Dodger Series Preview – Rockies – a horrible team in all facets of the game
On May 7th, the Rockies were 22 – 14, and tied for first place. Since that time they have gone 37 – 76 for an overall record of 59 – 90. Sure they lost Tulo and Cargo but they were sinking long before they lost two of the best players in the game. Tulo actually waited until July 19th to end his season and by that time the Rockies were already 40 – 58.
This review seems pointless except to point out this is a terrible team who either can’t hit or can’t pitch at the same time. The Rockies have lost six in a row, but in that time they have only given up twenty one runs. The problem is that the Rockies have only scored eight runs in those six games. This will probably swing 180 degrees as I expect the pitching to get whacked, but the hitters to wake up given who the Dodgers are throwing at them.
This series would be a good time for Matt Kemp, Juan Uribe, Adrian Gonzalez, or Yasiel Puig to crack the Coors total base leaderboard. Or maybe AJ Ellis can join Alex Cora as an unlikely member of that group.
I’m usually excited about writing about other teams, but I just don’t find this Rockie version very interesting so I’ll mercifully end hit it here.
Grienke six total bases on Saturday ties him with fourth best total base performance by a LA Dodger pitcher
The Dodgers have had thirteen games in which a pitcher has had at least six total bases, putting Zach Grienke’s performance on the leaderboard. It was a little surprising when I created this list to find that Chad Billingsley was on the list twice. I expected Don Drysdale to dominant the list. I do remember everyone below as being known as a good hitter except for Hideo Nomo. Darren Dreifort of course came out of Wichita State as a two way player who hit a ton of home runs in college.
Zach came within two feet of tying Claude Osteen and Don Drysdale for the second best performance.
One final note. The Dodgers won every single one of these games. The margin on Saturday was 17 – 0, the previous highest margin of victory was the 19 – 3 drubbing that Claude Osteen put on the Giants in 1970. Maybe we should look at that game some time. How about on the next May 26th?
Player Date Tm Opp Rslt PA R H 2B 3B HR TB RBI Darren Dreifort 2000-08-08 LAD CHC W 7-5 4 2 3 0 0 2 9 2 Claude Osteen 1970-05-26 LAD SFG W 19-3 5 3 4 1 0 1 8 4 Don Drysdale 1958-08-23 LAD MLN W 10-1 4 2 2 0 0 2 8 4 Randy Wolf 2009-08-16 LAD ARI W 9-3 4 2 3 1 0 1 7 3 Kevin Brown 2002-04-07 LAD COL W 6-4 4 2 3 1 0 1 7 2 Don Drysdale 1959-06-20 LAD CIN W 9-2 4 2 2 0 1 1 7 3 Zack Greinke 2014-09-13 LAD SFG W 17-0 4 2 2 1 0 1 6 2 Chad Billingsley 2011-06-05 LAD CIN W 9-6 3 1 2 1 0 1 6 3 Chad Billingsley 2009-07-05 LAD SDP W 7-6 5 1 2 1 0 1 6 1 Hideo Nomo 2003-07-17 LAD STL W 6-3 2 1 2 1 0 1 6 3 Rick Rhoden 1977-08-21 LAD CHC W 5-1 4 1 3 0 0 1 6 2 Andy Messersmith 1975-04-25 LAD SFG W 6-5 4 2 3 3 0 0 6 1 Larry Sherry 1959-08-15 LAD STL W 4-3 4 1 3 0 0 1 6 3 Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used Generated 9/15/2014.
Alex Cora!!!! Greatest Dodger games at Coors
Most of us only remember Alex Cora for his great defensive skills at 2nd base, and his 17 pitch at bat that ended with a home run. Yet, here he is with some the greatest Dodgers of all time. Below is a list of all Dodger games at Coors that resulted in one individual having at least ten extra base hits.
Player Date PA AB R H 2B 3B HR TB RBI Raul Mondesi 1996-06-30 6 6 3 4 0 1 2 12 6 Mike Piazza 1996-06-29 5 5 3 3 0 0 3 12 6 James Loney 2006-09-28 5 5 2 4 1 0 2 11 9 Alex Cora 2000-07-27 5 5 2 4 1 0 2 11 5 Mike Piazza 1995-05-07 5 5 3 4 1 0 2 11 6 Gary Sheffield 2001-07-21 6 5 4 3 1 0 2 10 4 Todd Zeile 1997-07-14 6 5 3 4 0 0 2 10 2 Eric Karros 1995-08-02 5 5 3 3 1 0 2 10 4
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/15/2014.
Piazza hit his three bombs on June 29th, 1996 and it might have been one of the more memorable games in Coors history. The Dodgers scored five runs in the fifth, and six runs in the eight to take a 13 – 0 lead into the bottom of the eight. The Rockies scored eight runs in the eighth, and two in the 9th to almost pull off one of more memorable comebacks in history.
James Loney of course made his mark in Coors, and most of it was based on his nine RBI effort in late Sept in his rookie season.
I literally have no memory of Alex Cora doing such damage but in my defense, in 2000, I was barely paying attention to the Dodgers. It was the height of the Fox ownership, and the bottom of my fanship.
As only Todd Zeile could do, four hits, two home runs, two runs batted in, getting the least from the most.
Raul Mondesi has the only triple, to go along with his two home runs. The Dodgers lost this game 16 – 15. This was the only game the Dodgers lost from that list.
Dodger / Giant Series Preview – Panik in Detroit
Been a long time since the opening day series preview, and much has changed for both teams. I expected the Giants to be in second place, but I didn’t expect them to be this close. Plenty of time to widen the lead but for now they are legit contenders to take the NL West. Given they lost Matt Cain for the season, Belt for most of the season, this is a bit shocking. How are they able to hang around?
1st Base – Michael Morse started out hot with an OPS of .925 on June 1st, but his bat hit a tailspin as he had a .666 OPS over the next 222 PA. Since that point he’s been around a .800 OPS hitter. However Morse be gone, and in Sept the Giants have turned to Adam Duvall and Travis Ishikawa. Who? Ishikawa has been around forever bouncing from AAA to majors to AAA. He is not now nor ever has been any good at hitting major league pitching. Adam Duvall is a 26-year-old rookie who tore up the PCL. Dodger fans are familiar with older players tearing up the PCL. He’s not very good either. While Morse helped get the Giants back on track in August, the Giants very much need Brandon Belt back and hitting if they are going to get any meaningful production from 1st base. Cause Duvall ain’t going to be that guy.
2nd Base – 2011 round 1st round pick (29th overall) Joe Panik has taken the job the clearly needed taking and has played an all-star caliber 2nd base for over 200 plate appearances. Joe does not have much speed (0 stolen bases), does not have much power (1 home runs), but he does hit singles, and take enough walks to hang a .369 OBP on the wall. For a team with a hole at second as wide as Bochy’s head, he has been the duct tape of relief.
SS – Brandon Crawford – fielding whiz who will take at least one or two hits away this series, his bat hit a funk on June 25th. Since that date Brandon has the dreaded triple stat line below .300 in every category. .204 / .288 / .255. We can clearly rule out Crawford’s bat as a reason for the Giant being in 2nd place.
3rd Base – Pablo Sandoval – he’s doing okay, struggling a bit in Sept, he is what he is.
Catcher – OMG – Can you get any hotter? Buster’s last 86 PA – 37 hits, 15 XBH, 7 home runs, .467 BA, .477 OBP, .838 Slug%. 4 is the number here. Buster has only walked and struck out four times in these 86 PA. He is clearly smacking the crap out of every pitch he sees.
CF – Angel Pagan is back, and to no ones surprise they are winning. Pagan is exactly who is he, a good all around player.
RF – Hunter Pence is Hunter Pence, one of the most unorthodox good players in the game.
LF – It was Gregor Blanco who went crazy filling in for every outfielder that needed a break. The weak hitting Blanco has been crushing it since Aug 16th. In 76 PA, Blanco has 12 XBH, .379 BA, .461 OBP, and a whopping .697 slugging %. Blanco’s career slug % is .344.
This Giant run has been fueled by the extra-ordinary streaks that Posey / Panik / Blanco have been on. You can imagine Posey doing this from time to time, but for Panik, he may never do this run again, and for a long time MLB player like Blanco, this is probably as good as it has ever gotten for him.
