Friday Odds And Ends

• 7:2
• Turns out that Beli was on those nose candy - at least once - and was caught, which kept him from entering the US last season. Thank god for small miracles. Here's hoping he gets back on the snow and stays far away from our bullpen. Although we could perhaps use him on the SoSG softball team, where drug testing and moral determinations of recreational substance use are not in place.
• Mike MacDougal had a bullpen session pushed back on Thursday after feeling stiffness in his back. That's meh.
• Clayton Kershaw had a bullpen session pushed back on Wednesday after feeling stiffness in his back. That's HOLY SHIT THAT BETTER NOT BE THE START OF SOMETHING.
• Jerry Sands went from substitute 1B/outfielder last season to substitute teacher this offseason, teaching English and math to middle and high schoolers. Thanks for contributing to the enlightenment of our youth, Jerry.
• Dodger coaching is putting out the word that they expect more from Billingsley this season. Don't we all. Not that we can complain that much. It was a little surprising to note that "He's...one (and the youngest) of only three pitchers in the league to notch double-digit wins in each of the last five seasons." But clearly we're all yearning for a little more from him. Apparently there have been some mechanics issues identified that he will be addressing as we round into training camp.
• Interesting piece on how Stan Conte assesses the potential health and success of prospective signees. I found this part humorous:

Since he knows it's coming, he brings up Jason Schmidt before he's asked about him. It's a wound Conte wears on his home screen. Every time he fires up the Internet on his laptop, it loads the career statistics of Schmidt, the $47 million pitcher he signed off on five years ago whose previously injured right shoulder lasted a total of 43 innings for Los Angeles.

• What is wrong with this sentence?:  "Hawksworth was a mostly effective middle reliever for the Dodgers last season, going 2-5 with a 4.15 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in a career-high 49 games."
• Oh, and a very happy birthday to Dodgers organist Nancy Bea Hefley today!

Some crazy stuff out there, folks. Let's try to have a good weekend. 40 days, 978 hours, 58,718 minutes until opening pitch.

Moves By Dodgers Of Yesteryear

Well, we all know that there ain't much more happening in Colletti-land for the rest of this off-season (cries). But at least we can keep up with some former Dodgers and where they're headed!

• The Arizona Diamondbacks signed 41-year-old Takashi Saito for one year, $1.75M. So I guess we'll see Sammy around Chavez Ravine a bit more in 2012 (relative to when he played for the Brewers).

• Pending results of a physical, peppy but oft-injured Rafael Furcal will return to the world champion Cardinals, having signed a two-year, $14M deal. I was sad to see Raffy go last year but glad he got a ring with St. Louis. I would feel less sad if Dee Gordon really worked out in 2012, particularly from the plate.

• The Giants are re-signing Guillermo Mota (reported $1M, one year). I'm fine with having Mota and his 3.81 ERA up there, despite the fact that he tends to do pretty well against the Dodgers; I sort of feel like he's always on the precipice of a total meltdown, a la recent Jonathan Broxton efforts. We can get to him.

But wait! I stand corrected; it's not quite completely moribund for the Dodgers, at least if you classify talking with corpses as "action." Apparently, we're interested in Coco Crisp, who hasn't played regularly since 2005 with the Indians. Yep, that sounds like a typical Colletti pickup to me. I'm guessing two years minimum. (We're also still interested in Mike MacDougal and the recently non-tendered Hong-Chih Kuo, reflecting our penchant for self-flagellation.)

(cries)

Post-Game 146 Thread: Diving Back Under Sea Level

DIAMONDBACKS 7, DODGERS 2

.500, we hardly knew ye. Two days after the good vibes of SoSG Fest 2011 helped get the Dodgers back to mediocre, the Dodgers have started another descent, dropping our second straight game with tonight's loss to Arizona. Oh sure, this helps the Snakes maintain their lead over the Giants (who also won tonight).

But Ted Lilly and Matt Guerrier's shellacking in the sixth inning (giving up five runs between them), plus two more runs scored off of Mike MacDougal in the eighth, doomed the Dodgers. Matt Kemp got his 33rd HR of the year in the first inning, and Jerry Sands added an RBI single in the seventh, but that was it for the Blue.

Oh, and Eugenio Velez is still 0-for-31.

