KEMP IMPROVING LOS ANGELES -- Outfielder Matt Kemp tested his sprained left ankle on Sunday, shagging balls in center field and taking early batting practice on the field at Dodger Stadium. It was the first time Kemp had tracked fly balls and fielded grounders since he injured his ankle in an awkward slide at home plate on June 21 in Washington, and he moved well. Kemp sprayed the ball to all fields during a few rounds of BP as manager Don Mattingly and hitting coach Mark McGwire watched. Kemp, on the disabled list for the third time this season, has been hitting since Wednesday. "It was good," Mattingly said. "Matt is going in the right direction for us. He's getting closer to playing." Kemp also worked out in the weight room on Sunday and did some light running indoors, but he has yet to run at full speed. "We've still got to get to him stopping at full speed, cutting at full speed," Mattingly said. "He's running stairs and making turns. I don't know if any of that is full speed yet, but we're moving in the right direction." HANLEY PREPARED TO PLAY THROUGH DISCOMFORT LOS ANGELES -- Hanley Ramirez said on Sunday night that he won't rule out a return to the lineup sooner than later, maybe as soon as Monday. "Possibly," Ramirez said after the Dodgers' 8-2 win, saying he had no stiffness or discomfort in his jammed right shoulder hours after being put through the most strenuous workout since he sustained the injury a week earlier falling into the stands at Wrigley Field. "It's good right now." Before Sunday's game, Ramirez slugged home runs in batting practice and threw repeatedly from shortstop to first base, offering a more cautionary opinion of his recovery. "I still feel it a little bit," said Ramirez. "They want me to get it 100 percent. I don't want to aggravate it." Ramirez is prepared to play with some discomfort the rest of the season if need be, as he still "feels it" when batting because of his long extension. He threw relatively firmly, not firing or lobbing. "I hope it's not something I have to deal with the rest of the season," he said. "If it is, I've done it before, a couple of times this season. Those are things you can't control. "I just worry if I keep feeling it every time I throw the ball. I don't know. If I have to play like that, I'll play." This is Ramirez's third significant injury this year, following a torn thumb ligament that required surgery and a strained hamstring. He said it's a little easier watching from the bench when the team wins; the Dodgers have gone 5-1 since he sustained this latest injury. He struck out pinch-hitting on Friday night in his only appearance during that stretch. "We keep winning, and it makes it an easy decision," he said. "The game we lost in St. Louis worried me. After that we won four in a row doing what we've been doing all year, picking each other up." .
Anytime I hear a Dodger player "playing through pain", it never ends well. It'd be a travesty if we allowed Hanley to play when he's not 100%. We have the elements on our side and we need him at his best for October.
I truly agree. We got this division in a chokehold for now. no need to rush him back, Punto can hold the fort.
I have a strange idea, and want some opinions. While Hanley is out and if we take our time like we should with him... Punto can hold SS, but seems to need days off obviously. Dee sucks dick and Sellers does too. My idea is Uribe plays SS occasionally while Hanley is out. Hairston can play 3B. I know Uribe isn't rangy and hasn't manned SS in awhile, but the dude will not make errors, and he's nearly as rangy as Cruz was. I'd rather have that then Dee making errors all the fucking time working our pitch counts up. So, should Uribe play SS 1-2 times a week instead of Dee Gordon?
Yeah after seeing Kemp struggle with his shoulder injury, I hope Hanley takes his time. I know we want to win as many games as possible, but being at full strength for the playoffs is priority #1. It's sort of why I'm very bullish on Kemp coming back now. He's had more than enough time for his shoulder to heal, with the ankle forcing him to rest more instead of trying to come back early. He should be as good as new when he returns. I'm glad to hear that Hanley is hitting bombs in BP though. But if he needs another week or two to be 100%, I say just DL him and get him that rest.
The good news is it is his right shoulder, not his left shoulder. If it was his left shoulder....it'd be catastrophic offensively.
Yep, shouldn't effect his swing like Kemp's did...but it does make his already shaky defensive ability a bigger question.
I have a strange feeling that Justin Sellers will be the guy at SS in game 6 of the WS in the long sleeves and turtle neck when we clinch in freezing Detroit. Nothing to do with Hanley but weird things happen--maybe Hanley is DHing that game or gets taken out in some Don Mattingley scenario. Imagine being Sellers. Barely play all season in the bigs and making the post season roster and playing in the WS.
Hanley out until at least Fri? Not sure I understand what's going on The no MRI, pinch hitting appearance, etc. I don't really get what's going on
It seemed to be a throwing with pain issue last I saw. It's a good time is there is any for him to be out at least. We'd be flipping out if we were still close to AZ. And the best part is Punto is playing well...imagine Dee or Cruz still.
