but is already 24 (25 next week- happy birthday, Alex) and has 94 strikeouts in 391 ABs so far this year.  He looks to be primarily a RF, but has played 17 games in CF this season, and has played 1B, 2B, 3B, and all 3 OF positions in his minor league career.  He even has 1 game at SS in 2008, where he apparently made 2 errors.  Overall, he looks to be a little better than a typical depth guy, as his power and speed both look solid, but he needs to cut down his K rate before he'll have a shot at moving forward in the organization.

Details are still coming in,  but it appears all but certain that Rafael Furcal is about to join the St. Louis Cardinals, pending his approval as a 10-and-5 player.  It's certainly bittersweet seeing Furcal go- as everyone with even a passing knowledge of Dodger baseball knows, when healthy Furcal had the ability to be one of the most dominating players in all of baseball.  Unfortunately for him and the Dodgers, those healthy periods were rare, increasingly so in the last few years.

We still don't know what the Dodgers are getting in return for Furcal.  Reports say that cash is going along with Furcal in the deal, so it doesn't sound like a straight salary dump, but odds are the return for him won't be much more than a fringe-y prospect.  It also sounds like this trade closes the door on any trade for Jamey Carroll that may have been in the works, as the Dodgers have stated previously that they were open to trading one, but not both, of the players.

Truthfully, while it's a little sad to see Raffy go, this is the best possible situation for all involved.  It's thankfully clear now that Colletti doesn't see the Dodgers' recent mini-hot streak as a sign that they can compete in the division/wild card race and isn't going to make any ill-advised trades for more PVLs (as much as our blog title wishes it were so).  Dee Gordon should be boarding a plane bound for LAX any minute now, adding- at the very least- some much needed fun to the final two months of the season.  Rafael Furcal gets to go play meaningful games every day and attempt to rebuild a little value going into a very uncertain free agency.  And while the Dodgers are sending cash along in the deal, it will save a little payroll space in the grand scheme of things, maybe (?) giving a little more flexibility in the offseason to fill some of the gaping holes at pretty much any infield position.

Plus, we can all cross our fingers that  maybe Colletti got The Riot back in return.

Things we learned from last night's game (7/27)

Overview:  Still no run support for Mr. Kuroda.  Rockies 3 Dodgers 1.

Pros:  For the 142nd time this season,Hiroki Kuroda tossed a quality start, going six innings, allowing one run while striking out 6 and walking 3.  That he still got the loss is hardly a surprise anymore.  Other positives from last night?  Well, Kemp had two hits, including a double.  Furcal had two hits as well and actually seems to be heating up (.808 OPS over his last eight games), though he did get caught stealing as well.  The Dodgers, had 8 hits total and still managed just one run on a solo homerun by Rod Barajas in the 9th (what contender needs a catcher with some pop?).  Also, Scott Elbert pitched 2/3 of an inning and struck out one and allowed no runs.  Not really all  that exciting but we're grasping at straws here.

Cons:  The Dodgers were 0-4 with runners in scoring position, once again showing their remarkable ineptitude at driving in runs.  Hawksworth and Macdougal each gave up a run in their innings of  relief (Macdougal actually pitched 1 and 1/3).  Ethier went hitless which should not come as a surprise at this point.  He's been pretty awful in July, posting just a .664 OPS.  Really, there are so many cons here that it gets tiresome to list them.  On the bright side, the four game winning streak is over so hopefully that means nobody at all is convinced that the Dodgers can go on a run.

What we learned:  That once again, if your first or last name starts with a K, you're probably one of the bright spots of the 2011 Los Angeles Dodgers.  

Giants apparently adding Carlos Beltran, and why we should be happy about it.

Per MLBTR, the Giants are about to finalize a deal to send first round (number six overall) pitching prospect Zack Wheeler to the Mets for All-Star outfielder Carlos Beltran and about 4 million dollars.  Assuming the deal goes through without any last-minute changes, this move definitely helps the Giants in 2011.  Beltran's OPS is about .150 points higher than any current Giant OF, and his defense, while not what it used to be, is still preferable to trotting out Pat Burrell or Aubrey Huff in a corner, which is what the Giants have had to do on a semi-regular basis this season.

