Nothing like a bevy of good news to start a labor day weekend

♦ September 2, 2016 ♦ Leave a comment

Giants lose first game against the Cubs in their four-game series at Wrigley. The best part was losing to the weakest link the Cub rotation. Dodgers up by two with three against the Padres, while the Giants finish their four-game series in Chicago. Have to like the Dodger chances of being more than two games up by Sunday night.

Contrary to reports circulating after Puig was sent down that Puig would never wear the Dodger Blue again, he is being brought back up, and will be in uniform tonight.

Clayton Kershaw will be throwing a minor league game at Rancho this weekend as he tunes up for his most dynamic postseason run yet.

And best of all, the Dodgers have cut a deal with KTLA

The final six regular season television broadcasts of Vin Scully’s career can be watched by those in the Los Angeles market without SportsNet LA, as Charter has reached a deal to simulcast six games on KTLA.

On this day in baseball – Beltre hears the nutcracker suite – 09/01/2010

♦ September 1, 2016 ♦ Leave a comment

http://www.nationalpastime.com/

2007 – In his first game back from the DL after suffering a torn right testicle when a bad hop grounder hit him in the groin last month, Adrián Beltre hears the The Nutcracker Suite when he steps into the batter’s box. Mariner teammate Ken Griffey Jr. arranged to have the Safeco Field PA system play the waltz to have some fun with the third baseman, who decided not wear a protective cup until today’s game.

2008 – Adrian Beltre triples in the eighth inning off Rangers’ right-hander Josh Rupe to become the fourth player in franchise history, joining Jay Buhner (1993), Alex Rodriguez (1997), and John Olerud (2001), to hit for the cycle. The rare event is accomplished twice today as Diamondbacks shortstop Stephen Drew also collects a single, double, triple, and home run in a game against the Cardinals at Chase Field.

1969 – At Dodger Stadium, Willie Davis ties the franchise record by hitting in 29 consecutive games with his second-inning single in LA’s 10-6 victory over New York. The mark was established by Zack Wheat in 1916.

Willie would go on to hit in 31 straight games

Masanori-Murakami-rookie-1965

1964 – Masanori Murakami becomes the first native-born Japanese player to appear in the U.S. major leagues when throws a scoreless eighth inning in the Giants’ 4-1 loss to the Mets at Shea Stadium. The 20 year-old southpaw, who was to play only minor league ball until June as an ‘exchange player’, will be allowed to stay and play in one full season with San Francisco next year, before returning to the Nankai Hawks, ending his brief American stint with a 5-1 record and an ERA of 3.75.

I had his baseball card, wish I still had it.

Time magazine did a story on him 

In 1964, Murakami, a 20-year-old pitcher for the Nankai Hawks, was in America on a kind of cultural exchange program with the San Francisco Giants. He was called up from the Giants’ single-A team in Fresno on Aug. 30, joined the team in New York, and on Sept. 1 came in as a late-inning reliever for against the Mets at Shea Stadium. History was made.

LAD Grand Slams within their first 25 games

♦ September 1, 2016 ♦ Leave a comment


When Andrew Toles hit his momentous grand slam last night he did it in his 25th career game.  Which left me wondering what other LAD have hit a grand slam in their first 25 games.

We all remember Yasiel Puig hitting his first grand slam in his 4th game.

Alex Guerrero did it in his 13th game on April 12th, 2015. Might have been the hit of the year.

Cody Ross had one of the strangest games in LAD rookie history. He hit two home runs including a grand slam and was traded eleven days later to the Reds.

Oh look , I fit a Bill Sudakis moment in here, what a shock. Billy hit his grand slam in his 7th game on Sept 8th, 1968

Now this was the biggest surprise to me. Norm Sherry did it in his 9th game on May 31st, 1960. I had no idea that Norm Sherry was a rookie in 1960. Wow, look at the career, one could say it very closely mirrors the career of one A.J. Ellis. I’ll have to look at that more later.

Last but not least, Frank Hondo Howard hit one on May 17th, 1960 in his 21st game.  Frank Howard would be the only one of these rookies to go onto win the ROY award. 

