Dodgers, Yesterday and Today

Corey Seager moving up the leaderboards

Phil Gurnee ♦ June 6, 2016 ♦ Leave a comment

Just five days ago we were waxing eloquently about how Corey Seager was going to be breaking into many of the record books for shortstops. Evidently Corey was not satisfied with being at the precipice of the leaderboard, so he had another crazy weekend and has now put himself squarely in those leaderboards.

On June 1st, after his May home run barrage, Corey was not in the top thirty-one home runs seasons for a shortstop age twenty-two or younger. He is now in the top twenty and on his way to having a top five home run season for any twenty two year old SS or younger.

I’ve added a new column to the table. Since Corey has only played 1/3 of a season, I thought it might be beneficial to look at his home run per at bat numbers. It is early, and of course he’s coming off a barrage of home runs, but right now Mr. Seager has the best home run per at bat ratio on the list below. The list is now thirty-two long because Corey joined it, and it will be the last time we see all thirty two names. I kept them here to show who Seager passed in the past five days. I didn’t expect to update this list until July 1st, but he’s simply been to hot.

Player	HR	Year	Age	Tm	PA	OPS	HR/AB
Alex Rodriguez	42	1998	22	SEA	748	0.919	17.81
Alex Rodriguez	36	1996	20	SEA	677	1.045	18.81
Cal Ripken	28	1982	21	BAL	655	0.792	23.39
Cal Ripken	27	1983	22	BAL	726	0.888	26.89
Troy Tulowitzki	24	2007	22	COL	682	0.838	28.42
Alex Rodriguez	23	1997	21	SEA	638	0.846	27.74
Carlos Correa	22	2015	20	HOU	432	0.857	19.64
Ron Hansen	22	1960	22	BAL	606	0.781	27.55
Vern Stephens	22	1943	22	SLB	571	0.839	25.95
Jim Fregosi	18	1964	22	LAA	591	0.833	32.83
Hanley Ramirez	17	2006	22	FLA	700	0.833	41.18
Zoilo Versalles	17	1962	22	MIN	624	0.660	36.71
Wil Cordero	15	1994	22	MON	467	0.853	31.13
Chris Speier	15	1972	22	SFG	658	0.761	43.87
Corey Seager	14	2016	22	LAD	249	0.874	17.79
Vern Stephens	14	1942	21	SLB	621	0.774	44.36
Starlin Castro	14	2012	22	CHC	691	0.753	49.36
Alex Gonzalez	14	1999	22	FLA	591	0.739	42.21
Jimmy Rollins	14	2001	22	PHI	720	0.743	51.43
Rico Petrocelli	13	1965	22	BOS	363	0.721	27.92
Xander Bogaerts	12	2014	21	BOS	594	0.660	49.50
Francisco Lindor	12	2015	21	CLE	438	0.835	36.50
Arky Vaughan	12	1934	22	PIT	660	0.942	55.00
Travis Jackson	11	1924	20	NYG	633	0.754	57.55
Denis Menke	11	1963	22	MLN	572	0.632	52.00
Edgar Renteria	11	1999	22	STL	653	0.734	59.36
Starlin Castro	10	2011	21	CHC	715	0.773	71.50
Wil Cordero	10	1993	21	MON	521	0.695	52.10
Derek Jeter	10	1996	22	NYY	654	0.800	65.40
Alex Gonzalez	10	1995	22	TOR	425	0.720	42.50

Cory Seager is going to be a record breaking machine

Phil Gurnee ♦ June 1, 2016 ♦ Leave a comment

This season will probably have a lot of posts about Cory Seager and in the beginning it will center about what he has accomplished as a 22-year-old LAD shortstop.

Sometimes however his age won’t be involved. For example with his home run last night, Jon Weisman noted that Seager tied the LAD SS May franchise home run record.

Just to go one further, Cory has nine home runs, which gives him the LAD franchise record for 22-year-old shortstops. Cory would be a cinch to break the all time LAD SS franchise record for shortstops if not for Hanley Ramirez. If all goes well, Seager will be sitting on top this list by the end of the year. Not bad for a rookie.

