Clayton Kershaw
Bleak Start to Off-Season Player Moves
12/10/09 13:59 Filed in: Baseball
As last season ended, the future looked good for the
Dodgers and Angels, despite the disappointment of the
post-season. The past month, however, has been a
disaster, on all fronts.
As the season came to a close, the news of the McCorts' breakup and its effect on the team was an unknown poisonous cloud, darkening every aspect of the Dodgers' ability to improve for next season. At this point, they've lost Randy Wolf, and are totally silent on the free agent acquisition front, and the trade rumor mill is also pretty silent, save for the one mention of Cub interest in Juan Pierre. The Dodgers have a serious need to add two quality starters, and it does not look like they will be opening the McCort vault to pay for a Lackey, Pineiro, or Marquis, and after the first few free agent starters, the pickings are very thin, and full of injury prone Nick Lowrys and Erik Bedards, too similar to the Jason Schmidts and Eric Miltons they paid so dearly for over the past three years. Time will only tell if the Dodgers will pay out anything to improve the staff, or will Billingsly, Kuroda, and Kershaw be followed by the likes of Charlie Haeger and Eric Stults?
The Angels have now lost Chone Figgins, and do not seem to be making any headway in re-siging John Lackey. Instead, the talk seems to be of further depleting the now-thin infield with a deal for Roy Halladay that would see Erick Aybar, Joe Saunders and Mike Napoli all going to Toronto. Despite the benefits of an absolute stellar number one starter in Halladay, this trade would be a loser for the Angels. They would need to make several additional moves in order to maintain their great defense and vastly improved offense if they go into next season without Figgins, Aybar and Napoli, and in giving up the guy who is probably now their number one starter (assuming Lackey is gone) to get a number one, this still leaves the starting staff woefully short in the numbers game. From what we saw of Anthony Ortega and Sean O'Sullivan last season, neither one of them can fill a regular sport in a major league rotation. Maybe a Mark DeRosa, or even an Adrian Beltre, can fill the void at third, with Maicer Izturis taking over as the regular at shortstop, but this overall picture is a major step back from last year's team.
All of this is with the backdrop of the scumstripes ripping off not one, but two teams, in one of the biggest steals of the 21st century. I can see Detroit's rationale in giving away developing superstar Curtis Granderson for the pile of pitching they received, but what are they doing in Arizona? How can they possibly rationalize giving up one of MLB's best arms and top young pitching talents in Max Scherzer, and only receiving the overrated career dud and one-year-flash Edwin Jackson, and yankee-wanna-be/never-will-be Ian kennedy? As far as this affects the Dodgers, I'm very glad o have Scherzer out of NL West, and am ooking forward to feasting off of Jackson and Kennedy.
As the season came to a close, the news of the McCorts' breakup and its effect on the team was an unknown poisonous cloud, darkening every aspect of the Dodgers' ability to improve for next season. At this point, they've lost Randy Wolf, and are totally silent on the free agent acquisition front, and the trade rumor mill is also pretty silent, save for the one mention of Cub interest in Juan Pierre. The Dodgers have a serious need to add two quality starters, and it does not look like they will be opening the McCort vault to pay for a Lackey, Pineiro, or Marquis, and after the first few free agent starters, the pickings are very thin, and full of injury prone Nick Lowrys and Erik Bedards, too similar to the Jason Schmidts and Eric Miltons they paid so dearly for over the past three years. Time will only tell if the Dodgers will pay out anything to improve the staff, or will Billingsly, Kuroda, and Kershaw be followed by the likes of Charlie Haeger and Eric Stults?
The Angels have now lost Chone Figgins, and do not seem to be making any headway in re-siging John Lackey. Instead, the talk seems to be of further depleting the now-thin infield with a deal for Roy Halladay that would see Erick Aybar, Joe Saunders and Mike Napoli all going to Toronto. Despite the benefits of an absolute stellar number one starter in Halladay, this trade would be a loser for the Angels. They would need to make several additional moves in order to maintain their great defense and vastly improved offense if they go into next season without Figgins, Aybar and Napoli, and in giving up the guy who is probably now their number one starter (assuming Lackey is gone) to get a number one, this still leaves the starting staff woefully short in the numbers game. From what we saw of Anthony Ortega and Sean O'Sullivan last season, neither one of them can fill a regular sport in a major league rotation. Maybe a Mark DeRosa, or even an Adrian Beltre, can fill the void at third, with Maicer Izturis taking over as the regular at shortstop, but this overall picture is a major step back from last year's team.