The Dodgers are running Ryu / Grienke / Kershaw at this lineup. They have a two game lead. They should have a three game lead by Monday, but when you have two Cinderella’s on your team, don’t count your chickens. Panik and Blanco have to run out of steam sometime, and when they do it should be a deep decline not some steady little drop. Now would be a good time for that pumpkin to show up.
No matter which All-Star plays CF for the Dodgers in 2014, “putrid” is the word
The Dodgers have had three major league all-stars, and one minor league Pacific Coast League player of the year take their turn in CF, and all have been found wanting in various degrees.
First up was Matt Kemp, who did the job offensively even if it was not at the level of his previous offensive performance. You can’t really complain about a .807 OPS except in context with his previous offensive heights. It was not Matt Kemp’s offense that moved him from center field, it was his defensive play, which by most metrics and first hand eye accounts said he was the worst defensive center fielder in baseball.
Donnie had enough after 153 PA, and moved Andre Ethier to CF. The offensive results were to be kind, putrid.
It took an injury to Yasiel Puig for Don Mattingly to see the light. With Puig hurt, Matt Kemp was moved from LF to RF, where he proceeded to revive his season. With Kemp showing signs of his former self in RF, Don Mattingly and company moved Puig to CF when Puig was ready to play again.
On July 25th Puig had one of the greatest games of the season (or any season), in his first start in CF. He had three triples, and a double, accounting for 11 total bases without a home run, a record for a Los Angeles Dodger.
Unfortunately the season did not end on July 25th for Puig. Since that point, he has played strictly CF, plus some pinch-hitting, and the results are just as bad as what Andre Ethier was putting up. So in a word, “putrid” must apply.
Joc Pederson the wonderkid from the Pacific Coast League has had minimum exposure in Sept, but we added him here just because he’s been even worse than putrid, albeit in a very very very tiny sample size.
So, this is your 2014 Dodger Center field.
Kemp – adequate offensively, putrid defensively
Andre – putrid offensively, adequate defensively
Puig – sadly same as Andre
Joc – not enough data
| Centerfielder | PA | BA | OB% | Slug% | OPS |
| Matt Kemp | 153 | .273 | .340 | .468 | .807 |
| Andre Ethier | 234 | .222 | .283 | .335 | .618 |
| Yasiel Puig | 159 | .243 | .333 | .364 | .698 |
| Puig – Minus 1st game + pinch hitting | 163 | .229 | .319 | .299 | .618 |
| Joc Pederson | 14 | .182 | .308 | .182 | .490 |
Sept 9th, 1965 – Sandy Koufax is perfect
Text of the 9th inning Vin Scully call
Our consignor’s accompanying handwritten LOA reads, “Here is the Koufax perfect game ticket. Holes in ticket designate that the tickets were complimentary, which makes sense. My father was given the tickets by his company. Needless to say my Dad’s new boss was sorry he gave tickets away to what is considered the greatest game pitched between two pitchers!”
Wiki recount
I did not know this:
Koufax had not won a game in three weeks; not since Juan Marichal hit Koufax’s catcher, John Roseboro, in the head with a baseball bat. The Dodgers were playing at home against the eighth-place Chicago Cubs. Bob Hendley, the pitcher for the Cubs, was just up from the minor leagues and had a 2–2 record.
18 – 3 as purty as it looks
Wins have gone out of style, but when your ace of aces is putting up a record of 18 – 3, you can’t help but wonder how he stacks up historically against some of the greatest winning percentages since the Dodgers moved West. Clayton would need one more win to match Orel with the best winning percentage of any Los Angeles Dodgers ( maybe he can do that his weekend), but as it stands now, Clayton is tied with six other pitchers for the eleventh best winning percentage of any starter who has made at least 20 starts since 1958.
With eighteen wins in only twenty four starts, Kershaw is winning three out of every four games he starts. Win stats may not be the winning flower in the botanical competition anymore, but how can you not love that stat?
It does seem that every game Clayton starts he is making history.
