2010 Player Profiles: Hiroki Kuroda - A hard headed man
by Phil Gurnee on Mar 3, 2010 7:01 AM PST
in Community Projections
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PrintIn 2009 Hiroki Kuroda proved several things.
- Has one hell of a hard head.
- When healthy the man can pitch.
- Pitchers who last name start with "KU" don't pitch complete seasons
- When a 34 year old mainstay of the rotation gets crushed by the Phillies in the playoffs it does not appear to be a big deal. When a 24 year gets crushed by the Phillies his manhood is questioned.
When Ned gets bashed for his misbegotten free agent signings, it is always interesting how the naysayers conveniently forget to mention the good ones like Hiroki Kuroda.
Lost in all the hoopla over the shot to the bean, the nightmare in Philly, and missing 51 games with an oblique problem was the fact that when Kuroda did pitch, he was the best pitcher in the rotation based on base peripherals, and the latest iterations of ERA such as xERA. or xFIP.
Don't believe me? Check out the xFIP at Fangraphs.
Don't believe me? Check out the BPV rating by Baseball HQ.
Pitching BPV: ((Dominance Rate - 5.0) x 18) + ((4.0 - Walk rate) x 27) + (Ground ball rate as whole number - 40)
This formula combines the individual raw skills of dominance, control and the ability to keep the ball on the ground, all characteristics that are unaffected by most external team factors. In tandem with a pitcher's strand rate, it provides a complete picture of the elements that contribute to a pitcher's ERA, and therefore serves as an accurate tool to project likely changes in ERA. BENCHMARKS: A BPV of 50 is the minimum level required for long-term success. The elite of the bullpen aces will have BPV's in excess of 100 and it is rare for these stoppers to enjoy long term success with consistent levels under 75.
In 2009 Kuroda's BPV was 97 because of his ability to induce ground balls at a 50% clip, along with the control that made batters earn their way to 1st base. Both Kershaw (63) and Billingsley (64) lagged far behind Kuroda because of their control issues.
The scouting report on Kuroda shows he's strictly a three pitch pitcher. A fastball that sits at 92 (65%), a slider at 84MPH (25%), and finally his split fingered fast ball 87MPH(9.5%). No change up or curve ball for Kuroda. Again Fangraphs has this wealth of information.
| Year | Proj | Age | IP | ERA | K/Rate | BABIP | GB% | xFIP | tERA |
| 2008 | 33 | 181 | 3.73 | 5.69 | 0.295 | 51% | 3.93 | 3.91 | |
| 2009 | 34 | 117 | 3.76 | 6.67 | 0.287 | 50% | 3.66 | 3.51 | |
| 2010 | Bill James | 35 | 128 | 3.8 | 5.98 | 0.287 | |||
| 2010 | Chone | 35 | 154 | 4.27 | 6.31 | 0.315 | |||
| 2010 | Marcel | 35 | 136 | 3.84 | 6.32 | 0.294 | |||
| 2010 | HQ | 35 | 167 | 3.83 | 6.3 | 0.29 |
Kuroda does not get much play but a healthy Kuroda gives the Dodgers the potential for the best three starters in the NL and is a big reason why they will be expected to win an unprecedented 3rd straight Division title. The question is, can Kuroda give us at least 180 innings?
ERA/WHP/IP
3.69/1.23/184
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probably depends on how the "kids" do
If you’ve got Kershaw & Bills firing on all cylinders, J-Mac, Elbert and/or Stults coming through, and just HALF of the guys in the minors progressing on schedule, would you even NEED to resign him?
Of course, I didn’t even mention our beloved owner and what his spending priorities will be this summer…
Hard to
maintain that WHIP and have an ERA under 4.0 . Nobody in baseball was able to do it last year. Maybe the closest was Zambrano with a 3.77 and 1.37 WHIP
I have no prediction
But I will say I think he’s the most important member of our team this year. I believe strongly in Kershaw/Bills in the front and don’t mind Padilla/Stults at the back. What we need is a consistent bridge between the two sets. If he’s healthy, he’ll have a good year.
