Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness

MSTI Special Feature: Mondays With Torgy (Season 2, Episode 6)

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 03:04:53 -0800

Hello, all! Yes, it's Monday and you know what that means: it's time for another edition of Mondays With Torgy!

Take it, Torg Man!:

Sorry about not having a report, last week. Missed some good stuff. The fine professional debuts of Nick Akins, Mario Songco, Stephen Ames and Joseph Paxson. Also missed a great week by the 'topes' pitching staff as they found the joy of the humidor. With the exception of the PCL, all leagues began their second half of the season. None of the Dodger franchises took a first half title, so let's hope that we get some continuation of the good play that finished the first half on the farm.

The Topes still lead the PCL American South with a 42-39 record and a 2.5 game lead over the RedHawks. Just for those who want to know, the Topes are 61 games from clinching. They are also in the midst of the three game winning streak, even though two of their last three games have been rained out. It is still pitching that is carrying the Topes. Jason Schmidt has managed to win his first two starts for the Topes and even more exciting, his arm is still attached to his body. Mind you, he is giving up plenty of hits, but he he is controlling the strike zone and keeping the ball in the park. Most reports have him working in the 90-91 range - much better than the 80-83 he was tossing, last year. Josh Lindblom made his first start at AAA and went six, picking up the victory. His command is still a bit spotty, but he keeps the ball in the park and I am thinking of moving up his ETA to September, after hedging my bets and thinking that next June or July would be more reasonable. Scott Strickland continues to amaze as a closer. He picked up his sixteenth save this week and has lowered his ERA to mid threes and his WHIP is down to 1.2. Lastly, on the pitching end, Charlie Haeger continues to impress. I am pretty chomping at the bit to see his knuckleball in the show.

The offense has been less than spectacular. With Hector Luna and Xavier Paul still nursing injuries and Mitch Jones in DFA Purgatory, the Topes offense has been mostly JD Closser (.396), Jamie Hoffman (.352) and Dee Brown (.306 with two bombs and eleven rbis). Still very disappointed in the offensive showings of Chin Lung Hu (.252/.297/.313) and Blake DeWitt (.246/.343/.406). As scary as it sounds, aside from Hoffman, Jason Repko might be the only other player worth a September call-up.

The Lookouts are in middle of the pack of the SL North with a 7-7 record in the second half. They are two games back of the DiamondJaxx. Lucas May finally came off of the DL and in today's game, the Lookouts opened up the king size can of Whipass as Lambo, Russell Mitchell, Tommy Giles and Eduardo Perez all went yard. Quietly, Giles is having a very nice month after getting a fair amount of splinters sitting the bench. His numbers against right handed pitching are terrific. Unfortunately, his numbers against southpaws are nearly as bad as Ethier's. Lambo is having an interesting last eight games. He is has a hit in each game he has started (he walked in his only at bat as a pinch hitter, four days ago), while cutting his strikeouts down (only two k's over the past ten days) and he has shown some power. Also, newly signed Ramon Nivar (formerly of the Rangers and Orioles) is belting the ball all over the yard at a .412 clip and James Tomlin is having his usual mid-season renaissance by hitting nearly .400 over the past two weeks.

The problem with the Topes is that they are short-handed on starting pitching. Travis Chick, Jesus Castillo and James Adkins are the only pitchers who could be called starters with Alberto Bastardo and Tim Corcoran getting run out by necessity rather than skillset. The pen is still doing surprisingly well as it appears that Matthew Sartor has won the closer's job. Victor Garate and JD Durbin have been strong as set up men, but Javy Guerra has struggled mightily with his command as he has walked twice as many has he has struck out since his call up.

The Sixers are off to a good start, this half. They are tied for first with the Mavericks in the Cal League South with a 7-4 record. There good start is based on a strong combination of improved hitting and some decent pitching. Leading the offense has been Scott Van Slyke and Elian Herrera, who are both hitting well over .400 for the past two weeks, while Trayvon Robinson has been on a power kick and Steven Caseres continues to impress with his plate discipline and power. Pedro Baez was named to the US/World All Star game. He wouldn't necessarily be my first choice from the Dodgers, but he is having a good year and has quieted the talk about moving him to the mound.

On the pitching side, Tim Sexton is getting some support and has won his past three starts. Steven Johnson and the recently called up Alberto Bastardo were also very strong over the past few weeks. Chris Withrow, who had a run of five very good starts has now had three straight stinkers where he has not made it past the fifth inning. The Sixers are also suffering from a paucity of able starting pitchers as they have even had to run out the very awful Mario Alvarez and his one-pitch repetoire to take some starts.

The Loons are off to a bad start, 4-6 and five games back of the Tincaps. Right now, the problem is the hitting. Aside from Dee Gordon, the bats have gone pretty silent. Kyle Russell is still putting up a good season, but he also has reached a hundred strikeouts with Jaime Pedroza really close to catching up. I suspect they will get some reinforcements from Ogden and the AZL shortly. Recently signed Jeremy Wise along with Jerry Sands and Mario Songco shouldn't waste too much time in the Pioneer League.