Rk Player W-L% GS Year Age Lg W L IP SO ERA FIP ERA+ 1 Greg Maddux .905 28 1995 29 NL 19 2 209.2 181 1.63 2.26 260 2 Randy Johnson .900 30 1995 31 AL 18 2 214.1 294 2.48 2.08 193 3 Ron Guidry .893 35 1978 27 AL 25 3 273.2 248 1.74 2.19 208 4 Cliff Lee .880 31 2008 29 AL 22 3 223.1 170 2.54 2.83 167 5 Max Scherzer .875 32 2013 28 AL 21 3 214.1 240 2.90 2.74 145 6 Tom Seaver .875 23 1981 36 NL 14 2 166.1 87 2.54 3.58 140 7 Roger Clemens .870 33 2001 38 AL 20 3 220.1 213 3.51 3.29 128 8 David Cone .870 28 1988 25 NL 20 3 231.1 213 2.22 2.58 145 9 Orel Hershiser .864 34 1985 26 NL 19 3 239.2 157 2.03 2.73 171 10 Whitey Ford .862 39 1961 32 AL 25 4 283.0 209 3.21 3.14 115 11 Clayton Kershaw .857 24 2014 26 NL 18 3 177.1 210 1.67 1.88 213 12 Daisuke Matsuzaka .857 29 2008 27 AL 18 3 167.2 154 2.90 4.03 160 13 Jason Bere .857 24 1994 23 AL 12 2 141.2 127 3.81 4.61 123 14 Roger Clemens .857 33 1986 23 AL 24 4 254.0 238 2.48 2.81 169 15 Dwight Gooden .857 35 1985 20 NL 24 4 276.2 268 1.53 2.13 229 16 Mike Nagy .857 28 1969 21 AL 12 2 196.2 84 3.11 4.10 124
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/9/2014.
As for how Clayton stands against LA Dodger starters:
Rk Player W-L% GS Year Age Tm W L IP ERA FIP ERA+ 1 Orel Hershiser .864 34 1985 26 LAD 19 3 239.2 2.03 2.73 171 2 Clayton Kershaw .857 24 2014 26 LAD 18 3 177.1 1.67 1.88 213 3 Sandy Koufax .833 40 1963 27 LAD 25 5 311.0 1.88 1.85 159 4 Tommy John .813 22 1974 31 LAD 13 3 153.0 2.59 2.74 132 5 Clayton Kershaw .808 33 2011 23 LAD 21 5 233.1 2.28 2.47 161 6 Brad Penny .800 33 2007 29 LAD 16 4 208.0 3.03 3.63 147 7 Rick Rhoden .800 26 1976 23 LAD 12 3 181.0 2.98 3.90 113
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/9/2014.
The most recent season on that list that does not belong to Clayton belongs to Penny, and I’ll be honest, I simply don’t remember the hair as having that kind of record. I can remember seasons 20 – 40 years ago better than I can remember a season that happened just seven years ago.
NFBC Update – Kershaw pitches MoustacheBall into 7th out of 450 teams
With only 18 games left, time is running out to make a significant move, but last night the trio of Kershaw / Kemp / Uribe added 25 points to the team, popping the NFBC Moustachball team entry from 10th to 7th in a matter of three hours.
Needing to make a move in WHIP and ERA, Salazar/Fister/Niese/Kershaw all took the mound, and all delivered except Salazar. Right now Matt Kemp is the best producing outfielder on the team, while Juan Uribe replaced Chris Johnson at 3rd base.
