Brett Anderson (5-6, 3.14) vs. Aaron Harang (5-11, 3.97).
Old friend alert! The last-place Phils are 8-2 in their last ten, and the Giants have Bumgarner starting today (why does it always seem like he's starting for them?). Dodgers' lead is two; pray they don't shorten it any further.
Update, 12:09pm PT: Jon Heyman reports that the deal is actually Harang and cash considerations for Hernandez. Aaron Harang! In Coors Field! Praise the deity of your choice.Harangutan will certainly flourish at Coors Field, right?
Original post: Per Troy Renck of the Denver Post, the Dodgers have acquired catcher Ramon Hernandez from the Rockies for reasons that I absolutely cannot fathom. Renck points out that Hernandez was DFA’d last week and all the Rockies can expect is some salary relief from the $3.2m he’s owed this year, but I’m hoping that this is a prelude to something larger, because if it’s not, this raises a ton of questions.
So says Baseball Prospectus' Ben Lindbergh, in an insider-only link run on ESPN.com which predicts the winner of the Dodgers' fifth starter:
Position: No. 5 starter
Battlers: Chris Capuano, Aaron Harang, Ted Lilly
Signing Zack Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu gave Los Angeles a surplus of starters. With Chad Billingsley's health status uncertain, the Dodgers have thus far refrained from trading any of their extra arms, although they might still deal one during spring training.
Who should win? Harang. Capuano is the only one of the trio who's had an extended stay in the bullpen in the past decade, and with Scott Elbert unlikely to be back from offseason elbow surgery by Opening Day, the Dodgers could lessen the logjam by using him in long relief. In light of his age and shaky shoulder, Lilly too would be better deployed in short bursts, at least until he's proved that he's intact enough to attract interest from other teams.Team: Los Angeles Dodgers
Interesting that they didn't mention Clayton Kershaw. I hope he gets a chance to start, too.
It's Top Ten season for ESPN.com's Buster Olney. And the Dodgers don't end up too bad, all things considered.
First up, the pitching rotations. And Buster Olney places ours third in the majors: (link insider only):
Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Josh Beckett, Chad Billingsley, Ted Lilly/Chris Capuano/Aaron Harang/Hyun-Jin Ryu. For Greinke and Beckett, this is the perfect situation, because they don't have the burden of being The Guy. Kershaw is the National League's best pitcher and he fully embraces all that comes with being the staff leader, from the media responsibilities to those moments when retaliation is needed. Greinke and Beckett can just worry about pitching, which is probably how they prefer it to be. The reason the Dodgers are ranked third -- and not higher -- is that it's not really clear what Don Mattingly is going to get out of Billingsley, Lilly or the starting pitcher who isn't dealt.
Linchpin guy: Beckett. Like other veteran starters who have moved from the AL to the NL, he should benefit from the shift, and Beckett is smart and savvy enough to be able to take advantage of those weakest spots at the bottom of the lineup. Beckett had a 2.93 ERA in his seven starts with the Dodgers, after being acquired from Boston, and now he gets a full-season reset button. He could be excellent. It's evident from Beckett's FanGraphs data that he relied a lot more on his cutter in his last few starts; it's a small sample size, but his strikeouts-per-9 ratio jumped from 6.64 with the Red Sox to 7.95 with the Dodgers. 3. Los Angeles Dodgers
Olney's got Detroit and Washington ahead of us, with only the Giants mentioned from the rest of the NL West (ninth).
Next up, the outfield, where the Dodgers rank fourth (link also insider only):
It's the outfield with the most star power, for sure: Matt Kemp in center, flanked by Carl Crawford in left field and Andre Ethier in right. Kemp was plagued by injuries and limited to 106 games, and still managed to hit .303 with 23 homers, and Ethier finished the season with 20 homers and 89 RBIs. Crawford missed almost all of last season with elbow trouble before having Tommy John surgery, and he may not be ready for the very beginning of the 2012 season. If each of the three match their best seasons from the past, this group could be the best in the majors, with power, speed and defense. But a significant factor will be how Ethier and Crawford fare against the parade of left-handers they will see, especially in the later innings of games.
Ethier had an OPS of .606 versus lefties last season, and Crawford had even worse numbers (OPS of .566) against lefties while playing for Boston in 2011. Kemp did a ton of damage against lefties last year, with a 1.105 OPS, and the Dodgers will need him to continue that trend, because he's going to see a ton of lefties while hitting among Crawford, Ethier and Adrian Gonzalez.
Something to remember: The Dodgers' payroll is going to be far beyond the luxury tax, and the team's management has a distinct win-or-bust, Steinbrenneresque style of operation right now. If Crawford or Ethier struggle against lefties and the Dodgers suffer in the standings, it's hard to imagine the front office waiting patiently for them to figure out their swings. They're more likely to pursue a right-handed-hitting outfielder who can help balance the lineup -- which might explain why they were open to retaining Shane Victorino for 2013.4. Los Angeles Dodgers
The unknown of Crawford is the key, clearly. Although a fully-healthy Kemp and a consistent performance from Ethier would also come in handy. Victorino? Come on.