The pitching has been decent as Josh Walter, Jon-Michael Redding and Nathan Eovaldi have been very good over the past month, but it has been a bad month for Ethan Martin (walking nearly as many as he strikes out), Robert Boothe (his ERA against right handed hitters is over six) and Jordy Pratt (his usual June swoon that will likely continue until September). Geison Aguasviva and Cole St. Clair have taken over the closing duties since Javy Guerra got the call.

The Raptors, after starting the season 0-3 have won seven of their last ten games to be two games back of the Chukars at 7-6. Surprisingly enough the pitching has been better than I expected. Elisaul Pimentel has been very strong on the hill posting a ERA of two, while relief pitchers Joseph Paxson, Stephen Ames, Daigoro Rondon and Greg Wilborn have gotten off to impressive starts out of the pen Of course, anything below six is a good ERA in the Pioneer League.

The offense, as to be expected, has been strong. Jerry Sands and Mario Songco lead the team with five bombs, each. Brian Carvazos-Galvez and Austin Yount have also gotten off to good starts with Yount having a four rbi game this week and Galvez showing some speed to go along with his power. Jeremy Wise went 2-4 in his debut and also threw out a runner at second, leading me to believe his stay in Ogden will be short.

Lastly, the AZL Dodgers are tied for first in the AZL West with the Rangers and Mariners. The bats have been very good for the Dodgers, especially Nick Akins (.415/.467/.732), Pedro Tavarez (.500/.564/.529), Clay Calfee (.968 obs) and Michael Pericht (.348/.531/.739). The pitching has been fairly good, also. Carl Webster and Carlos Frias have been great in their first two starts while Roberto Feliciano and Bolivar Medina have good,
although it is a small sample size.

Thanks, Torgy. Until next week, this has been another week of "Mondays With Torgy!"

- Vin

Ever Think You'd Miss the Burger King Unis?

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 12:53:43 -0800

Red hat, on a team that has no red.

Green camouflage tops, which while their heart may be in the same place, just doesn't look very good - especially on a team that has no other green.

Sand-colored road pants - at home - which don't even match the tan of the camouflage.

Look, I get that two of these three things are meant to honor America and her servicemen, which is nice and all. I get that it wasn't the Padres' idea to wear these hideous red hats all weekend - and that even the Dodgers, who do have a slight bit of red in their uniforms, don't look much better with them.

But man, we're talking about the Padres, a team that has had more than it's share of unfortunate color choices, as shown at right. Is it possible that this ridiculous collection of three completely non-matching uniform elements may in fact be the ugliest outfit of all time? At least the yellow monstrosities that Jake Peavy's modeling from a throwback game last year matched.

Come on, Padres management. You're already subjecting the poor people of San Diego to one of the worst teams in baseball (non-Washington division). Do you really have to assault their sartorial senses with this, too?

Manny Who?

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 07:25:23 -0800

As you probably noticed - unless you were living on Mars... in a cave... with your eyes closed... and your fingers in your ears... - last night marked the long-awaited return of Manny Ramirez. And thanks to him, the Dodgers put up 5 in the first inning and cruised to victory! By which I mean, "Manny went 0-3 with a walk, and the offense was really fueled by Matt Kemp and - of all people - Russell Martin and Rafael Furcal, the latter two of whom combined for six hits."

It's an interesting question, though. Manny did very little at the plate, yet the offense, which had struggled so much lately, turned it up immediately. Is that because of Manny's presence? Because the atmosphere at what would have otherwise been a half-empty, dreary Petco Park was more like Game 7 of the World Series? Or maybe because Chad Gaudin clearly didn't have his A game, and the lousy defense behind him wasn't helping either? A combination of all of these things, I'd think - but if Manny really does play that large a role in getting the rest of the lineup going, then that's almost worth more than anything he does himself.

In other news, today's the 4th of July, so rather than go through a long, drawn-out review of Manny's 0-3 day - which you can find at, oh, one billion other places - I thought I'd put up a nice picture of Dodger Stadium celebrating America, which you can see at right. In order to find such a picture, I went back to see what I'd written on the 4th of July one year ago.

You know how you get to an important date that comes around each year - maybe it's your birthday, your anniversary, the start of school, etc. - and you say, "man, one year really isn't as long as it seems. Everything's about the same as it was."? Well, let me treat you to what I was talking about on July 4, 2008:

But I implore you, make some time in your day to catch the Dodger game (1pm PST). Because as you should already know, both Nomar Garciaparra and Andruw Jones have sped up their rehab in order to be available today. Tell me you're not interested in seeing Nomar playing shortstop for the first time since 2005! Especially now that it's been another year and nine more injuries since "he's too fragile to play third base" was offered as a reason that he couldn't be shifted across the infield from first base to make room for James Loney. And you know you want to see if Jones is going to offer any glimpse of the player he once was, especially since his rehab was originally supposed to end a full two weeks from now on July 18th. I know it's only 3 minor league games, but he did go 4-8 with a homer and a stolen base in Vegas - and zero strikeouts. Is it possible that the knee really was the source of his problems? I guess we'll have to see. But if he can come back and be even half of his former self, that would still help this power-starved team and be a massive improvement on the guy who was approximately 1/100000th of his old self earlier this year.

Nomar playing short! Hope still being held out for Fatty Jones to be productive!! And then later in the article, I refer to rumors about the Dodgers getting CC Sabathia and David Eckstein.

My, how things have changed.

