Kershaw

That is all my headline needs to say. Clayton Kershaw ran his scoreless string to 28 innings by shutting out the St. Louis Cardinals last night for 7 innings, striking out 13, and walking 2. He improved his record to 9-2. The Dodgers scored 6 runs in support of Kershaw this time around, the big blow being a two out, three-run homer by Andre Ethier (his 4th) off Shelby Miller in the 5th inning. More important than Kershaw's dominance, is the fact that the victory allowed the Dodgers to catch the San Francisco Giants for the lead in the National League West. The Dodgers have made up 9 1/2 games in three weeks and this was about the time the Dodgers started their incredible run last year.

They Win And They Lose

Even when the Dodgers win they, somehow manage to lose. The Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals last night 9-1 and during the course of their 6 run second inning, they lost utility man Jeff Turner to a hamstring injury and Hanley Ramirez to a calf injury although on which leg seems to be up for debate. Jeff Turner raised his average to .302 with 21 RBI's playing a variety of positions and has been invaluable since coming to the Dodgers late in Spring Training this year. He is likely headed for the Disabled List and Carlos Triunfel is on his way back to Los Angeles on the Albuquerque shuttle. I think Hanley Ramirez gets hurt stepping onto the field. I wonder if he gets hurt cashing his check? Dee Gordon continued his recent hot streak with 3 more hits raising his average to .297. Juan Uribe drove in a pair and six different Dodgers had RBI's after only scoring 2 runs in the previous two games against the Cardinals, one of those games was a 1-0 victory for the Dodgers. Zach Greinke went 7 innings, giving up 4 hits and one run, and he struck out 10 to improve his record to 10-4 on the season.

Managing Better With Less

I have been calling for Don Mattingly's job now for about a year and I feel I have had justifiable reasons. A bigger payroll than Wal-Mart, a ton of talent, and the best starting pitching in baseball are just a few of the reasons the Dodgers should be running away with the National League West. If I have noticed one thing about Don Mattingly's managerial style over the past couple of years it is that he seems to manage better when he has less talent on the field. When Mattingly has to make the pieces fit and somehow work, it brings out the best and more creative manager in him. The left side of the infield over the course of the past three weeks has been a combination of Jeff Turner, Miguel Rojas, Jamie Romak, and Carlos Triunfel with an occasional guest appearance thrown in by Hanley Ramirez and the Dodgers are 13-6. Outside of Hanley Ramirez,three rookies (I am not sure about Triunfel) and Mets castoff Turner, none of them a household name. Scott Van Slyke and Drew Butera have played key roles off the bench. Mattingly seems to have a better feel as to when to use the lesser players as starters and off the bench rather than roll the superstars out there and watch them play.

A Hit (By Pitch) And A Win

Los Angeles Dodgers Catcher A.J. Ellis took a Wade Davis cutter off the arm with the bases loaded to drive in the winning run in last nights 5-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals. That is what Bob Uecker used to refer to as "taking one for the team." Whatever works. The offensive stars for the Dodgers were Second Baseman Dee Gordon, 4 for 5 with his MLB leading 9th triple, 2 runs scored, and his 40th stolen base, Yasiel Puig, 2 for 5 those being a triple and an RBI double, and Matt Kemp hit his 8th homerun. Dodgers starter Dan Haren did not make it long enough to pick up the win as he went 4 1/3, giving up all 4 KC runs, including 2 homeruns. Jamey Wright came in in relief and pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings to get the win (3-2) and Brian Wilson pitched a scoreless 9th inning to get his first save in more than two years. Kenley jansen had pitched in 4 out of the last 5 games so he was unavailable. Scott Van Slyke, playing First base, snared a Lorenzo Cain line drive with one out and the tying run on second and doubled the runner off to end the game.

