DODGERS NEWS/RUMORS/AROUND MLB Thread

Dodgers can only find safety behind the 'marathon' talk for so long
by Steve Dilbeck | Los Angeles Times — June 21, 2015

So the baseball-is-a-long-season speech was getting a lot of play in the Dodgers' clubhouse after the Giants beat them Saturday for the ninth time in 11 games.

"We still have to play over 90 games," said catcher Yasmani Grandal.

"It's a marathon," said first baseman Adrian Gonzalez.

All true, of course. Baseball offers sports' most grueling season. They spend six weeks in spring training just to warm up for a six-month season. Every team goes through good times and bad, though the good teams go through a lot less of the bad.

The Dodgers are certainly going through one of their rough stretches now. They've lost five of their last six games and nine of their last 16. Their offense has gone as cold as a killers' heart. And, of course, they absolutely cannot beat rival San Francisco.

Which now leaves their lead in the National League West to a half-game over the Giants.

"To me it means if we win [Sunday], we’ll be 1 1/2 games up," Gonzalez said. "Nobody goes back after you win a division and says, 'Who'd you beat and who’d you lose to?' Once you get in the playoffs, it’s about beating the team in front of you."

Gonzalez said the Dodgers have to come out Sunday and "play like it's the most important game of our lives."

"I know a lot of people like to focus on the last two weeks," he said. "It's a long season. We’ve all been through ups and downs, and you’re going to have times like this when the offense struggles.

Dodger Stadium held its annual Pups at the Park event on Saturday, June 20. We sent pug correspondent Gizmo T. Pug to give us a dog's-eye view.

"But who knows? Maybe in two weeks you're going to be talking about how good our offense is and you'll forget all about these last two weeks. We have to just keep working, keep grinding and hopefully tomorrow is the game that turns things around."

The Giants know something about turning their season around. They were 17-18 and 5 1/2 games back of the Dodgers when they started play May 15. Then they beat the Reds three consecutive times, shut out the Dodgers three straight more and have gone 21-14 to pull within a half game.

"We haven’t been playing good baseball at all the last couple of weeks and we're still in first place," Gonzalez said. "I guess that's something to keep your heads up about."

It’s the glass-half-full approach. Teams can still go there in late June. They can go there when they’re still a half game up.

Baseball is a long grind, but it also has turning points. Times that define a season, that demonstrate what a team is fully about. The Giants may have pushed the Dodgers to such a moment. And they need to respond with more than the safety of marathon speeches.​

 

that's terrible

 

Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes that the Dodgers have sent one of their top men to watch Cole Hamels against the Yankees on Wednesday.

 

amaro can ask for whatever he wants, but with cueto, zimmerman and others alll possibly available he doesn't have the leverage he's had in prior years
not saying there's anything to it, but sending a top scout does at least make you wonder

the nerds probably feel olivera and seager will have a puig-like impact on the offense
and they could, quite possibly, be right

and his raised his season era up to an astronomical 3.26
doesn't sound like those five runs, although earned, weren't all his fault either...

• Hamels was hurt by his defense, with third baseman Andres Blanco making a bad throw to the plate in New York's two-run second. Blanco then allowed Chase Headley's broken-bat grounder to glance off his glove for an RBI double in a three-run fourth that started with shortstop Freddy Galvis losing a popup in the sun. Philadelphia has failed to score while Hamels has been in the game in seven of 15 starts this year and has been shut out in 32 of his last 33 innings. The Phillies were blanked until scoring in the ninth against Diego Moreno.

 

Guerrero hints that he would welcome trade
by Matthew Moreno — 3 hours ago



What once was a tandem of Alex Guerrero and Justin Turner at third base, which led to Juan Uribe being traded as part of a package sent to the Atlanta Braves, has now morphed into Turner assuming the starter’s role with Alberto Callaspo providing an occasional day off.

As a result Guerrero has received the majority of recent playing time in left field, though his starts have been few and far between in recent weeks. The Cuban native was said to have garnered trade interest when the Dodgers were rumored to be looking to trade away one of their third baseman.

Although that person wound up being Uribe, there’s some thought trading Guerrero may be necessary given the fact he may fall further down the depth chart with Hector Olivera’s expected arrival and the Dodgers outfield slowly getting back to full strength.

According to Bill Plunkett of the OC Register, Guerrero would be open to a trade if it meant more playing time:

“In this business, you have to understand those things happen,” Guerrero said through an interpreter. “I’m comfortable here in Los Angeles. I like my teammates. I like my coaches. But I also have to think of my career. If there’s a chance for more playing time, that would be good for me.”​

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly has indicated Guerrero’s primarily being used a pinch-hitter is tied to his ability to exceed in that role and Mattingly’s preference to send out a strong defensive team on a nightly basis.

The 28-year-old Cuban native acknowledged he’s had trouble in left field, but believes he’s still been functional at the position:

“I try to help the team whatever way they feel they need me to,” said Guerrero, who is 7 for 23 (.304) with a double, three home runs and nine RBI as a pinch-hitter. “I can’t control how they write the lineup. I’m pretty sure when I played third I didn’t make any errors. When I played the outfield, I haven’t been perfect. But I’ve been serviceable.”​

One impediment to potentially shipping Guerrero out of Los Angeles is a clause in his contract that permits him to opt out after the season in which he’s traded concluded.

While it may scare away some teams from dealing for Guerrero, it isn’t beyond reason to believe he won’t leave a guarnateed $15 million on the table over the next two years if he’s traded this season.