Long term, though, Dodgers fans should be happy about the move.  While the Giants are certainly going to try and sign Beltran long-term after the season, he's a Scott Boras client, which means he is almost certainly going to test free agency.  Even if he does sign with the Giants, he's a 34 year old with lingering injury issues that will cost at least 4 years at 12-15 million per.  Brian Sabean's track record at signing free agents doesn't exactly bode well for San Francisco (see Rowand, Aaron; Zito, Barry; Huff, Aubrey (2011 version); Tejada, Miguel).  On top of that, Beltran reportedly has a clause preventing the team from offering him arbitration, which means no draft picks at the end of the season if/when he leaves.


And as for Zack Wheeler, the prospect the Giants gave up in the deal?  Well, Baseball Prospectus ranks him as the 36th best prospect in all of baseball.  Adam Foster of Project Prospect says, among other things, that "...he's one of the best pitchers I've ever seen in the California League."  Baseball-Intellect.com's scouting report views him as, at worst, a solid number 3 starter with potential number 1 upside.  Long story short, the brilliant Brian Sabean traded one of the most highly regarded prospects in baseball for 2+ months of Carlos Beltran.


Yes, this move makes the 2011 San Francisco Giants better, and nobody likes to see that.  However, since the Dodgers already had no chance of catching them this season, fans should be happy that long-term, the Giants have significantly weakened their farm system in pursuit of this year's championship, which we all know will be won by the Red Sox anyways.

Things we learned from last night's game (7/26/11)

Two of the three reasons the Dodgers are almost in third place.

Overview: If you have a K starting either your first or last name, you should be playing for the Dodgers.  Dodgers beat the Rockies, 3-2.  

Pros: Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw, and Kenley Jansen. Is there any question that without Kemp & Kershaw, the Dodgers would be dead last?  One of the biggest disappointments of this season, in my opinion, is that because of the off-field circus and the on-field mediocrity of the team, the main stream media is overlooking the MVP/Cy Young seasons these two are putting together.  For them to put up the numbers they've got, surrounded by no offense and pretty shoddy defense, is nothing short of amazing.  They make the Dodgers competitive every time they're on the field.  And you can add Kenley Jansen to that rare list of valuable 2011 Dodgers- he just embarrassed Chris Iannetta, Seth Smith and Dexter Fowler in the ninth, racking up a pop up and two strikeouts in SEVEN PITCHES.  That boy's good!

Cons: Andre Ethier and Jamey Carroll were the only other hitters to reach base more than once.  Furcal went 0 for 3, and only reached because Ty Wigginton was playing left field and isn't quite sure what to do when a baseball is hit towards him.  Juan Rivera is turning back into a pumpkin.  Our most reliable number 5 hitter continues to be Aaron Miles.  

What we learned: Make no mistake- while the Dodgers won this game, it wasn't because they were better- they just happened to be lucky.  No one should be looking at this current four game winning streak thinking we have any chance at better than third in the division this season.  We're not trying to be negative here, just realistic about the fact that the best long-term course of action for this team is to sell off whoever we can and acquire some prospects.  

Nothing Like a Walk off

Dodgers win 7-6 over Nationals.

I'm running low on time, so there won't be a full game recap today, and I apologize for that.  Mostly to Richard, who's probably going to yell at me like a disappointed father.

What I will say is that the Dodgers treated their fans to an unusually exciting game in which they scored seven runs, came from behind and won on a walk-off hit by Rafael Furcal (raising his average to a robust .176).  Kemp and Ethier each contributed a couple hits as well.  In lieu of a full recap, here's the video of their win, courtesy of Dodgers.com.

Notice how Matt Kemp is the first one out there to celebrate the walk off, like he always is.

Things we learned from Last Night's Game (7/22)

Hiroki Kuroda, considering a career move.



Overview: Time to trade Kuroda, if only because he deserves better. Nationals 7 Dodgers 2.

Pros: Despite a rough start to the game, including giving up a two-run homerun to Nationals pitcher John Lannan, Hiroki Kuroda put out yet another quality start. He pitched 6.1 innings and gave up three runs while striking out 7. He's putting together such a solid season that we genuinely feel bad for the guy that his record is 6-12. Hopefully the guy gets traded to a contender (and the Dodgers get back a useful player or two) and ends his season on a high note. We'll be genuinely sorry to see him go, but it's time. In other positives, Kenley Jansen faced 4 batters and struck out all of them. He continues to be a rising star on an otherwise disappointing team.