Enjoy the holiday, friends.

The Greatest Typo In The History Of The Universe

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:54:13 -0800

A caption from today's My Way Sports News (typo highlighted below):

Now I've had several nicknames for this guy before, as you have too, I'm sure. From Bora$$, to the devil himself, while I usually just liked calling him Bebe Glazer. But this one tops it, I think. It's wrong, dirty, and yet hilarious. From now on, I hereby dub the agent formerly known as Scott Boras as:

Borasm.

Tell all your friends. It's the latest craze. Is it a bird? No. Is it a plane? No. Is it the Borasm? Yes!

- Vin

So... Anything Going On Today?

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:15:00 -0800

No? Good to see we have a quiet holiday weekend going on.

Look, tonight's going to be a circus clusterfark of epic proportions. We know that. Just look around the media - you've got the Los Angeles Times practically needing a change of pants, (and it's not just me who's pointing that out) FOX ready to break into the national games to show his at-bats tomorrow, and most of the mainstream establishment taking the Plaschke line of "well I never!" disgust that most fans won't be burning effigies of Manny. Plus, there's whatever the hell it is that Kurt Streeter is doing.

As I said yesterday, I don't think we're viewing this situation through blue-colored glasses. We know that Manny's a jerk for a variety of reasons, and none of us deny that. I just think the mistake here is viewing the reaction to Manny's return as some sort of referendum on the moral fiber of America, as Mike Schmidt - who's apparently just gotten over the fact that teenagers are "necking" now - hilariously tries to stress.

I love baseball more than just about anything in the universe, but it's important to remember just that - it's baseball. Rooting for a player who broke the rules and paid the price is hardly the same as rooting for anarchy, socialism, and terrorists, no matter how loudly some members of the media like to squawk about it.

Just keep that in mind; no matter how ridiculous this weekend becomes - and have no doubt that it will - it's baseball. On this weekend of all weekends, it's important to keep in mind what's important, and what's entertainment.

Now let's all go off and drink until we can't feel feelings. Happy 4th!

(*Okay, one baseball note: Manny vs. Padres starter Chad Gaudin - a 1.500 OPS with 2 homers in 14 plate appearances.)

Anyone Think It's Time to Add A Hall of Fame Bat?

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:44:34 -0800

(Yes, I know. Manny's Hall of Fame chances may or may not have been torpedoed with his suspension. Whether or not he actually makes it into the Hall in 2016 or so is beside the point).

Here's the good news: after a 1-0 victory over Colorado today, the Dodgers just took 2 of 3 from the hottest team in baseball, serving notice that no, they don't really need to worry about the Rockies. The pitching staff, so maligned in the offseason, is statistically the best in baseball, leading MLB in batting average against and ERA, largely on the strength of the most strikeouts of any staff in the game.

The bad news? You need every last bit of that pitching when you're scoring just 3 runs in regulation time against the Rockies. If the pitching had been anything less than superior - even if it was just "pretty good", you're very likely looking at a sub .500 June.

Looking around the June stats for the club, a few things pop out immediately:

Andre Ethier is trying to be Adam Dunn. 9 homers and a .619 SLG? Yes please. 0 singles in the last 8 games of the month (plus the first one in July) and 23 strikeouts in 26 games? Not so much. Don't get me wrong, Ethier's power output was more than welcome in a month where everyone else acted like the bats were made of poison, but the fact that so much of it came in bunches (7 homers in 3 games) somewhat mitigated his overall impact.

Juan Pierre deserves the benching he's about to receive. No, I haven't forgotten how great Pierre was immediately after Manny was lost - all of the proper respect to Pierre for those first three weeks. But what so many have ignored is that his hot streak came to a screeching halt as May turned into June, because over the month of June he's been even worse than usual. His .628 June OPS is nearly 100 points lower than his career average, and it's not even like we loved his career average that much.

You want a reason that the Dodger offense sputtered in June? There's plenty of fingers to be pointed, but having Pierre leading off every single game is a pretty good place to start.

Any time you want to pitch in, Volume 1: Orlando Hudson and Casey Blake each sputtered out in June - Hudson in particular, getting on base at just a .269 OBP. However, since each of them were so valuable earlier in the season, I'm willing to write this off as a slump, as compared to...

Any time you want to pitch in, Volume 2: Rafael Furcal and Russell Martin... you're killing me. Martin in particular was somehow worse than he's been all year, struggling to just a .190/.326/.241 mark. Joe Torre seems to have recognized this, giving A.J. Ellis and Brad Ausmus starts before tomorrow's off day in hopes of energizing Martin, but geez. At this rate, the only way the return of Manny's going to do anything for Martin is if Manny swaps out the #99 jersey for #55 each time the catcher's spot comes up in the order.

Matt Kemp, keep it up. His .823 OPS is within range of his .838 season mark, and his season OPS has him as the 4th best hitting center fielder in the bigs. Considering that Carlos Beltran is hurt and may not be the same upon his return, there's a pretty solid case to be made that Kemp is the best center fielder in the National League - not even counting his much-improved defense.

