SB Nation - Jason Schmidt

The Juan Pierre era comes to an end

Phil Gurnee — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:15:45 -0000

thus putting the final touches on one of the Ned Colletti's worst deals as the Dodger GM. It is the deal that set many against him before he even got started.

The lightning rod Juan Pierre has probably had the largest effect on the current financial state of the team than any other player. When his first year was complete it was apparent to Ned that he was not the center fielder they envisioned when they gave him that five year deal. So they went out and got what they thought was the answer in center field in Andruw Jones. To say the least that did not pan out either. Pierre was moved to LF to make room for Andruw and he was also found wanting in LF so Ned then went out and completed his best deal when he acquired Manny to play LF and slide Juan into the role of fourth outfielder. While Ned was playing free agent center fielder, the best center fielder turned out to be an internal option whom they finally turned to when Andruw Jones failed.

During his time with the Dodgers, Juan Pierre has been a good Dodger if not the most productive one. For one month he gave us the unforeseen Beast Mode but most of the time he did exactly what he'd always done. He played hard, he stole bases, he ran the bases extremely well, was rarely hurt, hit for some average, didn't get on base at a very high clip, didn't have much of an arm, didn't play center field very well given his speed. He was exactly as advertised, the only problem with that is that he was paid much to much for what he did.

His value has always been right about 1/2 of the contract the Dodgers gave him. The Dodgers will continue to pay for that mistake this year and next but the White Sox will be getting a fairly valued Left Fielder.

I wish Juan Pierre nothing but good will as he can now begin his quest again for 2,000 hits.

The Dodger roster keeps growing with players we are paying to not be Dodgers. WIth the news from Eric that the Dodgers will be paying $7 Million for him to play with the White Sox the Dodgers are now paying $17 Million toward players not on the roster in 2010.

2010: $17,590,000

Juan Pierre: $7,000,000
Andruw Jones: $3,200,000 (deferred salary)
Nomar Garciaparra: $1,125,000 (deferred signing bonus)
Jason Schmidt: $2,625,000 (deferred signing bonus)
Will Ohman: $200,000 (option buyout)
Orlando Hudson: $$1,440,000 (deferred signing bonus)
Randy Wolf: $2,000,000

Possible Players Acquired, with scouting reports by Baseball HQ:

12. Jon Link RHP.....26.....2005 (26) Virginia Commonwealth by San Diego Padres
Team (LG)         W-L ERA    IP  CMD  K/9  oppBA 
==============    === ==== ===== ==== ==== =====  
Charlotte (IL)    1-2 3.99  56.1  2.4 10.5  256
MLE               1-2 5.67  56.1  2.0  9.2  292
Strengths: Plus 88-94 MPH fastball. Hard slider. Changeup. Pitch movement.
Weaknesses: LHH. FB command. Control. Inconsistent slider.
Comments: Powerful reliever has closing experience and could evolve into legitimate late-innings option in Majors. Possesses three average to above average offerings with sinker, SL, and CU. Erratic mechanics and release point hinder control and needs to set up piches better.
2010 MLB Role: Short reliever
Potential Rating: 7B

14. John Ely RHP.....23.....2007 (3) Miami-OH
Team (LG)         W-L ERA    IP  CMD  K/9  oppBA 
==============    === ==== ===== ==== ==== =====  
Birmingham (SL)  14-2 2.82 156.1  2.5  7.2  241
MLE              14-2 3.86 156.1  2.0  6.2  274
Strengths: Plus curveball. 87-92 MPH fastball. Groundballer. Strong frame. Aggressiveness. Deception.
Weaknesses: Changeup. Stiff arm action. Effort in delivery.
Comments: Short and strong pitcher with fringe-average velocity, but keeps hitters off-balance with sinking changeup. Complements moving fastball with plus curveball and mixes pitches well. Commands plate and induces groundballs, but doesn't dominate. Effort in delivery may lead to durability issues.
2010 MLB Role: Middle reliever
Potential Rating: 7C

Jason Schmidt to retire

Eli Greenspan — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:24:31 -0000

More photos » by Gus Ruelas - AP

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Ken Gurnick of MLB.com is reporting that Dodgers pitcher Jason Schmidt likely will retire instead of returning for a fourteenth season. Schmidt made just 10 appearances in three years for the Dodgers, missing all of the 2008 season recovering from shoulder surgery.

The 36-year old pitcher posted his best numbers with the Giants, appearing in three All-Star games as a member of the Giants. His best season came in 2004 when he went 18-7 with a 3.20 ERA and 251 strike outs.

The power-arm pitcher owns a 3.96 career ERA through 13 seasons with the Braves, Pirates, Giants, and Dodgers.

Dodger Roster Breakdown

Eric Stephen — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:15:09 -0000

by Mark J. Terrill - AP

One Type B free agent greets a Type A free agent on the mound

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There will be plenty of time this offseason for moves, but here's an overview of the current Dodger 40-man roster. There are 43 players currently on the 40-man roster, including four on the 60-day disabled list. That will change quickly after the World Series as players file for free agency. I have split them into a few groups:

Free Agents (13+1)

Type A*: Orlando Hudson, Randy Wolf

Type B*: Ronnie Belliard, Guillermo Mota, Vicente Padilla, Will Ohman**

Others: Jim Thome, Brad Ausmus, Jason Schmidt, Mark Loretta, Juan Castro, Eric Milton, Doug Mientkiewicz, Jeff Weaver

*Eddie Bajek of Detroit Tigers Thoughts has done a great job of figuring out the Elias Rankings, and has posted them at MLB Trade Rumors. In order to receive compensation for Type A or Type B free agents, the club must offer them arbitration. Type A free agents net a first round pick from the team that signs them, provided the pick isn't in the top 15, in addition to a supplemental pick in between the first and second rounds.

If a team signs more than one Type A free agent, the players are ranked by their Elias ranking, they give up picks in the lower rounds as well. For instance, the Yankees last year gave up their first three picks for signing C.C. Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, and A.J. Burnett, all Type A free agents. Type B free agents net only a supplemental pick.

There is always the risk that a player will accept arbitration (like Darren Oliver did with the Angels last season). If he does, the maximum salary cut a player can take is 20%, so for Guillermo Mota, for instance, the least he would make in arbitration in 2010 would be $1.88 million (80% of his $2.35 million 2009 salary). In the case of Hudson and Wolf, they had low base salaries so this isn't an issue, but there is still quite a risk because they are still likely to command a high salary in arbitration.

**I'm counting Will Ohman in this exercise, even though he is no longer on the 40-man since his option was bought out last week, but the Dodgers, however unlikely, can still offer Ohman arbitration if they so choose.

What should happen: Offer arbitration to Hudson, Wolf, and Belliard only

Options (2)

Manny Ramirez has a $20 million player option for 2010. He has until November 10 to accept or decline this option.
Jon Garland has a $10 million mutual option for 2010. If the Dodgers decline, his buyout is $2.5 million; if Garland declines, his buyout is $1 million. As a condition of Garland's acquisition, the Diamondbacks will pay either buyout if the option is not exercised. Even if either side opts out, Garland is a Type B free agent, and the Dodgers could offer him arbitration if they so choose.

What should happen: Manny comes back, Dodgers let Arizona pay Garland $2.5m to walk away, don't offer Garland arbitration

Arbitration Eligible (9)

Player	Service Time	2009 Base Salary
George Sherrill	4.147	$2,750,000
Jonathan Broxton	4.020	$1,825,000
Andre Ethier	3.153	$3,100,000
Russell Martin	3.150	$3,900,000
Hong-Chih Kuo	3.114	$437,000
Chad Billingsley	3.110	$475,000
Matt Kemp	3.049	$467,000
James Loney	3.012	$465,000
Jason Repko	3.067	$500,000

Look for: Repko to get non-tendered

Under Contract (4)

Player	2009 Salary	2010 Salary
Rafael Furcal	$10,500,000	$8,500,000
Juan Pierre	$10,000,000	$10,000,000
Casey Blake	$5,250,000	$6,000,000
Hiroki Kuroda	$10,000,000	$13,000,000

Under Team Control (15)

Player	Service Time	2009 Base Salary
Ramon Troncoso	1.119	$401,000
Clayton Kershaw	1.105	$404,000
Cory Wade	1.096	$402,500
Eric Stults	1.072	$402,000
Blake DeWitt	1.048	$405,000
James McDonald	1.004	$400,750
Ronald Belisario	1.000	$400,000
Chin-Lung Hu	0.153	$401,000
Xavier Paul	0.151	$400,000
Charlie Haeger	0.125	$400,000
Scott Elbert	0.097	$400,000
Brent Leach	0.090	$400,000
A.J. Ellis	0.081	$400,000
Travis Schlichting	0.055	$400,000
Lucas May	0.000	------

Here are some important dates to remember for the offseason:

Day After World Series Ends: begins 15-day period for eligible players to file for free agency

November 20: Date reserve lists must be set (adding players to 40-man roster for purposes of Rule 5 draft)

December 1: Last date to offer arbitration to free agents to receive compensation

December 10: Rule 5 draft

December 12: Deadline to tender contracts to players under team control or pre-free agency arbitration-eligible players

It will be a long offseason, but the hot stove is always interesting.

Dodgers Season In Thirds

Eric Stephen — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 02:40:13 -0000

More photos » by Jae C. Hong - AP

2 months ago: Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre watches baseball practice in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009. The Dodgers face the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 1 of the National League division series Wednesday. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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Now that the regular season is over, here's a look at the Dodger season in thirds.

Here's an overview of the team numbers:

	W-L	Pythag Rec	Runs For	Runs Allowed	BA/OBP/SLG	ERA
Games 1-54	36-18	35-19	295 (5.46/gm)	208 (3.85/gm)	.285/.367/.414	3.75
Games 55-108	30-24	30-24	244 (4.52/gm)	214 (3.96/gm)	.272/.340/.418	3.45
Games 109-162	29-25	33-21	241 (4.46/gm)	189 (3.50/gm)	.253/.330/.402	3.03

The offense took a dip in the final 54 games, but the pitching was outstanding.

Here is a look at individual seasons in thirds, position by position:

Catcher
Russell Martin
	G	GS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SB/CS	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS
1st 54	47	46	173	23	46	9	0	0	20	29	7/3	.266/.377/.318	.695
2nd 54	50	47	172	22	46	4	0	3	13	24	1/3	.267/.373/.343	.716
3rd 54	46	43	160	18	34	6	0	4	20	16	3/0	.213/.298/.325	.623

Brad Ausmus
	G	GS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SB/CS	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS
1st 54	11	8	35	6	11	1	0	0	3	2	1/0	.314/.368/.343	.711
2nd 54	12	9	32	3	11	3	0	1	4	2	0/0	.344/.400/.531	.931
3rd 54	13	10	28	0	6	0	0	0	2	1	0/0	.214/.241/.214	.456

A.J. Ellis
	G	GS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SB/CS	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS
2nd 54	3	1	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	.000/.000/.000	.000
3rd 54	5	1	6	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0/0	.167/.167/.167	.333

Infield
James Loney
	G	GS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SB/CS	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS
1st 54	54	51	208	24	59	12	0	2	41	22	3/1	.284/.348/.370	.718
2nd 54	53	51	198	27	59	9	2	5	27	23	3/1	.298/.371/.439	.810
3rd 54	51	45	170	22	44	4	0	6	22	25	1/1	.259/.352/.388	.740

Orlando Hudson
	G	GS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SB/CS	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS
1st 54	54	54	216	39	71	17	2	3	32	32	4/0	.329/.410/.468	.878
2nd 54	50	48	195	22	49	11	2	4	21	10	2/0	.251/.299/.390	.688
3rd 54	45	41	140	13	36	7	2	2	9	20	2/1	.257/.350/.379	.729

Rafael Furcal
	G	GS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SB/CS	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS
1st 54	46	42	189	27	47	8	0	1	11	18	3/3	.249/.314/.307	.621
2nd 54	54	50	216	33	61	10	3	5	21	23	3/1	.282/.350/.426	.776
3rd 54	50	49	208	32	57	10	2	3	15	20	6/2	.274/.339/.385	.724

Casey Blake
	G	GS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SB/CS	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS
1st 54	49	44	164	27	49	12	1	9	34	18	0/0	.299/.374/.549	.922
2nd 54	53	50	195	32	54	11	3	3	27	25	2/4	.277/.353/.410	.763
3rd 54	37	37	126	25	33	2	2	6	18	20	1/0	.262/.367/.452	.819

Mark Loretta
	G	GS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SB/CS	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS
1st 54	38	10	59	11	17	3	0	0	10	11	0/0	.288/.408/.339	.747
2nd 54	38	11	69	5	13	3	0	0	10	6	0/0	.188/.253/.232	.485
3rd 54	31	11	53	3	12	2	0	0	5	3	1/1	.226/.259/.264	.523

Juan Castro
	G	GS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SB/CS	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS
1st 54	19	12	44	12	15	2	0	1	7	5	0/0	.341/.400/.455	.855
2nd 54	17	10	38	2	11	1	0	0	2	1	0/0	.289/.308/.316	.623
3rd 54	21	7	30	4	5	1	0	0	0	0	0/0	.167/.167/.200	.367

Blake DeWitt
	G	GS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SB/CS	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS
1st 54	9	3	17	1	3	0	0	0	0	1	0/0	.176/.222/.176	.399
2nd 54	14	0	15	1	2	1	0	1	1	1	0/0	.133/.188/.400	.588
3rd 54	8	3	17	2	5	2	0	1	3	1	0/0	.294/.316/.588	.904

Doug Mientkiewicz
	G	GS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SB/CS	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS
1st 54	7	0	5	0	2	1	0	0	2	0	0/0	.400/.400/.600	1.000
3rd 54	13	1	13	0	4	0	0	0	1	1	0/0	.308/.400/.308	.708

Ronnie Belliard
	G	GS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SB/CS	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS
3rd 54	24	19	77	13	27	7	0	5	17	6	1/0	.351/.398/.636	1.034

Chin-Lung Hu
	G	GS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SB/CS	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS
3rd 54	5	1	5	2	2	1	0	0	2	0	0/0	.400/.333/.600	.933

Tony Abreu
	G	GS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SB/CS	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS
3rd 54	6	2	8	0	2	0	0	0	1	3	0/1	.250/.455/.250	.705

Outfield
Andre Ethier
	G	GS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SB/CS	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS
1st 54	52	49	188	31	49	12	0	7	31	27	3/0	.261/.363/.436	.799
2nd 54	54	52	212	34	60	13	1	15	38	23	2/3	.283/.357/.566	.923
3rd 54	54	49	196	27	53	17	2	9	37	22	1/1	.270/.362/.515	.877

Matt Kemp
	G	GS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SB/CS	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS
1st 54	53	51	200	33	62	9	4	6	30	21	12/2	.310/.377/.485	.862
2nd 54	53	53	200	30	66	7	2	9	39	19	10/2	.330/.387/.520	.907
3rd 54	54	49	206	34	52	9	1	11	32	12	12/4	.252/.293/.466	.759

Manny Ramirez
	G	GS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SB/CS	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS
1st 54	27	27	92	22	32	9	0	6	20	26	0/0	.348/.492/.641	1.133
2nd 54	28	25	96	14	26	7	1	6	20	12	0/0	.271/.369/.552	.921
3rd 54	49	47	164	26	44	8	1	7	23	33	0/1	.268/.400/.457	.857

Juan Pierre
	G	GS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SB/CS	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS
1st 54	46	30	140	27	53	10	3	0	21	13	11/4	.379/.439/.493	.932
2nd 54	50	31	147	15	37	5	1	0	4	7	12/5	.252/.308/.299	.607
3rd 54	49	15	93	15	27	1	4	0	6	7	7/3	.290/.343/.387	.730
Jason Repko
	G	GS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SB/CS	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS
3rd 54	13	1	13	0	4	0	0	0	1	1	0/0	.308/.400/.308	.708

Jamie Hoffmann
	G	GS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SB/CS	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS
1st 54	9	3	17	2	3	2	0	1	7	0	0/0	.176/.158/.471	.628
2nd 54	5	0	5	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	.200/.200/.200	.400

Xavier Paul
	G	GS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SB/CS	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS
1st 54	11	2	14	3	3	1	0	1	1	2	0/1	.214/.313/.500	.813

Mitch Jones
	G	GS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SB/CS	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS
2nd 54	8	3	13	1	4	1	0	0	0	0	0/0	.308/.400/.385	.785

Pinch Hitters
Jim Thome
	G	GS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SB/CS	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS
3rd 54	17	0	17	0	4	0	0	0	3	0	0/0	.235/.235/.235	.471

Starting Pitchers
Randy Wolf
	G	GS	W-L	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
1st 54	12	12	3-1	75.2	64	30	27	22	58	3.21	1.137
2nd 54	11	11	2-5	64.1	62	28	27	17	48	3.78	1.228
3rd 54	11	11	6-1	74.1	52	23	23	19	54	2.78	0.955

Clayton Kershaw
	G	GS	W-L	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
1st 54	10	10	3-3	56.0	40	27	27	32	55	4.34	1.286
2nd 54	12	12	5-3	68.2	47	14	13	39	68	1.70	1.252
3rd 54	9	8	0-2	46.1	32	14	13	20	62	2.53	1.122

Chad Billingsley
	G	GS	W-L	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
1st 54	11	11	6-3	74.0	58	25	23	32	76	2.80	1.216
2nd 54	12	12	5-3	69.2	63	40	38	31	64	4.91	1.349
3rd 54	10	9	1-5	52.2	52	29	27	23	39	4.61	1.424

Hiroki Kuroda
	G	GS	W-L	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
1st 54	2	2	1-1	10.2	7	3	3	4	8	2.53	1.031
2nd 54	12	11	3-4	66.1	69	38	35	12	52	4.75	1.221
3rd 54	7	7	4-2	40.1	34	18	11	8	27	2.45	1.041

Eric Stults
	G	GS	W-L	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
1st 54	9	9	4-2	45.0	46	24	24	25	30	4.80	1.578
3rd 54	1	1	0-1	5.0	5	3	3	1	3	5.40	1.200

Vicente Padilla
	G	GS	W-L	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
3rd 54	8	7	4-0	39.1	36	15	14	12	38	3.20	1.220

Jon Garland
	G	GS	W-L	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
3rd 54	6	6	3-2	36.1	37	16	11	9	26	2.72	1.266

Charlie Haeger
	G	GS	W-L	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
3rd 54	6	3	1-1	19.0	13	7	7	4	7	3.32	0.895

Eric Milton
	G	GS	W-L	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
1st 54	3	3	2-0	14.1	15	5	5	5	10	3.14	1.395
2nd 54	2	2	0-1	9.1	15	7	5	1	10	4.82	1.714

Jason Schmidt
	G	GS	W-L	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2nd 54	4	4	2-2	17.2	16	12	11	12	8	5.60	1.585

Relievers
Jonathan Broxton
	G	W-L	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
1st 54	23	5-0	12	26.0	8	4	4	10	41	1.38	0.692
2nd 54	23	2-0	12	22.2	17	11	11	11	33	4.37	1.235
3rd 54	27	0-2	12	27.1	19	9	7	8	40	2.30	0.988

George Sherrill
	G	W-L	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2nd 54	3	0-0	--	2.1	0	0	0	1	5	0.00	0.429
3rd 54	27	1-0	1	25.1	19	2	2	10	17	0.71	1.145

Hong-Chih Kuo
	G	W-L	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
1st 54	7	0-0	--	5.1	5	4	4	4	4	6.75	1.688
2nd 54	5	0-0	--	4.2	0	0	0	2	6	0.00	0.429
3rd 54	23	1-0	--	20.0	16	6	6	7	22	2.70	1.150

Ramon Troncoso
	G	W-L	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
1st 54	21	1-0	3	33.1	31	7	7	10	22	1.89	1.230
2nd 54	30	3-0	2	31.1	30	11	7	12	18	2.01	1.340
3rd 54	22	1-4	1	18.0	22	12	11	12	15	5.60	1.889

Ronald Belisario
	G	W-L	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
1st 54	26	1-2	--	31.1	22	10	8	15	30	2.30	1.181
2nd 54	17	0-1	--	17.0	15	5	5	5	16	2.65	1.176
3rd 54	26	0-3	--	22.1	15	6	3	9	18	1.21	1.075

Guillermo Mota
	G	W-L	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
1st 54	20	2-1	--	20.2	26	15	15	12	10	6.53	1.839
2nd 54	28	1-1	--	32.1	15	3	3	6	18	0.84	0.649
3rd 54	13	0-2	--	12.1	12	7	7	6	11	5.11	1.459

Jeff Weaver
	G	GS	W-L	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
1st 54	9	3	3-1	26.2	29	12	12	15	18	4.05	1.650
2nd 54	10	2	2-3	30.1	33	16	14	10	24	4.15	1.418
3rd 54	9	2	1-0	22.0	25	6	6	8	22	2.45	1.500

James McDonald
	G	GS	W-L	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
1st 54	10	4	1-1	18.2	17	14	14	16	9	6.75	1.768
2nd 54	15	0	2-1	20.2	17	9	5	6	14	2.18	1.113
3rd 54	20	0	2-3	23.2	26	11	9	12	31	3.42	1.606

Scott Elbert
	G	W-L	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
1st 54	3	1-0	--	6.1	10	5	5	1	6	7.11	1.737
2nd 54	4	0-0	--	7.2	3	1	1	2	7	1.17	0.652
3rd 54	12	1-0	--	5.2	6	5	5	4	8	7.94	1.765

Brent Leach
	G	W-L	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
1st 54	13	1-0	--	8.0	7	5	5	4	10	5.62	1.375
2nd 54	25	1-0	--	12.1	9	8	8	8	9	5.84	1.378

Cory Wade
	G	W-L	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
1st 54	18	0-3	--	18.2	19	10	10	9	13	4.82	1.500
2nd 54	9	2-0	--	9.0	9	7	7	1	5	7.00	1.111

Will Ohman
	G	W-L	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
1st 54	21	1-0	1	12.1	12	8	8	8	7	5.84	1.622

Claudio Vargas
	G	W-L	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2nd 54	8	0-0	--	11.0	7	2	2	4	10	1.64	1.000

Travis Schlichting
	G	W-L	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2nd 54	2	0-0	--	2.2	1	2	1	5	2	3.38	2.250

Mark Loretta
	G	W-L	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2nd 54	1	0-0	--	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.000

Make Your Pitch: The NL playoff teams want YOU...

Jim McLennan — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 05:56:50 -0000

The regular season is over, and we now move on to the playoffs. Well, the Diamondbacks don't, but most fans will still be watching with interest as things progress in the post-season. We all have our own loyalties, but in order to decide who gets the Official AZ SnakePit Playoff Endorsements, I reached out to all the SB Nation blogs that are taking part, and asked them to make a pitch for the support of the post-season neutrals here in Arizona. The AL version will follow, just as soon as the league gets their act together and decides who'll be taking part out of the Central division. But after the jump, you'll find what the National League contenders had to say for themselves.

[Update] I have now added a sixth option to the poll, since I suspect a significant number of those voting may not actually be Diamondbacks fans at all...

First up, Dan Moore, from Viva El Birdos, through his hat into the ring with a pitch for the Cardinals.

Thanks for the opportunity to win your fanbase. I thought I'd express my love for the Cardinals in the same way Shakespeare would have, if he were still alive to tell us how much he loved the Cardinals.

THE CARDINALS

A SONNET

by Dan Moore (feat. Albert Pujols)

There on the edge of plausibility,

a figure stalks across beisbol fields—

his swing a picture of agility;

against his accent "G" and "T" yield.

Behind him saunters a standing army,

players we guessed would be lying in traction.

Carpenter's shoulder—lost years, it harmed me—

somehow surviving two seasons' inaction.

A team of destiny and Mozeliak:

Injuries conquered and outfield acquired,

Shortstop still saved with Khalil out of whack,

Unlikely heroes and guns that are hired.

If after all that I still don't have you caring,

"It's our faulg your teang has gongtrol of Dag Hareng."

Eric Stephen, of True Blue LA, bravely takes up the tough job of canvassing on behalf of the Dodgers:

Here's why the AZ Snake Pit members should throw their support to the Dodgers:

Phoenix for years was Dodger territory, with broadcast affiliates in Arizona dating back for God knows how long. Now that you have your own team, obviously it's different, but ask your parents. I bet a lot of them were Dodger fans. You don't want to disappoint your parents, do you?

Speaking of broadcasting, the Dodgers have Vin Scully, in his 60th season behind the microphone. He will be broadcasting the games on radio during the postseason. Who better to be associated with the World Series than Mr. Scully?

Stay within the NL West! A victory for the Dodgers is a win for the division, in the never ending struggle for national respect. I realize the Rockies are also in the NL West, but George Frazier is one of their broadcasters. Why reward Frazier, on of the worst announcers in baseball, over Scully?

The longer the Dodgers last in the postseason, the more highlights we will see of Kirk Gibson's home run in Game One of the 1988 World Series. With each viewing, the announcers might mention Gibson is currently a coach with Arizona. Getting the name "Diamondbacks" into a postseason broadcast is a good thing.

Rooting for the Dodgers can only bring good karma, and you owe us for Rusty Ryal's line drive that nearly ended Hiroki Kuroda.

If the Dodgers win the World Series, it is a lock that Ned Colletti will be given a long-term extension as general manager. He has given a combined $127.2 million to Andruw Jones, Jason Schmidt, and Juan Pierre during his Dodger tenure. This is a good thing for D-Backs fans.

WholeCamels out of The Good Phight, opted to get his pitch in early, creating a Fanpost for the Phillies. But in the interests of completeness, here's what he had to say:

As your Philadelphia Phillies blogger, here's my pitch:

Because red is good (different hues, but so what?).

Because you're as sick of hearing about the National League's inferiority as I am. A repeat World Series Championship for a National League team would benefit the league. "A rising tide raises all ships."

Because we're not the Dodgers or the Rockies, those guys can eat it hard.

Because we sent you Curt Schilling, in exchange for some crap and that sociopath Vicente Padilla. And Schilling begat a World Championship. Show some gratitude.

And lastly, because I am a former short-time Arizonan. I lived in Tucson for a year, and that year happened to be 2001. I went to Game One of the NLDS -- the Curt Schilling/Matt Morris pitchers' duel. I cheered like a crazy person after that Luis Gonzalez blooper in Game Seven, and jumped in the pool at my apartment to celebrate. I'll admit that it helped that there were about a dozen lightly-clothed UofA coeds in there too, but it was still a beautiful, pure moment. I have a Tucson Sidewinders t-shirt that I still wear to this day. I spent a couple nights in Summerhaven just a year or so before the big fire. I miss Eegee's, I used to work at the Speedway Bookman's and acquired about half of my record collection there, saw a bunch of shows at the Rialto and Club Congress, and I got my dog there! He just turned eight years old.

Okay, I realize that most of you are probably Maricopa County folks, but c'mon. Was that a shameless pitch or what?

Go Phillies!

Finally, Russ from Purple Row, adopted the straightforward and to the point approach in support of the Rockies: "We welcome you with open arms over at Purple Row. We had such great fun with those of you who came over during the 2007 postseason, we'd love you to come over again." [Update: RockiesMagicNumber has now provided something a little more detailed]

Here’s why the AZ Snake Pit members should support the Colorado Rockies:

    * Rivalry. It sounds absurd, but after 2007, both teams looked to have a strong presence within the division and the two of us would be beating up on each other with our homegrown rosters for years. As it stands, the gods of regression hit you guys in a disproportionate manner as compared to us, which terrifies me for next season. I hate seeing teams hit by injury and regression, because I know that if we beat them, we’re not saying we bested Brandon Webb and Conor Jackson, we’re beating up on a massively regressed Chris Young and AAA players. It sounds arrogant, but I want to see these two teams embody excellence in building a homegrown team and fight each other to the top of the NL West for years to come. Respect your opponent.
    * Speaking of broadcasting, the Dodgers may have Vin Scully, but since his talents have been wasted on television, Jeff Kingery and Jack Corrigan have been painting the picture of the games over the airwaves for Colorado better than nearly anyone in baseball for the past forever, especially Kingery, who is in his final season. He’s been there since the inception.
    * Stay within the NL West! I agree with Eric, but why reward the Yankees West? I sure wish I could throw an entire payroll at 2 players who aren’t even playing for the team (Schmidt and Jones), don’t you? Then account for Manny and Pierre, and that is just a pile of misappropriated funds. Reward the wise fiscal organization.
    * You don’t want to root for Joe Torre. Or Manny.
    * The Cardinals wouldn’t even be where they were they not able to trade for Holliday at the deadline. The Rockies have been essentially the same club since day 1, adding only a few supplementary pieces here and there.
    * The American League is made of evil and gimmicky rules. "I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter."
    * Much as we “eat it hard” do you really want the entire NL to be centered around Philadelphia even more than it already is? PHILLIES PHILLIES PHILLIES OMG OMG OMG!!! Give me a break. More power to the unappreciated teams in terms of media markets.

Poll

Which NL team will you be rooting for the in the playoffs?

Cardinals

387 votes

Dodgers

80 votes

Phillies

56 votes

Rockies

118 votes

Who cares?

25 votes

I'm not actually an AZ fan, but am here to stuff the ballot-box for my real team.

116 votes

782 votes | Poll has closed

Stabilizing The Back End Of The Rotation

Eric Stephen — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:10:17 -0000

by Gus Ruelas - AP

Jon Garland has helped stabilize the back end of the Dodger rotation.

View full size photo »

The Dodgers' top four pitchers have been solid, if unspectacular, this season, providing a solid foundation of a very good pitching staff.

Pitcher	GS	W-L	Team W-L	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP	FIP
Wolf	30	10-6	19-11	190.0	159	72	68	49	145	3.22	1.095	3.81
Billingsley	28	12-9	16-12	172.2	150	80	74	72	155	3.86	1.286	3.57
Kershaw	28	8-8	13-15	159.0	112	53	51	86	167	2.89	1.245	3.19
Kuroda	16	5-6	9-7	93.1	89	47	43	20	66	4.15	1.168	3.62
Totals	102	35-29	57-45	615.0	510	252	236	3.32/9	7.80/9	3.45	1.198	3.55

It seems like the Dodgers have spent most of this season looking for someone to take the fifth starter role. First, it was James McDonald. Then Eric Stults got his chance. Eric Milton and Jason Schmidt fought back from injuries to take their shot. Jeff Weaver has spot started here and there throughout the year. The Dodgers even went the unconventional route, employing a knucklballer, Charlie Haeger, in the role, albeit on a short leash. All year, the Dodgers have needed someone to slot behind their top four starters, just to eat up some innings. Despite the uphill battle, the Dodgers have done remarkably well when their "fifth starters" have pitched.

Pitcher	GS	W-L	Team W-L	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP	FIP
Stults	10	4-3	7-3	50.0	51	27	27	26	33	4.86	1.540	4.28
Weaver	7	2-1	4-3	31.2	31	13	11	14	23	3.13	1.421	4.24
Milton	5	2-1	3-2	23.2	30	12	10	6	20	3.80	1.521	3.56
Schmidt	4	2-2	2-2	17.2	16	12	11	12	8	5.60	1.585	5.34
Haeger	3	1-1	2-1	17.1	12	7	7	7	13	3.63	1.096	6.02
Padilla	3	2-0	3-0	16.1	16	5	5	4	12	2.76	1.224	3.20
McDonald	4	1-1	3-1	13.1	12	13	13	14	6	8.78	1.950	7.56
Garland	1	1-0	1-0	7.0	5	2	2	1	6	2.57	0.857	3.71
Totals	37	15-9	25-12	177.0	173	91	86	4.27/9	6.15/9	4.37	1.452	4.58

Winning 67.6% of games started by these guys is pretty amazing, if not just a little bit lucky. The additions of Vicente Padilla and Jon Garland have helped, as did the pitching of Haeger, as the Dodgers have won seven straight starts by their "fifth starters." Before Haeger stepped into the rotation, the back end starters averaged only 4.55 innings per start. But, in eight starts starting on August 17, the group has averaged 5.63 innings per start.

The top four have thrown at least six innings in 71 of 102 starts, and thrown 62 quality starts. The fifth starters have only thrown six quality starts (also the same number of time they've pitched six innings), but four of those have come in the last three weeks, including Padilla's outing yesterday. Garland has pitched six innings in 17 of his last 18 starts, so it looks like for at least the final four weeks of the season, the back end of the Dodger rotation is more stable than it has been all season.

Dodgers August In Review: The Ethier, Kemp, And Wolf Show

Eric Stephen — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:01:49 -0000

by Chris Pizzello - AP

Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier are the Dodger offensive tag team.

View full size photo »

The Dodgers had their first losing month of the season, going 14-15 in August, but all is not as bad at it appears. The division lead got as small as two games over the Rockies, but a late surge allowed the Dodgers to expand back to a 5½-game lead entering the final month (plus four days) of the season.

The Dodgers outscored their opponents by 33 runs in month, the third best run differential in baseball for August, behind the Yankees (+52) and Braves (+43).

Dodger Batter of the Month: The award for August is shared by Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp. Ethier led the club in hits (38), doubles (11), batting average (.333), on base percentage (.411), OPS (1.034) and wOBA (.438). Kemp led the club in runs (22), home runs (9), runs batted in (27), stolen bases (6), and slugging percentage (.634). The two have been the club's two best hitters all season, and August was no exception.

Dodger Pitcher of the Month: Randy Wolf had a spectacular month, averaging seven innings in his seven starts, and had a 2.76 ERA and 3.01 FIP for the month. Wolf had a personal four-game winning streak in the middle of the month that was snapped on Monday night.

August Record: 14-15 (.483)
131 runs scored (4.52 per game)
98 runs allowed (3.38 per game)
.630 pythagorean winning percentage

August NL West Standings
Club	W-L	Pct	GB	RS	RA
Rockies	16-12	.571	---	146	124
Giants	16-12	.571	---	123	117
Diamondbacks	15-14	.517	1½	144	137
Padres	15-14	.517	1½	126	141
Dodgers	14-15	.483	2½	131	98

Overall Record: 78-54 (.591)
635 runs scored (4.81 per game)
501 runs allowed (3.80 per game)
.607 pythagorean winning percentage

NL West Standings (thru August 31)
Club	W-L	Pct	GB	RS	RA
Dodgers	78-54	.591	---	635	501
Rockies	72-59	.550	5½	654	582
Giants	72-59	.550	5½	530	496
Diamondbacks	60-72	.455	18	602	626
Padres	57-76	.429	21½	517	665

Favorite Game of the Month: Andre Ethier's three-run walk-off home run to beat Atlanta was great, but I'm going with the final game in Colorado as my favorite game of the month. Facing the prospect of leaving Denver with only a two-game lead, the Dodgers used some timely hitting to get Vicente Padilla a win in his first start as a Dodger, and the best bullpen in baseball slammed the door on the Rockies, securing a 3-2 Dodger win and a four-game lead.

Bench Production: After nearly three months of nothing from pinch hitters, August was a good month for Dodger pinch hitters, as they hit .349/.391/.419 for the month, with 15 hits in 43 at-bats. Juan Pierre led the way, garnering eight hits in 16 pinch at-bats, hitting .500/.529/.625 in that role for the month.

Welcome Aboard: Ronnie Belliard, acquired Sunday from Washington, homered in his first plate appearance as a Dodger on Monday night, making him the first Dodger to homer in his first Dodger plate appearance since Garey Ingram on May 19, 1994 against the Rockies.

Hello & Goodbye: Jason Schmidt was transferred to the 60-day disabled list on August 27, effectively ending his Dodger career. Charlie Haeger made his Dodger debut on August 17 against the Cardinals.

Upcoming Month: I'm counting the four days of October in the final month, and the Dodgers have a relatively easy schedule for the home stretch, which includes 15 home games and 15 road games. Outside of a home and away series with the Giants and the final three games at Dodger Stadium against the Rockies, the Dodgers play 21games against teams with a winning percentage of .455 or lower.

Previous Monthly Reviews: April | May | June | July

August Stats

Player	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SB/CS	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS	wOBA
Ethier	114	18	38	11	2	6	21	11	2/0	.333/.411/.623	1.034	.438
Kemp	112	22	35	9	0	9	27	6	6/3	.313/.342/.634	.976	.405
Manny	103	16	31	6	0	4	12	16	0/1	.301/.405/.476	.881	.362
Hudson	88	9	26	4	0	2	8	8	1/1	.295/.354/.409	.763	.336
Blake	95	14	21	4	1	4	12	12	1/0	.221/.306/.411	.717	.309
Loney	90	8	20	4	0	2	12	14	1/0	.222/.327/.333	.660	.300
Martin	88	10	21	5	0	1	7	6	1/0	.239/.295/.330	.624	.282
Furcal	119	16	26	2	0	2	8	10	0/1	.218/.277/.286	.563	.251
Starters	809	113	218	45	3	30	107	83	12/6	.269/.341/.444	.785
Belliard	4	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	0/0	.250/.250/1.000	1.250	.502
Pierre	41	8	15	1	1	0	3	2	0/1	.366/.413/.439	.852	.365
Abreu	8	0	2	0	0	0	1	3	0/1	.250/.455/.250	.705	.308
Loretta	42	4	10	1	0	0	5	3	1/0	.238/.283/.262	.545	.253
Ausmus	22	1	5	0	0	0	2	0	0/0	.227/.227/.227	.455	.202
Castro	20	1	4	1	0	0	0	0	0/0	.200/.200/.250	.450	.196
Bench	137	15	37	3	1	1	12	8	1/2	.270/.315/.328	.643
Pitchers	61	3	11	2	0	1	8	1	1/0	.180/.194/.262	.456
Totals	1007	131	266	50	4	32	127	92	14/8	.264/.329/.417	.747	.345

Pitcher	G	W-L	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP	FIP
Weaver*	2	0-0	--	8.1	7	2	2	4	7	2.16	1.320	4.83
Kuroda	3	2-0	--	17.1	18	5	5	2	10	2.60	1.154	3.21
Wolf	7	4-1	--	49.0	38	16	15	12	41	2.76	1.020	3.01
Billingsley	5	2-2	--	28.0	25	11	10	9	19	3.21	1.214	3.73
Padilla	1	1-0	--	5.0	6	2	2	1	4	3.60	1.400	2.09
Kershaw	6	0-2	--	32.1	25	13	13	18	47	3.62	1.330	2.66
Haeger	3	1-1	--	16.1	12	7	7	6	12	3.86	1.102	6.09
Stults	1	0-1	--	5.0	5	3	3	1	3	5.40	1.200	5.69
Schmidt	1	0-1	--	3.2	5	4	4	3	2	9.82	2.182	5.27
Starters	29	10-8	--	165.0	141	63	61	56	145	3.33	1.194	3.62
Sherrill	14	0-0	1	14.1	12	1	1	7	8	0.63	1.326	4.35
Belisario	10	1-0	--	9.1	5	1	1	3	5	0.96	0.857	4.70
Kuo	14	0-0	--	11.2	9	3	3	4	20	2.31	1.114	1.81
Broxton	14	0-1	5	14.2	11	5	4	6	19	2.45	1.159	4.39
McDonald	13	1-2	--	17.1	19	6	5	7	16	2.60	1.500	3.38
Weaver*	3	1-0	--	9.1	9	3	3	2	8	2.89	1.179	3.47
Mota	12	0-2	--	11.2	12	6	6	5	8	4.63	1.457	5.49
Troncoso	13	0-2	--	10.0	11	7	7	4	7	6.30	1.500	2.89
Elbert	3	1-0	--	3.2	3	3	3	1	3	7.36	1.091	5.82
Relievers	29	4-7	6	102.0	91	35	33	39	94	2.91	1.275	3.77
Totals	29	14-15	6	267.0	232	98	94	95	239	3.17	1.225	3.68

*Jeff Weaver's stats were split into their starting and relieving duties.

Thanks to Baseball-Reference.com and Fangraphs for help with the data.

NL West parks: Advantage offense

Poseidon's Fist — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:09:48 -0000

More photos » by Marcio Jose Sanchez - AP

If you thought AT&T Park was a pitcher's park, you would be wrong. Wrong wrong wrong wrong. Wrong wrong wrong wrong. Yer wrong!

Browse more photos »

The NL West has gotten a reputation for utilizing the most pitcher-friendly parks in the league. That reputation might not be so well-deserved. Here's a look at Baseball-Reference's park factors for the NL West stadia. Bold indicates the high mark of the data set, and italics indicate the low mark. Also, instead of showing the batting/pitcher park factor splits, I averaged the two for simplicity of presentation.

West	2009	Multi-year
AT&T Park	103.5	102
Chase Field	108	107
Coors Field	105.5	107
Dodger Stadium	94.5	99.5
PetCo Park	88.5	89
Average	100.0	100.9

Given that 100 is deemed neutral, it is interesting to note that the division's parks are playing at exactly neutral this season in spite of the blatantly manipulative ways of PetCo. Looking at multi-year factors, three parks are strongly on the offensive side (including the two most offensive in the league), while Dodger Stadium has historically been pretty neutral, though it has been acting particularly squirrely this season. How about we compare to the other NL divisions:

Central	2009	Multi-year
Busch Stadium	98	99
Great American Ballpark	104.5	104.5
Miller Park	97.5	100
Minute Maid Park	103	98.5
PNC Park	94.5	95.5
Wrigley Field	103	105
Average	100.1	100.42

East	2009	Multi-year
Citi Field	99.5	99.5
Citizens Bank Park	101.5	102.5
Land Shark Stadium	97	99
Nationals Park	101.5	101.5
Turner Field	101	99
Average	100.1	100.30

Check out the multi-year average among all divisions. The NL West favors offense more than the other two divisions. Granted, Coors Field and Chase Field are the top two offensive parks, which skews the numbers a bit, but PetCo does so in the other direction nearly by itself. The NL West may have a greater range of ballparks than the other divisions by double, but overall it favors pitching no more than the other division.

Naturally, regarding the Rockies only, the picture changes slightly. Eliminating Coors Field from the equation, the Rockies maintain the most pitching-friendly road schedule other than the Diamondbacks.

NL West Report

Arizona (59-72, 4th, W4, 19 GB)

Last Week: 4-2. 1-2 @ Giants. 3-0 vs Astros. After winning just one of eight, the Diamondbacks have won four straight, their best streak since taking five straight at the Mets and Pirates in early August.

Pace: 73-88.

Divisional Change: No change.

This Week: 4 game road series @ Dodgers, 3 game home road series @ Rockies. If Colorado still wants the division title, Arizona could help out a lot by extending their win streak to eight before losing three in a row.

News: Luis Gonzalez has officially retired, and now will have a role as the D-backs' new special advisor. His retirement conference was Saturday.

AZ Snakepit includes a video interview in a game thread this weekend.

Conor Jackson's future with Arizona is in doubt. Jackson went from the Diamondbacks' primary cleanup hitter last season to missing nearly the entire season with Valley Fever. Now, he might be non-tendered at the end of the season, forcing his comeback to come with another team via free agency.

Conor Jackson

#34 / Left Field / Arizona Diamondbacks

Height: 6-2

Weight: 215

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: May 07, 1982

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Conor Jackson	30	99	8	18	4	0	1	14	11	16	5	0	.182	.264	.253

Script is flipped for D-backs catchers. Miguel Montero has made the most of Chris Snyder's injuries as the new starting catcher for Arizona, which is making Snyder expendable. Look for the Diamondbacks to look for a trade opportunity with Snyder, who received a three-year deal in the offseason.

Chris Snyder's injury forced the club to call up catcher-of-the-future John Hester, who responded by homering in first Major League at-bat.

Transactions: Optioned LHP Daniel Schlereth and OF Trent Oeltjen to AAA Reno. Traded RHP Jon Rauch to Minnesota for a PTBNL. Called up C John Hester and OF Chris Young.

Injuries: Activated OF Justin Upton and placed C Chris Snyder (back inflammation) on 15-day DL. RHP Chad Qualls is day-to-day but might miss the rest of the season with a dislocated knee. He will have an MRI in coming days.

Arizona Diamondbacks Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Eric Byrnes	hand	06/26/2009
Chris Snyder	lower-back	08/23/2009
Scott Schoeneweis	other-excused	08/10/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Conor Jackson	pneumonia	05/12/2009
Brandon Webb	shoulder	04/07/2009

News on the other three divisional teams after the jump.

Los Angeles (78-53, 1st, W2)

Last Week: 4-2. 2-1 @ Rockies. 2-1 @ Reds. Los Angeles overcame an opening game loss to both series but overcame it both time to win both difficult road series as the Rockies dropped 5 of 6, thereby giving the Dodgersa comfortable cushion in the NL West.

Pace: 96-66.

Divisional Change: Gained three games on COL.

This Week: 4 game home series vs Diamondbacks, 3 game home series vs Padres. LA has an opportunity to add to their lead by beating up on the two divisional teams that have been looking to future season for months.

News: Dodgers Regain Control Of NL West. If you're a masochist, check how TrueBlueLA responded to arguably the biggest storyline in the division.

The Nationals traded former Rockie Ronnie Belliard to the Dodgers

Ronnie Belliard

#10 / Second Base / Los Angeles Dodgers

Height: 5-10

Weight: 215

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Apr 07, 1975

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Ronnie Belliard	86	187	26	46	7	1	5	22	14	40	2	0	.246	.296	.374

True Blue LA reacts to the trade.

Belliard is not enough though. LA wants to improve their bench with a power threat, preferably from the left side. Kudos to Dan O'Dowd for scooping up Jason Giambi already, who is 7-for-16 wwith 5 BBs and 2 HRs in 5 games with Colorado Springs.

Peter Gammons doesn't like the Dodgers, citing their third starter and a trade deadline reliever as reasons for being a playoff team:

"If it weren’t for Wolf and the trade for George Sherrill, they would not make the playoffs."

Transactions: Optioned IF Tony Abreu to AAA Albuquerque and called up RHP Vicente Padilla. Acquired IF Ronnie Belliard from Washington for minor league pitcher Luis Garcia and a PTBNL.

Injuries: Transferred Jason Schmidt (shoulder) from the 15-day to 60-day DL. LHP Ohman threw an inning in AAA Aug 26 and could return in mid-September. Hiroki Kuroda threw a successful simulated game Saturday and should return within a couple weeks.

Los Angeles Dodgers Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Will Ohman	shoulder	05/28/2009
Hiroki Kuroda	concussion	08/16/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Doug Mientkiewicz	shoulder	04/17/2009
Xavier Paul	ankle	05/21/2009
Jason Schmidt	shoulder	08/06/2009
Eric Milton	lower-back	06/28/2009

San Diego (56-76, 5th, L2, 22.5 GB)

Last Week: 4-2. 2-1 @ Braves, 2-1 @ Marlins. The Padres at least did their part in helping Colorado by winning both series against a couple Wild Card hopefuls.

Pace: 69-93.

Divisonal change: None.

This Week: 3 game home series vs. Nationals, 3 game road series @ Dodgers.

News: Jake Peavy is having injury problems for the White Sox in AAA. He took a line drive off his elbow August 24. He then pitched Saturday and left after just 68 pitches with elbow soreness.

In related news, MLB.com's Adam Roseberg writes that the Friars reap Rich-ard rewards of trade. Naturally, Richard went and got lit up for six runs in 2.1 IP against Atlanta after Rosenberg's column. That's the nature of the Padre rotation this year.

Clayton Richard

#41 / Pitcher / San Diego Padres

Height: 6-5

Weight: 240

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Sep 12, 1983

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Clayton Richard	3-1	6	6	0	0	0	0	29.1	33	17	17	3	20	22	5.22	1.81

A member of GasLampBall, aptly named plunkeveryone, wrote a fanpost noting that Kevin Kouzmanoff tied franchise record Wednesday. He is now the Padres' all-time leader in HBP with just 35.

Here's a Q&A with outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr, who is the only player in MLB with his unique situation.

Transactions: Recalled RHP Adam Russell, LHP Wade LeBlanc, and OF Drew Macias. Optioned RHP Cesar Carillo to AAA Portland.

Injuries: Placed RHP Mike Adams on the 15-day DL (shoulder) retroactive to Aug 22. Adrian Gonzalez is day-to-day with a sore biceps in his throwing arm but singled in a pinch hit AB last night. Kyle Blanks was set on the 15-day DL Saturday with a strained arch in his right foot. He is in a walking boot and is eligible to return Sept 13. I know how that injury feels. It's bizarre and annoying.

San Diego Padres Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Brian Giles	knee	06/19/2009
Edgar Gonzalez	concussion	07/19/2009
Kyle Blanks	foot	08/29/2009
Mike Adams	shoulder	08/22/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Mark Worrell	elbow	03/27/2009
Cha Seung Baek	forearm	03/30/2009
Shawn Hill	elbow	04/26/2009
Chris Young	shoulder	06/15/2009
Cliff Floyd	shoulder	06/18/2009

San Francisco (72-59, t-2nd, W3, 6 GB in Div, t-1st in WC)

Last Week: 5-2. 0-1 vs Rockies. 2-1 vs Diamondbacks. 3-0 vs Rockies. San Francisco took advantage of the first series of the season that Lincecum, Zito and Cain all pitched in to sweep Colorado and pull even for the wild card lead, a very commendable achievement after the gutpunch they received Monday night.

Pace: 88-74.

Divisional Change: Gained 0.5 in NL West (LAD), gained 3 games in WC (COL).

This Week: 3 game road series @ Phillies, 3 game road series @ Brewers. The Giants earned their way to top of Wild Card Mountain, and they'll have to continue to earn staying there. The Rockies get to face two NL creampuffs at home while SF hits the road to face the World Champs and fading but strong Brewers.

News: Jon Heyman tweets the Giants are interested in Brad Penny, along with the Marlins and Yankees.

John Perotto notes that the Giants are one of two favorites to land favorites to land Penny.

Fans cheer as Kent gets Giant honor, being enshrined in the Giant's Wall of Fame. Said Kent:

"The only place I ever cared about and gave my heart to was San Francisco." - Jeff Kent

The Big Unit is willing to return as reliever. After being on the 60-day DL for since July with a trapezius injury, Randy Johnson would be unable to contribute as a starter unless he had a long rehab assignment. The Unit coming out of the pen is a wild card if ever there was one.

Randy Johnson

#51 / Pitcher / San Francisco Giants

Height: 6-10

Weight: 225

Bats: R

Throws: L

Born: Sep 10, 1963

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Randy Johnson	8-6	17	17	0	0	0	0	91.2	90	51	49	18	31	80	4.81	1.32

The Giants claimed Trevor Hoffman on waivers, though some have specualted it was more to prevent a team like the Rockies from claiming him. Regardless, Hoffman appears to be staying with the Brewers.

Transactions: Optioned Joe Martinez to AAA Fresno. Recalled LHP Alex Hinshaw and IF Ryan Rohlinger.

Injuries: Randy Johnson will throw from 90-100 feet Tuesday or Wednesday - the Big Unit hopes to return this season as a reliever. Rich Aurilia is set to come off the 15-day DL but indications are he won't join the big league club when he does. Bengie Molina has been available to pinch hit and will likely return to the lineup at some point in Philadelphia from his torn right quad. Freddy Sanchez will make a couple rehab starts and then return Sept 2.

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Freddy Sanchez	shoulder	08/18/2009
Rich Aurilia	ankle	08/12/2009
Andres Torres	hamstring	07/31/2009

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Randy Johnson	trapezius	07/06/2009
Noah Lowry	ribs	03/27/2009
Kelvin Pichardo	shoulder	06/28/2009
Henry Sosa	shoulder	08/05/2009

San Francisco Giants Injuries

15-Day

Player Injury Type Injury Date

Freddy Sanchez shoulder 08/18/2009

Rich Aurilia ankle 08/12/2009

Andres Torres hamstring 07/31/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player Injury Type Injury Date

Randy Johnson trapezius 07/06/2009

Noah Lowry ribs 03/27/2009

Kelvin Pichardo shoulder 06/28/2009

Henry Sosa shoulder 08/05/2009

Dodgers Week 21 In Review: Kings Of The Hill

Eric Stephen — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:00:19 -0000

More photos » by Al Behrman - AP

3 months ago: Los Angeles Dodgers' Matt Kemp, left, and Orlando Hudson celebrate after the Dodgers defeated the Cincinnati Reds 11-4 in a baseball game, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009, in Cincinnati. Kemp and Hudson both hit home runs in the game. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

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Previous Weekly Recaps: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20

The Dodgers had a highly productive week, first going into the home of their closest pursuer and winning a series, then taking another series in Cincinnati, to help widen their lead and reestablish themselves as the overwhelmingly clear favorite to win the National League West.

The Dodgers used a mix of power -- they hit 11 home runs in their six games -- and great pitching, especially from the bullpen, to win four of six games this week. What started as a 3½-game lead entering Monday ended as a six-game lead over both the Rockies and Giants in the division.

Dodger Batter of the Week: This is beginning to sound like a broken record, but the Dodger outfield led the offense again this week. Matt Kemp takes this award with his three home runs, all of which seemed to be titanic blasts. Kemp led the club this week in runs (5), hits (9), homers (3), RBI (8), slugging percentage (.760), OPS (1.160), and steals (2). The other two outfielders get honorable mention, as Andre Ethier hit .333/.407/.708 and Manny Ramirez hit .368/.538/.526.

Dodger Pitcher of the Week: Randy Wolf was the man this week, throwing 7.1 innings in Denver allowing only one run, just as the Dodgers needed it. The Rockies crept to within two games after Tuesday's win, but Wolf's win held them at bay, and the Rockies coincidentally haven't won since. Honorable mention goes to Clayton Kershaw, who pitched two gems, allowing two runs twice, but had no wins to show for it.

Week 21 Record: 4-2
29 runs scored (4.83 per game)
18 runs allowed (3.00 per game)
.705 pythagorean winning percentage*

Overall Seasonal Record: 78-53 (.595)
632 runs scored (4.82 per game)
496 runs allowed (3.79 per game)
.609 pythagorean winning percentage (80-51)*
*Note: I switched to using 1.83 as the power for the pythagorean formula, the same as Baseball-Reference.com.

The Long, Lonely Walk Back To The Dugout: On Sunday in Cincinnati, Dodger pitchers struck out 20 Reds during the 12 inning game, including 11 by starter Clayton Kershaw, three from closer Jonathan Broxton, and two each from Ramon Troncoso, Hong-Chih Kuo, and James McDonald. The 20 strikeouts were the second most in LA Dodger history, trailing only the 22 punchouts on August 8, 1972, also against the Reds.

