Post-Game 83 Thread: Dodgers Launch Moonshots

DODGERS 10, ROCKIES 8

Here is the Whole New Blue we were led to believe would show up this season. For the first time in 2013, the Dodgers scored ten runs — five coming on four home runs: Uribe (411'), AGon (433'), Hanley (442') and Kemp (420') all went deep. The Dodgers ended up with ten extra-base hits, which they haven't done since the legendary 4+1 game.

The not-so-great news: Zack Greinke was wobbly, allowing five earned runs over five innings. He got the win anyway. And in a scene eerily reminiscent of Kemp's ill-fated run-in with the Coors Field outfield wall, Puig smashed his leg on a support beam while making an improbable catch on a Nolan Arenado fly ball in the fifth inning. The Dodgers announced Puig bruised his left hip and thigh, and is day to day.

Those downers aside, it was another productive day for the Dodgers. Both the Padres and Giants lost on walk-offs, and the Dodgers are now tied for second place in the NL West. What do you think about that, Hanley?

Dodgers tickets

Game 83 Thread: July 3 @ Rockies, 5p

Blast off!
Zack Greinke (5-2, 3.94) vs. Tyler Chatwood (4-1, 2.13)

How do you top yesterday's Kershaw-shutout, Puig-near-cycle, Giants-no-hit, all-around GREAT DAY for Dodger fans? You probably can't, but it's a safe bet Puig will find another way to surprise everyone.

The Dodgers are a rocket, streaking past everyone in the West. Strap in and hold on for the ride!

Awesome Puig shirt design by EephusBlue. Buy one here, won't you?

BREAKING NEWS ON OLD FRIENDS:

Yanks sign FA INF Luis Cruz (last played with LAD this season). Jayson Nix placed on 15-day D.L. with rt hamstring strain. Cruz to wear #61.

— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) July 3, 2013

GM Jon Daniels announces today that the Rangers have signed Manny Ramierz to a 1-year minor league contract. pic.twitter.com/y75AljIhTd

— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) July 3, 2013

Daniels looks thrilled with his own decision.

Progress

June 22:

Today (July 3):

Post-Game 82 Thread: Dodgers Hop Out of the Basement

DODGERS 8, ROCKIES 0

The Rockies may have started Oswalt the Lucky Rabbit, but today the Dodgers were the only NL West team with any bounce in their step.

On the day that Homer Bailey no-hit the Giants and the D'backs and Padres lost, Clayton Kershaw used 108 pitches to throw a complete-game no-walk shutout, only the sixth such game in Coors Field history.

Puig was a triple shy of the cycle, AGon homered, Ethier and Uribe each went 2 for 4 and Ajellis went 2 for 3. The only dim spot on the day was Kemp going 0 for 5 with 3 Ks, although he did send one to the warning track in his last at-bat.

The Dodgers are finally out of last place and 2.5 games out of first. Booga booga indeed!

Game 82 Thread: July 2 @ Rockies, 5:30p

Clayton Kershaw (6-5, 2.08) vs. Oswalt the Lucky Rabbit (0-2, 7.36)

Sorry folks, gotta make this one quick. The suddenly resurgent Dodgers start a 13-game swing through the Western Division tonight in Colorado. Their first task is dealing with the not-very-good-anymore-but-could-still-humble-the-Dodger-bats Oswalt and the hitting streak of Michael Cuddyer. (But no Tulo!)

On the other hand, PUIG. IN. COORS. FIELD.

Should be a dandy.

Image: fuzzirella on Flickr

And Now That Carlos Marmol Is Officially Ours...

Again, from Cubby Blue.

(cries)

Dodgers, Cubs Swap Broken Toys

The deal is done, and officially announced by the Dodgers:

#Dodgers today acquired right-handed reliever Carlos Marmol and cash considerations from the @Cubs in exchange for Matt Guerrier.

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 2, 2013

Plus this nifty tidbit:

The #Dodgers also acquired international signing bonus slot No. 92 valued at $209,700 from the @Cubs as part of the deal.

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 2, 2013

Bill Shaikin spins the deal thusly:

#Dodgers just turned Guerrier into $200,000 extra to spend on international players. That's a win even if Marmol never pitches in LA.

— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) July 2, 2013

If fixable, Carlos Marmol at his best is better than Matt Guerrier at his best, so...win?

More Marmol Cartoons

From Cubby Blue.com, some more cartoons about the guy Ned Colletti is trying to sign:

Dodgers 42 "Doubleheader" (July 13, 2013)

Hat tip to Scott Killeen for this one: The Dodgers are planning a special event after the Saturday, July 13 Rockies game: An exclusive screening of "42"!

Dodgers And "42"

Join us for a Saturday Night Doubleheader! Purchase a ticket to see the Dodgers play the Colorado Rockies on Saturday, July 13 and stay after the game for an exclusive screening of "42," a film depicting the true story of Dodger Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson.

The Dodgers game begins at 4:15pm, and the movie screening, which will appear on Dodger Stadium's new high definition video screens, will begin shortly after the conclusion of the game. The movie "42" is rated PG-13. Parents are strongly cautioned that some material may be inappropriate for children under the age of 13. The true story film includes profane and offensive language, including racist slurs, and violence.

The Dodger game will also be preceded by On-Field Photo Day - so don't miss a Saturday full of excitement!

Tickets available through ticketmaster here, or here through TiqIQ.

And Just When You Thought Things Were Going Well: Carlos Marmol To Dodgers?

ESPN.com is reporting that Ned Colletti, he who covets washed up pitchers*, is close to a deal sending SOMEONE to the Cubs for Carlos Marmol:

The Chicago Cubs are closing in on a trade that would send Carlos Marmol to the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to two sources.

Marmol was designated for assignment on June 25, giving the Cubs a 10-day period to trade him or give him his unconditional release. He has a limited no-trade clause with six teams he could block, including the Dodgers.

It's unknown which player or players the Dodgers would send to Chicago.

Marmol is owed more than $5 million on his $9.8 million for this season, and another source said the Dodgers will absorb some of the money owed. He's ending a three-year, $21 million contract with the Cubs, who are the only team he's played for in the majors.

Marmol can become a free agent after this season.

This trade had better be for Matt Guerrier, dammit. I've watched Marmol blow waaaaaay too many Chicago Cubs games to think he would be a good rental for us for the remainder of the year.

How bad is Marmol? Let's look back at an article Phil Rogers of the Chiacgo Tribune wrote this May, asking for a mercy killing:

Marmol has made himself a candidate for similar treatment, although his $9.8-million salary could buy him more time in the hopes that another team will want him. That hardly seems likely, however, as the Tigers didn't give Marmol a sniff when they were exploring closer options in March.

But unless President Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer intervene, this thankless project will continue for manager Dale Sveum and pitching coach Chris Bosio.

"I don't know if he threw a strike today,'' Sveum said after Marmol had walked Zack Cozart and Joey Votto and plunked Brandon Phillips with a pitch. "There were a couple of swings but I don't know if there were any strikes. One way or another, he has to get fixed. He has to pitch. … He has to throw strikes. If he's out there, he has to pitch. You only have seven (relievers) and they have to pitch.''

When Marmol inherited a 4-2 lead from James Russell in the eighth inning — the lead courtesy of two two-run homers from Alfonso Soriano — Marmol passed Lee Smith to become the most used pitcher in Cubs' history. This should have been a nice moment, but you could feel the anxiety level soar with many in the Wrigley Field crowd of 36,455.

Rookie Hector Rondon came in with the bases loaded but gave up a one-run single to Jay Bruce and a sacrifice fly to Todd Frazier to tie the score. Rondon's bases-loaded walk of Jack Hannahan gave the Reds the lead, shining a brighter spotlight on Marmol, who was charged with his third blown save.

"That's frustrating, difficult,'' Marmol said. "I wasn't throwing strikes. I'm giving people chances to score.''

Marmol has walked or hit the first batter he has faced in his last four outings. He has retired the first hitter only five times in 14 appearances in 2013.

"I have to throw strikes, get people out,'' he said. "That's all you can do.''

How much longer until the Epstein regime deems Marmol a lost cause?

UPDATE 6:44p: Dylan Hernandez of the LAT managed to liken Marmol to disastrous Dodgers reliever Brandon League:

If the Dodgers manage to acquire him, he would probably not go straight onto the major league roster. Marmol hasn't pitched since June 20, so he would probably first pitch in the minor leagues or at the Dodgers' spring-training complex.

Last season, the Dodgers acquired and turned around another struggling former closer, Brandon League, who had been demoted to a lesser role by the Seattle Mariners.

For the Dodgers, League saved six games and had a 2.30 ERA in 28 appearances, which he parlayed into a three-year, $22.5-million deal with the Dodgers over the winter.

However, League has reverted to his Mariners form from last season, which again cost him the closer's role. League is 3-3 with a 5.83 ERA this season.

Brandon League, the sequel. Great.

* Not to mention there isn't a three-year, $21M deal Ned hasn't liked. Oh, and that cartoon is from the Cubby Blue blog.

El Mariachi Loco

It is a day off for the boys in blue, so here's a little something for you to get stuck in your head over and over and over again...

http://youtu.be/GJIIXJm7k_k

Scoreboard Watching: July 1, 2013

Scoreboard watching at Citi Field.

Happy July! Now that we've completed our first winning month of the year, let's take this first day to rest up while keeping an eye on some of our NL West friends, all of which whom have games that start at 4p PT:

• Arizona @ New York Mets: Wade Miley (4-7, 4.55) vs. Shaun Marcum (1-9, 5.08). Shaun of the rolling over and playing dead? Well, the good news, I suppose, is that Marcum earned his first win of the year in his last outing, a 3-0 win over the White Sox in which Marcum went 8.0 IP. On the other hand, the D'backs don't see a real Met pitcher until game 3 of the series on Wednesday, when they draw Matt Harvey. Boo.
• San Diego @ Miami: Jason Marquis (9-3, 3.99) vs. Jose Fernandez (4-4, 2.98). Fernandez is tied for the team lead in wins, along with Dodger trade bait Ricky Nolasco (who is 4-8). Fernandez also leads the team in IP (84.2) and Ks (84), which by my math works out to about a K an inning. Graduate education, baby!
• San Francisco @ Cincinnati: Mike Kickham (0-2, 10.57) vs. Bronson Arroyo (6-6, 3.61). Kickham is pretty green, while Arroyo has long flowing hair. Put 'em together, and you've got the She-Hulk.

Of course there's a J Scott Campbell She-Hulk, right?

art: Fall of the Hulks: The Savage She-Hulk #3 (The Heroic Age variant cover)

Dodgers Considering Matt Garza?

I suppose with our new management and sources of funding, we'd technically be mentioned for any possible trade from here on out. But I was still pretty surprised that ESPN's Jim Bowden not only thinks the Dodgers might seek a trade for the Cubs' Matt Garza, but we'd also consider giving up Stephen Fife and Matt Magill to get him (link insider only):

Chicago Cubs right-hander Matt Garza might end up being the best starting pitcher dealt at baseball’s July 31 trade deadline.

After beginning the season on the disabled list, Garza has returned to form as a top-of-the-rotation difference-maker. In his past three starts, he’s gone at least seven innings and given up less than a run per game with 23 strikeouts. It’s clear his stuff is all the way back and his command and control is phenomenal. As such so is his trade value.

The Cubs’ front office is concentrating on fixing its pitching in the long-term, and that’s what they’ll focus on in any trade talks for Garza. The preference will be acquiring young starting pitching which is either close to the big leagues or major league ready.

The Cubs match up well with the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers and Colorado Rockies, as all can offer them major league-ready pitching either in the rotation or the bullpen. Garza’s injury history makes him somewhat of a risk, and perhaps that will temper some the return on Garza the Cubs are hoping for. So here are five trades the Cubs could realistically make for Garza: [...]

4. Los Angeles Dodgers: RHPs Stephen Fife and Matt Magill

In Fife and Magill, the Dodgers can offer the Cubs two young major league-ready starters, both of whom have had time in the majors this year. Fife’s 88-92 mph fastball highlights a solid four-pitch mix that includes a curveball, changeup and slider. His repertoire doesn’t wow scouts, but he should be a solid back-of-the-rotation starter in time.

Magill’s fastball, however, is 92-95 mph and runs in on right-handed hitters. When his slider has optimum spin, it’s a wipeout pitch. His changeup needs more work to be effective. He has had trouble with control and command at the major league level, but in time he should settle down and improve. He also could become a back-of-the-rotation starter.

Yikes, Fife AND Magill? Seems too rich for a guy just returned from a strained lateral muscle, who is 3-1 in 8 starts with a 3.83 ERA (ERA is almost spot-on his career average; Garza is 60-62 lifetime).

photo: Brian Kersey / Getty Images

Puig: Cuban Missile Shirt

From over at Cubby Tees, this one runs $19.95 + shipping:

Here's the site's copy:

He’s part Bo Jackson, part Roy Hobbs and part Superman…but fans have already dubbed him the Cuban Missile (apologies to less-talented but first-anointed Alexei Ramirez of Chicago). Get on this superstar’s bandwagon now with a fun design combining visual elements inspired by the Cuban flag, the Dodgers uniform and his apropos nickname.

Like all Cubby Tees designs, it is not an official product of any player, league, franchise or revolutionary communist manifesto -- it's just a comical piece of unique art from our imagination; drawn by hand and rendered digitally as a lossless high-resolution vector graphic for perfect printing. It's available on gravel, sport grey or Dodger Blue pre-shrunk cotton tees in sizes small through 5XL. (Alternate cuts/colors/sizes may be available on request).

I may have to get me one of these!

Watching Yasiel Puig Hit...Every Single Time

Nice piece by Grant Brisbee, lead writer on McCovey Chronicles, about Yasiel Puig's batting. Surprisingly, despite being a Giants fan, this article is pretty laudatory:

The other part of me wanted to watch all of them because Puig is one of the most fascinating hitters in recent years. And I did notice a few things about Puig and his approach, which I'll list here:

1. He's an aggressive hitter

I almost led with "he's talented" or "he's a big dude" because they would be just as revelatory. But even though I knew this, I was still surprised at how aggressive. Of his 38 hits so far, 27 came within the first two pitches of the at-bat. Fourteen came on the first pitch of the at-bat.

2. Yes, there have been a lot of infield hits

BABIPuig, as it were. Nine of his 38 hits have been infield hits, including two bunts. So if you wanted to know if Puig is going to hit .427 for his career, probably not. But his speed will keep him in the infield-hit business for a while, so you can't just eliminate his infield hits and say "Okay, he's really only hit .326 so far. Calm down, everybody." Those hits count, too.

3. He is not a bad-ball hitter

This was the biggest surprise for me. His last hit was a game-winning single through the hole on the left side. It came on an 0-2 slider, and it was pretty close to where Justin De Fratus probably wanted to throw it.

It was off the plate, just below the outside corner of the zone. And it made me wonder if he was a bad-ball hitter, the kind of guy who can hit pitches at his toes, like Pablo Sandoval or Vladimir Guerrero. He is not.

The article goes on to mention two more points, plus includes a ton of need gifs and videos and pitch location graphs; but here's the ending:

Madison Bumgarner on that home run: "It didn’t make much sense for me."

Nope. Nope, it sure didn't. But it wasn't just that at-bat. Puig's first major-league hit was on a ball in the low-right corner of the zone. His third hit was on a fastball up that was right on the outside edge. Almost a quarter of his hits have come on balls that I marked as "on the edge."

Try reconciling that. He can pull balls that should be in on his hands because he stands so far away, but he has no problem with pitches on the outside part of the plate, either.

Eventually the league will make an adjustment. A hitter this aggressive can't keep hitting .400 and pulling balls on the outside corner for hits. The league will make an adjustment, and Puig will make a counter-adjustment. This has been the paradigm for a century or so. I'm not smart enough to know what that adjustment is, though. Don't throw Puig strikes, for one. But if you throw him balls, make sure they aren't off the plate on the inside. Really, the perfect pitch to Puig might be the one that had the game-winning hit on in the Dodgers' last game against the Phillies. So … don't do that, either?

At this time last year, anonymous scouts were saying things like, "I'm not even sure if we'd use a first-round pick on Puig if he were in the draft." Well, say. Looks like he's kind of good. And when you watch exactly how he's doing it, it's hard to know how he's doing it at all. This shouldn't be real.

It's definitely surreal, whether you wear Dodger blue or Giants orange. Yasiel Puig has made this a very exciting June.

Odds To Win The 2013 World Series (July 1, 2013)

The Dodgers might be in last place in the NL West, but according to the newest odds to win the World Series, we are tied for the best odds in the division:

Detroit Tigers 13/2
St. Louis Cardinals 15/2
Atlanta Braves 8/1
Boston Red Sox 11/1
Texas Rangers 11/1
Oakland Athletics 12/1
Pittsburgh Pirates 12/1
Cincinnati Reds 14/1
Baltimore Orioles 16/1
Toronto Blue Jays 16/1
Washington Nationals 16/1
Arizona Diamondbacks 22/1
Los Angeles Dodgers 22/1
San Francisco Giants 22/1
Los Angeles Angels 25/1
New York Yankees 25/1
Tampa Bay Rays 25/1
Cleveland Indians 28/1
Colorado Rockies 40/1
San Diego Padres 40/1

Notes On The Recently Departed

In the midst of the Dodgers' re-entrance in the NL West race, not to mention the conflagration of Puig-mania that was so meteoric, it led to a city-wide heatwave, there were two designations for assignment from the Dodgers' 2013 roster.

The first DFA was for Dodger opening day third baseman Luis Cruz, who was sent down on June 28:

"Luis just got caught in a box this year," manager Don Mattingly said. "He struggled early and then Juan has swung the bat pretty well. Trying to get him at-bats after that got tougher. He needed at-bats to get out of it, and he wasn't getting those, and we couldn't send him anywhere to get at-bats."

The Dodgers now have 10 days to either place Cruz on waivers, release him or trade him. If Cruz does not land with another Major League club, he could accept an assignment to Triple-A Albuquerque.

"It's not necessarily the end of the road for Luis here, because there's a period of time that he's available to all teams and then he has a choice to make at some point," Mattingly said. "If he doesn't end up in the big leagues with someone, then you hope that he'll end up in Albuquerque, where he has a chance to get some swings. You never know what happens at that point. He could get a chance to come back again and play."

It's a pity for Cruz, who won the job based on his play in the second half of 2012 (in 78 games, .297/.322/.753; a 105 OPS+). However, this year, Cruz has been horrible offensively (OPS+ of -2; that's right, a negative number). Baseball Reference has Cruz' WAR at 2.3 in 2012; it's -0.7 in 2013. With Juan Uribe exceeding (his low) expectations, plus Nick Punto and Skip Schumaker hanging around in a pinch, designating Cruz is disappointing but well overdue. Hopefully, Cruz can stay within the Dodgers organization and get his head screwed on straight.

The other DFA came Sunday June 30, when reliever Matt Guerrier was let go:

Guerrier was 2-3 with a 4.80 ERA in 34 appearances with the Dodgers this season. In three seasons with the club, the right-hander was 6-8 with a 4.24 ERA over 120 games. Guerrier last pitched on Friday, when he allowed three runs on four hits in 1 1/3 innings.

"We feel like we're getting better with bringing Chris up," said Dodgers manager Don Mattingly. "Matt is a veteran guy, but we just weren't getting results."

Guerrier was charged with seven runs in 4 1/3 innings over his past five appearances.

"It seemed like he left a lot of balls up in the zone and and didn't seem to be able to locate the ball where he wanted to," Mattingly said.

Guerrier, in the last year of a three-year, $12M deal, is probably not going to get picked up by anyone else given the roughly $1.8M remaining on his 2013 salary. But sending him down reflected his ineffectiveness in the last five games, which saw his ERA balloon to 4.80; but to be fair, his ERA+ of 77 this year is the worst in his ten-year career, and his WHIP of 1.467 this year and H/9 of 9.6 are also near his historical highs.

Guerrier was supposedly not excited by the demotion news. But it's time to start getting some accountability around this clubhouse (not to mention the youth movement that seems to be yielding some dividends, notwithstanding the injection of energy). So I'm sorry for Matt, but much like Cruz, it's probably also well overdue.

Off-Day Linkage

Vin Scully and the late usher Ira Hawkins.

• "At his funeral, the team answered that call, as more than two dozen Dodger Stadium ushers showed up in full uniform, bringing the family to tears." Dodger Stadium usher worked to the end (Bill Plaschke, LA Times)
  
• This stuff was complicated a hundred years ago. Stealing Signs In Baseball: A Hall Of Famer's Guide (Deadspin)
  
• An old article, but entertaining nonetheless. Skipper vs. ump arguments not always as they seem (MLB.com)
  

What, There's No Baseball Today?

I knew there was something I was supposed to to be doing...

Frankrupt Hops on the Puig Train

When you're hot, everybody wants a piece of you. A virtual cottage industry has sprung up around Yasiel Puig's success, and Frankrupt has joined in. Check 'em out: