Kuroda Looks To Rebound Against White Sox

by Eric Stephen on Jun 23, 2009 2:00 PM PDT in Game Previews Comment 34 comments

More photos » Mark J. Terrill - AP

Hiroki Kuroda will not get to bat this evening.

The Dodgers haven't had a winning June since 2003, so a slight drop from their lofty perch was expected this month. The club has gone 11-7 so far in June, and have the same division lead (8½ games) now as when the month began. Still, it was a little weird that, entering Saturday's game in Anaheim, no Dodger starter outside of Chad Billingsley had a June win. Jeff Weaver joined the starter winner club by beating his younger brother Saturday, and Clayton Kershaw followed suit on Sunday, although he and John Lackey are not related.

Hiroki Kuroda will try to make it three starter wins in a row tonight, as the Dodgers begin a three-game set at U.S. Cellular Field tonight at 5pm. Kuroda has given up five runs in each of his last two starts, but tonight faces a White Sox offense that is 12th in a 14-team American League in runs scored per game.

The White Sox are similar to the Dodgers in a way, in that they each have received a stellar performance from a perennially light-hitting outfielder this season. Scott Podsednik, who joined the Sox in May, is hitting .319/.372/.412 with the Sox, after hitting .260/.326/.356 over the last five seasons. The Sox are so enamored with Podsednik that they are mulling over the possibility of signing him beyond this year.

Left-hander John Danks will start for the White Sox.

In injury news, Carlos Quentin is on the disabled list with plantar fasciitis, and will miss the series. Jermaine Dye, nursing a sore left calf, was limited to pinch-hitting duty during the last two games in Cincinnati over the weekend, but is expected to play in this series.

Three Dodgers have an OPS of .800 or higher in June: Andre Ethier (.300/.347/.600), Matt Kemp (.355/.406/.484), and Rafael Furcal (.262/.375/.426).

The Dodgers are tied with the Red Sox for the best record in baseball (25-16) since May 7, the first day of the Manny Ramirez suspension.

Per the Dodger game notes, today is the 26th anniversary of the first time "The Infield" of Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell, and Ron Cey all took the field together. They all started in the second game of a doubleheader against the Reds, and would go on to play a record 8½ years together.

Get your guesses in for "She Is Gone" here.

You can also watch or listen to the Manny game in Albuquerque, which begins at 6pm.

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Starting something new today

We’re running the “game preview” a few hours before the game, then roughly 15 minutes before the game the actual game thread will go live.

by Eric Stephen on Jun 23, 2009 2:04 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Pierre Ethier

Apparently there was a low-level minor leaguer in the 1950s by the name of “”http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=ethier001pie" >Pierre Ethier". He died in Arizona in 2005, nearly 75 years old. Andre Ethier was, as we all probably know, born and raised in Phoenix. I wonder if “Pete” Ethier was a relative?

by David Young on Jun 23, 2009 2:45 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Awesome find. Reminds me of the old Negro Leaguer from the 1940s, Ferguson Yeager. He had the right stuff. :)

by Eric Stephen on Jun 23, 2009 2:49 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ethier's grandfather was named Pierre Ethier

by silverwidow on Jun 23, 2009 3:00 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

He’d be around 79 if he were still alive today, so that’s about the right age. Probably is the same guy.

by David Young on Jun 23, 2009 3:09 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Quiet 800 OPS for Furcal this month

is a good sign. Slowly building momentum for a stellar 2nd half ala 2006.

by meercatjohn on Jun 23, 2009 2:55 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Heating up for the summer months

as he often does. Or so we hope.

by David Young on Jun 23, 2009 2:59 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ethier, Pierre comparison

Ethier:
.317 / .438 / .558 / .995 (before Manny’s suspension)
.171 / .253 / .224 / .477 (May 7 – May 31)
.300 / .347 / .600 / .947 (June 1 – yesterday)
.268 / .359 / .468 / .827 (overall)

Pierre:
.355 / .394 / .387 / .781 (BMS)
.380 / .451 / .530 / .981 (May 7 – May 31)
.273 / .309 / .325 / .633 (June 1 – yesterday)
.337 / .392 / .433 / .825 (overall)

(I wasn’t going to use June 1 as an arbitrary cutoff, but it does coincide with the start of a homestand.)