Control
Kuroda has walked two or fewer batters in 43 of his 51 MLB starts, and one or fewer in 30 of 51.
There have been 141 starters to make at least 30 starts in 2008-2009 combined, and Kuroda is one of just 15 to have a BB/9 rate under 2.00 (at 1.98, he ranks 15th).
Do the others
throw a curve or change up? I was wondering if his great control was related to the fact he’s a three pitch pitcher and eschews the curve/change.
kuroda has some kinda splitter change....
its fast though like 88 mph
Took me a while . . .
to get the “KU” reference. Kuo, obviously. But while searching through Baseball Reference came across old [honorary] friend Rusty Kuntz.
When Ned gets bashed for his misbegotten free agent signings, it is always interesting how the naysayers conveniently forget to mention the good ones like Hiroki Kuroda.
Agreed. I often wonder why we don’t spend more time talking about the highest paid player of the Dodgers? I know his character doesn’t often warrant lead stories and often gets just a byline. Which is sometimes refreshing given whats going on lately.
Our expectations are just as high for Kiroki, especially if we get 180 innings. That’s a great bargain at over $78 grand an inning!
I wonder how Hiroki compares to other NL starting pitchers in his age bracket and then in his salary bracket?
No projection
Mainly because I get no “feel” as to what Kuroda might do. Of course for some guys the splitter has a lot of the same purpose/quality of the change-up.
According to Tony Jackson, McDonald’s starting on Saturday. It was supposed to be Stults in the original plans. No reason was given for the change.
Ortiz will make his first appearance in Friday’s Cactus League opener against the White Sox, coming in after starter Vicente Padilla, and Haeger will follow Ortiz. McDonald will start Saturday’s game against the White Sox.
Thanks
I like ESPN LA with a lot of good content, but sometimes the articles/archives could be organized a little better.
by Eric Stephen on Mar 3, 2010 10:27 AM PST up reply actions
I think Saturday’s game is televised, which is cool because McDonald is way more fun to watch than Stults.
You do realize at this point the “starters” are pitching like 2 innings, right?
by Eric Stephen on Mar 3, 2010 10:30 AM PST up reply actions
That’s fine, I’m just more interested in watching J-Mac start a game. We all know what Stults can do in that position.
My point is that it doesn’t really matter right now when they pitch in a game. McDonald and Stults are both on “starter’s plans” in that they will each throw a couple of innings on the day they pitch, and gradually increase that as spring goes on.
by Eric Stephen on Mar 3, 2010 10:34 AM PST up reply actions
dodgers
Karuda should do fine-maybe win 15 games—but the dodgers should go after zack @ KC—trae stultz ans 4 other rookies and KC might do it
with Zack the dodgers would be set for a good start ans might get past the phils this year
by spc7@verizon.net on Mar 4, 2010 8:31 AM PST up reply actions
Friday’s game is on MLB.com, but I’m not sure if it’s free or part of the MLB.tv package. It will probably be the Sox announcers.
by Eric Stephen on Mar 3, 2010 10:32 AM PST up reply actions
I agree. Tony Jackson’s own page – which you can get to from the main ESPN LA page – doesn’t list or link to new articles! They only appear there after about 2 days. However, you can usually get to them from the Teams/Dodgers page, usually both under “Conversations” and the “Top Stories” column to the left. But that page doesn’t link to Jon’s Dodger Thoughts blog anywhere, even though the main ESPN LA page has two prominent links to it! There’s no way to get to both Jon and Tony’s newest articles from any one page there.
I suppose I should go complain about this over at DT rather than here.
I have Jon’s set up in an RSS feed, so that’s usually not a problem for me. I never thought of trying that with TJ though.
by Eric Stephen on Mar 3, 2010 10:35 AM PST up reply actions
The links at ESPN LA are generally pretty lame. What irks me, is if you are at a Tony Jackson article, his name in the byline is clickable, but the link is to a search for “Tony Jackson”, which yields articles that mention other “Tony Jackson”s as well, instead of simply linking to his existing page. Stoooopid.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
Kuroda's injuries were unfortunate
to say the least. Hopefully he’s got a solid year in him this year as he’s the pivot in the rotation, the key between a solid rotation and a dismal one. I for one, think he will have a good year this year and could be our most consistant pitcher, although I think Kershaw is potentially the most dominant.
