Matt Kemp Out Of LA?

Matt Kemp has been benched for the past several games by Manager Don Mattingly and it looks like Matt Kemp might be the odd man out in the Dodgers crowded Outfield, especially with Joc Pederson tearing up the Pacific Coast League. Manager Don Mattingly was quoted as saying that Matt kemp appeared to be a little bit slower this season compared to what he had been a couple of seasons ago. His production is way down, Andre Ethier has been hot as of late (although his power numbers are way down), and Kemp might be trade material. His is still relatively young but his trade value has been hurt by his past injury problems and I believe the most the Dodgers can hope for is a mid-level prospect for a team willing to take on Kemp's salary. The Dodgers would probably have to pick up a large portion of that.

* Right after writing this blog it was reported that Carl Crawford had badly sprained his ankle and would be headed to the Disabled List. Is now the time to bring up Joc Pederson?

How To Celebrate

The Dodgers had to put Catcher A.J. Ellis back on the 15-Day Disabled List when he sprained his ankle during the celebration following Josh Beckett's no-hitter. It was a game Ellis did not even play in. They had to bring Tim Federowicz (5 hits in 46 at bats before he was sent down) back up from Albuquerque and Drew Butera becomes the starter by default. Butera is leading the Dodgers Catchers with a .222 average and 2 Homeruns. Ellis was only batting .170 with 1 homerun and 12 RBI's at the time of his injury but his defense and his ability to call a game are indispensable. Celebrations over great games, great finishes, and championships are a part of baseball tradition and history but you shouldn't get hurt when you didn't even play in the game. Call it bad luck or a bad choice but this is A.J. Ellis's second stint on the DL this season.

A Hard Act To Follow

Hyun Jin-Ryu tried his best to follow Josh Beckett's no-hitter the day before but ran out of gas in the 8th inning of the Dodgers 4-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds last night. He retired the first 21 Reds to come to the plate before Todd Frazier doubled in the top of the 8th inning to break up the perfect game. That was also about the time the wheels fell off. The Reds sent 9 men to the plate in the 8th inning, scored 3 runs off of Ryu and Brian Wilson and Kenley Jansen came on to get the first four out save of his career, his 15th on the season. Jansen cannot seem to come in and just shut the door, he has to make it exciting. He escaped a two on, two out jam in the top of the ninth before retiring the final batter on a fly ball to Center. Carl Crawford carried the big bat by driving in two runs and Ryu helped his own cause by driving in a run but only because the Reds could not turn a double play. With only 5 hits in the game, the Dodgers will take runs any way they can get them.

Back Up Catchers And No Hitters

I wonder how many back up catchers have caught no-hitters in Major League Baseball history. Back up Drew Butera caught his second no-hitter when he caugh Josh Beckett's no-hitter yesterday. I know Jeff Torborg specialized in catching no-hitters as did Jason Varitek. Torborg caught three no-hitters in his career. They were pitched by Hall Of Famers Sandy Koufax and Nolan Ryan and Bill Singer. Torborg pretty much spent his career as a backup and never had more than 255 at bats in a season, ironically his last season with the California Angels in 1973. He also had a career high 56 hits and 18 RBI's that season. He caught his last no-hitter pitched by Nolan Ryan on May 15th of that season. Varitek has caught a record four no-hitters, all from pitchers that are more than likely not going to end up in the Hall Of Fame. Hideo Nomo (2001), Derek Lowe (2002), Clay Buchholz (2007), and Jon Lester (2008). Varitek spent the majority of his career as a starter.

Josh Beckett Joins An Exclusive Club

Josh Beckett threw the first Dodgers no-hitter in 18 years yesterday afternoon against the Philadelphia Phillies. Hideo Nomo was the last Dodger to throw one in 1996 against the Colorado Rockies. It was also the first no-hitter in the Majors this year. Beckett threw 128 pitches, struck out 6 and walked 3. 128 pitches is a high pitch count but if I was Manager Don Mattingly I wouldn't have taken him out, either. Beckett had a chance to make history and he struck out Chase Utley to finish it off. Beckett improved to 3-1 on the season and improved his ERA to 2.43. The Dodgers were led on offense by Adrian Gonzalez who went 3-4 with 2 RBI's, Juan Uribe's replacement at 3rd Base, Jeff Turner went 2-4 and hit his 2nd Homerun, and recent call up, Shortstop Erisbel Arruebarrena went 2-4 with an RBI. Yasiel Puig continued his recent tear with 2 hits and he raised his batting average to .349. The Dodgers took 2 out of 3 from the Phillies, shutting them out twice in the process.

