Rickey Nolasco opening day starter and he deserves it
When Nolasco was announced yesterday as the Angel opening day pitcher it seemed to be met with a touch of ridicule.
Maybe we should look back at the summer of 2016 and see who made the better decision. The Dodger front office or the Angel front office?
The Dodgers dipped into the deep farm system and traded not one, not two, but three top 20 prospects for Rich Hill and the zero in Right Field.
The Angels traded a nobody and Hector Santiago for Nolasco. Nolasco didn’t come with a blister and made every start the Angels asked him to. Much like Rich Hill, he started out rocky but at least he did it on the mound. Nolasco would end the season with a flourish and will enter 2017 with a 21 innings scoreless streak. Not even included in that was an actual shutout on August 31st. Imagine that, a pitcher getting 27 outs without giving up an earned run. Has something changed for Rickey Nolasco? He says his success at the end of the year with the Angels was because he changed his pitch selection.
Nolasco attributes his success with the Angels last season (3.21 ERA) to leaning on his two-seam fastball. Two-seamers usually sacrifice a mile or two per hour in velocity in exchange for added movement.
Those who ridicule Nolasco because of his mediocre history but pant about Rich Hill seem to be ignoring the glorious history of Rich Hill. If one pitcher can change his spots, why can’t two pitchers? Hill became successful when he learned to use his curve since that was his most effective pitch, but even a successful renaissance like Hill comes with a caveat. That caveat is durability and until Hill proves at age 37 he can make even 20 starts in a season he’s just as big a question mark for me as Rickey Nolasco.
For me the odds are just as high that Nolasco is the same Nolasco as he’s always been, and the same holds true for Rich Hill. Both have a lot to prove in 2017 but at least one of them has been pitching every year in the major leagues since he showed up and didn’t spend most of his career bouncing around from hill to hill.
Julio Urias optioned to Oklahoma
The 20-year-old phenom will have to bide his time as he saves his golden arm for summer and fall. Even without a full rotation, it was doubtful that Urias was going to start the year in the rotation. Not when you have to manage his innings, and we hope those innings will be needed more in October than in April.
Last year Urias shredded AAA and forced the Dodgers to call him up in late May. This year he’s simply on call as the current rotation of Kershaw / Maeda / Hill / McCarthy / Ryu try to prove they can remain healthy and productive. If those five do that, I’m not sure what the plan will be, because while Urias is special he’s only 20. I expect great things from Urias but I don’t think it is a slam dunk that his 20-year-old season will be better than the best that McCarthy or Ryu can give you. The caveat being that McCarthy and Ryu will need to be at their best to keep the kid at bay once the Dodgers want to put his arm into play.
This will be one of the more interesting story lines of 2017. Which pitcher falters first to give Urias his opening, or if none of them do, do the Dodgers make a trade to open a spot for him?
Thompson and Taylor headed for Oklahoma
All the spring battles were decided yesterday with more players being optioned to AAA to play for Oklahoma.
Most of the players who didn’t make the Dodger opening day roster besides the prospects are basically bench players except for one.
Trayce Thompson – Thompson started spring late due to his lingering injury from last year, but eventually, he got it all sorted out and was able to prove to everyone he is healthy. I’m not sure the Dodgers would have signed Gutierrez if they had a crystal ball that would have told them that Trayce was going to be 100% healthy by the start of the year. I think Thompson can do everything that Gutierrez can do while also playing a better defensive outfield, including CF. He’ll bide his time in AAA while the current outfield answers some questions:
- Can Joc hit LHP well enough to play against them on a full-time basis?
- Does Guiterrez have another year left of elite hitting against LHP while not killing you in LF with his lack of mobility?
- Can Puig stop the regression and show he’s an everyday RF whose hammy’s won’t always be barking.
If these questions get answered on a positive note, Trayce may have a hard time finding a spot on the 2017 Dodgers.