All of which brings me back to Manny. How many other struggling teams can say they're picking up a supreme bat for nothing at the trading deadline, right? Look, is Manny a idiot? No question. Is he a jerk? Probably - I didn't really like reading that he didn't buy the spread for his minor league teammates, which is longstanding tradition for rehabbing stars who make approximately eleventy billion times what the kids do. He's hardly my definition of an upstanding citizen, no matter how childlike and goofy he appears. I'd much rather root for a guy like Kemp or Martin, assuming Martin ever does anything worth cheering for ever again.

All that means, yes, you're damn right that I will look upon Manny with some apprehension when he returns on Friday. But you know what else? I'm going to cheer when he injects the offense with some life and knocks the ball out of the park, because the only reason I care at all about these people is because of what they do for the team I've chosen to follow. What Manny did was disappointing - to say the least - but he's served the punishment laid upon him, and will likely serve much worse in the public eye.

So call me a hypocrite if you must, because I sure as hell booed Barry Bonds and ridiculed Giants fans for standing by him - though as Jon Weisman said, we all hated Barry Bonds long before steroids came to public light. Fact of the matter is, this team's offense has been brutal, and it need something. If that something just so happens to be a retarded man-child who can both crush the ball and push Juan Pierre to the bench, that's fine by me.

O.K., Andre Ethier REALLY, REALLY Loves Walk-Off Wins

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:10:04 -0800

Andre Ethier just wanna be startin' something:

The never ending game... ended!

(See: Okay, Andre Ethier REALLY Loves Walk-Off Wins, from June 6th, 2009)

- Vin

Bill Plaschke Stands By His Words... Until He Doesn't

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 09:30:50 -0800

After a long weekend, I decided I needed a comedy pick-me-up, and therefore headed straight over to see what kind of drivel Bill Plaschke was writing about today. As expected, it's yet another diatribe about how Bill's got the vapors that no one's as horrified over what Manny did as he is. In fact, Bill couldn't find a single person at the Inland Empire park who would agree with him. Which means, I don't know, that maybe Bill's completely out of touch with the public?

But that's not news; we've all known that for quite some time. No, here's what really caught my eye: the fact that Bill Plaschke drove out to Riverside County to watch Manny play for the 66ers. Because, if you didn't know, Bill's got a Twitter page, and this is exactly what he said just 4 days ago:

Yet here you are, just a few short days later, doing just that. It's even better when you see his next post right on top of this one (Twitter posts are listed chronologically, newest at the top):

Such a short ride from "I refuse to go!" to "okay, I'll go, but only to make fun of him and try to create a story that doesn't exist", isn't it, Bill? If only the distance between "journalism" and whatever exactly it is you do was that short.

Andre Ethier Is A Smooth Criminal

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:42:34 -0800

So, Andre Ethier likes to hit HR's in bunches.

Going into tonight's game, he had 11 HR's, but with four of them multi HR games. Tonight he had another one, only this time hitting 3 HR's and driving in 6 RBI's leading the Dodgers to victory 8-2 over the Seattle Mariners. Ethier not only has hit 13 of his 14 HR's at Dodger Stadium this year, but also became the first Dodger to hit 3 HR's in a single game since the Choi Man did it in 2005, though remember, Choi hit 7 HR's during that four day period. Well, at least that was until...

Yes, I needed an excuse to revive this photo from four years ago. Good times, folks.

But back to the game: in addition to Ethier's 3 HR game, which will surely grab the headlines, what can't be forgotten was Clayton Kershaw's stellar performance, going 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, with 8 K's. Kershaw has quietly turned it around after his poor April, where he put up a 7.29 ERA, to put up a 2.57 ERA in May and, going into tonight, a 2.18 ERA through June.

Let's pray some of this rubs off on Milton, tomorrow...

- Vin

Quick, Someone Set Up a Hilarious Fake Manny Twitter Account

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:00:51 -0800

I know, I know - in my last post, I said I wouldn't be talking about Manny Ramirez' return to the minors, because what he does there makes absolutely no difference at all. Since this is less about Manny and more about the media covering him, I like to think I'm sticking to that promise.

Right now, on the Dodgers section of the Los Angeles Times' site, they're displaying the 20 most recent Dodger stories. You'd think that a huge majority of them would be dedicated to a first-place team with the best record in baseball; even if some people can't be bothered to say anything good about the team, there's always the fact that the Dodgers just dropped their first series in a month.

Yet how many of the 20 stories, would you guess, are dedicated to the meaningless movements of a man who's not even on the roster right now?

Well, just in case it changes by the time you take a look, I've put together this handy-dandy guide for you:

Fine, #6 is tenuous, but it's got Manny's picture on it, so it gets a number. That's more than half of the Dodger stories dedicated to our favorite absentee left fielder, Manny Ramirez.

Friends in the media, I promise you that people don't care nearly as much about what Manny does in the minors as they do about what the real Dodgers do on the big league playing field. When he gets back, play up the circus as much as you like, but until then, can we please remember we're watching the best team in baseball?

I Don't Care About Manny Ramirez Right Now

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:25:36 -0800

Look around the world of baseball media right now; you've got ESPN and the MLB Network doing live Manny look ins. You've got ESPN with a "Manny Watch", and Bill Plaschke sticking his head ever further up his own ass (yeah, SOSG's been killing it on this). Manny's return to organized baseball is being covered in much the same fashion as Miley Cyrus announcing she's dating the Pope. Pope John Paul II, at that.