ETHIERLos Angeles Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier was scratched from Tuesday's lineup and sent to White Memorial Hospital for further tests on a tight left calf that has been bothering him since he was struck by a pitch 10 days ago in Chicago. Ethier has struggled since the Chicago series, batting .241 in eight games. He was replaced in center field by Skip Schumaker. "We wanted the doctor to look at it because whatever it is, it's been a while, and all of the sudden it got worse," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said.HANLEYThe Dodgers got good news on shortstop Hanley Ramirez, who was available to pinch hit Tuesday and is expected to be in the lineup Wednesday, Mattingly said. Ramirez jammed his right shoulder going into the stands to make a catch on Aug. 4, also in Chicago. Ramirez is batting .359 with a 1.050 OPS and 11 home runs, but the Dodgers have won seven of the eight games he has missed. Ramirez said Monday he is concerned the shoulder could bother him the rest of this season when he throws, but Mattingly said Dodgers trainers gave him a clean bill of health Tuesday. "He has no issues at this point," Mattingly said. "Today's the day he's ready." http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/mlb/...d-due-tight-calf-hanley-ramirez-closer-return .
HANLEY LOS ANGELES -- Hanley Ramirez has an irritated nerve in his back, the Dodgers announced Friday. The club said the shortstop received a cortisone injection and is expected to be available to play next week. This is not a new injury for Ramirez, who spent 15 days on the disabled list in 2011 with a lower left back strain when he was with the Marlins. Ramirez had an MRI exam Friday afternoon, and the Dodgers said it showed no difference in comparison to an MRI exam of the same area in 2011. Ramirez exited Thursday's game after six innings with what the Dodgers said was a tight left hamstring. Manager Don Mattingly said Ramirez has dealt with tightness in his hamstring for a few weeks and the shortstop indicated to him a few days ago that it could have resulted from a nerve. "It really makes a lot more sense to us now," Mattingly said. "This thing has been off and on. He'll tighten up and the next day he's fine. A couple days later, he'll feel something and then he's fine." Ramirez did not answer questions after Thursday's game and was not at the ballpark Friday when the media was allowed in the clubhouse. The Dodgers have a comfortable lead over Arizona in the National League West and are in position to clinch the division as early as Sunday, so the club does not have to rush Ramirez back to action. "We're going to be able to rest him," Mattingly said. "We don't have to push him out there at this point. We'll be careful with him as far as making sure that when he gets back out there, we're on the other side of it." The shortstop had three at-bats Thursday before he came out of the game. Ramirez ran hard on an infield single in the first inning, struck out in the third and jogged to first on a routine grounder in the fifth. He did not appear to be limited defensively. "All of a sudden it just got a little farther than they're comfortable with," Mattingly said. "I really think we're trying to be cautious and make sure it doesn't get worse. But what Hanley was telling us last night was not something we haven't been hearing for two to three weeks." Nick Punto started at shortstop Friday, and Mattingly said he plans to also use Dee Gordon while Ramirez is sidelined. ETHIER LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier downplayed an irritated left ankle that forced him out of Friday night's 4-2 loss to the Giants after he doubled in the eighth inning. He received treatment for 45 minutes after the game and said the ankle felt "good." "Show up tomorrow and see if I'm ready to go," he said. Manager Don Mattingly said Ethier was "fine" after a day off last week and was hopeful of a repeat. "I expect him to be OK," he said. "I'm sure we'll be cautious with him." With the Dodgers trailing, 4-2, Ethier grounded a pitch off left-hander Javier Lopez inside first base and down the right-field line. Three steps after rounding first base, Ethier began limping and hobbled into second base. After a brief meeting with Mattingly at the bag, Ethier was replaced by pinch-runner Dee Gordon. "I was asked the question, on a ground ball, could I score?" Ethier said. "I wasn't sure if I could really make the turn to do it. I felt it on the first turn when I tried to go to second." Ethier said he believes he twisted the ankle swinging at an inside pitch in Colorado, apparently on Sept. 3, as he was out of the lineup Sept. 4 against left-hander Jorge De La Rosa but had one at-bat after being inserted into the game in the seventh inning. He started the next five games, sat out Wednesday night's game against Arizona when the ankle tightened and returned to the lineup Thursday night. Either said the injury bothers him turning, mostly when rounding a base. He said he doesn't feel it running straight. Ethier's injury comes one night after Hanley Ramirez left a game with an inflamed nerve in his lower back, while Matt Kemp continues a very slow rehab in Arizona from ankle and hamstring problems. CRAPUANO LOS ANGELES -- Chris Capuano threw a bullpen session Friday to test his strained left groin, and manager Don Mattingly said the left-hander would assume a relief role for the time being. Capuano has started 20 games this season, but he began the year in the bullpen and made two relief appearances before joining the rotation. He's made 27 relief appearances in his career and could have value in that role for the Dodgers in the postseason. "We're going to use him out of the 'pen for right now," Mattingly said. "It doesn't mean he won't get a start as we go forward. We'll see where we go with that." KEMP In other injury news, Mattingly said Matt Kemp ran curves in the outfield at the Dodgers' Spring Training facility at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. Kemp, on the disabled list for the third time this season, had not run on the field since experiencing tightness in his right hamstring last week. "It sounded like he had a good day again," Mattingly said. "He's still progressing. Once [the athletic training staff] let him outside and he starts doing that, I know they're feeling a little more comfortable. That leads me to believe he's feeling pretty good." __