Chris Taylor – one of my favorite acquisitions last summer, Chris Taylor is a better infield option than Enrique Hernandez, but alas he can’t play CF as Hernandez can. With Thompson in AAA, the Dodgers have no one else who can play CF. It was clear that even though Toles had played CF in the minors the Dodgers only consider him a corner outfielder as he got very little burn there in spring training. I really like Chris Taylor and it speaks to the Dodger depth that he’ll be joining Charlie Culberson at AAA. I have no idea where they are going to play all of Culberson / Taylor / Dickerson / Segedin assuming Calhoun is playing 2nd base. Not only are you going to have a grumpy bunch of players who didn’t make the Dodger roster, but some of them won’t even be playing every game.
Bobby Wilson – Austin Barnes deservedly won the backup job and Bobby Wilson will ply his trade for Oklahoma. I’d have been very disappointed in the Dodger FO if they had given the job to Wilson based on spring training. At this point in his career, all of baseball knows what Bobby Wilson is. He’s a nice backup catcher, probably better than AJ Ellis in that role but that is the extent of his credentials. Why his agent put him in the Dodger system instead of someplace like say the White Sox or Angels says that he didn’t have many options, or that if he did, they didn’t choose wisely. I found it interesting while looking at his career earnings on baseball reference they don’t even have a salary for the 2016 season. Poor Bobby has bounced around in the majors for eight years but still has less than 800 at-bats and has never made more than $700,000 in a season. He’s a future coach waiting to happen who has an opt our on May 1st. Hopefully, he’ll stay in the system and provide the depth the Dodgers might need if Grandal has his yearly injury. Oh, maybe that is why he signed with the Dodgers.
Dodgers start the year with eight straight games
Which I thought was a little strange because my memory says they normally have at least one day off the first week of the year. To see how my memory is working I went to work.
In 2016 they had an off day between games 7 and 8
In 2015 they had an off day between games 3 and 4
In 2014 they had an off day between games 3 and 4 even after the delayed start in Australia where they played games 1 and 2 and had six days off until game 3.
In 2013 they had an off day between games 3 and 4
In 2012 they had an off day between games 4 and 5
In 2011 they had an off day between games 4 and 5
In 2010 they had an off day between games 1 and 2
Yup, this is different but maybe it is the new normal since this is the second year in a row that they play at least seven straight games.
How about others in the division.
- The Giants are off between game one and game two.
- The Diamondbacks are off between game one and game two.
- The Dodgers start with the Padres for four so it makes sense that the Padres don’t have any off days as they takes you to the weekend.
- Yikes, the Rockies start the season with fourteen straight games.
Mitch White coming out party
The spring has been a buzz with what Mitch White brought to the Dodger banquet of all worldly pitching prospects and yesterday he showed major league hitters what might be in store for them in future.
You would think that a 20-year-old phenom would still be the talk of the town, but Julio Urias is now old news. The new kids in town even if older are Yadier Alvarez, Walker Buehler, and now Mitchell White.
Facing major league hitters for the first time in his career, Mitchell White blew through the same lineup that touched Clayton Kershaw for two runs. White went three innings, gave up two hits, two walks, and struck out two including home run extraordinaire Nelson Cruz.
This might be hard to fathom but since none of Alvarez, Buehler, or White will be having their rookie status expire in 2017, you just might see all three of them in the top 20 among prospect lists. I really can’t remember a time the Dodgers had such riches on the farm when you add Urias and Brock Stewart to the mix.
No wonder the Dodgers have felt comfortable moving Chase De Jong, Jose De Leon, Jharel Cotton, Frankie Montas, Grant Holmes, and even Zach Lee over the past eight months to strengthen the major league team.
This is what Dave Roberts had to say on March 20th after watching White.
“This was our first chance to see Mitchell White, and it’s real,” Roberts said, per the Los Angeles Times. “He’s got a big arm, with sharpness on the secondary [pitches], mound composure. You’ve sometimes got to see it to believe it, but he lived up to to the billing.”
“We’ll see how they develop over the summer. It was eye-opening to watch him pitch yesterday,” Roberts added with a smile.
Here is the MLB.TV condensed version of the game if you are a subscriber. If not, what are you waiting for?