Yet, what do you get on this site? Not a word. Because the thing is, I just don't care what Manny does in Albuquerque, Inland Empire, or any other minor league burg west of the Rockies. We all know that this ten-game stint is completely irrelevant, other than to give bored sportswriters something to squawk about. Manny could hit .150, or he could go nine for nine with nine homers in each game - it just doesn't matter.

So get back to me next week on this when Manny's return is actually imminent, because right now, it has nothing to do with what's going on on the field. I'm more interested in Hiroki Kuroda's triumphant return, Clayton Kershaw's continued development, and trade rumor after trade rumor after trade rumor (in regards to that last one, I'd happily trade James McDonald, Blake DeWitt, and just about anyone else in the system - even Andrew Lambo - to get Cliff Lee. Just sayin'.)

We're a Manny-free zone through the weekend. Disagree? Let's hear it.

Wait, Maybe I DO Want Jarrod Washburn

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:19:19 -0800

Here's me from yesterday:

I'm not blind to the fact that you want to limit Kershaw's innings as the season wears on, and that guys like Kuroda and Wolf are prone to injury. I just think the Dodgers have enough rotation depth to compensate for issues like that (remember, you've still got Eric Milton, Eric Stults, James McDonald, Jeff Weaver, and eventually you have to do something with Jason Schmidt), so giving up the top price that Washburn would likely command to get someone who'd be LA's 4th starter - at best - just doesn't seem worth it.

Let's leave him for the Mets and Phillies to fight over.

And I stand by that. But then, via MLBTR, we have this from Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times:

Lots of discussion on this blog today about reports out of Los Angeles that the Dodgers are interesting in acquiring Mariners pitcher Jarrod Washburn. One of the pieces the Dodgers could be looking to move is speedy outfielder Juan Pierre, a perennial threat on the basepaths who could naturally fit in to Seattle's left field slot after the season-ending injury to Endy Chavez.

It should be stated right off the bat that although Pierre has put up a career-best on-base-plus-slugging percentage of .825 so far, his batting average on balls put in play is a whopping .368 -- about 80 points above average. So, his numbers might be due for a tumble. That's for starters. Then again, some folks feel the same way about Washburn's totals.

The fact that anyone's even considering this is a little mind-blowing to me, as what would you rather have? A glorified 4th starter with about $5m left on his deal, or a glorified 4th outfielder with about $23m left on his deal? Granted, Baker does say he doesn't really think it'd work, and I can't see how it would. But yeah, that's one way I'd love to get Jarrod Washburn. (No, don't tell me about how great Pierre's been. He's been lousy lately, and three weeks of good play doesn't override 2+ years of poor play - nor does it mean he'll be any better over the next 2.5 years.)

What's really great, though, is what the Mariner fans on Baker's blog have to say. Like...

Anyone posting that this is a good idea should throw away all of their Mariners gear and move out of the state. Washburn is one of our biggest assets right now for trading for GOOD players. Washburn for Pierre is insane, no matter how you spin it.

and...

NO! Are you kidding? Very bad idea. Washburn needs some run support and we have enough singles hitters. Give me a break.

and...

If you ignore AVG, OBP, SLG, defense, stolen base percentage and pretty much every other meaningful catagory, offensively and defensively then yes, Ichiro and Juan Pierre are exactly the same.

and...

What a truly terrible idea. Pierre is a bad player in the midst of a hot streak. He's been a well below average hitter (look at more than batting average, people) since his big year with the Marlins until this year. His defense is at times flashy, but at times erratic, and overall he works out to being about an average defender. Even his vaunted stolen bases aren't really much of an asset, as he's caught more than 25 per cent of the time.

If there was a good reason to think his 200 ABs in 2009 was his true talent and likely future performance, and not, say, what he's done over the last five years or so, he'd be an OK pickup. But there's no good reason to think that. His contract is a Bavasi-esque albatross.

What's truly surprising, though, is that there's a decent number of fans on that blog who really do want Juan Pierre. And there I thought that Seattle fans were educated?

Must Be Something in the Water Today...

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:05:00 -0800

...because holy hell, is there a lot of stupidity to get to.

No, We Don't Want Jarrod Washburn

According to the latest rumors, Ned Colletti is scouting Seattle lefty Jarrod Washburn. He's actually having a pretty nice season (3.24 ERA), despite having lost 5 decisions in a row, and has about $5 million left on his contract. He's really a second-tier pitcher, but with guys like Jake Peavy and Erik Bedard fighting injuries, Washburn might actually be the most desirable starter out there along with Brad Penny. That can only mean one thing - that someone is going to overpay wildly for him.

If that means the price is going to be what I think it is, then the Dodgers should be staying as far away as possible. Look, Washburn's a solid pitcher having a nice year. But is he going to be the guy to put you into the playoffs? No, the Dodgers look pretty likely to get there as is. Is he going to be the guy to help you win once you're in the playoffs? I can't see him getting a start over Chad Billingsley, Randy Wolf, Hiroki Kuroda, or likely Clayton Kershaw either.