Essentially, for one three week period, Pierre was blazing hot while Ethier was stone cold, and Pierre’s hot steak is a larger percentage of his overall numbers since he played sporadically BMS.

by David Young on Jun 23, 2009 2:59 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Plantar Fasciitis

I don’t know how long Quentin has been out for, but this same ailment kept Chris Kaman out for 3/4 of the season. Though Chris Kaman is 7 feet tall, this ailment seems as though it can keep a player out much longer than originally scheduled.

by Michael White on Jun 23, 2009 3:05 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Isn't it more of a basketball ailment?

by meercatjohn on Jun 23, 2009 3:14 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ya, considering what it is, it has to be more common in basketball—- with all the jumping on hardwood.

by Michael White on Jun 23, 2009 3:20 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Danks is good, we will have our work cut out tonight

by meercatjohn on Jun 23, 2009 3:15 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Matt Kemp on BET

Via Sons of Steve Garvey. My work firewall makes the video unwatchable however, so I’ll have to reserve judgment until I get home. Could be good though.

Plus check out the nickname on Kemp’s blog:

by David Young on Jun 23, 2009 3:15 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Mota

is letting 47% of inherited runners score. By far the worst on the team.

by silverwidow on Jun 23, 2009 3:37 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

That's why it's not worth propping him up

by silverwidow on Jun 23, 2009 3:37 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Just to note

Mota has entered some bad situations. He’s currently 2nd on the team in Bequeathed runs prevented (from Baseball Prospectus, which measures expected runs based on the base/out situation when he comes in).

Dodgers Bequeathed Runs Prevented
Belisario 2.1
Mota 2.0
Leach 1.7
Schlichting 0.7
Weaver 0.7
Kuo 0.5
Wade 0.3
McDonald 0.3
Broxton 0.0
Troncoso -1.7

by Eric Stephen on Jun 23, 2009 3:45 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Oops

Mota is actually 1st, at 2.1 bequeathed runs prevented (25th best in MLB).

Belisario is 2nd at 2.0

by Eric Stephen on Jun 23, 2009 3:47 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Quentin's injury

is killing me in fantasy

1 dollar keeper too

by kensai on Jun 23, 2009 3:40 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Isotopes MGR Tim Wallach was on ESPN Radio and said Manny would play 4 innings tonight, 5 innings tomorrow, and maybe 7 on Thursday.

by Eric Stephen on Jun 23, 2009 4:05 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Who's more valuable?

Player A: .400/.400/.500 (650 PA)
Player B: .000/1.000/.000 (650 PA)

Player B reached base only by HBP.

by silverwidow on Jun 23, 2009 4:06 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Don’t you always have to take the guy who never makes out?

by Eric Stephen on Jun 23, 2009 4:08 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

But the only thing he does is reach first

by getting drilled. Even though player A has a lower OPS, he’s obviously more producting in terms of scoring.

by silverwidow on Jun 23, 2009 4:11 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Bat him leadoff then

Hard to argue with a leadoff man who never makes an out.

by kensai on Jun 23, 2009 4:12 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’d take eight (nine in the stupid AL) player Bs over the same number of player As though.

by David Young on Jun 23, 2009 4:39 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Are you taking into account

how badly injured your team would be then? :)

by silverwidow on Jun 23, 2009 4:54 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Don’t forget, you would also likely get a number of opposing pitchers suspended :)

by Eric Stephen on Jun 23, 2009 5:03 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Looks like I won't get any quotes next Monday night in San Bernardino

From ESPN:

Ramirez was in the clubhouse before batting practice when a group of reporters approached his locker in the corner. He stepped past and said in Spanish to wait until July 3

by Eric Stephen on Jun 23, 2009 4:07 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs