Return of Kuroda Brings Stability To Dodgers Rotation

Hiroki Kuroda returned to the Dodgers rotation on Monday after missing nearly 2 months with an oblique strain. He had not pitched since his start on Opening Day. It was a welcome sight to Joe Torre and the rest of the Dodgers brass who had been forced to give starts to Eric Stults and Jeff Weaver among others in Kuroda's absence. Kuroda pitched well going 5 IP and striking out 6. He allowed just 2 earned runs but got no run support from the offense and ended up taking the loss in a 3-2 game. It was still a very encouraging night for a rotation that has been in an almost constant state of flux after Kuroda got hurt and projected 5th starter, James McDonald crashed and burned and was sent back to AAA.

Kuroda's return, along with the emergence of Eric Milton as the 5th starter, has the Dodgers rotation suddenly looking like a strength. Chad Bilingsley, Randy Wolf and Kuroda form a strong trio at the top of the rotation and allow youngster Clayton Kershaw to slide down to the 4 spot and take an extra day off here and there to protect his young arm. It also takes some pressure off him knowing that there are 3 proven commodities ahead of him. Milton rounds out the rotation and brings a veteran addition to what was an extremely young pitching staff on Opening Day.

The bullpen is also starting to round into shape with Ronald Belisario and Ramon Troncoso emerging as effective setup men and Jeff Weaver bringing an ability to eat innings and keep the Dodgers in games to the long man role. The only glaring weakness is the lack of an effective loogy. Will Ohman was signed for the role but battled injuries and is currently on the DL and youngster Brent Leach has been mostly ineffective. Eric Stults figured to get a shot in this role when Kuroda returned but he too was sent to the DL with an injury to the thumb on his pitching hand.

All in all though the pitching staff is looking better than it has since the start of the season and will hopefully be able to pick up the offense on occasion as it did last night in a 1-0 victory over Arizona.

After taking 2 of 3 from Arizona the Dodgers lead in the NL west currently stands at 9.5 games. Far and away the largest lead of any 1st place team in baseball. They look to improve on that in a rematch of the NLCS with the Phillies that starts tonight.

Bullpen Mismanagement?!?

Given the many pitfalls overcome by Joe Torre and the Dodgers this season, it has been hard to be too critical of his decisions. After all they have managed to maintain their amazing start even with opening day starter, Hiroki Kuroda on the DL, projected 8th inning setup man, Hong-Chih Kuo also missing significant time and.. Oh yeah.. Something to do with a 50 game suspension for performance enhancers. Torre has had more on his plate in a couple months than many managers deal with in an entire season.

Despite all that, one does not remain bulletproof forever and you can't help but wonder what has been going through his head the past week in regards to his bullpen management. To this point in the season it is almost beyond argument that the top 3 Dodger relievers have been, Jonathon Broxton, Ramon Troncoso and Ronald Belisario, in that order. So one would assume that those 3 pitchers would be used in the most urgent and close situations. But if you assumed that.. Well you'd be wrong.

On May 27th against the Rockies, Torre asked Belisario to try and go 3 innings despite the Dodgers leading by 5 runs and numerous less valuable options available including Mota, Ohman, Leach etc. After seeing Belisario was out of gas he let Ohman pitch to exactly one batter before quickly giving the ball to Broxton despite a 4 run lead. Broxton, who clearly didn't have his best stuff, labored through the remainder of the 9th throwing 38 pitches before securing the win. So that left both The Ox and Belisario unavailable for the series opener against the Cubs the following night. With his other top 2 relievers unavailable, Torre was forced to asked Troncoso go 2 innings in a 2-1 game and hit for himself with 2 men in scoring position in the top of the 9th. He played with fire but in that instance he didn't get burned.

Fast forward to last night. In the final game of the Cubs' series, Torre used all 3 of his top relievers with a 6 run lead against the Cubs knowing that Hiroki Kuroda was making his first start in almost 2 months the following night and would likely need heavy bullpen support. But with his top 3 bullpen arms having gone the following night he was forced to ask Cory Wade, Brent Leach and Guillermo Mota to keep the Dodgers in a close game with the Diamondbacks. While performing admirably the bullpen allowed Arizona to squeak across what would end up being the winning run in a 3-2 loss.

Now I certainly don't claim to be as smart as Joe Torre and I admire the job he has done. But it seems fairly obvious that with a 6 run lead you use your guys needing to get work in and keep your better arms rested. In this instance it came back to bite Torre and the Dodgers.

Manny Ramirez: Tainted Love.... A Look Back

It's been almost a month since Manny Ramirez was suspended and became the latest target for the masses. Bloggers and well-paid talking heads alike have taken their best shots and Manny remains in hiding. The Dodgers meanwhile keep on winning and have actually improved their lead over the rest of the NL West since the suspension.

When Manny was suspended I wrote a heartfelt blog piece on my old general sports blog and the passion that poured out of me as I wrote was what led me to starting this blog. I love sports and I love to write but only the Dodgers bring out those kind of emotions in me. So here I am, for good or for bad. So even though it was posted nearly a month ago on my old blog I feel like I need to re-post those thoughts here now. In a crazy way it was this blog entry that led to the creation of this site. I'm not going to edit it or change it in any way. These are my feelings verbatim of the night Manny was suspended.

Tainted Love

I have been a Los Angeles Dodgers fan for over 20 years. Those years were filled with mostly happy memories. There have however been a few heart wrenching days. Today definitely qualifies as one of them. If for some reason your head has been under a rock and you missed it, Manny Ramirez was suspended today for violation of the MLB Drug Policy. He tested positive for one of the drugs listed on the banned substance list given to every MLB player at the start of Spring Training. What that drug actually was, or why he was taking it are still open to debate. But whether Manny is struggling to hit for the Mendoza line in the bedroom, was trying to trigger his monthly menstrual cycle, or just flat out 'roiding, the end result is the same. 50 game suspension and the burst of the magical bubble that was beginning to encompass Chavez Ravine.

The Dodgers woke up Thursday with a 13 game home winning streak to open the season, the longest such streak in the history of modern baseball. They had a 6 and a half game lead in the NL West and appeared poised to run away and hide from the rest of the division. All that is gone now. Sure the Dodgers are still probably the best team in the division and should in theory have more than enough talent to weather the storm for 50 games. But of far more concern is the impact of this situation on the Dodgers' psyche. This was a shattered and broken clubhouse prior to Manny's arrival last summer. Cranky veterans like Jeff Kent and Luis Gonzalez were quick to point the finger at the Dodgers young core for their lack of work ethic, respect and honor for the traditions of the game. Although to be fair, Kent lost any and all respect his great career might have earned him when he had the audacity to call out Vin Scully. The fact is, the biggest thing that seemed different about the Dodgers with Manny in their midst wasn't just the impact of the long home runs into the LA skyline, but rather the fact that they actually seemed to like playing baseball together. Energized by the arrival of Orlando Hudson, this looked the best Dodgers lineup in decades with the chance to really have a special season. Instead they will spend the next 2 months answering the same questions that we ask ourselves today.

Why, Manny? Why this? Why now?

The talking heads will spend countless hours discussing what he did and didn't take and the impact it has on his legacy. But it doesn't matter. There are no names beyond reproach at this point. Outside of Greg Maddux, I don't think there is a single name from that past 20 years that would surprise me if it was announced tomorrow they had been using performance enhancers. We've seen too many go down. Prior to today the Dodger fan in me would have made a case for Manny. "He's too happy go-lucky, if ever there was a player who just exudes the child-like joy for the game that you want to see, it was this guy". Truth is, the only difference between Barry Bonds, who I loved to hate and Manny, who I grew to love, is the name on the front of their jersey. I'm not quite sure why this one hurt so much. As much as I loved the electricity in Dodger Stadium when Eric Gagne entered the game for the 9th inning during his peak years, it was always there at the back of my mind. "This guy went from failed minor league starting pitcher to the best closer in baseball in 6 months time". The signs were undeniable. I just ignored them and enjoyed the ride and was grateful he was wearing a Brewers uniform when he finally got called on the carpet for his behavior after being outed in the infamous Mitchell Report. Manny was different. He had reeled me in hook, line and sinker. I truly believed he loved the game with child-like abandon and that he loved being a Dodger. I couldn't have been more wrong. The only thanks I got for my misguided trust was my worst day as a Dodgers fan since Mike Piazza was traded for Mr. Cancer himself, Gary Sheffield.

So where do we go from here? Will Dodger fans welcome him back in early July when he is eligible to play again? How will his teammates look at him now when the question will always be at the back of their minds that everything he did and represented was probably a lie? That remains to be seen. Hollywood might be the "fakest" town in the history of the world, so if ever there was a place that might be willing to give him a second chance, he's in the right place. But for that to happen there needs to be a lot more revealed than the, "my Doctor did it", we got in Manny's sterile and bland statement released Thursday morning. So here is my advice for Mr. Ramirez...

Just come clean. Your legacy is already tainted, at least be smart enough to avoid the path taken by Bonds and Clemens and continue to deny in the face of overwhelming evidence. Whether it was for 20 years or 20 days, just tell the truth. It's too late for Scott Boras to spin this one. We're past the point of blaming your Doctor, your trainer, your cousin or your cat. When you make 25 million dollars to hit a ball for a living you bear the ultimate accountability for your actions and what you put into your body. Major League Baseball has even created a hotline that players can call if they are considering a supplement or medication that might contain illegal ingredients so that these types of situations can be avoided. Manny has no one to blame but himself.

So for now I will continue to cheer for Matt Kemp, Orlando Hudson and all of Manny's less famous teammates and nervously await July 3rd, 2009. The first day Manny is eligible to don his Dodger Blue #99. I hope that between now and then he gives me a reason to cheer for him again. I really do. But I won't hold my breath. Not anymore.

A Look Back: Nomo's No-No at Coors Field.

I'd like to introduce a new feature here at BDB. Periodically I will be offering a look back at a classic Dodger moment. I will try to be creative in the process and avoid the obvious ones. We all loved Gibby's shot in '88 but we've all seen it a thousand times. I will try to help you look back fondly at memories you might have forgotten. Coming up with my first one was easy because it's one of my favorite games of all-time.

In 1996, Hideo Nomo had what was arguably the greatest season of his MLB career. He equaled his career high with wins at 16, had his 2nd highest strikeout total at 234 and his 3rd lowest ERA at 3.19. He was also a workhorse, going 228+ innings pitched. But what made his season truly memorable was his performance on the night of Sept. 17th. That would be the night when Hideo Nomo of the Dodgers would make history by throwing a no-hitter in Coors Field. Keep in mind that this was classic Coors Field. No humidor to soften the balls and even the playing field. The 1996 Rockies were also an offensive juggernaut powered by Vinny Castilla, Andres Galarraga and Ellis Burks. All of whom hit for 40 or more HR during the 1996 season. Also in the lineup that night was Dante Bichette. No slouch himself, Bichette hit 31 HR and drove in 141 that year. This was a potent lineup and it was especially brutal on their home turf in Coors Field.

To make matters worse, the start of the game was delayed by 2 hours due to rain and even when play commenced the conditions were less than ideal. There was light rain for much of the early innings and the field was muddy enough that heavy doses of sand were applied around home plate and the pitchers mound. The conditions around the pitching rubber were so bad that Nomo was forced to abandon his famous "Tornado windup" that many felt was the key to his success.

Nomo struggled early on, walking men in the 1st, 2nd and 4th innings. But he seemed to get stronger as the game progressed and allowed just one baserunner after the 4th, a lead-off walk to Eric Young in the 6th. An LA Daily News article recapping the no-no offered this quote from Bichette about Nomo's late inning dominance:

"The first couple times up, I was seeing the ball and I felt I was close to getting him", Bichette said. "After that, I said, We're not going to get a hit off this guy tonight".

Bichette was right of course as Nomo went on the finish the job getting Ellis Burks with his trademark forkball to end it in the 9th. His final line was 9 IP, 0 H, 4 BB 8 K. The Dodgers offered more than enough run support to give Nomo a 9-0 victory in the most historic of nights. A full boxscore of the game can be found here on the Baseball Almanac webpage. it's hard to sum up just how great an achievement this was. The early days of Coors Field featured numerous blowouts and high scoring affairs but few ever dreamed it would see a gem like this one. The Colorado fans were so overwhelmed by the performance that they gave Nomo a standing ovation when he stayed in the game to hit for himself in the top of the 9th. It was a night of legends and one that baseball author, Rich Westcott summed up far better than I could myself in his book, No-Hitter.

"A pitcher has about as much chance of firing a no-hitter against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in Denver as someone would have sliding down Pike's Peak in a canoe."

Rockies Fire Clint Hurdle

It is being reported by various media outlets that the Rockies have fired Clint Hurdle. Not a huge surprise given the Rockies struggles dating back to their fluke World Series appearance in 2007. What is surprising, at least to me, is that the likely replacement is our old friend, Jim Tracy. Tracy managed the Dodgers for 5 forgettable seasons earlier this decade and was in the humble opinion of this blogger, one of the worst in-game managers I have ever seen.

Don't get me wrong, Jim seems like a heckuva nice guy but he would make comments that really made your head spin on an almost daily basis. And who could forget the wonderful stretch of Jason Phillips hitting cleanup for the 2005 team. What a wonderful year that was! 71 wins. The fewest by any Dodger team in a non-strike shortened season since 1958. Yep, Jim managed the worst Dodgers team in a 50 year span. Just the kinda guy you want to turn the keys of the franchise over to.

Good luck Rockies fans! You're gonna need it.

Dodgers sneak by the Cubs..

Not the prettiest ballgame to see. The end was much tighter than it might have been thanks to a 38 pitch performance by Broxton in a non save situation on Wednesday. It's bad enough we continue to carry 13 pitchers but you can't ask Mota or Ohman to get a few outs with a big lead instead of asking Belisario to try and go 3 innings and then jumping to Broxton in a non save situation? The end result was Troncoso having to go 2 innings and hit for himself in a big spot on Thursday. He came up with 2 men in scoring position in the top of the 9th with Loretta available but had to bat because neither Broxton or Belisario were available and for the time being they are the only 3 relievers Torre has any amount of trust in.

Fortunately, despite some dancing around he was able to strike out Bobby Scales and Jake Fox to end it and strand men on 2nd and 3rd. Fox is an interesting story. He was putting up Ruth-like numbers in AAA but is apparently a DH type who can hit but was never fond of the leather. He will be interesting to watch in the upcoming 3 games with lefties, Stults and Milton going on Sat. and Sun. respectively.

Dodgers improve to a league best 34-15. 6 more wins than any other team in baseball and a 9 game lead in the NL West. Interesting standings tid-bit. The 2nd place Padres are currently 9 games back of LA. That is equal or greater to the deficit by the last place team in 4 of the other 5 divisions. Pretty astounding.

Bills and Lilly tomorrow. Should be a great pitching mathcup!

--- Tim

Blogging Dodger Blue!

Welcome to the latest and (hopefully)greatest Dodger blog on the web. I have been blogging on and off for awhile on my old blog but just wasn't passionate about general sports blogging. I won't promise to completely ignore all other sports in this space but this will be first and foremost a blog about the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Hopefully I can keep it fun and interesting enough to keep you watching!

Thanks and good luck(to me :P)

Tim