Oh yeah, the Angels, Nationals, and A's are ahead of us, with the Diamondbacks at #9.
Infield? We didn't make the top ten (link insider only, if by now you haven't figured this out). Washington snagged #8, and the Giants finagled #9.
Nor did we place in today's post, the top ten lineups. Angels lead the pack, with the Nationals fifth and the Rockies seventh.
Well, two out of four ain't bad (though the Nationals certainly look pretty good, on Olney's paper). The Angels only placed in two of the four top ten lists as well. Let's see how we fare in Olney's next sets of top tens (peanut vendors, concession stand line lengths, and flush-free urinals).
Aaron Harang (10-10, 3.68) vs. Matt Cain (16-5, 2.77).
The Dodgers have a ghost of a chance at making the playoffs, and Harang will have to have the game of his life against the Giants' ace for the Dodgers to live another day...or eat power pellets in another maze, or however the adage goes. The Cards-Reds tilt started a few hours ago, so the Cards are probably already down a dozen runs or so. Do you believe? PLAYOFFS!
Aaron "Not Kershaw" Harang (9-10, 3.80) Clayton Kershaw (12-9, 2.70) vs. Homer Bailey (12-9, 3.82).
There's celebrations going on in Cincinnati, but not for the Dodgers, who are throwing in the towel by sending in Harang on three days' rest (his prior three starts on three days' rest have resulted in a 5.50 ERA).
Clayton Kershaw is indefinite with a sore hip. Shane Victorino is hurt with a sore wrist. Matt Kemp is still ailing from a sore shoulder, and A.J. Ellis is pretty fatigued. And Juan Uribe is fat.
So I'm not expecting we'll take the rubber game tonight here in Cincy. Let's just get ready for a day off before we get smoked in San Diego.
This game got off to an ugly start: Aaron Harang walked three and gave up a double in the first inning, yet somehow escaped by giving up only one run.
Then things got weird. Hanley Ramirez hit a solo home run off Ben Sheets. Okay, great news, but hardly a shock.
Then James Loney homered. Sure, he homered two days ago against the Pirates, but this was still unexpected.
Then Luis Cruz homered. That right: four pitches, three homers. Perhaps conscious of the backlash against Hanley's "I see you" gag on the road, Cruz attempted a half-hearted goggles gesture upon crossing home plate but quickly put it away, smiling sheepishly. It was a great character moment for an unlikely contributor.
In the sixth, Hanley put it away with a three-run homer. The Dodgers had four hits today; all four were home runs.
Harang made it stand up, scattering four hits and eight strikeouts (and five walks) over 6 2/3 innings. Interim manager Trey Hillman put his stamp on the game, removing Javy Guerra mid-count in the eighth in favor of Shawn Tolleson. But it all worked out, with Kenley Jansen getting four outs (and giving up a meaningless homer) to end it.
Dodgers ensure a winning road trip (6-3) with one more to go tomorrow. Unfortunately the Padres folded again for the Giants, so the Dodgers are still in second place by half a game. Morning baseball tomorrow!
1, 2 & 4: Scott Cunningham/Getty Images
Remember when loyal SoSG reader Fred's Brim got hitched? When he couldn't help checking on the Dodger game on his wedding day?
It gets better. From Mr. Brim himself:
I wore my SOSG shirt on my honeymoon where I got to meet a real Harangutan! This one had a better batting-average-against though.
This was in Borneo where they still live out in the wild. Some are more tame than others but they all know that Uribe sucks.
That's right: SoSG has been represented in Borneo. Great job, FB!
Aaron Harang (7-6, 3.76) vs. Alex White (2-6, 6.16).
Hot off a sweep of the Cubs, the Dodgers went out and played one of the two NL teams WORSE than the Cubs, and got shutout, limited to five pathetic hits. So it's back to the lucky bear cub pictures for this GT despite the fact it has nothing to do with this game.
SoSG Alex Cora and I will be at the Stadium tonight, collecting Koufax bobbleheads. Drop a line if you are thirsty (we're bringing packs of saltines with us)!
top photo swiped from this site
Yeah, tonight sucked. Visions of a victory, a series win and a potential sweep — not to mention staying in first place — were obliterated by Kenley Jansen's ninth-inning mental lapse.
But I'm going to tap into my inner Jon Weisman to find some perspective here. We actually learned some positive things tonight:
1. Don Mattingly is a steady skipper. In the bottom of the ninth, Prime Ticket cameras caught Mattingly calmly reassuring a shellshocked Jansen in the Dodgers dugout (above). Remember, this was moments after the incident, as Twitter was exploding with the force of a thousand suns. Whether he learned such poise from Joe Torre or if it's just part of his Midwestern DNA, that gesture alone gives me so much faith in our manager.
2. Kenley Jansen has character.
Kenley Jansen was among the first guys at his locker stall after the game, answered every question.
— J.P. Hoornstra (@jphoornstra) July 15, 2012
It didn't win the game today, but over the course of what could be a grueling second half, it'll serve him well.
