Yardbarker: Takashi Saito

Saito to Cardinals?

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 09:14:57 -0500

According to the LA Daily News, the Dodgers would like to go forward with Jonathan Broxton as their closer and may trade Takashi Saito. Saito was injured for half the season and the Dodgers are worried that relying on him would only hurt their bullpen. As for possible options, any team eying Francisco Rodriguez or Brian Fuentes could look to him as a fallback. The Cardinals, who struggled without a closer this year, could trade for Saito. He went 4-4 with a 2.49 ERA and 18 SV, but he would hardly cost the Cardinals anything.A

As for other teams that could pursue Saito, the Mets, Indians, Orioles, Rockies, and Red Sox.A

This story was approved by MLB Rumors.

Could this be the best closer available for 2009...

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:36:58 -0500

While you watch the Dodgers and Phillies today one player you won't see coming out of the Dodgers bullpen is Takashi Saito. The dominant closer has been left off the playoff roster, but not because he's injured but rather ran out of time to rehab and never got his breaking pitches working. Saito and his under two career ERA might become available this off-season and short term has the potential to be the best closer available.....

This idea would all depend on just how convinced the Mets are that Eddie Kunz and/or Bobby Parnell are going to be big time closers. At 38 y/o Takashi Saito is not a permanent solution to the closers role but at the same time he won't cost starters pay and then have you worrying for five years that his violent delivery will blow his arm out (K-Rod) or a guy who lost the closers role in a small market like Fuentes. You could probably sign Saito and Brandon Lyon, maybe even have enough left to get Juan Cruz for what the other two cost a piece.....

Saito suffered a sprained elbow in the second half of the season, his delivery is very elaborate and even though the elbow has recovered his mechanics are off. Not only had Broxton taken over as the closer but the team, even with Manny was in a pennant race winning close games nightly and couldn't afford to have Saito out there experimenting. When his elbow was fully recovered the minor league season was already over and he couldn't complete a rehab assignment, with a full spring training under his belt he should be able to make the proper adjustments. Going forward the Dodgers have to decide whether to offer arbitration (3-6 yrs player), cut him or trade him. He's owed 2 mil for this year and would be an expensive set-up man for the Dodgers.

This was the first sign of injury since coming to the majors, he did miss most of the 1997 season after elbow surgery. The 38 y/o has spent three major league seasons with the Dodgers after a successful career as a starter and closer in Japan. In his three seasons he has an ERA of 1.97 with a record of 12-7 with 81 Sv - 91 SVO over 198 innings.
Saito will turn 39 in February, and the fact that he spent most of the second half on the disabled list with a sprained right elbow means his health has become a concern for the first time. Furthermore, while he is a relative bargain for the Dodgers now at $2 million, he won't be when he becomes eligible for arbitration this winter. It is conceivable the Dodgers could simply cut ties with him, go forward with Broxton as their closer and find another setup man. source LA Daily News

Could this be the best closer available for 2009...

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:36:58 -0500

Pete's Preview and Prediction of the NLCS

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 21:26:14 -0500

Let me start off by saying that according to the numbers, this should be an exciting series and a sweep would be extremely disappointing. I expect this to go 6 or 7 games!

I think that the top 6 hitters in each line up are just about equal with each other except for the Phillies reliance on the long ball.

Phillies	Line up	AVG/ OBP/ SLG	VORP
SS-S	Jimmy Rollins	.277/.349/.437	43.4
RF-R	Jayson Werth	.273/.363/.498	30.4
2B-L	Chase Utley	.292/.380/.535	62.3
1B-L	Ryan Howard	.251/.339/.543	35.2
LF-R	Pat Burrell	.250/.367/.507	33.4
CF-S	Shane Victorino	.293/.352/.447	33.4
3B-R	Pedro Feliz	.249/.302/.402	0.1
C-R	Carlos Ruiz	.219/.320/.300	-7

Dodgers	Line up	AVG/ OBP/ SLG	VORP
SS-S	Rafael Furcal	.357/.439/.573	24.5
C-R	Russell Martin	.280/.385/.396	33.6
LF-R	Manny Ramirez	.332/.430/.601	83.5
RF-L	Andre Ethier	.305/.375/.510	39.7
1B-L	James Loney	.289/.338/.434	16.9
CF-R	Matt Kemp	.290/.340/.459	31.5
2B-L	Blake DeWitt	.264/.344/.383	9.5 @ 2B
3B-R	Casey Blake	.274/.345/.463	27

I’d give the Dodgers bench the advantage with Nomar (it’s easier to spell) and Kent over Dobbs and anyone else on the Phillies bench.