Cons: Where to start? Let's see, the offense was again abysmal. The Dodgers only scored their two runs because of bad Washington defense. Other than that, they made no real threat of getting back into the game. Even Matt Kemp has slumped lately. He is 3 for his last 19, with 10 strikeouts and no RBI's and 1 walk in that time. Hopefully he pulls out of this soon. Other than that, Guerrier gave up a grand slam in the 9th, the Dodgers managed just 3 hits, and Juan Uribe again went hitless.

What we've learned: It's tough to rag on a guy who's been so good all year, but Kemp's little mini slump just shows that without him hitting at a God-like level, the Dodgers are just as likely to solve the debt-ceiling crisis than score runs.

We won the battle, but the war is far...you get the idea

Frank McCourt, being a douche.


Today, the bankruptcy judge ruled against Frank McCourt's financing plan and ordered him to negotiate a deal with Major League Baseball.  We're very excited about this news, although at the same time it must be said that this does not rid us of McCourt, nor does it give MLB permission to seize the team.  We're not particularly legally minded here at Proven Veteran Leaders, maybe due to my apparent drinking problem, so we'll refer you to Josh Fisher's take on it.

One thing that stands out in his column is this:  "While Gross did not approve the deal McCourt proposed, he ordered one that will cost the Dodgers less money without appearing to enable a seizure of the club."  This worries us just a little.  Even simply buying McCourt more time could be catastrophic to the Dodgers going into next season, and this could drag out a long, long time.  At this point, even in a best case scenario, I can't imagine a new owner is in place before early next year at the earliest, which basically takes the Dodgers out of any significant free agent sweepstakes, and will likely be non-players at the Winter Meetings.  We might just have to get used to Aaron Miles batting fifth for a while.

Something else I noticed today that's not Dodger related but interesting to note.  Apparently, Jim Crane, the soon-to-be owner of the Astros has ordered payroll be decreased from $76MM to $60MM.  I only relate this information because it might be important for us to remember that a new owner doesn't necessarily guarantee an improvement of our situation.  We're all excited to be rid of McCourt, but it's probably not the best idea to assume Mark Cuban, or somebody, is just going to come in and raise the payroll to Yankees levels.

Site news- or lack thereof...

The updates are going to be a little spotty between now and Sunday night, as Richard is geeking out at Comic Con and Danny is a barely functioning alcoholic.  Expect us to resume blathering about the Dodgers at full speed starting first thing Monday morning!

Maybe third or fourth thing, to be honest.  Got some errands to run.

Things we learned from Yesterday's Game (7/20)

Clayton Kershaw can't believe Dioner Navarro just hit a homerun either.

Overview:  Clayton Kershaw is good at throwing baseballs.  Dodgers 1, Giants 0.

Pros:  Aside from Kershaw's continued dominance over the Giants?  Well, not much.  Dioner Navarro hit a homerun in the seventh to break a scoreless tie and Javy Guerra picked up his 6th save of the season in a perfect ninth.  But Kershaw was definitely the star of this show, pitching 8 scoreless innings, striking out 12 while walking just one.  We seem to remember the old days when people said as soon as Kershaw figured out his control issues he'd be one of the best in the game.  Well, with a 4.29 SO/BB ratio, we think it's safe to say that time is now.  Kershaw is, quite simply, among the elite in baseball right now.


Cons:  Again, the offense didn't show up, but that's nothing really new anymore.  Navarro, despite his homerun, made two errors behind the plate, once again questioning his ability to defend adequately.  Juan Uribe went 0-4, with a couple of strikeouts, but that's hardly worth reporting anymore.


What we learned:  That the only time my friend, who happens to be a Giants fan, doesn't talk shit to me during a Dodgers-Giants series, is when Kershaw pitches.  He respectfully keeps his mouth shut, because he knows that's the one game the Giants are likely to lose.

Breaking: Jeff Pentland fired as Dodgers hitting coach

You mean I don't have to put up with this bullshit anymore?

Yeah, that'll fix everything.

Look, the Dodgers' offense has been atrocious this year.  But I don't know how much blame you can put on Pentland for Juan Uribe, Rod Barajas, James Loney et al.  Pretty much anyone could see that this team was going to be offensively challenged going into the season- a collection of over the hill, injury prone vets, guys who career OBPs hovered at or below .300, and rookies called up before they were ready is not the best testing ground for a hitting coach.
 