Ha ha, little update but if you watch the condensed version of the game it seems that Omar Estevez playing 2nd base made every putout. He was everywhere.
Hot Segedin sent to AAA
The LAD made a series of cuts and among them was Rob Segedin arguably the hottest hitter in camp with his 1.285 OPS in 32 at-bats. Rob was a long shot at the beginning of camp but he had been so hot and gives the Dodgers some added versatility with his ability to play 1st/3rd that it looked like he had a shot at knocking off Scott Van Slyke but for now, Segedin will have to continue to make his case at AAA in Oklahoma.
Other cuts yesterday included:
Cody Bellinger – Bellinger may have had a shot to start the year as the Dodgers LF with Andre Ethier headed to the DL to start the season but his tepid spring didn’t knock down the Dodgers door. The Dodgers top prospect will now need to make his case playing 1st base for Oklahoma. Dodger fans will see him again this summer, either as a left fielder, or as a 1st baseman if Adrian gets hurt for any length of time.
Charlie Culberson – Charlie was caught in a numbers game and as expected he was optioned to AAA. The hero of the last game that Vin Scully called, he’ll always have a soft spot in Dodger hearts. His versatility should get him back at some point this summer as he has proven he can play an adequate 2b, SS, and 3rd. He really is a major league player and should be on a major league bench somewhere.
Other Dodger Notes:
Brandon McCarthy was named a starter and Alex Wood a reliever. McCarthy will start the 4th game of the year, which is the day game next Thursday. I had thought that Ryu would get that gig but it is McCarthy. This means Ryu’s first game will be in Coors. Ouch
Jair Jurrjens and Justin Masterson have signed minor league deals to add depth to the AAA starting rotation. I don’t expect either to ever pitch for the Dodgers in 2017.
111111 on the 1
It was time for a mini-adventure. I had a dinner date with my nephew who was in town for an aerospace convention down in El Segundo so I figured it was the perfect time to drive the ole 1992 Miata but I had one big problem. I hadn’t driven it for months so the battery had no charge and it needed to be smogged and registered on 3/28.
I jumped it, drove it about 15 minutes but when I parked it was still dead. Called my AAA and had them jump it again and test the alternator. They said it was charging and that I should be good to go. So I kept it running and decided to smog it out in Simi which would be a good 20 – 30 minute drive, plenty of time to re-charge the battery. Before I went, however, I took my handy dandy portable battery jumper on a full charge so it was good for 10 jumps.
Drove out to Simi and parked the car in the lot to test if we had gotten charged. Nope. Dead as a doornail. So I used my handy dandy charger and in 10 seconds had it running. I drove into the smog shop and asked them if they could do the smog with the car running, and they said yes. I watched them smog it, and I watched him turn off the engine. No problem, we passed and I used my gadget to jump me back to life and headed back home. 20 minutes later I pulled into the house and had a decision to make. The battery was still dead but it had only been 20 minutes, maybe it needed a much longer drive to re-charge.
My life had been lacking in adventure lately so I thought this would be fun. I would need to take Topanga to PCH to Lincoln to Sepulveda right in the smack of rush hour to get to the Marriot in El Segundo for our dinner at Houston’s on Rosecrans. The problem would be if I stalled the car amongst all the traffic on any of those roads. I felt confident in my handy dandy jumper thingamabob but getting out among the cars wouldn’t be the safest thing in the world. On the other hand, traffic would probably be barely moving and with any luck besides the car right behind me, most wouldn’t even know that I’d had to jump start the car.
So I took off, and while I was crawling on PCH I noticed something. My Odometer read 111110, which meant in a second it was going to be 111111. And I was driving on the PCH which for most people is called the 1. How bloody cool was that? To top it off, PCH was barely moving so when it clicked over to 111111 I was basically at a standstill with Ocean Avenue just 100 yards away, which allowed me to take the photo at the top of the story.