Rk	Player	HR	Year	Age	Tm	OPS
1	Hanley Ramirez	20	2013	29	LAD	1.04
2	Don Zimmer	17	1958	27	LAD	0.72
3	Rafael Furcal	15	2006	28	LAD	0.814
4	Kevin Elster	14	2000	35	LAD	0.796
5	Jimmy Rollins	13	2015	36	LAD	0.643
6	Hanley Ramirez	13	2014	30	LAD	0.817
7	Hanley Ramirez	10	2012	28	LAD	0.774
8	Greg Gagne	10	1996	34	LAD	0.698

How does he compare against all major league shortstops age 22 or younger? As we head into June, Seager now has nine home runs. With his next home run Seager will become the 3oth shortstop age 22 or younger to hit double-digit home runs. He does not make the list below yet, but as the season progresses he will not only join this list but also climb it quickly. I think that eventually he’ll end the year in the top ten, but even has an outside chance at the top five, joining two of the greatest hitting shortstops in major league history.

Player	HR	Year	Age	Tm	Lg	RBI	OPS
Alex Rodriguez	42	1998	22	SEA	AL	124	0.919
Alex Rodriguez	36	1996	20	SEA	AL	123	1.045
Cal Ripken	28	1982	21	BAL	AL	93	0.792
Cal Ripken	27	1983	22	BAL	AL	102	0.888
Troy Tulowitzki	24	2007	22	COL	NL	99	0.838
Alex Rodriguez	23	1997	21	SEA	AL	84	0.846
Ron Hansen	22	1960	22	BAL	AL	86	0.781
Carlos Correa	22	2015	20	HOU	AL	68	0.857
Vern Stephens	22	1943	22	SLB	AL	91	0.839
Jim Fregosi	18	1964	22	LAA	AL	72	0.833
Hanley Ramirez	17	2006	22	FLA	NL	59	0.833
Zoilo Versalles	17	1962	22	MIN	AL	67	0.66
Wil Cordero	15	1994	22	MON	NL	63	0.853
Chris Speier	15	1972	22	SFG	NL	71	0.761
Starlin Castro	14	2012	22	CHC	NL	78	0.753
Alex Gonzalez	14	1999	22	FLA	NL	59	0.739
Jimmy Rollins	14	2001	22	PHI	NL	54	0.743
Vern Stephens	14	1942	21	SLB	AL	92	0.774
Rico Petrocelli	13	1965	22	BOS	AL	33	0.721
Xander Bogaerts	12	2014	21	BOS	AL	46	0.66
Francisco Lindor	12	2015	21	CLE	AL	51	0.835
Arky Vaughan	12	1934	22	PIT	NL	94	0.942
Denis Menke	11	1963	22	MLN	NL	50	0.632
Travis Jackson	11	1924	20	NYG	NL	76	0.754
Edgar Renteria	11	1999	22	STL	NL	63	0.734
Starlin Castro	10	2011	21	CHC	NL	66	0.773
Wil Cordero	10	1993	21	MON	NL	58	0.695
Derek Jeter	10	1996	22	NYY	AL	78	0.8
Alex Gonzalez	10	1995	22	TOR	AL	42	0.72

Chase stand alone as Cubs / Dodgers get ready to square off

Phil Gurnee ♦ May 30, 2016 ♦ Leave a comment

Being Memorial Day I didn’t have time to write a preview but I did find this little nugget interesting while perusing the Cubs record.

The Cubs are 34 – 14, with seventeen wins in both April and May. The Cubs have a losing records against three teams.

All three of those teams reside in the NL Western Division.

Padres one win – two losses
Rockies one win – two losses
Giants one win – two losses

Cubs and Dodgers are set to play four games, with the Cubs missing Kershaw.

Oh, one more thing. Chase Utley is friggin awesome.

Eric Stephen at TBLA noted that Chase was just the 7th Dodger since 1980 to even drive in at least four runs in successive games.

I decided to dig a little deeper and see if any second baseman had done this, and furthermore if any had done this who were at least thirty seven years old.

In case you missed this weekend, Chase drove in four runs on Friday night, and five more runs on Saturday night.

The final criteria was 2nd baseman >= 37 years old who drove in at least four runs in successive games.

From what I can tell, Chase stands alone. Feel free to check my work and let me know. I found twenty 2nd baseman who had driven in at least four runs that were at least 37 years old. I could not find anyone who did this in successive games except Chase Utley

