Cautionary tale as the abomination begins
by Phil Gurnee on Sep 1, 2010 5:44 PM PDT
in Minor Leagues
297 comments
As the abomination of increased rosters takes place today, tread lightly when you start to get carried away with the players who show up all bright and sparkly. The new toys don't have warranties and break rather easily. What follows is a story that could be yours, so save yourself some aggravation and don't get "Sudsied" by the Sandman.
I've tried to grow up; I've tried to give up the prospects. I know that most will break my heart; the list is endless: Sudakis, Billy Grabarkewitz, Stinson, Von Joshua, Tom Paciorek, John Hale, Ivan De Jesus, Glenn Burke, Rudy Law, Mickey Hatcher, Candido Maldonado (one of my fav's), Gregg Brock, Franklin Stubbs, Karim Garcia, Mariano Duncan, Ralph Bryant, Jose Gonzalez, Mike Devereaux, Dave Anderson, Jeff Hamilton, Jose Offerman, Billy Ashley, Henry Rodriquez, Roger Cedeno, Wilton Guerrero, Angel Pena, Joel Guzman, and James Loney.
My spiral into despair started 42 years ago.
In the summer of 1968 I was nine years old: smart, funny, simply brilliant in all facets of a nine year old's life. Little girls wrote their love for me on the chalkboard, boys chose me to pick the teams, older woman asked me to be their Saturday Night skating dates. My aura shined so bright I could walk the Black Forest at night without any fear of the danger that lurked within its perimeter. It was said by those who know such things, that I was the most interesting nine year old in the world. I didn't always drink Kool-Aid but when I did, I drank cherry.
All of that changed on September 3rd, 1968. It was a dark day of discovery for this nine year old. I was already a baseball fan, reading everything I could get my hands on. However, in 1968, only baseball cards, the annual Baseball Register, and the weekly Sporting News were available. Living in Germany, one had to wait about two weeks after the games were played, for the Sporting News to deliver their box scores. But it was worth it, as every beautiful box score for every game of the prior weeks, were ready to be devoured.
I had begun my Dodger fandom just as the Dodgers ended their reign of mid -60's supremacy; 1967 having been a season of transition, and the transition was lost in translation. By 1968, things were getting worse, not better. Only Don Drysdale's heroic efforts made that 1968 season bearable. One of the better bar bets for the last 42 years was Len Gabrielson leading the 1968 team with 10 home runs. It actually was better then it sounds because in 1968, no one was hitting home runs. For two long years, I had only known misery, while all of my older brothers told me story after story about Koufax, Drysdale, Podres, Tommy Davis, Maury Wills, JIm Gilliam, Willie Davis, and Frank Howard.
One day, after wowing my new 5th grade classmates (I was young for my class) with my utter brilliance., winning the Spelling Bee, kicking the game winning home run, nailing Carl in Dodgeball, and unfreezing all my friends in tag, I went home - having had enough childhood whims - hoping that my Sporting News had arrived, so I could indulge in my newest hobby, finding out what misery the Dodgers had brought me this week.
During the year, the Dodgers added players from their minor leagues, players like: Bart Shirley, Jim Fairy, and Ted Savage. Shirley and Fairy were as bad as the baseball cards they adorned. The trio was terrible even for 1968 standards, so I just assumed the minor league system was as bereft of talent as the major league team, and paid it no mind.
This time however, something was different with the box scores. They were littered with runs. The Dodgers had won on September 3rd, 10 - 9. The Dodgers hadn't scored 10 runs all year, heck, they had only scored nine runs once! There it was, 10 - 9, and they had hit three home runs in the eighth inning. Willie Crawford had led off with a home run. Wes Parker had made an out. Then some player named Bill Sudakis hit his first major league home run, and Ken Boyer followed with his 2nd home run of the game. That would be Ken Boyers 282nd major league home run, and his last.
Bill Sudakis, who was that? I had no idea, and had no way to find out. Google didn't exist, and the only news I had about the team, was what I read in the Sporting News. Luckily a little weekly recap was written by a beat writer for each team, and they mentioned Sudakis. That was it, no Brandon detailing his status from the time he was signed as a free agent in 1964, to his time before hitting the Dodgers on September 3rd. The information was sparse, 22 year old switch hitter, who played 3rd base, with some power. However it did enlighten me about something I didn't know existed. Teams on September 1st were able to flaunt the normal roster and bring up as many new players as they saw fit. What an interesting wrinkle I said to myself. So this baseball game which revolves around rules, simply changes the rules for 30 games a year. Being young and naive, I figured every sport must do the same. Much to my surprise, only baseball changes its rules while the season is being played. At the time, I thought how cool was this, and for most of my life, September baseball became my favorite time of year. Everything is so new, shiny, and warts have yet to be discovered.
Back to Bill Sudakis. The key word to me was "some power". Some power! What was power? Baseball to me in 1968 had no power, especially the Dodgers. Big D was throwing 58 scoreless innings, Bob Gibson was going to put up a 1.12 ERA for the season. No one could hit the ball.
Except Bill Sudakis
Sept 4th - two hits including a triple, Dodgers win 3 - 0, could this guy also run?
Sept 6th - DoubleHeader (Remember those) - 1st game - No hits, my worst fears were starting to be realized, simply a fast starter. Dodgers still managed to win 6 - 4.
Sept 6th - Nightcap - three hits, two doubles, Dodgers win again 8 -6, the excitement was building again.
Sept 7th - Dodgers lose 4 - 2, winning streak over, but Sudakis manages two hits, including a double. I was a little irritated to see him batting 7th. What the hell was Alston thinking?
Sept 8th - Dodgers win 3 -2 to get back on the win track but Sudakis goes hitless.
Sept 9th - Dodgers win 10 - 1. They scored 10 runs for the 2nd time in the season, the 2nd time this week, and Bill Sudakis was the reason why. Sudsy hit a grand slam off Dodger Killer Larry Jaster.
Sept 10th - Dodgers win 3 - 0 behind Bill Singer. Sudakis is now hitting 3rd, he collects two hits.
The gloom of the 1968 season had been wiped clean by one week of Bill Sudakis heroics. For the rest of September, I would pounce upon the Sporting News to find out his latest exploits. Sudakis finished the season hitting in seven of his last eight games. I went into the winter firmly convinced that Bill Sudakis would be the great Dodger hitter for my generation and no longer would I have to listen to how great Tommy Davis would have been if he hadn't broken his leg.
1969 was different but it wasn't because of Bill Sudakis. Sudakis never again came close to having a month like he had in his debut. He was a regular third baseman in 1969, and garnered over 500 at bats. It would be the only time in his career that he would be a regular. His star had only shined for a brief moment, but others came to fill the void. Ted Sizemore would win ROY of the in 1969, and new names showed up by the half dozen. Garvey (20), Russell (20), Valentine (19), Grabarkewitz (23), Buckner (19), and Joshua (21) would all get some playing time in 1969. Many of them would not show up again for several years, but if you loved prospects, 1969 gave you a taste of the future.
From that point on, prospects became my focal point. It also became my undoing. I've spent my life daydreaming about the Dodgers, reading about the Dodgers, reading even more about the prospects, getting my hopes up, getting my hopes dashed. My brain crashed under the strain of false hopes. My aura dimmed, my brilliant brain unable to process all of my prospect information rebooted with nary a memory of of my prior brilliance, only Dodger prospects remained. Girls no longer wrote my name on the chalkboard, only the teacher for being late, or failing to turn in assignments. A productive life was no longer in the cards. I had been "Sudsied".
Don't let it happen to you.
Postmortem:
When I look back, I had a right to be excited. Bill Sudakis put up an OPS+ of 165 in 102 plate appearances. By the summer of '69, I had moved back to the States, and was able to watch baseball for the very first time. On TGOTW of May 25th, I saw the Dodgers play on TV for the first time in my life. Bill Sudakis hit a home run and Don Sutton threw a shutout.