Pentland makes for a decent sacrificial lamb, though.  The team ranks at the bottom of nearly all the offensive statistics, and July has been the worst month so far.  Replacing Pentland with Dave Hansen may not do much, but it's a token gesture to the fans from the front office that they are still 'trying' to turn things around.  Do the fans want them to?  That's a question for a much longer post...

Profiles in Courage: Kenley Jansen

AJ Ellis asking for catching tips from Kenley Jansen.

Between injuries, poor performance, bad roster management, and incompetent/sadistic ownership, pretty much everything that could go wrong has gone wrong this season.  It’s easy to become disillusioned with the team, and assume that other than the mighty duo of Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw, there’s nothing else associated with the Dodgers worth caring about. 

We here at Proven Veteran Leaders want to change that.  There are some bright spots on this team that most people, understandably, are not really noticing.  So we’d like to take a moment and focus on those bright spots.  Today, that means we’re going to talk about Kenley Jansen. 

The main reason he’s probably overlooked is because of his poor start to the season, which skewed his overall ERA (4.26). That number is usually thought of as enough to keep someone in the bigs, but not get anybody excited about his performance.  His strikeout numbers are nice, as we mentioned in a previous post, but it would seem the overall performance hasn’t been anything special.

  

Let’s take a closer look at Jansen’s season.  His first eight appearances were uneven, mostly due to two games where he gave up four and five runs.  Between April 2^nd and April 19^th he had an 11.42 ERA, batters had a  1.012 OPS against him, he gave up 3 homeruns and walked 6 batters in just 8 and 2/3 innings.  The strikeout numbers were still there, as he struck out 13, but everything else seemed to be going wrong. 

Since then, he has pitched in 21 games, throwing 23 total innings.  His ERA in that time has been 1.57, batters have a .418 OPS against him, he’s given up 0 homeruns and walked  14.  On top of that, the strikeouts have remained, with 38.  These numbers are simply outstanding.  They can’t help but remind us of Jonathan Broxton at his most dominant.  You know, before he got hurt, or had his balls removed (for those who insist Broxton “just doesn’t know how to win”).  His K/9 rate right now is a staggering 14.49, which makes him third in all of baseball, and first among anyone with 10 or more games. 

The scariest/best thing about Jansen?  The fact that he’s only 23 (24 in September) and has only been pitching for about two years.  We might just be seeing the tip of the iceberg here.  With Broxton sure to be gone next year, and probably no little to no payroll available to sign some big name elite reliever, Jansen looks more and more like the best bet to be the closer of the future for the Dodgers.  If he can continue this level of dominance, he could be starring for the Blue for a long time.  

Things we learned from last night's game (7/18/11)

Don Mattingly spots Ned Colletti standing just behind the camera.

Overview: Dodgers leave their offense in Arizona.  All Star Ryan Vogelsong shines.  Giants shut out the Dodgers 5-0.

Pros: Ummm... the fact that I predicted a shutout proves I'm psychic?  That's about all I've got.  Oh, and Matt Kemp made a great running catch at one point.

Cons: This offense is painful to watch.  It's tough to win when you can't score even a single run.  The only player with more than one hit?  Juan Uribe, raising his BA to .210.  Chad Billingsley pitched a little better than his line would have you believe, but the margin for error with this team is so small that Pablo Sandoval's solo home run was all the Giants really needed to win.  At least we didn't let the pitcher get 3 RBIs today.

What we learned:  That we should never make fun of Ryan Vogelsong.  He hears everything.  Honestly, the best thing to come out of this game *might* be how embarrassingly we lost- this three game series was touted as a "do or die" series for the Dodgers, a last chance to prove we could compete for the division.  If the Giants manage to win today or tomorrow, you'd have to think that even the rosiest of rose colored glasses would concede that the season's over.  If this loss helps the front office realize it's time to rebuild, then it was worth it.

What to Expect When You're Expecting a Shutout

It's a fairly slow news day on the Dodgers front- yes, teams have been inquiring on Hiroki Kuroda, who has made it clear he's not interested in going to the east coast (sorry, Boston, New York & Detroit).  But until Colletti actually concedes that this team can't compete- which honestly may never happen- then it isn't worth spending too much time analyzing what team might give us the crappiest group of prospects, which is what Ned will find.

And yes, Frank McCourt filed more documents in court today which, among other things, calls the loan MLB is offering him "A deal with the devil".  But we're desperately trying to ignore anything attached to Frank McCourt in the hopes that if we pretend he isn't here, he'll go away.  It worked when we were children.   