 

A quick spin around August games with Toles

♦ August 31, 2016 ♦ 3 Comments


Even though he was played sparingly Andrew Toles had an August that can sit next to Marlon Anderson’s 2006 Sept any day of the week.

Toles only got 20 at-bats because he didn’t come back until August 21st, but what he did with them was simply amazing.

4 singles, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 3 home runs, 12 RBI and a triple stat line of .550 / .583 / 1.250

Unfriggingbelievable – 12 RBI in 20 at-bats since August 21st

Yet he only started four games:

  • August 21st – Starts, 1 for 3, one walk, Dodgers win 4 – 0
  • August 22nd – Starts, 2 for 5, first major league home run, four RBI, Dodgers win 18 – 9
  • August 23rd – Doesn’t start, gets in game in 6th inning, double, home run, 3 RBI, Dodgers win 9 – 5
  • August 24th – pinch hit, nothing, Dodgers win 1 – 0, first time since he came up he does not help in the victory.
  • August 26th – pinch hit, nothing, Dodgers lose 6 – 4
  • August 27th – Starts, two hits, one double, Dodgers win 3 – 2
  • August 28th – doesn’t start, pinch hits, gets HBP, scores winning run, Dodgers win 1 – 0
  • August 29th – doesn’t start, pinch hits in 9th, hits a triple,  scores only Dodger run, Dodgers lose 7 – 1
  • August 31st – Starts, double off wall, walk, single, Boom Boom Slam gives Dodgers 10 -8 lead, drives in 5 runs. Dodgers win 10- 8

Toles only had five at bats against the Rockies in three games but still managed a Coors Cycle.

Toles cycles around Coors the long way

♦ August 31, 2016 ♦ 2 Comments

It may have taken three days and two games but with one mighty opposite field blast, Andrew Toles cycled and slammed Coors field.

Dave Roberts didn’t make it easy for Toles.

  • He didn’t start Monday but still tripled in his only at-bat in the 9th inning.
  • He didn’t start the 1st game of the DH and the Dodgers were shut out
  • He doubled off the RCF wall in his first at-bat in the nightcap
  • He walked
  • He singled
  • He went boom boom out go the lights

Provided KJ can convert this, Toles is now 11 – 2 when starting and no win was more unlikely than this one.

 

Toles still 10 – 2 in games he starts as Dodgers lose two straight with Toles on bench

♦ August 31, 2016 ♦ Leave a comment

Nothing says you are in a mini-slump when you can only score one run in eighteen innings at Coors.

The Dodgers have scored one run at Coors and the man responsible for that lone run was Andrew Toles who tripled in the 9th inning on Monday Night.

As Toles continues to sit on the bench he can’t change his 10 – 2 record as a starter.

Luckily the Dodgers face a RHP in the nightcap of the doubleheader so we should expect Toles/Pederson/Reddick in the outfield, but that would mean Howie sitting down. What will Dave Roberts do with that situation?

 

Let’s play two – 1970 Dodger/Reds DH memories

♦ August 31, 2016 ♦ 3 Comments

When you have been going to Dodger games for 46 years many of them just get lumped together but I have a few that still stand out in my mind. It is no surprise I’m sure to the memory experts that I remember every game I went to in 1970 because that was the first year I went to Dodger Stadium.

My first game was a 1 – 0 shutout thrown by Don Sutton

Later I saw the Bill Singer no-hitter with my cousin Ted Koerner and his dad Bill Koerner.

Craig Minami and I have talked about seeing a Dodger DH in the early 70’s before, last night he said his was in 1972 and that was his first game, so I did some research to see if it was the same day. It was not, my doubleheader occurred August 9th, 1970.  Craig’s was labor day 1972. This one was easy to find because my main memory of the game is sitting down in the LC Pavillon and watching Pete Rose launch a shot off the center field wall for a double to start the game. Thanks to Bref that was easy to find.

These were my memories before I looked at the box scores:

  • Pete Rose had a monster game and led off the game with a double off the CF wall
  • Willie Davis looked great in CF
  • My Dad started out the game as white as a man from Appleton, WI should look, and was as red as any ripe tomato could be by the end of the long long day.
  • That I was thoroughly entertained for both games, I thought we won them both but wasn’t sure.