Name	Age	Date	Tm	H	HR	RBI
Biggio	39.139	5/2/2005	HOU	3	1	4
Biggio	41.127	4/20/2007	HOU	1	1	4
Biggio	41.222	7/24/2007	HOU	2	1	4
Biggio	41.25	8/21/2007	HOU	3	1	4
Cairo	37.101	8/13/2011	CIN	2	2	4
Collins	37.057	6/28/1924	CHW	2	1	4
Collins	37.364	5/1/1925	CHW	2	1	5
Dykes	41.287	1938-08-24(1)	CHW	3	1	4
Easley	37.183	5/13/2007	NYM	3	1	4
Gantner	37.184	7/8/1990	MIL	3	0	5
Gehringer	37.116	9/4/1940	DET	2	1	4
Gehringer	37.123	9/11/1940	DET	5	0	4
Gehringer	38.1	1941-08-19(1)	DET	3	1	4
Grudzielanek	37.347	6/11/2008	KCR	2	1	4
Harrah	37.198	5/12/1986	TEX	2	0	4
Harrah	37.284	8/6/1986	TEX	5	1	4
Joost	39.084	8/28/1955	BOS	2	2	6
Kent	37.033	4/9/2005	LAD	3	1	5
Kent	37.06	5/6/2005	LAD	3	1	5
Kent	37.071	5/17/2005	LAD	3	0	4
Kent	37.081	5/27/2005	LAD	1	1	4
Kent	37.09	6/5/2005	LAD	4	0	4
Kent	37.091	6/6/2005	LAD	2	1	4
Kent	37.135	7/20/2005	LAD	2	1	4
Kent	37.175	8/29/2005	LAD	2	0	4
Kent	37.181	9/4/2005	LAD	3	1	4
Kent	38.027	4/3/2006	LAD	2	0	4
Kent	38.063	5/9/2006	LAD	2	1	4
Kent	39.079	5/25/2007	LAD	2	1	4
Kent	39.129	7/14/2007	LAD	2	1	4
Lopes	37.098	8/9/1982	OAK	2	1	4
Lopes	38.043	6/15/1983	OAK	3	1	7
Mora	38.168	7/20/2010	COL	3	1	5
Morgan	39.263	6/9/1983	PHI	2	2	4
Morgan	39.32	8/5/1983	PHI	3	2	4
Morgan	40	9/19/1983	PHI	4	2	4
Phillips	40.019	5/14/1999	OAK	2	1	4
Speier	37.327	5/20/1988	SFG	1	1	4
Speier	38.011	7/9/1988	SFG	5	1	5
Utley	37.162	5/27/2016	LAD	1	0	4
Utley	37.163	5/28/2016	LAD	2	2	5
Valentin	37.193	4/23/2007	NYM	1	1	4
Whitaker	37.04	6/21/1994	DET	1	1	4
Whitaker	38.092	8/12/1995	DET	2	1	4
White	37.221	4/12/1988	KCR	3	1	4

The above information can be found here.

Julio Urias viewing party

Phil Gurnee ♦ May 27, 2016 ♦ Leave a comment

Any Dodger fans interested in watching the teen-age phenom make his major league debut against the Mets with other like minded fans can meet up with them at 33 Taps in Hollywood.

New York Met Series Preview 05/27/2016

Phil Gurnee ♦ May 27, 2016 ♦ Leave a comment

The Mets like every other team the Dodgers have faced in October since 1988, broke their fans hearts last year in a deciding game that was in the Dodgers favor with three innings in the book. The ultra reliable Grienke had a 2 – 1 lead, but yet another left-handed hitter did the Dodgers in again, in October, as Daniel Murphy played the previous roles of Matt Stairs, Matt Adams, and Matt Carpenter. Once Murphy had worked his magic in the deciding game, the only shock to Dodger fans was that his name was Daniel not Matt.

Fast forward to 2016 and Daniel Murphy can’t lead the Mets to victory against the Dodgers anymore as he took his magic bat to the Nationals.

The 2016 Mets are 27 – 19 and trail the Nationals by only one game. In May the Mets have gone 12 – 12. The Mets and Dodgers have already met four times with the teams splitting the four game set at the Ravine in early May.

Injury List:

Lucas Duda is out for this series with a bad back
Travis d’Arnaud is out for this series with a bum shoulder
Asdrubal Cabrera is day-to-day but is expected to play this series
Wilmer Flores has been on the DL but is expected to be activated for this series
Zack Wheeler is still recuperating from Tommy John and is not expected to return until July.

Positional Breakdown:

1st Base – Wilmer Flores is expected to replace Lucas Duda when he is activated off the DL. If not, expect to see Eric Campbell. Flores is normally a middle infielder but from what I’ve read the Mets plan to play him at 1st. He has only played 1st base two times. Flores was horrible in April but was having some success in May before hitting the DL. Hard to put any credence in his 2016 numbers because he has had so few at bats. If Flores does not play 1st it will probably be the right-handed Eric Campbell. He has shown no history of being able to hit, but he can sure take a walk. In only 479 major league appearances he has garnered 50 walks.