But don't worry, because in approximately half an hour, the first pitch in our make-or-break last stand series against the Giants will be thrown, and we can watch All-Star (screw you, Bruce Bochy) Ryan Vogelsong throw a complete game shutout.

Things we Learned from Today's Game (7/17/11)

Ladies and gentlemen, your 2011 Los Angeles Isotopes


Overview: Lilly likes giving up long balls, Hudson hits homer. Diamond backs 4, Dodgers 1.

Pros: Lilly, despite giving up two more homeruns, one to D'Backs pitcher Daniel Hudson, was actually pretty sharp. He struck out 9 over 6 and 2/3 innings while walking just two and allowing just four hits. We start to get the feeling that if two or three times a game Lilly didn’t serve a meatball to some scrub, then he might actually still be a pretty good pitcher. Kemp continues to be pretty much the entire Dodgers offense, even when he has a mediocre game. Kenley Jansen struck out the side (around a hit) in his one inning of work, giving him 51 K’s in 31 and 2/3 innings. Daaaaammmn.

Cons: Offense. We’ve known this for some time, but other than Kemp and Ethier, there is just nothing on this team to scare people. Aaron Miles batted fifth today. We'll repeat that: Aaron Miles batted fifth today. The worst part is, as crazy as that may be, we don’t really have a better suggestion at this point for who should be hitting fifth. On a day where Matt Kemp only gets one hit (and scores the only Dodgers run on a wild pitch), the team just can’t get anything going. The bottom of the order is a black hole, and the top of the order isn’t doing much better. Even Jamey Carroll, who most agree has been a pleasant surprise since signing last year, has hit just .176/.276/.235 over the last month. What a time to go in a slump and kill your trade value.

What we learned: It’s tough to say if we learned anything by this game, other than the fact that Daniel Hudson is truly an up and coming star for the D-backs. What this game does is reinforce the idea that this team should not be buying at the deadline. There are simply too many holes on the roster that cannot be plugged up with enough talent to make any kind of run. When Aaron Miles is hitting fifth, a spot usually reserved for good hitters, it’s pretty much a white flag on the season.

Just for fun, here are some more pictures from today's game.

Kenley Jansen, being awesome.

Kemp, waiting for somebody else on this team to do something.

Kuroda wondering what the weather is like in New York right about now.

A pretty nice stadium over all, though with the feel of a mall more than a ballpark.


Sorry for the blurriness of some of these pictures. Just imagine you're looking at the field through my teary eyes.

Dioner never a goner

Apparently, when the Dodgers demoted Ellis to AAA they released JD Closser.  This is not a big deal for the most part.  Closser is not very good and despite good numbers in AAA this year (.297/.378/.864) he was never more than organizational depth.  What it does mean though, is that Dioner Navarro is most likely a Dodger for the remainder of the season.  Unless anybody seriously thinks Hector Gimenez will be given another chance.

In other news, I (Danny) am going to the game today so I will post some pictures and thoughts of my trip to Chase Field.  Maybe I'll get an action shot of Ted Lilly giving up a homerun. 

Things we learned from last night's game (7/16/11)

Hiroki Kuroda daydreams about what it would be like to have an offense
Photo credit: Getty Images

Overview: Kuroda solid, Kemp great, rest of team can't get it together. 3-2, Diamondbacks win.

Pros: Hiroki Kuroda overcame a rough couple of innings in the early going (even the outs the D'backs were hitting were hard in the first two innings) to put together another wasted quality start.  Tony Gwynn Jr. got on base three times in four at-bats, and continues to look pretty comfortable as the de facto leadoff hitter.  Scott Elbert came in and pitched two very strong scoreless innings.  Matt Kemp hits the baseball harder than anyone else on the planet.

Cons: Wow, the offense other than Kemp is awful.  Ethier is in a funk right now, hitting .167 in his last 10 games.  Furcal is 3 for 34 since coming off the DL (hat tip to @Joe_Block, who tweeted us in-game with that info).  Uribe was 0 for 3 before being pinch hit for in the 9th by James Loney.  Juan Rivera was 0 for 4, but that's not too surprising considering he was playing against an RHP.