With traffic not being friendly, I had time to kill so I thought of my nephew and “Skyscraper Skyscraper” bounced around in my memory. He came from a town that had a graduating class of 100 people. At four years old he had never seen anything but Victorian houses in Ferndale. We were traveling on the 101 headed toward Los Angeles when he exclaimed “Skyscraper Skyscraper” and made me laugh. It was such an honest childlike exclamation. So pure. I had never thought much of the Los Angeles skyline but sure, in his eye, these were skyscrapers. I thought he’d end up an Architect but instead, he became an Aerospace engineer. I only get to see him every couple of years but each time I’m reminded what a great kid he is.
Growing up I would see him about every six months from the age of 10 on up, and while his parents dealt with each of his stages, I would only glimpse them for a two – three day period. The brief rap stage, the 50’s doo wop stage are the two that stand out for me. Most importantly his Dad raised him properly as a Dodger fan 650 miles away from Dodger Stadium and smack dab in SF Giant territory. What more could you ask for?
What more could you ask for? Oh yeah, he has empathy for the downtrodden, an ego that I can’t find, and a future so bright…………………yeah, he has to wear sunglasses.
Anyway I spent a total of three hours on the road, never stalled it once but boy it sure wanted to, and the battery is still dead, so with all due respect to the AAA battery man, this battery is dead.
Hey look, Ronald Torreyes starting SS for the NYY
Old friend Ronald Torreyes has parlayed the injury to Didi Gregorius into the starting SS gig for the NYY.
With the injury to Didi Gregorius, what do you see the Yankees doing at shortstop? And if they go with Tyler Wade at short and he plays well, is there any chance he will take the third-base job when Didi returns?
— Evan P., via e-mailThe Yankees seem to be confident that they can patch the hole from within, and while that might just be posturing, no trade appears imminent. The Yanks eliminated one candidate after Sunday’s game, reassigning Ruben Tejada to Minor League camp, and eliminated another, Wade, who was reassigned after Tuesday night’s game. Joe Girardi strongly indicated that the shortstop job will go to Ronald Torreyes in the interim.
Torreyes was traded by the Dodgers on Jan 12th, 2016 for Rob Segedin. Torreyes was the ultimate utility player in 2016, playing 2b, SS, 3rd, and RF. When Chase Headley got hurt Torreyes stepped in to play 3rd base and acquited himself very well, putting up a .780 OPS in 30 games at the position.
Hatcher and Stripling survive final cuts
Adam Liberatore and Josh Fields were optioned to the minors yesterday giving the Dodgers their full pitching staff. Not quite full with Baez headed to the DL.
The pitching staff looks set for the time being, but it won’t be long before changes are made.
Starting Rotation – Kershaw, Maeda, Hill, Ryu, McCarthy
Right-Hand Bullpen – Jansen, Romo, Hatcher, Stripling
Left-Hand Bullpen – Dayton, Avilan, Wood
I am a little surprised that Wood made the team because it would seem the team would be best served to have him work as a starter every day in AAA instead of getting sporadic work in the bullpen. This bullpen has two starters working in it, with Stripling and Wood.
Within a few weeks, Julio Urias will be ready whenever the Dodgers want to call on him if any of the current five falter. Kazmir and his hip will also be lurking.
When Baez is ready to come off the DL, the choices to be replaced would appear to be Ross Stripling or Chris Hatcher. This could be an important April for the future Dodger career of Chris Hatcher.
Liberatore is probably the better pitcher than Avilan but Avilan didn’t have minor league options and Adam did so Adam goes to AAA.
Check that – Weaver to start game 4
Yesterday the Padres announced that Jered Weaver was going to start game three and I wrote a little blurb about how that was the game to see next week, but they corrected themselves and announced later that Jered Weaver was going to start game four instead.
Which now makes it the perfect game to attend for a myriad of reasons:
- Ryu will be making his first start
- Game starts at 12:10, giving you a perfect reason to skip work to enjoy a beautiful April day game at Dodger stadium
- Jered Weaver will be starting for the Padres
Brandon McCarthy gets the short end of the stick being giving the five slot means his first start of 2017 will come against the Rockies at Coors.
Dodgers, Yesterday and Today 