Post-Game 138 Thread: 11 Of 12

DODGERS 2, BRAVES 1 (10)

One night after a high-scoring come-from-behind victory, the Dodgers also proved they could grind one out against the Braves, winning in extras. The Dodgers take today's game thanks to a leadoff double in the tenth by Spee-Dee Gordon, who then was sacrificed over by Free James Loney and home by Juan Rivera. Nathan Eovaldi has a nice quality start (6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 5 BBs and Ks each), but Mike MacDougal walks away with the win and Javy Guerra gets the save.

Plus, the Diamondbacks' 7-2 win over the Giants (Lincecum goes 5.0 IP with 9 H and 5 ER, taking the loss) puts the Dodgers only 4.5 games out of second place. The 11-out-of-12 run has the Dodgers only two games under .500. Meaningless goals, perhaps; but meaningful achievements against the context of this season, to be sure.

Post-Game 120 Thread: Two At-Bats, Five Outs

BREWERS 3, DODGERS 0

Nothing like James Loney to provide a bucket of ice cold water to all of us Dodger fans still giddy from our second season sweep this past weekend. Loney grounded into a triple play in the second inning and then a double play in the fifth inning, accounting for five quick outs in two at bats. Add in there GIDPs from Andre Ethier and Juan Rivera (the latter ending the game), and a decent seven-inning, two-hit, one-run effort by Ted Lilly was totally wasted.

Not that it mattered, after Scott Elbert and Mike MacDougal greeted their respective first batters with meatballs for home runs, each in the eighth inning (turning a 1-0 lead into a 3-0 lead for Milwaukee). I mean, if not for Brian Wilson's blown save and loss in Atlanta this evening, I might be pretty bummed out. Ha ha!

Post-Game 116 Thread: Completely Over-Matched

Dioner Navarro eyes himself a snack.

PHILLIES 9, DODGERS 8

Was there ever any doubt about the outcome? Stoked to a five-run first inning (batting around, thanks in large part to a three-run Juan Rivera HR), and then elevated further to a 6-0 lead, the Dodgers coughed it up and allowed Philadelphia the sweep. Nine runs, spanning the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, did the trick. Another ninth-inning rally made the score close, but again, it's no cigar. The Dodgers can't play in the Phillies' league. Heck, they may not even be able to play in the Rockies' league.

The funny thing is, unlike yesterday in which I felt like my emotions were being toyed with, this time, I felt a certain degree of inevitability about the outcome. The six-run lead didn't give me enough confidence to think we would sustain it throughout the game, and when the first cracks in Chad Billingsley started to appear in the fourth inning, I knew it was over.

Replace Bills with Hong-Chih Kuo? Count on another couple of runs. Replace Kuo with Blake Hawksworth? Count on giving up the lead. Put in Matt Guerrier, Mike MacDougal and Javy Guerra? Sure, they'll do fine, but of course at that point we were losing, so it didn't matter, as we weren't going to stage a come back. Matt Kemp's 4-for-5 day is wasted, as is Rivera's 3-for-4, 4 RBI day. James Loney had 4 LOB in a 1-for-3 day, topped (bottomed?) by Andre Ethier's 0-for-4, 2 K day.

It was like getting in the ring with a heavyweight prizefighter. You may get in a couple of jabs and pokes for a round or two, but at some point, the big blows are going to take you down and knock you out. It's just a matter of time. At least there was half price food and non-alcoholic drink.

Post-Game 109 Thread: It Would Take A Strong, Strong Man (To Want To Stay With This Team)

DODGERS 1, PADRES 0

How do the Dodgers reward Hiroki Kuroda in his first post-trade-deadline start? By giving him the same trickle of run support that one would expect from a dehydrated four-year-old kid with anxiety issues standing at the Dodger Stadium reserve level trough urinal. One measly run, from a Dee Gordon leadoff single, a Casey Blake sacrifice, and a Matt Kemp RBI single, was all the Dodgers could muster from the plate. And when it looked like it might be a rally inning--with Kemp taking second off a missed catch error on a pickoff attempt, Kemp proceeded to run the Dodgers out of the inning by getting picked off CS third base. You can't blame Kemp, given he generated the game's only run, but still...

So Kuroda had to wiggle his way out of a tough seventh inning, and then Mike MacDougal narrowly avoided imploding in the eighth, before Javy Guerra earned his mlb.com badge with a 1-2-3 ninth inning for the save. I don't know if Kuroda is wondering what the hell he was thinking, deciding to be loyal to a team that seems to challenge him to the utmost just to get a win. It would take a strong, strong man indeed.

I can't believe no one mentioned that in tonight's GT, the letter was signed "Hiroki Asutori (Astley)"! All that google translate work, for naught. (cries)

Post-Game 102 Thread: The "Route" Is On (And Then Almost Off Again)

8-5, get it?

DODGERS 8, ROCKIES 5

Like in yesterday's game, the opponent scored first, with one run in the top of an early inning (three consecutive two-out singles in the second inning). And like in yesterday's game, the Dodgers' pitching staff (Rubby De La Rosa, Matt Guerrier, and Kenley Jansen) proceeded to shut them down after that, allowing no hits from the third inning until the ninth inning.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the plate, our 1-2-3 batters (Rafael Furcal, Aaron Miles, and Andre Ethier) went a combined 6-for-13 with 6 RBI and 2 BB, and Juan Rivera (in the five-hole) added a RBI double of his own. The Dodgers scored three in the third (two off a Ethier HR), two in the sixth, and three in the eighth (batting around), which brought the immortal words of impeccable speller SoSG Dusty Baker, "the route is on!"

But unlike yesterday's game, things didn't end so smoothly. In the top of the ninth, Hong-Chih Kuo entered with a seven-run lead in his favor, but decided to bring along his backup band, the Yippers. Kuo couldn't find the plate (17 pitches, only five for strikes), allowing a single and two walks while recording one out. Kuo had to be rescued by Mike MacDougal, who promptly walked Ryan Spilborghs and allowed Dexter Fowler a RBI single. And then Jamey Carroll added a fielding error to allow a fourth run to score. MacDougal then walked in the fifth run of the night, and we had to call Javy Guerra into service with the bases loaded, in order to get the last two outs of the game on the ninth and tenth batters of the inning.

What was almost an epic implosion was narrowly, narrowly averted, but you know what they say: no lead is safe at Dodger Stadium. Not with this bullpen, at least. Dodgers win their third in a row and climb to 13 GB. We're making our move!

Post-Game 99 Thread: Nationals' Late Slam Crushes The Already-Defeated Dodgers

NATIONALS 7, DODGERS 2

The scoreboard made it appear close for a while there, but the truth was that the Dodgers' only runs came off an Ian Desmond error in the fourth inning; the Dodgers were 0-for-5 with RISP and 6 LOB in all. Even still, down 3-2 in the top of the ninth, it was the combined suckitude of Mike MacDougal, Hong-Chih Kuo, and ultimately Matt Guerrier (who gave up the grand slam to Jerry Hairston Jr.), along with the decisions of Don Mattingly, to put the game well out of reach. I don't know, possibly maybe perhaps the combined efforts of James Loney, Rod Barajas, and Jamey Carroll might have scrounged up a run in the ninth (in some bizarro universe; strikeout, fly out, called strikeout was the actual outcome)--but five runs? Forget about it. Dodgers remain 13.5 GB with 63 to play.

Oh, and Hiroki Kuroda had a nice audition for a contender, going 6.1 IP with 3 ER, 7 Ks and 3 BB. He takes the loss, but to his credit he might have bought a ticket out of this hellhole. We will miss you, Hiro!

Post-Game 83 Thread: Kuroda Finally Gets Some (Run Support)

DODGERS 5, ANGELS 0

Hiroki Kuroda could not believe his eyes. The Dodgers scored single runs in each of the first four innings, then tacked on another In the seventh inning off of the chaos caused by having SpeeDee Gordon and Tony Gwynn Jr on the basepaths at the same time, leaving havoc in their wake (Angels catcher Hank Conger looked like he was going out of his mind). Gwynn went 3-for-3 with a double and reached base five times. Aaron Miles had a good game as well, going 4-for-4. And Kuroda, victim of poor run support all year, was rolling, despite the Dodgers leaving 16 on base and batting 2-for-13 with RISP.

Oh, and James Loney went 0-for-5 and left 5 on base, but Casey Blake (1-for-4) topped that with 6 LOB.

Meanwhile, Kuroda went seven shutout innings and labored at the end but held the Angels to three hits and one walk (with two HBP, including a first-inning pitch that hit Torii Hunter on the hand and knocked him out of the game; hopefully Hnter is okay). Mike MacDougal had a nerves-testing, shaky eighth, and Javy Guerra closed the door in the ninth to secure the shutout. If I heard Charley correctly, that was the eighth shutout of the year and the fifth involving Kuroda. Well done, Hiro!

Post-Game 69 Thread: Not So Phat, Elbert

REDS 3, DODGERS 2

Clayton Kershaw regained form and held the Reds to one run over seven innings, notching 4 Ks along with 2 BBs. Unfortunately, opposing starter Johnny Cueto reciprocally held the Dodgers in check, ceding one run (unearned, thanks to a Brandon Phillips throwing error that allowed Dee Gordon to score) while fanning five and walking one. A pitchers' duel through seven had we.

But the eighth inning opened up the game to the Dodgers' pen, and when Scott Elbert inherited runners at the corners and one out, he used all of two pitches to give the Reds a 2-1 lead (off a Joey Votto single). Mike MacDougal allowed Drew Stubbs to add an RBI single in the ninth, punctuated by yet another wimpy-ass throw from Andre Ethier in right, and that was all she wrote.

The Reds didn't need to be worried, certainly not when they're seeing a Dodger lineup that housed 0-fer efforts from Jamey Carroll, Andre Ethier, Rod Barajas, and Tony Gwynn. If not for the speedy beanstalk, Dee Gordon, the Dodgers at bats really weren't worth watching at all.

Oh, except for that Matt Kemp guy, who drew a walk in the ninth, stole second despite Francisco Cordero's incessant (six!) pickoff attempts at first, and then scored when James Loney got an improbable RBI single. But Casey Blake came in and struck out on three pitches, and Rod Barajas, with the tying run on second, popped out to end the game. Toothpicks for everybody.

Post-Game 64 Thread: Dodger Bats Can't Beat Dodger Bullpen

ROCKIES 9, DODGERS 7

It was Offense-Defense day today at Coors Field, and the defense won. Or rather, the Dodgers defense--especially the relief pitching, assisted by coach Don Mattingly's repeated complacency--definitely lost today's game. The Dodgers were up 4-0 through five innings, three of the runs coming off of Matt Kemp (solo HR, 2-RBI triple). And then starter Clayton Kershaw had a shaky sixth inning and gave up three runs. So the Dodgers come back with three more runs and lead 7-3 after six and a half innings.

And then, the Dodgers' defense decided that it want to control the outcome of the game. 11 batters and four Dodgers pitchers later, the Rockies had scored five runs, most of the damage coming off the hapless pair of Scott Elbert (0.1 IP, 1 H, 2 ER) and Mike MacDougal (0.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB with the bases loaded). To be fair, Kershaw didn't do himself or the Dodgers' offense any favors when he exited with the bases loaded and none out. But when Josh Lindblom allowed the Rox an insurance run in the eighth, it was all but over.

Kemp struck out with one out and Andre Ethier on second base, spoiling his chance for the cycle as well as a game-tying HR. But we can't leave all the offensive responsibility to Kemp and Ethier, right? And if Juan Uribe, James Loney, Dioner Navarro, and Tony Gwynn combine to go 1-for-14 at the bottom of our lineup, the defense is bound to prevail in the end.

Dodgers Have The Eighth-Most Worked Bullpen In MLB

From ESPN.com (insider only), Buster Olney looked at the majors' bullpens to see who was overworked the most. Atlanta topped the list, and the Padres are third, but the Dodger ranked eighth:

Today, we rank the bullpen usage in the National League -- from the most heavily used to the bullpens that are in the best shape moving forward, through the prism of the respective teams' most important relievers. (For some relievers listed below, career highs are appropriate, given their longer service time; for some, it's not.) [...]

8. Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers have had injury issues with their prime relievers, so their outlook is a bit skewed.

Matt Guerrier
25 games, 25.1 innings
On pace for: 75 games, 76 innings
Career highs: 79 games, 88 innings

Mike MacDougal
23 games, 18.2 innings
On pace for: 70 games, 55.2 innings
68 games, 70.1 innings

Kenley Jansen (who just went on the disabled list Sunday)
20 games, 21 innings
On pace for: 60 games, 63 innings