These are the actual facts

Game One:

  • Pete Rose did indeed have a monster game. Besides the double he led off with, he hit not one but two home runs. Luckily they were both solo shots.
  •  Maury Wills had four hits in the first game
  • Future 1970 ROY Ted Sizemore had three hits and drove in three runs.
  • No wonder I was entertained, the Dodgers scored four runs in the bottom of the 8th inning to win the game.  Ted Sizemore and Willie Davis had the key hits in that inning. And it included these kinds of moves by Sparky Anderson you just don’t see very often.

Jimmy Stewart moves from 2B to C
Tommy Helms moves from SS to 2B
Dave Concepcion replaces Johnny Bench (C) playing SS batting 4th
  • Relief pitcher Jim Brewer pitched two shutout innings for the win.

Game two:

  • Damn, we won 13 – 3, again no wonder I was entertained
  • Ted Sizemore had four more hits giving him seven hits in the doubleheader.
  • My favorite player at the time, Billy Grabarkewitz had three hits including a triple
  • 3 Dog hit a triple, that had to be the first time I’d see him fly around the bases
  • Alan Foster pitched a complete game

 

So this left me wondering several things.

How many times did Pete Rose hit two home runs in a game? Four times Pete Rose hit two homes. This game was the last time he would hit two home runs in a game, however, in 1978 Rose would hit three home runs in a game.

How many complete games did Alan Foster pitch? A lot more than I thought, 26 complete games and six shutouts.  Foster was a big part of the 1970 rotation but was traded the following winter for catcher Duke Sims.

That was fun, thanks to Craig for making me look this up, and for the Dodgers in playing this doubleheader today.

 

 

Josh Reddick just isn’t measuring up

♦ August 30, 2016 ♦ 3 Comments

You’d be hard pressed to find a Dodger regular this century who has had a worse month than Josh Reddick has had in August. For a team used to the heroics of Justin Ruggiano, Juan Rivera, Marlon Anderson, and Belliard after being acquired for the stretch run, the failure of Reddick to launch has been tough to watch.

With a left-hander going for the Rockies today, and a right-hander on Wednesday, it is a good bet that Josh will sit today and play tomorrow which should be his last start in August.

You can say Josh is hitting into hard luck and you’d be right, his BABIP is absurdly low, but most of that was built upon his first week with the team. You can’t really say he’s been hitting the ball that hard in the last two weeks. Though yesterday he did hit a shot that the 2nd baseman made a play on, but hey 2nd baseman are supposed to be able to make that play.

So how does Josh measure up against other trade deadline acquisitions that got at least 50 at bats over the past ten years?

Player | AtBats | XBH | BA/OBP/Slug%
Josh Reddick (2016) | 83 | 1-0-0 | .145 / .202 / .157
Justin Ruggiano (2015) | 55 | 4-1-4 | .291 / .350 / .618
Michael Young (2014) | 51 | 2-1-0 | .314 / .321 / .392
Juan Rivera (2011) | 219 | 12-1-5 | .274 / .333 / .406
Ryan Theriot (2010) | 198 | 5-0-1 | .242 / .323 / .283
Ronnie Belliard (2009) | 77 | 7-0-5 | .351 / .398 / .636
Casey Blake (2008) | 211 | 12-1-10 | .251 / .313 / .460
Manny Ramirez (2008) | 187 | 14-0-17 | .396 / .489 / .743
Shea Hillenbrand (2007) | 70 | 0-2-1 | .243 / .257 / .343
Wilson Betemit (2006) | 174 | 7 -0 – 9 | .241 / .306 / .437
Marlon Anderson(2006) | 64 | 3 – 2 – 7 | .375 / .431 / .813

Not well at all:

I had to go back to 2006 just so I could post Magic Marlon Anderson’s numbers once again, every time you can squeeze in Magic Marlon you have to do it.

Josh Reddick has an OPS below the slug% of everyone but Theriot and Hillenbrand. That is hard to do. Actually, you can’t really imagine an OPS of .359 for an outfielder in over 80 at bats because it just doesn’t happen. Until now.

