Friday Dodger Notes: Kershaw Solid, Chapman the Real Deal
by Eric Stephen on Mar 12, 2010 3:13 PM PST
in Dodgers Game Recaps
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PrintHere are some notes from Dodgertown, after today's game, a 3-2 loss to Cincinnati:
- Clayton Kershaw gave up a pair of hits and a pair of walks in his three scoreless innings of work, striking out three
- Aroldis Chapman gave up only two infield singles in his two innings of work, striking out two batters. Jon Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer reported that Chapman had this pitch speed sequence to Matt Kemp, which resulted in a strikeout on a slider: 100, 85, 99, 87, 83, 97, 90. I can't wait to watch the video later tonight.
- Angelo Songco, the Dodgers' fourth round pick last year out of Loyola Marymount, had an RBI double in the ninth inning which produced the Dodgers' first run of the game
- Ivan DeJesus, making his first "A" game start of the spring, had two hits in his two at-bats (though he was also caught stealing in what looked to be a missed sign)
- Jason Repko made a great throw from left field, on the fly to catcher Brad Ausmus, to nail Jay Bruce, who was trying to score from second base on a single in the first inning
- Third base coach Larry Bowa left in the middle of the game and was taken to the emergency room because of stomach cramps, says Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times.
- Don Mattingly, on Doug Mientkiewicz, who made his third straight start at first base: "He was fine. We were worried about him throwing, it looks like he can make that throw ok. He loves being out there."
- Tom Singer of MLB.com profiled Garret Anderson, set to make his spring debut Sunday. Anderson sounds happy to be near home:
"There are 30 teams out there, and to get a chance to play at home is definitely a blessing. I grew up in a community 20 minutes away from Dodger Stadium. I watched games there growing up. When you get to a place like that, it's special; it takes you back to your childhood."
- Of Anderson, Mattingly said the Dodgers "first priority will be getting him in the outfield and getting at-bats. If he wants to work out at first, we'll take a look."
- The Dodgers signed 27-year old left-handed pitcher Sean Thompson to a minor league contract, per Our Sports Central. Thompson pitched independent league baseball the past two years after six year in the minor league systems of the Padres, Royals, and Rockies.
- Charley Steiner still can't pronounce the last name of Carlos Monasterios, adding an extra t to make it "Montasterios."
- Follow Ramona Shelburne's travelogue of the Dodgers' trip to Taiwan on ESPN L.A.
- We will have a game thread for the second game of the Taiwan series, which starts tonight at 10pm.
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How hard is it
to remember that the guy’s name sounds just like the word “monastery”?
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
For some of us the
pronunciation of anything larger then two syllables is a life long challenge which is why I make it a point to only converse with the likes of Eric Stephen, Mike White, and David Young.
by meercatjohn on Mar 12, 2010 3:34 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Need an explanation
from someone who watched the game…
Here is Mattingly’s quote about Kershaw’s outing:
Kershaw looked good, there was nothing wrong with him in the second, he was just trying to get a grip.
Did something happen in the second inning to Kershaw? Looking at Gameday, he had his problems in the third, not the second. I was wondering if it looked like Kershaw threw a bad pitch or something in the second, or if he appeared to be hurt. Otherwise, I’ll assume Donnie Baseball was talking about the 3rd
I agree
it was the 3rd, after he walked the first batter there was a conference. Paging Tim Wallach.
Donnie Baseball is FAILING his audition to be a manager in MLB
by Michael White on Mar 12, 2010 3:43 PM PST up reply actions
By the way I totally agree
with Steven Dilbeck’s take on this. Why should Donny B get grooved to our managerial job. I could understand the Yankee’s but as far as the Dodgers go he should have to prove he’d be the best man for the job and he has nothing on his resume that would suggest such a thing.
I agree with that too, totally
What I agree with less is people judging him harshly based on a couple of minor league games, basically his first experience as lead manager. So while I don’t think he should be handed the keys to the team automatically in any way, I also don’t think we should toss him under the bus yet either. Have seen a couple of comments on DT along those lines as you guys. I’d like Wallach to get a chance too, but would we be this quick to judge if Wallach made a couple of mistakes in exhibition games, too? (Which he might.)
There's no need to fear, Underdog is here! / Broncos/Dodgers/Lakers fan in Niners/Raiders/Giants/Warriors country, and damned proud of it.
Of course I was
really into the idea of Torey Lovullo as Dodger manager some years back (2006) Remember him? He’s managing AAA Pawtucket these days. Maybe he’ll get another chance. I may have been right to be into the idea of Lovullo, but just as likely I was wrong. ;-)
There's no need to fear, Underdog is here! / Broncos/Dodgers/Lakers fan in Niners/Raiders/Giants/Warriors country, and damned proud of it.
wow, Torey Lovullo
there’s a name I hadn’t heard in a looooooooong time. I had to look him up, just to remind myself. I seem to remember him being a highly touted prospect during the dawn of the 90’s.
And BTW, I’m with you 100% on Mattingly. I think it’s just the nature of the beast that he’s not gonna get much love when he commits gaffes like this, due in part to his lack of ties to the Dodger organization- though I do think he deserves SOME credit for being a solid hitting coach the past couple of years, helping Ethier, Kemp, and maybe Loney in their ascension. (“But what about Russell Martin?” What?! Sorry- the connection’s breaking up. I’ll call you back later.)
I’ve heard people blame him for his lack of being able to develop Loney. It was reported that Mattingly was telling Loney to spray the ball to all fields as opposed to driving it.