It seemed only fitting
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Dodgers Drop Another Series To Phillies
by Eric Stephen on Sep 1, 2010 3:23 PM PDT
in Game Recaps
389 comments
Just like their series in Philadelphia last month, the Dodgers took the opener but dropped the last two games. Today's loss to the Phillies was a 5-1 affair, but at least the day baseball kept our minds off the courtroom. Per Molly Knight of ESPN, via Twitter, Frank McCourt was on the stand today, testifying under oath:
Here we go: Frank now testifying when he bought the team the lynchpin of his business plan was to "significantly reduce player compensation."
More from Knight:
Trying to get numbers on planned payroll reduction. I was told by multiple people involved in the deal that $80 million/yr was the target.
It's not as if this is new information, but it is under oath, so it is newsworthy. But enough about that; back to the game...
Clayton Kershaw pitched well racking up 11 strikeouts, but a high pitch count capped his outing at six innings. Kershaw allowed a pair of leadoff home runs, one to Jimmy Rollins in the first inning, and one to Shane Victorino in the second inning, but didn't allow any other runs.
Roy Oswalt was making headlines, taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning, but in reality the Dodgers were threatening against him quite often. Oswalt walked six in his 6 1/3 innings, but the Dodgers couldn't push one across against the hurler.
The Dodger outfield had a tough day. Scott Podsednik, Matt Kemp, and Andre Ethier combined to go 0-for-13 with five strikeouts, but each one had additional mishaps as well. Podsednik and Ethier each took circuitous routes on fly balls that ended up doubles, for Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, respectively. Kemp added to his baserunning misadventures this season by missing second base on a ball hit off the wall in right field by James Loney. Instead of ending up at third base, or perhaps scoring on the play, Kemp had to stay and second, which kept Loney at first, a key play since Casey Blake followed with an inning-ending double play.
Loney's wall ball single in the eighth inning was a few feet away from a home run, which would have tied the game at three. On the day, Loney had a hit and three walks.
Dodger pitchers had 14 strikeouts on the day, second this season only to the 16 they had on July 4 in Arizona.
The Dodgers are off tomorrow, and begin a series Friday night with the Giants. After nearly 52 or so hours away from baseball, Chad Billingsley will face Barry Zito in the opener.
WP - Roy Oswalt (10-13): 6 1/3 IP, 1 hit, 6 walks, 6 strikeouts
LP - Clayton Kershaw (11-9): 6 IP, 5 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 11 strikeouts
September 1 Game Chat
by Eric Stephen on Sep 1, 2010 12:01 PM PDT
in Game Threads
987 comments
Dodgers Look For Series Win Against Phillies
by Eric Stephen on Sep 1, 2010 10:01 AM PDT
in Game Previews
170 comments
Today's series finale features quite a pitcher's duel at Dodger Stadium, with Clayton Kershaw battling Roy Oswalt. The two just missed each other last month in Philadelphia, with Oswalt throwing seven scoreless innings on August 11, and Kershaw allowing two runs in his 6 2/3 innings one day later. It's best not to remember what happened after Kershaw left that game.
The Dodgers are 5-3 at home this season in the rubber game of a three-game series.
Game Time: 12:10 p.m.
TV: Prime Ticket
Dodgers August In Review: Running In Place
by Eric Stephen on Sep 1, 2010 6:59 AM PDT
in Weeks/Months In Review
221 comments
The Dodgers just kind of plodded along in August, continuing their ordinary season with an ordinary 14-15 month. They were 8-7 at home for the month, and 6-8 on the road.
Oh yeah, they also got rid of Manny Ramirez, and the McCourt divorce trial began. August sucked.
Dodger Batter of August: Rod Barajas did his best to claim this award with his six games as a Dodger -- he tied for the sixth most extra-base hits on the club during the month -- but since he wasn't here too long, this award goes to Andre Ethier, who rebounded with a nice month, hitting .305/.368/.505. Casey Blake gets an honorable mention for his .812 OPS.
Matt Kemp gets dishonorable mention for his third straight sub-.300 OBP month, and James Loney, even with a home run on the final day of the month, hit a paltry .217/.291/.321 for the month.