No more raining on Bruins Nation's rainy parade, they took their ball and went home.
I’ve always liked the slang “bean” for the head. Nice. I also like “melon”, as in “I’ll deck your melon.” Maybe it’s a food thing with me.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
Kuroda is my friend's neighbor
and they have become friendly. He really doesn’t speak English well at all, but he’s a super funny and nice guy, a family man, and he loves LA and the Dodgers.
MLB Umpire- Missed Call
This morning on XM Radio’s Power Alley they had a guest, Hunter Wendelste MLB Umpire. he was the ump who made the call on Manny’s 2nd inning hit on 10/3 to Colorado’s Carlos Gonzalez. It was a diving catch on a ball hit to the gap between RF and CF. The viewers saw the ball rolling on the ground under his body before he picked it up and held it up pretending to have caught it. Wendelste said he didn’t know it was dropped until after the game a reporter brought it to his attention. When he watched the replay, he said it was a dropped ball and should have been a hit. Also talked about pace of game and instant replay. Not that this call mattered in the end since we went on to win and clinch the division but it brings up the issue of instant replay and if it can be incorporated. Is there a place for more instant replay in MLB?
That was during the TBLA outing
we were seated up in the upper levels in RF and had a perfect view of the ball rolling on the ground. Naturally, we were all going ballistic.
by Michael White on Mar 3, 2010 9:45 AM PST up reply actions
I like Hunter – he is a really nice guy. His wife is hot too. I know a few people who were at that game thought it was on the ground too. But I see no place for instant reply on that call. Just part of the game to me.
I’m with you on this one. It rarely ever happens that it would be too much of a hassle to have instant replay on those types of calls. I don’t know how he could have been in a better position to make the call, other than having two more umpires on the lines too.
by robotmadeofnails on Mar 3, 2010 10:13 AM PST up reply actions
“His wife is hot”???? Where in the hell did you learn that little tidbit? www.hottieumpirewives.com?
by KellyStephen on Mar 3, 2010 11:30 AM PST up reply actions
it's so rare
that a call like that decides a game or is even very important, so I don’t see the need for instant replay.
absolutely there's a place for it
The only question should be HOW it should be instituted. There are some plays that are so obvious that a single look at the replay would be good enough to overturn it, and to not do so can change the outcome of the game. (Joe Mauer “foul ball” in game ’10 2 NLDS, etc)
As for the “CarGo” play, I was there, too. Forget steroids- I consider THAT cheating. Knowing that you didn’t catch the ball and acting like you did, as far as I’m concerned, is bad sportsmanship, and I’d believe that even if it a Dodger had done that.
One other note about that- someone brought up a really good point after the game, I forget who (Josh Suchon, maybe?). When Gonzalez stood up, he had the ball in his throwing hand. Whenever anyone makes a diving catch to show the ump, they have it in their glove. How’d he get the ball in his throwing hand so quickly? Obviously, your average fan wouldn’t think of that- I certainly didn’t. But perhaps a major league umpire should keep an eye out for that kind of deception.
I don't consider that cheating at all
If I ever pulled a stunt like telling the umpire that I didn’t catch the ball, like those insane integrity commercials on TV (“I touched the ball last coach”) my teammates would beat me with their aluminum bats.
by Michael White on Mar 3, 2010 11:38 AM PST up reply actions
well, not so much telling the ump he made a bad call...
…just throwing the ball straight to the infield. But either way, it’d be moot if we had instant replay. I know not everyone feels that way, but at least on some of these calls that can be INSTANTLY reversed. If Ron Darling can tell you in 5 seconds that it was a blown call (referring to the Mauer non-double again), it shouldn’t take more than 10 to reverse it.