3. Better now than later. As SoSG reader Paul put it, "I'd rather have him learn from that mistake in July than October." Who can forget Paulie "Fuck the Dodgers" Lo Duca tagging out Jeff Kent and J.D. Drew at the plate in the 2006 playoffs? At least Jansen's ninth-inning focus doesn't figure to be a gaffe that'll haunt us later.
4. A spoonful of Vinny helps the medicine go down, the medicine go down-wown, the medicine go down. As SoSG Dusty put it, "This one seemed tougher to bear if one was in the Yard." Vin's reaction was along the lines of "Hello, what's this?" Again, Twitter: not so nice.
5. It was a team loss. And as SoSG Nomo put it, "Yeah, Kenley fucked up, but they just kept letting the Padres back in. 3-1 became 3-2, 4-2 became 4-4, 6-4 became 6-5, etc." Aaron Harang allowed two home runs. Ronald "Visa Issues" Belisario allowed a run in the eighth. The Dodgers stranded the bases loaded in the third. Jansen came into the game with no room for error.
So we have thirteen hours to get the bile out, because Mattingly & Co. will have forgotten about this by tomorrow's game.
On the day the Lakers landed Steve Nash and Dodger-hater Carlos Lee got his ass shipped to Florida, the Dodgers made a little news of their own by reclaiming first place in the NL West. Sure, it's only by half a game, and they could slip back into second tomorrow, but valleys sure seem shallower in the rearview mirror, don't they? The Dodgers' recent nosedive was painful, but they were out of first place for six days (albeit the longest six days of the season so far).
Former Red Aaron Harang showed his old team no love, holding them to a single earned run over seven innings. Unlikely suspects Luis Cruz and James Loney each had RBIs in the Dodgers' three-run first inning, and Dee Gordon stole two bases — but left the game in the eighth after it looked like he hurt his hand sliding headfirst into third. (In other injury news, Andre Ethier hit the DL earlier today.) Ronald Belisario held the hold in the eighth, Adam Kennedy tacked on a sac-fly RBI in the ninth, and Kenley Jansen saved it in eight pitches.
Dodgers travel to Arizona for a four-game series, their last before the All-Star break. A win or two in the desert would sure help make July look a lot brighter than June.
UPDATE:
Dee Gordon has dislocated right thumb, but x-rays showed nothing broken. Will have MRI Thursday
— Eric Stephen (@truebluela) July 5, 2012
photo by Harry How/Getty Images
Aaron Harang (5-4, 3.76) vs. Garrett Richards (2-0, 0.86).
The good news is that Aaron Harang identified a mechanical flaw after giving up a career-high eight walks in his last start, in Oakland.
The bad news is that he was working on his car at the time. So while fixing the leak in the exhaust manifold of his 1968 bitchin' Camaro has done wonders for his ride, we're still left to wonder how he'll fare against an Angels lineup that is finding its groove.
The Dodger bats, who scored a relatively explosive three runs yesterday, will be further tested by Garrett Richards, who was called up after Jered Weaver had gone on the DL, and stayed up when Jerome Williams went down. Dodger bats and new pitchers: usually a pretty bad combo. Let's hope we can fix that today.
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Aaron Harang (4-3, 3.90) vs. Cole Hamels (8-2, 2.81).
Breakfast baseball! According to @truebluela, "The Dodgers have never swept a 4-game series in Philadelphia. Ever." If the Dodgers are to make history today, they're going to have to earn it. Aaron Harang may have ended the Dodgers' five-game losing streak in his last start, but he'll have to put the Phillies on lockdown today because Cole Hamels doesn't figure to allow the Dodgers too many runs. Let the sweep begin!
Heat fans leave earlier than Dodger fans. They must have to go home and eat some facesBREWERS 3, DODGERS 2
The Dodger Stadium crowd booed Ryan Braun lustily, but that's about all the trouble the Brewers encountered today. In the sixth inning, Aaron Harang did himself in by pulling James Loney off the bag on a routine throw to first. The Brewers chipped away for the two runs that gave them the eventual win. The Dodgers' best look at the game came in the third, when Loney came up with the bases loaded and two out. I won't even go into how that ended.
Shaun Marcum (Marcum? I hardly even know 'um) exited after seven innings of one-run ball and Jerry Hairston Jr. had an RBI in the eighth, but the Brewers' 'pen held it together.
Dodgers (32-16) end up going 9-5 sans Matt Kemp, who returns tomorrow, and not one day too soon.
"...throwing out the ceremonial first pitch will be U.S. Marines Sgt. Michael Mejia. A Marine since 2003, he served two deployments in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. Making a full recovery after stepping on an improvised explosive device (IED) in combat operations, Mejia spent seven months in the hospital in recovery and is now back on full duty as platoon sergeant."Sons of Steve Garvey thank Sgt. Mejia and so many others for their service. Now let's honor them all with a great win today in a game that has demonstrated the strength of the American character for generations. Be safe out there, enjoy the holiday, and most of all: Play ball!