I'm not blind to the fact that you want to limit Kershaw's innings as the season wears on, and that guys like Kuroda and Wolf are prone to injury. I just think the Dodgers have enough rotation depth to compensate for issues like that (remember, you've still got Eric Milton, Eric Stults, James McDonald, Jeff Weaver, and eventually you have to do something with Jason Schmidt), so giving up the top price that Washburn would likely command to get someone who'd be LA's 4th starter - at best - just doesn't seem worth it.

Let's leave him for the Mets and Phillies to fight over.

Tracy Ringolsby Lights Puppies on Fire For Fun

Just reading his name today made me remember the last time I wrote about Ringolsby, back in January 2008, when he was saying how the Dodgers didn't have a good homegrown core and getting player names wrong. Today, he's back at at it by saying that Manny Ramirez shouldn't be allowed to go on a rehab stint before his suspension ends. I'd tear Ringolsby apart point-by-point, but I hate to make fun of the disabled. (Except for that time I did.) Also, Jon @ DodgerThoughts already took care of it for me:

First, this isn't a Ramirez-only rule. Every suspended MLB player has the right to a rehab assignment. J.C. Romero pitched in five minor-league games before returning from his 50-game suspension.

Romero isn't exactly a nobody; he's an important part of the National League East-leading Phillies' bullpen. His rehab assignment, in which he allowed runs in two of his five outings, helped prepare him to begin his 2009 major-league season with six consecutive scoreless games. Where was the outcry then?

I also like how Ringolsby whines that Manny's only playing three games in Albuquerque before joining Inland Empire, so he could be closer to home. Because, sure, you definitely want to subject your best hitter to a 1,000 mile minor-league road trip to Omaha, when instead you could bring him closer to the home office. That makes complete sense.

Juan Pierre's Only Good When He's Not Being Juan Pierre

I knew there was going to be a few of these stories coming out, but I figured it'd at least be closer to Manny's return: Gregg Patton of the Riverside Press-Enterprise doesn't like that All-American God-Fearing Child-Kissing Door-Holding Old-Lady-Crossing-the-Street-Helping Juan Pierre is heading back to the bench in favor of the Great Satan, Manny Ramirez.

Sunday night, Juan Pierre picked up three hits, two RBI, a run scored, a stolen base, led the Dodgers to victory over the Angels -- and got one day closer to a seat on the bench.

Maybe you heard. Manny Ramirez is returning from his 50-game, drug-related suspension, quite likely on July 3, at which point Pierre dusts off some room in between Mark Loretta and Juan Castro and becomes a selfless guy with a real good attitude.

Pierre had a good game on Sunday night, no doubt. I like to think that Clayton Kershaw's seven scoreless innings and James Loney's homer and outstanding defense is what really "led" the team to victory, but sure, whatever. When he's "on", he can really help the team out. Love that guy.

"He's been a real good teammate for these guys," said Dodgers manager Joe Torre, who will have the dubious honor of reinserting one of the greatest right-handed hitters of his generation into the lineup soon, and removing Pierre.

Dubious? That's like telling Gary Cherone, "hey, thanks for coming to do Van Halen III... but yeah, we're going to go back with David Lee Roth." You do it, and you don't think twice about it.

This is a no-brainer, of course. The idea is to win baseball games and Ramirez -- like him or not -- has to play.

Remember this fact: Manny Ramirez will help you win more baseball games than Juan Pierre.

But for those who are feeling at all queasy about the return of the substance abuser, maybe a bit ill that someone of his now-tarnished reputation will slide so easily back into the Dodgers' lineup, there's something quite satisfying about Pierre's superior play as a sub-in.

There is something satisfying about Pierre's productivity since Manny's suspension...I'd probably go with, "it's a good thing the backup is playing well and helping us win games." This shouldn't be that complicated; Pierre's resurgence has been a welcome surprise.

The fact that the skinny veteran with the short, slap swing is playing so well and making people even think twice about the necessity of Manny Ramirez is a sweet addition to the story.

Absolutely no one is thinking this, I promise you.

Since Major League Baseball banned Ramirez in May, Pierre has started all 41 games in left field. His three hits in the 5-3 victory at Angel Stadium bumped his average up to .337 for the season.

Half the story, though, isn't it? Let's break down those 41 games...

Games 1-20: .425/.495/.598 1.093 OPS
Games 21-41: .244/.284/.289 .573 OPS

It's almost like the first three weeks were an incredibly well-timed hot streak... and the last three weeks have been vintage Juan Pierre. Which means, now is exactly the time that you should be wanting to sit him for Manny.

The stolen base was his 17th. And the two RBI gave him 24, not bad for a National League leadoff hitter who barely played the first month.

The RBI are nice, except that A) we all know how meaningless RBI are and B) it certainly doesn't hurt when the guy who probably should be leading off, Matt Kemp, was hitting 9th and right in front of him.

Anyway, blah blah blah about Pierre in Sunday's game until the end of the piece, where...

Anyone bothered by the casual return of the substance-abusing superstar will only have Pierre's numbers, no words, to argue with.

This would be a heartwarming end to the story... except as we've seen on more than one occasion, it's completely untrue. We've all heard Pierre bitch about being on the bench, and while I'd never blame a guy for simply wanting to play, let's not pretend he's going to be Mother Theresa over there on the pine.

Look, it's really simple: Pierre was incredible at just the right time when he was needed. Since then, he's regressed, and now a superior player is taking his spot. Let us not spill tears over a backup outfielder going back to the bench.

But I'm Sure No One Was Using on the 2004 or 2007 Red Sox, Right?

Loyal reader Tim writes in (and take note, friends, because I never get sick of people writing in) with a link to this section of Peter Gammons' blog:

"There is a lot of moral outrage being directed at Sammy," one veteran said. "But, let's be honest. Sosa, McGwire and Bonds made a lot of people a lot of money. The owners, the commissioner ... all us players, whose salaries got dragged up."

Now we have the Dodgers trying to get their fans to flock to San Diego for the return of Manny Ramirez on July 3. With all the fanfare that will be attached to his return to Dodger Stadium, it's all about money. Period.

If Sosa could come back and help the Dodgers make money, they'd sign him in a heartbeat. Sammy can't help them anymore, but Manny will be their cash cow, and their only regret is that he got caught and they are missing 50 games worth of wigs and MannyLand revenues.

See, here's the problem with this, Pete. Everyone loves money. You think that the Florida Marlins, Kansas City Royals, or Toledo Mud Hens wouldn't sign Sammy Sosa if they thought it would make them money?

Besides, don't forget these two facts: A) the Dodgers are contractually obligated to bring Manny back. He'd never admit it, but if Frank McCourt could have voided the remainder of Manny's contract the day he got suspended, you'd better believe he'd have thought long and hard about it. And B), this team is trying to win a World Series. There can't possibly be any question that Manny can help them do that, is there? So what do you really expect them to do? Not play their best players, and then not try to capitalize off that publicity? All the righteous indignation is adorable, but you've got to at least offer viable alternatives, here.

MSTI Special Feature: Mondays With Torgy (Season 2, Episode 5)

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:48:37 -0800

Ah, finally! Mondays With Torgy... on... a Monday!

Take it away, Torgy!

The draft has come and gone, now to the signings. Dodgers inked 23 players with the biggest name being fourth round pick, Angelo Songco. Kind of surprised we signed that many, this early. So far no big names like Miller, Wallach or Gould, but I will hope. Also approaching is July 2 when International players can be signed. We are not in on the big names like Miguel Sano, Gary Sanchez or Jurickson Profar, but it would appear that Logan White has been busy and it would be grand to see us become a real player in the International market again. Fantastic week on the farm as every team is winning and looking much better. Kudos to the AZL Dodgers and the beatdown they put on the Mariners in their inaugural game. Nick Akins and Mike Pericht both went yard in the 17-3 jollystomping. Danny Danielson took the win, striking out eight in four innings. As for the week that was, the 'topes opened up their lead in the American South Division to 2.5 games over New Orleans and Oklahoma City. Even more astounding is that the 'topes are at .500. Gotta say the pitching has been the difference. Even though James McDonald was sent back to the Blue, there has been no shortage of great pitching from unusual sources. First off, have to give some love to Erick Threets. I thought he was just another hard-thrower who couldn't find the plate with a map, compass and native guide. That is why I am shocked that his walks are way down and his WHIP is a miniscule 1.17. As I always have a soft spot for hard throwing lefties, Threets is a kid I wouldn't mind seeing him in the show, if the need be. Also throwing some "atta boys" to Hyang-Nam Choi, Charlie Haeger and Scott Strickland. Choi, 38, has been nearly untouchable. His k/bb ratio is nearly 6/1 and he has a WHIP of .86. Impressive numbers, no matter what league you are in. Still, he is a bit long in the tooth for the Blue.

The same can be said for Strickland, although he has taken to the closer job nicely. Over his last ten outings he over 2/1 on the bb/k and has put up an ERA of 2.8. Lastly, it would be remiss to mention 25yo knuckleballer Charlie Haeger. He has been beastlike over his past ten outings. He is 7-2 with a similar ERA to Strickland. What is even more impressive is that he is averaging over seven innings a game in that time frame. Might be someone to consider as counter to our hard throwers like Billz and Kershaw. Not much to report from the offensive side of the ball. Jason Repko has been rocking a few bombs as he is up to eleven. But, aside from Chen Lung Hu (.347) and John Ford Griffin (.452) starting to hit, the offense has been it's usual ineffectual self, but good enough to win. Chattanooga has been equally hot, not that it helps much. Even though they have won seven of their last ten, they are still eight games back of the Huntsville Stars in the SL South division. They are also eight games under .500 at 31-39. The pitching has good, as usual. Scott Elbert has been plenty impressive. Hasn't helped him much as he still is suffering through the Jeff Weaver Syndrome (one bad inning ruins a great game) and it shows in his W-L record. But the stats that do grab my notice is the 78 strikeouts in 54 innings and the 3/1 k/bb ratio. Jesus Castillo and Josh Lindblom have also pitched well with Castillo picking up wins in his last two starts and dropping his ERA below four. Lindblom has been having command issues (for him) with ten walks in this last five games while mostly pitching out of the pen to monitor his innings. The pen has been good with JD Durbin getting most of the closing work. The Lookout offense has been plenty mediocre with the exception of Justin Sellers (.372) and Eduardo Perez (.345) over the past week. Andrew Lambo has been showing some power but he is still struggling in the pitching-friendly Southern League. It doesn't help that the best hitters on the team, Gaby Martinez and Lucas May are both still stuck on the DL. Tommy Giles and Adam Godwin have been showing some life, lately. But, to quote the fine folks at Baseball America, there isn't much upper level talent in the Dodger system and these two franchises show that. The Sixers had the worst stretch of the Dodger farm teams, going 6-4 over their last ten. They are still eleven games behind High Desert at 32-38. Still, the offense is showing much life and the pitching has not been awful. Eric Milton made his first rehab start a good one as he went five plus shutout innings, giving up three hits and walking only one. Steve Johnson finished up the shutout by striking out six. Of late, Chris Withrow and Johnson have been very good, both lowering their ERA's and improving on their WHIPs. Alberto Bastardo has struggled as he has given up eleven runs over his last thirteen innings. Tim Sexton finally got a win, upping his record to 2-8 to break a seven game personal losing streak.