+1
Good one Michael. By the way I never got to personally congratulate you on being brought onto the TBLA Team. Whata great feeling and experience. I know youw will make the most of. We all TRULY love these Dodgers. Some more than others of coursw. I thing Kemp is the greatest ever. He has great parents who carry themselves with elegance and it has rally passed on to Matt. Even in the club, he is calm, cool and collect. A man’s man. Kershaw remind me of Tebow but with an infinite power lefthanded ceiling. Those two ar my absolute favorites and I have literally prayed that theu become lifetime Dodgers! We can dream, even if it is a no brainer. Good luck, I will follow your stuff closely. Shawn Green was my favorite Dodger during his tenure and of course Piazza hands down during his Dodger days. Before that it was Strawberry, Butler,McDowell! Pedro,Orel, Fernando, Reuss, guerrero, Gibson, Scocisca,mike marshalla-hitter- (my Dad beat him in golf and the guy didn’t pay up) so I didn’t end up liking him for that much longer after that. Current Dodger Photographer John Soo has been a familky friend since the early 80’s. I was born in 1981. The thing I’m most proud of and feel the most honored/priviledged about is that I still see former Dodger reliever/pitchiing coach with regularlity, a hug every time and since I could speak its always been “Uncle Ron”. The other hero withwhom I have a Hero perception of is Dodger Legend Dandy Koufax. I called him “Uncle Sandy” until we attended a basketball game together and he made it a point to correct me that I was too old for that (18 yrs) and that just referring to him as “Sandy” would be more appropriate. Needless to say I was completey mortified and hurt but he was right. It was a tough lesson to learn. My Pops stays in touch I believe quite often sinve they have been great friends since the 70’s. I’ve got great stories to tell, but I am curious to know something if people would please be honest. I have met All if the above mentioned people as well as many many more (frank, Jamie, Ned,Logan, Dejon, Mariano, Lasorda,Kent, Mueller, Grady, Schmidt, Lugo, Brox, Elbert, Delwyn, Withrow, those are all the people I can remember off hand) and the entire 99’ squad and caching staff (Johnson regime)b/c Lasorda got me a batboy gig my Jr year in highschool (17).first off I’d like to admit that this True Blue website is my absolute favorite site….PERIOD! That being said I truly VALUE many of the member’s thoughts and opinion. My question is does anyone who is frequently contributing on here have read what I just wrote and question its legitmacy? You don’t have to voice your skepticism in a mean or offensive way, but just be real with me. I grew up my whole life feeling so lucky but when I lived outside Philadelphia for some of my childhood telling any of my cool experiences I was so veryproud of, I was constantly rediculed. People in my home town of Vero Beach never did because it was such a small town and with very few choices to go to enjoy a night out my Dads Retaurant (Part Owner) wan notorious for being a Dodger hot spot. My favorite was meeting and hanging with the MiLB players because they had made the Show yet and me knowing the town like the back of my hand created some pretty coolsituations. My favorite young guy is Scotty Elbert(I hope he becomes a superstar ot at least our #4 or #5). Anothrt gtrat guy is a super tall dude named Zach Hammes. He’s like 6’6" but what a nice guy, the both of them. Excep Elbert, he’s got that killer mentality like he expects nothing but the best from himself. Two of my best friends growing up were the same way in their respective fields and now at 28 both of these Vero natived created amazing careers that are still thriving. One is Mardy Fish who was the only American in the 2004 Athens games to have wona medal losing to Raphael Nadal. The other is a twin who changed his name once he became famous in Nashville$ for thos who listen to country music his name is Jake Owe,, such a down to Earth. So you must ask me what the hell did u di with yourslef and the honest answer is not much but I do my best. I played Varsity HighSchool ball in the largest FL divsion. My last HS atbat was a Walkoff Grandslam and my teammate Tommy Giles who now plays for Albequerce (dodgers triple A squad). He’s a left handed hitting RF with some power, he led the Hurricanes in HRs before we(Dodgers) drafted him in the 8th round.I also played for a natioanally ranked DII college on scholarship(as a freshman/no redshirting like the other guys my age).I also was picked up by a SemiPro team but wasn’t allowed to get paid like most of the other okayer in the league because I had to maintain my