Guerrero is batting .267/.295/.565 with 10 home runs and 29 RBIs in 55 games (30 starts). However, he’s hitting just .182/.196/.295 with one home run and eight RBIs in 20 games (nine starts) over the last 28 days. As a pinch-hitter Guerrero is batting .333/.739/1.072 in 24 plate appearances.

​

 

Rookie of the year debate: Kris Bryant or Joc Pederson?
by Jesse Rogers and Mark Saxon | ESPN — 1 hour ago

Kris Bryant is living up to the hype in his first season with the Cubs. But Joc Pederson is also having quite an impact in his first full year in L.A. Which young star deserves to be the NL Rookie of the Year?

Rogers: Kris Bryant is giving Cubs an all-around boost

If the case for National League Rookie of the Year comes down to home runs, then outfielder Joc Pederson has a distinct advantage over third baseman Kris Bryant right now. Heading into Wednesday's game, Pederson has a nine-homer lead, but Bryant did cut into it with his first multihomer game in Monday's 4-2 Cubs win, though Pederson responded with a ninth-inning blast of his own.

Pederson's 19-10 lead in that category also means his OPS is much higher, but there is more to Bryant's game than just home runs. And there should be more to the award than just the long ball.

Bryant's batting average is 30 points higher, though their on-base percentages are similar, as Pederson has walked more. But should a player who could finish with an average below .250 win an award? Pederson is hitting .248, well below Bryant's .278 average.

Bryant has played in 10 fewer games than Pederson but has driven in six more runs and scored as many as his Dodgers counterpart.

Bryant also has outperformed many expectations at a premium position on defense, and maybe his best unknown attribute is his ability on the basepaths. Multiple scouts have been amazed by his quick first step, overall speed and his baseball intelligence. Cubs manager Joe Maddon has noticed as well.

"You saw the hits, but his impact, to me, was with his legs today," Maddon said after a recent game. "Fabulous, a fabulous job on the bases."



Bryant had stretched a routine single to center field into a double, helping the Cubs win that game, something he has done more than once this year with his legs. He's also 5-for-6 in stolen bases; Pederson is just 2-for-7.

"I try to be a complete player," Bryant said. "Just playing hard and hustling, just that type of player who earns the respect of my teammates."

If hustle and attitude play a part in winning rookie of the year, Bryant should probably be leading right now. And though Pederson is ahead of Bryant in the all-important home run race, that could look a lot different come September. The 2014 minor league home run leader (43) and 2015 spring training leader (nine) hasn't gone on a tear yet.

Instead, he has been a consistent singles and doubles hitter. In fact, Bryant became the first Cubs rookie since 1928 to record two hitting streaks of 12 or more games, and he did it within the first three months of the season.

Bryant is an all-around player who will put up plenty of gaudy statistics but might lose the rookie home run race to Pederson. Is that enough to lose rookie of the year honors? It shouldn't be.

Joc Pederson's youth just what Dodgers needed

Baseball is enjoying a nice influx of young talent lately, and a lot of it is winding up on the North Side of Chicago. Kris Bryant is one of the game's best young players, certainly a leading rookie of the year contender.

Not long ago, people would have viewed him as the favorite. Bryant is batting 30 points better than Joc Pederson. Voters, however, have become more sophisticated in this era -- baseball's information age -- and Pederson is the choice based on his superior on-base percentage and slugging and, crucially, his elite defense at a premium position.

Balls that were falling for bloop hits or doubles a year ago are getting swallowed up by Pederson's glove, helping support the Dodgers' staunch pitching.

"It's not so much those unbelievable catches against the wall, but more ones in those little seams in the gap that are a little short, that seemed like they dropped so much more last year. He gets to a lot of those balls," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said.



The numbers match the eyeball test. Pederson has five defensive runs saved this season, second-most among National League center fielders behind Arizona's A.J. Pollock. According to Baseball Info Solutions, Pederson has 16 good fielding plays, tied for second behind Cincinnati's Billy Hamilton among NL center fielders. The same measures indicate that Bryant is an adequate to slightly below-average third baseman.

One has to be a bit more discerning to distinguish Pederson from Bryant at the plate. Both players are selective, powerful hitters with a tendency to strike out in numbers that would have been frowned upon in an earlier era.

The numbers indicate Pederson is a little more advanced than Bryant. Among rookies with at least 100 plate appearances, Pederson leads in on-base percentage (.393), is fifth in slugging (.551) and second in OPS (.944). Bryant's numbers are similar, but lagging Pederson's in all those measures. Pederson's 19 home runs are five more than any other rookie in baseball and nine more than Bryant among NL rookies. Pederson's 50 walks are fourth in baseball.

If you're reaching for intangibles, Pederson is precisely what the Dodgers needed as their roster has tilted toward aging and expensive veterans in recent seasons. He has given fresh legs to an organization that has struggled to produce elite homegrown talent. He is the first in what the Dodgers hope is a vanguard of young talent, including shortstop Corey Seager and pitcher Julio Urias. The Dodgers cornered the market for a long time on the rookie of the year award, but their last was Todd Hollandsworth, who capped a five-year Dodgers run on the trophy in 1996.

Pederson has been compared by his Triple-A manager to a young Jim Edmonds because of his ability to make game-changing catches, and his violent and powerful left-handed swing. He has already had his signature moment, an over-the-shoulder catch at the center-field wall that took a game-winning extra-base hit away from San Diego Padres slugger Justin Upton. As the saying goes, there is a lot of baseball left to be played, but Pederson is hands-down the most impactful rookie in the league through the first three months.