What we learned: Same old story- if the other team can limit the damage Matt Kemp causes, they've got a good chance to win.  Furcal reduces whatever lingering trade value he has with every start, and Kuroda's record this season (now 6-11) has pretty much nothing to do with his ability.  This was a very winnable game that the Dodgers couldn't convert, and the kind of game that illustrates why the team needs to go back to the drawing board.

Things we learned from last night's game (7/15/11)

Dioner Navarro reminds Don Mattingly about the pictures he has from their lost weekend in Tijuana.
Photo Credit: Jon Soo Hoo

Overview: Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw are good at the baseball. Juan Uribe is not. Welcome to LA, Juan Rivera!

Pros: Kemp and Kershaw come out of the All-Star break swinging, both literally and figuratively. Kemp's 2 run home run was crushed, and he just missed another in his first at bat, sending one all the way to the center field wall. Kershaw's line was somewhat marred by Juan Uribe's 7th inning error (more on that in a minute), but all 4 runs were unearned and he tacked 8 more strikeouts onto his league leading total. Those kids in Africa are going to get the greatest orphanage EVER.  Juan Rivera also had a great start to his Dodgers career, golfing a solo home run into the left field bleachers on the first pitch he saw, and later adding an RBI single before being pulled for defensive replacement Tony Gwynn Jr.- a nice move from Mattingly, who has been making more good moves than bad as of late.  Even Dioner Navarro counts as a plus this game, contributing 2 hits to raise his average to a robust .195.

Cons: Juan Uribe.

What we learned:  Not much, all things considered.  The two best players on the team dominated the opposition, and the rest of the team performed well enough to win.  We learned that Mattingly, at least in the early going, isn't afraid to pull new acquisition Juan Rivera when the match up isn't in his favor.  Unfortunately, we also learned that he thinks batting Juan Uribe second might help "jump start" his bat, which 1) isn't working and 2) hurts the 3-4-5 hitters' chances to produce runs by not having anyone on base to drive in.

Danny was lucky enough to go to the game (the only good thing to come out of living in Phoenix, from my estimation), so he'll post some pictures from last night sometime soon.  In the meantime, we'll all prepare to see Hiroki Kuroda continue to audition for opposing team's scouts starting at 5:10 tonight.

Magic Johnson and Bill Plaschke

Just noticed an ad on the side of the page selling tickets to an event with Magic Johnson in discussion with Bill Plaschke. Please note that this ad is not our doing. We love Magic Johnson, but would sooner light our testicles on fire than support anything even tangentially associated with Bill Plaschke.

Sorry- just didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea. We hate Bill Plaschke. Fun fact! On June 24th, I attended the game at Dodger Stadium with a big group of people. In the bottom of the 8th, I went up to wait outside the press box to see a friend working the game, who was going to bring us inside the box for a mini-tour after. Right after I got up there, I spotted Bill Plaschke sneaking out. Leaving in the 8th inning, Plaschke? Really? After all of your articles bitching about how the fans leave early? Oh, schadenfreude.

Dioner, not a goner.

To be honest, we didn’t totally hate the Dioner Navarro signing when it happened. Of course, we didn’t have a blog then, so you have no way of knowing if that’s true or not. You’ll have to take our word for it. The team had no immediate future at catcher with the departure of Russell Martin, and Navarro was young enough where there was some hope for a rebound. Maybe all he needed was a change of pace, and a fresh start away from the situation in Tampa Bay? The contract wasn’t even excessive, considering it was from Ned Colletti.

That dream is over. Navarro- with the exception of a couple dramatic walk-off hits, and his magical two pickoff/two caught stealing game- has been bad. Like really, exceptionally bad. His slash line (.183/.234/.287) is so awful that if a younger “unproven” player were performing at that level he would be given a one way ticket to Albuquerque or DFA’d. It’s clear by now that Navarro is not going to rediscover his 2008 form. It’s time to move on.

So tell me why, oh why, was AJ Ellis sent back to AAA to make room for Rod Barajas instead of Navarro being cut? Ellis, with his .364 OBP (part of a total .222/.364/.222 line) has been more productive, not to mention (purely anecdotal evidence) he seems to handle the pitchers better. His biggest strength, getting on base, is something that this team desperately needs, and something neither Navarro nor Rod Barajas can provide.