I like the Dodgers rotation better than the Phillies if LA goes with the veteran Greg Maddux over the young lefty Clayton Kershaw. Adding Kershaw to the bullpen ala Boston’s rookie starter Justin Masterson, would bolster an already good Dodger bullpen, which I also award the edge to the Dodgers because of their low ERA. The highest ERA (outside of Kershaw or Maddux) of anyone in their bullpen is Chan Ho Park at 3.40

The closer position is a clear advantage for the Phillies with NL comeback player of the year Brad Lidge over either Broxton or Saito (if healthy).

Phillies	Starters	IP	ERA	Phillies	Bullpen	IP	ERA
LHP	Cole Hamels	227.1	3.09	RHP	Brad Lidge	69.1	1.95
RHP	Brett Myers	190	4.55	RHP	Ryan Madson	82.2	3.05
LHP	Jamie Moyer	196.1	3.71	LHP	J.C. Romero	59	2.75
RHP	Joe Blanton	197.2	4.69	RHP	Chad Durbin	87.2	2.87
				LHP	Scott Eyre	25.1	4.21
				LHP	James Happ	31.2	3.69
				RHP	Clay Condrey	69	3.26

Dodgers	Starters	IP	ERA	Dodgers	Bullpen	IP	ERA
RHP	Derek Lowe	211	3.22	RHP	Jonathan Broxton	69	3.13
RHP	Chad Billingsley	200.2	3.14	RHP	Takashi Saito	47	2.49
RHP	Hiroki Kuroda	183.1	3.73	LHP	Joe Beimel	49	2.02
LHP	Clayton Kershaw	107.2	4.26	RHP	Cory Wade	71.1	2.27
or				RHP	Chan Ho Park	95.1	3.4
RHP	Greg Maddux	194	4.22	LHP	Hong-Chih Kuo	80	2.14

The keys to this series are how well the Phillies middle of the order of Utley, Howard and Burrell hits and if Manny Ramirez can keep up his dominance in the playoffs. On the mound, the Phillies need Brett Myers to pitch like he’s been pitching and not like the way he was when he got sent down to the minors. Likewise, both Moyer and Maddux (if he starts) need to NOT act their age in order for their team to win games three and four respectively.

I’ll have to go with the firepower of the Phillies overpowering the Dodgers and advancing to the playoffs for the first time since 1993.

MLB Playoff Picks: Phillies-Dodgers and Red Sox-Rays

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:17:54 -0500

One of the puff pieces that happened in advance of the NLCS this week spoke to the Useless Dodger Veteran Bench (aka Nomar Garciaparra, Andruw Jones, Jeff Kent and Juan Pierre) that all have Playoff Experience, but are also mostly ballast for this team. You will be relieved, I am sure, to find out that they are all Team Players who want to play, but remain totally unselfish and professional and so very, very tired...

On the contrary, I'd argue that it took Joe Torre far too long, and that he got fortunate with injuries, to learn that these guys really weren't going to be much use for him in the act of winning ballgames. Pierre's offense has been terrible for years. Jones has seemingly hit a complete wall in terms of no longer being someone who belongs in MLB -- seriously, only his contract is keeping him in the majors right now.

Kent can still hit -- hell, I suspect you'll be able to say that of the man the week that they bury him -- but he can't stay healthy, and he's got about as much right to play second base as I do. (I actually have better range, but being still afraid of baseballs hit with startling speed by grown men, I'm pretty sure that he'd be more effective. Anyway.) Nomar is a reasonable utility fill-in these days, provided you aren't expecting much pop at the plate.

On an MLB Minus team, these contracts would be absolutely crippling, and the Dodgers would have resembled the Bonds-less Giants of a few years back. Instead, here they are, having taken out the doomed Cubs and more or less an even-money bet to go to the Series. All because Manny Ramirez puled his way out of Boston, carrying them to a bad division win, and the luck of the draw got them the team that never, ever wins. Right?

Well, no, not quite. What happened was that they finally played the people that they should have been playing all along. James Loney is a good left-handed hitter and reasonable defender at first, and the only thing that keeps more people from knowing this is that his home park deflates offense. Matt Kemp in center is a stone-cold stud, a man who anyone could tell just by looking at him should never have to want for playing time. I suspect he could be one of the 20 best players in baseball within two years. Andre Ethier in right just doesn't make a whole lot of outs, does everything well, and has upped the ante since the Manny trade by, well, hitting like Manny's little brother. Blake Dewitt at second grinds like a prototype Dustin Pedroia and covers ground.