collegiate Amatuer status just in case drafting ever became possible (you never lnow with multiple scouts at every game. Anyways plaese give me feedback, or ask any questions and I will answer then honsestly as long as they don’t require me to break the clubhouse rule of what goes on in a MLB clubhouse /25 + guys, stays I’m the clubhouse. Although I will say something I cherished but it was definitely not memorable to them I’m sure. I played pingpong with Mark Grudzelanek and lost, I helped Devon White with working on his media player on his laptop and best of all sat for 20 minutes and I had a dip in (skoal mint for me and skoal straight for him) with Todd Hundley, what a cool surfer dude. I also talked hip hip (Juvenile 400 degreez) in length with EY(Eric Young) who I initially met while he was still in the Minors and I was only.around 8 or 9 at the time and he remembered me. For some of the people here who have done a thousand things cooler, I don’t doubt that, but whatI have shared above is very dear to my heart and aside from my beautiful 7 year old daughter (becoming a Dad early is what stopped my baseball career are some of the most precious memories I have and are why I bleed Dodger Blue. I would love to hear your thoughts/opinions. If the consensus is that this all came across as either fabrication or simply bragging since they Spring trained in Vero, I will make sure to never mention my memories again, but I will have to say that I read this site every day and it feels great to finally share. In closing I apologoze for mispells and grammatical errors, hence a handheld blackberry isn’t an ideal way to type out long essays if that’s what you would call this piece. A shout out to Mr. Tony Jackson for his big shot with ESPN! They totally picked the right man for the job, plus he loves eating at my Dad’s restuarant nrarly as much as Uncle Ron “the preacher” Perranoski and Tommy Lasorda. I can be reached at the fillowing email address; joe.kazen@hotmail.com
Thank you for your valuable time and GO BLUE!
by VeroJoe on Mar 3, 2010 10:11 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
This was an awesome comment, Joe. Glad you have decided to join and comment. Keep ’em coming.
by Eric Stephen on Mar 3, 2010 10:23 PM PST up reply actions
But that is exactly the type of playing encouraged in baseball in general.
The way baseball is even set up with the rules encourages cheating and puts the onus on the defense (ie. batter runner beating the throw but not touching the bag at first is signaled as safe, and now the defense must appeal)
by robotmadeofnails on Mar 3, 2010 12:03 PM PST up reply actions
The thing that stalls me on replay is deciding how to change the situation after the fact. Let’s say on replay, a ball that lands down the line that was called foul is reversed to fair. What the hell are you going to do now? Rule it a ground-rule double? Blech. At least fair/foul on a homer is straightforward to reverse. A fair ball called in play and reversed to a HR is straightforward. I can live with a home run reversed to “was actually in play”, changed to a ground-rule double. And I have no idea what’s fair for a catch/nocatch reversal like the CarGo situation would have raised. Then we would howl about how the umps placed the baserunners. No thanks, no expansion of replay for me.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
I’m assuming that umpires would have to act similarly to refs in football. That is, not make a call until after a play is completed. That would mean that every foul ball that doesn’t go into the stands would have to be completely played out as if it were a live ball, with the umpire making a foul call after the play is completed.
I hate this idea. I don’t see bad calls, other than maybe balls/strikes, having a big enough impact on each game to warrant putting instant replay on every type of play.
funny you should mention that
because there was one Marlin-Dodger game where they WERE trying to figure out where to place a baserunner. I don’t remember the circumstances, but I do remember that they changed the call twice (runner went from 3rd to 2nd and to 3rd again- I think it was an errant throw from Raffy, but I don’t remember exactly). At least in that case, the fact that they weren’t allowed to review the tape made it worse..
I’m not saying that should make close the case for instant replay- just that the conventional wisdom that it slows things down, or even ADDS to the confusion isn’t always the case.
2 bases from where the runners were at the time of the pitch if it was the first play from the infield.
2 bases from where the runners were at the point of release if it is any other type of throw.