All of this is with the backdrop of the scumstripes ripping off not one, but two teams, in one of the biggest steals of the 21st century. I can see Detroit's rationale in giving away developing superstar Curtis Granderson for the pile of pitching they received, but what are they doing in Arizona? How can they possibly rationalize giving up one of MLB's best arms and top young pitching talents in Max Scherzer, and only receiving the overrated career dud and one-year-flash Edwin Jackson, and yankee-wanna-be/never-will-be Ian kennedy? As far as this affects the Dodgers, I'm very glad o have Scherzer out of NL West, and am ooking forward to feasting off of Jackson and Kennedy.
theHoundDawg
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Once Again, How Does Mario Solis Keep His Job?
Once again, Mario Solis has shown that he is the
worst announcer currently reporting sports news in
the western world.
This evening on the Channel 4 News, he told listeners, to their shock, that budding star Clayton Kershaw injured his shoulder during batting practice before today's game, and that he would miss his next start.
Frightening news. Terrible news. Could it be serious? Will he miss the rest of the season and the playoffs? Is his career in jeopardy?
All unanswered questions, but likely too early to have any answers.
But wait! Solis never said which shoulder was injured.
A quick turn to Yahoo! Sports, and it was immediately seen, with great relief, that he hurt his RIGHT shoulder, so all those thoughts of a career-threatening injury to his pitching shoulder were eased.
Solis, of course, probably doesn't even know that Kershaw is lefty.
This evening on the Channel 4 News, he told listeners, to their shock, that budding star Clayton Kershaw injured his shoulder during batting practice before today's game, and that he would miss his next start.
Frightening news. Terrible news. Could it be serious? Will he miss the rest of the season and the playoffs? Is his career in jeopardy?
All unanswered questions, but likely too early to have any answers.
But wait! Solis never said which shoulder was injured.
A quick turn to Yahoo! Sports, and it was immediately seen, with great relief, that he hurt his RIGHT shoulder, so all those thoughts of a career-threatening injury to his pitching shoulder were eased.
Solis, of course, probably doesn't even know that Kershaw is lefty.
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theHoundDawg
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Jason Who III - The Bitter End?
08/08/09 18:03 Filed in: Baseball
Roy
Halladay is still in Toronto, but Cliff Lee, Jake
Peavy, Jarrod Washburn, Carl Pavano, Justin
Masterson, Ian Snell, Clayton Richard, and even Pedro
Martinez, all have new major league homes. While I
emphatically said that there is no way the Dodgers
should or could trade Clayton Kershaw, a deal for one
of these starters could have been worked out, but the
Dodgers felt they did not have to make a move,
because they had, ............ Jason Schmidt.
Well, after four 2009 starts, bringing his lifetime total as a Dodger to 10 ($4.7 Million per start), Schmidt is back on the DL, and his Dodger and MLB career are quite likely finis'.
The Dodgers may be in first, but they have lost the distinction of having baseball's best 2009 record, and their division lead is shrinking. Chad Billingsley has been hurting, Hiroki Kuroda has been inconsistent, the rotation now includes Scott Elbert, whose next start will be his first, and Jonathan Broxton has not been the consistent given he was before the All-Star game - is it his sore toe, overwork, or what? What this adds up to, is that the Dodgers, as dominating as they have been in so many aspects of the game, and for virtually the entire season to date, today do not look like a team that can win a playoff series against teams like Philadelphia and the oh-so improved Cardinals.
Well, after four 2009 starts, bringing his lifetime total as a Dodger to 10 ($4.7 Million per start), Schmidt is back on the DL, and his Dodger and MLB career are quite likely finis'.
The Dodgers may be in first, but they have lost the distinction of having baseball's best 2009 record, and their division lead is shrinking. Chad Billingsley has been hurting, Hiroki Kuroda has been inconsistent, the rotation now includes Scott Elbert, whose next start will be his first, and Jonathan Broxton has not been the consistent given he was before the All-Star game - is it his sore toe, overwork, or what? What this adds up to, is that the Dodgers, as dominating as they have been in so many aspects of the game, and for virtually the entire season to date, today do not look like a team that can win a playoff series against teams like Philadelphia and the oh-so improved Cardinals.
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theHoundDawg
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Kershaw Rights the Ship - Is He Already the Guy?
07/19/09 11:32 Filed in: Baseball
The Dodgers started the season's second half by being
embarrassed in back-to-back losses to Houston. Lack
of timely hitting, Chad Billingsley's continued
recent struggles, and an overall aura of complacency,
all colored what appeared to be two lackluster
performances.
Then, up stepped Clayton Kershaw. Last night, he continued, and even improved upon, his streak of impressive outings, this time becoming the guy to end a short, but potentially unsettling, losing streak. Kershaw is now 5-0 with a 0.63 ERA over his last seven starts, has lowered his season ERA to 2.95, and most important of all, stretched last night's outing to seven full innings.
Any more of those "experts" out there still want to see the Dodgers trade him?
Then, up stepped Clayton Kershaw. Last night, he continued, and even improved upon, his streak of impressive outings, this time becoming the guy to end a short, but potentially unsettling, losing streak. Kershaw is now 5-0 with a 0.63 ERA over his last seven starts, has lowered his season ERA to 2.95, and most important of all, stretched last night's outing to seven full innings.
Any more of those "experts" out there still want to see the Dodgers trade him?
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theHoundDawg
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As Usual, Pitching is Key, as Second Half Begins
07/16/09 09:11 Filed in: Baseball
As the second half of the season is set to begin,
pitching is, as always, the key to success
down the stretch.
First, and in consideration of rumor number one, which may just be speculation and defective, stupid controversy created by certain second-line radio commentators, is the ridiculous theory that the Dodger would even consider trading Clayton Kershaw and/or Matt Kemp, in order to obtain Roy Halladay. Kershaw and Kemp are rare talents that come along infrequently. At the start of the year, I felt that Kemp would put it together this season, and become a star, and that is happening before our eyes. He deserved to be on the All-Star team. Kershaw has more ability than any pitcher to reach the majors in many years, but I did feel it would be at least until next season before he took his place as a number one starter, and Cy Young contender. Well, he has just about reached that level over the past six weeks, with only his penchant for making too many pitches and being able to only go an average of six innings per start keeping him from reaching that level. The fact is, though, that he has been scored on in only two of his last six starts, giving up a total of three runs in his last 36 or so innings, lowering his ERA from 4.50 to 3.16.
He is on the verge of becoming the ace the Dodgers have been seeking, and only more experience and more consistent control stand in his way.
Trade him or Kemp? Never, for any current player in the majors, save that Albert guy in St. Louis.
Second is that other rumor that indicated that Toronto would commit franchise suicide by trading Halladay to the Redsox or scumstripes. Trade the AL's reigning pitching star within your division, to one of the best teams in the league, whose only weaknesses relate to pitching? No way. If so, through, fire the GM and pack the trunk and move to Moose Jaw.
Toronto does not realize their situation. Their limited success this season is due to Halladay, their vastly improved offense, which is due to the maturation of several of their young players, and the development of several young pitchers, such as Ricky Romero. Add back injured young stud starters Dustin McGowan and Shaun Marcum, and the 2010 Blue Jays are a real contender. Don't screw that up and hand the division to one of those other teams.
The seemingly healthier Angels' staff now has to not only compensate for the loss of Vald and Torri Hunter, but for the continued struggles of Earvin Santana. He starts opening night of the second half, and has to show that he is regaining last year's form, or else he might need a Howie Kendrick Triple A vacation.
Overall, at the mid-point, four of my six division picks are in first place, and all of my picks except Cleveland are in the running for the playoffs. And, Torri Hunter is the AL's MVP at this point in the season.
theHoundDawg
First, and in consideration of rumor number one, which may just be speculation and defective, stupid controversy created by certain second-line radio commentators, is the ridiculous theory that the Dodger would even consider trading Clayton Kershaw and/or Matt Kemp, in order to obtain Roy Halladay. Kershaw and Kemp are rare talents that come along infrequently. At the start of the year, I felt that Kemp would put it together this season, and become a star, and that is happening before our eyes. He deserved to be on the All-Star team. Kershaw has more ability than any pitcher to reach the majors in many years, but I did feel it would be at least until next season before he took his place as a number one starter, and Cy Young contender. Well, he has just about reached that level over the past six weeks, with only his penchant for making too many pitches and being able to only go an average of six innings per start keeping him from reaching that level. The fact is, though, that he has been scored on in only two of his last six starts, giving up a total of three runs in his last 36 or so innings, lowering his ERA from 4.50 to 3.16.
He is on the verge of becoming the ace the Dodgers have been seeking, and only more experience and more consistent control stand in his way.
Trade him or Kemp? Never, for any current player in the majors, save that Albert guy in St. Louis.
Second is that other rumor that indicated that Toronto would commit franchise suicide by trading Halladay to the Redsox or scumstripes. Trade the AL's reigning pitching star within your division, to one of the best teams in the league, whose only weaknesses relate to pitching? No way. If so, through, fire the GM and pack the trunk and move to Moose Jaw.
Toronto does not realize their situation. Their limited success this season is due to Halladay, their vastly improved offense, which is due to the maturation of several of their young players, and the development of several young pitchers, such as Ricky Romero. Add back injured young stud starters Dustin McGowan and Shaun Marcum, and the 2010 Blue Jays are a real contender. Don't screw that up and hand the division to one of those other teams.
The seemingly healthier Angels' staff now has to not only compensate for the loss of Vald and Torri Hunter, but for the continued struggles of Earvin Santana. He starts opening night of the second half, and has to show that he is regaining last year's form, or else he might need a Howie Kendrick Triple A vacation.
Overall, at the mid-point, four of my six division picks are in first place, and all of my picks except Cleveland are in the running for the playoffs. And, Torri Hunter is the AL's MVP at this point in the season.
theHoundDawg
What's Up With Dodgers' Staff? Part II
11/23/08 17:34 Filed in: Baseball
Well, the staff might have just gotten a lot thinner
with word today that "Ace" Chad
Billingsley slipped on some ice at his Pennsylvania
home, and suffered a broken leg. He had surgery to
insert a plate, but the medicos say he'll be out of
his cast in two weeks, rehabing in less than two
months, and ready for spring training.
Sure.
The Dodger starting staff now features veterans .......... ??
OK - this is it:
Hiroki Kuroda - Major League Starts: 31
Clayton Kershaw - Major League Starts: 21
James McDonald - Major League Starts: 0
theHoundDawg
Sure.
The Dodger starting staff now features veterans .......... ??
OK - this is it:
Hiroki Kuroda - Major League Starts: 31
Clayton Kershaw - Major League Starts: 21
James McDonald - Major League Starts: 0
theHoundDawg
What's Up With Dodgers' Staff?
11/06/08 08:46 Filed in: Baseball
It looks like the Dodgers are taking the initiative
and making an offer to Manny, but what is up with the
Dodgers' starting staff? What does Ned Colleti have
in the works?
With Derek Lowe a free agent and little being heard about re-signing him, and now with Brad Penny gone, is this the Dodger's starting staff:
Chad Billingsley - Major League Starts: 68
Hiroki Kuroda - Major League Starts: 31
Clayton Kershaw - Major League Starts: 21
James McDonald - Major League Starts: 0
??
theHoundDawg
With Derek Lowe a free agent and little being heard about re-signing him, and now with Brad Penny gone, is this the Dodger's starting staff:
Chad Billingsley - Major League Starts: 68
Hiroki Kuroda - Major League Starts: 31
Clayton Kershaw - Major League Starts: 21
James McDonald - Major League Starts: 0
??
theHoundDawg