Combine them all with the return to health of Rafael Furcal (aka, the single non-Manny everyday playing vet that might be worth his contract), and hey presto... it's a good offense. If Russell Martin is fresh enough to hit (they wear him out and he fades every second half), it's actually a very good offense.

Pitching wise, they are also fine, though not as good as the park makes them out to be. Derek Lowe has carried them recently and has an exceptional post-season record. Chad Billingsley has been aces for a while now, and will be cited as such any day now. Hiroki Kuroda isn't great, but he doesn't walk people and keeps the ball in the park; you could do a lot worse from a #3 starter (and when Brad Penny is healthy, you do very well with him at #4). Greg Maddux is the Kuroda story with 350 more MLB wins. The bbullpen has tons of plus arms that are generally reliable.

Oh, and Manny Ramirez is the best hitter in baseball right now. That helps, too.

So why am I picking the Phils to win?

Well, the home field helps a lot here. So does the general feeling that when push comes to shove, Cole Hamels and Brett Myers are just better than Lowe and Billingsley. The back end of the Phillies rotation - Jamie Moyer and Joe Blanton -- seems more useful to me, to the point where I think the Phils get better starting pitching in every game.

As for the bullpen, the slight hiccup in Game Two notwithstanding, I like Brad Lidge a little more than Takashi Saito, and Jonathan Broxton has utterly filthy stuff, but just seems like a guy who's going to issue a key walk or two. The Dodgers have better depth for an extra inning game, but for the simple act of closing a game in regulation, I think the Phillies have the edge.

I also think the Phillies can win in LA more easily than the Dodgers can win in Philly. I also think that (deep breath) Charlie Manuel has seen enough of Manny Ramirez over the years to know how to limit the damage that Ramirez does, whereas the Dodgers will fear no Phillies hitter -- and wind up paying the price.

Finally, there's this. The way to shut the Phillies down cold is to have quality left-handed pitching. And all of the Dodger starters are right-handed.

Phillies in 6.

Well, Red Sox Fan, welcome to the Hated Favorite status that we all knew you'd get to, or have been arguing you were for years. Here's the plucky and lovable Rays, a bunch of kids -- kids, you bastards!

If you beat them, you'll face one of the most tortured fan bases in the country with the Phillies, or the lovable man-child that you refused to sign to an extension, just because he was a minority, and hated so much that you had to ship him out of town for a nondescript white guy, even while *still* paying his salary.

How does it feel to be the New Yankees, even down to the noxious traveling fan base that ensures that no matter how nice and easy-going your players are, you'll always be known as the opponent of every MLB fan's second favorite team? (In that they root for theirs first, than your opponent.)

But first things first, which is how this strange little series will play out. Tampa has the better rotation and everyday players (especially with Mike Lowell out), while Boston has the better bullpen and home field advantage. Seriously, in all seven games of this series, Boston will be playing in front of at least a 50% fan base.

The teams Just Don't Like Each Other, and Boston's got a ton of post-season experience. Also, while Tampa's starters are good, they aren't lockdown great (even Scott Kazmir can be worked into high pitch counts that prevent him from going deep). Finally, Tampa's hitters will grip the bat too tight in their One Chance To Get To The World Series (seriously, even though they are young and affordable, everyone knows this can't last -- see Oakland, Minnesota, Cleveland and every other non-BOS-NYY-LAA AL team of the last decade).

So, I'm just going to pick what will happen, rather than what I want. That way, no matter what happens, I'm feeling like a winner. (Well, at least more than usual.)

Red Sox in 6.

Which, of course, gives us Boston cock-blocking another Philadelphia sports championship, while my football-only friends tell me that they really hate Washington, Dallas and New York instead. Please, my friends, can't we all come together in our hate for Boston teams and her fans? The rest of the nation is already there. Join in!

Phillies stick with roster; Kuo replaces Saito for LA

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 10:55:49 -0500

Rosters were finalized by the Phillies and Dodgers this morning with only one change to announce. Closer Takashi Saito, who's trying to recover from elbow problems, will be replaced by left-hander Hong-Chih Kuo. Jonathan Broxton will assume ninth-inning duties for the Dodgers. Meanwhile, the Phils will stick with the same 11-pitcher setup they had in the division series. Despite talks that he could be replaced, left-hander J.A. Happ stays aboard and former Dodger Rudy Seanez sits out another series. Beerleaguer:...

Odds And Ends: Chih-Kuo, Manny, Bowa, Rant

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 10:53:27 -0500

A few odds and ends before game one: Hong Chih-Kuo is close to being added to the Dodgers playoff roster, taking the place of Takashi Saito, who has struggled after being injured. (...)

NLCS Prediction

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 22:03:26 -0500

My pick and key questions regarding the NLCS>.

Good Days of '08: Game 13

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 21:12:35 -0500

Good Days of '08 is a series looking back on some of the memorable Pirate wins this season. Previous entries: [Game 1].

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Game 13 Coverage:
[GameDay]
[Recap]
[Box--Pirates 6, Dodgers 4--4/14/08]
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Woot! This win puts the Bucs over .500 for the first time since they were 2-1 after the third game of the year!
It was also the last time they'd be north of .500 all season, but I'm going to try and keep this positive.
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Zach Duke made his third start of the year in this game, and was mediocre. He allowed 3 earned runs in 6 innings, but did not record a strikeout. Things like this were signs that Duke's early success was unlikely to last, and they proved to be rather accurate. Hiroki Kuroda, who pitched the series clinching gem against the Cubs a few days ago, started for LA.
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Jose Bautista hit his first homer of the year, as Jesse predicted he would in the GameDay. Xavier Nady doubled in a run, and the Pirates trailed 4-3 (Duke allowed an unearned run somewhere in there) after 6 innings.
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The bullpens of both teams took over. Grabow and Proctor/Beimel tossed a clean seventh, as did Yates and Broxton in the 8th.
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Top of the ninth with the Bucs down a run. Takashi Saito (who was not hurt yet--remember, this is early April) came in to close out what looked like a routine win.
After 1 out, Bautista singled. After another out, the game seemed surely over when Adam LaRoche stepped to the plate (remember folks, this is ADAM LAROCHE IN APRIL). He somehow managed to hit a single. Nate McLouth came up. He did [this].
3 run shot made it 6-4 Pirates, just like that.
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Matt Capps saved it. Raised.
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WIN: Tyler Yates (2-0)
LOSS: Saito (1-1)
SAVE: Capps (4)
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Notes:
-This was the Pirates' fourth win in a row. They were coming off a sweep of the Reds at home.
-The game started after 10:00 on the east, so very few fans probably saw this thing. I know I didn't.
-Yates had quite a start in Pittsburgh: one run in his first 18 and 2/3 innings. How far he has fallen...
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RECORD: 7-6

AccuScore NLCS Preview: Dodgers vs. Phillies

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:46:12 -0500

The Phillies and Dodgers easily won their opening round series, and now square off in what should be an exciting, evenly matched National League Championship Series. AccuScore analyst Jonathan Lee gives you the complete preview.

2008 NLDS Preview: Cubs Scoring vs. Dodgers Run Prevention

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:22:17 -0500

I'm a little under the weather, so bear with me and this rather bare bones preview...all the substance, none of the fluff.

I never understood the positional breakdowns that many folks do for a series or playoff preview. I understand a team is only as good as the sum of its parts, but Derrek Lee will never have to battle against James Loney at any point in the series. It's more about how one team's pitching and defense will fare against the other team's lineup.

Cubs Offense vs. Dodgers Pitching and Defense

Cubs Hitting: .278/.354/.443 .797 OPS(1st in all those except BA, which they were 2nd), 87 SB's at a 72% success rate (8th in NL)
Dodgers Pitching: .251/.315/.376 .691 OPS, 3.68 ERA (1st in all those except BA, which they were 2nd)

Cubs Hitting vs. Right Handers: .274/.350/.443 .793 OPS
Dodgers Pitching vs. Right Handers: .239/.300/.361 .661 OPS
Dodgers Pitching vs. Left Handers: .268/.334/.396 .730 OPS

Cubs are 64-48 when a right-handed pitchers starts the game.