Look, we’re not saying AJ Ellis is a savior for the Dodgers. Keeping him over Navarro is probably only a marginal improvement, but Ned Colletti still seems to think the Dodgers have a chance at making a run, so why not keep the more productive player? In addition, assuming the Dodgers don’t suddenly start playing like the 1927 Yankees and go on a miracle run, it’s probably a good idea to give Ellis a good amount of at-bats as he’s the only Dodger catcher under team control next year. Giving him a significant amount of playing time would allow management a fair evaluation and possibly save the team from having to spend a couple million dollars on a backup catcher in the offseason.

The other argument, I suppose, is if the Dodgers cut Navarro and Barajas gets hurt again, the team is so thin at the position that JD Closser would be the next option. Our counter argument to that is this: we’re pretty sure even JD Closser can be as bad as Dioner Navarro.

Let's Make a Deal

Let’s Make A Deal
Starting tomorrow, the Dodgers begin their final 70-game stretch of the 2011 season. They currently sit at 41-51, clinging to fourth place in the standings by one game over San Diego. They are 11 games behind the pace for the NL West lead and 13 out in the wild card. There are currently three teams in the National League- San Diego, Chicago, and Houston- with worse records. If we’re reading the charts at Baseball Prospectus correctly, there is currently a 0.8% chance that the Dodgers will make the playoffs this year. For those of you non-math majors out there, that’s not very good.

So of course we’ll be attempting to trade young players in our farm system to make a playoff run. Ned Colletti, in an article on the dodgers.com team site is quoted saying this: "That said, we need to execute better in the second half and gain the confidence that we can, and we'll be in buying mode at the [Trade] Deadline, as usual. I'm still confident we can make a run, pick up a game a week and be in a decent spot. We still have a load of games in the division."

Ned, I’m proud that you’ve got so much faith in this team. And I get it, kind of- you assembled this roster, so you’ve got to stand behind it and continue to assert that you’re doing a good job. But this team needs to sell. And it needs to sell NOW. Your owner is broke, the attendance is down 9,000 per game, and your minor league system has gaping holes. This is the perfect chance to:

A) Save a little money. Frank will be ecstatic to see you lower payroll by trading away player that are still due a couple million for the season, at least for however many more weeks/days/hours he still has control of the team. And once MLB takes over, I’m sure the other owners will be happy to not have to contribute quite as much to keep us afloat.

B) Restock the farm system. While we don’t have a lot of key trading chips, we can certainly use them to help out a farm system that needs position player prospects, particularly at third base and catcher.

C) Help energize the fan base. If you’re worried about a fan backlash, Ned, don’t be: you’re already experiencing one. With attendance down and the city filled with apathy for the on-field product and disgust for the off field shenanigans, now truly is the perfect time roll the dice and blow up the roster. The callups of Jerry Sands and Dee Gordon earlier in the season provided a jolt of fan goodwill, and allowed the writers covering the team to actually deliver some feel-good stories to the fans. Why not see what the new kids can do?

While the last thing I want is to bash the Dodgers, they are not a playoff caliber team as currently constructed. There are too many holes on this roster to patch up with midseason trades in an attempt to get back in the race. And the farm system (which we’ll start looking at in-depth within the next few weeks) really can’t handle another year of pillaging in an effort to finish the season 75-87 instead of 70-92. The smartest thing to do, at this point, is to make every effort to move Kuroda (if he’ll waive his no-trade clause), Blake, Furcal, Barajas, Carroll, Miles, MacDougal, Loney, Uribe, Guerrier and Lilly. Even Andre Ethier shouldn’t be labeled as untouchable- if made available, he’d be the best hitter on the trade market and would be worth several very good prospects. That’s something the future owner of the Dodgers- whomever that may be- is going to need. Now, we recognize that some, or most, of those players have very little value if any at all, but even getting a couple long shot prospects is probably preferable at this point. If nothing else, it will help get some of the younger players on the team some much needed on-the-job training.

Under no circumstances should Kershaw and Kemp be dealt- nor Billingsley, who is signed for several more years with a very team-friendly contract. And we need to hang on to all of the young players that have shown promise this year: De La Rosa, Sands, Gordon, and the young bullpen arms that have been surprisingly solid so far. But with so many other things aligned against the Dodgers right now, the smartest thing the team could do for its long-term health would be to sell.