| Rank | Team | Batting Pts | Pitching Pts | Overall Pts | ||
| 1 | Greg Morgan, Dale Morgan | 2,020.5 | 1,508.0 | 3,528.5 | ||
| 2 | Stephen Fiore | 1,701.0 | 1,746.5 | 3,447.5 | ||
| 3 | Kieran Lalonde, Lindy Hinkelman | 1,607.0 | 1,807.0 | 3,414.0 | ||
| 4 | Michael Makula | 1,809.5 | 1,599.5 | 3,409.0 | ||
| 5 | Chas Nelson | 1,756.5 | 1,649.0 | 3,405.5 | ||
| 6 | Nickolaus Sackett, Brian Slack | 1,593.0 | 1,805.5 | 3,398.5 | ||
| 7 | Meercat john | 1,749.5 | 1,618.0 | 3,367.5 | ||
| 8 | Rob Silver | 1,731.5 | 1,633.5 | 3,365.0 | ||
| 9 | Neal Moses, Charlie Casey | 1,690.0 | 1,669.5 | 3,359.5 | ||
| 10 | Alan Greenberg | 1,759.0 | 1,599.0 | 3,358.0 |
MLB Standings snapshot on Sept 8th, 2014 – Carlos Carrasco edition
MLB Standings snapshot on Sept 8th, 2014
- Orioles cruising to AL East pennant with 9. 5 game lead
- Royals continue to hold off the Tigers with a 1.5 game lead. The new Indian rotation is keeping the Indians within shouting distance of both the AL Central and the wild card. Everyone knows what Corey Kluber is doing but how many realize that the Indians are now sporting a big three? With Kluber/Carrasco/Salazar the Indian rotation has been brilliant ever since Carlos Carrasco was inserted into the rotation, after a stellar season in the bullpen. Might surprise most folk to know that since Aug 10th, Carrasco has been the best pitcher in the AL. If not I dare you to find someone better. Six starts, thirty-eight innings, forty-two strikeouts, four walks, three earned runs. Danny Salazar is not having a Carrasco run, but with each start he seems to be finding his 2013 mojo. His last start was a complete game shutout, giving him eighteen scoreless innings over his last three starts.
- The Angels have obliterated the AL West with a 42 – 20 record since July 1st, leaving Oakland / Seattle battling for the wild card play in-game. Dustin Ackley has yet to break a 100 OPS+, but those who pay attention can note that Ackley has an .800 OPS since July 1st. Which in today’s world is purty good.
- The Brewers collapsed at the wrong time losing eleven of their last twelve, and three of four to the Cardinals, leaving the Cardinals atop the NL Central. The Pirates appear to be coming alive at just the right moment as they swept their weekend series with the Cubs putting them into the lead for the 2nd team for the wild card play in-game.
- NL East is all about the Nationals, with the Braves hoping to break into the wild card play in-game.
- The Dodgers felt some heat from the Giants in the past week, but luckily played their patsies this past weekend, sweeping the series, and keeping the Giants at arm’s length. This week the two rivals will get to go at each other as the Dodgers search for a knockout series. Adrian Gonzales is trying to match Buster Posey but it simply can’t be done. Posey since Aug 12th, has ninety nine plate appearances and:39 hits, 15 XBH, .415 BA, .745 slug%. If the Giants take down the Dodgers, it would hard not to point to Posey as the NL MVP because he’s the guy carrying that club. Blanco be dammed.
Dodger History Today – 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers clinch pennant on Sept 8th – Karl Spooner last hurrah
MLB Standings on Sept 8th, 1955
The only Brooklyn Dodger World Championship team did things in style in 1955, with a 10 – 2 thumping of the Braves, clinching the NL Pennant on Sept 8th. This was the earliest a NL pennant had ever been clinched. The game featured three hits by Jackie Robinson and Gil Hodges. Future 1955 MVP Roy Campanella would get hit be a pitch in the first inning, and be removed from the game but the rest of the lineup picked him up. The Dodgers put up four runs in the 1st and never looked back. Roger Craig started the game but it was Karl Spooner who finished it with five shutout innings.
Karl Spooner had one of the most interesting and short-lived careers you will ever hear about.
Southpaw pitcher Karl Spooner exploded onto the Major League Baseball scene with two record-setting games at the end of the 1954 season. His flame quickly faded following a shoulder injury during spring training 1955, and he struggled through that season. A member of the only Brooklyn Dodger team to win a World Series, his major league career came to a humiliating end in Game Six of the 1955 Fall Classic.
Spooner had just thrown two complete game victories before winning this game with five relief innings giving him three victories in a row and a 8 – 5 record. Karl would never win another MLB game.
The 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers continue to be one of the most interesting and written about teams in baseball history and Karl Spooner deserves his own spot. Not many have ever started a career so brightly and left so quickly. Karl did not even have a long life, dying at the age of 52 in Vero Beach.
Dodgers, Yesterday and Today 