Dodgers Defense: .693 DER (9th in NL), .825 RZR (12th in the NL)

Dodgers Rotation: Derek Lowe, Chad Billingsley, Hiroki Kuroda, Greg Maddux

All Cubs vs. Derek Lowe (link) : 202 AB's vs current Cubs with an aggregate line of: .243/.282/.366 .648 OPS, 1-0 with 27 IP and a 2.67 ERA at Wrigley Field.
Best Cub Hiiter: Derrek Lee has a .969 OPS against him in 28 AB's
Worst Cub Hitter: Jim Edmonds has a .474 OPS in 30 AB's.
Trend: 6-1 in his last 10 starts with a 1.27 ERA

All Cubs vs. Chad Billingsley (link) : 63 AB's vs current Cubs with an aggregate line of: .222/.300/.381 .681 OPS
Best Cub Hiiter: Mark DeRosa has a 1.167OPS against him in 6 AB's
Worst Cub Hitter: Jim Edmonds has a .311 OPS in 11 AB's.
Trend: 5-1 in his last 10 starts with a 3.45 ERAA

All Cubs vs. Hiroki Kuroda (link) : 51 AB's vs current Cubs with an aggregate line of: .216/.259/.235 .495 OPS, Threw complete game shutout against Cubs in Dodger Stadium earlier this year
Best Cub Hiiter: Alfonso Soriano has a .929 OPS against him in 7 AB's
Worst Cub Hitter: A few Cubs went 0 fer in his 2 starts from this year...
Trend: 3-2 in his last 10 starts with a 2.57 ERA

All Cubs vs. Greg Maddux (link) : 233 AB's vs current Cubs with an aggregate line of: .236/.258/.339 .597 OPS,
Best Cub Hiiter: Aramis Ramirez has a .804 OPS against him in 21 AB's
Worst Cub Hitter: Derrek Lee has a .622 OPS in 59 AB's.
Trend: 2-4 in 7 starts as a Dodger with a 5.09 ERAA

Dodgers Bullpen:A 3.33 ERA as relievers lead the NL. 4.68 WPA was 3rd in the NL behind Phillies and Astros.

Likely to See: Cory Wade, Joe Beimel, Takashi Saito, and Jonathan Broxton

September Stats for Cubs Hitters (link):

Aramis Ramirez: .956 OPS, 3 HR's, 8 2B's
Jim Edmonds .929 OPS, 4 HR
Micah Hoffpauir .918 OPS
Mike Fontenot .910 OPS
Alfonso Soriano .847 OPS, 6 HR, 13 BB's
Derrek Lee .785 OPS, 25 K's, 8 2B's
Geovany Soto .778 OPS
Mark DeRosa .747 OPS
Daryle Ward .689 OPS
Ryan Theriot .676 OPS, 10 BB's
Henry Blanco .667 OPS
Ronny Cedeno .630 OPS
Reed Johnson .592 OPS
Kosuke Fukudome .577 OPS

Some Questions:

Can the Dodgers defense make the plays?A
Can the Cubs offense stay out of the double play?
Can the Cubs offense provide a lead before getting into a tough Dodgers bullpen?
When will a possible Game 4 be played (Dodger Stadium becomes a lot more hitter friendly during the day)?

Thoughts: The Dodgers do have good pitching, that is undeniable with their league leading team ERA. But the numbers are a bit misleading due to their playing in the NL West and in a very friendly pitcher's park. The Dodgers pitching played 44% of their games versus the NL West which contained the almighty offenses of the Rockies (8th in Runs Scored even with the Coors Field Effect), Diamondbacks (10th), Giants (15th),A and Padres (16th). That's the way to make good look like it's great, which this Dodgers pitching staff is not.A

A matter of fact, it could be considered a pretty FLAKEY staff as well, if you believe Baseball Prospectus. While us Cubs fans wonder which Zambrano will show up in Game 2, Dodger fans should worry more about which Kuroda (1st), Lowe(13th) or Billingsley(27th) show up for their games.

The Dodgers do catch a few breaks here. They've been tougher on righties most of the season and the Cubs will likely trot out lineups with only two lefties (Edmonds and either Fontenot or Fukudome). If DeRosa is still hurt, it might be three lefties. Not only that, butA one of those lefties (Edmonds) hasn't had much luck versus many of the Dodgers starters.

They Dodgers staff isA also pretty good at inducing the ground ball with G/F rates of 2.60, 1.70, 1.85 from Lowe, Billingsley and Kuroda, respectively. Now the Cubs double play propensity has been blown out of proportion, they've only hit into 134 which is 6th in the NL and considering they have the highest OBP in the league, that (likely) means they've had the most opportunties to hit into a double play as well. Compare that to the Dodgers offense which lead the league in hitting into double plays but was only 6th in Team OBP.