The Dodgers are Already Trolling Us

Ned Colletti, apparently deciding that the roster just needed some minor tinkering for our “playoff run”, kicked off the midseason trade tradition by acquiring Juan Rivera for a player to be named later or cash considerations (anyone want to bet that with McCourt in charge and the MLB having to approve any transaction over $5000 it certainly won’t be cash considerations?). In turn, Marcus Thames was Designated for Assignment. Reports out of Toronto indicate that the Blue Jays are paying all but the remaining pro-rated minimum of approximately $175,000 for Rivera’s contract. What does this mean for the Dodgers going forward? Well… nothing, really. The team got younger, sort of. We still have trouble believing that Thames is only a year older than Rivera, but them’s the facts. Rivera should theoretically do what Thames was supposed to do: mash lefties and provide a mostly punchless offense with some pop while occasionally spelling James Loney at first. It probably makes the Dodgers better, but not by any significant amount.
Thames has been a disappointment this year- a minor one, to be sure, in the vast sea of disappointment that is the 2011 season, but a disappointment nonetheless. His nagging leg injuries have prevented him from playing in the field, and now that interleague play is over, the Dodgers don’t have much (any)use for a pinch-hitter incapable of playing defense (insert Juan Rivera playing defense joke here). All in all, we have trouble getting worked up one way or another by this move except for the very rational looming fear that Colletti is going to attempt to acquire more marginal upgrades in a vain attempt to make a run at the division, gutting the farm system in the process. AGAIN. As for the PTBNL? Truly, we can’t imagine it’ll be anything more than a marginal prospect at best, although history has shown Ned has a willingness to overpay on PTBNL, especially when the other team takes on salary (see: Tony Abreu for Jon Garland and salary, 2009).
As for Thames, we’re actually sort of sorry to see him go. Not because he was good as a Dodger, he certainly wasn’t, but because in some small way it vindicates TJ Simers horribly mean-spirited article from a few months ago. By every account by someone not named TJ, Thames is a great guy off the field and in the clubhouse. Here’s hoping he can find a taker on an AL team and regain some of his swing again.
Hold onto your butts, the era of Juan Rivera has begun. Or whatever.

The Future is Now

Welcome to Proven Veteran Leaders, a Los Angeles Dodgers blog.  While it may seem like a strange time to launch a blog devoted to a team currently fighting for fourth place in a season filled with off the field storylines resembling a Shakespearean tragedy, we think it’s just about perfect . Truly, when better to launch a blog devoted to Dodgers baseball than halfway through one of the worst years in franchise history?  The artsy-fartsy side of us says that in such a tumultuous period, the fans’ voices need to be heard more than ever.  Of course, truth is that we’ve planned on doing this for some time, but we tend to be procrastinators.  Really, there are so many things to talk about right now in Dodgertown that even trying to craft an opening mission statement is overwhelming.

This many things, at least, seem fairly undisputable: We’ve got a Monty Burns-esque owner (minus the massive fortune, just the evil) who’s quickly reaching supervillain level status and a General Manager with a tendency for overpaying wildly on the free agent market and who has bled our farm system dry to feed his obsession with  ‘Proven Veteran Leaders’.  The roster is poorly constructed, and the dead contracts the team is carrying make it impossible to make any big moves.  The farm system has very little immediate help available, and the support staff surrounding the team has to spend as much time worrying if their check will bounce this week as they do on scouting opposing players.  It is a dark run of days for this team, and all signs point to it getting worse before it gets better.  You know it’s bad when the possibility of Steve ‘wife-punching, morally and literally bankrupt, sire of 16 bastard children’ Garvey buying the team represents a shining beacon of hope for Dodgerland. 

Lest you think we’re complete downers though, it’s not all bad.  For instance, there’s a  wildly charismatic Center Fielder putting together one of the most impressive offensive seasons in team history, a young left handed pitcher who is cementing with each start that he belongs in every discussion of the best in baseball, and a few promising and exciting young players on the horizon, some of whom have already made their stamp on the major league team.  Not to mention, for at least the rest of this season, the greatest announcer the game has ever had.  This franchise has an honorable and storied history that few teams in any sport can match and legions of dedicated and passionate fans that are yearning for a championship.

The purpose of any blog (any blog worth its salt, at least) should be to entertain and inform, and that’s certainly the goal here.  We’ll try to back up our opinions with facts and research, avoid one sentence paragraphs, and hopefully not take ourselves too seriously in the process.  We’ll also attempt to remain even and fair and not criticize players for a lack of grit or guts or mental fortitude.  The goal is to even be fair to other teams’ players.  Except Shane Victorino.  Seriously, fuck that guy. 

Hope you enjoy it.