Can I Borrow Your Helmet?: After entering the game in Denver in the eighth inning on Thursday, Jonathan Broxton got his first plate appearance of the year, and popped out to shortstop on the first pitch. It was Broxton's first trip to the plate since August 15, 2008, when he walked against the Brewers.

Spelling Relief "D-O-D-G...": The Dodger bullpen allowed a grand total of three runs this week, good for a 1.16 ERA, striking out 29 batters in 23.1 innings. Over their last 14 games, the Dodger bullpen has allowed four earned runs in 45.2 innings, good for a 0.79 ERA and 1.204 WHIP. On the season, the Dodger bullpen leads the majors with a 3.22 ERA.

20/20 Vision: Matt Kemp's home run Saturday was his 20th of the season, making him the first Dodger to have 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in the same season since Shawn Green in 2001. Kemp became just the 8th Dodger to accomplish the feat. On the season, Kemp has 21 home runs and 28 steals.

The Big Blue Machine: Since the beginning of the 2006 season, the Dodgers have owned the Reds. They captured a three-game series over the weekend, and now have won 22 of their last 26 meetings. Aside from the 12 straight wins at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers have also won 10 of their last 14 in Cincinnati.

Transactions: Here are the roster moves of the week:

Thursday: Jason Schmidt was transferred from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day DL, effectively ending his Dodger career. You made a heck of an effort to comeback, Jason, and that was to be commended. This removed Schmidt from the 40-man roster, making room for...
Thursday: Vicente Padilla had his contract purchased before his start in Colorado. Padilla's spot on the 25-man roster was facilitated by...
Thursday: Tony Abreu was optioned to Triple A Albuqerque. He is eligible to come back to the Dodgers on September 6
Sunday: The Dodgers acquired infielder Ronnie Belliard from the Nationals to bolster their bench for the playoff run. In exchange, Washington received minor league pitcher Luis Garcia plus a minor leaguer to be named later. Belliard is expected to arrive Monday, and a corresponding roster move will need to be made to add him to the 40-man roster to be eligible for postseason play.

More moves will come beginning this week, as active rosters expand on Tuesday, September 1.

Upcoming Week: The Dodgers return home for a seven-game homestand, beginning with Arizona for four games and ending with San Diego for three games. The Dodgers are 35-16 against NL West teams this season, including 18-5 at home.

Week 21 Stats

Player	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SB/CS	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS	BABIP
Kemp	25	5	9	1	0	3	8	3	2/1	.360/.400/.760	1.160	.316
Ethier	24	3	8	3	0	2	4	3	1/0	.333/.407/.708	1.116	.400
Manny	19	4	7	0	0	1	3	6	0/1	.368/.538/.526	1.065	.400
Loney	22	2	5	1	0	2	4	5	0/0	.227/.370/.545	.916	.188
Hudson	24	3	7	0	0	1	1	2	0/0	.292/.346/.417	.763	.300
Furcal	28	4	7	1	0	1	3	2	0/0	.250/.290/.393	.683	.250
Blake	19	3	3	0	0	1	1	4	0/0	.158/.304/.316	.620	.143
Martin	18	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	.278/.278/.278	.556	.333
Castro	2	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0/0	.500/.500/1.000	1.500	1.000
Pierre	12	3	5	0	0	0	2	0	0/0	.417/.417/.417	.833	.417
Loretta	9	2	3	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	.333/.333/.333	.667	.429
Ausmus	7	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0/0	.143/.143/.143	.286	.167
Pitchers	14	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0/0	.071/.071/.071	.143	.143
Totals	223	29	62	7	0	11	28	25	3/2	.278/.349/.457	.807	.298

Pitcher	G	W-L	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
Wolf	1	1-0	--	7.1	5	1	1	2	5	1.23	0.955
Kershaw	2	0-0	--	13.1	8	4	4	3	17	2.70	0.825
Padilla	1	1-0	--	5.0	6	2	2	1	4	3.60	1.400
Billingsley	1	0-1	--	5.0	7	4	4	4	1	7.20	2.200
Haeger	1	0-0	--	2.1	4	4	4	2	3	15.43	2.571
Broxton	3	0-0	2	3.1	3	0	0	2	5	0.00	1.500
Weaver	1	1-0	--	3.1	6	0	0	1	4	0.00	2.100
Troncoso	4	0-0	--	3.0	2	0	0	0	3	0.00	0.667
Sherrill	3	0-0	--	2.2	3	0	0	0	2	0.00	1.125
Mota	2	0-0	--	2	2	0	0	1	2	0.00	1.500
Belisario	3	0-0	--	3.2	3	1	1	0	3	2.45	0.818
Kuo	3	0-0	--	3	4	1	1	1	6	3.00	1.667
McDonald	3	1-1	--	2.1	4	1	1	2	4	3.86	1.457
Totals	6	4-2	2	56.1	57	18	18	19	59	2.88	1.349

The Worst Game Of The Year

Eric Stephen — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 03:57:23 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

4 months ago: Los Angeles Dodgers' Hiroki Kuroda, of Japan, raises his arms as he is carted off the field after being hit in the head by a line drive from Arizona Diamondbacks' Rusty Ryal in the sixth inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 15, 2009, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

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This game makes me too angry to write a proper recap. The key points:

Hiroki Kuroda took a line drive off the head and had to leave in the sixth inning. Early word is that he never lost consciousness, so at least there is some good news
The Dodgers couldn't score more than three runs off ~~Jason Schmidt~~ Doug Davis, who struggled throwing strikes for six innings, yet the Dodgers could never deal him a crushing blow to get him out of the game earlier.
Jonathan Broxton allowed two long home runs, to Mark Reynolds and Miguel Montero, to blow his fifth save of the season, and his third in his last seven appearances
The Dodgers lost in the 10th inning, one batter after Ramon Troncoso pulled the "lose control right after intentionally walking a guy" routine.

Randy Wolf faces Yusmeiro Petit in a salvage game tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully we'll have some good news about Kuroda by then.

WP -Chad Qualls (2-1): 1 IP, 1 walk, 1 strikeout

LP - Ramon Troncoso (4-2): 0.1 IP, 2 hits, 1 run, 2 walks

Box Score

UPDATE: Ken Gurnick of MLB.com tells us the CT scan came back negative, so that is wonderful news:

Trainer Stan Conte said Kuroda never lost consciousness and a CT scan was negative, revealing no fractures or bleeding. Kuroda will be kept overnight at a local hospital for observation with a likely concussion, although doctors were willing to release him, Conte said.

SB Nation - Jason Schmidt

The Juan Pierre era comes to an end

Jason Schmidt to retire

Dodger Roster Breakdown

Free Agents (13+1)

Options (2)

Arbitration Eligible (9)

Under Contract (4)

Under Team Control (15)

Dodgers Season In Thirds

Catcher

Infield

Outfield

Pinch Hitters

Starting Pitchers

Relievers

Make Your Pitch: The NL playoff teams want YOU...

Which NL team will you be rooting for the in the playoffs?

Cardinals

Dodgers

Phillies

Rockies

Who cares?

I'm not actually an AZ fan, but am here to stuff the ballot-box for my real team.

Stabilizing The Back End Of The Rotation

Dodgers August In Review: The Ethier, Kemp, And Wolf Show

August Stats

NL West parks: Advantage offense

NL West Report

Arizona (59-72, 4th, W4, 19 GB)

Conor Jackson

#34 / Left Field / Arizona Diamondbacks

Arizona Diamondbacks Injuries

15-Day

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Los Angeles (78-53, 1st, W2)

Ronnie Belliard

#10 / Second Base / Los Angeles Dodgers

Los Angeles Dodgers Injuries

15-Day

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Clayton Richard

#41 / Pitcher / San Diego Padres

San Diego Padres Injuries

15-Day

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Randy Johnson

#51 / Pitcher / San Francisco Giants

San Francisco Giants Injuries

15-Day

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Dodgers Week 21 In Review: Kings Of The Hill

Week 21 Stats

The Worst Game Of The Year