Josh Beckett was probably the least likely of the Dodgers starters to throw a no-hitter, his first, as he is 34 years old and is not the fireballer he was when he won the World Series MVP with the Florida Marlins in 2005. He also underwent a procedure last year to fix a nerve problem in his arm that shut him down for the majority of the 2013 season. No-hitters often involve good pitching, great defense, and a whole lot of luck. Beckett didn't even need the great defense or the luck.

The Les Sweetland Line

Hitters have the "Mendoza Line", the term used to indicate when a player is near or below a .200 batting average, named after light-hitting shortstop Mario Mendoza (a career .215 hitter). Mendoza claims that the term was coined by Seattle Mariners teammates Bruce Bochte and Tom Paciorek during the 1979 season when Mendoza's batting average was hovering near the .200 mark all season long (he finished at .198). The term was later picked up on by Hall Of Famer George Brett and then ESPN anchor Chris Berman and it became part of baseball history.

I propose that pitchers should have their own version of the Mendoza Line that revolves around their Earned Run Average. I did a little bit of research and thanks to baseballreference.com, I found that pitcher Les Sweetland, that pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1927-1930 and the Chicago Cubs in 1931, had a career ERA of 6.10 to go along with a career record of 33-58. I don't know if the "Sweetland Line" will catch on in baseball terminology but the Dodgers have a few members of their bullpen that are over the "Sweetland Line."

Kershaw Come Back Strong

Clayton Kershaw came back from possibly the worst outing of his career with a strong effort against the Philadelphia Phillies in the Dodgers 2-0 win last night. He went 6 innings, gave up two hits, struck out 9 and walked 2. All of this was sandwiched around a 45 minute rain delay in the top of the 4th inning. It is unusual for a starter to go back out after that long of a rain delay but Kershaw was up to the challenge. Reliever Brandon League came in for the bottom of the 7th inning and promptle loaded the bases with no one out on a hit, an error, and a walk. Reliever J.P. Howell came in and got a line out on a sliding catch by Carl Crawford, a force out at home on a grounder to Third Basemen Chone Figgins, and a flyout. They should create a special stat when a relief pitcher comes in and gets out of a jam like that. Kenley Jansen came in to get his 14th save in the 9th inning. The DSodgers were led on offense by Yasiel Puig's 3 hits and an RBI, Dee Gordon's 3 stolen bases, and Carl Crawford hit his 4th homerun of the year in the 2nd inning.

Stealing The Show

The Dodgers may have lost to the New York Mets 5-3 last night and Zach Greinke's streak of 21 straight games of allowing 2 runs or less was broken, Yasiel Puig stole the show with the catch of the year in Rightfield last night. Even the New York Mets fans showed their appreciation for the catch. One reporter made the comment that hopefully we could enjoy Yasiel Puig the baseball player in that moment rather than all of the controversy that constantly swirls around him. I am hoping the talent portion of Puigs resume will end up taking over the controversial part.

Chris Withrow Optioned Out

Chris Withrow was optioned down to AAA Albuquerque to make room for Hyun-Jin Ryu, who came off the Disabled List. Paul Maholm was sent to the bullpen to take Withrow's place. Withrow pitched in 20 games, 21 1/3 innings, and gave up 7 earned runs for a 2.95 ERA. He had one bad outing within the past week in which he gave up 5 runs but I believe the biggest reasons that he was sent down was the fact that he had options left and to work on his control. He issued 18 walks in those 21 1/3 innings. He was one of the least deserving of some of the other relievers of being optioned out but it was about the only move the Dodgers could make. Plus the Dodgers needed another lefty besides J.P. Howell in the bullpen.

Making The Hits Count

The Dodgers only had 4 hits against the New York Mets in their 4-3 win win last night but three of them were solo homeruns- Gonzalez (12), Puig (10), and Hanley Ramirez (7)- and Ramirez drove in the Dodgers other run. Hyun-Jin Ryu came off the Disabled List and pitched 6 innings, giving up 2 runs, striki9ng out 9 and only walking 1. He improved to 4-2 on the season and his return couldn't have come at a better time. The Dodgers held on for the victory in spite of Kenley Jansen giving up a 9th inning run but he did earn his 13th save. Brandon League and Brian Wilson pitched scoreless innings a piece and Brian Wilson may be getting back into the pitching groove he had at the end of last year when he helped propel the Dodgers into the playoffs. League lowered his ERA to 1.35.