With the stick, Pedro Baez has been impressive. He is hitting over .400 during his seven game hitting streak and has raised his ba to .293 and is second on the team with 44 rbis. It looks like Preston Mattingly has learned some patience as he has walked five times in the last four games and raised his obp to .335. Another hot stick is Steven Caseres, who has been ripping the ball, of late, with a nine game hitting streak that only ended as he was walked three times, last night. During the time frame, he was hitting .500 with three bombs and nine rbis. The best week belongs to the Loons, though. They have won nine of their last ten and are ten games over .500 at 40-30, but they are still five games behind Fort Wayne. The pitching, as usual for a Dodger farm team, has been exemplary. Geison Aguasviva has yet to allow an earned run this season and is 3-0 with a WHIP of .83. Last week, I disparaged Jon-Michael Redding because he was winning with less that stellar numbers, so he goes out and tosses eight shutout innings to win his ninth of the year. Maybe I should complain more. Nathan Eovaldi has been very good, also. He has only given up one earned run over his last five outings and has averaged over a strike out an inning during that run. Not so much good news from Ethan Martin as his command has been spotty at best and his ERA and WHIP are rising steadily. Out of the pen, Javy Guerra and Cole St. Clair are sharing the closing duties with St. Clair finally walking a batter, to screw up his bb/k ratio to 1/15. Guerra continues to dominate, earning his sixteenth save and making me wonder when he gets the call to warmer climes. The offense has been rolling. Dee Gordon is still stealing bases and is the middle of the very long hitting streak. His power numbers are still not awe-inspiring, but when he gets on first, it is not long before he is on second. Kyle Russell, Anthony Hatch, Nick Buss and Jaime Pedroza have all been ripping the ball and the only fly in the ointment would be the 38 errors made by the keystone combo. I have to wonder why Russell, Hatch and Pedroza are not moving up the ladder. All three of these guys are league old and it is not like the farm doesn't need help at Chattanooga or Inland Empire. As I suspect that when we sign Miller and Wise, among others, they will be starting out at A levels and not waste much time at Ogden.

Thanks, Torgy! Until next week...

- Vin

Clayton Kershaw Gets the Bump

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 05:30:02 -0800

From the comments of the last thread:

Posted by montana, June 21, 2009 9:08 PM

kershaw riding the msti bump!!

Looks like I'm on a streak! Okay, I didn't really offer Clayton Kershaw any advice before yesterday's game other than saying he'd be next on the list, so I don't know how much credit I can claim. My involvement (or complete lack of it) aside, that doesn't change the fact that last night's game might be one you look back on as a huge turning point in young Kershaw's career.

It's not the best start of his career, or even his season - hard to top that 13 K, 1 hit game vs. the Giants in April - but it may be the most meaningful. Think about it; you've got a 21-year-old, just a start removed from lasting only 2.2 innings against the woeful Padres. You've got him on the road against a top American League team, and if even their offense isn't what it was, guys like Torii Hunter, Bobby Abreu, and Vladimir Guerrero are no joke. On top of all of it, it's the ESPN national game (and if I were to outline all of the stupid things I heard those guys say yesterday, this column would be 10,000 words. Hey, Jon Miller - I like that you know what "OPS" is, but it doesn't rhyme with "cops", you dink.)

Really, the bottom of the 5th is what really made this night for Kershaw. After getting through the first four relatively unscathed (thanks to some fantastic defense by James Loney), things completely went off the rails. Doesn't get much worse than loading the bases with no outs on two walks, a botched throw on a sacrifice bunt, and a wild pitch, does it? As those things were entirely Kershaw's doing, you could almost imagine what was going through the minds of the guys behind him. Something unprintable, most likely. Especially with Abreu, Hunter, and Vlad coming up... yet Kershaw got out of it on a double play grounder and a pop up. In the past, that inning could have easily been the end of both him and the game, once his wildness showed up, because he's yet to prove that he can overcome that when it pops up.

Well, last night, he did, and if this is a turning point for him, we can look back at that inning and say it was huge.

As could be completely expected from someone so young and so talented, Kershaw now has three of the top eight - and three of the bottom six - starting performances this year by a Dodger based on game score. I think we're all pretty happy with his performance so far in 2009; imagine how we'll feel when he manages to avoid those occasional disaster starts as well?

In other news, Jeff Kent is completely dead to me. I know, I know, he's going into the Hall of Fame as a Giant. Don't care. Dead to me.