Dodger Pitcher of August: Hiroki Kuroda may not have had the wins to show for it, but he led the starters in ERA, WHIP, and FIP in August, so he gets the award. The starters were very good in August, and honorable mention goes to Ted Lilly, Chad Billingsley, and Clayton Kershaw.
August Record: 14-15
119 runs scored (4.10 per game)
118 runs allowed (4.07 per game)
.504 pythagorean winning percentage (15-14)
| August NL West Standings | |||||
| Club | W-L | Pct | GB | RS | RA |
| Rockies | 15-12 | .556 |
--- |
108 | 112 |
| Padres | 16-13 | .552 |
--- |
131 | 109 |
| Diamondbacks | 16-13 | .552 |
--- |
148 | 126 |
| Dodgers | 14-15 | .483 |
2 |
119 | 118 |
| Giants |
13-15 | .464 |
2½ |
124 | 138 |
Season Record: 68-65
578 runs scored (4.35 per game)
570 runs allowed (4.29 per game)
.506 pythagorean winning percentage (67-66)
| Season NL West Standings | |||||
| Club | W-L | Pct | GB | RS | RA |
| Padres | 76-55 | .580 |
--- |
574 | 462 |
| Giants |
73-60 | .549 |
4.0 |
591 | 523 |
| Rockies | 69-62 | .527 |
7.0 |
609 | 570 |
| Dodgers | 68-65 | .511 |
9.0 |
578 |
570 |
| Diamondbacks | 54-79 | .406 |
23.0 |
613 | 716 |
Dodgers Allow More Than One Hit, Lose To Phillies
by Eric Stephen on Aug 31, 2010 10:23 PM PDT
in Game Recaps
16 comments
After limiting the Phillies to just one hit in the series opener, the Dodgers were unable to keep that offense down for long, getting thumped 8-4 in the second game of the series at Dodger Stadium.
After two straight starts of 4 1/3 innings, Carlos Monasterios needed a different outing tonight. That's what he provided, but in the opposite direction. Monasterios was pulled with no outs in the third inning, allowing a total of five runs in the shortest outing of his brief career. Monasterios has actually had 11 relief appearances of at least two innings, the length of tonight's start, this season.
With eight relievers currently on the active roster, the Dodgers are working with a four-man bench at the moment. Since one of those bench players is the backup catcher, seemingly always kept in reserve for those just-in-case opportunities, the club really only has three available pinch hitters on the roster on any given night. Couple that with the short outing by Monasterios, and the Dodgers see a situation that came up in the fifth inning.
Ramon Troncoso pitched three innings in relief of Monasterios, but when his spot in the batting order was due in the bottom of the fifth, manager Joe Torre called on Kenley Jansen, not to pitch, but to pinch hit. Jansen, who was a career .229/.310/.347 hitter in the minors -- which is why he was converted from catcher to pitcher -- singled up the middle for his first career hit. He also walked last Thursday in Milwaukee, so Jansen's career on-base percentage sits at 1.000.
The last Dodger pitcher to bat as a pinch hitter was Jason Schmidt, who singled against the Braves on August 2, 2009.
I don't know what was worse about the top of the seventh inning, the douche on his cell phone who tried to catch a foul ball in play (Scott Podsednik made a nice running catch, then careened into the stands, unfortunately not spiking the gentleman on the phone), or that Carlos Ruiz owned Jonathan Broxton again. After George Sherrill walked three, one intentionally, to load the bases with two outs, Broxton was brought in to face the pinch hitter Ruiz with the Phillies leading 6-4. Ruiz scalded a single into left field, driving in two runs, and continuing his hold on Broxton. In six career plate appearances against Broxton, including the postseason, Ruiz has three doubles, a single, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch, for the robust line of 1.000/1.000/1.750.
Notes
- James Loney's home run in the sixth inning was his ninth of the season, and his first since July 29.
- Ruiz didn't even start tonight, but his backup filled in quite nicely for him anywyay, as Brian Schneider's three-run home run in the second inning put the Phillies on the board.