The Whiff And Poof Express

I borrowed the title for this blog from an old BC comic strip. The manager of their baseball team was asked to describe his lineup a la the "Murderer's Row" lineup of the 1927 New York Yankees. The manager referred to his lineup as the "Whiff And Poof Express" because of their hitting futility. I realize that the Dodgers are missing some key parts to their lineup but they only had 6 hits in last nights 2-0 win over the Kansas City Royals. Jeff Turner led off the game with a triple (he's batting leadoff?) and was eventually driven in by Adrian Gonzalez. The Dodgers scored their only other run in the top of the Ninth inning when pinch hitter Andre Ethier drove in Adrian Gonzalez with a single for the final margin of 2-0. Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw was not at his most dominant but he did stretch his scoreless streak to 21 innings by pitching 8 innings last night, striking out 8, walking 1, and giving up 6 hits. He improved his record to 8-2 and lowered his ERA to 2.24. Kenley Jansen pitched the Ninth inning for his 23rd Save.

Not A Happy Homecoming

Zach Greinke returned to his old stomping grounds in Kansas City last night and it did not go so well for Greinke and the Dodgers. Greinke was the losing pitcher in the 5-3 Royals win and he did not have one of his better efforts. He gave up all five Kansas City runs in 5 1/3 innings on 11 hits. He fell to 9-4 on the season. Hanley Ramirez drove in two runs from the Designated Hitter position and Adrian Gonzalez hit a solo homerun, his 13th, in the 9th inning and that was the Dodgers offense. The Dodgers played the game with a patchwork left side of the infield with a combination of Rookie Miguel Rojas and Jeff Turner at Third Base and Carlos Triunfel and Miguel Rojas at Shortstop. Triunfel played parts of 2012 and 2013 with the Seattle Mariners before being picked up by the Dodgers off waivers earlier this season for organizational depth. Triunfel is now Major League depth. He did hit his first career homerun last week.

Give Me Some Excitement

I would like for this years Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team to give me some excitement and I am not talking about the kind the bullpen gives when they come in in the 8th and 9th inning and blow a two or three run lead. Yesterday's 2-1 win against the San Diego Padres was just another ho hum performance. The Dodgers scored single runs in the first and second innings and then have to hold on for dear life against former Dodger Eric Stults who is the pitching equivalent of Bob Uecker. Stults came into the game with a record of 2-9 on the season with an ERA of around 6. The Dodgers managed to turn it into a pitching duel between Stults and Dodgers starter Hyun-Jin Ryu and luckily for the Dodgers, Ryu was up to the challenge as he only gave up one run in six innings, allowing only 4 hits. He improved to 9-3 on the season and dropped his ERA to 3.06. It was a typical Ryu performance. He gets the Dodgers to the 6th or 7th inning, has a high pitch count, and then has to turn the game over to the bullpen. This season turning it over to the bullpen has been like turning the ball over to the batting practice pitcher. Kenley Jansen did turn in his most dominate inning of the season, striking out the side in the 9th inning on 13 pitches for his 22nd Save. Yasiel Puig does provide some excitement but here lately it has been the various ways in which he can pull something, bruise something, or strain something and have to be removed from the game. I am issuing a call to Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Hanley Ramirez, and Adrian Gonzalez or anybody else with a bat in their hand.... Do something useful with it other than knock the dirt off your cleats!

Kershaw Dominates

You cannot get much more dominating than Clayton Kershaw was in the no-hitter he pitched against the Colorado Rockies last night. The only blemish was a throwing error by Shortstop Hanley Ramirez. Kershaw struck out 15, only threw 107 pitches of which 79 were strikes. That is the second Dodgers no-hitter of the season. Rookie Miguel Rojas carried the big bat with a bases loaded double that drove in three and recent call up Carlos Triunfel hit his first homerun of the season. Kershaw improved his record to 7-2 and his ERA to 2.52. If he had any kind of run support at all Kershaw would probably be about 10 or 11 and 1 at this point and on his way to his third Cy Young. Lost in the shuffle of the no-hitter is the fact that the Dodgers swept Rockies and moved to within 5 1/2 games of the San Francisco Giants.

The Los Angeles Dodgers 2014 Draft Picks

The Major League Baseball Draft may be the hardest of all of the professional sports to predict when it comes to predicting who is going to make it to "The Show". Most baseball draft picks that are taken from high school, toil in the minor leagues for 4 or 5 years before they even get a September call up. College players, because of their age, have a much shorter window than that. College players after 4 or 5 years transition from being "prospects" to "suspects." Only 3 of the Dodgers #1 Draft picks in the past ten years have made it to the professional level. 2006 pick Clayton Kershaw, 2007 pick Chris Withrow, and 2008 pick Ethan Martin albeit with the Philadelphia Phillies have spent time at the major league level. The Dodgers drafted high school right-handed pitcher Grant Holmes from Conway, SC in the First Round of this years draft at #22. The Dodgers drafted 20 pitchers and 20 position players. 32 high school players and 8 college players. Several players selected will probably change positions before their career is over. Aaron Miller, drafted as a Pitcher, is now a DH/Outfielder with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, the high Class A team of the Dodgers. He made it as high as AA Chattanooga before arm problems necessitated the switch. It will be 2018 or 2019 before we know the true value of this draft.

Kershaw Gets A Gift

The Baseball Gods giveth and the Baseball Gods taketh away. Over the past couple of seasons, the Baseball Gods (and the lack of any Dodgers offense behind him) have taken enough from Clayton Kershaw and last night they finally gave something back. The Dodgers scored 5 unearned runs against the Chicago White Sox last night thanks to two errors and a couple of timely hits and Kershaw's record to 4-2. It is about time.

Dee Gordon States His Case

Dee Gordon is having an inpressive season thus far for the Dodgers and is making a case for his inclusion on the National League All-Star team. He is third on the team in batting average with .286 (after being well over .300 for the majority of the season) and is leading the Major Leagues in Stolen Bases with 34 and has only been caught 3 times. He also leads the team with 4 triples. I looked for the Dodgers to try to trade Dee Gordon during Spring Training because he had gone from "prospect" status to the age of "suspect" and after the Dodgers signed their Cuban connection of Erisbel Arruebarrena at Shortstop and Alex Guerrero at Second, the Dodgers wouldn't have room for him or he would be relegated to another season in Albuquerque. He has been one of the pleasant surprises on the Dodgers this season and in Major League Baseball.

Jamie Romak Gets The Call

Jamie Romak was recalled by the Los Angeles Dodgers the other day after being on a minor league oddysey that lasted 12 seasons with 5 different organizations. Romak was originally drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 4th Round of the 2003 draft. He has played in over 1000 minor league games and has 4300 at bats, with over 150 homeruns. He has 13 homeruns with Albuquerque this season and has shown some pop in his bat throughout his minor league career. I believed that the Dodgers would call up Outfielder Joc Pederson but Romak offered more versatility being able to play the oufield and the infield corner positions. Romak got his first career at bat against the Cincinnati Reds and has played in three games so far with 2 at bats and no hits. You have to pull for a player that has put in that kind of time in the minors and finally gets the call.

The Bats Wake Up

The Dodgers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates last night 12-2 as Hanley Ramirez hit two homeruns and drove in five and a trio of players- Matt Kemp, Jeff Turner, and Drew Butera- drive in two runs a piece. Hyun Jin-Ryu improved his record to 6-2 as he scattered ten hits (can you really scatter ten hits?) and gave up both Pittsburgh runs. Jamey Wright pitched three scoreless innings to earn his first save of the year. The Dodgers are still hovering around the .500 mark and Hanley Ramirez carried the team when they got hot last year and I am hoping a five RBI night will jump start him to another hot streak. Matt Kemp needs to get off the schneid as well or he might be playing himself right out of Los Angeles.