The Dodgers bullpen is good, although questions linger with Saito back from the disabled list. It'll remain to be seen how effective and in what role he'll be used. Right now it looks like Broxton will keep the closers job with Saito in the set-up role. They do possess a good 7th inning combination in righty Cory Wade and lefty Joe Beimel that'll try to keep those Cubs late-inning rallies in check.

Preventings runs though is more than just pitching and the Dodgers defense might end up being their Achilles Heel. Rafael Furcal returns from the disabled listand should provide a boost for their offense, but his bad back might hinder him on the defensive end, plus he replaced a solid defensive option in Angel Berroa. Jeff Kent might be back as well and if you have nothing good to say, don't say anything at all. Russ Martin threw out 24.7% of runners this year, below Geovany Soto's 26.7% and the Cubs should look to take an extra base when the opportunity arises in what will likely be some low-scoring games. And while Andruw Jones couldn't hit a lick, the new outfield of Manny Ramirez, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier should provide a few gaps in the outfield.

The Cubs offense will definitely have their work cut for them and this series will certainly test the good pitching beats good hitting adage. I think the Cubs would be wise to play a little more small ball than they're use to and stay out double play situations as much as they can and put as much pressure on a weak Dodgers defense that they can. It's not the strategy I normally prefer for the marathon that is the 162-game season, but in this series I think the Cubs would be wise to take advantage of the Dodgers faults in these areas.A

Dodgers/Cubs NLDS Preview

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:16:14 -0500

Most of the numbers below you already know. F-WS for catchers is Fielding Win Shares. UBB is unintentional walks. TE and FE are throwing and fielding errors. RZR is Revised Zone Rating. OOZ is Out of Zone plays made. +/- are the number of plays above or below the average player at that position. RUNS is the +/- number converted into runs above or below the average player at that position. FIP is Fielding Independent Pitching. For the baserunning, it counts the number of opportunities to advance an extra base (1st to 3rd on a single, 1st to home on a double, 2nd to home on a single) and the number of times each team advanced. BR Outs are the number of outs made on the bases, excluding stolen bases, or in other words, take the number of times Theriot ran into outs and you have the Cubs number. C OFFENSE DEFENSE NAME PA AVG OBP SLG SB CS HR UBB wOBA TE FE CS% F-WS Soto 563 .285 .364 .504 0 1 23 56 .373 3 1 20.7% 8.5 Blanco 128 .292 .325 .392 0 0 3 5 .307 0 1 42.9% 2.2 Martin 650 .280 .385 .396 18 6 13 82 .351 9 2 19.5% 3.9 Ardoin 54 .235 .278 .314 1 0 1 2 .283 1 0 23.1% 0.5 1B OFFENSE DEFENSE NAME PA AVG OBP SLG SB CS HR UBB wOBA RZR OOZ +/- RUNS Lee 698 .291 .361 .462 8 2 20 68 .362 .735 43 1 1.1 Loney 651 .289 .338 .434 7 4 13 39 .337 .728 58 18 14.2 2B OFFENSE DEFENSE NAME PA AVG OBP SLG SB CS HR UBB wOBA RZR OOZ +/- RUNS Fonenot 284 .305 .395 .514 2 0 9 32 .398 .868 17 11 8.2 Dewitt 421 .264 .344 .383 3 0 9 36 .319 .820 4 -2 -1.5 3B OFFENSE DEFENSE NAME PA AVG OBP SLG SB CS HR UBB wOBA RZR OOZ +/- RUNS Ramirez 645 .289 .380 .518 2 2 27 67 .383 .652 51 4 3 Blake 233 .251 .313 .460 1 0 10 11 .321 .720 16 1 0.5 SS OFFENSE DEFENSE NAME PA AVG OBP SLG SB CS HR UBB wOBA RZR OOZ +/- RUNS Theriot 661 .307 .387 .359 22 13 1 72 .345 .823 36 -13 -9.7 Furcal 164 .357 .439 .573 8 3 5 20 .437 .841 12 1 0.9 LF OFFENSE DEFENSE NAME PA AVG OBP SLG SB CS HR UBB wOBA RZR OOZ +/- RUNS Soriano 503 .280 .344 .532 19 3 29 32 .362 .882 36 -10 -7.9 Manny 229 .396 .489 .743 2 0 17 19 .471 .895 23 4 3 LF OFFENSE DEFENSE NAME PA AVG OBP SLG SB CS HR UBB wOBA RZR OOZ +/- RUNS Edmonds 298 .256 .369 .568 0 1 19 43 .394 .931 45 6 4.7 Johnson 374 .303 .358 .420 5 6 6 18 .343 .925 33 -1 -0.4 Kemp 657 .290 .340 .459 35 11 18 40 .351 .907 44 -10 -8.5 RF OFFENSE DEFENSE NAME PA AVG OBP SLG SB CS HR UBB wOBA RZR OOZ +/- RUNS DeRosa 593 0.285 0.376 0.481 6 0 21 69 0.382 0.918 16 2 1.4 Ethier 596 0.305 0.375 0.51 6 3 20 59 0.385 0.865 30 -17 -14.4 ROTATION GS IP H9 BB9 SO9 HR9 ERA FIP wOBA Ryan Dempster 33 206.7 7.58 3.31 8.14 0.61 2.96 3.46 .294 Zambrano 30 188.7 8.2 3.43 6.2 0.86 3.91 4.29 .317 Rich Harden 12 71 4.94 3.8 11.28 0.76 1.77 3.10 .241 Ted Lilly 34 204.7 8.22 2.81 8.09 1.41 4.09 4.45 .321 Derek Lowe 34 211 8.27 1.92 6.27 0.6 3.24 3.23 .283 Chad Billingsley 32 200.7 8.43 3.59 9.01 0.63 3.14 3.33 .314 Hiroki Kuroda 31 183.3 8.89 2.06 5.69 0.64 3.73 3.53 .294 Greg Maddux 7 40.7 9.52 0.89 3.98 1.11 5.09 4.21 .308 SETUP G IP H9 BB9 SO9 HR9 ERA FIP wOBA Carlos Marmol 82 87.3 4.12 4.23 11.75 1.03 2.68 3.59 .239 Broxton 70 69 7.04 3.52 11.48 0.26 3.13 2.12 .268 CLOSER G IP H9 BB9 SO9 HR9 ERA FIP wOBA Kerry Wood 65 66.3 7.33 2.44 11.4 0.41 3.26 2.21 .273 Takashi Saito 45 47 7.66 3.06 11.49 0.19 2.49 1.88 .260 BASERUNNING 1st to 3rd 2nd to home 1st to home DP Bases BR BR SB Net ADV OPP ADV OPP ADV OPP OPPS GIDP Taken Outs Gain Gain Gain Dodgers 64 220 125 193 29 57 1193 152 155 43 -4 40 36 Cubs 73 254 107 204 29 62 1379 134 161 32 44 19 63

Ethier's Gone, Jones Too

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 01:57:50 -0500

Of course, the two differences are the amount of days and the reason. While Ethier's out because of the birth of his child, Jones is gone because he's injured and ineffective.

The only thing that can stop Andre Ethier these days is his wife and the birth of his child. I think he's only going to be gone a few days, but even then it could matter since hardly anybody else on this team is hitting besides Manny.

In a completely different situation, Jones was placed on the 60-day-DL to clear room on the 40-man roster for Takashi Saito. This officially ends the season for Jones, but everybody knew his season was over in June. And honestly, there's no nicer way to put what he did this year than to say it was one of the worst offensive seasons in history.

He's gonna try to get healthy and play in the Dominican Winter Baseball League, but i'll believe he's a different hitter when I see it. Nevertheless, if he comes into Spring Training remotely healthy, I fully expect the Dodgers to bench Ethier or Kemp to try and get Jones on track. After all, that's how dumb this organization is. As it is, Colletti is non-committal on the issue, and the image of a disasterous Jones is still fresh in his mind. So imagine what crock of shit he'll cook up over the off-season. Boy, it's gonna be a fucking riot in 2009.

This Is Awesome

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:26:58 -0500

Holy cock, this is ridiculous. I expected Manny to be good, but I also thought he'd cool off at some point down the road. Little did I know, cooling off for him just means his batting average dips below .400. Also, Andre Ethier had 2 hits, which actually drops his batting average for his hot streak.

Besides the obvious fact that the Dodgers now have a 3 1/2 game lead, and a 93.1% chance of making the playoffs, they also got more good news.

"Lowe told manager Joe Torre his knee was a little stiff on the second warmup toss and that cost him a chance to see Ramirez's second homer.

'I had to wrestle the ball from him,' Torre said.

Lowe said his removal was precautionary and he expected to make his next scheduled start Tuesday in Pittsburgh."

It looked like a precaution at the time, but I just wanted some official confirmation. The thought of losing Lowe at this juncture, and having to replace him with somebody like Brad Penny, makes me cringe.

Also, an update on Furcal's injury progress.

"Furcal, the shortstop and leadoff hitter who hasn't played since rupturing a disk in his back in May and undergoing surgery, was overmatched by Saito, and the best that he could say afterward was that he felt no pain."

It sounds like he's going to be more of a part-time player than a starter, so the Dodgers are going to be suck with Angel Berroa for the rest of the year. More importantly, it indicates to me that even when he does play, he won't be fully healthy. Still, any contribution from him will probably be more helpful than hurtful.

Brad Penny was obviously activated yesterday, and Takashi Saito may not be far behind.

"The Dodgers activated Brad Penny from the disabled list for Wednesday night's game against the Padres, and the right-hander was in the bullpen, although he said he's ready to start.

Earlier Wednesday, reliever Takashi Saito pitched well enough in a simulated game against Rafael Furcal and Chin-lung Hu for the club to say he'll be activated from the disabled list Saturday.

Torre said Saito would be eased back and, initially, not in a closing role 'until we sense that he's comfortable locating his pitches. His strength is location.'"

Penny looked terrible yesterday, but the most important thing is that he was sitting in the low to mid-90s, unlike the mid to high 80s he was before the disabled list. I'm still not sure if that means anything, because he's been terrible all year throwing in the 90s, but i'm hopeful that it means he's healthy.

As far as Saito goes, I think starting him out slow is the smart move. You can't expect a guy who thought his career was over 6 weeks ago to just get thrown back into the closer's role with basically no game experience. I'm sure if he continues to show health, he'll eventually move back in the bullpen, but starting him off slow is just the prudent and intelligent thing to do.

I think one of the biggest issues is that it's an elbow injury and his marquee pitch is the slider. It's common knowledge that the slider puts extreme stress on a pitcher's elbow, so i'll be watching for how confident he is in breaking one off. If he's not comfortable throwing his slider as normal, he loses a lot of his effectiveness, and it's something i'll be watching closely. It worries me already that Torre said some of his sliders are flat, but i'm hopeful going forward.

Dodgers Slowly Getting Healthy; Not Much Help Coming From Minors

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 19:44:00 -0500

Many of the Dodgers' injured are due back after the rosters expand in September.

"But Torre also knows he cannot count on having hurlers such as Takashi Saito, Brad Penny, Jason Schmidt and Scott Proctor returning in September.

The one injured pitcher who figures to be back soon is Cory Wade, who came out of a bullpen session Saturday feeling good after being out since Aug. 8 with right shoulder inflammation.

Proctor (right elbow tendinitis) and Schmidt (shoulder surgery) will also make rehab appearances this week. Proctor will throw an inning on Monday and Schmidt on Tuesday, both likely for Triple-A Las Vegas, Torre said.

Penny (right shoulder inflammation) will lightly toss on Sunday, which will be the first time he has thrown a baseball since a six-run, three-inning start on Aug. 13, his second outing since spending almost two months on the DL.

As for Saito (torn right elbow ligament), he will join the club in Arizona next week and throw off a mound for the first time since walking off the hill at Dodger Stadium on July 12.

Outfielder Andruw Jones (left knee patellar tendinitis) is continuing to take batting practice and participate in drills, but he likely will not return to Las Vegas' lineup for another few days.

Outfielder Delwyn Young (right oblique strain) went 0-for-14 in his first five rehab games for Las Vegas, but busted out with a 3-for-5 performance with two doubles, a triple and three runs scored on Friday."

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like much help is coming from the minors.

"With apparently none of the Dodgers' minor-league affiliates looking like they'll be playoff bound, the team's September callups should start arriving on Sept. 2, the second day of the upcoming homestand. It looks like A.J. Ellis will be coming up from Vegas to be the third catcher. He is hitting .309 this year, so he'll edge out Lucas May, who is hitting .228 at Jacksonville, even though May is on the 40-man roster and Ellis isn't. Although I have long been under the impression that James McDonald was a lock for a callup, that apparently is still being discussed and is far from assured. But it looks like Ellis will be the only guy not presently on the roster who will be called up. Dodgers don't have a lot of flexibility. The 40-man is full, and there aren't a lot of guys on it whom you can look at and say, 'He's expendable.'"

The fact that so many guys are alledgedly due to return is a positive, especially the pitchers. Saito, Wade, Proctor, and Penny could really help an extremely tired bullpen. However, it's somewhat sad that the Dodgers aren't expected to take a chance on any of the young players in the minors.