New York, New York

To paraphrase Frank Sinatra, the Dodgers have been spreading something but it hasn't been the news. Last night the Dodgers held on to beat the New York Mets 9-4 as they built up a big lead (6-1), almost lost it (6-4), and then finished it off with a three run ninth inning (9-4). They didn't give their bullpen a chance to lose the game. Josh Beckett got the win (2-1) in spite of giving up two homeruns in the bottom of the sixth inning. He pitched 5 innings and gave up 4 earned runs and handed it off to the bullpen. Howell, Withrow, Wilson, and Jansen combined to pitch four innings of scoreless baseball. The Dodgers offense came through in the clutch as they had 15 hits and eight different Dodgers drove in runs. Adrian Gonzalez had three hits including his 11th homerun and drove in two. That puts the Dodgers at 24-22 on the season and luckily no one is running away with the National League West right now. They are 4 games behind the San Francisco Giants and are in third place.

Raising Arizona

I had to take the title of this blog from the movie of the same name but it was the best I could do. The Dodgers improved to 8-1 on the season against the Arizona Diamondbacks with a 7-0 win last night and are a perfect 4-0 against them at Chase Field AKA "the old swimmin' hole". Zach Greinke continued his Cy Young type of start to the season by pitching 8 scoreless innings against the Diamondbacks, striking out 6, and giving up only 5 singles. Greinke improved to 7-1 on the season and lowered his ERA to 2.03. Last year's Silver Slugger also had two hits and doubled in a run. Maybe the Kansas City Royals should have let him hit when he pitched there? Greinke has also only allowed 2 or fewer runs in 21 straight starts, the longest such streak since at least 1914 for all you stat geeks (such as myself) out there. Yasiel Puig extended his hitting streak to a career best 15 games with 3 hits including his 8th homerun. Scott Van Slyke continued to use Diamondbacks starter Wade Miley as his personal batting practice pitcher by hitting his 4th homerun (3 against Miley) and he is 6 for 9 against him on the season, and all 6 hits are for extra bases.

Taking One For The Team

All teams get the occasional beat down and last night the Dodgers were no exception in a 13-3 loss to the Marlins. Bob Uecker referred to in his book The Catcher In The Wry as "taking one for the team" and last night Paul Maholm did just that. He was left in longer than he should have to try to preserve a beat up bullpen. Maholm went 3 2/3 innings and gave up 10 runs but only 5 were earned. Chris Perez and Brian Wilson came in and poured some gasoline on the fire (Perez 1/3 of an inning 2 earned runs and Wilson 1 ininning and 1 earned run although Wilson did lower his ERA to 10.22). Drew Butera added to his impressive backup credentials by pitching a scoreless 9th inning and even struck out a batter. The only offensive highlight of the night for the Dodgers was that Yasiel Puig extended his hitting streak to 14 games and knocked in his team leading 31st run.

Drew Butera

Who would have thought that Drew Butera would have emerged from the scrap heap of backup Catchers in Spring Training to hold down the fort until A.J. Ellis came back from the Disabled List? Tim Federowicz struggled at the plate and Drew Butera stepped up with Miguel Olivo as his backup. Butera has already tied his season homerun high with 2 including an extra inning game winner a couple of weeks ago and it looks like he has won the backup job for the rest of the season. Several Catchers in major league history have made nice careers out of being backup catchers with the most famous of those being Bob Uecker.

Beckett's First Win

Josh Beckett got his first win of the season last night (1-1) over one of his old teams the Miami Marlins 7-1. He went 6 1/3 innings, giving up one unearned run, struck out 6 and walked 3. He dropped his overall ERA to 2.38. The Dodgers broke the game open with 5 runs in the bottom of the 6th. Hanley Ramirez started the scoring with a two-run double, Yasiel Puig had two hits and an RBI and improved his average to .326, and Matt Kemp and Carl Crawford also had two hits a piece. Manager Don Mattingly noted Puig's sudden consistency at the plate by saying in a postgame interview "he's growing up before our very eyes." Puig has a career high 13 game hitting streak and leads the team with 30 RBI's. His mother even threw out the first pitch last night on "Yasiel Puig bobblehead night."