And I feel a little slimey for hiding behind “I’ve heard people” and not looking up a source confirming that Mattingly actually taught Loney that.
by Michael White on Mar 12, 2010 4:32 PM PST up reply actions
But we must make fun of a manager
who screws up a lineup card. It is part of the blogging contract we sign.
Oh totally!
Heh. I made fun of him at length the other day for that ;-) By all means. I just don’t want people to think it proves he’s not worthy of the job. If he’s repeatedly an idiot, on the other hand, then that’s a bad sign…
There's no need to fear, Underdog is here! / Broncos/Dodgers/Lakers fan in Niners/Raiders/Giants/Warriors country, and damned proud of it.
The Torre connection is what pulls Mattingly through
Mattingly makes sense as the next manager, if Joe Torre plans to stick around in a front office job. That could make the job of manager essentially a Torre/Mattingly team.
If Torre doesn’t have a role, though, I’d agree that Mattingly shouldn’t automatically be favored over other candidates.
Did anyone point out the comment by Russell Martin that he expects to be ready by opening day? I know AJ Ellis appreciates Russell not wanting to miss any games.
I chalked it up to typical athlete bravado
by Eric Stephen on Mar 12, 2010 3:48 PM PST up reply actions
Keith Law on Rich Harden
http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/blog?…ith&id=4981850
For what it’s worth.
•
Rich Harden was a shell of his old self. His first fastball was 83 mph, and he was 83-86 for the first few hitters before finally cracking 90 twice on the last hitter of the inning, finishing with a 91 mph heater for the strikeout. His arm used to be fairly free and loose, but his motion is severely restricted and he’s visibly favoring his right shoulder, reducing his velocity and his command. After a smooth second inning, he was knocked around in the third and couldn’t finish the frame. The best case scenario for Texas is that he builds up strength over the course of March so that he can at least work with an average fastball when the bell rings next month, but this early look was very discouraging.
Not what you want to hear if you are a Ranger fan.
Yes, but it wouldn’t save them any money.
by Eric Stephen on Mar 12, 2010 4:02 PM PST up reply actions
Actually on second thought, I don’t think they can anyway. He was injured while on the major league roster, so he’d have to be on the major league DL. It wouldn’t matter anyway in this case even if they could send him down because Martin is getting that $5.05 million no matter what.
But this is essentially what the Tony Abreu grievance was about. Only he was on a split contract, so it mattered in terms of (a) the salary he got paid while on the DL, and (b) major league service time accumulated
by Eric Stephen on Mar 12, 2010 4:07 PM PST up reply actions
I read Tripon’s question as trying to get out of paying Martin.
by Eric Stephen on Mar 12, 2010 6:05 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
speaking of keepers
I just watched that Repko throw. Wow. I mean…WOW.
Is there any feasible scenario for him to stay with the Dodgers beyond the spring at this point? If so, is there any feasible scenario for him to stay with the Dodgers and have GA make the club? I still think there’s a chance he shows himself to be the player he could have been without all the injuries, and after this year, it’d be nice for him to get a possible shot as the regular left fielder.
If only he could hit at all
he’d definitely have a shot. It’s sad because his defense is impressive but they can’t afford to keep a backup outfielder who can only field, not hit. Back to Albuquerque one more time, it appears, or maybe another team will be interested in his services. I root for him but he just cant show he can hit ML pitching. Reed Johnson seems capable of both defense and offense, for instance.
There's no need to fear, Underdog is here! / Broncos/Dodgers/Lakers fan in Niners/Raiders/Giants/Warriors country, and damned proud of it.
It was brought up a couple times the past month or so
but Repko does have some offensive potential, just in a very limited form (specifically, against LHP). He might make a decent PH/5th OF in that way, but with other options for those same roles, the question becomes is he really bringing anything of value.
Well I used to think that about him
and thought he had a decent bat but the last year or so every time I’ve seen him he’s looked mostly awful at the plate. I don’t know why, if he’s just pressing, or just not as good as I’d hoped (or both). But yeah, I don’t think his defense makes up for that at this point, sadly.
There's no need to fear, Underdog is here! / Broncos/Dodgers/Lakers fan in Niners/Raiders/Giants/Warriors country, and damned proud of it.
Of course, we could think outside the box with him
Get creative. Trade him to San Francisco and just watch has he sends Kung Fu Panda to the DL.
He's insurance
in case Reed Johnson gets hurt. In my opinion he could do what Reed Johnson does and could still end up having the same career as Reed Johnson. He was on that path until the season ending injury.
Taiwan Game 2 lineup
Robinson RF
Carroll SS
Manny DH
Loney 1B
Belliard 3B
Paul CF
Restovich LF
Hu 2B
Closser C
Towers P
I'd almost forgotten about Restovich
Getting used to watching single A players man the outfield for the Dodgers, plus Jay Gibbons. Restovich could be a good candidate to start the year… in Albuquerque.
There's no need to fear, Underdog is here! / Broncos/Dodgers/Lakers fan in Niners/Raiders/Giants/Warriors country, and damned proud of it.
Players traveling to Tucson tomorrow
per Dylan Hernandez:
Players in major-league camp traveling to Tucson tomorrow:
Billingsley, Elbert, Gagne, Guerra, Leach, Miller, Zerpa, Eillis, Knoedler, DeJesus, DeWitt, Green, Mientkiewicz, Reyes, Johnson, Repko.
With Johnson and Repko the only two outfielders from major league camp making the trek, it looks like a minor leaguer will also start in the OF.
by Eric Stephen on Mar 12, 2010 7:33 PM PST up reply actions
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