2nd Base – As great as Daniel Murphy has been for the Nationals (best hitting 2nd baseman in the NL) Walker has done his best to fill the void. The switch hitting Walker has slugged eleven home runs already. His career high is 23, but he normally hits between 12 – 16 home runs over a full season. His wRC+ is at 119 putting him 5th in the NL for 2nd baseman. This year he has four home runs with an OPS of 1.040 against LHP in only 34 plate appearances so Urias / Kershaw best be ready.

SS – The switch hitting Asdrubal Cabrera is doing as expected. He’s a fairly consistent hitter, notching in a tad below average since his hey days back in 2011/2012. This year he’s been right about average.

3rd Base – Thirty three year old David Wright is long way from his salad days as the main cog in any Met offense earlier this century. Hard to believe he’s been around since 2004. At least he’s playing this year after playing only 38 games in 2015. He’ll surpass that number this weekend. The triple stat line headed into the weekend is .226/.352/.421. He is not hitting for average but can still take a walk and pop a home run.

Catcher – Right handed Kevin Plawecki is seeing most of the time behind the plate with the injury to Travis d’Arnaud. Plawecki is having a horrible offensive season and that may just be who he is. His career triple stat line is now .210/.282/.267.

Right Field – Curtis Granderson leads off for the Mets and given his OBP is .297 he’s not setting the table very effectively for Cespedes and Conforto. Granderson started the season in fine fashion with a solid April but has hit the skids in May with a triple stat line of .155/.245/.333. That won’t get it done for a lead off hitter. Or any kind of hitter. I’m sure he’ll get straightened out but how much does the 35-year-old outfielder have?

Center Field – Yoenis Cespedes sees the most time in CF but he will also play some LF when a left-hander is starting. Cespedes must love something about the Mets. He was always an above average player but since becoming a Met last summer he has become almost other worldly. His career OPS is .820. Since becoming a Met, in 421 plate appearances he has hit 32 home runs, slugging % of .627, and an OPS of .981. Cespedes signed a three-year deal with the Mets but can opt out after the 2016 season.

Left Field – belongs to one of better young hitters in baseball. The 23-year-old left handed Michael Conforto seems to be the consummate hitter against right hand pitching. Left hand pitching is another story, but the Mets haven’t let him have much opportunity yet with only 45 plate appearances so far in his career. Looks a bit like a peek Andre Ethier.

Utility Outfielder – Since the Dodgers are throwing the two best left handers in the NL at the Mets, you can expect to see Juan Lagares twice this weekend. He was once regarded as one of the best fielding center fielders in the game, but his offense kept him from being a regular. He does however hit left handers well enough to get burn when a southpaw faces the Mets.

Rotation:

Game One – Jacob DeGroom has seen his K rate (K per nine) drop substantially from 9.7 in 2015 to 6.6 in 2016. The walk rate (BB per nine) has increased from an optimal 1.8 to 2.4. He has also been much more hittable and thus is sporting a WHIP of 1.244 compared to last years elite .979. In limited sample size he’s been dominant at home but can’t seem to strike out anyone on the road. Urias will probably need to shut out the Mets for five innings for the Dodgers to have a chance to win this game 1 – 0.

Game Two – Thor (Noah Syndergaard) – for all the talk of Jake Arrieta I’d think if I was a right-handed major league hitter I’d rather face Jake than Thor. How could the Blue Jays ever trade someone like this? Career K rate double digits, career walk rate below 2. At age 23 he already is one of the elite pitchers in baseball. It is a shame this game does not match up Kershaw against Thor because it would have 1-0 written all over it.

Game Three – The ageless Bartolo Colon just keeps rolling along. He’s now 43 and it looks like he’ll throw another 190 or so innings of solid baseball. He’s joined the select company of pitchers who have thrown 3,000 innings, struck out over 2,000, while walking only 867. Only eight major league pitchers have accomplished this.

Bullpen:

The closer is Jeurys Familia and while he’s only been at it barely more than a calendar year, he’s already one of the best in the game at closing the door. His setup man this year is Hansel Robles, along with Addison Reed, and Jim Henderson. Robles hits around 95 with his fastball. Trayce Thompson hit a walk off home run off of Robles earlier this month, the only home run Robles has given up this year. The lefties out of the bullpen are old stand byes Jerry Blevins and Antonio Bastardo. Blevins has been excellent this year, while Bastardo has the highest walk rate among Met pitchers.

Recap:

At least Urias did not draw Thor in his first major league assignment, but DeGroom at home may prove to be just as tough a draw. The Dodgers will have their work cut out with back to back starts against DeGroom and Thor, hoping to finagle a low scoring win. The best game for the Dodgers is of course any game Kershaw starts, but Colon is no easy picking. This will be a tough series for a team struggling with offense.

Alex Wood – Strikeout King?

Phil Gurnee ♦ May 26, 2016 ♦ Leave a comment

When Alex Wood struck out thirteen of his eighteen outs in his last start on 5/21/2016 it seemed to get little fanfare. Probably because the Dodgers not only lost the game, but Wood only managed to get eighteen outs.

Yet for Wood it was his best strikeout performance of his career. Only four times has Alex Wood managed double-digit strikeouts, and his thirteen on May 21st was his high water mark. However I don’t want to get carried away and say this was his best game. Far from it, as he has had twelve games with a higher game score, including three with the LAD.

Yet this game was historical for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The LAD have quite a history of strikeout pitchers from Sandy Koufax to Clayton Kershaw with Drysdale/Sutton/Nomo/Fernando in between, but it is Alex Wood who currently sits on top of one particular leaderboard.

Using the criteria of getting at least fifteen outs (5 IP) Alex Wood now holds the best Strike out to Out percentage for the LAD.

Scott Kazmir was so impressed with what Wood did that he almost replicated the performance last night (05/25/17). A game that I was able to attend thanks to TBLA blogger Craig Minami who extended a ticket to me. The game last night was notable for cumulative strikeouts. Twenty Seven Dodgers/Reds struck out last night, one of the highest one game total for both teams in the LAD era.

But I digress, back to Alex Wood. Below is the leaderboard for LAD with at least 15 outs and strike out to out percentage > 60%. I used Baseball reference for this information.

LAD pitchers with at least five innings pitched and at least ten strikeouts

To be sure, striking out eighteen in a nine inning game is way more impressive as Ramon Martinez and Sandy Koufax have done. Still Alex Wood deserves his day in the sun along with all these celebrated LAD hurlers, and here it is.

The STOP column on the far right stands for “Strikeout to out percentage”.

Player	Date	Opp	Rslt	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	Outs	STOP
Alex Wood	5/21/2016	SDP	L 2-3	6	4	2	1	13	18	72.22%
Aaron Harang	4/13/2012	SDP	W 9-8	6.1	4	4	2	13	19	68.42%
Ramon Martinez	6/4/1990	ATL	W 6-0	9	3	0	1	18	27	66.67%
Sandy Koufax	4/24/1962	CHC	W 10-2	9	6	2	4	18	27	66.67%
Sandy Koufax	8/31/1959	SFG	W 5-2	9	7	2	2	18	27	66.67%
Hideo Nomo	6/14/1995	PIT	W 8-5	8	6	2	2	16	24	66.67%
Brad Penny	5/7/2007	FLA	W 6-1	7	5	0	0	14	21	66.67%
Hideo Nomo	5/17/1995	PIT	L 2-3	7	2	0	3	14	21	66.67%
Chad Billingsley	4/24/2008	ARI	L 4-6	6	6	5	2	12	18	66.67%
Charlie Haeger	4/11/2010	FLA	L 5-6	6	3	3	4	12	18	66.67%
Clayton Kershaw	4/17/2015	COL	W 7-3	6	6	1	1	12	18	66.67%
Darren Dreifort	5/22/2003	COL	W 4-3	6	2	1	4	12	18	66.67%
Hyun-jin Ryu	4/30/2013	COL	W 6-2	6	3	2	2	12	18	66.67%
Sandy Koufax	7/25/1963	PIT	L 2-6	6	8	4	1	12	18	66.67%
Scott Kazmir	5/25/2016	CIN	W 3-1	6	4	1	2	12	18	66.67%
Vicente Padilla	10/4/2009	COL	W 5-3	5	4	1	0	10	15	66.67%
Hideo Nomo	4/13/1996	FLA	W 3-1	9	3	1	3	17	27	62.96%
Chad Billingsley	9/26/2010	ARI	L 4-5	7	4	1	1	13	21	61.90%
Chad Billingsley	7/13/2008	FLA	W 9-1	7	5	1	0	13	21	61.90%
Clayton Kershaw	6/29/2014	STL	W 6-0	7	5	0	2	13	21	61.90%
Clayton Kershaw	4/15/2009	SFG	W 5-4	7	1	1	1	13	21	61.90%
Don Drysdale	6/3/1963	HOU	L 1-2	7	7	2	1	13	21	61.90%
Hideo Nomo	8/20/1995	NYM	L 3-5	7	6	5	2	13	21	61.90%
Clayton Kershaw	9/1/2010	PHI	L 1-5	6	5	2	2	11	18	61.11%
Kevin Brown	9/17/2001	SDP	L 4-6	6	5	1	3	11	18	61.11%

Top LA Dodger postseason game scores – Don Drysdale stands above Sandy’s shadow

Phil Gurnee ♦ October 14, 2014 ♦ Leave a comment

Several weeks ago we looked at the top postseason pitching game scores against the Cardinals. I had hoped that the Dodgers would make a long run this postseason, and that when I posted the update it would have some new names on the list. Alas, that did not happen. With the 2014 season over we will now look at the best postseason pitching game scores for all LA Dodgers games. Using 79 as the cutoff I have the 11 best games ever pitched using game score as the criteria.

Player                 Date Series Gm# Opp  Rslt  IP H ER BB SO GSc
Don Drysdale     1963-10-05     WS   3 NYY W 1-0 9.0 3  0  1  9  89
Sandy Koufax     1965-10-14     WS   7 MIN W 2-0 9.0 3  0  3 10  88
Sandy Koufax     1965-10-11     WS   5 MIN W 7-0 9.0 4  0  1 10  88
Orel Hershiser   1988-10-16     WS   2 OAK W 6-0 9.0 3  0  2  8  87
Don Sutton       1974-10-05   NLCS   1 PIT W 3-0 9.0 4  0  1  6  84
Tommy John       1978-10-05   NLCS   2 PHI W 4-0 9.0 4  0  2  4  81
Jose Lima        2004-10-09   NLDS   3 STL W 4-0 9.0 5  0  1  4  80
Orel Hershiser   1988-10-12   NLCS   7 NYM W 6-0 9.0 5  0  2  5  80
Burt Hooton      1977-10-12     WS   2 NYY W 6-1 9.0 5  1  1  8  80
Sandy Koufax     1963-10-06     WS   4 NYY W 2-1 9.0 6  1  0  8  79
Sandy Koufax     1963-10-02     WS   1 NYY W 5-2 9.0 6  2  3 15  79

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 10/14/2014.

Have to admit, this list surprised me just a tad. I fully expected Sandy Koufax to top the list with either his legendary game seven victory over the Twins, or his very first World Series start against the Yankees in 1963 when he struck out 15.

Yet it is a different HOF who tops the list. Don Drysdale by the skin of his teeth takes the top honors with his 1 – 0 whitewashing of the Yankees in game three of the 1963 Yankees.

Game score tells you who statistically pitched the best game but it does not have any idea of context. When Don Drysdale whitewashed the Yankees in 1963 the Dodgers already had a 2 – 0 World Series lead, and the game was hardly a must win. What was significant, is that the game was the first World Series game ever played at Dodger Stadium, and what a way to break in a stadium that would eventually host a number of World Series games in the latter part of the 2oth century. Sandy Koufax and Johnny Podres had already dominated the 1962 World Champions, but they had given up a combined three runs in the first two games. Don would take that a step further and win 1 – 0. Sandy would finish up by beating Whitey Ford a second time 2 – 1 in game four. The other point of interest in Don’s game was that his opponent was Ball Four author Jim Bouton. Bouton only gave up one run, and that came in the first inning on a single by Tommy Davis, who drove in Jim Gilliam who had reached second on a walk and wild pitch. That would be the last mistake Jim Bouton would make but it would be all Don Drysdale would need.

In 1963 the Dodgers made four starts, and only one relief pitcher saw any action. Only four pitchers pitched in the 1963 World Series. Four. Three of those games are on this list of all time post season games. It would probably be understating the obvious to say the Dodger rotation of Koufax/Podres/Drysdale owned the Yankees.

Eventually I will get to my point, while Don Drysdale is on the top of this list, I don’t think anyone would argue that Sandy Koufax in game seven of 1965 actually pitched the greatest game in LA Dodger history. He not only shutout the vaunted offensive Twins in game seven. He not only shutout them out in Minneapolis . He did it on three days rest, after shutting out the Twins in game five. Sandy pitched three games in eight days, two of them shutouts, and saved his best for last, winning the World Championship game with the second highest game score ever recorded by a LA Dodger in the postseason.

There is a reason Sandy Koufax is a legend. He earned it from April – October.

While very few can say they saw Sandy and Don do their magic, the majority of us can point to 1988 and remember Orel shutting down the bash brother Oakland A’s. The A’s were still a potent team, when Orel carved out their heart in game two. He would later finish the job in game five, earning World Series MVP honors.

HOF Don Sutton had a reputation as big game pitcher. He started that reputation with his shutout of the Pirates in the 1974 NLCS. Don would also win the close out game four. Note of interest, future Dodger Jerry Ruess was Don’s opponent in the first and fourth game. In game one Ruess did well only giving up one run while losing 3 -0. Game four was a different story as the Dodgers pounded a multitude of Pirate pitchers for a 12 – 1 victory.

The Jose Lima game has been covered many times.

Leaving Burt Hooten, who always seems to be forgotten when discussing significant Dodger starters. I’ll be honest, I remember Burt being chased by the Phillie fans in game four of NLCS more than I remember this gem he pitched against the Yankees in 1977. Probably because the Dodgers would eventually lose the 1977 World Series and Hooten would be a big reason why when he was hammered in the game six elimination game. If fans of Burt Hooten would like Burt remembered more fondly, Burt probably should have pitched better in that game six. The Dodgers were able to bail him out in the NLCS game when his nerves abandoned him, but they could not do it a second time.

1958 World Series MVP Larry Sherry and 1974 Cy Young Mike Marshall deserve some mention but I’ll use that for another column about post season brilliance.

Notable names we don’t see on this list but who came very close.

Zach Grienke, Fernando, Sutton, Ruess, Drysdale – 78

Fernando, Osteen – 77

Kershaw, Orel, Ruess – 76

Grienke, Ramon Martinez, Tommy John – 75

Hell, might was well post the whole list with 75 points or more:

Player                      Date Series Gm# Opp   Rslt  IP H ER BB SO GSc
Zack Greinke          2014-10-04   NLDS   2 STL  W 3-2 7.0 2  0  2  7  78
Jerry Reuss           1981-10-11   NLDS   5 HOU  W 4-0 9.0 5  0  3  4  78
Fernando Valenzuela   1981-10-10   NLDS   4 HOU  W 2-1 9.0 4  1  1  4  78
Jerry Reuss           1981-10-07   NLDS   2 HOU  L 0-1 9.0 5  0  2  3  78
Don Sutton            1974-10-09   NLCS   4 PIT W 12-1 8.0 3  1  1  7  78
Don Drysdale          1965-10-10     WS   4 MIN  W 7-2 9.0 5  2  2 11  78
Fernando Valenzuela   1981-10-19   NLCS   5 MON  W 2-1 8.2 3  1  3  6  77
Claude Osteen         1965-10-09     WS   3 MIN  W 4-0 9.0 5  0  2  2  77
Clayton Kershaw       2013-10-03   NLDS   1 ATL  W 6-1 7.0 3  1  3 12  76
Orel Hershiser        1988-10-20     WS   5 OAK  W 5-2 9.0 4  2  4  9  76
Jerry Reuss           1981-10-25     WS   5 NYY  W 2-1 9.0 5  1  3  6  76
Zack Greinke          2013-10-11   NLCS   1 STL  L 2-3 8.0 4  2  1 10  75
Ramon Martinez        1996-10-02   NLDS   1 ATL  L 1-2 8.0 3  1  3  6  75
Tommy John            1977-10-08   NLCS   4 PHI  W 4-1 9.0 7  1  2  8  75

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 10/14/2014.

BTW game score is calculated using the following formula –

Start with 50 points.
Add one point for each out recorded, so three points for every complete inning pitched.
Add two points for each inning completed after the fourth.
Add one point for each strikeout.
Subtract two points for each hit allowed.
Subtract four points for each earned run allowed.
Subtract two points for each unearned run allowed.
Subtract one point for each walk.

In Clayton Kershaws first start of the 2014 postseason he entered the 7th inning with a game score of:

50 + 18 + 6 + 8 – 4 – 8= 70

Three more outs in modest fashion and who knows what Oct 2014 would have brought Dodger fans, but as Dodger fans learned the hard way, post season baseball is not six innings.

Arizona Fall League 10-10-14 Update (basically the Corey Seager update)

Phil Gurnee ♦ October 10, 2014 ♦ Leave a comment

The AFL opened this week and so far two games have been played. All eyes are on how the Dodgers use Corey this fall. Will he play all his games at SS? Will he start the transition to 3rd? How the Dodgers perceive Seager probably determines what they do with the major league roster. Seager is going to be part of the Dodgers plans as soon as 2016, and very well could force his way onto the 2015 roster if the need should arise.

Do the Dodgers offer Hanley a qualifying offer for 2015? If they do and he declines is Erisbel Arruebarrena the answer in 2015? Can the defense of Erisbel offset the lost offense of Hanley? If Erisbel is the answer does that make Corey Seager a 3rd baseman? If Erisbel is not the answer do they find another answer for 2015, or wait for Corey Seager? Had to imagine a team whose only goal is a World Champion using a rookie SS at any point. Yet Corey Seager is not just any prospect. At this point the 20-year-old Seager could be argued to be the best position prospect the Los Angeles Dodgers have ever had. I’ll start making that argument sometime next week.

For now, back to the AFL.

In the first AFL game, Corey played SS, batted 3rd, and collected two doubles, and two walks. Scott Schebler played LF and went 1 for 4. Darnell Sweeney played 2nd base and also collected two hits, both singles. Sweeney also made an error.

The second game (rained out on Wednesday) had Scott Schebler as the only Dodger position prospect to play and he went hitless in four at bats. Matt Magill got eight outs in relief, giving up zero earned runs, with one walk and four strikeouts. Blake Smith finished up with one inning.

Ballmer Time

Phil Gurnee ♦ October 10, 2014 ♦ Leave a comment

Last night the Clippers hosted a season ticket holder party at Universal Studios from 07:00PM to midnight. It was kind of awesome, the park was closed to everyone but the season ticket holders. All the rides were running, the shows were closed down. I’d guess the typical wait for a ride would be 50 minutes to 90 minutes on a normal day. Some rides we walked right into, some rides had a little wait. The 3rd time we tried to hit the Simpsons ride the wait had swelled to 20 minutes so we headed down into the lower lot and walked right into the Transformer ride.

We had not been to Universal Studios for over a decade, so every ride there was brand new to us. Simpsons, Minions, Jurassic Park, Tranformers, Mummy. We did them all twice in about 2 hours. I’m not even a Transformer fan but that ride was boss.

When you entered the theme park they had Clippers in lights everywhere. We were a tad late for the pep rally which was cool, I’m not much of a pep rally person.

The real point is that the new owner of the Clippers is trying to make his mark in Los Angeles by doing things that no other ownership group has ever done. I’ve had season tickets for the Dodgers / Bruins / Lakers / Clippers and this is the first time someone closed down a theme park for their season ticket holders. It was a class move, one I’m sure of many more to come.

If you have not yet gotten on board the Clipper train, hop on, plenty of seats still available.

This will be a new world

Go Clippers

Still in disbelief

Phil Gurnee ♦ October 8, 2014 ♦ 1 Comment

Among all the failings I imagined the Dodgers having this postseason I never ever imagined that Clayton would not put the team on his shoulders. It was the only way this team had a shot. I’m not upset that the Dodgers lost. I can still feel euphoria when they win, but when they lose I just move on. I am upset that Clayton has to have this on his shoulders all winter long. He’s the greatest Dodger of my lifetime, for him I wanted this postseason legacy. You become a legend because of your actions, at this moment, Clayton is a regular season legend, but his postseason legacy will have to wait another year. Eric Stephen tweeted that this will be the saddest MVP presentation since Dirk in 2007. Sadly this is true. Many will write of everything Clayton did this regular season but it will all feel hollow.

The Dodgers had Clayton Kershaw to start game one on a ton of rest in a five game series. That meant the best pitcher in baseball was going to make two starts if needed.

That should have been enough. Many excuses are going to be laid out blaming the Dodger bullpen for Clayton’s collapse in the 7th inning of both games he started. The bullpen is indeed a problem, but in these games, Clayton Kershaw needs to go seven full innings. Seven. Not 6 2/3 not 6 1/3. Seven. That is why he is the regular season MVP and Cy Young. Because he got a team with a crappy bullpen either to the 9th or 8th or simply shook hands with the catcher. He did it all year, eighteen of his last twenty starts he went a full seven. He needed to do that two times. He didn’t.

And that is why the Dodgers are going home. Not because of a suspect bullpen. Not because of an offense that didn’t score enough runs. But because the best player in baseball was not the best player in baseball for the full seven innings that he needed to be.

That is why the Tigers are going home. They acquired David Price for one reason. To be able to out pitch the Bud Norris’s of the world. He did not.

That is why Oakland could not even get into the Division series. He was acquired to win the big game. He could not.

It happens. Dodger fans need to man up and not make excuses for their man not doing what he needed to do. You can bet Clayton is not making excuses, why should his fans?