How does he measure up against the player he replaced?

Player | AtBats | XBH | RBI | BA/OBP/Slug%
Josh Reddick (LAD 2016) | 83 | 1-0-0 | 0 | .145 / .202 / .157
Yasiel Puig (July 2016) | 60 | 5-0-1 | 10 | .283 / .389 / .417

Not well at all

How does he measure up against the guy sitting on the bench while he starts?

Player | AtBats | XBH | RBI | BA/OBP/Slug%
Josh Reddick (2016) | 83 | 1-0-0 | 0 | .145 / .202 / .157
Anthony Toles (2016) | 54 | 5-1-2 | 8 | .370 / .435 / .611
Anthony Toles (August) | 16 | 2-1-2 | 7 | .500 / .526 / 1.125

Not well at all

I think Toles could go hitless in his next 50 at bats and still have out produced Josh Reddick.

Anyway how about that slug% from Toles:)

I didn’t do this to pound on Josh Reddick, but when someone puts up these numbers over a whole month and was traded for to do the exact opposite, it kind of stands out and shouldn’t’ be buried under the rug.

I know he’s still starting because Dave Roberts feels that for the team to succeed in the long run they need the Josh Reddick they traded for, not the anemic hitter they got so far.

Roberts is probably right, as long as playing Josh while he’s in this horrific slump doesn’t cost the team a win that he is unable to get back for them when he gets going.

I probably would not replace Josh for the long term, but I think I’d hedge my bets and play Toles while he’s blistering hot and Reddick is cold. In no time at all Toles will probably slow down but Just for argument sake, Toles is 10 – 2 in games he has started through August 27th.  Josh is 11 – 9.

 

 

LAD rookie records are going to fall

♦ August 29, 2016 ♦ Leave a comment

As Corey Seager continues to wreck havoc on the baseball world the LAD rookie records will be next to feel the strength of his bat. Corey has already hit the most doubles for a LAD rookie but other records are about to fall.

He should take out the runs record of 88 tonight or tomorrow. He won’t be able to pass Mike Piazza and his 35 home runs but he might be able to take the OBP record away from Mike. Slug% is probably safe. Hits are going down, runs are going down, Average is dicey but could fall.

Corey in Coors for three games against a tired young Rockie rotation. Oh my

From the LAD game notes:

Los Angeles Rookie Leaders, Since 1958

 Category              Seager (Rank)      Leader

Hits                         162 (3rd)                 Sax (180, 1982)

Runs                       87 (2nd)                   Sax (88, 1982)

Doubles                 37 (1st)                    Seager

Home Runs           23 (T-3rd)              Piazza (35, 1993)

Average                 .321 (1st)                 Piazza (.318, 1993)

SLG                        .543 (2nd)                Piazza (.561, 1993)

OBP                        .377 (1st)                 Piazza (.370, 1993)

Other Corey Seager notes from the LAD game notes:

  • Seager is tied for the National League lead with 162 hits (with Arizona’s Jean Segura)
  • Seager is tied for the National League lead with 37 doubles (with the Cubs’ Anthony Rizzo and Washington’s Daniel Murphy).
  • According to Stats, LLC, Seager would become the first NL rookie in the modern era (since 1900) to lead (or tie for first) the Senior Circuit in both hits and doubles. Previously, only Ross Barnes (1876, Cubs) had accomplished the feat in National League history, while Tony Oliva (1964, Twins) and Dick Wakefield (1943, Tigers) had done so in the American League.
  • Seager also ranks among the NL leaders in runs (87, 4th), total bases (274, 4th), batting average (.321, 3rd), multi-hit games (47, T-2nd), extra-base hits (63, 6th) and slugging percentage (.543, 9th).

How about Scott Schebler’s weekend in Arizona?

♦ August 29, 2016 ♦ Leave a comment

Three games, six hits, three home runs, seven runs batted in.

Since Aug 15th:

49 at bats, 17 hits, five home runs, 13 RBI, 1.057 OPS

Oh yeah