This is very difficult to do sometimes when I am umping slow-pitch. A one man system can be a pain. In fact, I had someone this week try to appeal a runner missing the plate when they came home. The problem is that I was up the line making a call on a fly ball that could have landed fair or foul.
by robotmadeofnails on Mar 3, 2010 2:53 PM PST up reply actions
And, if you are going to do instant replay for “obviously missed” calls, why not just move to a system of video umpiring anyway? I just don’t know where you draw the line on any close/missed play.
by robotmadeofnails on Mar 3, 2010 2:51 PM PST up reply actions
Kemp - reason to be motivated?
Justin Upton’s contract, which in theory would be at a slight discount since he is getting the financial security of a long-term (6-year) deal, includes getting paid slightly more than Kemp during his similar years. Per Jon Heyman:
$1.25m signing bonus
2010: $500k (3rd year; Kemp in 2009 made $467k)
2011: $4.25m (arb 1)
2012: $6.75m (arb 2)
2013: $9.75m (arb 3)
2014: $14.25m (FA 1)
2015: $14.5m (FA 2)
So it looks like the savings (to AZ) come in the later years. Specifically in the third arb year, I expect Kemp to make something like $12 million that year.
Forgot to add Kemp's details
Years 2-4
Upton: $11.5m (+$1.25m bonus)
Kemp: $11.417m
by Eric Stephen on Mar 3, 2010 10:17 AM PST up reply actions
nice to see the Diamondbacks stepping up
We now have a counterargument if we start clamoring for Kemp to get a long-term deal and Dennis Mannion inevitably asks us, “But what about Paul Lo Duca? Remeber how that worked out?!” (assuming he’s heard of Lo Duca, of course)
I don’t remember signing Paul LoDuca to a long deal.
by Eric Stephen on Mar 3, 2010 11:41 AM PST up reply actions
oh?
heh- those were the dark ages for me, where my Dodger info was only sports radio and going to the games themselves. But I could have sworn that they gave him some sort of guaranteed deal.
Well, either way, they’ll come up with some kind of spin- some example where a long term contract didn’t work out. But from a baseball standpoint, I’m glad the Diamondbacks did the right thing. From a Dodger perspective, not so much…
It's been quite awhile
since the Dodgers have signed their own+++ young player, particularly a position player – which is a better example to cite for a Kemp comparision – rather than a pitcher like Dreifort, to a contract that included any of his free agent years. I wonder who was the last position player like that. Could it be as far back as Raul Mondesi?
+ in this case, I’d consider their own, any player that made their major-league debut with the Dodgers, or was acquired with minimal MLB experience.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
LoDuca signed a 3-year, $7.25m deal in 2002 that took him through his first two arb years (per Cot’s)
Speaking of missed calls
It was interesting to see some of the missed calls at the USC/UCLA game last week at DS. Normally you won’t see an instant replay on anything close at a Dodger game, so you don’t show up the ump, but they were replaying everything…and it didn’t look good for the officiating.
by robotmadeofnails on Mar 3, 2010 10:14 AM PST reply actions
Dodgers signed all 22 pre-arb players to contracts today, per Ken Gurnick. No money details yet.
All likely to be between $400,000 – $500,000, as per usual.
Last year, the highest-paid pre-arbitration player was Chad Billingsley, at $475,000.
by Eric Stephen on Mar 3, 2010 11:45 AM PST up reply actions
That’s a lock. Only Troncoso has more service time (by 14 days) and he has a regular gig.
by Eric Stephen on Mar 3, 2010 11:50 AM PST up reply actions
Dodgers have nobody with two years service time. Here is the full list of service time for the pre-arb guys:
Ramon Troncoso 1.119
Clayton Kershaw 1.105
Cory Wade 1.096
Eric Stults 1.072
Blake DeWitt 1.048
James McDonald 1.004
Ronald Belisario 1.000
Chin-Lung Hu 0.153
Xavier Paul 0.151
Charlie Haeger 0.125
Scott Elbert 0.097
Brent Leach 0.090
A.J. Ellis 0.081
Travis Schlichting 0.055
May, Robinson, Guerra, Link, Monasterios, Zerpa, Jansen, and DeJesus have 0 service time.
by Eric Stephen on Mar 3, 2010 11:49 AM PST up reply actions
Yep.
There are 183 total days in a full season, but you only need 172 to amass a full year. Also, you can’t amass more than 172 days in a single year (if you do, you just get credit for one full service year)
by Eric Stephen on Mar 3, 2010 11:53 AM PST up reply actions
dodgers
use stultz and 4 of these to get Zack @ KC—they just might do it!
by spc7@verizon.net on Mar 4, 2010 8:36 AM PST up reply actions
I wouldn’t be shocked if nobody besides Kershaw is above $415k. (Minimum is $400k)
by Eric Stephen on Mar 3, 2010 11:57 AM PST up reply actions
These are all split contracts anyway, right?
How do they determine the minor league portion?
by Michael White on Mar 3, 2010 12:00 PM PST up reply actions
Yep, they are split contracts. Minor league minimum is $65,000 for those not on their first major league contract, and $32,500 for guys like Robinson, Guerra, DeJesus, and Jansen.
Technically the team can renew them at any contract, as long as it’s minimum or above, but usually there is some give and take involved. I liken it to pre-Messersmith, when a club would “negotiate” with a player but the player didn’t have much of a leg to stand on anyway because other than quit baseball they had no recourse.
by Eric Stephen on Mar 3, 2010 12:08 PM PST up reply actions
Torre ntoes
Ronald Belisario’s visa issue is currently tied up in Washington DC
Starters will pitch 2 innings their first time out, then 3 the next time (possibly out of the bullpen). Not able to get starters as many innings as last year because last year WBC made spring training longer
Brent Leach has a slight groin injury, and hasn’t thrown off a mound for a about 5 days. Feels fine throwing off flat ground.
I doubt it
He might be, but moving him for spite at this point seems like cutting of one’s nose to spite their face.
http://www.truebluela.com/2010/3/3/1335353/baseball-prospectus-top-101#comments
I made a fanshot for B-Pro’s top 101 prospects. Carlos Santana is 10th, Dee Gordon is 29th, Josh Bell is 39th, Chris Withrow is 40th, and Ethan Martin is 98th.
Just imagine if we kept Bell and Santana.
Tripon appropriately made that a fanshot: http://www.truebluela.com/2010/3/3/1335353/baseball-prospectus-top-101
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
Seems that people who work for the Angels end up being Angels sooner then most. I’m sure that is not true but from Leon Wagner to TIm Markas the reaper seems to pay closer attention to the goings on of the Angels.
Kuroda was a good FA signing?
Don’t get me wrong, he has been useful, but injury prone over 2 years and 24 million, which i’m assuming the Dodgers knew he had problems with this while in Japan, getting his arm destroyed by Japanese tactics.
Has earned about what he is worth.
Compared to like Randy Wolf or something…
by Chad Moriyama on Mar 4, 2010 2:51 AM PST up reply actions
If you are 18 years of age or older, and are not currently under contract with an MLB club, you can attend the Dodgers open tryout tomorrow at Camelback Ranch, from 8am to noon.
I need to work
on that. I would have about as much chance getting to 209 before the end of spring training as getting elected President…..of anything. Man it sucks being fat…..
We should plan this for next year. One of us go down and sign up, video the proceedings, and run the highlights here on truebluela.
I’ve got a pretty mean knuckleball, but it probably clocks in at around 52 MPH. I can probably fool major league hitters with the movement, but it’s so slow they’d have enough time to reload and knock the crap out of it. I can hear Blake now, wheezing his way to the mound while holding his chest: “don’t…throw…another…knuckleball!”.
by KellyStephen on Mar 3, 2010 5:38 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
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- Security!: Camden Yards guard collides with Royals’ Mike Moustakas
- The Juice: Nelson Cruz matches career high eight RBIs, Pujols stays hot in Seattle
- Benches clear at Fenway as Red Sox-Rays rivalry heats up
- Keeping good company: Albert Pujols becomes fourth-youngest player to hit 450 home runs