- Kyle Kendrick, who allowed four runs in five innings and didn't strikeout a batter, picked up the win. It was the 17th win by a starter this season without a strikeout. Monasterios turned the trick on June 7 for the Dodgers, and Kevin Correia accomplished the feat on August 5 against the Dodgers.
Tomorrow's daytime finale is a very nice pitching matchup of Clayton Kershaw and Roy Oswalt.
WP - Kyle Kendrick (9-7): 5 IP, 7 hits, 4 runs, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts
LP - Carlos Monasterios (3-5): 2+ IP, 5 hits, 5 runs, 1 walk, 1 strikeout
Dodgers / Phillies Game 2 Chat
by Eric Stephen on Aug 31, 2010 6:45 PM PDT
in Game Threads
706 comments
Here are the lineups
| Phillies | Dodgers | |||
| SS | Rollins | LF | Podsednik |
|
| 3B | Polanco | SS | Carroll | |
| 2B | Utley | RF | Ethier | |
| 1B | Howard | CF | Kemp | |
| RF | Werth | 1B | Loney |
|
| LF | Ibañez | 3B | Blake | |
| CF | Victorino | 2B | Belliard |
|
| C | Schneider | C | Barajas |
|
| P | Kendrick | P | Monasterios |
|
Dodgers Turn To Monasterios To Face His Team (Sort Of)
by Eric Stephen on Aug 31, 2010 3:18 PM PDT
in Game Previews
334 comments
The Dodgers begin the final day of August with a 14-14 record for the month, so tonight's game will determine whether August is a winning month (the degree to which this matters, I will leave that for someone else to decide).
Carlos Monasterios gets a chance to start against his former organization, as the Dodgers nabbed him, via trade with the Mets, from the Phillies in last December's 2009 Rule 5 draft. Tonight is his 11th start of the season, and while he has shown improved numbers since returning from the disabled list (2.81 ERA, 4.17 FIP, 4.16 xFIP in July, 3.21/4.60/.3.92 in August, plus a 3.14 strikeout-to-walk ratio), his last two starts have been short affairs, each lasting 4 1/3 innings. Monasterios was cruising through four innings in Milwaukee last week, but a walk and two hit batsmen ended his day early.
Since Vicente Padilla appears close to returning -- he threw three scoreless innings for San Bernardino last night -- tonight could be the last start by Monasterios a while.
The Dodgers faced Kyle Kendrick in the opener in Philadelphia earlier in the month, the only game the Dodgers won in that series. Kendrick wasn't around for long, allowing six runs and 10 baserunners while only recording 10 outs. Among the 104 starters in MLB with at least 125 innings, Kendrick's 4.34 strikeouts per nine innings is the third-lowest rate.
The Dodgers are 19-25 since the All-Star break, but while they have struggled on the road, to the tune of a 7-16 record, they are 12-9 at Dodger Stadium.
Notes
- Hiroki Kuroda was claimed by the Padres last week, but the Dodgers couldn't work out a deal with San Diego and pulled the pitcher back off waivers, per Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune
- John Lindsey, the 33-year old mashing to the tune of .363/.410/.668 for Triple A Albuquerque this season, is still waiting for his chance in the big leagues, writes Ramona Shelburne of ESPN LA
- The Phillies have scored just 28 runs in their last 12 games, an average of 2.33 per game.
- I forgot to link to this here yesterday (I did on SB Nation Los Angeles!), but Mike Petriello's farewell to Manny Ramirez on Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness was a very good, and long, read.
- Tom Krasovic of AOL Fanhouse has a fair, even-handed account of Manny's final days in Los Angeles
Get your guesses in for Xeifrank's game simulation here.
Game Time: 7:10 p.m.
TV: KCAL
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NL West Standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
San Diego
|
76 | 56 | .575 | 0 | Lost 7 |
|
San Francisco
|
74 | 60 | .552 | 3 | Won 2 |
|
Colorado
|
69 | 63 | .522 | 7 | Lost 2 |
|
Los Angeles
|
68 | 66 | .507 | 9 | Lost 2 |
|
Arizona
|
55 | 79 | .410 | 22 | Won 3 |
(updated 9.2.2010 at 3:18 AM PDT)
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